An ultrafine particle powder for inhalation to be delivered mainly to a lower airway, containing specific cellulose lower alkyl ethers and a medicament, at least 80% of the powder having a particle size in the range of 0.5 to 10 .mu.m.

An inhalant is a preparation intended to be administered as a medicament from an oral cavity or nasal cavity mainly to a lower airway such as a trachea, bronchi and alveoli. A lower airway, of an airway, is defined herein as a trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, etc.
Inhalants are expected to target organs, to act as preparations for local administration to thoracopathy such as asthma, bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema of medicaments, and to relieve side effects and realize quick efficacy on the basis of the targeting, and many of them have already been practically used. Much attention has recently been drawn to inhalants as medicaments to be generally administered to transfer physiologically active peptides, proteins, etc., from alveoli to a blood stream (V. H. L. Lee, "Peptide and Protein Drug Delivery," Marcel Dekker, 1991, pp. 1-56). Furthermore, vaccine preparations such as an influenza vaccine have also been tried to induce local immunity by inhalation of an antigen.
Such inhalants can be classified as follows according to a state of the particles depositing within an airway: (1) a solution depositing as droplets; and (2) an aerosol or powder depositing as powder. A solution is usually an aqueous solution of a medicament. It is formed into mist by a nebulizer, (or atomizer) and administered to within an airway as minute droplets, thereby depositing within the airway in the form of droplets. On the other hand, in the case of aerosol, a medicament is usually filled in a pressurized container in the form of a dispersion or solution in fluorohydrocarbon. When the aerosol is released therefrom at the time of administration, fluorohydrocarbon is gradually vaporized, and the dispersed or dissolved medicament gradually becomes a fine particle powder, which finally deposits within the airway as a fine particle powder. Moreover, in the case of a powder, a fine particle powder containing a medicament is filled as a powder in a container such as a hard capsule. A patient usually inhales it as powder mist therefrom by patient's own inspired air through a suitable medicator, and the fine particle powder itself deposits within the airway.
Desirable properties of the inhalants can be classified as follows, by aspects of medicament efficacy and by aspects of physical chemistry.
Firstly, with regard to aspects of medicament efficacy, since an airway has a complicated and narrow structure, the medicament is required to be delivered to a target site therewithin efficiently and deposited. Delivery of the medicament to target sites such as a trachea, bronchi, branchioles and alveoli and deposition thereof at the target sites require participation of many factors such as a particle size; properties of the particles, e.g., density, shape and electric charge; a concentration of the mist, a particle size distribution and respiration patterns (see, for example, V. H. L. Lee, "Peptide and Protein Drug Delivery," Marcel Dekker, 1991, p. 10 mentioned above). However, of these factors, the most important one is a particle size. Since the relationship between a particle size and a delivery site differs depending on researchers, it is not absolute. However, an example of the relationships is as follows: particles having a size of 10 .mu.m or more are trapped within on oral cavity and nasal cavity, and deposited there; they are required to have a size of approximately 5 to 15 .mu.m to be delivered to a trachea and bronchi, and deposited there; they are required to have a size of approximately 2 to 5 .mu.m to be delivered to bronchioles, and deposited there; there are required to have a size of approximately 0.3 to 2 .mu.m to be delivered to alveoli, and deposited there (report from "Workshop on Medical Aerosol").
After a comprehensive review of other reports, it may be concluded that for the purpose of efficiently delivering a medicament to a site deeper than a trachea, namely, to a lower airway and depositing it there, it desirably has a particle size in the range from 0.5 to 10 .mu.m.
Secondly, since the surface of an airway such as a trachea and bronchi is covered with a mucosa, the airway is a very sensitive organ, a preparation should therefore be non-irritative. Additives and residual solvents which may injure the mucosa should be avoided as far as possible.
Thirdly, it is desirable that a medicament is retained at a target site within the airway for a time sufficient to realize its action. An epidermis within the airway has cilia, which move in such a way that inhaled foreign materials are moved to the esophagus. Accordingly, in order to display the efficacy thereof, it is desirable that the medicament is not readily moved by cilia and retained at the site to be deposited. Sustained release of the medicament while it is retained further enhances its efficacy.
For example, in the case of a treatment for asthma, disodium cromoglycate requiring frequent administration and steroids whose dose is desired to be decreased from the standpoint of safety become significantly useful when they are formulated to sustained action preparations requiring a decreased number of administration and a decreased amount of dose. Moreover, in the case of administering a physiologically active peptide protein, a preparation thereof intended to improve mucosa-adhesivity or mucosa-staying properties is expected to be absorbed efficiently. Accordingly, designing a sustained action preparation with an inhalant may become a widely applicable useful technique.
Fourthly, it is a matter of course that an inhalant as well as other forms of medicaments is desired to be used simply. Especially, an inhalant is desired to be easily and readily used at the time of a paroxysm of asthma, etc.
Next, in view of the physicochemical aspect of an inhalant, firstly, fine particles constituting preparations are desirably uniform regardless of whether the preparations are in solution or in powder. Requirements of the particle uniformity are not only a matter of course from the standpoint of quality standards but also a necessity for surely realizing delivery and deposition of the fine particles within an airway to obtain the efficacy of the preparations. Secondly, preparations are desirably stable. Particularly in the case of medicaments used for chronic diseases such as asthma and bronchitis, preparations capable of being preserved at room temperature are desired. Thirdly, preparations should be capable of being industrially produced in good yields. The preparations should therefore be produced by a method enabling the industrial production mentioned above possible.
In view of desired properties of inhalants as described above, it is understood from examination of the forms of the above-mentioned conventional inhalants that these inhalants do not necessarily satisfy all the desired properties.
Firstly, droplets having a particle size of 0.5 to 10 .mu.m can be efficiently generated from solutions if a nebulizer of suitable performance is selected. However, a nebulizer is required to generate mist, and it can be used neither simply nor conveniently nor portably. Solutions are difficult to retain at target sites because they are aqueous, although solutions cause no problem of irritation if the additives are selected appropriately. In addition, a liposome preparation has been proposed as means for improving the retaining properties in a solution state at target sites (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-128318). However, liposomes are in general unstable, and are difficult to be preserved at ordinary temperature, for example, at room temperature over a long period. It is understood from the aforementioned description that the conventional solutions are not always satisfactory.
Secondly, an aerosol utilizing fluorohydrocarbon can efficiently generate fine particles having a particle size of 0.5 to 10 .mu.m when medicament particles to be dispersed in the fluorohydrocarbon are powdered finely. Use of an aerosol is simple if a metered dose inhaler is used, and the problem of irritation scarcely occurs. Problems as to uniformity, safety and productivity seldom occur when an aerosol is used. However, control of the use of fluorohydrocarbon is demanded because of the problem of global environmental pollution. As described above, an aerosol agent utilizing fluorohydrocarbon is not always satisfactory and replacement of an aerosol agent is strongly demanded in view of environmental problems.
Thirdly, although inhalants prepared as powders have heretofore been relatively insufficiently developed, much attention has quickly been drawn thereto because of the necessity of developing a simple administration method which is free of the fluorohydrocarbon problems mentioned above and which replaces solutions. There are the following three types of conventional powders:
(1) A well-mixed powder comprising ultrafine medicament particles and excipient particles selected from lactose, etc., and having a particle size larger than that of the medicament particles, the excipient being deposited at an oral cavity, pharynx or larynx and only the ultrafine medicament particles being delivered to and deposited at a lower airway such as a trachea and bronchi when the particle mixture is administered to within an airway from a suitable container;
(2) A powder composed of medicament particles having a relatively large particle size prepared by mildly granulating ultrafine medicament particles, the granulated powder being disintegrated into the constituent ultrafine medicament particles during its flight when administered to an airway from a suitable container, the thus formed medicament ultrafine particles being delivered to and deposited at a lower airway such as a trachea and bronchi; and
(3) A powder consisting only of ultrafine medicament particles, and being delivered to and deposited at a lower airway such as a trachea and bronchi when administered to an airway from a suitable container.
These three types of powders still have unsolved problems as described below.
With regard to powders in (1) and (3), only medicament particles are deposited at target sites, and retention and sustained release thereof at the sites are difficult to ensure.
Retention and sustained medicament release at target sites of a powder in (2) is difficult to ensure, the situation being similar to that of powder in (1). Moreover, ultrafine medicament particles themselves cannot be mildly granulated in some cases due to the physical properties of the medicament itself. An amount of disintegration into the constituent ultrafine particles may sometimes differ, and as a result a delivered amount and a deposited amount at target sites may vary.
Accordingly, there is desired realization of a powder inhalant which exhibits good delivery to and good deposition at a lower airway such as a trachea and bronchi, and which is excellent in retention and medicament sustained release as deposition sites.
Microcapsules prepared from a polylactic acid, a biodegradable polymer, for such a powder inhalant have been proposed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-17014). Although sustained medicament release from the microcapsules can be expected in this method, adhesion to and retention at a lower airway mucosa of the microcapsules themselves are most difficult to ensure. Since formation of the ultrafine particles is not easy and forming the particles having a particle size of 0.5 to 10 .mu.m is very difficult, the productivity of the inhalant is low. Furthermore, the inhalant has a disadvantage that removal of the organic solvent used in microencapsulation of the inhalant is not easy.
Accordingly, there is desired realization of a powder inhalant which exhibits good delivery to and good deposition at a lower airway such as a trachea and bronchi, which is excellent in retention and medicament sustained release at deposition sites and which is also excellent in all of such properties as productivity, stability, safety and uniformity.
In addition, with regard to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a cellulose lower alkyl ether and a medicament, the present inventors have disclosed a sustained action preparation for a nasal cavity in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 60-7965. The ultrafine particle powder for inhalation comprising a specific cellulose lower alkyl ether and a medicament of the present invention and a preparation containing the ultrafine particle powder should be clearly distinguished from the preparation disclosed in the above-mentioned patent publication by the following respects:
(1) The invention of the patent publication relates to a preparation for a nasal cavity, whereas the present invention relates to a preparation for inhalation capable of being delivered principally to a lower airway. The particle size distributions of both preparations can be definitely distinguished from each other.
(2) There is no disclosure in the patent publication which suggests that the composition of the invention may further be pulverized to give ultrafine particles for use in inhalation.
(3) The ultrafine particles for inhalation of the present invention which are capable of being delivered principally to a lower airway differ from the composition for a nasal cavity disclosed in the above-mentioned patent publication in that the ultrafine particles cannot be produced by the method wherein a cellulose lower alkyl ether and a medicament are mixed to give a composition. A cellulose lower alkyl ether prior to mixing cannot even be ground to give particles having a particle size suitable for an inhalant. That is, medicament particles of an inhalant generally have a particle size distribution of approximately 0.5 to 10 .mu.m, and they are usually prepared by grinding using a jet mill, and the like. However, a cellulose lower alkyl ether in fine particles having a particle size less than 10 .mu.m cannot be obtained in a high yield at least by dry grinding. Even when ultrafine particles of a cellulose lower alkyl ether can be obtained, it is very difficult to obtain appropriately agglomerated fine particles which behave uniformly, by mixing the ultrafine particles with medicament ultrafine particles. The ultrafine particles for inhalation of the present invention can be produced only by spray drying.
(4) Furthermore, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 60-7965 discloses the use of cellulose lower alkyl ethers as bases constituting powder preparations, together with a medicament for a powder preparation for administration to nasal cavity mucosa having a particle size of 20-250 .mu.m for 90% by weight or more of the particles. Examples of such cellulose lower alkyl ethers are methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose. Among these, it is disclosed that methyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose are preferable in view of smell and irritation. On the other hand, according to the present invention, hydroxypropyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose are selected as a component constituting a powder preparation having a particle size of 0.5-10 .mu.m for 80% by weight or more thereof. However, the reasons for the selection thereof is a completely different technical idea from those of the above-mentioned powder preparation for nasal cavity mucosa. Namely, as mentioned above, the most important property for the inhalant is a particle size thereof. Regarding this point, it is surprisingly found from the following two experiments that the hydroxypropyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose according to the present invention are different from the other cellulose lower alkyl ethers (the details will be further described later as Reference Experiments).
Experiment 1: Stability of Particle Size During Storage of Fine Particle For Inhalant
According to the present method, powder (A) comprising beclometasone dipropionate and hydroxypropyl cellulose and having a particle size of 0.5-10 .mu.m for 80% by weight or more thereof, powder (B) comprising beclometasone dipropionate and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose and having the same particle size as mentioned above, powder (C) comprising beclometasone dipropionate and methyl cellulose and having the same particle size as mentioned above, powder (D) comprising beclometasone dipropionate and hydroxyethyl cellulose and having the same particle size as mentioned above, powder (E) comprising beclometasone dipropionate and sodium carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose and having the same particle size as mentioned above and powder (F) comprising beclometasone dipropionate and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and having the same particle size were prepared by a spray drying method.
Contrary to the above, according to the method disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 60-7965, mixed powder (G) of beclometasone dipropionate and hydroxypropyl cellulose having a particle size of 20-250 .mu.m for 90% by weight or more thereof, mixed powder (H) of beclometasone dipropionate and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose having the same particle size as mentioned above, mixed powder (I) of beclometasone dipropionate and methyl cellulose having the same particle size as mentioned above, mixed powder (J) of beclometasone dipropionate and hydroxyethyl cellulose having the same particle size as mentioned above, mixed powder (K) of beclometasone dipropionate and sodium carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose having the same particle size as mentioned above and mixed powder (L) of beclometasone dipropionate and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose having the same particle size were prepared by a mechanical mixing method.
Furthermore, powder (M) to powder (R) having the combination corresponding to that of the above-mentioned powder (G) to powder (L), respectively, were prepared by a spray drying method in such a manner that the particle size of 90% by weight or more was within the same range of 20 to 250 .mu.m.
The above-mentioned powders (A)-(R) were humidified at 25.degree. C./50% R.H. for 48 hours, followed by measuring the particle sizes by a particle size distribution measuring apparatus of a laser diffraction type. Therefore, the powders were allowed to stand at 25.degree. C./65% R.H. for 7 days, followed by measuring the particle sizes by the same method. As a result, in the case of the powders (G)-(L) and (M)-(R) having the necessary particle size distribution for preparation for nasal cavity administration, no particle size changes after storage were observed, irrespective of kinds of the cellulose lower alkyl ethers. Contrary to this, in the case of the powders (A)-(F) having the necessary particle size distribution for an inhalant, the powders (A) and (B) using hydroxypropyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose did not exhibit the particle size change after storage. However, in the cases of the other powders using methyl cellulose (C), hydroxyethyl cellulose (D), sodium carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (E), and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (F), the presence of a large size particle was observed, which was presumed by the formation of agglomerated mass of the original particles.
Experiment 2: Depositionability of Fine Particle for Inhalation within Lung
The powders (A)-(F) for an inhalant used in the above-mentioned Experiment 1 were examined, regarding the depositionability thereof within a lung under a humidified condition (i.e., 37.degree. C./98%), by a cascade impactor. As a result, the powder (A) containing hydroxypropyl cellulose and the powder (B) containing hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose according to the present invention exhibited such an average aerodynamic radius that, when these powders are actually administered to human beings, it is estimated that a sufficient amount thereof is deposited on a trachea, a primary bronchus and peripheral lung portions therefrom. However, the other powders (C) to (F) containing the other cellulose lower alkyl ethers exhibited such an average aerodynamic radius that it is estimated that these powders are deposited on a larynx. Thus, it is estimated that the powders are not possible to be deposited on the targeted portions, i.e., a trachea, a primary bronchus and peripheral lung portions therefrom.
Although it is not clear why the remarkable difference between hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose and the other cellulose lower alkyl ethers occurs, it is estimated that this difference is related to the hygroscopicity (equilibrium moisture) of the cellulose lower alkyl ethers. It is known that the hygroscopicity of hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose is lower than that of methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose. Nevertheless, it is not expected by those skilled in the art that the above-mentioned difference in the hygroscopicity causes the above-mentioned remarkable difference between the particle size required for the inhalant and the particle size required for the preparation for administration to nasal cavity (in which no substantial differences are observed), regarding the agglomeration or growth of the particles, shown in the above-mentioned Experiments.
As is clear from the above two Experiments, the technical idea according to the present invention finding the use of hydroxypropyl cellulose and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose among the cellulose lower alkyl ethers and the technical idea selecting, as a preferable one, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, methyl cellulose among the same cellulose lower alkyl ethers are completely different. Furthermore, the technical idea according to the selection of the present invention is an essential matter for the inhalant technique and exhibit the novelty and inventive step of the present invention.
From the illustration described above, it will be understood that the ultrafine particle powder for inhalation of the present invention is entirely different from the composition for a nasal cavity disclosed by Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 60-7965.
On the other hand, it has already been known that a pharmaceutical composition comprising a cellulose lower alkyl ether and a medicament is produced by spray drying. For example, medicament particles are coated with hydroxypropyl cellulose by spray drying, whereby hydroxypropyl cellulose masks the taste of the medicament itself and controls elution thereof. M. Vidgren et el. have reported that fine particles having a particle size of approximately 3 to 10 .mu.m and comprising cromoglycate disodium or beclometasone dipropionate, and polyacrylic acid and/or sodium carboxymethyl cellulose are obtained by spray drying, and that the resultant fine particles exhibit sustained releasing properties and mucosa-adhesivity (Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, 18 (5), 581-597, 1992, 6th International Conference on Pharmaceutical Technology, Paris Jun. 2-4, 1992). However, production, by spry drying, of ultrafine particles comprising a specific cellulose lower alkyl ether and a medicament and having the particle distribution of the present invention has never been disclosed, and the use of the ultrafine particles of the present invention as an inhalant capable of being delivered principally to a lower airway has not even been suggested.

Ultrafine particle power for inhalation and method for production thereof


An apparatus and method are provided for damping deflections and vibrations in a ski, and further for adjustably biasing a ski to enhance its performance. An elongated damping member is attached by one end to the upper surface of the ski, and bears at its other end on the upper surface of the ski to resist deflection of the end portion of the ski. The damping member may also be urged against the ski for biasing the end of the ski downward relative to the center of the ski. A resilient bearing pad may be disposed between the ski and the bearing end of the damping member. The damping member may be mounted at a lateral angle to differentially damp one side edge of the ski. The damping member is adjustable in its mounting to provide adjustable damping and biasing force. A second damping member may be mounted to the ski to damp and bias the opposite end of the ski in a like manner. A central damping member may be mounted to the center portion of the ski. A method of damping a ski is provided in which a member applies a damping force to the upper surface of the ski, and particularly at a longitudinal point along the ski where the ski primarily contacts the snow surface.

Skis, including snowboards, are by commercial necessity designed to accommodate a range of rider sizes, weights, riding styles, and skiing conditions. A particular model of ski therefore must meet numerous, and sometimes conflicting, design criteria.
For example, it is desirable for a ski to be stable and perform well in snow conditions ranging from powder to ice. An ideal powder ski is one with a relatively soft flex. On the other hand, a ski must be considerably stiffer, both longitudinally and torsionally, for satisfactory performance in icy conditions. At the same time, a particular ski must accommodate riders within a range of weights, while maintaining satisfactory camber characteristics. The camber of a ski determines what portion of the base is normally in contact with the snow, and further determines the turning characteristics of the ski. A ski is shaped to induce a turn when an edge is pressed into contact with the snow. To achieve this characteristic, the lateral edges are designed with sidecut in the center portion of the ski; that is, the lateral width of the ski is greater on the ends than in the center. The greater the amount of sidecut, the more readily the ski will turn when the edge of the center portion of the ski is pressed into contact with the snow. In this way, the camber and the flexing characteristics of the ski interact to determine the turning characteristics of the ski.
In addition, a ski is ideally designed to be responsive to changes in the snow surface, to skier inputs, and to isolate the skier from shock and vibration to the greatest degree possible. A responsive ski is one which is relatively stiff, and has a relatively low inertial moment. Unfortunately, stiffness and a low inertial moment detract from skier comfort by causing a ski to "chatter", that is for the tip and tail of the ski to rebound away from the snow, causing a momentary loss of control. A chattering ski also will transmit uncomfortable levels of vibration to the skier, predominantly through the binding into the skier's feet. These continual vibrations lead to fatigue, and possibly contribute to injuries.
Ski designers therefore attempt to design damping into a ski provide a degree of comfort and control for the skier. The damping usually is achieved by incorporating rubber, lead, or other deadening materials into the body of the ski. This solution adds to the weight and inertial moment of the ski, reducing its responsiveness. Additionally, a ski is typically designed with a less than ideal amount of stiffness as a further concession to skier comfort.
A satisfactory resolution of these problems is even more complicated in a type of ski known as a snowboard. A snowboard incorporates certain characteristics of a surfboard into a ski for use on snow. A rider stands on a snowboard facing generally to one side. The rider's feet are secured to the snowboard, one in front of the other, by two bindings in the center portion of the board. As a result of this riding position, the rider is unable to exert equal turning forces on both edges of the ski. When turning in one direction, the rider bears on one edge of the board with the toes and balls of his feet, while bearing with his heels when turning in the opposite direction. A rider is usually able to exert less turning force through the heels, leading to a reduced turning ability in one direction. Snowboard manufacturers have responded to this problem by designing "asymmetric" boards, i.e. having different amounts of sidecut in opposite edges of the snowboard. A greater sidecut in the "heel turning" edge of the board requires the rider to exert less force on the edge for a turning ability equal to the "toe turning" side of the board. The asymmetry of such boards detracts, however, from the straight line stability and speed of the board.
Design problems and resulting performance compromises such as these have lead to a efforts to design a ski damping system which allows a ski to reach a maximum level of performance under a range of snow and riding conditions, while providing maximum rider comfort, control, and turning ability.
An adjustable flex ski is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,886 to Powers in which three adjustable tensile members are embedded in the below the neutral plane in the body of the ski. The tensile members can be independently adjusted to change the flex characteristics of portions of the ski to adjust the stiffness of the ski. U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,400 discloses a ski having pre-stressed, curved tensile members embedded in the ski body. The flex of the ski is adjusted by rotating the tensile members, thereby changing the orientation of the curvature of the tensile members, and their resistance to flexing vertically in relation to the ski.
A ski having adjustable camber-flattening resistance is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,786 to Alley. The '786 ski utilizes inserts disposed in internal voids in the central portion of the ski to adjust the camber-flattening resistance of the ski. U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,009 discloses a ski having an internal apparatus for adjusting the camber of the ski. The apparatus includes a sensor for sensing the degree of flex, and for controlling a motorized flex adjustment mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,531 to Heuvel discloses a terrain conforming ski in which the mechanism for mounting the binding to the ski permits fore and aft adjustment for redistributing the body weight of the skier to adapt the ski to different snow conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,960 to Sadler and U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,386 to Crainich disclose skis having longitudinal slits extending partially along the length of the ski. In each case, the slit allows an additional edge to be brought to bear against the snow surface to enhance the turning characteristics of the ski.
A need remains, therefore, for an improved damping apparatus for a ski which provides for the ready adjustment of the longitudinal and torsional flex characteristics of a ski; which further provides for ready adjustment of the camber of a ski; and which further provides for effective damping of deflections and associated vibrations of the ski which contribute to a loss of control and skier discomfort, fatigue, and injury.

Apparatus and method for damping deflections and vibrations in skis


The present invention discloses a method for minimization of drive tests, a method for collecting terminal information, a terminal, and a network element, which belongs to the field of communication technologies. The method includes: in a process of activating a minimization of drive tests MDT task, checking, by a network element, a consent type of a user corresponding to a selected terminal; sending a MDT task activation command to the selected terminal according to a check result of the consent type; after receiving measured data reported by the selected terminal, performing an operation according to a check result of the consent type. In embodiments of the present invention, check on user consent is implemented in a network detection process, thereby avoiding a case that a user equipment is forced to report personal information without permission of the user and improving the user experience.

Currently, in operators' systems, the validity of all planning and adjustments performed on network systems, for example, coverage and capacity (Coverage and Capacity, C&C) optimization, mobility optimization, common channel parameter optimization, check on quality of service (Quality of Service, Qos), and the like, needs to be tested through driver-test to ensure that the optimizations are qualified. However, higher manual expenses are required to perform network detection through the driver-test. To reduce manual expenses, the prior art proposes a minimization of drive tests (Minimization of Drive Tests, MDT) project in the 3rd generation partnership project (The 3rd Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP). The 3GPP MDT project modifies a signaling process or an operations, administration and maintenance (Operations, Administration and Maintenance, OAM) process, so that operators can collect desired wireless data according to requirements by using a terminal camping on the network. In this way, manual collection is replaced, the network planning and optimization efficiency is increased, and network verification and information feedback demands are met at a minimum cost.
The 3GPP MDT is categorized into two types: management-based MDT and signaling-based MDT. In the management-based MDT, an integration reference point agent (Integration Reference Point Agent, IRPAgent) manages all network elements involved in a MDT task, and a MDT command is executed only on target network elements delivered by the IRPAgent, and these network elements no longer forward/transmit the MDT command. In the signaling-based MDT, a core network home subscriber server (Home Subscriber Server, HSS) receives a MDT task command from the IRPAgent; after performing related processing on the received task command, the HSS forwards/transmits the MDT command to network elements involved in the signaling. The IRPAgent does not manage all the involved network elements directly. In the above two types of MDT, the IRPAgent specifies MDT configuration parameters for related network elements, and sends a request for activating a MDT task. In this process, for the management-based MDT, corresponding network elements, for example, an evolved Node B (evolved Node B, eNB) and a radio network controller (Radio Network Controller, RNC), select a user equipment (User Equipment, UE) for the MDT task according to given MDT selection conditions and UE capability, and then send a test command to the UE. For the signaling-based MDT, after receiving a MDT command from the IRPAgent, the HSS and a mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME) select a UE for the MDT task according to given conditions, for example, individual mobility station identity (Individual Mobility Station Identity, IMSI), and then sends a test command to the UE. The UE selected by using any one of the above methods reports measured values of the network to each related network element on a timing basis or on an event-triggered basis; each related network element forwards the received measured values to a trace collection device (Trace Collection device, TCE). Then, the measurement and report processes end. The TCE is specified by an integration reference point manager (Integration Reference Point Manager, IRPManager).
After analyzing the prior art, the prior art has at least following drawbacks: In the current MDT technology, the network actively selects a UE for measurement, and forcibly requests the UE to report measured data, terminal identifier, and even accurate position without permission of the user; however, the reported data involves users' privacy, and reporting data by the terminal increases burden on the terminal and therefore the terminal user may not desire to participate in the measurement. Therefore, the method for forcing the UE to execute operations may discontent the terminal user.

Method for minimization of drive tests, method for collecting terminal information, terminal, and network element


A method for forming a trench capacitor in a substrate, including a buried plate of the trench capacitor, is disclosed. The method includes forming a trench within the substrate. The trench has a trench interior surface. The method further includes forming an oxide collar within the trench. The oxide collar covers a first portion of the trench interior surface, leaving a second portion of the trench interior surface uncovered with the oxide collar. There is also included doping the second portion of the trench interior surface with a first dopant using a plasma-enhanced doping process. The plasma-enhanced doping process being configured to cause the first dopant to diffuse into the second portion substantially without depositing an additional layer on the trench interior surface. Additionally, there is included driving the first dopant into the substrate using a high temperature process to form the buried plate.

The present invention relates to the fabrication of semiconductor-based devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to the fabrication of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) integrated circuits, including the trench capacitors therein.
The use of trench capacitors as storage elements in a DRAM circuit is well known. In typical trench capacitors, buried plates which are conductive regions disposed toward the bottom of the trench capacitors, are often employed to connect adjacent trench capacitors together. In the prior art, the buried plate is often formed by a conventional deposition process of a suitable dopant-containing layer, which coats the interior surface of the trench. The deposition process is then followed by a dopant drive in step in which the dopant from the deposited dopant-containing layer is driven into the substrate, thereby creating the conductive region which acts as the buried plate.
To facilitate discussion, FIG. 1 depicts a substrate 102, representing the substrate out of which a trench capacitor may be formed. In the example of FIG. 1 and the figures herein, substrate 102 is consistently assumed to be a p-substrate for ease of discussion although an n-substrate may also be employed to form trench capacitors, as is well known to those skilled in the art. Within substrate 102, there is formed a trench 104, typically by a suitable etching process such as dry etching of which reactive ion etching (RIE) is one example.
After trench 104 is formed in substrate 102, a dopant-containing layer 106 is blanket deposited over substrate 102 and over the interior surface of trench 104. Dopant-containing layer 106 may represent, for example, an oxide layer doped with an n-type dopant (if substrate 102 is a p-substrate) such as an arsenic-doped or phosphorous-doped glass layer. The arsenic-doped layer may include, for example, a nitride/oxide cap layer to avoid outdiffusion annealing. Conversely, if substrate 102 is an n-substrate, dopant-containing layer 106 may include, for example, p-type dopants such as boron. Dopant-containing layer 106 may be deposited using any suitable deposition process including, for example, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) or plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD).
In FIGS. 2 and 3, a photoresist plug is formed within trench 104 to facilitate etching of a portion of the deposited dopant-containing layer 106. Removal of a portion of the deposited dopant-containing layer 106 is necessary since it is undesirable to have buried plate dopants diffused into the substrate region that is adjacent to the device area (such as the source and/or drain of the DRAM cell's transistor, i.e., the upper region of trench 104). Thus, a photoresist fill step is performed in FIG. 2, which fills trench 104 with a photoresist material (110). In FIG. 3, the photoresist (110) is first etched back to the level shown by reference numeral 112 using a conventional photoresist etch back process. Dopant-containing layer 106 is then etched back to the level of the etched back photoresist (i.e., to about the level indicated by reference numeral 112 in FIG. 3).
In FIG. 4, previously etched back photoresist plug 110A is removed and a cap layer 114 comprising, for example, a three-layer sandwich of oxide/nitride/oxide (ONO) (with one of the oxide layers acting as an adhesion promoting layer between the nitride and the substrate material) or a two-layer nitride/oxide (NO), is deposited into trench 104 and over previously etched back dopant-containing layer 106A. One of the functions of cap layer 114 is to keep the buried plate dopant (e.g., arsenic) from leaving the trench in the subsequently dopant drive in process in which a high temperature step is employed to drive the dopants from dopant-containing layer 106 into the substrate region at the bottom of trench 104.
In FIG. 5, a high temperature dopant drive in process is employed to cause the buried plate dopant material in dopant-containing layer 106 to diffuse into the adjacent substrate region to form the aforementioned conductive region of the buried plate. The dopant drive in process may be accomplished by, for example, exposing the substrate to high temperature for a specified duration (e.g., first for about 1050.degree. C. for about 20 seconds in an Argon or N.sub.2 atmosphere). After the dopant has penetrated a suitable distance into the substrate material to form the buried plate (shown in FIG. 5 as buried plate 116), both cap layer 114 and dopant-containing layer 106 are removed in a subsequent etch process (e.g., a wet etch). It should be noted that FIG. 5 only shows a portion of the buried plate and that a buried plate may be connected to a plurality of trench capacitors. Thereafter, additional conventional processing steps are employed to form other components of the trench capacitor (including the oxide collar in region 120) and the associated DRAM cell.
Although the prior art technique for forming the buried plate has in the past accomplished the task of forming a conductive region at the bottom of the trench, there are significant disadvantages. For example, the prior art process requires the actual deposition of a dopant-containing layer (e.g., dopant-containing layer 106 of FIG. 1). For relatively low-density devices, the trenches have a relatively wide trench opening, and this deposition requirement is typically met without much difficulty. As the density of modern integrated circuits increases, however, the trenches become smaller in cross-section and more closely packed together. Concomitantly, the trench opening is significantly smaller, although the trenches may remain deep to provide sufficient storage capacity to act as storage cells (e.g., 40 FF/DT). By way of example, modern high density DRAMs (e.g., 1 gigabit or above) may require that the trenches be as small as 0.15 micron across and up to 6 microns deep.
The narrow and/or high aspect ratio trenches create additional challenges for process engineers, particularly in the formation of robust layers and structures at the bottom of the narrow, high aspect ratio trenches. In particular, the use of narrow trenches render the deposition process that forms the dopant-containing layer (e.g., dopant-containing layer 106 of FIG. 1) unreliable. It has been discovered that when the trench cross-section decreases below a certain size, voids often form in the dopant-containing layer within the trench, particularly near the bottom of the trench where the buried plate is to be formed. An exemplary void 202 in dopant-containing layer 106 is depicted in FIG. 1.
Further, the deposition of the dopant-containing layer often pinches off the trench opening before the interior of the trench is adequately coated with a layer of dopant-containing material, thereby resulting in dopant deficiency by preventing an adequate amount of dopant-containing material to be present within the trench. The voids and/or dopant deficiency adversely affect the electrical performance of the subsequently formed buried plate since the voids may cause unevenness in the dopant concentration within the buried plate, while the dopant deficiency may result in an inadequate dopant concentration within the buried plate, thereby increasing the impedance of the buried plate. By way of example, buried plate 116 of FIG. 5 shows a defect region 130, which is caused by void 202 of FIG. 1. If sufficiently severe, these defects may render the formed DRAM cell defective.
In view of the foregoing, there are desired improved techniques for forming the DRAM trench capacitor, including the buried plate within the trench.

Method for forming trench capacitors in an integrated circuit


A system for controlling connections between a wireless router and unlicensed mobile access capable mobile phones is provided. The system acquires and stores a media access control address and an Internet protocol address of each mobile phone in an address list. The system periodically checks whether each Internet protocol address recorded in an address resolution protocol cache table of the wireless router matches a corresponding media access control address recorded in the cache table. If the Internet protocol address does not match the corresponding media access control address in the cache table, the system further looks up a media access control address corresponding to the Internet protocol address, and sends an address resolution protocol unicast request to a mobile phone having the media access control address.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to communication management, and more particularly, to a system and method for controlling connections between a wireless router and mobile phones that use unlicensed mobile access (UMA) technology.
2. Description of Related Art
In an area with limited or no coverage of a mobile phone carrier network, a mobile phone may have to roam on another carrier's network. However, with a UMA capable mobile phone and a wireless router with Internet access, people are able to make phone calls at any location.
UMA is a technology that allows end users' mobile phones to freely switch between a global system for mobile communication (GSM) network and the wireless router Internet networks for the transmission of voice and packet data. Thus, end users can make phone calls where they formerly had limited or no coverage.
However, a disadvantage of making phone calls through the wireless router Internet networks is that, much power of the mobile phone will be consumed. In order to keep a longer work time, a low-power mode may be adopted by the mobile phone. However, in the low-power mode, the mobile phone can not respond to address resolution protocol (ARP) broadcast requests sent from the wireless router, so that the communication connection between the wireless router and the mobile phone will break off.

System and method for controlling connections between a wireless router and unlicensed mobile access capable mobile phones


A charging and discharging strategy for a rechargeable battery pack is disclosed. The strategy involves monitoring and learning the battery pack's condition (a cycle life parameter) in terms of its progression through its life cycle. The life cycle parameter may be determined as a function of both time (i.e., the battery pack's age) as well as the number of discharge/recharge cycles. The strategy intentionally under-utilizes the battery during the initial stages of its life, based on the cycle life parameter, by charging it to a first level less then the maximum state of charge. This approach reduces charge voltages, reducing stress on the battery's active materials, thereby increasing its life.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to energy-based systems, and in particular to a method and system for battery charge control based on a cycle life parameter.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
It is known to provide energy storage in the form of lithium chemistry batteries, as seen by reference to U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,519 to Barker et al. One characteristic of lithium chemistry batteries is that they have less tolerance to overcharging than the other battery technologies, such as nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lead acid (PbA) and nickel cadmium (NiCd) technologies. For example, heat may be generated due to overcharging, which may seriously impair or damage the battery. Another characteristic of lithium batteries is that the available capacity (e.g., watt-hours) varies as a function of a charge voltage. That is, current is passed through the battery when recharging, and the battery output voltage increases in response thereto. The charge voltage is the voltage at which charging is stopped. However, lithium batteries degrade with respect to capacity (e.g., watt-hours) with increasing charge voltages. This is due, in part, to the stress imposed on the cells, which increases with increasing voltage. While it is possible to charge lithium batteries to lower charge voltages, to ostensibly reduce stress, the downside is that the battery will have a reduced usable capacity.
Regarding charging regimens, it is known to provide a battery charger that provides the same charge to the battery every time. It is also known to provide a battery charger that adjusts a charging function based on changes in temperature and/or voltage, but such charging function remains constant through the life of the battery. It is also known to provide a charging regimen that inhibits both overcharging as well as deep discharging, as seen by reference to U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,816 to Varga et al. entitled ROAD MARKER. Varga et al disclose a battery-powered road marker, which includes a battery management feature for a NiCd battery such battery management feature inhibits charging when the battery output voltage reaches an upper limit to prevent overcharging and possible outgassing. Varga et al. further disclose another feature wherein all discharge is inhibited in the event that the battery system reaches a predetermined, lowest safe output voltage to prevent deep discharge of the battery. The battery management features disclosed in Varga et al. do not appear to change during the life of the battery system. However, some types of battery packs, generally, and lithium batteries in particular, change significantly with respect to capacity during its life cycle.

System and method for battery charge control based on a cycle life parameter


A memory system is provided. The system includes a volatile memory having a number of banks and configured to engage in one of a number of operating modes including an auto-refresh mode and a self-refresh mode, and a memory controller configured to direct the volatile memory to engage in one of the operating modes. Upon the memory controller directing the volatile memory to engage in the self-refresh mode, the memory controller is further configured to provide an entry bank address to the volatile memory, the entry bank address corresponding to the first bank that is to be refreshed during the self-refresh mode. Upon the volatile memory exiting the self-refresh mode, the volatile memory is further configured to make an exit bank address available to the memory controller, the exit bank address corresponding to the last bank that was refreshed prior to the volatile memory exiting the self-refresh mode.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to memory devices, and more specifically, to methods and systems for providing seamless self-refresh for directed bank refresh in volatile memories.
2. Background
Volatile memory is a storage medium that is generally structured as a number of arrays (or banks). Each bank is further arranged as a matrix of "memory cells" in rows and columns, with each column being further divided by the input/output (I/O) width of the memory. Locations within the memory are uniquely specified by bank, row and column. A memory controller may be used to retrieve data from the memory by indicating the data's bank, row and column location. For example, for a quad-bank 128 Mb memory with a 16-bit external data bus, a possible logical address mapping includes a 9-bit column address, a 2-bit bank address and a 12-bit row address.
Prior to reading or writing a memory location, the corresponding row must first be opened. The process of opening a row requires a minimum number of clock cycles, tRCD, which represents the row-to-column delay. Once a row is open, column addresses within that row can be read or written as desired. For some dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), such as synchronous DRAMs (SDRAMs), only one row per bank can be kept open at any one time; a subsequent memory access to be performed within the same bank but at a different row requires closing the current row and opening the new one.
In the case of dynamic volatile memories, each cell must be refreshed, or re-energized, periodically at an average interval, tREFI, in order to maintain data integrity. The cells have to be refreshed because they are designed around capacitors that store electrical charges, which may discharge over time. Refresh is the process of recharging, or re-energizing, the cells in memory. Cells are generally refreshed one row at a time. A number of methods currently exist that are designed to refresh volatile memories. Some, if not all, of these methods incur high cost in performance and/or power. For example, there are two common methods or techniques that are generally used to control the refresh of volatile memories in modem digital systems. One method relies on the memory to keep track of the row and bank that need to be refreshed using built-in refresh mechanisms that are available on the memory; the other method relies on the memory controller to keep track of the row and bank that need to be refreshed.
The first commonly used method is utilized by the auto-refresh and self-refresh functions of the volatile memories. These functions use the built-in refresh address of the memory. During active use of the memory, if a refresh cycle is required, the memory controller precharges all the banks, and then uses the auto-refresh command to tell the memory to issue an internal refresh cycle. Upon receiving the auto-refresh command, the memory increments the internal refresh address counter and executes the internal refresh cycle. In auto-refresh mode, the memory uses the refresh address in its internal refresh address counter to determine which rows/banks to perform the refresh cycle and cycle through the relevant rows. In one implementation, the internal refresh address counter includes a row address register and a bank address register. The internal refresh address counter is controlled by a refresh clock. The bank address register is incremented to cycle through each of the memory banks with the carry-out of the bank address register causing the row address register to increment. Other implementations do not have a bank address register as all banks are simultaneously refreshed.
A disadvantage of present non-simultaneous bank auto-refresh implementations is that because the memory controller does not know which internal bank will be refreshed, the memory controller is required to close all open rows prior to issuing an auto-refresh command. As a result, the memory data bus availability during an auto-refresh sequence is zero. At best, this sequence requires tRP+tRFC+tRCD cycles, where tRP represents a row-precharge delay, tRFC represents refresh cycle time and tRCD represents the row-to-column delay. For a 133 MHz memory, this could be 16 clock cycles (120 ns). These cycles are sometimes referred to as dead cycles since the memory data bus is not available during this period.
During periods of non-use, the memory controller may place the memory in the self-refresh mode. In the self-refresh mode, the memory uses its own internal clock and refresh address counter to generate refreshes to refresh the row(s) of the memory. This method is good for saving power during idle states since the self-refresh mode can be used. The self-refresh state uses a small amount of power and maintains the contents of the memory by refreshing the memory. Due to the small amount of power needed, this method is typically used for low power applications.
A second method is sometimes used to avoid the dead cycles on the memory data bus mentioned above. According to this second method, control of the refresh is effected via the memory controller. This method does not use any of the built-in refresh mechanisms that are available on the memory. Under this method, at regularly given intervals (tREFI), the memory controller explicitly generates refreshes by opening and closing rows in a sequential manner using bank/row address combinations. The refresh clock, which determines the refresh rate, and the bank/row address combinations are internal to the memory controller. This method is best for high speed/high performance applications. This method allows the memory controller to refresh a particular memory bank while permitting other memory banks to remain open for access, resulting in higher performance; reads and writes to other banks can generally continue in parallel and uninterrupted. The downside to this method is that during system power down or long idle states, when the memory controller is not refreshing the memory, the memory cannot be kept in a self-refresh state. As mentioned above, the self-refresh state is a built-in function of most volatile memories. Since the self-refresh function of the memory increments a refresh address (i.e., the row/bank address) stored in a refresh address counter in the memory, independent of the memory controller, the refresh address maintained by the memory is not consistent or synchronized with the memory controller.
Refresh operations can reduce performance of memory subsystems because each refresh cycle forces the memory into an idle state, during which data access is not available. For example, if a refresh cycle is required for a particular memory bank while such bank is in an active state, the bank has to be shut down to allow the refresh operation to take place. Shutting down the bank means that whatever data operations that were to be performed have to be delayed, hence, affecting system performance.
Some existing schemes are available to reduce the performance impact of refresh operations. Such schemes typically involve using a higher than required refresh rate, so that more memory banks can be refreshed within a predetermined refresh period. By having more memory banks refreshed, the chances of having to shut down an active memory bank for refresh are reduced. Using a higher refresh rate, however, has its drawbacks. For example, an increase in refresh rate means more power is needed which, in turn, results in lower performance. Also, merely using a higher refresh rate does not always obviate the need to shut down an active memory bank when refresh is required; in some situations, an active memory bank has to be shut down regardless, thus, negating any benefits from using a higher refresh rate.
Hence, it would be desirable to provide more efficient methods and systems for providing seamless self-refresh for directed bank refresh in volatile memories.

Method and system for providing seamless self-refresh for directed bank refresh in volatile memories


A user interface, methods and article of manufacture each for selecting an audio cue presented in three-dimensional (3D) space are disclosed. The audio cues are audibly perceivable in a space about a user, where each of the audio cues may be perceived by the user as a directional sound at a distinct location from other audio cues in the space. Selection of a specific audio cue is made based on one or more user gestures. A portable electronic device may be configured to present the audio cues perceived by a user and detect certain user gestures to select audio cues. The audio cue selection can be used to control operation of the portable device and/or other associated devices.

Field
The present disclosure generally relates to human-machine interfaces, and more specifically, to gesture-based interfaces.
Background
Smart devices, such as smart cellular phone, often provide sophisticated user interfaces. Many of these interface designs are focused on touch screens and visual feedback. Smart devices with multi-touch screens like the iPhone and iPad are widely used and popular today. The touch screen provides a very versatile interface where software buttons, sliders and many other inputs can be manipulated by the user to control the device. However, in some situations, such a detailed visual interface may not be ideal. For example, when driving a car, safety is very important that the user's eyes should remain on the road, not on the device. Another example is jogging while listening to music on a portable device. In this situation, a user may not want to be required to look at a display screen in order to make song selections or adjust volume.


A key assembly includes a capstan and a key. The key includes an upper surface, a hole part having a first inner side surface supporting the capstan, and an opening part arranged between the upper surface and the hole part, the opening part having a second inner side surface surrounding the capstan.

Keyboard instruments are composed of many components, and an action mechanism arranged for each key is very complicated. In the keyboard instrument, the key pressing operation consists of the steps of rotating the key, moving the hammer through the action mechanism, and sounding by striking the string with the hammer. At this time, the key is rotated by the key pressing operation, and the action mechanism is driven by the capstan attached to the rear part of the key. The capstan is screw-type and the height of the capstan screw can be adjusted by turning the capstan screw. By adjusting the height of the capstan screw, the height of the hammer (the striking distance of the string) through the action mechanism can be adjusted.
The operation of the key, the action mechanism, and the hammer provides a sense of touch (hereinafter referred to as a touch feeling) to the player's fingers through the key. Therefore, the touch feeling of the key can be changed by adjusting the striking distance of the string by the capstan screw. Further, by adjusting the striking distance of the string of each keys of the keyboard instrument, the touch feeling of each key can be adjusted. The key, the action mechanism, and the hammer are mainly composed of woods, and the adjustments may be deviated due to environmental changes, aging changes, and the like. Even in such cases, the same touch feeling can be maintained at any time by adjusting the striking distance of the string by the capstan screw.
Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2008-90167 discloses that a key of a keyboard instrument in which the mounting position of the capstan on the key body can be adjusted to any position of front-rear direction, thereby, the touch weight of the key can be adjusted in a wider range.


An object of the present invention is to provide a coating composition capable of forming a coating film which can maintain its appearance and gloss over a long period and which has high film hardness and high flexibility and exhibits excellent adhesion with respect to an epoxy resin anticorrosive coating film. An acrylic polysiloxane resin coating composition of the invention includes (A) a silicone resin, (B) a compound having one or more functional groups capable of undergoing Michael addition reaction with an unsaturated double bond in an acryloyloxy group, and having one or more alkoxy groups bonded to silicon, (C) a trifunctional or polyfunctional aliphatic urethane acrylate oligomer having a cyclic structure, and (D) a bifunctional acrylate monomer having no ether structures (except an ether structure in an acryloyloxy group) and no aromatic rings, the mass ratio of the total amount of (A) and (B) to the total amount of any acrylate oligomer(s) and any acrylate monomer(s) being 40:60 to 70:30.

Conventionally, (large-scale) iron or steel structures such as ships, bridges, tanks, plants, marine buoys and pipelines are coated with various types of paints which impart functions such as corrosion resistance. For example, an epoxy resin anticorrosive coating composition is applied to protect from corrosion, and the anticorrosive coating film is overcoated with a topcoat coating composition for the purpose of enhancing design and weather resistance.
Some exemplary topcoat coating compositions are two-part reactive curable topcoat coating compositions (e.g., acrylic urethane resin coating compositions and fluorourethane resin coating compositions). A two-part reactive curable composition forms a coating film by the curing reaction between the hydroxyl groups in a resin contained in the base resin component, and the isocyanate groups in an isocyanate compound contained in the curing agent component. That is, the two-part reactive curable compositions contain free isocyanate groups which are harmful to the human body, and also need to contain a solvent component for controlling the coating viscosity. Due to these facts, the coating compositions exert significant impacts on the human body and the environment at the time of the coating process.
Human and environmentally friendly topcoat coating compositions which contain no free isocyanate groups are known. Specific examples of such topcoat coating compositions include polysiloxane resin coating compositions. Regarding the polysiloxane resin coating compositions, Patent Literature 1 discloses an acrylic polysiloxane resin coating composition containing an acrylate, a polysiloxane and an aminosilane.

Acrylic polysiloxane resin coating compositions and uses thereof


In a method for oxidatively dyeing hair, a pretreatment which comprises contacting hair with an aqueous solution of an effective amount of particular metal/chelate complexes followed by treatment with oxidative dye mixtures is disclosed. The process serves to conform the oxidative dyeing rate of virgin hair to that of the normally noncongruent rate of nonvirgin hair, so as to enhance the efficiency of the oxidative dyeing process, without reducing the intensity or variety of color available.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to oxidative hair dyeing processes, and particularly to a novel and unexpected method for conforming the oxidative dyeing rate of virgin hair to that of non-virgin hair, resulting in substantial improvements to the efficiency of the process.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Oxidative hair dyeing processes are generally distinguished from other hair dyeing processes, by virtue of an essentially in-fiber synthesis of color species generated from a three component reactive composition. The three reactive components contained in an oxidative hair dyeing composition are as follows:
(1) The primary dye intermediates, PA1 (2) The color couplers or modifiers, these components 1 and 2 being commonly referred to as dye precursors,, and PA1 (3) The oxidizers. PA1 p-phenylenediamine PA1 p-aminophenol PA1 o-aminophenol PA1 N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)p-phenylenediamine PA1 2,5-diaminopyridine PA1 p-toluenediamine PA1 resorcinol PA1 m-aminophenol-naphthol PA1 5-amino-o-cresol PA1 2-methylresorcinol PA1 5-amino-2-(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)phenol PA1 4,6-di(hydroxyethoxy)-1,3-phenylenediamine
Hair dyed using this process retains its color until the color is chemically removed by bleaching or other processes. The process is thus deemed to be a permanent dyeing process.
Generally, the process is conducted at alkaline pH 9 to 10, requires 20 to 40 minutes, and usually employs hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizer.
Oxidative damage to hair, after a single dye application, from such compositions, may be small. However, when these dye applications are repeated, or when combined with other cosmetic treatments such as permanent waving, relaxing, or extensive bleaching, the hair damage is considerably more severe. Such damage is normally experienced by the consumer in the form of coarse feel to the hair and tendency of the hair to break-off.
Consumers generally have their hair dyed periodically, typically once a month, sometimes as often as twice a month. Between each hair dyeing session, new hair grows out from the scalp. Thus, it is seen that typically the hair to be dyed comprises virgin hair (proximate the scalp) and previously dyed hair (proximate the virgin hair). Moreover, the previously dyed hair may comprise hair that has undergone any number of discrete permanent dyeing treatments, depending on its length and frequency of dyeing treatments. Although hair dyeing treatments are those most often involved, the nonvirgin hair may have been also subjected to any of the other chemical treatments, such as permanent waving, enumerated above.
It is well known that when hair is treated with peroxide or other oxidizers, an essential amino-acid called cystins, which is found in hair, undergoes oxidation to cysteic acid. This chemical reaction leads to a weakening of the hair structure, making the hair dryer and prone to breakage. Accordingly, there is reason for consumers to believe that exposure to hydrogen peroxide during the oxidative dyeing of hair is a primary causative factor responsible for the damage to hair.
The hair coloring industry has attempted to satisfy this consumer concern by reformulating oxidative hair dyes with metal ion catalyst that hastens the peroxide oxidation reaction of the dye precursors and thus reduce the amount of time hair is exposed to the damaging effects of hydrogen peroxide or other oxidizers.
However, these catalytic oxidative dyeing processes have met with little or no commercial success for several reasons. First, it is well known that molecular diffusion of dye materials into nonvirgin hair or cosmetically treated hair, occurs faster than diffusion into virgin hair. Accordingly, the presence of catalyst, which hasten the oxidative dyeing process, itself serves to further disproportionate the uneven rate of dyeing of the new hair growth as compared to that of previously treated hair. Secondly, the nonvirgin or previously treated hair has a greater affinity for the metal catalyst ion than does virgin or now hair. Thus, there is a greater amount of the metal ion catalyst deposited on the nonvirgin hair, where the molecular diffusion of the dye materials also takes place more rapidly. This serves only to aggravate the uneven or disproportionate dyeing of the two types of hair.
These disproportionate dyeing rates have in the past necessitated the use of metal ion catalyst concentrations that are high enough to provide a sufficiently deep shade of color in the virgin hair so that the faster accumulation of color in the nonvirgin hair is less perceivable. Thus, an excessive accumulation of metal ions necessarily takes place. Such high metal ion concentrations on the hair, when in contact with alkaline peroxide, can cause exothermic reactions to take place which lead to severe discomfort and damage. Higher metal ion concentrations also inherently create a coarse hair feel. Therefore, despite the shorter treatment time made possible from the metal ion catalyst, no noticeable decrease in hair damage is apparent to the consumer.
Patents issued which are exemplary of these prior art drawbacks are set forth below. German Patent DE 2,028,818 to the Gillette Company discloses an oxidative dyeing process for hair wherein the hair is pretreated with a solution of metal salt at concentrations of from about 0.01 to 0.15 Molar for 5 minutes. The hair is then rinsed with water and exposed to a solution containing dye precursors and hydrogen peroxide at alkaline pH of about 9.5 for 5 minutes. This dyeing time is significantly shorter than the time for conventional oxidative dyeing processes. However, the required concentration of metal ions to sufficiently catalyze acceptable levels of dyeing in virgin hair was so high that tensile strength measurements of the hair have indicated no noticeable decrease in hair damage as compared to the conventional processes, notwithstanding the acceleration of the oxidative reaction. The attendant risk of perceivable uneven dyeing, absent severe metal build-up and damage, leaves this process of little commercial value.
International patent W088/01162 to Goldwell discloses a procedure for low pH dyeing wherein metal salt catalysts are added directly to a cream or gel-like oxidative dye mixture, rather than applying the catalyst separately to hair as a pretreatment. Because low metal concentrations were employed, the Goldwell process is suitable solely for treating nonvirgin (or previously cosmetically treated) hair to temporarily tint or tone the hair. The Goldwell process cannot completely dye virgin, i.e., chemically unaltered, hair to obtain a permanent and intense color.
A method for oxidatively dyeing hair in a rapid but permanent fashion, which changes the chemistry of this reaction on hair, and particularly which could conform the rate of oxidatively dyeing virgin hair to approximate that of the faster nonvirgin hair rate, while substantially reducing metal accumulation, would represent an unexpected advancement in the art and would satisfy a long felt need in the industry.

Oxidative hair dyeing process with catalytic pretreatment


A recording and reproducing tape cassette. The tape cassette has a housing, a pair of reels, and an adjusting device for stopping the feeding of the tape at an arbitrary position along the longitudinal direction of the tape. This adjusting device detects the arrival of the tape at the stopping position when the tape is reproduced by a tape recorder/reproducer to stop feeding of the tape by mechanically operating the tape or an automatic device of the tape recorder/reproducer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cassette tape which contains a magnetic tape in a case for recording and reproducing and, more particularly, to a cassette tape capable of regulating a range of an object to be recorded and reproduced within a range of the length of its tape.
2. Description of Related Art
In conventional cassette tapes which include all ordinary type and endless type, the lengths of the respective tapes have been determined fixedly in response to recording and reproducing time, but the cassette tape itself could not be set or regulated in a range of the available length at all. In most of the conventional ordinary tape recorder/reproducer systems frequently used, the fact that the tape reached its end during recording or reproducing was detected according to the tension of the tape thereby to stop feeding of the tape or to automatically reversely feed the tape. In the systems of such a type, it was impossible to automatically stop feeding of the tape at its arbitrary position by designating in advance the arbitrary position of the tape or to automatically reversely feed the tape.
Therefore, if required recording time of the tape is different, another cassette tape having a different length must be employed, and, hence it was necessary to previously prepare various cassette tapes having a variety of lengths and to select any of the cassette tapes having the length of the tape which matches the required recording time for each time. However, the conventional cassette tapes sold in the general market are sorted according to the lengths of recording time, but the number of the types of the cassette tapes having different lengths is not so sufficient, and cannot respond to certain utility. As an example, in the case where training or learning of a foreign language is repeated by using cassette tapes, the lengths of phrases and sentences to be repeated include a number of kinds. Even if cassette tapes preferably responding to the training or learning of the language are desired to be selected, it is extremely rare to select the cassette tapes just in response to the required recording time. In the case of a cassette tape having a short length, an object to be recorded can fail to be sufficiently recorded on the tape, or in the case of a cassette tape having an excessively long length, an unrecorded portion of the tape remains, and a difficulty in the operation might frequently occur.
Even in the above cases, however, it is very difficult in techniques to prepare a variety of cassette tapes having a number of different lengths in response to objects to be presumed to be recorded, to measure required recording time at each time and to then select a suitable one from the various cassette tapes and to sequentially frequently exchange the tapes.

Cassette tape with subjectively determined stop position


An apparatus for securing a flexible tube-shaped game call about the upper arm of the user in a fashion which allows the user to operate the game call without using his or her hands and without taking his or her eyes off of the target. The game call is comprised of a resilient band which encircles the user's arm. Securing loops are fixed to the outer surface of the resilient band and receive and secure the game call. When the user raises his or her arm to sight a gun or pull back a bowstring, the game call is positioned in front of the user's mouth thereby allowing the user to operate the call with little effort. This invention eliminates dangerous securing devices which are generally used to hang the game call about the user's neck, from the user's body or from the user's weapon.

1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to a device for securing a game call securely in close proximity to the user's mouth both for convenience and safety. The game call holder is a band of resilient material, such as elastic, which is provided with at least two securing loops. The band is slid onto the upper arm of the user and a tubular game call is secured in the securing loops in a manner which places the mouthpiece of the call directly in front of the user's mouth when the user raises the arm, such as when sighting a gun or pulling back the string on a hunting bow.
2. Prior Art
The invention relates to the art of securing an air-operated game call in a safe and convenient position on a hunter's body. Game calls have long been used by hunters to attract particular animals into shooting range. Calls are also used by photographers, bird watchers and other sporting enthusiast. Of the several available game calls, air-powered calls of tube-like configuration are probably the easiest to use but do require the use of at least one hand to operate. This generally means that a hunter using a tube-like call will have not have both hands available to aim a gun or pull back a bow.
Safety is always a primary consideration when hunting. Generally, game calls are suspended by a lanyard about the hunter's neck. When the hunter desires to activate the call, the call is picked up and placed in the mouth. A safety problem occurs in this situation as the lanyard suspending the call is prone to snagging the hunter's gun or bow. Of particular concern is the entanglement of the lanyard with the string of a hunting bow immediately prior to release. Several documented hunting injuries have occurred when a game call lanyard has tangled with a hunter's rifle or bow.
A game call holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,981 which apparently allows a game call to be positioned on the user's shoulder thereby freeing up his or her hands. However, the referenced patent requires the user to turn his head to use the call. It is desirable to have a game call positioned so that the hunter can simultaneously sight her weapon and activate the game call. Further, the referenced patent has multiple components and will require the user to manipulate the holder into a comfortable and usable position. It is desirable to have a game call holder of simple design which is easy to use and which is durable and inexpensive.
Accordingly, it is the object of this invention to provide a game call holder which allows the game call to be positioned in close proximity to the user's mouth for simultaneous activation of the call and sighting of a weapon. The invention will allow hands-free operation of the call and will allow the user to focus on the animal and on aiming the weapon.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved game call holder which allows safe and easy access to the game call while hunting by eliminating a lanyard, or other attachment means, and by positioning the call away from the weapon.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a game call which is easy to use as it requires the user to place a resilient band over his or her upper arm and then fasten the game call in the securing loops provided. The invention eliminates any buckles, hook and loop fasteners, clips, snaps or buttons found in the prior art. Further, the invention will be durable and relatively inexpensive.


The first array register stores neighboring pixels of the same color as the pixel of interest, which are sorted according to the size of the pixel value. The maximum signal comparison circuit compares the value obtained by adding the threshold ThB to the pixel value maxC, which is the (b1)th largest pixel value of the pixels in the first array register and the pixel value P22 of the pixel of interest. When the comparison shows that the pixel value of the pixel of interest P22 is larger, the pixel of interest P22 is determined to be noise, and the pixel value of the pixel of interest is replaced by maxC. The limit signal comparison circuit compares the pixel value P22 of the pixel of interest and the signal upper limit LB. When the comparison shows that P22 is larger than LB and is equal to or larger than maxC, only the pixel of interest is determined to be totally overexposed, and the pixel value of the pixel of interest is replaced by maxC.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for reducing noise in image signals acquired by an image pickup device or the like.
2. Description of the Background Art
With the increasing number of pixels in image pickup devices used in digital cameras, digital movie cameras, and the like, the light receiving area per pixel is becoming smaller and smaller. The reduction in the light receiving area per pixel in an image pickup device causes a decrease in the light receiving sensitivity, and hence, in the signal-to-noise ratio of the captured pixel signal.
An image pickup device having a color filter array known as a single Bayer array outputs an image signal having only one color component per pixel. Therefore, a digital camera having such an image pickup device requires pixel interpolation in which each pixel is converted into a pixel having all color components of the color space.
Under such circumstances in which the light receiving sensitivity of the image pickup device is decreasing, it is essential to perform noise reduction so as to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of pixel signals. In order to eliminate the adverse effect of noise in image signals, it is effective to apply noise reduction to data not yet subjected to pixel interpolation, that is, RAW data.
As described above, it is effective to apply noise reduction to RAW data; however, when the noise reduction is too strong the RAW data loses its original information, thereby possibly causing a decrease in the resolution feeling or other adverse effects.
Such adverse effects are remarkable especially when noise reduction is performed with a well-known filter such as a median filter.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Gazette No. 2006-238060, noise reduction is performed by determining RGB signal levels independently of each other. For example, in the case of R signals, the level difference between a pixel of interest and a neighboring pixel is calculated, and when the level difference exceeds a threshold, the pixel value of the pixel of interest is replaced by the pixel value of the neighboring pixel.
Even the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Gazette No. 2006-238060 may erroneously replace the pixel value of a high luminance pixel by the pixel value of a neighboring pixel.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Gazette No. 2001-144996, it is determined whether a pixel of interest is a contour component based on the color difference between the pixel of interest and a reference pixel. When the pixel of interest is determined to be a contour component, a median filter is used; otherwise, a smoothing filter is used.

Noise reduction device and digital camera


An electrical equipment includes a first load configured for a nominal use of the equipment, at least one first metal screen, a sensor configured to measure a quantity characteristic of the first load, and a power supply conductor, wherein the first load and the at least first metal screen are linked electrically to the power supply conductor, and in that the equipment also comprises a comparator configured to compare measurements from the sensor to detect a dormant failure of the at least first metal screen.

A transformer makes it possible to convert an alternative electrical energy source into magnetic energy and vice versa, the converted energy being of the same frequency as the energy from the initial source. It is composed of primary and secondary windings which have no electrical link between them, only a magnetic coupling. It is powered by one or more alternating voltages, called phases, each via a primary winding which constitutes an input of the transformer. One or more secondary windings make up the outputs of the transformer. A set of primary and secondary windings depending on one and the same input voltage is called coil. There are therefore as many coils as there are phases at the input of the transformer. The transformer makes it possible to exchange energy between the primary windings and the secondary windings without them having to exchange electrons by virtue of the magnetic coupling. The passage through a magnetic medium makes it possible to create a galvanic insulation between the electrical energy passing through the primary winding and the electrical energy passing through the secondary winding, and to raise or lower the amplitudes of the voltages or currents entering into the primary winding and leaving from the second winding through the transformation ratio of the transformer. It can also supply the same voltage or current level between the input and the output of the transformer and simply serve as galvanic insulation.
However, if this galvanic insulation disappears, referred to as a break of insulation, the electrons can circulate from the primary winding to the secondary winding and the transformation ratio of the transformer is no longer guaranteed. Thus, the voltage from the secondary winding can, in the case of a voltage step-down or current step-up transformer, rise above the voltage for which the equipment connected to it is designed and lead to the destruction thereof.
Furthermore, the break of insulation can be sudden and undetectable, and in the current transformers, used for example in aeronautics, it can instantaneously generate a "dreaded failure mode", such as the increase of the voltage in the secondary windings. In order to limit the occurrence of fault of loss of insulation, it is possible to place metal screens, surrounded by thermal insulations, between the primary and secondary windings, the screens being linked to the electrical ground by dedicated wiring. The detection of the break of insulation is then done using, for example, the measurement of a ground leakage current. However, the low point of this solution lies in the grounding of the screens. If the screen/ground link is lost, then the detection is impossible, since this link is not used in the context of a nominal use. In the absence of a dedicated control, the link break between the screen and the ground forms an example of dormant failure.
In order to avoid the loss of link between the ground and the screen, or more generally between a load not used in nominal use and a power supply conductor, it is possible to reinforce the electrical link to avoid the degradation thereof in operation and take particular precautions in production not to inject defects that can lead to a subsequent break. Nevertheless, the loss of link remains undetectable and therefore still constitutes a dormant failure.

Method for detecting and transmitting dormant failure information


The invention discloses a clamping activation method, applicable to an electric clamping device with wireless charging, the electric clamping device comprising a body and a wireless charging module, a control unit, and an electric clamping assembly, all disposed inside the body. The clamping activation method comprises: the control unit receiving a signal generated by the wireless charging module; the control unit activating the electric clamping assembly to clamp the electronic device according to the signal; and the control unit activating the wireless charging module to charge the electronic device. As such, the electric clamping device can automatically clamp the electronic device without installing additional sensing elements or switches.

An electric clamping device is an electronic product that can automatically hold a mobile phone. The operation principle of the electric clamping device is that a left clamping arm and a right clamping arm capable of relative movement are mounted on a body. A set of linkage mechanism and an electric motor are disposed inside the body. The linkage mechanism may be a gear set, or a structure such as a worm and a worm gear, and is responsible for driving the left clamping arm to move synchronously with the right clamping arm. The electric motor is responsible for driving the linkage mechanism. When a mobile phone is placed on the body, the electric motor drives the linkage mechanism to bring the left and right clamping arms closer to or away from each other for the purpose of clamping or releasing the mobile phone.
Therefore, the electric clamping device has two operating states, and two sets of sensing units are required to activate the electric motor: 1. the user places the mobile phone on the body, and the electric motor starts to make the left clamping arm and the right clamping arm clamp the mobile phone; 2. the user wants to remove the mobile phone from the body, and the electric motor activates to reverse to open the left and right clamping arms. The sensing unit can be an infrared sensing element, a voltage or current sensing element, a touch switch, or the like. Since the use of two sensing units makes the structure more complicated and costly, the inventors have skillfully applied the structure of the electric clamping device to achieve the purpose of clamping by different operation methods.

Clamping activation method for electric clamping device with wireless charging


The present invention discloses a MOS transistor which is capable of reducing an area of a diffusion layer of a source and drain, and is capable of reducing the number of manufacturing processes while enhancing flatness of a surface of the device. A selective silicon epitaxial layer is formed in an element region which is defined by an element isolation insulating layer formed in a silicon substrate. In the element isolation insulation layer, a polysilicon layer and a selective polysilicon layer connected to the selective silicon epitaxial layer are formed as a source and drain electrode. An LDD region and a source and drain region are formed in the selective silicon epitaxial layer, and a leading electrode for the source and drain region is formed in the source and drain electrode. The source and drain electrode can be formed by one photolithography process, and a margin between the gate electrode and the element isolation insulating layer can be reduced, whereby an area of a diffusion layer of the source and drain is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, more particularly to a structure of a MOS type transistor and a manufacturing method of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Attempt to increase an operation speed of transistors has been made as micronization of the transistors processes. Recently, MOS transistors have been developed, which have a gate length less than 0.25 microns. Dimensional limitations to pattern the photoresist has been relieved, thereby advancing micronization of the gate length. However, a contact size, a margin between a contact and a gate, and a margin between the contact and an element isolation insulating layer are not so micronized as a reducing ratio of the gate dimension, whereby reduction in areas of source and drain diffusion layers is difficult. As a result, charging/discharging of capacitances in the source and drain diffusion layers much contributes to an operation speed of the transistors, resulting in producing an obstacle to a high speed operation.
For a method to solve such problems, there has been a method to make reduce source and drain diffusion layer capacitances very small by using an SOI substrate such as a silicon SIMOX. However, there is a problem in the SOI substrate such as the silicon SIMOX that the SOI substrate is inferior to an usual bulk substrate because the SOI substrate is high in cost and has a high density of defects. No SOI substrate has mass-produced yet.
For a method to reduce the source and drain diffusion layer capacitances using the usual bulk substrate, a prior art is disclosed in "A High Performance Super Self-Aligned 3V/5V BiCMOS Technology with Extremely Low Parasitic for Low-Power Mixed-Signal Applications" J. M. Sung et al., IEEE Transaction Electron Devices, Vol. 42, No. 3, 1993, as described below.
First, as shown in FIG. 10(a), a well region 102 is formed on a silicon substrate 101 and an element isolation insulating layer 103 is formed on the silicon substrate 101. Thereafter, a gate oxide film 104 and a gate electrode 105 made of a polysilicon layer is formed sequentially. It should be noted that a nitride film 106 and a polysilicon 105' are stacked on the gate electrode 105. Thereafter, a lightly doped drain ( LDD ) region 107 is formed by injecting impurities into the silicon substrate 105 at a low concentration. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 10(b), a side wall 108 is formed on a side surface of the gate electrode 105, 106, and 105'. A second polysilicon layer 109 is formed on the entire surface of the resultant structure. The second polysilicon layer 109 is formed so as to contact of a silicon surface of a source and drain formation region.
Next, as shown in FIG. 10(c), the second polysilicon film 109 is subjected to photoresist and etching processes, whereby the film 109 is patterned. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 10(d), a first photoresist 110 is coated on the entire surface of the resultant structure, whereby the resultant structure is flattened. Furthermore, after a second photoresist 111 is coated on the entire surface of the resultant structure, a portion of the second photoresist 111 located above the gate electrode 105 is removed to form a opening.
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 10(e), an anisotropic etching is performed so that a thinner portion of the first photoresist 110 is removed. Hence, the second polysilicon 109 is etched. At this time, a portion of the second polysilicon 109 located outside the side wall 108 is sufficiently removed to be over-etched. As a result, the polysilicon 105' on the gate electrode 105 made of the polysilicon is also etched using the nitride film 106 as an etching stopper. Hence, the second polysilicon 109 connecting the source and the drain is divided to two parts interposing the gate electrode 105, each being separated from one another. Thereafter, the nitride film 106 is removed, and an ion injection is performed to form source and drain regions. Then, a thermal treatment for an activation is performed whereby the source and drain regions 112 are formed. Thus, contacts for the source and drain regions 112 are realized through each portion of the second polysilicons 109, respectively, whereby each area of diffusion layers of the source and the drain regions 112 can be made smaller and each diffusion capacitance of them can be reduced greatly.
There has been the problem in the conventional technology that manufacturing processes are very complicated, although the conventional technology can extremely reduce the areas of the diffusion layers of the source and the drain regions. Particularly, two photolithography processes are needed to form the polysilicon electrodes 109 for contacting the source and the drain regions 112 to the outside, and a flattening process using a photoresist is needed. Moreover, as to a structure of this transistor, the side wall 108 displaying a projection shape is left. When a resistor element and alminium wiring, and the like are formed on this transistor, there is a problem that cutting-off of a circuit is caused due to a deterioration of step coverage contributed owing to the projection of the side wall 108.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method of the same