A keyboard apparatus in which the radius of turning motion of a mainly operated portion of each black key in a key depressing/releasing direction is maximized so as to enhance the operability of the black key for performance. The keyboard apparatus has a key frame formed with fixing parts. In the key frame, there are arranged a plurality of key units each having a plurality of white keys and a plurality of black keys integrally connected to a common base end part held by the fixing parts of the key frame. Each of the white keys and the black keys comprises a base end part, a key main body, and a hinge part connecting the key main body to the base end part such that the key main body is swingable about the base end part in the key depressing/releasing direction, and the hinge part of each of the black keys is located rearward of the hinge part of each of the white keys.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a keyboard apparatus having a plurality of white keys and black keys, each of which has a key main body connected to a base end part via a hinge part such that the key main body is swingable in a key depressing/releasing direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there are known keyboard apparatuses having a plurality of white keys and black keys each comprised of a base end part, a key main body, and a hinge part connecting the key main body to the base end part such that the key main body is swingable in a key depressing/releasing direction. For example, in a keyboard apparatus proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-240228, a key unit formed by integrally connecting a plurality of white keys and black keys to a common base end part is rigidly secured to a key frame at the common base end part of the white and black keys. More specifically, the key unit is comprised of two white key units and a single black key unit, and the base end part of the black key unit is laid on the base end parts of the two white key units.
In the keyboard apparatus proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-240228, however, the hinge part of each white key and that of each black key are arranged at the same longitudinal (front-rear) direction, whereas the distance between a "mainly operated portion" of a key main body, which is very frequently subjected to key depressing operation, and a base end part of the key is different between the white key and the black key. More specifically, since the free end of the black key is farther from a player than that of the white key (in other words, the free end of the black key is located rearward of that of the white key), the distance between the "mainly operated portion" of the key main body and the base end part (i.e. the radius of turning motion in the key depressing/releasing direction) is shorter in the black key than in the white key. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient key depression stroke of the black key, which increases the key touch weight of the black key. For this reason, the black key is inferior to the white key in operability for performance.


A fluid transfer apparatus for bulk material is disclosed. The transfer apparatus includes a rotor mounted on a rotatable shaft and including axially extending flow channels extending through the rotor parallel to the shaft, flow connectors for connecting a low-pressure flow of fluid and a high-pressure flow of fluid into and out of the axially extending flow channels, a casing enclosing the rotor, a pair of axially sealing plates disposed between the ends of the rotor and the casing, a pressurizing fluid fed into the chamber defined by the casing to pressurize the rotor, the flow connectors, and the axially movable sealing plates.

In the following discussion, the feeding systems currently being used to feed low-pressure slurry into a digester operating at high pressure will be briefly described with reference to a number of patents disclosing the known devices and processes in more detail. Also, the problems related to the present feeders, to their construction or to the use of these feeders, will be discussed.
The continuous pulping process was developed in the 1940s and 1950s. Since then, no dramatic improvements have been made to the equipment for transferring the comminuted cellulosic material to the digester. The High-Pressure Feeder (HPF) has been used for decades for feeding a slurry of wood chips into the treatment vessel, and it still seems to be an object of further developments. The HPF is a rotary valve-type device, which transfers the slurry of material and liquid at one pressure to a second, higher pressure. The transfer is performed with the aid of circulation pumps. One advantage of the HPF is its capability of acting as a pressure isolation valve, by preventing the high-pressure material from escaping to the low-pressure side, or to the surrounding environment.
Although the main concept of the HPF has remained unchanged during these years the development of the feeder has been continuous. There are numerous patents describing different progress steps of HPF, for example the following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,459,180; 2,688,416; 2,870,009; 2,901,149; 2,914,223; 3,041,232; 4,033,811; 4,338,049; 4,430,029; 4,508,473 and 4,516,887. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,236,285 and 5,236,286 describe the design of the High-Pressure Feeder in the mid 1990s. Examples of recent developments are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,468,006, 6,616,384 and 6,669,410.
In a continuous digesting system the method for feeding comminuted cellulosic material into the pressurized treatment vessel has proved to be a very demanding part of the process. The HPF with only relatively few substantive changes in its design has been the central part of the feeding system of the Kamyr continuous pulping system. It seems to have been difficult, if not impossible, to solve the bottlenecks of the HPF, for example the low density of bulk material inside the feeder. Attempts have been made to enhance the efficiency by developing the method of chip feeding as a whole. The method, marketed under the name LO-LEVEL® Feed System, by Andritz simplifies the system around the HPF. This feed system is described for example in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,476,572; 5,622,598; 5,635,025; 5,736,006; 5,753,075; 5,766,418 and 5,795,438. Recent developments further simplify the equipment related to the feeding system by eliminating the need for a separate liquor storage vessel and a separate level controlling vessel or tank. This system with a single tank is described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,368,453, in a divisional application US2001/0025694A1 and in its five other divisional applications.
One bottleneck in the present High Pressure Feeders is the reduction in the pocket cross-sectional area in the middle of the pocket as a consequence of the crosswise placed pockets within the rotor. Due to this reduction of the pockets more flushing is needed to avoid plugging.
The design of the present high-pressure feeder is conical, in terms of both the rotor and the housing. When the wear parts have to be repaired the wear surfaces have to be weld repaired and machined afterwards.
There are typically four pockets per revolution in the present high-pressure feeder so the filling and emptying frequency is low, meaning that the rotating frequency is quite low (maximum 15-18 rpm) and therefore the specific oscillating frequency is low and differs only slightly from the specific oscillating frequency of the building itself, resulting in a wobble phenomenon. The low rotating frequency also reduces the capacity of the feeder.
Also, the manually adjusted seal gap between the housing and the rotor contributes to leakage and wear problems with the HPF.
The manufacturing costs of present high-pressure feeders are high in relation to the capacity obtained. The construction of the pockets is complicated and the feeder construction as a whole has to be very rigid due to asymmetrical loads on the rotor during the filling and emptying of the pockets, both of which increase the manufacturing costs.
In the mid 1990's Kvaerner introduced a feeding system, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,004, that was not based on the use of a feeder operating as a sluice between the low pressure and high pressure sides. Instead, a pump or a series of pumps was used, which comprises a stack, or so called disc pack, consisting of a number of parallel discs held together and rotating in a pump housing about a common axis of rotation. One of the pumps coupled in series is arranged so that it can be rotated with a variable speed of rotation in order to regulate the pressure in the digester. These pumps are known under the trade name DISCFLO.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,379, a type of revolver feeder is described, for example, for the handling of cellulose-containing material. The feeder according to that invention comprises a rotor having a plurality of spaces extending axially through the rotor in different positions of the rotor, which spaces are brought into communication with openings formed in end plates contacting the rotor. The feeder comprises a feed end plate and a discharge end plate, which are interconnected by drawbars equally spaced about the circumference of the end plates outside the rotor. According to the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,379, the unbalanced pressure forces acting on the end plates cause a problem typical to these revolver-type feeder valves. These forces cause rapid and irregular wear of the opposing surfaces of the rotor and the end plates, which results in leakage between the spaces. According to U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,379 that problem is solved, in other words an essentially constant and uniform wear of the sealing surfaces is obtained, by using traction force producing devices disposed individually for all or those draw bars positioned adjacent the areas exposed to high outwardly directed pressure forces from the spaces. These traction force producing devices balance the pressure forces acting on the end plates and render the movement of the end plates uniform in relation to the ends of the rotor along the circumference of the rotor. According to this invention, each of the traction force-producing devices contains an automatically operative pressure control device to produce a traction force to counterbalance the increased pressure directed outwardly from the spaces of the rotor. To obtain the balanced contact, removable sealing discs are placed between the opposing faces of the rotor and the end plates. This type of feeder is very complicated and also expensive.
It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a new transfer device for transferring bulk material from one pressure level system to another pressure level system, especially to provide a transfer device for feeding wood chips into a digester, a feeder, that transfers low-pressure slurry from the chip chute to the digester operating at high pressure. The above-described problems associated with prior art feeding systems can be solved with this new type of a feeder.


In an engine, an oil channel arrangement is formed between an outer periphery of a lower-case setting bolt and inner peripheries of a case-side bolt hole and a block-side bolt hole so as to prevent the flow of foreign matters as contained in lubricating oil flowing from a main gallery toward a crank journal. The oil channel has a cross section that varies between the main gallery and the crank journal so as to decrease the flow velocity of the lubricating oil flowing from the main gallery toward the crank journal. The decreased velocity of oil allows the foreign matter to settle by gravitational force in a collecting space.

An engine of a vehicle supplies lubricating oil to the journals of a crankshaft in order to lubricate the crankshaft. A conventional engine block arrangement is shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 wherein an engine 102 has a lower case 108 fixed to the lower side of a cylinder block 104 by setting bolts 110 so as to rotatably support therebetween a journal 106 of a rotatable crankshaft. A block-side bolt hole 112 is formed at the lower side of the cylinder block 104. The lower part of the block-side bolt hole 112 is smoothly formed, and the upper part is formed with internal threads so as to threadably engage the upper end of the setting bolt 110. A case-side bolt hole 114 passes vertically through the lower case 108 in alignment with the block-side bolt hole 112. Therefore, the lower case 108 is fixed to the lower side of the cylinder block 104 by inserting the setting bolts 110 into the block-side bolt holes 112 through the case-side bolt holes 114. In this arrangement, the crankshaft journal 106 is rotatably supported between the block-side journal bearing surface 116 of the cylinder block 104 and the case-side journal bearing surface 118 of the lower case 108 through block-side and case-side crank bearings 120 and 122, respectively.
A main gallery 124 serving as a lubricating-oil channel for circulating oil and extends in the longitudinal direction of the engine 102 generally parallel with the axis 115 of the crankshaft (not shown).
An oil channel 128 is linearly formed in the lower case 108 and communicates the main gallery 124 with a case-side oil groove 126 opening at the upper side of the case-side crank bearing 122 along the back or outer side thereof. Therefore, one of a plurality of the oil channels 128 linearly points to each of the crank journals 106 from the main gallery 124 as shown in FIG. 9. A block-side oil groove 130 is formed at the lower side of the cylinder block 104 and communicates with each case-side oil groove 126 and extends along the back or outer side of each block-side bearing 120. A plurality of oil passing holes 132 are formed in each block-side crank bearing 120 so as to introduce the oil from the respective block-side oil groove 130 into the respective crank journal 106.
In FIGS. 7 and 9, 134 denotes a knock-pin, 136 denotes a blow-by gas channel also serving as an oil dropping channel, 138 denotes an oil-filter setting portion, and 140 denotes an oil-cooler setting portion.
However, because oil is supplied to the crank journals from the main gallery through oil channels, a problem occurs in that foreign matters such as chips and cast sand left in the main gallery flow into the crank journals and damage the crank bearings or cause seizing.

Lubricating-oil channel structure of engine


An ergonomic chair, includes: a support structure, a seat assembly, and a backrest. The seat assembly includes a seat and a seat mount arranged on the support structure. The backrest is rotatably connected to the support structure through a backrest support, and the backrest is configured to be rotatable and fixed relative to the seat assembly.

Many people suffer back and/or neck pain at some point during their lives. Poor posture and its contribution to spine related ailments is both well documented and well understood.
A person suffering back pain is highly motivated to gain a permanent solution. Correlation between postural factors and back pain are well documented and well understood by sufferers.
The problem with conventional chairs is they hold our body in an unnatural position that puts strain on the back. Over time this causes many back related problems including, back ache, head ache, pain referral and poor posture.
Research is also showing it has significant other less obvious effects such as increased incidence in bowel cancer and other organic issues due to prolonged compression of abdominal contents while seated.
Though back pain represents the biggest cause of absenteeism from work, seating posture in the work place has been poorly addressed. Ergonomic chairs currently occupy a very small portion of the work seat market. There are different options available but together they are still relatively uncommon particularly out in the workplace. Several "Saddle Chairs" are on the market, but they all significantly lack features in terms of comfort, function and aesthetics.
The most aesthetically pleasing chair that allows the pelvis to tilt and elevated with respect to the knees is the HAG Capisco chair, as shown in FIG. 1, but this significantly loses in the function stakes as an ergonomic chair. The classic "ergonomic" office chairs, as shown in FIG. 2, of which there are thousands, achieve very little unless the person's knees are below the hips and pelvis is tilted forward. The Balans chair with fixed knee bar, as shown in FIG. 3, puts undue pressure on the knees is very restricting and potentially dangerous on lower discs. It's also unappealing. The large ball is cumbersome and unappealing.


In an integrated circuit having a plurality of modules and/or submodules that each performs a substantially same function, defective modules and/or submodules are determined by creating a test signature from an input test pattern. The output of each module and/or submodule is compared with the test signature and defective modules to identify defective modules and/or submodules. The identity of defective modules/submodules is stored on the integrated circuit for subsequent use by a customer. Integrated circuits having one or more defective modules/submodules are sold to customers with full disclosure of which modules/submodules are defective, thereby improving the yield associated with the product. Pricing of the product is discounted for products with less than full functionality.

1. Field
This disclosure relates generally to semiconductors, and more specifically, to the testing and sale of semiconductors.
2. Related Art
As integrated circuits evolve and incorporate significantly more amounts of circuitry, the ability to reliably manufacture large percentages of fully functional integrated circuit products on a single semiconductor wafer has become very difficult. The yield of good die that exists on a wafer therefore is often lower for a complex integrated circuit and a low yield results in a significant amount of lost revenue for a manufacturer.
To improve yield results, others have incorporated redundant circuitry onto an integrated circuit. The redundant circuitry is selectively used after an integrated circuit is tested to replace identified defective circuitry. However, as large amounts of circuitry have been incorporated into an integrated circuit the amount of redundancy required to insure that failing circuitry can be replaced is often cost and size prohibitive. As a result the yields of complex integrated circuits are often much lower than desired.
As integrated circuits advance in function and complexity, multiple data processors have been incorporated onto a single integrated circuit. When such integrated circuits are tested, each of the data processors within the integrated circuit is typically serially tested in an assigned order. Disadvantages with known testing methodologies include the increased time to test complex integrated circuits and the high cost associated with the electronic testers which determine the functionality of the integrated circuit. Test equipment to perform diagnostic testing for complex integrated circuits typically costs in excess of one million U.S. dollars and thus represents a significant investment for an integrated circuit manufacturer. To reduce test time, others have tested multiple processors in parallel. In such test methodologies, a comparison between the outputs of the multiple processors is made to indicate whether all of the processors are providing the same result or a different result. When a different result is indicated a failure of the circuitry is noted by the test equipment.

System and method for testing and providing an integrated circuit having multiple modules or submodules


A method for assembling a rotary ball valve assembly utilizes an axially directed compressive force to urge an annular seal into sealing engagement with a rotatable ball and, while the compressive force is applied, inwardly deforming a tubular member attached to the housing by an electromagnetic force to form an annular abutment retaining said rotatable ball in said tubular member.

The present invention relates to a rotary ball valve assembly and a method for forming such assembly efficiently and economically to provide a leak-proof assembly ready for installation in a fluid flow line. Rotary ball valves are frequently sold with short lengths of copper tubing brazed thereto which function as stubs suitable for brazing to a fluid flow line at the site where the valve is desire to be installed. The prior art rotary ball valve assemblies typically include a housing containing the rotary ball valve, seals and/or seats, one on each side of the ball, a spring urging the seals or seats into sealing engagement with the ball and a separately formed threaded collar threadedly engaged to the body and compressing the spring. Some prior art valves omit the spring and rely on the threaded collar to compress the seals and/or seats into sealing engagement with the ball.
One such type of prior art valve is manufactured by Aeroquip Corporation, the assignee of the present application, and sold under its Part No. RB01-004-141414. Such prior art rotary ball valve assemblies are provided with a stub at each of the inlet and outlet ends. One of such stubs is brazed to the collar which is threadedly engaged to the housing and the other stub is brazed to the housing itself. A type of spring frequently utilized to apply compressive loads within the assembly is a stainless steel wave spring formed from a single strip or length of metal having a wave pattern with alternating crests and grooves. The strip of metal is wound to form a coil in which the outer periphery of each of the plurality of individual coils generally define a cylinder of a size permitting the spring to be received in a cylindrical length of tubing. The strip is wound such that the grooves of any given coil or wave are each aligned with a crest of the adjacent coil and with a groove of the next alternate coil or wave. This alignment results in alternating contact points and gaps around the periphery of pairs of adjacent coils or waves.
In applying the threaded collar to the housing in prior art rotary ball valve assemblies, the collar directly contacts the spring prior to becoming fully engaged. Further rotation of such collar following its initial contact with the spring as it is rotated on the threads of the collar to its fully engaged, sealing position, places a torsional load on the spring. Such torsional load applied to the spring has a tendency to rotate coils or waves closest to the collar relatively to the coils or waves which are closer to the rotary ball valve with the result that the aligned grooves and crests of adjacent coils or waves may become dislocated from one another so that some of the crests of one coil will be aligned with crests of an adjacent coil. Such dislocation causes the spring to have less compressive force than intended when the aligned grooves and crests are fully in aligned contact with one another.

Method for forming a ball value assembly


Disclosed is a composition comprising a water based nail lacquer and urea, which is useful in the partial or complete evulsion of the nails, and in the treatment of fungal, yeast and bacterial infections of the nails and the nail beds. Also disclosed are methods for evulsing nails, and for treating antifungal and antibacterial infections, comprising the administration of the composition of the invention to the toenails or fingernails of a mammal.

Fungal infections associated with the nails of the hands and feet are difficult to treat, particularly in the later stages of the disease. Infections associated with the nails of the feet and hands include onychomycosis, the fungal infection tinea pedis (athlete's foot), and the bacterial infection paronychia, a superficial infection of the skin caused by staphylococci and yeast. However, particularly difficult to treat is onychomycosis.
Onychomycosis is a fungal infection which can spread beneath and over the fingernails and toenails and the nail beds located under the nails. Nails infected with onychomycosis often become thickened and lusterless with debris accumulating beneath the free edge of the nail. Onychomycosis and similar infections have become more common and more intractable in recent years particularly in immunosuppressed patients, such as patients infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or patients suffering from Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Even in otherwise healthy patients, onychomycosis is difficult to treat, particularly in its later stages. For example, most skin infections and dermatological conditions respond very well to topical antifungal preparations such as the imidazole derivatives (miconazole, clotrimazole, enconazole, ketoconazole) described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,655, as useful for the topical treatment of fungal infections. Other topical treatments, such as ciclopirox olamine cream and naftifine hydrochloride cream, have also proven somewhat effective against some fungal and bacterial infections. However, for many forms of onychomycosis, such as those caused by Trichophyton rubrum, T schoenleinni, T. mentagrophytes, T. sulfureum, T. verrucossum, T. interdigitalis, Epidermophyton floccosum, Microsporum audouinii, M. canis, or M. gypseum and various forms of pedis, most topical antifungal preparations have proven to be ineffective.
For deep-seated onychomycosis and pedis that have spread uncontrolled beneath the nail beds, systemic therapy is often required. One common method of systemic therapy is the administration of griseofulvin, an oral antifungal agent. However, griseofulvin has undesirable side effects such as headaches, gastrointestinal distress, photosensitivity, rashes, or leukopenia. There has been some demonstrated success utilizing topical imidazole in conjunction with oral griseofulvin to increase the cure rate, but even with simultaneous topical and systemic treatment, there are unwanted side effects associated with administration of oral antifungal agents such as griseofulvin.
In addition to causing irritation, onychomycosis and similar conditions often create damage to the nails and nail beds causing the nails to thicken, discolor, and to crack and crumble around the edges. Thus even if the onychomycosis is treated, extensive repair of the damaged nail is often required.
Topical treatments for fungal infections are particularly advantageous over systemic therapy in that topical treatments avoid the negative side effects associated with systemic drugs. However, topical antibiotic or antifungal compositions, such as nail lacquers, are often ineffective because the antibiotics cannot penetrate through the nail to which it is applied in order to reach the infected nail beds. As a result, the prior art topical treatments do not effectively deliver the antimicrobial agent to the source of the fungus or bacteria.
Conventional cosmetic nail lacquers are generally polymer-based lacquers that use nitrocellulose as a film forming agent. Modifiers such as plasticizers and resins are generally required to keep the nitrocellulose from becoming too brittle and to increase the adherence of the nitrocellulose film to the surface of the nail. Most resins used today are synthetic resins such as methacrylate and polyvinyl acetate. A common plasticizer used with nitrocellulose is tricresyl phosphate.
Thus, polymer based lacquers with antimicrobial agents have not been successful in imparting antimicrobial and antiviral agents to the nails and nail beds because nitrocellulose polymers are water insoluble, and require the use of a solvent as a carrier medium. Common solvents include ethyl acetate, amyl acetate, butyl acetate, ethyl alcohol, butyl alcohol and acetone. Butyl alcohol is most commonly used with nitrocellulose lacquers. However, these solvents often adversely interfere with the antimicrobial and antiviral agents, rendering the agents ineffective in treating fingernail and toenail infections. Solvent based lacquers are also not satisfactory because they cause the nails to dry out and also leave a brittle surface. Also, polymer based lacquers are often very viscous, and the viscosity can interfere with the delivery of the antimicrobial agent to the source of the infection which is often embedded beneath the nail.
One method of enhancing the delivery of antimicrobial and antiviral agents to the nail beds, and thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the agents, is to evulse or remove the nails prior to treatment. Prior art methods of evulsing the nails include mechanical or surgical means. There are a number of drawbacks associated with the prior art methods of evulsion, including pain to the patient, and the increased costs and time of treatment associated with the physical removal of nails.
Applicants have now discovered an effective, water-based nail lacquer that partially or completely evulses the nails, thereby enhancing the delivery of antimicrobial and antiviral agents to the nail beds, and increasing the effectiveness of topical treatment with antiviral and antimicrobial agents.
The present invention comprises a method for treating damaged and infected nails with a topical, water based nail lacquer which is applied to the nail and surrounding tissues. The method leaves a strong and durable enamel over the nail, and partially or completely evulses the nail to allow topical medication to reach the source of the infection.
The compositions of the invention provide an improved method of evulsing nails. The composition of the invention further provides improved methods for delivering antimicrobial or antiviral agents to infected nails and nail beds.

Nail evulsion compositions and method for evulsing nails and treating nail and nail bed infections


Methods for forming a photomask using a carbon hard mask are provided. In one embodiment, a method of forming a photomask includes etching a chromium layer through a patterned carbon hard mask layer in the presence of a plasma formed from a process gas containing chlorine and carbon monoxide.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method for plasma etching chromium. More specifically, the present invention provides a method for etching chromium layer through a carbon hard mask for photomask fabrication.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacture of integrated circuits (IC), or chips, patterns representing different layers of the chip are created by a chip designer. A series of reusable masks, or photomasks, are created from these patterns in order to transfer the design of each chip layer onto a semiconductor substrate during the manufacturing process. Mask pattern generation systems use precision lasers or electron beams to image the design of each layer of the chip onto a respective mask. The masks are then used much like photographic negatives to transfer the circuit patterns for each layer onto a semiconductor substrate. These layers are built up using a sequence of processes and translate into the tiny transistors and electrical circuits that comprise each completed chip. Thus, any defects in the mask may be transferred to the chip, potentially adversely affecting performance. Defects that are severe enough may render the mask completely useless. Typically, a set of 15 to 30 masks is used to construct a chip and can be used repeatedly.
A mask is typically a glass or a quartz substrate that has a layer of chromium on one side. The mask may also contain a layer of silicon nitride (SiN) doped with molybdenum (Mb). The chromium layer is covered with an anti-reflective coating and a photosensitive resist. During a patterning process, the circuit design is written onto the mask by exposing portions of the resist to ultraviolet light, making the exposed portions soluble in a developing solution. The soluble portion of the resist is then removed, allowing the exposed underlying chromium to be etched. The etch process removes the chromium and anti-reflective layers from the mask at locations where the resist was removed, i.e., the exposed chromium is removed.
Another mask utilized for patterning is known as a quartz phase shift mask. The quartz phase shift mask is similar to the mask described above, except that alternating adjacent areas of quartz regions exposed through the patterned chromium layer are etched to a depth about equal to half the wavelength of light which will be utilized to transfer the circuit patterns to a substrate during fabrication. Thus, as the light is shown through the quartz phase shift mask to expose resist disposed on the substrate, the light impinging in the resist through one opening in the mask is 180 degrees out of phase relative to the light passing through the immediately adjacent opening. Therefore, light that may be scattered at the edges of the mask opening is cancelled out by the 180 degree light scattering at the edge of the adjacent opening, causing a tighter distribution of light in a predefined region of the resist. The tighter distribution of light facilitates writing of features having smaller critical dimensions. Similarly, masks used for chromeless etch lithography also utilize the phase shift of light passing through quartz portions of two masks to sequentially image the resist, thereby improving the light distribution utilized to develop the resist pattern.
In one etch process, known as dry etching, reactive ion etching, or plasma etching, plasma is used to enhance a chemical reaction and etch the patterned chromium area of the mask. Unfortunately, conventional chromium etch processes often suffer etch bias problems due to attack on the photoresist material utilized to pattern the chromium. As the photoresist is attacked during the chromium etch, the critical dimension of patterned photoresist is not accurately transferred to the chromium layer. Additionally, since etching using a photoresist mask is subject to etch bias, the use of photoresist masks for fabricating critical dimensions less than about 5 μm is extremely challenging to the fabricator as these problems result in non-uniformity of the etched features of the photomask and correspondingly diminishes the ability to produce features having small critical dimensions using the mask. As the critical dimensions of mask continue to shrink, the importance of etch uniformity dominates.
Hard masks have been recently used to provide more accurate critical dimension (CD) transfer during chromium etching for photomask fabrication. However, existing chromium etch processes have poor selectivity to carbon hard mask materials. As conventional chromium etch chemistries include oxygen, carbon hard mask materials are often etched as fast or faster than the chromium layers, resulting in unacceptable CD control, thus, making conventional chromium etch processes unsuitable for photomask fabrication.
Therefore, there is a need for a chromium etch process having high etching selectivity to carbon hard mask materials.

Method for photomask fabrication utilizing a carbon hard mask


A process for removing Sr2+ toxins from bodily fluids is disclosed. The process involves contacting the bodily fluid with an ion exchanger to remove the metal toxins in the bodily fluid, including blood and gastrointestinal fluid. Alternatively, blood can be contacted with a dialysis solution which is then contacted with the ion exchanger. The ion exchangers are represented by the following empirical formula:AmZraTibSncMdSixOy.

In mammals, e.g., humans, when the kidneys and/or liver fail to remove metabolic waste products from the body, most of the other organs of the body also soon fail. Accordingly, extensive efforts have been made to discover safe and effective methods for removing toxins from patients' blood by extracorporeal treatment of the blood. Many methods have been proposed for removing small molecular toxins, protein-bound molecules or larger molecules thought to be responsible for the coma and illness of hepatic failure. Some of these toxic compounds have been identified as urea, creatine, ammonia, phenols, mercaptans, short chain fatty acids, aromatic amino acids, false neural transmitters (octopamine), neural inhibitors (glutamate) and bile salts. Among these, phenols and mercaptans, along with bilirubin and bacterial endotoxins, also occur as strong protein-bound toxins and are thus more difficult to effectively remove from the blood. Middle molecular weight toxins having a molecular weight of about 300 to about 10,000 can also be present and are difficult to effectively remove. The art shows a number of ways to treat blood containing such toxins. The classic method is of course dialysis. Dialysis is defined as the removal of substances from a liquid by diffusion across a semipermeable membrane into a second liquid. Dialysis of blood outside of the body (hemodialysis) is the basis of the "artificial kidney." The artificial kidney treatment procedure generally used today is similar to that developed by Kolff in the early 1940s. Since the 1940s there have been a number of disclosures which deal with improvements on artificial kidneys or artificial livers. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,828 discloses an apparatus for the detoxification of blood. The apparatus comprises a housing filled with an adsorbent such as charcoal or a resin and optionally an enzyme carrier. To prevent direct contact between the blood and the adsorbent, the adsorbent may be coated with a coating which is permeable for the substances to be adsorbed yet prevent the direct contact between the corpuscular blood components and the adsorbents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,141 discloses a composition for use in dialysis which contains a surface adsorptive substance, water, a suspending agent, urease, a calcium-loaded cation exchanger, an aliphatic carboxylic acid resin and a metabolizable organic acid buffer. The calcium loaded cation exchanger can be a calcium-exchanged zeolite. EP 0046971 A1 discloses that zeolite W can be used in hemodialysis to remove ammonia. CA 2542968C discloses natural zeolites for the removal of toxins, including for removal of radioactive Sr2+ and Cs+ from fallout, from the gastrointestinal tract. U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,412 discloses hemofiltration and plasma filtration devices in which blood flows through the interior of a hollow fiber membrane and during the flow of blood, a sorbent suspension is circulated against the exterior surfaces of the hollow fiber membrane. Another step involves having the plasma fraction of the blood alternately exit and re-enter the interior of the membrane thereby effectuating removal of toxins. The sorbent can be activated charcoal along with an ion-exchanger such as a zeolite or a cation-exchange resin.
These strategies can also be applied to removing Sr2+ from the blood. However, there are problems associated with the adsorbents disclosed in the above patents when it comes to treating blood and gastrointestinal fluids. For example, charcoal does not remove any water, phosphate, sodium or other ions. Zeolites have the disadvantage that they can partially dissolve in the dialysis solution, allowing aluminum and/or silicon to enter the blood. Additionally, zeolites can adsorb sodium, calcium and potassium ions from the blood thereby requiring that these ions be added back into the blood. Gastrointestinal fluids may also attack Al in zeolites, releasing Al and some Si into the digestive tract.
More recently, examples of microporous ion exchangers that are essentially insoluble in fluids, such as bodily fluids (especially blood), have been developed, namely the zirconium-based silicates and titanium-based silicates of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,888,472, 5,891,417 and 6,579,460. The use of these zirconium-based silicate or titanium-based silicate microporous ion exchangers to remove toxic ammonium cations from blood or dialysate is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,814,871, 6,099,737, and 6,332,985. Additionally, it was found that some of these compositions were also selective in potassium ion exchange and could remove potassium ions from bodily fluids to treat the disease hyperkalemia, which is discussed in patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,802,152, 8,808,750, 8,877,255, 9,457,050, 9,662,352, 9,707,255, 9,844,567, 9,861,658, US 2015/0225249, US 20016/0000825, US 2016/0038538, US 2016/0271174 and US 2018/0214479. Ex-vivo applications of these materials, for instance in dialysis, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,943,637.
Strontium exposure most often occurs in an industrial setting. Strontium is used in the ceramics, glass, pyrotechnics, and paint industries, as well as in the fabrication of fluorescent lights and some medications. Inhalation is a common exposure route. Radioactive strontium is encountered in the nuclear industry as a major waste product of nuclear fission. Major environmental releases of radioactive strontium have occurred in the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 and in 2011 during the tsunami that destroyed part of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. Radioactive strontium in the environment is dangerous, since the chemistry of SR2+ is very similar to that of Ca2+ and is transmitted through the environment in a similar manner, ending up in plants that would be consumed by animals and humans.
Exposure to elevated strontium levels can cause problems in the body, often associated with the bones. It can cause anemia, bone marrow damage, interfere with blood clotting ability, and especially in the case of the radioactive strontium exposure, may cause cancer, such as leukemia (Chem. Pharm. Bull., 60, 1258-1263, 2012). Attempts to inhibit the uptake of radioactive 90Sr by use of stable strontium in dietary supplements resulted in diminished growth, improper bone mineralization, induced rickets and inhibition of intestinal calcium absorption (Science, 174, 949-951, 1971).
Chelation therapy has been attempted to remove Sr via excretion in urine and feces. Difficulty finding Sr selective chelating agents has been a problem. A study of 12 chelating agents, including various carboxylates, the cryptand 18-crown-6 and DMSA, 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid, in which the agents were administered by intraperitoneal injection to mice who had ingested Sr 10 minutes prior (Arch. Environ. Contamin. Toxicol. 18, 612-616, 1989). Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) was most effective in enhancing urinary excretion, along with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid (CDTA), while 18-crown-6 decreased urinary Sr excretion. Only ascorbic acid enhanced fecal Sr excretion. CDTA, DTPA and tartaric acid were most effective in removing Sr from tissues. However, these chelating agents were often administered in the Ca form to counter Ca removal by analogous sodium forms due to the lack of selectivity of the agents for Sr vs Ca. Removal of Ca can induce a tetany-like reaction causing involuntary muscle contractions, essentially inducing hypocalcemia. The chelating agent acetylaminopropylidinediphosphonic acid (APDA) also suffered from lack of specificity for Sr, also removing Ca inducing and inducing hypocalcemia (Health Phys., 76, 489-494, 1999). This resulted in the use of the Ca form of the chelate, which was tested via intraperitoneal injection and oral ingestion. The injected chelate reduced Sr levels by 35% after a first injection, but was much less effective on subsequent injections, suggesting the chelate could not remove absorbed Sr in various tissues and bone. Rats that orally ingested of Ca-APDA, both at the time of Sr exposure and 10 minutes after Sr exposure, showed significantly reduced Sr absorption as most of the Sr was excreted through the gastrointestinal tract. However, the absorption in some tissues such as the liver, kidneys and spleen was not significantly different from the control. Aluminum phosphate gels consumed with breakfast have been shown to inhibit the absorption of 85Sr from the gastrointestinal tract (Int. J. Appl. Radiat. Isot., 779-782, 1967). Sodium alginate addition to the diet was also shown to reduce strontium absorption without significantly interfering with Ca absorption (Nature, 216, 1005-1007, 1967; Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, 4, 273-282, 1991). A composite material consisting of hydrophilic porous polymer beads with phosphonic acid groups was tested for inhibition of strontium absorption and while successfully removing Sr, was found to have higher selectivity for calcium (Chem. Pharm. Bull., 60, 1258-1263, 2012).
To remove Sr2+ directly from blood and gastrointestinal fluids, the ion-exchange material must be stable in these media. Materials that fall into this category include titanium, zirconium and tin oxides and silicates, see for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,888,472 and 6,099,737. A sodium nonatitanate ion-exchanger is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,925 that enumerates the metals and the applications for which the ion-exchanger may be useful, including Sr2+ for mining and nuclear applications. There is no anticipation of utility in the healthcare, medical or pharmaceutical field. In fact, the conditions under which the ion-exchange testing were conducted included basic conditions, pH=9.95 to 11.4, and acidic conditions, pH=2.3. These conditions are very different than the pH of blood, which is about 7.4. Sodium nonatitanate is also disclosed to selectively collect 82Sr2+ via extraction from irradiated targets by ion exchange. The 82Sr-containing ion-exchanger is then used as a source of 82Rb for Positron Emission Tomography, a medical diagnostic tool. There is no anticipated use of the nonatitante for Sr2+ removal from the body. Amorphous titanium and tin silicate ion-exchangers for removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,139, which focus on Pb2+ removal from drinking water. Removal of Pb2+, Hg2+, Cr3+ and Cd2+ is demonstrated, but there is no anticipation of utility for Sr2+ removal at all, much less in the healthcare, medical or pharmaceutical fields. Synthesis from concentrated sol gel precursors yielded poorly crystalline to amorphous titanium silicate materials focused on removal of Cs+ and Sr2+ in radioactive waste applications. A temperature study revealed these materials to be precursors to the titanium silicate sitinakite. In the conclusion, it is suggested that these amorphous titanium silicates may find utility in removing Sr2+ and Cs+ sea and mine waters, blood plasma, and liquid radioactive wastes (RSC, Adv., 5, 72562, 2015). A small pore titanium silicate with the same topology as the mineral zorite, ETS-4, is disclosed in CA 1,328,099 that claims to be proficient in removing dications, including Hg2+ and Pb2+ from aqueous solutions. However, the test conditions for Hg2+ uptake are ambiguous since the amounts of ion-exchanger used in the tests are not disclosed. Remediation of Sr2+ and healthcare applications are not mentioned. A titanogermanosilicate ion exchanger that is an intergrowth of the pharmacosiderite and sitinakite structures disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,552 is tested for Cs+ uptake in concentrated hydroxide solution and does not anticipate application in the healthcare, medical or pharmaceutical field. A titanosilicate disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,482,380B1 claims to be selective for remediation of divalent ions from aqueous and hydrocarbon streams, but only a single data point for Sr2+ is disclosed without the test conditions. A list of possible applications is given, but healthcare, pharmaceutical and medical applications are not anticipated. Titanium oxide (U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,186) and zirconium oxide (U.S. Pat. No. 6,602,919) ion-exchangers are proposed for remediation of Sr2+ and Cs+ radioactive waste, but there is no demonstration of efficacy in removing these cations from any medium, no patent claims to the removal of Cs+ and Sr2+, nor any mention of medical applications involving Sr2+. U.S. Pat. No. 9,744,518 discloses amorphous titanium silicates to remove Sr2+ cations from waste streams, but there is no anticipation of treating bodily fluids to remove Sr2+. U.S. Pat. No. 6,479,427 discloses titanium silicates and niobium-doped titanium silicates effective for removing Pu4+, Cs+ and Sr2+ from waste streams, focusing on radioactive waste. There is no anticipation of application in the remediation of Sr2+ from bodily fluids.
Applicants have developed a process which uses metallate ion exchangers which are essentially insoluble in fluids, such as bodily fluids (especially blood) or dialysis solutions. These ion exchangers have an empirical formula on an anhydrous basis of:AmZraTibSncMdSixOy where A is an exchangeable cation selected from the group consisting of potassium ion, sodium ion, rubidium ion, cesium ion, calcium ion, magnesium ion, hydronium ion or mixtures thereof, M is at least one framework metal selected from the group consisting of hafnium (4+) or niobium (5+), "m" has a value from 0.10 to 9, "a" has a value from zero to 1, "b" has a value from zero to 1, "c" has a value from zero to 1, "d" has a value from zero to less than 1, a+b+c+d=1 and a+b+c>0, "x" has a value from 0 to 6, and "y" has a value from 2.1 to 19. Since these compositions are essentially insoluble in bodily fluids (at neutral and mildly acidic or basic pH), they can be orally ingested in order to remove toxins in the gastrointestinal system as well as used to remove toxins from blood, specifically, Sr2+.

Process for removing strontium ions from bodily fluids using metallate ion exchange compositions

Abstract: A composition comprising the above ion exchange compositions in combination with bodily fluids or dialysis solution is also disclosed. The ion exchange compositions may be supported by porous networks of biocompatible polymers such as carbohydrates or proteins.


An antenna apparatus includes an antenna case housing an antenna; a connector to be connected to a device which connector is electrically connected to the antenna; and an antenna case supporting mechanism which supports the antenna case and enables changing a position of the antenna case at least to a horizontal position and a vertical position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an antenna apparatus, and more particularly relates to an antenna apparatus which includes a UWB antenna encased in an antenna case and is normally attached to another apparatus when used.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, wireless communication technologies using UltraWideBand (UWB) have gotten a lot of attention because of UWB's wide range of applications such as radar positioning and high capacity transmission. In 2002, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States approved the use of UWB in the frequency band between 3.1-10.6 GHz.
UWB is a transmission system which uses ultrawideband signals for communication. An antenna used for UWB must be capable of sending/receiving ultrawideband signals.
An antenna, which is composed of a base board and a power feeder, for use in the frequency band between 3.1-10.6 GHz approved by FCC has been proposed (non-patent document 1).
[Non-patent document 1] 2003 IEICE (The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers) General Conference, Mar. 22, 2003, Room B201, B-1-133: An Omnidirectional and Low-VSWR Antenna for the FCC-Approved UWB Frequency Band, Takuya Taniguchi and Takehiko Kobayashi (Tokyo Denki University).
An antenna as described above has a use for devices such as a personal computer and a mobile communication device, and there has been a demand for a more compact and thinner antenna.
In Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-160286 titled "Antenna Apparatus" filed by the same applicant as the present application, a compact and thin antenna for UWB is proposed.
To attach such an antenna to a device and to actually use the antenna, an easy-to-use antenna apparatus for adjusting the position of the antenna to achieve good reception is necessary.


This invention relates to a multistory press (1) whose press frame ( 2 ) is provided with pairs of supports ( 3, 4 ) and pressure transmitting sections (21) that are each integrally formed so as to simplify the assembly thereof and to reduce the manufacturing costs.

This invention relates to a multistory press for pressing boards of wooden material or veneers or the like and, in particular, to a multistory press having integral support plates and integral pressure transmitting sections.
A multistory press includes a press frame wherein a plurality of press boards, which are, for instance, combined in two units, are movably supported. The press boards are moved with the aid of a pressure means, thereby opening or closing pressure chambers which are formed therein between and in which the material to be processed is pressed. The multistory press of the generic type also includes three tables that are arranged within the press frame. The uppermost table and the lowermost table are here guided in a movable way, with the pressure means moving said tables upwards and downwards. The center table is stationarily arranged within the press frame.
Although the multistory press of the generic type operates in a satisfactory way, in particular at very high pressures, the structure thereof has a relatively heavy weight and is troublesome to mount because of the provision of the three tables.

Multistory press having integral support plates and pressure transmitting sections


Phase-shifting mask which minimizes thickness and phase variations of a phase-shifting layer, and the method for manufacturing the same, the phase-shifting mask including a transparent substrate, a plurality of light-shielding layers formed in the transparent substrate; and a plurality of phase-shifting layers each formed on the transparent substrate between the light-shielding layers; and the method including the steps of providing a transparent substrate, defining transparent regions and light-shielding regions so as to form a plurality of trenches, channels or recesses in each of the light-shielding regions of the transparent substrate, forming each of a plurality of light-shielding layers in each of the plurality of trenches, channels or recesses, and forming a phase-shifting layer on the transparent substrate at least between a pair of the light-shielding layers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a phase-shifting mask and more particularly, to a phase-shifting mask for making a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Background of the Related Art
In photolithography processes which are commonly used for manufacturing semiconductor devices, a photomask including a portion transmitting light in a desired form of a semiconductor device and a portion shielding light, has very frequently been used. That is to say, a conventional photomask includes a transparent pattern and a light-shielding pattern, thus permitting selective exposure. However, as the pattern density is increased, light diffraction limits improvement of the resolution. Therefore, much research and development has been directed to improving resolution by using a phase-shifting mask.
In a technique using a phase-shifting mask, there is utilized a combination of a transparent region and a phase-shifting transparent region. Herein, in the transparent region, light is transmitted. In the phase-shifting transparent region, the light to be transmitted is phase-shifted by about 180.degree.. This technique prevents the customary decrease in resolution between the pattern created by the light-shielding and the transparent regions. Throughout the development of manufacturing techniques for masks, various masks have been introduced by applying light phase differences that thus improve on the limitations of optical resolution.
Levenson initially started the alternate type phase-shifting mask as a phase-shifting mask, and Nitayama et al. made a phase-shifting mask of a rim type in order to improve resolution of a contact hole.
A conventional method for manufacturing a phase-shifting mask is now discussed with reference to the attached drawings.
FIGS. 1a to 1h are cross-sectional views showing a manufacturing process for a conventional phase-shifting mask.
First, shown in FIG. 1a, a light-shielding layer 2 and a first photoresist layer PR.sub.1 are sequentially formed on a transparent substrate 1. In this case, the light-shielding layer 2 is made of, for example, Cr.sub.2 O.sub.5.
Secondly, using exposure and development, the first photoresist layer PR.sub.1 is patterned to form a photoresist pattern arranged at predetermined intervals, thereby defining shielding regions, as shown in FIG. 1b.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1c, with the first photoresist pattern PR.sub.1 serving as a mask, the light-shielding layer 2 is selectively removed to form a light-shielding layer pattern 2a. The exposed transparent substrate 1 thus provides opening regions 3 through which light may be transmitted.
Next, the remaining first photoresist layer PR.sub.1 on the shielding layer pattern 2a is removed, as shown in FIG. 1d.
Subsequently, on the entire surface of the transparent substrate 1 inclusive of the light-shielding pattern 2a, there are sequentially formed a spin on glass (SOG) layer 4 and a second photoresist layer PR.sub.2, as shown in FIG. 1e. In this case, as a phase-shifting layer, the SOG layer 4 is formed thick enough to cause a desired phase shift as regards the exposure beam. Due to step coverage of the opening region 3 and the light-shielding layer pattern 2a, the second photoresist layer PR.sub.2 and the SOG layer 4 are formed to have different thicknesses at the boundary A between the opening region 3 and the light-shielding layer pattern 2a. At this time, the thicknesses of the layers PR.sub.2 and 4 are thicker at the boundary A.
Referring to FIG. 1f, utilizing exposure and development, the second photoresist layer PR.sub.2 is patterned so that the second photoresist layer PR.sub.2 is left on the opening region 3 at only one side of the light-shielding layer pattern 2a. In this case, the second photoresist layer pattern PR.sub.2 overlaps with the light-shielding layer pattern 2a by a predetermined amount. That is, arrangement tolerance is utilized.
Next, utilizing the second photoresist layer pattern PR.sub.2 as a mask, the SOG layer 4 is selectively removed so that the SOG layer 4 is left on the opening region 3 at only one side of the light-shielding layer pattern 2a, as shown in FIG. 1g.
Finally, as shown in FIG. 1h, the remaining second photoresist layer PR.sub.2 is removed so that there is formed a phase-shifting mask which transmits light of the opposite phase as a result of the remaining SOG layer 4.
Such a conventional phase-shifting mask as described above has several disadvantages. For example, due to the step coverage between a light-shielding layer and an opening region, the thickness of a phase-shifting layer formed over the opening region is not uniform, resulting in a phase-shifting error of the light which has crossed the phase-shifting layer. Thus, it is difficult to transcribe a precise pattern by using a conventional phase-shifting mask, and it is not easy to reproducibly provide a phase-shifting mask of a good reliability.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.

Phase-shifting mask and method for manufacturing the same


The present invention relates to an inclination sensor capable of detecting inclinations in two X- and Y- axis directions with use of only a single linear sensor. In this inclination sensor, a first optical system collimates the light emitted from a light source, a dark field pattern allows the light from the first optical system to pass therethrough, a half mirror changes the direction of the light which has passed through the dark field pattern, a first liquid member reflects the light which has been changed its direction by the half mirror, a second optical system focuses the light reflected by the first liquid member, the light receiving means receives a light image formed by the second optical system, and the processing means calculates an inclination on the basis of a reception signal provided from the light receiving means. The dark field pattern is constituted by a plurality of slits in such a manner that central lines of the pattern are arranged at equal pitches in one direction and that the pattern width varies in a direction orthogonal to the one direction.

The present invention relates to an inclination sensor which utilizes a liquid member having a free surface. In particular, the invention is concerned with an inclination sensor best suited for a surveying instrument and capable of detecting inclinations in two X- and Y-axis directions, using only a single linear sensor, as well as a surveying instrument using the inclination sensor.
Heretofore, as a device for detecting inclinations of a surveying instrument there has been used such a bubble tube 10000 as shown in FIG. 9. In the interior of the bubble tube 10000, bubbles 5000 are sealed and electrodes 6000 and 7000 are formed, to measure a capacitance electrically and thereby determine an inclination.
However, since the outer peripheral portion of the bubble tube 10000 is formed of glass, it is weak against impact and a high mechanical accuracy is required, thus giving rise to the problem that the cost is high.
Further, for measuring inclinations in both X- and Y-axis directions, it is necessary to use two bubble tubes 10000 in two-axis directions, thus causing an increase of cost.
Additionally, the bubble tube 10000 is also influenced by changes in ambient temperature and hence it has so far been required to make correction of temperature changes.

Inclination sensor and surveying instrument using the same


The present invention provides modified cycloalkyne compounds; and method of use of such compounds in modifying biomolecules. The present invention features a cycloaddition reaction that can be carried out under physiological conditions. In general, the invention involves reacting a modified cycloalkyne with an azide moiety on a target biomolecule, generating a covalently modified biomolecule. The selectivity of the reaction and its compatibility with aqueous environments provide for its application in vivo (e.g., on the cell surface or intracellularly) and in vitro (e.g., synthesis of peptides and other polymers, production of modified (e.g., labeled) amino acids).

Selective chemical reactions that are orthogonal to the diverse functionality of biological systems are now recognized as important tools in chemical biology. As relative newcomers to the repertoire of synthetic chemistry, these bioorthogonal reactions have inspired new strategies for compound library synthesis, protein engineering, functional proteomics, and chemical remodeling of cell surfaces. The azide has secured a prominent role as a unique chemical handle for bioconjugation. The Staudinger ligation has been used with phosphines to tag azidosugars metabolically introduced into cellular glycoconjugates. The Staudinger ligation can be performed in living animals without physiological harm; nevertheless, the Staudinger reaction is not without liabilities. The requisite phosphines are susceptible to air oxidation and their optimization for improved water solubility and increased reaction rate has proven to be synthetically challenging.
The azide group has an alternative mode of bioorthogonal reactivity: the [3+2] cycloaddition with alkynes described by Huisgen. In its classic form, this reaction has limited applicability in biological systems due to the requirement of elevated temperatures (or pressures) for reasonable reaction rates. Sharpless and coworkers surmounted this obstacle with the development of a copper(I)-catalyzed version, termed "click chemistry," that proceeds readily at physiological temperatures and in richly functionalized biological environs. This discovery has enabled the selective modification of virus particles, nucleic acids, and proteins from complex tissue lysates. Unfortunately, the mandatory copper catalyst is toxic to both bacterial and mammalian cells, thus precluding applications wherein the cells must remain viable. Catalyst-free Huisgen cycloadditions of alkynes activated by electron-withdrawing substituents have been reported to occur at ambient temperatures. However, these compounds undergo Michael reaction with biological nucleophiles.
There is a need in the field for additional mechanisms to modify biological molecules through a biocompatible reaction, particularly in a biological environment.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Compositions and methods for modification of biomolecules

The Regents of the University of California


An electrostatic discharge device includes a first protection element including a MOS transistor type first diode, which provides a first capacitor including a first insulation layer, and provides a first path between an input/output pad and a power supply voltage line using the first diode, for discharging static electricity, a second protection element providing a second path between the input/output pad and a ground voltage line for discharging the static electricity, a trigger circuit including a resistor that is connected in series to the first capacitor, and a power clamp element providing a third path for discharging the static electricity between the power supply voltage line and the ground voltage line by a voltage applied to the resistor.

1. Technical Field
The embodiments described herein relate to an electrostatic discharge device, and more particularly, to an electrostatic discharge device which has a decreased layout area.
2. Related Art
Conventional semiconductor device often include an electrostatic discharge device, which is connected between an input/out (I/O) pad and an internal circuit. When a semiconductor device comes into contact with a charged human body or machine, static electricity can flow to the internal circuit through the I/O pad. In such instances, the electrostatic discharge device protects the internal circuit from the static electricity.
As semiconductor technologies trend toward higher speed operation and increased integration, the thickness of the insulation layer of transistor gates included in the internal circuits is decreasing. As a result, the voltage level at which the insulation layer is destroyed, i.e., as a result of static electricity, also decreases in proportion to the decrease in the thickness of the insulation layer. Therefore, it is becoming more difficult to design an electrostatic discharge device with sufficient margin to protect the internal circuits from, e.g., static electricity.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional electrostatic discharge device. The conventional electrostatic discharge device includes a capacitor C1 and a resistor R2 for detecting static electricity.
When static electricity is introduced through an input/output pad (I/O), protection elements 102 and 104 discharge the static electricity introduced through the input/output pad (I/O) to the line connected to a power supply voltage (Vcc) terminal and to the line connected to a ground voltage (Vss) terminal. At this time, a transistor 103 discharges the static electricity flowing to an input buffer via the voltage applied to a resistor R1, and the gate oxide layer of the transistor included in the input buffer is protected from the static electricity.
If a voltage difference occurs between the line connected to the power supply voltage (Vcc) terminal and the line connected to the ground voltage (Vss) terminal due to the static electricity, then a voltage resulting from the static electricity is applied to a capacitor C1 and a resistor R2, and a power clamp element 105 discharges the static electricity via the voltage applied to the gate thereof.
The diode 104 of FIG. 1 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 2. The diode 104 is formed over a P-well. A P+ junction area and an N+ junction area are separated from each other by an STI layer, the N+ junction area comes into contact with the input/output pad I/O, and the P+ junction area comes into contact with the line connected to the ground voltage (Vss) terminal.
The diode 102 of FIG. 1 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 3. The diode 102 is formed over an N-well. A P+ junction area and an N+ junction area are separated from each other by an STI layer, the P+ junction area comes into contact with the input/output pad I/O, and the N+ junction area comes into contact with the line connected to the power supply voltage (Vcc) terminal.
The electrostatic discharge device shown in FIG. 1 has an advantage in that it has a low triggering voltage. However, in the electrostatic discharge device shown in FIG. 1, the capacitor C1 and the resistor R2 provided to drive the power clamp element 105 are designed to have a large area in order to handle the threshold voltage of the power clamp element 105, and must be installed for each input/output pad I/O. This clearly has an adverse effect on the chip area.
The area demand and the fact that the capacitor C1 and the resistor R2 for driving the power clamp element 105 must be installed for each input/output pad I/O can impose a substantial burden in terms of chip size, the detrimental effect of which is heightened due to the increased integration and reduce chip size of today's semiconductor devices.


A control method and an electronic device utilizing the same are described. The control method, applied to an electronic device which contains at least one of a battery and a touch panel, including: detecting at least one of a temperature of the battery, a consumption rate of the battery, a display time of the touch panel and a touch frequency of the touch panel; and when at least one of the temperature of the battery, the consumption rate of the battery, the display time of the touch panel and the touch frequency of the touch panel meets at least one trigger condition, initiating a protection mechanism.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control method and an electronic device utilizing the same, and in particular to a control method for initializing a protection mechanism and an electronic device utilizing the same.
Description of the Related Art
Diversity of electronic devices is growing as technology advances. As a user depends on various electronic devices in everyday life, it has become an issue that the electronic devices are often heavily used without the user's awareness, and the life spans of the electronic devices are consequently reduced. Moreover, long-term use of the electronic devices might result in damage to the user's health, such as vision.


A rotating module for a clamping device is disclosed. More specifically, the rotating module includes a housing including a first connecting section having an end rotatably connected to an upper portion of a base frame and a second connecting section formed vertically to the first connecting section. An end portion of a connecting plate is connected to the second connecting section and a clamping device mounted at the other end of the connecting plate and configured to clamp a panel. A gear unit in the housing is rotated by receiving torque of the operating motor. Clutch units are mounted respectively in the first connecting section and the second connecting section, connected to the gear unit, and configured to selectively transmit torque of the gear unit to the first connecting section or the second connecting section so as to rotate the housing or the connecting plate.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotating module for a clamping device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a rotating module applied to a clamping device that is configured to clamp a panel regardless of the dimensions and surface curvature of the panel which may have different sizes and shapes according to vehicle models.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Generally, twenty to thirty thousand components are sequentially assembled so that a vehicle can be efficiently manufactured on an assembly line. Particularly, after being manufactured through various press apparatuses, the panels are transmitted to a vehicle body factory at a first stage of vehicle manufacturing process. The panels are assembled with each other to form a vehicle body of a body in white (B.I.W) shape.
A side panel, a roof panel, a rear panel, and so on are mounted to a floor of the vehicle body through main body processes, the vehicle body is painted through painting processes, and the vehicle is manufactured by assembling an engine, a transmission, and interior and exterior materials thereto in an assembly factory.
Each panel mounted on the vehicle body is manufactured generally via pressing. After the panels are pressed, the panels are clamped, assembled, welded, hemmed, and painted to output a manufactured vehicle body.
Since the different panels, however, have different shapes and sizes depending on the vehicle model currently being manufactured, it is difficult to use a universal apparatus that is able to effectively clamp all kinds of panels each having different dimensions and shapes. Therefore, manufactures must use custom clamping apparatuses for each vehicle model.
When a custom clamping apparatus is used, cost for remodeling the clamping apparatus or manufacturing a new clamping apparatus may be necessary and initial investment cost may be increased when a new vehicle model is manufactured. In addition, structure of the clamping apparatus may become complex as well.
In some cases, in order to clamp various different kinds of panels of different vehicle models having various dimensions using a conventional clamping device, the clamping device can rotate forward or backward and to the left or to the right. In this case, each driving module should be provided for each axial direction. Therefore, the structure and control of the driving module may become complex in the conventional designs.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A portable hand held photo copy reproduction holding device for use with black/white or color photography or photo reproduction and which has transparent copy window panel which is attached to a layout board structure. Layout board structure has non-photogenic natured alignment grid allowing freehand alignment of subject matter and non-photo reproduction of layout board alignment grid. The layout board structure also has a transparent copy window panel adjoined to layout board structure at a pivot point that allows opening and closing in a book like or tablet like manner. Layout board structure and copy window panel work synergistically to create a static electrical energy field that holds subject matter in position without the need for any glues, tapes or other adhesive materials. Allows user to rapidly and easily arrange and rearrange subject matter. Protects reproduction equipment from paper clips staples, and other holding devices.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to copy holders, specifically to layout board holding and alignment devices used with master copy originals and photo reproduction processes.
2. Description of Prior Art
Copy reproduction equipment has become increasingly important in small and large businesses. Copy machine usage has been extended to include reproducing originals of various artwork layouts including newsletters, bulletins, flyers, and simple single sheet reproduction. Examples are the duplication of a second billing that includes a copy of the check already sent in payment; an invoice with separate shipping instructions; or a memo with special, separate routing information. Many companies that use fax machines need to overlay the original facsimile with various additional information.
Originally this type of reproduction work was performed by merely placing the original subject matter face down on the copy machine. Then the user would arrange these originals on the copy machine glass to try to obtain their desired result. Usually it would take several attempts and rearrangements of the subject matter, before the desired configuration and end results was reached. The exact image desired would then be reproduced by the photo reproduction apparatus and ultimately the final draft created. The main disadvantage of just placing the originals on the copier glass was that the subject matter had to be placed in a face-down position. Because the copy machine operator cannot view the subject matter when it is in the face down position, it is next to impossible to get it aligned correctly. Another disadvantage was that the original subject matter was laid loosely on the photocopy machine glass, allowing it to move freely from the desired position. Many times merely closing the copy machine cover will dislodge the positioning of the originals.
Another negative factor is the excessive time that it takes to correctly arrange the subject matter. This time spent by the user standing at the copy machine while they are arranging and rearranging their layout material, unnecessarily ties up the copy machine. In many offices this layout procedure was commonplace and created an undesirable bottle-neck at the copy machine or other reproduction apparatuses. Additionally, by a worker having to do their design and layout work at the copy machine and away from their assigned work area they are unable to carry on with their other daily routine work functions. This is especially true in instances where the photo reproduction equipment was placed in a back room.
Another way to prepare material for copy reproduction is to do it by freehand, using a plain sheet of white paper with no alignment device. Once the original subject matter had been arranged correctly on the sheet of paper, the individual would use some sort of glue, tape or wax adhesive to secure the subject matter. Also a person could place a sheet of paper on a lighted layout board which had a light illuminated from the back, through a grid, which cast a faint shadow onto the plain sheet of paper so the original material could be arranged. These methods were commonly referred to as paste-up work.
All of the previously practiced methods have primarily the same basic pit-falls. Without the assistance of an alignment grid, layout work is time consuming and the original subject matter often can not be arranged quickly or correctly the first time. It was difficult to align subject matter without the use of some sort of an aligning device. Furthermore, they required the use of an adhesive materials. Nevertheless if the desired end results were not obtained the first time after the photo reproduction was completed, the user was faced with the problem of rearranging the original subject matter after it had been fixed in position by the adhesive. Often, while attempting to get the subject matter removed from its original settings so it could be rearranged correctly, it would become torn or damaged. Many times the adhesive materials alone defaced or caused damage to the originals.
There are many types of sheet holding devices which are collectively and loosely named copy holders. They range from different types of carrier sheets to copy protector holders. There are also forms of transparent sheet holders that fall into the category of display holders. Each designed to display and hold variable information. Examples of display transparencies are restaurant menus, price sheets, or three-holed sheet holders that snap into three-ring binders. As of this time inventors have made little improvement in the field to develop efficient copy reproduction holders; especially as related to portable or hand-held layout boards for use in photo reproduction work.
The previously mentioned sheet holding devices are only marginally related prior art. The closest related of these prior arts to my invention is the carrier sheet. Which is used with some of the newer fax machines. The carrier sheets are used for feeding thin or small documents through these reproduction machines. One example of this type of usage is with the Sharp Electronic Corporation. This company has a carrier sheet included with their fax machine. It is called a carrier sheet and bears the code number PSHEZ2400SCZZ. It does not have patent numbers on the sheet, nor is any patent mentioned in the accompanying literature. However it is in public use. To my knowledge, this product is not patented. It is merely designed to be used as a document protector and carrier sheet. The purpose of the carrier sheet is to assist the user in automatic document feed operations and to reduce paper jamming during automatic document feed operations. It is not designed to be used as a layout board and alignment apparatus.
All of the sheet protectors, sheet holders, carrier sheet layouts and design boards heretofore known suffer from a number of one or more of these disadvantages:
(a) They lack portability. Draft tables and layout boards are stationary or large in design and require workers to leave their normal assigned work areas to do design and layout work. When the art work is completed, it must be transported to the photo reproduction equipment. If the desired results are not met after the photo reproduction process is completed, the worker must then go back to the drafting table or light board and redo their design and layout work.
(b) They do not have a non-photogenic natured grid. Sheet holders and carrier sheets lack a non-photogenic natured alignment grids and cannot be used effectively in the alignment of art work. Many reproduction processes must take place in order for the worker to achieve the desired end results. This is a waste of time and photo reproduction supplies.
(c) They do not have a freely pivoting transparent sheet panel window to allow quick and easy access to subject matter while doing photo reproduction work.
(d) They need an adhesive substance to affix the original art work to the draft sheet. These glues, tapes, or wax compounds subtract from the reusability of the original art work. If one uses a wax compound, the wax eventually bleeds through the original and damages the photogenic quality.
(e) They are not reusable. Single sheet layout paper that has a non-photogenic grid still requires the use of adhesive substances during paste up. Therefore the sheet of paper and original art work lack reusability or are at risk of suffering damage. The user is subjected to the cost of replenishing non-photogenic paper and original art work.
(f) They lack rapidness of rearrangement. Layout and design boards that require adhesive substances do not let the worker rapidly rearrange the artwork. A great deal of time is involved trying to dislodge the fixed originals from their set position, to reaffix the material and to align the new preferred design.
(g) They are not designed to be used as art work layout devices. Copy holders sheet holders and carrier sheets are not designed to work as layout boards. They simply lack the combination of components needed to properly facilitate design and layout work.

Copy reproduction holding and alignment layout apparatus


The vascula endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors of the present invention are naturally occurring or recombinantly engineered soluble forms with or without a C-terminal transmembrane region of the receptor for VEGF, a very selective growth factor for endothelial cells. The soluble forms of the receptors will bind the growth factor with high affinity but do not result in signal transduction. These soluble forms of the receptor bind VEGF and inhibit its function.

Recently a new class of cell-derived dimeric mitogens with selectivity for vascular endothelial cells has been identified and designated vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF). VEGF has been purified from conditioned growth media of rat glioma cells Conn et al., (1990), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 87, pp 2628-2632!; and conditioned growth media of bovine pituitary folliculo stellate cells Ferrara and Henzel, (1989), Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm., 161, pp. 851-858; Gozpadorowicz et al., (1989), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 86, pp. 7311-7315! and conditioned growth medium from human U937 cells Connolly, D. T. et al. (1989), Science, 246, pp. 1309-1312!. VEGF is a dimer with an apparent molecular mass of about 46 kDa with each subunit having an apparent molecular mass of about 23 kDa. VEGF has some structural similarities to platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), which is a mitogen for connective tissue cells but not mitogenic for vascular endothelial cells from large vessels.
The membrane-bound tyrosine kinase receptor, known as FLT, was shown to be a VEGF receptor DeVries, C. et al., (1992), Science, 255, pp.989-991!. The FLT receptor specifically binds VEGF which induces mitogenesis. Another form of the VEGF receptor, designated KDR, is also known to bind VEGF and induce mitogenesis. The partial cDNA sequence and nearly full length protein sequence of KDR is known as well Terman, B. I. et al., (1991) Oncogene 6, pp. 1677-1683; Terman, B. I. et al., (1992) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 187, pp. 1579-1586!.
Persistent angiogenesis may cause or exacerbate certain diseases such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, hemangiomas, angiofibromas, diabetic retinopathy and neovascular glaucoma. An inhibitor of VEGF activity would be useful as a treatment for such diseases and other VEGF-induced pathological angiogenesis and vascular permeability conditions, such as tumor vascularization.

Inhibitor of vascular endothelial cell growth factor


The piezoelectric and barrier liner for a high-pressure storage vessel is made out of PVDF-TrFE copolymer and the amount of crystallinity in the liner material is over 30%, preferably 35% at least.

Hollow composite structures, or pressure vessels, here referred to as "vessels", such as pressurized gas tanks, have traditionally been made out of metal such as steel or aluminum. However, in recent years, the use of composite vessels has become more prevalent. Such vessels are manufactured by a variety of processes, which include but are not limited to filament winding, resin transfer molding and bladder-assisted molding.
Most composite material exhibit a relatively high permeability to many fluids. It is therefore usually necessary to provide a barrier liner within the pressure vessel in order to prevent excessive leakage. Certain polymer based liners offer good resistance to permeation, heat and chemical attack, making them suitable for high pressure media storage. It is known in particular to include a HDPE liner in filament-wound composite vessels.
Furthermore, high pressure vessels require monitoring to avoid overfilling and to detect leakage. This is usually achieved through pressure sensors and regulators at the vessel neck. Such external pressure gauges are relatively expensive and they are usually fitted to the vessel only during service. For the rest of the time, in particular during storage and transportation phases, the pressure in the tank cannot readily be known. In order to overcome this drawback, patent document WO 2011/104 295 discloses a pressure vessel comprising a liner exhibiting both barrier and piezoelectric properties. Piezoelectric materials have shown suitability as pressure sensors, as they produce a charge when subjected to an external force, allowing changes in pressure to be measured. Accordingly, the above prior art document teaches that by using the piezoelectric liner to monitor the pressure inside the pressure vessel, it is possible to dispense with the external pressure gauge. Patent document WO 2011/104 295 is incorporated by reference.
One difficulty with the above solution is to provide a liner that combines excellent barrier properties with an intense piezoelectric effect. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide such a liner.

Method for obtaining a piezoelectric liner for a high pressure storage vessel