A compartment includes a first broad panel adapted to cover a first side of a body board, and a second broad panel adapted to cover a second side of the body board. The first broad panel includes an elastic lined first lip at a distal end of the first broad panel, and the second broad panel includes an elastic lined second lip at a distal end of the second broad panel. The lips form a boundary of an opening adapted for the body board to be inserted there-through and into the compartment. The first broad panel is adapted to extend over a distal end of the body board so that the first lip is positioned on the second side of the body board, and the second broad panel is adapted to extend over the distal end of the body board so that the second lip is positioned on the first side of the body board. An accessory compartment is attached to the second broad panel. The accessory compartment includes structure forming an elongated accessory compartment opening. The accessory compartment opening is positioned generally in a center of the accessory compartment, and divides the accessory compartment into two sections. The accessory compartment is adapted to retain at least two swim fins therein, at least one of the swim fins in each of the sections. The accessory compartment opening is bounded by two elastic lined elongated edges, whereby the swim fins are securely retainable within the sections.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to carriers, particularly to a carrier for a body board.
2. Description of the Related
Body boards should be protected from sun exposure, which can cause fading and material breakdown, and should also be protected from abrasion and damage during transportation.
What is needed is a specially designed carrier for a body board which is easy to use and carry, which protects the body board and accessories such as swim fins from damage, and which can remain relatively clean of sand and debris.


A cooking appliance includes a cooking cavity, a microwave module, and a turntable rotatably mounted in the cooking cavity. An upper pan is mounted above the turntable. The cooking appliance also includes a motor operatively coupled to the turntable to rotate the turntable and the upper pan within the cooking cavity.

A full meal or entire meal typically includes diverse types of food with diverse cooking requirements. The optimal or preferred cooking conditions or operations for each type of food may include different cooking times, different temperatures or other parameters, and even different energy sources. For example, an entire meal may include a meat, a starch, e.g., potatoes, and vegetables. One type of food, e.g., the vegetables and/or potatoes, may be optimally prepared using microwave energy, while another, e.g., the meat, may be optimally prepared using radiant and/or convective heat energy. Additionally, even when foods use the same energy source, the exposure time may vary, for example, the vegetables and potatoes may both be cooked with microwave energy, but the vegetables may require much less time. Further, some foods may require multiple energy sources for optimal preparation, such as potatoes may be most efficiently prepared by first exposing them to microwave energy to hasten the initial cooking process, then exposing them to radiant heat energy to complete the cooking process.
Thus, cooking an entire meal typically requires the use of multiple appliances and/or multiple operations with the same appliance. Referring again to the foregoing example meal, the potatoes may be started in a microwave appliance and then moved to an oven appliance, while the meat may be cooked on a cooktop appliance and/or in the oven appliance, and the vegetables may be prepared in the microwave appliance separately from the potatoes. Such complex operations requiring separate but simultaneous and/or overlapping operations in different appliances and/or multiple distinct operations of the same appliance increase the time and difficulty in preparing an entire meal.
Accordingly, a cooking appliance and method for operating the same that address one or more of the challenges noted above would be desirable.


The candidates are screened and then employed by administering to patients in need thereof of a drug candidate that affects heterotypic intercellular mechanotransduction. At least two types of cells are labeled with distinct intracellular fluorescent marker labels and combined to form a cell suspension and cultured to form a microtissue, such as spheroids. The cells or the spheroids are combined with a drug candidate, either before, during or after forming the spheroids. The distribution of the different cell types is compared to that of essentially the same suspension culture in the absence of the drug candidate. Alternatively, the cell power of cells cultured in a non-adherent mold that determines at least in part, the shape of microtissue formed is measured and compared with essentially the same cell suspension cultured in the same manner in the absence of a drug candidate. A patient in need thereof can be administered a drug identified as affecting heterotypic intercellular mechanotransduction. Alternatively, a macrotissue can be formed that is employed in therapeutic treatment of a patient in need thereof.

Cell-cell interactions are of wide fundamental importance to a myriad of processes that occur during development, wound healing, and metastasis. In addition to generating biochemical signals that trigger intracellular cascades, it is becoming increasingly clear that cell-cell interactions generate and sense mechanical forces and that these processes are equally important for controlling the behavior of cells and the surrounding tissue (1). This field of mechanotransduction is examining the effects of various mechanical forces including adhesive forces (e.g., cadherins) and tensile forces, (e.g., myosin contraction) as well as the effects of the stiffness of cell types and their surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM). Mechanical forces may not only mediate cell signaling, but also direct morphogenesis, cell migration and may be altered in certain disease states, such as metastasis and fibrosis (2-8).
An assay to quantify the collective forces that drive cell aggregation and the self-assembly of 3D microtissues can be employed (9). This assay measure the self-assembly of a multi-cellular toroid on a cone and it quantifies cell power, the work performed by a toroid as it moves up the nonadhesive cone against the force of gravity. This complex process may be driven by numerous factors including the number of surface adhesion proteins, cytoskeletal motors, and metabolic rate. Conversely, it is possible that self-assembly is opposed by other factors, such as cell stiffness, intransient receptor binding and other sources of friction.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and system that overcomes or minimizes the complexities and other problems of the above-referenced techniques.

Mechanotransduction by the synergistic action of heterotypic cell interactions


A method of forming a low temperature silicide film on a substrate includes supplying a source gas to a cluster formation chamber to form a gas cluster that is subsequently moved to an ionization-acceleration chamber to form a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB). The GCIB is injected into a processing chamber containing the substrate. A precursor gas is injected through an injection device located on a top portion of the processing chamber to form a silicide film on the substrate by bombarding the substrate with the GCIB in the presence of the precursor gas.

The present invention generally relates to semiconductor manufacturing and more particularly to low-temperature silicide film growth.
Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology is commonly used for fabricating field effect transistors (FETs) as part of advanced integrated circuits (IC), such as CPUs, memory, storage devices, and the like. Most common among these may be metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs). In a typical MOSFET, a gate structure may be energized to create an electric field in an underlying channel region of a substrate, by which charge carriers are allowed to travel through the channel region between a source region and a drain region. As ICs continue to scale downward in size, the use of high carrier mobility materials in the channel region may be considered to boost device performance for the 14 nm node and beyond. Group III-V materials, such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), may be potential candidates to replace silicon (Si) as the channel material.

Gas cluster reactor for anisotropic film growth

International Business Machines Corporation


A signal processing element that modulates beam from an input/output unit, an optical substrate mounting the signal processing element, and a temperature controller that controls a temperature of the signal processing element are included, the signal processing element includes an incidence surface on which the beam is incident, a modulation layer that modulates the beam from the incidence surface, and a driving substrate for controlling the modulation of the beam arranged on the opposite side of the incidence surface, the temperature controller is arranged opposite the driving substrate, the incidence surface is connected to the optical substrate by a first connection portion, the driving substrate is connected to the temperature controller by a second connection portion, and an area on the temperature controller side of the second connection portion is more greatly deformed than that on the driving substrate side according to change in volume of the temperature controller.

1. Field of the Invention
One aspect of the present invention relates to an optical unit and an optical device.
2. Related Background Art
A wavelength selective switch is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No, 2012-168287. This wavelength selective switch includes a housing that is partially formed of an optically transparent plate, an optical system mounted on one surface of the plate, and a deflection unit mounted on the other surface of the plate. The optical system includes an input port that inputs a wavelength multiplexed signal, a dispersion unit that disperses a beam from the input port into wavelength signals, and a condensing element that condenses the wavelength signals. The deflection unit deflects the wavelength signal and couples the wavelength signals to output ports. The deflection unit is an MEMS mirror array or an LCOS.


The invention relates to an arrangement comprising a travelling mechanism girder and a running wheel block fastened detachably thereto, wherein the running wheel block is comprised of a housing with at least one connection surface and a running wheel which is mounted in the housing and protrudes out of the housing. To facilitate the exchange of running wheel blocks, alignment of the running wheel block with respect to the travelling mechanism girder is secured through the use of a machined groove, in which a machined plate is held in a form-fitting manner, arranged on the connection surface of the running wheel block. After the running wheel block has been properly aligned, the plate is fixedly connected to the travelling mechanism girder, maintaining the alignment. The invention also relates to a method for the installation of an arrangement consisting of a travelling mechanism girder and a running wheel block.

The invention relates to an arrangement comprising a travelling mechanism girder and a running wheel block releasably attached thereto, wherein the running wheel block is comprised of a housing having at least one connection surface and a running wheel mounted in the housing and protruding out of the housing, and the running wheel block is aligned with respect to the travelling mechanism girder.
The invention also relates to a method for assembling an arrangement comprising a travelling mechanism girder and a running wheel block, wherein the running wheel block is comprised of a housing having at least one connection surface and a running wheel mounted in the housing and protruding out of the housing, wherein the running wheel block is aligned with respect to the travelling mechanism girder and is screwed thereto.
Various types of running wheel blocks are known whose design provides for or allows for the replacement of the running wheel or running wheel block in different ways.
German patent specification DE 10 2004 008 552 B3 discloses a cuboid running wheel block having a housing which has at least one connection surface receiving a bearing force. Rotary bearing seating surfaces for sliding and/or roller bearings for supporting a running wheel are disposed in opposite sidewalls of the housing. In order to remove the running wheel from the housing, the sliding and/or roller bearings can be removed from the exterior and the running wheel can be dismounted towards a side located approximately transversely thereto.
Furthermore, German patent specification DE 31 34 750 C2 discloses running wheel blocks which are formed from two halves of a bearing housing welded together. Rotary bearing seating surfaces for bearings are press-fit into the bearing housing, and a hub of a running wheel is supported in the seating surfaces. In order to screw the running wheel block to a travelling mechanism girder, such as for an end carriage of a crane, bores are provided in an upper connection surface and all other sides of the housing and are used to accommodate attachment screws. However, it is only possible to replace this running wheel block in its entirety. After replacement, the entire running wheel block must again be attached to the travelling mechanism girder in precisely the same way as in the initial assembly, by means of screws. The running wheel block is to be aligned with the other running wheels in its position relative to the travelling mechanism girder so that the rotational axis of the running wheel extends perpendicularly with respect to the running wheel track on which the running wheel rolls.
Because of the alignment, this assembly process is time-intensive. If the alignment process is not implemented, there is the risk that the running wheels are chipped or abraded due to skewing on the running wheel track, resulting in more rapid wear. In the case of a bridge crane, there is also the risk that the travelling behavior of the bridge crane is susceptibly disrupted by skewing, rubbing and flange wear. In addition, as the skew angle increases, lateral forces occur which impart stress to the travelling mechanism girder beyond the service conditions. This problem is described in detail in DIN 15018.

Arrangement consisting of a travelling gear carrier and a running wheel block fastened detachably thereto, and installation method therefor


A hydrogen separation membrane including: a metal layer including the at least one Group 5 element; and a transition metal catalyst layer on the metal layer, the transition metal catalyst layer including at least one transition metal and at least one of phosphorus (P) or boron (B).

1. Field
A hydrogen separation membrane and a hydrogen separation device including the hydrogen separation membrane are disclosed.
2. Description of the Related Art
A hydrogen separation membrane selectively separates hydrogen gas from a gas mixture including hydrogen gas, and is applied for producing high purity hydrogen or the like. For example, when methane gas is modified, hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) gasses are produced. By passing the mixed gas through the hydrogen separation membrane, high purity hydrogen may be obtained since carbon dioxide is not passed through the separation membrane, and only hydrogen gas is passed.
A polymer, a ceramic, a metal, or the like has been developed for a material for a hydrogen separation membrane. Among them, the metal hydrogen separation membrane has high selectivity to hydrogen and thus can provide ultrahigh purity hydrogen. The ultrahigh purity hydrogen separated through the metal hydrogen separation membrane has a merit of being directly applied to a polymer electrolyte fuel cell or the like.
The polymer electrolyte fuel cell uses a platinum catalyst for oxidizing the hydrogen gas into hydrogen ions. As the platinum catalyst is easily poisoned by carbon monoxide (CO), if that occurs, the fuel cell performance is remarkably deteriorated. Accordingly, when using the ultrahigh purity hydrogen produced with the metal hydrogen separation membrane, the platinum catalyst may be prevented from being poisoned by carbon monoxide, and the polymer electrolyte fuel cell may be driven at high efficiency and for a long time.
Since hydrogen may permeate through the metal hydrogen separation membrane by dissociating hydrogen molecules in the inlet surface, diffusing hydrogen atoms in the metal, and recombining hydrogen atoms in the outlet surface, the hydrogen decomposition/recombination catalyst characteristics of the metal separation membrane surface and the inner crystal structure of the metal separation are of interest. Since the high hydrogen permeation characteristics of palladium (Pd) were reported, palladium (Pd)-based hydrogen separation membranes have been much studied (see, for example, S. Yun et al., J. Membr. Sci. 375, 2011, 28-45, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). Nonetheless, there remains a need for an improved hydrogen separation membrane.

Hydrogen separation membrane and device including hydrogen separation membrane


A test support process and a test support program for producing a post-update test pattern when a program under test is updated. When a program under development is updated, a post-update operation description defining details of an operation of a function included in the program under development after the update is acquired. Next, a pre-update operation description having high commonality with the post-update operation description is selected from among pre-update operation descriptions defining details of operations of functions included in the program under development before the update. A pre-update test pattern for an operational test of the selected pre-update operation description is extracted from among pre-update test patterns prepared for operational tests of the program under development before the update. A post-update test pattern for an operational test of the post-update operation description is generated by inheriting at least a portion of the extracted pre-update test pattern.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a test support program and a test support process for supporting an operational test which is performed for verifying a function of software under development. In particular, the present invention relates to a test support program and a test support process for supporting generation of a test pattern which is used in a test, where the test pattern contains at least one parameter to be inputted to a function and a return value to be returned from the function.
2) Description of the Related Art
In development of large-scale software, it is impossible to produce a program which contains no bug, from the beginning. Therefore, in order to develop software, it is necessary to check that a produced program operates as designed. When bugs are found by a test during development, and the program is appropriately corrected, it is possible to develop software which correctly operates as designed.
For example, in programs produced in an object-oriented manner, a method is produced for each function. Each method executes predetermined processing according to inputted data, and outputs a return value. Therefore, when an object-oriented program is tested, a test pattern including data to be inputted to each method and a return value to be outputted in correspondence with the inputted data is produced. It is possible to verify whether or not the program correctly operates, based on whether or not each method outputs an identical value as the test pattern in response to each input when the method is executed.
However, in software development, a great amount of man-hours are needed for testing. In particular, in the case where importance is placed on quality, sometimes the man-hour ratio between programming and program testing becomes 2:8.
Increase in the efficiency in the program testing is a great challenge to software development. In order to increase the efficiency of the program testing, test support tools have been developed. One of known test support tools, which is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-250884, automatically generates a driver, a stub, and a command string for debugger control.
The driver is a module for calling a module to be tested, the stub is a module for duplicating an operation of a module subordinate to the module to be tested, and the command string for debugger control specifies at least one location at which input data as at least one variable is to be set and at least one field which is actually used in an executable statement, and prompts setting of the input data and confirmation of a result, where the at least one variable is necessary for execution of the module to be tested.
However, the test support tools can generate only minimal test patterns necessary for testing. Therefore, in order to perform a test with high reliability, it is necessary to additionally prepare test patterns containing various combinations of parameters and return values according to information which is assumed to represent functions of software and objects to be processed. In this case, operators are required to manually input the additionally prepared test patterns in accordance with the functions of the software as appropriate.
Further, when a program test is performed with high reliability, a great number of troubles (for example, with an average rate of 10 troubles/Ksteps, i.e., ten troubles in a thousand steps) are detected, and the troubles are corrected or specification is changed according to the troubles. Therefore, operations for changing test patterns in accordance with the program changes are frequently performed.
As explained above, conventionally, every time a software program under development is changed, a bothersome operation for changing test patterns is performed. Thus, enormous efforts have been expended for production of test patterns. Further, even when the test support tools are used, the work load of the production of test patterns cannot be reduced. Thus, the impossibility of reduction of the work load of the production of test patterns impedes use of the test support tools.

Program and process for generating data used in software function test


A system and method for detecting a substance using x-ray fluorescence is disclosed. The detected substances may be explosives or controlled substances that have a specific chemical fluorescent signature. An energy source transmits an x-ray beam at a target. The target may be in a container or under a surface. The beam interacts with the target to produce fluorescent energy. An x-ray detector is at an angle relative to the energy source and gathers the fluorescent energy. The angle differs according to the physical configuration of the system. A portable embodiment will have a different angle than a stationary embodiment. A cooling mechanism cools the x-ray detector. The fluorescent energy is analyzed and processed by a multichannel analyzer and a computer. The computer determines whether the fluorescent energy from the target matches known fluorescent energies of specific substances. If the substance is detected, appropriate indications are made to prevent damage or acceptance of the substance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to substance and material identifying, including detection, inspection, and classification. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system operating in the x-ray portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to identify specific elements and unique mixtures of elements that are components in controlled substances.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Detection of explosives and controlled substances is increasing in importance. Whether at the airport, a building, or in military applications, quick and confident detection is needed for safety and convenience. Detection techniques are preferable to random searches that require one to make their selves and bags available for visual searches. Plus, detection techniques may be employed for a higher confidence level that everyone or everything has been subjected. Current detection techniques may include neutron activation analysis, x-ray absorption and scattering, resonance fluorescence directly on nuclei in the substance, quadrupole resonance with the nucleus of atoms, and various chemical sensors.
Neutron activation may require a large energy source, such as an accelerator, that consumer high power to be capable of measuring the ratios of atomic constituents directly, such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon. X-ray absorption and scattering may require complex predictive software, which may result in a high false alarm rate. Resonance fluorescence may require a large, complex energy source for operation. Quadrupole resonance techniques may suffer from a short range of reliable detection. Chemical sensors may have a slow response and a short range, and may not operate reliably under certain environmental conditions, such as high humidity.

System and method for adapting a software control in an operating environment


A Software System, known as an Automatic Well Planning Risk Assessment Software System, is adapted to determine and display risk information in response to a plurality of input data by: receiving the plurality of input data, the input data including a plurality of input data calculation results; comparing each calculation result of the plurality of input data calculation results with each logical expression of a plurality of logical expressions; ranking by the logical expression the calculation result; and generating a plurality of ranked risk values in response thereto, each of the plurality of ranked risk values representing an input data calculation result that has been ranked by the logical expression as either a high risk or a medium risk or a low risk; generating the risk information in response to the plurality of ranked risk values; and displaying the risk information.

The subject matter of the present invention relates to a software system adapted to be stored in a computer system, such as a personal computer, for providing a qualitative and quantitative risk assessment based on technical wellbore design and Earth properties.
Minimizing wellbore costs and associated risks requires wellbore construction planning techniques that account for the interdependencies involved in the wellbore design. The inherent difficulty is that most design processes and systems exist as independent tools used for individual tasks by the various disciplines involved in the planning process. In an environment where increasingly difficult wells of higher value are being drilled with fewer resources, there is now, more than ever, a need for a rapid well-planning, cost, and risk assessment tool.
This specification discloses a software system representing an automated process adapted for integrating both a wellbore construction planning workflow and accounting for process interdependencies. The automated process is based on a drilling simulator, the process representing a highly interactive process which is encompassed in a software system that: (1) allows well construction practices to be tightly linked to geological and geomechanical models, (2) enables asset teams to plan realistic well trajectories by automatically generating cost estimates with a risk assessment, thereby allowing quick screening and economic evaluation of prospects, (3) enables asset teams to quantify the value of additional information by providing insight into the business impact of project uncertainties, (4) reduces the time required for drilling engineers to assess risks and create probabilistic time and cost estimates faithful to an engineered well design, (5) permits drilling engineers to immediately assess the business impact and associated risks of applying new technologies, new procedures, or different approaches to a well design. Discussion of these points illustrate the application of the workflow and verify the value, speed, and accuracy of this integrated well planning and decision-support tool.
Identifying the risks associated with drilling a well is probably the most subjective process in well planning today. This is based on a person recognizing part of a technical well design that is out of place relative to the earth properties or mechanical equipment to be used to drill the well. The identification of any risks is brought about by integrating all of the well, earth, and equipment information in the mind of a person and mentally sifting through all of the information, mapping the interdependencies, and based solely on personal experience extracting which parts of the project pose what potential risks to the overall success of that project. This is tremendously sensitive to human bias, the individual's ability to remember and integrate all of the data in their mind, and the individuals experience to enable them to recognize the conditions that trigger each drilling risk. Most people are not equipped to do this and those that do are very inconsistent unless strict process and checklists are followed. There are some drilling risk software systems in existence today, but they all require the same human process to identify and assess the likelihood of each individual risks and the consequences. They are simply a computer system for manually recording the results of the risk identification process.
The Risk Assessment sub-task associated with the 'Automatic Well Planning Software System' of the present invention is a system that will automatically assess risks associated with the technical well design decisions in relation to the earth's geology and geomechanical properties and in relation to the mechanical limitations of the equipment specified or recommended for use.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus and program storage device adapted for automatic qualitative and quantitative risk assessment based on technical wellbore design and earth properties


A conductive composite includes a first layer of elastomeric polymer, a layer of electrically conductive paste on the first layer of elastomeric polymer, and a second layer of elastomeric polymer on the layer of electrically conductive paste. A reinforcement mesh is in contact with the layer of electrically conductive paste.

A conductive composite, broadly defined, is any composite having significant electrical or thermal conductivity. Such conductive composites have a broad range of uses in areas such as telecommunications, power generation and distribution, defense, aerospace, medicine, and other areas.
Conductive composites are commonly manufactured by and/or properties are achieved by incorporating a polymeric material with solid conductive particles. To achieve sufficient conductivity, i.e., to reach percolation, high particle loading, typically in excess of 45 volume %, is often needed. The polymers used with these particle loading levels are normally rigid materials. As a consequence, these particle loading levels result in conductive films and coatings that have properties such as elongation at break, tensile strength, and thermal stability that make them inappropriate or difficult to use.
Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue with research and development in the field of conductive composites.

Conductive composite and method for manufacturing a conductive composite


A monolithic, micromechanical vibrating beam accelerometer with a trimmable resonant frequency is fabricated from a silicon substrate which has been selectively etched to provide a resonant structure suspended over an etched pit. The resonant structure comprises an acceleration sensitive mass and at least two flexible elements having resonant frequencies. Each of the flexible elements is disposed generally collinear with at least one acceleration sensitive axis of the accelerometer. One end of at least one of the flexible elements is attached to a tension relief beam for providing stress relief of tensile forces created during the fabrication process. Mass support beams having a high aspect ratio support the mass over the etched pit while allowing the mass to move freely in the direction collinear with the flexible elements. Also disclosed is a method for fabricating such an accelerometer. Further disclosed is an alternative embodiment of the aforementioned accelerometer characterized by a low profile, and alternative planar processing methods for fabrication of these and other embodiments.

Accelerometers serve as one of the major sensors used in inertial navigation systems as well as various other safety and control systems.
Accurate and reliable accelerometers require great precision and uniform operating results. Prior art accelerometers are generally assembled from a number of components which creates tremendous assembly problems associated with such precision devices. In addition, these accelerometers are typically large and may not be radiation hard.
Although other prior art accelerometers are fabricated utilizing a micromechanical process, no provisions are made for electrically isolating the proof mass from the flexures which is required to accurately and independently drive and sense the resonant frequency of each of the flexures. Additionally, none of these prior art devices have provided reliable means for easily and accurately adjusting the natural resonant frequency of the flexure. Stresses from sources such as impurity doping affect device performance and reliability in the absence of stress relief. Similarly, strain introduced by mechanical bending or thermal stress in the substrate also affects performance due to a lack of strain relief.
Some prior art accelerometers fabricated by a micromechanical process use anodic bonding of a glass substrate containing electrodes to a silicon substrate containing an active silicon device. However, a number of disadvantages associated with silicon-on-glass devices are known. Anodic bonding, typically undertaken at 370 degrees centigrade and using 900 Volts DC, is complicated by the necessity of maintaining the glass and silicon substrates in precise alignment. Such alignment during bonding is additionally complicated by a difference in thermal characteristics between glass and silicon; stress is observed as a result of thermal mismatch. Curling of the silicon substrate from the glass substrate is also commonly observed. Bonding glass and silicon substrates allows foreign matter to lodge in the gap between the proof mass and electrodes or substrate, thus degrading device performance. Further, glass substrates are incompatible with other on-chip circuitry, and are subject to undesirable charge build-up.
Silicon-on-sapphire is also known in the art as a common silicon-on-insulator (SOI) starting material for micromechanical sensors. However, expense and contamination issues have limited the usefulness of this substrate.

Micromechanical accelerometer having a peripherally suspended proof mass

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.


A wall covering is arranged to provide for opaque panels mounted with transparent panels, and wherein the opaque panels are arranged to include transparent windows therethrough to permit viewing of a wall surface accommodating the wall covering structure. A modification of the invention includes vertical reservoirs arranged in adjacency and coextensively relative to one another to define the panels, wherein the reservoirs are arranged for the reception and subsequent selective drainage of contrastingly colored fluids therewithin. Photochromic panel members are arranged for positioning as desired on the outer surface of the reservoirs.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to wall covering structure, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved wall covering wherein the same is arranged to effect covering and modification of existing wall surfaces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Coverings of various types are utilized throughout the prior art to effect the covering of existing structure, wherein various prior art examples include various coverings arranged for the complete covering of prior wall surfaces. The instant invention attempts to overcome deficiencies of the prior art by permitting the prior wall covering surfaces to be viewed through the invention to utilize the prior wall covering surface in combination with the covering of the instant invention to provide for the cumulative viewing of the existing wall coloration in addition to the wall covering coloration of the instant invention.


A flow deflector grid (10) for a nuclear fuel assembly, comprising a plurality of metal strips (12,14) which intersect in a regular array to form an egg-crate type lattice, which defines a plurality of coolant flow channels (16). Each channel has sidewalls (42,44) defined by the strips, a height dimension defined by the height of the strips, a plurality of corners (46) defined by the strip intersections (26), a channel central axis parallel to the height dimension, and a flow cross section normal to the channel axis for coaxially receiving a fuel rod (18) spaced within the channel sidewalls. A unitary flow deflector member (30) is attached to and situated in the corner of each channel so as to be cradled between first and second sidewalls. The deflector member has a hood portion which projects above the height dimension of the channel and which includes a substantially planar vane (66) extending obliquely upward from the first sidewall and oriented transversely to the channel axis, and a substantially planar flow containment wall (48) extending substantially vertically from the second sidewall to the vane. The deflector member also includes a lower, angled bracing portion (50,52) having a height substantially equal to the height dimension of the channel and being attached to and cradled in the corner of the channel, with the hood portion integrally projecting above the bracing portion.

The present invention relates to light water nuclear fuel assemblies, and more particularly, to nuclear fuel assembly grids which carry structure for deflecting coolant flow.
Nuclear reactor engineers have for many years recognized the advantage of thoroughly mixing the reactor coolant within and between flow channels associated with each fuel rod in a light water nuclear reactor fuel assembly. It is a simple matter to provide flow deflecting structure on the fuel assembly grids, but a number of other considerations must be taken into account in order to arrive at a satisfactory design. These other considerations include the increased pressure drop resulting from the added flow resistance due to the presence of deflector structure, and the added parasitic neutron absorption by the deflector structure, which can affect achievable power levels, cycle burnup, and local power distribution.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,090, "Split-Vaned Nuclear Fuel Assembly Grid," issued November 7, 1989, discloses a refinement to a basic deflector concept which has been known for decades. The basic concept is to provide vanes or tabs that are integrally formed on the upper edges of the interlaced strips of a grid, and bent over into the flow channel so as to deflect the upwardly flowing coolant. In the '090 patent, each channel is shown as having two or three vanes associated therewith. The vanes are initially formed in pairs with a slit and recess between them, such that each member of the pair can be bent in an opposite direction. A weld nugget is formed in the recess between the vanes, for joining the strips which intersect each other through the slit between the vanes.
One disadvantage of this type of flow deflecting vane, is that the cantilevered orientation permits considerable leakage laterally, thereby reducing the amount of flow that can be deflected in the intended direction. Secondly, during reconstitution of fuel assemblies, such vanes are easily deformed by a misaligned fuel rod, necessitating repair or fabrication delay.
Another relatively old concept is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,814,666, "Staggered Cone Deflectors," issued Jun. 4, 1974; 3,844,888, "Helical Flow Deflector Cone For Fuel Element Assemblies," issued Oct. 29, 1974; and 3,663,367, "Flow Deflector For Nuclear Fuel Element Assemblies," issued May 16, 1972 and reissued Mar. 11, 1975 as Re.28,362. The concept underlying these patents, is to provide a generally conical flow deflecting structure at the intersection of the grid strips, with the apex of the cone at the upstream end of the grid, such that the increasing cross-sectional area presented by the cone to the flow, produces lateral flow deflection. The flow through the grid adjacent a particular fuel rod, is deflected back toward the same fuel rod. Although the solid inverted cone such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,663,367 and its reissue, proved very effective in certain flow regimes, the grid pressure drop was in most cases excessive. The cone deflectors are more robust than the split vanes or tabs of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,090, but the cones do not impart a swirling flow pattern to the coolant. A swirl pattern is desirable because it helps reduce the peak to average hot channel factor.


A protein produced by gene recombinant technology, including at least one domain selected from domains I, II, and III of serum albumin but having a different structure from that of native albumin; and a method of producing the protein. The protein has an enhanced functional activity or activities selected from among various functional activities or serum albumin including antibacterial activity, antioxidative effect, inflammation inhibitory effect, in vivo substance transporting action, and enzymatic activity.

The present invention relates to a protein containing a serum albumin domain. The present invention more specifically relates to a protein having an enhanced functional activity or activities selected from among the various functional activities of the domains of serum albumin including antibacterial activity, antioxidative effect, inflammation inhibitory effect, in vivo substance transporting action, and enzymatic activity. Such a protein is provided by producing proteins of various combinations of serum albumin domains by gene recombinant technology.


A sector data decoding circuit of a CD-ROM drive including an external memory has an input data processing unit which rearranges data received from a frame decoder of the CD-ROM drive into a CD-ROM sector data format. The rearranged data is stored in the external memory, Q and P signals are generated as is an error correcting interval signal. An L-plane error correcting unit and an R-plane error correcting unit are provided for respectively performing error correction on the L-plane and R-plane data within the one sector data stored in the external memory. A host data transmitting unit transmits the data stored in the external memory after being error corrected, to a host computer. Thus, the error correcting process separately performs error correction in parallel to shorten a period of receiving the data, thereby affording much more time in transmitting the data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sector data decoder in a CD-ROM drive. More particularly it relates to a sector data decoding method and circuit in a CD-ROM drive in which two error correction modules using error correction parity information located within sector data are provided for performing error correction in parallel. Using two error correction modules shortens the time required for decoding the sector data, thereby providing the capability to correspond with a high-speed host computer, which follows the current trend of attaining high-speed operation of a CD-ROM. The present application is based upon Korean Application No. 20634/1996, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
A decoding circuit according to a conventional technique is constructed as shown in FIG. 1. The decoding circuit of FIG. 1 includes an input data storing unit 101 for storing in an external memory 102 data input from a CD-DA unit of a preprocessing portion of a CD-ROM, an error correcting unit 103 for correcting an error in sector data, and a host data transmitting unit 104 for transmitting data to a host computer.
Referring to FIG. 1, generally, the error correction process begins after storing in external memory 102 one sector data of the input sector data. At this time, L-plane and R-plane data corresponding to the same offset are simultaneously read out from external memory 102, error correction is independently executed with respect to the data separated into the L-plane and R-plane, and the result is stored in external memory 102. FIG. 4 represents 1170 bytes of data which correspond to the L-plane, from among 2340 bytes which correspond to 2352 bytes of sector data less 12 bytes of SYNC data. The R-plane data has the same format as the L-plane data and accounts for the other 1170 bytes of non-SYNC sector data.
Here, the L and R-planes (L/R-planes) are processed by the same error correcting process which is carried out in such a manner that a Q code word correction operation is first executed prior to execution of a P code word correction operation. The P code word consists of a total of 43 code words, in which each of the code words consists of 26 bytes. Also, Q code words number 26 in total, and each of those code words consists of 45 bytes.
In the conventional error correcting process discussed above, as shown in FIG. 3, the 26 Q code words of the L-plane are subjected to correction prior to correction of the 43 P code words of the L-plane. Then, correction of the Q and P code words is carried out with respect to the R-plane. That is, correction of the Q and P code words is repeatedly performed with respect to the L/R-planes.
When performing such an error correcting process, all data is read out from external memory 102 and input to error correcting unit 103. Thereafter, the error value is calculated and the result is stored in external memory 102. However, this process involves frequent access of the external memory which has the effect of impeding operations other than error correction in using external memory 102. Besides, the operation of input data storing unit 101, error correcting unit 103 and host data transmitting unit 104 are independently executed with respect to data stored in external memory 102 in units of one sector data.
Generally, a digital data signal processing section of a CD-ROM system is largely divided into a plane decoder and a sector data decoder of the CD-DA unit. Here, data received from the plane decoder is rearranged in the form of sector data to be stored in external memory 102. When one sector data (of 2352 bytes) is completely stored by input data storing unit 101, error correction is performed by error correcting unit 103. At this time, one sector is divided into the L/R-planes, and the error correcting process is carried out twice to store the result in external memory 102 again. Upon finishing the error correcting process, the corrected data is transmitted to the host computer via host data transmitting unit 104, so that the operation of the sector data processing unit of the CD-ROM is completed.
The sector data format used is illustrated in FIG. 3, and the plane format of the sector data subjected to error correction is illustrated in FIG. 4.
However, error correction is performed by dividing one sector data stored in external memory 102 into two left and right L/R-planes, in which, after the error correction process for the first plane is completed, the second plane is subjected to error correction. The time taken for performing the foregoing two steps is being given much weight along with attaining the high speed trend in the CD-ROM system. Due to this fact, the error correcting pattern has significantly hindered heightening the processing speed when being changed into the high-speed system.

Sector data decoding method and circuit in a CD-ROM drive


A disposable bedpan system for use with a patient underlayment that has a cavity in registry with the buttocks of a supine patient lying thereon is provided wherein the disposable bedpan is supported in said cavity by a laterally-collapsible hoop-like support. In the best mode, the hoop-like support has fulcrum extensions to provide support therefor from a horizontal support upon which said underlayment rest and markings on the disposable bedpan provide a tool to measure the volume of waste from the patient. A padded plug that fills the space between the hoop-like support and the top of the underlayment provides comfort for the patient while the bedpan is installed but not in use.

This invention is related to inventions disclosed in prior patents, issued to a co-inventor hereof Sandra Stefano, as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,949,409 and 5,081,721, both of which issued patents are incorporated herein by reference.
It is known from these patents to provide an inflatable mattress having a through passage therein in registry with the buttocks of a supine patient lying thereupon wherein the through passage provides a cavity to accommodate a bedpan of common commercial use so that, owing to the low inflation pressure of the inflatable mattress, the surface of the mattress may easily be depressed, thereby to permit such bedpan of common commercial use to be inserted into--and subsequently removed from--the cavity.
It is also known to provide disposable bedpans that are used in conjunction with other patient lift devices that are far more rigid than are those described in my aforementioned previous patents. These disposable bedpans that are known comprise bags formed of flexible plastic sheeting and these bags may have a reinforced edge surrounding the opening thereof. In some cases, the edge may be attached to a more rigid rim that is not unlike a toilet seat, which rim maintains the opening in an open configuration to receive wastes while the rim may also serve to hold the bag in position for use by engaging the patient lift device. These known disposable bedpans are not suitable for use with the patient lift devices described in my aforementioned previous patents, nor are they seen as suitable for use in with a standard mattress, whether of foam, upholstered, or innerspring varieties, that are relatively simply adapted with a bedpan hole or bedpan depression therein.
The foregoing illustrates limitations known to exist in present devices and methods. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features more fullly disclosed hereinafter.

Disposable bedpan system for use with elevated patient support


An electric razor is provided with a linear actuator having a stator which includes an electromagnet and also having a moving element which includes a permanent magnet. The electric razor is also provided with an amplitude control unit and a control/output unit, which detect the amplitude and speed of the moving element on the basis of an induced voltage occurring in the winding of the stator as the moving element reciprocates, compare the detected speed and a formerly detected speed, and, according to the difference representing the result of the comparison, change a method for controlling the moving element.

In the prior art, a known hair removal device (such as an electric shaver) includes a fixed element formed by an electromagnet, a movable element including a permanent magnet, and a controller controlling drive current supplied to a coil of the electromagnet. Such a hair removal device uses a linear actuator that oscillates and moves the movable element back and forth relative to the fixed element to remove hair. For example, patent document 1 discloses a hair removal device and proposes a technique that detects induced voltage generated in a coil of an electromagnet to detect motion (movement, speed, or acceleration) of a movable element. This hair removal device includes a controller to control the amplitudes of the movable element and an internal blade to be a predetermined fixed value.

Epilator and method for driving epilator

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


An anti-rolling socket. One end of the socket is formed with a fitting hole for fitting on a threaded member. An annular rib with a certain angle of arch is formed on a circumference of the socket to form a maximum outer diameter of the socket. A distance from a first end of the socket to the rib is longer than a distance from a second end of the socket to the rib. In the case that the annular rib has a 360 degree arch, when the socket is placed on a plane, the annular rib and the first end of the socket contact with the plane. When the socket rolls, the socket rolls about a circle. In the case that the annular rib has an arch that the angle of which is less than 360 degrees, when the socket rolls, the socket can only roll within a range less than one circle.

FIGS. 1A and 1B respectively show two types of conventional sockets 10 and 12. The first type of socket 10 has a large diameter end 14 and a small diameter end 16. The second type of socket 12 has a unified outer diameter. Both the sockets have a cylindrical shape. When placing the socket on a ground, the socket tends to roll on the ground. (With respect to the socket 10, the heavier large diameter end 14 will roll on the ground, while the small diameter end 16 will not contact the ground. ) The cylindrical socket tends to linearly roll randomly, especially in the case that the ground is inclined or a worker kicks the socket. It often takes place that the socket rolls into a hidden corner or under a machine bed and is hard to recover. Especially in a large-size working site such as a repair work, the socket often rolls away unexpectedly and is lost. It leads to inconvenience in working.


The invention provides a topical pharmaceutical composition for the prevention and treatment of lesions and sores of the skin or mucosa associated with a herpes virus, comprising a salt of an unsaturated C.sub.14-18 fatty acid having 1-2 double bonds as active ingredient therein, in combination with a pharmaceutically or cosmetically acceptable carrier.

As compared to other areas of infectious disease, antiviral therapy has rapidly advanced during the last decades. However, despite intense efforts by pharmaceutical companies, relatively few antiviral drugs are available, in contrast to the plethora of antibiotics in clinical use. There are two main reasons for the limited use of antiviral agents: (1) most drug candidates have proven too toxic in humans, and (2) the widespread use of some antiviral agents has led to emergence of drug-resistant virus strains, particularly in immunocompromised patients.
Due to the above constraints in use of antiviral agents, and following surprising results obtained and presented herewith, the present invention is meant to provide novel compositions which prevent, and/or provide, symptomatic relief of lesions and sores associated with a herpes virus, and which compositions do not require the presence of a nucleoside analogue or any other antiviral agent now in use.
More specifically, in Israel Specification 104,283 there is described and claimed an antiviral topical pharmaceutical composition for treating viral diseases of the skin or mucosa, comprising a poorly soluble antiviral nucleoside derivative dispersed in an aqueous gel carrier containing a gelling agent and a water-solubilized carboxylic or dicarboxylic acid salt. The teachings of said specification are incorporated herein by reference.
The invention described in said specification was based on the discovery that said formulation achieved better anti-viral effect than the ZoviraxR ointment or cream available on the market today.
After further research and development, however, it was surprisingly discovered that the composition described in said specification, in what was thought to be a placebo and in which the soluble anti-viral nucleoside derivative, i.e., acyclovir, was absent, also achieved better effect than the ZoviraxR ointment or cream available on the market today.
It has been concluded from the research performed with the nucleoside drug and with its absence that the antiviral effect of the composition is due to the enhanced penetration of the fatty acids as salts rather than free acids. The penetration of any antiviral agent is critical for the effective treatment of herpes virus, since the replication of the virus and the vesicles eruption occur deep in the basal epidermis (Stratum Granulosum).
Therefore, in light of this surprising discovery, the present invention relates to a topical pharmaceutical composition for the prevention and treatment of lesions and sores of the skin or mucosa associated with a herpes virus, comprising a salt of an unsaturated C.sub.14-18 fatty acid having 1-2 double bonds as active ingredient therein, in combination with a pharmaceutically or cosmetically acceptable carrier.

Topical preparation for the prevention and treatment of lesions and sores associated with a herpes virus


The present invention generally relates to methods for the rapid thermal processing (RTP) of a substrate. Embodiments of the invention include controlling a thermal process using either a real-time adaptive control algorithm or by using a control algorithm that is selected from a suite of fixed control algorithms designed for a variety of substrate types. Selection of the control algorithm is based on optical properties of the substrate measured during the thermal process. In one embodiment, a combination of control algorithms are used, wherein the majority of lamp groupings are controlled with a fixed control algorithm and a substantially smaller number of lamp zones are controlled by an adaptive control algorithm.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods of thermally processing a material such as a semiconductor substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of applications involve thermal processing of semiconductor and other materials, which require precise measurement and control of the temperature of the material. For instance, processing of a semiconductor substrate requires precise measurement and control of the temperature over a wide range of temperatures. One example of such processing is rapid thermal processing (RTP), which is used for a number of fabrication processes, including rapid thermal annealing (RTA), rapid thermal cleaning (RTC), rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition (RTCVD), rapid thermal oxidation (RTO), and rapid thermal nitridation (RTN). In the particular application of CMOS gate dielectric formation by RTO or RTN, thickness, growth temperature, and uniformity of the gate dielectrics are parameters that influence the overall device performance and fabrication yield. Some of these processes require variations in temperature across the substrate of less than a few degrees Celsius.
It is desirable to obtain temperature uniformity in a substrate during thermal processing of the substrate. Temperature uniformity provides uniform process variables on the substrate (e.g. layer thickness, resistivity, etch depth) for temperature activated steps such as film deposition, oxide growth and etching. In addition, temperature uniformity in the substrate is necessary to prevent thermal stress-induced substrate damage such as warpage, defect generation and slip. For example, at 1150° C., a center to edge temperature difference on a four-inch silicon wafer of approximately 5° C. can induce dislocation formation and slip.
Temperature gradients may also be induced by other sources. For example, a substrate may have non-uniform emissivity because of spatial modifications to surface areas or volumes of the substrate. These modifications may include films that have been patterned by photolithography or locally doped regions, such as buried layers for bipolar transistors. In addition, substrate temperature gradients may be induced by localized gas cooling or heating effects related to processing chamber design as well as non-uniform endothermic or exothermic reactions that may occur on the substrate surface during processing.
In addition to minimizing temperature non-uniformity between all regions of a substrate during rapid thermal processing, it is also important that the actual time-temperature trajectory of a substrate varies as little as possible from the desired time-temperature trajectory of the substrate, particularly from the peak temperature. Time-temperature trajectory and peak temperature are described below in conjunction with FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 illustrates an ideal time-temperature trajectory, hereinafter referred to as target time-temperature trajectory 100 for an exemplary rapid thermal process, in this case a spike anneal process. The abscissa represents time, the ordinate represents substrate temperature, and target time-temperature trajectory 100 represents the desired temperature of a substrate at any time during the spike anneal process. At time 120, thermal processing of the substrate begins with the substrate at temperature 130, which is substantially room temperature. The substrate temperature is increased to temperature 132 during initial temperature ramp 201, described below in conjunction with FIG. 2. The substrate temperature is increased using high-intensity lamps, described below in conjunction with FIG. 3 as part of an exemplary RTP chamber. Starting at time 122, the substrate temperature is held constant at temperature 132 for the duration of stabilization period 202. At time 123 the substrate temperature is quickly increased to peak temperature 133 at time 124 and then immediately reduced to temperature 134 at time 125. If peak temperature 133 of a substrate is not met during RTP, important processes on the substrate may not be completed, such as post-implant anneal. If peak temperature 133 is exceeded during RTP, the process may be detrimentally affected in other ways, for example from unwanted diffusion of implanted atoms into the substrate or by exceeding the thermal budget of devices formed on the substrate.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a typical process sequence 200 for a rapid thermal process, such as the spike anneal process described above in conjunction with FIG. 1. Generally such a process begins with an initial temperature ramp 201 of the substrate. Until the substrate is at a temperature of about 300° C. to about 400° C., open-loop heating is performed during the first segment of initial temperature ramp 201. Referring back to FIG. 1, open-loop heating takes place between time 120 and 121. During open-loop heating, no substrate temperature feedback is incorporated into controlling the process and instead lamp power is applied to the substrate at pre-determined values for a pre-determined duration in order to heat the substrate to a temperature regime in which the substrate will be substantially opaque to the majority of lamp energy being applied to it. Below about 300° C. a typical RTP substrate, such as a silicon wafer, is largely transparent to much of the radiant energy produced by typical heating lamps. When this is the case, radiant energy that passes through the substrate may then be detected by the pyrometers that measure substrate backside temperature, producing an inaccurate substrate temperature measurement. For a closed-loop heating control algorithm, inaccurate substrate temperature measurement may result in serious control problems during the initial temperature ramp 201, such as instability and/or hunting. Open-loop heating is typically used at the beginning of RTP to avoid this problem. The set points for open-loop heating are generally determined empirically.
After the substrate is heated to between about 300° C. to about 400° C., the initial temperature ramp 201 is then generally completed using a closed-loop control algorithm to bring the substrate temperature to a stabilization temperature of about 500° C. to about 700° C. Closed-loop control incorporates temperature measurement of the substrate at a given time step in the thermal process in one or more pyrometer zones into the control algorithm in order to fine-tune the power-output of the heating lamps for the subsequent time step. Time steps may be relatively small, for example 0.1 or 0.01 seconds. The minimum time step size is generally limited by the sampling rate of the temperature sensors used to control the heating process. The use of closed-loop control minimizes error between desired and actual substrate temperatures.
Because precise temperature control is so important in RTP, model-based control algorithms are sometimes used instead of conventional PID control algorithms as part of closed-loop temperature control during thermal processing. A model-based control algorithm—also known as a model-based controller—may further reduce the error between actual substrate temperature and the target temperature during processing compared to a standard PID control loop. Rather than responding to a measured error by changing an input (in this case lamp power) that is proportional to the measured error, a model-based control algorithm applies an energy transfer model of the substrate and chamber at each time step to predict how the substrate will behave thermally in the next time step. Not unlike a simulation program, the model-based controller includes all relevant aspects of the system into the heat transfer model, including the optical properties of the substrate and chamber walls, the power output and location of the lamps, etc. The controller considers all these factors and then controls the power output of each lamp or group of lamps based on the current temperature of the substrate, the desired temperature and the modeled response of the entire system. This predictive method allows for less variation from a target temperature during thermal processing-especially when the target temperature is changing quickly as a function of time-making it useful for spike anneal and related rapid thermal processes.
A notable drawback of model-based controllers is that their ability to precisely control a substrate temperature to a desired time-temperature trajectory is limited by the accuracy of the assumptions on which the model is based. The most important factors that need to be accurately taken into account by the model-based controller are aspects of the process chamber, such as the size and shape of the chamber, the lamp power, etc., and the optical properties of the substrate, including substrate emissivity, absorptivity, reflectivity and transmissivity. "Emissivity," "absorptivity," "reflectivity" and "transmissivity," as used herein, refer to those properties of a material for light wavelengths between about 0.2 μm and about 5 μm. A model-based controller may be corrected through testing to more accurately represent a particular RTP chamber's behavior during thermal processing; empirical factors, also known as "fudge factors", are typically included in model-based control algorithms and may be determined through trial and error to fine-tune a controller's accuracy. However, because a controller's calculations are based on a specific substrate type with fixed optical properties, the model-based algorithm will be inherently inaccurate for all but a single type of substrate. This is because the optical properties of different substrates vary dramatically depending on how the substrate has been processed prior to RTP. For example, highly reflective substrates, such as metallic substrates, and light-absorbing substrates, such as heavily patterned substrates, may both be processed in the same RTP chamber using the same control algorithm. Unless a different controller has been developed to account for each substrate type being processed, sub-optimal temperature control will result. Multiple controllers may be programmed for use in a single RTP chamber, however each controller requires fine-tuning based on repeated experiments. In some situations, for example in a semiconductor foundry, there may be hundreds of different substrate types processed in a given RTP chamber and each type may have its own unique combination of optical properties. This makes optimizing a specialized controller for each substrate type to be processed impracticable.
Referring back to FIG. 2, once the substrate reaches stabilization temperature at the end of initial temperature ramp 201, a stabilization period 202 generally takes place after. The stabilization period 202 is intended to eliminate thermal gradients that have been imprinted on the substrate during the initial temperature ramp 201 by allowing the substrate to equilibrate prior to beginning spike anneal 203, which is the temperature sensitive segment of the thermal process. Non-uniformities in substrate temperature that are present at the beginning of spike anneal 203 are unlikely to be corrected during the process. The stabilization period 202 is between about 5 seconds and about 30 seconds in length, typically between about 10 seconds and about 20 seconds. The substrate temperature is controlled to remain at the stabilization temperature 132, as illustrated in FIG. 1, which may be between about 500° C. to about 700° C., depending on the particular thermal process.
Upon completion of the stabilization period 202, spike anneal 203 then begins. In this example, spike anneal 203 is the segment of the process in which the thermal processing of the substrate actually takes place. A preferred application of the spike anneal process is to perform the anneal on a substrate after boron implant. In this case, spike anneal 203 relocates the implanted boron from random locations in the crystal to electrically active sites in the silicon lattice while minimizing the thermal exposure of the substrate. As illustrated in FIG. 1, spike anneal 203 takes place between times 123 and 124 and is followed by a cool-down 204. Ramp rates of the substrate temperature during spike anneal 203 are generally between about 150° C./s and about 300° C./s and peak temperature 133 is about 1000° C. to about 1200° C./s, meaning that spike anneal 203 generally only last a few seconds. Hence, there is little time for a control algorithm to correct variation in substrate temperature from the target time-temperature trajectory 100 during the most temperature sensitive segment of the thermal process. Any variation that occurs in substrate temperature from the target temperature during this segment of the rapid thermal process, e.g. overshoot, undershoot or widespike, will reduce the peak temperature repeatability between substrates. Referring back to FIG. 2, spike anneal 203 is then followed by cool-down 204, ending the rapid thermal processing of the substrate.
As noted above, it is important for temperatures to be as uniform as practicable in a substrate during thermal processing of the substrate. In practice, the edge region of a substrate is thermally affected by the periphery of the RTP chamber more than are other regions of the substrate, leading to chronic temperature non-uniformities residing in the edge region. Standard control algorithms are designed to respond to radial temperature non-uniformities once detected. For very short processes, such as spike anneal processes, the control algorithm may not be able to compensate quickly enough, resulting in temperature non-uniformities near the edge of the substrate. Further, because the current design of RTP chambers is geared toward radial temperature non-uniformity on a circular substrate, this method of temperature control is unable to correct non-radial temperature non-uniformities, for example a "cold spot" that is not symmetrically centered on the substrate.
Thus, there is still a need for methods and apparatus for controlling the rapid thermal processing of a substrate that may be used for a wide range of substrates, that requires minimal tuning, that improves peak temperature repeatability, that allows closed-loop control to be used at lower temperatures and that minimizes temperature non-uniformity on the substrate.

Adaptive control method for rapid thermal processing of a substrate


A catheter assembly is described which comprises a catheter tube, an exterior portion of which is circumferentially surrounded by at least two parallel elongated helical conductive elements which may be operably connected to a first power source to create a first open circuit to induce an antimicrobial effect in the area proximate the exterior conductive elements through oligodynamic activity. The catheter assembly further comprises a hub at its proximal end having a cap containing a second power source. At least two internal conductive elements are disposed along the internal length of the hub and are operably connected to the second power source upon closure of the hub with the cap to create a second open circuit which creates an antimicrobial effect proximate the hub through oligodynamic activity.

Intrusive medical devices such as central venous catheters (CVCs), urinary catheters and endotracheal catheters may introduce infection into hospitalized patients when used since the devices are subject to microbial colonization. The most common source for catheter colonization is the patient's skin, whereby organisms migrate from the skin along the intercutaneous catheter segment and ultimately enter the bloodstream and can create serious infections.
The most common organisms causing these infectious complications are Staphylococcus epiderimidis and Staphylococcus aureus. In the case of vascular catheters, these two organisms account for almost 70-80% of all infectious organisms, with Staphylococcus epidermidis being the most common organism. Candida albicans, a fungal agent, account for about 10-15% of catheter infections. A number of studies have revealed that organisms such as Staphylococcus epidermidis send projections into small defects in the polypropylene material, which is used in catheters. Protection against infection is particularly desirable at or around the catheter insertion point to limit entrance of organisms into the intercutaneous tunnel.
A second area in which antimicrobial measures are desirable is that of the catheter's proximal hub through which fluids enter or exit the catheter. The hub may be vulnerable to hub-related luminal and skin-related extraluminal colonization. Although the hub is normally sealed against infection to some degree by mechanical means, such as a cap or other fitting, infectious microbes may enter the catheter when this fitting is removed. Further, if the cap is fitted poorly, microbes may migrate across the intended seal. It is estimated that up to 20% of catheter-related infections begin around the catheter hub.

Board of Regeants, University of Texas System


A control device for a belt continuously variable transmission with a primary pulley, a secondary pulley and a V-belt, includes an oil pressure control unit which applies a thrust to each of the primary pulley and the secondary pulley, and a controller. The controller judges whether or not a pulley ratio is less than 1. When the pulley ratio is less than 1, the controller sets a target thrust of the secondary pulley on the basis of an input torque to the primary pulley and a coefficient of static friction between an element forming the V-belt and the secondary pulley, and then to instruct the oil pressure control unit to apply the target thrust to the secondary pulley. When the pulley ratio is at least 1, the controller sets a target thrust of the primary pulley on the basis of the input torque to the primary pulley and a coefficient of dynamic friction between the element forming the V-belt and the primary pulley, and then to instruct the oil pressure control unit to apply the target thrust to the primary pulley.

In a V-belt CVT which is mounted in a vehicle, a V-belt is held between a primary pulley and a secondary pulley, and motive power is transmitted by a contact frictional force between the V-belt and the pulleys. The groove widths of the primary pulley and the secondary pulley are controlled by means of oil pressure.
The control device for a continuously variable transmission which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-18347, published in Japan in 2000, sets a pressure supplied to the primary pulley and a pressure supplied to the secondary pulley when the pulley ratio (i.e. speed reduction ratio) of the CVT is changed. The control device calculates a target secondary pulley pressure in accordance with a target pulley ratio and an input torque, and obtains a target primary pulley pressure in accordance with the calculated target secondary pulley pressure and a target shift speed. When the target primary pulley pressure is lower than or equal to a critical pressure of the V-belt slippage, the control device re-calculates the target secondary pulley pressure in accordance with the critical pressure of the V-belt slippage on the primary pulley. The target pulley ratio is achieved by this control, without generating slippage of the V-belt.
However, this conventional control device for a continuously variable transmission provides a predetermined margin when setting the target pulley pressure. For this reason, the target pulley pressure is needlessly set higher when the CVT is at high gear in which the target pulley pressure may be low. Here, high gear of the CVT means that a pulley ratio is less than 1, and low gear of the CVT means that the pulley ratio is higher than 1.
Proceedings No. 04 CVT-39 of CVT congress 2004 which is held in 2004 suggests changing the margin of the target pulley pressure in accordance with the pulley ratio. This eliminates setting the target pulley pressure high needlessly.

Pulley thrust control device for continuously variable transmission


Provided is a fine particle generating apparatus outputting usage information, and in particular, a fine particle generating apparatus that generates fine particles through electrical heating and outputs usage information thereof to a user. Also, provided is a fine particle generating apparatus that generates fine particles by determining whether a puff has occurred according to a temperature variation amount per unit time. Also, provided is a fine particle generating apparatus or an aerosol generating apparatus capable of changing puff conditions by controlling a heater. Also, provided is a fine particle generating apparatus that generates fine particles through electrical heating.

Puff of a favored material, e.g., smoking, may be achieved by inhaling fine particles in the air, that is, aerosol. A tobacco of a cigarette type has been only unit for inhaling favored material, but recently, an electronic tobacco has been established as one of units for inhaling the favored material. An electronic tobacco is totally different from the cigarette type tobacco that generates smoke by burning an inhalation material in view of a smoking method, because the electronic tobacco generates fine particles by applying heat or ultrasonic waves to a cartridge, in which an inhalation material is contained in a liquid type, to vaporize the inhalation material. In addition, an electronic tobacco has advantages of hindering various harmful materials from being generated due to combustion.
Also, according to demand of consumers who prefer a general tobacco of the cigarette type, an electronic tobacco having a shape including a filter portion and a cigarette portion like a general tobacco has been suggested, and the electronic tobacco is configured so that a user may inhale the inhalation material through the filter portion that is equal to the general tobacco, wherein the inhalation material included in the cigarette portion is vaporized by using an electronic heater. In such above electronic tobacco, the cigarette portion is filled with paper that is impregnated or coated with the inhalation material, unlike in a general tobacco having the cigarette portion filled with dried tobacco leaves. When the electronic cigarette is inserted to a holder and a heater in the holder is heated to vaporize the inhalation material in the cigarette portion, the user may inhale the vaporized inhalation material through the filter portion. Since the vaporized inhalation material may be inhaled through the filter portion in the same mechanism as the traditional tobacco while having the advantage of not burning the tobacco like in the electronic tobacco according to the related art, the user may feel like smoking the traditional tobacco.
However, since the electronic tobacco according to the related art does not provide the user with usage information such as the number of times of using the tobacco, usage time period, etc., user convenience may degrade. Also, there may be a possibility that a minor or a third party uses the electronic tobacco in a state where the user who owns the electronic tobacco does not recognize it. In addition, when the air is introduced into the electronic tobacco, it may not be identified that the introduction is caused by puff of the user or a simple introduction of external air.
In addition, since the number of puffs, puff time, etc. are set in advance in the electronic tobacco according to the related art without regard to favor of the user, user convenience may degrade. Also, in the electronic tobacco according to the related art, the heater is operated at a set temperature without regard to the kind of vaporizing material, and thus, puff feeling suitable for the favor of the user may not be provided according to the kind of the vaporizing material.
Also, in the electronic tobacco according to the related art, as shown in FIG. 8, when the user pushes a button provided on the electronic tobacco to use the electronic tobacco, the electronic tobacco enters a pre-heating stage, in which a temperature rapidly increases to a changing point (t) of a time variation axis, the pre-heating stage ends at a changing point (c) of a temperature variation axis, and then, to a changing point (c+2), the temperature decreases between the changing point (t) and a changing point (t+1) and then slightly increases from the changing point (t+1) to a changing point (t+2) of the time variation axis with a slight inclination between the changing point (c+2) and the changing point (c+1) in the temperature variation axis while maintaining the vaporizing temperature. Then, the use of the electronic tobacco is terminated at the changing point (t+2) of the time variation axis, and then, the temperature rapidly decreases. In an operation of the electronic tobacco, an electric power supplied at starting of the electronic tobacco or during the pre-heating stage is very high, the electronic tobacco consumes a lot of power of the battery and generates excessive heat. Also, after the pre-heating stage, the battery operates maintaining a vaporizing temperature at a maximum output, from which consumed power is substituted, and thus, there is not a sufficient time for dissipating excessive heat that is generated and internal and external temperature of the housing of the electronic tobacco increase. Accordingly, the battery of the electronic tobacco is rapidly consumed.


The absolute value of the threshold voltage of a P-channel TFT is reduced by making its channel length shorter than that of an N-channel TFT by at least 20%, to thereby approximately equalize the threshold voltage absolute values of those TFTs.

The present invention relates to an integrated circuit having insulated-gate transistors (thin-film transistors, TFTs) that are formed on an insulating surface of an insulating material such as glass, a material in which an insulating coating of, for instance, silicon dioxide is formed on a silicon wafer, or a like material. In particular, the invention relates to a complementary integrated circuit having N-channel TFTs and P-channel TFTs.
Complementary circuits using TFTs are conventionally used to drive an active matrix type liquid crystal display device, an image sensor, and the like. However, in general, the absolute value of the threshold voltage of the TFT is larger than that of the MOS transistor using a single crystal semiconductor. Further, the absolute value of a threshold voltage of an N-channel TFT is largely different from that of a P-channel TFT. For example, the threshold voltage is 2 V in an N-channel TFT, and xe2x88x924 V in a P-channel TFT.
The large difference in the absolute value of a threshold voltage between an N-channel TFT and a P-channel TFT is not preferable in the operation of complementary circuits, and is particularly a large obstacle to reduce a drive voltage. For example, when a complementary inverter is constructed using such TFTs, P-channel TFTs generally having a larger absolute value in a threshold voltage cannot operate properly with a low drive voltage. That is, in substance, the P-channel TFTs function merely as passive elements like resistors, and cannot operate sufficiently fast. To have P-channel TFTs operate as active elements, the drive voltage needs to be sufficiently high.
In particular, when the gate electrode is formed of a material whose work function "PHgr"M is smaller than 5 eV, for instance, aluminum ("PHgr"M=4.1 eV), a difference "PHgr"MS in work function between the gate electrode and the intrinsic silicon semiconductor is as small as xe2x88x920.6 eV. As a result, the threshold voltage of a P-channel TFT likely shifts to the negative side and that of an N-channel TFT becomes close to 0 V. Therefore, an N-channel TFT is likely rendered in a normally-on state (a current flows between the source and drain even if the gate voltage is 0 V).
In the above circumstances, it has been desired to approximately equalize the absolute value of a threshold voltage of the N-channel TFT to that of the P-channel TFT. In the case of conventional mono-crystalline semiconductor integrated circuit technology, the threshold voltages have been controlled by using N or P type impurity doping at a very small concentration, typically, less than 1xc3x971018 atoms/cm3. That is, the threshold voltages can be controlled with an accuracy of 0.1 V or less by an impurity doping at 1xc3x971015 to 1xc3x971018 atoms/cm3.
However, in the case of using non-single crystalline semiconductors, especially, polycrystalline semiconductors, even if an impurity is added at 1xc3x971018 atoms/cm3 or less, the shift of the threshold voltage is hardly observed. Moreover, if the concentration of the impurity exceeds 1xc3x971018. the threshold voltage rapidly varies and the conductivity becomes p-type or n-type. This is because, polycrystalline silicon generally has a lot of defects in it. Since the defect density is about 1xc3x971018 atoms/cm3, the added impurities are trapped by these defects and cannot be activated. Further, if the concentration of the impurity becomes larger than the defect density, the excess impurity is activated and changes the conductivity type to p-type or n-type.
In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for approximately equalizing the absolute value of a threshold voltage of the N-channel TFT to that of the P-channel TFT.
The channel length is the distance between the source and drain regions in the TFT. Also, when source and drain regions are determined in a self-alignment manner with respect to a gate electrode, the channel length is also determined by the width of the gate electrode.
Although there occurs some diffusion of the impurity during the doping process, since the length of the diffusion is almost uniform on the entire surface of a substrate, if the structure of TFTs formed on a substrate is the same, the channel length can be determined by the width of a gate electrode. For example, the channel length is obtained by subtracting the length of the diffusion from the width of the gate electrode.
According to the invention, the channel length of a P-channel TFT is made shorter than that of an N-channel TFT preferably by at least 20%, to make the absolute value of the threshold voltage of the P-channel TFT relatively small. As a result, the threshold voltage absolute values of the P-channel and N-channel TFTs are approximately equalized while the threshold voltage of the N-channel TFT is kept large enough to prevent it from being rendered in a normally-on state.
As a result of the investigation about the relationship between the threshold voltage of the TFT and its channel length, the present inventors have discovered a tendency that the absolute value of the threshold voltage increases as the channel length becomes longer. Examples of this tendency is shown in FIGS. 1(A)-1(C). FIGS. 1(A) and 1(B) show relationships between the threshold voltage and the channel length in a P-channel (P-ch) TFT and an N-channel (N-ch) TFT, respectively. In these examples, silicon semiconductors used for the channels of the P-channel and N-channel TFTs are high quality semiconductors which exhibit intrinsic or substantially intrinsic conductivity, and in which an impurity concentration of phosphorus, boron, etc. is lower than 1xc3x971016 cmxe2x88x923 and carbon, oxygen or nitrogen has a concentration lower than 1xc3x971019 cmxe2x88x923.
Naturally, even with the same channel length, the threshold voltage varies depending on the quality and thickness of the active layer of the TFT, the thickness of the gate insulating film, and the TFT structure (for instance, existence of a lightly doped drain and/or an offset region). For example. P-channel TFTs may have different characteristics (a)-(c) as shown in FIG. 1(A). Similarly, N-channel TFTs may have different characteristics (a)-(c) as shown in FIG. 1(B). The characteristics (a)-(c) of FIG. 1(A) and those of FIG. 1(B) are of TFTs having the same structure and manufactured under the same conditions. That is, the curve (a) of FIG. 1(A) and the curve (a) of FIG. 1(B) respectively represent the threshold voltage characteristics of a P-channel TFT and an N-channel TFT having the same structure and formed on the same substrate under the equivalent conditions.
FIG. 1(C) shows characteristics obtained by superimposing the characteristics of FIGS. 1(A) and 1(B) on each other. Naturally, with the same channel length, the absolute value of the threshold voltage of the N-channel TFT. is different from that of the P-channel TFT. In this example, with a channel length of 6 xcexcm, the P-channel TFT has a threshold voltage of xe2x88x923.2 V whereas the N-channel TFT has a threshold voltage of +1.8 V.
However, the threshold voltage absolute values can be approximately equalized by properly setting the channel lengths. For example, if the channel lengths of the N-channel TFT and the P-channel TFT are set at 6 xcexcm and 4 xcexcm, respectively, the threshold voltages of those TFTs are +1.8 V and xe2x88x922.2 V, respectively.
Conversely, using FIG. 1(C), a channel length for obtaining a necessary threshold voltage can be calculated. For example, to obtain a threshold voltage absolute value of 2 V, the N-channel TFT and the P-channel TFT should have channel lengths of 6-7 xcexcm and 3-4 xcexcm, respectively.
FIGS. 2(A)-2(C) show an example of a complementary inverter according to the invention. FIG. 2(A) is a top view of the inverter circuit, in which a P-channel TFT is on the left side and an N-channel TFT is on the right side. In FIG. 2(A), reference numeral 1 denotes a gate electrode of the P-channel TFT; 2, a gate electrode of the N-channel TFT; 3, a source electrode of the P-channel TFT; 4, a drain wiring; and 5, a source electrode of the N-channel TFT. As seen from FIG. 1(A), a width a (which corresponds to the channel length) of the gate electrode 1 of the P-channel TFT is shorter than a width b of the gate electrode 2 of the N-channel TFT.
FIG. 2(B) is a sectional view of the above circuit, in which reference numerals 1-5 denote the same parts as those in FIG. 2(A). Reference numeral 6 denotes a gate insulating film; 7, a source of the P-channel TFT; 8, a drain of the P-channel TFT; 9, a drain of the N-channel TFT; 10, a source of the N-channel TFT; and 11, an interlayer insulator.
FIG. 2(C) shows another example, in which the gate electrode of each TFT does not overlap with the source and drain (i.e. offset gate structure). An offset width t is approximately equal to the thickness of a coating 12 or 13 (for instance, an anodic oxide film) formed around the gate electrode. In this type of TFT, the channel length is not necessarily equal to the width of the gate electrode. Further, the relationship between the channel length and the threshold voltage is not necessarily equal to that represented by (a) in FIGS. 1(A) and 1(B).
However, even in the circuit of FIG. 2(C), the relationship between the channel length and the threshold voltage is similar to that discussed in connection with FIGS. 1(A)-1(C). This is because the channel length is determined simply by the width of the gate electrode provided that the structure of the TFTs formed on the substrate is entirely the same and the size of the offset region is uniform. Therefore, as in the case of the FIG. 2(B) circuit, the absolute value of the threshold voltage of the N-channel and P-channel TFTs can be approximately equalized by making the channel lengths or gate electrode widths of those TFTs different from each other.
In accordance with the present invention, the gate electrode width of a P-channel TFT (in a direction along source and drain regions) should be 25 to 80% of the gate electrode width of an N-channel TFT in order to control the threshold voltages. Also, when using a crystalline non-single crystalline silicon (such as polycrystalline silicon), it is desirable that the concentration of N or P-type impurity such as phosphorous or boron in a channel region be as small as possible, for example, less than 1xc3x971018 atoms/cm3, more preferably, less than 1xc3x971016 atoms/cm3.
In the manner as described above, the absolute value of threshold voltages of the N-channel and P-channel TFTs can be approximately equalized. In general, a change in the channel length causes variations in other characteristics of a TFT, for instance, the mobility and off-current (source-drain leak current when the gate is reversely biased). Values of these characteristics can be optimized by adjusting the channel width.
Even if the channel length of a P-channel TFT is reduced, deteriorations due to the generation of hot carriers; in particular, a shift of the threshold voltage and a reduction of the mobility is small. Therefore, there occurs no problem. in the reliability. Conversely, if the channel length of an N-channel TFT is increased, hot carrier generation in the drain can be suppressed. Thus, the invention is effective in improving the reliability.

Semiconductor device having a pair of N-channel TFT and P-channel TFT

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


In order to be able to provide in-flight emergency medical aid to patients on board more efficiently with minimum space, an aircraft, in one example, includes a seat device providing a first section of a reclining position region and a reclining position device which includes a second section of the reclining position region. In addition to use in aircraft, a reclining device, in one example, includes a seat device providing a first section of a reclining position region and a reclining position device, which provides a second section of the reclining position region, may also be used in other transportation vehicles.

During a flight, in particular a long-haul flight, it may not be ruled out that passengers or the aircrew may require emergency medical aid. For this purpose, it must primarily be ensured that the affected person to receive medical aid may be brought to a lying down position. However, in particular in modern passenger aircraft, there are space problems in this respect. This is due to ever more intensive use of space reserves for accommodating further seats or seat rows or passenger hand luggage.
In fully occupied aircraft it may be difficult to create a reclining position region for emergency medical aid by clearing a left-hand or right-hand seat row or both seat rows occupied by passengers. For example, passengers without seats would not have their belts fastened during the start phase and in particular during the landing phase. For this reason, the use of several seats for a patient is only feasible in the case of planned passenger transport. In this case, the seats have to be reserved in advance. A stretcher to be put onto the seats must be provided. Naturally, this procedure may be not possible in the case of a medical emergency during the flight.
Known permanent facilities for medical aid may require stowage space that could be used for further seats. Moreover, such facilities may be heavy, and, since more often than not, they are retrofitted facilities, they may be associated with comparatively high additional costs to the aircraft operator.
From US 2005/0040288 A1, a medical unit for aircraft is known. Disclosed in particular, is a frame onto which a reclining position device in the form of a stretcher may be placed and fixed. The frame is arranged over two seat rows and has to be stored, together with the reclining position device, in a stowage space specifically provided for this purposed. When the medical unit is to be used, the two seat rows have to be hinged over. In this way, the above-mentioned disadvantages of significant space requirements, of the use of more than one seat, and of the weight, are in particular not overcome by providing the stowage space by means of the medical unit according to US 2005/0040288 A1 and US 2006/0060740 A1.

Installable reclining device for emergency medical aid of patients