Circuits and methods for Data Bus Inversion (DBI) are provided. In one example, the immediately previous value of the DBI bit affects the next value of the DBI bit. Specifically, in some instances, the value of the DBI bit is held to the immediately previous value of the DBI bit to limit the total number of transitions on a data bus.

In single-ended parallel Input/Outputs (IOs) such as a Double Data Rate (DDR) transfer-mode bus, data bus inversion (DBI) is an increasingly popular coding scheme that reduces signaling power and simultaneous switching output (SSO) noise, thereby improving power and signal integrity. An example is an 8-bit data bus. In an 8-bit DBI-encoded data bus, the eight data bits are transmitted either as-is or inverted for each bit unit interval. At each bit unit interval, an extra coding overhead bit (also referred to as the DBI bit) accompanies the transmitted data bits to inform the receiver whether an intentional bus-wide inversion took place. For example, when the coding overhead bit is set to a logical one, it may indicate that the data bits of the bus are inverted. The receiver receives the data bits and the overhead bit, and if the overhead bit indicates that the data bits are inverted, the receiver may then revert the data bits to their proper values.
One example conventional DBI scheme, referred to as DBI-DC, is used where the receiver end is resistively terminated. In DBI-DC, the inversion criterion is to invert the bits of the bus when more than half of the bits of the parallel data pattern are binary ones (in a ground-terminated interface), thereby limiting the maximum number of transmitted ones to half of the data bus width. This reduces the static current and power delivered by the parallel transmitting drivers in a given bit time interval.
Another example conventional DBI scheme is referred to as DBI-AC. In a conventional DBI-AC scheme the receiver end is unterminated to avoid static power consumption, and the inversion criterion is to invert the bus when more than half of the parallel data pattern would undergo transitions (zero-to-one or one-to-zero) in progressing from the current bit time interval to the next. For example, if a unit interval would otherwise cause five data bit transitions, the DBI logic inverts the bus so as to cause only three data bit transitions.
This reduces the dynamic current and power consumed by the transmitting driver since data transitions consume power in an unterminated link. Moreover, a large number of bit transitions may cause a phenomenon referred to as "ground bounce" or "supply bounce," where the voltage supplied to a gate may temporarily dip and cause jitter. Conventional DBI-AC attempts to reduce ground bounce and supply bounce by reducing the number of transitions in a bit time interval.
In conventional DBI-AC, where N is an even integer number of data bits on a parallel bus, the maximum number of transitions permitted by conventional DBI is N/2+1 (where the "+1" refers to a possible transition of the DBI bit itself). In an example where the bus width is N=8 plus one DBI bit, the maximum number of transitions in the transmitted bus is limited by DBI to 4+1=5. There is still a need in the art for improved DBI-AC techniques.

Systems and methods for transition-minimized data bus inversion


A computerized method for simulating a fluidized state of a plastic material in a chamber, comprises steps of: generating a chamber model which is a finite volume model of the chamber; defining a material model of the plastic material; defining a gas-phase model of gas; and making a flow calculation of the material model and the gas-phase model which are in the chamber model, wherein the material model is provided with viscosity of the plastic material, and the gas-phase model is provided with viscosity which is more than the actual viscosity of the gas.

The present invention relates to a computerized method for simulating a multiphase flow of a plastic material and a gas, which is helpful to analyze fluidized states of a plastic material such as uncured rubber, resin and the like kneaded in a chamber.
In recent years, various computerized simulation methods have been proposed. For example, the following non-patent document 1 proposed a method to compute fluidized states of a plastic material such as uncured rubber or resin before cross-linked when kneaded in a banbury mixer.
[non-patent document 1] "Numerical and Experimental study of Dispersive mixing of Agglomerates", V. Collin (1)*, E. Peuvrel-Disdier (1) et al.
The method of the non-patent document 1 is premised on that the chamber is completely filled with the plastic material (namely, filling rate=100%).
However, it is extraordinary to make kneading with the filling rate of 100% by the use of the banbury mixer or the like, and it has been known that with the change in the filling rate, the quality and state of the kneaded plastic material are altered.
Despite these facts, the method of the non-patent document 1 can not be performed by setting the filling rate of the plastic material at different values than 100%. Indeed, it is almost impossible to make the kneading with the filling rate of 100%, therefore, the simulation results of the non-patent document 1 can not be verified through experiments.
On the other hand, the viscosity of a plastic material is largely different from the viscosity of air, therefore, if a two-phase of a plastic material and air in a chamber is simulated by making a flow calculation, the calculation tends to become unstable. In the case that the flow calculation is made by the use of the actual viscosity of the air, even if the calculation is completed without being interrupted, the computational time becomes very long and a high computational cost is required.

Method for simulating multiphase flow of plastic material and gas


Photoacid generators (PAGs) comprising photoactive moieties and perfluorinated, multifunctional anionic moieties (or incipient anionic moieties) are disclosed which provide photoacids with high acid strength, low volatility and low diffusivity. The present invention further relates to photoacid generators as they are used in photoinitiated or acid-catalyzed processes for uses such as photoresists for microlithography and photopolymerization.

Ionic photoacid generators comprising an organic onium or organometallic cation and a non-nucleophilic counter anion have been shown to have utility as photochemically activated initiators for cationic addition polymerization in negative resists and polymer coating formulations or as similarly activatable latent acid catalysts for step-growth (or condensation) polymerization, depolymerization and the deprotection of functionalized polymers used in positive, chemically amplified photoresists. Common commercial ionic PAGs include onium and organometallic salts such as diaryliodonium and triarylsulfonium salts and (cyclopentadienyl)(arene)iron+ salts of the anions PF6−, SbF6−, CF3SO3−, C4F9SO3− and C8F17SO3−. In certain cases, these same salts may also photoinitiate free-radical addition polymerization and are useful in "dual cure" applications where a mixture of cationically sensitive and free-radically polymerizable monomers are polymerized either simultaneously or sequentially. Similarly, certain classes of these salts are known to be thermally-activatable curatives for cationic, step-growth and free-radical polymerizations.
A variety of neutral photoacid generators are also known in the art and these have found utility in photoresists and curing applications where a source of photogenerated latent acid is required to catalyze or initiate secondary chemical reactions. Among the more common neutral PAGs are the sulfonate esters where a covalently bonded organic radical, A, is directly attached to a incipient sulfonate anion, R—SO3-A, where R is generally an alkyl or aryl group, and may be highly fluorinated to impart high acidity to the latent sulfonic acid, R—SO3—H, produced by photo-induced cleavage of the O-A bond.
The migration of semiconductor manufacturing to ever smaller feature sizes is pushing the limits of optical lithography and increasing the need for new photoresist materials that can meet the demands of more advanced lithography platforms. A critical component of photoresist formulations is the photo-acid generator or PAG. PAGs are the photoactive ingredients in photoresists that produce acid upon irradiation. In a positive resist this photoacid generally serves to catalyze deprotection of the polymeric resist, thereby altering its solubility in a developer. In a negative resist the photoacid typically initiates cationic polymerization or curing of monomeric groups, resulting in crosslinking of the resin in the irradiated areas. In both cases this process is referred to as chemical amplification, since a single photon is responsible for catalyzing or initiating multiple chemical events. Most of the PAGs currently used in semiconductor microlithography are ionic in nature, comprising a photoactive cation and a negatively charged counterion.
Organic onium salts, especially those containing iodonium and sulfonium, cations, are particularly useful as PAGs in chemically amplified photoresist applications owing to their high quantum efficiency for acid production at commonly used exposure wavelengths. In positive photoresists used in semiconductor microlithography, a number of other features and functional properties have been identified as being critical to PAG performance. These include: 1) compositions that are free of metallic or semimetallic elements (i.e., dopant elements) that can alter the electronic properties of the semiconducting substrate (e.g., silicon), 2) high photoacid strength for maximum catalytic activity and photospeed, 3) low photoacid volatility to minimize acid contamination of imaging equipment and reduce imaging defects like T-topping , 4) low photoacid diffusivity for achieving high resolution and small feature sizes, and 5) thermal stability to prevent decomposition during prebake and postbake steps.
More recently, the toxicity, environmental persistence and bioaccumulation characteristics of PAG compositions has become an important consideration in determining their commercial viability. For ionic PAGs, all of these features and properties are determined or influenced by the chemical structure of the PAG anion. The structure of the anion directly determines the identity of the photo-acid produced upon irradiation of the PAG. Differences in the size, shape, and chemical makeup of the anion, X−, can lead to dramatic differences in the acidity, catalytic activity, volatility, diffusivity, solubility, and stability of the PAG or its' conjugate photo-acid, HX. These can in turn directly influence a variety of parameters related to photoresist performance, such as deblocking (or curing) efficiency, photospeed, post exposure bake (PEB) sensitivity, post-exposure delay stability, resolution, standing waves, image profiles, and acid loss (responsible for T-topping and the contamination/corrosion of exposure and processing equipment). There are currently very few PAG anions that provide both the requisite balance of properties as well as an acceptable EHS+R (environmental, health, safety and regulatory) profile for use in semiconductor photoresists. Consequently, the selection of ionic PAGs for semiconductor photoresist applications has become anion limited and there exists a pressing need within the industry for a greater selection of semiconductor-compatible PAG anions that offer desirable photoresist performance, along with safety and environmental sustainability.
Ionic PAGs have additional utility in the preparation of polymer coatings, sealants, encapsulants, and the like derived from cationically polymerizable monomers and oligomers. For many commercial applications, the polymerizable monomers are multifunctional (i.e., contain more than one polymerizable group per molecule), for example, epoxides, such as diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and vinyl ethers, such as 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol divinyl ether (CHVE). Mixtures of multifunctional monomers such as polyisocyanates and polyalcohols (polyols) or polyepoxides and polyalcohols can undergo acid-catalyzed polycondensation via a step-growth mechanism. Also included in this description are multireactive monomers—those that comprise two or more classes of reactive groups, such as, for instance, a monomer comprising both acrylate and isocyanate functionalites.
Compounds and materials comprising charged ions (i.e., salts) tend to have poor solubility in many organic solvents. As many useful types of compositions are based on organic systems, either organic polymer systems or organic monomer systems, reduced solubility in organic systems limits the field of utility of many ionic materials. Amongst the ionic materials that could benefit from increased solubility in organic systems are ionic PAGs (particularly those based on iodonium, sulfonium, diazonium, phosphonium and organometallic complex cations).
Synthetic modifications of the cationic portion of ionic PAGs have been made to improve their solubility in organic systems including unsymmetrical substitution of aromatic groups in aryl iodonium and sulfonium salts with different alkyl substituents. Alternatively, the use of reactive diluents or solid dispersants has also been disclosed.
The nature of the counteranion in an ionic PAG can influence the rate and extent of cationic addition polymerization. For example, J. V. Crivello, and R. Narayan, Chem. Mater., 4, 692, (1992), report that the order of reactivity among commonly used nonnucleophilic anions is SbF6−>AsF6−>PF6−>BF4−. The influence of the anion on reactivity has been ascribed to three principle factors: (1) the acidity of the protonic or Lewis acid generated, (2) the degree of ion-pair separation in the propagating cationic chain and (3) the susceptibility of the anions to fluoride abstraction and consequent chain termination.

Photoacid generators with perfluorinated multifunctional anions


The reading position of a first reading head jumps when it is located in a vertical blanking period section of a video disc and the reading position of a second reading head jumps when it is located outside a predetermined portion of the vertical blanking period section in which a PCM audio signal is recorded. An output of the first reading head that is produced by reading sections other than the vertical blanking period section is employed as a video reading signal, and an output of the second reading head that is produced by reading the vertical blanking period section is employed as an audio reading signal.

The present invention relates to an information reading and reproducing method of a two-head-type disc player in its special operation modes that are accompanied by a jump operation.
There exist video discs on which a PCM audio signal is recorded so as to be inserted in the predetermined portion of the vertical blanking section. Special operation modes of a player for such types of discs include a pause operation, double-speed reproduction, search operation, etc. which need a jump operation. A user can activate these operations by his key board manipulation. In the case where one of these operations is activated, when the reading position of a reading head reaches a vertical blanking period, jumping of, e.g., one track is performed when it is located in the vertical blanking period section and the information reading for video reproduction is restarted from the jumping destination track. If the instruction for the same operation is still provided continuously, the jumping is again performed when the head reading position reaches the next vertical blanking period section. In this manner, the jump operation is repeatedly performed. However, the above player cannot reproduce the PCM audio signal because the PCM audio signal portion inserted in the vertical blanking period section cannot be read out from its beginning position in the above jump operation.

Jump operation in two-head-type video disc player


A protective shroud is provided for covering a radiation shield that surrounds a nuclear pharmacy generator. The radiation shield includes components having seams therebetween. The protective shroud includes a tubular body configured to contain the radiation shield, a first opening adapted for receiving the radiation shield, and a second opening for allowing access into the radiation shield.

The present disclosure relates generally to nuclear pharmacy generators and tools for use therewith.
Nuclear medicine uses radioactive material for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes by injecting a patient with a dose of the radioactive material, which concentrates in certain organs or biological regions of the patient. Radioactive materials typically used for nuclear medicine include Technetium-99m, Indium-111, and Thallium-201 among others. Some chemical forms of radioactive materials naturally concentrate in a particular tissue, for example, radioiodine (I-131) concentrates in the thyroid. Radioactive materials are often combined with a tagging or organ-seeking agent, which targets the radioactive material for the desired organ or biologic region of the patient. These radioactive materials alone or in combination with a tagging agent are typically referred to as radiopharmaceuticals in the field of nuclear medicine. At relatively low doses of radiation from a radiopharmaceutical, a radiation imaging system (e.g., a gamma camera) may be utilized to provide an image of the organ or biological region in which the radiopharmaceutical localizes. Irregularities in the image are often indicative of a pathology, such as cancer. Higher doses of a radiopharmaceutical may be used to deliver a therapeutic dose of radiation directly to the pathologic tissue, such as cancer cells.
A variety of systems are used to generate, enclose, transport, dispense, and administer radiopharmaceuticals. One such system includes a nuclear pharmacy generator, including an elution column, and an input connector (e.g., an input needle) and an output connector (e.g., an output needle) in fluid communication with the elution column. Typically, a radiopharmacist or technician fluidly connects an eluant vial (e.g., a vial containing saline) to the input connector and fluidly connects an empty elution vial (e.g., a vial having at least a partial internal vacuum) to the output connector. The vacuum in the empty elution vial draws the eluant (e.g., saline) from the eluant vial through the elution column, and into the elution vial. The saline elutes radioisotopes as its flows through the elution column so that radioisotope-containing saline fills the elution vial. The elution vial is typically housed in its own radiation shielding container, sometimes referred to as pharmacy shield or an elution shield.
Due to the use of radioactive materials, the nuclear pharmacy generator requires a radiation shield to protect the technician operating the generator. Known generator radiation shields may be comprised of a plurality of stackable painted rings that surround the generator. These rings may be comprised of any material known to block harmful radiation, such as lead. The rings may sustain considerable damage during loading and unloading of the generator and during daily elution. Damage to the radiation shielding rings may cause the painted surface to chip or crack. Moreover, during the required cleaning of the rings, a disinfecting liquid may seep into the seams between the individual rings that are stacked to form the radiation shield. After the cleaning process is completed, the liquid may leak from the seams and result in an improperly cleaned work area.
This Background section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Protective shroud for nuclear pharmacy generators


An interface circuit receives an input signal IN having a first voltage amplitude from a first circuit, and outputs an output signal OUT having a second voltage amplitude to a second circuit. A level shifter comprises a first CMOS inverter and a second CMOS inverter which are cross-coupled, and a current limiting circuit that limits a current that flows through the first CMOS inverter and the second CMOS inverter, and converts the input signal IN into an intermediate signal INT which is a differential signal. A latch circuit receives the intermediate signal INT from the level shifter, and switches its state according to the positive signal and the negative signal of the intermediate signal INT.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interface circuit that allows a digital signal to be supplied or received between two circuit blocks.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been an increased demand for a technique for providing a semiconductor integrated circuit or a circuit system (which will collectively be referred to as a "semiconductor integrated circuit" hereafter) with reduced power consumption. In order to meet such a demand, the semiconductor integrated circuit is configured as multiple circuit blocks, and is configured such that each circuit block operates with a different optimum voltage amplitude or otherwise with a different power supply voltage.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a semiconductor integrated circuit including multiple circuit blocks. A semiconductor integrated circuit 2r includes a first circuit 4, a second circuit 6, and an interface circuit 10r. The first circuit 4 is connected to a power supply rail configured to supply a first power supply voltage VDD1 and a ground voltage VSS. The internal digital signal of the first circuit 4 swings in a binary manner between the first power supply voltage VDD1 as high level and the ground voltage VSS as low level. The second circuit 6 is connected to a power supply rail configured to supply a second power supply voltage VDD2 and the ground voltage VSS. The internal digital signal in the second circuit 6 swings in a binary manner between the second power supply voltage VDD2 as high level and the ground voltage VSS as low level.
Description will be made below regarding an arrangement in which VDD1<VDD2. The interface circuit 10r is interposed between the first circuit 4 and the second circuit 6. The interface circuit 10r receives an input signal IN that transits between VSS and VDD1, converts the input signal IN into an output signal OUT that full-scale swings between VSS and VDD2, and outputs the output signal OUT thus converted to the second circuit 6 configured as a downstream stage.
As a result obtained by investigating the current consumption (power consumption) required for the overall operation of the semiconductor integrated circuit 2r, the following problem has been found.
Description will be made regarding an arrangement in which the second circuit 6 is configured as a digital circuit according to a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) architecture. The current consumption of the digital circuit is represented by the sum total of (i) loss due to the charge/discharge current used to charge/discharge a parasitic capacitor that occurs due to a transistor, wiring, or the like, (ii) loss due to a through current that flows through a CMOS inverter configured as an internal component, (iii) loss due to leak current, etc. The ratio of such current loss components varies according to the circuit scale, the circuit operating condition, and the like. The through current flows when the upper-side PMOS transistor and the lower-side NMOS transistor that form the CMOS inverter turn on at the same time. Specifically, the through current flows when the input signal of the CMOS inverter is set to an intermediate voltage level between the high-level voltage and the low-level voltage, i.e., when transition occurs in the input signal. In a digital circuit that operates together with an upstream circuit that operates with low power consumption, the signal received from the upstream-stage circuit transits at a low speed. Thus, in particular, such an arrangement leads to a problem of current loss due to a through current that occurs when a signal having such a low transition speed propagates through the digital circuit.
With the semiconductor integrated circuit 2r shown in FIG. 1, in order to reduce the power consumption of the second circuit 6, the through current that occurs in the CMOS inverter configured as a component of the semiconductor integrated circuit 2 may preferably be reduced. In order to reduce the through current, the input signal may preferably be configured to have an increased transition speed (through rate).
FIGS. 2A and 2B are circuit diagrams each showing an interface circuit 10r investigated by the present inventor. It should be noted that the interface circuit 10r cannot be recognized as a known technique. The interface circuit 10r shown in FIG. 2A includes a voltage comparator 200. The voltage comparator 200 requires the supply of a stationary current Ic regardless of whether or not there is transition of the signal, leading to large power consumption. Furthermore, in order to raise the transition speed of the output signal OUT, there is a need to increase the amount of current Ic. Thus, such an arrangement is unsuitable for such a usage having a strong demand for reducing power consumption.
The interface circuit 10r shown in FIG. 2B is configured as a level shifter 202 including two cross-coupled CMOS inverters 204 and 206. During a period in which there is no level transition in the signal, the level shifter 202 requires no current consumption. However, in a case in which the input signal INP/INN has a low transition speed, a through current flows in a transition period. This leads to difficulty in providing reduced power consumption.


An integral electric switch, for controlling an electronic apparatus, comprises a main housing and a flap portion, rotatably attached thereto. The main housing contains the electronic apparatus. The flap portion has a hinge cam for rotatably attaching the flap portion to the main housing, so that the flap portion is movable from a defined open position to a closed position with respect to the main body. The main housing comprises a plurality of spring fingers making sliding contact with the hinge cam as the flap portion is rotated from the open position to the closed position thus providing a switching function and electrical connection from the housing to devices contained within the flap.

Conventional designs of housings having closable flaps usually employ a hinge with separate spring loading mechanisms to provide a self closing feature. Switching and control functions are provided by additionally separate components usually purchased from a switch and control manufacturer and require additional parts for actuation. In addition, any required electrical connections between the two halves of the hinged portions would require separate wires or flexible circuit connections that must be somehow routed around the spring and hinge mechanisms.

Integral spring loaded hinge and switch for portable radio device


A gas detector apparatus for determining the concentration of a selected one of a plurality of predetermined gases includes a gas sensor which generates a gas output signal related to the concentration of the selected predetermined gas in the gas sample. A K factor storage associated with the gas sensor stores at least one K factor, unique to and generated by using the gas sensor, for each of the plurality of predetermined gases. A processor, in response to a selected gas control signal, selects the K factor or factors from the K factor storage for the selected gas and, in accordance with a predetermined process stored therein, calculates a concentration signal representing the concentration of the selected gas in the gas sample.

1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to gas detectors and, more particularly, to a gas detecting apparatus which can selectively monitor one of a plurality of gases in a sampled atmosphere.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
It is often desirable to measure the concentration of gas levels, such as oxygen or combustible gases, in a sampled or confined atmosphere. Low levels of oxygen present a danger to human life. For combustible gases, typically one is concerned with the lower explosive limit, the lowest concentration at which a flame will propagate or burn when the gas is exposed to an open flame or spark. In addition, inert and other gases also may pose a hazard as they displace oxygen in the air.
A number of methods have been developed for detecting specific gases. For example, the use of catalytic sensors to measure the concentration of combustible gases is well known. In such a sensor, a resistive element is coated with a catalytic material which reacts when contacted with a particular gas. A current passing through the resistive element heats the catalytic coating to a desired operating temperature and as the gas and oxygen contact the catalytic coating, it chemically reacts thereupon and adds heat to the resistive element. This additional heat changes the resistance of the coated element, a change that can be detected electrically in various known ways. In a common arrangement, a catalytic sensor, combining an active element in series with a reference element, is provided in one branch of a Wheatstone bridge. Voltage imbalances in the Wheatstone bridge are measured and provide a reading of the concentration of the gas contacting the sensor. Other known sensors for detecting a combustible gas include metal oxide semiconductor sensors in which the conductivity of the material changes when contacted by a particular gas. This change in conductivity can also be measured electrically to provide a direct reading of the concentration of the gas.
For many known sensors, the electrical signal generated when the sensor is contacted by a particular gas is proportionally related to the gas concentration. The slope of a plot of gas concentrations versus electrical activity in the sensor is often referred to as a sensitivity for the sensor. The ratio of the sensitivity of a sensor to different gases is sometimes referred to as a K factor, conversion factor, scaling factor or multiplier. Once the K factor for a gas is calculated or determined empirically, unknown concentrations of gas can be determined by measuring the electrical response of the sensor, such as a voltage change, and multiplying that response by the K factor for the sensor for that gas. This method allows the user to measure concentrations of various gases with an instrument that has been calibrated with a single gas, e.g., measuring hydrogen with an instrument calibrated on methane. While it is possible to use several K factors over a range of electrical activities, representing non-linearities in the gas sensor response, it is more common to use a single K factor for the entire range of operation of the sensor.
Gas sensors are typically "tuned" or constructed to react with and generate electrical responses relative to a single, predetermined gas. Measurements involving pluralities of unknown gases often use multiple sensors, each of which is tuned to a particular gas, or use complicated arrays or networks of sensors in conjunction with analysis equipment to generate readings for various gases. An example of a prior art arrangement for detecting the level of a combustible gas, the level of oxygen, and the displacement of air by an unknown third gas is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,886. Other arrangements for detecting multiple gases are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,481,804, 4,542,640, 4,567,475, 4,670,405, 4,818,348, 4,847,783, 5,007,283, and 5,025,653.
It is often desired to measure one of a plurality of gases, such as 10-15 gases, in a sample atmosphere. The prior art arrangements require the sample atmosphere to be monitored by a plurality of expensive gas sensors, or require that a gas sensor be changed each time a different gas present in the sample atmosphere is to be detected.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a gas detecting apparatus which can readily and selectively measure one of a plurality of gases at unknown concentration levels. It is an object of the present invention to provide such a gas detector which is easy to use, easy to select from one gas to another, and which is not overly complicated or expensive to manufacture. It is also an object of the present invention to provide such an arrangement without using a plurality of separate gas sensors.

Multiple K factor, selectable gas detector


A non-volatile semiconductor memory device may include a memory cell array that may include a plurality of memory transistors; a input circuit that may control a voltage level of an internal reference voltage and a delay time of an internal clock signal in response to an MRS trim code or an electric fuse trim code, and that may generate a first buffered input signal; a column gate that may gate the first buffered input signal in response to a decoded column address signal; and a sense amplifier that may amplify an output signal of the memory cell array to output to the column gate, and that may receive an output signal of the column gate to output to the memory cell array. The non-volatile semiconductor memory device may properly buffer an input signal of a small swing range.

1. Field
The example embodiments relate to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly to an input circuit of a non-volatile semiconductor memory device, and a method of inputting data into a non-volatile semiconductor memory device.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional non-volatile semiconductor memory device may use a low voltage complementary metal oxide semiconductor (LVCMOS) interface which may include a NOR gate, a NAND gate, or the like because a write-speed of the conventional non-volatile semiconductor memory device, for example, a flash memory device, may be relatively slow.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of the input circuit of a conventional non-volatile semiconductor memory device.
Referring to FIG. 1, the input circuit may include an input buffer 10, a clock buffer 20, and a sampler 30. The input buffer 10 may include a NOR gate 11 and inverters 13, 15, and 17. The clock buffer 20 may include a NOR gate 21 and inverters 23, 25, and 27. The sampler 30 may include a D flip-flop 31 and inverters 33 and 35. The input buffer 10 may buffer an input signal IN in response to an enable signal EN. The clock buffer 20 may buffer a clock signal CLK in response to a clock enable signal CLK_EN. The sampler 30 may sample an output signal of the input buffer 10 in response to an output signal of the clock buffer 20, and may generate a buffer output signal BOUT.
The conventional non-volatile semiconductor memory device may convert the input signal to a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) signal that may be used in an internal circuit by using LVCMOS interface circuit like, for example, the circuit illustrated in FIG. 1 because a write-speed of the conventional non-volatile semiconductor memory device may be relatively slow.
As speeds for transmitting an input signal on a system bus become faster, swing ranges and setup/hold margins of the input signal may become smaller. Accordingly the input signal may be buffered improperly in a conventional input circuit. Thus an input circuit that can buffer the input signal of a small swing range may be required.

Input circuit of a non-volatile semiconductor memory device


A method and apparatus are disclosed for enabling a constraint without prohibiting updates to the constrained data during the validation portion of the enablement process. A constraint is first enforced. While the constraint is being enforced, the pre-existing data are inspected to determine whether the constraint is valid. Because the constraint is in force for all changes to the data during the validation process, the constraint will be enabled if the pre-existing data conforms with the constraint. A serialization value is stored in the constraint definition. Whenever the constraint definition is changed, the serialization value is changed. The serialization value of a constraint definition is recorded before validating the constraint. After validating the constraint, the serialization value in the constraint definition is compared to the recorded serialization value to determine whether the constraint definition was changed during the validation process.

In database systems, a rule that limits the values that a particular set of data can hold is referred to as a constraint. For example, a constraint CNST1 may specify that all data in a column COL1 of a particular table must fall within a particular range RNG1. Standard types of constraints include not null, check, unique key, primary key, and foreign key constraints. These constraints are defined in the ANSI SQL '92 standard described in ISO/IEC 9075: 1992, Database Language SQL, Jul. 30, 1992.
Often, it is desirable to enable a constraint for a pre-existing body of data. Because the constraint was not enforced during the entry of the pre-existing body of data, some or all of the pre-existing data may violate the constraint. Therefore, the constraint is not enabled until the constraint has been validated.
Existing database systems enable a constraint by locking all constrained data, validating the constraint, and then unlocking the constrained data and enforcing the constraint on any future changes. FIG. 1 illustrates the conventional approach to enabling a constraint in greater detail.
Referring to FIG. 1, at step 100 the process that has been assigned the task of enabling the constraint (the "enablement process") obtains an exclusive lock on the constraint definition. Existing database systems typically wait up to some predetermined amount of time for the exclusive lock before aborting the operation. Obtaining an exclusive lock effectively prevents any other processes from reading or changing the constraint definition. At step 102, the enablement process obtains shared locks on the constrained data. This allows the enablement process to read the constrained data and prevents other processes from changing the constrained data.
At step 104, the enablement process validates the constraint by checking all of the constrained data for conformity with the constraint. If any data item in the constrained data violates the rule specified in the constraint, then the constraint is not valid and control proceeds from step 106 to step 108. At step 108, an error is generated and the enablement process is aborted. When the constraint is invalid, invalid data is optionally placed into an exceptions table before the enablement process is aborted.
If all of the constrained data conforms to the rule specified in the constraint, the constraint is valid and control proceeds from step 106 to step 110. At step 110, the enablement process does anything required to allow enforcement of the constraint. This may include, for example creating an index for a unique key constraint.
At step 112, the definition of the constraint is updated to record that the constraint is enabled. At step 114, the change to the constraint definition is committed. The constraint is not enabled unless this final commit occurs. At step 116, the locks on the constrained data and the constraint definition are released and the database system begins enforcing the constraint. Typically, steps 114 and 116 are performed as a single atomic operation.
Different database systems may employ slight variations of the constraint enablement technique described above. For example, the enablement process may obtain exclusive locks rather than share locks on the constrained data itself. Also, the enablement process may obtain an exclusive lock on the constraint definition after validating the constraint, rather than before validating the constraint.
A significant disadvantage of the prior art constraint enablement techniques is that inserts, updates, and deletes are disallowed on the constrained data while a constraint is being validated. If the existing body of data is large, validating a constraint may take hours. Such delays are unacceptable in many situations. For example, if the database is being used in a flight reservation system, travelers will not want to wait hours for their reservations to be confirmed.
One attempt to avoid the delay inherent in the conventional constraint enablement process allows users to specify constraints that are only enforced. A disabled constraint can become an enforced-only constraint by (1) obtaining an exclusive lock on the constraint definition, (2) doing anything required to allow enforcement of the constraint, (3) updating the constraint definition to record that the constraint is enforced but not enabled, (4) committing the change to the constraint definition, and (5) enforcing the constraint after the commit.
After an enforced-only constraint has been created, the user will know that all changes made and all data inserted after the creation of the constraint will conform to the constraint. However, the constraint is not actually validated. Therefore, the database engine has not proven that the data that existed before the creation of the constraint actually conforms to the constraint. Because some of the constrained data may actually violate an enforced-only constraint, enforced-only constraints have very limited utility. If the user requires an enforced-only constraint to be enabled, the user executes the enablement technique described above, thereby rendering the constrained data unavailable for modification by the user.
Based on the foregoing, it is clearly desirable to provide a mechanism for enabling constraints without making the constrained data unavailable for inserts, updates and deletes for an extended period of time.

Method and apparatus for achieving an enforced and valid constraint state


In a semiconductor device, a wiring pattern groove is formed in a surface portion of a silicon oxide film provided above a semiconductor substrate. A wiring layer is buried into the wiring pattern groove with a barrier metal film interposed therebetween. The barrier metal film is selectively removed from each sidewall portion of the wiring pattern groove. In other words, the barrier metal film is left only on the bottom of the wiring pattern groove. Thus, a damascene wiring layer having a hollow section whose dielectric constant is low between each sidewall of the wiring pattern groove and each side of the wiring layer can be formed in the semiconductor device.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a wiring layer of damascene structure and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a damascene technique that is very useful for miniaturizing a semiconductor device and decreasing the size of a chip.
Miniaturization of semiconductor devices has recently been advanced to make a wiring layer difficult to form by conventional RIE (Reactive Ion Etching). This difficulty is ascribed to difficulties in improvement of yields and flattening when a conductive film is microfabricated by the RIE. As a technique of resolving this problem, a wiring layer of damascene structure (referred to as a damascene wiring layer) has been known conventionally.
FIGS. 9A to 9C schematically show a process of manufacturing a prior art semiconductor device having a damascene wiring layer (a method of forming a damascene wiring layer).
First, an interlayer insulation film 101 is formed on a semiconductor substrate 100 and a wiring pattern groove 103 is formed in the interlayer insulation film 101 by known lithography and RIE, as shown in FIG. 9A. Then, a barrier metal film 105 is deposited on the entire surface of the resultant structure, as illustrated in FIG. 9B. A conductive film 107 is deposited on the barrier metal layer 105 to completely fill the wiring pattern groove 103.
After that, the surface of the resultant structure is flattened by CMP (chemical mechanical polishing), as shown in FIG. 9C. A damascene wiring layer 109 is thus obtained in which the conductive film 107 and the barrier metal film 105 are buried into the wiring pattern groove 103.
A multilevel wiring layer can easily be formed if the above-described process is repeated.
In forming a damascene wiring layer, however, it was necessary to deposit titanium nitride (TiN), niobium (Nb) and the like as a barrier metal film 105 in order to bury tungsten (W), aluminum (Al) and the like in the wiring pattern groove 103 as the conductive film 107. The barrier metal film 105 increases in adhesion to the interlayer insulation film 101 of tungsten (W) and serves as a glue layer or a barrier layer in reflowing of aluminum (Al).
The resistivity of the barrier metal film 105 is generally higher than that of the conductive film 107. Therefore, the prior art semiconductor device described above had a problem that the resistance of the damascene wiring layer was higher than a wiring layer formed by the RIE method (referred to as an RIE wiring layer hereinafter).
FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate a damascene wiring layer and an RIE wiring layer having the same line width L for purposes of comparison.
In the damascene wiring layer 109 shown in FIG. 10A, the barrier metal film 105 is formed on each sidewall of the conductive film 107. Thus, the width L′ of the conductive film 107 is smaller than the line width L of the damascene wiring layer 109 by two times (2b) the thickness of the barrier metal film 105 (L′=L−2b <L). In the RIE wiring layer 201 shown in FIG. 10B, the width L′ of the conductive film 107 is equal to the line width L of the RIE wiring layer 201 (L′=L). In other words, the cross-sectional area (volume) of the conductive film 107 in the damascene wiring layer 109 is relatively smaller than that in the RIE wiring layer 201.
The thickness (b) of the barrier metal film 105 is determined appropriately to serve as a glue layer for forming the conductive film 107, to secure adhesion enough to form the film 107, or to obtain good characteristics of contact with the interlayer insulation film 101. In short, the barrier metal film 105 having a given thickness or more is indispensable for forming the damascene wiring layer 109.
If the damascene technique is applied to the formation of wiring, the volume of the barrier metal film in the wiring increases relatively as a semiconductor device decreases in size. As a result, the cross-sectional area of the conductive film decreases and thus the resistance of the wiring increases, or a so-called thin-wire effect is problematic.
The above barrier metal film has the problems that it hardly contributes to a reduction in wiring resistance and narrows a distance between adjacent wiring layers and increases the capacitance between them.
The prior art damascene wiring layer has the problems that the wiring resistance increases and the wiring-to-wiring capacitance increases though the conductive film is improved in yield and easily flattened and the semiconductor device can sufficiently be miniaturized.

Semiconductor device having a wiring layer of damascene structure and method for manufacturing the same


A spray booth having a work area for an operator. A first fan assembly located in the back wall of the booth produces an exhaust air stream. Filter means are located between the first fan assembly and the work area. A second fan assembly supplies a make-up air stream and a laminar diffuser is connected to the second fan assembly and positioned above the operator to provide a downwardly directed air piston in the work area surrounding the operator In the preferred embodiment, the exhaust fan has a capacity of between about 340 and 400 CFM per foot width of the spray booth. In the preferred embodiment, the make-up air fan has a capacity of between about 230 and 300 CFM per foot width of the spray booth. Thus, in the preferred embodiment, the make-up air fan has a capacity of between about 2/3 and 3/4 the capacity of the first fan assembly. Also, in the preferred embodiment, the laminar diffuser is located about 1 foot above the operator, is about 4 feet by 4 feet in area and produces a flow rate of between about 125 and 150 fpm. This amount is sufficient to provide a secure environment for the operator.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to environmental control systems and, more particularly, to a system for the control of volatile organic compounds ("VOC's") and other substances in a spray booth.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Industry is becoming more sensitive to the effects of long-term exposure to VOC's. Recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has amended the existing air contaminant standard to lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) on over 400 substances and has added 164 substances not previously regulated. For example, among solvents, the PEL for Toluene was set at 100 parts per million (ppm) and the short-term exposure limit (STEL) was set at 150 ppm. Similar limits have been set for other solvents.
There are several engineering approaches to reducing PEL's. One is to improve ventilation by increasing the amount of fresh air being brought into an area. Good capture results can be achieved by using a large quantity of air to deal with a relatively small quantity of VOC's. Unfortunately, this is an expensive operation and not practical for most manufacturing situations. Another option is isolation. For example, walls, partitions and curtains may be designed to separate personnel from hazardous fumes.
Particularly troublesome are vapors emitted from paint and finish-spraying processes utilized, for example, in the automobile and furniture industry. The articles to be painted and finished are confined in a small, enclosed area and operators must spray numerous coats of various surface coverings over a short period of time. As these coatings are applied, vapors arise from the drying process and need to be evacuated from the working area as quickly as possible.
U.S. Pat. No 5,133,246, issued to Campbell, discloses a control system for controlling, capturing and disposal of VOC's and other substances that includes a spray booth having an entrance, an exit and an accessible working area in one or more areas adjacent to the working area which uses high velocity air currents to provide invadable spray booth sealing enclosures at the entrance, exit, working, and adjacent areas. An interior air flow supply means directs air generally in the direction of the article to be sprayed to move the floating particles of vapors and an air evacuation means recycles the supply air and removes the VOC's and other substances entrained therein to remote locations. However, the high velocities associated with an air curtain causes a vacuum near the air curtain nozzle which tends to infuse VOC's from the surrounding area and expose the personnel thereto.
U.S Pat. Nos. 4,237,780 and 5,127,574, issued to Truhan and Mosser et al., respectively, both disclose spray booths having vertical ventilation systems. However, these systems are high-velocity, high-CFM systems, which are expensive to manufacture and operate and which may disrupt the spray pattern from the spray gun.
Thus, there remains the need for a new and improved spray booth which requires significantly lower air flow than conventional systems while, at the same time, supplying superior control of VOC's in the area of the operator.


In a two-stroke internal combustion engine (1) using an internal cooling piston (2), the piston (2) has in-piston scavenging passages (19) defined therein by partition walls (18), and lower-end inlets (20) of the in-piston scavenging passages (19) are opened downward and narrowed in opening area by piston pin bosses (16). In-cylinder scavenging passages (14), which are opened and closed as the piston (2) moves, are supplied with an air-fuel mixture from the narrowed lower-end inlets (20) through the in-piston scavenging passages (19). Thereby, a fresh air-fuel mixture is increased in flow rate when flowing from the in-cylinder scavenging passages (14) to the combustion chamber (10), and the scavenging efficiency of the engine is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to two-stroke internal combustion engines, and more particularly, to engines having a relatively small displacement and that can be used on a portable power working machine.
2. Related Background Art
In small two-stroke internal engines, all the strokes including suction, compression, expansion and exhaust strokes are controlled by a piston-ported control system. During the exhaust stroke, the combustion chamber is scavenged of burnt gas from an air-fuel mixture including fuel and lubrication oil. More specifically, a fresh air-fuel mixture is first introduced into a crank chamber in which it will be compressed by a descending piston (during the expansion stroke). Subsequently, in the exhaust stroke, the combustion chamber is scavenged of burnt gas from the fresh air-fuel mixture compressed in the crank chamber and introduced into the combustion chamber.
There are known ways of scavenging, one being a method of introducing a fresh air-fuel mixture in the crank chamber directly into the combustion chamber through a scavenging passage formed in the inner wall of a cylinder, and another being a method of introducing a fresh air-fuel mixture into the combustion engine via apertures formed in the circumferential surface of the piston as disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Laid Open No. 33232 of 1982 (patent document 1) and Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 1359 of 1985 (patent document 2). The piston having such apertures is called an "internal cooling piston".
Note here that because of worldwide concern, more environmentally friendly devices are in demand, and regulations have not only been imposed upon the emission of exhaust gas from automotive and motorcycle engines but also from two-stroke internal combustion engines having a relatively small displacement and used on a knapsack-type duster or chain saw. On this account, Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2002-227652 (patent document 3) discloses a two-stroke internal combustion engine capable of reducing the amount of a so-called blow-by phenomenon, namely the phenomenon that a part of an air-fuel mixture, that is to be used for scavenging during the exhaust stroke, is discharged from the combustion chamber to outside the engine without contributing to the combustion. More particularly, this patent document 3 proposes to narrow the inlet of the scavenging passage formed in the inner wall of the cylinder. In other words, patent document 3 proposes to narrow the inlet opening area of the scavenging passage which is adjacent to the crank chamber compared to the cross-sectional area of the other part of the scavenging passage.


Techniques are described herein for efficiently evaluating database queries that include hierarchical cube computations. During second and subsequent evaluation phases (if any), a database server does not re-determine groups (nor re-aggregate within such groups) that have already been determined in a previous evaluation phase. Instead, according to a technique described herein, whenever an evaluation phase subsequent to the first evaluation phase is performed, the database server immediately outputs or otherwise returns certain groups and aggregate results that were determined based on certain grouping column sets that were generated in the previous evaluation phase. The database server does not aggregate within these certain groups when performing aggregation in the current evaluation phase, thereby avoiding the duplication of work already performed during previous evaluation phases.

In a database management system (DBMS), data is stored in one or more data containers. Each container contains records. The data within each record is organized into one or more fields. In relational database management systems, the data containers are referred to as tables, the records are referred to as rows, and the fields are referred to as columns. In object-oriented databases, the data containers are referred to as object classes, the records are referred to as objects, and the fields are referred to as attributes. Other database architectures may use other terminology.
Database management systems retrieve information in response to receiving queries that specify the information to retrieve. In order for a database management system to understand the query, the query should conform to a database language recognized by the database management system, such as the Structured Query Language (SQL).
In an OLAP (on-line analytical processing) environment or a data warehousing environment, data is often organized into a star schema. A star schema is distinguished by the presence of one or more relatively large tables and several relatively smaller tables. Rather than duplicating the information contained in the smaller tables, the large tables contain references (foreign key values) to rows stored in the smaller tables. The larger tables within a star schema are referred to as "fact tables," while the smaller tables are referred to as "dimension tables." Different dimension tables represent different dimensions. Typically, each dimension has "levels" which correspond to columns of the dimension table, which are organized in a hierarchical manner. The items in the levels at the top of the hierarchy typically contain (or could contain) multiple instances of items from levels further below in the hierarchy. For example, a TIME dimension might consist of the levels year, quarter, month, and day, corresponding to columns of the TIME table. The hierarchical organization is such that years consist of quarters, quarters consist of months, and months consist of days.
Records in a fact table usually refer to records in dimension tables using corresponding foreign key values. A particular foreign key value in a single column of a fact table can refer to a corresponding multi-column record (associated with a same key value) in a dimension table. As a result, the fact table can be expressed in a more condensed manner; the fact table can contain fewer columns. The columns of a fact table will often be columns that contain either (a) foreign key values that correspond to key values in dimension tables (often, the fact table will contain one such column for each separate dimension table—e.g., TIME, REGION—to which the fact table refers) or (b) scalar (non-enumerated) "measure" values, such as, for example, a sales amount. The columns of a dimension table will often be columns that contain either (a) key values to which the foreign key values in a particular column of the fact table correspond or (b) enumerated values, such as, for example, actual displayable values for year (e.g., "1999"), quarter (e.g., "Q1"), month (e.g., "JAN"), region (e.g., "WEST"), and state (e.g., "CA"). In a dimension table, each different combination of enumerated values in that dimension table is associated with key value that is unique within that dimension table, so that the fact table can refer to a specific combination of values represented in the dimension table by referring to that associated key value. For example, a TIME dimension table might contain a row for the (year, quarter, month) combination ("1999," "Q1," "JAN"), and this row might be associated with the key value "1." In the fact table, there may be one or more rows in which the value of a "TIME" column contains the foreign key value "1" to refer to the specific combination ("1999," "Q1," "JAN") in the TIME dimension table.

Efficient evaluation of hierarchical cubes by non-blocking rollups and skipping levels


A coated material and a process for producing the coated material which includes providing a coating agent comprising yeast cell wall fractions, as a primary constituent, consisting of cell residue of yeast which has been treated with enzymes, optionally subsequently with acidic solution, and water to remove internal soluble cell constituents; and coating a solid material with the coating agent to provide a coating thereon.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coating agent which is safe to use, which can be coated even in 100% water, which affords a finish that is not sticky despite its viscosity, thus resulting in coated particles that do not stick to each other, and which has an extremely low oxygen permeation coefficient, as well as to a novel, edible coating agent consisting of yeast cell wall fractions with the function of controlling dissolution time, coated materials comprising the use of such coating agents, and a coating film formed from such a coating agent.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fine particles, microcapsules, granules, tablets, and the like, comprising useful coated substances in a variety of forms or with various properties, such as colorless or colored dyes, medicinal products, agrochemicals, fragrances, feed materials, and food product materials, have conventionally been prepared for industrial purposes. Known examples of bases for coating fragrances, feed materials, food product materials, and the like, specifically, coating agents, include waxes and other oils, natural polysaccharides, proteins, shellac (natural resin secreted by the lac insect living in plants such as the legumes) and other resins, and the like. Chemically synthesized coating bases stipulated for medicinal additives are also known in the case of medicinal products.
Most of such conventionally known coating agents, however, suffer from the drawback of poor handling as a result of stickiness or poor dispersion during the preparation of the coating liquid. Additional problems with most medicinal additives such as shellac, zein (corn protein), and ethylcellulose, are their bad effects on the environment and their high cost because of the use of solvents such as ethanol have been indicated. Although water dispersion types of ethylcellulose-based coating agents have become commercially available recently, these also suffer from problems in terms of handling, such as the changes in solution properties depending on temperature conditions during storage, and the inability to release them in wastewater into rivers because they contain various solvents. Still another problem is the poor intestinal dissolution and the extremely slow dissolution speed of the aforementioned zein which can be used in the field of food products.
Attempts have meanwhile been made to develop film materials from yeast. Japanese Patent Publication (Kokoku) S56-19971, for example, discloses an edible protein film based on water-soluble proteins produced by removing the yeast cell membrane components from residual yeast which was produced by extracting nucleic acid. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application (Kokai) S53-45385 discloses a method for producing a film, wherein the cells of a microorganism such as yeast are heated and alkali treated, acid is added for treatment involving isoelectric precipitation, the pH of the resulting precipitate is adjusted to between 6 and 8, and a plasticizer is added to the resulting gel-forming microorganism cells to produce a constituent.
Methods are also known for decoloring and deodorizing substances primarily comprising the cell walls left over in the form of residue during the extraction of yeast extract. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application (Kokai) H4-248968, for example, discloses a method for decoloring and deodorizing yeast extract residue, wherein extract residue is treated with alkali and acid, is then treated with 1000 to 2000 ppm ozone, and is treated with ethanol before and after the ozone treatment. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application (Kokai) H9-103266 discloses a method for eliminating the flavor and odor of a yeast autolytic insoluble substance, wherein a yeast autolytic insoluble substance is suspended in ethanol, and is stirred and treated in the presence of an alkali.
However, it has not been known that excellent use as a coating agent can be made, without additional chemical treatment, of yeast cell wall fractions consisting of yeast extract residue, for example, such as extract residue obtained after the components in soluble cells have been removed following the autolysis of live yeast cream at 40 to 50° C., or that further treatment of such yeast cell wall fractions with acidic aqueous solution affords a coating agent with better enteric properties allowing the time at which dissolution begins to be controlled.
That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a coating agent with an extremely low oxygen permeation coefficient, which remedies the drawbacks of conventional edible coating agents, for example, by having a finish that is not as sticky, despite its viscosity, as gums such as gum arabic, resins such as shellac, and zein or Eudragit, and which results in coated particles that do not stick to each other, as well as to a coating agent which can be used as an enteric coating agent capable of controlling the time at which dissolution begins.
In the course of research on yeast cell wall fractions occurring in the form of extract residue of yeast extract, particularly in the course of research on coating agents utilizing such yeast cell wall fractions, the inventors unexpectedly found that residue undergoing no ethanol treatment as described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Applications H4-248968 or H9-103266, or any other chemical treatment during the treatment of the yeast extract residue had better film-formability, that is, film-forming properties, than that which had been treated with ethanol, and were particularly better as coating agents which require film properties, and that yeast cell wall fractions without any chemical treatment can be used as an unexpectedly excellent coating agent. Upon further research on such yeast cell wall fractions, the present invention was perfected when it was discovered that an excellent enteric coating agent capable of controlling the time at which dissolution begins was unexpectedly obtained using only acidic aqueous solution in varying concentrations, unlike conventional conditions for treating yeast with both alkali and acid treatments for deodorization and decolorization.

Coated material and process for producing the coated material


The present invention provides isolated and purified polypeptides that increase antibiotic production, polynucleotides that encode those polypeptides, expression vectors containing those polynucleotides, host cells transformed with those expression vectors, a process of making the polypeptides using those polynucleotides and vectors, and processes using those polypeptides and polynucleotides.

Erythromycin A (Em) is a medically important antibiotic produced by fermentation of the Actinomycete Saccharopolyspora erythraea (Bunch and McGuire 1953). More recently it has also become increasingly used as the chemical starting point for the generation of a new generation of semi-synthetic macrolide derivatives which has created a demand for the production of larger quantities of this bulk compound. In the past, increasing product output from well-developed fermentation processes involved either increasing the size of the fermentation plant, or using the traditional empirical mutate-and-screen approach to strain improvement (Queener and Lively, 1986). Because commercial scale fermentors are very costly and the traditional strain improvement methods do not reliably result in significantly better strains, a rational approach to strain improvement involving metabolic engineering of antibiotic producing organisms has been developed. The approach involves using genetic engineering to increase the expression of positive regulators of antibiotic production.
To find positive regulators of erythromycin projection from Sac. erythraea a protocol involving a simple visual screen that has been used successfully in the past for the isolation of antibiotic regulatory genes from other Actinomycete species was followed(Horinouchi et al., 1983; Horihouchi and Beppu, 1984). A slightly different method than Horinuchi and et al. (1983) and others since then was used (Romero, et al., 1992; Fernandez-Moreno et al., 1992; Ishizuka et al., 1992) to discover genes from Sac. erythraea that were different from any of those previously found to stimulate antibiotic production in other Actinomycetes (Chater and Bibb, 1997). The present invention describes the cloning and characterization of a DNA fragment carried by pFL37 which contains two genes involved in starch utilization and one new regulatory gene.

Methods and compositions for enhancing erythromycin production


A method for enabling enhanced call return in a wireless network comprising receiving an incoming telephone call from a caller, wherein the incoming telephone call identifies a mobile subscriber (MS) as a callee thereof; capturing caller-specific information for the caller, wherein the caller-specific information includes at least one of the name of the caller and the telephone number of the caller; and storing the caller-specific information into an intelligent peripheral (IP) within the wireless network. The method further comprises allowing the MS to access the caller-specific information stored in the IP. The present invention thus allows the mobile subscriber (MS) to subscribe to an enhanced call return (ECR) feature as part of the mobile telephone service plan. The ECR feature allows the mobile subscriber to access caller-specific information for a predetermined number of past callers and also to return calls from those past callers. The caller-specific information may include caller""s name, caller""s telephone number and the date/time the call was received from the caller.

(Not Applicable)
(Not Applicable)
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communication systems and, more particularly, to an implementation of an enhanced call return feature in a wireless telephone network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Contemporary telephone subscriber services may be divided into two major categories: (1) Wire line services; and (2) Wireless services. A wire line service typically utilizes a wired network of telephone cables or conductors. In other words, in a wire line network, telephone signals are transmitted over a physical wire path of, typically, copper conductors or wires. On the other hand, wireless services (e.g., cellular telephone service, personal communications service (PCS), etc.), as the name suggests, employ wireless means to carry telephone signals through the air (i.e., instead of wires) between a caller and callee. Although a telephone call originating in a wireless network may ultimately be transmitted through a wire line network to reach its destination, the principal mode of communication nonetheless still remains wireless in the wireless network. Typical examples of wire line telephone networks include the POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) and the more advanced PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). Some examples of land-based wireless telephone networks include the cellular (or mobile) telephone network and the personal communications network (PCN).
Both of the above-mentioned subscriber telephone services are governed by a number of corresponding regulatory standards and protocols that define how calls are to be treated in the respective system and which subscriber services may be provided. Some wire line service standards and protocols include the AIN (Advanced Intelligent Network) standard which may be considered as an upgrade to the SS-7 (signaling system number 7) standard, and the Internet Protocol (IP) for Internet-based telephony. Wireless telephone communication is also governed by a number of different standards and protocols, including the second generation TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) air interface standard (popularly known as the IS-136 standard) and the wireless intersystems operation standard (alternately referred to as the IS-41 or the TIA/EIA-41 standard), both of which may be considered part of the WIN (Wireless Intelligent Network) standards.
The AIN protocol for the wire line network allows a telephone service provider to offer a variety of service options to a telephone line subscriber. Some of the services that may be offered by a telephone service provider include the telephone number portability service, the calling name service, the voice mail service, and the call return service. The call return feature allows a user (i.e., telephone line subscriber) to dial an access code, e.g., *69, to place a call to the calling party that last called the user""s telephone number. This service is useful in a number of situations, e.g., when the calling party hangs up without giving the user a chance to pick up the phone, or when the user is aware of the phone call but unable to reach the phone and the calling party does not leave any message for the user.
Presently, a similar call return feature is absent for the subscribers of wireless telephone services. It is therefore desirable to implement the call return feature in wireless telephone networks.
The present invention contemplates a method for enabling enhanced call return in a wireless network comprising receiving an incoming telephone call from a caller, wherein the incoming telephone call identifies a mobile subscriber (MS) as a callee thereof; capturing caller-specific information for the caller, wherein the caller-specific information includes at least one of the name of the caller and the telephone number of the caller; and storing the caller-specific information into an intelligent peripheral (IP) within the wireless network. The method further comprises allowing the MS to access the caller-specific information stored in the IP.
The present invention further contemplates a wireless communication system comprising a line information data base (LIDB) configured to store caller-specific information therein, wherein the LIDB receives the caller-specific information when a caller originates a telephone call that identifies a mobile subscriber as a callee thereof; an originating mobile switching center (MSC) configured to receive the telephone call and to generate a first message in response thereto; a home location register (HLR) coupled to the originating MSC, wherein the HLR is configured to receive the first message and to responsively retrieve one or more parts of the caller-specific information from the LIDB; and an intelligent peripheral (IP) coupled to the HLR, wherein the HLR is configured to transfer the one or more parts of the caller-specific information to the IP via a second message from the HLR to the IP.
The present invention allows the mobile subscriber (MS) to subscribe to an enhanced call return (ECR) feature as part of the mobile telephone service plan. The ECR feature allows the mobile subscriber to access caller-specific information for a predetermined number of past callers. The caller-specific information includes the caller""s name, the caller""s telephone number and the date/time the call was received from the caller. The MS may scroll the list of callers whose data are stored in the subscriber""s mailbox in the IP to determine which caller(s) to return the call(s) to. The interaction between the MS and the IP may be voice-activated. While xe2x80x9ctalkingxe2x80x9d to the IP, the mobile subscriber may choose a specific caller to place a call to, or, alternately, the mobile subscriber may simply end the inquiry, albeit with the knowledge of who called that subscriber in the recent past.

Enhanced call return in a wireless telephone network

BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation


A method and apparatus to automate the process of updating and maintaining a dynamically changing database by assigning status states to each entry within the database and operating on those entries in accordance with the status states. More specifically, when a new entry for the database is received (13) it is classified as a short-term entry (11). If the new entry is accessed (14) prior to the expiration of the short-term status (15), then the classification of the entry is changed to long-term (12). Otherwise, if the short-term status expires (15), the entry is functionally removed from the database (10). Long term entries (12) are maintained within the database for an assigned period of time which attempts to emulate the useful life of the entry. Upon expiration of a long-term status (16), the entry is functionally removed from the database (10).

Computer-operated databases are heavily relied upon in many computer automated applications. A few examples of these applications include Automatic Teller Machines, point-of-sale terminals, personal information managers, secured access systems and a variety of telephone network based services. One specific example of a telephone network service that relies upon a computer operated database is the provision of a caller-name announcement service.
A problem that is inherent in many computer-operated databases is that the amount of processing time associated with updating and maintaining the database can be exorbitant. Because databases generally are dynamic, in that the data within the database must be modified periodically, the elimination of this overhead is not feasible. Without being maintained, the data within a database can quickly become obsolete. The bulk of the effort required in maintaining a database is the process of adding new entries into the database and removing entries that are no longer useful. Thus, there is a need to automate the updating process of a database to benefit applications utilizing a computer-operated database.
A specific example of a computer automated application which relies on the use of a computer-operated database is the provision of a caller-name announcement service within a telecommunications network. Caller-name announcement is a recent improvement in calling party identification services similar to what is known as "caller ID". Calling party identification is a technology that allows a called party to identify the originating source of a call prior to answering the call. Typically, an individual must become a subscriber to the calling party identification service and purchase custom equipment. The custom equipment is connected to the subscriber's line and is used to detect and display information which identifies the caller. In operation, when a subscriber's telephone begins to ring, the subscriber can read the display on the caller identification equipment and identify the number and/or the name of the calling party.
In the caller-name announcement service, when a call is received by the phone system, the identification of the calling party is provided by using an announcement message rather than a display. Typically, the announcement message will be an audible recitation of the calling party's name; however, other types of messages can also be utilized. When the subscribing party answers the phone, the announcement message is delivered and the subscriber may be given the opportunity to accept or reject the phone call prior to the parties being connected.
Caller-name announcement service is beneficial over prior calling party identification methods because it does not require the purchase of custom equipment, but rather utilizes standard telephone receiver equipment. In current operation, when a subscriber is called, the calling party will be prompted to recite an identifying message such as the calling party's name. This message is then recorded and delivered to the subscriber when the call is answered. A disadvantage of present caller-name announcement services is that the process of prompting for and receiving the calling party's name is an inefficient utilization of bandwidth. The approximate amount of time required to prompt for and receive the calling party's name is on the order of 8 to 10 seconds. During this holding time, a completed voice channel required. Thus, the time that a channel is dedicated to this process prevents its use for actual communication.
The use of a computer-operated database in conjunction with the caller-name announcement service can operate to alleviate the wasted bandwidth of present caller-name announcement systems. By storing an identifying messages from each caller into a database, the time required to prompt for and receive the identifying messages can be reduced; however, it is readily apparent that the overhead associated with the maintenance of such a database can be significant. The database would have a tendency to grow rapidly because each call from a new party will result in a new entry being created for the database. If there are a large number of one time callers, the database could be filled with information that is never or seldom accessed.
The issues identified with the dynamically changing database are not unique to a caller-name announcement service application. The overhead associated with maintaining a database is common to most computer automated applications. Maintaining a database is a continuous task and usually is the responsibility of a human operator. If the operator is busy or negligent, the database can become unmanageable. Furthermore, the amount of time required in maintaining a database may increase the cost of operating expenses for certain applications. Therefore, there is a need for a method which can automate the maintenance of a computer-operated database. Further, there is a need for a method to minimize the overhead required for maintaining a database.

Method and apparatus for automating the management of a database


A control portion detects the presence or absence of a pulse signal provided from a satellite broadcast receiver through a port PO to output a control signal PDOUT. In accordance with control signal PDOUT, a power supply circuit stops a supply of one of a power supply potential BIAS1 fed to LNA 22A and a power supply potential BIAS2 fed to LNA 22B. Therefore, the power consumption in an LNB designed for multi-satellite can be reduced and even a satellite broadcast receiver having a small current-supply capability can be connected. In this way, a low noise block down converter for multi-satellite with lower power consumption can be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a satellite broadcast receiving converter, and more particularly to a Low Noise Block Down Converter (referred to as LNB hereinafter) receiving radio waves from a plurality of satellites for use in satellite broadcasting or satellite communication.
2. Description of the Background Art
At present, broadcasting satellites (three satellites referred to as DBS1, DBS2, and DBS 3) having a signal frequency band of a BSS (Broadcast Satellite Service) frequency band at 12.2–12.7 GHz are launched over the North America in the vicinity of the west longitude 101°. Two kinds of circularly polarized signals of right-hand circular polarization and left-hand circular polarization are used in the BSS frequency band as transmission signals from the satellite.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating RF (Radio Frequency) signals received from a plurality of satellites.
Referring to FIG. 11, a satellite broadcasting receiving antenna receiving a satellite broadcasting signal transmitted from a satellite 500 and a satellite 502 includes a reflector plate 504 reflecting the satellite broadcasting signal transmitted from the two satellites, and an LNB 506 amplifying the satellite broadcasting signal reflected at reflector plate 504 with low noise and converting the frequency to a lower frequency band. LNB 506 is connected to a satellite broadcast receiver such as a television receiver.
A coaxial cable is normally used to receive radio waves at a satellite broadcasting antenna and to introduce the signal to an indoor BS tuner. The radio waves received at the antenna, however, cannot be introduced indoors directly with the coaxial cable.
A metal tube called a waveguide has to be used to introduce the radio waves for satellite broadcasting having an extremely high frequency. The use of the waveguide requires a big hole to be provided on a wall to introduce a signal from the antenna to the indoor satellite broadcast receiver, and causes large attenuation, and therefore it is not realistic.
Therefore, LNB 506 installed at the antenna is used to lower the frequency of the received signal to such a frequency as to be introduced even through the coaxial cable and then to transmit the signal to the indoor satellite broadcast receiver. The indoor satellite broadcast receiver includes a scramble decoder, which allows descrambling for displaying an image on a display unit.
The input portion of LNB 506 is provided with feed horns 510A and 510B corresponding to satellites 500 and 502, respectively.
Conventionally, an LNB designed for multi-satellite has been used in which the RF signals input from a plurality of satellites are switched by one LNB switch and selectively received. This LNB designed for multi-satellite receives the signal from each satellite through respective independent feed horns 510A and 510B. Therefore, the substrate having feed horns 510A and 510B connected is provided with a plurality of independent input portions. To amplify the broadcasting signal corresponding to each of the plurality of satellites that is supplied from these input portions at least one low noise amplifier circuit (LNA) is present for each satellite. In the signal processing after this LNA, a signal from a desired satellite is selected by switching.
FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing a first exemplary configuration of LNB for receiving transmission signals from a plurality of satellites in the conventional satellite broadcasting receiving system.
Referring to FIG. 12, signals from satellites 500 and 502 are respectively received by feed horns 510A and 510B.
Two kinds of signals respectively received by feed horns 510A and 510B are amplified with low noise by LNA (Low Noise Amplifier) 522A and 522B.
The RF signals amplified with low noise by LNA 522A and 522B are provided to the respective one inputs of mixers 530A and 530B after unnecessary signals are removed through BPF (Band Pass Filter) 528A and 528B, respectively.
The other inputs of mixers 530A and 530B respectively receive local oscillating signals from local oscillator circuits 526A and 526B. The RF signals and the local oscillating signals are mixed in mixers 530A and 530B. As a result, the RF signals are converted to intermediate frequency (IF) signals in the intermediate frequency band.
The IF signals from mixers 530A and 530B are respectively provided to PIN diodes 532A and 532B. When PIN diodes 532A and 532B are turned on, the IF signals are passed. On the other hand, when they are turned off, the IF signals are blocked. The selection of the IF signals is performed by the individual on/off control of PIN diodes 532A and 532B.
The selected IF signal is amplified by an IF amplifier 534 and transmitted to a port PO through AC coupling using a capacitor 535. The IF output signal is output from the port PO to a satellite broadcast receiver (not shown) for example a television receiver.
FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram showing a second exemplary configuration of the conventional LNB.
Referring to FIG. 13, an LNB 550 differs from LNB 510 in that PIN diodes 532A and 532B are not provided in the configuration of LNB 510 illustrated in FIG. 12 and mixers 530A and 530B are directly connected to IF amplifier 534.
Furthermore, it differs from LNB 510 in that a power supply circuit 540 powers a circuit portion 551 and a control portion 552 and the power supplies for LNA 522A and 522B are independently controlled by control portion 552.
The remaining configuration of LNB 550 is similar to that of LNB 510 and the description thereof will not be repeated.
LNB 550 selectively inputs a signal from the desired satellite to IF amplifier 534 by turning off either of the power supplies for LNA 522A and LNA 522B.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an exemplary configuration of receiving signals from a plurality of satellites where conventional LNB itself does not have a switching function.
Referring to FIG. 14, three LNB 1-LNB 3 are provided for receiving radio waves from first to third satellites. A switch box SW-BOX receives the signals received at LNB 1-LNB 3 and selects any one of them.
The selected signal is output from a port PO and input to a satellite broadcasting receiving device IRD (Integrated Receiver/Decoder) that is installed indoors.
When a plurality of LNB corresponding to a plurality of satellites are internally mounted in one package in order to realize the LNB designed for multi-satellite, the following problems arise with only the switching selection of signals that are output from the internal LNB for each satellite as in the conventional circuit configuration.
First of all, the satellite broadcast receiver that powers LNB has a limit in the current to be supplied. In order to allow a variety of conventional satellite broadcast receivers to be connected, even a satellite broadcast receiver having a small current capacity has to be handled. Although the provision of the switch box as shown in FIG. 14 allows the power to be supplied with a separate system, a compact LNB designed for multi-satellite cannot be implemented. Therefore, the power has to be supplied through a cable from the satellite broadcast receiver.
In LNB 510 shown in FIG. 12, the voltage applied from the satellite broadcast receiver through the port PO is converted into a prescribed power supply voltage by power supply circuit 540 and is supplied to circuit portion 511.
In the configuration shown in FIG. 12, however, that LNA of two LNAs which amplifies the signal from the satellite that is not received is continuously supplied with power supply current from power supply circuit 540, so that the power consumption of LNB is inevitably large.
Second, as shown in FIG. 13, if the selection operation is performed by the on/off control of the power supplies for LNA, a noise caused in the mixer portion of the unselected LNA is unpreferably combined with the received signal from the selected satellite. Furthermore, there is a demand to transmit a received signal from one LNB to a plurality of satellite broadcast receivers. In this case, such a case cannot be handled in that a signal from a first satellite is sent to a first broadcast receiver and a signal from a second satellite is sent to a second broadcast receiver, for example.

Satellite broadcast receiving converter with lower power consumption


A method is provided for calibrating a sensor used for surface weight measurement or thickness measurement on a material sheet via transmission measurement and/or reflection measurement. The method may include: providing a two-dimensional calibration sample with a known surface weight; detection of the transmission values and/or the reflection values of the calibration sample via the sensor on a plurality of different positions two-dimensionally or areally distributed across the surface of the calibration sample; and the detection of the calibration value for the sensor via calculation of average from the plurality detected transmission values and/or reflection values and the composition of the average transmission and reflection values with the known surface weight of the calibration sample. Also provided is a method for measurement of layer thickness and/or surface weight of material sheets using the calibration method, as well as an apparatus for layer thickness measurements and/or surface weight measurement.

From DE 42 36 436 A1 a measurement method is known for the contact-free determination of the surface weight of thin material sheets using ultrasound. In this method, the transmission absorption of an ultrasonic beam emitted through a sheet material is determined using an ultrasonic transmitter and ultrasonic receiver. The surface weight is calculated using the absorption and a calibration factor.
From DE 201 09 119 U1 another apparatus for thickness measurement of material sheets is known. There, the material sheet is drawn over a roller and the thickness measurement is executed by a sensor mounted on a dolly which traverses back and forth over the roller.
There is a need for providing a method for improved calibration of a sensor. Furthermore, there is a need for providing an improved method or an improved apparatus for measurement of layer thickness and/or surface weight of a material sheet.

Method and apparatus for calibrating a sensor for the measurement of material thickness or surface weight


Disclosed herein is a method and system for power management in a subscriber station. The method involves (a) during a communication session between a subscriber station and an access network, determining a packet inter-arrival time for data received from the access network; (b) determining whether the packet inter-arrival time indicates that the communication session is in a high-activity state or, in the alternative, indicates that the communication session is in a low-activity state; (c) if the packet inter-arrival time indicates that the communication session is in the low-activity state, then selecting a first power-saving mode for use by the subscriber station; and (d) if the packet inter-arrival time indicates that the communication session is in the high.

When communicating under an air-interface protocol, such as WiMAX, a subscriber station may be configured to switch to and operate in a power-saving mode during periods of lower activity and/or inactivity. When operating in a power-saving mode, the subscriber station may disable certain functions, such as its systems for reception and/or scanning, in order to save power. By operating in sleep mode, the subscriber station may conserve power without disconnecting from the access network, thus eliminating the need to reconnect with the access network when the subscriber station exits the power-saving mode.
The WiMAX protocol specifies three different types of power-saving modes, which are collectively referred to as power-saving classes (PSCs), and are individually referred to as PSC I, PSC II, and PSC III. Generally, a subscriber station operating according to one of the WiMAX PSCs alternates between "sleeping," where functionality is reduced to conserve power, and "listening," where reception is powered on to determine if the serving base station is attempting to send data to the subscriber station. Each interval for which the subscriber station sleeps is referred to as a "sleep interval," while each interval for which the subscriber station listens referred to as a "listening interval."
According to 802.16e, when traffic arrives for a subscriber station that is in sleep mode, the subscriber station will receive a mobile-traffic-indication (MOB-TRF-IND) message from its serving base station, which indicates that traffic intended for the subscriber station has arrived at the base station. The MOB-TRF-IND message is typically sent such that the subscriber station receives the message during the listening interval immediately following the sleep interval where data intended for the subscriber station arrived. When operating according to PSC I, a subscriber station increases the size of the sleep interval after each successive listening interval during which no incoming traffic arrives for the subscriber station. PSC II is similar to PSC I, except that the size of the sleep interval remains constant, and does not increase.

Method and system for reactive power-saving