A showerhead includes a flow device and a flow distribution member. The flow device is configured to produce a substantially laminar fluid stream. The flow distribution member is coupled to the flow device and is spaced apart from the flow device. The flow distribution member is configured to receive the substantially laminar fluid stream from the flow device and to produce a distributed fluid flow.

The present application relates generally to the field of showers. More specifically, the present application relates to a showerhead.
Generally speaking, a showerhead can dispense water from above a user-occupied space within a shower. The showerhead can be connected to a water source via a household water supply line extending from a side wall or an upper wall of a fixed structure, such as a building or a shower enclosure. The showerhead can produce a spray of water to facilitate cleaning operations and/or to enhance user comfort by more fully covering the user in water. Conventional showerheads typically include internal components/mechanisms and nozzles that produce a water spray of varying patterns and intensities. The nozzles can also restrict the flow of water to minimize water consumption during a shower event.


A smooth edge strip for engaging a carpet edge at a floor edge adjacent a wall is held in place by a bracket having a bracket body defining a mounting plate for attachment to the wall at the floor edge and a channel portion for receiving the smooth edge strip so as to hold the smooth edge strip flat on the floor. The channel portion includes an upper leg across the top of the strip which connects to the wall plate at the corner with the floor by a downwardly inclined portion. The wall plate is arranged at an angle to provide spring bias tending to hold the channel and the strip held thereby in contact with the floor.

The laying of carpet on flooring has for many years used a product known as "smooth edge" for holding the edge of the carpet against lifting and against sliding inwards away from the wall or other edge position at which the smooth edge is applied. Smooth edge consists of a strip of plywood with a series of nails punched through the strip so as to project upwardly from the upper surface in a row of outwardly inclined spikes which grasp the edge of the carpet. The width of the strip can vary to provide increased numbers of spikes where necessary. The plywood strip is generally attached to the floor by nailing through the strip. This technique is used widely and has been fully satisfactory where the strip can be readily fastened to the floor by nailing or adhesive. The strip is however of no value when the fastening to the floor is impossible or unsatisfactory, thus requiring the use of other techniques for fastening the carpet at the edge.


According to one embodiment of the invention, a method includes determining, at a base station, at least one usability factor providing a relative measure of the desirability of receiving control of a mobile unit. The method also includes communicating, from a base station to a remote controller, the determined at least one usability factor for comparison to at least one usability factor of another base station as determined at the other base station and communicated to the remote controller. The method also includes taking control, by the base station, of the mobile unit in response to receiving a signal from a controller to take control of the mobile unit in response to comparison of the controller of the at least one usability factor determined by the base station and the at least one usability factor determined by the other base station.

Wireless networks are pervasive in today's society. Wireless networks provide the capability of a mobile unit, such as a cell phone or a laptop, to maintain communication while moving through a geographic region, and thus have become commonplace and important.
Wireless networks generally include a plurality of base stations. Each base station communicates wirelessly with mobile units within a defined geographic area. The communications may then be transferred over a wired line to a wired network, enabling communications with parties outside the wireless network. As mobile units progress through the base station's defined geographic area, sometimes referred to as a cell, a decision needs to be made regarding to which base station responsibility for the mobile unit will shift as the mobile unit leaves the defined geographic area for the present base station.

Method and system for radio-independent predictive handoffs in a wireless network


A magnet is disposed on one face of a hollow section which is the conveyance path of an object of detection, and has a magnetic pole of designated length along the conveyance direction of the object of detection. A magnetic body is disposed along the conveyance direction opposite the magnet with the hollow section therebetween, and generates a cross magnetic field that crosses the hollow section formed between the magnetic body and the magnet. An anisotropic magnetoresistance element is disposed on the side of the magnetic body carrier facing the hollow section, and has magneto-sensing action in the conveyance direction.

A magnetic sensor is a sensor that uses a magnetoresistance element having a property in which the resistance varies according to magnetic field strength. The magnetization of a magnetic pattern included in a sheet-like medium such as paper currency is typically small. For this reason, particularly in a line-type magnetic sensor that detects multiple channels simultaneously, an anisotropic magnetoresistance element is often used in order to detect a magnetic pattern with high sensitivity. An anisotropic magnetoresistance element generally is more sensitive than a semiconductor magnetoresistance element. In a magnetic sensor, it is necessary to provide anisotropic magnetoresistance elements in areas of magnetic field strength where the sensitivity rises without any reaching magnetic saturation, and then convey a sheet-like medium such as paper currency through the strong magnetic field range.
However, in a magnetic sensor using an anisotropic magnetoresistance element, since an anisotropic magnetoresistance element saturates at a magnetic flux density of approximately 10 mT, it is difficult to dispose multiple anisotropic magnetoresistance elements in areas of magnetic field strength where the sensitivity rises without saturating.
In order to solve such a problem, Patent Literature 1 discloses a magnetic sensor in which a permanent magnet is disposed with the position adjusted so that the bias magnetic field strength in the magneto-sensing direction of ferromagnetic thin film magnetoresistance elements (anisotropic magnetoresistance elements) simultaneously imparted by a detecting magnetic field from the permanent magnet reaches a magnetic flux that is not greater than the saturation magnetic field.
The magnetic sensor in Patent Literature 1 disposes a magnetoresistance element between a magnet and the object of detection. Besides the above, there are magnetic sensors configured so that the object of detection is moved between a magnet and a magnetoresistance element (see Patent Literature 2, for example), or, configured so that a magnetoresistance element is disposed between two magnets, and the object of detection is moved between the magnetoresistance element and one of the magnets (see Patent Literature 3, for example). With the configuration that moves the object of detection between a magnet and a magnetoresistance element, sometimes a magnet and a magnetized body are disposed opposite each other, and a magnetoresistance element is disposed on the side of the magnetized body.
For example, in the magnetic sensor in Patent Literature 4, a permanent magnet and a magnetized yoke are disposed opposite each other with a travel space therebetween, with the permanent magnet disposed below and the magnetized yoke disposed above. The opposing magnetic pole face of the permanent magnet forms the same magnetic polarity. A magnetoresistance element constituting a voltage-dividing circuit is installed on the side of the opposing face of the magnetized yoke. A groove is formed in the opposing face of the magnetized yoke. Lines of magnetic force coming from the permanent magnet converge and enter the magnetic pole of the magnetized yoke, and by disposing the magnetoresistance element in this magnetic flux convergence area, the resolution at which an object may be detected is raised.
Also, in the magnetic sensor of Patent Literature 5, the magnetized yoke is disposed above the magnet. A magnetic leg portion of the magnetized yoke has shape magnetic anisotropy, which suppresses the spread of the magnetic flux of the magnet.


A media enhanced shopping cart system comprises a shopping cart, a locationing component, and a display component for displaying at least one advertisement for a product based on the location of the shopping cart within the store, wherein the locationing component is further operable to determine a location of the product within the store relative to the shopping cart, and wherein the display component is further operable to display an indication of the location of the advertised product relative to the location of the shopping cart.

In today's media market, measuring efficacy of advertising is difficult. Advertisers are spending billions of dollars on television, radio, and print with little return on investment, and they have little assurance that consumers will actually see advertisements, much less make purchasing decisions impacted by them. Thus, advertisers and stores are constantly searching for new and related advertising venues, and in particular those positioned at, or in close proximity to, the point of purchase location. To with, the traditional shopping cart is an underutilized advertising medium. The shopping cart is the one venue that continually moves with the consumer as they navigate the store. Thus, the shopping cart provides an advertising venue with opportunity to improve the shopping experience of the consumer.
The present disclosure is aimed to address needs of advertisers, retailers, and consumers. Advertisers wish to 1) display ads at the most effective location and time, at the consumer's point of purchase, 2) specifically measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and 3) improve return on advertisement investment dollars. Retailers wish to 1) increase sales, 2) share in advertising revenue, 3) reduce labor costs, 4) create a consumer friendly environment with less advertisement clutter, 5) enhance their store image and 6) make improvements that are compatible with existing solutions. Consumers wish to 1) have a pleasant and efficient shopping experience, and 2) save money on items that they need or want.

Media enhanced shopping systems with data mining functionalities


The present invention is to provide a hardware password accessing method, which is capable of reading a password of at least one hardware (such as a hard disk) disposed on a computer and storing the password to a RAM before the computer entering a standby mode from a working status and also capable of retrieving the password of the hardware from the RAM to restart the hardware once the computer being restored to the working status from the standby mode, so as to resolve the conventional problems caused by storing the hardware password to a CMOS.

The present invention relates to an accessing method, and more particularly to a hardware password accessing method capable of reading a password of at least one hardware (such as a hard disk) disposed on a computer and storing the password to a RAM before the computer entering a standby mode from a working status, and capable of retrieving the password of the hardware from the RAM to restart the hardware once the computer being restored to the working status from the standby mode.


The present invention relates to novel functionally selective ligands of dopamine D2 receptors, including agonists, antagonists, and inverse agonists. The invention further relates to the use of these compounds for treating central nervous system disorders related to D2 receptors.

Classical notions of receptor pharmacology imply that when a ligand interacts with a receptor, only a unitary outcome is possible. According to these models of receptor pharmacology, a full or partial agonist can activate only a single signal transduction pathway while an antagonist can only block the actions of an agonist. The key theoretical construct underlying this model was the concept of intrinsic efficacy (Furchgott, Advances in Drug Research (Harper N and Simmonds A eds) Academic Press, New York., pp 21-55 (1966)). According to this conceptualization, a full agonist has maximum intrinsic efficacy and maximally stimulates all cellular responses induced by ligand binding. A partial agonist possesses a lower degree of intrinsic efficacy and partially activates all cellular responses induced by an agonist. Antagonists, according to this schema, are neutral entities which possess no intrinsic activity but are able to block the receptor and preclude activation by full or partial agonists (Furchgott, Advances in Drug Research (Harper N and Simmonds A eds) Academic Press, New York., pp 21-55 (1966)). An extension of this model has been that a single G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) interacts with a single G protein subtype (e.g., Gi, Gs, Gq, Go and so on) and that full and partial agonists activate only a single transduction pathway.
For many decades, however, it has been clear that these simplistic notions of GPCR (also known as 7-transmembrane receptor or 7-TM) function cannot account for the myriad of actions induced by agonist or antagonist binding. This was first convincingly demonstrated for the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) and dopamine (DA) families of receptors where it has been demonstrated that: (1) agonists differentially activate distinct signal transduction pathways (Beaulieu et al., J. Neurosci. 27:881 (2007); Berg et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 54:94 (1998); Ghosh et al., J. Med. Chem. 39:549 (1996); Kilts et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 301:1179 (2002); Mottola et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 301:1166 (2002); Parrish et al., J. Neurochem. 95:1575 (2005); Roth and Chuang, Life Sci. 41:1051 (1987); Urban et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 320:1 (2007)); (2) antagonists can possess negative intrinsic activity (e.g., function as inverse agonists) or be silent and thereby block the actions of an inverse agonist (e.g., neutral antagonists) (Barker et al., J. Biol. Chem. 269:11687 (1994); Burstein et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 315:1278 (2005); Chidiac et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 45:490 (1994); Gilliland and Alper, Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch. Pharmacol. 361:498 (2000); Rauser et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 299:83 (2001)); (3) antagonists can also induce receptor down regulation (Peroutka and Snyder, Science 210:88 (1980)) and receptor internalization in vitro (Berry et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 50:306 (1996)) and in vivo (Gray and Roth, Brain Res. Bull. 56:441 (2001); Willins et al., Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 861:121 (1998); Willins et al., Neuroscience 91:599 (1999))—properties typically associated with agonists.
The processes by which agonists and antagonists differentially modulate signaling pathways and receptor trafficking have been variously dubbed 'functional selectivity', 'biased agonism' or 'agonist-directed trafficking'. Currently, the preferred term for the process by which ligands can differentially activate signaling pathways mediated via a single GPCR is functional selectivity (Urban et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 320:1 (2007)). Functional selectivity has been demonstrated for more than a dozen GPCRs (reviewed in (Urban et al., Neuropsychopharmacology 32:67 (2007)) and is, likely, a ubiquitous phenomenon. In particular, functional selectivity has been widely observed among DA receptor subtypes.
It is desirable to identify novel, functionally selective ligands of dopamine D2 receptors to elucidate the key signal transduction pathways essential for antipsychotic efficacy and the undesired ones associated with side-effects. Such compounds would also be useful agents for treating central nervous system (CNS) disorders including schizophrenia and depression.

Functionally selective ligands of dopamine D

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


A method of producing a laser diode bar includes producing a plurality of emitters arranged side by side, emitters each including a semiconductor layer sequence having an active layer that generates laser radiation, a p-contact on a first main surface of the laser diode bar and an n-contact on a second main surface of the laser diode bar opposite the first main surface, testing at least one optical and/or electrical property of the emitters, wherein emitters in which the optical and/or electrical property lies within a predetermined setpoint range are assigned to a group of first emitters, and emitters in which the at least one optical and/or electrical property lies outside the predetermined setpoint range are assigned to a group of second emitters, and electrically contacting first emitters, wherein second emitters are not electrically contacted so that they are not supplied with current during operation of the laser diode bar.

Methods are intended for laser diode bars based on a nitride compound semiconductor material, in particular InAlGaN, are known. Such laser diode bars can emit radiation in the visible spectral range in particular. However, production of efficient laser diode bars from nitride compound semiconductors is difficult because in such material systems compared to other material systems such as InAlGaAs, higher defect densities can occur.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a laser diode bar and a process for its production, wherein the laser diode bar has improved efficiency.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of producing a laser diode bar and laser diode bar


A thin film transistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a substrate; a gate line positioned on the substrate; a gate insulating layer positioned on the gate line; a semiconductor layer positioned on the gate insulating layer and having a channel portion; a data line including a source electrode and a drain electrode, the source and drain electrodes both positioned on the semiconductor layer; a passivation layer positioned on the data line and the drain electrode and having a contact hole formed therein; and a pixel electrode positioned on the passivation layer, wherein the pixel electrode contacts the drain electrode within the contact hole, and the channel portion of the semiconductor layer and the contact hole both overlap the gate line in a plan view of the substrate.

(a) Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to flat panel displays. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to thin film transistor array panels with improved aperture ratio, and methods of their manufacture.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, an electrophoretic display, and a plasma display typically includes a plurality of pairs of field generating electrodes and an electro-optical active layer interposed therebetween. The liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal layer as the electro-optical active layer, and the organic light emitting diode display includes an organic emission layer as the electro-optical active layer. One of the field generating electrodes is generally connected to a switching element to receive an electric signal, and the electro-optical active layer converts the electric signal into an optical signal, thereby displaying a portion of an image.
The flat panel display may include a display panel on which a thin film transistor is formed. Multilayered electrodes, a semiconductor, or the like are patterned on a thin film transistor array panel. In general, one or more masks are used in the patterning process.
Meanwhile, to manufacture high resolution flat panel displays, it is desirable to reduce the pixel size. However, reducing pixel size while still maintaining sufficient aperture ratio, or open areas between the constituent elements of the array panel, has proven challenging.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Thin film transistor array panel having improved aperture ratio and method of manufacturing same


A method and system for controlling regenerative braking of a hybrid electric vehicle. The regenerative braking system includes a driver-operable brake pedal, a hydraulically actuated friction brake for at least one front wheel, an anti-lock braking system hydraulically connected to the hydraulically actuated friction brake, and an electrically actuated friction brake for at least one rear wheel. The regenerative braking system further includes an electric machine connected to the at least one rear wheel and capable of performing regenerative braking of the at least one rear wheel, and an electronic control unit that controls the stability of the hybrid electric vehicle. The regenerative braking system is configured to provide increased braking torque of the front hydraulically actuated friction brake by means of the anti-lock braking system for compensating a decreased or limited rear wheel braking torque initiated by the electronic control unit.

In general a hybrid electric vehicle is a vehicle with a combination of a conventional/standard internal combustion propulsion system and an electric propulsion system. A hybrid electric vehicle utilizes the power generated from the internal combustion engine either to charge a battery of the vehicle or to provide driving force to the vehicle or combination of both.
Nowadays, the hybrid vehicle uses advanced technologies which improves the efficiency of the vehicle as well as reduces the emission as compared to conventional internal combustion propulsion system. One such technology is regenerative braking. In regenerative braking, the kinetic energy of the vehicle is converted into electric energy which may be stored in a battery or used to run electrical equipment of the vehicle.
The hybrid electric vehicle, in general, employs a conventional hydraulic brake system along with the advanced regenerative braking technology in order to generate desired braking force for the vehicle. However, such desired braking force is difficult to achieve by means of combined hydraulic and regenerative braking systems, such that the driver may feel unsecure with respect to the functional and capacity of the braking system. There is thus a need for an improved system for controlling regenerative braking in hybrid electric vehicle.

Regenerative braking system for a hybrid electric vehicle and a corresponding method

Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle Partnership Handelsbolag


A burner and method for reducing NOx emissions from process heaters, boilers, and other heating systems having flue gases present therein. The inventive burner and method preferably involve the single stage combustion of fuel gas which is ejected outside of a burner wall in free jet flow such that at least a portion of the flue gas is entrained in the fuel gas as it travels to a combustion zone at the forward end of the burner wall. Air or other oxygen-containing gas is preferably delivered to the combustion zone via an interior passageway. The inventive burner preferably comprises a plurality of ejectors positioned outside of the burner wall and preferably also comprises one or more exterior impact structures positioned to assist in further mixing the flue gas with the fuel.

In one aspect, the present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for reducing NOx emissions from burners of the type used in process heater, boilers, and other fired heating systems. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to achieving low NOx emissions in and with a burner having only one combustion stage.
Many industrial applications require large scale generation of heat from burners for process heaters, boilers, or other fired heating systems. If the burner fuel is thoroughly mixed with air and combustion occurs under ideal conditions, the resulting combustion products are primarily carbon dioxide and water vapor. However, when the fuel is burned under less than ideal conditions, such as in a high temperature environment, nitrogen present in the combustion air reacts with oxygen to produce nitrogen oxides (NOx). It is well known that, other conditions being equal, NOx production increases as the temperature of the combustion process increases. NOx emissions are generally considered to contribute to ozone depletion and other environmental problems.
Prior to today""s increasing concern over the environmental effects of NOx, emissions, single staged burners were in common use in generally all types of fired heater applications. Prior art single stage burners typically comprise one or more fuel nozzles or distributors positioned inside the burner wall. As compared to typical low NOx, burners now in use, the prior art single stage burners are less expensive, less complex, safer, more stable, and simpler to operate, control, and maintain. Prior art single stage burners also typically provide much broader acceptable operating ranges (turndown ratios). Unfortunately, however, the simpler single stage burners heretofore used in the art produce very high levels of NOx, emissions and are not capable of meeting today""s demanding environmental standards and regulations.
Burners designed for combusting fuel with air in a manner resulting in less NOx emissions are commonly referred to as xe2x80x9clow NOxxe2x80x9d burners. One type of apparatus now used for reducing NOx emissions is a xe2x80x9cstaged airxe2x80x9d burner. Staged air burners operate by dividing the flow of combustion air to create a first combustion zone (wherein the fuel is introduced) having a deficiency of air so as to create a reducing environment that suppresses NOx formation and a second combustion zone wherein the remaining portion of air is introduced and the combustion process is completed.
Another type of low NOx apparatus is a xe2x80x9cstaged fuelxe2x80x9d burner wherein all of the combustion air, but only a portion of the fuel to be burned, are introduced in a first combustion zone. The remaining fuel is introduced into a second combustion zone utilizing the oxygen-rich effluent of the first zone. In such a burner, the excess air in the first zone serves to dilute the fuel, which lowers the temperature of the burning gases and thereby reduces the formation of NOx.
Other low NOX methods and apparatuses recirculate and mix furnace flue gases with fuel/air mixtures to dilute the mixtures and to thereby lower the combustion temperature so that NOx formation is reduced. Flue gases are captured from the furnace space and conducted via pipes, ducts, or passageways to a mixer assembly, typically within the burner housing, where the flue gases are mixed with fuel or with fuel and air. The resulting mixture is then burned.
It will be appreciated that to accomplish the foregoing, each of the conventional types of low NOx burners must be rather complex in structure and operation. As compared to high NOx prior art single stage burners, conventional low NOx systems must provide for and include additional hardware, conduits, passageways and other structures to achieve staged introduction of fuel or air, to allow for the burning of fuel/air mixtures in multiple combustion zones, and/or to accommodate the recirculation of furnace gases. This increased level of complexity does not lend itself to low-cost manufacture, reliability, or ease of maintenance. Moreover, in staged burner systems, the necessity of splitting flows to and balancing the performance of multiple combustion zones/stages increases the difficulty of achieving and maintaining operational stability and greatly reduces the available operating range (turndown ratio) of the burner.
One type of low NOx staged fuel burner heretofore known in the art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,884. In the ""884 burner, a primary portion (preferably about 75%) of the fuel gas used in the burner must be burned in a first (xe2x80x9cprimaryxe2x80x9d) combustion zone within and surrounded by the burner wall. The primary fuel is mixed with air and discharged into the primary combustion zone using one or more mixing and discharge assemblies which project into and are at least partially contained within the throat of the burner. Each of these assemblies comprises a Venturi aspirating tube having a primary fuel gas nozzle positioned at the lower end thereof.
The remaining (secondary) fuel gas used in the ""884 burner is delivered to a secondary combustion zone by four secondary fuel gas nozzles outside of the burner wall. Each of the secondary fuel nozzles has an array of multiple flow ports provided therein which must spread the secondary flue gas in a fan-type pattern covering essentially one-quarter of the exterior of the burner wall. The burner wall has an exterior frusto-conical surface which is contacted by the secondary fuel gas as it spreads outwardly and moves upwardly to the secondary combustion zone. Such contact is said to promote the mixing of internal flue gases with the secondary fuel gas.
Unfortunately, the primary combustion stage alone of the burner described in the ""884 patent produces more NOx emissions than are allowable, for example, under Texas Gulf Coast restrictions and other regulatory requirements. Moreover, without using the primary combustion stage, it has not been possible heretofore to obtain adequate heating or to achieve and maintain stable burner operation.
Like the stage fuel burner described in the ""884 patent, few, if any, of the other low NOx burners presently available are capable of meeting Texas Gulf Coast requirements and other increasingly stringent air quality standards. If suitable new burner technologies capable of satisfying these requirements are not found, the industry will be required to use more expensive and elaborate techniques, such as catalytic reduction, to reduce NOx emissions.
Thus, a need exists for a new burner technology which produces even less NOx emissions than the low NOx burner systems currently available in the art. The new, extremely low NOx burner would preferably also be less complex, less expensive, more stable, and much simpler to operate, maintain, and control than current low NOx burner systems. Further, the new, extremely low NOx burner would preferably provide a much larger available turndown ratio than is provided by current low NOx burners.
The present invention provides a low NOx burner apparatus and method which satisfy the needs and alleviate the problems discussed above. The inventive burner and method are capable of providing NOx emission levels of 10 parts per million by volume (ppmv) or less (preferably 7 ppmv or less) based on the total volume of combustion gas product produced by the burner. The inventive low NOx burner also provides much stabler operation and is less complex and less costly than the low NOx burner systems currently available. Moreover, the inventive burner is much simpler to maintain and control and provides a desirably broad available operating range. In this regard, the inventive burner has a turndown ration in the range of from about 5:1 to about 10:1, comparable to the broad operating ranges provided by prior high NOx burners.
The inventive burner and method also greatly reduce the need for metal components within the throat of the burner, thus allowing the size of the burner to be significantly reduced. This, coupled with the desirably broad turndown ratio provided by the inventive burner, allows the furnace operator to achieve and maintain more optimum, stable heat flux characteristics and also allows the inventive burner to be more easily sized as needed. Thus, the inventive burner can be conveniently used in existing heaters, boilers, etc. to replace most existing conventional or staged fuel burners with, at most, only minor modifications to the furnace structure.
In one aspect, the present invention involves a burner providing reduced NOx emissions for use in a heating system having a flue gas therein. The burner comprises: (a) a burner wall having a forward end and (b) a series of fuel gas ejectors, each having only a single fuel gas ejection port provided therein. The ejectors and the single fuel gas ejection ports provided therein are positioned and the fuel gas ejection ports are configured to deliver fuel gas from the ejectors in adjacent, free jet flow streams outside of the burner wall toward a combustion zone at the forward end of the burner wall. Each of the adjacent free jet flow streams is effective for entraining a portion of the flue gas in the fuel gas.
In another aspect, the present invention involves a burner providing reduced NOx emissions for use in a heating system having a flue gas therein, the burner comprising: (a) a burner wall having a forward end and (b) a plurality of fuel gas ejectors positioned longitudinally rearward end and laterally outward from the forward end of the burner wall. The burner has only a single combustion stage consisting essentially of a combustion zone beginning at the forward end of the burner wall such that, apart from any pilot fuel employed elsewhere in the burner, substantially all fuel used by the burner is combusted in the combustion zone. The fuel gas ejectors are configured and positioned to deliver fuel gas to the combustion zone in ejection flow paths outside of the burner wall in a manner effective such that at least a sufficient portion of the flue gas is entrained in the fuel gas to yield total NOx emissions of less than 10 parts per million by volume of all combustion product gases produced by the burner.
In yet another aspect, the present invention involves a burner providing reduced NOx emissions comprising: a burner wall having a forward end; at least one fuel gas nozzle positioned longitudinally rearward of and laterally outward from the forward end of the burner wall; at least one fuel gas delivery port positioned in the fuel gas nozzle to deliver fuel gas in a flow path outside of the burner wall to a combustion zone at the forward end of the burner wall; and at least one exterior ledge provided on the burner wall and positioned between the fuel gas delivery port and the forward end of the burner wall such that at least a portion of the fuel gas traveling in the flow path will contact the ledge.
In yet another aspect, the present invention involves a burner providing reduced NOx emissions comprising: a burner wall having a forward end; at least one fuel gas nozzle having at least one fuel gas delivery port positioned therein to deliver fuel gas in a flow path outside of the burner wall to a combustion region at the forward end of the burner wall; and a plurality of impact structures, not including the forward end of the burner wall, positioned such that each of the impact structures will be contacted by at least a portion of the fuel gas traveling in the flow path.
In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method of reducing NOx emissions from a burner used in a heating system having a flue gas therein, wherein the burner includes a burner wall having an interior passageway with an outlet at the forward end of the burner wall. The method comprises the steps of: (a) ejecting fuel gas outside of the burner wall in free jet flow such that at least a portion of the flue gas is entrained in the fuel gas and the fuel gas travels outside of the burner wall to a combustion zone at the forward end of the burner wall and (b) delivering air or other oxygen-containing gas to the combustion zone via the interior passageway. The burner is operated in the inventive method as a single stage burner wherein, apart from any pilot fuel employed elsewhere in the burner, substantially all fuel used by the burner is combusted in the combustion zone at the forward end of the burner wall.
A better understanding of the present invention, its several aspects, and its advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings, wherein there is shown and described the preferred embodiments of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention.


This invention relates to silver halide photographic element comprising a silver halide emulsion chemically sensitized in the presence of an isothiazolin-one compound represented by the formula ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 is a substituent; and Z is a substituted or unsubstituted saturated ring, wherein the isothiazolin-one compound was added after precipitation of the emulsion.

Problems with fogging have plagued the photographic industry from its inception. Fog is a deposit of silver or dye that is not directly related to the image-forming exposure, e.g., when a developer acts upon an emulsion layer, some reduced silver is formed in areas that have not been exposed to light. The fog sites on silver halide crystals can originate during emulsion manufacture or during aging of the photographic element. During the aging process, fog can become exaggerated by extremes in temperature and humidity. Fog can be defined as developed density that is not associated with the action of the image-forming exposure, and is usually expressed as "D-min", the density obtained in the unexposed portions of the emulsion. Developed density, as normally measured, includes both that produced by fog and that produced by exposure to light.
An especially critical time in fog formation is during the sensitivity enhancing process. The sensitivity enhancing process constitutes the period from final washing of the precipitated silver halide emulsion to the point where the thermal treatment during chemical/spectral sensitization is completed. At the end of the sensitivity enhancing process, the desired sensitometric properties of, for example, speed, contrast, and reciprocity have been achieved.
Many methods have been employed to minimize the appearance of fog. Mercury-containing compounds, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,728,663; 2,728,664; and 2,728,665, have been used as additives to combat fog. Thiosulfonate and thiosulfonate esters, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,440,206; 2,934,198; 3,047,393; and 4,960,689, have also been employed. Disulfides, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,397,986; 5,219,721; and 5,418,127 have also been found effective in limiting fog, especially when used during the sensitizing process of silver halide emulsion manufacture.
Unfortunately, such fog-combating compounds are not without drawbacks. Many compounds which are useful as antifoggants also reduce speed. Mercury-containing compounds, while being very effective antifoggants are environmentally undesirable.
In this invention it has been discovered that a specific group of isothiazolin-ones is particularly useful in controlling fog when added before or during chemical sensitization. Isothiazolin-ones are known as useful biocides for silver halide photographic elements as described in Research Disclosure 37026, February 1995; in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,224,403 and 4,490,462; and in JP 09-329862 and JP 10-011739. JP 09-133977 describes one class of isothiazolin-ones as reducing fog when added during precipitation of a silver halide emulsion. However, nowhere has it been recognized or described that a specific group of isothiazolin-one compounds confers significant advantageous sensitometric benefits when used during the sensitivity enhancing process of emulsion manufacture.

Silver halide photographic elements with reduced fog


Described is automated learning of failure recovery policies based upon existing information regarding previous policies and actions. A learning mechanism automatically constructs a new policy for controlling a recovery process, based upon collected observable interactions of an existing policy with the process. In one aspect, the learning mechanism builds a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) model, and computes the new policy base upon the learned model. The new policy may perform automatic fault recovery, e.g., on a machine in a datacenter corresponding to the controlled process.

Recovery from computer failures due to software or hardware problems is a significant part of managing large data centers. Sometimes the failures may be automatically fixed through actions such as rebooting or re-imaging of the computer.
In large environments, it is prohibitively expensive to have a technician decide on a repair action for each observed problem. As a result, the data centers often employ recovery systems that use some automatic repair policy or controller to choose appropriate repair actions. Typically the repair policy/controller are manually defined and created by a human expert. More particularly, the expert creates policies that map the state of the system to recovery actions by specifying a set of rules or conditions under which an action is to be taken.
However, such policies/controllers are almost never optimal, in that even though they often fix an error, the error may actually be fixed in a faster (and thus correspondingly less expensive) way. As such, these policies may result in longer failure periods (system downtime) than needed.

Automated learning of failure recovery policies


A charging control circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a detecting circuit and a charging transistor control unit for controlling a charging transistor supplying a first current, a current source for supplying a second current, and a current source control unit for controlling the current source. For example, if a secondary battery is charged using an adaptor endowed with a current-limiting function, during a constant-current charging period in which a charging voltage of the secondary battery reaches 3.2 V to 4.2 V, the secondary battery is charged with the first current I1, and during a constant-voltage charging period after the voltage reaches 4.2 V, the secondary battery is charged with the first charging current and the second charging current.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charging control circuit for controlling an operation of charging a secondary battery of a cell phone, for example, and a charging device including the same. In particular, the invention relates to a charging control circuit and a charging device which reduce heat generated during charging.
2. Description of Related Art
General cell phones adopt a secondary battery (rechargeable battery) as a power supply. Referring to FIG. 7, a conventional charging device for charging a battery of a cell phone etc. is described. As shown in FIG. 7, a conventional charging device 101 includes a charging current supplying unit 110 for supplying a charging current to a secondary battery 111, and a charging control circuit 120 for controlling the charging current supplying unit 110. The charging current supplying unit 110 is composed of a charging transistor 112 connected with an adaptor voltage, a diode 114, a detection resistor 113, and the secondary battery 111, all of which are series-connected. A charging current I flowing through the charging transistor 112 is supplied to the secondary battery 111 to charge the secondary battery 111.
The charging control circuit 120 detects a potential difference (voltage) across the detection resistor 113 based on an amount of the charging current I supplied from the charging transistor 112 to the secondary battery 111, and controls the charging transistor 112 based on the detection result. That is, the charging control circuit 120 includes a detecting circuit 130 for detecting a voltage across the detection resistor 113, a control circuit 140 for outputting a control signal S1 in accordance with the detection result, and an operational amplifier 141 for controlling the charging transistor 112 in response to the control signal S1. The detecting circuit 130 includes an operational amplifier 131. The operational amplifier 131 has a negative terminal (inverting input terminal) connected with one end of the detection resistor 113 through an external contact 117 and a resistor 133. Further, a positive terminal (non-inverting input terminal) thereof is connected with the other end of the detection resistor 113 through an external contact 118 and a resistor 134. Furthermore, a feedback resistor 132 is connected between the negative terminal of the operational amplifier 131 and an output of the operational amplifier 131. The positive terminal thereof is connected with a grounded resistor 135. The charging control circuit 120 controls the charging transistor 112 to keep a voltage across the detection resistor at the same level.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-84276 discloses a circuit for controlling an initial operation of charging such a secondary battery. A charging control circuit disclosed in this publication turns on a charging transistor for quickly charging the secondary battery in a short period, and after the battery was charged to the full, the circuit turns off the charging transistor and turns on a transistor smaller than the charging transistor. The smaller transistor is turned on to thereby continue a charging operation with a minute current not to overcharge the battery owing to the quick charging.
Incidentally, in recent years, devices using the secondary battery have been endowed with various functions. Along with such a tendency, there arises a need to increase a battery capacitance. To meet the need, an attempt has been made to increase a charging current for the purpose of shortening a charging period.
However, a larger amount of charging current causes a circuit supplied with the charging current to generate more heat. To overcome such a defect, some devices using the secondary battery have an adaptor (hereinafter, referred to as "current limiter-equipped adaptor") having a current limiting function for preventing a current from flowing beyond a specified limit on a current value to charge a battery. The current limiter-equipped adaptor has characteristics as shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the current limiter-equipped adaptor lowers an adaptor voltage if a current flows beyond the upper limit on the current value. Such an adaptor is used to carry out a general charging process, that is, constant current-constant voltage charging, thereby suppressing heat generation during a constant-current charging period in which a large among of charging current is supplied for charging.
FIGS. 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams showing current and voltage characteristics relative to a charging period. As shown in FIG. 9A, the charging period is generally divided into a pre-charging period T1, a constant-current charging period T2, and a constant-voltage charging period T3. During the pre-charging period T1, the secondary battery is charged with a constant current IS1 up to a predetermined voltage V1, for example, 3.2 V. During the constant-current charging period T2, the secondary battery is charged with a constant current IS2 larger than the current IS1 up to a predetermined voltage V2, for example, 4.2 V. During the constant-voltage charging period T3, after reaching the predetermined voltage V2, the secondary battery is charged with a charging current IS3 that is controlled to keep the voltage V2 at the same level.
In this case, the adaptor voltage changes as shown in FIG. 9B. Assuming that the adaptor voltage is 5.5 V, for example, during the pre-charging period T1, the battery is charged with a relatively small current IS1, so a voltage value Vadp thereof is kept at 5.5 V. During this period, the secondary battery is gradually charged up to the voltage V1. After the voltage level reached the voltage V1, the constant-current charging period T2 starts. During this constant-current charging period T2, if the charging current exceeds a predetermined current value, for example, as shown in FIG. 9B, the current limiter-equipped adaptor operates to lower the adaptor voltage Vadp.
Thus, during this period T2, an electric power represented by "(adaptor voltage Vadp−charging voltage Vb)×charging current" and applied to the charging transistor is lower than the case of the pre-charging period T1.
After the secondary battery was charged up to the voltage V2, the constant-voltage charging period T3 starts, and the charging current IS3 is controlled to gradually reduce for maintaining "a secondary battery voltage Vb=V2".
If the charging current is increased to shorten a charging period, a generated heat quantity increases as mentioned above. As one measure therefore, the current limiter-equipped adaptor is used to suppress heat generation in this way. The applicants of the present invention have disclosed a charging control method and circuit capable of suppressing heat generation during a constant-current charging period, and a charging device including the same (Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-280845).
FIG. 9C is a schematic diagram showing a relation between a charging period and a current source temperature. If the secondary battery voltage reaches the predetermined voltage value V2, the charging control circuit starts charging (constant-voltage charging) with the secondary battery voltage kept at the voltage V2 (predetermined voltage). During the constant-voltage charging operation, the charging transistor is controlled to gradually reduce a charging current for charging the secondary battery. At this time, the connected adaptor increases its voltage value to the original value, 5.5 V, for example, in response to the reduction in charging current. Accordingly, a difference between the adaptor voltage Vadp and the charging voltage Vb of the secondary battery is largest at this point. That is, the electric power represented by "(adaptor voltage Vadp−charging voltage Vb)×charging current" and applied to the charging transistor reaches a peak just after the transition to the constant-voltage charging operation. An amount of heat generated from the charging transistor accordingly reaches a peak, and the charging transistor that is generally incorporated in a small package generates a large amount of heat. Therefore, it is desirable to suppress heat generation during not only the constant-current charging period but also the constant-voltage charging period.

Charging control circuit and charging device including charging transistor control unit


A bearing arrangement is provided having a bearing mounted in a housing, wherein a grease lubricant is present within the housing for lubricating the bearing. The arrangement further provides a support frame made of an electrically insulating material, arranged in a space within the housing between the bearing and a housing seal. The support frame is provided with at least one electrode pair having first and second electrodes arranged such that a portion of the grease lubricant is located between the first and second electrodes. A capacitance meter is provided for measuring a capacitance between the first and second electrodes. The first and second electrodes of the at least one electrode pair are provided on a radially oriented surface of the support frame, which surface is arranged such that the grease is able to move in an axial direction over the surface.

To enable a long service life, it is important that a bearing is properly lubricated. Most bearings are grease lubricated, whereby oil from the grease generates an oil film during bearing operation, which separates the rolling contact surfaces. If the oil film breaks down, metal-to-metal contact occurs that can quickly lead to bearing failure if the oil film is not replenished. Monitoring methods are therefore applied in some applications to monitor the lubrication condition in a bearing, so that re-lubrication can be carried out before failure occurs. In EP1676041, for example, capacitance measurements are used to determine the film thickness of the oil film.
Lubricant contamination can also lead to early bearing failure. If an oil or grease lubricant contains abrasive particles, the rolling contact surfaces are likely to get damaged. The presence of water is also undesirable, as this can lead to corrosion. It is also possible for hydrogen embrittlement to occur due to the extreme contact pressures, which can be as high as 1 to 3 GPa, whereby water can break down into its constituent atoms causing hydrogen to penetrate the surface of the bearing elements, causing the surface to become more brittle. Water can also accelerate chemical degradation of a lubricating oil or of the thickener structure within a grease.
Therefore, in applications where a bearing might be exposed to the ingress of contamination, condition monitoring of the lubricant is sometimes applied.
Capacitance measurement can be used to detect contamination. JP 2007198576, for example, discloses a sealed bearing, whereby a pair of electrodes is provided on an inner, axially oriented surface of a seal, for detecting the ingress of water.
There is still room for improvement.

Capacitance measurement in a bearing housing


The present invention provides a gaming device having a game that may be implemented in a primary or bonus game. More specifically, the present invention provides a processor controlled gaming device that presents a plurality of masked value choices to the player, provides a time period in which the player can elect to accept a masked choice and reveals and provides a value associated with the choice to the player if the player accepts in time. If the player does not accept in time or decides not to accept the choice, the gaming device, in one preferred embodiment, reveals the value the player could have accepted when the time period lapses or times out. When the player has successfully accepted a predefined number of masked choices, the game adds or multiplies the values yielded by the choices to form an award for the player.

Gaming devices provide enjoyment, entertainment and excitement to players, in part, because they may ultimately lead to monetary awards for the players. Gaming devices also provide enjoyment, entertainment and excitement to the players because they are fun to play. Bonus games, in particular, provide gaming device manufacturers with the opportunity to add enjoyment and excitement to that which is already expected from a base game of the gaming device. Bonus games generally provide extra awards to the players and enable the players to play a game that is different than the base game.
Gaming devices are typically games of luck or probability, not skill. Primary games are set up to pay back, on average, a certain percentage of the amount of money wagered by the players. The pay back or payout percentage in most primary games is set high enough that any player who plays a few hands or spins of the reels wins at least one game. That is, in most primary games in gaming devices it is not too difficult to experience some level of success.
Bonus games are typically set up for the player to succeed. The player usually wins an award in a bonus game. In bonus game play, the goal is often to maximize the possible award. Winning, at least on some level, is therefore a standard component in almost all gaming devices. Moreover, the actual payout percentage of any gaming device is ultimately determined by the gaming establishment within the parameters of the rules of the relevant gaming jurisdiction, not the game designer.
A continuing need therefore exists to provide gaming devices that issue awards in an exciting and enjoyable manner. In this respect, it is desirable to enable the player to have an impact on, or a hand in, determining their award. It is also desirable to enable a player to optimize an award. It is further desirable to increase the level of player interaction. Each of these features is desirable in primary and secondary games.

Gaming device having a rate dependent game


A tap includes a sensor (20) for determining the distance between a user's hands (3) and the tap, a mixing valve (40) regulating the temperature of water fed to delivery port (11) of the tap and a controller (30) for processing the distance values provided by the sensor. The temperature of water delivered differs based on the position of the user's hands relative to the tap.

To deliver/mix the hot and/or cold water, known taps generally require the operation of suitable control members, generally by contact with the user's hand (or foot).
Taps are also known which deliver water when the user positions his hands close to the tap, to activate a proximity sensor which determines water delivery. However such taps deliver water at only a single predetermined temperature, it not being possible to adjust the temperature other than by manually adjusting the control members (in the normal manner).
The object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary tap able to deliver water at the desired temperature without contact being required between the hands (or another part of the body) of the user and a part of the tap.
The purpose of this is to make the use of the tap more comfortable, more rapid and more hygienic.
A typical application of the tap of the invention is in washrooms open to the public (restaurants, public toilets, offices, communities, public transport, etc.) where the requirements of hygiene are particularly felt.

Sanitary tap for automatic water delivery


In a semiconductor light emitting device having a conductive semiconductor substrate on which at least the following layers are stacked in the order listed below: a first clad layer; an active layer which includes at least one highly strained quantum well layer having a compressive strain amount of not less than 1% with respect to the conductive semiconductor substrate; and a second clad layer, a strain buffer layer adjacently formed on the active layer and includes a layer having a compressive strain amount not greater than the strain amount of the active layer is further provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor light emitting device, and more particularly to a semiconductor light emitting device having an active layer which includes a highly strained quantum well layer with a compressive strain amount not less than 1%.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor lasers in the wavelength range of 1 μm have a layer structure which includes an n-type clad layer, a barrier layer, an InGaAs strained quantum well layer, a barrier layer, and p-type clad layer on an n-GaAs substrate as described, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 5 (1993)-021902, 5 (1993)-275800, and 6 (1994)-077587.
In the mean time, Semiconductor lasers in the wavelength range of 680 nm have a layer structure which includes an n-AlGaInP clad layer, an ALGaInP barrier layer, a GaInP strained quantum well layer, an AlGaInP barrier layer, and p-AlGaInP clad layer on an n-GaAs substrate as described, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5 (1993)-021894, U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,656, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,214.
These semiconductor lasers use a strained quantum well layer, which has a compressive strain amount with respect to the substrate, in the active layer, so that crystals adjacent to the active layer become fragile when energized, which poses a problem of a short operating life when operated with a high output power. In particular, when the compressive strain amount exceeds 1%, the reduction in the operating life is significant and a solution for the problem is demanded.
One approach is proposed for solving the problem in which the stress of strain in the active layer is reduced by disposing a low compressible strain barrier layer or a stretchable tension strain barrier layer next to the active layer, thereby improving the crystal quality. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,695 discloses a patented invention by the inventor of the present invention in which, in a semiconductor light emitting device having an active layer with a compressive strain amount of about 1%, a tension strain barrier layer is disposed on each side of the active layer in order to improve the reliability.
Generally, however, further improvement in the durability and reliability under high output oscillation is demanded, and in order to meet the demand, it is necessary to investigate the causes of reliability degradation in semiconductor light emitting devices from wider perspectives and to provide measures for eliminating the causes.
A non-patent document A. Ihara et al., "Point defect reaction in (Al)GaInP STQW lasers enhanced by laser operation", Physica B: Condensed Matter, 1999, Vols. 273-274, pp. 1050-1053 describes that where the crystal quality of a clad layer adjacently formed on an active layer is low, the crystal defects spread from the clad layer into the active layer, leading to degradation in the durability and reliability of the semiconductor light emitting device. That is, in order to improve the durability and reliability of a semiconductor light emitting device, it is necessary to optimize not only the crystal state (crystal structure, crystal quality, crystal strength, amount of strain, etc.) of the active layer having a quantum well layer and a barrier layer but also the crystal state of the layer adjacently formed on the active layer.


Semiconductor devices and methods of manufacturing thereof are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes providing a workpiece, and forming a recess in the workpiece. The recess has a depth having a first dimension. A first semiconductive material is formed in the recess to partially fill the recess in a central region to a height having a second dimension. The second dimension is about one-half or greater of the first dimension. A second semiconductive material is formed over the first semiconductive material in the recess to completely fill the recess, the second semiconductive material being different than the first semiconductive material.

Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic applications, such as personal computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and other electronic equipment, as examples. Semiconductor devices are typically fabricated by sequentially depositing insulating or dielectric layers, conductive layers, and semiconductive layers of material over a semiconductor substrate, and patterning the various layers using lithography to form circuit components and elements thereon.
A transistor is an element that is utilized extensively in semiconductor devices. There may be millions of transistors on a single integrated circuit (IC), for example. A common type of transistor used in semiconductor device fabrication is a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET). A transistor typically includes a gate dielectric disposed over a channel region, and a gate formed over the gate dielectric. A source region and a drain region are formed on either side of the channel region within a substrate or workpiece.
In some transistor designs, it is desirable to introduce stress to the channel region to enhance carrier mobility.
What are needed in the art are improved methods and structures for introducing stress in transistors and other semiconductor devices.

Semiconductor devices having recesses filled with semiconductor materials

International Business Machines Corporation


Apparatus for adjusting backlash out of a positioning assembly for shaft mounted ring useful in multiple rip saw machinery and for minimizing arbor length. A pair of axially oriented straps secured to the ring and positioned along the shaft for axially positioning the ring on the shaft wherein a radial pin carried by the ring is eccentrically rotatable in a mating aperture in one of the straps to adjust backlash between the straps and the ring out of the assembly when the pin is rotated. The saw hubs and respective saw adjusting collars are arranged in a semi-interleaved nesting relationship resulting in reduced arbor length.

This invention relates to the field of adjustable rip saws, of the type having a plurality of blades mounted on and driven by a common shaft and individually positionable axially on the shaft with respect to one another by respective saw adjusting collars located axially remote from the saw blades along the shaft. More particularly, in one aspect, this invention relates to an arrangement in a "semi-interleaved" nesting relationship of saw adjusting collars each respectively coupled to a saw hub to reduce the length of the shaft on which the collars and hubs are mounted. In another aspect, this invention relates to apparatus for adjusting backlash out of the positioning assemblies for such shaft mounted saws.
In the prior art it was known to "nest" respective pairs of saw adjusting collars and saw hubs as illustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, three saws 12, 14, 16 are mounted on a shaft or arbor 18. Shaft 18 is journalled for rotation about axis 20 in a machine frame (not shown) by suitable bearings, one of which (21) is shown schematically. Shaft 18 carries saw hubs 22, 24, 26 each of which is keyed to shaft 18 for rotation therewith. It is to be understood that the keys in hubs 22, 24, 26 are free to move axially along shaft 18, while providing for a rotational driving relationship between the shaft and each hub. A saw adjusting collar 34 is preferably close coupled to hub 22 to enable positioning of saw 12 axially on shaft 18. A first remote saw adjusting collar 48 is mechanically coupled to hub 24 as indicated by connection 42, shown in simplified form. Similarly, a third saw adjusting collar 58 is coupled to saw hub 26 by a mechanical connection 54 (also shown in simplified form). It is to be understood that it has been found desirable in certain instances to have a fixed saw 56 mounted at the center line of the rip saw machine (not shown) and to provide for adjustability of saws 12, 14, 16 towards and away from the machine center line, as illustrated, for example, by the phantom position of saw 16 and hub 26 located adjacent saw 56. To accomplish this, saw adjusting collar 58 is moved from the position shown in solid lines to that shown in phantom in FIG. 1. To permit such adjustability, it has been known to have a relatively long shaft or arbor 18, because the prior art utilized an "enclosing nesting" configuration. In an enclosing nesting configuration (as that term is used herein) the collar-hub pair 34, 22 is enclosed in a nesting relationship within collar-hub pair 48, 24 and those two collar-hub pairs are completely enclosed by (or trapped between) the collar-hub pair 58-26, all as illustrated in FIG. 1. Connection 42 is preferably sized to permit axial movement of saw 12 between collar 48 and hub 24, and connection 54 is preferably sized to permit movement of the enclosed saws 12, 14 and to permit movement of saw 16 over the range indicated between the solid and phantom positions shown. Such an arrangement requires an extremely long shaft 18 with consequent increase in expense, difficulty in manufacture and potential vibration problems.


An irrigating bipolar forceps may include a first forceps arm, a conductor tip of the first forceps arm, a second forceps arm, a conductor tip of the second forceps arm, an input conductor isolation mechanism, and irrigation tubing. A proximal end of the first forceps arm may be disposed within the input conductor isolation mechanism and a proximal end of the second forceps arm may be disposed within the input conductor isolation mechanism. An application of a force to a lateral portion of the forceps arms may be configured to close the forceps arms. A reduction of a force applied to a lateral portion of the forceps arms may be configured to open the forceps arms. The irrigation tubing may transport a fluid from an irrigation supply system to a surgical site.

A variety of complete surgical procedures and portions of surgical procedures may be performed with bipolar forceps, e.g., bipolar forceps are commonly used in dermatological, gynecological, cardiac, plastic, ocular, spinal, maxillofacial, orthopedic, urological, and general surgical procedures. Bipolar forceps are also used in neurosurgical procedures; however, the use of bipolar forceps in neurosurgical procedures presents unique risks to patients if the surgeon is unable to both visually and tactilely confirm that an electrosurgical procedure is being performed as intended. Moreover, a surgeon's view of a surgical site may become obstructed by debris, e.g., blood, tissue, etc. Accordingly, there is a need for a bipolar forceps that allows a surgeon to both visually and tactilely confirm that an electrosurgical procedure is being performed as intended and clear debris from a surgical site.


An optoelectronic timing system includes an adaptive frequency generator system in which optical pulses are developed by a semiconductor laser. The pulses are directed into a number of time-quantifiable optical paths. Time quantification for a pulse is based upon the time required for a pulse to travel a particular length at the speed of light. Pulses are recombined at a nodal point and exhibit a numerical relationship with the periodicity of the issued pulse train equal to the numerical relationship between the lengths of the number of optical waveguides. A pulse detector and a regenerator are coupled to the semiconductor laser. A regeneration waveguide having a length equal to the longest of the optical paths is coupled to receive pulses from the laser. A pulse traveling the regeneration waveguide and directed to the pulse detector and regenerator triggers the laser to issue a next pulse, the physical length of the regeneration waveguide defining a fundamental frequency of the system and the number and lengths of the optical paths defining multiples of the fundamental frequency.

Internationally, telecommunications is undergoing major rapid change brought about by regulatory changes, increasingly open markets and technological advances in integrated circuits, optical devices, and computer systems. The convergence and the integration of these technologies, coupled with the driving factors of faster transmission speeds, lower signal levels, and denser circuit boards has made managing signals in electronic and communication switching systems critical.
These driving factors have placed a greater emphasis on managing problems relating to signal integrity, timing distribution, timing jitter, signal distribution, noise, asynchronism, and cross-talk. In long-haul transmission domain optical amplifiers, together with wavelength-division multiplexed have revolutionised high speed data transmission by providing flexible and cost-effective means of amplifying and processing of signals almost entirely in the optical domain independent of data rate and protocols.
Impairments suffered by timing signals play a critical role in electronic systems. They limit the dynamic range of an analogue-to-digital converter, the throughput of a digital bus, affect the behaviour of digital synchronisers, influence the bit error ratio of a communications link, and determine the sensitivity and selectivity of radio receivers. Timing impairments are the result of random noise and systematic disturbances within electronic devices and interconnections.
Electronically derived timing signals suffer from an additional inherency constraint; the limits of electronic system frequency response is predicated on the internal parasitic capacitances developed as an artifact of the functional underpinnings of active semiconductor integrated circuit devices. The familiar P-N junction which forms the basis of active device fabrication, whether expressed in terms of majority or minority carrier devices, nevertheless inherently compels a parasitic capacitance be coupled into the elemental circuit model.
Thus, in the rapidly advancing telecommunications field for example, electronically generated timing signals are becoming increasingly problematic as fundamental limits of integrated circuit frequency response are reached. However, the burgeoning field of optoelectronics offers a means of avoiding a strict dependence on electrical/electronic timing signal generation. Optoelectronics is predicated upon optical signal processing and inherently includes technologically satisfactory structures for confining and transmitting optical pulses over great distances. Since the speed of light has a well recognized constant value, given a particular transmission medium, a light pulse can be utilized to define a non-relative and non-relativistic methodology for measuring time as well as time intervals. A light pulse traveling at a constant velocity, traversing a known distance, in the same reference frame as an observer, provides a simple and inherently stable method for defining a time interval. Mechanical definition of a multiplicity of branching travel paths offers a straight forward way of constructing a timing generator characterized by timing trigger edges having native periodicities in the gigahertz and multi-gigahertz regime.

System and method for precise, accurate and stable optical timing information definition


A method for preparing optically active 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-phenyl]ethane having a high optical purity, which comprises the step of brominating optically active 1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethanol by using, as a brominating agent, (a) a combination of a phosphorus halide and hydrogen bromide, (b) a combination of 1,2-dibromo-1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane and an organic phosphorous compound represented by the general formula (I): P(R1)(R2)(R3) (in the formula, R1, R2, and R3 independently represent a C6-10 aryl group, a C6-10 aryloxy group, a C1-10 alkyl group, a C1-10 alkoxyl group, a C3-6 cycloalkyl group, or a C3-6 cycloalkoxy group), or (c) a combination of N-bromosuccinimide and a dialkyl sulfide.

Optically active 1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethyl group is important as an element unit of compounds useful as medicaments, agricultural chemicals, and the like, and 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethane is an extremely useful compound as a raw material for preparing compounds containing that group. For example, there has been disclosed use of 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-phenyl]ethane as a raw material for the preparation of compounds that act as an NK-1 receptor antagonist (Non-patent documents 1 and 2). However, although the compound has the aforementioned important usefulness, only a method for preparing racemate of 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethane has been known, and no publication is found that specifically reports a method for preparing optically active compound thereof.
Racemate of 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethane can be synthesized by the method shown in Scheme 1 mentioned below (Patent document 1). This method comprises the steps of converting 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)acetophenone into an alcohol compound by reduction with sodium borohydride in methanol, and brominating the resulting alcohol compound by using phosphorus tribromide in toluene.

Racemate of 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethane can also be synthesized by the method shown in Scheme 2 mentioned below (Non-patent document 3). This method comprises the step of converting 3′,5′-bis-(trifluoromethyl)acetophenone into an alcohol compound by reduction with sodium borohydride in methanol, and brominating this alcohol compound by a treatment with hydrobromic acid and sulfuric acid. However, Patent document 1 and Non-patent document 3 do not specifically disclose any method for preparing optically active 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethane.

One of enantiomers of optically active 1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-ethanol with high optical purity can be obtained by subjecting bis-3′,5′-(trifluoromethyl)phenylacetophenone to an asymmetric reduction reaction, or subjecting bis-3,5-(trifluoromethyl)benzaldehyde to an asymmetric methylation reaction. Therefore, if the alcohol of high optical purity as a starting material can be converted into 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethane with maintaining the high optical purity of the starting material, such a preparation method can be an industrially convenient and efficient preparation method. However, any method for efficiently preparing 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethane by using such an optically active alcohol as a starting material with maintaining high optical purity of the alcohol is not known so far.
As a general method for brominating hydroxyl group, there is known a method of converting hydroxyl group of an alkyl alcohol or benzyl alcohol into a leaving group such as sulfonic acid ester group, and brominating the result by a substitution reaction with bromide ion (Non-patent document 4). It has also been reported that if phosphorus tribromide is made to react with optically active 1-phenylethanol at low temperature in the presence of an excessive amount of pyridine in diethyl ether, 1-phenylbromoethane can be obtained in a high yield (conversion ratio, 93.9%; Non-patent document 5).

Further, there have also been reported a method of exchanging hydroxyl group for a halogen by using 1,2-dibromo-1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane and triphenylphosphine (Non-patent document 6), and a method of exchanging hydroxyl group for a halogen by using N-bromosuccinimide and dimethyl sulfide (Non-patent document 7). However, it is not known so far that 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethane can be prepared by applying these methods to optically active 1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethanol with maintaining high optical purity of the starting material.

In addition, as a method for preparing an optically active compound, there is generally performed optical resolution of racemate by chiral column chromatography. However, since 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethane is highly reactive, a method utilizing optical resolution of racemate to provide an optical isomer may possibly be accompanied by decomposition and racemization of the objective substance, and it is expected that an optical isomer cannot be stably supplied. Also in Non-patent document 2 mentioned above, racemate of 1-bromo-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-phenyl]ethane is used as a raw material without any treatment, and there is employed a method of performing optical resolution of the resulting mixture of diastereomers in two steps to obtain the optically active objective substance.

Method for preparing optically active 1-bromo-1[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethane


This invention is intended to reduce a line rate of a monitoring line necessary for transmission of a picture feature without complicating a system. A video signal xi (n0, n1) of each block is subjected to spread spectrum by multiplying the video signal xi(n0, n1) by a PN sequences SPN1 (n0, n1) (in a step S1). The resultant video signal is orthogonally transformed by DFT, DCT, WHT, or the like (in a step S2). An amplitude component Ai=|Xi(SE0, SE1)| of an arbitrary component (SE0, SE1) in a coefficient Xi(S0, S1) obtained by the steps S1 and S2 is extracted (in a step S3), and the extracted amplitude component is quantized with a step size M (in a step S4). The picture feature F[i] is given as a residue obtained under a modulus Nm of a quantized typical value obtained by the quantization (in the step S4) (in a step S5).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a picture feature extraction system and a picture quality evaluation system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a picture feature extraction system and a picture quality evaluation system capable of reducing the amount of the information of a picture feature for evaluating picture quality degradation caused by video transmission.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known a method for obtaining picture quality degradation resulting from compression coding applied while transmitting a video, a transmission error, or the like, by comparing picture feature so as to monitor an operating state of a transmission system in a video transmission service. The inventor of the present invention proposed picture quality monitoring or picture quality evaluation systems capable of highly accurately evaluating picture quality degradation by representing the picture quality degradation based on an index of mean square error ("MSE") or a peak-to-noise ratio ("PSNR") in the following Patent Literatures 1 to 3.
When a transmitting-end signal is x(t), a receiving-end (degraded) signal is y(t), and a total number of pixels is N, the MSE is defined by the following Equation (1).MSE=(1/N)·Σ[x(t)−y(t)]2  (1)
In the Equation (1), symbol t denotes two-dimensional coordinate composed of a horizontal coordinate element and a vertical coordinate element.
The MSE is estimated by causing each of a transmitting end and a receiving end to divide a picture into a plurality of blocks, to extract a coefficient of an arbitrary component in an orthogonal transform coefficient obtained by orthogonal transform, to transmit the extracted coefficient to a central monitoring chamber as a picture feature, and by comparing the transmitting end picture feature with the receiving end picture feature. In addition, the PSNR is derived from an error detection rate which is calculated when an invisible marker buried in the picture is detected.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-87823
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-9186
Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-247606
However, the conventional techniques disclosed in the Patent Literatures 1 and 2 have the following disadvantages. Since each of the techniques is based on the comparison of the picture feature, it is necessary for both the transmitting end and the receiving end to extract the fair amount of the information of the picture feature so as to ensure high accuracy, and to transmit the picture feature to the central monitoring chamber over monitoring lines. As a result, for standard television ("SDTV") video transmission at a standard line rate of three to six megabits per second (Mbps), for example, lines at a rate of several hundreds of kilobits per second are necessary as the monitoring lines for transmitting the picture feature.
In theory, it is possible to reduce the amount of the information of each picture feature to several tens of kilobits per second by assuming one frame as one block, and subjecting each block to spread spectrum and orthogonal transform. To do so, however, a memory capacity necessary to extract the picture feature and a calculation volume of the orthogonal transform are increased, thereby complicating an apparatus. For this reason, it is difficult to actually realize the reduction of the picture feature by the spread spectrum and the orthogonal transform.
Further, a method of reducing the amount of the information of the picture feature by dividing a video signal into a plurality of small blocks, and subjecting each block to spread spectrum and orthogonal transform, thereby reducing a calculation volume, and by rounding off an orthogonal transform coefficient to an arbitrary bit length (quantizing the orthogonal transform coefficient) may be considered. However, if the orthogonal transform coefficient is rounded off to about one to two bits, picture evaluation accuracy is disadvantageously deteriorated to an impracticable degree.
The conventional technique disclosed in the Patent Literature 3 is intended to make it unnecessary to provide the picture feature transmission monitoring lines, and to perform picture quality evaluation by burying and detecting an invisible marker. The invisible marker is information for the picture quality evaluation. Since the invisible marker is buried in a video signal, it is advantageously possible to dispense with the monitoring lines for transmitting the picture feature. Besides, since the invisible marker is buried for each block, a scale of a system can advantageously fall within an appropriate range.
However, the conventional technique disclosed in the Patent Literature 3 has the following disadvantages. The invisible marker is buried in the video signal at a lowest signal level which does not affect a human vision, and picture quality degradation caused by burying the invisible marker is only slight. However, even the slight picture quality degradation poses a problem on transmission of program materials between broadcast stations for which quite a high picture quality is required. In this respect, the conventional techniques disclosed in the Patent Literatures 1 and 2 are superior to that of the Patent Literature 3 since transmitted videos are not deteriorated according to the Patent Literatures 1 and 2. However, the conventional techniques disclosed in the Patent Literatures 1 and 2 disadvantageously need to reduce a rate of a transmission band for transmitting the picture feature down to the impractical level of several tens of kilobits per second, and to suppress the system from being complicated, as stated above.
The disadvantages of the conventional techniques disclosed in the Patent Literatures 1 and 2 are mainly due to an increase in the amount of the information resulting from extracting a plurality of bits (normally eight to ten bits) from each block as the picture feature so as to ensure sufficiently high accuracy.

Picture feature extraction system and picture quality evaluation system


A beam processing system comprises a rotary disk mounted thereon with processing objects, a controller for controlling a reciprocating drive mechanism, and a beam width measuring unit for measuring a beam width of a processing beam. The controller sets an inner and an outer overscan position depending on a measured value of the beam width. The controller, based on the number of rotation of the rotary disk per unit time, a scan speed and the number of reciprocating scan times, a reversal start timing of the rotary disk at at least one of the inner and the outer overscan positions, and the measured value, controls the reciprocating drive mechanism so as to ensure an overlap region between a last and a current processing beam irradiation region on each of the processing objects, the overlap region overlapping at least half of the last processing beam irradiation region.

This invention relates to improvements in a beam processing system and a beam processing method for uniformly irradiating a beam of light, electrons, ions, or the like (particle beam) onto processing objects.
As a method of irradiating a beam of electrons, ions, or the like onto processing objects to thereby process them, there is known a method in which a plurality of processing objects are mounted on the same circumference of a rotary disk and, by rotating the rotary disk, a beam crosses the processing objects to scan them. In this method, the rotary disk is generally also reciprocated in its radial direction to thereby allow the beam to be irradiated over the entire surface of each processing object, which is called a mechanical scan. As a typical application example of such a mechanical scan, there is an ion implantation system for implanting ions into silicon wafers in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices.
Referring to FIG. 1, a description will be given of particularly the rotary disk side in a mechanical scan type ion implantation system. A plurality of wafers (processing objects) 110 are mounted on the same circumference near the rim of a rotary disk 100. A scan direction by rotation of the rotary disk 100 and a scan direction by reciprocating movement (vertical direction in FIG. 1) of the rotary disk 100 are set perpendicular to each other. A beam 120 is fixedly irradiated at a specific position of a moving path of the wafers 110. By the combination of such two-direction scans, ion implantation is performed over the entire surface of each wafer 110. Normally, the rotational speed of the rotary disk 100 is sufficiently higher than the reciprocating speed of the rotary disk 100. Therefore, the scan by the rotation of the rotary disk 100 is called a high-speed scan, while the scan by the reciprocating movement of the rotary disk 100 is called a low-speed scan or a Y scan.
Since the rotary disk 100 is normally rotated at a constant speed (constant angular velocity), the scan speed of a high-speed scan increases in proportion to a radial distance R, where the beam hits on the rotary disk 100, as seen from the center of the rotary disk 100. Therefore, if a Y scan is simply performed with a uniform motion, the ion implantation density (concentration) becomes low at a portion where the scan speed of the high-speed scan is high, while the ion implantation density becomes high at a portion where the scan speed is low. For compensation thereof, the Y scan is slowed down at a portion where the high-speed scan becomes fast (i.e. the distance R is large), while, the Y scan is speeded up at a portion where the high-speed scan becomes slow (i.e. the distance R is small), thus achieving a uniform implantation amount (dose) by combining them. That is, the Y scan is performed by changing its speed so as to be inversely proportional to the radial distance R where the beam hits on the rotary disk 100.
The method of changing the speed of the Y scan in inverse proportion to the radial distance R of the rotary disk 100 as described above is called a (1/R) scan and employed in most batch-type ion implantation systems using a rotary disk [e.g. Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2006-60159].
The Y scan is repeated with a constant stroke. This stroke is defined between an outer overscan position and an inner overscan position. The outer overscan position is a position where beam irradiation is offset from the wafer 110 on the outer side of the rotary disk 100 due to movement of the rotary disk 100 downward in FIG. 1. The inner overscan position is a position where beam irradiation is offset from the wafer 110 on the inner side of the rotary disk 100 due to movement of the rotary disk 100 upward in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, assuming that the beam is initially located at the outer overscan position, the rotary disk 100, while being rotated, is driven upward until the beam reaches the inner overscan position. When the beam has reached the inner overscan position, the direction of the Y scan of the rotary disk 100 is reversed so that the rotary disk 100 is driven downward. When the beam has reached the outer overscan position, the direction of the Y scan of the rotary disk 100 is reversed so that the rotary disk 100 is driven upward. One reciprocating operation in which a beam starts from the outer overscan position and returns to the outer overscan position via the inner overscan position is given as one Y scan (one reciprocating scan).
On the other hand, for positioning control of the rotary disk 100, an initial position detection target portion 101 is provided at a predetermined position on the rotary disk 100 and a target portion sensor (not shown) for detecting the initial position detection target portion 101 is provided in the vicinity of the rim of the rotary disk 100. A detection signal from the target portion sensor is sent to a controller (not shown) having a function to control a motor which drives the rotary disk 100, and the controller uses this detection signal to implement positioning control of the rotary disk 100 [e.g. Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent (JP-B) No. 2909932].
The diameter of a wafer is mainly 200 mm or 300 mm. On the other hand, a beam normally has a circular cross section, but may have a flat cross section elongated in the horizontal direction. Hereinbelow, the diameter size in the case of the beam with the circular cross section and the vertical size in the case of the beam with the flat cross section will be collectively referred to as a "beam size". In either event, since the beam size of the beam irradiated onto the wafers 110 is smaller than the diameter of each wafer, beam overlap irradiation like so-called overlap painting is carried out for achieving better uniformity of ion implantation. This is, in terms of one wafer, a method of causing regions of continuous twice beam irradiation on the wafer to partially overlap each other and is realized by performing a Y scan so that scan regions by a high-speed scan partially overlap each other. That is, if the beam is irradiated onto a partial region of the wafer at a certain rotation timing of the rotary disk 100, the beam is, at the next rotation of the rotary disk 100, irradiated onto the wafer so as to provide a region overlapping part of the above partial region on the wafer. Hereinafter, this overlap region will also be called a "beam overlap amount".
The reason for employing such an overlap irradiation method is as follows. The (1/R) scan is ignored in the following explanation.
In the batch-type ion implantation system, when the rotary disk 100 is rotated at a low rotational speed reduced to half or less a normal high rotational speed, assuming that the Y-scan speed is equal to that at the time of the high-speed rotation, the distance of the Y-scan (scan pitch) moving during one rotation of the rotary disk 100 increases.
As the scan pitch during one rotation of the rotary disk 100 increases, the beam overlap amount in beam irradiation decreases. With respect to the beam size, as the beam size decreases, the beam overlap amount decreases. Then, if the scan pitch increases to be greater than a certain value or if the beam size decreases to be smaller than a certain value, the beam overlap amount decreases to be smaller than zero so that there is no overlap at all.
As shown in FIG. 1 as "High-Speed Rotation", a scan pitch PH during one rotation of the rotary disk 100 is considerably small in the case of normal high-speed disk rotation (e.g. 800 to 1200 rpm) and, therefore, even if the beam size decreases, the beam overlap amount does not become zero unless the beam size becomes equal to or less than the scan pitch PH. Accordingly, even if the rotation start position of disk rotation is random every time a Y scan is started, no problem arises.
However, as shown in FIG. 1 as "Low-Speed Rotation", in the case of low-speed disk rotation (e.g. 150 to 300 rpm), assuming that the Y-scan speed is equal to that in the case of "High-Speed Rotation", a scan pitch PL during one rotation of the rotary disk 100 becomes large. In this case, under the conditions that the beam size is small and so on, possibility is expected that there is no beam overlap to cause occurrence of ion implantation unevenness or nonuniformity. Since the Y scan and the disk rotation are controlled independently of each other, it is considered that, in the case of the beam size that can achieve a certain beam overlap amount, if the Y scan is performed a plurality of times, ions are randomly implanted, so that the ion implantation unevenness finally disappears even in the case of the low-speed disk rotation.
However, as shown in FIG. 2, there occurs a case where the rotation start position of the rotary disk 100 at the start of a Y scan synchronizes (not "coincides") or pseudo-synchronizes with the last rotation start position of the rotary disk 100. In this case, ion implantation is concentrated at certain portions of the wafers, so that there occurs a case where even if the Y scan is performed N times, the ion implantation uniformity is degraded to exceed 1%. This occurs particularly when a beam size Bs is not sufficiently large with respect to a scan pitch P (=Y-scan speed×disk rotation period), (P≧Bs), i.e. there is no beam overlap. FIG. 2 shows a transition of beam irradiation with respect to one wafer when a Y scan (reciprocating scan) is performed N times while the rotary disk 100 makes i rotations. If an irradiation state (state of the rotating wafer 110 observed at the same passing point) shown as "Final Implantation State" at the final stage in FIG. 2 is expressed in a plan view up to five Y-scan times, FIG. 6A is obtained, wherein regions with no beam overlap are formed. Naturally, FIG. 2 exaggeratingly shows the transition of beam irradiation for facilitating better understanding.
Of course, the foregoing problem is solved by reducing the Y-scan speed so as to produce beam overlap. However, in this case, there arises a new problem such as a problem of reduction in processing speed due to a reduction in Y-scan speed or a problem of rise in temperature of wafers due to prolongation of a beam irradiation time. Accordingly, there are also circumstances that cannot allow the Y-scan speed to be unlimitedly lowered.

Beam processing system and beam processing method