A light scanning apparatus capable of printing with a high quality and an image forming apparatus using the same are obtained. The light scanning apparatus is provided with an incidence optical system for guiding a light beam emitted from a light source part to a deflection part; an imaging optical system provided with a diffracting surface having a power at least in a sub-scanning section that guides the light beam deflected by the deflection part on a surface to be scanned; and a surface inclination correction function, in which a principal ray of the light beam is always positioned outside of a main scanning section during scanning. In the light scanning apparatus, each element is set so as to satisfy each conditional expression.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light scanning apparatus and an image forming apparatus using the same.
More specifically, the present invention is suitable for an image forming apparatus such as a laser beam printer and a digital copying machine having an electrophotographic process in which image information is recorded by carrying out light scanning on a surface to be scanned with a light beam (laser beam) emitted from a light source means via an imaging optical system.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, as the light scanning apparatus used for the image forming apparatus, an optical system in which the light beam is made incident at an angle not orthogonal to a rotational axis of a deflection means (light deflection device) (diagonal incident light scanning apparatus) is known.
For example, in an over filled light scanning apparatus (OFS optical system), in many cases, the light beam is made incident on the light deflection device from a side of an imaging optical system (scanning lens system) in a sub-scanning direction with a certain angle so that a distribution of light amount is not asymmetrical in the left and the right.
Besides, in some cases of the light scanning apparatus having a smaller number of the light deflection devices than a number of the surfaces (photoconductive drum surfaces) to be scanned, a plurality of light beams is made incident on the light deflection device with different angles in the sub-scanning direction in order to separate the plurality of light beams deflected by the light deflection device.
In such a light scanning apparatus, it is difficult to always continue to make the light beam (ray) incident on the main scanning section including an optical axis of an optical surface provided to the imaging optical system.
This is because the light beam deflected by the light deflection device changes an advancing direction of the light beam in a cone-like shape. In addition, because a scanning line curvature occurs in accordance with the change in the advancing direction of the light beam, conventionally, the scanning line curvature is alleviated by positively decentering the optical surface.
Besides, in recent years, various types of the light scanning apparatuses provided with the imaging optical system and the like having a diffracting surface in order to carry out a temperature compensation are proposed. The light scanning apparatus like this is in the power arrangement in which the fluctuation of a positive refractive power at the time of fluctuation of an environmental temperature is set off by the fluctuation of a positive diffraction power at the time of the fluctuation of the environmental temperature (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H10-333070 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,067,106)).
In such a light scanning apparatus, an imaging position is deviated in a direction of the optical axis when a wavelength is fluctuated by a mode hop (mode hopping) regardless of the environmental temperature.
Because of this, it is necessary to sufficiently secure a tolerable depth width. The light scanning apparatus in which the tolerable depth width is sufficiently secured is proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H09-054263 (no corresponding foreign patent application made)).
Incidentally, in the light scanning apparatus in which the imaging optical system is provided with the diffracting surface, if an optical element that configures the imaging optical system is decentered in a sub-scanning direction, when the wavelength of the light emitted from a light source is fluctuated, the imaging position is deviated in the sub-scanning direction, as well as in the optical axis direction.
Because of this, there arises a problem such that if the mode hop occurs during the scanning (while forming an image on the surface to be scanned by the light beam emitted from the light source means), image quality is deteriorated because of fluctuation of a scanning line interval before and after the occurrence of the mode hop.
Especially, in a color image forming apparatus, it is especially necessary to alleviate a positional displacement of the scanning line because the occurrence of the mode hop causes a color drift.

Light scanning apparatus and image forming apparatus using the same


An antenna having a plurality of resonant frequencies and including a ground plane having an edge; a feed point; a ground point; and

Current wireless communication systems utilize several different radio communication standards and operate at many different frequency bands. In this fractured service environment, terminals operating in multiple systems and frequency bands offer a better service coverage. A multi-band antenna is a key component of a multi-band mobile terminal. It may also be used in a base station.
One example of a multi-band communication terminal is a mobile cellular telephone operable in any one of the four GSM system bands i.e. GSM850 (824-894 MHz), GSM900 (880-960 MHz), GSM1800 (1710-1880 MHz), GSM1900 (1850-1990 MHz). It is very challenging to design a compact internal antenna that operates at some or all of these frequency bands and has a good total efficiency.
In current mobile cellular telephones, various components such as a camera, a speaker or both have often been located at least partly between the internal antenna element and its ground plane. These additional components can degrade the antenna performance.
The user's hand, if brought close to the antenna, typically degrades the performance of the antenna at these frequency ranges. The effect is very strong when the hand is at least partly on top of the antenna. A user often holds a mobile cellular telephone so that a forefinger is on top of the antenna element near the top of the cellular telephone.
It would be desirable to provide an improved antenna.

Antenna having a plurality of resonant frequencies

Abstract: an antenna track extending between the feed point and the ground point and comprising, in series connection, a first loop and a second loop wherein a least a portion of the first loop and a portion of the second loop are adjacent at least the edge of the ground plane.


A portable outdoors chair system for efficiently allowing an individual to sit comfortably against a stationary object, such as a tree. The portable outdoors chair system generally includes an elongated primary support to be leaned against a stationary object from a ground surface in a transverse manner and a seat extending from the primary support. The first end of the primary support defines an acute angle with the stationary object towards a lower end of the stationary object and an opposing second end of the primary support defines an acute angle with the stationary object towards the lower end. The seat extends from the stationary support in a manner as to define an acute angle with the primary support towards the second end in a manner to have the seat positioned in a horizontal configuration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to outdoor chairs and more specifically it relates to a portable outdoors chair system for efficiently allowing an individual to sit comfortably against a stationary object, such as a tree.
2. Description of the Related Art
Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Outdoor activities, such as bird watching and hunting have been performed for years. It is often desirable after hiking in the outdoors to sit down upon a chair, rather than sitting upon the ground which can be uncomfortable and wet. This may be especially evident when hunting, wherein it is generally required to sit in a still manner for extended periods of time while hunting.
Many outdoor chairs currently sold are bulky and thus difficult to carry along with the hiker or hunter for extended periods of time and through rough terrain. Another problem with commonly sold chairs is that the chairs may be difficult to set up and require separate tools. Because of the inherent problems with the related art, there is a need for a new and improved portable outdoors chair system for efficiently allowing an individual to sit comfortably against a stationary object, such as a tree.


Provided is a metal ring manufacture method and a metal ring metal device capable of manufacturing a plurality of metal rings at good efficiency without damaging the metal rings. The metal rings (R) are detached from a drum retaining unit (16) by a metal ring holding unit (28) with the arrangement state thereof being maintained; thereafter, each metal ring (R) clamped in the arrangement state by a pair of fingers (45, 46) of a metal ring clamping unit (29) is delivered sequentially in the arrangement direction by a ring delivering unit disposed in the second finger (46).

For example, in a belt adopted in a continuously variable transmission for power transmission, in order to bindle integrally a plurality of elements arranged circularly in laminations, a laminated ring obtained by laminating a plurality of metal rings is used.
The metal rings constituting the laminated ring are manufactured in the following way. First, both edges of a rectangular metal thin plate is welded together to form a cylindrical drum, the drum is mounted to a cylindrical drum retaining unit having a variable outer diameter. At the moment, the outer diameter of the drum retaining unit is enlarged to retain firmly the drum. Thereafter, by trimming the drum into round slices with a predetermined width, a plurality of metal rings are formed while being retained by the drum retaining unit. The retaining state is released by reducing the outer diameter of the drum retaining unit, each metal ring is detached from the drum retaining unit and transported to a post-processing step such as a grinding process or the like.
In transporting the plurality of metal rings to a post-processing step, it is necessary to extrude the metal rings one by one into a transporting passage configured to transport the metal rings to the post-processing step. If such operation of extruding the metal rings is performed by a worker manually, for example, it will be extremely troublesome and the working efficiency would be worse.
Therefore, there has been disclosed in conventional arts a technique in which the metal rings are extruded one by one by using an extruding device provided with a rotating shaft having spiral extruding grooves formed in the outer circumferential surface thereof in accordance with the width of the metal rings in the axial direction (refer to patent document 1).
In the mentioned device, the metal rings whose retaining state is released as the outer diameter of the drum retaining unit is reduced is mounted to the extruding shaft of the extruding device with the arrangement state thereof being maintained in the same axial direction, and thereafter, the extruding shaft is rotated.
According thereto, each metal ring is delivered along the spiral extruding groove, it is possible to extrude the metal rings one by one with certainty without manual operations, thereby, it is possible to improve the working efficiency.

Metal ring manufacture method and metal ring manufacture device


Replacement of the fuel metering jets of an internal combustion engine carburetor, such as a Holley.RTM. or Demon.RTM. Carburetor is greatly simplified by fuel float bowls which permit the jets to face upward. The jets are removed through access holes in the upper wall of the float bowl by a screwdriver/gripping tool. The float has access holes which are aligned to the upper wall holes to provide direct access to the fuel metering jets.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to carburetors for use in internal combustion engines, specifically carburetors including a metering block attached to the side or sides of the carburetor and a float bowl attached to the side of the metering block.
2. Prior Art
In the past, carburetors have been provided for delivering a predetermined, calibrated mixture of air and fuel into the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine. Fuel that is to be mixed with air and delivered through the carburetor to the engine is typically introduced into a reservoir known as a fuel bowl and metered directly into the intake manifold of the engine through one or more orifices, known as fuel jets or just jets, mounted in the carburetor. The diameter of the orifice in the fuel jets controls the amount of fuel that may be metered into the engine under a given set of operating characteristics. Because of this, fuel jets are frequently changed to jets having different size orifices to recalibrate the air to fuel ratio of the engine to achieve specific performance goals. Thus, the orifice diameter of the fuel jets is an important factor to be taken into account when "designing or setting up" a carburetor for a given application.
The factory location of the jets is inherently bad, due to its location being parallel to vehicles braking and acceleration axis, and is subject to becoming uncovered by fuel, causing the engine to starve for fuel during hard acceleration, deceleration, and cornering.
In order to change the jets in existing carburetors such as those manufactured by Holley.RTM. And Demon.RTM., it has been necessary to physically remove the fuel reservoir or float bowl to gain access to the jets so that they can be removed and changed to the desired jet configuration. However, before the fuel reservoir can be removed, it is necessary to somehow drain the float bowl or allow the fuel contained in the fuel bowl to simply escape when the bowl is removed from the carburetor. Because carburetors are typically mounted on top of the engine, fuel escaping from the carburetor onto the engine creates a fire hazard, especially when the engine is hot. Because of this, removal of the float bowl from a carburetor in a hot engine creates a significantly hazardous situation, both for the mechanic and those in the surrounding area. Another difficulty associated with the removal of the float bowl is that such removal often damages a gasket provided between the fuel bowl and the mating structure of the carburetor and must be replaced prior to reassembly of the float bowl to the carburetor.
In certain automotive applications, such as racing for example, it is important to be able to rapidly change the jets within the carburetor to fine tune the engine performance for the particular application. With regard to racing applications, variations in track conditions and atmospheric conditions, such as humidity and barometric pressure for example, make it desirable to have the ability to rapidly gain access to the carburetor jets to change them to jets that are appropriate for the particular track and atmospheric conditions. For example, during qualifying for a race, mechanics will typically fine tune the engine to achieve the optimal performance and thus achieve the fastest qualifying time by changing the fuel jets until the optimum engine performance is obtained. The dynamic nature of such a qualifying session demands that jet changes be performed rapidly in order to get the car back on the track as soon as possible. Moreover, during actual racing situations, it is frequently desirable to have the ability to affect rapid jet changes to compensate for changing track and atmospheric conditions or for other performance related reasons, such as fuel economy, for example.
Attempting to change the fuel jets under the demanding circumstances of prerace qualifying and actual racing situations has not been entirely successful because of the safety hazards associated with the removal of the fuel bowl from the carburetor to access the metering jets, as well as the time involved in physical removal and replacement of the fuel bowl. Even assuming that the gasket does not have to be replaced after removal of the fuel bowl, it still takes a significant amount of time to physically unbolt the fuel bowl and change the metering jets. This amount of time can be critical in qualifying and actual race situations. Holley.RTM. has produced an alternative style of float bowl for its carburetors that contains two screw-in plugs which are aligned with a vertical center line of each of the two jets associated with the primary and secondary venturies in its four-barrel carburetor design. The removable screw-in plugs allow access to the jets as they are retained in their normal position in the metering block without removing the float bowl. However, the screw-in plug arrangement for accessing the jets still requires the fuel to be drained from the float bowl before the plug is removed; otherwise, the potential hazard of flammability remains.
Inventor Crum U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,663 1978, addressed this with a kit installing 90 degree angle fittings into the metering block to allow the jet to face upwardly, drilling holes in the existing float bowl above the jets and adding plugs to the top of the float bowl. The jets are screwed into the top of the 90 degree fitting. This caused the jets inlet to be raised and causes fuel starvation to be increased. The float level would then need to be adjusted higher to compensate for the starvation. This causes raw fuel to slosh into the main body venturi during normal deceleration and acceleration, causing extreme rich conditions, engine cutout and possible fire due to backfire.
Inventors Hammel U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,377 1998, and Noguez U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,423 1981 addressed this by replacing the original metering block with one that contains the metering jets in a removable jet cartridge within a metering block that would replace the original equipment metering block provided on carburetors such as those designed by Holley.RTM. Replacing the manufacturer's metering block with an aftermarket unit may have adverse affects on the factory calibration of the metering block function.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system whereby the fuel jets could be readily removed from the carburetor assembly without the need to drain the carburetor or remove the fuel bowl to effect the change. It would be particularly desirable if the metering jets could be removed from the top of the carburetor bowl that would replace the original equipment fuel float and fuel bowl provided on carburetors such as those designed by Holley.RTM. and Demon.RTM Corporations, to permit rapid jet removal and replacement in those applications, yet still using the manufacturer's calibrated metering block, particularly racing, that require rapid change-outs.
The function of the metering block in a typical Holley.RTM, or Demon.RTM, carburetor is to control the amount of fuel which is delivered to an internal combustion engine by limiting fuel volume through a series of replaceable and non-replaceable orifices. The replaceable orifices are commonly known as jets. Jets typically have a portion of machine screw threads on one end and a slotted configuration on the other end to facilitate removal and installation with a standard flat blade screwdriver. The jets are identified by the diameter of the orifice contained therein. Those operating Holley.RTM. or Demon.RTM carburetor, commonly change these jets to change the amount of fuel consumed by an internal combustion engine.
Fuel that is metered by the jets is introduced into a vertical chamber that is cast into the metering block. This chamber is commonly known as the main well. Fuel entering the main well enters at the bottom where the jets are located. As previously mentioned, the jets are retained in the metering block by their machine screw threads, and are exposed to a fuel supply contained within a float bowl or a fuel bowl. Under operating conditions, the fuel bowl contains a small reservoir of fuel which is maintained and made available to the jets under normal atmospheric pressure and gravity. There is also a float control valve typically contained within the fuel bowl which allows the fuel entering the fuel bowl to be maintained at a relatively constant level within the bowl.
After fuel has passed through the jets and into the main well, a metered amount of air is introduced into the main well to mix with the fuel. This process of introducing air into the fuel is commonly referred to as "emulsion." As this process takes place, the fuel in the main well that is emulsified travels vertically upward until it reaches the height of a main well discharge passage, which is typically located near the top of the metering block. At this point, the emulsified fuel mixture exits the metering block and enters a passage commonly referred to as the main discharge nozzle where it enters and mixes with the air being consumed by the engine.
The entire mechanism for metering, emulsifying, and delivering of fuel to the carburetor's main discharge nozzle exists in a pair of identical mirror image configurations for two and four venturi carburetor applications. The venturies associated with a carburetor are commonly referred to as barrels such that a four venturi carburetor is referred to as a four-barrel carburetor. The metering blocks are configured to work in conjunction with two venturies at once. Thus, a two-barrel carburetor requires one fuel float and fuel bowl, whereas a four-barrel carburetor requires two fuel floats and two fuel bowls.


System for identifying and managing pallets, which are placed at or picked up from bin locations by means of an industrial truck, with the following characteristics: a box-shaped housing, which contains all components required for communicating with transponders as well as evaluating signals from the transponders, in particular a read/write unit, a send/receive circuit and an evaluation unit, wherein the evaluation unit has an interface to an on-board, the box-shaped housing is attached to the bottom side of the lower cross bar of a support for the loading fork between the fork arms, a single transponder is attached to the front side of the middle block of the pallet, and/or a rack support at the entrance that faces the industrial truck is provided with a transponder on a longitudinal support.

RFID-supported processes are being increasingly used within the framework of the improvement of logistical chain processes. The loading equipment, e.g. the pallet as well as the bin location, is provided with identifiers, e.g. transponders, in which data is saved. With the help of read/write devices, data can be written to and read from the transponders. The use of these types of transponders in connection with industrial trucks is described in "Hebezeuge und Fördermittel", Berlin 45 (2005) 5, pages 246 and 247.
An industrial truck is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,089, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference, in which a plurality of antennas is arranged in the vicinity of the fork carrier of an industrial truck. With the help of the antennas as well as separate evaluation, display and operating units, data can be written to or read from the RFID transponders on the loading equipment. At least two transponders, which are arranged diagonal to the loading equipment, are attached to the pallets. This results in a relatively short distance between antenna and transponder, indeed with the disadvantage that at least two transponders are required for each piece of loading equipment.
It is known from NL 9401836, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference, to use one transponder per loading equipment. The antennas for reading and writing the transponder are housed within the fork arms. This enables a short read separation distance, however, the fork arms are weakened by the integrated antennas and the shielding by the fork arms limits the functional capability of the antennas.
It is known from DE 20 2005 005 409 U1, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference, to arrange an antenna on the support of a loading fork, namely behind a level, which is formed by the middle level through cross bars of the fork support.
In all known implementations, other separate devices that help analyze the antenna signals are required in addition to the antennas. In the known cases, the signals are displayed by a display or a monitor of an on-board computer located in the driver's cab. Due to the conditions on the industrial truck and based on the relatively weak power level of the antennas, the required connections between the components are prone to interference.
The object of the invention is to create a system for identifying and managing pallets that has a simple structure and that is less prone to interference.


Compounds, represented by the following formula (I), having a .beta.-(substituted or unsubstituted imidazo5,1-b!thiazolyl)vinyl group at the 3-position of the cephem ring and a salt and an ester thereof are disclosed. The compounds have antibacterial activity against a very wide spectrum of bacteria and potent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and resistant bacteria. ##STR1## wherein X represents CH or N, R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom or an amino protective group, R.sup.2 represents a hydrogen atom, a C.sub.1-6 alkyl group, a C.sub.3-7 cycloalkyl group, or a hydroxy protective group, R.sup.3 is absent or represents a hydrogen atom, a salt forming cation, or a carboxyl protective group, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, and R.sup.6, which may be the same or different, each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a C.sub.1-6 alkyl group, R.sup.7+ is absent or a cation of a C.sub.1-6 alkyl, and n is an integer of 0 to 1.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel .beta.-lactam antibiotics and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and esters thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to novel cephem compounds having antibacterial activity and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and esters thereof.
2. Background Art
Cephem antibiotics exhibit excellent antibacterial activity with low toxicity for mammals. They are therefore very important to the treatment of infectious diseases in mammals. In recent years, cephem derivatives having an aminothiazolylacetyl group at the 7-position of the cephem ring have been found to have potent antibacterial activity and stability against .beta.-lactamase, leading to numerous studies and developments in these cephem derivatives. Various semi-synthetic cephem compounds have already been put on the market and clinically used as therapeutic agents for various infectious diseases.
However, among these compounds, those usable as a therapeutic agent having antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Myxomycetes are limited. Further, these compounds are unstable against .beta.-lactamase produced by resistant bacteria and have drawbacks such as low antibacterial activity against the resistant bacteria which have posed a clinical problem these days. Furthermore, many cephem antibiotics have been developed for use in injections, and it is often pointed out that, in the case of oral administration, the cephem antibiotics have low absorption ratio and, hence, have unsatisfactory efficacy.
Specific examples of .beta.-lactam compounds known in the art include Cefixime, Cefdinir, ME 1207 (Cefditren pivoxil), and ME 1206 (Cefditren).
However, no compounds having a .beta.-substituted vinyl side chain, especially a .beta.-(substituted or unsubstituted imidazo5,1-b!thiazolyl)vinyl group, at the 3-position of the cephem ring have been reported so far as the present inventors know.


The present invention relates to lithographic apparatuses and processes, and more particularly to multiple patterning lithography for printing target patterns beyond the limits of resolution of the lithographic apparatus. A method of splitting a pattern to be imaged onto a substrate via a lithographic process into a plurality of sub-patterns is disclosed, wherein the method comprises a splitting step being configured to be aware of requirements of a co-optimization between at least one of the sub-patterns and an optical setting of the lithography apparatus used for the lithographic process. Device characteristic optimization techniques, including intelligent pattern selection based on diffraction signature analysis, may be integrated into the multiple patterning process flow.

Lithographic apparatuses can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In such a case, the mask may contain a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g. comprising one or more dies) on a substrate (silicon wafer) that has been coated with a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). In general, a single wafer will contain a whole network of adjacent target portions that are successively irradiated via the projection system, one at a time. In one type of lithographic projection apparatus, each target portion is irradiated by exposing the entire mask pattern onto the target portion in one go; such an apparatus is commonly referred to as a wafer stepper. In an alternative apparatus, commonly referred to as a step-and-scan apparatus, each target portion is irradiated by progressively scanning the mask pattern under the projection beam in a given reference direction (the "scanning" direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate table parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. Since, in general, the projection system will have a magnification factor M (generally <1), the speed Vat which the substrate table is scanned will be a factor M times that at which the mask table is scanned.
In a manufacturing process using a lithographic projection apparatus, a mask pattern is imaged onto a substrate that is at least partially covered by a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). Prior to this imaging step, the substrate may undergo various procedures, such as priming, resist coating and a soft bake. After exposure, the substrate may be subjected to other procedures, such as a post-exposure bake (PEB), development, a hard bake and measurement/inspection of the imaged features. This array of procedures is used as a basis to pattern an individual layer of a device, e.g., an IC. Such a patterned layer may then undergo various processes such as etching, ion-implantation (doping), metallization, oxidation, chemo-mechanical polishing, etc., all intended to finish off an individual layer. If several layers are required, then the whole procedure, or a variant thereof, will have to be repeated for each new layer. Eventually, an array of devices will be present on the substrate (wafer). These devices are then separated from one another by a technique such as dicing or sawing, whence the individual devices can be mounted on a carrier, connected to pins, etc.
For the sake of simplicity, the projection system may hereinafter be referred to as the "lens"; however, this term should be broadly interpreted as encompassing various types of projection systems, including refractive optics, reflective optics, and catadioptric systems, for example. The radiation system may also include components operating according to any of these design types for directing, shaping or controlling the projection beam of radiation, and such components may also be referred to below, collectively or singularly, as a "lens". Further, the lithographic apparatus may be of a type having two or more substrate tables (and/or two or more mask tables). In such "multiple stage" devices the additional tables may be used in parallel, or preparatory steps may be carried out on one or more tables while one or more other tables are being used for exposures.
The photolithographic masks referred to above comprise geometric patterns corresponding to the circuit components to be integrated onto a silicon wafer. The patterns used to create such masks are generated utilizing CAD (computer-aided design) programs, this process often being referred to as EDA (electronic design automation). Most CAD programs follow a set of predetermined design rules in order to create functional masks. These rules are set by processing and design limitations. For example, design rules define the space tolerance between circuit devices (such as gates, capacitors, etc.) or interconnect lines, so as to ensure that the circuit devices or lines do not interact with one another in an undesirable way. The design rule limitations are typically referred to as "critical dimensions" (CD). A critical dimension of a circuit can be defined as the smallest width of a line or hole or the smallest space between two lines or two holes. Thus, the CD determines the overall size and density of the designed circuit. Of course, one of the goals in integrated circuit fabrication is to faithfully reproduce the original circuit design on the wafer (via the mask).
As noted, microlithography is a central step in the manufacturing of semiconductor integrated circuits, where patterns formed on semiconductor wafer substrates define the functional elements of semiconductor devices, such as microprocessors, memory chips etc. Similar lithographic techniques are also used in the formation of flat panel displays, micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) and other devices.
As semiconductor manufacturing processes continue to advance, the dimensions of circuit elements have continually been reduced while the amount of functional elements, such as transistors, per device has been steadily increasing over decades, following a trend commonly referred to as 'Moore's law'. At the current state of technology, critical layers of leading-edge devices are manufactured using optical lithographic projection systems known as scanners that project a mask image onto a substrate using illumination from a deep-ultraviolet laser light source, creating individual circuit features having dimensions well below 100 nm, i.e. less than half the wavelength of the projection light.
This process in which features with dimensions smaller than the classical resolution limit of an optical projection system are printed, is commonly known as low-k1 lithography, according to the resolution formula CD=k1×λ/NA, where λ is the wavelength of radiation employed (currently in most cases 248 nm or 193 nm), NA is the numerical aperture of the projection optics, CD is the 'critical dimension'—generally the smallest feature size printed—and k1 is an empirical resolution factor. In general, the smaller k1, the more difficult it becomes to reproduce a pattern on the wafer that resembles the shape and dimensions planned by a circuit designer in order to achieve particular electrical functionality and performance. To overcome these difficulties, sophisticated fine-tuning steps are applied to the projection system as well as to the mask design. These include, for example, but not limited to, optimization of NA and optical coherence settings, customized illumination schemes, use of phase shifting masks, optical proximity correction in the mask layout, or other methods generally defined as 'resolution enhancement techniques' (RET).
As one important example, optical proximity correction (OPC, sometimes also referred to as 'optical and process correction') addresses the fact that the final size and placement of a printed feature on the wafer will not simply be a function of the size and placement of the corresponding feature on the mask. It is noted that the terms 'mask' and 'reticle' are utilized interchangeably herein. For the small feature sizes and high feature densities present on typical circuit designs, the position of a particular edge of a given feature will be influenced to a certain extent by the presence or absence of other adjacent features. These proximity effects arise from minute amounts of light coupled from one feature to another. Similarly, proximity effects may arise from diffusion and other chemical effects during post-exposure bake (PEB), resist development, and etching that generally follow lithographic exposure.
In order to ensure that the features are generated on a semiconductor substrate in accordance with the requirements of the given target circuit design, proximity effects need to be predicted utilizing sophisticated numerical models, and corrections or pre-distortions need to be applied to the design of the mask before successful manufacturing of high-end devices becomes possible. In a typical high-end design almost every feature edge requires some modification in order to achieve printed patterns that come sufficiently close to the target design. These modifications may include shifting or biasing of edge positions or line widths as well as application of 'assist' features that are not intended to print themselves, but will affect the properties of an associated primary feature.
Double patterning (DP) lithography is one of the methods to effectively overcome the resolution limit of lithographic exposure apparatus, especially, when further increase of NA is no longer a feasible option to enhance printing quality of the critical/non-critical features in a 'feature-dense' layout. In general, in double patterning lithography, dense patterns, whose individual feature CD and/or inter-feature pitch is below the resolution limit of the lithography apparatus, are split in two parts (this process is referred to as "coloring"), such that, independently in each part, there is no resolution-related problems to overcome during pattern printing. The parts are patterned sequentially, interspersing features printed in the first lithography with features printed in the second lithography, to reproduce the entire pattern.
The existing splitting framework, specially for full-chip double patterning, may use a rule-based splitting algorithm followed by stitching and/or OPC(Optical Proximity Correction). The rule-based splitting algorithm splits the design layout into two sub-layouts based on a set of rules according to imaging system limitations. Then the stitching and/or OPC algorithm is applied independently for each sub-layout.
Source mask optimization (SMO) is a process to optimize source and mask (i.e. design layout) simultaneously to achieve the better resolution and/or processing window (PW) for a given design layout. Reduction of total runtime of SMO can be achieved if the design layout of the mask is optimized with respect to the source. In general, to lower the computation cost and time, a critical set of design patterns is either provided by users or automatically selected by an intelligent algorithm. SMO is performed only on the selected critical design set of design patterns to get the optimized source. Then, optionally, the full chip mask optimization (FMO) is used to optimize the full chip design layout given the optimized source. A lithography manufacturability check (LMC) may also be optionally done to add the hotspots into selected critical design pattern set.
Thus far, SMO and DP have not been integrated to achieve even better imaging performance in a more computationally efficient way. Therefore, there exists a need for integrating SMO and DP in a unified process flow. Furthermore, there exists a need to co-optimize the design layout for other optical characteristics, such as the projection optics in a lithography apparatus.

Integration of lithography apparatus and mask optimization process with multiple patterning process


A method for producing a medical device, and a medical device are provided, and the production method includes a step of heating a device together with a solution containing a polymer having the following repeating unit (A) and the following repeating unit (B), or a step of bringing a device into contact with a heated product of a solution containing a polymer having the following repeating unit (A) and the following repeating unit (B):                (A) a hydrophilic repeating unit; and        (B) a repeating unit having a polyoxyalkylene group in a side chain, the terminal of the side chain being composed of an alkyl group having 5 to 30 carbon atoms, an alkanoyl group having 5 to 30 carbon atoms, or an aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms.

Contact lenses are roughly classified into hydrous contact lenses (including soft contact lenses) and non-hydrous contact lenses (including hard contact lenses and soft contact lenses), and hydrous contact lenses generally have an advantage that the lenses have a more satisfactory feeling of wearing than non-hydrous contact lenses.
However, since conventional hydrous contact lenses have high hydrability, there have been problems, for example, that lenses dry up quickly, and oxygen permeability is decreased.
Thus, silicone hydrogel contact lenses, which have high oxygen permeability while being less hydratable, have been developed, and in recent years, these constitute the mainstream of contact lenses. However, silicone hydrogels have a problem that since the silicone chains contained therein exhibit hydrophobicity, the feeling of wearing is not excellent. In a case in which these contact lenses are left to stand and continuously used in that state, there is a risk that, for example, eyestrain, reddening, pain, lowering of the visual acuity correction power, and adverse effects on the cornea may occur.
Under such circumstances, technologies for modifying lens materials have been developed for the purpose of enhancing the hydrophilicity of the lens surface, preventing the adhesion of contaminants such as lipids, or imparting lubricity. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology of irradiating the surface of an ophthalmic lens with high-frequency plasma or excimer light, bringing the surface with a hydrophilic monomer solution, subsequently irradiating the surface with ultraviolet radiation, and immobilizing (graft polymerizing) the hydrophilic monomer on the ophthalmic lens surface. Furthermore, in Patent Literature 2, the surface of an ophthalmic lens is modified by coating with carbon by a plasma polymerization reaction, and conducting a graft-polymerization of a hydrophilic monomer to the lens surface.
In Patent Literature 3, it attempts to improve the wearing sensation of a contact lens by heating a lens obtained after polymerization in a solution including a wetting-out agent.
Besides, various cleaning solutions, storage solutions and coating solutions for contact lenses have been suggested for the purpose of improving the hydrophilicity of contact lens surfaces. For example, as the cleaning solutions for contact lenses, poly(oxyethylene)-poly(oxypropylene) block copolymers (poloxamer and poloxamine), which are nonionic surfactants, have been widely used heretofore (Patent Literature 4).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for producing medical device and medical device


A current carrier for a solid oxide fuel cell system comprising a current-carrying core formed of a high-conductivity metallic material such as copper, brass, bronze, silver, silver-copper alloys, molybdenum, tungsten, or the like, and a protective jacket surrounding the core material. Preferably, the jacket is metallurgically bonded to the core. The jacket is formed of a high temperature alloy such as stainless steel, nickel, or a nickel alloy. The jacket is structurally competent to maintain the form of the electrical carrier at elevated temperatures at which the core material may be structurally incompetent. The current carrier may be sized comparable to conventional copper cables. The carrier is attached to a fuel cell current collector by a clamp assembly having a large surface contact area. Preferably, a contact paste consisting of fine silver particles forms a diffusion bond between the clamp and the carrier jacket, resulting in a low-loss connection.

Fuel cells for combining hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity are well known. A known class of fuel cells includes a solid-oxide electrolyte layer through which oxygen anions migrate to combine with hydrogen atoms to produce electricity and water; such fuel cells are referred to in the art as "solid-oxide" fuel cells (SOFCs).
In some applications, for example, as an auxiliary power unit (APU) for an automotive vehicle, an SOFC is preferably fueled by "reformate" gas, which is the effluent from a catalytic hydrocarbon oxidizing reformer. Reformate typically includes amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) as fuel in addition to molecular hydrogen. The reforming operation and the fuel cell operation may be considered as sequential oxidative steps of the liquid hydrocarbon, resulting ultimately in water and carbon dioxide. Both reactions are exothermic, and both are preferably carried out at relatively high temperatures, for example, in the range of 700° C. to 1000° C.
A complete fuel cell stack assembly includes a plurality of fuel cells, and a plurality of components known in the art as interconnects, which electrically connect the individual fuel cells in the stack. Electric current must be collected at both ends of the stack (current to and current from the stack) by components known as current collectors. Current in turn is carried between the current collectors of multiple stacks in a system, as well as being carried out of the hot environment to the power conditioning electronics and/or electrical load which operate in a much lower temperature environment, typically less than 150° C. In addition, a typical SOFC stack can generate a relatively high current, sometimes exceeding 100 amperes.
In the prior art, the electrical carriers typically are formed of metal alloys having very high melting points, such as Inconel, such that they are capable of maintaining structural integrity at any possible operating temperature of the fuel cell stack. A serious drawback of these alloys, however, is that they have relatively poor electrical conductivity, having resistivity values 100 or more times greater than those of copper or other metals having high conductivity. Thus, current carriers formed of high temperature alloys either suffer significant power loss or must be sized very large to minimize power loss. When sized as required to carry currents of which an SOFC is capable, such prior art high temperature alloy current carriers are then very expensive, heavy, difficult to fabricate, difficult to route in an SOFC system, and wastefully consumptive of space.
Conventional high-conductivity metals or alloys comprising, for example, copper, silver, and/or aluminum, are not practical either. At SOFC operating temperatures, copper is very soft such that it cannot support its own weight, which behavior is defined and used herein as being incompetent. Copper also corrodes very rapidly by oxidation at these temperatures, leading to disintegration. Aluminum is liquid. Silver is extremely soft or liquid and prohibitively expensive. In fact, there are no conventional highly-conductive materials suitable for extended service alone as a current carrier in an SOFC system at the expected temperatures of operation.
What is needed in the art is a current carrying material having high conductivity that is stable mechanically and chemically at SOFC operating temperatures.
It is a principal object of the present invention to reduce the size and cost of current carriers in an SOFC system.

Clad current carrier for a solid oxide fuel cell stack


An exemplary method includes performing a capture threshold assessment using a bipolar electrode configuration, deciding if capture occurred for a maximum energy value of the capture threshold assessment and, if capture did not occur, then performing a lead impedance test for the lead associated with the bipolar electrode configuration. Such a test may aim to detect an insulation defect and/or a conductor defect. Other exemplary methods, devices, systems, etc., are also disclosed.

Various studies indicate that an implanted lead may fail for one or more reasons. For example, a study by Dorwarth et al., "Transvenous defibrillation leads: high incidence of failure during long-term follow-up," J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol., 14(1):38-43 (2003), found that a majority of lead-related sensing failures were associated with insulation defects that occurred late after ICD placement (6.0+/−1.8 years after implant). Dorwarth et al. recognized that "automated device control features with patient alert function integrated into new devices may contribute to early detection of lead failure". Thus, a need exists for techniques to detect lead failure.
To date such techniques typically rely heavily on impedance measurement. For example, excessive lead impedance may indicate loss of a connection due to a conductor fracture and low lead impedance may indicate a short circuit or alternative conduction path due to an insulation failure. To date, impedance techniques are typically implemented by a care provider during follow-up or perhaps on a programmed, periodic basis (e.g., time schedule). Such techniques may not uncover lead issues in a timely manner. As described herein, various exemplary mechanisms are presented that can improve timeliness of detection and/or improve timeliness of adjustments to therapy in response to a lead issue. Other advantages are also discussed herein.

Capture threshold and lead condition analysis


An NFET containing a first high-k dielectric portion and a PFET containing a second high-k gate dielectric portion are formed on a semiconductor substrate. A gate sidewall nitride is formed on the gate of the NFET, while the sidewalls of the PFET remain free of the gate sidewall nitride. An oxide spacer is formed directly on the sidewalls of a PFET gate stack and on the gate sidewall nitride on the NFET. After high temperature processing, the first and second dielectric portions contain a non-stoichiometric oxygen deficient high-k dielectric material. The semiconductor structure is subjected to an anneal in an oxygen environment, during which oxygen diffuses through the oxide spacer into the second high-k dielectric portion. The PFET comprises a more stoichiometric high-k dielectric material and the NFET comprises a less stoichiometric high-k dielectric material. Threshold voltages of the PFET and the NFET are optimized by the present invention.

High gate leakage current of nitrided silicon dioxide and depletion effect of polysilicon gate electrodes limits the performance of conventional silicon oxide based gate electrodes. High performance devices for an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) less than 1 nm require high dielectric constant (high-k) gate dielectrics and metal gate electrodes to limit the gate leakage current and provide high on-currents. Since high-k dielectric materials need to be stable in contact with silicon at a temperature high enough to activate electrical dopants, only a handful of materials are known to be practically useful as a high-k gate dielectric. These include ZrO2, HfO2, other dielectric metal oxides, alloys thereof, and their silicate alloys.
A high-k dielectric material needs to provide good electrical stability, that is, the amount of charge trapped in the high-k dielectric material needs to remain at a low level even after extended operation of a transistor. The high-k dielectric material needs to be scalable, that is, to provide an acceptable level of leakage and acceptable levels of electron and hole mobility at a reduced thickness, e.g., less than 1 nm. While the mechanisms for degradation of mobility associated with thin high-k dielectric materials are not fully understood, it is generally believed that trapped charge scattering and/or phonon scattering are primary causes.
In general, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integration requires two gate materials, one having a work function near the valence band edge of the semiconductor material in the channel and the other having a work function near the conduction band edge of the same semiconductor material. In CMOS devices having a silicon channel, a conductive material having a work function of about 4.0 eV is necessary for n-type metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (NMOSFETs) and another conductive material having a work function of about 5.0 eV is necessary for p-type metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (PMOSFETs). In conventional CMOS devices employing polysilicon gate materials, a heavily p-doped polysilicon gate and a heavily n-doped polysilicon gate are employed to address the needs. In CMOS devices employing high-k gate dielectric materials, suitable materials satisfying the work function requirements are needed. So far, identification of materials for a dual work function metal gate electrode system has presented some challenges.
One approach in implementing high-k dielectrics in CMOS devices is to employ heavily doped polysilicon materials along with high-k gate dielectric materials in the gates. A threshold voltage (Vt) offset is observed, however, when high-k gate dielectric materials are integrated with polysilicon gate electrodes, which can be as much as 600 mV for p-type metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) devices. The source of the offset is in general believed to be oxygen vacancies, or oxygen deficiencies, as well as Fermi-level pinning due to metal-silicon bonds in the high-k gate dielectrics. While metal gate electrodes tend to mitigate the threshold voltage offset effect, no solution has been proposed to fundamentally address the Vt shift in high-k dielectric gates having a polysilicon gate conductor.
In view of the above, there exists a need for a semiconductor structure having high-k dielectric material gates and providing optimal threshold voltages to PMOSFETs and NMOSFETs, and methods of manufacturing the same.
Particularly, there exists a need for a semiconductor structure having PMOSFETs and NMOSFETs, in which the threshold voltage shift effect in PMOSFETs is eliminated or alleviated, and methods of manufacturing the same.

CMOS transistors with differential oxygen content high-k dielectrics

International Business Machines Corporation


One or more computer systems, a carrier medium, and a method are provided for backing up virtual machines. The backup may occur, e.g., to a backup medium or to a disaster recovery site, in various embodiments. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a computer system configured to execute at least a first virtual machine, wherein the computer system is configured to: (i) capture a state of the first virtual machine, the state corresponding to a point in time in the execution of the first virtual machine; and (ii) copy at least a portion of the state to a destination separate from a storage device to which the first virtual machine is suspendable. A carrier medium may include instructions which, when executed, cause the above operation on the computer system. The method may comprise the above highlighted operations.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of computer systems and, more particularly, to backup and disaster recovery mechanisms in computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems, and their components, are subject to various failures which may result in the loss of data. For example, a storage device used in or by the computer system may experience a failure (e.g. mechanical, electrical, magnetic, etc.) which may make any data stored on that storage device unreadable. Erroneous software or hardware operation may corrupt the data stored on a storage device, destroying the data stored on an otherwise properly functioning storage device. Any component in the storage chain between (and including) the storage device and the computer system may experience failure (e.g. the storage device, connectors (e.g. cables) between the storage device and other circuitry, the network between the storage device and the accessing computer system (in some cases), etc.).
To mitigate the risk of losing data, computer system users typically make backup copies of data stored on various storage devices. Typically, backup software is installed on a computer system and the backup may be scheduled to occur periodically and automatically. In many cases, an application or applications may be in use when the backup is to occur. The application may have one or more files open, preventing access by the backup software to such files.
Some backup software may include custom code for each application (referred to as a "backup agent"). The backup agent may attempt to communicate with the application or otherwise cause the application to commit its data to files so that the files can be backed up. Often, such backup agents make use of various undocumented features of the applications to successfully backup files. As the corresponding applications change (e.g. new versions are released), the backup agents may also require change. Additionally, some files (such as the Windows registry) are always open and thus difficult to backup.
Disaster recovery configurations are used in some cases to provide additional protection against loss of data due to failures, not only in the computer systems themselves but in the surrounding environment (e.g. loss of electrical power, acts of nature, fire, etc.). In disaster recovery configurations, the state of data may periodically be checkpointed from a first computer system to a second computer system. In some cases, the second computer system may be physically located distant from the first computer system. If a problem occurs that causes the first computer system to go down, the data is safely stored on the second computer system. In some cases, applications previously running on the first computer system may be restarted on the second computer system to allow continued access to the preserved data. The disaster recovery software may experience similar issues as the backup software with regard to applications which are running when a checkpoint is attempted and the files that the applications may have open at the time of the checkpoint. Additionally, replicating all the state needed to restart the application on the second computer system (e.g. the operating system and its configuration settings, the application and its configuration settings, etc.) is complicated.

Disaster recovery and backup using virtual machines


Assigning severity to a software update, including: receiving, by an update manager, version information for a software application from a computing system, the version information describing a version of the software application installed on the computing system; determining, by the update manager, a severity level of one or more available updates for the software application in dependence upon the version information and update version information; and providing, by the update manager to the computing system, the severity level for each of the one or more available updates.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, methods, apparatus, and products for assigning severity to a software update.
2. Description of Related Art
Modern computing systems frequently include a wide variety of software applications executing on the computing system. Such software applications evolve over time and updates are frequently released that add functionality to the software application, that correct bugs within the software application, and so on. Installing updates can frequently be time consuming and can expand the amount of system resources utilized by the software application, sometimes with minimal benefits to the user of the computing system.


In a first aspect, a first method is provided for sharing a multiple queue Ethernet adapter. The first method includes the steps of receiving a frame or packet in the adapter and determining whether the frame or packet is for one or more of a plurality of partitions that share the adapter. If the frame or packet is for one or more of the plurality of partitions that share the adapter, the method further includes (1) storing the frame or packet in an adapter cache memory; (2) determining one or more of the plurality of partitions to which the frame or packet is to be sent; and (3) transferring the frame or packet from the adapter cache memory to a receive queue of each of the one or more partitions to which the frame or packet is to be sent. Numerous other aspects are provided.

The speed of network connections (e.g., Ethernet connections) to which a computer server may be connected is increasing. For example, computer servers may be connected via a networking adapter (e.g., Ethernet adapter) to Ethernet connections of 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps. In an attempt to fully utilize such a high-speed connection to which a network device may be connected, networking adapters, such as a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) adapter, have been improved. More specifically, the operating speed of a chip included in the adapter and/or the speed of the adapter has been increased. For example, a server connected to a 10 Gbps local area network (LAN) may include a PCI-X 10 Gbps Ethernet adapter for receiving frames or packets from the LAN and/or transmitting frames or packets to the LAN. However, such a server may include a single processor. Typically, a server with a single processor may not drive a 10 Gbps Ethernet adapter at full speed. Consequently, the number of processors that may be included in a server has been increased. Further, adapters which support multiple queues (e.g., transmit and/or receive queues) have been developed. A server, which includes multiple processors, may include such an adapter. While executing instructions, the processors may employ threads, each of which may use a queue. Therefore, each processor may use its own transmit and/or receive queue, for example, to transmit and/or receive frames or packets. Such a server may include an adapter that performs receive frame processing based on frame size or IP differentiated services parameters of the received frames. However, such an adapter is not optimally designed for use in a multiple logical partition (LPAR) server.
On a logically partitioned server, each logical partition uses either a portion of one physical processor, one physical processor or multiple physical processors. Each logical partition uses a portion of the server main memory. A Hypervisor is a firmware layer that divides up processors and main memory among multiple logical partitions. A Hypervisor can also provide a command response queue allowing the multiple partitions to communicate. The Hypervisor can support data copies between partition memory (registered memory by the operating system to allow data copies).
An adapter may transfer data to or from adapter memory (e.g., an adapter cache memory) from or into main memory (e.g., a portion of main memory allocated to serve as a partition memory), respectively. For example, a direct memory access (DMA) may be performed by the adapter to copy data to or from adapter memory (e.g., an adapter cache memory) from or into main memory (e.g., a portion of main memory allocated to serve as a partition memory), respectively. The DMA operation is performed by adapter hardware. The main server processor may not be involved in the DMA operation. Terms such as "DMA", "DMAing", "DMAed", etc., are used herein to represent the performance of a direct memory access (e.g., by the adapter). Terms such as "transfer", "transferring", "transferred", etc., as used herein, include "DMA", "DMAing", "DMAed", etc., respectively.
Other servers, which include multiple processors and an adapter, which supports multiple queues, may include multiple logical partitions. However, only one partition includes a transmit queue and a receive queue. For example, a hosting partition, which controls (e.g., owns) the adapter, may include the transmit and receive queues. Therefore, all frames or packets received by the server are received by a single partition (e.g., the hosting partition), which must perform a store-and-forward operation to route the frames or packets received to an appropriate partition (e.g., for processing). Because all frames or packets received by and/or transmitted from the server go through a single partition, the single partition may receive numerous interrupts from the adapter, copy numerous frames or packets to different partitions, and/or perform context switching between partitions. Such processing overhead of the single partition, which includes the transmit and receive queues, increases delays and processor utilization such that the speed at which the server drives the adapter is reduced, and therefore, the speed with which frames or packets may be received by and/or transmitted from the server is reduced.
Methods and apparatus are desired for sharing an Ethernet adapter among multiple logical partitions.


Exemplary embodiments of the invention provide techniques that enable avoidance of the concentration of an electric field at the edge of a semiconductor film in a semiconductor device such as a thin film transistor, thereby enhancing the reliability. Exemplary embodiments provide a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device using a structure in which a semiconductor film, a dielectric film, and an electrode are deposited. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: forming an island-shape semiconductor film on one dielectric surface of a substrate, the substrate having at least one dielectric surface; forming a first dielectric film on the one surface of the substrate so as to cover the semiconductor film and have a film thickness of the portion other than over the semiconductor film equal to or larger than that of the semiconductor film; reducing a film thickness of the first dielectric film at least in a region over the semiconductor film; and forming an electrode so as to be on the first dielectric film after reduction of the film thickness and pass over a predetermined location of the semiconductor film.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to enhanced techniques of a field effect type semiconductor device such as a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor.
The related art includes research and development of techniques to form a thin film transistor with high current drive capability that uses a crystalline semiconductor film (such as a polysilicon film) formed by low-temperature processes. An amorphous silicon film is crystallized by the application of laser beams, and therefore a polysilicon film is formed. The polysilicon film formed in this way, however, has a tendency to grow boundaries between crystal grains in various places in crystallizing (grain boundaries) that rise and become protrusion-like shapes, and therefore the unevenness of the surface becomes large. In a field effect thin film transistor wherein a gate dielectric film and a gate electrode are formed on or above this polysilicon film, an electric field concentrates at protrusions on the surface of the polysilicon film, and therefore a dielectric breakdown is likely to occur in the gate dielectric film. Related art document Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-40828 discloses the technique that, after forming a polysilicon film, its surface is planarized by polishing to avoid the dielectric breakdown of a gate dielectric film in a thin film transistor.
When the film thickness of a gate dielectric film is made thinner in order to promote miniaturization of a thin film transistor, the gate dielectric film is likely to have a thin film thickness at the edge of a semiconductor film. This tendency is notable when the gate dielectric film is formed using the film formation method with low step coverage such as a sputtering method or a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. If the gate electrode is formed to cross this edge, an electric field concentrates at the portion of crossing, thereby often leading to a dielectric breakdown. This causes a disadvantage that the reliability of a thin film transistor decreases. It is difficult in the above described related art technique to accomplish the decrease of the concentration of the electric field at the edge of the semiconductor film, and therefore further enhanced techniques have been desired.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device using liquid phase deposition of an interlayer dielectric


A plasma display panel including a low k dielectric layer. In one embodiment, the dielectric layer is comprises a fluorine-doped silicon oxide layer such as an SiOF layer. In another embodiment, the dielectric layer comprises a Black Diamond™ layer. In certain embodiments, a capping layer such as SiN or SiON is deposited over the dielectric layer.

As is well known, a plasma display panel ("PDP") is a very thin display screen used in large screen displays, for example high definition television displays (HDTV) and the like. PDPs include a pair of dielectric plates, each having a pattern of parallel electrodes thereon. The displays operate by generating a plasma or gas discharge between-crossed electrodes inside a partially evacuated environment.
However, one of the limitations of this technology is their high power usage. For example, commercially available PDPs use about 300–700 Watts for the display. Further, the displays require that they be manufactured with a fan integral with the display to help dissipate the large amount of heat generated by their use. One parameter which determines the amount of power used by the PDP and the amount of heat produced therefrom is a dielectric layer that is deposited over the electrodes of the front glass plate. Typically, a lead (Pb) doped glass having a thickness of about 30 microns is used for this dielectric layer. The dielectric constant of this glass layer is generally in the range of about 12 to 16. It is understood that the power consumption and heat generation for the PDPs is a direct function of the dielectric constant of this dielectric layer.
In addition to the onerous power requirements imposed by lead-doped glass, lead is a well-known toxic material and therefor the use of these layers imposes risks upon the workers employed not only in producing the layers, but in assembly of the products down line. Still further, very critical and precise annealing procedures are required in order to get good results from a lead dielectric layer. For example, not only are annealing temperatures of 400–600° C. are said to be required, but a careful, slow and controlled ramping of the temperature of the substrate from room temperature to the anneal temperature is required. The anneal treatment is carried out at the elevated temperature and then a careful, slow and controlled ramp down of the temperature is required to return the substrate to room temperature. Practically speaking, this can require furnaces up to one hundred meters long to carry out the proper annealing of a PDP having a lead dielectric layer.
These PDPs are oftentimes yet further limited by stringent disposal requirements, promulgated because of some of their toxic and environmentally harmful components (e.g., Pb doped films and the like). For example, Japan requires manufacturers to retain cradle-to-grave responsibility for these products.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical PDP as is commonly known in the art. The PDP is comprised of two glass plates: a front plate 2 and a back plate 4 which are opposite each other. A plurality of transparent parallel electrodes E1 are formed on plate 1 across a plurality of electrodes E2 formed on plate 2, such that the pattern of electrodes on one plate are arranged orthogonally to the pattern of electrodes on the opposite plate. Electrodes E1 may also have a low resistive material, e.g., bus electrodes E3, operably associated with them to lower the electric resistance. A dielectric layer 10 and an MgO layer 12 are formed on the front plate electrodes E1. Commonly, lead-doped glass is used as the dielectric layer. A dielectric layer 11 may optionally be formed on the back plate electrodes E2. A means for fluorescence 8a, 8b and 8c such as phosphors are formed on the back plate electrodes E2. The PDP is constructed in such a manner that the front plate 2 and the back plate 4 are assembled and sealed by a sidewall (not shown) so that a gap is formed between the plates whereby such gap defines a discharge region 6. For maintaining the gap, barrier ribs 7 are formed in the gap between the front panel 2 and the back panel 4, to provide structural support. In this way, a pixel of a unit cell is formed at each intersection between each electrode E1 and each electrode E2. The PDP is capable of displaying an image by a plurality of the pixels driven by a driving circuit.
As described, typically lead (Pb) doped glass is used for this dielectric layer and has a dielectric constant of about 16. It is understood that power consumption and heat generation for PDPs are direct functions of the dielectric constant of this dielectric layer. Accordingly, if a dielectric layer could be used which has a lower dielectric constant, yet is the same as or better than previous dielectric layers in respect to other relevant attributes, the power consumption and heat generation could be decreased. It would be further beneficial if such a dielectric layer could be manufactured without toxic and environmentally unfriendly materials such as lead. Thus, there is a need for a PDP with a dielectric layer which has a low dielectric constant, high transmittance, high electrical breakdown voltage and good stability, which would decrease the power consumption and heat generation of the display while maintaining the required luminosity characteristics.
The present invention endeavors to address and solve these and other problems associated with PDPs.

Plasma display panel with a low K dielectric layer


A new and distinct lettuce variety designated ‘PX 237’, characterized by having a distinct iceberg-like texture in a non-heading variety, a thick leaf texture, lack of an obvious mid-rib, a short open growth habit, and jagged leaf margins.

Presently, there are over a thousand known lettuce varieties within the following groups: batavia lettuce, butterhead or head lettuce, iceberg lettuce, lollo lettuce, oakleaf lettuce, and romaine or cos lettuce. These lettuce varieties can be sub-divided into two different groups depending on heading characteristic, i.e. tight heading vs. non-heading. The drawback with most presently available lettuce varieties is the tight heading characteristic which prevents the removal of individual leaves, making these varieties unsuitable for the emerging whole leaf lettuce market. Further, the whole leaf lettuce market has been limited to the use of loose leaf and romaine lettuce types, and was not economically feasible for iceberg or other heading lettuces, as the tight heading characteristics of these lettuce types prevent the removal of individual leaves. As a result, there is an ongoing need and demand for improved lettuce varieties which are specifically designed to suit the needs and specifications of the whole leaf lettuce market.
Among the basic traits a lettuce variety needs to possess to be considered in the whole leaf lettuce market is a non-heading characteristic and an open growth habit, so that the leaves can be easily removed from the core or stem. The variety also must have a durable thick leaf texture and reduced or absent mid-rib, as the leaves must undergo one of many mechanical processes of being removed, washed, and dried without cracking or breaking. Through these processes, leaves with thin texture become wilted and easily damaged, and leaves with a large mid-rib are prone to breaking and splitting, shortening their shelf life or rendering them completely unusable. Typically, decay of the lettuce product starts on the thin areas of the leaf margins and in the mid-rib. This aging is noted by browning of the leaf margin, as well as pinking, and browning of the leaf mid-rib. By eliminating the mid-rib, and producing a thicker leaf structure, a product is produced that has a longer shelf life. Lastly, the whole leaf lettuce market specifies strict leaf sizes and quality standards, as the individual leaves are stacked and packaged under strict market specifications.


Provided herein are monocomponent and hybrid catalyst compositions for use in steam-cracking of hydrocarbon feeds to selectively produce light olefins. The catalyst compositions being characterized by a first catalytic component comprising oxides of aluminum, silicon, chromium, and optionally, oxides of monovalent alkaline metals, and further comprising a binder, preferably bentonite clay. Preferably, the catalyst compositions will comprise a catalytic component in accordance with the following formula: (a) SiO2·(b) A12O3·(c) Cr2O3(d) alk2O, with alk being a monovalent alkaline metal, preferably selected from sodium, potassium and lithium. The second catalytic component is selected from a crystalline zeolite or a silica molecular sieve. Also provided in the present invention are methods of making the catalyst compositions.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the catalysts used in the deep catalytic cracking (DCC) of petroleum naphthas and other hydrocarbon feedstocks. More specifically, the invention provides catalysts containing silicon, aluminum, chromium, and optionally, monovalent alkaline metal oxides. Such catalyst compositions are capable of selectively converting petroleum naphthas and other hydrocarbon feedstocks into commercial valuable light olefins, mainly ethylene and propylene.
2. The Prior Art
It is known to use the technique of steam-cracking on light paraffins (ethane, propane and butane, obtained mainly by extraction from various natural gas sources) and on naphthas and other heavier petroleum cuts, to produce:    i) primarily ethylene and propylene;    ii) secondarily, depending on the feedstock employed, a C4 cut rich in butadienes and a C5+ cut with a high content of aromatics, particularly benzene;    iii) and finally hydrogen.
The feedstocks of choice are ethane and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) for the U.S.A. and naphthas and gas oils for Europe. However, in recent years, the situation has dramatically changed with the U.S.A. moving towards the utilization of heavier hydrocarbon feedstocks like in Europe.
It is worth noting that steam cracking is one of the core processes in the petrochemical industry with a worldwide production of ca. 100 million metric tons/year of ethylene and propylene.
Steam cracking is a thermal cracking reaction performed at high temperatures and in the presence of steam, a diluant which is concurrently fed with the hydrocarbon stream in a steam cracking reactor. The reaction temperature ranges from 700° C. to 900° C. according to the type of feedstock treated (the longer the hydrocarbon molecular structure, the lower the temperature of cracking), while the residence time ranges from a few seconds to a fraction of second.
Steam cracking is a well-established technology. However, it suffers from many drawbacks:    i) lack of flexibility in the product selectivity, mostly in the yield of propylene which needs to be increased in order to respond to the increasing demand of the market.    ii) significant production of fuel oil which contains heavy hydrocarbons such as heavy alkylaromatics and even polyalkylaromatics. It is known that the latter products are precursors of "coke". Coking is a serious problem in the steam cracking technology, which decreases the energy efficiency and requires difficult de-coking procedures for reactors.    iii) in order to achieve a satisfactory conversion, severe operating conditions are used; i.e. high reaction temperatures and the recycling of gaseous paraffinic products.
More than twelve years ago, a process aiming at upgrading the products of propane steam cracking was developed in the laboratory of the present inventor [1]. The upgrading consisted of adding a small catalytic reactor to a conventional propane steam cracker. The catalysts used in the catalytic reactor were based on the ZSM-5 zeolite modified with Al and Cr [2]. Significant increases in the yield of ethylene and aromatics were obtained.
More recently, the present inventor's research group developed a further refined process [3,4] consisting of using two reactors in sequence, the first reactor (I) containing a mildly active but robust catalyst and the second reactor (II) being loaded with a ZSM5 zeolite based catalyst, preferably of the hybrid configuration. Hybrid configuration means that at least two co-catalysts are commingled. Variations of the temperature of reactor I versus reactor II and the textural properties and/or the surface composition of the catalyst of reactor (I) were used to increase the conversion and to vary the product distribution, namely the ethylene/propylene ratio.
Although our previous work is of great industrial interest, the use of two reactors, which require heating at different temperatures, represents a significant challenge in terms of technology and investment.
Thus, the present invention responds to the need for a simplified technology while maintaining catalyst performance and product flexibility at significantly higher levels than what is currently achieved with conventional steam cracking processes. The present invention focuses primarily on catalyst formulations.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel catalysts for selective deep catalytic cracking (DCC) of petroleum naphthas and other hydrocarbon feedstocks.

Catalysts for deep catalytic cracking of petroleum naphthas and other hydrocarbon feedstocks for the selective production of light olefins and method of making thereof


An inverter circuit is connected in series to an AC power supply, and at the subsequent stage, a smoothing capacitor is connected via a converter circuit including semiconductor switching devices. A control circuit controls the converter circuit by providing a short-circuit period for bypassing the smoothing capacitor in each cycle, and controls the inverter circuit to improve the power factor of the AC power supply by using a current instruction such that the voltage of the smoothing capacitor becomes a target voltage. When the voltage of a DC voltage source of the inverter circuit has exceeded a predetermined upper limit, the control circuit increases the current instruction to control the inverter circuit, thereby increasing the discharge amount of the DC voltage source. Thus, even if the voltage variation of the DC voltage source of the inverter circuit increases, it is possible to stably continue the control.

In a conventional power conversion apparatus, an output from a first terminal of an AC power supply is connected to a reactor, and at the subsequent stage of the reactor, the AC side of an inverter circuit composed of a single-phase inverter is connected in series. The single-phase inverter in the inverter circuit is composed of a semiconductor switching device and a DC voltage source. In addition, first and second series circuits connected in parallel, each of which is composed of a short-circuit switch and a rectification diode connected in series to form an inverter, are connected between both terminals of a smoothing capacitor at the output stage. The middle point of the first series circuit is connected to an AC output line at the subsequent stage of the inverter circuit, and the middle point of the second series circuit is connected to a second terminal of the AC power supply. A current is controlled and outputted by PWM control such that a DC voltage of the smoothing capacitor can be maintained at a constant target voltage and the input power factor from the AC power supply is about 1, and a voltage generated on the AC side is superimposed onto an input voltage from the AC power supply. The short-circuit switch is turned on to bypass the smoothing capacitor, only in a short-circuit phase range centered at a zero cross phase of the phase of the input voltage from the AC power supply (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Power conversion apparatus including an inverter-converter combination


A fragmentation warhead includes a cylindrical body, and an explosive charge disposed within the innermost part of the warhead body. Upon detonation of the explosive charge, the warhead body is ultimately caused to shear and break into fragments with controlled sizes, shapes. This invention enables target-adaptable fragmentation output based selectively controlling the size of preformed fragments ejected. Preformed tungsten alloy fragments of a first “small” size “A” are sintered to be joined into a plurality of larger size fragments “B”, using a tungsten alloy matrix. The B fragments are then joined into a desired shell shape and thickness and sintered into a fragmenting shell body using a different tungsten alloy matrix with bonds of melting point considerably lower than amongst the A fragment bonds.

Warhead fragmentation effectiveness is determined by the number, mass, shape, and velocity of the warhead's fragments. By using a controlled fragmentation design, warhead fragmentation can generally be achieved quickly and in a cost effective manner. Exemplary controlled fragmentation techniques are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,491,694; 4,312,274; 4,745,864; 5,131,329; and 5,337,673.
Conventional designs in general use include "cutter" liners that form fragments by generating a complex pattern of high-velocity "penetrators" for fragmenting the shell. Although these conventional fragmentation designs have proven to be useful, it would be desirable to present additional function, cost and safety improvements that minimize the warhead weight, reduce manufacture expenses, and/or advance current United States green and insensitive munition requirements.
Desirable therefore, is a convenient, less expensive, shell fragmentation technique to selectively generate multiple sizes of fragments. It would also be desirable to be able to selectively generate variations in fragment numbers, shapes, and fragment patterns of exploding warheads.

Warhead selectively releasing fragments of varied sizes and shapes

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


Oligomers for inhibiting expression of interleukin genes are described. It is believed that each oligomer, when introduced into a cell, is capable of forming a transcription-inhibiting complex composed of the oligomer and an interleukin gene. The oligomer preferably binds in the antiparallel orientation to the polypurine strand of a polypurine-polypyrimidine region of the interleukin gene.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with oligomers capable of inhibiting expression of interleukin genes, transcription-inhibiting complexes, each composed of an oligomer bound to an interleukin gene, and corresponding methods having potential as therapies for inflammatory polyarthropathy. More particularly, in preferred embodiments, each of these oligomers binds in the parallel or antiparallel orientation to the polypurine strand of a polypurine-polypyrimidine region of the transcribed region of an interleukin gene, thereby resulting in the formation of a transcription-inhibiting triplex.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Interleukin-15 is a novel cytokine having biological functions similar to those of interleukin-2 even though there is no significant sequence homology between the two. Interleukin-15 is produced by epithelial and fibroblast cell lines, and by peripheral blood monocytes. Furthermore, interleukin-15-specific mRNA has been found in several normal human tissues including placenta, skeletal muscle, and kidney (Grabstein et al., 1994, Science 264:965-968).
Interleukin-15 induces T-cell proliferation, enhances natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and upregulates production of NK cell-derived cytokines including interferon-.gamma. (FIN-.gamma.), granulocyte/macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and tumor necrosis factor-.alpha. (TNF-.alpha.) (Grabstein et al., 1994, Science 264:965-968; Burton et al., 1994, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 91:4935-4939; Bamford et al., 1994, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 91:4940-4944; Giri et al., 1994, EMBO J. 13:2822-2830; Carson et al., 1994, J. Exp. Med. 180:1395-1403; and Giri et al., 1995, EMBO J. 14:3654-3663). Interleukin-15 also costimulates proliferation and differentiation of B cells activated with anti-immunoglobulin M (anti-lgM) (Armitage et al., 1995, J. Immunol. 154:483-490), stimulates locomotion and chemotaxis of normal T cells (Wilkinson et al., 1995, J. Exp. Med. 181:1255-1259), and promotes interleukin-5 production by T cells which may contribute to eosinophilic inflammation (Mori et al., 1996, J. Immunol. 156:2400-2405). Persistant eosinophilic inflammation in the bronchial mucosa is well recognized in the pathogenesis of chronic asthma (Bousquet et al., 1990, N. Engl. J. Med. 323:1033).
Rheumatoid arthritis is a destructive inflammatory polyarthropathy (Maini et al., 1995, in Mechanisms and Models in Rheumatoid Arthritis, pp. 25-26, eds. Henderson, Edwards, and Pettifer, Academic Press, London, 25-26). Chronic rheumatoid synovitis is characterized by the presence of activated fibroblast-like synoviocytes together with infiltration of the normally acellular synovial membrane by macrophages, T cells, and plasma cells (Duke et al., 1982, Clin. Exp. Immunol. 49:22-30). Levels of interleukin-15 in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fluid are sufficient to exert chemoattractant activity on T cells in vitro, and can induce proliferation of peripheral blood and synovial T cells; furthermore, interleukin-15 induces an inflammatory infiltrate consisting predominantly of T lymphocytes (McInnes et al., 1996, Nature Medicine 2:175-182). Therapies directed at T cells, such as cyclosporin A and monoclonal antibodies against T-cell surface antigens, produce significant clinical improvement, confirming the importance of T cells in inflammatory polyarthropathy (Horneff et al., 1991, Arth. Rheum. 34:129-140; Wendling et al., 1991, J. Rheumatol. 18:325-327; Harrison et al., 1992, in Second-line Agents in the Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases, eds. Dixon and Furst, Dekker, New York). Thus, it appears that interleukin-15 plays a significant role in T-cell recruitment and activation in inflammatory polyarthropathy.
Oligomers (i.e., oligonucleotides and oligonucleotide analogs such as protein nucleic acid) are reagents for inhibition of gene expression because of their high-affinity binding to specific nucleotide sequences. The best known strategy for causing inhibition of gene expression involves antisense oligonucleotides which bind to mRNA to inhibit its processing or translation. For example, it has been shown that the expression of the human .alpha.1 (I) collagen gene is effectively inhibited by antisense oligonucleotides targeted at specific regions of the .alpha.1 (I) mRNA (Laptev et al., 1994, Biochemis-try 33:11033-11039).
Additionally, gene promoters can serve as targets for a novel, antisense strategy, namely the triplex strategy. This strategy employs single-stranded oligomers that bind to the major groove of a polypurine-polypyrimidine region of a double-stranded DNA to form a triplex in a sequence-specific manner. These oligomers are called triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFO's) or TFO analogs. In a polypurine-polypyrimidine region, a purine-rich DNA single strand is hydrogen bonded by Watson-Crick base-pairing to a pyrimidine-rich DNA single strand; the polypurine-polypyrimidine region is not necessarily a homopurine-homopyrimidine region in that the purine-rich DNA single strand may contain at least one pyrimidine residue and the pyrimidine-rich DNA single strand may contain at least one purine residue. These triplexes have been shown to inhibit transcriptional activity of various promoters in both in vitro and in vivo experiments (Grigoriev et al., 1992, J. Biol. Chem. 267:3389-95; Cooney et al., 1988, Science 241:456-59; Maher et al., 1989, Science 245:725-30; Ing et al., 1993, Nucleic Acids Res. 21:2789-96; Kovacs et al., 1996, J. Biol. Chem. 271:1805-1812). However, the use of oligomers to inhibit transcription of interleukin genes and to thereby suppress T-cell recruitment and activation as a method of treating inflammatory polyarthropathy is unknown in the prior art.


In a method for modifying the resolution of an image obtained by digitising a real image, the digitised image includes a plurality of pixels of a particular intensity. The outlines in the digitised image are studied and isolated and additional pixels are created by interpolation of the intensities of original pixels located on one side of an outline to form an image with a modified resolution. The studying of outlines is achieved by locating, for close pixels, the intensity transitions representative of a gradient exceeding a particular threshold. The method is utilized for modifying the image resolution of facsimile machines.

The invention relates to a method for modifying the resolution of a digitised image.
The digitising of images makes it possible to transmit and store the said images with no risk of degradation. It is mainly used in facsimile machines.
The image of a document to be transmitted is digitised pixel by pixel (or element by element) by a reading head of a scanner with which a digital value representing the intensity of grey shade read from the document is allocated to each pixel position. For restitution in black and white the shade value is compared with a mid-grey threshold to provide a 0 or 1 bit representing white or black.
In the receiving fax machine, a printer reconstructs the pixels, black or white, with the numbers of pixels per millimetre, horizontally and vertically, identical to those of the analysing head, for example, 8 pixels/mm horizontally and 7.7 pixels/mm vertically.
These numbers of pixels determine the resolution of the reconstructed digitised image and are a compromise between obtaining a good quality image at a high resolution and the transmission of a limited number of bits.
However, for some time now printers with improved resolution, such as laser printers, have been in existence. The Applicant has thus sought to use these printers to improve the resolution of the restored image.
Until then, when these laser printers were used to print a fax message its resolution was degraded in order to match it to that of a fax machine. More precisely, as the printer can only be controlled according to its own resolution, for example, 12 pixels/mm, a given number of consecutive pixels of the received image (8 pixels/mm horizontally) were transformed into a greater number of pixels representing in total the same image length (for example, from 2 to 3). This created a distortion since, continuing with the example given above, in the case of the presence of two original pixels of different values, white and black, a sort of summary smoothing was produced when restoring, between these two different pixels, the third pixel in the form of a white or black pixel, while an average, or grey, should in fact have been restored from the other two. In other words, the "grain" of the image was locally increased or decreased and this distortion degraded the image. Furthermore, for the practical reasons of volume of equipment and calculation, this above method can only be applied for simple ratios in the change of resolution.
The Applicant has thus sought to exploit fully the resolution of the printer by changing the resolution of the received image in a way which is independent of the relationship between the initial and final resolutions, horizontally and vertically, while limiting the distortion introduced by this operation.

Method for modifying the resolution of a digitized image


A transmission mechanism includes a transmission gear shaft having a speed reducing gear on one end driven by a DC motor via a driving gear and a transmission gear on an opposite end meshed with a driven gear on an eccentric gear shaft, which has an eccentric axle coupled to a reciprocating block via a crank and driven to reciprocate the reciprocating block causing it to alternatively move the needle arm of a mini-sewing machine up and down in performing the process of stitching.

The present invention relates to a transmission mechanism for driving the needle arm of a mini-sewing machine smoothly and stably.
Various mini-sewing machines are known and widely accepted by travelers and housekeepers for the advantage of mobility. According to conventional methods, a crank shaft is commonly used and driven by a DC motor to alternatively move the needle arm up and down in performing the process of stitching. The main disadvantage of this crank shaft operated transmission mechanism is that the crank shaft vibrates when it is reciprocated, and therefore the needle may be deviated from the course.

Transmission mechanism for a mini-sewing machine