An ester of 7-acylamido-3-acylthio-3- or -2-cephem-4-carboxylic acid represented by general formula (1) ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 is an acyl group, R.sup.2 is a carboxyl-protecting group, R.sup.3 is a lower alkyl group, an aryl group or a substituted aryl group, or a mixture of two or more of said ester is used as the starting compound and is reacted wit a tertiary amine and also a secondary amine. Then the tertiary amine salt compound as formed as the reaction product is reacted with a compound of formula (4) EQU R.sup.4 --X (4). wherein R.sup.4 is a lower alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group or a heterocyclic group or a heterocyclic group-substituted methyl group and X is a leaving group, whereby the desired ester of 7-acylamido-3-substituted thio-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid of formula (5) ##STR2## can be produced preferentially, conveniently and efficiently.

Many investigations have been made in the art for a fairly long time with the intention of producing new cephalosporin compounds having a high antibacterial activity and a high absorption capacity through digestive tracts upon oral administration in combination. Among these compounds, such cephalosporins which are of the type of a 3-substituted thio-3-cephem compound have been considered to be particularly attractive as antibacterial compounds in view of their high absorption capacity through digestive tracts upon oral administration, i.e. excellent absorption in vivo upon oral administration. These 3-substituted thio-3-cephem compounds have been synthesized in the prior art mainly by such method as described in the "Helvetica Chimica Acta", 58, 2437 (1975), wherein the sulfonate or phosphate ester at the 3-enolic hydroxyl group of a 3-hydroxy-3-cephem compound is reacted with a thiol compound in the presence of a base.
However, in the prior art method above-mentioned, the reaction rate of the substitution reaction taking place at the 3-position of the starting cephem compound is not sufficiently high. Thus, in most cases, it was necessary to use the reactant, a thiol compound, and/or a base in excess amount, and occasionally to elevate the reaction temperature in order to proceed with the intended reaction smoothly. The use of such reaction conditions or operations as mentioned above can, sometimes or often, lead to the occurrence of degradation reaction(s) and/or the formation of undesirable secondary product(s), depending upon the natures of side chain at the 7-position and the ester-forming group at the 4-position of the starting cephem compound used. This was one of the major causes for the lowered yield of the 3-substituted thio-3cephem compound formed as the desired final product. In particular, the prior art method usually had a tendency to form the .DELTA..sup.2 isomer, namely such 2-cephem compound in which the transfer of the double bond in the cephem ring occurred during the reaction, and therefore the .DELTA..sup.2 isomer, if formed, had to be isomerized into the desired .DELTA..sup.3 isomer, i.e. the intended 3-cephem compound, by adopting an extra step for achieving such isomerization. A further disadvantage involved in the prior art method above is that some thiol compounds useful as the reactant therein have no good, reasonable method for their synthesis, so that the said prior art method is limited in the range of its application.

Process for the preparation of a 3-substituted thio-3-cephem compound


The present invention relates to a display panel comprising a circuit structure, which comprises at least one data line and a pixel electrode. There is a dummy data line provided between the pixel electrode and the data line, wherein the data line has at least two protrusions extending to the corresponding position of the dummy data line. When the data line is disconnected, repair can be made by welding the protrusions and the dummy data line by laser, and thus no extra circuit is needed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display panel, especially to a circuit structure of a display panel and a method for repairing disconnection of the circuit of a display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a top view and a local enlarged view of a conventional display panel, respectively. The conventional display panel 10 comprises a plurality of address lines and a plurality of pixel electrodes 13. The address lines are a plurality of data lines 11 in the vertical direction and a plurality of scan lines 16 in the horizontal direction. The data lines 11 and the scan lines 16 are perpendicular to each other and are oriented transverse to each other.
Referring to FIG. 2, a local enlarged view of the conventional display panel of FIG. 1 is shown. The display panel 10 comprises at least one circuit structure 12 that comprises at least one data line 11, a scan line 16, a pixel electrode 13, a thin film transistor 15 and a storage capacitor 18.
The pixel electrode 13 and the data line 11 have a dummy data line 14 therebetween. The dummy data line 14 is a floating circuit and comprises an opaque layer for shading light in order to avoid the leakage caused by the disclination of the liquid crystal in the margin of the pixel electrode 13 and to increase the tolerance during the alignment between the upper and lower substrates so as to increase the open ratio. The material of the dummy data line 14 is metal. The thin film transistor 15 is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 13 so as to control the pixel electrode 13.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the thin film transistor 15 comprises a gate electrode G, a source electrode S, a drain electrode D and a channel 151. The gate electrode G is connected to the scan line 16, the source electrode S is connected to the data line 11, and the drain electrode D is connected to the pixel electrode 13 by the via hole 152. The formation of this construction is described as follows. First, a first metal layer is formed on a substrate 19 and then patterned to form the gate electrode G and the scan lines 16. Next, an insulation layer 191 is formed to cover the gate electrode G. An amorphous-Si (a-Si) layer is formed above the insulation layer 191 and then patterned to form the channel 151. After that, a second metal layer is formed, and the drain electrode D and the source electrode S are made of the second metal layer by patterning. Then, a protection layer 192 is formed above the drain electrode D and source electrode S so as to cover the insulation layer 191. The via hole 152 is then formed within the protection layer 192 so as to expose the drain electrode D. Finally, the pixel electrode 13 is formed above the protection layer 192.
The scan lines 16 are formed at the same time when the gate electrode G is formed, and the data lines 11 are formed at the same time when the source electrode S and the drain electrode D are formed. The scan lines 16 are insulated from the data lines 11 by the insulation layer 191.
Typically, there are two types of storage capacitors, one being constructed on the gate electrode (Cst on gate), as the storage capacitor 18 shown in FIG. 2, the other one being constructed on the common line (Cst on common). The storage capacitors usually utilize the gate electrode G or the common line (the first metal layer) as one electrode, and the second metal layer and the pixel electrode 13 as counter electrode, wherein the second metal layer is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 13 by a via hole 183 of the protection layer 192 (FIG. 5). The overlapping portion of the two electrodes is the main location where the electric charge is stored.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show a storage capacitor constructed on the common line (Cst on common). The storage capacitor 18 comprises a common electrode 181 and a capacitor electrode 182, which are separated by the insulation layer 191. In such a structure, the material of the dummy data lines 14 is the same as that of the common electrode 181. Therefore, the dummy data lines 14 are circuit lines that connect to the common electrode 181, not floating circuit lines. The formation of storage capacitor 18 is described as follows. First, a first metal layer is formed on the substrate 19 and then patterned to form the common electrode 181 that is connected to the common line. Next, an insulation layer 191 is formed to cover the common electrode 181. After that, a second metal layer is formed above the insulation layer 191, and the capacitor electrode 182 is made of the second metal layer. Then, a protection layer 192 is formed to cover the capacitor electrode 182. The via hole 183 is then formed within the protection layer 192. Finally, the pixel electrode 13 is formed above the protection layer 192, wherein the pixel electrode 13 is electrically connected to the capacitor electrode 182 by the via hole 183. The overlapping portion between the common electrode 181 and the capacitor electrode 182 is the main location where the electric charge is stored.
Referring to FIG. 1, if the data line 11 is disconnected, the segment of the data line below open area A would not be able to receive data, and a defect will be formed. In order to solve the problem, a conventional approach is to add an extra circuit 17 onto the display panel 10 during the manufacturing process. The extra circuit 17 is not electrically connected to the data line 11 under normal condition. When the data line 11 is disconnected, the extra circuit 17 is welded to the data line 11 by laser, as shown in the welding points B, C and D. Therefore, the segment of the data line below open area A can receive data through extra circuit 17.
The disadvantage of the above method is that it must have an additional circuit, which needs more space for routing. In operation, the data lines 11 are grouped, for example, four data lines in FIG. 1 are included in one group, and the data lines in the same group use one extra circuit line. Although the total amount of the extra circuit lines can be reduced, the repair cannot be made when the data lines in the same group are disconnected at the same time.
Consequently, there is an existing need for a novel and improved display panel to solve the above-mentioned problem.

Display panel including a joint and address line having protruding portions, and method for repairing the same


A dual-switching sensing device includes two sensor modules and a dual-function switching circuit with an operational amplifier and two integrator modules. Each of the integrator modules includes a transistor, an integrator capacitor and a switching unit. Through control of the switching unit, each of the integrator modules may operate in different modes, so that the dual-switching sensing device may be used to sense different targets.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dual-switching sensing device and a dual-function switching circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Under the atmosphere, different infrared radiation signals are distributed on surfaces of objects. The infrared radiation signals may classified into short-wave infrared (SWIR) having a wavelength ranging between 1 μm to 3 μm, mid-wave infrared (MWIR) having a wavelength ranging between 3 μm to 5 μm, and long-wave infrared having a wavelength ranging between 6 μm to 15 μm.
Although sensing techniques for SWIR may be matured, sensible waveband of the conventional SWIR sensing device is fixed, and is unable to be adjusted according to an ambient temperature and geographical changes, resulting in issues of low sensing precision or undetected sensing target.

Dual-switching sensing device, and dual-function switching circuit thereof


A method includes loading a driver component on a hypervisor of a computing system including a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) without hardware support for virtual interrupt delivery, and loading an instance of the driver component on each of a number of VMs consolidated on a computing platform of the computing system. The method also includes allocating a memory page associated with work completion by the each of the number of VMs thereto through a driver stack executing on the hypervisor, and sharing the memory page with the driver component executing on the hypervisor. Further, the method includes delivering, through the hypervisor, an interrupt from the GPU to an appropriate VM based on inspecting the memory page associated with the work completion by the each of the number of VMs.

A computing system (e.g., a server) may include a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). A hypervisor on the computing system may consolidate Virtual Machines (VMs) on a computing platform of the computing system including the GPU. The VMs may share resources associated with the computing platform. The GPU may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe)-based device that supports Single Root Input/Output virtualization (SR-IOV). SR-IOV may be designed to deliver interrupts generated in the computing platform to multiple operating system driver stacks. However, the aforementioned delivery may be associated with high implementation costs and/or complexity for devices such as GPUs where high performance is tied to an application state being closely coupled to hardware.
In the case of a non-SR-IOV based GPU, a single driver stack may execute on the hypervisor, and VMs may be multiplexed on top of the single driver stack. This may allow for interrupt delivery to the hypervisor; however, performance may be reduced because applications executing in the VMs are no longer closely coupled to the GPU hardware.
Performance may be improved by executing a GPU driver stack in each VM; however, for non SR-IOV based GPU hardware, multiplexing hardware for interrupt delivery may prove to be a challenge. One approach to address the challenge may be to service GPU interrupts in the hypervisor, and, in turn, steer virtual interrupts generated at the hypervisor to the VMs. However, without contextual information normally held within the GPU driver stack, it may be impossible for the hypervisor to actually steer virtual interrupts to the VMs.

Virtual interrupt delivery from a graphics processing unit (GPU) of a computing system without hardware support therefor


A manual powered breast pump for efficiently removing milk from a patient's breasts which provides additional milk storage capacity. The breast pump includes an outer pumping cylinder, an inner pumping cylinder and pumping seal. The inner pumping cylinder or plunger is generally a hollow cylinder having a closed end and open end. The open end is fitted with a removable cap creating a secondary collection container. The plunger is also fitted with a seal for slidably contacting the interior wall of the hollow outer pumping cylinder. The outer pumping cylinder is fitted with a nipple for connection with a breast flange and an open end for collection with a collection container. A one-way valve is fitted within the outer pumping cylinder to provide for the efficient flow of milk into the collection container and to prevent the return of milk into the breast pump during pumping operations.

Breast pumps have long been used for removing milk from a lactating mother's breasts. These breast pumps include both powered and manual versions. In general, a manual breast pump consists of a plunger which freely slides within an outer cylinder. A seal is fitted around the outside of the plunger to seal against the inner surface of the outer cylinder. In this way, the plunger can slide within the outer cylinder to form a pump stroke. A breast flange or funnel is fluidly connected to the outer cylinder.
The mother applies suction to the breast by supporting the breast flange against the breast and pulling the plunger outwardly from the outer cylinder. Suction is created in the space which is expanded within the inside of the outer cylinder. The removed milk may be retained within the interior space of the outer cylinder or alternatively may be pumped out into a baby bottle or nurser bag which is connected to the outer cylinder.
These manual powered breast pumps of the prior art are often configured to be used with conventional baby bottles, collection containers or nursing bags. As discussed, these devices may be attached to the breast pump and function to contain the milk removed from the woman's breast. However, when using these containers, milk is often lost due to spillage or even leakage. This spillage can occur during pumping or when removing the filled container from the pump (outer cylinder), among other ways. In addition, differing collection containers can affect the performance of the breast pump by affecting the input orifice and venting, among other things. Thus, there is a need for a manual powered breast pump which may be utilized with a variety of different collection containers without affecting performance.
Often times, a woman using a conventional manual breast pump will produce and collect more milk than the collection bottle or nursing bag will hold. If the woman lacks an additional collection device, she must either discard the excess milk or refrain from pumping the excess breast milk. This incomplete removal of breast milk can be painful and may also lead to a reduction in future milk production. Carrying additional collection bottles or nursing bags is generally impractical due to their bulk. Thus, there is a need for a manual breast pump which provides additional collection space without necessitating increased size.
Additionally, a woman may desire to pump both breasts simultaneously. This allows the woman to recover a maximum amount of milk in a shorter period of time. Often this is accomplished using a powered breast pumping device. However, these devices are often only supplied with a single collection container. There is thus a need for a manual breast pump that can also be used as a second collection container in conjunction with another breast pumping device. Furthermore, it would be advantageous for such a manual breast pump to be compatible with most conventional powered breast pumping devices.
Therefore, a need exists for a manually powered breast pump which may be utilized with a variety of different collection containers without affecting the pumping or collection performance. Such a device is needed which could provide additional collection space without necessitating increased size of the pumping device and could be utilized with existing powered breast pumps. There is also a need for such a manually powered breast pump which is small in size, economical and simple to use.


An optical information-recording medium includes: a substrate; an electronic information-recording layer on the substrate in which digital information is recorded by the light applied from the side of the substrate; a reflection layer on the electronic information-recording layer; a visible information-recording layer on the reflection layer so that a region of the visible information-recording layer lays outside a circumference having a radius not less than half a radius of the substrate; and an over-coating on the visible information-recording layer. Visible information is recorded in the visible information-recording layer with light applied through the over-coating.

The present invention relates to an optical information-recording medium capable of optical recording/reproduction of information and more specifically relates to an optical information-recording medium capable of optical recording/reproduction of electronic information and satisfactorily recording visible information on the label surface with use of a laser beam.
The significance of electronic information-recording media used for recording, storage and rewriting of a lot of information as computer peripherals is ever increasing in recent years. Of various types of such media, optical information recording media with which recording and reproduction are performed with use of a laser beam are attracting attention as large volume recording media due to their capability of high-density information recording, storage and reproduction. Examples of such optical information-recording media include those of phase-changing type represented by CD-RW and DVD-RW, and those based on organic dyes represented by CD-R and DVD-R.
The content of the electronic information recorded in such an optical information-recording medium can be confirmed via optical reproduction. On the other hand, it is also important, from the viewpoint of information management, to display the content of the electronic information on the surface of the medium as visible information. As such display methods, there have been conventionally adopted, for example, the method of printing and recording the electronic information content on the label surface of the medium (the surface opposite to the surface for recording electronic of information) with use of an inkjet printer or thermal printer, the method of attaching a label printed with the electronic information content. Of these and others, a method of recording visible information in the label surface of the medium with use of a laser beam (Patent Document 1), and a method of further attaching a sheet, on which letters are printed, on the recording layer for visible information (Patent Document 2) have been reported recently. Such methods are considered promising because they can record visible information without exerting any mechanical influence on the medium.
FIG. 2 is a diagram to describe the configuration of a conventional optical information-recording medium in which visible information is recorded on the label surface side with use of a conventional laser beam as described, for example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2. The optical information-recording medium 200 illustrated here has a configuration consisting of a substrate 201 made of a polycarbonate-based resin and provided with guiding grooves or pits for recording and reproduction, an electronic information-recording layer 202 in which electronic information is recorded with a laser beam 207 applied from the side of substrate 201, a reflection layer 203 made of a metal such as Ag or Au, a protective layer 204 made of a UV-curable resin, a visible information-recording layer 205 in which visible information is recorded with a laser beam 208 applied from the side of the label surface, and an over-coating layer 206 that constitutes the outermost layer, all these layers being provided on this substrate 201 and stacked sequentially in the described order.
As shown in FIG. 2, visible information is recorded in visible information-recording layer 205, for example, by the coloration of a chromogenic organic dye constituting visible information-recording layer 205 upon absorption of a laser beam 208 irradiated from the side of the label surface.
Patent Document 1
JP-A-2000-173096
Patent Document 2
JP-A-2001-283464
Meanwhile, the method of recording visible information on the label surface of a medium with use of a laser beam utilizes changes such as reaction, fusing or deposition caused by heat. Accordingly, sufficient care must be taken for the laser irradiation method because excessive irradiation has a thermal influence on the electronic information having been recorded in the medium. To suppress such thermal influence on the medium, it is necessary to use a low power laser beam. When a low power laser beam is used, laser beam 208 is focused on visible information-recording layer 205 to effectively condense the energy of laser beam 208. Thus, recording with use of low power laser beam 208 becomes possible. To achieve such condensing, in the case where laser beam 208 emitted from the writer for electronic information recording is used, focus servo of laser beam 208 applied from the label surface side is carried out with use of reflected light 209, which is reflected from reflection layer 203 provided on electronic information-recording layer 202.
On the other hand, on visible information-recording layer 205, over-coating 206 constituting the outermost layer is provided. In order to efficiently apply laser beam 208 from the label surface side to visible information-recording layer 205 and to execute a stable focusing, a relatively thick over-coating 206 is preferred; specifically, the thickness of the over-coating preferably lies roughly in the range of 10 to 80 μm. Such over-coating 206 is fabricated, for example, with a UV-curable resin and the like via spin coating or screen printing.
When over coating 206 is formed by coating a UV-curable resin so as to cover the entire area of the label surface of optical information-recording medium 200 in such a manner, it is generally well known that the disk tends to bend by the stretching or compressive stress caused by the curing shrinkage of the UV-curable resin. For example, even a UV-curable resin with a low shrinking ratio and in general use shows shrinkage of 5 to 10%. When over-coating 206 with about 50 μm thickness is formed by using such a UV-curable resin, there occurs a risk of marked deflection of the disk. A method of compensating the resulting deflection by bending the disk in the reverse direction beforehand may be adopted, but such a method requires a precise control for the process of disk manufacture, accompanying disadvantages such as productivity deterioration.


Emissions of pollutants from diesel engines are reduced by a combination of mechanical devices and fuel additives. In one series of embodiments, diesel emissions of NO.sub.x and particulates are reduced, simultaneously with gaseous hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, by the combined use of exhaust gas recirculation or engine timing modification, with a particulate trap and a platinum group metal catalyst composition. In another embodiment, a multi-metal catalyst composition, comprising a combination of a platinum metal catalyst composition and at least one auxiliary catalyst metal composition, especially cerium or copper, is employed to provide catalyst metal to the exhaust system including a diesel trap to lower the balance point of the particulate trap (the temperature at which the rate of trap loading equals the rate of regeneration) while also lowering the emissions of carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons. Data for platinum, copper and cerium catalysts establishes effective amounts. Tests also show selective maintenance of low oxidation of SO.sub.2 to SO.sub.3.

Diesel particulates, their effect and control, are at the center of much concern and controversy. Their chemistry and environmental impact present complex issues. Very generally, diesel particulate matter is principally solid particles of carbon and metal compounds with adsorbed hydrocarbons, sulfates and aqueous species. Among the adsorbed species are aldehydes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (also called PAH's). Some of these organics, as well as the particulates themselves, have been reported to be potential carcinogens. Unburned hydrocarbons are related to the characteristic diesel odor and include aldehydes such as formaldehyde and acrolein. The aldehydes, like the carbon monoxide, are the products of incomplete combustion.
It is not just these organics which are of concern, all particulates are subject to question. In one study, diesel particulates were tested along side TiO.sub.2 and carbon without any adsorbed hydrocarbons. (U. Heinrich, et al, "Tierexperimentelle Inhalationsstudien Zur Frage der Tumorinduzierenden Wirkung von Dieselmotorabgasen und zwei Teststauben", Oklolgische Forschung BMFT/GSF, Munich, 1992) The reporters determined that all species tested showed carcinogenic tendency. Until further work clarifies this matter, it would be prudent to look for systems which could control all particulates--regardless of composition.
Unfortunately, increasing the recovery of particulates simply by modifying trap design or size would increase the rate of back pressure buildup within the trap. Moreover, the various pollutants seem to be interrelated. With reduction of one sometimes increasing levels of another. By modifying combustion to achieve more complete oxidation, decreases can be achieved for pollutants resulting from incomplete combustion, but NO.sub.x is typically increased under these conditions.
NO.sub.x, principally NO and NO.sub.2, contributes to smog, ground level ozone formation and acid rain. NO is produced in large quantities at the high combustion temperatures associated with diesel engines. The NO.sub.2 is formed principally by the post oxidation of NO in the diesel exhaust stream. Several attempts have been made to reduce NO.sub.x, such as by retarding engine timing, exhaust gas recirculation, and the like; however, with current technology, there is a tradeoff between NO.sub.x and particulates. For example, exhaust gas recirculation and engine timing changes can reduce the temperature of combustion to thereby decrease NO.sub.x formation, but combustion is also affected. When NO.sub.x is reduced by these techniques, particulate emissions tend to increase. And, as noted, conditions favoring low emissions of NO.sub.x often favor production of increased levels of CO and HC.
Traps are reasonably effective for controlling particulates, but uncatalyzed traps increase carbon monoxide and catalyzed traps increase the discharge of SO.sub.3 (adding to the weight of particulates) and suffer from other problems. Traps, of course, don't reduce NO.sub.x and efforts made to control NO.sub.x must be carefully selected or the result might be to further increase particulates or other products of incomplete combustion.
Catalyzed diesel traps are not to be equated with triple-effect catalytic converters of the type used for gasoline engines. Triple-effect catalytic converters of this type simply don't work for diesel engines due to the different manner of operation and the different composition of exhaust gases. Reference is made to the following patent publications related to catalyst technology for gasoline engines: U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,569, U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,690, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,671, WO 94/22983, WO 94/22577 and WO 94/09431. Thus, while these patent publications indicate that catalyst metals can be introduced into gasoline fuel or the combustion air for it, this technology is not the answer to the problems discussed above with regard to the tradeoffs encountered when dealing with the polluting emissions from diesel engines.
The use of diesel traps and the need to improve them has resulted in a great deal of research and a great number of patents and technical publications. The traps are typically constructed of metal or ceramic and are capable of collecting the particulates from the exhaust and withstanding the heat produced by oxidation of carbonaceous deposits which must be burned off at regular intervals.
This burning off, or regeneration, could occur by itself if the operating temperature of the trap were sufficiently high. However, in the typical situation, the exhaust temperature is not constantly high enough, and secondary measures such as electrically heating to raise the trap temperature, using a catalyst to reduce the combustion temperature, supplemental burners, and exhaust gas throttling have been attempted. Electrical heaters create intense loads on batteries, most needed at lower power settings where the electrical output is also low. Supplemental heaters and exhaust gas throttling can lower efficiency.
The uses of exhaust gas oxidation catalysts and catalyzed diesel particulate traps to enhance burn-off or regeneration, have taken many forms, but none has been found to be fully satisfactory. While exhaust gas oxidation catalysts can be very effective in reducing carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons, they are either too easily fouled, catalyze the oxidation of SO.sub.2 to SO.sub.3 (which then combines with water and increases the weight of particulates), typically burn off only the soluble organic fraction of the particulates, or have two more of these shortcomings. No catalytic device is known which can collect particulates and burn them off at a practical low temperature while reducing oxidation of SO.sub.2 to SO.sub.3 and also decreasing the emissions of gaseous hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide.
In "A New Generation of Diesel Oxidation Catalysts", Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Paper No. 922330, 1992, R. Beckman, et al., assert that the technical challenge is to find a catalyst which selectively catalyzes the oxidation of carbonaceous components at low exhaust temperatures typical of diesels operating at partial load, and does not oxidize sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide at high load temperatures. They described tests studying the aging of platinum-catalyzed cordierite honeycomb traps, and concluded, inter alla, that the aging was related to adsorption of sulfur and that this depended on both the sulfur content of the fuel and the phosphorous content of the lubricating oil. With control of both of these, aging could be slowed. However, sulfur will remain in diesel fuels, even with planned reduction to 0.05%, and there will remain a need for a means to maintain the activity of catalysts for reducing emissions of carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons, and reducing the ignition temperature of loaded traps. There is no indication that the combined use of mechanical devices and fuel additives could either: (1) reduce NO.sub.x emissions and particulates simultaneously; or (2) reduce the temperature necessary for regenerating a particulate trap while also reducing the emissions of carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons.
In "Control of Diesel Engine Exhaust Emissions in Underground Mining", 2nd U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium, Reno, Nevada, Sep. 23-25, 1985, at page 637, S. Snider and J. J. Stekar report that precious metal catalysts in a catalytic trap oxidizer and a "catalyzed Corning trap" were effective in the capture of particulate matter, but both systems increased the conversion of SO.sub.2 to SO.sub.3. The increase in the rate of oxidation of the benign, gaseous dioxide form to the trioxide form results in the adsorption of greater amounts of acid sulfates and associated water onto discharged particulates. Thus, the weight of the particulates is increased, and the difficulty in reaching regulatory compliance is increased.
The Snider, et al., report also discussed several other approaches, including the use of a fuel additive containing 80 ppm manganese and 20 ppm copper to reduce the regeneration temperature of the trap. While this was effective in reducing the particulate ignition temperature, no measurable reductions in carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons or NO.sub.x were noted. Moreover, where Snider, et al., also indicate that precious metal catalysts could be expected to increase the oxidation of SO.sub.2 to SO.sub.3, these measures do not address an overall solution to the diesel emission problem.
A number of fuel additives have been proposed for adding to diesel fuels to affect the nature of particulates deposited on diesel traps or otherwise improve the collection or disposition of the particulates. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,360,459 and 5,374,154, describe the use of copper-containing organometallic complexes which, when added to diesel fuel, tend to reduce the ignition temperature of exhaust particulates. Again, these additives do not lower carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons. In another similar teaching, U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,357 describes the use of a fuel additive containing cerium and manganese to reduce the quantity of particulate material necessary to sustain combustion of the particulates on the trap--once combustion is initiated by a glow plug. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,020, fuel-soluble platinum additives are disclosed to provide or replenish catalyst metals on a diesel trap to facilitate burning off of trapped particulates. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,671, a catalyst comprising platinum, rhodium or rhenium is added directly to a special catalyst chamber, meant to replace a conventional gasoline engine three-way catalytic converter. This patent does not address the issue of particulate emissions from diesel engines. And, again, none of these patents address an overall solution to the diesel emission problem.
In "Assessment of Diesel Particulate Control--Direct and Catalytic Oxidation", Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Paper No. 81 0112, 1981, Murphy, Hillenbrand, Trayser, and Wasser have reported that the addition of catalyst metal to trapped particulates can decrease the particulate ignition temperatures. Neither this disclosure nor any of the others above, however, indicate or suggest specific combinations of mechanical means and fuel additives that can reduce particulates and NO.sub.x at the same time, or a combination of fuel additives which can reduce the balance point temperature of the particulates trapped on a diesel trap significantly while also significantly reducing emissions of unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. Especially, none of these disclosures indicate any recognition that catalysts can be effective for these purposes and also provide, over time, the selective oxidation of fuel sulfur to SO.sub.2 without inactivation of the catalyst.
In a 1987 report on catalyzed traps, R. W. McCabe and R. M. Sinkevitch summarized their studies of diesel traps catalyzed with platinum and lithium, both individually and in combination. (Oxidation of Diesel Particulates by Catalyzed Wall-Flow Monolith Filters. 2. Regeneration Characteristics of Platinum, Lithium, and Platinum-Lithium Catalyzed Filters; SAE Technical Paper Series-872137) They noted that carbon monoxide conversion to the dioxide was negligible over the lithium filter, good for platinum, but good only initially for the combined catalyst. They further noted that platinum undergoes a reversible inhibition due to the presence of SO.sub.2, but in the presence of the lithium catalyst there is apparently a wetting of the platinum crystallites by Li.sub.2 O.sub.2. From this work, it can be seen that platinum and lithium on their own help burn particulates at low temperature, but not necessarily low enough to make supplemental heat unnecessary.
In a more recent report, B. Krutzsch and G. Wenninger discussed their investigation of sodium and lithium-based fuel additives. (Effect of Sodium- and Lithium-Based Fuel Additives on the Regeneration Efficiency of Diesel Particulate Filters, SAE Technical Paper Series 922188, 1992) They noted that the predominantly used diesel additives were based on transition metals such as iron, copper, and manganese. The transition metals were seen to form oxides which foul the traps and cannot be easily removed. They found that the sodium and lithium additives permitted regeneration at temperatures low enough to possibly eliminate the need for supplementary heat, and did, therefore, have some promise in improving trap operation as was achieved previously with the transition metal catalysts. However, they also pointed out that there was no effect on the gaseous components, thus both carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbon levels remained higher than would be desired.
There is a present need for an improved means in the form of for rendering the exhaust from diesel engines more environmentally benign by the combined use of mechanical devices and fuel additives. In particular, there is a need for improvements which can: in one embodiment, reduce NO.sub.x emissions and particulates simultaneously; and, in another, reduce the temperature necessary for regenerating a particulate trap while also reducing the emissions of carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons.

Methods for reducing harmful emissions from a diesel engine


This gas turbine arrangement has an at least two-stage gas turbine (1) with a main combustion chamber (10) and a compressor (5). An energy exchanger (8) which interacts with the separate combustion chamber (14) is installed upstream of the gas turbine (1). The efficiency of the gas turbine arrangement is to be increased by simple means. In order to achieve this, the separate combustion chamber (14) is designed as an afterburner chamber for a part of the gases generated in the main combustion chamber (10). In addition, means for the additional injection of a liquid or vapor medium are provided in the region of the combustion chamber (14). The volume flow in the energy exchanger (8) and hence the efficiency of the gas turbine arrangement are increased by this injection.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is based on a gas turbine arrangement in accordance with the preamble to claim 1. Such a gas turbine arrangement has a compressor for the combustion air and a two-stage gas turbine. A pressure wave machine used as an energy exchanger is installed upstream of the gas turbine.
2. Discussion of Background
A gas turbine arrangement of the type mentioned at the beginning is known, for example, from EP-0 179 233 B1. In this gas turbine arrangement, an energy exchanger is installed upstream of the gas turbine and this energy exchanger brings combustion air, which has been previously compressed in a low pressure compressor, to an even higher pressure level. Upstream of the energy exchanger, there is a combustion chamber which is operated with gas or oil as fuel and whose combustion air is branched off after the energy exchanger from a high pressure duct for the super-charged air at the higher pressure level. The high pressure duct guides the main part of the supercharged air into a main combustion chamber in which the gas or oil is burned, together with this air, to produce driving gas at high pressure and high temperature. This driving gas is fed into and drives the high pressure part of the gas turbine. The somewhat cooled and somewhat expanded gases, which have given up a part of their energy in the energy exchanger to supercharge the combustion air, are, when they emerge, introduced into a second stage of the gas turbine where they are mixed with the driving gas expanded in the high pressure part and, together with the latter, also drive the gas turbine.
In this gas turbine arrangement, the energy exchanger s driven at a relatively low operating temperature. An additional increase in the efficiency of the arrangement would be possible at higher operating temperatures.


A remote control device may be configured to be mounted over the toggle actuator of a light switch and to control a load control device via wireless communication. The remote control device may include a base portion and a rotating portion supported by the base portion so as to be rotatable about the base portion. The remote control device may include a control circuit and a wireless communication circuit. The control circuit may be operably coupled to the rotating portion and to the wireless communication circuit. The control circuit may be configured to translate a force applied to the rotating portion of the remote control device into a control signal and to cause the communication circuit to transmit the control signal to the load control device.

In prior art load control systems, standard mechanical toggle switches are often replaced by more advanced load control devices (such as dimmer switches) that control the amount of power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical load. This procedure requires that the old mechanical toggle switch be un-wired and removed from the load control system and the new load control device to be connected to the electrical wiring. Typically, such a procedure must be performed by an electrical contractor or other skilled installer. The average consumer may not feel comfortable to complete the installation of the load control device. Accordingly, there is a need for a load control system that may be installed in an existing installation having a mechanical toggle switch without requiring any electrical work.

Battery-powered retrofit remote control device


Methods for forming solder bumps on a semiconductor device are provided. In one embodiment, a substrate is provided having at least one contact pad formed thereon. A passivation layer is formed overlying the substrate, the passivation layer having at least one opening therein exposing a portion of the contact pad. A UBM (Under Bump Metallurgy) layer is formed overlying the passivation layer and the contact pad. A patterned and etched light sensitive layer is provided overlying the UBM layer, the light sensitive layer defining at least one opening therein. A sidewall bump layer is formed over the exposed surfaces of the light sensitive layer and the UBM layer. A portion of the sidewall bump layer above the light sensitive layer is removed. A solder material is deposited in the opening bordered by the etched sidewall bump layer to form a solder column. The solder column is then reflown to create a solder bump.

The present invention relates generally to the formation of solder bumps on an integrated circuit device, and more particularly, to the formation of solder bumps having improved height and reliability.
Faster, reliable, and higher-density circuits at lower costs are the goals for integrated circuit (IC) packaging. Conventional wirebond technology, the most common method for electrically connecting aluminum bonding pads on a chip surface to the package inner lead terminals on the lead-frame or substrate has proven to be low cost and reliable. But for the future, packaging goals will be met by increasing the density of chips and reducing the number of internal interconnections. Packages with fewer interconnecting links lower potential failure points, reduce the circuit resistance, and reduce interconnect capacitance, which affects electrical performance. The need to reduce the IC package to fit end-user applications (e.g., smart cards, palmtop computers, camcorders, and so on) is driving the new packaging designs that reduce size and overall profile. This reduction is offset by the need for handling larger amounts of parallel data lines, therefore driving the need to increase package input/output requirements with more leads.
Advanced packaging designs are regularly introduced to solve packaging challenges. One such advanced package design is flip chip. Flip chip is a packaging method of mounting the active side of a chip (with the surface bonding pads) toward the substrate (i.e., upside down placement of the bumped die relative to the wirebonding approach—thus the reason for the term "flip" chip). It provides the shortest path from the chip devices to the substrate and low cost interconnection for high I/O counts and high volume automated production. There is also a reduction in weight and profile since leadframes or plastic packages are often not used. Flip chip technology uses solder bumps—usually formed from tin/lead solder in a 5% Sn and 95% Pb ratio—to interconnect the chip bonding pads to the substrate.
There are several methods known to those skilled in the art for producing solder bumps on a semiconductor device. FIGS. 1A–1E illustrate a prior art method of forming a bump on a substrate of a semiconductor wafer. As shown in FIG. 1A, a semiconductor wafer 10 is provided having a base silicon substrate 12 with metal interconnect layers (not shown) overlying substrate 12 and an upper passivation layer 14, which may be one or more layers, that extends partially over a bond pad or contact pad 15 located on the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 10. Passivation layer 14 has an opening overlying contact pad 15 so that electrical contact to an external circuit may be made from the semiconductor wafer 10. Contact pad 15 may be made from any of a variety of metals, such as aluminum, aluminum alloys, copper, and copper alloys. Typically, a under bump metallurgy (UBM) layer 16 is provided over the entire upper surface of semiconductor wafer 10 and over the upper surface of contact pad 15. UBM layer 16 may be composed of a plurality of individual layers of a variety of different metals and may be deposited by any of a variety of methods including electroless plating, sputtering, or electroplating. As shown in FIG. 1B, thereafter, a photoresist layer 22 is thereafter deposited over UBM layer 16 and patterned to provide an opening 24 overlying contact pad 15 on semiconductor wafer 10. Thereafter, an extra UBM layer 26 may be deposited by conventional methods such as electroplating over UBM layer 16. An electrically conductive material (e.g. solder) may then be deposited in opening 24 and on top of extra UBM layer 26 as shown in FIG. 1C to form a column of solder material 30. As shown in FIG. 1D, after the removal of the photoresist layer 22, the UBM layer 16 is etched through by a reactive ion etch (RIE) process, for example, to the underlying passivation layer 14 using the solder column 30 as an etching mask. The solder column 30 is then heated to reflow to form a solder bump 32 over semiconductor wafer 10 as shown in FIG. 1E.
Part of the standard process for forming a solder bump is the reflow step where the solder column 30 is gently heated to ensure its adhesion to the underlying UBM layer 16. As a result of this, the solder column 30 assumes a spherical shape (due to surface tension forces) and the solder column 30 becomes a solder bump 32, as illustrated in FIG. 1E. This leads to the diameter of the solder bump 32 being larger than the width of the base UBM layer 16. Furthermore, this creates a sharp angle between solder bump 32 and underlying UBM layer 16. The large solder bump diameter becomes a disadvantage in the manufacture of fine pitch bumping due to the concerns of solder bump bridging leading to short circuit in the integrated circuit. The trend in the semiconductor industry is to reduce the pitch of the solder bump arrays in order to accommodate higher level of circuit integration in integrated circuit devices that require greater interconnection densities. The sharp angle degrades the solder bump joint integrity and reliability and consequently, more bump protection is needed in flip chip packaging.
For these reasons and other reasons that will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description, there is a need for an improved method for forming solder bumps and solder bump structures that do not have the drawbacks or shortcomings of the conventional methods for forming solder bumps or solder bump structures.

Method to increase bump height and achieve robust bump structure

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


For the purpose of making available route data for a navigational device, an overall route is divided up into route segments which each include a part of the overall route. A first route segment is transmitted to the navigational device, upon its request, which around the starting point includes a starting field including a plurality of possible routes, as well as a main route to an intermediate destination. Before the intermediate destination is reached, a further route segment is transmitted to the navigational device, which includes a plurality of possible routes around the intermediate destination as its starting field, as well as a main route to an additional intermediate destination or to the destination itself. The latter step is repeated for route segments for further intermediate destinations until the destination is reached.

Conventional offboard navigational devices request route data from a main station and are able to guide the user along this route. Requesting route data requires the communication of map data, or at least waypoints via an air interface which, generally, may produce only rather low transmission rates. In order to transfer the relevant data in an acceptable time via such a low-rate air interface, numerous proposals have already been made for compressing, thinning out or configuring route data.
German Published Patent Application No. 100 29 198 describes an n-fault-tolerant route, German Published Patent Application No. 101 05 899 describes a reduction to decision points and crossing points, and German Published Patent Application No. 101 05 897 describes a method for requesting route data. There, the route data are reduced to the essential data required for exactly the one route. In the first application, a route corridor is described, which, besides the main route, includes all possible first, second, third, (nth) alternative routes. In the second application, a method for thinning out a route is described in that exactly those data are left out which are necessary between crossings only for position finding, but not for navigation. In the third application, a method for requesting route data is described, in which boundary values which have already been determined, maximum storage volume, maximum route length are passed to a server.

Method for making available route data for a navigational device


A motor drive apparatus used in a motor for controlling a rotor therein to rotate in regular and reverse directions includes a rotating direction detecting circuit for detecting a first direction in which rotor is rotating. A comparator compares a command signal with a reference signal to detect a second direction in which the rotor should rotate. A motor driver comprised of buffer amplifiers and power supply circuits is provided to rotate the rotor based on the command signal. A command signal generator produces a drive signal which is transferred to the power supply circuits through a switch when the first and second directions are both identical to the reverse direction.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a motor drive apparatus for a brushless motor used to drive disk drive units wherein disk media such as optical disks and magneto optical disks are rotated for use and, more particularly, to a motor drive apparatus for stopping a DC brushless motor promptly to prevent reckless spinning in the reverse direction.
2. Description of the prior art
Recently, DC brushless motors wherein conductive phases are switched in due order by semi-conductors such as transistors in accordance with the output from a rotor position detector, for example comprised of hall effect devices, are widely used in the disk drive wherein disk media such as optical disks and magneto-optical disks are rotated.
With this type of disk drive, the rotation of a disk media must be reduced to a remarkably low speed, for example 30 rpm, or stopped completely so that the user can remove the disk media therefrom to replace it with another one. If not, the disk media may be damaged by any part of the disk drive during the removing operation by the user. Because it is necessary to reduce the period the user must wait for the disk drive to be ready for removing the disk media therein, a brake circuit for providing a torque command (FIG. 2) to the brushless motor to rotate in the reverse direction is required to brake the brushless motor. For this purpose, when the conventional DC brushless motor is used, the motor drive apparatus provides a reverse rotation torque command having a predetermined voltage to the motor for a predetermined period so that the motor spindle can stop completely.
However, fluctuating factors such as the size of media disks 8 cm or 12 cm in diameter for example, a motor torque, an electrical voltage in integrated circuits, temperature and humidity ambient to the disk drive may cause the time necessary for stopping the disk media to vary. Therefore, the user may access the disk media while the disk motor is still rotating. In this case, the disk media being in rotation may hit on a portion of the disk drive, and be damaged thereby. As the worse the case, the motor rotates in the reverse direction in a reckless manner.

Motor drive apparatus including braking means

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Real-time analysis of output volatiles upon UV exposure is achieved using a laboratory scale apparatus. The methods and apparatus use external or internal radiation sources, especially broad band external UV radiation. The apparatus and methods of the invention are especially useful in the analysis and screening of photoresist materials. The apparatus preferably uses FTIR or MS analysis.

The analysis and prediction of the performance of materials upon exposure to radiation, such as ultraviolet radiation, is important for many industrial and commercial applications.
One industrial area where such analysis and prediction is especially important is in the area of photolithography. Photolithographic processes typically involve the use of organic photoresist materials which are patternwise exposed to radiation (most typically some form of ultraviolet radiation. Modern photoresist chemicals typically rely on radiation-induced chemical process that results in emission of volatiles. Such volatiles may cause catastrophic or incremental damage to expensive photolithographic equipment.
It may also be desired to determine the chemical effects of ultraviolet or other radiation exposure in order to obtain information regarding the actual chemical processes occurring in a multi-component chemical system such as a photoresist. Such information may be useful in determining the proper components and proportions to be used in the photoresist formulation.
Unfortunately, photoresist development typically takes place in an ordinary chemical laboratory where access to photolithographic equipment is not possible or impractical (e.g., due to logistics, expense, etc.) or is undesirable (e.g., where equipment damage is a concern). In the laboratory, it is difficult to simulate actual photochemical and catalytic processes that would occur upon radiation exposure in the photolithographic tool. A typical solution to this problem has been to use heating or action of chemical treatments to simulate the reactions that would occur in the photolithographic tool. These methods have not been adequate to reliably predict volatiles evolution.
Thus, there is a need for improved laboratory methods and laboratory scale apparatus for determining the performance of materials upon irradiation.
The invention provides a laboratory scale apparatus for simulation of UV radiation exposure behavior with real time analysis of output volatiles. The invention also provides methods of performing real time analysis of volatile species generated upon UV irradiation of a material sample. The apparatus and methods of the invention are especially useful in the analysis and screening of photoresist materials.
In one aspect, the invention encompasses an apparatus for analysis of volatiles emitted from a material sample upon exposure to radiation, the apparatus comprising:
a) a chamber adapted to hold a material sample, the chamber comprising (i) a window for transmission of radiation to the sample, (ii) a holder for the sample, (iii) an inlet for sweep gas, and (iv) an outlet for volatiles-containing sweep gas,
b) a gas supply means for supplying sweep gas to the chamber,
c) a radiation source for transmitting radiation to the sample through the window, and
d) a volatiles analyzing means adapted to receive and analyze volatiles-containing gas passing from the chamber through the outlet upon exposure of the sample to radiation from the radiation source.
In another aspect, the invention encompasses a method of determining the composition of volatiles emitted from a material upon exposure to UV radiation, the method comprising:
a) placing the material on a substrate,
b) placing the substrate in a chamber adapted to hold the substrate, the chamber comprising (i) a window for transmission of radiation to the substrate, (ii) an inlet for sweep gas, and (iv) an outlet for volatiles-containing sweep gas,
c) supplying sweep gas to the chamber,
d) irradiating the substrate by transmitting radiation through the window, thereby causing evolution of volatiles from the material, the volatiles being entrained in the sweep gas,
e) analyzing the volatiles-containing sweep gas using spectroscopy, the analysis being conducted as the volatiles are being formed during the irradiation.
The apparatus and methods of the invention are especially useful for the analysis of photoresist materials. A preferred analysis is mass spectroscopy or Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The irradiation is preferably performed with an ultraviolet radiation source capable of producing radiation at wavelengths of about 400 nm or less.
These and other aspects of the invention are described in further detail below.

Apparatus for photo exposure of materials with subsequent capturing of volatiles for analysis

International Business Machines Corporation


An organic light emitting display device and a method for manufacturing the organic light emitting display device, which includes a light emitting region and a non-light emitting region, and having an organic light emitting element including first and second electrodes disposed in the light emitting region and an organic emission layer formed between the two electrodes, a driving voltage supply line disposed in the non-light emitting region and providing a driving voltage to the first and second electrodes, and a contact part disposed in the non-light emitting region and disposed to be in contact with the first electrode to supply the driving voltage provided from the driving voltage supply line to the first electrode, wherein the contact part is formed as multiple layers patterned such that a second conductive layer covers a first conductive layer.

1. Field
The present invention relates to an organic light emitting display device and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
An organic light emitting display device is a self-luminous display device that displays an image with an organic light emitting element that emits light. Unlike a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting display device does not need a light source, so thickness and weight thereof may be reduced.
Also, an organic light emitting display device has high quality characteristics such as low power consumption, high luminance, and high response speed, and the like, so it has come to prominence as a next-generation display device for electronic devices.
In general, an organic light emitting element includes an organic emitting layer (EML) interposed between first and second electrodes, so when a voltage is applied to the respective electrodes, holes supplied from the first electrode and electrons supplied from the second electrode are injected into the organic emitting layer and recombined therein to form excitons as hole-electron pairs, and light is emitted by energy generated as the excitons are returned to a ground state.
The first and second electrodes are connected to wirings corresponding thereto to receive a driving voltage from an external driving unit and apply an electric field to the organic emitting layer.
Meanwhile, the first and second electrodes are electrically connected to the external driving unit (including the wirings) through a contact part positioned in a non-emitting region of a substrate. The contact part may be configured as driving voltage wirings electrically connected to the first or the second electrode through a contact hole, or the like.
The driving voltage wirings positioned in the contact part may be composed of layers including a transparent conductive layer, a gate electrode layer, a data electrode layer, and the like, formed on the substrate, and may be patterned through a collective (or integrated) etching process.
In performing the collective etching process, a lateral surface of a gate electrode layer is etched to have an under-cut structure, and an air gap is generated in the under-cut portion.
The air gap generated due to the under-cut structure may cause cracks or discontinuation of an insulating layer formed on an upper portion of the gate electrode layer, and as a result, an insulating function may be degraded to generate a short-circuit between the gate electrode layer and the data electrode layer.
In addition, after the patterning process formed on the contact part, a cleaning process is performed, and in this case, moisture, or the like, may remain in the under-cut structure to affect a follow-up process, making the contact part defective.

Organic light emitting display device and manufacturing method thereof


A machine-learning algorithm is trained with features relevant to basket data for items of transactions. The trained algorithm is trained to predict whether a given transaction is more or less likely to be associated with theft being engaged in by a transaction operator for the transaction. The trained algorithm is then provided basket data for a given transaction and produces as output a theft prediction value. When the theft prediction value exceeds a configured threshold value, the transaction is flagged for manual intervention or the transaction is flagged for subsequent manual verification.

Retailers are continuously attempting to improve security in an ongoing effort to reduce in-store theft, which remains a major concern in the industry. In addition to consumer theft, retailers must deal with employee theft. In fact, employee theft is a larger problem in the industry than is consumer theft. This is because employees know the retailer's internal procedures and the location of security resources, such that detection becomes more difficult to detect for knowledgeable employees.
One area where substantial sums of money are lost each year, is cashier theft, which is often referred to as "sweet hearting." Sweet hearing is the unauthorized giving away of merchandise without charge to a customer that is a friend, family member, or fellow employee of the cashier by fake scan or intentional incorrect ring-up of merchandise during the checkout process. Sweet hearting is the most common type of cashier fraud and it is the largest contributor to retail losses in the industry.
Typically, the only way to detect sweet hearting is for the theft to be witnessed in person or for the theft to be captured on a video feed of the cashier's area. Real-time evaluation of video is difficult because of the amount of image processing which must occur. In fact, most video feeds are not evaluated at all due to the vast amount of effort that it takes for evaluation. Furthermore, not all stores are equipped with the proper video equipment and/or many stores lack the requisite computing hardware and software to perform automated image analysis. Some retailers manually review video feeds of past transactions in an effort to detect sweet hearting. Video storage may also be problematic for some smaller retailers.

Data-driven machine-learning theft detection


A decode circuit for use in a semiconductor memory device can prevent an increase of an area of X-decoder and can possess a plurality of banks with operating speed maintained. A word line selection signal makes a word line of a first bank region high level, before it makes first bank selection measure "off" to separate word line selection measure from the first bank region. Next, it makes second bank selection measure "on" to use the word line selection measure for selecting the word line of the second bank region so that one word line selection measure is used in common in terms of both the first bank region and the second bank region.

The present invention relates to a decode circuit for use in a semiconductor memory device. More particularly, this invention relates to the decode circuit for use in the semiconductor memory device in which it causes the semiconductor memory device to operate with the semiconductor memory device divided into a plurality of banks.

Decode circuit for use in semiconductor memory device


A cooling tower is provided including a cooling chamber with a bottom-to-top cooling air flow and a water injection system having spray nozzles horizontally distributed within the cooling chamber. A first air intake and a second air intake lead into the cooling chamber from below and, respectively, laterally from above the water injection system. The second air intake is implemented by a pipe, protruding into the interior of the cooling chamber, the pipe having at least two stages, beginning with a first stage next to a wall of the cooling chamber, the stages having progressively reduced flow cross-sections.

This invention relates to a cooling tower incorporating a cooling chamber with a bottom-to-top cooling air flow, a water injection system consisting of spray nozzles horizontally distributed within the cooling chamber, as well as a first air intake and a second air intake leading into the cooling chamber from below and, respectively, laterally from above the water injection system.
A cooling tower of this type, designed as a wet/dry cooling tower, has been described in DE 29 25 462 C3. Laterally extending into the cooling chamber, constituted of the cooling-tower shell, are cylindrical pipes by way of which a secondary air current is directed into the cooling chamber above the trickling units. The air stream exiting from these pipes is collimated which extends the directional effect of the pipes that serve as flow vectorizers. The radial length over which the pipes proper extend is 20 to 40% of the cooling-tower radius. The wet/dry cooling tower described in DE 29 25 462 C3 is of a radially symmetric design and the cylindrical pipes are evenly distributed over the circular circumference of the cooling tower. This provides for a uniform cross-sectional mixing pattern throughout the flow in the cooling tower. Any other cooling-tower design, especially one deviating from a circular configuration, could be expected to result in a significantly less effective mixing pattern at least in some areas of the cooling chamber while requiring a longer mixing path which in turn would necessitate a greater structural height of the cooling tower.
The invention provides a cooling-tower design with a lateral cooling-air intake, combining a good cross-sectional mixing pattern throughout the coolant flow with the advantages of a low structural height.
As the solution by which this is to be accomplished in a cooling tower of the type first above mentioned, the second air intake is in the form of a two-stage or multi-stage pipe that extends into the cooling chamber and whose stages, starting with the first stage next to the wall of the cooling chamber, feature decremental flow diameters. Preferably, the free outlet end of each stage of the pipe is equal to the flow diameter of that stage minus the flow diameter of the next following stage.
The multistage design of the pipe that extends deep into the interior of the cooling chamber results in a distribution of the cooling air, entering through this pipe, over the cross-sectional area of the cooling chamber. From each of the individual stages only a partial amount out of the total volume of cooling air fed to the pipe concerned will exit so that a distribution of the cooling air is already obtained as it is fed in, resulting in a better overall mixing over the entire cross section of the cooling chamber above the water injection system. Due to the uniformity already obtained at the exit points of the cooling air and the associated improvement in the mixing pattern within a shorter mixing path, the structural height of the cooling tower according to this invention can be reduced, resulting in lower construction costs while at the same time offering advantages in terms of appearance and municipal planning considerations.
If the auxiliary i.e. secondary air flow to be added to the primary air current, constituted of the cooling air fed in via the first air intake, cannot be generated by natural convection, another feature of this invention provides for the possibility of employing a forced-air blower situated in front of the pipe. This forced-air blower is preferably surrounded by a cylindrical blower enclosure, a first partial flow volume of the cooling air exiting from the blower enclosure enters the first stage of the pipe and a second partial flow volume enters directly into the cooling chamber. In this fashion a partial volume of the secondary, auxiliary air current also moves directly into the interior wall area of the cooling tower where it is mixed with the main flow of the primary air passing through the water injection system.
A further enhancement of the cooling-tower design is characterized by an air heat exchanger situated in front of the second air intake. This air heat exchanger is provided with heat-exchanging surfaces for an indirect heat exchange function.
In another proposed design enhancement, the stages of the pipe are axially adjustable relative to one another. This offers the possibility for the secondary air exiting between the individual pipe stages to be directed into the cross-sectional areas of the cooling tower in controlled fashion, permitting appropriate control of the mix ratio.


An apparatus for cultivating a cucumber, eggplant or the like includes a fastening element for allowing an opened cover body to be fastened into a closed state or a closed cover body to be separated into an opened state by causing a catching protrusion opened along the longitudinal direction of the cover body, and a plurality of catching steps to allow the cover body to be coupled and fastened when catching steps are hooked on a catching protrusion, and a cover body distortion prevention projection formed protruding from the catching protrusion to fix opposite sides of each of the catching steps when each catching step is hooked on the catching protrusion. Cover body separation/opening supports are formed, respectively, on the top of each catching step and on the catching protrusion such that the fastened cover body can be unfastened and opened.

A cucumber, eggplant or the like (hereinafter, referred to as cucumber) is generally cultivated in a greenhouse and then placed on the market throughout the year. A pre-determined amount of agricultural chemicals is sprayed to exterminate plight and harmful insects inhabiting stems and leaves of the cucumber with its length relatively greater than its width when the cucumber is cultivated.
In such a case, since agricultural chemicals are sprayed directly onto a surface of the cucumber, the agricultural chemicals also remain on the surface of the cucumber at a time when the cucumber is placed on the market. Therefore, there is a problem in that the agricultural chemicals are accumulated in and harmful to the human body if an individual eats the cucumber without cleaning the cucumber.
Further, cucumbers have a diameter of about 3 cm and tend to get curved, due to the influence of growing environments such as soil, moisture or sunshine, when it reaches a certain length. That is, the cucumbers grow to be different in view of their shapes. As a result, it is difficult to harvest cucumbers with uniform shapes and standards, and thus, the value of commodity can be lowered as a whole. Furthermore, any in-convenience may occur when storing, carrying or handling the cucumbers.
Accordingly, an apparatus for cultivating a cucumber in which a cover made of a general synthetic resin material is used to cover the cucumber has been currently employed such that an individual can eat the cucumber without fear by preventing agricultural chemicals from remaining directly on the surface of the cucumber and the value of commodity can also be improved by keeping the cucumber at a fixed shape and standard.
Such an example of an apparatus for cultivating a cucumber is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Publication No. 0261929. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus 100 for cultivating a cucumber comprises first and second covers 110 and 120. The first and second covers 110 and 120 are hingedly connected to each other by means of a hinged portion 130 and include carved portions 116 and 126 with a cultivating place, cultivator or the like indicated on a side on one surface of the apparatus, air vent holes 111 and 121 formed on the other side of the surface of apparatus, stem holes 117 and 127 formed on one end of the apparatus, and flower leaf holes 118 and 128 formed on the other end opposite to the stem holes 117 and 127, respectively. The first cover 110 includes fastening plates 112 and 114 formed respectively with a fastening hook 113 and a fastening eye 115. The second cover 120 includes fastening plates 122 and 124 formed respectively with a fastening hook 123 and a fastening eye 125. The fastening hooks 113 and 123 and the fastening eyes 115 and 125 are formed on edges opposite to the hinged portion 130 to correspond to each other in a staggered manner. Therefore, the cucumber can be completely shielded against agricultural chemicals sprayed on the cucumber several times while cultivating the cucumber, thereby preventing the agricultural chemicals from remaining on the surface of the cucumber, so that an lower agricultural chemicals cucumber can be produced. In addition, the cucumber can be cultivated within a main body of the apparatus 100 constructed in the form of a single case by the fastening plates 112, 124, 122 and 114.
However, the conventional apparatus 100 for cultivating a cucumber may have a problem in that when the cucumber continuously grows beyond the size of the main body thereof constructed in the form of a case by means of the first and second covers 110 and 120, the cucumber applies an certain expansion pressure to the first and second covers 110 and 120.
In such a case, since the first and second covers 110 and 120 are kept at a firmly fastened state by means of the fastening hooks 113 and 123 and the fastening eyes 113 and 123, a force for suppressing the expansion pressure of the cucumber will be exerted again onto the cucumber. Therefore, there is another problem in that the value of commodity is lowered due to the shape deformation of the cucumber itself.
In addition, since the conventional apparatus for cultivating a cucumber cannot indicate a period of harvest, a cultivator should visually determine one by one the period of harvest. Therefore, there is a further problem in that it is a burden on a busy peasant as well as the value of commodity is also lowered due to missing of the period of harvest.
Furthermore, since the expansion pressure of the cucumber applied to the main body is not uniform, the other portions than a fastening portion may be deformed in a state where the first and second covers 110 and 120 do not withstand the non-uniform expansion pressure applied thereto. Therefore, there is a still further problem in that the main body cannot be used again due to its failure.
That is, if a cucumber grows beyond a certain size or thickness, the expansion pressure is applied to the main body up and down or from side to side. In such a case, since a direction in which a cucumber grows is not regular, the expansion pressure applied to the main body is also not uniform. Therefore, since the main body may be distorted when the cucumber grows beyond a certain size or thickness, it is difficult to reuse the main body and the shape of cucumber growing in the main body is not uniform.
Moreover, the air vent holes 111 and 121 are formed in the first and second covers 110 and 120 in order to prevent the cucumber from being rotten due to the inhabitation of molds or ticks while the cucumber grows in the main body of the apparatus.
However, it is still unsatisfactory and thus there is a need for further supplement.

Apparatus for cultivating cucumber, eggplant. et al.


Open-Loop RF Transmitter Output Power Control for Increased Power Efficiency (NC#97507) system includes microprocessor, battery, bias control circuitry, supply control circuitry and power amplifier. Microprocessor receives desired RF output power and battery voltage value and transmits bias control voltage and supply control voltage. Bias control circuitry is operatively coupled to microprocessor and receives bias control voltage and transmits bias output voltage. Supply control circuitry is operatively coupled to battery and microprocessor, and receives battery voltage and supply control voltage, and transmits supply collector voltage. Power amplifier is operatively coupled to supply control circuitry and bias control circuitry via inductor, and receives supply collector voltage and bias output voltage, and transmits RF output signal in response to RF input signal, supply collector voltage and bias output voltage.

The patent application is generally in the field of power control.
Typical power amplifier power control uses closed-loop control techniques, which increases output power loss, reduces dynamic range and decreases stability.
A need exists for power amplifier power control having reduced output power loss, increased dynamic range and increased stability.

Open-loop RF transmitter output power control for increased power efficiency

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


A direct light type backlight unit and a liquid crystal panel employing the same. The backlight unit includes a plurality of light emitting devices disposed at a predetermined angle on a substrate; and a grating which diffracts incident light from the light emitting devices at different diffraction angles to separate the incident light into a plurality of colored light beams. The backlight unit and the liquid crystal display include direct light type light sources emitting light at an optimal angle to provide maximum diffraction efficiency of the grating, which allows color image realization without the use of a color filter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a direct light type backlight unit and a large-sized liquid crystal display that does not include a color filter.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which are flat panel displays used in lap top computers, desktop computers, LCD TVs, and mobile communication terminals, are light receiving devices which do not form images by themselves, but by receiving light from an external source, and need a backlight unit in addition to a liquid crystal panel. A backlight unit is installed behind a liquid crystal display and serves as a light source to emit light.
According to the arrangement of a light source, the backlight unit can be classified as either a direct light type backlight unit in which a plurality of lamps installed directly under a liquid crystal display emit light directly to a liquid crystal panel, or an edge light type backlight unit in which a lamp installed at an edge of a light guide panel (LGP) emits light and the light is transferred to a liquid crystal panel.
When a color filter is used to realize a color image, light efficiency is decreased and manufacturing costs of a liquid crystal display are increased. In order to solve this problem, a color image forming technique of applying a grating instead of using a color filter to separate colors has been suggested.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional liquid crystal display using an edge light type backlight unit. The liquid crystal display includes a light source 10 and a light guide panel 15 guiding the light from the light source 10 onto the liquid crystal panel 30. A cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) is used as a light source, but a CCFL has a low color realization rate and thus does not provide high image quality and is not appropriate for high resolution TVs or monitors. The light guide panel 15 is tapered to guide the light emitted from the light source 10 efficiently and distribute the light uniformly.
A reflection panel 20 is formed below the light guide panel 15 to reflect the light transmitted from the light guide panel 15 back to the light guide panel 15. A grating 23 is formed on the upper surface of the light guide panel 15 to diffract incident white light at different angles according to wavelength to separate the white light. It is important for the light to be incident at an optimal angle of incidence for maximum diffraction efficiency to improve the light efficiency. However, it is difficult to minutely control the angle of incidence of the light which is guided by the light guide panel 15 and incident on the grating 23.
The color light emitted from the grating 23 is focused on the liquid crystal panel 30 through a cylindrical micro lens array 25. The grating 23 diffracts light, for example, red light (R), green light (G), and blue light (B), at different diffraction angles so that the light is incident on corresponding pixels of the liquid crystal panel 30. The liquid crystal panel controls the colored light by switching the pixels on and off according to input image signals to form a color image. A diffuser 35 diffuses the image formed by the liquid crystal panel 30 to increase a viewing angle.
As described above, in the edge light type backlight unit, it is difficult to control light to be incident on a grating at an optimal angle of incidence. Since light is deflected from one direction to another by a light guide panel, light uniformity may not be secured. Thus, the size of liquid crystal displays is limited.

Direct light type backlight unit and liquid crystal display


A metal nanowire array acts as a band pass filter in the visible to IR range. The filter may be used in a monochromator, spectrometer, color camera, analyte detector or other devices.

The electromagnetic interactions with metal wires have been a subject of research over hundred years. In 1888, for example, Heinrich Hertz first used a metal wire grid as a polarizer to test the properties of the newly discovered radio wave. For example, see H. Hertz, ELECTRIC WAVES (Macmillan and Company, London, 1893) at page 177. Since then, the work in the radio frequency regime has been extended to a broad spectral range down to the optical regime. Metal wire arrays show strong polarization-dependent transmission and this has been utilized for polarization filtering. For instance, see G. R. Bird and M. Parrish, J. Appl. Phys. 50, 886 (1960). Another common feature of the conventional metal wire arrays is that they reveal high transmission in the longer wavelength regime (i.e., long pass in terms of filter characteristics).

Metal nanowire based bandpass filter arrays in the optical frequency range


A capacitor suitable for inclusion in a semiconductor device includes a substrate, a first metallization level, a capacitor dielectric, a capacitor plate, an interlevel dielectric layer, and a second metallization level. The first metallization level overlies the substrate and includes a first metallization plate overlying a capacitor region of the substrate. The capacitor dielectric overlies the first metallization plate and includes a dielectric material such as a silicon oxide or silicon nitride compound. The capacitor plate is an electrically conductive structure that overlies the capacitor dielectric. The interlevel dielectric overlies the capacitor plate. The second metallization layer overlies the interlevel dielectric layer and may include a second metallization plate and a routing element. The routing element may be electrically connected to the capacitor plate. The metallization plates may include a fingered structure that includes a plurality of elongated elements extending from a cross bar.

1. Field
The disclosed subject matter is in the field of semiconductor devices and, more particularly, semiconductor devices that include integrated capacitors.
2. Related Art
Semiconductor devices such as radio frequency (RF) devices and other devices that include analog or mixed signal functions may require one or more capacitors. The formation of these capacitors may be integrated into the semiconductor fabrication process used to form the semiconductor devices, typically using a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structure. As suggested by its name, a MIM capacitor may include a pair of metallic capacitor plates above and below a capacitor dielectric. The fabrication of a MIM capacitor may leverage one or more steps from an existing semiconductor fabrication process and various architectures have been proposed for integrating MIM capacitors into existing fabrication processes.


A product promotion display system comprises a server computer hosting a network of terminals, each terminal having a display for displaying advertisements and product promotion information to a customer. The server computer has access to a product promotion database containing data to be used in assembling advertisements and product promotion information to be displayed on one or more of the terminals. A product promotion software object executed by the server computer accesses the database in order to retrieve data therefrom to be used in assembling advertisements and product promotion information to be displayed on one or more of the terminals. A user interface connected to the terminals and to the promotion software object causes the assembled advertisements and product promotion information to be displayed on one or more of the terminals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements to in-store retail service terminals, and more particularly to advantageous aspects of a system and methods for using in-store retail service terminals to display promotions and collect promotion data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present, there is no integrated system for retailers to display product promotions. Rather, a typical retail establishment relies on an assortment of signs, placards, standing cardboard displays, leaflets and other promotional materials positioned throughout the store to provide promotional information to customers. This approach suffers from a number of disadvantages. First, it is difficult to present the promotional information to the customers in a coordinated and effective manner. Further, it is a cumbersome process to update or rearrange the promotional information, as may be required. In addition, the lack of an integrated system means that it is virtually impossible for a retailer to accumulate any kind of meaningful statistical data relating to the promotional information being displayed. The absence of these data makes it difficult for a retailer to determine the amount of money to be charged for each promotion.
There is thus a need for an automated system for displaying product promotion information to in-store retail customers in a coordinated and effective manner, and for accumulating statistical data relating to the display of the information.
The present invention provides a product promotion display system, comprising a server computer hosting a network of terminals, each terminal having a display for displaying advertisements and product promotion information to a customer. The server computer has access to a product promotion database containing data to be used in assembling advertisements and product promotion information to be displayed on one or more of the terminals. A product promotion software object executed by the server computer accesses the database in order to retrieve data therefrom to be used in assembling advertisements and product promotion information to be displayed on one or more of the terminals. A user interface connected to the terminals and to the promotion software object causes the assembled advertisements and product promotion information to be displayed on one or more of the terminals.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

System and methods for determining and displaying product promotions


A display device includes M number of first signal lines, a first pixel arranged corresponding to each of the M number of first signal lines, N number of second signal lines, a second pixel arranged corresponding to each of the N number of second signal lines (each of M and N is a natural number of 2 or more), a third signal line provided in a first region capable of transforming in response to an external force, and electrically connected to at least any one of the M number of first signal lines, a first connection control circuit electrically connecting the third signal line to any one of the N number of second signal lines, and a drive circuit supplying a signal to the first signal line for driving the second pixel when the third signal line is electrically connected to any one of the second signal lines.

A display device including a plurality of display regions has been conventionally proposed (for example, Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 2014-022958, Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 2007-082074, PCT International Publication No. WO2008/129649 or Japanese Patent No. 4852146). According to these display devices, the amount of data that can be presented to a user is increased compared to the case where only one display region is present.
The display devices described in Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 2014-022958, Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 2007-082074, PCT International Publication No. WO2008/129649 or Japanese Patent No. 4852146 include a drive circuit independent for each display region in order to display an image on a plurality of display regions.


A utility with a windows interface with which a single original-equipment-manufacturer (OEM) programmer can generate firmware compatible with the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification. The firmware includes an ACPI name space, i.e., a hierarchical tree structure in operating system-controlled memory containing data objects, control method objects, and bus/device package objects. The hierarchical name space is constructed using a "click and drag" methodology, and is represented in the windows interface as a iconographic tree structure. From the root of the tree structure are branches for general purpose events, processor power control, sleep states, the system bus, and temperature controls. The system bus has branches for devices located thereon, and the devices have branches for folders containing current resource settings, hardware identification, possible resource settings, and set resource settings information. The utility prompts the OEM programmer during the creation of the name space for information required to complete the specification of the details of the system. The utility provides a large number of default components, from the level of the entirety of the hierarchical tree structure to the level of the individual devices. Using a recursive process, the constructed hierarchical tree structure is mapped to ASL source code with a structure roughly mirroring that of the tree structure. In general, the recursive process creates a name statement, opening brace, body and closing brace for each item, and child items within the scope of a parent item fall within the body of the parent item. For some items (such as fields, methods, packages and resources) it is necessary to override the generation of braces and/or the body.

The present invention is related to the generation of firmware for the basic input/output functions of a computer and, more particularly, to a utility providing a graphical interface such as a constructed iconographic tree structure with which an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) programmer can create a graphical representation of Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) compatible firmware, and generate the firmware source code based on the graphical representation.
The firmware of a computer system is the portion of the system software, including the basic input/output system (BIOS), stored in read-only memory (ROM) in chips on the motherboard. Since legacy (i.e., pre-ACPI) operating systems do not have information concerning the devices on a platform, the BIOS provides the operating system on boot-up with the general information about how the devices on the platform are configured and controlled. For instance, the BIOS would inform the operating system regarding protocols of communication with the onboard video graphics adapter card and the sound card, if one is connected to the motherboard or is interfaced via an input/output (I/O) slot.
There are several drawbacks to allocating the power management, thermal management, battery management and plug-and-play functions to the BIOS firmware. For example, the BIOS is only accessed at boot-up and, therefore, these functions cannot be modified or updated subsequent to boot-up. Any alterations of the hardware subsequent to the boot-up cannot be handled by the BIOS. Another drawback is that the BIOS firmware and the hardware are strongly coupled. The evolution of the BIOS and the hardware cannot be independent and their ship cycles must be synchronized. Furthermore, there is limited space available in the BIOS firmware, so only relatively simple power management policies could be implemented.
Another problem is the complexity of the creation of BIOS firmware, particularly ACPI-compatible BIOS firmware. The specialized knowledge required to generate the BIOS code for a particular device is not only dependent on the device, but is also dependent on the platform on which it is to be installed, and the other devices with which it is to interact. Generating error-free code is of particular importance. Furthermore, the BIOS is fundamental to the operation of the machine, so its reliability, size and performance is critical. Consequently, the development of the BIOS is one of the most serious scheduling risks for an OEM due to the extensive testing that must be performed to insure its quality.

Generation of firmware code using a graphic representation