A process for the purification of soil contaminated with organic material is provided. The preferred process generally involves superposed attrition and classification processes, which lead to removal and concentration of highly contaminated fractions. The process may also include a step of flotation whereby hydrophobic materials in the soil are released to an interface with air bubbles, and are floated to the top of a flotation cell. In preferred processes according to the present invention, soil to be treated is extracted from a contaminated site, and is broken into relatively small particles. These particles are preferably treated in attrition and classification steps, to remove fine, slow settling contaminated materials such as wood and fine soil materials. The resulting isolated coarser materials are then treated by flotation for a final polishing step. The process is particularly well adapted for use in treating soils contaminated with oil and grease materials containing PCP therein, from wood treatment plants or the like.

Waste materials from many industries comprise organic materials, often organic greases and oils. In some instances these waste oils include highly toxic chemicals (contaminants) therein. A well-known example is the waste material from conventional wood treatment facilities.
At a typical wood treatment facility, wood is preserved by being soaked or dipped in a vat of oil that has a preservative therein. For example, a facility for the treatment of telephone poles, railroad ties, or the like, may use large vats that contain an oil having pentachlorophenol (PCP) dissolved therein. A typical treatment vat used for such processes contains an organic solution containing about five percent PCP.
Waste organics, often containing a substantial amount of PCP, have often been dumped into a pit area located near the treatment facility. While this is particularly disturbing with respect to current pollution control standards, it must be understood that such treatment facilities have operated for many decades with substantially little change in the overall soaking and/or treatment procedure. Thus, many sites exist which came into existence well before the more recently imposed pollution controls
The pollution problem is exacerbated by the nature of the industry. Very often a treatment facility was established, short term, near a location where a substantial amount of wood was milled, or treated wood was needed. After sufficient operation to accommodate the "local" need, the facility was closed and sometimes moved to a different location. Thus a plurality of abandoned dump sites exist throughout the country.
Over time, the contaminated organic materials may be transported, by groundwater, out of the immediate dump area, contaminating a widespread area. Since the organics often include a substantial amount of highly toxic materials therein, this migration poses a substantial health and environmental hazard.
It is noted that while the problem of pollution from organics in soils has been described with respect to a specific industry involving wood treatment, the problem exists with respect to a variety of industries that have similarly generated organic wastes dumped into pits or the like. The wood treatment industry merely provides a well-known and notorious example, and one which often involves particularly hazardous PCP.
No satisfactory method of overall soil treatment and/or purification has been previously available. Generally treatment methods have involved either incineration alone, microbial treatment, or some combination thereof. These have not been completely satisfactory, in part for the reasons discussed below.
A frequently used conventional method of purification is incineration. For a typical incineration process, a large incinerator is assembled near a contaminated site. Soil material is excavated from the site, in bulk, and is incinerated. The incineration process generally destroys much of the organic material, but it also results in a large volume of ash material, much of which is fused into hard cakes or blocks. This material, which may still be substantially contaminated, is typically then stored in a secure dump, leaving the excavated site open. After a particular site has been cleaned, the incinerator is typically disassembled and moved to a new location.
Incineration, on its own, has been a generally undesirable process. First it is energy inefficient, that is a large amount of energy is consumed in operating the incinerator at sufficient temperatures and for a sufficient length of time to lead to effective purification of the large volume of materials involved. Secondly, product gases and materials from the incineration may be a problem. Further, the large amount of contaminated ash formed creates a disposal problem.
A second method of purifying contaminated soil is through the use of microbial action. Generally, especially for the oil/PCP problem, microbial purifications have proved undesirable. While in the laboratory microbial action may be shown to capably detoxify material, in the field it is less efficacious. First, temperature, moisture and oxygen control may be essential, and difficult to achieve. Also, a wide variety of chemical concentrations may be found throughout a single dump site, and from site to site. Concentration variations generate unpredictability. Further, complete microbial detoxification of concentrated contaminants may take a fairly long period of time, and during that period of time further leaching from the dump site may occur. Finally, soil variations and dump site environment variations pose substantial hurdles to the effective, predictable, action of microbes.
What has been needed has been n effective method of purifying soil that has been contaminated with organic material or the like. Generally, to be effective the method must not only accomplish the desired result, i.e. substantially clean soil, but it also should be relatively cost effective. That is, what has been needed has been a cost effective method to replace, provide an alternative to, or at least operate effectively in conjunction with, conventional soil treatment processes.


A control method which is applied to a recording apparatus for recording picture information on a recording paper with use of a thermal recording head. The control method comprises a first step of feeding the recording paper upstream of a wait position and a second step of, following the first step, feeding the recording paper downstream to move the thermal and recording head to a downstream limit position, thereby preventing any movement of the thermal recording head during recording operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of controlling a recording apparatus which comprises a thermal recording head.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional recording apparatus of the type which is built in a facsimile machine or the like, a positioning member having a slit is attached to a thermal recording head and a platen roller is fitted to the slit of the positioning member, thereby establishing positioning of the thermal recording head with respect to the platen roller. When data is recorded on a recording paper, the paper is fed to a cutting position where it is cut off. Then, the recording paper is returned such that the tip end thereof is positioned to a wait position.
When the platen roller is fitted in the slit of the positioning member, there is a slight gap based on a so-called fitting tolerance between the inner side wall of the slit and the bearing of the platen roller. Accordingly, when the platen roller is fitted in the slit, the thermal recording head has a looseness or play corresponding to the fitting tolerance in the paper feed direction. In other words, the thermal recording head is movable within the range corresponding to the fitting tolerance.
In the case where the recording paper is fed in the downstream direction for recording, if the thermal recording head is momentarily moved down to the downstream end of the aforementioned movable range, that is, if the shifting of the head is completed before the start of the recording operation of the head, the shift of the head will not adversely affect the recording quality.
However, the recording head will not always shift momentarily due to a friction between the top surface of the recording head and a depression spring provided in contact with the top surface of the head or due to a friction acting on a supporting member of the recording head.
For this reason, in the conventional method, the shifting of the recording head within the allowable range in the slit might occur after the start of the recording, which results in the following disadvantages.
That is, when the recording head is shifted downstream during the recording operation to the recording paper, the recording head is positioned on a part of the recording paper on which data has already been recorded.
In this case, when the above-mentioned part of the paper is recorded with an intermediate tone between black and white, a black line as a noise appears on that part of the paper along a main scanning direction of the head due to the double printing, which results in deterioration of the recording quality.

Method of positioning a recording head with respect to a platen roller in a recording apparatus


A method of assembling a gas turbine engine includes providing a plurality of stator vane sectors that each include an equal number of stator vanes that are circumferentially-spaced such that a first circumferential spacing is defined between each pair of adjacent stator vanes within the sector, and coupling the plurality of stator vane sectors together to form a stator vane assembly such that a second circumferential spacing is defined between each pair of adjacent stator vanes coupled to adjacent sectors, wherein the second circumferential spacing is different from the first circumferential spacing.

This invention relates generally to gas turbine engines, and more specifically to vane sectors used in gas turbine engines.
At least some known gas turbine engines include, in serial flow arrangement, a fan assembly, a low pressure compressor, a high pressure compressor, a combustor, a high pressure turbine, and a low pressure turbine. The high pressure compressor, combustor and high pressure turbine are sometimes collectively referred to as the core engine. At least some known compressors include a plurality of rows of circumferentially-spaced rotor blades that extend radially outwardly from a rotor or disk. Adjacent rows of rotor blades are separated by a plurality of stator vane assemblies that are secured to the compressor casing. Each stator vane assembly includes a plurality of stator vanes, each of which includes an airfoil that extends between adjacent rows of rotor blades. At least some known stator vane assemblies include a plurality of stator vane segments that are circumferentially-joined together. Typically, the stator vane sectors are identical to each other, such that each stator vane sector spans an equal radial arc, and each vane sector includes an equal number of stator vanes.
Known airfoils have a series of natural frequencies associated with them. More specifically, each airfoil produces a wake in an air stream that is felt as a pulse by a passing airfoil. The combination of the number of stator vanes and the rotational speed of the compressor may coincide with a natural frequency of the rotor blades. The combination of the number of stator vane wakes (pulses) and the rotational speed of the compressor creates a stimulus that may coincide with a natural frequency of the rotor blades. Accordingly, in designing gas turbine engines, at least one design goal is to keep the majority of the airfoil natural frequencies outside of the designed engine operating range.
To reduce induced rotor blade vibrations, at least some known engines vary the vane spacing around the circumference of the engine casing to facilitate avoidance of rotor blade and stator vane natural frequencies or to reduce the amplitude of rotor blade resonant response at these frequencies. More specifically, within such designs the number of stator vanes is varied in one or more sectors of the stator vane assembly. Although the stator vane spacing may vary from one sector to the next, the stator vanes within each sector remain equally spaced relative to each other, and/or are designed with an equal pitch. The variation in vane spacing or pitch between stator vane sectors facilitates changing the frequency of the vane wakes to reduce the vibration response induced in adjacent rotor blades. However, as a result, circumferentially-spaced stator vane sectors are now different from each other and must be assembled in a certain relative order. Accordingly, the benefits derived from the variable or non-uniform stator vane spacing may be reduced or lost completely by misassembly of the stator vane sectors.

Methods and apparatus for assembling gas turbine engines


In a breather device linking a space within a transmission case (1) to outside air, a breather (10) is provided at a middle position in a lengthwise direction on an upper portion of the transmission case, in particular, at a position displaced in an axial direction from a middle position in the lengthwise direction, and opens to outside air via a ventilating mechanism (2) that extends in a direction opposite this displaced direction. Thus, through the combination of displacement in a lengthwise direction of the position of the breather with respect to a middle portion in a lengthwise direction of the transmission case and the direction of the ventilating mechanism facing in a direction opposite that direction, the occurrence of breather blow is prevented during both forward and rearward axis tilting of the transmission by an action where a forward side of the ventilating mechanism lowers when,the position of the breather tilts in a direction away from the oil level, and conversely, where the forward side of the ventilating mechanism rises when the position of the breather tilts in a direction towards the oil level.

Conventionally, a breather device preventing the confinement of pressure within a transmission case, particularly in a vertically mounted transmission for front engine rear drive (FR) vehicles mounted in vehicles such as 4WD off-road vehicles, should prevent breather blow, and form a labyrinth structure within the transmission case, in which an exit side of the labyrinth structure is structured to open to outside air via a breather pipe through a breather plug provided on a front upper portion of the transmission case, on the assumption that large forward and rearward tilting occurs in the transmission case when the vehicle is traveling.
In recent years, improvement of the driving performance of 4WD off-road vehicles such as the above has been demanded, and a breather device capable of supporting travel under severe circumstances such as 45° slope roads is becoming necessary.
However, with a conventional breather device such as the above, the possibility remains that breather blow may be generated by the agitation of oil from a rotating member in an inner portion of the transmission during travel on a slope road, particularly travel down a slope road. Fundamentally changing the breather device could be considered as a solution to this breather blow, however, such a large change would invite huge cost increases. In addition, a solution to breather blow would inevitably be accompanied by an increase in the size of the transmission exterior such that mountability in a vehicle is worsened.
Hence, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a breather device for a transmission realizable with minimum alterations to the conventional transmission case, that prevents breather blow during vehicle travel on steep slope roads. In addition, it is a further object of the present invention to enable the realization of preventing breather blow on a steep slope road without increasing the size of the transmission exterior in practice.

Breather device for speed-change devices


Disclosed are spirocyclic olefin polymers, methods of preparing spirocyclic olefin polymers, photresist compositions including spirocyclic olefin resin binders and methods of forming relief images using such photoresist compositions.

This invention relates generally to polymer compositions useful in photoresist compositions. In particular, this invention relates to polymer compositions including spirocyclic olefin units useful as binders in photoresist compositions.
Photoresists are photosensitive films used for transfer of images to a substrate. A coating layer of a photoresist is formed on a substrate and the photoresist layer is then exposed through a photomask to a source of activating radiation. The photomask has areas that are opaque to activating radiation and other areas that are transparent to activating radiation. Exposure to activating radiation provides a photoinduced chemical transformation of the photoresist coating to thereby transfer the pattern of the photomask to the photoresist-coated substrate. Following exposure, the photoresist is developed to provide a relief image that permits selective processing of a substrate.
A photoresist can be either positive-acting or negative-acting. For most negative-acting photoresists, those coating layer portions that are exposed to activating radiation polymerize or crosslink in a reaction between a photoactive compound and polymerizable agents of the photoresist composition. Consequently, the exposed coating portions are rendered less soluble in a developer solution than unexposed portions. For positive-acting photoresists, exposed portions are rendered more soluble in a developer solution while areas not exposed remain comparatively less developer soluble. In general, photoresist compositions include at least a resin binder component and a photoactive agent.
More recently, chemically-amplified type resists have been increasingly employed, particularly for formation of sub-micron images and other high performance applications. Such photoresists may be negative-acting or positive-acting and generally include many crosslinking events (in the case of a negative-acting resist) or deprotection reactions (in the case of a positive-acting resist) per unit of photogenerated acid. In the case of positive chemically-amplified resists, certain cationic photoinitiators have been used to induce cleavage of certain "blocking" groups pendant from a photoresist binder, or cleavage of certain groups comprising a photoresist binder backbone. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,075,199; 4,968,581; 4,810,613; and 4,491,628 and Canadian Patent Application 2,001,384. Upon cleavage of the blocking group through exposure of a coating layer of such a resist, a polar functional group is formed, e.g. carboxyl or imide, which results in different solubility characteristics in exposed and unexposed areas of the resist coating layer. See also R. D. Allen et al. Proceedings of SPIE, 2724:334–343 (1996); and P. Trefonas et al. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Photopolymers (Soc. of Plastics Engineers), pp 44–58 (Oct. 6, 1997).
While currently available photoresists are suitable for many applications, current resists can also exhibit significant shortcomings, particularly in high performance applications such as formation of highly resolved sub-half micron and sub-quarter micron features.
Consequently, interest has increased in photoresists that can be photoimaged with short wavelength radiation, including exposure radiation of about 250 nm or less, or even about 200 nm or less, such as wavelengths of about 248 nm (provided by a KrF laser) or 193 nm (provided by an ArF exposure tool). Use of such short exposure wavelengths can enable formation of smaller features. Accordingly, a photoresist that yields well-resolved images upon 248 or 193 nm exposure could enable formation of extremely small (e.g. sub-quarter micron) features that respond to constant industry demands for smaller dimension circuit patterns, e.g. to provide greater circuit density and enhanced device performance.
However, many current photoresists are generally designed for imaging at relatively higher wavelengths, such as I-line (365 nm) and G-line (436 nm) exposures, and are generally unsuitable for imaging at short wavelengths, such as 248 nm and 193 nm. In particular, prior resists exhibit poor resolution (if any image at all can be developed) upon exposure to these shorter wavelengths. Among other things, current photoresists can be highly opaque to extremely short exposure wavelengths, such as 248 nm and 193 nm, thereby resulting in poorly resolved images. Efforts to enhance transparency for short wavelength exposure can negatively impact other important performance properties such as substrate adhesion or swelling, which in turn can dramatically compromise image resolution.
Cyclic monomer units, particularly those containing functional groups, impart various properties to the resin binder when incorporated into the backbone of the resin binder. Anhydrides incorporated into the resin binder backbone help reduce swelling. For example, Barclay et al., The Effect of polymer Architecture on the Aqueous Base development of Photoresists, Polym. Prepr. (American Chemical Society, Division of Polymer Chemistry), volume 40(1), pages 438–439, 1999, discloses the incorporation of itaconic anhydride into a photoresist resin binder, such as a (meth)acrylic polymer. However, such anhydrides can undergo hydrolysis in the presence of alcohols or other solvents, especially solvents that are contaminated with small amounts of water.
Such swelling of resin binders could be even further reduced or eliminated through the use of a binder containing a high proportion of cyclic monomers in the polymer backbone, particularly cyclic monomers containing functional groups. One approach for achieving this is to use only cyclic monomers in the preparation of the polymer. However, this approach suffers from the difficulty in polymerizing such cyclic monomers, especially when the cyclic monomers contain electron withdrawing groups, such as anhydrides. In particular, 5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboxylic anhydride cannot be easily polymerized.
For example, WO 99/42510 discloses resins useful in photoresist compositions wherein the resin is composed of norbornyl monomers containing various functional groups. This patent application is directed to a method for preparing a polycyclic polymer and introducing difficult to polymerize functionalities into the polymer by post-polymerization functionalization. Such post polymerization treatment avoids the use of monomers containing such difficult to polymerize functionalities as nitrogen containing groups, such as amides, and hydroxyl containing groups, such as alcohols and carboxylic acids. The post polymerization functionalization is achieved by using cyclic monomers containing protected functionalities, deprotecting the functionality to give a free functionality and then reacting the free functionality to give a post-functionalized moiety. Drawbacks of this invention are that the mass of the polymer resin may change, resulting in shrinkage of the polymer, and a number of extra steps are required which greatly adds to the time and cost of the preparation.
Polymers containing tricyclic nornornenyl monomers composed of a norbornyl ring fused to a 5-membered anhydride ring are disclosed in WO 99/42510. However, spirocyclic monomers are not disclosed in that patent application.
Japanese Patent Application JP 10 310 640 A, to Maruzen Petrochem Co. Ltd., discloses a variety of spirocyclic olefin monomers including those containing lactone and imide functional groups. Spiropolyimides are also disclosed, however, such polyimides are bound to the polymer backbone through the imide nitrogen groups. This patent application does not disclose spirocyclic monomer units bound to the polymer backbone through the olefinic carbons of the spirocyclic olefin monomers.
It is thus desirable to have photoresist compositions that can be imaged at short wavelengths, contain resin binders having reduced swelling and have better substrate adhesion than known photoresist compositions. It is further desirable to have photoresist compositions containing resin binders that have mass persistence and can be prepared with few reactions or transformations.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention describes the production of L-tyrosine by culturing in a medium an Escherichia bacterium which has L-tyrosine-producing ability and which carries a mutant prephenate dehydrogenase which is desensitized to feedback inhibition by L-tyrosine, producing and accumulating L-tyrosine in the medium or in the bacterial cells, and collecting L-tyrosine from the medium or the bacterial cells.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to L-tyrosine-producing bacterium and a method for producing L-tyrosine by fermentation.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
L-tyrosine is useful as a raw material or as a synthetic intermediate for pharmaceuticals. Conventional methods for producing L-tyrosine include extracting L-tyrosine from precipitates obtained during degradation of vegetable proteins, such as soybean proteins (JP07-10821 A), and producing L-tyrosine by fermentation using, for example, bacteria of the genus Brevibacterium (JP09-121872 A).
Bacteria of the genus Brevibacterium have an L-tyrosine biosynthetic pathway called the arogenate pathway, which produces arogenate from prephenate by prephenate aminotransferase, and then produces L-tyrosine from arogenate by arogenate dehydrogenase. Conventionally, L-tyrosine is produced by utilizing a bacterium of the genus Brevibacterium, since in this bacterium, the above-mentioned two enzymes are not inhibited when L-tyrosine is final product. However, growth of this bacterium is slow, and therefore productivity of L-tyrosine by this bacterium is low.
On the other hand, in the L-tyrosine biosynthetic pathway of Escherichia coli, prephenate is dehydrated by prephenate dehydrogenase (hereinafter, abbreviated to "PDH") into 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid, from which L-tyrosine is synthesized by aromatic amino acid aminotransferase. A problem in producing L-tyrosine by fermentation using Escherichia coli is that PDH, a first enzyme in this L-tyrosine-synthetic pathway, is subject to strong feedback inhibition by L-tyrosine, even with a low concentration of L-tyrosine. To efficiently produce L-tyrosine using Escherichia coli, the desensitization of this feedback inhibition by L-tyrosine is necessary first and foremost.
As for L-tyrosine production by Escherichia coli, it has been reported that bacteria resistant to p-fluoro-tyrosine excrete L-tyrosine (J. Bacteriol. 1958 September; 76(3): 328), and it was also reported that bacteria resistant to β-2-thienyl-alanine (J. Bacteriol. 1958 September; 76(3): 326), and bacteria resistant to P-aminophenylalanine (J. Bacteriol. 1969 March; 97(3): 1234) excrete L-tyrosine. However, mutations carried by those bacteria were not specified, or were found to be in a gene other than the PDH gene, such as 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase (DS) gene or the like. Therefore, neither L-tyrosine-producing bacterium carrying PDH which is desensitized to feedback inhibition, nor a mutation resulting in desensitization of feedback inhibition of PDH activity has been reported.
Although a strain of Bacillus bacterium in which feedback inhibition of PDH is desensitized was obtained from D-tyrosine-resistant strains (J. Biol. Chem. 1970 Aug. 10; 245(15): 3763), no mention has been made as to whether the desensitization of this inhibition actually results in enhanced production of L-tyrosine. Furthermore, a specific site of the mutation has not been examined. Furthermore, the procedure to obtain a D-tyrosine-resistant strain was not applicable to Escherichia coli, because Escherichia coli is inherently resistant to D-tyrosine due to the presence of the dadA (D-amino acid dehydrogenase A) gene (J. Bacteriol. 1994 March; 176(5): 1500).
In Escherichia coli, PDH is encoded by the tyrA gene and is identical to Chorismate mutase (CM) (SEQ ID NO: 1). It has been reported that PDH is inhibited by L-tyrosine at a concentration as low as 300 μM (Biochemistry. 1985 Feb. 26; 24(5): 1116). On the other hand, it was reported that the active sites of PDH are within the region of amino acids at positions 94 to 373, and that the region also includes sites involved in inhibition of its activity by L-tyrosine (Eur J Biochem. 2003 February; 270(4): 757). However, it has not been elucidated which amino acid residue is involved in the inhibition.
3-fluoro-tyrosine is known as an inhibitor of 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase and has been used to isolate a tyrosine repressor (tyrR)-deficient strain. Although 3-fluoro-tyrosine is also known to inhibit PDH activity, the use of 3-fluoro-tyrosine to obtain a PDH mutant has not been reported to date.

L-tyrosine producing bacterium and a method for producing L-tyrosine


A system and method for epitaxial growth of high purity materials on an atomic or molecular layer by layer basis wherein a substrate is placed in an evacuated chamber which is evacuated to a pressure of less than about 10.sup.-9 Torr and predetermined amounts of predetermined precursor gases are injected into the chamber from a location in the chamber closely adjacent the substrate to form the atomic or molecular layer at the surface of the substrate while maintaining the pressure at less than about 10.sup.-9 Torr in the chamber in regions thereof distant from the substrate. The precursor gases are provided from a plurality of tanks containing the precursor gases therein under predetermined pressure and predetermined ones of the tanks are opened to the chamber for predetermined time periods while maintaining the pressure in the tanks. A dose limiting structure is provided for directing predetermined amounts of the precursor gases principally at the substrate with a dose limiting directional structure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and system for epitaxial growth of high purity materials on an atomic or molecular layer by layer basis.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) has been in existence for in excess of ten years as noted by M. A. Harman in Vacuum, volume 42, page 61 (1991) and Atomic Layer Epitaxy by T. Suntola and M. Simpson, Editors, Chapman and Hall (1990) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,430 of T. Suntola and M. Antson. ALE has been shown to produce high quality crystalline films of a variety of materials. The ALE approach is, in actuality, a special mode of other physical and chemical deposition growth techniques, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). ALE is based upon chemical reactions at carefully prepared, typically heated, substrate surfaces. The constituent elements of the film are delivered to the sample sequentially as pulses of neutral molecules or atoms.
The chemical reactions in the ALE process are self-limiting in that the available bonds (reactive sites) on the surface are consumed in their entirety. This limits the growth of the film to single layers of the reactant species. Through using the surface chemistry in the process, enhanced reactivity of the precursor may be expected at lower temperatures. The choice of the molecular species is based upon known surface chemistry in order to take advantage of the self-limiting reaction and lower growth temperatures. This includes choosing a precursor molecule on the basis of the reaction and lower growth temperatures. This also includes choosing a precursor molecule on the basis of the steric interactions of an adsorbed/reactant species, which permits an accurate control of surface coverage.
Two basic variants of ALE exist. A first such variant utilizes a direct ALE process whereby elemental constituents are deposited onto the substrate and direct chemical reactions ensue between these reactants and the outermost surface atoms. A second such variant process relies upon the sequential surface exchange reactions between the substrate surface atoms and the molecules of the reactants which are chemical compounds.
Typically, the vacuum chamber used in the ALE approach is backfilled with a gas phase molecule to result in high vacuum pressures on the order of 10.sup.-5 Torr (relatively high pressure). The vacuum chamber is frequently purged with a non-reactive gas between exposures. These relatively high pressures can result in the introduction of impurities into the film due to the usual purging process.
Precision dosing techniques of single crystal surfaces with molecular species have also been understood for some time as noted by C. T. Campbell and S. M. Velone in Journal of Vacuum Science Technology, Vol 43, page 408 (1985) and by A. Winkler and J. T. Yates, Jr. in Journal of Vacuum Science Technology, Vol 46, page 2929 (1988) and have largely concentrated upon academic surface science experiments as noted by R. M. Wallace in Backscattering and Chemical Investigation of Semiconductor Surfaces, a Ph.D. dissertation, University of Pittsburgh (1988). The technique comprises a gas reservoir of high purity gas vapor, typically at pressures below 1 atmosphere. This reservoir is connected to the vacuum chamber used for exposing the substrate through a small conductance limiting orifice, on the order of a few microns in diameter. This permits precise control of the molecular flux into the system by manipulating the reservoir pressure. The flux of molecules is passed to an effusive capillary assembly, generally comprising an array of capillaries, and directed at the substrate.
As noted above, the purging step, which has been required by the prior art, introduces impurities into the system when operating on an atomic and/or molecular scale. It is therefore desirable to eliminate the purging step from the operation.

Directed effusive beam atomic layer epitaxy system and method


A refrigerator has a cold water storage vessel mounted on an interior side of a door of the refrigerator. The vessel has a valve for opening and closing a water outlet thereof. A manually actuable lever mounted on the door is actuable by a user to discharge water. By actuating the lever, a magnetic force causes the valve to open. The magnetic force can be imposed by a first permanent magnet which is caused to approach a second permanent magnet disposed on the valve to repel the second magnet and thereby open the valve. Alternatively, a permanent magnet disposed on the valve can be repelled by a magnetic force of a stationary electromagnet which is energized by actuation of the lever.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water dispenser constructed in such way as to enable dispensation of cold water(drinking water) stored in a refrigerator at an external side of the refrigerator without opening and closing a door thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typically-used water dispenser of a refrigerator is constructed, as illustrated in FIG. 1, to dispense cold water stored in the refrigerator at an external side of a refrigerator body 1, to which a freezing chamber door 2 and a refrigerating chamber door 3 are coupled by a hinge (not shown) in such way as to allow the doors 2 and 3 to be opened and closed freely.
The refrigerating chamber door 3 is disposed at one side thereof with a water dispenser 4.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the water dispenser 4 is releasably disposed at an inner side of the refrigerating chamber door 3 with a water storage vessel 9 where cold water (w) is stored.
Furthermore, the water storage vessel 9 is disposed at an upper side thereof with a lid 10 in such way as to allow same to be opened and closed, and mounted at a lower side thereof with a lower cap 11.
The lower cap 11 is resiliently provided at an inner side thereof with a valve body 12 by a spring 8b so as to be vertically moved by a slide member 7.
The valve body 12 is arranged at an upper end thereof with a valve plate 13 for controlling flow of the cold water(w) by opening and closing an upper end of the lower cap 11 according to the vertical movement of the valve body 12.
Meanwhile, the refrigerating chamber door 3 is formed at an inner side thereof with a water discharge outlet 5a to allow the cold water(w) to be discharged out of the water storage vessel 9, and lengthwise and piercingly disposed at an upper side thereof with a cylinder 5 formed with a mounting part 5b thereon.
The cylinder 5 is provided therein with the slide member 7 resiliently disposed by a spring 8, where the slide member 7 is connected to a rod 7a and horizontally and sliding operated by operation of a water discharge lever 6 hingedly coupled to a front side thereof.
The mounting part 5b is mounted therein with the water storage vessel 9.
Now, an operational relation of the water dispenser of the conventional refrigerator thus constructed will be described.
First of all, when the water storage vessel 9 where a predetermined quantity of cold water (w) is stored is placed in the mounting part 5b formed at an upper side of the cylinder 5, the valve body 12 coupled to an inner side of the lower cap 11 is lifted downward at a lower end thereof by elastic force of the spring 8a to thereby cause the valve plate 13 to close an upper end of the lower cap 11, so that the cold water (w) in the water storage vessel 9 can maintain a state of not being discharged, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
When a vessel (c) such as cup and the like is placed underneath the water discharge outlet 5a as illustrated in FIG. 2 in an alternate long and short dash line, and when the vessel (c) is pushed toward an arrow direction, the water discharge lever 6 is forwardly moved.
According to the forward operation of the water discharge lever 6, the slide member 7 connected to the rod 7a is backwardly moved and at the same time, the valve body 12 is upwardly operated.
Accordingly, the valve plate 13 coupled to the upper end of the valve body 12 is lifted upward to thereby open an upper end of the lower cap 11, so that the cold water (w) can be discharged into the vessel (c) through the lower cap 11, cylinder 5 and through the water discharge outlet 5a.
However, there is a problem in the conventional water dispenser in that same is made by numerous parts, making it difficult to be assembled and thereby increasing manufacturing cost.
There is another problem in that a cylinder and a slide member have to be separated for cleaning thereof, thereby causing lots of inconveniences,


A turbogenerator includes a stator core defining a first end and a second end, a plurality of stator bars disposed within the stator core, each stator bar including a coolant flow path, and a parallel ring having a first segment and a second segment separate from the first segment. The parallel ring is coupled to the first end of the stator core and is arranged to electrically connect the plurality of stator bars and to fluidly connect the coolant flow paths of the plurality of stator bars. A tang includes a main chamber, a first coolant opening, a second coolant opening, and a distribution channel that fluidly interconnects the main chamber, the first coolant opening, and the second coolant opening. A first lead tube has a first lead end connected to the first coolant opening and a second lead end connected to the first segment, and a second lead tube separate from the first lead tube has a first lead end connected to the second coolant opening and a second lead end connected to the second segment. The plurality of stator bars, the parallel ring, the tang, the first lead tube, and the second lead tube cooperate to define a portion of a circuit and a portion of a cooling path.

Turbogenerators used for power generation often employ cooling systems to cool both the rotor and the stator of the generator. In some two-pole and four-pole generators, liquid or water cooling is used to cool the stator. The use and arrangement of the cooling for these generators often includes complicated flow paths and arrangements that are exposed to operating conditions that can lead to damage and leakage.

System and method for repairing a generator main lead


An EGR control apparatus and method for an internal combustion engine which burns an air-fuel mixture with self ignition in addition to a flame propagation combustion, are provided for improving the combustion efficiency, engine output, drivability, and exhaust gas characteristics in an internal combustion engine which involves a self ignition combustion of an air-fuel mixture in addition to a flame propagation combustion. The EGR control apparatus comprises an ECU which selects one of a stratified self ignition mode, a stratified flame propagation combustion mode, and a homogeneous flame propagation combustion mode, sets a total target EGR amount and a target in-cylinder gas temperature in accordance with the selected combustion mode, calculates a target internal EGR amount in accordance with the value, calculates a target external EGR amount by subtracting the target internal EGR amount from the total target EGR amount, and controls the internal EGR amount and the external EGR amount to be the target internal EGR amount and the target external EGR amount, respectively, by driving three mechanisms.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an EGR control apparatus and method for an internal combustion engine for burning an air-fuel mixture with self ignition while auxiliary using a spark ignition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, as an EGR control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, one described, for example, in Laid-open Japanese Patent Application No. 11-210539 is known. This internal combustion engine is of a type which can be operated by switching between a self ignition combustion mode for burning an air-fuel mixture with self ignition while auxiliary using a spark ignition and a flame propagation combustion mode for burning an air-fuel mixture with flame propagation using a spark ignition. This internal combustion engine comprises an EGR control valve for controlling the amount of exhaust gases recirculated from an exhaust passage to an intake passage, and a valve timing mechanism for changing opening/closing timings of an intake air valve by changing the phase of an intake cam shaft with respect to a crank shaft. The EGR control apparatus also comprises an intake air temperature sensor for detecting an intake air temperature, and calculates a gas temperature TE which is the temperature of an air-fuel mixture within a cylinder, i.e., an unburnt gas at the timing of ignition.
In a control process shown in FIG. 7 of this EGR control apparatus, it is determined, in accordance with an engine load and an engine rotational speed, whether an operating condition of the internal combustion engine is in an operation range 1 in which the flame propagation combustion mode can be executed, or in operation ranges 2, 3 in which the self ignition combustion mode can be executed (step 100), and a target temperature TEO and a gas temperature TE are calculated when it is determined that the internal combustion engine is in the operation ranges 2, 3 in which the self ignition combustion mode can be executed (steps 102, 103). Then, when TE>TEO is established, the opening of the EGR control valve is controlled toward a decreasing side by a predetermined value in order to reduce the gas temperature TE (step 105). On the other hand, when TE≦TEO is established, the opening of the EGR control valve is controlled toward an increasing side by a predetermined value in order to increase the gas temperature TE (step 106). Also, in this EGR control apparatus, when the operating condition of the internal combustion engine is in the operation range 3 of high loads, where it is difficult to increase the gas temperature TE to a predetermined range with recirculated gases, the flame propagation combustion mode is executed with a normal spark ignition (Paragraphs [0037], [0038], [0048]).
According to the conventional EGR control apparatus for the internal combustion engine, a high-temperature recirculated gas is recirculated into a combustion chamber through the EGR control valve in order to increase the gas temperature TE to a predetermined range with the EGR control, so that when the normal flame propagation combustion mode is executed while the operating condition of the internal combustion engine is in the operation range 3 of high loads, a reduction in combustion temperature by the recirculated gas cannot be made for purposes of avoiding knocking. As a result, in order to avoid knocking, an ignition timing retard control and the like are obliged to be executed, possibly resulting in a reduction in combustion efficiency, engine output, and drivability.

EGR control apparatus and method for internal combustion engine


A holder device for fastening a terminal connector 20 in a cable conduit 10 comprising a generally U-shaped strap having a yoke 22 and sidepieces 24 projecting from the ends of the yoke 22, said installed yoke 22 being seated on the bottom 12 of the conduit 10 and extending in the longitudinal direction of the conduit 10 whereby the terminal connector 20 can be attached to the free ends 36 of the sidepieces 24.

Cable conduits are used for a variety of purposes. For example, cable conduits are used in the installation of power cables, data cables and telecommunications cables in buildings and the like. In these applications, terminal connectors are installed in the cable conduit so that the terminal units can be connected at the desired locations to the cable laid in the cable conduit.
Holders for securing the terminal connectors securely in place in the cable conduit are known in the prior art. These holders are attached to the bottom of the cable conduit so that they project up from the bottom. The holding elements of the holding mechanism are designed as closed cups made of plastic into which the terminal connector is placed. More specifically, the terminal connector is fastened to the upper edge of the cup, for example, by means of a support ring or support tabs on the connector screwed to the cup edge. The cups are provided with openings so that the cable laid in the cable conduits can be passed through to the desired terminal connector. In other words, the cup openings allow the cable to pass into the cup and thus to the terminal connector. It has been found that this installation process has certain disadvantages and drawbacks, particularly when the cables are very stiff and must be passed with relatively short bending radii through the openings in the cup-like holders.

Fastening device for a terminal connector in a cable conduit

BTR Blumberger Telefon-und Relaisbau Albert Metz


An improved insulated cover for removable mounting onto a spa or hot tub or the like, wherein the cover is hinged to accommodate folding of the cover to a compact size and shape suitable for convenient shipment and/or storage. The cover comprises a foldable base including a pair of structural membranes formed from a relatively high tensile strength fabric and sewn together on a midline to define a central hinge, and secured together at their peripheries to defined a pair of pockets within which are mounted a pair of insulation panels of relatively stiff foam or the like. In some embodiments, a foldable frame ring formed in hinged or separable half sections may be mounted to the structural membranes at the peripheries thereof. A decorative top sheet is stretched over the foldable base, and a peripheral margin thereof is wrapped over the periphery of the base and radially constricted for retention thereon by a drawstring or the like.

This invention relates generally to insulated covers or lids for mounting over a tank containing a heated fluid such as water, particularly such as a therapeutic spa tub or hot tub or the like. More specifically, this invention relates to a relatively simple, lightweight, and inexpensive insulated cover of the type shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,759, designed for minimizing water heat and evaporative losses while additionally safeguarding against foreign objects and/or persons falling into the fluid-containing tank, but wherein the improved insulated cover is conveniently foldable to a reduce size configuration for facilitated shipping and storage.
Thermal covers for use with swimming pools and spa tubs and the like are generally known in the art. In one common form, such thermal covers comprise a flexible blanket of vinyl or other suitable plastic material to float on the water surface. The flexible blanket is designed to provide an insulative structure which is substantially impermeable to passage of water and air, whereby heat is substantially retained within the body of water and evaporative losses are substantially minimized. Alternative thermal covers which function in an analogous manner include an array of floating objects such as hollow plastic balls which substantially cover the water surface to retain heat and minimize evaporation. However, pool and spa covers of these types provide minimal protection against foreign objects falling into the pool or spa, particularly with respect to safeguarding against a child or other person falling into the water.
Other protective covers for swimming pools and spa tubs and the like have included relatively high strength blankets of canvas-backed or reinforced plastic or vinyl materials, in combination with anchor devices for retaining the blanket in a configuration stretched over the water surface. Such covers beneficially provide protection against persons and foreign objects falling into the water, but proper attachment of the cover to the requisite anchoring devices represents a time consuming and often difficult task. Moreover, the anchoring devices typically require permanent attachment to structural walls or decking surfaces surrounding the pool or spa tub.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,759 discloses an improved insulated cover for use with a spa tub or hot tub or the like, wherein a relatively lightweight panel of insulated foam or the like is used in combination with a structural membrane of relatively high tensile strength fabric stretched over an outer or peripheral frame ring. The structural membrane, typically in cooperation with a decorative top cover sheet, retains the insulation material in a position extending over the spa or hot tub to retain heat and prevent excess evaporation. In addition, the structural membrane provides a lightweight yet effective physical structure for withstanding substantial vertical loads, whereby the cover safeguards against persons or other objects falling into the water. Despite these benefits and advantages, however, the insulated cover described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,759 is not designed for convenient folding to a compact size and shape conducive to convenient shipping and/or storage.
The present invention represents a further improvement in and to insulative covers for a fluid-containing tank such as a spa tub or hot tub, particularly of the type shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,759, wherein the cover is adapted to be folded to a convenient and compact profile for shipping and/or storage, yet wherein the cover when erected includes a high tensile strength structural membrane capable of accommodating substantial vertical loads.


A data analyzer stores data values at any one of N stages while associating the data values with a plurality of data elements respectively and stores association weighting information among the data elements, selects one of the data elements as a target data at random and computes an input stimulus value concerned with the target data on the basis of the association weighting information between the target data and the other data elements and the data values of the other data elements, and updates the data value of the target data on the basis of the computed input stimulus value in such a manner that a threshold decided in accordance with a current data value associated with the target data and varying according to each data value is compared with the input stimulus value to determine whether the data value needs to be changed or not, and that the data value is updated when a decision is made that the data value needs to be changed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data analyzer using a neural network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several methods have been heretofore known as data analyzing methods of the type using a neural network. Of these, a method proposed by J. J. Hopfield includes the steps of: defining bond strengths among a plurality of nodes; and judging which of predetermined patterns a pattern including one of the nodes is closest to.
Bond strengths among nodes are set here so that the bond strength from a node i to a node j is equal to the bond strength from the node j to the node i to thereby become so-called symmetrical bond. It is known that active propagation in a network (symmetrical bond network) constituted by such nodes results in settling into a specific stable state (a fixed point which is an attractor of a dynamical system decided by active propagation). That is, the method proposed by Hopfield is a method for computing which fixed point pattern (of predetermined patterns) the initial pattern of the network is closest to, in accordance with which stable state (fixed point) the network finally settles into (Hopfield, J. J. (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 79, 2554).

Data analyzer utilizing the spreading activation theory for stemming processing


The present invention relates to ratcheting thread clamping devices and the use of multiple interleaved thread structures on one or more of the segments of the ratcheting device. It is shown how the use of such multiple threads reduces locking distance when the ratcheting device is moved in the ratcheting direction along a single-threaded rod, that is, reduced locking distance is achieved with an improved thread clamping device without the necessity of any changes to the threaded rod to which the device clamps. Multiple thread structures thus reduce locking distance in prior art devices typically having frustoconical segment surfaces as well as in more recent devices having nut segments with planar surfaces.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of ratcheting fastening devices and methods of use, more particularly, to shortening the locking distance of ratcheting fasteners by using double or multiple threads on one or more movable nut segments of the fastening device.
2. Description of Prior Art
A ratcheting fastener is a device that fastens to the external, threaded surface of a threaded rod. Such a device is capable of moving along the threaded rod in one direction, the "ratcheting direction" without rotation, but must be rotated in order to move along the threaded rod in the opposite "non-ratcheting" direction. Such devices are also called "ratcheting thread clamping devices" or simply "thread clamping devices" TCDs, which will be the designation used herein.
TCDs typically include a plurality of segments in a configuration so as to encompass some or all of the outer circumference of a threaded rod. The inner surfaces of some or all of the segments are threaded so as to engage with the threads of the threaded rod. The segments, or nut segments, are in a movable configuration ("movable nut segments") so as to allow disengagement of the TCD with the threads of the rod when moved in the ratcheting direction, but do not disengage and must be rotated in the manner of a conventional nut in order to move in the opposite non-ratcheting direction.
Numerous examples of TCDs exist including the following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,081,811; 6,007,284; 3,695,139; 4,378,187; 4,974,888; 5,324,150; 5,427,488; 5,733,084; 5,988,965; 6,361,260; 6,406,240. While conventional TCDs use segments having frustoconical segments, recent work by the present inventor describes TCDs having segments with flat, not frustoconical, surfaces. These include embodiments described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,257,004 and pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/385,135 (Patent Application Publication US 2012/0134764 A1, "'764"). The entire contents of these references are included herein by reference for all purposes.
For motion in the ratcheting direction, the one or more threaded segments engaging with the threads of the threaded rod disengage from one thread of the rod, slide over the thread to re-engage with the adjacent thread of the rod. The distance moved by the TCD in disengaging with one thread and engaging with the next thread is the "locking distance."
In conventional TCDs, the threaded segments engaging the threads of the threaded rod have the same pitch as the threads on the rod. Thus, the locking distance is substantially the same as the thread pitch of the threaded rod.
However, there are important applications for TCDs, particularly in the construction industry, in which reducing the locking distance for a TCD engaging a threaded rod offers significant advantages.
For example, wood is a major construction material in many places throughout the world. Wooden structures frequently use "tie-downs" to secure the wooden structure to its foundation, typically a concrete foundation or a concrete and block foundation. The function of tie-downs is thus to secure the wooden structure to its foundation in the presence of forces (perhaps substantial forces) tending to separate the structure from its foundation, such as high winds, floods, seismic events, or general shifting and settling of the surrounding earth. However, the wood typically used for construction often has considerable water content when initially installed and with time, the water evaporates and the wood dries out. In the process of drying out, the wood dimensionally shrinks. Approximately 4% shrinkage in the first year following construction of a wooden structure is not uncommon. This shrinkage commonly causes tie-downs to loosen, thereby making the structure more susceptible to damaging displacements in the presence of high winds, earthquakes among other external forces. Catastrophic damage may result.
A common method for implementing a tie-down is by imbedding a vertical threaded rod into the concrete of the foundation at the location where the wooden structure is to be joined to the foundation. The threaded rod generally resides within the walls of a single or multilevel structure as it passes from the concrete foundation up through each floor of the structure. Each floor is typically attached to the threaded rod by a separate tie-down. The primary fastener presently used to implement a tie-down is a standard "hex" nut.
If a standard nut is used, a space will typically develop under the standard nut and above the wood as the wood shrinks in dimension due to loss of water as described above. This space allows the tie-down (and structure) to move vertically when an overturning moment is applied to the structure as might occur, for example, during a seismic event, wind loading, among other circumstances. This motion of the structure with respect to the foundation, in turn, allows for deformation of the structural walls and may produce substantial damage that the tie-down is designed to prevent when functioning properly, that is when holding the structure securely in place on the foundation. Thus, a need exists in the art for a tie-down that is self-compensating, that is, a tie-down that maintains secure attachment of the structure to the foundation despite shrinkage of the wood.
Two important facts and conclusions are apparent from the above statement of this important engineering and economic problem. First, a ratcheting tie-down device will ratchet to a lower position, thereby more firmly anchoring the structure, when there is sufficient shrinkage to permit ratcheting to the next thread position. That is, ratcheting occurs when the shrinkage is approximately the same as the locking distance. Therefore, decreasing locking distance in a ratcheting tie-down device leads to ratcheting with less shrinkage thereby increasing structural stability. Secondly, it would require a substantial change in structural design and construction procedures to alter the threaded rods to which tie-down devices attach, a serious barrier to adoption of different threaded rods. Therefore, it would be advantageous to achieve shorter locking distance by means of an improved TCD that requires no changes to the threaded rod(s) customarily used in the construction industry. The description of such a TCD is one objective of the present disclosure along with our co-pending application Ser. No. 12/309,574.
In fact, the importance of locking distance in maintaining structural stability is sufficiently great that the International Codes Council ("ICC") has recently promulgated standards for locking distance that must be met for a device in order to achieve Code approval. The ICC has adopted Acceptance Criteria ("AC"), AC316, that require Tension Controlled Shrinkage Compensation Devices ("TCSCD") to meet certain performance criteria. Among these is a requirement that the deflection of the TCSCD under load is limited to 0.125 inch minus "looseness." "Looseness" as used in AC316 is defined as the distance the threaded rod must be moved in the locking direction relative to the TCD before the TCD segments lock to the rod. That is, ICC "looseness" is "locking distance" as used herein while "locking direction" equates with "ratcheting direction" as used herein.
Receiving formal ICC approval for a device is an important commercial advantage in the US market. But ICC approval is based upon successfully passing independent performance tests and evaluations, providing strong evidence of the devices' capabilities, even in those jurisdictions in which formal ICC approval is not a legal requirement. Thus, a need exists in the art for a TCD meeting ICC ACs, and also demonstrating improved overall performance.
It is expected that tie-downs and shrinkage-compensation devices as used in the construction industry are likely to be an immediate and important application for the structures and devices described herein. However, the present disclosure is not so limited and provides reduced locking distances for all manner of TCDs including those employing frustoconical or flat surfaces and for any field of use in which TCDs may be employed. Thus, a need exists in the art for structures and devices for reducing locking distances in ratcheting devices.

Structure for reducing locking distance in ratcheting devices


In a plasma CVD apparatus, a plate formed with a plurality of perforated holes is arranged to separate a plasma generation region and a processing region. The aperture ratio of the perforated holes to the plate is not greater than five percent. Plasma including radicals and excited species is generated from an oxygen (O2) gas in the plasma generation region, then the radicals and excited species flow into the processing region through the perforated holes. A monosilane (SiH4) gas is also supplied into the processing region, but the backward flow of the monosilane gas into the plasma generation region is suppressed by the plate. In the processing region, the radicals and the excited species and the monosilane gas result in a gas phase reaction that yields the silicon dioxide film formed on the substrate or the wafer with high quality.

This invention relates to substrate processing and, more particularly, to a plasma chemical vapor deposition (plasma CVD) by using a reaction between a gas and radicals obtained from another gas.
As is well known, formation of a film or a layer is one of the primary steps in the fabrication of modern semiconductor devices and, such a film or a layer can be deposited by a CVD process, for example, a thermal CVD process or a plasma CVD process (plasma-enhanced CVD process). Especially, a remote plasma CVD process is an improved one of plasma CVD processes and can form a desired thin film on a substrate or a wafer with suppression of damage arising from plasma.
In an exemplary remote plasma CVD process, two types of gases are used. One type of gas is a plasma material gas that is decomposed, and/or energized, and changed into plasma including radicals and excited species, while another type of gas is a deposition material gas that reacts with the radicals and excited species in a gas phase reaction. For example, the former is oxygen (O2) gas while the latter is monosilane or silane (SiH4) gas. In a remote plasma CVD process, oxygen gas is at first energized and changed into plasma within a plasma generation region. The plasma includes excited species and radicals which are excited oxygen atoms, excited oxygen molecules, oxygen atoms, oxygen molecules, and ozone molecules. The radicals and excited species included in the plasma are supplied into a substrate processing region that is separated or isolated from the plasma generation region. Independently of the excited species and radicals, monosilane gas is also supplied into the substrate processing region, where a gas phase reaction between the oxygen gas and the monosilane gas occurs. The gas phase reaction produces precursors which are for silicon dioxide (SiO2) and are for example SiHx, SiHxOy, SiOy, and so on. The precursors are adhered to a substrate or a wafer arranged within the substrate processing region and are subjected to oxidation, thermal dissociation and so forth, so that the silicon dioxide film are formed on the substrate or the wafer. Silicon nitride (Si3N4) film and an amorphous silicon (a-Si) film can be formed in the way similar to the above-mentioned remote plasma CVD process.
Some types of apparatuses and methods for processing with remote plasma CVD techniques are shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. H8-167596 and H8-194942, which are incorporated herein by reference.
One problem that arises during such remote plasma CVD processes is that a deposition material gas, such as silane gas, flows back into the plasma generation region from the substrate processing region. In case of silane gas of the deposition material gas, the backward flow of the deposition material gas results in excess formation of hydrogen atoms (H) and/or hydrogen molecules (H2), so that the silicon dioxide film formed on the substrate or wafer includes a great deal of H or OH. The problem is discussed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H8-45858, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Remote plasma apparatus for processing substrate with two types of gases


A backlight apparatus can include a light emitting element configured to emit visible light. The backlight apparatus can include a polarizing device including a prism situated to receive the visible light and to polarize the visible light to generate polarized light. The backlight apparatus can include a light guide panel configured to receive the polarized light at an input surface facing the polarizing device and to distribute the polarized light to a major surface of the light guide panel facing a display screen.

Displays, especially three-dimensional (3D) holographic displays, suffer from problems of low brightness and low power efficiency. Embodiments herein provide improved brightness and power efficiency.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. The configurations shown in the drawings are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosed subject matter in any manner.

Polarizing edge coupled light in backlight


A pellicle mounting method is provided. The method includes aligning a mounting apparatus with a top surface of a pellicle frame, the mounting apparatus having a continuous duct extending therethrough and a plurality of contact pins projecting from the mounting apparatus. The method also includes introducing a pressurizing fluid into the continuous duct that causes each of the plurality of contact pins to engage the top surface of the pellicle frame with a substantially equal force, a combined force of the plurality of contact pins urging a bottom surface of the pellicle frame against a top surface of a photomask, the combined force being adjustable based on a pressure within the continuous duct. Further, the method includes adjusting the pressure within the continuous duct until the pressure is approximately equal to a pre-determined optimal pressure.

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. Such scaling down has also increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and, for these advances to be realized, similar developments in IC manufacturing are needed.
For example, in semiconductor technologies, a plurality of photomasks (masks) are formed with predesigned IC patterns. The plurality of masks are used during lithography processes to transfer predesigned IC patterns into a plurality of exposure fields on a semiconductor wafer.
During the photolithography illumination process, the IC pattern on the photomask should be free of any foreign particles and debris. To prevent such debris from collecting on the photomask during transportation and storage, pellicles are often secured to the photomask to protect the IC pattern. A pellicle typically includes a thin film stretched across a frame that is secured to the mask by an adhesive or other semi-permanent or permanent fastener. The frame holds the film a distance above the mask pattern such that particles deposited on the film will be out of focus during illumination of the mask. In some instances, when a pellicle is mounted to a photomask, the force of pellicle frame induces distortion in the photomask. Such distortion may negatively influence the IC pattern transferred to a semiconductor wafer.
Thus, although existing approaches and structures utilized to mount a pellicle on a photomask have been satisfactory for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A pacifier glove is provided. The pacifier glove includes a mitten body having opposing sides and having a closed end and an open end, the opposing sides of the mitten body defining an opening there between, the opening being accessible via the open end. An elastic member is configured on the mitten body and proximate the open end, and a strap member is configured on an opposing side of the mitten body and proximate the open end, the strap member opposing the elastic member. A pocket is configured on an exterior surface of the mitten body, the pocket having exterior and interior surfaces. A pacifier is coupled to the exterior surface of the pocket, and the pocket is configured to be turned inside-out on the mitten body to create an inside-out pocket. Under the condition that the pocket is turned inside-out, the pacifier is repositioned within the inside-out pocket.

Technical Field
The following relates generally to the field of infant gloves and in particular to a glove, including, for example, a mitten, that may be worn by an infant or toddler and may be configured with a pacifier thereon.
State of the Art
Pacifiers can be an infant caregiver's dream. Pacifiers are often utilized by parents, or caregivers, to calm, or otherwise soothe, an agitated baby. Infants, and all mammals for that matter, are born with a rooting and sucking reflex. These reflexes complement one another to cause the infant to instinctively suck anything that touches the roof of its mouth, and simulates the way an infant naturally eats. It follows that a pacifier placed in an infant's mouth triggers this reflex. In addition, it is widely believed that the act of sucking triggers a calming reflex in the infant, thus helping to calm and soothe an otherwise agitated infant.
Pacifiers are known in the art. Because of their same general purpose, different brands of pacifiers often have a similar common design. Pacifiers are generally comprised of a mouth shield, which is often comprised of rigid plastic, with a resilient teat, often comprised of rubber, plastic, or silicone, centrally located on one side of the mouth shield and protruding therefrom, and a handle on the opposing side of the mouth shield, opposite the teat.
The mouth shield is usually designed to be large enough to abut the infant's mouth without the infant being able to place the entire mouth shield within the infant's mouth, for safety. The attached teat is configured to enter the infant's mouth and cause the infant to begin sucking, via reflex. The handle permits the caregiver to pull on the handle to dislodge the pacifier from the infant's mouth, as needed.
In some cases, an infant will disengage the pacifier in its own mouth by ceasing to perform the sucking reflex, thus causing the pacifier to fall out of the infant's mouth. In other cases, the infant will grip and pull on the handle and unwittingly dislodge the pacifier from its mouth. Under such circumstances, if the caregiver wishes for the infant to continue to use the pacifier, the caregiver must find the pacifier and physically place the pacifier back into the infant's mouth until the infant reengages the pacifier via the sucking reflex. This process may need to be repeated and maintained until the infant is either asleep or soothed without the need of the pacifier. This can be particularly burdensome at night.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an apparatus and/or system that incorporates an infant pacifier that addresses the concerns described above.


A micromechanical component and a method for producing a micromechanical component are proposed, a hollow space and a region of porous silicon being provided, the region of porous silicon being provided for lowering the pressure prevailing in the hollow space.

Getter materials of porous metals are generally known which are used for binding gases in closed systems. The task at hand is to enclose a low pressure in such a closed system, such as a hollow space, for example, this pressure approaching vacuum pressure. Getter materials can be used to bind the entrapped gases and, in this way, greatly reduce the pressure. The disadvantage associated with the known getter materials is that the process for producing such materials is not suited for a semiconductor manufacturing process. Another disadvantage associated with the known getter materials is that they are not suited for semiconductors.


A wheel hub unit (1), particularly for a motor vehicle, comprises a hub (2) having a centering. sleeve portion (3) axially projecting from a radial side surface (10) of the hub and defining an inner through bore (4), an axle (5) rotatably supporting the hub (2), a wheel (6) with a radially inner annular rim (7) defining a centering bore (8) for fitting onto the hub sleeve portion (3), and a cover (9) for closing the through bore (4). The cover (9) is forcefully fitted over a radially outer surface (15) of the hub sleeve portion (3) such that a cylindrical portion (21) of the cover (9) is interposed between the annular rim (7) of the wheel (6) and the radially outer surface (15) of the hub sleeve portion (3).

As is well known in the art, motor vehicle wheels are mounted to hubs fast for rotation with an axle journal or an axle shaft, according to the specific function of the wheel.
It is known to use a cover, generally made of sheet metal, to close the through bore at the center of the hub in order to prevent external agents from reaching and contaminating the axle and the other hub components, for example the hub bearing.
In conventional solutions, the cover is forcefully fitted inside a centering sleeve portion or spigot axially projecting from the hub. The wheel forms a radially inner annular rim by which it is then mounted and centered onto said spigot.
This solution, although widely applied, has some drawbacks. Particularly, the contacting surfaces between the hub and the wheel and between the hub and a radial flange of an optional brake member (disc or drum) are likely to suffer from corrosion caused by external contaminants. Corrosion is also caused by the differential of galvanic potential between the different metallic materials which these components are made of. The intensity and entity of the corrosion is proportional to such difference of galvanic potential. This problem is particularly felt with light metal alloy wheels.
To avoid this inconvenience, said components have to be made out of special materials, thereby increasing manufacturing costs. Alternatively, the hub spigot must undergo an anti-corrosion processing, which is extremely difficult to attain with satisfactory results.


The present invention discloses a device and method of achieving a passive fit between a dental implant-supported metal bar or framework and dental implants located within a patient's mouth. The present invention comprises the steps of fabricating the dental implant-supported metal bar, contacting the metal bar and the plurality of dental implant analogs within a dental cast, and correcting the fit of the metal bar by inductively heating the dental implant-supported bar, thereby achieve the desired passive fit.

Root-form, endosseous dental implants have been in common use in the United States for the treatment of edentulism and partial edentulism since the early 1980's. A root-form, endosseous, dental implant is a cylindrical device made of titanium or titanium alloy, typically 8-15 mm long and 4-6 mm wide. Its surface configuration may be threaded, acid etched, titanium plasma sprayed, or coated with hydroxyappatite. In general, when patients are missing some or all of their teeth, dental implants can be surgically placed into the jaw bone in the areas of the missing teeth. Following a 3-6 month healing period, a second surgical procedure is performed. During the second surgery, the dental implants are exposed and a cylindrical extension device, i.e., an abutment, is screw fastened to each dental implant. When the surgical wound is closed following this surgery, the abutments project through the gingival tissues so that approximately 1-3 mm of the abutment is apparent, extending into the oral cavity proper. At this point in the dental implant therapy, construction of a prosthesis is initiated. The final prosthesis is designed to directly or indirectly attach to the dental implants.
When a patient is missing several, but not all of his teeth, i.e., is partially edentulous, two or more dental implants may be surgically placed to support partial denture prostheses, i.e., "dental bridges". Typically in this scenario, the dental implants are surgically placed a minimum of approximately 3-5 mm apart in the area of the patient's jaw in which teeth are missing. Following healing, as previously described, the most common partial denture prosthesis involves the construction of a metal ceramic restoration. A metal substructure or framework is fabricated in an appropriate dental casting alloy. This metal framework may secondarily be veneered with a dental porcelain to create the illusion of natural dentition. This partial denture prosthesis is then fastened to the dental implants using a series of metal retaining screws, tightened to predetermined torque specifications. The implant supported partial denture prosthesis restores comfortable and efficient oral function, as well as providing acceptable aesthetic replacement of the patient's missing teeth.
Frequently, when a patient is missing all of his teeth, i.e., is edentalous, three to five implants will be surgically placed approximately 10-15 mm apart in the anterior aspect of the patient's edentulous jaw. Following healing, as previously described, a single metal framework or bar can be fabricated and fastened to each of the implants by small metal screws. A complete denture prosthesis is then constructed so that it may be clipped onto the metal bar at the patient's discretion. The metal bar screw fastened to the dental implants serves to stabilize, support and retain the complete denture. This mechanical advantage allows the patient to wear the complete denture prosthesis comfortably with assurance that the denture will not "fall out" at an inopportune and embarrassing moment. This physical and psychological security is frequently not available for patients that do not have the advantage of dental implant support for their complete denture. To this end, dental implants have served to improve a patient's quality of life.
Clinical research supports the ability of the human jaw bone to biologically accept implanted metallic structures, and maintain these structures in a healthy state. It is also the current belief of the dental profession that the application of excessive mechanical force to dental implants may adversely affect the surrounding bone. Excessive force may originate from a variety of sources. One such source is the constant mechanical force applied to implants when an inaccurately fitting metal bar or framework is screw fastened to the implants. This constant mechanical load on the system has been referred to as static prestress. If the fastened bar or framework does not fit accurately onto the dental implants, it may prestress or preload the system leading to (1) biological breakdown of bone contacting and surrounding the dental implants, and/or (2) premature mechanical failure of the retaining screws, dental implants or the metal bar or framework.
The present invention, as described herein, is equally applicable to the construction of metal bars and metal frameworks used in the dental prosthetic rehabilitation of patients missing some or all of their teeth. For simplicity of discussion, the metal bar, as described above in the restoration of edentulous patients, will be discussed in detail. However, it must be emphasized that the present invention may be applied equally well to both the metal bar and the metal framework supported by dental implants.
Bar fabrication involves the "lost wax" technique of metal casting. A wax or resin pattern of the proposed bar is created, incorporated in a gypsum-based investment material and cast in dental alloy, e.g., ADA type IV gold casting alloy consisting of 59% Au+23% Ag+13% Cu+4% Pd. Alternatively, the dental alloy may be nickel-chromium alloy or titanium alloy. Upon completion, the bar is properly finished and polished and placed in the patient's mouth. A single retaining screw is fastened to hold the bar in place, and the other bar-implant interfaces or junctions are visually inspected to assess the adequacy of bar adaptation. This approach of assessing fit may be referred to as the "single screw test". The accuracy of fit of the metal bar to the dental implants can be affected by a variety of factors during bar construction. However, a primary concern is the impact of solidification shrinkage of the cast metal alloy on the resultant three-dimensional accuracy of the bar. It is possible that distortion of the bar may be expressed in all three linear and three rotational dimensions.
As contemplated by the prior art, if adequate fit of the metal bar to the dental implants is not present, procedures directed at correction of the bar must be undertaken. Typically, the metal bar is sectioned, reoriented in the mouth or on the dental cast, and subjected to laboratory brazing procedures. The metal bar must again be placed on the dental implant using the "single screw test" to reassess the accuracy of fit. This sectioning-brazing procedure may have to be performed two, three, or four times before a visually assessed, accurate fit of the metal bar to the dental implants is achieved. A bar containing several soldered or brazed joints may be mechanically weakened such that normal masticatory loading will result in failure.
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for constructing accurately fitting, screw-retained, metal bars or metal frameworks for dental implant-assisted prostheses.

Method for constructing accurately fitting frameworks for endosseous implant-supported dental prostheses

Board of Regents The University of Texas System


A method for determining the dependencies between objects in a system is provided. Determining the dependencies between objects involves analyzing data about the objects and applying rules to the data about the objects. According to one embodiment, a first set of dependencies between a plurality of objects may be based on data in a set of sources and dependency rules, whereas a second set of dependencies between the plurality of objects may be based on data from a different set of sources but the same dependency rules. According to another embodiment, a first set of dependencies between a plurality of objects may be based on data in a set of sources and dependency rules, whereas a second set of dependencies between the plurality of objects is based on data from the same set of sources but different dependency rules.

Frequently, there is a need to understand the relationships between various objects in order to assess the effect that a change associated with one object has on other objects within a system. When a change associated with a first object affects a second object, there is a "dependency" between the objects. Specifically, the second object is the to "depend on" the first object.
What it specifically means for an object to "depend on" another object is determined by the "dependency rules" that are established for the objects in question. For example, in the context of a company, one may define a dependency rule that a first person depends on a second person if the first person is managed by the second person. In the context of software deployment, one may define a dependency rule that a first software module depends on a second software module if the first software module has to be installed before the second software module. In the context of a database, one may define a dependency rule that a first database object depends on a second database object if the definition of the first database object refers to the second database object. In the context of a family, one may define a dependency rule that a first family member depends on a second family member if the first family member is a descendant of the second family member. In the context of a patent application, one may define a dependency rule that a first claim depends on a second claim if the first claim refers to the second claim and incorporates all of the limitations of the second claim.
The foregoing examples illustrate simply dependency rules for several contexts. As is evident by the examples, the "objects" that are subject of the dependency rules vary from context to context. In fact, there is virtually no limit to the type of objects for which dependency rules may be defined. Further, there is no limit to the type and complexity of the dependency rules themselves.
When objects are represented within a computer system, the computer system may be programmed to determine the dependencies between the objects based on the appropriate dependency rules. For example, assume that a database contains a table that includes information about all of the employees of a company. Assume that each row of the table corresponds to an employee, and that a particular column of the table is used to indicate the managers of the employees. Finally, assume that the dependency rule established for the company is that a first employee depends on a second employee if the second employee manages the first employee. In this scenario, a program may be written to determine the dependency relationships between the employees based on (1) the dependency rule, (2) the employee associated with each row, and (3) the manager identified in the column of each row.
In the preceding examples, the dependencies existed between same-type objects. However, dependencies may also exist between different types of objects. For example, a software module that processes certain types of records may "depend on" the format of those records. In this example, the format of a record is a different type of object than a software module, yet the software module depends on the format of the record.
In most cases, the dependency rules establish a transitive relationship. Thus, if A depends on B, and B depends on C, then A depends on C. For example, certain objects in a data warehouse may affect other objects in the data warehouse, which in turn may affect yet other objects in the data warehouse. For example, the objects in the data warehouse may be tables containing source data, code for processing the tables containing the source data, and staging tables. A change in the format of the tables containing the source data may require an update to the code that processes the tables containing the source data. Thus, the code depends on the source data tables. In turn, an update to the code that processes the tables containing the source data may affect other objects in the data warehouse, such as staging tables. Thus, the staging tables depend on the code. Because the staging tables depend on the code, and the code depends on the source data tables, the staging tables (indirectly) depend on the source data tables.
In many situations, it is critical to know the dependencies between objects. For example, in looking at a report that was generated by a business intelligence analysis tool, a person may see what appears to be an error in the amount of money charged to a particular client for a service rendered by a particular business. The source of the error may lie in any of the various objects involved in generating the erroneous number. Unfortunately, the list of objects involved in generating that number may be long, and the dependencies between them may be complex. For example, the business intelligence analysis tool may access a database comprising objects, such as database tables with data describing businesses and their respective clients, as well as transitional objects. The transitional objects may be programs that perform operations on the database tables. Determining whether there is an error entails not only examining the tables that contain the client's data and the table containing the business' data, but may also entail examining the transitional objects between the two tables.
In the foregoing example, the dependency information is important to determine the "lineage" of the erroneous number. A "lineage analysis" involves identifying the set of objects on which an object depends. In other situations, it is important to know which objects depend on a particular object. For example, an "impact analysis" involves identifying which objects will be impacted by a change to a particular object.
Both lineage analysis and impact analysis are painstaking processes if done manually, and require intimate knowledge of the systems and objects involved in the analysis. Tools can be created to help in this analysis. However, the nature of the objects and the dependencies between the objects vary widely. For example, the objects may comprise data describing parties involved in business relationships, people in families, or even geological formations. Further, the nature of the dependencies between these various types of objects vary. Therefore, many different tools would be needed to address all of the types of problems for all of the types of objects and the dependencies between the objects.
As is evident by the foregoing examples, there is a need to provide a scalable, flexible, and expandable way of analyzing the dependencies between various types of objects, from various types of systems, with various types of dependency relationships, without a proliferation of dependency-analysis tools.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Analyzing the dependencies between objects in a system


A multilayer chip electronic component may include: a ceramic body including a plurality of dielectric layers; an inductor part disposed within the ceramic body and including first and second internal electrodes; a capacitor part disposed within the ceramic body and including third to fifth internal electrodes; and first and second external electrodes disposed on first and second end surfaces of the ceramic body, a third external electrode extended from second main surface of the ceramic body to first and second side surfaces, and a fourth external electrode extended from first main surface of the ceramic body to the first and second side surfaces. The capacitor part may include first and second capacitor parts and the inductor part and the capacitor part are connected to each other.

The present disclosure relates to a multilayer chip electronic component and a board having the same.
In accordance with rapid growth of the market for small portable terminals due to the emergence of smart phones or tablet personal computers (PCs), multifunctionalization, miniaturization, and thinning of portable terminals have been further intensified.
Among these, since wireless communications circuits have been modularized, they require decreases in volumes thereof, in addition to multiband correspondence.
Meanwhile, as processing performance of a central processing unit (CPU) of a base band part is improved, wireless modules or radio frequency (RF) analog circuits are driven at high frequency to be subjected to electromagnetic wave interference from peripheral circuits, such that communications disruption may easily occur.
Meanwhile, an LC filter, a multilayer chip electronic component, is mounted on printed circuit boards of various electronic products including display devices such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs) and the like, computers, smartphones, mobile phones, and the like, to serve as an electronic component for suppressing noise.
In accordance with the miniaturization of portable terminals, demand for such LC filters to be reduced in size while having high efficiency have also been required.
In addition, along with the rapid development of mobile terminals such as tablet personal computers (PCs), ultra books, and the like, the miniaturization and high integration of microprocessors have been conducted.
Therefore, an area of a printed circuit board is decreased and correspondingly, a space for mounting the LC filter is limited, such that multilayer chip electronic components satisfying the limited mounting space have been continuously requested.
Further, since portable terminals are being used within higher frequency ranges than ever, LC filters having excellent efficiency in such high frequency regions are required.

Multilayer chip electronic component and board having the same


A mobile input device of a mobile terminal includes: a selection unit for selecting an application program of the mobile terminal; an execution instruction unit for generating an instruction to execute the application program; and a wireless communication unit for transmitting the instruction to execute to the mobile terminal, wherein the mobile input device inputs information to the executed application program.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile input device of a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile input device that can select various application programs, transmit an execution instruction of a selected application program to the mobile terminal using wireless communication, and input information to the application program executed in the mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently mobile terminals, such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a smart phone, that can provide various functions are widely used.
The provision of various functions in the mobile terminal, such as: a wireless Internet function, an electronic scheduler function, a multimedia photographing/reproducing function, and a game function, in addition to a basic communication function, has led to a demand for a variety of function-specific data input devices for input of data to the mobile terminal.
Typical conventional data input devices of the mobile terminal include, for example, a keypad, a touch pad, and a touch screen. When inputting a character, a user unskilled at using the input device may experience difficulty due to the small size of the input device, a complicated character input system, or a different input method according to a kind of a product.
At present, one method of data input includes displaying a virtual soft keypad on a touch screen and selecting the virtual soft keypad using a stylus with a touch method. In order to perform the aforementioned exemplary method, a user extracts a stylus mounted in a mobile terminal, and then uses the stylus with a touch method. The touch method includes using the stylus to manually select an application program on the mobile terminal by selecting from a menu of the mobile terminal, executing the application program after a relatively lengthy plurality of steps, and inputting information to the executed application program.

Maetan-dong, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do