A laser printer having a self-diagnostic function includes a first sensing unit that changes in detection status when one of a process cartridge and an inspection cartridge is mounted therein, and a second sensing unit that changes in detection status when at least the other of the process cartridge and inspection cartridge is mounted therein. A control unit of the laser printer identifies the type of cartridge mounted in the laser printer based on detection results from the first and second sensing units and switches the operating mode of the laser printer from a normal mode for performing image-forming operations to a self-diagnostic mode for diagnosing the status of its components when the control unit determines that the inspection cartridge is mounted in the laser printer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image-forming device for forming images on a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image-forming devices having a function for detecting abnormalities and the like in the operating state of the device, such as that disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. HEI-6-87963, are well known in the art. With these image-forming devices, an external operation can be performed to switch the operating mode of the image-forming device between an image-forming mode for forming images on a recording medium and a self-diagnostic mode for performing a self-diagnosis of various components in the image-forming device.
However, since the operating mode of the image-forming device described above is switched according to an external operation, if the user of the image-forming device mistakenly performs the external operation, the operating mode is switched against the user's wishes. To avoid this, attempts have been made to make the sequence or combination of external operations more complex so that the operating mode is not shifted by accident. However, these countermeasures complicate the operations required to change the operating mode to the self-diagnostic mode.

Image-forming device capable of performing self-diagnosis using inspection cartridge in place of process cartridge


A method for endoluminally isolating a pathological defect in a body passageway. The method includes the steps of advancing a graft through the body passageway and attaching a distal portion of the graft to the interior surface of the body passageway. A proximal portion of the graft is sized within the body passageway. The method sizes the graft by moving an intraluminal cutting device through the body passageway relative to the graft and actuating the cutting device within the body passageway at a predetermined position relative to the graft. The foregoing steps result in a graft being cut to a desired length within the body passageway. Contrast may be injected in the vicinity of the graft to facilitate the method. Graft cutting while the graft is contained in a guide sheath. Also, the graft may be attached to a stent for attaching it within the body passageway. A device for performing the method is also disclosed.

Marin et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,769 describes a method and apparatus for endoluminally deploying a graft across an aortic aneurysm and associated common iliac aneurysms. In that patent, separate grafts are advanced through a patient's femoral and iliac arteries and aligned in a common region in the aorta above the aneurysm. Cephalic stents are deployed in that region to effectively create a bifurcated graft with the individual legs of the graft extending into the patient's arteries. Suitable stents are likewise deployed in these legs caudal of the aneurysm, thus isolating the aneurysm.
Marin et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,769 in its entirety is hereby incorporated by reference.
The iliac arteries each include a branch known as the internal iliac artery. It is necessary that the grafts terminate cephalic of the internal iliac arteries so as not to block blood flow through these arteries. Assuming that the upper arteries may vary in length, the appropriate length of an individual graft will also need to vary considerably from patient to patient. This means that the surgeon must anticipate the length of the graft. If he/she is mistaken, the graft must be removed and a new graft inserted so as not to block important branch arteries, which is obviously undesirable. Moreover, the manufacturer must make different length grafts and the hospital must keep an inventory of all of the different lengths that may ultimately be needed.

Method for forming custom length grafts after endoluminal insertion


Embodiments of the invention generally provide an etchant mixing assembly for a semiconductor processing system. The etchant mixing assembly includes at least one acid source, at least one oxidizer source, a mixing tank selectively in fluid communication with the at least one acid source and the at least one oxidizer source, and a mixed etchant tank in fluid communication with the mixing tank. Additionally, a system controller configured to sense a low level of fluid in the mixed etchant tank, cause a fresh fluid solution to be mixed in the mixing tank, and cause the fresh fluid solution to the communicated to the mixed etchant tank is also provided in the etchant mixing assembly.

The invention relates to electrochemical deposition or electroplating methods, and systems for removal of unwanted deposits resulting from electrochemical deposition or electroplating processes.
In semiconductor processes, multiple processes such a chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), and electroplating are performed in series on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. After electroplating is performed, edge bead removal (EBR) systems remove edge beads and other layers remaining on the substrates.
Modern metal electroplating can be can be accomplished by a variety of methods. Relatively high electrical conductivity, high electromagnetic resistance, good thermal conductivity, and availability in a highly pure form make copper and its alloys a choice electroplating metal. Typically, electroplating copper or other metals and alloys involves initially depositing a thin seed layer (having an approximate thickness of 2000 Angstroms) of a conductive material over the surface of the substrate including the features formed on the substrate. A layer is then plated onto the seed layer by applying an electric charge applied across the seed layer. The seed layer having an electric charge applied thereto attracts metal ions. The deposited layers and the dielectric layers can then be planarized to define a conductive interconnect feature, such as by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP).
During electroplating, metal ions contained in the electrolyte solution deposit on those substrate locations that electrolyte solution contacts that are covered by the seed layer. The seed layer is usually deposited on the front side of the substrate, however the seed layer may extend to the edge or the backside of the substrate. As such, metal may deposit on certain front side, edge, or backside locations that such metal depositions are not desired, as now described.
FIG. 2A shows a cross sectional view of one embodiment of an edge of a substrate 22 including a bevel edge 33, a seed layer 34 deposited on the substrate, and an electroplated conductive metal layer 38 deposited on the substrate. During processing of the substrate, the seed layer 34 is formed on a plating surface of the substrate (the plating surface faces downward in FIG. 2A). The seed layer stops a short distance from the bevel edge 33. A conductive metal layer is then deposited on the seed layer by an electroplating process. The conductive metal layer in FIG. 2A does not form on any portion of the substrate that does not have a seed layer. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, an excess deposit buildup, known as an edge bead 36, forms at the edge of the electroplated layer. The edge bead typically results from locally higher current densities at the edge of the seed layer 34 and usually forms within 2-5 mm from the edge of the substrate. Removal of the edge bead from the substrate is desired to ensure uniform thickness of the conductive metal layer on the substrate 22.
FIG. 2B shows a cross sectional view of another embodiment of an edge of a substrate 22 including the bevel edge 33, the seed layer 34 deposited on the substrate, and the electroplated conductive metal layer 38 in FIG. 2A. In this embodiment, the seed layer 34 covers the front side 35 of the substrate, both bevels 33 on the edge, and for a small distance on the backside 42 of the substrate. This type of seed layer is known as a full coverage seed layer. Metal deposits form on those seed layer surfaces that are exposed to electrolyte solution during electroplating. When a full-coverage seed layer is applied to a substrate, removing the edge bead 36 following the electroplating process is often desired. Removing the deposited layers on the seed layer that occur on the backside and/or edge of the substrate on the full coverage seed layers limit contamination from these layers deposited on the backside of the substrate.
FIG. 3 shows a cross sectional view of yet another embodiment of an edge of a substrate 22 including the bevel edge 33, the seed layer 34 deposited on the substrate, and the electroplated conductive metal layer 38 deposited on the substrate. The electoplated conductive metal layer 38 includes a separated edge deposit 39. Such a separated edge deposit 39 may form on a substrate following electroplating. The separated edge deposit 39 of the seed layer typically forms within 2-5 mm from the deposited edge material. The separated edge deposit often separates from the substrate 22 since the separated edge deposit is not secured to the seed layer that would attach the separated edge deposit to the substrate. A separated edge deposit 39 often tears off during subsequent processing such as chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). The CMP pads that contain material of the separated edge deposit 39 may abrade and damage the substrate during CMP. CMP pads that contain embedded particles may severely damage (by scratching) any wafer to which they contact.
Therefore, during electroplating copper contamination can form on the front, the backside, or the edge of the substrate. Such metal deposition at undesired locations occur from full coverage seed layer wrapping around to the backside, small deposits of electroplated copper on the backside of the substrate, or the copper from the wet electrolyte solution drying on the backside of the substrate. The existence of copper contamination on the backside of the substrate can degrade the performance of an electronic device that uses a portion of the wafer because of altered properties of the substrate. Providing a system by which the copper contamination can be removed from the backside or the edge of the substrate following the metal deposition is desirable.
Edge bead removal (EBR) systems remove the aforementioned edge bead, the separated deposited layer, or certain other undesired deposited layers on the substrate. Nozzles in the EBR systems can be adjusted to direct etchant (that removes the deposits) and/or rinse water at desired locations on the substrate. EBR systems therefore can apply a variety of chemicals at an electroplated substrate where the undesired deposits are located. The chemicals used in EBR systems comprise, for example, a mixture including a prescribed ratio of acid mixed with an oxidizer and deionized water.
Chemicals used in prior EBR systems are mixed in a batch to form an etchant. To limit the effort required to mix a large number of batches frequently, the individual batch sizes are large. The batch is maintained until the etchant is used or until the etchant becomes unusable. The usable lifetime of the etchant in EBR systems varies depending on such parameters as the specific chemicals and amounts of each chemical mixed to form the etchant, the temperature at which the etchant is stored, and the pressure applied to the etchant. However, once the etchant becomes unusable, the etchant must be disposed of and a new batch of etchant must be prepared. One embodiment of etchant used for copper electroplating processes becomes increasingly unstable at higher EBR system temperatures. Unfortunately, etch rates of the chemicals used in EBR systems typically increase with higher temperatures. When operators increase the temperature of the EBR system to increase throughput based on the higher etch rates, the time until each batch of etchant becomes altered or unstable diminishes.
It is desired to maximize throughput in EBR systems since the EBR system represents only one of a large number of expensive processes that are utilized in expensive semiconductor processing systems. The EBR system cannot be used for deposition removal purposes when a new batch of chemicals is being mixed therein to form etchant. Presently, batches of chemicals in EBR systems are mixed by diffusion, so some time is necessary after a large batch is mixed for the chemicals to properly mix into etchant. In an effort to limit down time on an EBR system, the batches of etchant are mixed in a large volume (1 to 4 liters). Such large batches of etchant are difficult to dispose of after the etchant becomes unstable. In addition, some time is necessary to clean the unstable etchant from that equipment used to store, and/or dispense the chemicals.
Therefore, there is a need to provide an EBR device including a mixing tank, where the EBR device mixes chemicals into etchant at or near where the etchant is being used in an amount that can be used by the EBR device.
The invention generally relates to edge bead removal systems and associated methods that remove unwanted deposited metal from a substrate. An apparatus and associated method supplies etchant to an edge bead removal chamber. The apparatus includes an etchant tank that is capable of storing etchant, a sensor that senses the sensed level of etchant that is contained in the etchant tank, and a mixing tank that mixes one or more chemical components into etchant that is supplied to the etchant tank in response to the sensed level. The present invention is especially applicable to edge bead removal systems, including for example, spin-rinse-dry systems.

Apparatus with etchant mixing assembly for removal of unwanted electroplating deposits


A method is provided for automatically characterizing data sets containing data points, which may be produced by measurements such as with sonar arrays, as either random or non-random. The data points for each data are located within a Cartesian space and a polygon envelope is constructed which contains the data points. The polygon is divided into grid cells by constructing a grid over the polygon. A prediction is made as to how many grid cells would be occupied if the data were merely a random process. The prediction takes one of two forms depending on the sample size. For small sample sizes, an exact Poisson probability method is utilized. For large sample sizes an approximation to the exact Poisson probability is utilized. A third test is utilized to test the adequacy of the Poisson based model is adequate to assess the data set as either random or non-random.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of sonar signal processing and, more particularly, to a method for processing very small data distribution sets, e.g., data sets with less than ten to fifteen measurements.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In some cases it may be very important and/or critical to know whether data received by a sonar system is simply random noise, which may be a false alarm, or is more likely due to the detection of a submarine or other vessel of interest. Naval sonar systems require that signals be classified according to structure; i.e., periodic, transient, random or chaotic.
Research has revealed a critical need for highly sparse data set time distribution analysis methods and apparatus separate and apart from those adapted for treating large sample distributions. It is well known that large sample methods often fail when applied to small sample distributions, but that the same is not necessarily true for small sample methods applied to large data sets. Very small data set distributions may be defined as those with less than about ten (10 measurement (data) points.
One reference is entitled "Enhanced System And Method For Processing Signals To Determine Their Stochastic Properties", U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,414, issued 12 Oct. 1999, to the present inventor, which is discussed below briefly. More generally, theoretical and practical statistical considerations are contained in standard reference works such as P. J. Hoel et al., Introduction to the Theory of Probability, and Introduction to Statistical Theory/Boston, Houghton-Mifflin, 1971. The theoretical framework of elementary stochastic (Poisson) processes is known, although the application of the theory in practice is often cumbersome. A variety of methods such as spectral analysis are available to the undersea warfare analyst for processing signals.
The term "randomness" encompasses different meanings in science and engineering. In engineering applications, Cartesian coordinate distributions may be thought of as "purely random" if they conform to a "white noise" structure, regardless of the underlying generating mechanism that produced the "noise." Our use of the term "random" (or "randomness") is defined in terms of a "random process." as measured by a probability distribution model, namely a nearest-neighbor stochastic (Poisson) process. One may think of pure randomness in a pragmatic manner as a distribution for which no function, mapping, or relation can be constructed that provides meaningful insight into the underlying structure; for example, no prediction model can be generated. Also, we must distinguish the terms "stochastic randomness" from "deterministic randomness (chaos)" as generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,460, F. J. O'Brien, Jr., et al. and/or other of the related applications cited above or patents cited hereinafter. For instance, the present invention is utilized for classifying the statistical characteristics of a signal as "randomness" while other patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,460, F. J. O'Brien, Jr., et al., may be utilized for identifying "chaos."
Examples of exemplary patents related to the general field of the endeavor of analysis of sonar signals include:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,553, issued Oct. 7, 1997, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a method for filling in missing data intelligence in a quantified time-dependent data signal that is generated by, e.g., an underwater acoustic sensing device. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, this quantified time-dependent data signal is analyzed to determine the number and location of any intervals of missing data, i.e., gaps in the time series data signal caused by noise in the sensing equipment or the local environment. The quantified time-dependent data signal is also modified by a low pass filter to remove any undesirable high frequency noise components within the signal. A plurality of mathematical models are then individually tested to derive an optimum regression curve for that model, relative to a selected portion of the signal data immediately preceding each previously identified data gap. The aforesaid selected portion is empirically determined on the basis of a data base of signal values compiled from actual undersea propagated signals received in cases of known target motion scenarios. An optimum regression curve is that regression curve, linear or nonlinear, for which a mathematical convergence of the model is achieved. Convergence of the model is determined by application of a smallest root-mean-square analysis to each of the plurality of models tested. Once a model possessing the smallest root-mean-square value is derived from among the plurality of models tested, that optimum model is then selected, recorded, and stored for use in filling the data gap. This process is then repeated for each subsequent data gap until all of the identified data gaps are filled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,906, issued Dec. 30, 1997, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a signal processing system which processes a digital signal, generally in response to an analog signal which includes a noise component and possibly also an information component representing three mutually orthogonal items of measurement information represented as a sample point in a symbolic Cartesian three-dimensional spatial reference system. A noise likelihood determination sub-system receives the digital signal and generates a random noise assessment of whether or not the digital signal comprises solely random noise, and if not, generates an assessment of degree-of-randomness. The noise likelihood determination system controls the operation of an information processing sub-system for extracting the information component in response to the random noise assessment or a combination of the random noise assessment and the degree-of-randomness assessment. The information processing system is illustrated as combat control equipment for submarine warfare, which utilizes a sonar signal produced by a towed linear transducer array, and whose mode operation employs three orthogonally related dimensions of data, namely: (i) clock time associated with the interval of time over which the sample point measurements are taken, (ii) conical angle representing bearing of a passive sonar contact derived from the signal produced by the towed array, and (iii) a frequency characteristic of the sonar signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,414, issued Oct. 12, 1999, to Francis J. O'Brien, Jr., discloses a signal processing system which processes a digital signal generated in response to an analog signal which includes a noise component and possibly also an information component. An information processing sub-system receives said digital signal and processes it to extract the information component. A noise likelihood determination sub-system receives the digital signal and generates a random noise assessment that the digital signal comprises solely random noise, and controls the operation of the information processing sub-system in response to the random noise assessment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,460, issued Jul. 14, 1998, to Nguyen et al., discloses a chaotic signal processing system which receives an input signal from a sensor in a chaotic environment and performs a processing operation in connection therewith to provide an output useful in identifying one of a plurality of chaotic processes in the chaotic environment. The chaotic signal processing system comprises an input section, a processing section and a control section. The input section is responsive to input data selection information for providing a digital data stream selectively representative of the input signal provided by the sensor or a synthetic input representative of a selected chaotic process. The processing section includes a plurality of processing modules each for receiving the digital data stream from the input means and for generating therefrom an output useful in identifying one of a plurality of chaotic processes. The processing section is responsive to processing selection information to select one of the plurality of processing modules to provide the output. The control module generates the input data selection information and the processing selection information in response to inputs provided by an operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,591, issued Oct. 5, 1999, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a signal processing system which processes a digital signal generally in response to an analog signal which includes a noise component and possibly also an information component representing four mutually orthogonal items of measurement information representable as a sample point in a symbolic four-dimensional hyperspatial reference system. An information processing and decision sub-system receives said digital signal and processes it to extract the information component. A noise likelihood determination sub-system receives the digital signal and generates a random noise assessment of whether or not the digital signal comprises solely random noise, and if not, generates an assessment of degree-of-randomness. The noise likelihood determination system controls whether or not the information processing and decision sub-system is used, in response to one or both of these generated outputs. One prospective practical application of the invention is the performance of a triage function upon signals from sonar receivers aboard naval submarines, to determine suitability of the signal for feeding to a subsequent contact localization and motion analysis (CLMA) stage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,234, issued May 28, 2002, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a method and apparatus are provided for automatically characterizing the spatial arrangement among the data points of a time series distribution in a data processing system wherein the classification of said time series distribution is required. The method and apparatus utilize a grid in Cartesian coordinates to determine (1) the number of cells in the grid containing at least-one input data point of the time series distribution; (2) the expected number of cells which would contain at least one data point in a random distribution in said grid; and (3) an upper and lower probability of false alarm above and below said expected value utilizing a discrete binomial probability relationship in order to analyze the randomness characteristic of the input time series distribution. A labeling device also is provided to label the time series distribution as either random or nonrandom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,595, issued Sep. 1, 1992, to Graham et al., discloses an adaptive statistical filter providing improved performance target motion analysis noise discrimination includes a bank of parallel Kalman filters. Each filter estimates a statistic vector of specific order, which in the exemplary third order bank of filters of the preferred embodiment, respectively constitute coefficients of a constant, linear and quadratic fit. In addition, each filter provides a sum-of-squares residuals performance index. A sequential comparator is disclosed that performs a likelihood ratio test performed pairwise for a given model order and the next lowest, which indicates whether the tested model orders provide significant information above the next model order. The optimum model order is selected based on testing the highest model orders. A robust, unbiased estimate of minimal rank for information retention providing computational efficiency and improved performance noise discrimination is therewith accomplished.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,675, issued May 26, 1998, to O'Brien, Jr., discloses an improved method for laying out a workspace using the prior art crowding index, PDI, where the average interpoint distance between the personnel and/or equipment to be laid out can be determined. The improvement lies in using the convex hull area of the distribution of points being laid out within the workplace space to calculate the actual crowding index for the workspace. The convex hull area is that area having a boundary line connecting pairs of points being laid out such that no line connecting any pair of points crosses the boundary line. The calculation of the convex hull area is illustrated using Pick's theorem with additional methods using the Surveyor's Area formula and Hero's formula.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,516, issued Oct. 5, 1999, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a method and apparatus for automatically characterizing the spatial arrangement among the data points of a three-dimensional time series distribution in a data processing system wherein the classification of the time series distribution is required. The method and apparatus utilize grids in Cartesian coordinates to determine (1) the number of cubes in the grids containing at least one input data point of the time series distribution; (2) the expected number of cubes which would contain at least one data point in a random distribution in said grids; and (3) an upper and lower probability of false alarm above and below said expected value utilizing a discrete binomial probability relationship in order to analyze the randomness characteristic of the input time series distribution. A labeling device also is provided to label the time series distribution as either random or nonrandom, and/or random or nonrandom within what probability, prior to its output from the invention to the remainder of the data processing system for further analysis.
The above cited art, while extremely useful under certain circumstances, does not provide sufficient flexibility to measure the spatial arrangement among a very small to large number of points, objects, measurements, and the like, whereby an ascertainment of the mathematical property of randomness (or noise-degree) may be made. This improvement over the standard prior art provides the capability to use mathematical statistical methods for highly sparse data sets (e.g., <10-15 sample points). The existence of such sparse data sets requires methods appropriate for processing them reliably and validly. Moreover, the method is also applicable for larger data sets and may provide a higher degree of precision in the "random-not random" decision. Consequently, those of skill in the art will appreciate the present invention which addresses these and other problems.

Method for detecting a spatial random process using planar convex polygon envelope

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


A transfer trailer includes a floor, a top covering, and at least a pair of walls. At least one of the pair of walls and the top covering are movable relative to the floor between closed and opened positions. In the opened positions, the trailer provides an opening for directly receiving the articles from the loading apparatus. The trailer includes also a controller for controlling the movement of the movable wall and the top covering. The top covering is hingedly attached to the movable wall and the other of the pair of walls along corresponding imaginary lines of attachment defining corresponding axes. The movable wall is rotatable about the axis defined by the imaginary line attaching the movable wall and the top covering, and the top covering is rotatable about the axis defined by the imaginary line attaching the top covering and the other of the pair of walls.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to a trailer and, more particularly, to a semi-trailer of the transfer type adapted to transport debris or loose articles.
2. Description of the Related Art
A semi-trailer of the transfer type is adapted to transport debris or loose articles. By way of example, and not by way of limitation, the loose articles may include crushed vehicles, lumber, and/or coils, just to name a few. In general, the semi-trailer includes a tractor and a detachable trailer adapted to be partly supported by the rear of the tractor and pulled by the tractor. Such a tractor is well known in the art and can be of any suitable type that allows the trailer to be attached to and pulled by the tractor such that the trailer can haul crushed vehicles, for example.
Typically, the trailer includes a plurality of wheels for moving the trailer and a floor supported above the wheels for carrying the crushed vehicles. It is known for the trailer to be open at the top of the trailer. In this regard, the trailer can be a flatbed. Alternatively, the trailer can have side walls extending upwardly from the perimeter of the floor to define a container for receiving the crushed vehicles.
In operation, a loader, operating a loading apparatus, directly loads the crushed vehicles onto the floor of the trailer. The crushed vehicles can be loaded one or a plurality at a time and are often stacked in columns or rows to substantially cover the floor of the flatbed to a certain height or fill the volume defined by the container. Once the trailer has been loaded, another person securely binds the crushed vehicles to each other and the floor or within the container by using binders or chains, which are frequently tied down to posts or eyes provided on the floor or walls of the trailer.
The loading process usually requires at least three people—the driver, loader, and binder. And, depending upon the load requirement, the loading capacity of the loading apparatus, and the size of the trailer, the loading process can take about an hour and a half to complete. When the steps of transporting and unloading the crushed vehicles are included, the entire process can take about four hours to complete. Using a trailer having a length of about forty feet, it is not uncommon to load, transport, and unload about thirty tons of crushed vehicles.
However, since the binders or chains do not completely cover the crushed vehicles, it is still possible for individual parts of a crushed vehicle to become separated from the vehicle and fly out of the trailer, especially when the trailer reaches sufficiently excessive speeds during transport. As a result, such a trailer is now subject to federal, state, or municipal laws or regulations, which prohibit the trailer's uncovered use in transport on roads and highways. These laws or regulations are designed to prevent the debris or loose articles from flying out of the trailer and onto roads and highways, thereby creating hazards to traffic and polluting the environment with such debris or articles. As such, a covering for each trailer is mandated by the laws or regulations to prevent these hazards and pollution.
A variety of devices are known for covering such a trailer. For instance, it is known to place a tarpaulin covering over the opening defined by the top of the trailer and tied down to the posts or eyes provided on the floor or walls of the trailer to cover the trailer. It is also known to still use binders or chains to tie down the crushed vehicles, for example, prior to such placement of the covering. Alternatively and with special application to a flatbed, the binders or chains can be placed over the covering and tied down to the posts or eyes to tie down the covering and crushed vehicles.
However, covering the opening or tying down the crushed vehicles in these ways is inconvenient for a person loading and unloading the trailer. More specifically, such covering or tying down requires a great amount of physical effort of the loader/unloader and possible inherent physical danger and discomfort to the loader/unloader. This is especially so when the loader/unloader uses binders or chains by hand. Such covering or tying down also provides limited access to the inside of the trailer through the top of the trailer. Such covering or tying down also is relatively labor-intensive and time-consuming. Such covering or tying down also is relatively inefficient and, thus, unproductive.
Thus, there is a need for such a transfer trailer that permits relatively more efficiency and, thus, productivity in loading, transporting, and unloading the articles. There is a need for such a transfer trailer that also is relatively more convenient for a person loading and unloading the trailer. There is a need for such a transfer trailer that also requires a relatively less amount of physical effort of the loader/unloader and possible inherent physical danger and discomfort to the loader/unloader. There is a need for such a transfer trailer that also does not require use of binders or chains to load and transport the articles. There is a need for such a transfer trailer that also provides relatively more access to the inside of the trailer through the top of the trailer. There is a need for such a transfer trailer that is also relatively less labor-intensive and time-consuming to load and unload.


A display for displaying and dispensing brochures. The display comprises a housing and a transparent door hinged to the housing to swing forwardly when opened. A pocket is pivotally mounted to the same hinge as that pivotally supporting the door. The pocket has a rear panel including a relief, or cut away section, enabling a person to grasp brochures stored in the pocket. A spring is attached to the pin of the hinge, to the door, and to the pocket such that the door is biased into the closed position and the pocket is biased against the door. The door is hinged at the bottom, and has a forwardly turned handle at the top for opening. The housing has an outwardly projecting flange extending along the entirety of the front opening of the housing, and a drip hood. The floor or bottom wall of the housing inclines to promote drainage. In a preferred embodiment, the door and pocket are molded integrally from an elastic material enabling the pocket to be opened elastically.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to receptacles for displaying and dispensing papers, such as advertising circulars. The receptacle is to be mounted to a fixed surface and remains in place so that members of the public passing by the receptacle may take copies of the papers or the like made available. Merchants of all sorts will benefit from the invention, since their services and wares will be readily advertised at diverse locations proximate foot traffic.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sales circulars, brochures, and similar promotional literature is widely employed to advertise services and wares. Such literature is made available in many ways, such as by direct mailings, hiring individuals to hand out the literature to passers by encountered on foot, by placing the literature on motor vehicles in parking lots, and by depositing the literature in receptacles in stores and other structures exposed to the public.
Direct mailings and hiring individuals entail considerable costs, especially when undertaken on large scale. Passing out literature on motor vehicles both requires manpower, and also risks creating a public nuisance, in that owners of the vehicles may carelessly discard the literature immediately, thereby littering the parking lot. Beyond the forementioned drawbacks, there is no assurance that the literature is being distributed to persons who are actually interested in the information being conveyed by the literature.
Many receptacles for dispensing literature and papers have been proposed in the prior art. Examples are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 501,279, issued to Richard D. Knight on Jul. 11, 1893, U.S. Pat. No. 922,272, issued to Frederick J. Garrod on May 18, 1909, U.S. Pat. No. 1,155,791, issued to John L. Cabell on Oct. 5, 1915, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,774, issued to Joseph Zalkind on Feb. 7, 1967. The subject devices of these patents illustrate boxes, that is, receptacles which are parallelepipeds having openable closures.
Knight and Zalkind illustrate closures providing doors hinged to swing away from the parallelepiped to reveal contents. Knight utilizes otherwise idle ends of the side walls to promote retention of the door in the closed position. The present invention has a spring urging the door closed, but the spring of the present invention is a coil spring arranged to exert force urging the door to swing back to the closed position. By contrast, the ends of the side walls in Knight resiliently hold the door closed by friction once manually placed in the closed position.
None of the prior art inventions cited show a full front flange and weather hood, nor interior pocket carried with the door, both being shown in the novel brochure holder. Also, none of these prior art patents shows a downwardly turned handle spaced apart from the front panel of the hinged door, a floor inclined to promote drainage of rain and the like, and a spring biased rear panel forming the rear wall of the pocket, the rear panel acting to hold displayed brochures in an upright position, the rear panel having a relief to afford ready finger access to the brochures.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


A method for controlling steering in a vehicle includes the steps of obtaining a vehicle steering communication, controlling an actuator coupled to a hand wheel, a road wheel, or both using a primary active steering functionality, if the vehicle steering communication reflects one or more of a plurality of types of specified errors, and controlling the actuator using the primary active steering functionality and a supplemental active steering functionality, if the vehicle steering communication does not reflect one or more of the plurality of types of specified errors.

Vehicle steering is generally controlled by a driver hand wheel that directs the angle of road wheels. Movements of the driver hand wheel are typically transmitted to the road wheels by mechanical linkages and/or electronic components. The angle of the road wheels is commonly referred to as "road wheel angle".
Active steering is a term referring to the use of electronic components to actively control or assist the steering of a vehicle so as to enhance steering performance beyond that possible by only direct mechanical linkages. There are many possible ways to enhance steering performance. For example, steering can be adapted to the weather conditions and/or to the behavior and/or habits of the driver. As another example, steering can be adapted to provide improved directional control during braking.
Open loop control refers to the operation of a road wheel angle controller, without feedback, that is independent of any supervisory control system. For example, in an active steering system, variable gear ratio steering is a method for determining a target road wheel angle implied by a driver's hand wheel input. Such variable gear ratio active steering functionality typically uses variables such as a steering wheel angle, a steering wheel angle rate, and a speed of the vehicle to determine the target road wheel angle implied by a driver's hand wheel input. The active steering system may use variable gear ratio active steering functionality to ascertain the target road wheel angle for open loop control. The active steering system may then use an actuator to rotate the front road wheels for a given road wheel angle.
Closed loop control or electronic closed loop control refers to the operation of a road wheel angle controller with feedback from a supervisory control system. For closed loop control, an angle offset from a supervisory control system is added to the variable gear ratio steering angle to determine a target road wheel angle that should be implemented by the steering mechanism. For example, the active steering system may include an electronic stability control functionality that determines such an angle offset when the vehicle is in a skid, or when conditions otherwise warrant electronic stability control. The active steering system may then similarly use an actuator to rotate the front road wheels for a given road wheel angle adjustment.
Often, an active steering system will use a primary active steering functionality (such as an open loop, variable gear ratio functionality as described above) along with a supplemental active steering functionality (such as a closed loop, electronic stability control functionality as described above). The primary and supplemental active steering functionalities generally work well together. However, in certain situations it may be necessary to discontinue use of the supplemental active steering functionality. When this occurs, typically the actuator is locked, in order to bypass the supplemental active steering functionality. However, this also has the effect of bypassing the primary active steering functionality, which may still be desirable to have operating.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method for bypassing a supplemental active steering functionality, without bypassing a primary active steering functionality, in appropriate circumstances. There is also a need for an improved active steering system that is configured to bypass a supplemental active steering functionality, without bypassing a primary active steering functionality, in appropriate circumstances. There is a further need for an improved program product for an active steering system that is configured to bypass a supplemental active steering functionality, without bypassing a primary active steering functionality, in appropriate circumstances. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will be apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Methods and systems for controlling steering in a vehicle using a primary active steering functionality and a supplemental active steering functionality


A hologram recording method includes generating light of a pattern in which a plurality of unit blocks, which include at least one pixel and express luminance, are arrayed, the pattern being sectioned into a region of a signal beam and a region of a reference beam, and being generated such that the region of the reference beam includes a plurality of unit blocks whose numbers of pixels are different; collecting the generated light at a common optical system, and illuminating it onto an optical recording medium; and recording, as a hologram, data which the signal beam expresses.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a hologram recording method and a hologram recording device.
2. Related Art
There have been proposed various coaxial recording methods which record a hologram by coaxially illuminating a signal beam and a reference beam onto an optical recording medium. In such recording methods, a beam, which includes a signal beam and a reference beam, is generated by a spatial light modulator, and the generated beam is collected at a common optical system and illuminated onto an optical recording medium. The signal beam and the reference beam are Fourier-transformed and overlap one another within the optical recording medium, and a hologram is recorded. In the beam which is generated by the spatial light modulator, the signal beam is disposed close to the optical axis and the reference beam is disposed at the outer side thereof.

Hologram recording method and hologram recording device using generating light patterns


Plastic articles, and in particular polycarbonate articles, provide an appealing aesthetic look in the form of a colored glow at locations defined by cuts and/or protrusions in the surface of the article as a result of incorporation of a photoluminescent material in the polycarbonate from which the article is formed. The cuts and/or protrusions define a graphic image, for example one or more letters (i.e., an initial or name), an abstract design, a drawing or a trademark or logo. Ambient light entering the plastic body results in luminescence from the photoluminescent material which is conducted as a result of internal reflectance within the plastic body to the edges of the cuts in the bodies surface.

This application relates to plastic articles such as bottles which provide a visual effect in the form of an aesthetic colored glow at locations defined by cuts or protrusions in the surface of the article.
Plastics, including polycarbonate, are commonly employed in the manufacture of bottles, particularly reusable water bottles, and other articles. These articles may be substantially colorless or they may be prepared in decorative colors.

Plastics articles such as bottles with visual effect


In certain aspects, the disclosed implementations include methods and systems for dynamically generating and providing transaction affinity recommendation data. In certain implementations, the transaction affinity recommendation data may include information that identifies a target merchant and associated merchant promotion data that may be generated based on a dynamic analysis of transaction data corresponding to an account record. The disclosed implementations may determine temporal relationships between pairs of sequential transactions corresponding to the account record, and based on such relationships, may identify pairs of transactions involving separate merchants. The disclosed implementations may determine affinity relationships associated with one or more pairs of the temporally related transactions and a target merchant, and based on such relationships, generate and provide the transaction affinity recommendation data.

Technologies for processing transaction-related data enable data to be processed to provide information to computing components for intelligent analysis and feedback to users. Monitoring transactions enables back-end and client-side systems to analyze and provide targeted feedback. The analysis provides opportunities for a computing system to process information in an efficient manner to generate and provide, for example, targeted feedback information that a user and/or computing system can evaluate for future actions or decisions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for providing transaction affinity information


A basic Boolean circuit is a transistor circuit commonly used in industry to produce the logic of a particular Boolean gate. A sequence of standard Boolean circuits disposed along the processing path of an integrated circuit define a predetermined truth table representing the relationship of inputs and outputs of the processing path. A reduced-transistor circuit is generated that is defined by the same truth table as the sequence of standard Boolean logic circuits, but is not definable by a sequence of standard Boolean logic circuits. A processing path of an integrated circuit is programmed with the reduced-transistor circuit instead of the sequence of standard Boolean circuits, thereby reducing the time delay of the processing path and the power consumed by the circuit. The reduced-transistor circuit may be generated in response to receiving a programming instruction defining a sequence of Boolean gates. Alternatively, the reduced-transistor circuit may be selected from a pre-established library storing a plurality of Boolean sequences correlated to a respective plurality of complimentary reduced-transistor circuits.

Technology for designing and implementing integrated circuits continues to seek implementation of faster devices, while limiting the increase, or possibly even decreasing the size and power consumption of the integrated circuits. Throughout the many advances in speed and power consumption of integrated circuits, the design and implementation of such circuits has relied on "off the shelf" Boolean logic elements such as logical OR gates, NOR gates, AND gates, NAND gates, XOR gates, INVERTERS, etc.
CMOS circuits have been developed which implement the basic Boolean logic elements. These logic elements are referred to as basic elements. Logical Boolean functions are represented within integrated circuits by multi-transistor equivalent structures. When designing an integrated circuit, typically a designer will enter a program through an interface means such as a keyboard, using a known programming language. The program is translated into its equivalent basic Boolean elements by a compiler, including the connections between the outputs and inputs of various elements. Transistors comprising the integrated circuit are configured by the compiler to conform to this gating arrangement. Accordingly, Boolean logic is particularly amenable to implementation in computer systems. The process of designing and configuring an integrated circuit according to pre-determined transistor configurations is well known to those skilled in the art. FIGS. 1–4 illustrate common Boolean gates and the transistor equivalents currently used to represent these gates in a CMOS circuit.
FIG. 1 illustrates a logical NOR gate 101 as found in the prior art comprising inputs A and B, and output OutC, a truth table 103 corresponding to the logic of the NOR gate 101, and a four-transistor configuration 105 with inputs A and B and output OutC typically used in CMOS circuitry to reproduce the truth table 103 defining the input/output relationships generated the NOR gate 101.
FIG. 2 illustrates a logical NAND gate 107 as found in the prior art comprising inputs D and E, and output OutF, a truth table 109 corresponding to the logic of the NAND gate 107, and a four-transistor configuration 111 with inputs D and E and output OutF typically used in CMOS circuitry to reproduce the truth table 109 defining the input/output relationships generated by the NAND gate 107.
FIG. 3 illustrates a logical OR gate 113 as found in the prior art comprising inputs G and H, and output OutI, a truth table 115 corresponding to the logic of the OR gate, which is commonly configured from a four-transistor NOR gate 117 coupled with a two-transistor inverter 119. The output Out(NOR) of the NOR gate 117 is input into the gates of the P-channel and N-channel transistors of the inverter 119, and the state of the output OutI of the inverter behaves according to the states found in the truth table 115.
FIG. 4 illustrates a logical AND gate 121 as found in the prior art comprising inputs J and K, and output OutL, a truth table 123 corresponding to the logic of the AND gate, which is commonly configured from a four-transistor NAND gate 125 coupled with a two-transistor inverter 127. The output Out(NAND) of the NAND circuit 125 is input into the gates of the P-channel and N-channel transistors of the inverter 127, and the state of the output OutL of the inverter behaves according to the states found in the truth table 123.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that the AND and OR functions of FIGS. 3 and 4 may be equally simulated by inverting the respective outputs, as shown, or inverting both inputs (E and F) and (G and H) and inputting these inverted inputs into standard NAND and NOR gates respectively.
FIG. 5 illustrates a logical XOR ("Exclusive OR") circuit 135 and a truth table 137 disclosing the logical relationship of the inputs and outputs of an XOR function. As noted in the XOR circuit diagram 135, the inputs to the XOR circuit include M, N, and inverted forms {overscore (M)} and {overscore (N)}. The total transistor count is therefore increased by the presence of inverter circuits 131, 133 to generate the inverted signals {overscore (M)}, {overscore (N)}.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that virtually all computer commands are reducible into discrete Boolean functions, and that Boolean algebra allows for the reduction of many complex Boolean functions into smaller and simpler Boolean expressions. Ideally, a computer programmer will reduce any complex Boolean function into the smallest and simplest representation. In conventional circuit design, these Boolean functions provide the basic elements forming sequences of logic functions. These Boolean functions are typically subdivided into one or more logical sequences which are configured on separate processing paths within an integrated circuit.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, a "logical sequence," refers to the sequence of Boolean logic elements between an input flip flop at the beginning of a processing path and an output flip flop at the end of the processing path. Typically, an integrated circuit includes a series of such processing paths. Depending on the integrated circuit, the number of separate processing paths may run from a single processing path to millions of separate processing paths. There is no upward limit on the number of possible paths.
Within the integrated circuit, Boolean functions within each path are executed, in a quasi-serial manner according to the logical elements comprising the data path. For example, the Boolean equation (R+S)·(T+U), as illustrated in the logical circuit of FIG. 7, performs the two OR functions 160, 162 simultaneously, and then subsequently inputs the results from the OR gates 160, 162 into an AND gate 164. Although the simultaneous operation of the OR operators 160, 162 illustrates that there may be parallel operations within a logical sequence of elements, in abstract block-type diagrams of FIG. 6, the processing paths are typically illustrated as exclusively serial functions. Those skilled in the art will therefore understand that, as used herein, terms such as "serial" or "sequence of elements" and equivalent terms describing the architecture and behavior of a single processing path are intended to incorporate both the parallel and serial functionality.
Within the sequence of elements illustrated in FIG. 6, an input flip flop 138 is located at the start of a processing path, and an output flip flop 139 is located at the end of the processing path. The various elements 141–151 along the processing path represent logic elements or gating functions as illustrated in FIGS. 1–5 above, disposed in the data path between the input flip flop 138 and the output flip-flop 139. The flip-flops 138, 139 are used to hold the state of the last calculation and only transition on a clock pulse, typically the leading edge of the pulse. The logic elements 141–151, however, produce an output that reflects the "last state" of the inputs, even if an input changes state in the middle of a clock cycle. Accordingly, the logic elements within a processing path are therefore able to change state and advance logic between clock pulses. As discussed in conjunction with FIG. 7 above, this gives rise to the "quasi-serial" nature of a data path. As noted, the AND operation 164 can only take place after the two OR operations 160, 162 have been completed. If inputs into an element 164 arrive non-simultaneously, the output state of an element may change several times in a single clock pulse. Signal transmission along the processing path, however, including all intermediary state changes, must be completed before the final states are recorded in the output flip flop 139. Because the logic of a data path must be completed and the output flip flop 139 must be set within the period of a single clock pulse, it is essential that the time needed to execute a logic path between an input flip flop 138 and an output flip flop 139 is not greater than the period of a single clock pulse. The clock speed of a chip, and consequently its performance, is therefore limited by the speed at which a pulse travels from the input flip-flop 138 through the sequence of logic elements 141–151 and records the output value in the output flip-flop 139. A 200 MHz chip allows 4 nano seconds (4000 pico seconds) per logic path between clock cycles. As seen in FIG. 6, the time for a signal to completely traverse a flip-flop is represented by t1, which is typically on the order of 400 pico seconds in current designs. The time to traverse a basic logic element is represented by t2. For a four-transistor element, the time to traverse a basic logic element is typically on the order of 150 pico seconds in 130 nanometer manufacturing processes. The transmission time between elements, represented by t3, is typically on the order of 50 pico seconds in current designs. These time delays are not fixed, and will vary according to present and future design manufacturing processes and architectures. The specific time delays listed herein are therefore offered simply for exemplary purposes to illustrate more clearly the principles set forth in the present invention.
A data path operating at these conventional speeds may sustain up to sixteen logic elements between the input flip flop 138 and the output flip-flop 139 and remain within the 4 nano second clock cycle. These time delays are exemplary however, and in actual practice, current integrated circuits are typically configured with an upper limit of twenty logic elements per path. It is anticipated that new designs are going to increase above this to twenty-two elements.
CMOS architecture advantageously utilizes P-channel transistors for pull-up, and N-channel transistors for pull down functions. Accordingly, a single input inverter ("NOT") 131, as illustrated in FIG. 5, is seen to require two transistors. A two-input NAND gate 111, as illustrated in FIG. 2 and a NOR gate 105, as illustrated in FIG. 1, each require a four transistor structure. A two-input AND gate 121 as illustrated in FIG. 4 and an OR gate 113 as illustrated in FIG. 3, require six transistors. FIG. 5 illustrates a two-input XOR gate 135 that requires twelve transistors including the inverters 131, 133. Because the application and use of these Boolean elements are fixed in integrated circuit architecture, the delays associated with these elements are also fixed. Additionally, chip size and power consumption are largely proportional to the number of transistors in a chip. Targeted objectives in CMOS circuit design typically include the achievement of higher speed, smaller size and lower power consumption. What is needed therefore is a method and apparatus for decreasing the total time for a signal to traverse a processing path in a MOS circuit. There further exists a need for a method and apparatus for reducing the size of a MOS circuit. Additionally, the need exists for a method and apparatus for reducing the power consumed by a CMOS circuit.


A program distributing apparatus is connected to a program distributing server and a plurality of terminals via a network, and distributes a program to be embedded into the terminals and the apparatus to the terminals. The apparatus includes a fetching unit that fetches the program from the program distributing server on behalf of the terminals, and a distributing unit that distributes fetched program to the terminals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for distributing a program to a plurality of terminals, with a capability of eliminating an overlap of download schedules at a low cost.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, along with the spread of Internet environment, a method to download firmware via the Internet is widely used. If a plurality of devices start downloading the firmware at the same time, the Internet band is compressed and a load on a server of a downloading destination is increased. To overcome such a drawback, a system is constructed and operated to prevent overlapping of download schedules when the multiple devices download the firmware.
However, with an increase in the firmware size, the time required for a single device to download the firmware has increased, thus resulting in overlapping of the download schedules of the devices. Due to this, the Internet band is compressed, the load on the server of the downloading destination is increased, the server is not able to speedily download the firmware, and a firmware downloading process is timed out, thus resulting in a failure of the firmware downloading process.
In a technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2001-216150, a specialized server to download the firmware is included in a system, the firmware is downloaded using the specialized server, and the downloaded firmware is distributed to another server included in the system, thus preventing overlapping of the download schedules.
However, in the aforementioned conventional technology, apart from a device that carries out updation of the firmware, the specialized server that exclusively carries out downloading of the firmware also needs to be included in the system, thus increasing the cost.
In other words, a method is called for that prevents overlapping of the download schedules at a low cost.

Program distributing apparatus and program distributing system


Techniques for determining optimal time window for data movement from a source storage system to a target storage system are described herein. According to one embodiment, statistics data is received representing historic performance statistics over a predetermined period of time by a source storage system, where the historic performance statistics include resource consumption of a plurality of resources including at least one of a processor, memory, input-output (IO) transactions, and network bandwidth. An analysis is performed by an analysis module executed by a processor on the historic performance statistics to determine an optimal time window within the predetermined time period for data movement from the source storage system to a target storage system based on the analysis. A scheduler executed by the processor is to schedule the data movement from the source storage system to the target storage system according to the optimal time window.

Data movement is a critical feature for disaster recovery appliances. There are numerous configurations where data are transmitted across the network for disaster recovery purposes: pairs of office protecting each other, satellite offices transmitting to headquarters, and satellite offices transmitting to relay stations that consolidate and then transmit to one or more national data centers. Communication may occur over low bandwidth links because customers are located in inhospitable locations such as offshore or in forests. The goal for disaster recovery purposes is to minimize resource contention during data movement so it can be accelerated without impacting other tasks.
The challenge is to transfer all of the logical data (e.g., all files within the retention period) while reducing the transmission as much as possible. Storage appliances achieve high compression by transferring metadata that can reconstruct all of the files based on strong fingerprints of segments followed by the unique data segments.
Typically various data movement operations (such as backup, replication) are scheduled manually and statically based on human empirical knowledge. With increasing virtualization with globalized deployment and 24×7 service level requirements across different service time zones, the scheduling task may not be as obvious as before, with thousands of virtual machines (VMs) with shared compute and storage resources being managed for backup at data center, it may become a daunting task to properly schedule central processing unit (CPU) and input/output (I/O) intensive operations, such as backup and replication, so underlying infrastructure resource would not be overwhelmed. The current approach does not adequately take into account overall resource consumption across a period of time with changing nature for possible adaptation in scheduling resource intensive operations.

Method and system for determining optimal time period for data movement from source storage to target storage


According to the invention, the secret key of the claimant is constituted by k numbers s.sub.1, s.sub.2, . . . , s.sub.k with a low public exponent. The verifier draws k numbers a.sub.1, a.sub.2, . . . , a.sub.k in which the number of non-zero a.sub.i is below a given number p. The claimant or signatory calculates an answer involving an exponential product of form s.sub.i.sup.a.sbsp.1 with i between 1 and k. The verifier calculates another exponential product of form v.sub.i.sup.a.sbsp.1, where the v.sub.i are numbers corresponding to the public key of the claimant or signatory. The verifier then verifies that the result obtained is correct. The choice of the public exponent and the limitation on p make it possible to reduce the number of secrets for equal security and an approximately equal number of multiplications.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an identification and/or signature process.
The invention concerns public key cryptography. In this field, identification is a procedure enabling a receiving entity to obtain assurance of the authenticity of the identity of a transmitting entity. Signature is a procedure ensuring the authenticity of a message sent by a transmitting entity to a receiving entity.
The invention has numerous applications in health, transportation, telecommunications and banking. In general terms, the invention uses signature and identification schemes based on the difficulty of factorizing a large number, said schemes requiring the performance of operations essentially amounting to modular multiplications of large numbers.
For a given scheme, the number of modular multiplications to be performed by the person having to sign the message and prove his identity is a crucial parameter, particularly in the case where the security module in which are performed the cryptographic calculations is a smart card. For most known schemes, the number of multiplications necessary leads, in the case of placing on a smart card using a standard microprocessor, a relatively unrealistic calculation time with respect to the signature and penalizing for the identification. It is possible to obtain much more acceptable signature and identification times by giving the card a crypto-graphic coprocessor, but this choice doubles the price of the card.
One of the aims of the present invention is to adequately reduce the number of modular multiplications necessary for an identification and/or a signature, in order to arrive at schemes which can be used in a smart card not having an arithmetic coprocessor.
The present invention relates to an identification and/or signature process, which can be likened both to the identification and signature scheme of FIAT and SHAMIR and to the identification and signature scheme of GUILLOU and QUISQUATER. The process of the invention is directed at an interesting compromise between the number of multiplications to be performed by the party wishing to prove his identity and the party checking it and the number of secrets which the former must hold.


An adjustable apparatus includes a bracket, an extendable member, a moving member, and a display supporting mount. The extendable member includes a base portion and a resilient tape portion attached to the base portion. The tape portion is secured to the bracket. The moving member is attached on the base portion. The display supporting mount is secured to the moving member for being secured to a display device, and movable with the moving member.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an adjustable apparatus for a display device.
2. Description of Related Art
The display device of an all-in-one computer usually needs to be adjusted. A conventional adjustable apparatus is only used to adjust the viewing angle of the display device of the all-in-one computer, but the height of the display device cannot be changed.

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


An integrated circuit (IC) includes: an input terminal; an output terminal; a first reference voltage terminal and a second reference voltage terminal; a high-side power switch coupled between the first reference voltage terminal and the output terminal; a low-side power switch coupled between the output terminal and the second reference voltage terminal; a first combinational logic and a second combination logic that are coupled to the input terminal; a first driver coupled between the first combinational logic and the high-side power switch; a second driver coupled between the second combinational logic and the low-side power switch; and first comparators coupled to the second combinational logic, where the first comparators are configured to compare a voltage difference between load path terminals of the high-side power switch with a first threshold and a second threshold.

Driver circuits are electrical circuits used to control another circuit or component, such as a power transistor, a light emitting diode (LED), or numerous other types of electrical components. Driver circuits are usually used to regulate current flowing through a circuit or are used to control other factors for other components or devices connected to the driver circuit.
In some instances, driver circuits supply power switches to provide an actuation current for an actuator, such as a solenoid. For example, automotive systems, such as vehicle transmissions, vehicle breaking systems, fuel injection systems, and combustion engine valve controls generally include solenoids that are actuated to control those systems. For example, in a fuel injection system, a driver circuit actuates solenoids to initiate fuel injections based on driver input and engine operation. Based on the control signals from the driver circuit, the fuel injectors release fuel into the cylinders of the combustion engine.

Driver circuit with enhanced control for current and voltage slew rates


A new austenitic stainless steel containing approximately 0.1-1.0 mass % of Si and not more than approximately 0.003 mass % of Al. Nonmetallic inclusions dispersed in a steel matrix are converted to MnO—SiO2—Al2O3 containing not less than approximately 15 mass % of SiO2 and not more than approximately 40 mass % of Al2O3. During steel making, molten steel is covered with basic slag and heavily deoxidized with a Si alloy whose Al content is controlled to not more than approximately 1.0 mass % in a vacuum or non-oxidizing atmosphere. The austenitic stainless steel sheet can be formed to an objective shape without the occurrence of cracking due to its decrease in susceptibility to cracking and its good formability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an austenitic stainless steel that has good formability and is less susceptible to cracking during forming, and also relates to a method of manufacturing thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Austenitic stainless steel has been applied to various uses in broader industrial fields, e.g. parts of motor vehicles and electronic parts, due to its excellent formability compared with other types. As development of usage, a demand for provision of cheaper material becomes stronger and stronger.
In order to meet with such the demand, the inventors have continued investigation on material design directed to soft austenitic stainless steel, which is scarcely work-hardened, while saving addition of expensive Ni content. As results of the investigation, the inventors proposed new austenitic stainless steel resistant to work-hardening and good of hot-workability, as disclosed in JP 9-263905 A1. The proposed austenitic stainless steel contains austenite formers such as Cu and Mn at proper levels, while hardening elements such as C and N contents are controlled to lower levels.
Parts or members for motor vehicles and electronic devices are designed to a small size or lightened in these days. The trend of small-sizing or lightening needs provision of a steel sheet, which is good of formability capable of forming to an objective shape with a heavy drawing ratio but thinner compared with a conventional steel sheet. Due to severe forming conditions, nonmetallic inclusions put significant influences on occurrence of cracking during forming. Typical inclusion, which promotes occurrence and development of cracking, is galaxite (MnO—Al2O3) in a high-Mn steel sheet.
FIG. 1 is a MnO—Al2O3 phase diagram (reported by Oelsen, W. G. Heynert, Arch. Eisenhüttenwes, 26(1955), p. 567). Galaxite, which is generated at 1720° C., is hard inclusion. Once galaxite is precipitated in a steel matrix at a steel-making or casting step, it is not deformed by hot-rolling or cold-rolling. Consequently, galaxite of several tens μm in size, which is equal to a size of galaxite generated at the steel-making or casting step, remains as such in a steel sheet. A steel sheet for use as a part of an electronic device or the like is of 0.1-0.5 mm in thickness. As decrease of thickness of a steel sheet, the size of galaxite is not neglected but accelerates initiation of cracking during forming. Even when cracking is suppressed, galaxite acts as a starting point to generate scratches on a surface of a product. If a surface of a product is damaged by scratches, the product cannot be offered to the market.

Method of manufacturing austenitic stainless steel having less susceptibility to cracking during forming


In order to make it possible to suppress projection errors in the portions of patterns which are connected together, in a method of pattern projection which includes a process of making a pattern of a beam of charged particle, in which a beam of charged particles is irradiated upon a small region upon a mask and the beam of charged particles is caused to change by the influence of pattern which is provided on the selected small regions, a process of projection in which the patterns of the beam of charged particles are projected upon a certain portion of a projection reception region which is defined upon a sensitive plate, a process of scanning in which the small region and the certain portion are selected in sequence, the patterns of the selected small regions are projected upon the selected certain portions and connected in sequence, a process of irradiation amount reduction is performed, during the scanning process, the amount of irradiation by the beam of charged particles of the peripheral portion of the selected of small regions is reduced in correspondence to the distance from the center of the selected small regions. From a pair of projection reception regions upon the sensitive plate which mutually neighbor one another, the regions for which the amount of irradiation by the beam of charged particles is reduced are mutually superimposed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pattern projection method, a pattern projection apparatus, and a pattern projection mask which are used in lithography for semiconductor integrated circuits or the like, and more particularly relates to such a pattern projection method, apparatus, and mask which image a pattern upon the mask onto a sensitive plate by utilizing irradiation with a beam of charged particles such as an electron beam or an ion beam.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Recently investigation and development of electron beam exposure devices for lithography with which both high throughput and high resolution can be obtained. As methods of exposure for this type of device, in the prior art, methods have been studied in which one or a plurality of dies (each one of which corresponds to a plurality of integrated circuits which are formed upon a single wafer) are imaged as a group. However, with such a method, the fabrication of the mask, which is intended as the master for projection, presents certain problems. Also it is difficult to restrict to an acceptable range the aberration of the optical system over a large optical field such as is required for more than one die, etc., so that there are a lot of problems to be resolved. In this connection, recently a subdivided projection method has been investigated (for example, refer to U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,151 in which one or a plurality of dies are subdivided into small regions which are then imaged). According to such a method, since the range over which irradiation by the electron beam is required to be performed at one time is relatively small, it is possible to restrict the aberration of the optical system, and thereby projection at high resolution and with high accuracy becomes possible.
With the above described subdivided projection method, the pattern which is provided is subdivided into a plurality of regions on the mask, and images thereof are connected together upon the wafer so as to form one continuous connected pattern. Accordingly, there is a danger that deviations of the positions for projection each time from the positions which were intended, and therefore mutual mis-alignment of the connecting portions of the pattern, may occur, due for example to optical distortion of the small regions on the mask, wobbling of the stages which move the mask and the wafer, electrical fluctuations, errors in the manufacture of the mask, etc . . . For example, if this type of deviation occurs when imaging a wiring pattern, the electrical resistance of the deviated portion is altered, and the characteristics of the device which is obtained become unpredictable.

Method, apparatus, and mask for pattern projection using a beam of charged particles


In a cellular mobile communication system, each base station is allocated common frequencies shared with other base stations in addition to unique frequencies. One of the unique frequencies is assigned by a base station to a mobile terminal in response to a call request. The field strength of a signal from that mobile terminal is detected and one of the common frequencies is assigned to it if the detected field strength becomes lower than a threshold. The base station receives a field strength signal from a neighboring station indicating the field strength of a version of the signal at the neighboring station and compares it with a threshold, and combines the signal of that mobile terminal with the version of the signal received by and relayed from the neighboring station when the field strength of that version of the signal is higher than the threshold. At the given mobile station, a signal from the base station which assigned the common frequency is combined with a signal from the neighboring station. In a modification, the field strength of signals from surrounding base stations is detected by mobile terminals and a start-of-diversity-mode request is transmitted when the field strength of one of the surrounding stations is higher than a threshold and an end-of-diversity-mode request signal is transmitted when the field strength of such a surrounding station is lower than the threshold. The base station responds to these requests for effecting diversity reception.

The present invention relates generally to cellular mobile communications systems, and more particularly to such a system operating during handoffs.
With conventional cellular mobile communication system, unique frequencies are allocated to each cell site. In addition to the transmitter and receivers operating at the allocated frequencies, each cell site is provided with as many receivers as there are neighboring cell sites for receiving signals from mobile terminals for controlling handoffs. One shortcoming of the conventional system is that the number of such receivers is several times greater than the number of receivers operating at the allocated frequencies.

Cellular mobile communications system using frequencies commonly shared by neighboring cells for handoff operations


Examples for detecting anomalies in a dataset are provided herein. A decision tree is trained using the data set and partitions of the data set produced by the trained decision tree are identified. Further, subsets of data based at least on the partitions of the data set are identified and z-scores are computed for the subsets of data. Based at least on the subsets of data, a subset of data with a highest z-score is identified as an anomalous subset of data, and the anomalous subset of data is provided for display.

Anomaly detection is an identification of items, events, or observations which do not conform to an expected pattern or other items in a dataset. Typically the anomalous items will translate to a problem, such as bank fraud, a structural defect, software faults, medical problems, or errors in a text. Humans are experts at pattern-matching and anomaly detection. Thus, most monitoring tools use dashboards to display graphs of ever-changing system and application performance metrics. The innate human ability to quickly detect patterns, combined with a developer or system administrator's learned domain experience, makes reviewing dashboards a very easy way to quickly identify anomalies in a set of data. However, as the amount of data increases as well as metrics to track the status of the data, complexity quickly exceeds human capacity for easy visual anomaly detection, and as such, automated processes have been developed to detect or identify anomalies in these more complex data sets.
However, conventional automated solutions for finding interesting or surprising items, events, or observations (e.g., anomalies) involve nearly exhaustive searches of possible subsets of data, or growing subsets of data from one dimensional slices to multi-dimensional slices resulting in inefficiencies with respect to processing time, which only increase as a size of a data set increases.
For example, some anomaly detection processes mine through logs of subsets of data with a largest difference from either a baseline or a dataset overall. However, these processes decrease in speed as a size of a data set increases. Other processes gather top insights from aggregates finding surprising subsets of data and scoring them, and ordering them from least to most surprising. However, this is done with considerable search as well as computing a measure on all possible m-tuples of n columns in a data set, and thus becomes inefficient when data sets includes a large number of rows and columns.


A capacitor having a first nickel electrode. A BCTZ dielectric covers a side of the first nickel electrode. A second nickel electrode sandwiches the BCTZ.

Capacitors are limited by their dielectric constant. As a result, there is a constant search for dielectrics that have a high dielectric constant in order to make a smaller capacitor. In addition, it is common for the dielectric constant to vary with the voltage of the input signal. Generally, the dielectric constant is lower the higher the voltage of the input signal. As a result, it is also desirable to have a dielectric that has a dielectric constant that is essentially flat over a wide range on input voltages.
An important use of capacitors is for decoupling signals such as power and ground or input and output signals. The semiconductor industry requires numerous decoupling capacitors for each integrated circuit. Present decoupling capacitors are placed on circuit boards between leads off the integrated circuit. For high frequency circuits, the distance between the leads on the integrated circuit and the capacitor results in inductance that limits the effectiveness of the decoupling capacitor. In addition, the discrete capacitors used as the decoupling capacitors add cost and manufacturing complexity.
Thus there exists a need for an improved capacitor that may be used as a decoupling capacitor for integrated circuits.


Described is the selective exclusion of content returned in a requested screen capture operation, wherein exclusion may be determined by a window category and the requesting application program. For example, a magnification program will not received content captured from its own layered window or from any other layered magnification windows. A registration mechanism obtains and maintains a window handle for any window registered for exclusion. A screen capture mechanism uses the information to determine whether to exclude the content of windows when returning the captured screen content. Exclusion may be accomplished by enumerating areas that are not covered by any layered window and copying those areas to a screen representation buffer or the like, and separately enumerating areas that are covered by at least one layered window. A covered area is only copied to the screen representation when it does not correspond to an excluded window.

Contemporary computer systems offer users the ability to magnify a portion of their display screen, typically for providing visually-impaired users with better accessibility to computers, although also offering mainstream users the benefit of magnification in certain contexts. In general, when the user runs a magnifier, a magnification window is opened and the magnified content displayed in that window. Often the user can adjust the magnification window in size and position, adjust the magnification level, and possibly choose other effects, e.g., color inversion.
Screen magnifiers are generally built to operate in one or more various modes. In a full-screen magnifier mode, the magnifier window occupies the entire screen, and the program magnifies a subset of the underlying content, typically depending on where the pointer indicator/cursor is located. A fixed mode provides a less-than-full screen window that is fixed on the screen, and typically magnifies some appropriate area that surrounds the pointer indicator/cursor. In a floating lens mode, the magnification window moves with the pointer indicator/cursor. With some magnification programs, a user may change between modes.
Previous magnification programs worked by inserting a driver in the video path above the main display driver to intercept graphics primitives, processing the primitives to build an off screen model to magnify the screen content, and then outputting the magnified screen content to the screen. An recent accessibility technology that provides an alternative to (or a complement to) driver-based magnifiers is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/180,859, filed Jul. 12, 2005, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference. This technology is (among its aspects) generally directed towards a magnification engine and API (application programming interface) that magnifier applications can leverage, and that renders a magnifier in software and/or hardware.
As can be readily appreciated, some magnifier modes such as full-screen mode and floating lens mode require the ability to capture and magnify screen content that is under the magnifier window. However, this leads to a problem, in that if the magnifier window magnifies itself, that is, magnifies already magnified content, recursive magnification will occur.
With the magnification engine and API solution, magnification is implemented via a special type of window referred to as a layered window. As a result, recursive magnification can be avoided by excluding layered windows from the screen content that is provided to the magnifier application program. However, excluding layered windows results in all windows that are marked layered as being excluded, including those that are not magnifier windows. This causes a problem, because other components make use of layered window technology, e.g., to output screen content including transparent/semi-opaque UI elements such as tooltips and user interface elements in recent application programs (e.g., Microsoft Corporation's Visual Studio® and Office 12 products). Depending on the mode of the magnifier, the result of the layered window exclusion is that these non-magnifier windows become invisible to an end-user, because as layered windows, their rendered output is not provided to the magnification program.

Selective window exclusion for captured content


A method comprises applying a first patterning process to a first photoresist layer to form a first opening, a second opening, a third opening and a fourth opening in the sacrificial layer, applying a second patterning process to a second photoresist layer to form a fifth opening, a sixth opening, a seventh opening and an eighth opening in the sacrificial layer, wherein distances between two adjacent openings formed from the first and second patterning processes are substantially equal to each other, applying a third patterning process to a third photoresist layer to form a ninth opening, a tenth opening, an eleventh opening and a twelfth opening in the sacrificial layer, wherein distances between two adjacent openings formed from the second and third patterning processes are substantially equal to each other and forming a plurality of nanowires based on the openings.

The semiconductor industry has experienced rapid growth due to continuous improvements in the integration density of a variety of electronic components (e.g., transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc.). For the most part, this improvement in integration density has come from repeated reductions in minimum feature size, which allows more components to be integrated into a given area. However, the smaller feature size may reach the resolution limits of 193-nm lithography. As the demand for even smaller electronic devices has grown recently, there is a need to achieve a high resolution in order to resolve fine, high density, high-resolution patterns.
In order to push the lithographic limit further and to create even smaller semiconductor devices, multiple patterning technology (MPT) techniques are being developed. In a multiple patterning process, a layout of a semiconductor device is decomposed into multiple sub-patterns. Each sub-pattern is defined on a photoresist layer. The sub-pattern in the patterned photoresist layer is transferred to the underlying features of the semiconductor device.

Nano wire structure and method for fabricating the same

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


An encapsulating machine includes a pair of offset die rolls with one die roll mounted on slides urged by an adjustable fulcrum spring toward the other die roll. An offset drive coupling between the axle of the die roll and the associated drive shaft allows independent movement of the die axle to compensate for die wear. A split gear between die roll shafts accommodates for backlash and gear wear. Precise pulley-driven timing belts and phase adjusters extend between the die roll drive and a tablet feed roll to synchronize the clocked introduction of tablets onto film of one of the die rolls for encapsulation at the co-acting nip between the die rolls. The die cavities for tablets include a step-cut to improve the sealing of films around the tablets and a circumferential rub rail on opposite edges of each die prevents excessive wear of the die cavity lands.

The present invention relates to an encapsulating machine and particularly to an improved machine employing a pair of offset die rolls for, in one embodiment, encapsulating medicinal tablets with a plastic film material, such as gelatin.
As used herein, the term "tablet" refers to a preformed shape, such as a round tablet or an elongated tablet frequently referred to as a caplet. When a medicament, such tablets are preformed in conventional tabletting presses and typically include excipients and fillers in addition to the active ingredients. Encapsulating such tablets with plastic films, such as gelatin, has been well known since the early 1950's, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,775,081 showing equipment employing two offset die rolls, one of which transports tablets positioned on a gelatin film into the nip between the die rolls for encapsulation of the tablets by a second gelatin film on the other of the die rolls. In order to adjust the pressure between the die rolls for proper sealing of the film around the tablets, one of the die roll drive shafts has bearings mounted in elongated slots which bearings are urged by a pin and spring mechanism to provide an adjustable pressure between the die rolls.
Although such a system provides a basic adjustment mechanism for pressure between co-acting dies in a tablet encapsulating machine, it does not easily accommodate for changes due to wear of the die rolls during use of the machine nor does it accommodate dynamic lateral adjustability of one die roll to the other.
More current tablet encapsulating machines are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,296, which includes direct gear-driven die rolls and tablet feeding mechanism to synchronize the depositing of tablets on one gelatin film prior to introduction into the nip between two die rolls. Although such a system provides clocked and synchronized depositing of tablets onto a gelatin film, the use of direct gear-driven die rolls and the tablet feeding mechanism will, during use, cause wear and backlash between the numerous gears employed. Such a system is not easily adjustable to allow resynchronization of the introduction of tablets into the die rolls upon wear of the gears.
Also, tablet encapsulating machines employ rolls, known as mangle rolls, to grab and remove the webs of encapsulating film from the die rolls once the encapsulated tablets have been remove from the films which are, at this time, laminated to one another. On occasion, the mangle rolls become jammed with the web material necessitating stopping of the entire machine while the jam is cleared. This leads to undesirable down time during a production run. There exists a need, therefore, for an improved web take-up system which is less prone to jamming and, if jammed, can be easily and quickly cleared.
Further, with existing die rolls, some difficulties have been encountered forming a tight peripheral seal of the gelatin film on preforms as well as wear on the die rolls during use.
Thus, there remains a need for a tablet encapsulating machine of the type which deposits tablets on a gelatin film in advanced of the nip between die rolls having cavities for encapsulating tablets with plastic film material, such as gelatin, around the tablets, and which can accommodate continued use of the machine, including the wear of the co-acting dies themselves. There also exists a need for an encapsulating machine which easily accommodates adjustment for synchronizing the clocked positioning of tablets on one sheet of plastic film on a die roller, including precise positioning with respect to the tablet die cavity therein and one which efficiently seals the preform tablets and subsequently removes the web material from the die rolls.