A protective film for protecting the channel region of a thin film transistor is formed by a dry etching treatment. Therefore, even if there is a defect in a semiconductor film, pin holes are not formed in a gate insulating film. It follows that the breakdown voltage of the gate insulating film is not lowered even if a scanning signal line, etc., including a gate electrode, are formed of only an Al-based metal film that does not have an anodic oxide film formed on the surface.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Applications No. 2000-129661, filed Apr. 28, 2000; and No. 2000-165516, filed Jun. 2, 2000, the entire contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor panel used in, for example, an active matrix type liquid crystal display device, particularly, to a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor panel, which permits lowering the manufacturing cost of a thin film transistor having a protective film of the channel region.
2. Description of the Related Art
In manufacturing a thin film transistor panel applied to an active matrix type liquid crystal display device, a transparent substrate is prepared consisting of, for example, glass and providing the base of the thin film transistor panel. In order to improve productivity, a large transparent substrate having a size corresponding to a plurality of thin film transistor panels is prepared, and the portions corresponding to a plurality of panels are collectively prepared up to a predetermined manufacturing step, followed by dividing the large transparent substrate into individual panels for application of the subsequent manufacturing steps. Also, in the case of manufacturing a thin film transistor panel equipped with a thin film transistor acting as a switching element, an anodic oxide film is formed on the surface of, for example, a gate line (scanning signal line) including the gate electrode of the thin film transistor so as to improve the breakdown voltage. Further, insulation breakdown takes place in the thin film transistor or the voltage-current characteristics of the thin film transistor are changed by static electricity generated when, for example, the oriented film is subjected to a rubbing treatment before the large transparent substrate is divided into the individual panels, or by the divided individual panels contacting another substance charged with a high voltage of, for example, static electricity. Under the circumstances, measures against static electricity are taken.
FIG. 20, which illustrates the prior art, is a plan view showing the equivalent circuit of a thin film transistor panel under the state that pixel electrodes, etc. are formed on a glass substrate having a size corresponding to a plurality of thin film transistor panels. A glass substrate 1 having a size corresponding to a plurality of thin film transistor panels is finally cut along a cut line 2 denoted by a dot-and-dash line so as to be divided into individual panels. In this case, the region surrounded by the cut line 2 forms a panel forming region 3 and the region surrounding the panel forming region 3 forms a panel non-forming region 4. Also, that region of the panel forming region 3 which is surrounded by a two dots-and-dash line forms a display region 5, and the region surrounding the display region 5 forms a non-display region 6.
Arranged within the display region 5 are a plurality of pixel electrodes 7 arranged to form a matrix, a plurality of thin film transistors 8 connected to these pixel electrodes 7, a plurality of scanning signal lines 9 arranged in the row direction for supplying a scanning signal to the thin film transistors 8, a plurality of data signal lines 10 arranged in the column direction for supplying a data signal to the thin film transistors 8, a plurality of auxiliary capacitance lines 11 arranged in the row direction and forming an auxiliary capacitance section Cs between the pixel electrode 7 and the auxiliary capacitance line 11, a protective ring 13 including a jumper line 12 arranged to surround a plurality of the pixel electrodes 7, a plurality of protective elements 14 arranged on the outside of the protective ring 13 and each consisting of two protective thin film transistors arranged to face each other with the scanning signal line 9 interposed therebetween, and a plurality of protective elements 15 arranged on the outside of the protective ring 13 and each consisting of two protective thin film transistors arranged to face each other with the data signal line 10 interposed therebetween. Further, power supply lines 16 are arranged to form a lattice within the panel non-forming region 4.
The left edge portion of each of the scanning signal lines is connected to the power supply line 16 via a connection pad (scanning electrode terminal) 18 on the output side arranged within a semiconductor chip mounting region 17 denoted by a dotted line within the non-display region 6. The upper edge portion of each of the data signal lines 10 is connected to the power supply line 16 via a connection pad (data electrode terminal) 20 on the output side arranged within a semiconductor chip mounting region 19 denoted by a dotted line within the non-display region 6. Connection pads 21, 22 on the input side, which are arranged within the semiconductor chip mounting regions 17, 19, respectively, are connected to external connection terminals 23 formed at predetermined positions within the non-display region 6 via wirings 24. These external connection terminals 23 are connected to the power supply line 16. The left edge portion of each of the auxiliary capacitance lines 11 is connected to the power supply line 16 via a common line 25 and a connection pad 26, which are arranged on the outside of the right side portion of the protective ring 13. Incidentally, the common line 25 is connected to the protective ring 13 in some cases.
The gate electrode G and the source electrode S of the protective thin film transistor on the upper side, which is included in the protective element 14 arranged on the side of the scanning signal line, are connected to the scanning signal line 9, and the drain electrode of the particular protective thin film transistor is connected to the protective line 13. On the other hand, the gate electrode G and the source electrode S of the lower protective thin film transistor, which is included in the protective element 14 on the side of the scanning signal line, are connected to the protective ring 13, and the drain electrode D of the particular thin film transistor is connected to the scanning signal line 9. Further, the gate electrode G and the source electrode S of the protective thin film transistor on the left side, which is included in the protective circuit 15 on the side of the data signal line, are connected to the protective ring 13, and the drain electrode D of the particular thin film transistor is connected to the data signal line 10. Still further, the gate electrode G and the source electrode S of the protective thin film transistor on the right side, which is included in the protective element 15 arranged on the side of the data signal line, are connected to the data signal line 10, and the drain electrode D of the particular thin film transistor is connected to the protective ring 13.
The method of manufacture of a thin film transistor panel of the construction described above will now be described with reference to FIG. 21. In the first layer forming step S1 shown in FIG. 21, an Al-based metal film (not shown) such as an Al film or an Al alloy film is formed on the upper surface of a glass substrate. Then, in the first photoresist forming step S2 shown in FIG. 21, a first photoresist film is formed on the upper surface of the Al-based metal film. Further, in the scanning signal line forming step S3 shown in FIG. 21, the Al-based metal film is etched with the first photoresist film used as a mask, followed by peeling off the first resist film.
As a result, formed on the upper surface of the glass substrate 1 are the gate electrode G of the thin film transistor, the scanning signal line 9, the auxiliary capacitance line 11, a lower protective ring 13a, and a lower layer connection pad 18, each consisting of the Al-based metal film, as shown in FIG. 22. Incidentally, the xe2x80x9clower protective ring 13axe2x80x9d noted above represents the upper side portion, the lower side portion and the right side portion of the protective ring 13 shown in FIG. 20. Also formed are the power supply line 16, the connection pads 21, 22, the external connection terminal 23, the wiring 24, the common line 25, the connection pad 26, etc. Incidentally, the protective thin film transistors included in each of the protective elements 14 and 15 are formed in substantially the same manner as in the formation of the thin film transistor 8 and, thus, the description is omitted in respect of the formation of the protective thin film transistors noted above.
Then, in the second photoresist forming step S4 shown in FIG. 21, a second photoresist film 29a is formed on the lower layer connection pad 18a, and a second photoresist film 29b is formed on the connecting portion of the lower protective ring 13a at which the lower protective portion 13a is connected to the jumper line 12 shown in FIG. 20, as shown in FIG. 22. Further, in the anodic oxidation step S5 shown in FIG. 21, one electrode of the power supply line 16 shown in FIG. 20 is subjected to an anodic oxidation so as to form an anodic oxide film 30 on the surfaces of the gate electrode G of the thin film transistor 8, the scanning signal line 9, the auxiliary capacitance line 11, etc. as shown in FIG. 23. In this case, an anodic oxide film is not formed on the surfaces of the lower layer connection pad 18a and the connecting portion of the lower portion protective ring 13a, which are covered with the second photoresist films 29a, 29b, respectively. Then, the second photoresist films 29a, 29b are peeled off.
Then, in the three layers forming step S6 shown in FIG. 21, a gate insulating film 31 consisting of silicon nitride, a semiconductor film 32 consisting of an intrinsic amorphous silicon, and a protective film-forming film 33 consisting of silicon nitride are successively formed as shown in FIG. 24. Further, in the third photoresist forming step S7 shown in FIG. 21, the upper surface of the protective film-forming film 33 is coated with a third photoresist film, followed by applying a light exposure from the back surface with the gate electrode G, etc. used as a mask. At the same time, a light exposure is also applied from the front surface by using a photomask (not shown). Then, a developing treatment is applied. As a result, a third photoresist film 34a is formed on the upper surface of the protective film-forming film 33 on the gate electrode G of the thin film transistor 8, as shown in FIG. 24. Also, a photoresist film 34b is formed on the upper surface of the protective film-forming film 33 in the crossing region of the lines 9 and 10.
Then, in the protective film forming step S8 shown in FIG. 21, the protective film-forming film 33 is subjected to a wet etching with the third photoresist films 34a, 34b used as a mask. As a result, protective films 33a, 33b are formed below the third photoresist films 34a, 34b, respectively, as shown in FIG. 25. Then, the third photoresist films 34a, 34b are peeled off. In this case, the protective film 33b serves to improve the breakdown voltage in the crossing region of the lines 9 and 10. Also, the protective film 33a serves to protect the channel region of the semiconductor film 32. The protective film 33a will be described in detail herein later in conjunction with the manufacturing process of the thin film transistor.
Where semiconductor film 32 has defects such as pin holes when the protective film-forming film 33 is subjected to a wet etching, the etchant permeates into the semiconductor film 32 so as to arrive at the gate insulating film 31, with the result that pin holes are formed in the gate insulating film 31, or the semiconductor film 32 is damaged. However, since the anodic oxide film 30 is formed on the surface of the scanning signal line 9, etc. including the gate electrode G, a short circuit between the gate electrode 30 and the source electrode S or between the gate electrode 30 and the drain electrode D is prevented. It is also possible to prevent the breakdown voltage of the gate insulating film 31 from being substantially lowered.
Then, in the n-type amorphous silicon film forming step S9 shown in FIG. 21, an n-type amorphous silicon film 35 is formed as shown in FIG. 26. Further, in the three conductive layers forming step S10 shown in FIG. 21, a Cr film 36, an Al-based metal film 37, and a Cr film 38 are successively formed as shown in FIG. 26.
In the subsequent step of the fourth photoresist forming step S11 shown in FIG. 21, fourth photoresist films 39a to 39d are formed in predetermined positions on the upper surface of the upper Cr film 38, as shown in FIG. 26. In this case, the fourth photoresist films 39a and 39b are for forming the drain electrode D and the source electrode S, respectively, of the thin film transistor 8. The third photoresist film 39c is for forming the data signal line 10 and the lower layer connection pad. Further, the fourth photoresist film 39d is for forming the remaining portion of the protective ring 13, i.e., for forming the left side portion of the protective ring 13 shown in FIG. 20.
Then, in step S12 for forming the data signal line, etc. shown in FIG. 21, the Cr film 38, the Al-based metal film 37 and the Cr film 36 are etched with the fourth photoresist films 39a to 39d used as a mask. Further, in the device area forming step S13 shown in FIG. 21, the n-type amorphous silicon film 35 and the semiconductor film 32 are etched with the fourth photoresist films 39a to 39d used as a mask.
As a result, the data signal line 10 and the lower layer connection pad 20a are formed as shown in FIG. 27. In this case, each of the data signal line 10 and the lower layer connection pad 20 is of a laminate structure consisting of the semiconductor film 32, the n-type amorphous silicon film 35, the Cr film 36, the Al-based metal film 37 and the Cr film 38, which are laminated in the order mentioned as viewed from below.
Also, in the region of forming the thin film transistor 8, etc., a semiconductor film 32a is formed in a predetermined position on the upper surface of the gate insulating film 31. Also, the drain electrode D and the source electrode S are formed on both sides above the upper surface of the protective film 33a and on both sides above the semiconductor film 32a. In this case, each of the drain electrode D and the source electrode S is of a laminate structure consisting of the n-type amorphous silicon film 35, the Cr film 36, the Al-based metal film 37 and the Cr film 38, which are laminated in the order mentioned as viewed from below. It should be noted that the protective film 33a serves to prevent the semiconductor film 32a, made of amorphous silicon, from being etched in the step of etching the n-type amorphous silicon film 35 on the channel region of the thin film transistor 8. As a result, the characteristics of the thin film transistor are prevented from being deteriorated.
Further, a remaining portion 13b of the protective ring 13, i.e., the left side portion of the protective ring 13 shown in FIG. 20, is formed. In this case, the remaining portion 13b of the protective ring 13, which is herein after referred to as the xe2x80x9cupper portion protective ring 13xe2x80x9d, is of a laminate structure consisting of the semiconductor film 32, the n-type amorphous silicon film 35, the Cr film 36, the Al-based metal film 37 and the Cr film 38, which are laminated in the order mentioned as viewed from below. Then, the fourth photoresist films 39a to 39d are peeled off.
Then, in the overcoat film forming step S14 shown in FIG. 21, an overcoat film 41 (see FIG. 28) consisting of silicon nitride is formed. Further, in the fifth photoresist forming step S15 shown in FIG. 21, a fifth photoresist film (not shown) is formed on the upper surface of an overcoat film (upper insulating film) 41. Still further, in the contact hole forming step S16 shown in FIG. 21, contact holes are made in predetermined positions of the overcoat film 41 and the gate insulating film 31 with the fifth photoresist film used as a mask, followed by peeling off the fifth photoresist film.
As a result, in the region for forming the thin film transistor 8, etc., a contact hole 42 is formed in that region of the overcoat film 41 which corresponds to the source electrode S, as shown in FIG. 28. On the other hand, in the region for forming the jumper line 12 of the protective ring 13, a contact hole 43 is formed in those portions of the overcoat film 41 and the gate insulating film 31 which correspond to the connecting portion of the lower portion protective ring 13a. Also, a contact hole 44 is formed in that portion of the overcoat film 41 which corresponds to the connecting portion of the upper portion protective ring 13b. Further, in the region for forming the connection pad 20, a contact hole 45 is formed in that portion of the overcoat film 41 which corresponds to the lower layer connection pad 20a. Still further, in the region for forming the connection pad 18, a contact hole 46 is formed in those portions of the overcoat film 41 and the gate insulating film 31 which correspond to the lower layer connection pad 18a.
Then, in the ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film forming step S17 shown in FIG. 21, an ITO film 47 is formed as shown in FIG. 29. Further, in the sixth photoresist forming step S18 shown in FIG. 21, sixth photoresist films 48a to 48d are formed in predetermined positions on the upper surface of the ITO film 47, as shown in FIG. 29. In this case, the sixth photoresist film 48a is for forming the pixel electrode 7. The sixth photoresist film 48b is for forming the jumper line 12 of the protective ring 13. Further, the sixth photoresist films 48c and 48d are for forming the upper layer connection pad.
Then, in step S19 for forming the pixel electrode, etc. shown in FIG. 21, the ITO film 47 is etched with the sixth photoresist films 48a to 48d used as a mask, followed by peeling off the sixth photoresist films 48a to 48d. As a result, in the region for forming the thin film transistor 8, etc., the pixel electrode 7 consisting of the ITO film is formed in a predetermined position on the upper surface of the overcoat film 41 in a manner to be connected to the source electrode S via the contact hole 42, as shown in FIG. 30. Also, in the region for forming the jumper line 12 of the protective ring 13, a jumper line 12 consisting of the ITO film is formed in a predetermined position on the upper surface of the overcoat film 41. In this case, one end portion of the jumper line 12 is connected to the lower portion protective ring 13a via the contact hole 43, and the other end portion of the jumper line 12 is connected to the upper portion protective ring 13b via the contact hole 44.
Also, in the region for forming the connection pad 20, the upper layer connection pad 20b consisting of the ITO film is formed in a predetermined position on the upper surface of the overcoat film 41 in a manner to be connected to the lower layer connection pad 20a via the contact hole 45. Further, in the region for forming the connection pad 18, the upper layer connection pad 18b consisting of the ITO film is formed in a predetermined position on the upper surface of the overcoat film 41 in a manner to be connected to the lower layer connection pad 18a via the contact hole 46. In this case, if the connection pad 18 is formed of only the lower layer connection pad 18a consisting of the Al-based metal layer, the surface of the connection pad 18 is exposed to the outside in the contact hole 46 so as to be oxidized. In the present invention, however, such a problem is not generated because the upper layer connection pad 18b consisting of the ITO film is formed on the surface of the lower layer connection pad 18a. The thin film transistor panel as shown in FIG. 20 is obtained by the steps described above. In the thin film transistor panel thus obtained, the ITO film constituting the pixel electrode 7 is positioned on the top side of the thin film transistor 8 and, thus, is called a TOP-ITO structure in some cases.
It should be noted that, in manufacturing the thin film transistor panel, static electricity is generated when, for example, the oriented film is subjected to a rubbing treatment before the panel is cut along the cut line 2. However, since all the wirings within the panel forming region 3 are connected to the power supply line 16 within the panel non-forming region 4, the generated static electricity can be removed promptly if the power supply line 16 is grounded.
After the thin film transistor panel is cut along the cut line 2 in the manufacturing process of the thin film transistor panel, it is possible for the cut panel to be brought into contact with another substance charged with static electricity. In this case, the protective ring 13, all the scanning signal lines 9 and all the data signal lines 10 can be allowed to bear the same potential by turning on appropriately the protective thin film transistors included in the protective elements 14 and 15. Incidentally, the protective thin film transistors included in the protective elements 14 and 15 do not adversely effect the normal display drive of the liquid crystal display device equipped with the thin film transistor panel.
In the conventional manufacturing method of the thin film transistor panel described above, particularly, in the second photoresist forming step S4 and the anodic oxidation step S5 shown in FIG. 21, the second photoresist films 29a, 29b are formed, subjected to the anodic oxidation treatment and, then, the second photoresist films 29a, 29b are peeled off, giving rise to the problem that the number of manufacturing steps is increased.
It should also be noted that, if the connection pad 18 is formed by arranging the upper layer connection pad 18b consisting of the ITO film on the lower layer connection pad 18a consisting of the Al-based metal film as shown in FIG. 30, the contact characteristics between the Al-based metal film and the ITO film are rendered poor. If the ITO film on the lower layer connection pad 18a consisting of the Al-based metal film is removed in order to overcome the above-noted problem, the exposed Al-based metal film is dissolved in the etchant of the ITO film. Also, if the Al-based film is in contact with the ITO film, the Al-based metal film is oxidized by the etchant of the ITO film, with the result that the ITO film is reduced, giving rise to the problem that both the Al-based metal film and the ITO film are corroded by the so-called xe2x80x9ccell reactionxe2x80x9d.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor panel, which permits decreasing the number of manufacturing steps and also permits preventing the occurrence of the cell reaction so as to improve the contact characteristics with the connection pad.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor panel, comprising the steps of forming a scanning signal line including a connection pad and a gate electrode section, the entire region of which includes the surface, being formed of a conductive metal film, on a substrate, forming a gate insulating film on the substrate and the scanning signal line, forming a semiconductor film on the gate insulating film, forming a protective film-forming film on the semiconductor film, patterning the protective film-forming film by a dry etching so as to form a protective film in that region of the semiconductor film which corresponds to the gate electrode section, forming a drain electrode connected to one region of the semiconductor film exposed to the outside from both sides of the protective film and forming a source electrode connected to the other region, forming an upper insulating film to cover the drain electrode, the source electrode and the gate insulating film, and forming a transparent electrode connected to the source electrode on the upper insulating film.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.

Method of manufacturing thin film transistor panel having protective film of channel region


A GPU-based human body microwave echo simulation method includes: transmitting emulation input parameters from the memory of a CPU host into the display memory of a GPU device; configuring, at the CPU host, parallel computing network parameters to be run at the GPU device; initiating a kernel function for human body microwave echo simulation preset in the CPU host; computing the kernel function in parallel, in a plurality of processing kernels of the GPU device, in a multi-threaded manner, according to the parallel computing network parameters, to obtain simulation echoes of human body microwaves; transmitting the obtained simulation echoes of human body microwaves from the GPU device back to the CPU host. The method makes full use of the characteristic that a GPU can perform parallel computing to accelerate the echo simulation process, greatly improving the real-time performance of echo simulation of a human body microwave scanning and imaging system.

In recent years, microwave, millimeter wave or terahertz wave based near-distance human body three-dimensional scanning and imaging security inspect system, due to the advantages of penetrating human body's clothes, low radiation dose, and identifying metallic or non-metallic prohibited goods hidden by human body, has attracted the public attention and is highly regarded by organizations and institutions that need security inspection, such as airports, courts, prisons. During the development and the test phases of a human body three-dimensional scanning and imaging security inspect system, usually echo simulations are generated to support the links of system parameter verification and analysis, system imaging mechanism study, imaging algorithm design and verification. However, in a human body three-dimensional scanning and imaging system, the echo has a high dimension, and the system has a lot of channels, which cause heavy computing burden and high complexity in echo simulation. As a result, simulation echoes usually cannot be computed and generated in real time by existing conventional computers or CPU (Central Processing Unit) of a workstation.

GPU-based human body microwave echo simulation method and system

SHENZHEN INSTITUTE OF TERAHERTZ TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION


In a pivoting guide for a traveling transmission chain, composed of a synthetic resin body having a shoe and a slotted reinforcement, and a plate fitting into the slot, the plate has a mounting hole received on a boss formed on the guide body and coaxial with a mounting hole on the guide body which receives a pivot shaft. This structure facilitates assembly and mounting because the plate is securely attached to the guide body before the assembly is mounted. The plate does not contact the pivot shaft, and therefore full advantage is taken of the self-lubricating property of the synthetic resin. The boss may be elongated so that the length of the mounting hole of the guide body is greater than the width of the shoe so that wear in of the guide body due to biased loads is dispersed, and the useful life of the guide is extended.

Most internal combustion engines, and also some other machines utilizing drive mechanisms, utilize a transmission, in which power is transmitted through a chain or belt. In such a transmission, a movable guide is typically provided in sliding contact with the transmission medium in order to maintain proper tension and to prevent vibration, both in the plane of circulation of the transmission medium and in directions transverse to its plane of circulation. The movable guide is attached to the frame of the engine or other drive mechanism on a mounting shaft consisting of a bolt, a pin, or the like.
FIGS. 11 and 12 show a plastic movable guide G, used in a chain transmission. This guide is described in Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2002-266964. The guide G comprises a guide body G3 and a plate G5. The guide body G3 is manufactured by integrally molding a shoe G1, adapted for sliding contact with a chain, and a reinforcing structure G2, which extends along the longitudinal direction of the guide. The plate G5 is a steel sheet, which fits into a slot G4 formed between two opposed parts of the reinforcing structure G2, in order to achieve weight reduction while ensuring strength of the guide and rigidity against bending, and in order to facilitate assembly of the guide. In mounting the guide G on a fixed frame, the guide G is attached to the frame by a bolt type pivot shaft B, which extends through mounting hole G6 in the plastic guide G, and through hole G7 in the plate G5.
In the conventional plastic guide, as shown in FIG. 12, the plate G5 is forcibly fitted into the slot G4 so that it is sandwiched between the two opposed parts of the reinforcing structure G2. Thus, the mounting holes G6 and G7, formed respectively in the reinforcing structure G2 and the plate 5, are often initially not in alignment with each other when the combination of the guide body and plate is mounted on the pivot shaft B. In order to align the holes, the plate must be shifted. The needed shift of the plate may be effected by the action of a tapered section formed on the pivot shaft provided that the misalignment does not exceed the distance X depicted in FIG. 12. However, if the holes are too far misaligned, an abutment will take place, preventing the engagement of the guide with the pivot shaft.
When a guide in which the mounting holes G6 and G7 are excessively misaligned is mounted on a frame F, the pivot shaft B abuts a portion of a side of plate G5 adjacent the circumferential edge of the hole G7, and therefore cannot be pushed through the holes G6 and G7. Accordingly, it was necessary to adjust the position of the hole G7 in order to align it with hole G6 and thereby allow the pivot shaft B to be moved through both holes and threaded into to the frame F. The structure depicted in FIGS. 11 and 12, therefore, has the disadvantage that an additional alignment step is required in order to mount the guide on its pivot.
Furthermore, even if the mounting holes G6 and G7 of the guide body and the plate are not excessively misaligned, and the pivot shaft B is forced through the mounting holes, the synthetic resin reinforcing structure G2 tends to break at the location of hole G6, and the difference between strengths of the guide body G3 and the plate G5 produces biased wear of the guide body G3, which impairs the sliding contact function of the guide and also shortens its useful life.
Another problem, with the movable guide of FIGS. 11 and 12, is that, in order to achieve a smooth pivoting action as the guide takes up slack in a chain, it is necessary to supply lubricating oil to the mounting hole G7 in the plate G5. However, maintaining adequate lubrication at the location of mounting hole G7 is difficult.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to solve the above-described problems of the conventional movable guide, and, more particularly, to provide a movable guide which can be easily and reliably assembled from a synthetic resin guide body and a reinforcing plate, and mounted on the frame of the transmission device. Another object of the invention is to provide a movable guide which can avoid biased wear as it guides a traveling chain or other flexible power transmission medium, and thereby operate reliably over a long period of time.


Disclosed is a technique for assigning priorities. A request to manipulate data is received. A type of the request is determined. A priority is assigned to the request based on the type of the request.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to assigning priorities to requests that manipulate (e.g., update or copy) data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Disaster recovery systems typically address two types of failures, a sudden catastrophic failure at a single point in time or data loss over a period of time. In the second type of gradual disaster, updates to volumes on data storage may be lost. To assist in recovery of data updates, a copy of data may be provided at a remote location. Such dual or shadow copies are typically made as the application system is writing new data to a primary storage device at a primary storage subsystem. The copies are stored in a secondary storage device at a secondary storage subsystem.
Typically, priorities are assigned to requests that manipulate (e.g., update or copy) data in volumes stored in the primary storage device. The requests may also be referred to as I/O requests. Since the priority assigned to each request is used by a resource manager at the primary and secondary storage subsystems to govern how resources (e.g., processor power for processing the I/O requests, memory for storing data, and hardware to perform data movement) should be allocated to execute a request, if the same request is processed in the primary and secondary storage subsystems with different priorities, the resources in both the primary may not be efficiently managed and can cause resource constraints.
For example, if the primary storage subsystem handles certain requests with high priority, and the secondary storage subsystem handles the same requests with a lower priority, these requests may not be able to finish within a reasonable amount of time because they will be waiting for the secondary storage subsystem to complete requests with higher priority.
Thus, even though most of the resources in the primary storage subsystem are dedicated to handle these requests, they are treated differently at the secondary storage subsystem.
On the other hand, when the primary storage subsystem handles certain requests with low priority, and the secondary storage subsystem handles these requests with a higher priority, the secondary storage subsystem may not have enough resources to finish higher priority requests from the primary storage subsystem in a reasonable amount of time.
Thus, there is a need in the art for storage subsystems to effectively manage their resources to reduce I/O response time and increase overall system throughput.

International Business Machines Corporation


A sheet handling device for a printer or copier which includes a print surface for supporting a first surface of a sheet, a feed plate having an edge adjacent to the print surface, and a feed mechanism for feeding the sheet to the print surface through a gap between the edge of the feed plate and the print surface, wherein the edge of the feed plate has notches arranged such that at the edge, the notches provide space for the sheet at a second surface of the sheet.

The present invention relates to a sheet handling device for a printer or copier containing a print surface for supporting a first surface of a sheet, a feed plate having an edge being adjacent to the print surface, and a feed mechanism for feeding a sheet to the print surface through a gap between the edge of the feed plate and the print surface.
In printers in which paper sheets or similar image receiving sheets are used as recording media, a tendency of the paper to cockle may sometimes constitute a serious problem. The cockling phenomenon is related to the fact that paper and similar materials tend to absorb humidity from ambient air and to expand and contract in accordance with their humidity content. Typically, the expansion and contraction is not isotropic and is particularly pronounced in a direction in which the fibers of the paper are predominantly oriented. When there exists a gradient in humidity within the paper, then the more humid portion of the paper will expand more than the drier portion, which inevitably leads to the production of cockles or wrinkles.
Once cockles have developed in the paper during the transport of the paper towards the sheet support plate, a further expansion or contraction of the paper may lead to an expansion of the cockles, so that the height of the cockles also grows.
In a typical setup of an ink jet printer, especially a large format printer, the paper is intermittently advanced over a flat sheet support plate, while a carriage moves back and forth across the paper, and ink jet printheads mounted on the carriage are energized to eject droplets of ink onto the paper to form a printed image. Since the carriage moves with relatively high velocity, the ink droplets ejected onto the paper undergo a certain aberration and are deposited on the paper in a somewhat dislocated position. The amount of dislocation is proportional to the flight distance of the ink droplets. Thus, when cockles are present in the paper, the flight distance is non-uniform and, accordingly, the dislocation of the spots of ink on the paper also becomes non-uniform, so that the quality of the printed image becomes deteriorated. The larger the height of the cockles, the more pronounced is the deteriorating effect.
When the ink jet print printheads are positioned very close to the surface of the paper to minimize the dislocation, the printheads might even touch large cockles or bumps of the paper, so that the quality of the printed image is also deteriorated.

Sheet handling device with a print surface and a feed plate


A circuit for adaptively adjusting the drive strength of output power transistors in a class D amplifier is provided. The circuit includes a driver circuit and a low-voltage detect circuit. The low-voltage detect circuit is arranged to assert a low-voltage detect signal if a low supply voltage condition is detected. The driver circuit is arranged to increase the drive strength if the low-voltage detect signal is asserted. The driver circuit includes a first driver and a second driver. The second driver is enabled if the low-voltage detect signal is asserted, and disabled if the low-voltage detect signal is unasserted.

In audio applications, a speaker may be driven by an amplifier, typically a class AB amplifier. However, class AB amplifiers have low power efficiency. In portable applications, such as cell phones, personal desktop assistants (PDAs), and headphone amplifiers, battery life can be a significant concern. Also, in high-power systems, (e.g. 5 W–300 W), metal heat sinks are typically required because the low efficiency of Class AB amplifiers.
Compared to class AB amplifiers, class D amplifiers have much higher efficiency. A class D architecture could significantly increase the battery life in portable systems, and could allow multi-channel high-power systems to be designed very light and compact by eliminating the heat sinks that are typically employed.
Class D amplifiers typically employ either pulse width modulation or sigma-delta modulation. After initial conditioning of the audio signal, the signal is typically modulated by a high-frequency carrier signal. Also, the output stage of a class D amplifier is typically a pair of power MOSFETs which operate as switches to couple the output to VDD or ground based on the modulated signal. The output is generally low-pass filtered and provided to a speaker or a headphone for audio applications.

Apparatus and method for a driver with an adaptive drive strength for a class D amplifier


A data structure by which a color management system can model color behavior of a color device. More particularly, the data structure includes a measurement component including a collection of measurements, where each measurement represents at least one control signal by which a sample color measurement is obtained by effecting a corresponding color output from or input to the color device, or a set of color coordinates which correlate to the at least one control signal, or both. The data structure also includes a characterization process component which includes platform-independent code for a characterization process by which the collection of measurements is processed to produce a color behavior model for the color device. The invention preferably includes a control parameter component which includes control parameters representing a type or state of the device, where the characterization process component processes the collection of measurements in accordance with the control parameters, in order to generate a color transform corresponding to the type or state of the color device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of color management, and specifically relates to color management in which a device profile stores both a characterization process and measurement data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditional color management systems (CMSs) use characterizations of color imaging devices to derive color transformations that transform color coordinates between a device-dependent color space that depends on the device, and a device-independent color space that does not depend on the device, such as a "profile connection space" ("PCS"). The characterizations are often stored in device profiles, such as those standardized by the International Color Consortium (ICC). Standardized device profiles, however, are inflexible because they must conform to a predefined specification.
More recent CMSs utilize actual device measurements, which are sometimes referred to as "measurement-only profiles" (MOPs), even though this description is not strictly accurate. MOPs are used to drive the color conversion process, rather than relying on device profiles which may be generated by other programs. Although MOPs are advantageous because of their flexibility, their very flexibility leads to further problems. One such disadvantage, for example, is that MOPs must rely on pre-arranged characterization processes which define how measurements are obtained from a device and how they are used to generate a color transform. As such, since flexibility is bound by the pre-arranged characterization process, a traditional CMS may be unable to process a device profile in which color measurements are ordered or categorized in a non-standard manner. Furthermore, it may be difficult to add a new MOP characterization process to an existing CMS which may be pre-programmed with the characterization process of only one or just a few MOPs, requiring that new versions of the CMS be created each time a new type of device or device profile is created.
One method of overcoming this problem is to incorporate the device characterization in a "plug-in" to the CMS. Here, the term "plug-in" means a software module which adds a specific feature or service to the CMS, such as the ability for the CMS to recognize a new device profile. Using plug-ins, existing CMSs can be upgraded to handle new devices or device profiles, by executing newer device characterizations as they become available. With plug-ins, however, the plug-able characterization process components must be available to the CMS via a shared network, disk, or the Internet. Moreover, since the CMS that needs the plug-in might be running in any number of different and incompatible computer platforms, the plug-in must be published in multiple different platform-dependent formats so that one format can be selected consistent with the computer platform on which the CMS is operating.

Color measurement profile with embedded characterization


A system and a method for determining an attitude of a device undergoing dynamic acceleration is presented. A first attitude measurement is calculated based on a magnetic field measurement received from a magnetometer of the device and a first acceleration measurement received from a first accelerometer of the device. A second attitude measurement is calculated based on the magnetic field measurement received from the magnetometer of the device and a second acceleration measurement received from a second accelerometer of the device. A correction factor is calculated based at least in part on a difference of the first attitude measurement and the second attitude measurement. The correction factor is then applied to the first attitude measurement to produce a corrected attitude measurement for the device.

A pointing device (e.g., a mouse, a trackball, etc.) may be used to interact with objects within a user interface of a computer system or other electronic devices (e.g., a set top box, etc.). Some applications may need to know the heading of a pointing device while the device is moving. One such example is an application that interfaces with a multi-dimensional pointing device, which is a device that may be freely moved in space (e.g., in one, two, or three dimensions) to position a cursor in a user interface of a computer system or other electronic devices. The act of moving the multi-dimensional pointing device around creates accelerations and decelerations that may cause conventional attitude-determination techniques (e.g., the TRIAD technique) to fail.
A technique that uses a combination of gyroscopes and accelerometers may be used to determine the attitude of a multi-dimensional pointing device while the device is moving. Similarly, a technique that uses a combination of light sources and cameras may be used. Unfortunately, these techniques add to the cost of the device.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide a multi-dimensional pointing device that addresses the above described drawbacks.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for determining an attitude of a device undergoing dynamic acceleration


A broadband microstrip filter structure employs a first transmission line which basically consists of a series of capacitor plates which extend between a dielectric layer from a first location to a second location and each of the series of plates are connected together with a top plate on the top surface of the dielectric and a bottom plate located a given distance beneath the dielectric layer. A second transmission line alternates between the top and bottom layers of the dielectric and consists of a second series of capacitive plates whereby each capacitor is connected to an adjacent capacitor with the top plate of the first connecting to the bottom plate of the second and the bottom plate of the first connecting to the top plate of the second and so on. This pattern is repeated so that the conductor path alternates from the top to the bottom plate. Various capacitors are selected to provide predetermined length resonators while various other capacitors are provided to provide coupling sections. In this configuration each of the above-noted lines provide switching from the top to the bottom so that each conductor averages the same distance from the ground plane insuring identical impedances in each line. The structure allows tight coupling and enables the even and odd mode phase velocity differences to be compensated for due to the fact that the odd mode travels between the two conductors and the even mode travels between the conductor and the ground plane. In this manner the odd mode travels faster but further, thus the even mode and the odd mode move down the structure in synchronism.

The microwave frequency is in that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum where the wavelength is of the same order of magnitude as the characteristic size of the circuit carrying the electrical energies. The frequencies most often considered to be in this category lie between approximately 1 and 200 GHz. Microwave circuits usually contain distributed circuit elements. Circuits used at lower frequencies usually have lumped elements while circuits used at higher frequencies use optical techniques. As one can ascertain, the microwave frequency range has been applied widely in communications systems, radar systems and in various other applications. High performance filter are an integral part of microwave systems.
Parallel coupled microstrip filters are extensively used as band pass filters in such systems due to their small size and their relatively easy fabrication. Such filters can be designed with reasonable accuracy using the design information obtainable in the literature. Microstrip (MS) is used in circuits where discrete devices are bonded to the circuit, where easy access is needed for tuning, or a compact design is needed.
Since the electromagnetic fields lie partly in air and partly in the dielectric, obtaining solutions for the characteristic impedances and effective dielectric constant in MS is more complicated than it is for stripline. Furthermore, microstrip is only approximately a TEM transmission line, but unless the circuit to be used is for very broad bandwidth applications or it is physically many wavelengths long, dispersion will not be a problem. Thus the TEM approximation gives useful results in the design of microstrip circuits. Since microstrip is a non-homogenous medium, the even and odd mode phase velocities for a couple or pair of microstrip lines are unequal. The difference in the phase velocities results in the filter having an asymmetric passband response, deteriorates the upper stopband performance and moves the second passband (which is about twice the center frequency) towards the center frequency.
Certain bandpass filters which have been built on microstrip are referred to as parallel edge coupled filter devices. The prior art is replete with such devices. Reference is made to an article entitled "Broadbanding Microstrip Filters Using Capacitive Compensation" by Inder J. Bahl of ITT Gallium Arsenide Technology Center and published in Applied Microwave, August/September 1989, pp. 70-76. The paper describes a capacitor compensated parallel coupled microstrip filter design with a symmetrical passband and second passband above twice the filter center frequency. Each resonator, in a typical parallel edge coupled device, is a half wavelength long. The first quarter wavelength coupled to the previous resonator and the second quarter wavelength coupled to the following resonator. If this type of filter is realized in a TEM structure it could have an infinite rejection at twice the center frequency and a second passband at three times the center frequency which allows the passband to have functional bandwidths of 40% to 60%. However, as indicated above, microstrip is not a true TEM structure and the rejection at twice the center frequency is relatively poor because the coupled sections of the resonators have even and odd mode phase velocities that travel at different speeds. The even mode travels in the dielectric and the odd mode (the coupling fields between the conductors) travels in the air and dielectric which causes the odd mode to travel faster than the even mode.
Another reason why such filters are not used for broad bandwidths is because they require tight coupling and therefore the physical separation between resonators is extremely small and the dimensions are so critical that such filters have been relatively impractical to construct and manufacture.
As indicated in many prior art designs, the poor stopband rejection forces the microwave designer to employ a lowpass filter preceding the bandpass filter in many systems. The second passband of a bandpass filter, at twice the center frequency, also results in poor second harmonic suppression when used as output filters for oscillators and amplifiers. To overcome this problem bandpass filters using parallel coupled stepped impedance resonators have been implemented. See an article entitled "Bandpass Filters Using Parallel Coupled Strip Line Step Impedance Resonators" published in the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. NTT-28, No. 12, December 1980 by M. Makimoto and S. Yamashita, pp. 1413-1417. This article gives approximate design formulas for bandpass filters using parallel coupled stripline stepped impedance resonators (SIR). These are not microstrip devices but are stripline devices.
The prior art was also aware of techniques used to slow down the odd mode velocity in microstrip coupled line filters. See an article entitled "Improved Performance Parallel Coupled Microstrip Filters" by M. R. Moazzam, et al., published in Microwave Journal, November 1991, pp. 128-135. This article discusses techniques which are employed to improve the stopband performance of the microstrip parallel coupled line filters. The phase velocities of the two modes may be equalized or a longer path for odd mode energy may be provided; the odd mode phase velocity is higher than the even mode phase velocity. Some of the methods used by the prior art to improve stopband performance include over coupling the resonators, suspending the substrate, using parallel coupled step impedance resonators and using capacitors at the end of coupled sections. As indicated in the article, such techniques increase the cost of the original filter and are difficult to implement. The article describes a planar technique for phase velocity compensation whereby the odd mode length is extended by introducing wiggle to the coupled lines. The technique does not add cost to the system and employs wiggly lines to provide compensation of phase velocity difference in parallel coupled microstrip lines.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved microstrip filter apparatus eliminating many prior art problems.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a microstrip structure that allows tight coupling and solves the even and odd mode phase velocity difference problem to enable the construction of broadband filters.

Broadband microstrip filter apparatus having inteleaved resonator sections


The data ports in a network are displayed in a list in descending order based on either the higher transmit or receive data value of the port. Therefore, the port with the highest of either the transmit or receive data value would be displayed on the top of the list. The port with the second highest of the transmit or receive data value would be displayed second on the list. This process would continue for all data ports that are displayed. The other of the transmit or receive data values of the port would be displayed but would not affect the ordering on the display.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to network device management and more particularly to displaying a networking device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Network management software provides network administrators a way of tracking the bandwidth utilization of ports on a network. For smaller networks with a fewer number of ports, closely monitoring port utilization in a graphical user interface (GUI) is a less arduous task. However, for large networks, there are often so many ports that arrangement of the display of data values for each port based on predetermined parameters is necessitated. Current solutions to this problem offer arranging the ports in several ways. One current solution offers arranging the ports in descending order based on the port with the highest transmit value. Another current solution offers arranging the ports in descending order based on the port with the highest receive value. Yet another current solution offers arranging the ports in descending order based on the port with the highest of sum data transmit and data receive value. While these solutions aid administrators in tracking port traffic, they do not always allow for quick viewing of ports close to their physical maximum data transmit or receive values so that the administrator can take action to reroute traffic before congestion occurs. Therefore a method and system to improve the display of heavily used ports is desirable.

Display of port transmit and receive parameters sorted by higher of transmit or receive value


A water line adapter designed to convert a single water outlet line into a multiple outlet water line, with the adapter comprising a cubical body, a captive rotatable threaded nut attached to one face of the body, a first threaded member attached to the opposite face, and a second threaded member attached to another face. In one application, the adapter is attached to a shut-off valve by threading the captive rotatable nut over the threaded member of the shut-off valve. In this manner, a single outlet shut-off valve can be converted into a shut-off valve having two outlets. The adapter is particularly useful in providing a water supply to appliances such as ice makers, dishwashers and under-the-counter water filters.

Today's modern buildings, particularly residential buildings, often include many more water-using appliances than the buildings built a generation or more ago. Such appliances include ice makers, dishwashers, under-the-counter water filters and hot and cold water dispensers. Each of these appliances requires its own supply of water to operate. As a result, builders and plumbers are required to plumb an ever-increasing number of water lines to supply water to these appliances.
The most straightforward way to provide water to such appliances is to install a new water line, usually by tapping into an existing water line. Unfortunately, the time and effort required to tap into an existing water using conventional techniques can be difficult and time-consuming, and generally requires shutting off the water supply to the entire house or building at its source.
If the existing water line has a conventional two-way stop valve (commonly called a "stop") with an input line, a valve section and an output line (such as shown at 14 in the drawings), then the two-way stop can merely be replaced, with what is known as a three-way angle supply stop, which has two discharge ports rather than one. However, this method requires the additional expense of purchasing a new three-way valve, and also requires shutting off the water supply to the entire house or building.


Methods and apparatus that employ one or more light sources to reduce the ability to recognize or identify one or more objects. In various examples, one or more LED-based light sources are utilized in camouflaging techniques. The apparatus and methods disclosed relating to camouflaging techniques have wide applicability in a number of environments (and with a number of different objects) including, but not limited to, military, commercial, industrial, sporting, recreational, and entertainment applications.

Camouflage is necessary for deception and is often used by both animals and humans for disguise and protection. Camouflage techniques for the military have been pursued for well over a century but have primarily taken the form of surface colors and textures chosen for the particular milieu. In addition to personnel and land-based forces using these techniques, naval and aviation applications have been used since WWI. Coatings have ranged from neutral colors to razzle-dazzle schemes that break up the outline of large surfaces making it difficult to see the shape of the object. A variety of coloring schemes have been used aboard aircraft for years to provide delay of observation during daylight sorties. The Compass Ghost program during the Vietnam War is one such example.
Beginning in WWII however, a new technique was developed that is now generally termed active camouflage. The addition of energized lighting or display surfaces has been tested but rarely deployed even though shown to be successful in principle. This has the benefit of making the object not appearing to simply be a shadow. Through the use of surface illumination, an object can be made to substantially integrate with its surroundings, making it difficult to see with the eye.
During WWII, The US Navy's Project Yehudi used lights mounted on the leading edges of the wings of a torpedo bomber to successfully hide the plane in broad daylight when attacking a submarine. Visual detection range in the tests dropped substantially from 12 to 2 miles. As the plane approached a target, the lights, which pointed forward, were coupled with a photocell such that the output intensity (not color) of the light was set to match the intensity of the sky behind the approaching plane. This effect takes advantage of a physiological phenomenon termed isoluminance where objects of similar intensity can be indistinguishable from one another under certain conditions.
Yehudi, kept secret for many years, was never used because the advent of airborne radar systems in WWII rendered it moot. During the Vietnam War, however, a program called Compass Ghost revived advanced paint schemes and an attempt to try the Yehudi technique again on an F-4 Phantom. More recently in the mid 1990's were reports of a Project Ivy done by the Air Force that considered or used color panels.
The rapid development and deployment of radar systems combined with the end of the war eliminated the need for such techniques. The electromagnetic techniques of radio ranging through radar meant that eyes were trained upon radar displays and not the sky, and made pointless the need for such developments.
In the 1970s and 80's though, new developments in stealth aircraft rendered these aviation developments invisible to radar systems. Strikingly, although the stealth aircraft are nearly invisible to radar, they operate only at night because they are among the most visible of aircraft during the day.

Methods and apparatus for camouflaging objects


A data storage system in which each of a set of disks has a first portion for either popular data or error correction information (parity or Reed-Solomon code symbols) associated with the popular data, and a second portion used for other data. A disk controller connected to the set of disks maintains a first popular data block in the first portion of a first of the set of disks and a second popular data block in the first portion of a second of the set of disks. The system maintains at least two of the disks in an active state. The active disks are selected to insure that any data in the popular data blocks can be determined from data stored in the active disks. An additional disk is maintained in an active state if write access is permitted or if there is an additional popular data block.

1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of data storage systems and more particularly to data storage systems that implement redundant disk arrays.
2. History of Related Art
In the field of data storage, redundant disk arrays are well known. Perhaps the most widely known implementations of disk arrays are referred to as RAID, an acronym for redundant array of independent (or inexpensive) disks. In a RAID system, multiple disks are used to store data more reliably than data can be stored on a single disk. In a single disk system, a disk crash results in the loss of any data that has not been saved to an external storage medium such as a tape. In RAID systems, the use of multiple disks improves reliability by enabling data redundancy. In the context of RAID systems, the term redundancy refers to the system's immunity to disk crashes. More specifically, RAID redundancy enables the system to recover all data following the crash of any single disk within the system.
The varieties of RAID redundancy are the subject of extensive literature. In a RAID 1 system, redundancy is achieved by "mirroring", which is simply storing a copy of all data on two disks. Although this type of redundancy is relatively expensive in terms of data storage (because at least 50% of storage capacity is used for redundancy), RAID 1 systems are simple to implement and have performance advantages over other RAID schemes. In a RAID 4 system, data is "striped" across multiple drives to improve performance (by enabling simultaneous access to different sections of a file) while redundancy is achieved by storing parity information on a single drive (the parity drive). In a RAID 5 system, data is typically striped across multiple disks in a RAID 4 fashion, but the parity information is distributed across multiple disks such that a portion is stored on a first disk, a portion on a second disk, and so forth. RAID 5 systems allow simultaneous access to different regions of parity information, which can further improve performance.
Historically, the primary considerations given to the design of RAID systems were performance and storage cost. Performance, in turn, was typically optimized by maintaining all disks in an active state to minimize access delays. More recently, an increasingly important consideration in the design of RAID systems is operating cost or energy consumption.
Disk drives contain both mechanical and electronic components that consume energy. The mechanical components rotate the drive platters under the read/write heads and position the heads over a specific track of the platter. The electronic components accept commands from a device bus and process the commands by directing the operation of the mechanical components as necessary.
In current technology disk drives, the majority of the drive's energy consumption is attributable to the drive's mechanical components and, in particular, to the rotational motor responsible for spinning the platters. Consequently, power management techniques for disk drives typically attempt to conserve energy by turning off the rotational motor(s) during periods when the drive is not processing commands. Unfortunately, the performance cost of turning off the drive motors, measured in terms of the time required to return the drive to the active state in which data can be read or written from the disk, is significant (typically 2 to 5 seconds). Thus, in an implementation that aggressively spins down disks to conserve power consumption, performance degradation is a significant issue.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to implement a data storage system and methodology that addressed the issues of energy consumption and performance in a redundant disk array.

Multiple disk data storage system for reducing power consumption


A polybenzazole fiber characterized by having an elastic modulus of not less than 1350 g/d and requiring not longer than 10 minutes to reduce its water content from 2.0% to 1.5%, when determined using a thermogravimetric analyzer at 110.degree. C. after moisture absorption of not less than 2.0% of a fiber, and a method for manufacturing such a polybenzazole fiber, comprising extruding a spinning dope comprising polybenzazole and a polyphosphoric acid from a spinneret to give a dope filament, and cooling the dope filament to not more than 50.degree. C., followed by coagulation and washing. According to the method of the present invention, a polybenzazole fiber showing less decrease in strength by rapid heating can be provided.

A polybenzazole fiber has superior heat resistance and flame resistance, as well as sufficient strength and elastic modulus, so that it is expected to make a super fiber of the next generation. The process for manufacture of the polybenzazole fiber is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application under PCT laid-open under Kohyo No. 500529/1988, wherein a dope containing a polyphosphoric acid solvent is cooled and solidified to give a dope filament, which is brought into contact with water or an aqueous solution of polyphosphoric acid contained in the dope to allow coagulation, and washed with water, followed by drying to afford a product. The polybenzazole fiber after drying is heat-treated to give a polybenzazole fiber having a high elastic modulus. When an industrial scale production of polybenzazole fiber is desired, a step of stretching a dope filament, a step of extracting a solvent from a dope filament, and a step of evaporating water from a fiber containing a large amount of water need to be finished in a short time. Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication Nos. 157918/1995 and 157919/1995 disclose spinning; and Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 197307/1995 discloses a technique of drying to realize continuous production at a spinning rate of 200 m/min or above. Although the fibers manufactured by such steps have superior dynamic properties, such as strength and elastic modulus, as compared to fibers produced by spinning at a low rate of not more than 80 m/min and washing with water and drying under a low tension, the polymers constituting the former fibers become dense, which in turn slows down markedly the release of water contained inside. In addition, internal distortion tends to occur due to the surface tension of water filled in very narrow holes of about 20 .ANG. within the fiber. A polybenzazole fiber having a high water content may have a decreased strength due to hydrolysis in the fiber when it is exposed to high temperature environment.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a polybenzazole fiber having high strength and high elastic modulus, and which hardly suffers from occurrence of internal defect or hydrolysis, as a result of quick release of water during elevation of temperature for quick heating of the fiber.

Polybenzazole fiber and method for production thereof


A bar type ionizer has a discharging electrode, a ground electrode, a high voltage unit, and a controller unit and uses the technique of eliminating static electricity by corona discharging. The ionizer also has a FND unit mounted on the bar which lets the user see the bar information including address of the bar, frequency, duty rate, alarm, run/stop state easily, plus buttons that let the user control the bar information easily, an air supply device installed around the needles in the air injecting socket which sends air, and a second air supply device installed around the needles having round sections and sending air to the end of the needles to eliminate the dust attached on the end of the needles. The ionizer has a streamlined section so that inside air flows smoothly. The second air supply device is elliptic with the minor axis smaller than the radius of the needle. The needle is positioned at the center of this elliptic groove and fixed by it.

As a prior art of this technical area, there is an invention of "A bar type corona discharged electrostatic eliminator equipped with air vessel using pulse AC high voltage power source" filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on 13 Aug. 2004 by the patent application number 10-2004-64064. As other prior arts, there are Korean patent gazette publication number 10-2003-3523 (Apparatus for removing an static electricity by high frequency voltage), Japanese patent gazette publication number P2001-35686 (DC static eliminator), Japanese patent gazette publication number P2002-216994 (Pulse AC type static eliminator), etc.
The previous bar type ionizers had various defects. First, it was very inconvenient to see various information indicated at the bar (for example, bar address, frequency, duty rate, alarm, run/stop state) since the information was shown by LED instead of characters. And controlling this information was possible only by special monitoring equipment instead of a bar itself. Furthermore, ions were not generated sufficiently because of particles like dust stuck on the end of the needle inside of the tip.


Disclosed is an oral composition effective against halitosis comprising an extract from Moutan (Paeonia suffruticosa Andrews) bark as an active ingredient, which is capable of inhibiting and eliminating substances causing oral malodor. The oral composition of the invention compromises an extract from Moutan bark, a medicinal herb, as an active ingredient, formulated in conjunction with to a conventional oral composition, thereby providing long lasting and powerful eliminating and preventive effects against halitosis.

In general, halitosis is caused by acquired systemic disease or substances inducing malodor, produced through degradative action of certain enzymes such as decarboxylase, or deaminase (L-cysteine desulfhydrase or L-methionine--lyase) on amino acids resulting from the decomposition of salivary proteins, food particles, and the like by microorganisms in the oral cavity. Sulfide compounds, which are contained in ingested garlic or hot pepper, are also responsible for oral malodor. Main components causing halitosis comprise volatile sulfide compounds (hereinafter referred to as "VSC") including, for example, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methyl mercaptan (CH3SH), dimethyl mercaptan ((CH3)2S) and the like. Particularly, methylmercaptan is known as a main compound of offensive odor contributing to halitosis. Volatile amine compounds including trimethyl amine ((CH3)3N) or δ-aminovaleric acid causing fishy stink resulting from staleness of fishes are also major compounds responsible for oral malodor. Other substances causing oral malodor include aldehydes, fatty acids, ammonia and pyridines.
In addition, methods of eliminating halitosis by removing such VSC are disclosed in prior patents including Korean Pat. Laid-open Publication No. 97-8154 and Japanese Pat. Laid-open Publication No. 60-75418.


An apparatus including an elongate body having a lumen extending therethrough and a steering wire, having a distal portion defining a non-circular cross-section, associated with the distal portion of the elongate body.

1. Field of Inventions
The present invention relates generally to devices that are used to introduce diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus into the body.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many instances where physicians must introduce diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus, such as diagnostic and therapeutic electrodes, ultrasound transducers, biopsy devices and other surgical tools, into the body. The diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus are often carried by catheters, which allow physicians to gain access to the body in a minimally invasive manner by way of bodily lumens. In cardiac treatment, for example, a catheter is advanced through a main vein or artery into the region of the heart that is to be treated.
One method of introducing diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus into the body is to introduce a tubular member (typically a "sheath") into the vicinity of the targeted region. A diagnostic or therapeutic apparatus is then passed through the tubular member to the targeted region. If necessary, the diagnostic or therapeutic apparatus may be removed after its function is performed, but the tubular member left in place, so that other apparatus may be advanced to the targeted region to complete the diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedure.
Precise placement of the diagnostic or therapeutic apparatus is very important, especially in those procedures concerning the heart. To that end, some conventional sheaths are guided to the targeted region with a steerable catheter that is located within the sheath lumen. Once the sheath reaches the targeted region, the steerable catheter is removed from the sheath and a catheter carrying the diagnostic or therapeutic apparatus is advanced through the lumen. This type of sheath lacks any onboard steering mechanism. As a result, redeployment of the distal portion of sheath, even to a region in close proximity to the initially targeted region, requires the withdrawal of the diagnostic or therapeutic apparatus and the reintroduction of the steering catheter.
Other conventional sheaths include a steering mechanism that allows the physician to deflect the distal portion of the sheath. The steering mechanism consists primarily of one or more steering wires. One end of each steering wire is secured to the distal end of the sheath, while the other end is secured to a steering control device, such as the rotating cam and steering control knob arrangement commonly found in steerable catheters. Rotation of the control knob causes one of the wires to impart a pulling force on the distal portion of the sheath, thereby causing the distal portion to deflect. To promote steerability, the distal portion of the sheath (which is relatively short) is typically formed from relatively soft, flexible material. Conversely, the proximal portion (which is relatively long) is formed from relatively hard, less flexible material that provides better torque transmission properties.
The inventors herein have determined that there are a number of shortcomings associated with conventional steerable apparatus, such as steerable sheaths, that are used to introduce diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus into the body. For example, it is desirable to provide a sheath or other tubular member having a small outer diameter (OD) in order to limit the size of the entry hole that must be made in the patient's vein or artery and to compensate for the effects of arteriosclerosis. Because the diameter of the lumen, or inner diameter (ID), tends to be a function of the size of the diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus to be introduced into the body, the primary method of reducing the OD is reducing the wall thickness of the tubular member.
Heretofore, efforts to reduce wall thickness have been hampered by the fact that the wall strength of the tubular member distal portion must be sufficient to prevent the steering wire from tearing through the distal portion during deflection. Proposed solutions to the strength problem included the use of harder materials and/or the addition of mechanical devices, such as coils, to the distal portion of the tubular member. The inventors herein have determined that such solutions are less than optimal because they limit the flexibility and, therefore, the steerability of the distal portion of the sheath or other tubular member.

Steerable device for introducing diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus into the body


A device and method for quickly and accurately leveling a surface in either the horizontal or vertical plane while not in proximity to the surface being leveled. The device comprises a rigid base designed to be places on any surface to be leveled, inclinometer circuitry used to determine the position of the rigid base relative to level or plumb, wireless circuitry used to transmit the results of the inclinometer to a remotely transportable unit containing a digital display used to read the results of the inclinometer reading.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains broadly to tools for determining the special relation of objects to other objects and particularly to the earth including attitude or orientation and more particularly still to so-called leveling of objects with respect to each other or to the earth.
2. Preliminary Discussion
Tilt or inclination sensing devices have been known broadly for many years and for many purposes. Early types relied upon sight estimation of angle from the orientation of bubbles or floats in a clear liquid such as ethyl alcohol or other clear liquid contained in transparent tubes, initially gently curved glass tubes but later plastic tubes, which are less subject to breakage, and later by electrical signals transmitted through a conductive liquid such as mercury or the like normally confined in a tubular pathway.
The use of bubbles of air confined in a gently curved tube is frequently referred to as use of a so-called spirit level. Another early type of level detector depended upon the principle of a pendulum either visually monitored or electrically monitored. Gas bubble and pendulum type levels are generally lacking in sensitivity or readability, although the reliability of such instruments is fairly good when undamaged. Electrical or electronic detection or interpretation of the results from such instruments have resulted in better accuracy and reliability and have allowed remote sensing by digital or analog signals and readout. Air bubble capacitance can be made use of within electrically conducting liquids and battery powered units have been used for remote sensing of the inclination of ground level or the inclination of a vehicle such as an airplane or a spaceship with respect to both gravity and acceleration or deceleration. The flight level indicators used by aircraft make it possible to fly safely in bad weather when the level of a plane's wings with the horizon is otherwise undetectable and the direction of the earth easily confused by an aircraft pilot because of accelerative or centrifugal forces developed by the aircraft.
No previous tool for leveling having a completely detachable unit for resolving or sensing the inclination of a remote body so such body may be adjusted or leveled from a remote location is known to the present inventor, however. The present Applicant has therefore developed a level which can be used in the normal manner directly applied to a surface to detect inclination or which can alternatively be separated into two portions in electromagnetic or wireless communication with each other to detect the inclination of a remote surface and monitor it from a distance, or remotely. The usual arrangement will be to have the inclination detector placed upon the surface to be monitored and the receiver maintained with the worker or overall monitor. However, the invention also encompasses having a separable portion of the device be the inclination portion of the device or even to have both portions of the device, i.e. the detector and receiver separable from a main carrier in order to make the invention even more useful and adaptable to different or changing circumstances. Because of the fact that a larger leveling apparatus providing more extensive contact with the surface to be leveled or its inclination determined will usually provide more accurate results, other things being equal, it will usually be preferable to have the detector in a larger body and the receiver be contained in the separable body which takes a more compact size.
The present inventor is aware of the following prior patented art relating to inclinometers in general and more particularly, remote sensing inclinometers.
3. Description of Related Art
There have been a number of leveling or inclination devices developed through the years for indicating the level or inclination of a surface or structure or sometimes an opening or orifice in a structure from a distance when it is inconvenient, impossible, or sometimes dangerous for the one taking the measurement to be in the immediate viscidity of the level measurement apparatus or, rather frequently, to read the level instrument from. the position or angle available for such reading. Among such so-called remote reading instruments are the following.
Early U.S. Pat. No. 7,23,526 entitled "Leveling Staff" issued Mar. 24, 1903 to Hein, provided either the sound of a bell or the appearance of a light when a staff was properly aligned in an upright position for surveying purposes. The proper vertical alignment of such staff could therefore be determined from a distance.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,096,591 entitled "Radio Frequency Leveling Device" issued Jul. 9, 1963 to Higgins et al discloses the use of a capacitor circuit for detection of a bubble position in a spirit level thus converting the reading to a radio frequency signal suitable for remote signaling. The leveling device itself is not separable into a separate receiver and detector units, however.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,233,235 entitled "Signaling Level" issued Feb. 1, 1966 to G. Wright provided a leveling device operated electronically through a pendulum detection arrangement to detect the levelness of a surface upon which placed. A dial may be used to determine at what angle a reading may be signaled by an electrical signal providing an audible light or other signal so the results of the level operation can be detected from a distance allowing remote leveling at any given angle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,324,564 entitled "Level with Electronically Responsive Instrument" issued Jun. 13, 1967 to Wright et al. discloses a level device which measures the change in reflectance of light from the bubble of a spirit level or in a light at the end of a pendulum reading the reflectance by dual capacitor plates and sending this signal through a circuit wire or cord to a meter unit connected to the detector enabling remote detection of leveling results.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,067 entitled "Orientation Indicating Apparatus" issued Jan. 28, 1975 to Gooley discloses an orientation detecting device using a bubble-type detector, the position of which bubble is detected electronically by reflected light and a signal, usually a light or auditory signal, issued for remote detection. It is mentioned in passing that such signals could be used to detect orientation at a distance remote from the detector, but no details are given, and a separate pod is not disclosed as being detectable from the main level casing for receiving a signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,000 entitled "Remote Level Sensing Instrument" issued May 15, 1979 to M. Kramer discloses means for improving the detection of a level surface by the application of electronic detection to a spirit level arrangement allowing remote detection and reporting of level or a particular inclined orientation. Various ways of increasing the accuracy of detection of the position of the bubble in a spirit level and using the results elsewhere are pointed out.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,527 entitled "Digital Read-Out Level" issued Aug. 28, 1984 to North et al. discloses a digital level unit that may be fitting into a carrier bar for remotely measuring angles and levelness of surfaces by the use of a level detector that may be removed and attached to different straight edge carriers for measuring surfaces. The level detector is based upon a weighted rotary member that is caused to rotate by the force of gravity by becoming aligned with the force of gravity and thereupon having its inclination with the straightedge carrier determined. The carrier is equipped with an automatic turn off switch to conserve battery power when the unit is laid aside.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,315 entitled "Level Indicating Device" issued Oct. 27, 1987 to Bein et al. discloses a leveling device, which is designed for remote indication of inclinations. The device is attachable to a main straightedge or the like and may include both an audible and visual signaling means to indicate a state of levelness or other angle at a distance or remote location.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,522 entitled "Electronic Level Indicator" issued Jul. 2, 1991 to Cagan et al. discloses an electronic level relying upon an electronic bridge circuit into which data from a bubble or spirit level or a pendulum level mechanism is fed, the resulting signal passes to a differential detector and ultimately to a suitable display. It is disclosed in passing that in order to provide low cost, the sensor may be constructed for replacement to allow easier replacement for repair, calibration, operational or production purposes. There is no intimation of having the leveling unit split into units for actual remote sensing of leveling or of removing certain elements for separate use in combination with the main unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,555 entitled "Proximity Differential Indicator for Aligning Machine Tools" issued Jun. 16, 1992 to Jiorle (the present inventor) discloses a device for quickly aligning a machine tool spindle to the work surface of the machine tool by use of paired inductive proximity sensors without touching the work piece.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,761 entitled "Electronic Level Indicator" issued Nov. 3, 1992 to Cagan et al. which is a continuation-in-part of the previous U.S. Patent to Cagan et al. adds a new FIG. 6 which illustrates the use of a level or inclination sensor having an additional bridge circuit for monitoring an additional level or inclination detector such that separate level or inclination data may be obtained in alternative directions. Such units may be directly plugged into or connected to the main unit and shown in separate readout units. The separate units are not separable from the main unit for detection, but only for multiplication of data or inclinations detected.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,972 entitled "Electronic Level with Audible and Visual Indicators" issued Jun. 4, 2005 to Drahos discloses a leveling device includable in a conventional spirit level or carpenter's level particularly for providing audible spoken transmission of the results obtained when in inaccessible or inconvenient places.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,154,406 entitled "Power Tool Level Indicator" issued Dec. 26, 2006 to Judge is designed for inclusion in the handle of an electric drill to indicate when in an equilibrium position.
U.S. Published Application 2007/0044334 to Leizerovich entitled "Wireless Device with Integrated Level" published Mar. 1, 2007 discloses broadly the combination of a hand-held cell phone or the like combined with a level which two units are operated separately, i.e. either as a communication device or as a leveler. The two functions do not appear to be integrated together in operation.
No prior art known to the Applicant discloses the use of a level which can be used in a normal direct reading manner, but has a separable module that can be removed from the level detector itself and receives level data by wireless communication where more convenient than direct reading of such information.

Digital level detector apparatus convertible for remote sensing


A laparoscopic electrosurgical instrument which has the capability to grasp, fulgurate, and cut tissue. The laparoscopic electrosurgical instrument has an electrically insulative longitudinal body having a proximal and distal end, and a housing at the distal end. A pair of grasping conductors extend longitudinally from the housing, the conductors being spaced apart in substantially parallel actuatable relationship, and each of the conductors also has a slot therein. A pair of scissors-like cutting members also extends from the housing from between the pair of conductors, and each of the cutting members has a proximal and distal end, with the proximal ends each pivotally connected to the housing and each distal end extending laterally through one of the slots of the pair of conductors. The proximal ends of the cutting member are in actuatable relationship to each other. There is also means extending through the longitudinal body for actuating the pair of conductors and pair of scissors-like cutting members, and for selectively supplying an electrical charge to the pair of conductors. On the proximal end of the body, there are means for controlling the actuation of the pair of conductors and pair of scissors-like cutting members.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to laparoscopic electrosurgical instruments. More particularly, the present invention relates to laparoscopic electrosurgical instruments which perform fulguration and have a pair of grasping conductors and a pair of scissors-like cutting members.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art as is best known to the inventor are laparoscopic surgical instruments which either have bipolar scissors-like cutting members at their distal ends, or have bipolar conductors at their distal end and have a single cutting blade therebetween. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,655,216 to Tisher; 5,445,638 to Rydell, et al.; 5,458,598 to Feinberg, et al.; and 5,573,535 to Viklund, all demonstrate the feature of grasping bipolar conductors and a single cutting blade on the distal end of a laparoscopic surgical instrument. However, the single cutting blade lacks precision as it pushes tissue significantly prior to actual shearing.
Other devices in the art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,222 to Rydell, are simply bipolar surgical scissors which can carry current through the blades of the scissors to cauterize blood vessels in tissues. However, these devices lack the additional grasping function of conductors.
None of the prior art devices known to the inventor solve the problems addressed by the present invention, namely maintaining hemostasis through cauterization of blood vessels during laparoscopic procedures, while having the benefit of the precise cutting ability of scissors.


A load information acquiring unit (230) sets load information based on the history that is acquired by a process history acquiring unit (220). A test period determining unit (240) sets a test period based on the load information. The test period is a period during which a test policy can be used. The test policy is a policy for a test out of control policies used by an information processing system (100). A system control unit (260) measures performance capability of the information processing system (100) under the test policy as a test result by testing the test policy under a production environment of the information processing system (100) by using the test policy instead of a practical policy that is actually used in the test period. A policy changing unit (270) changes the practical policy based on the test policy in a range in which the test result satisfies a reference.

In a general system control technique using a control policy, a test environment that is as close as possible to a production environment is built, the control policy of a production environment is determined based on the evaluation result using the test environment, and the control policy is applied to the production environment, thereby achieving system control. According to such a method, although a test environment is prepared assuming a usage pattern of the system at the time of a production, the test environment is different from the usage pattern during production, and accordingly, an accurate test may not be performed. An example of a system for solving such a problem is disclosed in Patent Document 1.
In the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, a load that is based on a measured access pattern in a time period during which the access frequency to a server is low is applied to the server while the access frequency is increased. Then, the access frequency and a performance value of the server are monitored. Then, the access frequency at which the measured performance value reaches a required value (required performance) is recorded as the limit performance. The recorded performance value is used for operating the server.
In addition, in the description disclosed in Patent Document 2, a technique for performing a test under a production environment in an intrusion prevention system (IPS) is disclosed.

Control policy adjusting apparatus, method of adjusting control policy, and program