In a method for forming a fine pattern, a target layer to be patterned is formed on a semiconductor substrate and a polysilicon layer is formed on the target layer. A partition is then formed on the polysilicon layer with an amorphous carbon layer pattern. A spacer is attached to a sidewall of the partition. Thereafter, the spacer is divided into bar patterns by selectively removing the partition. A polysilicon layer pattern is formed by selectively etching a portion of the poly silicon layer exposed by the divided bar patterns and then a target layer pattern is formed by selectively etching a portion of the target layer exposed by the polysilicon layer pattern.

The invention relates generally to a semiconductor device and, more particularly, to a method for forming a fine pattern by a spacer patterning technology.
As the sizes of circuit patterns constituting semiconductor devices decrease, there occurs a limitation in an optical resolution in an exposure process that transcribes the pattern onto a wafer. A Spacer Patterning Technology (SPT) has been introduced as a method for overcoming the limitation in the optical resolution and forming finer patterns. In SPT, a spacer is formed on a wafer and an etch target layer under the spacer is selectively patterned using the spacer as an etch mask, thereby forming a fine pattern having a line width determined as a function of the thickness of the spacer. This SPT is expected to overcome the resolution limitation in ArF exposure equipment and thus to be useful to realize a fine pattern having a line width of 40 nm on a wafer.
In SPT, the spacer is formed by a spacer etch with respect to a layer for the spacer. In order to divide the spacers from the spacer layer, the spacer layer is deposited so as to cover a sacrificial pattern or a partition. The spacer etch that is an anisotropic etch is performed on the spacer layer to form the spacers attached to the both side walls of the partition. Therefore, a process for patterning the partitions is primarily required to form the spacer.
To pattern these partitions, a photoresist layer is applied onto a partition layer and a layout of the partition is exposed and transcribed onto the photoresist layer. Thereafter, the exposed photoresist layer is developed to form a photoresist pattern. However, since the ArF light source used to the exposure has quite a short frequency, there is a limitation in a thickness of the photoresist layer capable that can realize the pattern from the result of accurate exposure and development. Since there is a limitation in the ability to increase the thickness of the photoresist pattern, there is also a limitation in a thickness of the partition layer patternable by a selective etch process using this photoresist pattern. Since there is a limitation in the ability to increase the thickness of the partition layer, it is also difficult to ensure that the partition patterned from this partition layer has a required, sufficiently high height.
The limitation to the height of the partition ultimately leads to a limitation to a height of the spacer, and the limitation to the height of the spacer result in a limitation to a thickness of a under layer to be patterned by a selective etch performed using the spacer as an etch mask. Since a height of a circuit pattern such as a gate required on a wafer may be hundreds to thousands angstroms, it is difficult to directly use the spacer having a low height, that can only be formed in a limited height, as an etch mask required to selectively etch a layer for the gate.
To overcome this difficulty, a hard mask capable of realizing a higher etch selectivity to a pattern target layer is introduced. Layers for the hard mask are introduced as a multilayer stack into a lower side of the spacer so that the hard mask can have a sufficient height and can be accurately transcribed with a shape of the pattern from the spacer having relatively low height. An upper layer introduced into relatively upper side of the multilayer stack acts as a sub mask for etching the lower layer, thereby more accurately transcribing the shape of the spacer onto the lower-most layer. In the case of introducing the hard mask of the multilayer stack as described above, thicknesses and stacking order of the layers constituting the stack are determined in consideration of extents of realization of the etch selectivities among the layers.
As described above, the layer for the hard mask is introduced as a stack structure having a large number of layers and a partition layer for attaching the spacer is further stacked on the hard mask stack. Therefore, the entire stack for the spacer patterning has a relatively large number of stacked layers. Accordingly, an excessive thermal stress is caused in the lower layer due to high thermal requirements in a process of depositing the upper layer, and this may result in a lifting phenomenon in the lower layer. This lifting phenomenon due to the thermal stress may be resulted from that layers having different materials are stacked with interfaces therebetween for realizing significant etch selectivities between the layers and thus an interface properties or an adhesive properties becomes weak.
Therefore, it is necessary to exclude the layer having relatively high thermal requirements when depositing the upper layer of the stack. Also, as it is necessary to stack and selectively etch a plurality of layers, an entire process of the SPT becomes very complicated and a process cost is increased. Accordingly, it is necessary to develop a method capable of realizing stacking of layers for the hard mask and the partition through a combination of fewer layers and realizing a stack structure that is relatively stable to the thermal stress.

Method for forming fine pattern by spacer patterning technology


A method of forming low stack height transistors having controllable linewidth in an integrated circuit without channeling is disclosed. A disposable hardmask of doped glass is utilized to define the gate and subsequently protect the gate (and the underlying substrate) during ion implantation which forms the source and drains. An anti-reflective coating helps protect against reflective gate notching. A variety of silicided and non-silicided) structures may be formed.

Semiconductor integrated circuits are often fabricated by creating raised topographic features upon a substrate. Then a dopant species is introduced into the substrate with the raised topographic features serving to mask a portion of the substrate. For example, in the fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuits using field effect transistors (FETS), a gate stack (typically including a gate oxide with an overlying body of polysilicon) is formed upon a silicon substrate. Then a dopant species is introduced into a silicon substrate by diffusion or ion implantation to create the source and drain regions on both sides of the gate stack. As the dopant species is introduced, the gate stack serves as a self-aligned mask shielding the channel under the gate from the dopant species.
Of course, during the above-described dopant introduction, the gate stack is subjected to the same environment as the to-be-formed source and drain regions are subjected. For example, if ion implantation techniques are employed to create the source and drain, the gate stack is exposed to ion implantation of the same dopant species as the to-be-formed source and drain regions.
In the past, exposure of the gate stack to ion implantation species has not generally created a problem because the implanted species have been completely absorbed by the gate polysilicon. However, as integrated circuit geometries have continued to shrink, the thickness of gate stacks has also shrunk. If the thickness of the gate is too low relative to the implant dose energy, the implanted species may penetrate through the gate.
Penetration of the implanted species through the gate is often termed "channeling." If the energy of the implanted species is great enough and the polysilicon grains are oriented with the direction of the implant species, then the range of implanted species becomes greater than the thickness of the gate stack, and the implanted species may arrive at the gate oxide-silicon interface with enough energy to penetrate into or perhaps through the gate oxide. Thus, channeling depends upon the size and orientation of the polysilicon, as well as the energy of the implant species. A single large grain, if oriented parallel to the implant direction, can permit channeling.
When channeling occurs, the silicon surface beneath the gate may be inverted, leading to transistor leakage and/or shifts in the threshold voltage. Another adverse affect of channeling is gate oxide degradation. In addition, channeling may cause flat band voltage shifts in polysilicon capacitors in the same integrated circuit. Heretofore, the channeling problem has not posed a serious obstacle to integrated circuit designers because gate stacks in previous generation integrated circuits have been thick enough to prevent channeling.


A method for mapping a property of a subsurface reservoir includes determining a value of at least one reservoir property from measurements obtained from a well drilled through the reservoir. A relationship is determined between the at least one property of the reservoir and at least one seismic attribute and at least one electromagnetic survey attribute at a geodetic position of the well. A value of the at least one reservoir property is determined at at least one other geodetic position from a value of the at least one seismic attribute, a value of the at least one electromagnetic survey attribute at the at least one other geodetic position, and from the determined relationship.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of subsurface Earth exploration using seismic and electromagnetic survey data. More specifically, the invention is related to methods for using seismic and electromagnetic data that have been correlated to subsurface well data to provide estimates of reservoir properties in locations separated from the location of the well data.
2. Background Art
Seismic exploration for oil and gas is performed by use of a source of seismic energy and the reception of the energy generated by the source by an array of seismic detectors. On land, the source of seismic energy may be a high explosive charge or another energy source having the capacity to deliver a series of impacts or mechanical vibrations to the Earth's surface. Elastic waves generated by these sources travel downwardly into the Earth's subsurface and are reflected back from strata boundaries and reach the surface of the earth at varying intervals of time, depending on the distance traveled and the characteristics of the subsurface traversed. These returning waves are detected by the sensors, which function to transduce such waves into representative electrical or optical signals. The detected signals are recorded for later processing using digital computers. Typically, an array of sensors is deployed along a line to form a series of detection locations. More recently, seismic surveys are conducted with sensors and sources laid out in generally rectangular grids covering an area of interest, rather than along a single line, to enable construction of three dimensional views of reflector positions over wide areas. Normally, signals from sensors located at varying distances from the source are added together during processing to produce "stacked" seismic traces. In marine seismic surveys, the source of seismic energy is typically air guns. Marine seismic surveys typically employ a plurality of sources and/or a plurality of streamer cables, in which seismic sensors are mounted, to gather three dimensional data.
Initially, seismic traces were used simply for ascertaining formation structure. However, in 1979, Taner et al. published the work "Complex Seismic Trace Analysis", Geophysics, Volume 44, pp. 1041-1063, and exploration geophysicists have subsequently developed a plurality of time-series transformations of seismic traces to obtain a variety of characteristics that describe the traces, which are generally referred to as "attributes". Attributes may be computed prestack or poststack. Poststack attributes include reflection intensity, instantaneous frequency, reflection heterogeneity, acoustic impedance, velocity, dip, depth and azimuth. Prestack attributes include moveout parameters such as amplitude-versus-offset ("AVO"), and interval and average velocities.
It has been observed that specific seismic attributes are related to specific subsurface properties. For example, acoustic impedance may be related to porosity. Other subsurface properties appear to be related to other seismic attributes, but it may be unclear what the relationship is, as local factors may affect the data in unexpected ways.
It is well known to use well logs, such as wireline well logs, and data from core samples extracted from wellbores, to accurately determine petrophysical properties of subterranean formations penetrated by the wellbores. Petrophysical properties of subterranean formations which can be obtained from well logging or core sample operations include lithological composition, porosity, and water or hydrocarbon saturation. This information is valuable for determining the presence and extent of hydrocarbons in the area of interest. However, the portion of subsurface formations which can be measured by such well log and core data is limited in areal extent, e.g. to about six to twelve inches around the borehole from which the measurements were taken, and the petrophysical properties of a subterranean formation can vary widely in the interwell locations.
Synthetic seismic traces may be generated from well log data, typically from sonic and formation density logs. As used herein a synthetic seismic trace is an artificial seismic signal developed mathematically from a model of subsurface strata and an assumed signal source. A synthetic seismic trace is useful for demonstrating the form that a real seismic trace should take in response to the geologic conditions near the well.
Frequently, both well logging data and seismic data are available for a region of the earth which includes a subsurface region of interest. Core data may also be available. Typically, the well log data and, if available, the core data, are utilized for constructing a detailed log, or column, of subsurface properties. The seismic data, which includes data gathered in the interwell region of interest, is then utilized to estimate the structure of the subsurface formation extending between well locations. Subsurface formation property mapping, however, is typically based solely on the wireline log and core sample data. More recently, however, a number of proposals have been made for using seismic data gathered from the interwell region to improve the estimation of formation properties in the interwell region.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,185, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, describes a system for generating an estimate of lithological characteristics of a region of the earth's subsurface. A correlation is generated between attributes of synthetic seismic data calculated from log data from at least one wellbore penetrating said region and lithological information from said at least one wellbore. The correlation is then applied to recorded seismic data from the region of the earth's subsurface to generate the estimate.
Electromagnetic geophysical surveying known in the art includes "controlled source" electromagnetic surveying. Controlled source electromagnetic surveying includes imparting an electric field or a magnetic field into the Earth formations, those formations being below the sea floor in marine surveys, and measuring electric field amplitude and/or amplitude of magnetic fields by measuring voltages induced in electrodes, antennas and/or interrogating magnetometers disposed at the Earth's surface, or on or above the sea floor. The electric and/or magnetic fields are induced in response to the electric field and/or magnetic field imparted into the Earth's subsurface, and inferences about the spatial distribution of conductivity of the Earth's subsurface are made from recordings of the induced electric and/or magnetic fields.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/232917 relates to a method of mapping subsurface resistivity contrasts by making multichannel transient electromagnetic ("MTEM") measurements on or near the Earth's surface using at least one source, receiving means for measuring the system response and at least one receiver for measuring the resultant earth response. All signals from each source-receiver pair are processed to recover the corresponding electromagnetic impulse response of the earth and such impulse responses, or any transformation of such impulse responses, are displayed to create a subsurface representation of resistivity contrasts. The system and method enable subsurface fluid deposits to be located and identified and the movement of such fluids to be monitored.

Method for interpreting seismic data and controlled source electromagnetic data to estimate subsurface reservoir properties


One or more computing devices, systems, and/or methods for selecting messages for transmission to client devices are provided. A first message associated with a first entity may be received from a first client device. The first message may comprise information associated with the first entity. A user account database, comprising a plurality of user profiles, may be analyzed based upon the first message to select a set of user accounts, from a plurality of user accounts, for transmission of a set of messages associated with the first message. The plurality of user accounts may be subscribed to an information service. Each user profile of the plurality of user profiles may comprise information corresponding to a user account of the plurality of user account. The set of messages may be transmitted to the set of user accounts.

Many entities (e.g., clothing stores, restaurants, department stores, car dealers, etc.) may offer information services where a user may subscribe to an information service associated with an entity and/or may receive information (e.g., newsletters, promotional information, etc.) related to the entity. The user may be required to provide personal information (e.g., email address, phone number, mailing address, etc.) in order to subscribe to the information service. However, as a result of providing the personal information, the personal information may be disclosed to entities, other than the entity, without the user's permission and/or the personal information may be misused.

Subscription-based message selection and transmission


An open architecture Magnetic Resonance Imaging Magnet with a pair of spaced annular superconducting magnet assemblies utilizing a cantilevered main magnet coil and correction magnet coil within each assembly.

This invention relates to an open architecture superconducting magnet assembly for a magnetic resonance imager (hereinafter called "MRI").
As is well known, a superconducting magnet can be made superconducting by placing it in an extremely cold environment, such as by enclosing it in a cryostat or pressure vessel containing liquid helium or other cryogen. The extreme cold ensures that the magnet coils are superconducting, such that when a power source is initially connected to the coil (for a period, for example, of ten minutes) to introduce a current flow through the coils, the current will continue to flow through the coils even after power is removed due to the absence of resistance, thereby maintaining a magnetic field. Superconducting magnets find wide application in the field of MRI.
Considerable research and development efforts have been directed at eliminating the need for a boiling cryogen such as liquid helium. While the use of liquid helium to provide cryogenic temperatures has been widely practiced and is satisfactory for MRI operation, helium is found and commercially obtained only in the state of Texas. As a result, the provision of a steady supply of liquid helium to MRI installations all over the world has proved to be difficult and costly. This has led to considerable effort being directed at superconducting materials and magnet structures which can be rendered superconducting at relatively higher temperatures such as ten degrees Kelvin (10K), which can be obtained with conduction cooling.
Another problem encountered by most MRI equipments is that they utilize solenoidal magnets enclosed in cylindrical structures with a central bore opening for patient access. However, in such an arrangement, the patient is practically enclosed in the warm bore, which can induce claustrophobia in some patients. The desirability of an open architecture in which the patient is not essentially totally enclosed has long been recognized. Unfortunately, an open architecture structure poses a number of technical problems and challenges. One problem is to provide a suitable coil support and structure which will provide the required magnetic field yet occupies much less space than conventional cylindrical structures, and yet which nevertheless can support the magnet coils under the considerable electromagnetic forces and thermal forces encountered during cool-down from ambient temperature to superconducting temperatures. Moreover, such an arrangement must still be capable of generating the very uniform yet strong magnetic field required. An open architecture MRI with which the subject invention could be used is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/709,528, filed Jun. 3, 1991 by E. T. Laskar, entitled "Open MRI Magnet", assigned to the same assignee as the subject invention, and hereby incorporated by reference. Also see the patents referenced in that patent application.
Moreover, there are a number of other problems, including problems of differential thermal expansion and contraction of materials, of minimizing cost, and of handling the forces generated by the significant magnetic fields required. All of these overlapping and conflicting requirements must be satisfied for a practical and satisfactory MRI superconducting magnet structure.

Open architecture magnetic resonance imaging superconducting magnet assembly


An apparatus used for the fabrication of fiberoptic waveguides utilizing a novel melting and resolidifying apparatus and method while under microgravity conditions is disclosed. In one embodiment, the optical fiber core has a lower melting point than the cladding and the core is melted and resolidified under microgravity conditions. The molten lower melting point core is thus contained by the higher melting point cladding while under microgravity conditions.

It is well known in prior art of the superior light transmission properties of ZBLAN fiberoptic waveguides (a.k.a. fiber) as well as its application in fiber lasers and amplifiers. Unfortunately, all ZBLAN fiber-forming methods involve fabrication from a melt, which creates inherent problems such as the formation of bubbles, core-clad interface irregularities and inclusions. The ZBLAN fiber drawing process generally occurs at 310° C. in a controlled atmosphere (to minimize contamination by moisture or oxygen impurities which significantly weaken the fiber) using a narrow heat zone compared to silica glass. Drawing is complicated by a small difference (only 124° C.) between the glass transition temperature (approximately 260° C.) and the melting temperature (approximately 310° C.). As a result, ZBLAN fibers often contain undesired crystallites. It is known that the crystallite concentration can be reduced or eliminated by melting and resolidifying ZBLAN in zero gravity (a.k.a. microgravity). The theory is that microgravity conditions reduce convection processes that cause crystallite formation in ZBLAN glasses.
The disclosed subject matter helps to avoid this and other problems.
Known art, such as French patent application Nos. 76.18878 and 77.09618, discloses fabricating a ZBLAN optical fiber in 1 G (normal gravity). However, such known methods of fabricating ZBLAN optical fibers often contain undesired crystallites. These optical fibers may suffer from reduced light transmission and, in the case of use in fiber lasers, undesirable heat generation and an associated upper power limit.
Known art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,749,255 by Nack, et. al., discloses cladding a glass fiber with a higher melting temperature cladding via a cladding system comprised of a fiber metalizing system employing nickel carbonyl or gas plating methods. The advantage of this gas plating method is that the metallic cladding (e.g. nickel plating) deposition occurs at a lower temperature (approximately 180-250° C.) than, for example, the ZBLAN glass transition temperature (approximately 260° C.) and the melting point of the ZBLAN glass material (approximately 310° C.)
Additional known art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,486 by Braglia, discloses an optical fiber that has the core made of a rare earth doped non-oxide glass and cladding made of an oxide glass. The glass of the core has a melting temperature lower than that of the glass of the cladding and lying within the range of the softening temperatures of the cladding. To produce the fiber, a preform, obtained by introducing an element made of the non-oxide glass into the hole of a capillary tube made of the oxide glass, is brought to a temperature lying within the range of softening temperatures of the oxide glass and not lower than the melting temperature of the non-oxide glass, and is drawn. The capillary tube, during the drawing process, serves as a container for the molten glass of the core.

Method and apparatus for processing optical fiber under microgravity conditions


The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to a method for detecting a downlink control channel in a wireless communication system and to an apparatus for same. The method by which a terminal receives downlink control information in a wireless communication system, according to one example of the present invention, includes the steps of: receiving information elements, including information for setting a plurality of downlink subframe sets and information for representing a downlink control channel type for each of the plurality of downlink subframe sets, from a base station; determining the resource location to which the control is mapped in a specific downlink subframe set according to the type of the control channel; and monitoring a control channel corresponding to the control channel type at the resource location of the downlink subframe belonging to the specific downlink subframe set and receiving the downlink control information transmitted through the control channel.

A user equipment detects a downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH (physical downlink control channel)) carrying scheduling information on downlink data transmission and may be then able to receive downlink data from a base station. In a legacy wireless communication system, a position of a downlink resource to which the downlink control channel is mapped can be inferred from different control information (e.g., CFI (control format indicator)). Hence, a user equipment can monitor the downlink control channel on the position of the downlink resource. And, a legacy downlink control channel can be demodulated based on a channel, which is estimated based on a cell-specifically transmitted reference signal.
Meanwhile, an enhanced physical downlink control channel (e.g., EPDCCH (enhanced PDCCH)) can be used in an improved wireless communication system. The EPDCCH is configured to be transmitted in a resource position differentiated from a resource position in which PDCCH is transmitted and the EPDCCH can be transmitted based on a DM RS (demodulation reference signal) instead of a cell-specific reference signal.
A user equipment operating in an improved wireless communication system can received both PDCCH and EPDCCH. To this end, it is necessary to provide the user equipment with information on a downlink control channel (PDCCH or EPDCCH), which is monitored by the user equipment in a downlink subframe. In case of monitoring EPDCCH, it is necessary to provide the user equipment with information on a resource position used for monitoring the EPDCCH. Moreover, in case of monitoring EPDCCH, it is necessary to clearly determine whether the user equipment monitors a physical HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) indicator channel (PHICH) which is transmitted in a PDCCH mapping area.
According to operations of a currently defined wireless communication system, it is necessary to have a method of efficiently configuring a type of a downlink control channel monitored by a user equipment and information on a resource position to which a downlink control channel is mapped in a manner of combining the type and the information with each other. And, when a user equipment monitors EPDCCH, it is necessary to have a method of clearly determining whether the user equipment monitors PHICH.

Method for detecting downlink control channel in wireless communication system and apparatus for same


A fourth allotrope of carbon, an acetylenic carbon allotrope, is described. The acetylenic carbon allotropes of the present invention are more soluble than the other known carbon allotropes in many common organic solvents and possesses other desirable characteristics, e.g. high electron density, ability to burn cleanly, and electrical conductive properties. Many uses for this fourth allotrope are described herein.

Carbon is found in nature in several allotropic forms. Two well known allotropes of carbon are diamond and graphite. Diamond has a cubic structure formed by a tetrahedral laffice of sp3-bonded carbon atoms. This structure has great strength and makes diamond a hard material. Graphite is composed of sp2-hybridized carbon atoms bonded together in layers. Individual layers are stacked to form bulk graphite, which is quite soft; the layers are not strongly associated and so are able to slip relative to one another. This slipping of layers is generally believed to be the source of the lubricating qualities of graphite.
Other well-known forms of carbon include soot, charcoal, and other amorphous materials, which are all composed of finely divided graphite. Graphite is also known to exist as whiskers or fibers which have high tensile strength.
More recently, a third allotrope of carbon, the fullerenes, has been discovered and extensively studied (see e.g., "fullerenes" Scient. Am., October 1991, pp. 54-63). The fullerenes consist of sp2-hybridized carbons bonded into a closed shell. The simplest and most studied fullerene has 60 carbon atoms arranged in the form of a truncated icosahedron; the shape of this molecule resembles a soccer ball, and it has both 5- and 6-membered rings in its structure. Other fullerenes having 70, 84, and higher numbers of carbon atoms have also been characterized. A related structure is the carbon nanotube, which consists of carbon atoms arranged so as to form a cylinder.
The known allotropes of carbon are based either on sp3 (diamond) or sp2 (graphite, fullerenes, nanotubes) hybridization of carbon. The existence of other allotropes have been mentioned previously, however, the acetylenic carbon allotrope was generally held to be unstable. Although there were papers from the former Soviet Union in the 50s and 60s claimimg that a new form of carbon called "carbyne" had been prepared (Mel'nichenko, V. M. et al., Carbon 21, 131 (1983), and references contained therein.), other workers have extensively studied their evidence and this contention is generally held to be incorrect (see e.g. P. P. K. Smith and P. R. Buseck, Science 216, 984 (1982); J. Jansta, F. P. Dousek, V. Patazelova, Carbon 13, 377 (1975); W. A. Little, Phys. Rev. 134, 1416 (1964); M. F. Hawthorne, Preliminary Reports, Memoranda and Technical Notes of the Materials Research Council Summer Conference, La Jolla, Calif., July 1973 (NTIS) ).
The synthesis of long-chain acetylenic carbon species [(.alpha.-.omega.-bis(triethylsilyl)polyynes up to 32 carbon atoms] with alternating single and triple bonds was reported by David Walton and co-workers in 1972 (R. Eastmond, T. R. Johnston, D. R. M. Walton, Tetrahedron 28, 4601 (1972).). They prepared, using copper chloride (Hay coupling), mixtures of acetylenic carbon compounds that contained 2-16 acetylene units. Walton reported that beyond eight carbon atoms the chains became increasingly unstable with increasing length, and only the lowest members of the series were isolable.
Diederich and co-workers (F. Diederich et al, Science 245, 1088 (1989) ) have reported the synthesis of mass spectrometric quantities of a C.sub.18 alkyne-containing carbon ring by flash heating [18] annulene precursors. Diederich has also reported the synthesis of acetylenic carbon species containing up to 6 acetylene units (F. Diederich et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 113, 6943 (1991) ).


An electronic control timer of microwave oven capable of establishing a total cooking period by different time units is disclosed. The electronic control timer includes a gear having a first gear segment and a second gear segment. A switch installed adjacently to the gear generates a pulse signal in accordance with a rotation displacement of the gear. The gear driving device is activated when the switch is activated, and then rotates the gear in an opposite direction to an initial rotating directioon of the gear and returns the gear to an initial state thereof. The first gear segment includes a first gear teeth having a first gear pitch corresponding to a first time unit and a second gear teeth having a second gear pitch corresponding to a second time unit. The second gear segment has a toothless shape. The switch is activated when it is brought into contact with the first gear segment so that the switch generates the pulse signal. And, the switch is not activated when it is brought into contact with the second gear segment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic control timer for a microwave oven, and more particularly to an electronic control timer for a microwave oven which is capable of setting a total cooking period by various time units, has a simple internal structure and can be manufactured at a low cost.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of some microwave ovens having an automatic cooking function are well known in the art. FIG. 8 is a view for illustrating a conventional microwave oven 10. Generally, microwave oven 10 includes a microprocessor 20 for controlling the operation of microwave oven 10, a power supply unit 30 and a magnetron 40 for generating microwaves. Further, microwave oven 10 includes an in-flow air temperature sensor 60a, an out-flow air temperature sensor 60b, a weight sensing sensor 60c, an in-flow air temperature sensing circuit 62a, an out-flow air temperature sensing circuit 62b, weight sensing circuit 62c, first, second and third analog/digital converters 64a, 64b and 64b, a cooking chamber 70, a turntable 72, a turntable motor 74 for rotating turntable 72, a cooling fan 80a, a blasting fan 80b, a cooling fan motor 82a and a blasting fan motor 82b.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the microwave oven 10 having the above structure. Microwave oven 10 includes a housing 12 having an opening at the front thereof, a door 14 and an operation panel 50. Door 14 is pivotally mounted to one side end of the housing 12 in order to close the front opening of the housing 12. Operation panel 50 is positioned at the right front portion of housing 12. Operation panel 50 includes a cooking function selection switch 52 and a timer 54. Cooking function selection switch 52 controls the output of microwaves for heating and cooking food within cooking chamber 70 of microwave oven 10. Timer 54 sets the cooking period of the food. On operation panel 50, a symbol for selecting the cooking function which corresponds to the amount of microwaves being output is displayed around cooking function selection switch 52. The cooking period which can be set is displayed around timer 54. A door switch 56 for opening and closing the door 14 is positioned below the timer 54.
Hereinbelow, the operation of conventional microwave oven 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 in detail.
The food to be cooked is first inserted into cooking chamber 70. When a user simultaneously sets the cooking period by means of timer 54 and the cooking function by means of selection switch 52, an electric signal corresponding to the numerical value established by timer 54 and selection switch 52 is sent to microprocessor 20. Based on the electric signal, microprocessor 20 operates power supply unit 30.
Power supply unit 30 simultaneously supplys electric power to magnetron 40, turntable motor 74, cooling fan motor 82a and blasting fan motor 82b. When the electric power is supplied from power supply unit 30, magnetron 40 generates microwaves for cooking the food. Cooling fan motor 82a actuates cooling fan 80a for cooling magnetron 40 so that cooling fan 80a aircools magnetron 40. Also, blasting fan motor 82b actuates blasting fan 80b for introducing the air into cooking chamber 70 so that blasting fan 80b blows the air into cooking chamber 70. As a result, the air temperature in cooking chamber 70 can be constantly maintained. Further, turntable motor 74 rotates turntable 72 on which the food to be cooked has been put so it is cooked uniformly.
Meantime, when the temperature equilibrium in cooking chamber 70 is established after the predetermined cooking period has elapsed, in-flow air temperature sensor 60a and out-flow air temperature sensor 60b which are respectively mounted on an inlet 84a and an outlet 84b of cooking chamber 70 detect the temperatures of the air and generate temperature sensing signals. The temperature sensing signals which have been generated from in-flow air temperature sensor 60a and out-flow air temperature sensor 60b are sent to first and second analog/digital converter 64a and 64b via in-flow air temperature sensing circuit 62a and out-flow air temperature sensing circuit 62b. First and second analog/digital converters 64a and 64b convert the analog signals which are the temperature sensing signals into digital signals, and send the digital signals to microprocessor 20. Then, microprocessor 20 decides the temperature increment of cooking chamber 70 based on the temperature sensed by in-flow air temperature sensor 60a and out-flow air temperature sensor 60b.
Meanwhile, weight sensing sensor 60c which is diposed below the outside bottom surface of cooking chamber 70 senses the weight of the food after the predetermined cooking period has elapsed and generates a weight sensing signal. The weight sensing signal as generated above is sent to third analog/digital converter 64c via weight sensing circuit 62c. Third analog/digital converter 64c converts an analog signal which is the weight sensing signal into a digital signal, and sends the digital signal to microprocessor 20. Microprocessor 20 determines the most suitable cooking state based on the weight sensing signal. That is, microprocessor 20 determines the appropriate heating time by discriminating the change in weight depending on the progress of the cooking period, and controls magnetron 40 on this basis.
In the conventional microwave oven 10 which operates as above, timer 54 for setting the cooking period has a mechanical structure capable of setting the cooking period based on the rotating angular of a timer knob.
Generally, timer 54 is designed so as to set the cooking period in such a manner that timer 54 can define the cooking period by using a time unit of one minute in relation to a cooking period of zero to ten minutes and a time unit of five minutes in relation to a cooking period of ten to thirtyfive minutes. Therefore, timer 54 has the mechanical structure for controlling a first timing section corresponding to the cooking period of zero to ten minutes and a second timing section corresponding to the cooking period of ten to thirtyfive minutes. In order to control the first and second timing sections, it is necessary to have a plurality of gears and a plurality of synchro-motors for rotating the gears. Further, it is necessary to have a control device for controlling the gears and the synchro-motors, and a plurality of electric wires for electrically connecting the gears with synchro-motors. Therefore, conventional timer 54 has a complicated internal structure. As a result, a manufacturing procedure of timer 54 can be complicated, and the manufacturing cost of timer 54 increases.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,088 issued to Masayuki Aoki on Apr. 21, 1992 discloses a timer capable of setting the cooking period and cooking start by use of a single timer knob.
FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate Masayuki Aoki's timer 54a. Timer 54a includes a timer knob 102, a switch case 106, a switch shaft 108, a contact disc 110 and a switch substrate 112. Timer knob 102 and switch case 106 are mounted on an operation panel 50a by a nut 104. Switch shaft 108 is rotatably mounted on switch case 106. One end of switch shaft 108 is outwardly projected through operational panel 50a. Timer knob 102 is coupled with one end of switch shaft 108 so as to be rotated therewith. A contact arm 120 having first, second and third contacts 120a, 120b and 120c and a switch substrate 112 having a printed circuit board are attached to switch case 106.
Switch substrate 112 has a common conductive pattern 124, a first conductive pattern 126 and a second conductive pattern 128 which concentrically printed on one surface thereof. A plurality of scan points or pulse generating conductors 126a are printed at the inner periphery of the first conductive pattern 126 at equal pitches. Also, a plurality of scan points or pulse generating conductors 128a are printed on the outer periphery of the second conductive pattern 128 at the same pitch as pulse generating conductors 126a. Pulse generating conductors 128a are shifted slightly relative to pulse generating conductors 126a in a clockwise direction.
A plurality of groove-like contact stops 118 are formed on switch substrate 112. On switch substrate 112, contact stops 118 are radially formed in order to be positioned between one of pulse generating conductors 126a and an adjacent one thereof and between one of pulse generating conductor 128a and an adjacent one thereof. First, second and third contacts 120a, 120b and 120c of contact arm 120 are positioned on one of contact stops 118. First contact 120a is brought into contact with common conductive pattern 124. Second contact 120b is brought into contact with a portion of a surface of switch substrate 112a between pulse generating conductors 126a. Also, third contact 120c is brought into contact with a portion of the surface of the switch substrate 112a between pulse generating conductors 128a. First, second and third lead terminals 114, 116 and 118 on switch substrates 112 are electrically connected to common conductive patterns 124, first conductive patterns 126 and second conductive patterns 128, respectively.
Hereinbelow, the operation of timer 54a having the above structure will be described.
If a user rotates timer knob 102 in a clockwise direction, first, second and third contacts 120a, 120b and 120c of contact arm 120 are moved in a clockwise direction from at an original position of contact stop 130 to a following position of contact stop 130. First and second contacts 120a and 120b are brought into contact with pulse generating conducts 126a and 28a during the movement of contact arm 120. Such contact operations of first and second contacts 126a and 128b generate pulse signals. The number of pulses of the individual pulse signal depends on the rotating angle of timer knob 102. Microprocessor 20 judges the amount of angular displacement of timer knob 102 in a clockwise direction based on the generated pulse signals, and determines the setting period of timer 54a. That is, microprocessor 20 determines the setting period of timer 54a based on the displacement of contact arm 120 according to the rotation of timer knob 102.
On the other hand, if the user rotates timer knob 102 in a counter-clockwise direction, pulse signals are generated based on an operational principle such as the user rotating timer knob 102 in a clockwise direction. Microprocessor 20 determines the setting period of timer 54a based on the displacement of contact arm 120 according to the rotation of timer knob 102 in the same manner that the user rotates timer knob 102 in a clockwise direction.
As described above, Masayuki Aoki's timer 54a determines the setting period of the timing sections based on the rotating direction of timer knob 102 and pulse signals generated by contacting the electric contacts with the conductive patterns. That is, timer 54a is capable of setting the cooking period and performing a cooking start by using single timer knob 102. However, Masayuki Aoki's timer 54a has a plurality of complicated conduct patterns on switch substrate 112 and a plurality of internal wires for adding the cooking start function. Consequently, the Masayuki Aoki's timer 54a is disadvantageous in that the internal structure is complicated and the manufacturing cost is high.

Electronic control timer for a microwave oven


A brake lever assembly for actuating a hydraulic system is shown and described. The brake lever assembly comprises a housing, a master cylinder disposed in the housing, and a master piston disposed in the master cylinder. The master piston has an adjustable dead band. A lever is connected to the housing and has an adjustable reach. The lever is pivotable about a first axis to adjust the reach and is pivotable about a second axis to actuate the master piston.

In recent years, certain high performance bicycles have included hydraulic disc brakes. Hydraulic disc brake systems typically include a caliper housing, a first movable brake pad and a second fixed or movable brake pad. The movable brake pad is typically attached to a piston that is movable in response to fluid pressure applied via a hydraulic fluid conduit in the caliper housing. The brake pads are positioned on either side of a rotor, which is attached to the front or rear wheel of a bicycle. Upon the application of fluid pressure to the piston or pistons, the brake pads come into contact with the rotor, thereby applying frictional resistance and causing the bicycle to slow down or stop.
Hydraulic disc brake systems for bicycles are typically actuated by a brake lever attached to a bicycle handlebar. They also typically include a master piston in a master cylinder which is actuated by the brake lever. The master cylinder contains a hydraulic fluid and is in fluid communication with the disc brake caliper via a fluid conduit. The brake pads are typically spaced apart from the rotor by a predetermined gap. As the lever is contracted towards the handlebar, the master piston moves, thereby forcing liquid out of the master cylinder and into a conduit connected to the caliper housing. The movement of fluid into the caliper housing causes the pistons to move, eventually bringing the brake pads into contact with the rotor. Once the brake pads contact the rotor, they provide frictional resistance which can be increased by further operation of the lever. At this point, the caliper housing is fully pressurized, and further operation of the lever increases the system hydraulic pressure and frictional resistance applied to the rotor.
When operating hydraulic disc brake systems, no braking will occur until the brake pads come into contact with the rotor. Thus, there is a "dead band," as the rider begins to contract the brake lever during which no braking occurs. To compensate for the dead band, riders may initially contract the brake lever quickly to obtain pad to rotor contact and then more slowly to increase the frictional resistance to the desired level. As a result, braking is not smooth. Also, a hydraulic brake system may include a left side lever for a rear disc brake caliper and a right side lever for a front disc brake caliper (or vice-versa). When the left and right side levers operate at the same time, both front brake pads and rear brake pads do not contact the rotors at the same time. In other words, the levers are uneven when the pads contact the rotors.
In addition, certain known systems have an adjustable dead band. However, in many of these systems, the lever's reach is affected by variations in the dead band. Conversely, certain known systems include an adjustable reach feature. However, many of them do not allow for adjustment of the dead band, or if they do provide for dead band adjustment, it cannot be made without affecting the lever's reach.
Thus, a need has arisen for a hydraulic disc brake lever which addresses the foregoing problems.


A novel non-toxic IR tracer composition is provided herein which, when incorporated into an IR tracer projectile which is then fired, generates a dim visibility IR trace. Such IR tracer composition is a non-toxic, boron-containing, IR tracer composition comprising: from about 20 to about 30% by weight, or from about 45 to about 60% by weight, of potassium perchlorate; from about 5 to about 16% by weight of a metallic fuel which consists of boron; from about 20 to about 25% by weight, or from about 40 to about 50% by weight, of a non-metallic fuel which consists of sodium salicylate; from about 5 to about 10% by weight of a retardant which consists either of iron carbonate or magnesium carbonate; and an effective amount of binder, wherein the total percentage of such ingredients add up to 100%. A novel IR tracer projectile containing such IR tracer composition for generating a dim visibility IR trace is also provided.

The art is replete with patents which are directed to compositions containing boron for various purposes, including, e.g., tracer compositions, incendiary compositions and pyrotechnic compositions. Among such prior art patents are the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,984, patented Jun. 17, 1997, INFRARED TRACER COMPOSITION and assigned to Thiokol Corporation. Those patented composition included strontium peroxide and barium peroxide in addition to boron. However, such infrared tracer compositions suffered the defect that barium was a toxic element.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,435, patented Oct. 15, 1991, INFRARED ILLUMINANT AND PRESSING METHOD, issued to L. L. Jones et al. Such patented compositions contained potassium nitrate as well as boron.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,635,130, patented Oct. 21, 2003, PYROTECHNIC COMPOSITION FOR PRODUCING IR-RADIATION, and assigned to Diehl Munitionssysteme GmbH & Co KG. Those patented compositions included magnesium in addition to other metals, including boron.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,485,586, 6,409,854; 6,402,864; and 4,915,756 all disclosed compositions which included titanium as well as boron. However, those compositions suffered the defects that the titanium also generated visible light and that they did not produce a cool IR trace.
Examples of patented pyrotechnic compositions comprising boron which did not produce a cool IR trace include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,978,400; 4,406,228; and 3,695,951.
Examples of patented pyrotechnic compositions comprising boron but also containing toxic materials include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,480,489 4,204,895; and 3,475,237.

Non-toxic boron-containing IR tracer compositions and IR tracer projectiles containing the same for generating a dim visibility IR trace

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems-Canada Inc.


According to the present invention, a switching element includes a substrate, a first gate pad formed on the substrate, a second gate pad formed on the substrate, a first resistor portion formed on the substrate, the first resistor portion connecting the first gate pad and the second gate pad to each other, and a cell region formed on the substrate and connected to the first gate pad. Thus, measurement of the gate resistance value and selection from gate resistances of the switching element can be performed after the completion of the gate-resistor-incorporating-type switching element.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a switching element incorporating a gate resistor. This switching element has a plurality of resistor regions below a gate pad. The plurality of resistor regions and the gate are connected in a suitable way in the final step in the wafer process, thereby obtaining a desired gate resistance.

Switching element, semiconductor device, and semiconductor device manufacturing method


Cells and methods for producing polyhydroxyalkanoates. The cells comprise one or more recombinant genes selected from an R-specific enoyl-CoA hydratase gene, a PHA polymerase gene, a thioesterase gene, and an acyl-CoA-synthetase gene. The cells further have one or more genes functionally deleted. The functionally deleted genes include such genes as an enoyl-CoA hydratase gene, a 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and a 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase gene. The recombinant cells are capable of using producing polyhydroxyalkanoates with a high proportion of monomers having the same carbon length from non-lipid substrates, such as carbohydrates.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are a class of microbially synthesized polyesters that are produced in large quantities as a form of carbon and energy storage. Natural PHA possesses structural properties that make it attractive as a renewable plastic for select applications. However, most naturally produced PHA contains random monomeric sequences, as the organism adds whatever monomers are present in large enough quantities to the PHA polymer. Such PHA polymers with random monomeric sequences are often not desirable for specific commercial applications. By changing the identity and/or percentage of co-monomers, the structural properties of PHA can be engineered with varying degrees of crystallinity and elasticity (Khanna and Srivastava, 2005).
A wide range of hydroxy-acids have been incorporated as monomers into PHA chains when fed to PHA accumulating organisms (Meng et al., 2012; Steinbuchel and Valentin, 1995; Zhou et al., 2011). However, this strategy requires an external source of each monomer or monomer precursor (e.g., fatty acids), and low-cost sources of such monomers or monomer precursors are not currently available. For this reason, current PHA research is focused on engineering metabolic pathways to produce monomers from unrelated carbon sources such as glucose (Li et al., 2010; Theodorou et al., 2012).
Medium-chain-length PHA (mcl-PHA), which consists of fatty acids containing six or more carbons, is an attractive polymer, desired for novel applications in medical devices, cosmetics, and tissue engineering (Chen and Wu, 2005). Bacteria that naturally produce mcl-PHA incorporate monomers derived from either fatty acid biosynthesis or degradation (β-oxidation) pathways. Efforts to enhance production of mcl-PHA have used metabolic engineering to enhance these pathways. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,794 to Peoples et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,593,116 to Huisman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,759,219 to Hein et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,911 to Huisman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,786,355 Aguin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,968,325 to Hein et al., and other references cited herein. However, production of mcl-PHA at high yields from an unrelated carbon source has not been achieved.
Methods and tools for making PHA having a specific monomeric composition, such as mcl-PHA, at a high yield using abundant, inexpensive, and renewable precursors, such as glucose, are needed.

Production of polyhydroxy alkanoates with a defined composition from an unrelated carbon source


An x-ray marker device (10) for use on a sheet of x-ray film (100) in a diagnostic radiology environment wherein, the marker device (10) includes a radiologically transparent housing member (20) having a front face (22) provided with a decorative element (23) and a rear face (24) provided with means (25) for releasably securing the housing member (20) to the x-ray cassette (100) and a plurality of radiologically opaque indicator members (30) embedded within the housing member (20) wherein, the indicator members include a peripheral indicator member (31) a directional indicator member (32) and one or more technician identification indicator members (33).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of x-ray marking devices in general and in particular to an x-ray marker that is particularly well-suited to allay the fears of young children undergoing an x-ray procedure for the first time.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,193,106; 6,160,870; 5,592,527; 4,429, 412; and, 5,045,080, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse x-ray marker devices.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical x-ray marker device that satisfies all radiological safety requirements.
Most children undergoing pediatric x-ray procedures are already traumatized by injury and/or anxiety due to their unfamiliarity with this benign medical procedure and the more steps that can be taken to distract the child from the procedure and focus their attention elsewhere will lessen the trauma for the child and will improve the quality of the x-rays.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need among radiologic technologists for a new and improved x-ray marker device that also has a decorative component on the x-ray marker to lessen the patient's anxiety level and to make the patient more receptive to the instructions of the radiologic technologist; and, the provision of such a device is the stated objective of the present invention.


An object of the present invention is to provide a microcomputer capable of checking the data stored in a read only memory (ROM) integrally formed therein even without using any additional testing device, but an external ROM. In the test mode, a test signal TS to be fed to an external terminal 15 is set to a logic "1". By this operation, the output signal of a register 13 is fed to the address terminal A of the internal ROM 16 by way of a selector 14. Further, the data read out from the ROM 16 is outputted to a register 18 through a selector 17. On the other hand, by connecting the external ROM 30, in which a test program is stored, to an address terminal 21 and a data terminal 22. The CPU 11 can carry out the test program stored in the external ROM 30. By reading and comparing the data stored in the ROM 16 and the data stored in the external ROM 30 to be compared by the test program, the data in the ROM 16 can be checked.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microcomputer formed by integrating a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as a CPU), a read only memory (hereinafter referred to as a ROM), and the like on a semiconductor substrate, and more particularly, to a microcomputer with a function for checking the contents stored in the ROM.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been provided such a microcomputer as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-154248.
FIG. 2 shows a general schematic view of a conventional microcomputer disclosed in the above document. The microcomputer in the figure comprises a CPU 1, to which an address bus 2 and a data bus 3 are connected, for transmitting address signals and data signals respectively. To the address bus 2, an address terminal of a ROM 4 is connected. The ROM 4 is a memory means that contains a predetermined data storing area wherein the data stored in an area designated by an address signal fed to the address terminal is read out. To the output side of the ROM 4, an input side of an output selection circuit 5 is connected. The output selection circuit 5 comprises a selection terminal S and a pair of output terminals O0, O1. The output selection circuit S selects either one of these output terminals in accordance with a logic "0" or "1" of a test signal TS fed to the selection terminal S by way of an external terminal 6, and outputs the signal inputted through the input side of the circuit.
The output terminals O0 and O1 of the selection circuit 5 are connected to the input terminal I0 and an external terminal 8 respectively. The input selection circuit 7 comprises input terminals I0 and I1, and also a selection terminal S. The input selection circuit 7 selects either one of signals inputted to these input terminals in accordance with a logic "0" or "1" of the test signal TS fed to the selection terminal S by way of an external terminal 6, and outputs the thus selected signal to the output side of the circuit. The input terminal I1 of the selection circuit 7 is connected to an external terminal 9, and the output side of the circuit 7 is connected to the data bus 3. Further, connected to the address bus 2 is an external terminal 10 for outputting address signals externally.
In the microcomputer structure as described above, as a normal operation mode is designated in its normal operation, the test signal TS to be fed to the external terminal 6 is set to "0". In this way, the signal fed to the output selection circuit 5 from the ROM 4 is outputted through the output terminal O0 side, so that the signal fed to the input terminal I0 of the input selection circuit 7 is selected to be outputted. In this way, the data in the ROM 4 is finally outputted to the data bus 3, and a digital process is executed by the CPU 1 on the basis of the program stored in the ROM 4.
On the other hand, in a test mode in which the content stored in the ROM 4 is to be tested, a data terminal and an address terminal of an external ROM (not shown) in which a test program is stored are connected to the external terminals 9 and 10 respectively, and a testing device for data reading is connected to the external terminal 8.
Further, the test signal TS to be fed to the external terminal 6 is set to "1". In this way, the signal fed to the input selection circuit 5 from the ROM 4 is outputted through the output terminal O1 side, so that the signal fed to the input terminal I1 of the input selection circuit 7 is selected to be outputted. Subsequently, the data stored in the external ROM is outputted to the data bus 3, and the data in the ROM 4 is outputted externally by way of the external terminal 8. The CPU 1 then executes a procedure in accordance with a test program stored in the external ROM. The address signal AD outputted to the address bus 2 is successively updated in accordance with the processing operation of the CPU 1. In accordance with the thus updated address signal AD, the data stored in the corresponding address in the ROM 4 is outputted to the external terminal 8, whereby the testing device connected to the external terminal 8 reads the thus outputted data and checks the content of the data stored in the ROM 4.
However, there have been the following two drawbacks in the test for checking the contents stored in the ROM 4 conducted by the conventional microcomputer.
(i) An external testing device is required to read the data stored in the ROM 4 outputted from the external terminal 8. PA1 (ii) Due to the fact that the address signals AD are fed from the address bus 2 to the address terminal of the ROM 4 on the basis of the test program stored in the external ROM, it is not an easy task and is in fact almost impossible to read all of the addresses one by one, so that making a complete test program for conducting a perfect test is rather difficult.


The invention relates to a continuous method for pressure-conditioning material for food and/or semi-luxury consumables, wherein said material (12) is introduced through an entrance (4) into a hyperbarically pressurized conditioning chamber (2), where it is treated with a conditioning agent, and extracted again from said conditioning chamber (2) at an exit (8), wherein the material (12) is conveyed continuously from said entrance (4) to said exit (8) in a conditioning chamber (2) inclined obliquely upwards, by means of a mixing conveyor, in particular a conveying screw (3). It further relates to a device for pressure-conditioning material for food and/or semi-luxury consumables, in particular for comminuted tobacco material, preferably tobacco stem material, comprising: a hyperbarically pressurized conditioning chamber (2), into which the material (12) is introduced through an entrance (4); supply nozzles (1) for treating the material (12) with a conditioning agent; and an exit (8) for extracting the material (12) from said conditioning chamber (2), wherein the conditioning chamber (2) is arranged obliquely inclined upwards and comprises a mixing conveyor, in particular a conveying screw (3), by means of which the material (12) is conveyed continuously from said entrance to said exit. It further relates to corresponding tobacco materials and smoking products.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a continuous method for conditioning material for food and/or semi-luxury consumables, in which the material is introduced through an entrance into a hyperbarically pressurized conditioning chamber, where it is treated with a conditioning agent, and extracted again from the conditioning chamber at an exit. In the following, this method shall be called pressure-conditioning for short. The invention further relates to a device for pressure-conditioning material for food and/or semi-luxury consumables.
The material which is pressure-conditioned in accordance with the invention can on the one hand be a tobacco material, in particular tobacco stem material, or on the other hand a granular food commodity such as for example cereals and legumes, i.e. amylaceous products such as for example maize, rice, wheat, peas and soy beans.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of tobacco processing, a number of proposals exist in accordance with the prior art for conditioning tobacco material, such as for example stems or strips. What is meant here by conditioning is the necessary procedural treatment of tobacco material before it is cut or also shredded. The conditioning process substantially consists of a thermotechnical treatment, so-called moistening with the media of steam, water and possibly with casing media. The process serves to make the tobacco material more resilient to the inevitable formation of small parts and dust during the comminuting process. If the tobacco material has a high entry moistness, conditioning can also mean de-moistening the tobacco.
In accordance with the standard method in accordance with the prior art, preparing stems substantially consists of moistening, accompanied by desired heating. Heated stems benefit the penetration process of the water into the interior of the stem stalks. The raw stems are thus partially moistened in a number of stages, wherein steam is sprayed in the corresponding apparatus and water is added. Furthermore, material is also stored in boxes in accordance with the prior art. These storage times can be up to 24 hours. This disadvantageously results in a large requirement of time and space for the boxes.
Conditioning is successful if the stem has a high degree of flexibility and exhibits no discernible surface moistness. Surface moistness significantly disrupts cutting, since slippery pieces of stem elude an undisrupted formation of "stem cake" in the cutting apparatus and cause hollow spaces.
Furthermore, slippery stems are more easily torn out of the stem cake while being cut by the cutting knife and thus incompletely cut. These incompletely cut stems, called knockouts, are to be avoided when cutting.
Burley stems in particular tend to form soapy surfaces. This behavior is counteracted by setting sufficient storage times. Very often, the material is rolled before being cut, which causes an improved packing structure in the cake.
Rolling is also significantly disrupted by slippery stem surfaces.
In addition to the standard conditioning processes described at the beginning, other conditioning methods for tobacco material are also known. WO 99/23898, for instance, shows a plant which serves to treat and/or moisten tobacco material with casing medium, wherein the apparatus is arranged vertically, such that the tobacco material free-falls vertically from top to bottom through a pipe in which it is sprayed with the corresponding medium. Other conditioning systems in which is treated with the conditioning medium in free-fall through a chamber are known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,817, WO 90/06695, DE 197 34 364 A1 and DE 100 38 114 A1.
The problem which arises with the systems cited above is that a uniform and thorough penetration of moistness, such as is for example necessary for tobacco stems, cannot be optimally realized in the relatively short dwelling time of the tobacco material while it falls downwards in the conditioning chamber. While such apparatus operate quickly, they do not prepare the tobacco material as thoroughly as would be desirable.
A device for treating tobacco material is known from WO 87/07478, in which the tobacco material is introduced into a chamber, where it is transported, lying on a conveyor belt, from the entrance to the exit, while pressurized steam is supplied to the chamber. Because the tobacco material comes to rest piled up on the conveyor belt, layers lower down are disadvantageously more poorly moistened than tobacco material lying on top, which overall results in not completely satisfactory conditioning.
For a different, non-generic field of tobacco processing, namely nitrate depletion, a device is known from DE 195 35 587 C2 in which tobacco is input into an obliquely arranged casing in which a water bath is situated. A slight pressure burden prevails in the casing, and the tobacco stems are transported by means of a conveying screw from the water bath to the exit of the casing.


Connection of a USB memory (storage device) to a USB port (data transmitting and receiving unit) is detected and the date and time of detection of this connection is stored. Using this detection of connection as trigger, a camera is caused to pick up an image of an area embracing a user positioned in a position where the user can operate a user interface. Picked-up image data outputted from the camera is stored together with shooting date and time.

Commodity sales data, which is accumulated in a POS terminal or the like every day, accurately reflects the state of sales at the relevant store and thus provides material very helpful in plotting a sales strategy. For this reason, the value of commodity sales data has been highly increased in the retail trade and the like operating supermarkets or the like.
As the value of commodity sales data is increased as mentioned above, more and more wrongdoers have attempted to improperly run away with commodity sales data from a POS terminal. Common POS terminals are identical with PCs in configuration. Therefore, many of them are provided with a data transmitting and receiving unit (for example, USB port) to which a storage device (for example, USB memory) can be connected. It is easy to connect a storage device to a POS terminal and copy and run away with commodity sales data.
In stores, such as supermarkets, one POS terminal is operated by multiple users as a rule. Therefore, even though it is revealed that an unjustifiable act has been carried out and an attempt is made to find out the wrongdoer, it is very difficult.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-148762 discloses a technique for making a specific PC unusable unless a specific storage device is connected to the PC. If this storage device is stolen by a wrongdoer, however, it is impossible to find out the true criminal.

Commodity sales data processor system having camera for picking up user image and USB storage device connector for storing date and time of user transactions


Degradable macromolecular magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents for use in various diagnostic procedures, and methods for synthesizing, using and degrading these agents, are described. The macromolecule contrast agents disclosed in various aspects of this invention are degradable gadolinium compounds which show prolonged plasma retention, and enhanced permeability and retention in solid tumors, but are still capable of being rapidly cleared from the body.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to macromolecular contrast agents used in diagnostic imaging, and methods of synthesizing, using and degrading such compounds.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive method for medical diagnosis. Paramagnetic metal complexes are often used as contrast agents to enhance the image contrast between normal tissue and diseased tissue. Paramagnetic metal ions that are typically used in diagnostic procedures include manganese (Mn2+), iron (Fe+3), and gadolinium (Gd+3). Chelates of Gd+3 are frequently used as MRI contrast agents because of their long electronic relaxation time and high magnetic moment. Gadolinium-based contrast agents include small molecular gadolinium complexes such as Gd(III)(DTPA) [diethylenetriaminepentaacetate] and Gd(III)(DOTA) [1,4,7,10-tetraazadodecanetetraacetic acid], and their derivatives. Use of stable, non-toxic paramagnetic chelates in conjunction with various diagnostic procedures, such as MRI, have been used in the prior art to increase the accuracy of diagnosis.
Macromolecular MRI contrast agents, sometimes referred to as long-circulating or blood pool agents, are particularly useful because of their prolonged retention time in the blood pool. These agents typically increase the magnetic resonance signal of blood by shortening the T1 relaxation time of blood and can be used for a variety of diagnostic procedures, including magnetic resonance angiography. Because of the enhanced permeability and retention, these contrast agents accumulate effectively in solid tumors and have a potential in contrast enhancement in MR cancer imaging. However, the macromolecular contrast agents currently available to the medical community have poor clearance rates. As a result of poor clearance rates, use of Gd macromolecular agents may result in Gd accumulation in bone and other tissues, resulting in toxicity and adverse side-effects.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Degradable macromolecular magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents and methods thereof


The invention relates to a running tool for subsea junction plate assembly installation. The invention further relates to a method for installing a junction plate assembly using the running tool of the present invention.

Junction plate assemblies comprising a fixed junction plate and a moveable junction plate are used subsea to connect an array of multiple fluid or electrical couplers. The term "fixed junction plate" as used herein means a junction plate whose spatial location is fixed. The term "moveable junction plate" as used herein means a junction plate whose spatial location is not fixed. Forces of up to 1000 pounds per coupler to make a suitable junction plate connection are common.
Once the junction plates are connected, a locking mechanism is required with prior art junction plate assemblies to prevent the plates from disconnecting, while a force of up to 1000 pounds per coupler is being applied. To disconnect the junction plates, a reverse force of up to 1000 pounds per coupler is required to overcome the locking force on each coupler.
Current junction plate assemblies require large mechanisms to apply the forces needed to couple and decouple the junction plates. One type of coupling or decoupling mechanism used with prior art junction plates are lead screws with acme threads. Such mechanisms are expensive. They are typically used for periods of less than one hour during the multi-year lifetime of the junction plate assembly. Current junction plate installation using lead screws with acme threads also entails the use of torque tools involving rotary motion to drive a threaded rod, thereby producing a linear motion for couplers on the junction plate assembly to be "made up."
The present invention provides the advantage of a reusable running tool which can be hydraulically powered to provide the forces necessary to couple and decouple a junction plate assembly. The running tool can be disconnected from the junction plate assembly once a desired coupling is achieved. This permits the running tool to be used repeatedly to couple or decouple different junction plate assemblies. This provides the advantage of allowing the junction plate assemblies to be manufactured without the expense of a prior art coupling mechanism.

Subsea junction plate assembly running tool and method of installation


An elevator has an elevator car supporting frame that can travel in a travel space provided for a journey of the elevator car supporting frame. The elevator installation is also provided with a first elevator car and a second elevator car arranged on the elevator car supporting frame. Furthermore, a hydraulic moving element is arranged in a lower end region of the travel space. In this way, the first elevator car can be moved in relation to the second elevator car, by the moving device, in the lower end region of the travel space.

JP 10-236753 A discloses a double-decker elevator. The known elevator has two cars which are arranged one above the other in a car frame. The two cars can hereby move relative to each other. For this purpose, hydraulic cylinders are arranged in a counterweight frame. A traction cable which is connected at one end to the counterweight frame and at the other end to the car frame is guided over a drive pulley. Moreover, a second cable in addition to the traction cable is guided over a freewheeling pulley and is connected at one end to the hydraulic cylinders and at the other end to one of the cars. When the hydraulic cylinders actuate the second cable, the cars are moved relative to each other.
The double-decker elevator known from JP 10-236753 A has the disadvantage that it has a complex design. On the one hand, the design of the counterweight frame is complex because the hydraulic cylinders move with the counterweight frame through the elevator shaft, which requires an additional control means. Moreover, a cable guide for the second cable is additionally needed. Elongation or shortening of the traction cable and the second cable, occurring during operation, are hereby also possible, which results in undesired relative movement between the two elevator cars.