The invention provides compositions and methods for stimulating a Th1-like response in vitro. Compositions include fusion proteins and conjugates that contain at least a portion of a heat shock protein. A Th1-like response can be elicited by contacting in vitro a cell sample containing naive lymphocytes with a fusion protein or conjugate of the invention. The Th1-like response can be detected by measuring IFN-gamma produced by the cell sample.

The invention relates to fusion proteins and methods of stimulating a Th1-like response in vitro.
T lymphocytes can generally be divided into two classes based upon expression of the CD4 and CD8 antigens. The immune response mediated by CD4+ T cells is restricted by class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. CD4+ T cells, also known as helper T lymphocytes, carry out their helper functions via the secretion of lymphokines. The immune response mediated by CD8+ T cells is restricted by class I MHC molecules. CD8+ T cells, also known as cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLs), carry out cell mediated cytotoxicity and also secrete some lymphokines upon activation.
CD4+ T cells can be further divided into Th1 and Th2 subsets. Th1 cells participate in cell mediated immunity by producing lymphokines, such as interferon (IFN)-gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-beta, that activate cell mediated immunity. Th2 cells provide help for humoral immunity by secreting lymphokines that stimulate B cells, such as IL-4 and IL-5. Antigenic stimuli that activate either the Th1 or Th2 pathway can inhibit the development of the other. For example, IFN-gamma produced by a stimulated Th1 cell can inhibit the formation of Th2 cells, and IL-4 produced by a stimulated Th2 cell can inhibit the formation of Th1 cells.
Certain disease conditions, such as cancer, allergy, and parasitic infections, are characterized by a predominantly Th2 response. Under certain circumstances, the induction of the Th1 response, typified by the production of IFN-gamma, may ameliorate these conditions.
The invention is based on the discovery that a cell sample containing naive lymphocytes can be stimulated in vitro to exhibit a Th1-like response.
Accordingly, the invention features a method of determining whether a fusion protein stimulates a Th1-like response by: (a) providing a cell sample containing naive lymphocytes in vitro; (b) providing a fusion protein containing (i) a heat shock protein (Hsp) or a fragment thereof at least eight amino acid residues in length, fused to (ii) a heterologous polypeptide at least eight amino acid residues in length; (c) contacting the cell sample with the fusion protein; and (d) determining whether the fusion protein stimulates a Th1-like response in the cell sample.
xe2x80x9cNaive lymphocytesxe2x80x9d are lymphocytes that have not been exposed to the fusion protein (in vivo or in vitro) prior to their use in a method the invention. An xe2x80x9cHspxe2x80x9d is a polypeptide consisting of a sequence that is at least 40% identical to that of a protein whose expression is induced or enhanced in a cell exposed to stress, e.g., heat shock. A xe2x80x9cfusion proteinxe2x80x9d is a non-naturally occurring polypeptide containing amino acid sequences derived from at least two different proteins.
The Hsp used in the method can be selected from the group consisting of Hsp65, Hsp40, Hsp10, Hsp60, and Hsp71. Additionally, the fusion protein can contain the full amino acid sequence of any of Hsp65, Hsp40, Hsp10, Hsp60, or Hsp71. In some embodiments, the fusion protein contains a fragment of an Hsp, e.g., amino acids 1-200 of Hsp65 of Mycobacterium bovis.
The heterologous polypeptide can contain a sequence identical to at least eight consecutive amino acids of (i) a protein of a human pathogen, e.g., a virus, or (ii) a tumor associated antigen. Examples of viruses include human papilloma virus (HPV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), influenza virus, measles virus, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The heterologous polypeptide can contain an HPV E6 antigen, e.g., HPV16 E6, an HPV E7 antigen, e.g., HPV16 E7, or a fragment of any of these antigens that is at least eight amino acid residues in length.
In one example, the fusion protein contains Mycobacterium bovis BCG Hsp65 and HPV16 E7.
The cell sample used in the methods of the invention can contain cells derived from a spleen, lymph node, peripheral blood, bone marrow, thymus, lung, respiratory tract, or anogenital mucosa. In preferred embodiments, the cells are splenocytes or lymph node cells.
The stimulation of a Th1-like response can be determined by detecting the presence of a lymphokine produced by the cell sample, e.g. IFN-gamma or TNF-beta.
In one embodiment, the method also includes the steps of: (e) providing a second cell sample containing naive lymphocytes; (f) contacting the second cell sample with a second fusion protein; and (g) determining whether the second fusion protein stimulates a Th1-like response in the second cell sample. In this example, the first fusion protein contains the sequence of a full-length, naturally occurring Hsp, and the second fusion protein contains at least eight amino acids but less than all of the sequence of a naturally occurring Hsp.
In another aspect, the invention features a method of screening a compound by: (a) providing a cell sample containing naive lymphocytes in vitro; (b) providing a fusion protein containing (i) a Hsp or a fragment thereof at least eight amino acid residues in length, fused to (ii) a heterologous polypeptide at least eight amino acid residues in length; (c) contacting the cell sample with the compound and the fusion protein; and (d) determining whether the cell sample exhibits a Th1-like response following the contacting step. In this method, a decrease in the Th1-like response in the presence of the compound compared to in the absence of the compound indicates that the compound inhibits a Th1-like response by the cell sample.
The invention also includes a method of screening a compound by: (a) providing a cell sample containing naive lymphocytes in vitro; (b) providing a fusion protein containing (i) a Hsp or a fragment thereof at least eight amino acid residues in length, fused to (ii) a heterologous polypeptide at least eight amino acid residues in length; (c) contacting the cell sample with the compound and the fusion protein; and (d) determining whether the cell sample exhibits a Th1-like response following the contacting step. In this method, an increase in the Th1-like response in the presence of the compound compared to in the absence of the compound indicates that the compound promotes a Th1-like response by the cell sample.
In another aspect, the invention features a method of determining whether a hybrid compound stimulates a Th1-like response by: (a) providing a cell sample containing naive lymphocytes in vitro; (b) providing a hybrid compound that is non-naturally occurring and contains (i) a non-peptide compound having a molecular weight of less than 1,500, covalently linked to (ii) a polypeptide of at least eight amino acids in length, wherein the hybrid compound is made by covalently linking the non-peptide compound to the polypeptide; (c) contacting the cell sample with the hybrid compound; and (d) determining whether the hybrid compound stimulates a Th1-like response in the cell sample. In one embodiment, the non-peptide compound has a molecular weight of at least 100.
In another aspect, the invention features a method of determining whether a hybrid compound stimulates a Th1-like response by: (a) producing a hybrid compound by covalently linking a non-peptide compound to a polypeptide of at least eight amino acids in length; (b) providing a cell sample containing naive lymphocytes in vitro; (c) contacting the cell sample with the hybrid compound; and (d) determining whether the hybrid compound stimulates a Th1-like response in the cell sample. In one embodiment, the non-peptide compound has a molecular weight between 100 and 1,500.
In another aspect, the invention features a method of determining whether a fusion protein stimulates a Th1-like response by: (a) providing a cell sample containing naive lymphocytes in vitro; (b) providing a fusion protein comprising (i) a first polypeptide at least eight amino acids in length, fused to (ii) a second polypeptide at least eight amino acids in length; (c) contacting the cell sample with the fusion protein; and (d) detecting a Th1-like response exhibited by the cell sample following the contacting step. In one embodiment, the detected Th1-like response is greater than a Th1-like response exhibited by a second cell sample containing naive lymphocytes when the second cell sample is contacted with either the first polypeptide, the second polypeptide, or a mixture of the first polypeptide and the second polypeptide. In one example, the detected Th1-like response is at least two times greater than the Th1-like response exhibited by the second cell sample. In another example, the detected Th1-like response is at least five times greater than the Th1-like response exhibited by the second cell sample.
In another aspect, the invention provides a fusion protein containing (i) a Hsp10 protein or a fragment thereof at least eight amino acid residues in length, and (ii) a heterologous polypeptide at least eight amino acids in length. The Hsp 10 protein of the fusion protein can be a mycobacterial protein, e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis Hsp 10 protein. The heterologous polypeptide can contain a sequence identical to at least eight consecutive amino acids of a protein of a human virus, e.g., HPV. In one example, the heterologous polypeptide contains HPV16 E7.
In another aspect, the invention provides a fusion protein containing (i) a Hsp40 protein or a fragment thereof at least eight amino acid residues in length, and (ii) a heterologous polypeptide at least eight amino acids in length. The Hsp40 protein of the fusion protein can be a mycobacterial protein, e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis Hsp40 protein. The heterologous polypeptide can contain a sequence identical to at least eight consecutive amino acids of a protein of a human virus, e.g., HPV. In one example, the heterologous polypeptide contains HPV16 E7.
In another aspect, the invention provides a fusion protein containing (i) a Hsp71 protein or a fragment thereof at least eight amino acid residues in length, and (ii) a heterologous polypeptide at least eight amino acids in length. The Hsp71 protein of the fusion protein can be a mycobacterial protein, e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis Hsp71 protein. The heterologous polypeptide can contain a sequence identical to at least eight consecutive amino acids of a protein of a human virus, e.g., HPV. In one example, the heterologous polypeptide contains HPV16 E7.
In another aspect, the invention features a method of determining whether a compound stimulates a Th1-like response by: (a) providing a cell sample containing naive lymphocytes in vitro; (b) providing a compound; (c) contacting the cell sample with the compound; and (d) detecting a Th1-like response exhibited by the cell sample following the contacting step.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methods and materials are described below. All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In case of conflict, the present application, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, and from the claims.

Induction of a Th1-like response in vitro


A door handle lock (20) for hinged lever-style door handles (10) adapted for mounting on a portion of a hinged lever-style door handle (10) and overlapping a portion of a door handle housing (12), the door handle housing (12), with a hinged lever-style door handle (10), is received in a portion of a door, the hinged lever-style door handle (10) used for opening the door. With the door handle lock (20) in place on the hinged lever-style door handle (10), the door cannot be opened because the handle cannot be moved. Attempts to move the door handle (10) are unsuccessful because the door handle lock (20) interferes with the door handle housing (12) if one attempts to move the handle (10), thus preventing movement thereof.

Not applicable.
This invention relates to a door handle lock and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a door handle lock adapted for engaging a portion of a door handle and overlapping a portion of a door handle housing and preventing the movement of the door handle and thus unauthorized opening of the door.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,359 an anti-theft auxiliary lock for mounting on the side of a vehicle door is disclosed. This lock is used in conjunction with a vehicle""s door lock and is not used for mounting on a door handle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,174 to Fitzgerald et. al., a paddle handle lock is described. The paddle handle lock is designed to be received around a push-pull paddle-style door handle. While the paddle handle lock has similarities to the subject invention in that it prevents unauthorized entry by locking the door handle such that it cannot be moved, it is designed for a different type of door handle than that of the subject invention and, in fact, would not work on the door handle type of the subject invention. Fitzgerald""s patent relates to a push-pull paddle-style door handle and requires significant spatial access behind the handle in order to install the lock As will be explained fully hereinafter, the subject invention relates to a hinged lever-style door handle that is contained within a door handle housing. The hinged lever-style door handle is not the push-pull type as described by Fitzgerald and the door handle housing, related to the subject invention, blocks the access that would be needed to install a lock of the type disclosed in Fitzgerald""s patent. Further, the shape of the hinged lever-style handle applicable to the subject invention prevents the installation of a lock of the type disclosed by Fitzgerald.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,971 to Johnsen et al. describes a tailgate release handle security device. The device taught by Johnsen et al. would not work on the type of handle for which the subject invention is designed. The device of Johnsen et al. requires hooks which fit through apertures in the tailgate handle housing to engage the back side of the tailgate outer panel. The device of the present invention utilizes no hooks or other attachment mechanism and does not require access through any aperture in the housing handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,527 to Grill, U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,685 to Frank and U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,561 to Blehi describe different types of door lock assemblies and auxiliary door locks. None of these locks are designed to lock the door handle itself, such that it cannot be used to open the door.
The door locks, described in the above mentioned patents, do not disclose, teach or illustrate the unique structure, function and advantage of the subject door handle lock.
The essence of the present invention is a door handle lock for use on a hinged lever-style door handle contained within a door handle housing. The door handle lock locks the door handle in position relative to the door handle housing such that the door handle cannot be moved, thus preventing unauthorized entry.
In view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of the subject invention to provide a door handle lock adapted for mounting on a portion of a hinged lever-style door handle and overlapping a door handle housing mounted in a portion of a door. The type of door handle for which the subject invention applies, herein referred to as a hinged lever-style door handle, is comprised of a paddle type handle, usually flat, pivotally mounted on a hinge pin. The hinge pin is positioned such that, when the door handle is actuated, the ends of the handle move in opposite directions, much like a teeter-totter, with one end moving away from the door and the other end moving deeper inward to the door handle housing. The paddle type handle is usually flush with or below the outer perimeter of the door handle housing. The door handle lock is designed to prevent the movement of the door handle hinged inside the door handle housing and prevent the unauthorized opening of the door.
Another object of the invention is the door handle lock is easy to operate, simple in design, rugged in structure and can be quickly mounted on a door handle.
Still another object of the invention is the door handle lock is adaptable to various types and sizes of hinged lever-style door handles to prevent the movement thereof and prevent the opening of the door. A preferred embodiment of the subject invention requires no tools to secure the door handle lock to the door handle. The door handle lock may be removable or permanently attached to the door handle.
In one embodiment, the door handle lock includes a lock cylinder centered on and mounted inside a lock cylinder block. The lock cylinder block having a front, a rear and sides. The lock cylinder includes a lock face with a key slot for receiving a lock key. The lock face is disposed in the front of the lock cylinder block. Also, the lock cylinder includes a lock cam extending outwardly from the rear of the lock cylinder block. The lock cylinder block includes a pair of block guide pins disposed next to the lock cam. In operation, the block guide pins and lock cam are inserted into a small space between a door handle housing and an end of a door handle. The block guide pins are used for guiding and positioning the lock cylinder block with respect to the door handle and the door handle housing, When the key is received in the key slot and turned, the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped lock cam is rotated for engaging a portion of a back side of the door handle and holding the lock cylinder block against the door handle housing and the door handle. The lock cam thus holds the door handle against the lock cylinder block and, since the lock cylinder block overlaps a portion of the door handle housing, with the lock cylinder block held in place the door handle is prevented from pivoting and thus prevented from use in opening the door. Once the lock cam has been rotated so as to engage a portion of the back side of the door handle, the block guide pins ensure that the lock cylinder block cannot be rotated or otherwise moved such that the lock cam could be positioned other than engaging a portion of the back side of the door handle.
These and other objects of the subject invention will become apparent to those familiar with the different types of door locks when reviewing the following detailed description, showing novel construction, combination, and elements as herein described, and more particularly defined by the claims, it being understood that changes in the embodiments to the herein disclosed invention are meant to be included as coming within the scope of the claims, except insofar as they may be precluded by the prior art.


A gap-closing actuator includes a stator having one or more first electrodes, a mover having one or more second electrodes interposed among the first electrodes, and a biasing mechanism for applying a non-capacitive bias to the mover for urging the mover to move in a desired direction with respect to the stator. The non-capacitive bias is different from a capacitive force generated between the first and second electrodes when the gap-closing actuator is in operation.

An electric actuator is a device that is capable of converting electrical energy into mechanical energy, for example in form of linear or rotational motions, to drive other devices. The electric actuator can be designed and fabricated in a miniature size on a semiconductor substrate by micromachining and/or semiconductor processing technology. Such electric actuator is a type of micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) that can augment microelectronics, such as a system on a chip (SOC), by generating motions in order to control its environment in response to signals received from the microelectronics.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic top view of a typical MEMS actuator 10 comprising a stator 12, a mover 14 capable of moving relative to the stator 12, and a number of return springs 20, 22, and 24. The stator 12 can have a plurality of first electrodes 16 extending therefrom toward the mover 14. The mover 14 can have a plurality of second electrode 18 extending therefrom toward the stator 12. At least one of the first electrodes 16 can be disposed between two consecutive second electrodes 18 in a manner where the first electrode 16 is closer to one of the second electrodes 18 than the other. Likewise, at least one of the second electrodes 18 can be disposed between two consecutive first electrodes 16 in a manner where the second electrode 18 is closer to one of the first electrodes 16 than the other. The mover 14 can have one or more protrusions 19 extending from one or more sides of its body, respectively. The return springs 20 and 22 can be coupled between the mover 14 and their respective fixtures 26 and 28. Each of the return springs 24 can have one end coupled to a fixture 30, and another end disposed in proximity of its corresponding protrusion 19.
In operation, the first and second electrodes 16 and 18 can be electrically charged to create a capacitive force between them. As discussed above, because the first and second electrodes 16 and 18 are interposed in an asymmetric manner, the capacitive force generated can move the mover 14 in a desired direction relative to the stator 12 as shown by an arrow 13 in the figure. As the mover 14 moves away from its initial position, the return springs 20, 22, and 24 may deflect to provide it with a return force that is necessary to push the mover 14 back to its initial position after the first and second electrodes 16 and 18 become discharged. The actuator 10 generates motions by closing the gaps between the first and second electrodes 16 and 18. Thus, the actuator 10 is typically named as a gap-closing actuator.
One of the shortcomings of the conventional gap-closing actuator 10 is the difficulty in controlling its fabrication process. In fabrication, the first and second electrodes 16 and 18 are typically formed by performing an etching process on a semiconductor substrate. As shown in FIG. 1, the first and second electrodes 16 and 18 are interposed among each other in an asymmetric manner where a gap D1 between at least one of the first electrodes 16 and one of two consecutive second electrodes 18 between which the first electrode 16 is disposed is wider than a gap D2 between the first electrode 16 and the other of the two consecutive second electrodes 18. Due to different aspect ratios of the gaps D1 and D2, the etch rate of the semiconductor material in the wider gap D1 can be faster than that in the narrower gap D2. Thus, it is difficult to fabricate the wider gap D1 and the narrower gap D2 in the same depth, which in turn makes it difficult to control the size of the actuator 10 accurately.
Moreover, the smaller the line width of the electrodes and the larger the ratio D1 to D2, the more difficult it is to control the etch rate variation in fabrication. Thus, in order to control the etch rate variation in a manageable range, the minimum width of the gap D2 that can be selected for the actuator 10 is limited. This, in turn, leads to greater power consumption of the actuator, because the wider the gap D2, the higher the voltage it is required to operate the actuator 10 for a given return spring constant.
Another shortcoming of the conventional gap-closing actuator 10 is that the asymmetric arrangement of electrodes 16 and 18 prevents the size of the actuator 10 from being reduced beyond limits imposed by lithographical processes. In fabrication, the gaps D1 and D2 among the electrodes 16 and 18 are defined by a photo mask during a lithographic process, which typically has a limit for a minimal line width that can be defined. Although the narrower gap D2 can be defined as being equal to the minimal line width of the lithographic process, the wider gap D1 is certainly broader than the minimal line width because it needs to be longer than the narrower gap D2 in order to ensure that the mover 14 moves in a desired direction when the actuator 10 is in operation.
Accordingly, what is needed is a gap-closing actuator whose fabrication process can be accurately controlled, power consumption can be decreased, and size can be reduced beyond limits imposed by lithographic processes.


A unit address is automatically set in a peripheral unit. A plurality of peripheral units 1 are connected to a CPU unit via a signal line 3. The CPU unit accesses each peripheral unit 1 by individually selecting the peripheral units. The signal line 3 is provided with a first signal line 31 for transmitting an address by bus connection of the peripheral units and a second signal 32 line for transmitting a write command signal by cascade connection of the peripheral units 1. The write command signal is sequentially transmitted in the order in which the peripheral units 1 are connected, and only the peripheral unit 1 that has received the write command signal receives a unit address and retains it in a latch circuit 11a.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a peripheral unit selection system constructed by connecting peripheral units to a CPU unit via a signal line such as a computer system or a programmable controller, in which the CPU unit selectively accesses the peripheral units.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally in a computer system or a programmable controller, the system is constructed by combining a CPU unit having a processor that operates according to a program with a peripheral unit having a function of assisting the CPU unit for the operations of data input/output and complicated calculation. It is usual to provide a plurality of peripheral units, and as shown in FIG. 23, peripheral units 1 are connected to a CPU unit 2 via a signal bus line 3. To communicate between CPU unit 2 and individual peripheral unit 1, it is necessary to individually select the peripheral units 1. In order to satisfy this demand, there has been considered the following structures.
A signal line for selecting each peripheral unit 1 is provided between the CPU unit 2 and each peripheral unit 1 so as to select each peripheral unit 1 via each signal line aside from the signal line 3 for communicating data. However, this structure requires signal lines corresponding in number to the peripheral units 1, causing a problem that the number of wiring lines increases according to the increase in number of the peripheral units 1 with the increase of the system scale.
In contrast to the above, there has been a structure in which each peripheral unit 1 is preparatorily provided with an individual unit address, and by sending a call address from the CPU unit 2 to the signal line 3, the peripheral unit 1 in which the unit address coinciding with the call address is set is selected. According to this structure, the peripheral units 1 are time-sharingly selected, and this arrangement has the advantage that the number of wiring lines does not increase even when there is an increased number of peripheral units 1 with the increase of the system scale.
However, according to the prior art structures, the unit address of each peripheral unit 1 has been set by a switch, and therefore, the unit address setting work is troublesome. Furthermore, the unit addresses have been individually set in the peripheral units 1. Therefore, in the case where an increased number of peripheral units 1 are there or an additional peripheral unit 1 is subsequently incorporated, there is the problem that erroneous setting such as overlapped unit address setting tends to occur.
In the international application published Jul. 11, 1996 (WO 96/21181) based on U.S. application Ser. No. 08/365,655 filed Dec. 29, 1994, there is disclosed an expansion module address method and apparatus wherein a programmable controller (PLC) base unit sends an address number to an expansion I/O module and to modules attached thereto, each expansion module takes the number it receives and considers it to be own address number, and the expansion module decrements the number and passes it onto the next module unless the number is zero. This method and apparatus may be a solution to the problem mentioned above.

Peripheral unit selection system having a cascade connection signal line


The present invention provides a thermally compensated fluorescence decay rate temperature sensor capable of measuring the true temperature of a sample surface and its associated method of use.

Determining the temperature of a solid object is typically accomplished by measuring the temperature of its surface. While it is preferable, for reliability of the measurement, to position a temperature sensor within the object itself so that the sensor is immersed in the material to be measured, this is often not a practical solution.
Contact thermometers, such as thermocouples, thermistors and RTDs (resistance temperature detectors), are often employed to measure the temperature of a surface. Achieving adequate thermal contact between the contact thermometer and the sample surface to be measured can be very difficult. Contact-type temperature sensors suffer from the universal drawback that the very act of contact with the sample drains heat from, or adds heat to, the sample, due to the thermal mass of the sensor relative to the object. Furthermore, in the case of contact with a solid surface, as opposed to immersion in a fluid, true contact is achievable only at a few points and hence the sensor never reaches the exact temperature of the sample surface being measured. As a result, the temperature read by the contact thermometer can deviate substantially from that of the sample.
The problems with contact thermometers are exemplified under low ambient pressure conditions, where conduction by gas in the gap between the sample surface and the thermometer is diminished until it becomes zero in a vacuum. Under these conditions, thermal contact is worsened due to the lack of air molecules present to help conduct heat from the surface to the sensor. Strong radio frequency or microwave fields are also known to negatively affect the ability of these contact thermometers to accurately measure surface temperatures. As such, all contact thermometers which are not incorporated into the surface itself suffer either because good thermal contact is extremely difficult to achieve or because they drain excessive heat from the surface to be measured.
One solution to the contact-type of temperature thermometer is to utilize a thermometer that does not require physical contact with the surface to be measured. One such thermometer known in the art utilizes infrared radiometry. With this approach, thermally-generated infrared radiation from the surface is collected and focused onto an infrared detector. While this is the most common non-contact thermometry technique used in the current state of the art, it is highly unreliable unless the emissive properties of the surface are exceedingly well characterized. Other problems include the need for line of sight access to the surface, poor sensitivity at moderate to low temperatures and the inability to measure transparent materials utilizing infrared radiation.
Accordingly, reliable measurements of surface temperatures have proven to be difficult. Measurement techniques currently known in the art having the highest levels of reliability are typically tedious and time consuming to perform.
What is needed in the art is a surface temperature measurement technique which is both fast and convenient, while at the same time, being reasonably accurate, reliable and adaptable to many environments.
Over the past two decades, the fluorescence-decay rate (FDR) type fiber optic temperature sensor has emerged as an increasingly important class of thermometric devices. The response of these sensors derives from the temperature dependent decay time of some optically induced fluorescence produced by a phosphor which is either attached to one end of the optical fiber or coated on the surface of the object being monitored. FDR sensors are generally recognized as the most accurate optically based systems for temperature measurement in the art. As a result, in spite of their relatively high cost, they are in routine use now in industries as diverse as semiconductor manufacturing, power generation, and metal forming when electromagnetic interference from the environment prevents the use of electrically based sensors or when moving materials are to be interrogated.
However, in view of the prior art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how the identified need could be fulfilled.

Thermally compensated fluorescence decay rate temperature sensor and method of use


When an imaging mode is set, a subject is imaged, and image data representing a subject image is obtained. Continuous AF is operated such that the subject image represented by the obtained image data is focused. Ranges ahead of and behind the focusing position of an imaging lens obtained in the continuous AF are determined as a focusing range. A formal search is conducted in the determined focusing range. A focusing position is determined from a graph of focusing integrated values obtained in the formal search. The imaging lens is put at the determined focusing position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an autofocus control apparatus and a method of controlling the same.
2. Description of Background Art
A skin color area included in a subject image is detected, and the detected skin color area is taken as a focusing area (see JP-A-11-146405).
Even in a case where a skin color area is detected, however, it is difficult to accurately detect the skin color area when a subject image itself whose skin color should be detected is extremely defocused. Therefore, the skin color area cannot, in some cases, be accurately focused even as a focusing area. The same is true for a case where an object is detected from only light and dark (gradation) information without using color information. When an object is extremely defocused, it is difficult to accurately detect the object.

Autofocus control apparatus and method of controlling the same


A process for producing an optical disk master, comprises the steps of forming a photoresist layer on a glass master, cutting the photoresist layer by projecting light beam onto the glass master having the photoresist layer thereon to expose the photoresist layer to light, developing the photoresist layer after the cutting step to form a hollow portion corresponding to the light-exposed portion, and carrying out an ion treatment by projecting ions onto the developed photoresist layer to decrease the thickness of the photoresist layer at the developed hollow portion to reach the prescribed depth by the ion-treatment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing a glass master and a stamper for production of an optical disk, particularly of a high-density recording optical disk. This process is especially effective for producing a domain wall displacement type of magneto-optical medium.
2. Related Background Art
A conventional process for producing a stamper for optical disks is explained by reference to FIGS. 1A to 1G.
In this process, as shown in FIG. 1A, positive type photoresist 2 is applied by spin-coating onto master glass 1 which has been polished and has been spin-coated as necessary with a primer like a silane-coupling agent. The photoresist-coated master is prebaked in a clean oven or a like apparatus. Then as shown in FIG. 1B, predetermined regions of glass master substrate is exposed to light by a light beam modulated in accordance with recording signals by means of a light exposure system (cutting machine) employing an argon ion laser or the like as the light source. In the drawings, the numeral 3 indicates a light beam of the cutting machine, the numeral 4 indicates an exposed region, and the numeral 5 indicates an unexposed region. Generally, the photoresists are classified into negative type photoresists for utilizing the exposed region and positive type photoresists for utilizing unexposed region: the two types of the photoresists are selectively used to meet the objects of use. In the process explained, in the next step, as shown in FIG. 1C, the light-exposed glass master substrate is washed with a developing solution composed of an inorganic alkali and ultrapure diluting water to remove the light-exposed region, washed with pure water, dried by spin-drying, and post-baked to obtain an optical disk master. The photoresist-removed region forms a groove 9, and the remaining photoresist region forms a land 8.
In the step of FIG. 1D, the surface of the optical disk master is coated with electroconductive film 6 such as a nickel film by sputtering. In the step of FIG. 1E, nickel is electroformed on the electroconductive nickel film. The numeral 15 indicates a resulting electroformed nickel layer. The back face of the electroformed nickel layer is polished. Then in the step shown in FIG. 1F, a metal stamper is peeled from the optical disk master. Thereby, a stamper 7 is completed as shown in FIG. 1G.
In recent years, a process is disclosed which produces an optical disk substrate stamper by anisotropic etching to obtain a deep-groove stamper for forming grooves having a nearly rectangular cross-section. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-161080, for example, discloses a process for producing a stamper for optical disk substrates by reactive ion etching (RIE). This process for production and working of the stamper for a land-groove recording substrate by the reactive ion etching is explained by reference to FIGS. 2A to 2I.
In this process, as shown in FIG. 2A, positive type photoresist 2 is applied by spin-coating onto synthetic quartz master 10 which has been polished, washed sufficiently, and spin-coated with a primer as necessary. The photoresist-coated master is prebaked in a clean oven or a like apparatus. Then as shown in FIG. 2B, a predetermined region of the master is exposed to light by a light beam 3 modulated in correspondence with recording signals by a light exposure system (cutting machine) employing an argon ion laser or the like as the light source. In the next step, as shown in FIG. 2C, the light-exposed master is developed by spinning with a developing solution containing an inorganic alkali to remove exposed region 4 of the photoresist. The master is washed by pure water shower, dried by spinning. The unexposed portion 5 is post-baked in a clean oven.
In the next step as shown in FIG. 2D, the master is placed in a chamber of a reactive ion etching apparatus. The chamber is evacuated to a vacuum degree of 1×10−4 Pa. Therein CHF3 or a like gas in introduced, and reactive ion etching is conducted to obtain glass master 13.
Then as shown in FIG. 2E, the remaining resist is peeled off from glass master 13 by immersing the glass master into a peeling solution composed of concentrated sulfuric acid and aqueous hydrogen peroxide to obtain an optical disk master. In the drawing, the numeral 8 indicates a land, and the numeral 9 indicates a groove. Next, as shown in FIG. 7F, the glass master 13 is washed, and on the surface thereof an electroconductive Ni film 6 is formed by sputtering to impart electroconductivity. Further, as shown in FIG. 2G, a Ni layer is electroformed thereon. The numeral 15 indicates the electroformed Ni layer. The electroformed layer surface is polished, and the electroformed Ni layer 15 is peeled from glass master 13 as shown in FIG. 2H. Through the above steps, stamper 7 is completed (FIG. 2I).
Other processes are disclosed for producing and working a stamper for a land-groove recording substrate, in which a thin film such as an SiO2 thin film is formed on a master glass made of conventional glass produced from soda lime, not expensive quartz glass, as the glass master by reactive ion etching (RIE). Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-336748, for example, discloses a process for producing and working a stamper for optical disk substrate, in which plural thin films are formed in lamination on a master glass, a photoresist is applied thereon, the photoresist is exposed to light and is developed, and reactive ion etching is conducted.
Explanation is made on a process for producing and working a stamper by a reactive ion etching of an inorganic oxide thin film such as SiO2 film formed on a master glass, by reference to FIGS. 3A to 3L.
Master glass 1 is polished and washed well. On the master glass 1, Al2O3 film 21 is formed as a first thin film layer as shown in FIG. 3A.
Thereon, SiO2 film 22 is formed in a thickness of about 140 nm as a second thin film layer by sputtering as shown in FIG. 3B.
The surface of the SiO2 film 22, which may be spin-coated with a primer if necessary, is spin-coated with positive photoresist 2 as shown in FIG. 3C. Then a prescribed region of the photoresist is exposed to light beam 3 modulated in accordance with recording signals by a light exposure apparatus (cutting machine) employing an argon ion laser or the like as the light source as shown in FIG. 3D. The photoresist is developed with the aforementioned inorganic alkali developing solution by spinning to remove exposed portion 4, as shown in FIG. 3E. The developed photoresist is washed with pure water, dried by spinning, and post-baked in a clean oven, as the post-treatment. The master is placed in a chamber of a reactive ion etching apparatus. The chamber is evacuated to a vacuum degree of 1×10−4 Pa; therein CHF3 or a like gas in introduced; and reactive ion etching 14 is conducted as shown in FIG. 3F. The etching is conducted to reach a prescribed groove depth (corresponding to the thickness of the second thin SiO2 film 22) to obtain glass master 13. From the glass master, the remaining resist is peeled by oxygen plasma ashing as shown in FIG. 3G. The glass master 13 is immersed into a developing stock solution to remove first thin film 21 of Al2O3 in the exposed region by wet etching to obtain optical disk master 13 as shown in FIG. 3H. The portion indicated by the numeral 8 becomes a land portion, and the portion indicated by the numeral 9 becomes a groove. On the surface of the glass master 13, after washing, electroconductive Ni film 6 is formed by sputtering for electroconductivity as shown in FIG. 3I. Thereon a nickel layer is electroformed as shown in FIG. 3J. The numeral 15 indicates a electroformed Ni layer. Then electroformed Ni layer 15 is peeled off from glass maser 13 as shown in FIG. 3K.
Stamper 7 is completed (FIG. 3L) through the steps shown above. In some application fields, the stripped metal stamper can be utilized, after insulation-film treatment of the surface, as a stamper family of mother-stamper/sun-stamper (not shown in the drawing). Thereafter, the stamper is worked by press-punching or a like working into a desired shape to complete a metal stamper. By use of this metal stamper, optical disk substrates having signal-recording hollows are replicated by injection molding, a 2P process, or the like molding method. On the optical disk substrate, a reflection film of a metal like aluminum or a magnetic film is formed to obtain an optical disk.
The stamper prepared by the above process has disadvantage that the faces of land portion 8, especially unexposed portion 5, and faces of the inclined side wall of the hollows become rough as shown in FIG. 4. This surface roughening can occur in the cutting step of FIG. 1B, in the sputtering step of FIG. 1D, or in the step of resist removal of the stamper. The surface roughening can be caused in the sputtering step by particle size and uniformity of the sputtering film, in the step of the resist removal by the resist-removing chemical. However, the cutting operation is the major cause of the surface roughening.
The light beam modulated by recording information for light exposure has a Gauss distribution of the intensity. Therefore, the light-exposed region is not precisely coincide with the intended region. This leakage of the light, and reverse face reflection can cause light exposure outside the intended region. The unintended light-exposed region can also be developed to cause fine surface roughness.
In a metal stamper prepared by reactive ion etching also, the side wall surfaces of the grooves are confirmed to be rough considerably although the surface roughness is nearly the same level between the land portions and groove portions. This can be caused by fine residues of the photoresist remaining on the interface between the photoresist and master glass after the light beam exposure and development.
This roughening problem becomes more serious at the narrower track pitch and the larger projection formed, and is important for increasing the density of the optical disk.
Various attempt are made for increasing the recording density of the optical disk. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-290496 discloses increase of the recording density of magneto-optical recording by domain wall displacement detection system. The domain wall displacement system achieves reproduction resolution exceeding the limit by light spot diameter in the line (track) direction by utilizing magnetic wall displacement caused by reading-out light spot. In magneto-optical record reproduction with such a substrate having the roughness of the side wall portion, the reflected light quantity varies by scattering of the reproduction light spot by the side wall roughness to increase substrate noise in the reproduced information signals to lower the S/N ratio of the signals. In particular, when the domain wall displacement detection type of magneto-optical recording medium is combined with such a deep-grooved substrate, the wrinkling roughness of tens of nanometers formed at the shoulder of the land portions prevents smooth displacement of the domain walls, in addition to the drop of S/N ratio of the signal, disadvantageously.
To solve the above problem, a known method is a baking treatment to improve the surface smoothness. In this method, the photoresist is exposed to a light beam, and a pattern is formed by development in a conventional production process, and a hard baking treatment is conducted in which the photoresist layer is heat-treated near the melting point thereof to improve the surface smoothness of the grooves.
In this improved production process, most of the side wall portion becomes gently sloping, and the roughness is decreased. However, the roughness is observed to be still remaining at the interface between the flat portion of the groove and the side wall by scanning electron microscopy.

Optical disk master, optical disk substrate stamper, process for production thereof, and magneto-optical recording medium


A knowledge-based system (10) which combines case-based reasoning, heuristic search and deductive rule application. The resulting inference engine is sensitive to the context of problem solving. The system (10) includes a heuristic searcher (22), a case memory (14), a rule memory (18), a rule applier (26) and a case matcher (24). The rule applier (26) uses stored rules to elaborate on new cases by deriving new features so that it will be closer to selected old cases. The case matcher (24) detects how close selected cases are to the new case and generates a score for the match. The heuristic searcher (22) maintains a plurality of elaborated cases and determines the goodness of each elaborated case, the goodness being a measure of the match between the elaborated case and the selected old case.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to knowledge-based systems, and more particularly to a knowledge-based system which combines case-based reasoning, heuristic search, and deductive rule application.
2. Discussion
Knowledge-based systems, such as expert systems, have specialized problem-solving capabilities utilizing the knowledge that underlines human expertise. The field of knowledge engineering is concerned with developing new principles, tools and techniques for utilizing the knowledge of human experts in problem-solving. Knowledge-based methods and systems are useful in many important tasks which do not have tractable algorithmic solutions, such as planning, legal reasoning, medical diagnosis, geological exploration, and military situation analysis. These problems originate in complex social or physical contexts, and generally resist precise description and rigorous analysis.
Current knowledge-based systems generally fall into the category of rule-based or case-based reasoning. In either approach, an important goal is to make the reasoning sensitive to the context of the problem. Both approaches have shortcomings which prevent the realization of this goal. In more detail, current rule-based technology utilizes deductive inference from antecedents to conclusions. One problem with this approach is its inflexibility. For example, in rule-based expert systems, this often leads to one of two problems during knowledge acquisition: 1) antecedents of rules are too specific, which leads to systems that are not broad enough and require additional knowledge acquisition to add more rules, and 2) antecedents that are too general leading to an inability to decide which rules to apply and requiring extra knowledge acquisition to acquire control rules which are difficult for a domain expert to explicate and difficult to maintain once the system has been built. In brief, the current rule-based reasoning approaches are limited to strict, deductive rule application. Two examples of state of the art rule application technologies are the PROLOG compilation (see Warren, D. H. 1977, "Implementing Prologue: Compiling Predicate Login Programs" (DAI Research Papers Nos. 39 & 40) Department of Artificial Intelligence, University of Edinburgh) and the Rete Network Compilation (see Forgy C. L. (1982), Rete: "A Fast Algorithm For The Many Pattern/Many Object Pattern-Matching Problem", Artificial Intelligence, 19(1), 17-37).
Nevertheless, as different approaches have been attempted to increase context sensitivity, the efficiency has decreased. In addition to rules which can be learned from an expert, a knowledge engineer must invent a new set of rules (such as control rules) used to sequence through the knowledge. These rules do not relate to the way the expert solves the problem, instead they are concerned with getting the knowledge applied in the right order. For example, one approach would be to first find out from an expert when a rule applies and then use a set of rules which determines when a set of rules apply. Also, when a given rule does apply the system must sequence to another set of rules which apply when those rules apply.
Case-based reasoning methods are generally classified into two types: 1) domain independent, feature-based approaches and 2) domain dependent knowledge-based approaches. Domain independent approaches are easy to apply because all one needs are a set of cases and a case matcher. In these approaches, indexing of case memory allows efficient access but representations are limited to flat features only and is inappropriate for problems requiring structured representations. Flat features are numbers or strings, for which matching metrics are easy and computationally inexpensive. Structured representation specify relationships between features for which matching metrics are difficult to define and computationally expensive. A representative domain independent approach is found Goodman, M. (1989), "CBR in Battle Planning", In Case-based Reasoning Workshop, (pp. 264-269), Morgan Kaufman.
In contrast, domain dependent approaches utilize inference rules to help match cases. In domain dependent approaches, special indexing strategies must be created for each new application. This makes the application much more expensive and difficult to maintain. A representative domain dependent approach is described in Bareiss, R. Porter, B. W., and Murray, K.S. (1989), "Supporting Start-To-Finish Development of Knowledge Bases", Machine Learning, Vol. 4, (3/4), 259-284.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a knowledge-based system which is both context-sensitive and efficient. Further, it would be desirable to provide a knowledge-based system which avoids the necessity of the control rules required in rule-based expert systems Also, it would be desirable to provide a knowledge-based system which can utilize the advantages of both case-based and rule-based reasoning while minimizing their respective disadvantages. Further, it would be desirable to provide a knowledge-based system in which the cases used are not limited to flat features but can contain structural features. Further, it would be desirable to provide a knowledge-based system which simplifies the knowledge acquisition process.

Matching technique for context sensitive rule application


An electronic circuit layout refinement method and system. A grid of equally sized tiles is defined on a circuit layout area. Each tile of the grid has a respective critical area estimate metric associated with critical area estimates for a circuit to be placed on the circuit layout area. A global circuit routing for a circuit to be placed within a plurality of tiles of the grid is performed. An estimation of critical area estimate metrics that are assigned to respective tiles of the grid is performed prior to performing a detailed circuit routing for the circuit. The global circuit routing is adjusted, after estimating the critical area estimate metrics, in order to improve a respective critical area estimate metric assigned to at least one tile of the grid. The adjusted global circuit routing is then produced.

Incorporating yield prediction into the design and layout of integrated circuit components allows more efficient design and production of integrated circuits. State-of-the-Art Critical Area Analysis (CAA) is typically used in performing yield estimations for an integrated circuit design. The ever increasing manufacturing costs associated with the ever decreasing component sizes in the deep-submicron semiconductor arena have increased the impact of effective yield prediction in improving the economy of efficient integrated circuit production.
The critical area of an integrated circuit design is the expected area of a chip that is lost to random substrate and/or circuit defects. Such random substrate and/or circuit defects on an integrated circuit die prevent the proper formation of, for example, a conductive trace of a circuit and thereby causes the failure of one or more integrated circuits formed on an integrated circuit die. A critical area reflects the sensitivity of a circuit design and layout to spot defects occurring during chip fabrication. Examples of spot defects are substrate and/or circuit defects caused by particles, such as dust and other contaminants. Spot defects in an integrated circuit component can lead to conductive trace shorts, opens, or problems related to blockage of inter-layer vias.
Spot defects analyzed by critical area analyses include inter-conductor short spot defects, intra-conductor open spot defects, defects causing blockages of inter-layer vias, and defects causing combination faults. An inter-conductor short spot defect is a spot defect that causes a conductive short between two conductors of a circuit. The susceptibility of a circuit to failure due to inter-conductor short spot defects varies inversely with inter-conductor spacing and varies in concert with the length of conductors that are close to one another since smaller defects will affect adjacent conductors that are closer to each other and conductors that are close to each other for longer lengths are more likely to encounter a spot defect.
Intra-conductor open spot defects are spot defects that create a non-conductive area on a circuit that can interfere with the creation of a conductive trace. The susceptibility of a circuit to failure due to intra-conductor open spot defects varies in concert with conductor length and varies inversely to conductor width. Longer conductors are more likely to encounter an intra-conductor open defect and wider conductors are more likely to be wider than an encountered defect and therefore still be conductive.
The calculation of a critical area for a particular integrated circuit design requires a definition of the detail metal shapes that are to be used in the integrated circuit. Critical area analysis is computationally expensive and time consuming. Therefore, critical area analysis is usually applied in the later or post-design stages for chip evaluation. However, designs are almost fixed in those late design stages and only simple local changes can be applied. Although local tuning can help to improve the layout, the compensation ability is strictly constrained by the existing design.
Therefore a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.

System and method for global circuit routing incorporating estimation of critical area estimate metrics

International Business Machines Corporation


Disclosed is an insulative window assembly that is easy to operate and attractive to the user. The insulative window assembly incorporates a blind and unique sealing frame. The sealing frame appears to be a window molding, while allowing the blind to be move along the sealing frame in order to seal a window space. A blind pull attached to the blind allows the blind to be positioned anywhere along the sealing frame.

Home owners and owners of historic buildings are constantly in search of a product to insulate their window space in order to prevent air infiltration, while retaining the original look of the windows. One of the products currently on the market is a clear plastic film which is attached to the inside or outside frame of the window. This film is stretched tightly across the window space by various methods to form an airtight seal, thereby forming an insulate layer about the window space. This product does not allow for removal on warmer days and can be damaged easily.
Blind type window insulative covers are available that attach to the window frame in order to seal the window space. There have been many variations of this concept. Some designs have used strips of Velcro, magnets or steel in combination with a magnetic strip. The strips are applied to the frame and the blind, where the strips are then interconnected to form a seal when the blind covers the window. The blinds of this type requires some care to properly place the blind, in order to form a proper seal to prevent air infiltration from the window space. This type is not aesthetically pleasing to the owner due to the strips being visible and detracting from the beauty of the window design. Other designs incorporate a frame or rail which attaches to the window frame to guide the blind and seal the window space. The frame or rail type design has not been very successful on the market due its complexity of installation and operation. Also, the frame or rail designs have not been aesthetically pleasing to the eye and are relatively expensive due to materials used.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an insulative window assembly that is easy to operate and attractive to the user.


A seat belt retractor for an automotive seat belt includes a housing having a spool arranged therein for winding the seat belt therearound. The seat belt passes between fixed and movable clamp portions arranged within the housing such that, under a condition where a collision sensor activates a pretensioner for tightening the seat belt in an emergency, the movable clamp is moved toward the fixed clamp for applying squeezing pressure to the seat belt to prevent extraction thereof from the retractor housing. The pretensioner may include a gas generator which pressurizes a cylinder so as to move a piston mounted within the cylinder very rapidly. The piston is operatively connected with the movable clamp and the spool via a wire for effecting substantially instantaneous clamping of the seat belt.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to a retractor for an automotive seat belt. Specifically, the present invention relates to an automotive seat belt retractor in which extraction of the seat belt is effectively prevented for increasing vehicle safety.
2. Description of The Prior Art
Seat belt retractors are well known which comprise a housing having therein a pretensioner associated with a collision sensor for instantaneously tightening a vehicle occupant's seat belt in the event of collision. The pretensioner commonly comprises a gas cylinder which discharges a gas for rapidly moving a piston within the cylinder, the piston being operatively connected, via a wire, for example, with a spool on which a seat belt is wound for instantaneously tightening the seat belt around the seat occupant.
Further provided within the housing is a clamp for gripping the seat belt, after activation of the pretensioner, for preventing extraction of the seat belt from the housing of the retractor for securely holding a vehicle occupant in the vehicle seat under an emergency condition such as a collision. Such a clamp comprises a fixed portion mounted in the housing and a movable portion which is mounted on a pivotal axis. The seat belt is interposed between the movable and fixed portions of the clamp such that when the pretensioner is activated, the spool winding the belt is moved in the winding direction for tightening the seat belt, then, according to inertial force of a thus restrained vehicle occupant against the seat belt, a free end of the movable portion is caused to rotate, on arm portions attached thereto, in the direction of the fixed portion of the clamp to apply squeezing pressure to the seat belt to prevent extraction thereof. A guide hole may be provided in the housing engaging a projecting end of a roller shaft provided on the free end so as to stabilize movement of the free end. Further, a `return spring` may be provided for maintaining a position of the roller shaft when the retractor is normally used. Thus overall vehicle safety is enhanced by provision of such an arrangement.
One such conventional seat belt retractor arrangement is disclosed in the BMW Repair Manual, 1988.
In such arrangements, the steps of detection of collision by the collision sensor, activation of the pretensioner, tightening of the seat belt, and clamping of the seat belt, occur consecutively and, it is possible that the seat belt may be extracted from the seat belt retractor by a small degree, such as 20-30 mm before effective clamping is established. As the seat belt may be subjected to considerable inertial force during collision, is always desirable to further enhance the locking features of restraint systems such as seat belt retractors.


Various embodiments are described for a squeegee apparatus configured to facilitate a removal of paint or other debris in an annular recess of a can, such as a paint can. The squeegee apparatus may include a body having a first recess to receive a first lip of a can, a second recess to receive a second lip of the can, and a projection to extend into an annular recess of the can. The squeegee apparatus may include a guard wall projecting laterally from the body and a ramp at least partially defined by a distal end of the projection. The ramp and the projection can be positioned such that, when the body of the squeegee apparatus is pulled along the annular recess of the paint can, paint or other debris residing in the annular recess is forced up the ramp and redirected towards an interior chamber of the can.

Paint is traditionally sold for residential use in half-pint, pint, quart, and one gallon cylindrical metal cans (hereinafter "paint cans"), typically formed of tin-coated steel. Some paint cans have removable and resealable lids with a downward projecting rim that forms a press fit with an annular recess positioned between an outer lip and an inner lip on a top surface of the paint can. Paint from a paint can is often poured into a painting tray or other container by tipping the paint can. This unavoidably causes paint to flow into and fill the annular recess. When securing a resealable lid to a paint can, any paint residing in the annular recess can result in a less than airtight seal and, as a result, any paint remaining in an interior area of the paint can dry out during storage. As can be appreciated, any paint residing in the annular recess is generally unusable as it cannot be easily accessed or removed from the recess. Moreover, removing a lid having dried paint residing in the annular recess can cause the dried paint to crack and fall into the paint can, mixing with usable paint and rendering the paint unusable.


A method of forming a contact is disclosed. A substrate having a desired electrical contact location is provided. The substrate has a conductive layer. A first mask with an edge over the desired electrical contact location is formed on the substrate. A contact material is deposited over the first mask and the substrate. A first portion of the contact material is then removed such that a second portion of the contact material remains to form a contact adjacent to the edge of the mask, over the desired electrical contact location.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor circuit manufacturing, and more specifically, to a method of forming a contact and a novel integrated circuit structure.
2. Discussion of related art
Integrated circuits are made up of millions of active devices formed in or on a silicon substrate. The active devices are interconnected together in order to form functional circuits and components. The devices are interconnected together through the use of multilevel interconnects. A cross-sectional illustration of a typical multilevel interconnect structure 100 is shown in FIG. 1. Interconnect structures normally have a first level of metalization or interconnect layer 105, a second level of metalization 135 and sometimes a third, a fourth, etc., levels of metalization. Interlevel dielectrics 110 (ILDs) such as silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2) are used to electrically isolate different levels of metalization and silicon substrate 101. The electrical connections between different interconnect levels are made through the use of contact holes 115 formed in ILD 110. Contact holes 115 are filled with a conductive material forming contacts 130 which are used to form electrical connections between interconnect levels and devices formed in substrate 101.
As device dimension decreases, an RC delay associated with the interconnects increase. The RC delay increases the propagation delay associated with the interconnects and thus limits the performance of the circuit. The RC delay is mainly due to the capacitive coupling between metal lines and the resistance of contact material used for the interconnects. The capacitive coupling and the interconnect material are limited by the present methods of forming interconnects.
An example of a technique of forming metal-to-metal contacts through contact holes in a multilevel-interconnect system is shown in FIGS. 2A through 7B. Metal lines 105 are formed on substrate 101, as shown in FIG. 2A. Substrate 101 comprises insulating layer 103 formed over silicon substrate 104. FIG. 2B is a top view showing the location desired of electrical contacts on metal lines 105, as represented by X's 102.
Next, as shown in FIG. 3A, ILD 110 is blanket deposited onto substrate 101 and metal lines 105. Then contact holes 115 are formed through ILD 110, as shown in FIG. 4A. FIG. 4B illustrates locations of contact holes 115. In a process to form contact holes, photoresist 120 is generally deposited over ILD 110 and patterned to define desired locations of electrical contacts. Contact holes 115 are then etched in alignment with patterned photoresist layer 120. After contact holes 115 are formed, photoresist layer 120 is removed.
Next, tungsten (W) 125 is blanket deposited over ILD 110 and into contact holes 115, as shown in FIG. 5A. Tungsten 125 is then polished or etched back so that the top of ILD 110 is exposed, forming filled contacts 130, as shown in FIG. 6A. FIG. 6B shows a top view of contacts 130 after their formation.
To complete the process of forming an interconnect level, a second conductive layer is then deposited over the entire surface. Next, a photoresist layer is deposited over the second conductive layer. The photoresist layer is then patterned. Then, exposed portion of the conductive layer is etched to form metal lines 135. The photoresist is then removed. FIG. 7A shows a cross-sectional view of the partially built multilevel interconnect system after formation of metal lines 135. FIG. 7B shows the locations of metal lines 135. Thereafter, the process described for FIG. 2A through FIG. 7B can be repeated to form additional levels of interconnects.
By using the technique described above, an aspect ratio of 2:1 can be achieved. An aspect ratio is defined as contact width 116 over contact height 117 (see FIG. 4A). Separation of metal lines can increase an aspect ratio. As the aspect ratio increases, capacitive coupling between the metal lines decreases and as the capacitive coupling decreases, the RC delay decreases, resulting in better circuit performance. Hence, an aspect ratio that is greater than 2:1 is desirable. Since the contacts are formed by filling contact holes, as the aspect ratio of the contact holes increases, the probability of void formation also increases. Therefore, an aspect ratio that is greater than 2:1 cannot be achieved by using the current technique.
An additional problem with the current technique is that only tungsten can be used to fill contact holes. Tungsten 125 is used in a multilevel-interconnect system because it can be deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). CVD allows a material to be deposited conformally which allows a complete fill of contact holes 115 with an aspect ratio of 2:1. A material with a lower resistance than that of tungsten such as aluminum, copper, gold, silver, and their alloys, is more desirable as a contact material in filling contact holes 115. However, such low resistance materials cannot be used because they can only be reliably deposited by sputtering, rather than by CVD. Sputtering processes typically do not allow a material to be deposited conformally and as a consequence, only contact holes with aspect ratios of less than 2:1 can be filled reliably.
As pointed out above, one method to minimize the RC delay is to decrease the capacitive coupling between metal layers by increasing the distance between the metal layers. However, with the present method in forming contacts, the aspect ratio is limited to 2:1 due to the problem of void formation associated with filling the contact holes. A second way to minimize the RC delay is to use a low resistance contact material. However, low resistance materials such as aluminum, copper, silver, gold and their alloys can only be deposited by sputtering, thus cannot be used to fill contact holes with an aspect ratio of greater than 2:1.
Thus, what is desired is a method of forming a high aspect ratio contact, utilizing low resistance materials.


A fogging device (26) for introducing water and/or vapor into an intake air flow (10, 27) of a gas turbine (1–3) includes a sound-absorbing device (31, 35). This device may in particular be designed in the form of Venturi tubes (31), the water (29) being fed to the air flow (27) via nozzles (33) arranged at the narrowest location. In this way, the spraying of water for increasing the power output or for generally regulating the gas turbine can at the same time be combined with a silencer, and this in a comparatively simple construction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fogging device for introducing water and/or vapor into an intake air flow of a gas turbine and to a method of increasing the power output of a gas turbine.
2. Discussion of Background
It is known that the feeding of water or vapor or other suitable liquids or mixtures of liquids into the working medium of a gas turbine can be used to increase the power output which can be produced by a gas turbine. On the one hand, the additional power output is made possible in this case by the cooling effect of fed water, this cooling effect allowing greater firing of the gas turbine. On the other hand, by the feeding of water or vapor, the mass flow which passes the turbine blades is increased, and thus the power output is also increased.
In this case, water can be fed either in the form of vapor, i.e. in the form of air wetting, or else in the form of small water droplets. In other words, water can be fed above the saturation limit. This technique, which is known as over-fogging, is normally carried out by small liquid droplets of a certain size being fed to the air flow which is directed into the compressor (what is referred to as "wet compression"). This technique allows the available power output of the gas turbine″to be increased, since the work required for compressing the inlet air is reduced. This is due to the fact that the evaporation energy of the inlet air flow cools the latter when it passes the compressor stages.
There are a multiplicity of documents which describe this "wet compression" in connection with gas turbines. Thus, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,990 and its continuation-in-part, U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,977, both of which describe an apparatus and a method for increasing the power output of a gas turbine using wet compression. On the other hand, WO 00/50739 describes a special device for monitoring destructive wet compression, i.e. a device which monitors the gas turbine distortions occurring in this method and if need be correspondingly controls the feeding of water. Another document in this connection is U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,443, in which a device with which small liquid droplets are introduced into the inlet air flow of the compressor is likewise described, this introduction being effected between compressor and downstream of a silencer. The droplets which are fed to the air flow have in this case a specific droplet size of between 1 to 50 micrometers. Another publication from the same applicant, U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,284, the parent application for said U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,443, describes a gas turbine in which liquid droplets are added to the air flow upstream of the compressor, the liquid droplets at least partly evaporating before the inlet into the compressor and thus cooling the air flow and then completely evaporating in the compressor with further cooling of the air flow. In this case, the liquid droplets are introduced into the air flow downstream of an inlet plate having air slots, behind which an air filter or a silencer is normally also arranged.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An antenna array in a radio node includes multiple antenna elements for transmitting a wider beam covering a majority of a sector cell that includes a common signal and a narrower beam covering only a part of the sector cell that includes a mobile user-specific signal. Transmitting circuitry is coupled to the antenna array, and processing circuitry is coupled to the transmitting circuitry. The processing circuitry ensures the user-specific signal and the common signal in a mixed beam embodiment are in-phase and time-aligned at the antenna array. In a steered beam embodiment, the processing circuitry ensures the user-specific signal and the common signal are time-aligned and have a controlled phase difference when received at mobile stations in the sector cell. In both embodiments, distortions in the common signal and the user-specific signal associated with their conversion from baseband frequency to radio frequency are also compensated. And in the steered beam embodiment, beam forming weights are used not only to radiate a narrower beam to the desired mobile user but also to direct a wider common signal beam to reach all mobile users in the cell.

The invention relates generally to wireless communication nodes, and more particularly, to wireless communications nodes that utilize a multi-beam antenna system.
Adaptive antenna arrays have been used successfully in various cellular communications systems, e.g., the GSM system. An adaptive antenna array replaces a conventional sector antenna by two or more closely-spaced antenna elements. The antenna array directs a narrow-beam of radiated energy to a specific mobile user to minimize the interference to other users. Adaptive antenna arrays have been shown in GSM and TDMA systems to substantially improve performance, measured in increased system capacity and/or increased range, compared to an ordinary sector covering antenna.
Adaptive antenna systems may be grouped into two categories: fixed-beam systems, where radiated energies are directed to a number of fixed directions, and steered-beam systems, where the radiated energy is directed towards any desired location. Both types of narrow beam systems are generally illustrated in FIG. 2, which also shows a sector beam that covers the sector cell. The benefits of adaptive antenna systems include: efficient-utilization of spectral resources by exploiting the spatial (angular) separation of users, cost efficiency, increased range or capacity, and easy integration, i.e., no mobile terminal changes are required as would be in other schemes such as Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) schemes which employ multiple antennas at both the terminal and the base stations.
Fixed beams can be generated in baseband frequency or in Radio Frequency (RF). Baseband generation requires a calibration unit that estimates and compensates for any signal distortion present in the signal path from baseband via the Intermediate Frequencies (IF) and the RF up to each antenna element in the array. The RF method generates the fixed-beams using, for example, a Butler matrix at radio frequency.
Under some assumptions, for example a uniform linear array where the antenna elements are separated by a half wavelength, there is a one-to-one correspondence between a certain direction-of-arrival (DOA) of an incoming wave front and the phase shift of the signals at the output of the antenna elements. By appropriately phase shifting the signals prior to transmission (or reception), an adaptive antenna system can steer the radiated energy towards (or from) the desired mobile user, while at the same time, minimize the interference to other mobile users. Steered-beams require calibration to estimate and compensate for any signal distortion present in the signal path from baseband to the antenna elements and vice-versa.
Time-varying, multipath fading seriously degrades the quality of the received signals in many wireless communication environments. One way to mitigate deep fade effects and provide reliable communications is to introduce redundancy (diversity) in the transmitted signals. The added redundancy may be in the temporal or the spatial domain. Temporal (time) diversity is implemented using channel coding and interleaving. Spatial (space) diversity is achieved by transmitting the signals on spatially-separated antennas or using differently polarized antennas. Such strategies ensure independent fading on each antenna. Spatial transmit diversity can be sub-divided into closed-loop or open-loop transmit diversity modes, depending on whether feedback information is transmitted from the receiver back to the transmitter.
In adaptive antenna systems, user-specific data signals are transmitted using narrower beams (whether fixed or steerable). But system-specific or common signals are generally transmitted via another antenna that has a wider covering beam, e.g., a sector antenna. A typical common signal is the base station (primary) pilot signal. The pilot signal includes a known data sequence which every mobile radio uses to estimate the radio propagation channel. As the mobile moves, the radio propagation channel also changes. Because a good channel estimate is essential in order to detect the user-specific data, the pilot signal is used as a "phase reference." A beam-specific secondary pilot signal may be present on each beam and may also be used as a phase reference. Mobile users whose signals are transmitted with the same beam then use the same secondary pilot signal. Alternatively, mobile-dedicated pilot signals may be transmitted with the same beam as the user-specific signal and be used as a phase reference. The mobile user is instructed by the network which phase reference should be used.
There are several drawbacks of current multi-beam architectures. A first drawback is cost. A fixed-beam antenna array that forms the narrow beams at radio frequency may require an additional sector covering antenna to be implemented. The hardware complexity and cost are related to the: number of feeder cables equal to the number of beams+1 (for the sector-covering antenna), physical weight determined by the size of the antennas, and the height and size of the antenna mast. Different sector and narrow beam antennas add significantly to the cost of the base station.
A second drawback relates to phase reference mismatch and Quality of Service (QoS) degradation. The radio channel of the primary pilot signal transmitted by the sector covering antenna and the radio channel of the user-specific data transmitted through a narrow beam are not necessarily the same. If the mobile is instructed to use the primary pilot signal as a phase reference, then the mobile will expect that the user-specific data to be subject to the same radio channel as the primary pilot signal. But those channels are different. As a result, the phase reference is wrong, detection and decoding errors increase, and the Quality of Service (QoS) is degraded.
A third drawback is poor resource utilization. To compensate for the phase reference mismatch, the mobile can be instructed to use a beam-specific secondary pilot signal or a user-specific dedicated pilot signal as a phase reference. In the former case, all users within the same beam use the same pilot signal, whereas in the latter case, each user utilizes a unique pilot signal. The QoS is improved but at the expense of additional allocated resources, (e.g., power, codes, etc). Consequently, less power is available to other mobile users, adversely impacting system capacity and data throughput.
A further drawback concerns inflexibility and signaling delays. Suppose a mobile could receive a better signal from an alternative, secondary pilot per beam. The network must therefore periodically investigate which secondary pilot is most appropriate, i.e., received at maximum power. The antenna system and the mobile radio must be signaled by the network to report back several measurement reports. If the network determines that a new beam should be used to transmit the user-specific data, then the antenna system is instructed to change beams, and the mobile radio is signaled to start using the alternative secondary pilot channel as a phase reference. Such procedures cause delays and require significant signaling overhead.
Receiver diversity is widely used in today's wireless infrastructure and it offers substantial benefits in terms of uplink coverage and capacity. Further, transmit diversity can be use to improve the downlink performance and it may become a key feature in the 3rd generation wireless systems. But transmit diversity signals are transmitted throughout the cell causing increased interference to other users, even though the intended mobile user is located in a certain direction. Nonetheless, combining transmit diversity with narrower, directed beams can offer significant benefits.
The above-identified drawbacks of current multi-beam architectures are overcome with an antenna system that includes an antenna array for transmitting a common signal in a wider beam covering a a sector cell and a mobile-user specific signal in a narrower beam covering only part of the sector cell. Transmitting circuitry is coupled to the antenna array and to filtering circuitry. In a first, "mixed beam" embodiment, the filtering circuitry filters the user-specific and common signals to compensate for distortions associated with their conversion from baseband frequency to radio frequency. The filtering circuitry and beam weighting circuitry ensure that the user-specific and common signals are substantially time-aligned and in-phase at the antenna array (preferably at a center antenna element). User-specific signal weights are designed to radiate a narrower beam (compared to the wide, sector-covering beam) in the direction of the mobile station such that each mobile can use the same common signal as a phase reference for channel estimation and demodulation.
In a second, "steered beam" embodiment, the filtering circuitry filters the user-specific and common signals to compensate for distortions associated with their conversion from baseband frequency to radio frequency. The filtering circuitry and beam weighting circuitry ensure that the user-specific and common signals are time-aligned and have a controlled phase difference when received at each mobile user in the cell. Each mobile user can use the common signal as a phase reference for channel estimation and demodulation. That phase difference is preferably controlled to obtain a good tradeoff between required transmit power, radiated interference, and quality of service to the users. Beam forming weights are used not only to radiate a narrower beam to the desired mobile user (as in the mixed beam embodiment) but also to direct wider common signal beam to reach all mobile users in the cell.
In an example, steered-beam implementation, the wide beam carrying the common signal is transmitted only from a center antenna element in the antenna array. Using the center antenna element to generate the wide common beam permits a correlation of the controlled phase difference between the common and user-specific signals received by the mobile user to be less than or equal to a target value that ensures a desired quality of service. Alternatively, the wide beam carrying the common signal may be generated using multiple antenna elements in the antenna array. Since the antenna elements are generally fixed in a predetermined "look direction" during the antenna array installation, all antenna elements can be utilized in conjunction with baseband signal processing to form a wide beam with desired characteristics, which could change with time depending on the cell planning. Beam forming weights applied to user-specific signal results in steering a narrower beam towards the mobile user from the antenna array. Providing such beam steering for both the user-specific signal beam and the common signal beam permits more intelligent aiming of both signal types in the cell.
In a more detailed, non-limiting example of the mixed beam embodiment, the antenna array includes N antenna elements, where N is an odd positive integer greater than one. A beam forming network is coupled between the antenna array and the transmitting circuitry. The beam forming network receives in each beam the user-specific and common signals and generates N signals which are provided to the antenna array. Before the beam forming network receives the N signals, each signal passes through beam-specific transmit filtering circuitry. The beam transmit filters cancel the common signal in all outputs of the beam forming network except at a center antenna element output. But the common signal is transmitted simultaneously on the N beams with equal or approximately equal power and phase.
Beam-weighting circuitry weights the user-specific signal with a beam weight corresponding to each beam and provides weighted, user-specific signals to the corresponding beam transmit filters. Each user-specific beam weight may be a function of the uplink average power received in the corresponding beam. An example function is the square root. The user-specific beam weights are selected to direct radiated energy in a relatively narrow beam from the antenna array to a desired mobile user.
Receiving circuitry is coupled to the beam forming network and to a signal processor. The signal processor combines signals received on the N beams to estimate a received signal and determines an average uplink power for each beam. Those average uplink powers are used to determine the user-specific beam weights. The mixed beam embodiment may be implemented in transmit diversity branches and/or in receive diversity branches.
In a more detailed example of the steered beam embodiment, the antenna array includes N antenna elements, where N is a positive integer—even or odd. The filtering circuitry includes N antenna transmit filters, and each antenna transmit filter is associated with a corresponding antenna element. The common signal and the user-specific signal may be transmitted simultaneously from all N antenna elements. The user-specific signal is transmitted with N user-specific beam weights, each user-specific beam weight corresponding to one of the N antenna elements. The beam weights are complex numbers used to phase-rotate and amplify the user-specific signal. The common signal is transmitted with N common signal beam weights, each common signal beam weight-corresponding to one of the N antenna elements. These beam weights may also be complex numbers used to phase-rotate and amplify the common signal. Alternatively, the common signal may be transmitted from only one antenna such as the central antenna element. In this case, the beam weights for the other antenna elements may be set to zero.
In the steered beam embodiment, the user-specific and common signal beam forming weights are determined (1) to yield high antenna gain so that the generated interference is reduced and (2) to keep the phase difference between the user-specific signal and the common signal at an acceptable level. The common signal is the phase reference signal for all mobiles in the cell, and the controlled phase difference between the common and user-specific signals can be viewed as random with its distribution being affected by statistics of the channel as well as the transmitter weights used.
In the receive side of the antenna system in the steered beam embodiment, a beam forming network, (which is not required in the steered beam embodiment on the transmit side), may be coupled to the N antenna elements for generating N received beams. Receiving circuitry is coupled to the beam forming network and to a signal processor. The signal processor processes signals received on the N received beams to estimate a received signal. The signal processor determines uplink channel statistics per user and predicts the corresponding downlink channel statistics. The steered beam embodiment may also be used in transmit and/or receive diversity branches.
The technology described in this application provides numerous advantages. First, common and user-specific signals can be transmitted without requiring a separate sector antenna. Second, neither secondary nor dedicated pilot signals are required as a phase reference. Third, the common and user-specific signals are transmitted without being distorted as a result of travel/processing from baseband outputs to the antenna elements. Fourth, the common and user-specific signals are received at the mobile terminals approximately in-phase (in the mixed beam case) or subject to some controlled random variations (in the steered beam case) and time-aligned, i.e., subject to approximately the same channel delay profile. Fifth, because the antenna array radiates the user-specific channels in a narrower beam directed to the desired mobile user, interference is suppressed to spatially-separated mobile users. Sixth, combining beam forming and transmit diversity or transmit/receive diversity offers significant benefits. A seventh advantage is transparency. Mobile users need not be aware of the architecture or the implementation of the antenna array. Eighth, backward compatibility permits ready system integration. No change to radio network controllers in the radio network is required. Ultimately, the invention may be used in any wireless system that can exploit downlink beamforming.

Method and apparatus for a multi-beam antenna system


When a thin film transistor is manufactured by using a printing method, the precision of alignment between a first electrode and a second electrode becomes a problem. If it is manufactured by using photolithography, a photomask for each layer is necessary, resulting in the cost being increased. The essence of the present invention is that not only processing the gate shape is carried out over the substrate by using a resist pattern formed by exposing using a photo-mask for the gate pattern but also processing the source-drain electrodes is carried out by lifting-off. As a result, alignment between the source-drain electrode and the gate electrode is carried out.

Conventionally, in a method of forming a film while forming an organic thin film transistor (organic TFT), there has been a method which combines the advantage of photolithography with the advantage of a printing method as a means to avoid the problem of the misalignment of various patterns in the case of forming by a printing method (for example, refer to JP-A-2006-269709).
Moreover, as a method of forming a TFT using an organic semiconductor material, there has been one which processes the gate insulator by performing gate patterning and oxidizing (for example, refer to JP-A-2004-349292).

Manufacturing method of semiconductor device