There is disclosed a portable GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver carried by a user. The receiver measures the distance traveled by the user and the speed. In the prior art technique, if satellites cannot be captured, no measurements are made. To find the distance and speed accurately, the measurements have to be performed continuously, thus increasing the electric power consumed by the receiver. The inventive receiver once finds the speed from the Doppler frequencies of the carrier waves. Then, a first distance-calculating means finds the distance from the speed. A walk-detecting means detects walking. A step number-calculating means accumulates the number of steps taken in steps. A stride-calculating means finds the stride from the accumulated step number and from the found distance. Then, a second distance-calculating means finds the distance from the stride and from the accumulated number of steps. A speed-calculating means finds the speed. The GPS receiver receives at regular intervals and updates the stride.

The conventional GPS comprises 24 GPS satellites that are in 6 orbits and circle the earth approximately 12 hours at an altitude of about 20,200 km and at an inclination angle of 55 degrees. A GPS receiver on the earth receives navigational data necessary for position determination from 3 to 4 satellites of these 24 GPS satellites. The receiver then computes the location, the velocity, etc. of a vehicle or moving object carrying the receiver. The receiver can also find the velocity vector of the moving object by measuring the Doppler frequencies of the carrier waves. The GPS satellites use two transmission frequencies: L1 having a frequency of 1.57542 GHz and L2 having a frequency of 1.22760 GHz. L1 is used for normal determination of locations, and is PSK (phase shift keying)-modulated by pseudo-noise codes that are synthesized waves representing navigational data including C/A codes identifying satellites, information about the orbits of the satellites, and time information. The waves are caused to spread into a spectrum and transmitted from the satellites. These waves are received by the GPS receiver shown in FIG. 6. This receiver has an antenna 601 receiving signals of 1.57542 GHz. The signals are amplified by an L-band amplifier circuit 602. The output signal from this amplifier circuit 602 is converted into a first intermediate-frequency (IF) signal in the band of tens of MHz to 200 MHz by a down-converter portion 603 and then into a second IF signal in the band of approximately 2 MHz to 5 MHz. The second IF signal is applied to a voltage comparator 604 and converted into digital form with a clock frequency several times as high as the IF signal. The output from the voltage comparator 604 is diffuse spectral data. A C/A code-generating circuit 606 produces the same C/A codes, or pseudo-noise codes, as the satellites. A message-encoding means 605 inversely diffuses the C/A codes from the C/A code-generating circuit 606 into the digital output signal from the voltage comparator 604. This operation is performed for plural satellites. Normally, a position-calculating means 607 finds position-locating data from the navigational data from four satellites. As GPS receivers are miniaturized in this way, proposals have been made to use them to find the distance traveled or the velocity of the user when he or she runs or walks, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 118156/1994.
Where the prior art GPS receiver is used to measure the distance traveled by a human body or its velocity, various problems take place. Where the GPS receiver is installed on a vehicle, if it is in a tunnel, in a building, or in a valley between tall buildings, the measurement is difficult to perform. In such places, the navigational operation can be continued, using self-contained navigation such as map matching. However, in the case of a small-sized GPS receiver such as the hand-held type, it is difficult to incorporate map information in the form of a CD-ROM into the small-sized GPS receiver because of its size. Where the receiver is installed in a vehicle, the distance traveled and the speed can be obtained from instruments installed on the vehicle. In the hand-held-type, the distance traveled and speed themselves are found from GPS satellites and, therefore, if the satellites cannot be captured, no measurements can be performed. Also, in order to accurately find the distance traveled and speed, it is necessary to constantly perform the measuring operation. This increases the amount of electric power consumed by the GPS receiver.


An apparatus for converting analog stroke display signals representing electron beam generated stroke traces into raster display information for producing a raster-scan image display. The apparatus includes a sampling circuit for sampling the analog stroke display signals to produce pixel data representing sub-pixel locations covered by the stroke traces. A frame buffer is coupled to the sampling circuit to temporarily store pixel data. A filter is coupled to the frame buffer for calculating brightness of pixels based upon the amount of coverage of the pixels by a stroke trace. In addition, a raster-scan display device is coupled to the filter for receiving the pixel data from the filter to produce a raster-scan image.

This invention relates to apparatus and method for converting analog stroke display signals to raster display information for developing a raster-scan image display.
Computer graphics involves the development of images for display on some type of display device. The display devices developed and used initially in computer graphics were known as a vector, stroke or line drawing displays. (The terms xe2x80x9cvectorxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cstrokexe2x80x9d are synonymous with xe2x80x9clinexe2x80x9d.) To develop characters for display, the character outlines were composed of sequences of strokes, produced by moving an electron beam of a cathode ray tube (CRT) to draw the character on the phosphor coating of the CRT screen. The electron beam is deflected, to draw the character, by beam-deflection circuits in response to analog voltages developed by a vector or stroke generator.
The stroke generator of a stroke display device typically develops an analog X major deflection signal and an analog Y major deflection signal for moving the electron beam from one general location to another. Some stroke generators also developed an additional analog x character deflection signal and an additional analog y character deflection signal for guiding the electron beam within the general location to which the beam has been moved, to draw or trace a line, character, symbol, etc.
The final signal typically developed by a stroke generator is a three voltage level video signal, having a 0 volt level to indicate that the electron beam is off (a condition where the beam is to be moved from one location to another without producing a trace), a 1 volt level defining a certain brightness of the trace when moving the beam from one general location to another to produce a trace, but not to draw a character, and a 2 volt level for increasing the brightness of the trace when drawing a character after the beam has been moved to a desired character location. The brightness is increased when drawing a character since the movement of the beam is much faster than when simply moving the beam from one location to another; the voltage level must be boosted just to maintain the brightness of the drawn character to about the same as the brightness of the trace.
The next major development in computer graphics was that of raster graphics or raster display devices, which were based on television technology. Raster displays store so-called display primitives (such as lines, characters, and solidly shaded or patterned areas) in a refresh buffer, in the form of component pixels. The image on a raster display device is formed from a set of horizontal raster lines, each line containing a row of individual pixels. The xe2x80x9crasterxe2x80x9d is stored in a frame buffer as a matrix of pixels representing the entire screen (frame) area. The image is scanned out sequentially by a video controller, one raster line at a time, from top to bottom and then back to the top, in the same manner as a television picture or image is created. Each pixel includes information to determine the electron beams intensity when being moved through that pixel location on the screen. All this is well known technology and a full description and discussion is given in Foley, James D. et al., Computer Graphics Principles and Practice, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1996.
Raster displays have a number of advantages over stroke displays including the need for less expensive image generating logic. Also, raster displays can fill areas with a uniform color or a repeated pattern in two or more colors, and can store images in a way that allows manipulation at a fine level, including the copying or moving of selected portions of an image.
One disadvantage of a raster display, compared to a stroke display, results from the discrete nature of the pixel representation. Primitives are specified in terms of their end points (vertices) and must be scan-converted into their component pixels in the frame buffer. Because each primitive must be scan-converted, real-time processing is computationally more complicated for raster displays than for stroke displays. Nevertheless, most computer graphics systems today utilize raster displays.
Because large numbers of stroke display systems had been installed in the past and many are still in use today (for example, stroke display systems are common in commercial and military aircraft), it has been found desirable, when upgrading an existing stroke display system, to save as much of the existing circuitry as possible, especially the stroke generator circuitry. As a result, stroke to raster converters have been developed to enable use of the stroke generator, but to convert the stroke generation signals to raster producing signals for use on a raster display device. In effect, a raster display replaces the stroke display to develop the desired images.
The prior art approach to converting from stroke to raster displays involved sampling the analog stroke signals to obtain data indicating the brightness of the stroke trace, and then adding the samples for corresponding similar pixel locations to obtain a composite pixel representation of the stroke trace. A problem with this approach is that for crossing or intersecting traces, the trace would be sampled twice where the trace is crossed or intersected, and the pixel representation of such crossing or intersection would be an excessively bright spot. Of course, if a number of characters are displayed on the screen, each with a number of line intersections, then the image would be quite disconcerting when viewed because of the number of excessively bright spots.
It is an object of the invention to provide apparatus for converting a stroke video signal in real-time to appropriate pixel and sub-pixel data for generating raster video display.
It is another object of the invention to provide a stroke to raster converter which provides high resolution in the resulting raster display.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such a converter which is easy and relatively inexpensive to implement.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a converter, in accordance with one aspect thereof, for performing anti-aliasing during the conversion process.
It still another object of the invention, in accordance with another aspect thereof, to provide such a converter in which xe2x80x9cweightingxe2x80x9d of sub-pixels is employed to present improved definition of lines and objects presented for display.
The above and other objects are realized in an illustrative embodiment of apparatus for converting stroke display signals (representing electron beam generated stroke traces) into raster display information for developing a raster video image display. The apparatus includes a sampling circuit for sampling the analog stroke display signals to produce pixel data representing pixel locations covered or touched by the stroke traces, a frame buffer for temporarily storing the pixel data samples for subsequent supply to a raster display device.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the sampling circuit is adapted to sample at a rate sufficient to allow development of digital representations of pixels subdivided into arrays of sub-pixels with indications of which sub-pixel locations were covered or drawn by the stroke trace.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a filter, is provided between the frame buffer and the display device for calculating brightness of pixels based upon the amount of A coverage of the pixel by the stroke trace.

Evans and Sutherland Computer Corporation


Disclosed is an EGR mixer for mixing a fresh air flow and an EGR flow. The EGR mixer comprises an air duct configured to allow a fresh air flow to flow therethrough, and comprises an EGR duct configured to allow an EGR flow to flow therethrough. The EGR mixer comprises a mixing duct positioned downstream of the air duct and the EGR duct. The EGR mixer comprises a supplemental duct fluidly connecting the EGR duct to a second mixing section of the mixing duct. The EGR mixer is configured to mix the fresh air flow and the EGR flow into a mixed flow.

A power system may comprise an internal combustion engine and an EGR system for recirculating a portion of the engine's exhaust flow back to an intake manifold. This portion of the exhaust flow is commonly referred to as EGR flow and is useful for reducing the concentration of oxygen available for combustion, thus lowering the combustion temperatures, slowing reactions, and decreasing nitrous oxides (NOx) formations. While, as just mentioned, EGR flow means the exhaust flow that is recirculated into the engine, fresh air flow, conversely, means the flow that is entering the power system from the atmosphere.
In some cases, the intake manifold needs to supply a precise ratio of EGR flow to fresh air flow, because too small of a ratio may cause an increase in NOx emissions, while too large of a ratio may cause an increase in soot emissions. To achieve both low NOx and soot emissions simultaneously, it is important that the ratio of the EGR flow to air flow be optimized and that also the ratio be consistent amongst all of the engine's cylinders. To do this, what is needed in the art is an EGR mixer that adequately mixes the EGR and fresh air flows.


A coated document with debris-removing characteristics which provides enhanced debris removal when printed using conventional printing devices is provided. The documents described herein may be coated on portions of both faces, and optionally contain self-adhesive labels or coloring agents.

With the availability of high speed printing devices, the capacity to use such printing devices for volume printing of documents has become increasingly desirable. However, the long term use of non-impact printers such as laser, thermal transfer, or ink jet imaging has been less than satisfactory for a number of reasons. In particular, the accumulation of contaminants in the form of unbound ink, adhesives, and paper dust, adhering to the internal machinery of the printing devices, causes premature and often expensive servicing of the automated equipment after limited handling cycles.
Though problems arising from contamination can be evident when passing any paper product though a printer (e.g., paper dust), the problem may be exacerbated when printing adhesive-bearing documents such as labels, stickers, and decals. This class of documents has a variety of uses including imparting information about a product to a user thereof, and in many instances, an adhesive is used to secure labels or decals to an underlying surface. In many applications, information is printed directly onto a label or decal surface prior to use, typically imparted using computer-controlled, non-impact printers. Impact printers such as dot matrix printers are also used.
Current label designs can contaminate a printer with adhesive and prevent proper functioning of the printer over time. For example, a first pass through a laser printer's fuser section can lead to hot-melt and emulsion acrylic adhesives becoming more fluid. This problem is only compounded in duplex printing, where such documents may undergo multiple passes though a printer, leading to greater fluidity of adhesive and likelihood of escape from the context of the document and onto internal printer parts.
Small amounts of adhesive extruded from between the label portions begins to accumulate within the printer over time. A moderately sized pharmacy printer, for example, may print 300 to 500 pharmacy labels and forms per day, resulting in a frequent need to clean, repair, or replace the printer. If the contamination is extensive enough, it can severely damage the printer. Often times, the rollers, fusers, toners, and wipers, for instance, need to be cleaned and/or replaced. The cost of maintenance and repairs and utility lost in repair time contribute significantly to production costs.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a document with debris-removing characteristics which can minimize the relative level of contamination generated upon each pass through the printer. It is also desirable to provide a document with debris-removing characteristics that can reduce debris that may have already collected within the printer.


The present invention provides an entertainment system in which the models can be discriminated between compatible operation devices. A connector of the operation device of the present invention comprises at least two recess portions on the peripheral surface thereof, and a connecting portion of a machine body is provided with at least two metal projections arranged thereon to be engaged with the respective recesses. The connector includes a metal plate, and the metal plate is exposed inside of the first recess and the second recess. A supplying portion of the machine body supplies a predetermined potential to the metal plate by supplying the predetermined potential to the first metal projection engaged with the first recess. A detecting portion of the machine body determines whether the connected operation device is the operation device or not by detecting a potential of the second metal projection engaged with the second recess.

The present invention relates to an entertainment system using a operation device connected thereto.
An entertainment system to be used by connecting to the external display is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-313730. The entertainment system comprises, as shown in FIG. 1, a machine body 10 having an optical disk reproducing section 1, and an operation device 20 for accepting the user""s operations connected thereto. A processing unit within the machine body 10 receives a game program and image information etc. recorded in the optical disc from the optical disk reproducing section 1 and displays the image on the external display. The processing unit communicates with the operation device 20, to accept contents of the user""s oprations, executes a game program according to the accepted user""s controls, and changes the display images etc.
The operation device 20 comprises a operation body 22 having switches 24-29 arranged thereon for receiving the user""s operations, a cable 23, and a connector 21. The operation unit 20 is connected with respect to each other by inserting the connector 21 into the connecting portions 4a and 4b of the machine body 10 as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3.
The connector 21 comprises nine pins 601 therein as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C. On the upper surface of an inserting portion 501 of the connector 21, there are provided retaining portions 502, 503, and 504 for preventing the connector 21 from being detached from the connecting portions 4a and 4b of the machine body 10 as shown in FIG. 4. The retaining portions 502, 503, and 504 are recesses to engage with the metal projection provided within the connecting portions 4a and 4b. A grounding metal 505 is inserted on the bottom surface of the recess of the retaining portion 503 located in the center, and is exposed from the bottom surface of the retaining portion 503. The grounding metal 505 is supplied with a ground potential when it comes into contact with the metal projection at the ground potential provided on the machine body 10 to be engaged therewith. Therefore, the retaining portion 503 located in the center serves not only as a retaining portion, but also as a grounding terminal.
The machine body 10 is also provided with receiving portions 3a, 3b for a card-type external memory device device 30 to be mounted thereon, and switches 11, 12.
In recent years, the development of the operation device 20 has been pursued to produce a new model by making improvement to the operation device 20 described above, for example, by increasing the number of operations that are accepted by the switches 24-29 of the operation device body 22, or by increasing communication speed between the operation device 20 and the machine body 10. However, since it is preferable to ensure compatibility between the operation device of the new model and that of the conventional model in order to enhance convenience, the connector of the operation device for the new model should have the same configuration as that of the connector of the conventional operation device 20.
On the other hand, the machine body cannot support all the communication modes for each model, unless the machine body can discriminate whether the connected operation device is the conventional model or the new model. In general, a pin is added to the new model for discriminating the new model from the conventional one. However, adding such a pin to the operation device of the new model changes the configuration of the connector, whereby the compatibility cannot be established. In order to ensure the compatibility as well as discrimination of the model, there requires such a structure that can discriminate the model types while maintaining the configuration of the connector as it was in the conventional model.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an entertainment system that can discriminate the models between the compatible operation devices.
In order to achieve the object described above, the following entertainment system is provided according to the present invention. That is, an entertainment system comprising an operation device having a connector, and a machine body having a connecting portion to be connected to said connector wherein:
the connector is provided with a plurality of recesses on the peripheral surface thereof, said plurality of recesses including the first recess and the second recess;
the connecting portion is provided with a plurality of metal projections to be engaged with the plurality of recesses respectively, the plurality of metal projections including the first metal projection to be engaged with the first recess and the second metal projection to be engaged with the second recess;
the connector includes a metal plate, and the metal plate is exposed inside of at least the first recess and the second recess; and
the machine body has a supplying portion for supplying a predetermined potential to the first metal projection for supplying the predetermined potential to the metal plate and a detecting portion for detecting whether a potential of the second metal projection is equal to the predetermined potential or not in order to detect whether the operation device connected to the connecting portion is said operation device or not.

Entertainment system capable of discriminating model of operation device, operation device, and machine body of entertainment system


A computer controlled, laboratory heat-sealing machine is employed as a quality control device to ensure that adequate heat seals are formed under pre-defined and outputted pressure, dwell time and temperature parameters. The apparatus includes sensors for monitoring temperature and pressure conditions throughout the sealing dwell period. The clamping pressure is constantly adjusted to be maintained at a preset level by sensing the clamping pressure and controlling the top heat-sealing bar through an eccentrically driven crankshaft linkage. Load cell arrangements for monitoring pressure in high and low pressure ranges are also disclosed.

In the film packaging industry, packaging machines are used to form a pouch of a fusible film material which is filled with a bulk liquid or solid material. Subsequently, overlapping edges of the fusible films defining an open end through which filling occurs are heated between top and bottom sealing jaws to generate a continuous long seal.
A good seal is necessary to prevent any of the packaged material from leaking or falling out before it reaches the consumer and before it is ready for actual use. Another reason for ensuring good seals in film wrappers is that the wrapper is sometimes utilized as a protective cover and prevents elements outside of the package from reaching the material within. Defective seals depreciate the quality of the protection offered by the wrapper or may completely destroy the sanitary or other desired atmospheric conditions within the package.
Although good seals are readily appreciated within the industry, the actual time, temperature and pressure conditions under which a particular fusible film will seal is not readily appreciated by a packaging machine operator until a production packaging machine has been set to particular temperature and pressure conditions for actual production and seals are made. This may entail considerable set-up time and inspection of the seals to determine that reliable heat sealing is occurring and it may be necessary to re-set the machine during this set-up process if good heat seals are not being obtained.
It is accordingly one object of the present invention to provide a heat-sealing machine which simulates and monitors the actual temperature and pressure acting upon a fusible film through the top and bottom sealing jaws during the sealing cycle to provide a packaging machine operator with assurance that particular pressure and temperature operating parameters, at a selected simulated operating speed of a production packaging machine, will form high quality seals.
Another object of the invention is to allow for computer control of such a heat-sealing machine so that the operating parameters are easily programmable or re-programmable.
Another object is to provide a heat-sealing machine wherein at least one of the various operating parameters, and preferably all of the various operating parameters, can be continuously controlled during the sealing cycle and displayed either on computer screen or through hard copy.
Still another object is to provide assemblies and mechanisms as well as sensing and logic circuitry which may be embodied in production packaging or heat-sealing. machines to monitor and self regulate selected temperature and pressure conditions during actual production.

Computer controller heat-sealing machine


A carrier tape for holding a plurality of disks includes a thin, elongate strip of polymer material presenting a longitudinal axis and having a plurality of pockets defined therein. Each pocket is adapted to receive a separate one of the disks. The pockets are spaced apart and arranged along the longitudinal axis of the strip, and each pocket has at least one operable disk restraining structure for retaining the disk when the disk is received in the pocket.

"Carrier tapes," also known as tape and reel carriers, have found extensive use in the transport and storage of electronic components. Many carrier tape systems are formed from a base strip that is embossed with a plurality of pockets dimensioned to accommodate a particular electronic component. After the component is loaded, the pockets are sealed, typically with a separate cover tape. Some carrier systems utilize hinged flaps integral to the base strip and disposed laterally relative to each embossed pocket. Systems of this sort require a tape that is initially of double width in order to provide material for the flap. Moreover, closure of the flap sometimes requires remolding of the hinge zone. Other carrier tape systems utilize lids that are secured in place by engagement of protrusions on the side of the lid that fit into dimpled recesses at the perimeter of the opening of the embossed pocket. The lids are not formed from material integral to the base strip, but rather are a separate, detachable component.
Disks in the form of semiconductor wafers have previously been stored in individual compartments then taped together with an adhesive strip. Embossed carrier tapes, however, have not generally been used for this purpose. One problem with the storage of rigid magnetic or semiconductor disks in a carrier tape is the difficulty of providing effective means for securing the disk in place. Components stored in embossed carrier tapes are typically supported from the bottom or about the perimeter of the component. The surfaces of a magnetic or semiconductor disk are valuable and sensitive to contact. Contact between the tape and these portions may result in damage and loss of inventory during shipping and handling.
Another concern, relating particularly to the use of an embossed carrier tape for data storage drive components such as disks, has to do with dust contamination. Previous carrier tapes that have a reusable closure typically do not provide a hermetic seal, making them relatively prone to dust contamination.
What is needed in the industry is an embossed carrier tape suitable for holding components for data storage drives such as magnetic and semiconductor disks.


The present invention provides a method for producing a hyperactive MuA transposase variant comprising at least one single-amino-acid change, the method comprising the steps of modifying the nucleic acid encoding wild type MuA transposase in at least one of the positions 59, 97, 160, 179, 233, 254, 258, 302, 335, 340, 345, 374, 447, 464, 478, 482, 483, 487, 495, 507, 539, 594 or 617 so that the modified nucleic acid encodes a MuA transposase variant comprising at least one single-amino-acid change in its amino acid sequence, wherein said single-amino-acid change results in higher enzyme activity of the variant when compared to the wild type MuA transposase. The present invention also provides hyperactive MuA transposases and kits comprising the same.

Transposable genetic elements constitute a diverse group of discrete DNA segments with a capability of moving within and between genomes (1). They are abundant in all kingdoms of life and present in virtually every genome examined to date (1, 2). A wealth of data from sequenced genomes has implicated the fundamental importance of mobile DNA in shaping genomes during evolution (3-6). The increasing knowledge of DNA mobility mechanisms has facilitated the versatile use of transposable elements for research purposes and provided efficient tools for a variety of applications including genome-wide insertional mutagenesis, protein engineering, transgenesis, and gene therapy (7-9).
Phage Mu is a mobile DNA element encoding MuA transposase, the critical catalytic component of the mobilization machinery. MuA transposase belongs to the retroviral integrase superfamily of proteins. It catalyzes DNA cleavage and joining reactions via an initial assembly and subsequent structural transitions of a protein-DNA complex, known as the Mu transpososome, ultimately attaching transposon DNA into non-specific target DNA. The transpososome functions as a molecular DNA-modifying machine and has been used in a wide variety of molecular biology and genetics/genomics applications. It would be advantageous if the primary component of the Mu transpososome, the MuA transposase, could be modified for better performance with regard the applications. Here, we have mutated MuA protein using random mutagenesis methods in order to identify MuA variants with enhanced transpositional activity. Initially, we generated a pool of randomly mutated MuA-expressing plasmid clones, and by screening approx. 60.000 clones identified several hundred clones expressing hyperactive MuA variants. The identification employed a genetic screen using a quantitative in vivo transposition assay. This quantitative assay is based on the mobilization of a reporter transposon inside Escherichia coli cells. In this assay, individual transposition events are scored as blue microcolonies (papillae) growing on otherwise whitish bacterial colonies. The mutant-phenotype-causing nucleotide changes were then identified by DNA sequencing for 92 MuA-variant-expressing clones. Subsequently, the identified nucleotide changes, translated as amino acid changes, were mapped onto the primary amino acid sequence of MuA transposase. A total of 47 changes were selected for further scrutiny. Corresponding amino acid changes were introduced individually into MuA. These single-amino-acid-change MuA variants were then analyzed by the papillation analysis for their transpositional activity. This way, we identified 33 single-substitution MuA variants, which generated more than 2-fold excess papillae in the assay relative to the wild type MuA. We further showed that enhanced transpositional activities identified in the in vivo papillation assay were largely recapitulated in two other assays relevant for MuA-based transposon applications, namely: (i) introduction of transpososomes into bacterial cells for genomic integration and (ii) generation of recombinant molecules by in vitro transposition. These assays were performed using purified proteins expressed in Escherichia coli. In addition, we showed that by combining two or three activity-enhancing amino acid changes, cumulative enhancement in the protein activity could be attained. Thus, by combining several beneficial amino acid changes within a single MuA polypeptide, it is possible to generate MuA transposase variants that possess a substantially enhanced transpositional activity.
Many mobile DNA elements transpose via a DNA intermediate. This group of elements includes bacterial and eukaryotic transposons as well as transposing bacteriophages such as phage Mu. This phage utilizes DNA transposition as an important step in its propagation cycle. Owing to its efficient DNA mobilization capacity in vivo (10) and the early development of an in vitro system (11), phage Mu has served as an important model system for DNA transposition studies in general (12). Mu encodes MuA transposase, which catalyzes the critical steps of transposition: (i) initial cleavages at the transposon-host boundaries (donor cleavage) and (ii) covalent integration of the transposon into the target DNA (strand transfer). These steps proceed via sequential structural transitions within a nucleoprotein complex, a transpososome (12-16), the core of which contains four MuA molecules and two synapsed transposon ends (17,18). In vivo, the critical MuA-catalyzed reaction steps also involve the phage-encoded MuB targeting protein, host-encoded DNA architectural proteins (HU and IHF), certain DNA cofactors (MuA binding sites and transpositional enhancer sequence), as well as stringent DNA topology (19). The critical reaction steps mimicking Mu transposition into external target DNA can be reconstituted in vitro using MuA transposase, 50 bp Mu R-end DNA segments, and target DNA as the only macromolecular components (18, 20). Such a minimal system has been instrumental for the detailed analyses on the molecular mechanisms of Mu transposition (21-23). A versatile use of the reaction series with custom-designed substrates has generated a wealth of tools for molecular biology applications (24-29) and produced novel strategies for genetics/genomics research (30-34).
MuA is a 75-kDa protein (663 amino acids) and can be divided into structurally and functionally defined major domains (I, II, III) and subdomains (Iα, Iβ, Iγ; IIα, IIβ; IIIα, IIIβ) (35-39) (see also FIG. 1). The N-terminal subdomain Iα promotes transpososome assembly via an initial binding to a specific transpositional enhancer sequence (40, 41). The specific DNA binding to transposon ends, crucial for the transpososome assembly, is mediated through amino acid residues located in subdomains Iβ and Iγ (37,38). Subdomain IIα contains the critical DDE-motif of acidic residues (D269, D336 and E392), which is involved in the metal ion coordination during the catalysis (42, 43). Subdomains IIβ and IIα participate in nonspecific DNA binding, and they appear important during structural transitions (17,43). Subdomain IIIα also displays a cryptic endonuclease activity, which is required for the removal of the attached host DNA following the integration of infecting Mu (44, 45). The C-terminal subdomain IIIβ is responsible for the interaction with the phage-encoded MuB protein, important in targeting transposition into distal target sites (46-49). This subdomain is also important in interacting with the host-encoded ClpX protein, a factor which remodels the transpososome for disassembly (50). While all MuA subdomains are required for efficient phage Mu transposition inside Escherichia coli, the terminal subdomains Iα and IIIβ become dispensable in certain in vivo and in vitro conditions with appropriately altered DNA substrates and/or suitably modified reaction milieu (51,52).
Here, we have employed random mutagenesis to generate substitutions in MuA. From thousands of MuA substitution variants, we screened hyperactive transposase mutants and identified amino acid changes responsible for the observed phenotypic change. A combination of several hyperactivity-causing changes had a cumulative effect on the protein activity.

Method for producing hyperactive transposase mutants


A method for filtering data in a tire pressure monitoring system for a vehicle includes the steps of: recording a variable that is dependent on the tire radius for a wheel of the vehicle, and filtering the variable that is dependent on the tire radius on the basis of driving dynamics data and/or a global navigation satellite system signal, called GNSS signal below. A vehicle control system and a vehicle having the control system are also described.

DE 10 2009 036 493 A1 discloses the practice of determining the tire pressure of a wheel of a vehicle on the basis of a comparison of a vehicle longitudinal speed with the individual wheel rotational speeds and therefore of monitoring the tire pressure of the wheel.
The object is to improve tire pressure monitoring.
The object is achieved by means of the features described herein.

Method for filtering data in a tire pressure monitoring system for a vehicle


A voltage boosting circuit, boosting power supply unit and methods thereof are provided. A boosting power supply unit includes a boosting circuit having a small number of externally-mounted capacitors, which generates stepped-up and stepped-down boosted voltages through charging and pumping under two-phase control, so that the simultaneous output of the stepped-up voltage and the stepped-down voltage, the output of only the stepped-up voltage, the output of only the stepped-down voltage, and the cut-off of the output of the stepped-up voltage and the stepped-down voltage can be controlled on the basis of the phase control signal generated from the enable signals of which the logic states are changed in accordance with an amount of load.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a power supply unit, and more specifically, to a boosting power supply unit and a power boosting control method.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, thin film transistors (TFTs) in liquid crystal panels having a turn on voltage of about 20V and a turn off voltage of about −20V are used to drive TFT liquid crystal display devices (LCDs), such as those for use with mobile video graphic adapters (VGA), etc. Such TFT turn-on/off voltages have slight deviations depending on the types of TFTs (for example, amorphous silicon (a-Si) TFTs, low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) TFTs, continuous grain silicon (CGS) TFTs, etc.) used in the liquid crystal panels, and the sizes of the liquid crystal panels. Because the voltages applied from battery powered sources of mobile devices, such as mobile TFT LCDs, are generally about 3V, boosting circuits for stepping up the voltages from 3V to 20V or stepping down the voltages from 3V to −20V are required to drive the mobile TFT LCDs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,557 discloses a conventional boosting circuit 100 as shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional boosting circuit 100 comprises ten switches SW1 through SW10, and four capacitors Ca through Cd, and generates a boosted positive voltage 3VDD, which is three times a source voltage VDD, by stepping up the source voltage VDD, and a boosted negative voltage −2VDD, which is two times the source voltage VDD, by stepping down the source voltage VDD. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the source voltage VDD is applied to a first capacitor Ca and a second capacitor Cb through the switches SW1 through SW4, which are closed in response to a first clock signal P1. The boosted positive voltage 3VDD is successively output from a third capacitor Cc through the switches SW5 through SW7, which are closed in response to a second clock signal P2. Similarly, the source voltage VDD is applied to the first capacitor Ca and the second capacitor Cb, and then the boosted negative voltage −2VDD is output from a fourth capacitor Cd through the switches SW8 through SW10, which are closed in response to a third clock signal P3. The stepped-up and stepped-down voltages (e.g., 3VDD and −2VDD, respectively) generated by the conventional boosting circuit 100 are used as a power source to drive gates of the TFTs, for example, TFTs in the liquid crystal panel of LCDs, etc., and thus turn the TFTs on or off. In addition, the stepped-up and stepped-down voltages can be used for circuits, which need to obtain high voltages from low voltages, and circuits, which need to obtain low voltages from high voltages, etc.
Although the conventional boosting circuit 100 can output the boosted positive voltage 3VDD and the boosted negative voltage −2VDD under two-phase driving, the source voltage VDD applied to the capacitors Ca through Cd is constant, so that a boosting efficiency of the conventional boosting circuit 100 is low. Further, the conventional boosting circuit 100 cannot generate a variety of boosted voltages, such as boosted voltages, which are four times and six times the source voltage VDD, etc. In addition, because conventional power supply units comprising the conventional boosting circuit 100 output the boosted voltages without regard to the amount of load power there is a large amount of power consumption.


The present invention relates to systems and methods suitable for creating and delivering augmented reality (AR) content. In particular, the present invention relates to systems and methods to create portable AR content to be downloaded, rendered, and displayed on a display device in real-time.

Generally, AR is a form of mixed reality used to create interactive experiences in a real-world environment in which objects that reside in the real-word are augmented with computer generated information. AR content can be displayed using a combination of computing devices to overlay information into a real-world display. Typically, the goal of AR is to bring aspects of a digital environment into the real world to create an immersive and enriched experiences for users. AR can be used for entertainment, education, communication, and many other combinations of purposes.
The implementation of AR in consumer products requires considerable resources and knowledge. Conventionally, users that want to create an AR deliverable need to create an entire program or application from the ground up, with specific designs and considerations related to the goal of the AR program or application and the technology platform(s) that the program or application will be implemented on. Therefore, creating AR for delivery to customers can be expensive and requires persons with sophisticated knowledge about how to create an AR platform, AR content, and delivery of the AR content to users through a specified format. Additionally, when delivering, three dimensional (3D) AR content, the content must be compiled into an application that is viewing that 3D content, such that when the 3D content needs to be updated, the application viewing that 3D content must be recompiled and re-deployed. This makes it difficult for an application to be updated without a programmer updating the application code.

Systems and methods for creating and delivering augmented reality content


An improved complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor for time delay and integration imaging is provided that utilizes rolling shutter pixels. Columns of rolling shutter pixels in the CMOS image array are provided with a space between adjacent pixels to provide synchronization with movement of the subject in the along track direction. Preferably, the physical offset between the pixels is 1/Nth of a pixel pitch for a column having N rows.

Time delay and integration (TDI) is an imaging technique that uses a two-dimensional array image sensor to capture images from an imaging platform that is moving relative to the imaged object or scene. As the object or scene moves across the array, the image sensor takes multiple samples and sums these samples in order to improve the signal to noise ratio as compared to a single frame capture of the image sensor. This improvement to signal to noise ratio makes TDI imaging techniques particularly well-suited to applications with low light levels or fast moving objects. Example applications can include medical imaging, machine vision, roll or conveyor belt inspection systems, or terrestrial imaging from aircraft or satellites.
Conventionally, charge-coupled device (CCD) technology has been used for TDI applications because CCDs intrinsically operate by shifting charge from pixel to pixel across the image sensor. This shifting of charge allows the CCD image sensor to accomplish the integration (or adding) of the multiple samples without the addition of complex circuitry and accompanying noise. However, CCD technology is relatively expensive to fabricate and CCD imaging devices consume much more power than comparably sized devices implemented using complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology.
It could be advantageous to combine CCD and CMOS technologies to generate a hybrid device in which the light capture and associated charge transfer to achieve TDI operation are accomplished with a CCD-like structure that is implemented on a CMOS substrate. By virtue of the CMOS substrate, signal processing and I/O could be implemented with CMOS circuitry in order optimize circuit integration, noise performance, power dissipation, speed, and size. However commercial silicon fabrication technologies that would allow such hybridization are not readily available at present.
Another option could be to hybridize with physically different chips. For example the light capture and TDI charge transfer could be accomplished on a CCD substrate, and the signals from that CCD chip routed to a carrier CMOS chip on which signal processing and final I/O could be implemented. The technology to develop both chips separately is readily available, but the cost associated with a two chip solution plus the expense of chip interfacing (through silicon vias, bond wires, etc.) is still a hurdle.
An alternative to CCDs is to use a CMOS pixel and to perform the summing operation in the voltage domain outside the CMOS pixel array. The signal is converted to voltage directly inside the CMOS pixels and requires adders outside the pixel array. These implementations can be accomplished on a single chip with all-CMOS circuitry. All-CMOS solutions can allow for lower power, higher degree of integration, and higher speed relative to all-CCD implementations, but existing designs suffer from noise issues, such as geometric distortion and a degraded modulation transfer function in the along track direction, when compared to existing CCD TDI image sensors.
Many CMOS sensor arrays use a 4-transistor (4T) pixel structure to maximize fill factor and attempt to minimize noise. The 4T pixels is clocked using a "rolling shutter" technique. This pixel architecture and method of clocking allows for true correlated double sampling (CDS) which largely removes the dominant KBTC reset noise. The use of rolling shutter clocking can causes artifacts in the acquired image since not all pixels are integrating over the same time period. Using a rolling shutter operation to achieve TDI functionality without any compensatory circuitry or timing will result in the severe loss of responsivity and/or severe modulation transfer function (MTF) degradation in the scan direction.
Attempts at performing TDI in non-CCD image sensors are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,906,749, EP 1667 428 A2 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,408. A CMOS TDI sensor implementation having active pixels with snapshot shutter capability has been described by Pain et al. ("CMOS Image Sensors Capable of Time-Delayed Integration," NASA Tech Brief Vol. 25, No. 4). The snapshot shutter capability means that all pixels start and stop their integration period simultaneously. As a scene pixel moves its focus from pixel to pixel along the column of the CMOS image sensor array, the signal from this scene pixel is multiply sampled, and each sample is integrated onto the storage capacitor on one integrator in the integrator array. The TDI imager must continually keep track of which pixel's output is added to which integrator because the scene pixel moves from pixel to pixel in the imaging array. After a given scene pixel has moved through all rows, the output of the corresponding integrator is sent to an analog-to-digital converter, and the integrator is reset so that it can begin the integration of the new scene pixel that moves into the field of view of the CMOS image sensor array. Of course, all pixels in the column must be connected in turn to the appropriate integrators in the time it takes for a ground pixel to move from one imager pixel to the next. The signal is dumped in a snapshot mode that eliminates motion artifacts that would otherwise be caused by the fact that each imager pixel is addressed at a slightly different time in a rolling shutter operation. The drawback of this approach is that an additional array per column of sample and hold capacitors are required to hold the pixel reset level per pixel. These memory elements are large compared to the pixels themselves and therefore have a significant impact on die size. Another drawback is that the signal must be stored on a node in the pixel for an appreciable fraction of the line time—this requires very careful shielding of the storage node from incoming light (low shutter leakage) or else spatial resolution in the scan direction will be compromised.
The performance challenges associated with developing high quality global shutter pixels, plus the requirement for additional sample and hold circuitry, can be eliminated by using rolling shutter 4T or 5T pixels. In rolling shutter pixels the read operation to eliminate kBTC reset noise can be accomplished without the use of additional sample and hold circuitry. Shutter leakage requirements can also be relaxed because charge is not stored on the pixel sensor node for any appreciable duration. However architectures based on rolling shutter pixels have other shortcomings that must be addressed. In particular, rolling shutter operation causes artifacts in the acquired image because not all pixels are integrating over the same time period. Each pixel must have acquired exactly the same portion of the scene; otherwise, the modulation transfer function (MTF) in the scan direction will be degraded. If the pixel integration time matches the travel time of the scene from one pixel to the next one, then all pixels must be operated synchronously. This cannot be done with rolling-shutter active CMOS pixels as they typically share the same column bus and only one row can be read at the a time.
LePage et al., "Time-Delay-Integration Architecture in CMOS Sensors" proposes a TDI architecture based on a rolling shutter pixel in which pixel position and pixel clocking is modified in order to compensate for the rolling shutter artifacts. In the described architecture adjacent columns are successively offset by 1/N of a pixel, where N is the number of pixel rows in the scan direction. Two approaches are described, one in which the readout is performed on entire individual columns at one time, and one in which pixels are read out in a diagonal fashion. In the first architecture the number of amplifiers that work in parallel is equal to the number of rows, N, in the scan direction, i.e. one amplifier per row. Since the number of columns in TDI image sensors is typically much larger than the number of rows, the readout speed of this architecture is severely limited relative to more conventional architectures in which all columns can be processed in parallel, i.e. one amplifier per column. The second architecture resolves this issue by using a column-wise readout architecture, but requires that redundant amplifiers be added. Specifically, for N rows in the scan direction, this architecture requires (N+1)/N times as many amplifiers as would ordinarily be required. There are at least three negative impacts associated with these redundant amplifiers: 1) N+1 amplifiers must be squeezed into the space of N columns which increases the size of the smallest pixel pitch that could otherwise be achieved; 2) manufacturing yield is negatively impacted, and; 3) (N+1)/N times as much power is required to run the amplifiers. Another issue is the length of the data bus lines in the pixel array are ˜50% longer than normal because these lines must run diagonally. This increases the drive load that the pixel amplifiers see (impact on speed and/or power dissipation), decreases yield, decreases pixel fill factor, increases opportunity for signal crosstalk, and may constrain the smallest pixel pitch that can be achieved with any given CMOS fabrication technology. The diagonal architecture also limits flexibility in how the pixel array is used. For example, the way it breaks spatial symmetry makes it unsuitable to be reconfigured via simple changes in row read timing to be operated as a multichannel device in order to perform colour linescan or hyperspectral image sensing.

CMOS TDI image sensor with rolling shutter pixels


A method and structure of improving thermal dissipation from a module assembly include attaching a first side of at least one chip to a single chip carrier, the at least one chip having a second side opposite of the first side; grinding the second side of the at least one chip to a desired surface profile; applying a heat transfer medium on at least one of a heat sink and the second side of the at least one chip; and disposing the heat sink on the second side of the at least one chip with the heat transfer medium therebetween defining a gap between the heat sink and the second side of the at least one chip. The gap is controlled to improve heat transfer from the second side of the at least one chip to the heat sink.

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor device processing techniques, and, more particularly, to a method and structure to improve thermal dissipation from semiconductor devices.
In semiconductor manufacturing, a fabricated integrated circuit (IC) device is typically assembled into a package or module to be utilized on a printed circuit board as part of a larger circuit. In order for the leads of the package or module to make electrical contact with the bonding pads of the fabricated IC device, a metal bond is formed to make a connection between the bonding pad of the IC device and a lead extending to the package lead frame. In other configurations, such as a controlled collapse chip connection (C4), a solder ball connection is made between the IC device and the ceramic or polymeric chip carrier.
As heat is generated during the functioning of integrated circuit chips (ICs), the thermal resistance to the heat sink must be small so that the operating temperature of the chip is low enough to assure the continued reliable operation of the device. The problem of heat removal becomes more difficult as chip geometries are scaled down and operating speeds are increased, resulting in increased power density. The ability to adequately cool the chips can therefore be a limiting factor in the further increase of system performance. Integrated circuit chips mounted wiring face down on wiring substrates, and particularly multiple chips on a common substrate such as is found in a multichip module (MCM), present special cooling difficulties. In an MCM, the chips may be mounted very close together and nearly cover an entire top surface of the MCM wiring substrate.
Additionally, the chips may have different cooling requirements. For example, a processor chip may have a higher power density (W/cm2) than a memory chip mounted on the same wiring substrate, or first level package. Further, the maximum allowed device junction temperature may be different for different chips mounted to the same wiring substrate. An additional problem is that processor chips, and other chips, frequently have a "hot spot" which can have a heat flux (W/cm2) significantly greater than the average heat flux across the entire chip, resulting in temperatures approximately 20° C. hotter than the average chip temperature in these localized regions. A thermal solution which may be adequate for the average chip power density may not be adequate to allow reliable operation of the hot spot region of the chip.
Materials are chosen in the module assemblies which maximize the thermal conductivity from the device to an appropriate heat sink. A common technique for reducing the thermal resistance from a high-power IC to a heat sink, or cooling plate, is to add an intermediate layer of a thermally conductive material between the chip and the heat sink, or cooling plate. Due to the difference in thermal expansion between the chip and the material of the cooling plate or heat sink, which is typically copper or aluminum, a compliant thermally conductive material is required. The addition of a heat spreader can be advantageous because the compliant thermally conductive material layer is usually a significant fraction of the total thermal resistance.
Current high end packaging technology utilizes a thermal paste compound to couple a back side of the semiconductor device to the heat sink, which may include a copper hat, for example. Control over the thickness of this thermal paste is critical to the efficiency of the thermal transfer between the semiconductor device and the copper hat.
Typically, an elaborate system of semi-free soldered pistons is employed to register to the exact device height position of each individual device to control the thermal paste gap. The pistons are precisely positioned within the heat sink or hat to precisely match the position of the backsides of each individual device, and then soldered into place. As a result, an appropriate thickness shim can be used to set a controlled thermal paste gap on all devices on the module assembly.
This process, while being inherently expensive due to process step complexity and hat/piston hardware cost, is also prone to chip height registration errors and variations, due to for example, stuck pistons which do not move freely during solder reflow, and thus, is not entirely reliable. Additional variation and non-uniformity of thermal paste gaps can be induced by chip tilt and warpage. While not as much a concern on ceramic packaging, warpage can become significant on organic substrates due to a difference in coefficients of thermal expansion (ΔCTE) between the chip and the chip carrier substrate and especially the more flexible nature of the organic chip carrier substrate. Finally, on low and mid-range multiple chip packages, on which the above described hat/piston technology is cost prohibitive, chip thickness variations directly result in variation in the thermal paste gap.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and structure to improve thermal dissipation from semiconductor devices

International Business Machines Corporation


Light emitted from a radiation light source 1 passes through a diffraction grating 3a and is separated into transmitted light a and +1st/−1st order diffracted lights b, c. These lights are collected through an objective lens 7 on tracks of an optical disc 8 in a partially overlapped state. Light reflected by the tracks passes through the objective lens 7 and is incident upon light diverging means 13a. Subsequently, light corresponding to the transmitted light “a” diverges into two light beams that are respectively incident upon light detection regions A1, A2, light corresponding to the diffracted lights “b” and “c” respectively diverges into two light beams that are respectively incident upon light detection regions B1, B2, and C1, C2. A tracking error signal associated with the tracks of the optical disc 8 is generated by combining signals detected in the light detection regions A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.

Conventionally, as such an optical disc device, the one disclosed in Patent document 1 has been known, for example. Based on this precedent with a part thereof being modified, the following description is made with reference to FIGS. 8-10.
FIG. 8(a) is a side view illustrating an optical disc device based on the conventional technology, FIG. 8(b) is a diagram illustrating a grating pattern formed on a grating surface used in the optical disc device, as well as the distribution of light on the grating surface, and FIG. 8(c) is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a signal plane of an optical disc and the distribution of light on the signal plane.
As shown in FIG. 8, upon successively passing through a transparent substrate 3 and the split plane 4a of a polarizing beam splitter 4, laser light 2 emitted from a radiation light source 1, such as a semiconductor laser, etc., is collected by a collimating lens 5 and turns into parallel light. After conversion from linearly-polarized light (P-waves) into circularly-polarized light by a quarter wave plate 6, the parallel light is collected by an objective lens 7 and focused on the signal plane 8a of an optical disc 8 (to form an light spot). Guide grooves 8g, which extend in the direction of rotation of the optical disc 8 (hereinafter referred to as the "optical disc rotation direction"), are formed at constant pitch in the radial direction of the optical disc 8 (hereinafter referred to as the "optical disc radial direction") on the signal plane 8a of the optical disc 8. Light reflected by the signal plane 8a of the optical disc 8 passes through the objective lens 7 and is converted into linearly-polarized light (S-waves) by the quarter wave plate 6, whereupon it passes through the collimating lens 5 and turns into converging light. After reflection from the split plane 4a of the polarizing beam splitter 4, the converging light passes through a cylindrical lens 9 arranged such that the central axis of the cylindrical surface is inclined at an angle of 45 degrees relative to a plane parallel to the surface of the paper and is incident upon a light detection surface 10a on a light detection substrate 10 located in the vicinity of the circle of least confusion (at the middle of the vertical focal line and horizontal focal line).
There is a rectilinear grating 3b and a rectilinear grating 3c formed on the surface (grating surface 3a) of the transparent substrate 3, with the axis 3Y, which corresponds to the optical disc rotation direction, serving as a boundary therebetween. The shape of the light spot formed on the grating surface 3a by light emitted from the radiation light source 1 and transmitted through the transparent substrate 3 (transmitted light) is a circle 2a, whose center is at the center 30 of the grating surface 3a. The orientation of the respective gratings is perpendicular to the axis 3Y, with the grating phases of the rectilinear grating 3b and rectilinear grating 3c shifted by π relative to each other. Light transmitted through the transparent substrate 3 (transmitted light) is diffracted by the rectilinear grating 3b and rectilinear grating 3c, with ±1st order diffracted light beams generated in addition to zero order diffracted light (light that is transmitted without change) (the grating-diffracted light is hereinafter referred to as "Gr-diffracted light"). Since the wavefront of the zero order Gr-diffracted light is not affected by the grating, no phase change takes place, but the wavefronts of the ±1st order Gr-diffracted light beams are phase-shifted by π between the left and right of the axis 3Y serving as a boundary. These Gr-diffracted light beams form light spots on the signal plane 8a of the optical disc 8. In addition, during tracking control, a light spot 2b, which corresponds to the zero order Gr-diffracted light, is positioned directly on a guide groove 8g. Each of light spots 2b′, 2b″, which correspond to the ±1st order Gr-diffracted light beams, becomes two light spots separated in the optical disc radial direction about the guide groove 8g. This phenomenon of the two light spots 2b′, 2b″ being doubled respectively is due to the fact that the wavefronts of the ±1st order Gr-diffracted light beams are phase-shifted by π between the left and right of the central axis 3Y serving as a boundary. It should be noted that the diffraction efficiencies of the rectilinear grating 3b and rectilinear grating 3c are set such that the quantities of light of the light spots 2b′, 2b″ are respectively approximately 1/10 of the quantity of light of the light spot 2b.
FIG. 9(a) is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a light detection surface used in a conventional optical disc device and the distribution of light on the light detection surface. FIG. 9(b) is a diagram illustrating light fluxes prior to incidence upon the cylindrical lens used in the optical disc device. The light fluxes 2c, 2c′, and 2c″ prior to incidence upon the cylindrical lens 9 respectively correspond to the light spots 2b, 2b′, and 2b″ on the signal plane 8a of the optical disc 8. Diffracted light beams 2cp and 2cm, diffracted by the guide grooves 8g of the optical disc 8, are superimposed upon the zero order Gr-diffracted light 2c while being shifted along the axis 9X, which corresponds to the optical disc radial direction (the guide groove-diffracted light is hereinafter referred to as the "groove-diffracted light"). The zero order groove-diffracted light beams of the ±1st order Gr-diffracted light beams 2c′ and 2c″ are phase-shifted by π between the left and right of the axis 9Y serving as a boundary, which is parallel to the optical disc rotation direction, with the ±1st order groove-diffracted light beams superimposed upon the zero order groove-diffracted light beams while being π-shifted along the axis 9X. Light spots 2d, 2d′, and 2d″ on the light detection surface 10a respectively correspond to the light fluxes 2c, 2c′ and 2c″ prior to incidence upon the cylindrical lens 9. Since the distribution of the light fluxes 2c, 2c′ and 2c″ is inverted with respect to the central axis of the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical lens 9 as a result of passage through the cylindrical lens 9, the distribution of the light spots 2d, 2d′, and 2d″ on the light detection surface 10a is rotated as a whole through 90 degrees relative to the light fluxes 2c, 2c′, and 2c″ (not only the distribution of light, but also the direction of travel of the light spots during a lens shift of the objective lens 7 (hereinafter, a lens shift of the objective lens also is referred to simply as a "lens shift") is rotated through 90 degrees as well). Light detectors 11, 11′ and 11″ are arranged on the light detection surface 10a so as to be substantially coaxial with the light spots 2d, 2d′, and 2d″. Each light detector 11, 11′ and 11″ is divided into four detection cells (detection cells 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d; detection cells 11a′, 11b′, 11c′, 11d′; and detection cells 11a″, 11b″, 11c″, 11d″, respectively) by straight lines parallel to the axes 9X and 9Y (the straight line parallel to the axis 9Y is designated as 10X), with the points of intersection of the parting lines substantially coinciding with the centers of the light spots 2d, 2d′, and 2d″.
In FIG. 9, the following twelve signals (detection signals) are obtained by the detection cells.    T1=signal obtained in detection cell 11a.     T2=signal obtained in detection cell 11b.     T3=signal obtained in detection cell 11c.     T4=signal obtained in detection cell 11d.     T1′=signal obtained in detection cell 11a′.     T2′=signal obtained in detection cell 11b′.     T3′=signal obtained in detection cell 11c′.     T4′=signal obtained in detection cell 11d′.     T1″=signal obtained in detection cell 11a′.     T2″=signal obtained in detection cell 11b″.     T3″=signal obtained in detection cell 11c″.     T4″=signal obtained in detection cell 11d″. Based on the following formulae (1)-(3), these detection signals are used to generate a tracking error signal TE associated with the tracks of the optical disc, a focus error signal FE associated with the signal plane of the optical disc, and a reproduction signal RF of the signal plane of the optical disc.
                    TE        =                              T                                                                          1                    +                      T                                                                          2                    -                      T                                                                          3                    -                      T                                                                          4                    -                      k            ×                          (                                                T                                                                                1                    ′                                                  +                                  T                                                                                2                    ′                                                  -                                  T                                                                                3                    ′                                                  -                                  T                                                                                4                    ′                                                  +                                  T                                                                                1                    ″                                                  +                                  T                                                                                2                    ″                                                  -                                  T                                                                                3                    ″                                                  -                                  T                                                                                4                    ″                                                              )                                                          Formula                                                            (          1          )                                        FE        =                              T                                                                          1                    +                      T                                                                          3                    -                      T                                                                          2                    -                      T                                                                          4                                              Formula                                                                                (        2        )                                RF        =                              T                                                                          1                    +                      T                                                                          2                    +                      T                                                                          3                    +                      T                                                                          4                                              Formula                                                            (          3          )                    Here, the magnitude of the coefficient k is set so as to cancel lens shift-induced tracking error signal offsets generated during tracking control. For instance, when the quantity of light of the light spots 2d′ and 2d″ is approximately 1/10 of the quantity of light of the light spot 2d, the magnitude of the coefficient k is about 5.
FIG. 10, which is a diagram of a conventional optical disc device, is used to explain the lens shift-induced tracking error signal offset. Hereinafter the explanation will be based on a state before the 90-degree rotation by the cylindrical lens.
As shown in FIG. 10, when the objective lens 7 is shifted by ε from the optical axis L in the optical disc radial direction (in the direction of the axis 10X), Gauss-distributed light 2A, which is incident upon the objective lens 7 in a rotationally symmetric manner parallel to the optical axis L, is reflected from the signal plane 8a of the optical disc 8, thereby producing light 2B, whose distribution is shifted by 2ε (shifted only by ε relative to the central axis 7c of the objective lens 7). Accordingly, the distribution of the light spot 2d on the light detector 11 is centered on location 2D, which is shifted by an amount proportionate to 2ε (strictly speaking, by a value that is a product of 2ε and (half of astigmatic difference of cylindrical lens 9)/(focal length of collimating lens 5)), and the outside of the circle 7a (shifted by an amount proportionate to ε), which is a pattern produced by projecting the aperture of the objective lens 7 onto the light detection surface 10a along the light beam, is shielded from light. As a result, the quantity of light detected in the detection cells 11c, 11d exceeds the quantity of light detected in the detection cells 11a, 11b and an offset is generated in the tracking error signal obtained in the light detector 11 alone (TE=T1+T2−T3−T4). Offset generation in the light detectors 11′, 11″ is also completely identical to the offset generation in the light detector 11, such that, when normalized by the detected quantity of light, the same amount of offset with the same polarity is obtained for the tracking error signal obtained in the light detector 11′ alone (TE=T1′+T2′−T3′−T4′) and for the tracking error signal obtained in the light detector 11″ alone (TE=T1″+T2″−T3″−T4″). On the other hand, as concerns tracking error signals generated under off-track conditions in the light spots on the signal plane 8a of the optical disc 8, the tracking error signals obtained in the light detector 11 alone and the tracking error signal obtained in the light detectors 11′, 11″ alone have mutually opposed polarities. This is due to the fact that the interference relationship between the groove-diffracted light beams is inverted because the phases of the groove-diffracted light beams of the light spots on the light detectors 11′, 11″ are shifted by π between the left and right of the axis serving as a boundary, which is parallel to the optical disc rotation direction. Accordingly, unlike the tracking error signal (T1+T2−T3−T4) obtained in the light detector 11 alone, the tracking error signal obtained in accordance with the formula (1) makes it possible to cancel the influence of lens shift-induced off-track without affecting the sensitivity of detection (and even increase the detection output).
Patent document 1 JP H9-81942 A


The present invention includes SRAM memory cells and methods for forming SRAM cells having reduced soft error rate. The SRAM cell includes a first NMOS transistor and a first PMOS transistor having a common gate, and a second NMOS transistor and a second PMOS transistor having a common gate. A first resistor is electrically coupled on one end to the drains of the first PMOS transistor and the first NMOS transistor; and is electrically coupled on the other end to the common gate of the second NMOS and second PMOS transistors. A second resistor is electrically coupled on one end to the drains of the second PMOS transistor and the second NMOS transistor; and is electrically coupled on the other end to the common gate of the first NMOS transistor and the first PMOS transistor. The added resistor can be embedded in a contact opening such that it does not take up valuable surface area on the semiconductor substrate. Thereby, data loss from soft errors can be avoided while preserving small memory cell size.

Soft errors in integrated circuit devices result from high energy particles that pass through semiconductor devices. Soft errors are particularly problematic in DRAM and SRAM devices as they can cause the memory cell to flip, corrupting the stored data. Most computer systems deal with soft errors using single-bit error correction algorithms that use error correction words to identify errors and fix the corrupted data. However, as device densities and die sizes increase, and as memory widths move to ×8, ×16 and wider memory devices, the likelihood of multiple-bit errors increases. The single-bit error correction algorithms that are currently used may not be able to correct these multiple-bit errors, resulting in lost data and potentially causing system failure.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus that reduce the occurrence of soft errors in memory cells. In addition, there is a need for a DRAM cell and a SRAM cell that have high soft error tolerance. The method and apparatus of the present invention meets the above needs.

Memory cell with reduced soft error rate


Systems, devices and methods for producing registered images of a body lumen are provided. The system includes a first imaging device having an imager positioned at a distal end thereof, said first imaging device configured to produce a first image of a body cavity; and an imaging system, including a second imaging device having an imager positioned at a distal end thereof and configured to be positioned approximate to said imager of said first imaging device within said body cavity and configured to produce a second image; an elongated member configured to contain said second imaging device; and at least one marker configured to produce registration information in the first image and the second image.

Various forms of imaging systems are used in healthcare to produce images of a patient. In some instances multiple images may be produced of the same or similar anatomical locations, such as by one or more imaging devices. There is a need for an imaging system that correlates or otherwise registers multiple patient images. This disclosure describes an improvement over these prior art technologies.

Imaging system producing multiple registered images of a body lumen


A semiconductor device comprises an insulation film that is provided on a semiconductor substrate, a first contact plug that is provided in the insulation film and includes a metal, a first adhesive film that is provided on the insulation film, has a higher oxygen affinity than the metal, and includes an oxide, a second adhesive film that is provided on the first contact plug and has a film thickness that is smaller than a film thickness of the first adhesive film, a first capacitor electrode that is provided on the contact plug and the first adhesive film, has a part in direct contact with the first contact plug, a capacitor insulation film that is provided on the first capacitor electrode, and a second capacitor electrode that is provided on the capacitor insulation film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device, and is applicable, for example, to an FeRAM (Ferro-electric Random Access Memory).
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, attention has been paid to an FeRAM using a ferroelectric capacitor as one of nonvolatile semiconductor memories.
The ferroelectric memory device adopts a so-called COP (Capacitor On Plug) capacitor structure, from the standpoint of an area penalty, wherein electric connection between a capacitor electrode and a source/drain of a transistor is realized by a conductive contact plug (see Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-6593, for instance). In addition, from the standpoint of adhesion of the capacitor electrode, an adhesive film of a metal such as Ti (titanium) is, in usual cases, provided at an interface of the capacitor electrode.
However, with an increasing demand for finer microfabrication, there is a need to decrease the thickness of an Ir (Iridium) film of the capacitor electrode, which also functions as an oxygen diffusion prevention film. If a recovery anneal step in an oxidizing atmosphere for recovering damage in a capacitor forming step, or another heat treatment step in an oxidizing atmosphere is performed with the thickness of the capacitor electrode being thin, the capacitor electrode would fail to sufficiently suppress diffusion of oxygen, resulting in leakage of a slight amount of oxygen from the capacitor electrode.
The oxygen that leaks out may oxidize the adhesive film, and an oxidized adhesive film (TiOx film) may continuously form between the contact plug and the capacitor electrode. Consequently, direct contact would be lost between the capacitor electrode and the contact plug, and the conductivity between the capacitor electrode and the contact plug is degraded.

Semiconductor device including direct contact between capacitor electrode and contact plug and method of manufacturing the same


A diaphragm carburetor for an internal combustion engine and method of assembly includes attaching an air-fuel mixing body to a fuel metering chamber assembly independent from assembling the fuel metering chamber assembly. The fuel metering chamber assembly has an upper body and a lower body attached to one another by at least one fastener with a diaphragm carried therebetween. A fuel metering chamber is defined on one side of the diaphragm and an atmospheric chamber is defined on another side of the diaphragm. Another fastener attaches the fuel metering chamber assembly to the air-fuel mixing body independently from the fastener attaching the upper and lower bodies together. Accordingly, the fuel metering chamber assembly is removable from the air-fuel mixing body without removing the fastener attaching the upper and lower bodies to one another preferably for cleaning of a fuel nozzle that when assembled projects into an air-fuel mixing passage in the mixing body.

For many decades small internal combustion engines, such as those used for motor vehicles, recreational vehicles and lawn and garden tools like chain saws, trimmers, tractors, and lawn mowers, have typically used diaphragm carburetors to regulate the air-fuel mixture supplied to the internal combustion engine. Typically diaphragm carburetors have a main body with an air-fuel mixing passage adapted for fluid communication with a fuel metering chamber assembly, which in turn is in fluid communication with a fuel pump chamber. The fuel metering chamber assembly is typically constructed from separate bodies attached to one another with a diaphragm carried between the separate bodies. The fuel metering chamber assembly provides a regulated supply of liquid fuel to the air-fuel mixing passage, typically through a fuel nozzle having a relatively small diameter fuel passage. The fuel passage of the fuel nozzle typically terminates within the air-fuel mixing passage and in rotary throttle valve connectors is commonly adapted for close receipt of a needle valve. The needle valve typically moves relative to the fuel nozzle to regulate, at least in part, the amount of liquid fuel flowing through the fuel nozzle into the air-fuel mixing chamber.
Unfortunately, in use, the fuel passage of the fuel nozzle commonly gets clogged, at least partially, with dirt, dust, or the like. When the fuel passage becomes clogged, the running performance and efficiency of the engine declines, and unless the fuel nozzle is cleaned, the engine can stop running altogether. Accordingly, the fuel nozzle, and/or other components of the carburetor, typically require periodic cleaning.
Cleaning diaphragm carburetors can prove challenging. Typically, to clean the fuel nozzle, the fuel metering chamber assembly needs to be disassembled from the air-fuel mixing body. While disassembling the fuel metering chamber assembly, the upper and lower bodies of the assembly are typically able to separate from one another, thereby exposing the diaphragm between the bodies to potential contamination and damage. Accordingly, while attempting to clean the fuel nozzle, typically three separate bodies can separate from one another, thereby increasing the potential for further contamination. Thus, efforts to clean the fuel nozzle are generally complicated, labor intensive and can result in additional contamination of the carburetor.

Diaphragm carburetor and method of assembly


A mountainous or valley-shaped curved part 13 is provided in a part of a footstep guide rail 3 for guiding a movement of footstep rollers 5 linked by a footstep chain 7, the part being positioned in the vicinity of a drive sprocket 9. Consequently, owing to meshing of the footstep rollers 5 with the drive sprocket 9, an unevenness in velocity of the footstep rollers 5 is absorbed by the curved part 13, so that a moving velocity of the footstep rollers 5 moving on the downstream of the curved part 13 is maintained constantly, suppressing vibrating of the footsteps 4.

A conveyer apparatus, such as an escalator and a moving walkway, includes a plurality of footsteps provided with footstep rollers. Since these plural footsteps are linked to each other at predetermined pitches through an endless footstep chain driven by a chain drive mechanism, the footsteps are integrated with the footstep chain and are all constructed so as to move synchronously while leaving no space therebetween. Additionally, due to is an engagement of the footstep rollers with a footstep guide rail disposed in a structure, these plural footsteps are adapted so as to move between an entrance and an exit circulatively while being supported by the footstep guide rail. Noted, for the reason that a plurality of footsteps of a moving walkway generally move in a horizontal direction, the footsteps may be called footplates in some cases. In this specification, however, the notation will be unified to footsteps also in case of the moving walkway.
As the chain drive mechanism to drive the footstep chain, it is general that a turn-over end of the footstep chain is wound around a drive sprocket rotating on receipt of a driving force of a drive motor, while the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the footstep chain through the drive sprocket. Such a chain drive mechanism is normally accommodated in a structure called a truss near an entrance of the conveyer apparatus or an exit thereof.
Meanwhile, it has been heretofore thought that the truss accommodating the chain drive mechanism requires enough space for its installation work. In recent years, however, the miniaturization of truss is accomplished by the progress of installation technique etc. As a result, there are carried out attempts to make the whole conveyer apparatus thin in order to save its installation space. If the truss is miniaturized in the above-noted manner, then it is required to use a small-diameter sprocket for the drive sprocket of the chain drive mechanism. However, the utilization of such a small-diameter sprocket for the drive sprocket of the chain drive mechanism may cause the footstep rollers linked by the footstep chain to move at a moving velocity with a relatively great unevenness. This velocity unevenness of the footstep rollers causes vibrations of the footsteps, so that the riding quality of the conveyer apparatus is deteriorated.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (Hei) No. 8-217368 proposes a technique to suppress such a velocity unevenness for smooth movement of the footstep rollers. According to the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (Hei) No. 8-217368, as is shown in FIG. 1, a relative positional relationship between a footstep guide rail 102 and a drive sprocket 103 is established so that a bearing surface (traveling track) 102a of the footstep guide rail 102 linked by a footstep chain 100 is positioned apart from a tangential line 103a of the drive sprocket 103 by an interval ho. Further, a compensating rail 104 is arranged on the leading side of the footstep guide rail 102 adjacent to the drive sprocket 103. In this compensating rail 104, its bearing surface (traveling track) 104a for supporting footstep rollers 101 has the same height, on its side close to the footstep guide rail 102, as that of the bearing surface 102 of the footstep guide rail 102 and has also the same height, on the side close to the drive sprocket 103, as that of a groove in mesh with the footstep roller 101 of the drove sprocket 103. Further, an intermediate portion of the bearing surface 104a is curved smoothly. In operation, the footstep rollers 101 traveling while being supported by the bearing surface 104a of the compensating rail 104 are engaged with the groove of the drive sprocket 103 via the rollers' linear motion and the next curvilinear motion and thereafter, the rollers 101 rotate corresponding to the rotation of the drive sprocket 103. The velocity unevenness of the footstep rollers 101 is suppressed by the above-mentioned movements of the rollers.
Although the above-mentioned prior art enables the velocity unevenness of the footstep rollers 101 to be suppressed effectively, it is disadvantageous in view of the thin formation of the conveyer apparatus as a whole since the footstep guide rail 102 is positioned higher than the drive sprocket 103. In detail, as the interval ho between the tangential line 103a of the drive sprocket 103 and the bearing surface 102a of the footstep guide rail 102 has a value proportional to a link length of the footstep chains 100, the link length of the footstep chain 100 in relation to the drive sprocket 103 becomes a relatively great value especially in case of using a small-diameter sprocket for the drive sprocket 103. As a result, the interval ho between the tangential line 103a of the drive sprocket 103 and the bearing surface 102a of the footstep guide rail 102 grows larger. Thus, the truss is large-sized to be an obstacle to the thin formation of the conveyer apparatus as a whole.
Further, considering a situation where outward and homeward routes are reversed to operate the conveyer apparatus, it is necessary to establish also the homeward side of the footstep guide rail 102 under the drive sprocket 103 at the similar interval ho, thereby requiring a considerable height of the apparatus for such upper and lower intervals (2×ho).
Provided that the drive sprocket 103 is formed with 348.4 mm in the diameter of pitch circle and eight teeth and the link length of the footstep chain 100 is 133.33 mm, the interval ho between the tangential line 103a of the drive sprocket 103 and the bearing surface 102a of the footstep guide rail 102 has to be more than 35.3 mm in order to completely eliminate the velocity unevenness of the footstep roller 101 in the above-mentioned prior art, according to the inventors' trial calculation. Further totalizing both the outward side and the homeward side of the apparatus, it is necessary for the apparatus to make sure of an extra height of 70.6 mm (2×ho) in addition to the size of the drive sprocket 103. Thus, it results in spoiling the space-saving effect that is brought by reducing the diameter of pitch circle of the drive sprocket 103 down as far as 348.4 mm.


An electronic apparatus is provided with a housing including a top wall and a side portion extending from an edge of the top wall, a keyboard, and a keyboard placing portion on which the keyboard is placed, the keyboard placing portion including a bottom surface provided in the top wall. At least part of the bottom surface extends to the side portion of the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
One embodiment of the invention relates to an electronic apparatus including a keyboard placing portion on which a keyboard is placed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic apparatuses such as portable computers having a keyboard placing portion in a top wall of a housing thereof, in general, the keyboard placing portion is provided with a recessed shape in the top wall of the housing. Therefore, if liquid such as coffee or water is accidentally spilled on the electronic apparatuses, the liquid may remain in the keyboard placing portion.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Pub. No. 2003-122454 discloses a computer having a keyboard placing portion provided with drain mechanism. The computer has a first drain hole formed in a base of the keyboard. A guide channel having a second drain hole is provided below the first drain hole. Further, a third drain hole opened to the outside of the computer is provided below the second drain hole.
The drain mechanism has a plurality of drain holes formed in the housing. Since the drain holes run through the inside of the housing, liquid may leak from the drain holes into the housing.