A molding element) of a mold for molding and vulcanizing a tire treadcontaining a molding surface intended to mold part of the tread surface of the tire and a complex blade of projecting from the molding surface, containing a body oriented mainly in a circumferential direction X and at least one U-shaped secondary branch facing towards this body, the secondary branch being oriented mainly in an oblique direction J, J making a non-zero angle ψ with a transverse direction Y perpendicular to the circumferential direction X, the secondary branch in contact with the main body at two contact zones to delimit a cavity of length L, wherein the molding element has a main cutting means projecting from the molding surface, extending between two of its ends and running parallel to J, the length being less than the length L, and wherein the molding element has at least two secondary cutting means of height Hs extending from one of the ends of the main cutting means as far as one of the contact zones facing this end, and forming an angle θ with this body.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to the field of molds for molding and vulcanizing a tire tread. More specifically, the disclosure relates to the molds used for molding in the tread blocks which are partially covered by a layer of a covering material.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known practice to design tires the tread of which comprises various rubber compounds. Document WO 03089257 discloses such treads. More specifically, document WO 03089257 discloses a tread comprising tread blocks the walls of which are covered with a layer of covering material. The material of which this cover layer is made differs from the rubber compound of which the tread is made. This material notably has much better wet grip than the wet grip of the rubber compound. This allows a very significant improvement in cornering performance on wet ground.
One way of manufacturing this tread is notably disclosed in document WO 2006069912. According to this method of manufacture, in a first step, provision is made for the material intended to constitute a layer of covering material to be injected in the form of one or more inserts into the green tire using an injection nozzle. The insert or inserts is or are then shaped, in a second step, by ribs of a vulcanizing mold so that they cover all or part of the walls of the grooves molded by these ribs.
This method of manufacture has its limits, particularly as far as obtaining precision moldings is concerned. Specifically, during the shaping thereof, the insert experiences a significant shear force from the rib in order to convert this insert into a layer of lesser thickness. This shear force may cause cracking within the insert, making it more difficult to control the movements of the material of which this insert is made. The shape and the thickness of the layer of covering material thus formed may therefore be somewhat haphazard. The advantages afforded by the additional layer to the performance of the tire are then reduced.
In addition, in this method of manufacture, it is necessary to make the inserts align with the ribs. This makes manufacture of the tread more complicated.
Document FR11/61796 discloses a method of manufacturing a tire which involves cutting a layer of cover material laid beforehand on a green tire and placing part of this cover layer into a cut molded by a blade of a molding element. In that method, the layer of covering material is cut and forced into the depth of the green tire in one and the same movement of the molding element with respect to the green tire.
In order to improve the grip of a winter tire, also known as a snow tire on snow-covered ground it is known practice to use within the tread a rubber material that has a low elastic modulus. The overall rigidity of the tread blocks that make up this tread is therefore reduced, and this may also reduce their resistance to wear.
In order to improve the rigidity of the blocks while at the same time maintaining good grip on snowy ground, it is known practice to form a tread with inclined blocks making an angle greater than 0° with an axial direction of the tire. In this way, each block offers a greater apparent beam section with respect to the loadings applied to this block.
Again with a view to improving the rigidity of the blocks, it is known practice to provide the lateral faces of the blocks with a layer of a covering material that has an elastic modulus higher than the elastic modulus of the rubber material.
However, manufacturing a snow tire comprising such inclined blocks using the method of manufacture of document FR11/61796 presents a certain number of difficulties. In particular, it has been observed that the shape of the cut-outs in the cover layer do not match well with the shape of the lateral walls of the inclined blocks intended to accept this cover layer, and this leads to problems regarding the way in which the tire behaves.
There is therefore a need to improve the incorporation of a layer of a covering material on the walls of inclined tread blocks of a tire tread.

Molding element comprising cutting means for molding and vulcanizing a tire tread

COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN


Method for introducing and maintaining a level of negative pressure in a body cavity of at least 80 mmHg using a tube having an elongate distal portion and a proximal portion having first and second arms, each arm having a lumen in flow communication with one another and with the body cavity via apertures at or near the distal end of the tube, wherein the first arm or tubular extension therefrom is adaptable to receive suction from a suction source. An indicator, arranged in relation to the second arm, signals when a specific negative pressure has been exceeded in the tube, or a valve, arranged in relation to the second arm, admits ambient air into the lumen of the second arm when suction is applied to the tube and differential air pressure between the air in the lumens of the tube and ambient air exceeds a specified amount.

Gastric tubes, either orogastric or nasogastric, have long been used to aspirate the stomach and to provide a means to introduce materials into the stomach, for example, nutrients, medicines or fluids used for testing, such as contrast for radiological imaging. They are passed through the nose or mouth, through the esophagus and into the stomach. They are particularly useful when the stomach or intestines are not functioning properly, for example during intestinal ileus or obstruction. However, they are often used routinely during certain abdominal surgeries, and at other times that require gastric decompression or feeding.
When gastric tubes are used to aspirate the stomach, negative pressure is delivered to the proximal end of the gastric tube. Negative pressure can be generated by a piston or bulb syringe. However, when suction is applied over an extended period of time, suction is usually achieved by attaching the tube via suction tubing to a collection canister which is in flow continuity with a suction regulator (usually located on a hospital room wall) which is connected to and modulates the negative pressure of the hospital's central suction source.
The amount of negative pressure applied to the gastric tube is variable. The ordering physician frequently requests "low suction", which is generally a range from 0 to 80 mmHg. However, treating personnel, such as nurses or other doctors, may apply higher levels of suction accidently, or purposely if the tube does not seem to be functioning, by dialing up the suction regulator.
Nasogastric and orogastric tubes are frequently used in abdominal surgery. The anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists who manage the gastric tubes during surgery, often pay scant attention to the amount of negative pressure delivered to the stomach through the gastric tube. They employ high suction to the cannulas they use to aspirate the patient's mouth and upper airway, and frequently attach the suction tubing to the gastric tube without reducing the negative pressure.
High levels of suction can injure the gastric mucosa, the lining of the stomach. It would be advantageous to have a mechanism that more reliably prevents the application of high levels of suction to the stomach and gastric wall. It would also be advantageous to have a mechanism that alerts the doctors, nurses and other caregivers that the suction pressure may be excessive.
Gastric operations have been increasing in frequency due to the increasing popularity of bariatric or "weight loss" surgery. These operations use gastric tubes, usually orogastric tubes, to aspirate and decompress the stomach in order to facilitate surgery on the organ. Gastric tubes may also facilitate the surgery by providing a guide or gauge to help size the residual stomach. Bougies, solid flexible cylinders, inserted into the stomach through the mouth and esophagus, have been used as a guide or gauge to size the residual stomach. However gastric tubes are advantageous because they may serve the same purpose without requiring the passage of a second instrument to aspirate and decompress the stomach.
Sleeve gastrectomy is an operation wherein a portion of the stomach is removed in a longitudinal fashion so as to create a stomach that is narrow and more tubular. It has been found useful to divide and staple closed the stomach while a large caliber gastric tube is in place within the remaining portion of the stomach. Suction applied to the stomach through the tube serves to decompress the stomach and stabilize it while stapling and cutting is performed. To improve the decompressing and stabilizing functions of the tube, the distal portions of the tube that are situated within the stomach are provided with multiple apertures.
Applying suction through a large caliber tube with multiple apertures may expose the lining of the stomach to injury. It is therefore important to have a reliable means to regulate the negative pressure delivered to the stomach during these operations. US Patent Application Publication No.: US 2014/0236129 A1 describes an integrated suction controller that limits the amount of negative pressure that can be delivered to the stomach. However, this suction controller has disadvantages. It is relatively bulky and it is situated in line which could interfere with suction when particulate debris or blood clots accumulate in the suction regulator and obstruct flow.
It would therefore be advantageous to have a gastric tube that is capable of reliably limiting the degree of suction delivered to the stomach or distal end of the tube, independent of the setting of the suction regulator modulating the pressure from the suction source, that achieves this through a simple, small, lightweight, inexpensive mechanism, integral with the tube, that cannot obstruct flow through the tube. As an additional safeguard, it would also be advantageous if such a mechanism produced a signal when excessive suction is applied to the tube.
Gastric tubes used in gastric surgery serve functions other than aspiration. They may be useful as sizers or templates that help the surgeon configure a gastric tube or pouch, as in sleeve gastrectomy. Or they may incorporate an inflatable cuff (balloon) at its distal end, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,211,128, to help size the gastric pouch in gastric bypass surgery.
Gastric tubes may also serve as a conduit for instilling a dye, such as methylene blue, into the stomach as a means to test the integrity of the sutured or stapled closure. Defects in the suture or staple line are identified when dye leaks out of the stomach.
A convenient means to instill dye into the stomach using the gastric tube as a conduit would be advantageous.
Gastric tubes may also function as a conduit to inflate the residual stomach with air as an alternate means to test the integrity of the sutured or stapled closure. This technique involves inflating the stomach with air while the suture line or staple line is submerged in saline. Bubbles seen in the fluid pool around a closure while the stomach is inflated indicate there is a leak, or defect in the closure, which then must be identified and repaired. It has been found that it is important to control the specific air pressure within the stomach when testing the gastric suture line with air.
Incorporation into a gastric tube or gastric tube system of convenient means to inflate the residual stomach with air and to monitor the positive air pressure in the stomach during inflation would also be advantageous.
Means to inflate the stomach and monitor the gastric pressure exist. U.S. Pat. No. 8,211,128 describes an inflator bulb useful for inflation and an attached manometer or pop-up indicator that are useful form monitoring gastric pressure. A stand alone device, the Bariatric Anastomosis Leak Tester, Tools for Surgery, LLC, is available for attachment to an appropriate gastric tube for these purposes.

Method for maintaining suction in body cavities


A water rescue device is provided which includes a spring loaded firearm. The firearm includes a barrel, a shoulder stock and a trigger. Situated within the barrel is a spring. An aerodynamic floatation device is adapted to be releasably secured to one end of the spring. A supply of safety line has one end secured to the spring loaded fire arm and a second end secured to the floatation device. The spring is adapted to be releasably locked in an extended position so that when the trigger is depressed, the restoring forces of the spring cause the floatation device to be propelled into the air carrying the supply line therewith.

One of the most dangerous of all emergency rescues is the ice water rescue. This type of rescue typically places both the rescuer and victim in danger.
An existing method of rescuing a person who has fallen into a frozen body of water is to throw a rope or safety line, which preferably has a floatation device secured to one end, to the distressed person. This method has several drawbacks associated therewith. For example, a significant amount of time is wasted as the rescuer attempts to accurately throw the rope to the distressed person. A further problem is that the person who has fallen into the ice water quickly begins to suffer the effects of hypothermia and may have trouble maintaining a grip on the rope or line that has been thrown to him or her.
Another existing method utilized to save a person who has fallen into a frozen body of water involves positioning one or more ladders on the ice so that a rescuer can crawl across the frozen body of water and reach the distressed person. This method is commonly used by members of the fire department. A disadvantage associated with this method is that it is rather dangerous since the ice could unexpectedly crack thereby causing the rescuer to fall into the same frozen body of water as the person he or she is attempting to rescue.
In recognition of the drawbacks associated with prior rescue methods, devices have been developed which are designed to propel a life line to a drowning victim located a substantial distance from the launching site so that the rescuer can pull the victim to safety without the rescuer encountering any risk. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,486,178, 3,496,580, 4,644,930, 4,799,906, 5,546,863, and 5,584,736. These patents disclose various gun firing devices which can launch a floatation device through the air.
However, none of the devices disclosed in these patents includes means associated with the floatation device to securely lock the floatation device to the victim. Such locking means are especially important in instances where the temperature of the water into which the victim has fallen is under 60.degree. F. since hypothermia may set in and the victim may not be able to hold onto the floatation device for the time required to pull him or her to safety.
Further, the devices disclosed in the above-referenced patents do not include means for readily mounting the floatation device to the gun. Such devices also typically require replacement parts after repeated use.


A method and apparatus providing a user interface for an Internet service are provided. The user interface providing apparatus displays an nth Web page including at least one hyperlink on a screen, senses a direction of a gesture, determines a hyperlink indicating one of a previous Web page and next Web page to a current Web page from among the at least one hyperlink based on the gesture direction, and displays a Web page indicated by the determined hyperlink on the screen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a user interface, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing a user interface based on information acquired from a Web page.
2. Description of the Related Art
A user interface is a technology that grants a user a temporary or continuous access to information so that communication can be conducted between the user and an object, a system, a device, or a program.
Users spend more and more time in searching for information through the Internet and surfing the Web and, hence, a good user interface heightens the user's experience on the Web. Most of Web pages in Web or Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) sites on the Internet include a paging interface. The paging interface includes an index indicating a current displayed Web page and an index hyperlinked to at least one other Web page. For example, most of various blogs and portal sites such as Google, Flicker, etc. include paging interfaces, wherein a hyperlink on a current page allows the user to view a second or subsequent page. In addition, the second or subsequent page may include further hyperlinks that allows the user to view even further Web pages.
FIG. 1 illustrates typical user interfaces of Web pages displayed on screens 110, 120 and 130 that include paging interfaces 112, 122 and 132, respectively. If a user wants to turn to Web page 2 from a current Web page, the user may need to touch the key indicated by the number 2 in the paging interface 112 displayed on the current Web page 110. When the paging interface 112 is small on the screen 110, as in a portable terminal, the user may need to zoom in in order to expand the interface 112 to be of sufficient size to click or tap on the object indicated by the number 2, 114, which represents a hyperlink to Web page 2 in the paging interface 112. If the current Web page is partially displayed on the screen 110, excluding the paging interface 112, the user may need to move the current Web page on the screen 110 by, for example, scrolling, so that the paging interface 112 may appear on the screen 110.
Similarly, with reference to screen 120, if the user wants to access a next Web page, the user may click or tap on an object 128 (i.e. index 2) next to an object 124 (index 1) indicating the current Web page in the paging interface 122. If the screen 120 is relatively small, as in the portable terminal, it is not easy to accurately click or tap on the object 128 with a finger or a pen. Thus the user may incorrectly select index 3 unintentionally instead of the index 2 (object 128).
With reference to screen 120, the user may access a next page by selecting a Next object 126. However, because of the small size of the field containing the term "next" the user may not precisely engage the "next" button.
In another user interface, screen 130, the user may click or tap on an object 138 to step to a previous page or on an object 136 to step to a next page in the paging interface 132 on the screen 130. Even when the user goes to their intended Web page using the object 136 or 138 on the screen, the user may need to take an additional action, such as shift or zoom-in, according to the position or size of the paging interface included in the current Web page. In case of an image device having a relatively large screen, such as a TV or a monitor, a Web page including a paging interface may be displayed and the image device may receive a user input signal through a remote controller or a keyboard. Herein, a time delay may occur in response to a user's request to move a cursor to an object included in the paging interface and select the object in order to switch to a particular Web page. Considering that users tend to search for intended Web pages in a short time by looking through titles, headings, etc. rather than attentively reading search results as is done in Google search, use of the conventional user interfaces may cause a time delay and a mistaken manipulation in the course of searching for and selecting an object connected to an intended hyperlink in a paging interface.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a user interface that reduces a time delay and user's manipulation mistakes in switching from a Web page displayed on a screen to another Web page and that effectively acquires a response to a page request.

Method and apparatus for providing user interface for internet service


A system and method for locating radio-frequency identification tags within a predetermined area. The method can incorporate sub-threshold superposition response mapping techniques, alone, or in combination with other methods for locating radio-frequency identification tags such as but not limited to time differential on arrival (TDOA), frequency domain phase difference on arrival (FD-PDOA), and radio signal strength indication (RSSI). The system can include a plurality of antennas dispersed in a predefined area; one or more radio-frequency identification tags; a radio-frequency transceiver in communication with said antennas; a phase modulator coupled to the radio-frequency transceiver; and a system controller in communication with said transceiver and said phase modulator. Calibration techniques can be employed to map constructive interference zones for improved accuracy.

Being able to identify and track objects as they move throughout buildings or other indoor areas with high precision is important for a wide variety of applications. Systems designed to track objects in this way, often called real-time locating systems (RTLS), find use in manufacturing, warehousing, retail inventory management, and medicine, to name a few areas. Unfortunately, current methods of tag locating used by RTLS are frequently associated with cost and/or usability issues. Thus, there is the need in the wireless communications field to create systems and methods for RFID tag locating. This invention provides such new and useful systems and methods.

Systems and methods for RFID tag locating using constructive interference


A manually operated reciprocating fluid pump is configured to be secured to a neck of a bottle. The neck of the bottle comprises a circumferential rim having an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner surface defines a mouth of the bottle. The fluid pump comprises a dispenser body, a closure cap, and a seal assembly. The dispenser body has a pump mechanism, a discharge port, and a discharge liquid flow path providing fluid communication between the pump mechanism and discharge port. The closure cap is connected to the dispenser body and is configured for closing the mouth of the bottle. The closure cap comprises a skirt configured for attachment to the neck of the bottle. The seal assembly comprises a circumferential outer rim seal and a circumferential inner rim seal spaced radially inward of the outer rim seal. The outer rim seal is shaped and sized to engage the outer surface of the rim of the bottle when the skirt is attached to the neck of the bottle. The inner rim seal is shaped and sized to engage the inner surface of the rim of the bottle when the skirt is attached to the neck of the bottle. The outer rim seal and inner rim seal constitute a single monolithic piece.

This invention relates to bottle closures generally and to bottle closures for manually-operated reciprocating fluid pumps such as pump-type trigger sprayers.
A trigger sprayer typically includes a dispenser body, a closure cap connected to the dispenser body for securing the trigger sprayer to the mouth of a container (or bottle), a dip tube depending from the dispenser body and configured for extending into the bottle, and a gasket for preventing leakage between the closure cap and the mouth of the bottle when the closure cap closes the mouth of the bottle.
The dispenser body has a manually operated pump which draws liquid up the dip tube from the bottle and dispenses it through a nozzle via a liquid flow path in the dispenser body. A priming check valve within the liquid flow path and upstream of the pump permits fluid flow from the bottle to the pump, but checks fluid flow from the pump back to the bottle. Another check valve within the liquid flow path and downstream of the pump permits fluid flow from the pump to the nozzle, but checks fluid flow from the nozzle to the pump.
A concern associated with such trigger sprayers is that a gasket occasionally falls out of its associated closure cap. A gasket might be pried out of its closure cap via a dip tube of another trigger sprayer while the trigger sprayers are being assembled and/or transported. If a gasket falls out of its associated trigger sprayer during assembly, the gasket could cause a shut-down of the assembly line until the defective trigger sprayer is located. Also, if a trigger sprayer is missing its gasket when connected to a bottle, then the liquid contents of the bottle may inadvertently leak therefrom.
Another concern associated with such a trigger sprayer is fluid leakage from the bottle even when the gasket is properly positioned.
Another concern associated with such a trigger sprayer is the cost of manufacture. A typical trigger sprayer is of relatively low cost. However, trigger sprayers with more pieces generally cost slightly more to produce than trigger sprayers with fewer pieces. Millions of trigger sprayers are sold each year for use in dispensing a wide variety of products. Because of the large volumes sold, a savings of even one cent per trigger sprayer is significant.

Reciprocating fluid pump with bottle closure having inner and outer rim seals

Continental Sprayers International, Inc.


An apparatus treats a stiffened joint of at least one finger of the hand and includes a first member for engaging the metacarpal phalangeal joint of the finger and a second member movable with respect to the first member for engaging a surface of the finger on the side of the stiffened joint opposite the metacarpal phalangeal joint. The apparatus further includes at least one threaded member for exerting pressure against the second member for bending the stiffened joint and retaining the apparatus on the hand.

The present invention is generally directed to a finger joint therapy apparatus for restoring flexibility to the finger joints of the hand. The present invention is more particularly directed to such an apparatus which provides flexibility therapy to the metacarpal phalangeal (MCP) joints, the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints, or the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints of the hand.
Following hand surgery or other trauma to the hand, finger joints of the hand often become stiffened and will not bend to their fullest extent. In such cases, finger joint therapy is generally indicated.
In the prior art, such finger joint therapy has been carried out through the use of customized orthotic devices. One such device fits the palm of the hand and is made of plastic. The plastic is configured to roll up the sides and partially the back of the hand. To provide restraint, the plastic may further roll up the thumb to some extent. For the finger to be treated, the plastic further rolls up that finger to restrain the first knuckle or MCP joint from bending. A hook is then glued onto the fingernail of the finger to be treated and another hook is glued to the plastic device. A rubber band is then extended between the two hooks to apply bending pressure to the PIP and DIP joints. Typically, the device is used in this manner to provide therapy to the afflicted stiffened joints for five minutes of each awakened hour.
Such devices exhibit a number of disadvantages. First, they are relatively expensive due to their customization. Secondly, they are difficult to use given the many steps required for proper positioning on the hand and the connection of the rubber band between the hooks. Third, they are inconvenient, especially due to the fact that the therapy patient must live with a hook glued to the fingernail of the finger under therapy for perhaps a matter of weeks. Lastly, such devices do not provide adequate therapy for afflicted MCP joints.
There is therefore a need in the art for a new and improved finger joint therapy apparatus. Such an apparatus should be convenient to use and be adjustable to accommodate hands of different sizes. This would both negate the need for a customized device and greatly reduce the concomitant expense of such devices. Additionally, such a device preferably would eliminate the need for hooks glued to a patient's fingernail. Lastly, such a device should further preferably conveniently fit onto a patient's hand, thereby giving the patient greater freedom of movement during therapy. Further, there is a need in the art for such a device which conveniently treats the MCP joints of the hand. The apparatus of the present invention provides solutions to all of the above-noted disadvantages in the prior art.


An airflow sensor system for monitoring air inlet airflow and air outlet airflow of a vacuum cleaner is provided according to an embodiment of the invention. The airflow sensor system includes a vacuum cleaner air duct, a bypass tube connected to the air duct, and an airflow sensor positioned at least partially in the bypass tube. The airflow sensor is configured to generate a normal voltage differential range when the bypass tube airflow is within a predetermined normal airflow range, configured to generate an input blockage voltage differential range when the bypass tube airflow is greater than the predetermined normal airflow range, and further configured to generate an output blockage voltage differential range when the bypass tube airflow is less than the predetermined normal airflow range.

Vacuum cleaners are widely used for picking up dirt and debris. A vacuum cleaner therefore includes a motor and impeller that together generate a vacuum airflow. A filter of some manner removes the dirt and debris from the airflow. The cleaned airflow is subsequently exhausted from the vacuum cleaner.
A common problem in vacuum cleaners is blockage of the vacuum airflow by the dirt and debris entrained in the vacuum airflow. This can occur through blockage at the air inlet or nozzle. The blockage can also occur at a filter. Such a blockage reduces the effectiveness of the vacuum cleaner.
In a clean air type vacuum cleaner, the vacuum cleaner motor and impeller are positioned after the filter or filter bag system, wherein the vacuum airflow is drawn through the filter bag and cleaned before passing through the impeller. In contrast, a dirty air type vacuum cleaner locates the impeller in the vacuum airflow and therefore in the dirt and debris. The dirty vacuum airflow, after passing the impeller, passes through a filter or filter bag system. A prior art dirty airflow sensor system is typically located before a filter bag. Therefore, in a prior art dirty air vacuum system, it is difficult to monitor exhaust air due to the debris and air mix. Typical prior art sensors are easily clogged by the dirt in the dirty air stream.
In the prior art, the vacuum airflow of a vacuum cleaner has been typically monitored by a mechanical switch or device or by a pressure sensor. In the prior art, only the vacuum cleaner air outlet/exhaust has been typically monitored for blockage.

Airflow sensor system for monitoring air inlet airflow and air outlet airflow of a vacuum cleaner


A corrugating adhesive is produced on an as needed continuous basis using a mixing chamber containing an agitator and a testing chamber including a viscosity sensor. Each adhesive ingredient is proportionally added to the mixing chamber in a total volumetric rate corresponding substantially to the rate of use in a corrugating machine. A portion of a raw starch slurry is adjustably diverted to mix with a basic agent to control adhesive viscosity, with the amount not admixed added to the mixing chamber. Thus, the amount of adhesive made is in balance with the amount used, allowing fresh adhesive to be provided throughout a corrugating run, without a large hold up of adhesive, thus reducing capital costs and adhesive waste.

Adhesives used in manufacturing corrugated board are usually comprised of starch, a boron containing compound, caustic or another basic agent, and optionally a water resistance additive, where water resistance is needed, all provided in a water base. The major component of the adhesive is the starch which is gelatinized in the corrugating process after it penetrates the paper fiber. The other components are agents which modify the basic properties of the starch. For example, caustic usually in the form of sodium hydroxide, modifies the gelation temperature of the starch. Boron containing compounds are used to adjust or modify the adhesive tackiness, while also acting as buffering agents and to maintain the viscosity. Water resistance additives, which are optionally used, are typically derived from urea-formaldehyde, ketone formaldehyde or melamine-formaldehyde. Further, it is possible to use other poly-hydroxide compounds other than or in addition to starch in the adhesive compositions. For example, polyvinyl alcohol will work with the boron containing compounds in a manner similar to that of raw starch.
Starch based adhesives are typically made in a batch process by first preparing two separate portions, a cooked starch portion referred to as a "carrier" starch, and an uncooked portion referred to as "raw" starch. This is necessary to avoid creating an adhesive too viscous to be handled easily.
Typically, the carrier starch is prepared in a first tank by adding fresh water to starch, which may be either in raw or modified form. The mixture is agitated to form a starch slurry. Caustic is then admixed with the starch slurry and heated to initiate gelation and thereby produce the carrier starch paste portion.
In a second tank, water and starch, typically an unmodified raw starch, are agitated to form a raw starch slurry to which the boron containing compound, typically boric acid or borax is added. After the raw starch portion has been thoroughly mixed, the carrier starch portion is added to it and both are thoroughly mixed together to yield the corrugating adhesive, typically having a solids content of about 17 to 35% by weight and a viscosity in the range of about 150 to 650 centipoises.
The admixed starch adhesive is typically located in a tank of about 150 to 2,000 gallons capacity, with the mixture circulated to a corrugator on demand.
One problem with the prior batch systems is that adhesive preparation must be scheduled to satisfy demand as to timing, amount, specific formulation, viscosity, gel temperature and storage temperature. Generally, large storage tanks are necessary with their number and capacity depending on the variety of formulations and the number of use points within a facility.
After the adhesive has been formulated, any of a number of variables such as the degree of agitation in the tanks, the amount of circulation in the pipes, maintenance of particular temperatures, the continuing action of the basic agent (sodium hydroxide) on the starch in the paste and moisture loss, etc., may cause significant variations in the adhesive viscosity. Further, the costs for batch systems are high due to the need to have a number of storage tanks and specialized equipment for handling the viscous adhesive, while at the same time controlling the various parameters to avoid detrimental viscosity changes.
For example, once the admixture is created, the adhesive begins to age and it is subject to thickening or thinning and viscosity breakdown, which can detrimentally effect the properties of the corrugated product. While various methods have been attempted to control temperature so as to reduce the deterioration in properties with time, it is typical for there to be a significant amount of unused corrugating adhesive, which, once a run is complete, must be disposed of or worked into a new batch of adhesive. Because of the time required to use up a batch of adhesive, the corrugated product quality may vary due to the decrease in the beneficial properties of the corrugating adhesive with time.

Method and apparatus for continuous preparation of corrugating adhesive


The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for using external display devices with a mobile computing device. The mobile computing device may be repurposed to display a virtual input device for interacting with a resource with output data being displayed on an external display device.

With the pervasiveness of computers, network access, and Internet usage in daily personal and business-related activities, many users desire mobility and flexibility in their computing activities. As users physically move from location to location, and shift from activity to activity, they typically seek convenience and familiarity in performing computing activities. Users may carry one or more mobile computing devices—such as a smartphone, personal digital assistant, laptop or notebook computer—to provide a personalized computing experience as they move from location to location. Many users also use a portable storage device, such as a flash drive, to carry files, documents or applications in a convenient and portable manner. With such a storage device, a user accesses desired files or documents from publicly available computers to which the portable storage device can connect.
Many widely available modern computer desktop applications include rich graphical user interfaces (GUI) that have been developed for use on conventional personal computers, workstations, laptops, or other computing devices, typically have large displays, keyboard and mouse, etc. In contrast, mobile devices are often designed to be small enough to fit in a pocket, have relatively small displays, and some (often limited) means for data input such as telephone keypad, full keyboard, touch screen, stylus, etc. When it comes to supporting desktop or enterprise applications on mobile devices, limiting factors include the small display size and meager computational capacity. Various methods have been developed to run some desktop applications on mobile devices, but the results typically range from cumbersome and clumsy to not feasible or cost-prohibitive. The most common examples include rewriting applications, in whole or in part, to accommodate mobile device limitations, providing limited or "lite" versions of applications, scaling the application's graphics to fit on the mobile device display, and using zooming and scrolling to turn the mobile device display into a "virtual lens" to view sub-regions of the application at a time.

Methods and systems for using external display devices with a mobile computing device


A light amplifier is constructed with only one multi-stage optical isolator so as to reduce the size thereof and to lower the fabrication cost thereof. The multi-stage optical isolator has two input ports and two output ports for cutting-off a reverse flow of a forwarding light when a following input light enters a first input port and when an output light enters a second input port. A source pump generates light used to amplify weak input light. A wavelength division multiplexer division-modulates wavelengths of the light generated by the source pump and the light forwarded through the multi-stage optical isolator. An optical fiber amplifies the light from the wavelength division multiplexer, and emits the amplified light through the first port of the multi-stage optical isolator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to light amplification processes and to light amplifiers, and more particularly to a light amplifier provided with one multi-stage optical isolator in which a multi-stage connection is realized, thereby reducing a size thereof and cutting off a reverse flow of a forwarding light.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional light amplifier is normally constructed with a first optical isolator connected to a wavelength division multiplexer which is, in turn, connected to an optical fiber which, in turn, connected to a second optical isolator. A representative of a convention light amplifier of this type is shown for example, by the Optical Amplifier With A Doped Fluoride Glass Of Optical Fibre And Process For Producting Said Amplifier of Sememkoff, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,591. Light passing through the first optical isolator is modulated in the wavelength division multiplexer together with light from a source pump. The light is amplified by the optical fiber and then passed through the second optical isolator. I have found that Sememkoff, et al. '591 in fact relies upon the use of a pair of wavelength division multiplexer and source pumps, and could be improved with the use of a single wavelength division multiplexer and pump. I have also realized that with conventional light amplifiers relying upon two or more optical isolators, there has been a problem because an optical isolator is larger in size than the other elements, thereby unnecessarily causing the size and fabrication costs of the light amplifier to be increased, sometimes to the point of unwieldiness.
I have also discovered that another problem is attributible to generation of high connection losses between the optical fiber and the optical isolator because contemporary designs all too often require a light amplifier to use at least two optical isolators.
Souda, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,440 describes an Optical Isolator And Optical Fiber Amplifier that uses a multi-stage optical isolator with an amplifier. FIG. 24 of Souda, et al., for example, shows an amplifier while FIGS. 2 and 8 of Souda, et al. illustrates multi stage optical isolators. I have noticed that the optical isolator of Souda, et al. positions all four ports on one side of the isolator rather than having two input ports on one side and two output ports on the other side of the isolator. Also, I have found that the magnetic optical element of Souda, et al., has a relatively large polarizing rotation of 225 degrees, while the optical isolator of Souda et al, attempts to use but a single birefringent element. Moreover, I have found that the use of a single lens in the optical isolator of Souda, et al. requires an additional mirror and compensator. Accordingly, contemporary designs for optical fiber amplifiers represented by Souda et al, do not represent the best optical design practice.

Light amplifier having a multi-stage optical isolator


A call authorization system moves state maintenance for authorization based phone calls from a central authorization server to different gateways in a packet switched network. A simple authorization session protocol is used between the authorization server and the gateways to minimize network traffic. The authorization session protocol releases the authorization server from having to maintain states for open authorization based phone calls.

Packet switched networks route voice traffic using a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP allows telephone calls to be carried over an Internet Protocol (IP) network between two telephones or computers.
Authorization systems verify user authorization to particular phone services before allowing the phone network to connect the call. The authorization system usually exchanges certain parameters between a Network Access Server (NAS) that receives inputs from a user and an authorization server that has access to a user database containing authorization information for valid users.
Credit based authorization is one type of authorization based phone call. With credit based authorization, the user sets up a debit account with a telephone company prior to making phone calls. The debit account often takes the form of a preapproved calling card. When the user wishes to make a phone call, the authorization system verifies that the user has sufficient credit on the calling card account before connecting the phone call. As the call continues, the authorization system continuously tracks the cost of additional time of the call and subtracts the additional cost from the remaining credit in the calling card account. The authorization system notifies the user when the credit limit is about to run out on the calling card. If the user continues to talk past the remaining credit limit, the authorization system terminates the phone call.
In VoIP networks, a call is established through the packet switched network via a local gateway. A central authorization server in another part of the network tracks state information regarding the authorization based call. State information includes account identification information associated with the call, the rate for the current call, the elapsed time of the current call, the amount of credit remaining on the prepaid calling card, etc.
The authorization server keeps state information for all open authorization based calls that go through the same authorization system. This centralized authorization system does not scale well. This is because all open authorization based calls are managed by the same authorization server. There is also a reliability (robustness) problem with a centralized authorization server. If the authorization server crashes, all open authorization based calls could be disconnected. State information for all the open authorization based calls can also be lost when the authorization server crashes, creating accounting errors.
Another problem exists with tracking authorization based call states from a central authorization server. The gateways that establish the call connections between two different endpoints are typically not prepared to respond to signals sent asynchronously from the authorization server. Thus, if the authorization server identifies a call exceeding a user's credit authorization, the gateway may not be able to disconnect the call in a timely manner.
Thus, the need remains for improving the scalability and reliability of authorization based telephone systems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for authorization based phone calls in packet switched networks


In a sublimation transfer method wherein a heat-meltable ink layer containing a sublimation dye is melt-transferred to give a master having an image of the ink, and the sublimation dye in the ink image is heat-transferred to form a dyed image on a substrate, there is used a heat-melt transfer medium wherein a release layer comprising a wax-like substance as a major component is provided between a foundation and the ink layer, or an adhesive layer comprising a wax-like substance as a major component is provided on the ink layer, or both the release layer and the adhesive layer are provided. The releasability of the ink layer from the foundation and the adhesiveness of the ink layers with each other are good. The method is especially useful to form a full-color dyed image.

The present invention relates to a sublimation transfer method for producing dyed images, such as letters, symbols and patterns, on cloth goods such as shirts, and a heat-melt transfer medium used in the method.
Heretofore there is known a sublimation transfer method which comprises using a heat-melt transfer medium having on a foundation a heat-meltable ink layer containing a sublimation dye as a coloring agent, selectively melt-transferring the heat-meltable ink layer onto a sheet having a good absorptive property by heating with a heating head to prepare a master having an image of the ink, superimposing the master onto a substrate so that the image faces the substrate and heating the resultant master/substrate at a temperature not less than the heat-transfer temperature of the sublimation dye to transfer the dye to the substrate, thereby yielding a monochromatic dye image, and a heat-melt transfer medium used in the method (Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 58080/1989). According to the sublimation transfer method, the master is prepared by using a thermal transfer printer. Therefore, the sublimation transfer method has the advantage that dye images of arbitrary letters, symbols or patterns (hereinafter those are generically represented by "patterns") can be readily formed on the substrate, as compared with a conventional sublimation printing method.
However, the above-mentioned sublimation transfer method and the transfer medium used therein have the following drawbacks.
When the content of sublimation dye in the heat-meltable ink layer is increased in order to increase the density of the dye image in the above method, the ink layer has a poor adhesiveness to a sheet for a master, which results in failure to form a master with a clear image. Further, the portion of the heat-meltable ink layer that is heated with a heating head does not necessarily have a sufficient releasability from the foundation, which also results in failure to form a master with a clear image.
In particular, when the sublimation transfer method and the transfer medium are applied to the formation of polychromatic or full-color dye images, the poor releasability and adhesiveness of the heat-meltable ink layer cause serious problems.
In the formation of full-color dye images, two or more kinds of ink dots selected from a heat-meltable ink layer containing a yellow sublimation dye, a heat-meltable ink layer containing a magenta sublimation dye and a heat-meltable ink layer containing a cyan sublimation dye must be superimposed one on another on the sheet for a master. When the conventional method is applied, the superimposition of such ink dots is not favorably effected because of the poor releasability of the ink dots from the foundation and the poor adhesiveness of ink dots one on another, which results in failure to form a desired full-color dye image.
In the case of forming a full-color dye image, plural gradations are required for each color. However, if the release of ink dots and the superimposition of ink dots one on another are not favorably effected, a desired gradation cannot be obtained.
In the case of producing a plurality of gradations by an area-modulation method with respect to a color, for example, a picture element is composed of 2.times.2 dot matrix and the number of dots included in the dot matrix is varied within the range of 1 to 4, thereby giving four gradations for the color. In this case, if ink dots are favorably released from the transfer medium or an ink dot is not favorably adhered to the master sheet or another ink dot which has been transferred to the master sheet, a predetermined number of ink dots cannot be deposited to the predetermined positions within the matrix, which results in failure to obtain a desired gradation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sublimation transfer method wherein ink dots are readily released from the transfer medium and the ink dots are well adhered to a sheet for a master to give a master with a clear image, which results in the formation of a clear dye image on a substrate; and a heat-melt transfer medium used in the method.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sublimation transfer method which gives a master having an excellent full-color ink image, resulting in the formation of an excellent full-color dye image on a substrate.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the description hereinafter.

Sublimation transfer method and heat-melt transfer medium used in the method


A method for driving an organic light emitting display (OLED) panel having a plurality of organic light emitting diodes is provided. The organic light emitting diodes are coupled to a plurality of segment lines and a plurality of common lines in a matrix structure. The organic light emitting diodes coupled to the same common lines are divided into a plurality of groups according to colors of the OLED panel. Driving currents are provided to the organic light emitting diodes of the groups according to a plurality of pulse width modulation (PWM) manners. The PWM manners generate waveforms having pulse width corresponding to grayscale in a period, wherein each PWM manner corresponds to different colors of the OLED panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for driving an organic light emitting display (OLED) panel, and more particularly to a pulse width modulation (PWM) method for driving an OLED panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a conventional OLED 100. The OLED 100 comprises a plurality of segment lines 122, a plurality of common lines 132, a plurality of organic light emitting diodes 112, a segment driver 120 and a common driver 130. The organic light emitting diodes 112 are positioned on an OLED panel 110 and are electrically connected to the segment lines 122 and the common lines 132 in a matrix structure. The organic light emitting diodes 112 of one common line 132 are divided into a first group 142 and a second group 144. The segment driver 120 is electrically connected to the segment lines 122 and supplies driving currents to the organic light emitting diodes 112 of the first group 142 and the second group 144 separately according to a first PWM manner and a second PWM manner. The first PWM manner and the second PWM manner have complementary waveforms in a period.
FIG. 2A shows a schematic view of waveforms provided by the first PWM manner of the OLED 100, and FIG. 2B shows a schematic view of waveforms provided by the second PWM manner of the OLED 100. FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B use the waveforms GS1 to GS4 of 2-bit grayscales as an example to show that the first and the second PWM manners have complementary waveforms in a period T. In FIG. 2A, the rising edges of the waveforms GS1 to GS4 corresponding to different grayscales are all positioned at a starting time t0 of the period T. In FIG. 2B, the falling edges of the waveforms GS1 to GS4 corresponding to different grayscales are all positioned at an ending time t4 of the period T.
Referring to FIG. 2A, the rising of the waveforms GS1 to GS4 causes a peak current to be generated at the starting time t0 of the period T. The peak current increases the required Vcc of the segment driver 120 shown in FIG. 1, and the power consumption of the OLED 100 is thus raised. Referring to FIG. 2B, the falling of the waveforms GS1 to GS4 causes the current to be decreased at the ending time t4 of the period T. The current decreases the required Vcc of the segment driver 120 shown in FIG. 1, and the power consumption of the OLED 100 is thus fallen. Therefore, in the OLED 100, the power consumption measured at the starting time t0 and the ending time t4 of the period T is extremely strong when the amount of the organic light emitting diodes 112 of the first group 142 and the second group 144 is increased, wherein the extremely strong power consumption will decrease image quality of the OLED 100.


A method is disclosed for forming high-quality high-crystallinity polycrystalline or monocrystalline thin semiconductor film. The method is capable of forming such a semiconductor film over a large area at low cost. An apparatus for practicing the method is also disclosed. To form a high-crystallinity large-grain polycrystalline film or monocrystalline thin semiconductor film on a substrate, or to produce a semiconductor device including a high-crystallinity large-grain polycrystalline film or monocrystalline thin semiconductor film disposed on a substrate, a low-crystal-quality thin semiconductor film is first formed on the substrate, and then focused-light annealing is performed on the low-crystal-quality thin semiconductor film thereby melting or semi-melting the low-crystal-quality thin semiconductor film. The focused-light annealing allows enhancement of crystallization that occurs when the melted low-crystal-quality thin semiconductor film is cooled, and thus the low-crystal-quality thin semiconductor film is converted into a high-quality polycrystalline (or monocrystalline) thin semiconductor film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a thin semiconductor film such as a polycrystalline silicon film on a substrate, a method and apparatus for producing a semiconductor device having such a thin semiconductor film formed on a substrate, and an electro-optical device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, vapor phase deposition such as plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD), reduced-pressure CVD, and catalytic CVD, solid phase growth, liquid phase growth, and excimer laser annealing are used to deposit a polycrystalline silicon film for forming drain and channel regions of a MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) such as a MOSTFT (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Thin Film Transistor).
As disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-131030, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-116156, and Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 7-118441, the carrier mobility of an amorphous or microcrystalline silicon film formed by means of plasma-enhanced CVD or reduced-pressure CVD process can be improved by converting the film into a polycrystalline form by performing high-temperature annealing or excimer laser annealing (ELA). The highest carrier mobility achieved by this technique is about 80 to 120 cm2/V·sec.
Because the MOSTFT produced using the polycrystalline silicon film formed by performing ELA on an amorphous silicon film deposited by means of plasma CVD has a rather high electron mobility such as 100 cm2/V·sec, and the MOSTFT can be formed so as to be adapted to high-precision applications. An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) using MOSTFTs formed of polycrystalline silicon and having a driver circuit integrated on the LCD has attracted considerable attention (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-242433). In the excimer laser annealing technique, a film in a precursor form is irradiated with a short-wavelength short-pulse laser beam such as XeCl excimer laser thereby melting and recrystallizing the film in a short time. In this technique, illumination of the amorphous silicon film with the laser beam allows conversion into a polycrystalline form without causing a glass substrate to be damaged. Another advantage of this technique is high throughput.
However, if a MOSTFT is produced using this ELA technique, recrystallization occurs as rapidly as on the order of nsec during the excimer laser annealing process, and thus the grain size of the polycrystalline silicon film formed by the excimer laser annealing process is at most about 100 nm. Even if the substrate is heated to about 400° C. during the irradiation with a short-wavelength short-pulse laser beam to remove hydrogen and oxygen that can inhibit crystal growth and if the solidification speed is controlled, it is difficult to obtain a grain size greater than 500 nm. One known technique to avoid the above problem is to perform laser irradiation repeatedly, for example, 5 times or 30 times, so as to apply large enough energy to obtain a polycrystalline silicon film having a large grain size. However, this technique has other various problems such as instability in the output power of the excimer laser, low productivity, and an increase in cost and reduction in yield/quality that occur when a large-sized apparatus is used. In particular, for a substrate with a large size such as 1 m×1 m, the problems described above become very serious, and it becomes very difficult to achieve high performance/quality at low cost.
In a technique of forming a crystalline silicon film, recently disclosed in for example Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-97353, an amorphous silicon film is heated at 450° C. to 600° C. for 4 to 12 hours so as to diffuse an element serving as a catalytic element (such as Ni, Fe, or Co) thereby enhancing crystallization of the amorphous silicon film. However, the problem of this technique is that the catalytic element remains in the formed crystalline silicon film. To avoid the above problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-339960 discloses a technique of removing (gettering) the catalytic element by one of the following methods: performing a heating process in an ambient containing a halogen such as chlorine; performing a heating process after selectively incorporating phosphorus into a crystalline silicon film; and illuminating a crystalline silicon film containing a catalytic element with a laser beam or a high-intensity light ray so as to bring the catalytic element into a state in which the catalytic element can easily diffuse, and then gettering the catalytic element by a selectively added element. However, these methods are complicated, gettering effects are not sufficient, the characteristics of the silicon semiconductor film are degraded, and the stability and reliability of a produced device are degraded.
On the other hand, in the method of producing a polycrystalline silicon MOSTFT by means of solid phase growth, annealing at a temperature higher than 600° C. for 10 hours or longer and formation of a gate oxide SiO2 by means of thermal oxidation at a high temperature of about 1000° C. are required. To perform these processing steps, it is needed to use a semiconductor production apparatus. This limits the substrate size to 8 to 12 inches in diameter. Besides, it is required to use expensive quartz glass to ensure that the substrate can resist high temperatures. This makes it difficult to reduce the cost, and thus applications are limited to EVF, data/AV projector, or the like.
In recent years, a catalytic CVD technique has been developed, which is one of thermal CVD techniques and is capable of depositing polycrystalline silicon film, silicon nitride, or the like on an insulating substrate such as a glass substrate at a low temperature (Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 63-40314, Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 8-250438). This technique is now being improved to put it to practical use. In the catalytic CVD technique, although a carrier mobility of about 30 cm2/V·sec can be obtained without performing annealing for crystallization, the carrier mobility is still not high enough to produce a high-performance MOSTFT. In the case where a polycrystalline silicon film is formed on a glass substrate, an inversion layer (with a thickness of 5 to 10 nm) is formed in the amorphous silicon, depending on the deposition conditions. This makes it difficult to obtain a carrier mobility that is high enough to produce a bottom-gate type MOSTFT. In the LCD using the polycrystalline silicon MOSTFTs and including the integrated driver circuit, the bottom-gate type MOSTFT results in a better production yield and productivity. However, the problem described above results in a bottleneck.

Method and apparatus for forming a thin semiconductor film, method and apparatus for producing a semiconductor device, and electro-optical apparatus


Provided are methods and systems for combining business process management (BPM) and robotic process automation (RPA) into a unified BPM and RPA process. An example method commences with creating a BPM process flow. The BPM process flow can include one or more BPM models for executing BPM tasks. The method then proceeds with creating an RPA process flow. The RPA process flow can include one or more RPA models for executing the one or more RPA tasks. The method can further include linking the one or more RPA models to the BPM process flow. Thereafter, the method proceeds with creating an application package associated with the unified BPM and RPA process. The application package can include the one or more BPM models and the one or more RPA models. The method can further include exporting the application package for deployment.

Automation technologies such as BPM and RPA are empowering organizations by digitizing business processes, automating workplaces, augmenting humans with digital workers, creating intelligent and self-learning products, and thereby accelerating digital transformation across enterprises. Enterprises are facing challenges of a multitude of manual processes spread across multiple siloed applications/business units, adoption challenges to rapidly changing business processes across applications, and the need to perform repetitive, monotonous, and mundane human tasks. These process inefficiencies, invisibility, lack of cohesiveness, and lack of the ability to change these processes result in duplication of work, reduction of the productivity, and waste of employee effort and time.
In conventional BPM systems, RPA capabilities are integrated inorganically, often by acquisition or by partnership. This approach can cause multiple issues. First, multiple entry points/user interfaces are needed because BPM and RPA processes have separate user interfaces for design time; therefore, a user needs to create a BPM model and an RPA model as well as a BPM process flow and an RPA process flow separately without any interconnection between the models and the flows during the design phase. Accordingly, when a user applies BPM solutions and RPA solutions provided by different BPM and RPA vendors, the user needs to use two separate user interfaces: one for the BPM platform and another for the RPA platform. In addition, the user needs to design two different process flows and use two different applications for running the BPM process flow and the RPA process flow.
Second, using conventional approaches, an external application programming interface (API)-based connection is needed because the BPM engine and the RPA engine are typically connected through either an external API or tokens, requiring an active network connection between the BPM engine and the RPA engine.
In general, BPM and RPA have similar goals and are not competing approaches. To solve above-mentioned issues, BPM product developers have been trying to streamline and bring in more agility and transparency to the BPM processes. On their side, RPA product developers have been trying to automate the repetitive, monotonous, and mundane human tasks. However, existing BPM and RPA solutions operate as pure platforms, catering only to one automation type, either process activities or human activities and, despite being complementary, these technologies have never been consolidated or built organically as a single unified product.

Unified digital automation platform combining business process management and robotic process automation


A compact semiconductor device forming a capacitive element for high frequencies that allows good capacitance change to be achieved is provided. AMOS capacitor type semiconductor device includes a gate electrode formed on a surface of a substrate through a gate insulating film, source/drain regions provided to have the gate electrode therebetween, and a back gate including a contact diffusion region for contacting the substrate. Voltage applied across the regions between the source or drain region and the gate electrode and between the gate electrode and the back gate is adjusted, so that charge accumulated at the gate insulating film can be adjusted. In the device, the distance between the source and drain regions or the distance between the back gate and the gate electrode is determined so that electrons or holes can be accumulated at the interface between the gate insulating film and the substrate within a cycle of the applied voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a MOS capacitor type semiconductor device and a crystal oscillation device using such a device, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device that forms a capacitor in a MOS structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, mobile communication equipment such as mobile phones has rapidly been improved, and there has been a demand for various additional functional improvements in the communication equipment such as further reduction in size and operation at higher frequencies. Therefore, there has been a demand for a more compact crystal oscillation device capable of operating at higher frequencies since the frequency of the crystal oscillation device is used as a standard communication frequency.
In order to reduce the size of the crystal oscillation device and to enable the device to carry out high frequency operation, a crystal oscillator must be associated with the oscillation frequency. High frequency operation can be achieved to some extent when an equivalent circuit constant for the crystal oscillator is changed by selecting a crystal orientation for use and when the design of the electrode such as the pitch of electrodes formed on the surface of the crystal and the impedance is changed. However, such change could give rise to a drop in the frequency sensitivity, which leads to degradation in the characteristic, and therefore the drop in the frequency sensitivity must be compensated for by the oscillation circuit portion.
In the oscillation circuit using such a crystal oscillator, in order to allow the high frequency operation to be achieved while solving the problem of the drop in the frequency sensitivity, the minimum and maximum values for the capacitance value that serves as a load for the crystal oscillator are increased, so that the width of frequency change can be increased.
It has been known that the characteristic of the oscillation circuit can be improved by using a capacitor formed by a junction of P and N type semiconductors, a variable capacitor with switchable capacitance (hereinafter referred to as "switching capacitor") or an additional capacitor such as a MOS capacitor for increasing the width of frequency change.
In order to increase the width of capacitance change in the junction of the P and N type semiconductors, the P and N type carrier concentrations must be changed to change the junction capacitance, but as the concentration difference increases, variations in the absolute capacitance value increase.
Among the above described capacitors, the use of the switching capacitor requires an excessive switching capacitance in order to increase the width of capacitance change, and the switching capacitance value and the area of the switching element must be increased.
When a MOS capacitor is used, the width of change in the capacitance between the electrodes must be increased, and therefore an excessive area is necessary as with the case of the switching capacitor, but the area of the elements can be reduced as compared to the case of using the switching element. However, the high frequency characteristic is degraded.
For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a typical conventional MOS capacitor type semiconductor device includes a silicon substrate (or a well formed on the surface of a silicon substrate) 37, a source region 38 and a drain region 39 having a gate electrode 35 between them, and a back gate 34 with a contact diffusion region 40 therearound. There are a source line 31, a gate line 32, a drain line 33, and a back gate line 34. The potentials between these lines are controlled, so that the capacitance is accumulated and changes at a gate oxide film 36 formed between the gate electrode 35 and the silicon substrate 37.
In a proposed device, in order to improve the overall high frequency characteristic such as the maximum oscillation frequency, a ring-shaped gate electrode is formed on an active region, a drain region is formed in a region on the inner side of the gate electrode in the active region, a source region is formed in a region on the outer side of the gate electrode, and a gate extension line connected to the gate electrode is extended from the top of the source region onto the element isolation region. In this way, a good high frequency characteristic results (see for example Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H10-214971).
When however a MOS transistor capable of operating at a high frequency corresponding to the maximum oscillation frequency is used to generate a capacitance change between the electrodes, an excessive area is necessary. This is not suitable when a capacitor is used to form an oscillator and could even degrade the oscillator characteristic rather than improving it.
The frequency characteristic of a MOS capacitor type semiconductor device that can be reduced in size and operated at high frequencies is defined as follows depending on the frequency and the structure of electrodes for use.
(1) Using the Capacitance Value Between the Gate and Source (Drain)
The moving distance of electrons as carriers (diffusion length) in the cycle defined by the moving speed of the electrons can be expressed by the following expression:The moving distance of electrons: Ln=sqrt(Dn×τn)where Dn is the diffusion coefficient of holes and τn is the cycle of a frequency for use [s].
When voltage is applied to cause the gate to be positively biased, electrons are supplied from the drain and source, and accumulated at the SiO2/Si interface between the gate oxide film of SiO2 and the substrate of Si. At the time, when the source-drain distance L is large, electrons as minority carriers moving by diffusion cannot reach the central part, and the capacitance value is reduced. More specifically, as can be seen from the result of measuring the capacitance change in response to the change in the gate voltage in FIG. 5, a sufficient sensitivity characteristic is shown about at a frequency of 100 kHz, but the sensitivity characteristic is greatly lowered at about 20 MHz.
This is probably because as the frequency for use is higher, the moving distance is shorter, and electrons do not reach the central part. Therefore, for operation in a high frequency domain, the actual source-drain distance L must be not more than the moving distance Ln of electrons (Ln dependency).
(2) Using the Capacitance Between the Gate and the Back Gate
When voltage is applied to negatively bias the gate, holes are supplied from the electrode of the back gate and accumulated at the SiO2/Si interface.
The moving distance (diffusion length) of holes as carriers in the cycle defined by the moving speed of the holes is expressed by the following expression:The moving distance of holes within one cycle: Wp=sqrt(Dp×τp)where Dp is the diffusion coefficient of electrons, and τp is the cycle of the frequency for use [s].
When the distance between the gate and the back gate, in other words the distance LBG between the gate end and a contact diffusion region 40 for contacting the back gate is large, the moving holes as they diffuse in the back gate do not reach the end, and the capacitance value is small. More specifically, as can be seen from the result of measuring the capacitance change with the back gate when the gate voltage is changed in FIG. 6, a sufficient sensitivity characteristic is shown about at a frequency of 100 kHz, but the sensitivity characteristic is greatly lowered at a high frequency of 20 MHz.
More specifically, when the frequency for use is higher, the moving distance is shorter, and the holes do not reach the gate end. Therefore, for high frequency operation, the actual distance LBG between the gate and the back gate must be equal to or less than the moving distance Wp of holes (Wp dependency).

MOS capacitor type semiconductor device and crystal oscillation device using the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An electrostatic discharge protection circuit includes a first and second metals respectively between input and output stages and a power source voltage that open when a strong positive electrostatic discharge is respectively received at the input and output stages. The electrostatic discharge protection circuit further includes first and second diodes having respective anodes coupled to the first and second metals and respective cathodes coupled to the power source voltage stage and first and second protection diodes respectively coupled in parallel with the first and second diodes. Third and fourth metals are respectively between the input and output stages and a ground voltage that open when a strong negative electrostatic discharge is respectively received at the input and output stages. Third and fourth diodes having respective cathodes are coupled to the third and fourth metals and respective anodes coupled to the ground voltage and third and fourth protection diodes respectively coupled in parallel with the third and fourth diodes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protection circuit, and more particularly, to an electrostatic discharge protection circuit.
2. Background of the Related Art
Generally, an electrostatic discharge protection circuit protects an internal circuit against electrostatic discharge, breakdown voltage, and surge voltage. A related art electrostatic discharge protection circuit will be described with reference to FIG. 1, which is a circuit diagram of the related art electrostatic discharge protection circuit.
Referring to FIG. 1, the related art electrostatic discharge protection circuit includes an internal circuit 11, first and second PN junction diodes 12 and 13 disposed at an input stage of the internal circuit 11, and third and fourth PN junction diodes 14 and 15 disposed at an output stage of the internal circuit 11. An anode of the first PN junction diode 12 is connected to the input stage of the internal circuit 11 and a cathode thereof is connected to a power source voltage stage. An anode of the second PN junction diode 13 is connected to the input stage of the internal circuit 11 and a cathode thereof is connected to a power source voltage stage. An anode of the third PN junction diode 14 is connected to the ground stage and a cathode thereof is connected to an output stage of the internal circuit 11. An anode of the fourth PN junction diode 15 is connected to the output stage of the internal circuit 11 and a cathode thereof is connected to the power source voltage stage.
The first and second PN junction diodes 12 and 13 are protection diodes that protect the internal circuit 11 against the electrostatic discharge applied to the input stage of the internal circuit 11. The third and fourth PN junction diodes 14 and 15 are protection diodes that protect the internal circuit 11 against the electrostatic discharge applied to the output stage of the internal circuit 11.
The operation of the related art electrostatic discharge protection circuit will now be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, if a negative (-) electrostatic discharge is applied to the input stage of the internal circuit 11, the first PN junction diode 12 is turned on. As a result, the negative electrostatic discharge is bypassed to the ground stage through the first PN junction diode 12. If a positive (+) electrostatic discharge is applied to the input stage of the internal circuit 11, the second PN junction diode 13 is turned on. As a result, the positive electrostatic discharge is bypassed to the power source voltage stage through the second PN junction diode 13.
Meanwhile, if the negative (-) electrostatic discharge is applied to the output stage of the internal circuit 11, the third PN junction diode 14 is turned on. As a result, the negative electrostatic discharge is bypassed to the ground stage through the third PN junction diode 14. If the positive (+) electrostatic discharge is applied to the output stage of the internal circuit 11, the fourth PN junction diode 15 is turned on. As a result, the positive electrostatic discharge is bypassed to the power source voltage stage through the fourth PN junction diode 15.
Thus, the related art electrostatic discharge protection circuit has two PN junction diodes respectively at the input and output stages of the internal circuit 11 to protect the internal circuit 11 against the negative or the positive electrostatic discharge.
However, the related art electrostatic discharge protection circuit has various disadvantages. Since a discharge path that protects the internal circuit depends on a junction area of the PN junction diode and its density, the junction area of the PN junction diode must be greater in the case that a strong electrostatic discharge is applied. In addition, if junction breakdown of the PN junction diode occurs because of a strong electrostatic discharge, it is difficult to realize the discharge path. As a result, it is not possible to protect the internal circuit.

Electrostatic discharge protection circuit


The invention relates to a vehicle door having a lining that faces the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle. The lining can be joined to a bracket inside of which an actuating lever is mounted in a manner that enables it to swivel around a pin. A gap is provided at least in areas between the actuating lever and the lining. In addition, the pin is joined to the lining via fixing bearings.

The present invention relates to a vehicle door.
Motor vehicle doors, for motor cars as well as for trucks, as a rule comprise trim facing towards the vehicle interior. These trims accommodate an actuation lever for the door opening, which is rotatably mounted about a pivot arbor in a bearing block belonging to the door. Here, usually a peripheral gap arises in the region between the actuation lever and the trim which encompasses this.
In particular with high-quality motor vehicles, it is important that no unsatisfactory gap appearance (gap which is too large, changing gap width) between the actuation lever and connecting parts of the trim occurs.
At the same time it is a problem that due to the fact that several components are involved, usually high manufacturing tolerances are set on all the individual components, so that when combined, an unsatisfactory gap appearance may result a later stage.
To solve this problem, it is possible to form a bearing block in a shell shape (thus quasi as a separate door inner trim), which engages behind the door inner trim towards the vehicle interior. Here only a gap between the actuation lever and the directly visible surrounding bearing block is created, and on account of the shortness of the tolerance chain, the gap appearance here is simple to realise. However with this, it is a problem that a relatively "clumsy" appearance arises which results from the protrusion of the bearing shell into the vehicle interior, and this hinders a harmonic overall appearance. Furthermore it is a problem that the bearing shells need to be manufactured of a relatively strong plastic which is cost-intensive and because of great demands on the surfaces, needs to be additionally painted, and in turn higher costs arise due to this.
It is of course also possible to shape the complete door inner trim of such a high-strength plastic (such as e.g. polyamide). However even greater manufacturing costs arise on account of this.
Another solution lies in the fact that due to "rolling" gaps between the actuation lever and the connecting trim, one succeeds in these not being conspicuous, even with uneven gaps. However the problem here is that the geometries of the door trim are very greatly restricted.


A magnetic head including a plurality of head element units provided along a width direction with respect to a magnetic tape. Each head element unit is provided with at least one recording element for recording a data signal on the magnetic tape and at least one reproducing element for reproducing a data signal from the magnetic tape. In each head element unit, an AC erase head for performing AC erase on a data track of the magnetic tape is positioned upstream in a tape travel direction with respect to the recording element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head of a magnetic tape drive.
2. Description of Relevant Art
In recent years, recording capacity of a magnetic recording medium has been developed, and a magnetic recording medium, which is used for saving data of computer and whose recording capacity is more than 100 G bytes, has been brought to the market.
In case of a magnetic tape, for example, the recording capacity thereof is increased by providing several hundreds of data tracks along a width direction of the magnetic tape. Thus, the distance between adjoining data tracks and the width of the data track become quite narrow as the recording capacity becomes large.
Therefore, the method disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publication H08-30942, which is adopted in order to trace the data track accurately by a recording/writing element of a magnetic head, has been discovered.
In this Japanese patent publication, the magnetic head positioning servo control of the magnetic head, that is a positioning control in a width direction of the magnetic tape, is performed while reading a servo signal, which is preliminarily written on the magnetic tape, by a magnetic head.
The servo signal of these kinds is written on a servo band of the non-magnetized magnetic tape, by applying a recording current so that the direction of the magnetization is aligned in one direction.
That is, as shown in FIG. 6B, in case of conventional servo signal SS1, the servo signal is recorded on the non-magnetized magnetic tape, by applying a recording current PC1, which is composed of a zero current and a plus pulse current and which is shown in FIG. 6A, on the non-magnetized servo band SB1. This is because it is required to prevent the occurrence of the saturation of the magnetization of a servo read element (not shown).
According to this recording current PC1, the servo band of the magnetic tape MT1 is not magnetized while the recording current PC1 is a zero current, but the servo band is magnetized when a plus pulse current is supplied as the recording current PC1. In this occasion, the region where the plus pulse current is applied is magnetized in one direction and this region serves as the servo pattern SP1. Thereby, the servo signal SS1 composed of a group of servo patterns SP1 is written on the servo band SB1.
Here, a head gap of a magnetic head (not shown), which is used for writing the servo signal SS1, has a shape of non-parallel symmetrical patterns, and each pattern thereof has a predetermined intersection angle with respect to a traveling direction of the magnetic tape MT1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, the servo pattern SP1a being composed of non-parallel symmetrical patterns is formed by the magnetization by the plus pulse current PPa, and also the servo pattern SP1b is formed by the magnetization by the plus pulse current PPb.
In the magnetic tape drive, using a servo read element, the change of the magnetic field on the servo signal SS1 is detected. This servo read element detects the change of the magnetic field by measuring the change in electric resistance, and outputs the measured value as a readout signal in the form of the differential waveform (see FIG. 6C and FIG. 6D).
Here, since the readout signal is indicated as a value of voltage, the peak voltage of the readout signal becomes large as the change of the electric resistance measured by the servo read elements becomes large. Thus, the S/N (signal/noise) ratio of the readout signal is improved as the change of the electric resistance becomes large.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6C, the peak voltage of the readout signal RSL of the servo signal SS1 becomes large, when the variation of the magnetic field of the servo signal SS1 itself is large or the area to be traced by the servo read elements is wide because of the large width of the servo read element.
The recording capacity of the magnetic tape per volume may be increased to dozens of terabytes order in the near future. In this case, the number of the data tracks is increased in order to increase the recording capacity and thus the distance between adjoining data tracks and the width of the data track become narrow. Additionally, the thickness of the magnetic tape may be decreased together with the increasing of the recording capacity.
Thereby, the magnetic charge that can be detected while performing the readout of the servo signal SS1 is decreased, and the variation of the magnetic charge on the servo signal SS1 that are detected by the servo read element becomes small.
Thus, as shown in FIG. 6D, the peak voltage of the readout signal RSS of the servo signal SS1 becomes small, and the S/N ratio of the readout signal RSS becomes worse. These defects disturb the accurate readout of the servo signal SS1 and the accurate positional control of the magnetic head of the magnetic tape drive.
As an example of the technique for overcoming these defects, the technique disclosed in Japanese patent application No.2003-110396 (not yet published) can be cited.
In this patent application, by using an erase element (not shown) provided on the magnetic head of the servo writer, the servo signal SS2 being comprised of a plurality of servo patterns is written on a part of the servo band SB2, a region of which is being magnetized in one direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the magnetic tape MT2.
In this case, a direction of the magnetization of each servo pattern of the servo signal SS2 is in the opposite direction with respect to that of the servo band SB2. That is, in case of the magnetic tape MT2 shown in FIG. 7A, the direction of the magnetization of the servo signal SS2 (servo pattern) is a left direction, and that of the servo band SB2 is a right direction. Here, referring to FIG. 7A, the direction of the magnetization is shown by a small arrow.
In this magnetic tape MT2 of shown in FIG. 7A, the direction of the magnetization is reversed at the boundary between the servo pattern SP2 and the servo band SB2. That is, the direction of the magnetization is reversed at the boundary between the servo band SB2 whose direction of the magnetization is a right direction in FIG. 7A and the servo pattern SP2 whose direction of the magnetization is a left direction in FIG. 7A.
These arrangements of the servo pattern SP2 enlarge the variation of the signal (readout signal) (see FIG. 7B) obtained by the readout of the servo signal SS2 that is performed by the servo read element S2 provided on the magnetic head H2 of the magnetic tape drive. Thus, the S/N ratio of the readout signal of the servo signal SS2 can be improved.
In other words, since the variation of readout signal at the boundary between the servo band SB2 and the servo pattern SP2 becomes large, the S/N ratio is improved.
In this technique, however, the magnetic head positioning servo control of the servo writer cannot be performed, when performing the magnetization of the servo band SB2 using the erase element in order to align in one direction the direction of the magnetization of servo band SB2. Hereinafter, aligning in one direction the direction of the magnetization is defined as "direct-current erase".
This makes it difficult to perform the direct-current erase only on the servo band SB2. Thus, the data band DB2, onto which data signal is being recorded, is subjected to the direct-current erase in addition to the direct-current erase of the servo band SB2 when performing the direct-current erase on the servo band SB2.
Under this condition, if the recording of the data signal is performed using a recording element W2 provided on the magnetic head H2 of the magnetic tape drive and the reproducing of this data signal is performed by a reproducing element R2 provided on the magnetic head H2, the reproduced data signal may include a noise.
Here, an unevenly-coated magnetic particle layer of the magnetic tape MT2, that is, thickness variation of the magnetic particle layer is one of factors causing a noise.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the magnetic tape MT2, in which a magnetic particle layer 21 is provided on a base 20.
Referring to FIG. 8, when performing the recording of data signal after the direct-current erase, if the thickness variation exists on the magnetic particle layer 21, data signal is only recorded on a surface layer 21a of the magnetic particle layer 21. That is, in this case, data signal is only recorded on the surface layer 21a at constant depth and is not recorded on a under layer 21b. Thus, the alignment of the direction of the magnetization caused by the direct-current erase is still remaining in the under layer 21b.
As can be seen from FIG. 8, since the boundary face between the surface layer 21a and the under layer 21b is undulating due to the thickness variation of the magnetic particle, the magnetization of the under layer 21b gives an unfavorable influence on the surface layer 21a as a leakage flux. That is, this leakage flux causes a noise when performing the reproducing of data signal.
This noise especially may be large, if the thickness of the magnetic tape MT becomes thin due to the development of the high density recording technique. This is because the thickness variation of the magnetic particle layer will occur with ease as the thickness of the magnetic tape becomes thin.
As an example of measures for minimizing the occurrence of a noise, the magnetic tape drive disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publication No. H07-182602 can be cited.
In this magnetic tape drive, an AC erase head (alternating current erase head) is provided at upstream, with respect to the travel direction of the magnetic tape, of the magnetic head, which is used for recording and reproducing of data signal.
According to this magnetic tape drive, the magnetic particles in the magnetic particle layer of the data band DB2 are, prior to the recording of data signal, aligned in a random direction by the AC erase head, even if the direct-current erase is performed on the data band DB2.
That is, the direction of the magnetization of the data band DB2 can be aligned in a random direction prior to the recording of data signal, even if the direct-current erase is performed on the data band DB2. Hereinafter, aligning in a random direction the direction of the magnetization is defined as "alternating-current erase".
Thereby, since the magnetic particle layer is not being magnetized when performing the recording of data signal after the alternating-current erase (AC erase) of the data band DB2, only the surface layer of the magnetic tape is magnetized. Thus, only the data signal being recorded is reproduced when performing a reproducing, the occurrence of the noise at the time of reproducing can be minimized even if the thickness variation exist on the magnetic particle layer 21.
In these conventional magnetic tape drives, since the AC erase is performed on every data track of the data band DB2, the data track whose data is indispensable is also subjected to the AC erase. Additionally, since the servo signal SS2 being recorded on the servo band SB2 is also subjected to the AC erase, the magnetic head positioning servo control of the magnetic head H2 cannot be achieved.
Therefore, the magnetic head that can minimize the occurrence of a noise at the time of the reproducing of data signal has been required. Additionally, the magnetic tape drive adopting this magnetic head that can minimize the occurrence of a noise at the time of the reproducing of data signal, which is recorded on the data track after performing the AC erase only on the data track onto which data signal is recorded, has been required.

Magnetic tape drive with AC erase element upstream from plural head elements