A polyester copolymer, having a number average molecular weight of equal to or more than 4000 gram/mole and having a glass transition temperature of less than 140° C., containing: (a) in the range from equal to or more than 45 mole % to equal to or less than 50 mole % of one or more bicyclic diol monomer units derived from the group consisting of isosorbide, isoidide, isomannide, 2,3:4,5-di-O-methylenegalactitol and 2,4:3,5-di-O-methylene-D-mannitol; (b) in the range from equal to or more than 25 mole % to equal to or less than 49.9 mole %, of an oxalate monomer unit; (c) in the range from equal to or more than 0.1 mole % to equal to or less than 25 mole % of one or more linear C3-C12 dicarboxylate monomer units; and (d) optionally equal to or more than 0 mole % to equal to or less than 5 mole % of one or more additional monomer units, the percentages based on the total amount of moles of monomer units within the polyester copolymer.

In recent times a tendency has grown to obtain a variety of chemical products from sustainable resources. Polymers and monomers constitute an important part of chemical products produced in the world today, about 80% of the bulk chemicals are monomers or monomer precursors. They therefore play a central role in the transition to a sustainable chemical industry. The majority of polymers today are produced from fossil fuel feedstock, giving after use (via incineration or degradation) rise to extensive greenhouse gases emissions globally. The development of so-called sustainable, preferably partly or wholly bio-based, polymers, could contribute significantly to the development of a more sustainable chemical industry.
In the past, work has been done to develop (partially) bio-based poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). For example in WO2013/034743 a method for producing a bio-PET polymer is described. Such a process using bio-based terephthalic acid or bio-based terephthalic acid ester, however, remains too expensive to date to experience commercial success.
WO2015/142181 describes a polyester comprising at least one furandicarboxylate unit, at least one saturated, linear or branched, diol unit comprising from 2 to 10 carbon atoms and at least one bicyclic diol unit, chosen from isosorbide, isoidide, isomannide, 1,3:4,5-di-O-methylene-galactitol and 2,4:3,5-di-O-methylene-D-mannitol, characterized in that the glass transition temperature of said polyester is greater than or equal to 90° C. Although good results are obtained, also the preparation of this polyester remains expensive and it would be an advantage to have a further, economically more attractive, alternative.
In the article of Fenouillot et al, titled "Polymers from renewable 1,4:3,6-dianhydrohexitols (isosorbide, isomannide and isoidide): A review", published in Progress in Polymer Science Vol. 35 (2010) pages 578 to 622, it is indicated that 1,4:3,6-Dianhydrohexitols, such as isosorbide (1,4:3,6-dianhydro-D-glucidol), isomannide (1,4:3,6-dianhydro-D-mannitol) and isoidide (1,4:3,6-dianhydro-L-iditol), can be derived from renewable resources from cereal-based polysaccharides. It is indicated that in the field of polymeric materials, these diols are essentially employed to synthesize or modify polycondensates. Their attractive features as monomers are linked to their rigidity, chirality, non-toxicity and the fact that they are not derived from petroleum.
US2003/0204029 describes isosorbide-containing polyesters and a process to produce isosorbide-containing polyesters. The process described in US2003/0204029 to produce polyesters comprises melt mixing a first polyester which incorporates isosorbide comprised essentially of: 45.0 to 50.0 mole percent of a dicarboxylic acid component; 5.0 to 50.0 mole percent of isosorbide; 0 to 45.0 mole percent of a diol component other than ethylene glycol or di(ethylene glycol); and 0 to 5.0 mole percent of a polyfunctional branching agent component; with a second polyester comprised essentially of: 45.0 to 50.0 mole percent of a dicarboxylic acid component, 45.0-50.0 mole percent of a diol component other than isosorbide; and 0 to 5.0 mole percent of a polyfunctional branching agent component; at a temperature and for a time sufficient to effect transesterification, optionally followed by a finishing process. It also describes a polyester comprised essentially of 45 to 50 mole percent of a dicarboxylic acid component, 0.1 to 40 mole percent isosorbide, 10 to 49.9 mole percent of another diol component and 0 to 5.0 mole percent of a polyfunctional branching agent component. In its description US2003/0204029 mentions a long list of more than 50 dicarboxylic acid components that supposedly could be used in the production of the isosorbide-containing polyesters. In passing, US2003/0204029 also mentions oxalic acid and dimethyl oxalate as possible dicarboxylic acid components, but US2003/0204029 does not provide any enabling disclosure of how any polyester can be made with such oxalic acid and/or dimethyl oxalate. US2003/0204029 mentions that preferably the first polyester incorporating isosorbide is produced through a melt polymerization method. As explained below and illustrated in the examples of the present case, however, it is not possible to obtain any isosorbide-containing polyester with a commercially interesting molecular weight by melt polymerization when using the oxalic acid or dimethyl oxalate as mentioned in US2003/0204029 as a starting component. US2003/0204029 does therefore not avail society with the knowledge to prepare any polyester containing isosorbide and oxalate and hence cannot disclose such polyester to society.
US2010/0160548 describes a process for the production of a polyester by poly-condensation of a mixture comprising isoidide, and a dicarboxylic acid or dicarboxylic acid anhydride, wherein the reaction is performed in the melt of the monomers and wherein these monomers are not activated. As dicarboxylic acids, aliphatic di- or polyvalent carboxylic acids having 4 to 20 carbon atoms are mentioned. Oxalic acid or any oxalates are not mentioned.
JP2006161017 (a counterpart of WO2005/103111) is directed to the provision of an isosorbide type biodegradable polymer which has a sharply improved heat-resisting property and describes an isosorbide type polyoxalate with a glass transition temperature (Tg) of more than 160° C. It is indicated that the polyoxalate may contain an additional repeating unit, provided such additional repeating unit does not impair a glass transition temperature of 160° C. or more.
JP2006161017 indicates that the polyoxalate described can be manufactured by a polycondensation reaction with the isosorbide, oxalic acid or its derivative(s), such as an oxalic-acid diester or an oxalic-acid dichloride. When the polyoxalate contains an additional ester unit as an additional repeating unit, a part of the oxalic acid or a derivative thereof is replaced with an additional acid component in the polycondensation reaction. Also when the polyoxalate contains an additional ester unit as an additional repeating unit, part of the isosorbide is replaced with an additional alcohol component.
In the examples of JP2006161017 an oxalic acid diphenyl ester is reacted with isosorbide in the presence of a butyltinhydroxyoxide hydrate catalyst to prepare a poly isosorbide oxalate polymer having a glass transition temperature of more than 160° C. The manufacture of polyoxalates with an additional repeating unit was not disclosed and no such polyoxalates with an additional repeating unit were exemplified.
The polymers of JP2006161017, having a high Tg of more than 160 degrees C., are very difficult to process in a commercial interesting manner.
It would be an advancement in the art to provide a novel polyester copolymer, with a commercially acceptable molecular weight and glass transition temperature, partially or completely derived from economically attractive monomers and/or to provide a novel economically attractive process for the production of such polyester copolymer. It would be an even further advancement if such polyester copolymer could, if so desired, be partially or completely derived from sustainably-sourced monomers.


A driving voltage generation device includes: a first selector section for receiving a plurality of first supply voltages and outputting one of the first supply voltages; a second selector section for receiving a plurality of second supply voltages and outputting one of the second supply voltages; first to fourth switches connected in series between the first selector section and the second selector section; a first specified voltage supply section for supplying a first specified voltage to a first interconnection node between the first switch and the second switch; and a second specified voltage supply section for supplying a second specified voltage to a second interconnection node between the third switch and the fourth switch. The first specified voltage supply section does not supply the first specified voltage when the first switch is on. The second specified voltage supply section does not supply the second specified voltage when the fourth switch is on. An output of the first specified voltage supply section has a lower impedance than that of the second selector section. An output of the second specified voltage supply section has a lower impedance than that of the first selector section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for controlling a driving voltage for driving a load such as a liquid crystal display panel by an AC driving method and a method for controlling such a device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a driving voltage generation device including a circuit of a low-voltage and a method for controlling such a device.
2. Description of the Background Art
In order to drive a liquid crystal display panel of a portable device (e.g., a mobile telephone) by an AC driving method (e.g., horizontal line inversion driving method), a conventional liquid crystal display driving device includes a driving voltage generation device for controlling a driving voltage supplied to the counter electrode of the liquid crystal display panel. The driving voltage generation device inverts the polarity of the driving voltage according to a predetermined timing.

Driving voltage generation device and method for controlling driving voltage generation device

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method of color halftoning using stochastic screening includes clustering, performing error diffusion and applying an adaptive criteria to change the cluster size according to the variation of the image color values. The method incorporates features from the traditional amplitude modulated (AM) digital halftoning methods, along with the advantages of frequency modulated (FM) techniques, recently introduced into the raster image processors of high resolution phototypesetters.

Description of the Related Art
The reproduction of color images is a problem of great importance in business, scientific and industrial applications. A comprehensive overview of this problem can be found in Hunt, R. E. G. (1987). The Reproduction of Color in Photography, Printing and Television. Fountain Press, England. Different areas, and a great diversity of applications, lead to the necessity of using different media in the color reproduction process: film, paper, monitor screens, video, etc. The present invention is concerned with the reproduction of color images on paper.
There are different graphical devices that are capable of reproducing images on different types of paper. Dye sublimation printing technology produces continuous tone images on photographic quality paper. Wax transfer, inkjet and laser printers are able to reproduce color on a wide diversity of papers. In the printing industry, the offset printing process is capable of reproducing images of high quality on plain paper. The offset process surpasses the existing digital color reproduction techniques having the benefits of greater flexibility, lower cost, higher quality, and greater printing volume.
Digital techniques have been introduced into the offset printing pipeline with the objective of reducing the costs and guaranteeing a better quality control. A complete account on the problems of using digital techniques on the offset printing pipeland can be found in Stone, M. C., Cowan, W. B., and Beatty, J. C. (1988). Color gamut mapping and the printing of digital color images. ACM Transactions on Graphics, 7(3).
The present invention is directed to a new halftoning technique for color reproduction. The method adapts to a wide range of color reproduction processes that use halftoning in order to account for the elimination of quantization contours: inkjet printers, laser printers, wax transfer printers and the offset color printing process. We focus the applications and examples of the method of low cost color inkjet printers, and on high resolution phototypesetters.
We should point out that in spite of the advances in the area of continuous tone digital printing technology (e.g., dye sublimation printers), halftoning techniques for color printing still have a long way to evolve. This technology is essential for the color printing industry, because of the adequacy of the offset printing process to rapidly reproduce colors with great flexibility, and low cost. Also, halftoning techniques will continue to be used on a wide range of color reproduction devices (inkjet printers, laser printers, wax transfer printers, etc.).
Color Separation and Halftoning
Color printing is based on a reflective light process. The ink of the paper modulates the wavelength of the incident light, and as a result, a different color is reflected from the inked paper. This process is similar to the generation of color using a subtractive system: as we add different colors to the paper, light of different wavelength will be reflected, producing a great diversity of new colors.
Theoretically, by combining the three primary colors Cyan (C), Magenta (M), and Yellow (Y) to emulate a subtractive color system, we could be able to reproduce on paper a wide gamut of colors. Nevertheless, several considerations, of different nature, support the necessity of using Black (K), as an additional color in the printing process (see Stone, Cowan and Beatty, 1988 or Yule, J. A. C. (1967). Principles of Color Reproduction. John Wiley and Sons, New York.)
The process of taking a color digital image and transforming its color space to the C M Y K color space, is called color separation. Since, at least theoretically, we are able to generate the black component from the C M Y primaries, we face the problem of trading off between C M Y and K values in the color separation process. The literature about this topic is abundant. The interested reader should consult Stone, Cowan and Beatty, 1988 for a good overview, or Molla, R. K. (1988). Electronic Color Separation. RK Printing and Publishing Company, West Virginia, USA, for a more comprehensive discussion of the problem.
FIG. 1 shows a printed color image, and FIG. 2 shows the contents of each of its C M Y K channels. FIG. 1 is essentially obtained by overprinting each of the C M Y K channels in FIG. 2. We will return to this overprinting process later on. For the moment, we should make an important remark: in order to print each of the channels C M Y K, we must quantize it to a bitmap image. There is, thus, the necessity of using halftoning techniques (see Ulichney, R. (1987). Digital Halftoning. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.) in the quantization of each C M Y K channel, after the color separation process. Halftoning techniques avoid the perception of the severe contouring artifacts produced by the 1-bit quantization process.
A simplified diagram of the pipeline is shown in FIG. 3. A more detailed diagram of this pipeline can be found in Stone, Cowan and Beatty, 1988.
The necessity of using halftoning techniques for color reproduction on paper, resulted into a halftoning carpentry. Indeed, a lot of publications and patents have appeared about digital halftoning algorithms for color printing.
Halftoning Methods
The display of continuous-tone images in bi-level devices implies in the quatization of its intensities to one of two levels. Before the introduction of digital techniques, halftoning was produced by an analog process. In this process, the grayscale image is photographed, using a high contrast film, through a very fine and uniform screen, originating an image formed by tiny black dots, whose size varies according to the gray level intensity of the original photograph.
Digital halftoning techniques are called dithering. This is an extreme case of discretization in which continuous intensity values must be converted into a discrete set of values (in this case, only two). This operation may cause a loss of information which is estimated by the guantization error. At a particular image element, this error is the difference between the continuous and discrete values. For a region R (i,j), i=1, . . . ,m, j=1, . . . ,n, of the image domain, we define the average intensity of the grayscale levels by ##EQU1## where .vertline.R(i,j)).vertline. is the number of pixels in R. The quantization error on R is the different between the average I.sub.m, and the average of the quantized pixels within the region.
Dithering techniques use a trade-off between spatial and tonal resolution. As the quantization error is spread over larger areas of the image, more tones can be represented. Gray levels are rendered in this way as patterns of black and white pixels. On the other hand, if dithering avoids contouring artifacts, it eliminates at the same time high frequency information contained in the image. The process also transforms true intensity boundaries into patterning features. In summary, intensity variation is displayed at the cost of poorer rendition of fine details. Good dithering techniques provide an optimal trade-off between tonal values and the rendition of image details.
Screening Methods for Color Halftoning
Dithering techniques can be classified according to the nature of patterns they generate, and also the type of pixel configuration they produce. These two classification criteria capture the main features of the textures created to represent low frequency areas of the image, and also, to get a better rendition of the image high frequencies.
Textures can be rendered by periodic or aperiodic patterns. In general, periodic patterns are generated by a deterministic process based on regular sampling of grids, and aperiodic patterns are modeled as stochastic processes.
The type of pixel configuration produced by dithering algorithms is determined by the spatial configuration of the "on" and "off" state of the image elements. Dispersed dot methods simulate grayscale areas by distributing the pixels, while clustered dot methods concentrate the dots in small groups.
Dot clustering techniques try to mimic the traditional analog halftoning technique used by the printing industry. The dispersed dithering method performs the halftoning in a way similar to some traditional pen-and-ink illustration techniques.
Clustered-dot dithering techniques are, in general, based on the ordered dither method, Ulichney, 1987. They distribute the black and white dot patterns (clusters) periodically, using a regular screen. There are some methods in the literature that are clustering without distributing them over a regular screen. Examples of these methods are found in Velho, L. and Gomes, J. (1991). Digital halftoning with space filling cures. Computer Graphics (Proceedings SIGGRAPH '91), 25(4):81-90 and Allebach, J. P. (1976). Random quasi-periodic halftone process. J. Opt. Soc. A.m., 66:909-917.
Most of the dispersed dot dithering techniques attain the dispersion of the image elements by diffusing the quantization error along neighbor regions. This process turns out to introduce a correlated noise in the spatial distribution of the black and white pixels. In general, the noise patterns are referred to as producing a stochastic screen. Good results are obtained using a correlated noise such that its spectrum lacks low frequency power. This noise is referred to as blue noise in the literature (Ulichney, 1987). We should observe that some dispersed dot dithering techniques use a regular, periodic screen. The classical example is the dispersed ordered dithering technique introduced by Bayer, B. E. (1973). An optimum method for two-level rendition of continuous-tone pictures. In International Conference on Communications, Conference Record, pages (26-11)-(26-15).
The wide range of dithering techniques cover many different applications and are suited for color reproduction on a great diversity of display devices. FIG. 4 summarizes the above review. The space filling curve dithering algorithm published in Velho and Gomes, 1991 uses clusters, but it performs a diffusion of the quantization error between neighbor clusters along the space filling curve. This justifies its position on the diagram in FIG. 4.
Regular Screening
Traditional screening methods, either analog or digital, obtain a dithered image by creating regular clusters of points. The black and white dot patterns inside the clusters have a variable size, according to the image tonal values. For this reason, these techniques are known by the name of amplitude modulated dithering technique, or simply A M dithering.
When this method is used, a halftoned image of each of the separated C M Y K channels is created. During the halftoning process, the cluster grids are conveniently rotated in order to avoid full overprinting of the clusters from each of the C M Y K channels. This is illustrated in FIG. 5 where we show an amplification of a detail of the image printed in FIG. 1.
The spatial distribution of the halftoning clusters on a regular screen is prone to producing moiree artifacts in the overprinting of the C M Y K channels. Moiree patterns are illustrated in FIG. 6. On the top, we show a grayscale synthetic image that resembles the texture pattern of a cloth. In the middle, we show a 1-bit, halftoned, version of the image, using a regular screen with an angle of 6.degree.. At the bottom, we show another halftoned version using a screen of 5.degree.. Moiree patterns are quite noticeable, especially on the image at the bottom. Detailed discussion of moiree patterns can be found in Amidror, I. (1991). The moiree phenomenon in color separation. In Raster Imaging and Digital Typography II, Proceedings of the 2nd Int. Conf. Raster Imaging and Digital Typography, volume 6, pages 98-119 and Amidror, I., Hersch, R., and Ostromoukhov, V. (1994). Spectral analysis and minimization of moiree patterns in color separation. Journal of Electronic Imaging, 3(3):295-317.
Stochastic Screening
The first attempt to avoid the perception of quantization contours was done in Roberts, L. G. (1962). Picture coding using pseudo-random noise. IRE Trans. Infor. Theory, IT-8:145-154. In this paper, the use of white noise to decorrelate the quantization error was introduced. It is for this reason that dithering techniques that use regular patterns of clusters are known by the name of ordered dithering.
The idea of using noise to decorrelate the quantization error, and to avoid the perception of the quantization contours is in the right direction. The problem with white noise is that it is completely uncorrelated and, therefore, it destroys all of the image high frequencies.
Dispersed dithering algorithms use a fixed point size and modulate the spatial distribution of black and white points to render the tonal values of the image. In contrast to AM dithering techniques, these algorithms are called frequency modulated dithering, or simply FM dithering. FM dithering techniques have been introduced recently in the raster image processor of high resolution phototypesetters.
The use of correlated noise to distribute spatially the black and white dots over the image domain, is quite opposite to techniques that use a regular screen for the spatial distribution of the dot patterns. For this reason, noise correlated dithering techniques are also known by the name of stochastic screen halftoning.
Since FM dithering techniques do not use clustering, they do not perform well on printing devices which do not have a very good precision in the dot size and positioning. In this paper, we will set forth a method that encompasses the characteristics from FM and AM dithering techniques. Specifically, the method of the present invention combines the following:
it uses clustering; PA1 it performs error diffusion; PA1 it uses stochastic screening. PA1 continuity: two consecutive pixels along the path of the space filling curve are in the same 4-connected neighborhood; PA1 non-directionality: in general, three consecutive pixels along the space filling curve path are not aligned. PA1 subdivide the image domain into cells; PA1 compute the average image intensity inside each cell; PA1 generate a black and white dot pattern with the cell average intensity; and PA1 position the dot pattern inside the cell to generate the cluster. PA1 an image cell with 16 elements; PA1 a dot pattern with 5 elements that represents the average intensity within the cell; PA1 the cell element with the highest black intensity level (in gray); PA1 the translation of the dot pattern center to the position of the highest black intensity level element of the cell.
Besides the above properties, the method provides for changing the cluster size according to the rate of change of the image color intensities.
One of the main advantage of FM dithering techniques resides in the fact that it does not use regular screens. This avoids the classical problem of moiree e patterns in the color printing process with halftoning techniques.
Stochastic Screening with SFC
In this section, we briefly review the dithering with space filling curves (SFC) published by Velho and Gomes, 1991. The method takes advantage of the characteristics of space filling curves to perform neighborhood operations essential to the spatial dithering process. The path of a space filling curve approximation is used to scan the image, generating a parametrization of the image elements satisfying two properties:
We observe that the traditional scanline traversal of the image elements has an exaggerated horizontal directionality and does not have continuity. The dithering method with space filling curves consists of four steps:
The subdivision of the image domain into cells is performed by following the path of the space filling curve until the number of elements visited is equal to the cell size. FIG. 7(a) shows part of the path of a Hilbert space filling curve, and a cell with 4.times.4 pixels. FIG. 7(b) shows 4.times.4 clusters with intensities varying from 15/16, on the upper left corner, to 0, on the lower right corner.
The last step of the algorithm positions the black and white dot pattern within the cell to generate the cluster. The choice we take consists in positioning the central pixel of the black pattern at the pixel inside the cell which has the highest black intensity level. This is illustrated in FIG. 8(a) for the 1-dimensional case, and in FIG. 8(b), for the 2-dimensional case. Each of these figures shows (from top to bottom):
This positioning method results in a cluster that provides a much better rendition of the image details, without sacrificing the low frequency textures.
We should observe that besides the non-directionality implied by the space filling curve traversal, the method used above to construct the cluster introduces a randomness to the distribution of the clusters over the image domain. Also, it is important to mention that the quantization error in a cell is propagated to the neighbor cell, along the path of the space filling curve. This characterizes the method as a clustered-dot dithering with stochastic screening technique.
In brief, the dithering method with space filling curves uses clustering similar to the traditional amplitude modulated (AM) techniques, but at the same time, it performs error diffusion, and disperses the clusters along the path of the space filling curve. Therefore, it incorporates characteristics of FM dithering techniques.

Method of color halftoning using space filling curves

Instituto de Matematica, Puro e Aplicada, Estradea Dona Castorina 110, 22, 460


Exemplary methods of making a bumper component are disclosed, along with exemplary bumper assemblies and vehicles. An exemplary method may include providing a first mold portion defining at least in part a front surface, and positioning at least one sensor in the first mold portion. Exemplary methods may further include enclosing the at least one sensor within the first mold portion with a second mold portion. The second mold portion may define at least in part a rear surface. The method may further include forming a body within the first and second mold portions, thereby embedding the at least one sensor between the front and rear surfaces, the body extending between the front and rear surfaces.

The development of pedestrian sensing technology in vehicles has led to a variety of new hardware and software that is employed to facilitate detection of the presence of or an impact with a pedestrian or other small object. Typically, part of the hardware required in such systems includes sensors that are capable of detecting a proximity of pedestrians or other small objects near a vehicle, or detecting an impact of a pedestrian or other small object with a vehicle. For example, sensors may be positioned about the exterior of a vehicle, e.g., along front or rear bumpers.
Current efforts to provide sensors along exterior components includes mounting sensors to the bumper fascia or outer "skin" of the vehicle, or to energy absorbing components of the bumper, or other bumper components. Essentially, the sensors are external components that are installed onto the bumper component. Packaging, mounting, and attaching the existing sensors is difficult and challenges the assembly plant and service facilities.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved bumper assembly that addresses the above shortcomings.


A lure includes a body, a passage formed in the body, a plurality of independent spherical sinkers that moves in the passage, a holding member that holds the plurality of spherical sinkers together, and an attachment portion to which the spherical sinker which is located foremost and held by the holding member is attached by a magnetic force.

A lure as disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been conventionally known. The conventional lure includes a body, a passage that is a sinker moving space extending in the fore and back direction of the body, a plurality of spherical sinkers that is housed in the passage, and is movable along the passage in the fore and back direction, and a magnet provided on the front portion of the passage.
When the lure is cast, all of the spherical sinkers are away from the magnet, and move to the back portion of the body. Accordingly, the center of gravity moves to the back portion of the lure, such that the lure can be stably shot further. On the contrary, when the lure lands on the water, all of the spherical sinkers moves to the front portion of the body, and are attached to the magnet and held there. Thus, the center of gravity moves to the front portion of the lure, and the lure swims with the back portion swinging laterally.
However, since each of the spherical sinkers is independent, after landing on the water, the spherical sinker on the back side among the plurality of spherical sinkers attached to the magnet may be disadvantageously detached. To prevent this situation, when a magnet having a strong magnetic force is used, an external hook and so on may be attached to a portion of the outer face of the body near the magnet, which leads to another problem.
FIG. 13 to FIG. 17 in Patent Document 2 illustrate three spheres 46B (spherical sinkers) united using a rectangular holding plate 46A. Specifically, the holding plate 46A is a rectangular plate member, and has three circular holes for receiving the spheres 46B. By fitting the spheres 46B into the respective circular holes of the holding plate 46A, the three spheres 46B are united via the holding plate 46A. A pair of left bottom wall 3c and right bottom wall 3d is provided on the bottom of a space (passage) 3 with a gap 3b extending in the fore and back direction therebetween. The bottom walls 3c, 3d are inclined faces, against which both sides of the spheres 46B abut. A long hole 3e extending in the fore and back direction is formed on the upper side of the space 3. The gap 3b is a lower groove formed in the lower face of the passage, and the long hole 3e is an upper groove formed in the upper face of the passage.
By bringing the lower long side of the holding plate 46A into contact with the gap 3b (lower groove) and the upper long side of the holding plate 46A into contact with the long hole 3e (upper groove), the holding plate 46A holding the spheres 46B is housed in the space 3. The upper and lower long sides of the holding plate 46A slide along the gap 3b (lower groove) and the long hole 3e (upper groove), such that the holding plate 46A holding the spheres 46B moves in the space 3 in the fore and back direction.
However, in the lure described in Patent Document 2, the holding plate 46A holding the spheres 46B moves while the long side of the holding plate 46A in the gap 3b (lower groove) comes into contact with both walls of the lower groove. Thus, the holding plate 46A may not smoothly move, and causes a large sliding sound during movement. Further, since the holding plate 46A moves while the long side comes into contact with the both walls of the lower groove, during use of the lure, the both walls are shaved by the long sides of the holding plate 46A. This reduces the product lifetime of the lure.
Since the short side of the holding plate 46A is always larger than the diameter of the spheres 46B, in order to house the holding plate 46A, the body of the lure becomes necessarily large.
Additionally, with the configuration described in Patent Document 2, the gap 3b and the long hole 3e need to be formed on the upper and lower sides of the space 3. When it is attempted to form the gap 3b on the lower side of the space 3, the space 3 is disposed above the gap 3b. For this reason, it is difficult to design to locate the center of gravity of the lure at the lowest possible position.
[Patent Document 1] WO 2014/119406 A1
[Patent Document 2] JP H11-113449 A

Abstract: According to the lure of the present invention, the plurality of spherical sinkers can be integrally and smoothly moved in the passage.


A solar cell is provided. The solar cell at least includes a semiconductor layer and a plurality of passivation layers provided on a back surface of the semiconductor layer. The passivation layers include a first silicon oxynitride film layer having a first refractive index, a second silicon oxynitride film layer having a second refractive index and provided on a surface of the first silicon oxynitride film layer, and a silicon nitride film layer having a third refractive index and provided on a surface of the second silicon oxynitride film layer.

Currently, an efficiency of a passivated emitter and rear Cell (PERC) can be effectively improved by means of enhancing back passivation characteristics. The existing PERC cells adopt an aluminum oxide/silicon nitride (AlOx/SiNx) stack as the back passivation layer. An aluminum oxide film contains a high fixed negative charge density, and a large number of fixed negative charges may shield electrons on a silicon surface, thereby reducing electrons that can be used for recombination and thus achieving a purpose of suppressing carrier recombination on the surface. Due to the high fixed negative charge density, a strong field passivation effect may be generated, and the aluminum oxide film is therefore considered as a field effect passivation film. Such dielectric film has a good passivation effect on both p-type and n-type substrate surfaces, but resulting in a high equipment cost and a low production capacity and output, which is not conducive to modern industrial mass production.
In addition, potential induced degradation (PID) has a negative impact on the service life and performance of solar cells. A main reason for the potential induced degradation lies in that Na+ ions inside glass of an encapsulating material of the photovoltaic (PV) module migrate to inside of the solar cell along a direction of the solar cell to destroy a p-n junction, leading to an attenuation of the power of the PV module and the reduction of reliability. The PERC cell including the aluminum oxide/silicon nitride stack passivation film is encapsulated by EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) into a bifacial photovoltaic module, which involves obvious PID phenomena for its front and back surfaces. The PID phenomenon of the front surface of the photovoltaic module may be alleviated by changing the encapsulating material into a higher-priced polyolefin (POE), but the PID phenomenon of the back surface still exists.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a solar cell and a method for making the solar cell, which can enhance back passivation characteristics of the solar cell, reduce the PID and the manufacturing costs related to the solar cell.

Photovoltaic module, solar cell, and method for producing solar cell

JINKO GREEN ENERGY (SHANGHAI) MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


The invention provides a portable lighting device with an elongated main body that includes a housing with receiver, and a power source positioned within the receiver. An operational mode selector assembly with a switch assembly that is actuated by a user is operatively coupled to the power source. An illumination assembly is electrically coupled to both the operational mode selector and the power source. The illumination assembly has a primary light source with a light emitter that emits light axially along a longitudinal axis of the main body or housing through a lens. A secondary light source with a light emitter emits light substantially perpendicular to the axis to illuminate an indicia located in a side region of the illumination assembly. During operation of the portable lighting device, the components of the illumination assembly are arranged such that: (i) the primary light source does not illuminate the indicia, (ii) the secondary light source does not emit light through the lens, (iii) an appreciable amount of light emitted from the primary light source does not mix with light that is emitted from the secondary light source within the portable lighting device, and (iv) an appreciable amount of light emitted from the secondary light source does not mix with light that is emitted from the primary light source within the portable lighting device.

Existing lighting products enable a wide range of indoor, outdoor and nighttime activities. Electronic lighting is typically provided from fixed installations (e.g., a roof, a wall, or ceiling), where a light source receives electrical power from a fixed and wired power source. Such lighting is useful in illuminating a particular area, but lacks the flexibility of a portable lighting source. Portable lighting sources, such as flashlights or lanterns, have been developed to provide illumination in varied locations and situations. However, brand recognition and/or brand awareness of such lights is limited, especially in dark or low-light conditions. Additionally, portable lighting sources can be difficult to locate in dark or low-light conditions, or in the absence of other lighting sources, which is when these lighting sources are often most needed. For example, when flashlights or lanterns are taken into remote locations, such as during a camping trip, the flashlights or lanterns are difficult to locate in dark tents or dark outdoor conditions. Therefore, the performance and utility of conventional flashlights and lanterns are compromised in dark or near-dark conditions.
Accordingly, there is an unmet need for a portable lighting device, such as a flashlight or lantern, that provides both a primary light source and a secondary light source, where the latter illuminates an indicia, symbol or pattern. The indicia, symbol or pattern can increase the awareness of the flashlight brand or model, which may increase the overall value of the flashlight manufacture's brand. Additionally, the indicia, symbol or pattern may aid a user in finding the flashlight in a dark or low-light condition. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present invention is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Portable lighting device with an illuminated indicia


A method in a computing system having at least one server and a multiplicity of clients coupled thereto by means of a network. The server executes a Web Server program and at least one of the clients executes a Web browser program. The method operates in the server and at least one of the clients for supporting dynamic access to objects stored in the server repository by the Web browser program. The method begins in the client by parsing Form description language to obtain references to objects stored in the server repository. For each reference to an object stored in the repository, a message is constructed for the Repository Object for transmission to the Web server. Within the Web server the message is used to retrieve the contents of the Repository Object from the server repository. Next, the retrieved contents of the Repository Object is returned to the client for association with its Data Name. Next, a GUI Control is located that is associated with the Data Name; and, the contents of the Repository Object are placed into the GUI Control located in the previous step. Accordingly, a Form is displayed with GUI Controls filled in with values from the server repository.

With the rising popularity of client/server computing and the Web, businesses are looking for even better ways to increase their competitive advantage. Information is one of business's most precious commodities. Accordingly, there is a need for flexibility to position information in ways that better supports business organizations and their customers.
Client/server technology offers graphical user interfaces (GUI's) a choice of open systems, rapid application development, increased end-user productivity and much more. By combining this technology with the Internet and intranets, a powerful system is made available to distribute information throughout the business and customer communities. The Web is a purely client/server environment that can bring business to customers. Even if a business has information that needs to be kept within the organization, the Web technology is still available as an intranet, which is a web site behind a firewall and made available only to employees of the organization. The term "firewall" as used herein means a combination of hardware and software that prevents access to secured data over an Internet or Intranet. The idea is to protect a cluster of more loosely administered machines hidden behind the firewall from crackers or hackers.
There is also a need to make the move to client/server and Internet technologies without having to migrate from existing host applications. The best way to build new client/server applications that can be integrated with current applications is to combine the dependability of enterprise-wide systems with the flexibility of distributed processing.
Early attempts at capitalizing on the advantages of the client/server applications involved the use of the PC as a "dumb terminal", or a character-based network terminal, that interacted directly with legacy programs operating on a mainframe or host computer. This approach was unsatisfactory because the user was limited to a character-mode display. Later attempts included such solutions as the Designer Workbench (which is a software tool now referred to as PowerClient and available from Unisys Corporation, assignee of this patent ). The PowerClient product gives the user the ability to capture Forms descriptions that are on the mainframe, and to convert character-based fields into Windows-based visual elements such as edit fields, buttons, etc. A language called SCL (Screen Control Language) was created for describing the visual elements as well as indicating processing that will be performed on the client PC's.
With reference to various types of legacy programs operating on the host, LINC (i.e., "Logical Information Network Compiler") can generate Screen Control Language ("SCL") directly. SCL is created with the use of the PowerClient for third generation languages (3GL) such as COBOL or ALGOL legacy programs; and, in the case of MAPPER, which is a third system and language for legacy programs, there is no automatic way to generate SCL. For MAPPER, the user must use a Forms design tool (such as the Development Studio product) for drawing visual elements to generate the required SCL that matches the MAPPER application.
More recently, it was possible to take SCL definitions of a Form and turn them into a Visual Basic or a PowerBuilder executable program. For an amplification of this method reference is made to a co-pending patent application entitled A METHOD FOR GENERATING CODE FOR MODIFYING EXISTING EVENT ROUTINES FOR CONTROLS ON A FORM, U.S. Ser. No. 08/803,137, filed Feb. 19, 1997 by the same inventors hereof and assigned to the same assignee hereof. PowerBuilder is a product of PowerSoft Company (which has recently merged with Sybase, Inc. of Emeryville, Calif., and Visual Basic is a product of Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. However, since the Visual Basic and PowerBuilder client builders generate executables, there is no way to incorporate the presentation functionality they provide into a Web browser, which is a client-side software module for accessing a Web server. Moreover, there is no obvious way to combine client/server computing on the Web with GUI elements.

Method for dynamically embedding objects stored in a web server within HTML for display by a web browser


Provided is a transparent conductive film including a transparent electrode layer composed of a patterned thin metal wire on at least one surface of a transparent film substrate. The line width of the wire is 5 μm or less. The wire includes a first metal layer and a second metal layer that is in contact with the first metal layer, in this order from a transparent film substrate side. Both of the first and second metal layers contain copper in an amount of 90% by weight or more. The total film thickness of the first and second metal layers is 150 to 1000 nm. The diffraction angle 2θ of the (111) plane of the second metal layer is less than 43.400° as measured using a CuKα ray as an X-ray source, and the first metal layer has crystal properties different from those of the second metal layer.

A transparent conductive film including a transparent electrode on a transparent film substrate is used in various fields such as solar cells, light-emitting elements, display devices, and touch panels. As transparent electrode materials, those containing indium oxide as a main component, such as indium-tin composite oxide (ITO) and indium-zinc composite oxide (IZO) are widely used because they have high transparency, low resistivity, and high reliability. However, with respect to the conductive oxide containing indium oxide as a main component such as ITO, an essential raw material thereof, i.e., indium, is an expensive rare metal, and there is concern about resource exhaustion. A conductive oxide has higher resistivity than metallic materials, and therefore has a problem that the transmission speed of a current between electrodes is low, so that the response speed becomes low as the device area is increased.
In view of the problems related to conductive metal oxides as described above, attempts have been made in recent years to use a patterned thin wire metallic material as a transparent electrode. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a transparent conductive film including patterned thin metal wire composed of a silver halide photographic sensitive material, a silver nanowire, or the like, on a transparent base. However, silver is an expensive material, and is easily visible even when formed into a thin wire because it has a high metallic reflectance. Accordingly, it has been necessary to develop a transparent electrode including a thin metal wire made of copper as a material which has a lower metallic reflection and is less expensive and more versatile as compared to silver, and is also excellent in conductivity.
In the field of flexible printed wiring boards, a method has been put into practical use in which a copper wiring is formed on a polyimide film substrate by a photolithography method (e.g., Patent Document 2). Since a polyimide has a large dielectric loss tangent, and a large transmission loss in a high frequency region, an attempt has been made to form a copper wiring on a transparent plastic film substrate such as liquid crystal polymer or a thermoplastic cycloolefin (e.g., Patent Document 3).

Conductive film substrate, transparent conductive film, and method for producing transparent conductive film


The present disclosure provides an organic light emitting diode device and a manufacturing method thereof, a display panel and a display device. The organic light emitting diode device includes: a substrate; and a light emitting component and a first structural layer provided on a side of the substrate, wherein the light emitting component is provided on a side of the first structural layer distal to the substrate, and a light emitting surface of the light emitting component comprises a curved surface recessed towards the substrate, and the curved surface comprises a spherical-cap curved surface or a concave-convex curved surface which is constituted by a plurality of spherical-cap curved surfaces.

Organic light emitting diode (OLED) device, in which organic materials emit light under an electric field, has characteristics such as a high contrast, a short response time, etc., and is capable of achieving an ultrathin and flexible display.
For the moment, the OLED display technology has a rapid progress. While the users' individualized requirements are satisfied, some problems arise, Since OLEDs achieve self-illumination using organic materials, they generally have shorter service lives, which affects user's experiences badly.

Organic light emitting diode device and manufacturing method thereof, display panel, and display device

CHENGDU BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


The present invention relates to a method of preparation of a cannabis extract composition comprising a cannabis extract as an active ingredient for relieving pain and preventing or alleviating a stress-involved disease by suppressing a cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 enzyme and preventing dopamine and serotonin from being suppressed.

Today, as the society develops and diversifies rapidly, the society requires modern people to perform various roles. Accordingly, the number of people complaining of anxiety disorders and mental illness due to various types of stress is increasing. Recently, in consideration of the tendency of adolescents to increase mental illness due to excessive academic fever or various types of stress, this may be considered as a tendency of various types of stress and accompanying mental illness to be gradually increasing.
Here, when the mechanism of changes in neurotransmitters and hormones related to stress is briefly described, the hypothalamus in the body is responsible for secretion of neurotransmitters and hormones against external stimuli and stress, and the release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin from each nerve terminal is regulated by the signal from the hypothalamus to the central nervous system, so that the emotional state, heart rate, and physiological activities such as blood pressure and skeletal muscle blood flow are regulated.
Further, hormones are secreted into the blood through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis system, which is a hormonal circulatory system that is connected from the hypothalamus to the pituitary-adrenal gland. If a human is subjected to external stimuli or stress, the hypothalamus in the body secretes a corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). Thereafter, when the secreted CRF binds to a receptor that specifically binds to a CRF in the pituitary, an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is secreted.
When the secreted ACTH reaches the adrenal gland through the blood and lymph nodes, steroid hormones such as corticosterone from the cortex and catecholamine hormones from the pulp are released into the blood, and thus are involved in the regulation of heart rate, blood pressure, energy metabolism, and the like, and the secretion of these factors is regulated through negative feedback regulation.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter found in the cerebrospinal fluid, and circulates through the brain and functions as a neurotransmitter. The serotonin is closely related to emotional expression, and deficient serotonin may cause emotional instability, which leads to an increase in worry and concern, and impulsive tendencies appear. Since the serotonin deficiency is closely related to depression, many drugs currently used to treat depression prevent serotonin from being reabsorbed and remain in the brain for a long time.
Meanwhile, depression as referred to in the present invention is defined not only as the dictionary meaning of depression, but also as a meaning including anxiety or anxiety disorder.
Anxiety is a mental illness that usually shows persistent and unrecovered hypersensitivity, tension, worry, and the like usually for six months or more, and extreme fear is felt for every trivial event beyond normal response without any special reason. The fear is generally caused by structural and functional abnormalities of the brain and continuous stress, and especially in the case of children and adolescents, when attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the like are severe, the fear may be linked to anxiety and depression. Anxiety is broadly classified into four types such as generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, and in particular, generalized anxiety disorder, which accounts for the largest proportion, is an overly widespread feeling of anxiety, and unsubstantiated free-floating anxiety and autonomic hypersensitivity appear as the largest features.
Currently, anxiety in the clinic is treated in combination with drug treatment and long-term psychiatric treatment. In the case of drug treatment, benzodiazepine-based anxiolytic drugs such as diazepam, lorazepam, clonazepam, and alprazolam are usually used, and an azapirone-based buspirone acts as a partial efficacy drug at the serotonin receptor and has been used as a drug capable of more selectively alleviating anxiety symptoms. Moreover, imidazopyridine-based drugs such as zolpidem have been used for treating short-term insomnia caused by anxiety.
However, the drugs used for treating anxiety disorders and mental illness are mostly drugs classified as psychotropic medicines, and in particular, benzodiazepine-based drugs act directly on the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor in the central nervous system to suppress the central nervous system, resulting in excessive sedative action, and in addition, the GABA suppressive action may be enhanced, and the central suppressive action such as depression, muscle relaxation, and hypnosis may be enhanced and appear. In addition, drugs used for treating anxiety disorders and mental illnesses make people psychologically and physically rely on the drugs, and thus involve risks such as concern about drug abuse.
Therefore, there is a need for the development of health functional foods and the like that have an effect on mental illness, do not cause excessive sedation and drowsiness, and can prevent non-dependent drugs or stress stimuli from developing into mental illness.
Furthermore, such stress stimuli may represent a headache with a tight, heavy, or tingling sensation in the head. Most people feel pain on both sides of the head, and mainly use pharmacotherapy for treatment, but a natural composition needs to be used, such that there is no problem of side effects caused by the dosage and the duration of taking medicine.

Preparation method of a cannabis extract composition for pain relief, stress-related disease prevention, or stress related disease treatment


The present disclosure relates to semiconductor devices and a process sequence in which a semiconductor alloy, such as silicon/germanium, may be formed in an early manufacturing stage, wherein other performance-increasing mechanisms, such as a recessed drain and source configuration, possibly in combination with high-k dielectrics and metal gates, may be incorporated in an efficient manner while still maintaining a high degree of compatibility with conventional process techniques.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the subject matter disclosed herein relates to integrated circuits, and, more particularly, to high performance transistors having recessed drain and source regions and strained channel regions by using stress sources, such as stressed overlayers, a strained semi-conductor alloy in drain and source areas to enhance charge carrier mobility in the channel region of a MOS transistor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a plurality of process technologies are currently practiced in the field of semiconductor production, wherein, for complex circuitry, such as microprocessors, advanced storage chips and the like, CMOS technology is currently the most promising approach due to the superior characteristics in view of operating speed and/or power consumption and/or cost efficiency. During the fabrication of complex integrated circuits using CMOS technology, millions of transistors, i.e., N-channel transistors and P-channel transistors, are formed on a substrate including a crystalline semiconductor layer. A MOS transistor, irrespective of whether an N-channel transistor or a P-channel transistor is considered, comprises so-called PN junctions that are formed by an interface of highly doped drain and source regions with an inversely or weakly doped channel region disposed between the drain region and the source region. The conductivity of the channel region, i.e., the drive current capability of the conductive channel, is controlled by a gate electrode formed near the channel region and separated therefrom by a thin insulating layer. The conductivity of the channel region, upon formation of a conductive channel due to the application of an appropriate control voltage to the gate electrode, depends, among other things, on the dopant concentration, the mobility of the majority charge carriers and, for a given extension of the channel region in the transistor width direction, on the distance between the source and drain regions, which is also referred to as channel length. Hence, in combination with the capability of rapidly creating a conductive channel below the insulating layer upon application of the control voltage to the gate electrode, the overall conductivity of the channel region substantially determines the performance of MOS transistors. Thus, the reduction of the channel length is a dominant design criterion for accomplishing an increase in the operating speed and packing density of the integrated circuits.
The continuing shrinkage of the transistor dimensions, however, involves a plurality of issues associated therewith that have to be addressed so as to not unduly offset the advantages obtained by steadily decreasing the channel length of MOS transistors. One major problem in this respect is to provide low sheet and contact resistivity in drain and source regions and any contacts connected thereto and to maintain channel controllability. For example, reducing the channel length may necessitate an increase of the capacitive coupling between the gate electrode and the channel region, which may call for reduced thickness of the gate insulation layer. Presently, the thickness of silicon dioxide based gate insulation layers is in the range of 1-2 nm, wherein a further reduction may be less desirable in view of leakage currents, which typically exponentially increase when reducing the gate dielectric thickness. For this reason, in advanced transistor designs, a high-k dielectric material may be used in the gate dielectric layer, possibly in combination with a metal in the gate electrode, to enhance channel controllability and reduce signal propagation delay caused by a high gate resistivity of conventional gate materials, such as polysilicon in combination with a metal silicide.
The continuous size reduction of the critical dimensions, i.e., the gate length of the transistors, necessitates the adaptation and possibly the new development of highly complex process techniques concerning the above-identified problems. It has, therefore, been proposed to improve transistor performance by enhancing the channel conductivity of the transistor elements by increasing the charge carrier mobility in the channel region for a given channel length, thereby offering the potential for achieving a performance improvement that is comparable with the advance to a future technology node, while avoiding or at least postponing many of the above-mentioned problems, or achieving further increased performance when combined with other performance enhancing techniques, such as high-k gate dielectrics and the like. One efficient mechanism for increasing the charge carrier mobility is the modification of the lattice structure in the channel region, for instance by creating tensile or compressive stress in the vicinity of the channel region to produce a corresponding strain in the channel region, which results in a modified mobility for electrons and holes, respectively. For example, for standard silicon substrates, creating tensile strain in the channel region increases the mobility of electrons, which in turn may directly translate into a corresponding increase in the conductivity and thus drive current and operating speed. On the other hand, compressive strain in the channel region may increase the mobility of holes, thereby providing the potential for enhancing the performance of P-type transistors. The introduction of stress or strain engineering into integrated circuit fabrication is an extremely promising approach, since, for example, strained silicon may be considered as a "new" type of semiconductor material, which may enable the fabrication of fast powerful semiconductor devices without requiring expensive semiconductor materials, while many of the well-established manufacturing techniques may still be used.
According to one promising approach for creating strain in the channel region of transistor elements, the dielectric material that is formed above the basic transistor structure may be provided in a highly stressed state so as to induce a desired type of strain at the transistor and in particular in the channel region thereof. For example, the transistor structures are typically embedded in an interlayer dielectric material, which may provide the desired mechanical and electrical integrity of the individual transistor structures and which may provide a platform for the formation of additional wiring layers, which are typically required for providing the electrical interconnections between the individual circuit elements. That is, a plurality of wiring levels or metallization layers may typically be provided which may include horizontal metal lines and vertical vias including appropriate conductive materials for establishing the electrical connections. Consequently, an appropriate contact structure has to be provided which connects the actual circuit elements, such as transistors, capacitors and the like, or respective portions thereof, with the very first metallization layer. For this purpose, the interlayer dielectric material has to be appropriately patterned in order to provide respective openings connecting to the desired contact areas of the circuit elements, which may typically be accomplished by using an etch stop material in combination with the actual interlayer dielectric material.
For example, silicon dioxide is a well-established interlayer dielectric material in combination with silicon nitride, which may act as an efficient etch stop material during the formation of the contact openings. Consequently, the etch stop material, i.e., the silicon nitride material, is in close contact with the basic transistor structure and thus may be efficiently used for inducing strain in the transistors, in particular as silicon nitride may be deposited on the basis of well-established plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) techniques with high internal stress. For instance, silicon nitride may be deposited with high internal compressive stress of up to 2 GPa and even higher by selecting appropriate deposition parameters. On the other hand, a moderately high internal tensile stress level may be created up to 1 GPa and higher by appropriately adjusting the process parameters, for instance, in particular the degree of ion bombardment during the deposition of the silicon nitride material. Consequently, the magnitude of the strain created in the channel region of a transistor element may depend on the internal stress level of the dielectric etch stop material and the thickness of stressed dielectric material in combination with the effective offset of the highly stressed dielectric material with respect to the channel region. Consequently, in view of enhancing transistor performance, it may be desirable to increase the internal stress level and also provide increased amounts of highly stressed dielectric material in the vicinity of the transistor element, while also positioning the stressed dielectric material as closely as possible to the channel region.
It turns out, however, that the internal stress levels of silicon nitride material may be restricted by the overall deposition capabilities of presently available PECVD techniques, while the effective layer thickness may also be substantially determined by the basic transistor topography and the distance between neighboring circuit elements. Consequently, although providing significant advantages, the efficiency of the stress transfer mechanism may depend significantly on process and device specifics and may result in reduced performance gain for well-established standard transistor designs having gate lengths of 50 nm and less, since the given device topography and the gap fill capabilities of the respective deposition process, in combination with a moderately high offset of the highly stressed material from the channel region caused by sophisticated spacer structures, may reduce the finally obtained strain in the channel region.
For these reasons, it has been suggested to use a recessed transistor architecture, i.e., an architecture in which portions of drain and source regions are recessed with respect to the channel region in the vicinity of the interface between the channel and the gate insulation layer in order to allow the deposition of the highly stressed dielectric material at a height level that corresponds to the channel region, thereby efficiently enhancing the lateral stress transfer mechanism into the channel region. This mechanism may be completed, for example, in some approaches with respect to enhancing performance of P-channel transistors, by providing a semiconductor material at least in portions of the drain and source areas in such a manner that a desired type of strain may be generated in the adjacent channel region. For this purpose, frequently, a silicon/germanium mixture or alloy may be used which may be epitaxially grown on a silicon template material, thereby creating a strained state of the silicon/germanium alloy, which may exert a certain stress on the adjacent channel region, thereby creating the desired type of strain therein. The magnitude of the strain in the channel region may be adjusted on the basis of the size of respective cavities in which the silicon/germanium alloy may be grown and by the amount of the germanium concentration in the semiconductor alloy. Since the respective strained semiconductor alloy may be positioned immediately adjacent to the channel region, a highly efficient strain-inducing mechanism may be provided. However, this strain-inducing mechanism may be difficult to be integrated into a process flow for providing a recessed transistor configuration, when the semiconductor alloy is provided in an early state of the process flow. That is, the process steps required for recessing the drain and source regions may affect other transistor components, such as the gate electrodes, the metal silicide regions that are typically to be formed on the drain and source regions and the like. Furthermore, the incorporation of sophisticated gate structures on the basis of high-k dielectrics and metal-containing electrode materials may also contribute to increased process complexity in combination with a recessed transistor configuration. However, in principle, each of these mechanisms may contribute to enhanced device performance.
The present disclosure is directed to various methods and devices that may avoid, or at least reduce, the effects of one or more of the problems identified above.

CMOS device comprising MOS transistors with recessed drain and source areas and a SI/GE material in the drain and source areas of the PMOS transistor


A valve drive device may include a motor, a rotational member rotated by the motor, a linearly moving member engaged with the rotary member, a converting mechanism for converting rotation of the rotational member into linear movement of the linearly moving member, a diaphragm valve for opening or closing an opening part by linearly moving member, and an urging member for closing the opening part through the diaphragm valve. The linearly moving member is linearly moved by the rotational member and the opening part is closed by the diaphragm valve in a state that the rotational member and the linearly moving member are in a non-engagement state. The valve drive device may be mounted on a pump having an inflow path and a plurality of outflow paths.

A refrigerator or an air conditioner is installed with a valve drive device in which a valve element is moved by a drive source such as a stepping motor to open and close a flow path for refrigerant to control temperature in a chamber which is in communication with the flow path. Further, a methanol type of fuel cell has been recently developed as a power supply for a mobile apparatus such as a notebook type of personal computer. A valve drive device is also utilized to adjust a flow rate of fuel when the fuel (methanol and water) as a reducing agent is supplied to a fuel electrode layer (cell) in the methanol type of fuel cell.
As described above, a valve drive device is utilized in various fields. In this case, as an apparatus on which the valve drive device is mounted is downsized, it becomes more and more important to accurately control the flow rate of fluid such as refrigerant or fuel. One of measures for accurately controlling the flow rate of fluid is to improve the closing performance (sealing property) of a valve element (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-54954 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-327775).
In the above-mentioned former patent reference, a control valve is disclosed in which a sealing property in a closing state of a valve element is improved. Specifically, in the former reference, a valve drive device is disclosed in which a drive shaft of a stepping motor is reversibly rotated to linearly move an elevating body up and down and the step-out of the motor is detected with an encoder to control an opening degree of a diaphragm (control valve). In the valve drive device, a projection is formed at a periphery of an inflow opening of fluid and the projection is abutted with a control valve. Therefore, the sealing property in the closing state of the valve element is improved.
Further, a substrate processing apparatus and a discharge control method in which discharging accuracy from a nozzle for drug solution is improved is disclosed in the above-mentioned latter patent reference. Specifically, in the latter reference, a substrate processing apparatus is disclosed which includes a flow control valve for opening or closing a pipe through which drug solution is circulated and an encoder. In the substrate processing apparatus, the step-out of a motor is detected with the encoder to cause the flow control valve to be in a closing state or to cause a moving quantity (stroke) of the flow control valve to be adjusted according to property of the drug solution and thus discharging accuracy from a nozzle for drug solution is improved.
As described above, in the above-mentioned patent references, the step-out of a motor is detected with an encoder to close a flow path with a control valve, and the control valve is abutted with a projection or the stroke of the control valve is adjusted to improve the sealing property with the valve element.
However, in the above-mentioned patent references, as described above, the step-out of a motor is detected with an encoder and the closing state of a valve is maintained by using a detent torque of the motor. Therefore, since error of the motor and errors of respective members from a rotor to a valve element are accumulated or piled up, a stable sealing property in the closing state of the valve element is not obtained.
For example, in a state that a valve element of a control valve or the like abuts with an inflow opening (or outflow opening) for fluid to close a flow path, since the motor is stepped out, a closing force for closing the inflow opening (or outflow opening) varies in a range of a stroke length of elastic deformation of the valve element and in a range of the number of detent poles of the motor to cause the closing force to vary whenever the flow path is closed. As a result, since closing performance of the valve element is varied, the sealing property in the closing state of the valve element is not stable.
Further, when the valve element is pressed with too strong force at the time when the flow path is closed, an elastic force of the valve element is varied due to hysteresis or the abutting part is worn. As a result, the closing performance of the valve element is further varied and the sealing property in the closing state of the valve element becomes further more unstable.
As described above, in the conventional valve drive device, since the sealing property in the closing state of the valve element is hard to stabilize, reliability for closing performance of the valve element is not satisfactory.

Valve drive device, its control method and pump


A piezoelectric electroacoustic transducer includes a substantially rectangular piezoelectric diaphragm, a case having supports to support the four corners of the bottom surface of the piezoelectric diaphragm, terminals fixed to the case, each including an inner connection portion exposed near the supports, a first elastic adhesive disposed between the periphery of the piezoelectric diaphragm and the terminals, a conductive adhesive disposed between electrodes of the piezoelectric diaphragm and the terminals across the top surface of the first elastic adhesive, a second elastic adhesive filling and sealing a gap between the periphery of the piezoelectric diaphragm and an inner portion of the case, and an overamplitude-preventing receiver provided on a bottom wall of the case to limit the amplitude of vibration of the piezoelectric diaphragm to a predetermined range. The overamplitude-preventing receiver is disposed closer to the center of the piezoelectric diaphragm than the supports.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to piezoelectric electroacoustic transducers such as piezoelectric sounders, piezoelectric receivers, and piezoelectric speakers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Piezoelectric electroacoustic transducers for emitting warning sounds or operating sounds have been widely used in electronic devices, consumer products, and cellular phones, for example, as piezoelectric sounders or piezoelectric receivers. Piezoelectric electroacoustic transducers incorporating a rectangular diaphragm have been proposed to achieve higher production efficiency, higher electroacoustic conversion efficiency, and size reduction.
Extremely thin diaphragms, on the order of tens to hundreds of micrometers in thickness, have recently been used for lower frequencies. The frequency characteristics of such thin diaphragms are greatly affected by the structures that support the diaphragms.
If, for example, a diaphragm is directly connected to terminals fixed to a casing using a thermosetting conductive adhesive, a stress due to the curing and contraction of the conductive adhesive causes a strain on the diaphragm. This strain results in variations in the frequency characteristics of the diaphragm. In addition, the cured conductive adhesive can disadvantageously obstruct the vibration of the diaphragm or, conversely, can be cracked by the vibration thereof because the cured adhesive has a relatively high Young's modulus.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-9286 proposes a piezoelectric electroacoustic transducer including a piezoelectric diaphragm, a casing having a support on an inner portion thereof to support the bottom surface of the piezoelectric diaphragm at two or four sides thereof, terminals having inner connection portions exposed near the support, a first elastic adhesive applied between the periphery of the piezoelectric diaphragm and the inner connection portions of the terminals to fix the piezoelectric diaphragm to the casing, a conductive adhesive applied between electrodes of the piezoelectric diaphragm and the inner connection portions of the terminals across the top surface of the first elastic adhesive to electrically connect the electrodes of the piezoelectric diaphragm to the inner connection portions of the terminals, and a second elastic adhesive provided to seal a gap between the periphery of the piezoelectric diaphragm and the inner portion of the casing. The first elastic adhesive is, for example, a urethane adhesive. The second elastic adhesive is a material with a lower Young's modulus than the first elastic adhesive, for example, a silicone adhesive.
In this case, the elasticity of the first elastic adhesive prevents, for example, variations in the frequency characteristics of the diaphragm which are caused by a stress due to the curing and contraction of the conductive adhesive and the cracking of the cured conductive adhesive. However, the support may restrain the piezoelectric diaphragm and obstruct the bending vibration thereof because the support supports the piezoelectric diaphragm at two or four sides thereof.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-23696 discloses a piezoelectric electroacoustic transducer including a piezoelectric diaphragm, a casing having supports for supporting the bottom surface of the piezoelectric diaphragm at the four corners thereof, a first elastic adhesive applied between the piezoelectric diaphragm and terminals near the supports, and a conductive adhesive applied across the first elastic adhesive to electrically connect the piezoelectric diaphragm to the terminals.
In this case, the supports have a small supporting area because they support only the corners of the piezoelectric diaphragm. This electroacoustic transducer can produce a higher sound pressure without restraining the diaphragm.
A piezoelectric electroacoustic transducer having supports for supporting a piezoelectric diaphragm at the corners thereof can thus produce a higher sound pressure. A smaller diaphragm-supporting area is required for further size reduction and still higher sound pressures, and a smaller diaphragm thickness is required for lower frequencies. A thinner diaphragm, however, bends more easily, and an impact, for example, can cause a large curvature of the diaphragm if the supporting area is reduced. A large curvature of the diaphragm causes a large amplitude of vibration thereof in the vicinity of the conductive adhesive, and accordingly, an excessive stress acts on the conductive adhesive. The excessive stress can disadvantageously contribute to the cracking of the conductive adhesive, thus degrading the connection reliability.
FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate sectional views of a support supporting a piezoelectric diaphragm according to the known art.
In FIG. 14A, a support 32 supports a corner of a diaphragm 30. An elastic adhesive 34 is applied between the diaphragm 30 and a terminal 33 that is inserted in a case 33. The elastic adhesive 34 is, for example, a urethane adhesive. A conductive adhesive 35 is applied across the elastic adhesive 34 to electrically connect an electrode of the diaphragm 30 to the terminal 33.
In this support structure, the diaphragm 30 bends downward with the support 32 acting as a fulcrum if an impact, for example, applies a downward acceleration G to the diaphragm 30, as shown in FIG. 14B. The downward bending imposes a tensile stress on the conductive adhesive 35 and causes a crack.
Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. 7-16500 discloses a piezoelectric sounder including a unimorph piezoelectric diaphragm and a case having curvature-preventing columns extending from the bottom surface thereof. The curvature-preventing columns limit the curvature of the piezoelectric diaphragm if an impact, for example, applies an external force exceeding the bending strength of the diaphragm. However, the curvature-preventing columns are intended to prevent the cracking of the piezoelectric diaphragm itself and the delamination of a ceramic plate from a metal plate, and no consideration is given to the cracking of a conductive adhesive as described above.


An improved magnetic random access memory (MRAM) has two sets of signal lines where each set is substantially perpendicular to the other, and memory cells located at the intersections of the signal lines. Each memory cell has a magneto-resistant element containing a magnetization layer whose magnetic characteristics change depending on the intensity of the magnetic field applied. A desired magnetic field can be applied to any cell by supplying appropriate write currents to the signal lines intersecting at that cell. The relationship between applied magnetic fields, two different threshold function values, and four different magnetic fields that result at each cell is disclosed. Better performance, namely, improved selectivity and a more stable write operation, results.

A magnetic random access memory (MRAM) collects attention as a nonvolatile memory in which a high-speed write operation can be carried out and the number of times of rewrite is large.
FIG. 1 shows a typical MRAM disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,343. The MRAM contains a memory cell array in which memory cells 101 are arranged in a matrix. The memory cell 101 is interposed between a word line 102 extending in an X axis direction (word line direction), and a bit line 103 extending in a Y axis direction (bit line direction).
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, each memory cell 101 contains a magneto-resistance element (spin valve). The magneto-resistance element has a pinned layer 104 and a free layer 105 which are made of ferromagnetic material, and a non-magnetic spacer layer 106 interposed between the pinned layer 104 and the free layer 105. The pinned layer 104 may be connected to a diode 107 in order to apply a desired bias to the memory cell 101. When the non-magnetic spacer layer 106 is a very thin insulating layer, the magneto-resistance element is sometimes called MTJ (Magnetic Tunnel Junction). Both the pinned layer 104 and the free layer 105 which are formed of the ferromagnetic material have spontaneous magnetizations (residual magnetization). The direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the pinned layer 104 is fixed in the +X direction, and the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105 can be freely reversed in the +X direction or a −X direction. Anisotropy is given to the free layer 105, and the free layer 105 is formed in such a manner that the direction of the spontaneous magnetization is easily directed to the X-axis direction.
The memory cell 101 stores a 1-bit data as the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105. The memory cell 101 can take two states of a "parallel" state in which the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the pinned layer 104 is identical to that of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105, and an "anti-parallel" state in which the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the pinned layer 104 is opposite to that of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105. The memory cell 101 stores the 1-bit data regarding one of the "parallel" state and the "anti-parallel" state as "0" and the other as "1".
The data is read from the memory cell 101 by detecting the change of resistance of the memory cell 101 due to magnetic resistance effect. The directions of the spontaneous magnetizations of the pinned layer 104 and free layer 105 affects the resistance of the memory cell 101 through the magnetic resistance effect. When the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the pinned layer 104 is parallel to that of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105, the resistance of the memory cell 101 is a first value R (FIG. 2B). When the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the pinned layer 104 is anti-parallel to that of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105, the resistance is a second value R+ΔR (FIG. 2A). Therefore, the data stored in the memory cell can be detected by detecting the resistance of the memory cell 101.
The write operation of the data is carried out in a selected memory cell among the plurality of memory cells 101 through the following process. With reference to FIG. 1, one of the word lines 102 relating to the selected memory cell is selected as a selected word line, and one of the bit lines 103 relating to the selected memory cell is selected as a selected bit line. Currents flow through the selected word line and the selected bit line, and the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105 of the selected memory cell is directed to a desired direction based on a synthetic magnetic field of a magnetic field generated by the selected word line and a magnetic field generated by the selected bit line.
The role of the magnetic field generated by the selected bit line is different from that of the magnetic field generated by the selected word line. The magnetic field generated by the selected bit line determines the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105 of the selected memory cell. When the current flows through the selected bit line extending in the Y-axis direction, the magnetic field is generated in the +X direction or the −X direction, and the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105 of the selected memory cell is changed in the +X direction or the −X direction by the magnetic field. A magnetic field is not applied to the memory cell 101 which is not connected to the selected bit line and the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105 is not reversed. Therefore, the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105 in each memory cell with which the selected bit line does not intersect is saved.
On the other hand, the magnetic field generated by the selected word line makes it easy that the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105 of the selected memory cell is reversed. The direction of the magnetic field generated by the selected word line is the +Y direction or a −Y direction, and is a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105 can is directed. Therefore, the magnetic field generated by the selected word line does not determine the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105 directly. However, the ferromagnetic material of the free layer 105 is made easy in the reversion of the direction of the spontaneous magnetization by applying the magnetic field into the direction perpendicular to the direction of the spontaneous magnetization. The magnetic field generated by the selected word line is directed into the direction perpendicular to the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105, and therefore, the coercive force of the free layer 105 of the selected memory cell is reduced.
On the other hand, the magnetic field generated by the selected word line is not applied to non-selected memory cells of the memory cells 101 connected to the selected bit line. Therefore, the coercive force of the free layer 105 of the non-selected memory cell is not reduced. This means that the difference in the coercive force of the free layer 105 exists between the selected memory cell and the non-selected memory cell. The data can be selectively written in the selected memory cell based on the difference of the coercive force between the selected memory cell and non-selected memory cell.
FIGS. 3A to 3C show the principle of selective data write into the selected memory cell described above. The coercive force of the free layer 105 shows a characteristic called an asteroid curve (magnetization reversing magnetic field curve). This functions as a threshold function. When a magnetic field in the outside region of the asteroid curve is applied, the magnetic field exceeds the coercive force, and therefore, the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105 is reversed. The asteroid curves shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C show that the direction of the spontaneous magnetization of the free layer 105 is most easily reversed when a synthetic magnetic field directing the direction of 45 degrees to both the X axis and the Y axis directions is applied to the free layer 105 by the selected bit line and the selected word line.
The currents flowing through the selected bit line and the selected word line are selected in such a manner that the synthetic magnetic field of the magnetic fields generated by the selected bit line and the selected word line is located in the outside region of the asteroid curve, and each of the magnetic fields generated by the selected bit line and the selected word line is independently located in the outside region of the asteroid curve. The selection of the currents flowing through the selected bit line and the selected word line permits the selective write operation of the data into the selected memory cell.
One of the technical problems in the above-mentioned write operation of the data in the MRAM is power consumption. As described above, the write operation of the data into the MRAM is carried out by reversing the direction of the spontaneous magnetization by using the magnetic fields generated by the currents. For this reason, a relatively large current are required. The large currents increase the power consumption in the write operation of the data into the MRAM.
An MRAM in which the power consumption in the write operation of the data is reduced is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-P2001-273760A). The MRAM is provided with a high permeability layer formed of high permeability material on the upper surface or lower surface of a write current path. The high permeability layer centralizes the magnetic field generated by the current path on the memory cell, and effectively suppresses the power consumption in the write operation of data.
Another MRAM in which the power consumption in the write operation of data is reduced is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-P2002-110938A). The MRAM of this conventional example is provided with a magnetic film formed on the upper surface and side surfaces of the word line, and a magnetic film formed on the bottom surface and side surfaces of the bit line. The magnetic film is formed of high saturation magnetization soft magnetic material or metal-non-metal nanogranular material. The magnetic film allows the magnetic field to effectively act on the memory cell, and suppresses the power consumption at the time of the write operation of data effectively.
Another technical problem in the write operation of the data in the MRAM is selectivity of the selected memory cell. As described above, the write operation in the selected memory cell is realized in the MRAM by optimally selecting the magnitudes of the write currents flowing through the selected bit line and the selected word line according to the shape of the asteroid curve of the free layer. Therefore, the write currents flowing through the selected bit line and the selected word line, and the asteroid curve of the free layer must be adjusted in a high precision. However, it is hard to avoid changes of the write currents flowing through the selected bit line and the selected word line and the asteroid curve because of a variation in a manufacturing process and a variation in use environment of the MRAM. The changes degrade the selectivity of the selected memory cell, and a malfunction may be caused in which an undesired data is written in the non-selected memory cell in the write operation of data.
In conjunction with the above description, a magnetic random access memory is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-P2002-8367A). In this conventional example, the magnetic random access memory has a plurality of sense lines and a plurality of word lines, and a unit memory cell is arranged at each of the intersections of the sense lines and the word lines in a two-dimensional array. The unit memory cell has a series connection of a cell selection switch provided with a function of a voltage drop element and a magneto-resistance element. Each of the sense lines is provided with a capacitance section, and electric charge stored in the capacitance section is sequentially discharged through the sense line, the cell selection switch, and the magneto-resistance element. Thus, a magnetic holding state of the magneto-resistance element is distinguished based on the voltage change of the capacitance section caused due to the discharge.


The use of Tumor Cytotoxic Factor-II (TCF-II) enables the prevention and/or treatment of radiation-induced disorders.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to agents containing Tumor Cytotoxic Factor-II (TCF-II) as an effective component for the prevention and/or treatment of radiation-induced disorders. The present invention provides excellent agents for the prevention and/or treatment of radiation-induced disorders caused by radiation therapy performed to treat diseases such as cancers and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The agents are useful as medicinal preparations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bone marrow suppression is manifested by reduced platelet count (thrombocytopenia), reduced leukocyte count (leucopenia), and anaemia. Since bone marrow suppression occured as a direct result of chemotherapy and radiation therapy administered for diseases such as cancers and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), it has become a serious problem in the treatment of said diseases. At present, only symptomatic treatments such as infusions of erythrocytes and platelets are used to treat the bone marrow suppression caused by these therapies for these diseases. Although the use of Colony Stimulating Factor (CSF) is gaining recognition as a medicinal agent to stimulate the growth of leukocytes to replenish their number, to date no medicinal agent is known which will effectively prevent bone marrow suppression.
Preliminary experiments showed that a certain kind of biologically active substance derived from the body prevented the bone marrow suppression. Examples of such substances include interleukin-1 (IL-1) and macrophage inflammatory protein 1a (MIP-1a) (G. Damia, Cancer Res., 4082-4089, 52, 1992; B. Lord, Blood, 2605-2609, 79, 1992). However, IL-1 has a strong inflammatory action and is concerned to cause side effects such as inflammation and shock including headache and fever (Saito et al., Geka Chiryo (Surgical Therapy), 65, 156-164, 1991). Furthermore, there has been no report on MIP-la other than preliminary experiments.

Agents for the prevention and/or treatment of radiation-induced disorders by administrating TCF-II