It is an object of the present invention to provide a two-component curable composition whose component A is easy to be handled, and which shows excellent internal curability and good storage stability. This problem is solved using a two-component curable composition, comprising component A comprising 100 parts by weight of an organic polymer containing a reactive silicon group, (B) 0.1-300 parts by weight of an epoxy group-containing compound, and (C) 0.1-20 parts by weight of water, and component B comprising (D) 0.1-20 parts by weight of a curing catalyst, and (E) 0.1-200 parts by weight of an amine compound.

Room-temperature curable compositions comprising an organic polymer having a silicon-containing group which has a hydroxyl or hydrolyzable group bonded to the silicon atom and which is crosslinkable by forming a siloxane bond (hereinafter referred to as a "reactive silicon group") in combination with an epoxy resin show various properties such as proper workability and curability, stable rubber elasticity over a wide temperature range, good adhesiveness with an adherend, and are widely used as sealing material, coating material, adhesive material, and the like for building use, civil engineering use, industrial use, and the like where epoxy resin or polyurethane resin had been conventionally employed (See Patent document 1, for example).
Reactive silicon group-containing polyoxyalkylene polymers are hydrolyzed and condensed in the presence of a curing catalyst due to moisture in the air, and changes into rubber-like elastomer. However, a curable composition containing said polymer was disadvantageous in that the inside of the composition did not cure over a prolonged period of time in the construction between non-porous substrates though which water was hard to penetrate, the construction where the composition was given thick, the construction under cold and low-humidity conditions during winter season, and the like.
For solving such a problem, proposed is addition of water to the composition (See Patent documents 2 and 3, for example). Both documents disclose the two-component composition which is composed of component A comprising a reactive silicon group-containing polyoxyalkylene polymer, a curing agent for epoxy resin, and a curing catalyst, and component B comprising an epoxy resin and water, and confirm that such constitution improves internal curability of the composition. In this component A, however, the reactive silicon group-containing polyoxyalkylene polymer coexists with its curing catalyst, so that it was disadvantageous in that the air must be strictly cut off during the container-filling upon preparation of component A, its prolonged storage, the mixing procedure with component B, and the like thereby hindering easy handling.
Further, a two-component composition is proposed which employs a specific curing catalyst and thus omits water content control in component A, and which is excellent in internal curability and easy handleability of component A (See Patent document 4, for example). This two-component composition is composed of component A comprising a reactive silicon group-containing polyoxyalkylene polymer, a curing agent for epoxy resin, and a silane coupling agent, and component B comprising an epoxy resin, the specific curing catalyst and water.
Also proposed is a two-component composition which is composed of component A comprising a reactive silicon group-containing polyoxyalkylene polymer, a curing agent for epoxy resin, a silane coupling agent, and water, and component B comprising an epoxy resin, and a curing catalyst, and which can assure the balance between easy handleability of component A and internal curability (See Patent document 5, for example).    Patent document 1: JP 1,727,750, B    Patent document 2: JP Sho63-273,625, A    Patent document 3: JP Hei9-279,047, A    Patent document 4: JP 2002-309,077, A    Patent document 5: JP 2004-225,020, A

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A system mounted on a vehicle for detecting an obstruction on a surface of a window of the vehicle, a primary camera is mounted inside the vehicle behind the window. The primary camera is configured to acquire images of the environment through the window. A secondary camera is focused on an external surface of the window, and operates to image the obstruction. A portion of the window, i.e. window region is subtended respectively by the field of view of the primary camera and the field of view of the secondary camera. A processor processes respective sequences of image data from both the primary camera and the secondary camera.

Cameras are often used to acquire one or more images while viewing through a transparent window such as of glass. One such application is illustrated in FIG. 1, a vehicle control system 80 as disclosed by Stein in U.S. Pat. No. 7,113,867. A camera 32 is mounted inside a "host" vehicle 10 behind the windshield, and camera 32 views the environment through the windshield. System 80 includes camera 32 and a processor 60 that analyzes the images acquired by camera 32. System 80 is operative to detect lane markings in road 20, pedestrians, other vehicles or obstacles, road signs. Commonly, the windshield becomes less transparent due to rain, condensed moisture and/or dirt and image quality of the images produced by camera 32 may be impaired.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,218, by Kuehnle, discloses a method for analyzing optical images to detect moisture on a surface such as a windshield of an automobile using a sensor that is mounted on the windshield of the vehicle. An image such as that of the hood of the vehicle is processed and blurriness in the image is associated with moisture on the windshield. The sensor includes an optical image detector and a microprocessor with supporting control circuitry. The optical image detector acquires two-dimensional optical images from either the vehicle itself or an area surrounding the vehicle (e.g. the hood, the road ahead of the vehicle). The acquired optical images are then delivered to the microprocessor, which analyzes the image to determine whether moisture (such as rain) exists on the windshield. Upon detection of sufficient moisture on the vehicle, the microprocessor circuitry can activate the windshield wipers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,218 is directed towards only detection of rain or moisture on the windshield.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,923,027, by Stam et al, discloses a method of detecting moisture on a surface of a windshield using a sensor in conjunction with an infrared LED. Edges of moisture (i.e. rain) are detected by the sensor. The LED is used to check for fog on the windshield based upon the manner in which light is reflected. All objects detected by the sensor, including bugs, dirt, and headlamps from oncoming vehicles which create a bright spot in the image would initially be interpreted as moisture which then causes the windshield wipers to be activated. It is only after the wipers have been activated, if the object remains on the windshield, is the obstruction flagged as something other than rain. The spontaneous, random motion of the wipers creates an unnecessary driving distraction for the driver. Additionally, this system cannot differentiate between fog on the inside of the window and fog on the outside of the window.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,768,422, by Scofield, et al, discloses a method for determining if there is moisture on the surface of a windshield using a sensor in conjunction with a polarizing filter. The sensor determines if rain is present by using an edge detection algorithm. Fog is checked for by the polarization patterns created in the image.
All of the above previously disclosed patents are limited by not being able to differentiate between various objects which might appear on a windshield of a vehicle—including, rain, dirt, dust, frost, bugs, cracks, and bird droppings. Additionally these systems are not able to distinguish between fog on the inside of the window and fog on the outside of the window.
None of the above prior art systems provide a solution to bright spots of oncoming vehicles, being misinterpreted as moisture.
Just as a driver of a vehicle responds differently to various obstruction on a windshield, e.g., turning on wipers, spraying the windows, enabling the defogger, etc, so to there is a need for and it would be advantageous to have a vehicular vision system capable of detecting and distinguishing between different obstructions, e.g., between moisture and dirt on the windshield of a vehicle, as well as being able to distinguish whether the obstruction is on the inside of the window, e.g., fog, smoke or dust, or on the outside of the vehicle, e.g., fog, frost, snow. And in order to minimize extraneous use of the wipers there is a need to for a vehicular vision system which is capable of differentiating between bright sots from on-coming vehicles and moisture on the window.

Systems and methods for detecting obstructions in a camera field of view


A V-type engine is disposed in an engine room of a vehicle so that each cylinder bank of the V-type engine extends substantially in a vehicle length direction. Exhaust manifolds are attached to both side of the V-type engine in a vehicle width direction, respectively. Catalytic converters are attached to both gathering portions of the exhaust manifolds, respectively, in a manner that an axial line of each of the catalytic converters extends substantially in a vehicle height direction. An auxiliary component is disposed above one of the catalytic converters in the engine room. An oil pan is attached to a lower portion of the V-type engine. The one of the catalytic converters is located lateral to the oil pan. A center line of lower portion of the oil pan is shifted with respect to a center line of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction so that the lower portion of the oil pan is away from the one of the catalytic converters.

The present invention relates to an exhaust device of a V-type engine for a vehicle, which is disposed in an engine room of the vehicle.
In a V-type engine for a vehicle, each cylinder bank is arranged in an engine room in the front side of the vehicle. The cylinder bank is directed in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle (a vehicle length direction). An exhaust device of the V-type engine has exhaust manifolds attached to both side portions of the V-type engine in the vehicle width direction, a catalytic converter is attached to a gathering portion of each exhaust manifold in a manner that an axial line of the catalytic converter is extended in a lower direction of the vehicle and one catalytic converter is arranged in a lower portion of an auxiliary machine component in the engine room. In this exhaust device, the catalytic converters are symmetrically arranged in both side portions in the vehicle width direction of the V-type engine in many cases.
In this connection, Patent Document 1 proposes the following constitution. In order to enhance the durability of an air-ratio sensor by decreasing an atmospheric temperature in the periphery of the catalytic converter in the engine room, passage-like duct portions are arranged in both side portions of a heat shielding plate for covering a front face of the catalytic converter.
Patent Document 2 proposes the following constitution. In a transverse V-type engine, a lower end portion of the front side exhaust manifold and a lower end portion of the rear side exhaust manifold are joined to each others so as to compose a single exhaust pipe. In a portion of the exhaust pipe in the front of the engine, a catalytic converter is arranged so that components attached in the periphery of the catalytic converter can be prevented from being thermally deteriorated.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-171792A    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-144751A
In the above described related-art V-type engine for a vehicle, the following problems may be encountered. When catalytic converters are symmetrically arranged in both side portions in the vehicle width direction of V-type engine, it is difficult for auxiliary machine components to be arranged in portions except for the upper portions of both the catalytic converters. Accordingly, the auxiliary machine components must be necessarily arranged above both the catalytic converters. In this case, the auxiliary machine components are thermally deteriorated by the heat transmitted from the catalytic converters. Therefore, the durability is lowered.

Exhaust device of V-type engine for vehicle


An ultrasonic transducer in which lead wire connection is facilitated even when piezoelectric devices are divided in order to prevent lateral vibrations from affecting longitudinal vibrations is manufactured by a method comprising: a step in which first dicing grooves are formed on an acoustic matching layer and a piezoelectric device plate that are mounted together in order to form a plurality of piezoelectric devices; a step in which a board and the respective piezoelectric devices are connected together; a step in which surfaces in the vicinity of locations at which the board and the piezoelectric devices are connected together are coated with a conductive sheet; and a step in which the plurality of transducer elements are formed by forming second dicing grooves between the first dicing grooves formed on the piezoelectric devices and the board that is coated with the conductive sheet and on the acoustic matching layer.

Conventionally, a diagnostic ultrasound system formed for clinics. This system comprises an ultrasonic transducer, a signal transmitting unit, a signal receiving unit and a display unit. The signal transmitting unit is generated the pulse signals and connected with the ultrasonic transducer to have the pulse signals transmitted into the ultrasound by above transducer. The signal receiving unit is connected with ultrasonic transducer for receiving echo signals varied with the ultrasonic pulse echo from the tissues. The receiving unit is adapted to process the echo signals from the ultrasonic transducer in order to generate output signals to be converted into the image of the tissues. The display unit is connected with the signal receiving unit to display the image of the tissues, on the basis of the output signals from the signal receiving unit.
An ultrasonic transducer comprises a plurality of piezoelectric transducers, and each consisting of a rectangular plate of a piezoelectric device, which were cut out (dicing process) one piezoelectric material. On the side of the piezoelectric device from which acoustic waves are transmitted, an acoustic matching layer is formed for matching acoustic impedances, and an acoustic lens is formed on the surface of the acoustic matching layer. Also, a backing material that is made of rubber or the like, being high loss coefficient (sound attenuation), is adhered to the back side of the piezoelectric device.
An example of an ultrasonic transducer (used in diagnostic ultrasound systems as described above) for transmitting and receiving ultrasound is an array-arranged transducer. The dimensions of the piezoelectric device generally used in the array-arranged transducer are width W, thickness T, and length L. The piezoelectric device used in the array-arranged transducer has electrodes (a ground electrode and a signal electrode) arranged on the upper and lower surfaces. Each electrode area is multiply width W by length L.
When the pulse signal voltage is applied to the above electrodes, longitudinal vibrations in accordance with the thickness T are caused as the principal vibrations, and the lateral vibrations (lengthwise vibrations) in accordance with the width W are also caused as the subsidiary vibrations. In other words, the power of lateral vibrations become strong, when the width W is almost equal to thickness T, and these lateral vibrations may sometimes be superposed on the longitudinal vibrations depending on the shape of the piezoelectric device, such that the longitudinal vibrations are affected. Accordingly, piezoelectric device divided it into two or three pieces in such a manner that each piezoelectric device does not have one proper resonant frequency in the lateral direction.
Here, explanations are given for the steps of manufacturing an ultrasonic transducer; these steps are generally employed in order to configure the piezoelectric device in such a manner that the piezoelectric device does not have a proper resonant frequency (see Patent Document 1, for example)    (1) A backing layer is formed into the decided shape. (backing material forming step)    (2) Lead wires in the form of an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) board or the like are connected to electrodes that are formed on the piezoelectric device in a prescribed shape, before or after the backing material forming step. (wiring step).    (3) The first stacked body is formed by mounting the piezoelectric device and the backing layer. (piezoelectric transducer mounting step)    (4) A transducer unit serving as the second stacked body is formed by mounting the first acoustic matching layer to the piezoelectric device included in the first stacked body. (first matching layer mounting step)    (5) Dicing grooves are formed on the transducer unit from the side of the first acoustic matching layer, such that the piezoelectric device is divided into a plurality of transducer elements. (dicing step)    (6) The dicing grooves are filled with resin with particles for reinforcement. (filling step)    (7) The third stacked body is formed by mounting the second acoustic matching layer to the first acoustic matching layer. (second acoustic matching layer mounting step)    (8) An acoustic lens is cast on the third stacked body. (lens casting step)    (9) The third stacked body, including the acoustic lens, is encased. (packaging step)
Ultrasonic transducers are manufactured using the above steps in the conventional process.
Electronically scanning ultrasonic transducer is formed at the distal end of endoscope insertion tube. The ultrasonic transducer on the endoscope is transmitted the ultrasounds in the digestive tract, so this transducer can be received the ultrasounds from the digestive organ such as the stomach, the pancreas, the liver without interfered with the gas or bone. In the electronically scanning ultrasonic transducer, tens or more piezoelectric transducers are arrayed.
FIG. 1 shows a conception of piezoelectric transducers.
As shown in FIG. 1, a piezoelectric transducer 2101 is generally a rectangular shape (hexahedron) whose width is W, thickness is T, and length is L. When a voltage is applied to electrodes (not shown) on the upper and lower surfaces (thickness direction) of the rectangular shape (hexahedron) shown in FIG. 1, the rectangular shape (hexahedron) vibrates in the thickness direction and generates ultrasounds.
It has been disclosed that ultrasonic transducers such as the one described above are very efficient in the coefficient of electromechanical coupling when the W/T ratio of their piezoelectric transducer is equal to or lower than 0.8, and that the smaller the interval "a" between adjacent piezoelectric transducers, the higher the image quality (Patent Document 2 for example). Accordingly, ultrasonic transducers have conventionally been designed in such a manner that the interval "a" between adjacent piezoelectric transducers is as small as possible, and the W/T ratio is equal to or lower than 0.8.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a first example of a conventional ultrasonic transducer. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the first example of the conventional ultrasonic transducer.
In FIGS. 2 and 3, the ultrasonic transducer comprises piezoelectric transducers 2123 that formed electrode layers on the upper and lower surfaces thereof, acoustic matching layers 2124 (first acoustic matching layer 2124a and second acoustic matching layer 2124b) formed under the piezoelectric transducer 2123, a GND conduction unit 2125 for connecting to GND the electrodes formed under the piezoelectric transducer 2123, dicing grooves 2126 formed by using a dicing saw (a precision cutting machine) or the like for dividing the piezoelectric transducer 2123 into plural pieces, lead wires 2131 connected to the electrodes on the lower surface of the piezoelectric transducer 2123, and a backing material 2130. In this configuration, an acoustic matching layer and piezoelectric transducers or the like having dicing grooves 2126 between them is referred to in whole as an ultrasonic transducer element.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second example of a conventional ultrasonic transducer. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the second example of the conventional ultrasonic transducer.
The transducer shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is different from that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in that one lead wire 2131 is connected to two piezoelectric transducers 2123 (2123a and 2123b) and two acoustic matching layers 2124 (2124a and 2124b), and one transducer element consists of a plurality (two in FIG. 5) of transducer sub elements. By employing the configuration of sub elements as described above, it is possible to improve the ultrasonic transmission/reception characteristics (sensitivity, for example) of the ultrasonic transducer.
Here, a method of designing a conventional ultrasonic transducer is described.    (1) The effective width S of the emitting window of an ultrasonic transducer is determined on the basis of the size So of the object that is to be observed by the ultrasonic transducer in such a manner that So<S.    (2) The arraying pitch p in the ultrasonic transducer is calculated S/N: where N is the maximum number of driving channels of diagnostic ultrasound system, S is the effective width.    (3) The element number n of piezoelectric transducers with a W/T ratio of 0.8 or lower that can be included in the arraying pitch p is calculated. In the example of FIGS. 2 and 3, the number of transducer elements is n, and in the example of FIGS. 4 and 5, the number of sub elements is 2n.
In the conventional methods, configurations are employed in which a plurality of piezoelectric elements are formed such that an effective W/T ratio is achieved, as described above. Also, in some cases, fine modification has been performed on the effective width S, such that the effective W/T ratio is achieved.
The electronically scanning ultrasonic transducer is formed at the insertion tube of an endoscope. The ultrasonic transducer on the endoscope is transmitted the ultrasounds in the digestive tract, so this transducer can be received the ultrasounds from the digestive organ such as the stomach, the pancreas, the liver without interfered with the gas or bone. Examples of types of such electronically scanning ultrasonic transducers applied to the endoscopes include the convex type, the linear type, the radial type and the like.
The ultrasonic transducers generally employ the configuration in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements are arrayed for transmitting and receiving the ultrasound, and only the grooves formed at the both side of each element (slots between adjacent transducer elements) are filled with resin (see Patent Document 3 for example).
Also, a method is disclosed in which adhesive is applied to several locations, including the centers of the grooves (see Patent Document 4 for example).    Patent Document 1    Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-46368    Patent Document 2    Japanese Patent No. 56-17026    Patent Document 3    Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-107598    Patent Document 4    Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-253496

Array ultrasonic transducer having piezoelectric devices


A wavelength of light is monitored for end-point detection during etching. Spectral data is collected during etching which characterizes variation of light emitted by discharge produced during etching. At least one principal component of the data is calculated. Each principal component has variables, each variable has a weight, and each variable corresponds to a wavelength of the light emitted by the discharge. By examining or analyzing the weights, it is then determined which variable of the principal component varies during etching such that end-point of the etch can be detected by monitoring the wavelength corresponding to the variable.

Typically, during semiconductor processing, a reactive ion etch (RIE) process is employed for etching fine line patterns in a silicon wafer. Reactive ion etching involves positioning a masked wafer in a chamber which contains plasma. The plasma contains etchant gases which are vertically dissociated in an RF field so that reactive ions contained in the etchant gases are accelerated to the wafer surface. The accelerated reactive ions combine chemically with unmasked material on the wafer surface. As a result, volatile etch product is produced. During such etching, a single layer or multiple layers of material or film may be removed. Such material includes, for example, SiO.sub.2, poly-silicon, and silicon nitride.
As a film of unmasked material is etched, the volatile etch product is incorporated into the plasma. As the RIE process approaches the interface or end of the film layer being etched, the amount of volatile etch product found in the plasma decreases since the amount of unmasked material being etched is reduced due to the etching. Oftentimes, the amount of volatile etch product in the plasma is tracked in order to determine the end-point of the RIE process, i.e., depletion or decrease in the amount of volatile etch product in the plasma during the RIE process can be used as an indication of depletion of unmasked material being etched for ending the process.
It is also possible to track a reactive species, i.e., one of the etchant or input gasses used to etch the film. As the film is etched, the reactive species will be depleted and relatively low concentrations of the reactive species will be found in the plasma. However, as the film is consumed, the reactive species will be found in the plasma in increasingly higher concentration. A time trace of the optical emission from such a reactive species will show an increase in intensity as the film is etched off.
End-point detection refers to control of an etch step and is therefore an important issue in RIE processes. Tracking the intensity of a wavelength for a particular species using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) is often used for end-point control of a RIE process.
Frequently, OES is used to track the amount of either volatile etch product or reactive species as a function of film thickness. This technique examines emissions from either the volatile etch product or reactive species in the plasma. As the film interface is reached during etching, the emission species related to the etch of the film will either decrease in the case of volatile etch product or increase in the case of reactive species.
More specifically during a RIE process, plasma discharge, i.e., etchant, neutral, and reactive ions in the plasma, is continuously excited by electrons and collisions, thus giving off emissions ranging from ultraviolet to infrared radiation. An optical emission spectrometer diffracts this light into its component wavelengths. Since each species emits light at a wavelength characteristic only of that species, it is possible to associate a certain wavelength with a particular species, and to use this information to detect etch end-point.
As an example, in etching SiO.sub.2 with CHF.sub.3, carbon combines with oxygen from the wafer to form carbon monoxide as an etch product. It is known that carbon monoxide emits light at a wavelength of 451 nm, and that this wavelength can be monitored for accurately detecting the end-point for such an etch. When the oxide is completely etched there is no longer a source of oxygen and the CO peak at 451 nm decreases, thus signaling end-point.
In the above example, it is known that light emitted from CO at a wavelength of 451 nm should be used for end-point detection. However, such information is generally unavailable, and it has been found to be a formidable task to determine or select the wavelength to use for accurate end-point control. This difficulty exists because of the numerous possibilities for emissions. In other words, any molecule may emit light at a multitude of different wavelengths due to the many transition states available for de-excitation. Therefore, given the process, gases utilized, and the material being etched, it is typically not readily known which wavelength in the spectrum to monitor for end-point control. In this regard, the OES spectrum for a typical RIE etch is composed of hundreds of wavelengths in the visible and ultra-violet bands.
Additionally, there is a present day trend towards using high density plasma sources to replace reactive ion etching. One example is electron cyclotron resonance (ECR), which differs from reactive ion etching in plasma formation. Generally, electron cyclotron resonance operates at a lower pressure than a conventional RIE system, and is therefore able to etch finer-line trenches anisotropically. Comparison studies of the emissions from ECR and RIE plasmas show emphasis on different species and different wavelengths for the same input gas composition. The excitation mechanisms and interactions of the particles at lower pressure account for these differences. The consequence of this for end-point is that the experience and knowledge accumulated from RIE emissions may not carry over to ECR eissions. In other words, it may not be possible to monitor the same species or wavelength for end-point detection in ECR as was monitored for RIE, even if the same material is being etched using the same input gas composition.
Thus, there remains a need in present day and future technology for optimizing selection of a wavelength to monitor for end-point detection during etching.

International Business Machines Corporation


Techniques for reducing adjacent track erasure include: a bucking coil having a lower number of turns than the write coil for bucking out a portion of the field induced by the write coil; a hybrid solenoid coil that includes turns that are in a pancake arrangement and turns that are in a solenoid arrangement; a P2 write pole tip with an increasing amount of flare as the distance from the ABS increases; a notch along an edge of the ABS surface of the P1 write pole adjacent to a tooth that extends closest to the P2 write pole; a back notch adjacent to the tooth on the P1 write pole that has a width generally corresponding to the width of the tooth; and a layered structure on the pole tip of the P1 write pole adjacent to the tooth, the layers having at least one of decreasing amounts of saturation magnetization, decreasing amounts of permeability, or alternating layers of magnetic and nonmagnetic material, where the width of the magnetic and nonmagnetic layers in controlled or the characteristics of the magnetic layers are controlled with regard to saturation magnetization or magnetic permeability to effectively decrease the overall saturation magnetization or permeability.

In hard disk drives, data is written to and read from magnetic recording media, herein called disks. Typically, one or more disks having a thin film of magnetic material coated thereon are rotatably mounted on a spindle. A read/write head mounted on an actuator arm is positioned in close proximity to the disk surface to write data to and read data from the disk surface.
During operation of the disk drive, the actuator arm moves the read/write head to the desired radial position on the surface of the rotating disk where the read/write head electromagnetically writes data to the disk and senses magnetic field signal changes to read data from the disk. Usually, the read/write head is integrally mounted in a carrier or support referred to as a slider. The slider generally serves to mechanically support the read/write head and any electrical connections between the read/write head and the disk drive. The slider is aerodynamically shaped, which allows it to fly over and maintain a uniform distance from the surface of the rotating disk.
Typically, the read/write head includes a magnetoresistive read element to read recorded data from the disk and an inductive write element to write the data to the disk. The read element includes a thin layer of a magnetoresistive sensor stripe sandwiched between two magnetic shields that may be electrically connected together but are otherwise isolated. A current is passed through the sensor stripe, and the resistance of the magnetoresistive stripe varies in response to a previously recorded magnetic pattern on the disk. In this way, a corresponding varying voltage is detected across the sensor stripe. The magnetic shields help the sensor stripe to focus on a narrow region of the magnetic medium, hence improving the spatial resolution of the read head.
The write element typically includes a coil of wire through which current is passed to create a magnetic field that can be directed toward an adjacent portion of the disk by a ferromagnetic member known as a write pole. While it is known that the write element can be arranged to either store data longitudinally or perpendicularly on the disk, most, if not all, commercial disk drives to date have utilized longitudinal recording arrangements. Although perpendicular recording techniques have the potential to allow for higher densities of recorded information, longitudinal recording is used in all current products for historical reasons. An early perpendicular recording technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. RE 33,949, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In longitudinal recording, fringe fields can be produced that can inadvertently write or erase data on adjacent parallel tracks on the disk. In order to not write or erase data in adjacent tracks, the fringing field in the media in the adjacent track should be less than the nucleation field. Furthermore, in order to have a good write process, the write field in the media in the desired track for writing data should be at least twice the coercivity of the media.
Typically, the write coil is overdriven with current in order to quickly change th magnetic data in the media. For example, the profile of a current signal to the write coil may include a brief pulse of 100 milliamps and settling down to a signal of 30 milliamps. Unfortunately, overdriving the write coil in this manner ends up overdriving the fringe field as well. Of course, this can end up causing fringe or adjacent track erasure (ATE). It may be that only a few bits on an adjacent track are erased on each pass, but after writing to a particular track 100 times or more, then the adjacent track ends up corrupted. It should be understood that there are some applications where a particular track could be written to millions of times.
Previous approaches to reduce ATE have related primarily to moving sharp edges on the larger write pole further from the gap between the write poles. As is well known, the two write poles (commonly referred to as P1 and P2) are typically of different width with P2 being on the order of magnitude of the track to be written and the majority of P1 being significantly wider. The corners of P1 closest to P2 have been found to be the most problematic in creating fringing fields, since sharp edges typically cause fields to concentrate there. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,112, these front corners of P1 can be beveled off. In this manner there are still corners, but they are further from the gap so there is less ATE. It should be noted that because of the non-linear magnetic characteristics of the recording media, reducing the fringing fields by as little as 10% can significantly reduce ATE.
Another technique for reducing ATE is now a part of the typical process of manufacturing GMR read/write heads. This technique includes using the P2 write pole as a mask on P1 and ion milling away the upper surface of P1. This ion milling process moves the corners further from the gap between P1 and P2. The ion milling that creates this deep cut does, however, have the disadvantages of cutting away the top and sides of P2 and consequently reducing track width control, creating a flux bottleneck in P2, and requires a lengthy ion milling process which results in undesirably long process times.
In addition, increasing the depth of the ion milling on P1 has diminishing returns on ATE. This is because the fringing fields come not only from the portions of P1 that are closest to P2 yet not in the gap. In addition, fringing fields come from other sources, such as the write coil, other portions of P2, and so forth.
It has also been discovered that the relationship between the magnetic field and magnetization of the media changes with temperature, so that what might be an acceptable amount of fringing field at room temperature becomes a problematic amount of fringing field at elevated temperatures.
It is desirable to design/provide a read/write head which does not suffer from the above drawbacks. It is against this background and a desire to improve on the prior art that the present invention has been developed.

Techniques to reduce adjacent track erasure including a write pole with a tip having faces at angles


A method of manufacturing semiconductor wafers using a simulation tool to determine predicted wafer electrical test measurements. The simulation tool combines in-line critical dimensions from previous from previous processes run on the current wafer lot, data from previous lots for processes subsequent to the process being run on the current lot and calibration simulation data obtained from the comparison of the predicted wafer electrical test measurements and collected wafer electrical test measurements taken from previous actual wafer electrical test measurements.

1. Cross Reference to Related Applications
This application is related to application, Ser. No. 08/985,470, filed on the filing date of this application, entitled AUTOMATIC RECIPE ADJUST AND DOWNLOAD BASED ON PROCESS CONTROL WINDOW and to the application, Ser. No. 08/985,467, filed on the filing date of this application, entitled DISPOSITION TOOL FOR FACTORY PROCESS CONTROL both of which are assigned to the assignee of this application.
2. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the manufacture of high performance integrated circuits on semiconductor devices. More specifically, this invention relates to optimizing the manufacture of high performance integrated circuits on semiconductor devices. Even more specifically, this invention relates to optimizing the manufacture of high performance integrated circuits on semiconductor devices using simulated wafer electrical test data (WET) from current and previous layer data.
3. Discussion of the Related Art
In the typical semiconductor manufacturing facility, many simulation and analysis tools have been implemented to assist the process integration and device development efforts. These simulation and analysis tools, however, are typically employed to provide an indication of general trends. The latent potential of reducing the number of silicon runs and speeding up the process optimization cycle has not been fully achieved. One of the primary reasons the process optimization cycle has not been achieved is that the accuracy of the data obtained cannot be established to the degree necessary to determine the dependability of the simulation systems. The accuracy of the data obtained can only be achieved by a complete and detailed engineering calibration of the simulation system. This calibration, however, demands extensive engineering resources and data from multiple silicon production runs which, in turn, is usually only available at the latter stages of the process development or early production cycles.
In addition, process optimization for a technology that has completed qualification and is ramping-up production could receive great benefit from the extensive embedded device physics contained in advanced complex simulation tools.
Current trends in semiconductor process development include the use of these simulation tools to predict certain wafer electrical tests (WET) device performance characteristics based on a predetermined set of process values. The use of these simulation tools has been very effective. Additionally, optimal performance of current large-scale integrated devices can be predicted by a subset of critical WET performance parameters. These performance criteria include speed, operating temperature, power utilization, and reliability.
Furthermore, current manufacturing technology utilizes in-line statistical evaluation of critical parametric values at most module steps in the overall process flow. These statistical values are used to maintain control of the process, at the particular process module in question, often without regard to previous processing results. Often the goal of manufacturing is to meet not only yield goals, but certain performance goals as well. Currently, to do this it is necessary to force certain values to meet very strict specifications, such as shifting polysilicon gate critical dimensions (CD) or increasing or increasing threshold adjust implant, and hope that other process module variations will not adversely affect performance.
Therefore, what is needed is a method of achieving optimum performance is to have a tool that can provide a process control window or specification for the current module by utilizing the previous process step statistical data as a baseline that is entered into a process simulation tool. Such a process control window would have the potential of being much wider than current specifications due to the previous layer parameters and their effects being precisely known and can be considered dynamic since the process control window can change based on actual previous layer data. The simulation tool would be preset to optimize the process to hit certain critical WET parametrics. Using the previous data baseline, and knowing the WET goals, the simulator tool would then provide direction by providing a process control window for the remaining operations to achieve those goals.

Dynamic process window control using simulated wet data from current and previous layer data


An ATM-based delay adaptive scheduling apparatus adaptive according to a traffic type and method thereof. A scheduling portion categorizes an input cell according to the traffic type, and generates service information of the cell suitably for the traffic type of the cells. A controlling portion determines a priority of cell service provision based on the service information, and an outputting portion reads a corresponding cell from the storing portion according to the service providing priority determined by the controlling portion, and outputs the read cell to an ATM switch. By generating the service information of each cell in the form of a tag, and by determining a priority of service provision according to the generated service information, an adequate QoS is guaranteed for each traffic type under a multi-traffic environment, and an efficient use of bandwidth provided in a current network is achieved by using the characteristics of each traffic type.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) based delay adaptive scheduling apparatus adaptive according to traffic types and method thereof, and more particularly to an ATM-based delay adaptive scheduling apparatus that is adaptive to a delay time generated at an exchange node based on traffic characteristics and quality of service (QoS) provided in a traffic setting step, and a method thereof. The present invention is based on Korean Patent Application 2001-36013 filed on Jun. 23, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
With technological developments in high speed switching and optical transmission fields, data transmission at high speed and wideband service at a speed ranging from several hundred Mbps to several dozens of Gbps were enabled. Meanwhile, a broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN) based on an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) provides wideband multi-media services including video on demand (VOD), video conference, etc.
One of the most important preconditions for supporting the wideband multi-media services in terms of network design is to guarantee bandwidth sufficient for efficient provision of services. Further, for a network provider and a user, use of bandwidth has to be optimized during initial connection in the network as constructed. Accordingly, there will be an agreement between the provider and the user for a proper QoS for each traffic type, and here, an average delay becomes an essential factor that determines conditions for QoS demand. Accordingly, importance of a delay boundary at an intermediary node is emphasized.
For an ATM network, various algorithms have been suggested, like a scheduling algorithm for reallocating the bandwidth according to demands of respective sources, and an algorithm that is fast, efficient, and suitable for limited performance. References can be found in "A service architecture for ATM: from application to scheduling, IEEE network, pp. 6–14, May/June 1996" by Mark W. Garrett, and "Start-time fair queuing: A scheduling algorithm for integrated services packet switching networking, Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 690–704, October 1997" by Pawan Goyal, Harrick M. Vin, and Haichen Cheng on the field of IEEE/ACM networking.
Most algorithms, however, cannot distinguish traffic sensitive to time during scheduling from traffic sensitive to damage. Accordingly, a delay boundary between end points required by the traffic sensitive to time, cannot be guaranteed. In order to guarantee the delay boundary between the end points as required by the traffic sensitive to time, there occurs a waste of bandwidth. This problem is specified in a doctorate thesis titled "Research on an efficient operation of a port of an output buffer type ATM switch" (Dr. Ho-yong Ryu. PhD. Dissertation. Kwangwoon University. 1998. A duplicated copy obtainable from the library of Kwangwoon University).
The algorithm like fair queuing (FQ) that is operated by a round-robin scheduling has a drawback that it could not provide different bandwidths for respective sources. Suggestions to solve this problem are: weighted fair queuing (SFQ) and a generalized processing sharing (GPS). References to the SFQ and GPS can be found in "Design of a weighted fair queuing cell scheduler for ATM network, IEEE Globelcom98, Vol. 1, pp. 405–410, November 1998" contributed by Yuhua Chen and Jonathan S. Turner on the IEEE Globelcom, and the "Bandwidth allocation of r-multiple qualities of service using generalized processor sharing, IEEE transactions on information theory, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 268–272, January 1996" by G. De Veciana and George Kesidis.
In the input queuing switching system using the above queuing model, however, output conflict and head of line blocking cause delay between end points and subsequent reduction of processing ratio. Further, in the multi-traffic conditions, in order to ensure QoS for the respective traffic types, ATM forum TM 4.0 allocates a priority to each traffic type, and the priority serves as an important reference to determine the order of transmission during the scheduling process.
FIG. 1 is a view showing the structure of a system for a conventional input buffering type crossbar relaying algorithm.
Referring to FIG. 1, when a cell arrives at one of the input ends (100a through 100n), a shaper 110 applies the traffic characteristic of the input cell into a predetermined traffic type. A crossbar scheduler 120 determines whether to provide service or not based on the priority determined in accordance with the traffic type of the input cell. A crossbar switching fabric 130 transmits the cell to a corresponding output end (140a through 140n), and accordingly, the cell is transmitted through the corresponding output end (140a through 140n).
FIG. 2 shows an order of transmission of each cell input in the system for the conventional input buffering type crossbar relaying algorithm. When the cells shown in FIG. 2 are in queue, regardless of service finish time preset for each cell, the cells are serviced by an order of constant bit rate (CBR), real-time variable bit rate (rt-VBR), non-real time variable bit rate (nrt-VBR), available bit rate (ABR), and unspecified bit rate (UBR). Accordingly, the low priority cells are waiting in queue until the higher priority cells are serviced, resulting in a waste of available bandwidths.

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) based delay adaptive scheduling apparatus adaptive according to traffic types and method thereof


A phase shifter device comprising a substrate defining a slot line waveguide having first and second ends and being operably coupled to a microstrip waveguide and a shorting patch is described. The microstrip waveguide and shorting patch are moveable along the slot line waveguide so as to vary the distance between the first end of the slot line and the intersection of the slot line waveguide and microstrip waveguide whilst maintaining a substantially constant separation between the microstrip waveguide and the shorting patch. A separation between the microstrip waveguide and shorting patch equal to one quarter of the effective wavelength of the radiation carried by the device is described. The device is described for use in various phased array antenna systems.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a phase shifter device for use at microwave or radio frequencies, and more particularly to phased array antenna apparatus incorporating a plurality of such phase shifter devices.
(2) Description of the Art
Phased array antennas are well known. In such devices the resultant radiation pattern transmitted (the transmit beam), or the radiation pattern received (the receive beam), is controlled by variation of the relative phase of the signal transmitted, or received, by each antenna element that forms the phased array. In this manner, it is possible to steer a transmit or receive beam electronically without any mechanical movement of the antenna.
The phase differences necessary for phased array operation can be introduced in a variety of ways. One of the simplest techniques is to link each antenna element to a common feed point using co-axial cables of different length. However, this fixes the relative phase shifts between the antenna elements which may be undesirable in certain applications where phase adjustment is required. It is also possible to obtain accurate phase control at very high speeds over multiple element phased array antenna using digital electronic phase shifting devices of the type used in phased array radar systems. Although such an approach is highly suited to radar applications, the complexity and cost of the electronic circuitry is prohibitively expensive for low cost, mass market, applications.
In cases where rapid phase control is not required, but providing a fixed relative phase difference is insufficient, low complexity adjustable phase shifters have been developed. Such phase shifters enable control, for example by an engineer setting up a system, over the directionality of phased array antennas having a relatively low number of elements. US2002/0003458 and JP6326501 describe such phase shifters.
In US2002/0003458 a phase shifter is described in which a dielectric element having a number of teeth is moveably mounted over a pattern of conductive tracks formed on a planar dielectric circuit board. Movement of the dielectric element alters the propagation velocity through the conductive track, thereby imparting the required phase shift. This enables a phase shift to be introduced between sets of transmitter elements (typically two or three) to enable a downward tilt of the transmit and receive beams of a cellular telephone base station transceiver. A drawback of the device of US2002/0003458 is that the linear movement of the moveable dielectric element does not provide a correspondingly linear change in the phase shift imparted to the signal as the effect of the dielectric element is difficult to predict. This can make it difficult to control the amount of phase shift imparted to a signal.
JP6326501 describes a variable phase shifter having a substrate that is provided with a pair of arc shaped slot lines of different radius. An output terminal is connected to each end of each slot line. A rotatable arm distributes input radiation to each of the arc shaped slot lines, and this radiation is further distributed to each of the four slot line output terminals. Rotation of the arm alters the relative path length between the input radiation and each of the four output terminals, thereby altering the phase of the radiation at each of the output terminal. A disadvantage of the device of JP6326501 is that it is only possible to operate the device as a combined signal splitter and phase shifter. Furthermore, independent control of the phase shift imparted to each of the four output signals is not possible; the geometry of the device dictates the phase shifts imparted to each of the four output signals for a given orientation of the rotatable arm.

Phase shifter device having a microstrip waveguide and shorting patch movable along a slot line waveguide


An air conditioning system for vehicles has a cooling circuit and a radiator supplying cooling water to an engine. The cooling circuit includes a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator. The system includes a water temperature sensor for detecting a water temperature in the radiator, and a control device for selectively controlling the opening of ports to allow temperature controlled air to flow into an interior of a vehicle, in accordance with the water temperature, detected by the water temperature sensor, and a target conditioned air temperature. In the system, the power to an air conditioner may be appropriately restricted, and the amount of heat radiation at the condenser may also be appropriately restricted. Consequently, the water temperature in the radiator may be prevented from becoming too hot, thereby preventing instances of overheating and preventing a warning of a potential overheat.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioning system for vehicles, and, more specifically, to an air conditioning system suitable as an air conditioner for use in a work vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a vehicle having a radiator supplying water to an engine, the radiator is generally mounted in an engine compartment together with other equipments for an air conditioner. A compressor provided in a cooling circuit of the air conditioner is generally driven by using the power of an engine. If the consumptive power of the engine is too much, the engine may heat up and the water temperature in the radiator may be too hot, thereby causing the vehicle to overheat. If the vehicle overheats or a warning that the vehicle is about to overheat occurs, the operation of the vehicle is stopped or a restriction on the operation of the vehicle occurs.
In work vehicles, for example power shovels, common sized cabins are frequently used regardless of the size or weight of the vehicles. Thus, the specification and abilities of air conditioners required for such common cabins may be substantially the same. However, the engine and equipment around the engine, including the radiator, tend to become smaller as the size and weight of the vehicle decreases. Therefore, in smaller sized work vehicles:
a) The amount of power consumed to drive the compressor of the air conditioner and thus the total consumptive power of the engine is increased, and the engine tends to heat up. PA1 b) The condenser covers a greater amount of area of the radiator so that the ability of the radiator to handle heat radiation decreases. PA1 c) Because generally, the engine compartment is not too wide, the ability to exhaust heat is not good. Therefore, heat tends to be trapped in the engine compartment, and a) and b) may be exasperated.
As a result, in smaller vehicles the water temperature in the radiator tends to be high, and overheating often occurs.
Moreover, in a work vehicle, a door and/or a window may frequently be open. This causes the cooling load to increase, which causes the heat radiated from the condenser to increase, which results in a decrease in the ability of the radiator to handle the heat radiation. As a result, the water temperature in the radiator may increase and the vehicle may overheat.


An object is to provide a showcase capable of improving the appearance of an illumination apparatus and also capable of improving the effects of illumination by the illumination apparatus. In the showcase, the inside of a display chamber formed in a main body thereof is illuminated with the illumination apparatus. The illumination apparatus includes: a plurality of LED illumination components equipped with LED elements; a holding member attached to the main body to hold the LED illumination components; a wiring connector provided between the LED illumination components; and a reflecting plate covering the connector.

The present invention relates to a showcase in which the inside of a display chamber formed in the main body thereof is illuminated with an illumination apparatus.
Conventional showcases of the above-mentioned type include an open showcase as shown in, for example, Patent Document 1. In such an open showcase, cold air is discharged from an outlet formed at the lower edge of an opening in an insulating wall substantially U-shaped in section toward an inlet at the lower edge of the opening, thereby forming a cold air curtain at the opening. Thus, the inside of a display chamber enclosed by the insulating wall is cooled at a predetermined temperature. Further, a plurality of fluorescent lamps are attached to, for example, a canopy located outside the upper edge of the opening, to both side edges of the openings and to the lower surface of the front of a shelf in order to illuminate the inside of the display chamber and the showcase itself (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-146346 (Patent Document 1)).
However, in the conventional open showcase, the fluorescent lamps are used as illumination apparatuses, and the fluorescent lamps are provided, for example, at the front of the upper part of the display chamber and in the lower surface of the shelf put up in the display chamber. This is a disadvantage in that heat load is produced in the display chamber due to the illumination with the fluorescent lamps. In general, a fluorescent lamp converts electric energy into visible radiation, infrared radiation and ultraviolet radiation, and emits visible light, so that the fluorescent lamp is used as illumination. Heat loss is produced at this point, which disadvantageously causes the inside of the display chamber to be heated not only by the fluorescent lamp itself but also by the radiant heat of the fluorescent lamp.
Therefore, cooling efficiency decreases in a cooling showcase which cools the inside of a display chamber at a predetermined temperature because this showcase performs a cooling operation considering the heat load resulting from the illumination. This disadvantageously increases running costs. Another disadvantage is that ultraviolet rays falling on commodities displayed in the display chamber have an adverse effect on the commodities. Still another disadvantage is that the fluorescent lamp uses an alternating current and has the problem of flickering, and thus has an adverse effect on the eyes.
Moreover, the fluorescent lamp has to be replaced when a luminance decrease or lighting defect is caused by deterioration over time. This forces a user to replace the fluorescent lamp, which is unfortunately a troublesome work. There is a need for a constant stock of new fluorescent lamps for replacement, and a storage place for the fluorescent lamps needs to be secured. Furthermore, the fluorescent lamp contains mercury, which disadvantageously prevents the used fluorescent lamp from being easily discarded.
Accordingly, LED illumination components equipped with LED elements have recently been employed to replace the fluorescent lamps. In this case, chip-type LED elements are mainly employed to reduce costs. A plurality of LED elements are arrayed and provided under shelves and in a canopy as LED illumination components.
In this case, the illumination apparatus may be composed of a single LED illumination component laterally provided at the front opening of the display chamber. However, in order to reduce manufacturing costs and to improve handleability, the illumination apparatus can be composed of a plurality of LED illumination components.
However, in this case, lead wires drawn from the LED illumination components are removably connected between the LED illumination components by a wiring connector. This wiring connector is disposed along a substrate to which the LED elements are attached, and is hidden together with the LED elements by, for example, a shade.
In this connection, the shade is made of a light-transmitting, colorless and transparent material to ensure light transmitting properties. Thus, the wiring connector is visible to the outside through the shade, which disadvantageously impairs the appearance. Moreover, the wiring connector is disposed in the vicinity of the LED element, so that light radiated from the LED element is blocked by the wiring connector. This disadvantageously prevents the inside of the display chamber from being effectively illuminated.
Furthermore, the LED element is more of a point light source in contrast with the thick fluorescent lamp. It is therefore disadvantageous that if light of the LED element is blocked by, for example, commodities placed on the shelf, the light does not reach farther, so that it is dark in the inner part of the display chamber and the effects of illumination decrease. Therefore, even if an LED illumination component enabling a predetermined intensity of illumination is provided in the canopy, it is unfortunately impossible to effectively illuminate the inside of the display chamber, particularly, the inner upper part of the display chamber.
The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the conventional arts, and is directed to provide a showcase capable of improving the appearance of an illumination apparatus and also capable of improving the effects of illumination by the illumination apparatus.


A device configured to recover and repeat source synchronous data. In one embodiment, the device is configured to receive source synchronous data via a first interface, recover the received data utilizing a corresponding received source synchronous clock signal, and transmit the recovered data and a corresponding clock signal in a source synchronous manner. In one embodiment, the device is configured to operate as a repeater without benefit of an internal clock signal. In addition, the device may be configured to remove data jitter and renew or restore amplitude to attenuated signals prior to retransmission.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of digital communications and, more particularly, to the transmission of digital signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
The design of advanced digital communication systems requires careful attention to the reliable transmission and receipt of signals in order to ensure proper functioning. One popular design methodology is that of synchronous design. Generally speaking, synchronous designs utilize a central clock which is distributed to various parts of the design. While utilizing a synchronous approach may simplify certain aspects of the design process, this approach is not without its problems. One such problem is that of clock skew. Because a central clock signal may be distributed to various parts of a system via board traces, backplanes, interconnects, and the like, clock skew may exceed that which can be tolerated by registers and other elements. Consequently, design techniques to minimize clock skew must be utilized to ensure proper system functioning. An additional consequence of using the synchronous design approach and distributing a clock signal throughout a system is the inherent phase delay that may accumulate. In a design where higher frequencies and performance are desired, these delays ultimately may cause the synchronous design approach untenable.
Source synchronous designs utilize a different approach than the synchronous design approach in order to obtain higher performance. Source synchronous designs transmit both a clock signal and data from a transmitter to receiver. The receiver then uses the received clock signal to recover the data. Because the clock signal and data are transmitted from the transmitter to receiver in parallel, some of the problems of a widely distributed clock signal are avoided. Consequently, higher frequencies may be more reliably maintained. Also, many source synchronous designs may utilize both edges of a transmitted clock signal for the transmission of data. In this manner, even higher data throughputs may be achieved. Further, because both the clock signal and data are transmitted by a particular source, longer trace lengths may be supported.
While source synchronous designs may provide certain advantages over synchronous designs, they are not without their own problems. For example, the design must account for clock jitter due to noise. In addition, certain systems may require transmitting signals over relatively long distances. Even with the greater lengths which may be achieved using source synchronous designs, jitter and other signal degradation may limit the effective length of a transmission line. Further, signal degradation may also reduce the effective operating frequency which can be achieved.
What is desired is a method and mechanism for improving signal transmitting signals in source synchronous designs.


The present invention relates to the treatment of Pin1-associated disorders (e.g., disorders characterized by elevated Pin1 activity) with arsenic trioxide, optionally in combination with a retinoic acid compound. Pin1-associated disorders may include, for example, proliferative disorders (e.g., cancers), inflammatory conditions, and autoimmune disorders associated with aberrant levels of Pin1 activity.

Phosphorylation on serine/threonine-proline motifs restrains cis/trans prolyl isomerization, and also creates a binding site for the essential protein Pin1. Pin1 binds and regulates the activity of a defined subset of phosphoproteins, as well as participating in the timing of mitotic progression. Both structural and functional analyses have indicated that Pin1 contains a phosphoserine/threonine-binding module that binds phosphoproteins, and a catalytic activity that specifically isomerizes the phosphorylated phosphoserine/threonine-proline. Both of these Pin1 activities are essential for Pin1 to carry out its function in vivo.
Pin1 is highly conserved and contains a protein-interacting module, called WW domain, and a catalytically active peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase). Pin1 is structurally and functionally distinct from members of two other well-characterized families of PPIases, the cyclophilins and the FKBPs. PPIases are ubiquitous enzymes that catalyze the typically slow prolyl isomerization of proteins, allowing relaxation of local energetically unfavorable conformational states. Phosphorylation on Ser/Thr residues immediately preceding Pro not only alters the prolyl isomerization rate, but also creates a binding site for the WW domain of Pin1. The WW domain acts a novel phosphoserine-binding module targeting Pin1 to a highly conserved subset of phosphoproteins. Furthermore, Pin1 displays a unique phosphorylation-dependent PPIase that specifically isomerizes phosphorylated Ser/Thr-Pro bonds and regulates the function of phosphoproteins.
Pin1-catalyzed cis-trans isomerization of phosphorylated Ser/Thr-Pro motifs has been shown to be involved in an increasing number of diseases. For example, Pin1 is overexpressed and/or overactivated in numerous cancers and elevated Pin1 can be correlated with poor clinical prognosis. Pin1 polymorphisms that lower Pin1 expression are associated with reduced risk for multiple cancers. Moreover, Pin1-null mice are highly resistant to tumorigenesis even after overexpression of an oncogene such as HER2, RAS, Myc, Notch3, mutant p53, or deletion of a tumor suppressor such as p53. Conversely, Pin1 overexpression has been shown to disrupt cell cycle coordination and lead to chromosome instability and tumorigenesis. Pin1 activates over 40 oncogenes and inactivates over 20 tumor suppressors, many of which have a major role in cancer stem cells (CSCs). For example, it has been shown that Pin1 is fundamental for driving CSC expansion, tumorigenesis, and metastasis. Thus, Pin1 inhibitors may have the desirable ability to simultaneously block multiple cancer-driving pathways in CSCs and non-CSC tumor cells for treating aggressive cancer and overcoming drug resistance, with limited toxicity. As such, there exists a need in the art for new and improved Pin1 inhibitors.

Arsenic trioxide for treatment of PIN1-associated disorders

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc.


A ribbon for a photovoltaic module includes a plurality of first interconnection ribbons connected to one solar battery cell, a plurality of second interconnection ribbons connected to another solar battery cell, and a bus ribbon through which the first and second interconnection ribbons are connected. In the ribbon, the bus ribbon includes a first ribbon connecting portion connected to the plurality of first interconnection ribbons, a second ribbon connecting portion connected to the plurality of second interconnection ribbons, and a string connecting portion connected between the first and second ribbon connecting portions. Accordingly, it is possible to decrease resistance at the connected portion between the bus ribbon and the interconnection ribbon and to minimize loss caused by serial resistance, thereby improving the power and light conversion efficiency of solar battery cells.

1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention relates to a ribbon for a photovoltaic module, through which solar battery cells are connected.
2. Description of the Related Art
Solar batteries function to convert solar energy to electrical energy. The solar batteries are manufactured using a semiconductor material such as silicon, gallium-arsenide, cadmium-telluride, cadmium-sulfide, indium-phosphorus or mixture thereof, and the silicon is mainly used as the semiconductor material.
A solar battery is manufactured by forming the p-n junction of a semiconductor material using a diffusion method, and uses the photovoltaic effect in which a small amount of current flows when the solar battery receives light. A solar battery is generally composed of a large-area p-n junction diode, and an electromagnetic force generated between both electrode terminals of the p-n junction diode is applied to an external circuit, thereby acting as a unit solar battery or solar battery cell.
Since the electromagnetic force generated from the solar battery cell is small, a plurality of solar battery cells is connected through a bus to form a photovoltaic module that generates a desired electromagnetic force.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional photovoltaic module.
In the conventional photovoltaic module, a plurality of solar battery cells 110 is arranged at an interval, and two interconnection ribbons 120 and 122 are connected to one solar battery cell 110. The interconnection ribbons of one solar battery cell 110 and the interconnection ribbons of another solar battery cell are connected to a bus ribbon 130. The bus ribbon 130 is connected to a load (not shown) that requires electric power.
Electric charges in the photovoltaic module flow in the two interconnection ribbons 120 and 122 and then move to the straight-line bus ribbon 130 connected perpendicularly to the interconnection ribbons 120 and 122.
In order to form the bus ribbon in a practical process, the bus ribbon 130 is cut to a predetermined length and then connected to string portions of the interconnection ribbons 120 and 122 through welding.
However, since such bus ribbon structure is connected to the interconnection ribbon as wide as the bus ribbon, and the connected portion is perpendicularly bent, resistance is changed depending on the position of the interconnection ribbon, and accordingly, serial resistance increases at the connected portion between the bus ribbon and the interconnection ribbon.
Because of small contact area between the interconnection ribbon and the bus ribbon, problems occur that contact resistance between the interconnection ribbon and the bus ribbon increases, and resistance increases too due to concentrated current at the perpendicularly bent portion.


A latch assembly with an anti-picking function includes a bracket mounted in a door and located at a top or bottom end of the door. A movable member is slideably received in the bracket. A lever is pivotably mounted in the bracket. A positioning member includes a first pivotal portion pivotably connected to the movable member. The positioning member and the movable member can move jointly. The positioning member further includes a second pivotal portion pivotably connected to the lever. When the lever pivots, the positioning member pivots and actuates the movable member to move, causing movement of a latch between a latching position and an unlatching position. When the latch is in the latching position, a lug of the positioning member abuts against the movable member to prevent the latch from moving from the latching position to the unlatching position by picking.

The present invention relates to a latch assembly and, more particularly, to a latch assembly to be mounted to a top end or a bottom end of a door for reliably fixing the door in a door frame without the risk of picking.
A type of latch assembly is mounted to a top or bottom end of a door and includes a latch extending into a door frame when the door is in a closed position to prevent opening of the door. Such a latch assembly can only be opened from the inside of the door to provide enhanced burglarproof effect. A gap exists between the top face of the door and the door frame or between the bottom face of the door and the ground to allow smooth opening of the door by avoiding friction between the door and the door frame or the ground. A burglar can pick the latch via the gap and, thus, open the door.
Thus, a need exists for an anti-pick latch assembly to prevent unauthorized opening of the door.

Latch assembly with an anti-picking function


A process for assisting the driving of a vehicle provided with a braking system including brake calipers able to be activated as a function of a target braking force, including the steps of: determining an instantaneous state of the vehicle defined by state variables measured by sensors with which the vehicle is provided; testing a logical entry condition verified when the velocity of the vehicle is zero and when the slope is greater than a pre-defined slope; when the logical entry condition is verified, testing a logical exit condition; automatically operating the braking system to keep the vehicle static on the slope while the logical exit condition is not verified; and automatically releasing the activation of the braking system when the logical exit condition is verified.

Driving a vehicle on a slope is a difficult operation, which in particular requires that, once the vehicle is stationary, the driver keep the brake pedal depressed. Certain operations then require release of the activation of the brake pedal. In particular, pulling away again in the vehicle to climb the slope.
This latter operation is complex, since it is necessary to pass from operation of the brake pedal to that of the accelerator pedal, while operating the clutch pedal to find the point of slip. This activation, which is stressful for the driver, often fails, leading to stalling of the engine and to displacement of the vehicle towards the bottom of the slope, which can be detrimental.
The document EP-1352798-A1 discloses a process for management of parking intended to place a vehicle in a stable stationary state without the intervention of the driver. This process is not exclusively restricted to the case of a sloping road. Generally, on the achievement of a first condition, the process consists of a first braking operation by activation of a dynamic system, and then on the achievement of a second condition, the process is continued by a second braking operation by activation of a static braking system. In a particular case, when the vehicle is stationary, an operation of measurement of the period that has elapsed since the vehicle was stopped permits starting of the first operation after a first predetermined period and starting of the second operation after a second predetermined period. By pressing on the accelerator pedal, the driver causes an operation of release of the vehicle by deactivation of the static braking system while activating the dynamic braking system, and then by progressive deactivation of the dynamic braking system. The braking forces applied by the braking systems can optionally be modulated as a function of the slope.
This document does not address the problem of stopping with the possibility of pulling away again, either up or down the slope.

Driving assistance function for a vehicle stationary on a slope


An image resolution increasing method include setting a first block which is included in a low resolution image and is located at a first position, and a second block which is included in a high resolution image and is located at a second position, and setting, as an increasing resolution block of the first block, a third block expressed by a second vector obtained by projecting a first vector representing the second block to a linear manifold as a set of vectors that indicate fourth blocks of the second block size, the fourth blocks becoming the first block due to reduced resolution, in a Euclidean space having, as the number of dimensions, a product of the number of pixels arranged vertically in the second block size and the number of pixels arranged horizontally in the second block size.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image resolution increasing method and apparatus, which convert image data captured by a camera or received by a television into image data of a higher resolution.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, display apparatuses such as televisions, displays, and the like having a large number of pixels have prevailed. An image can be displayed up to its details as the number of pixels of the display apparatus is larger. That is, a high-resolution image can be displayed.
In order to increase the number of pixels, an interpolation manner is popularly used. The interpolation manner can speed up processing but it cannot always obtain a sharp image. In order to obtain a sharper image than the interpolation manner, a method of generating a high-resolution image that satisfies a constraint called a reconstruction constraint is available (for example, see A. Tanaka, H. Imai, and M. Miyakoshi, "Digital Image Enlargement Based on Kernel Component Estimation," International Journal of Computing Anticipatory Systems, vol. 15, pp. 97-108, 2004).
However, the conventional method of generating a high-resolution image that satisfies a reconstruction constraint suffers a problem of high calculation cost. In case of high calculation cost, for example, in a situation that requires increasing resolution so as to display a moving picture on a display apparatus, the processing speed of increasing resolution becomes lower than the playback speed of the moving picture, thus posing a problem of dropping frames.

Image resolution increasing method and apparatus


A Wireless LAN Context Control Protocol (WLCCP) is used to establish and manage a wireless network topology and securely manages the “operational context” for mobile stations in a campus network. The WLCCP registration protocol can automatically create and delete links in the network, securely distribute operational context, and reliably establish Layer 2 forwarding paths on wireless links. A single infrastructure node is established as the central control point for each subnet, and enables APs and MNs to select the parent node that provides the “least-cost path” to a backbone LAN. Context messages provide a general-purpose transport for context and management information. WLCCP “Trace” messages facilitate network diagnostic tools. Ethernet or UDP/IP encapsulation can be used for WLCCP messages. Ethernet encapsulation is employed for intra-subnet (e.g. AP-to-AP or AP-to-SCM) WLCCP messages. IP encapsulation is used for inter-subnet WLCCP messages and may also be used for intra-subnet WLCCP messages.

The present invention relates generally to wireless networks and more specifically to a hierarchical architecture for wireless networks.
In large campus or metropolitan networks, a "distributed" context transfer protocol can be used to directly transfer context from an "old AP" to a "new AP", when a MN roams. The IEEE 802.11f draft protocol, for example, defines a distributed context transfer protocol. However, there are a number of inherent problems with such a distributed approach. A secure context transfer requires a many-to-many trust relationship between APs (or requires some additional hierarchy). In addition, a protocol is needed to enable the "new AP" to determine the "old AP" when a MN roams, the "old AP" 802.11 Reassociation field is not sufficient. Context is passed around from AP to AP as a station roams; therefore, critical context may be lost (e.g. if the link to an old AP is lost). Furthermore, a distributed protocol is susceptible to an inherent race condition where "handoff messages" for rapidly roaming stations may arrive out-of-order.
Thus, a need exists for a network protocol and topology that is capable of supporting a large number of infrastructure nodes that enables mobile nodes to roam seamlessly within a single subnet or between a plurality of subnets in a campus network. The path between each mobile node and correspondent host (CH) should be reliably re-established when the mobile node roams. Because the campus network may include a large population of stations that roam frequently, the so overhead for roaming should be minimal.

Wireless local area network context control protocol


A system, method, and program product is disclosed to monitor multiple applications, each application configured to process part of a TCP/IP-based transaction. The applications communicate with one another by way of a TCP/IP protocol. Each application is further configured to generate one or more events associated with the TCP/IP-based transaction. Each application has associated therewith an event management module configured to acquire and deliver event information associated with their respective events to an event bus, to minimize overhead in managing the events. A monitoring module communicates with the event bus to receive and organize the event information to provide an integrated end-to-end view of the TCP/IP-based transaction.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for monitoring transactions and more particularly to systems and methods for monitoring transactions processed by multiple applications over a TCP/IP protocol.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a service-oriented architecture (SOA) or other similar architecture, it is often difficult to obtain a complete picture of events that occur when a transaction is processed by multiple applications. While various techniques may be used to monitor the performance of applications individually, there are few if any efficient approaches to view the overall performance of applications in the SOA or other similar architecture. Moreover, a user or administrator may be unable to analyze the performance of specific transactions as they flow through one or more networks of connected systems and applications. These problems make it difficult and time-consuming to debug or tune the performance of applications in an SOA. For example, it would be difficult to identify and correct bottlenecks in the system without more comprehensive information.
Currently, data logs may be generated to provide a record of events for each separate application in an SOA or similar architecture utilizing multiple applications communicating by way of a TCP/IP protocol. Because these data logs may be application specific, however, they may not provide a complete comprehensive view of the system or enable end-to-end analysis of transactions as they flow through the system. To obtain a more complete picture, an individual may need to manually obtain and compare logs from each application, a task that can be both tedious and inefficient.
In view of the foregoing, what are needed are systems and methods for monitoring transactions processed by multiple applications in an SOA or other similar architecture. Ideally, such systems and methods would provide a comprehensive end-to-end view of transactions processed by multiple applications, enabling a user to more easily debug and tune a multiple-application system.

Multiple-application transaction monitoring facility for debugging and performance tuning

International Business Machines Corporation


A device for the formation of a train of underlapping sheet-like articles and more particularly for the formation of an overlapped stream during conveying sheets cut by a preceding transverse cutter device from a web of paper to a feed table of a paper processing machine, comprising a holding up device arranged over a belt arrangement and with which the trailing part of the successively moving articles is able to be moved into engagement with the formation of an inlet gap for the respectively following article and more particularly by means of an associated lifting device, is able to be brought into engagement, and a draw off device following the belt arrangement and adapted to be driven at the same speed as the overlapped stream. The belt arrangement is designed in the form of a drag device with circulating entraining belts adapted only for engagement of the consecutively moving articles at the leading edge thereof. The holding up device comprises a brake device with circulating holding belts adapted for engagement with the trailing ends of the consecutively moving articles, such holding belts being adapted to be driven at an adjustable speed which initially is equal to the conveying speed of the entraining belts of the belt arrangement and then may be reduced therefrom to be equal to the speed of the overlapping stream.

The invention relates to a device for the formation of a train of underlapping sheet-like articles and more particularly for the formation of an overlapped stream during conveying sheets cut by a preceding transverse cutter device from a web of paper to a feed table of a paper processing machine. The device comprises a holding up device arranged over a belt arrangement and with which the trailing part of successively moving articles is able to be moved into engagement with the formation of an inlet gap for the respectively following article, and more particularly by means of an associated lifting device, is able to be brought into engagement, and a draw off device following the belt arrangement, the draw off device being adapted to be driven at the same speed as the overlapped stream.
A device of this type has been described in German patent publication 2,902,447 C3. In the case of this known device the holding up device only comprises a stationary suction box. In the case of the belts of the belt arrangement placed underneath the suction box it is a question of simple conveying belts, on which the sheets to be conveyed are simply rested under their own weight. Here there is no positive entrainment of the sheets. The holding up device in the form of a stationary suction box may in this case therefore only come into operation when the respective sheet has already been gripped by the following draw off device and accordingly has been slowed down to the speed of the overlapping stream. Therefore there is the danger of the sheet which is practically pushed along by the belt arrangement, running at a high speed onto the drawing off device, something which would lead to damage of the leading edge of the sheet and to irregular operation. This risk becomes increasingly serious with a greater speed of the machine. Furthermore in the known arrangement there is the danger of relative movement between the belts of the belt arrangement and the sheets simply resting thereon under their own weight, this also being a likely cause of troubling conditions and damage, more particularly in the case of high machine speeds.

Device for forming a train of underlapping articles