A unique system and method that facilitates searching an online listing service by employing a plurality of attributes, parameters, and search terms in a search query is provided. The system and method involve using parameters such as the listed item's location and a trust category associated with the listed item to assist in providing more meaningful listings in response to the search query. These parameters can be applied to one or more search queries or can be modified for each search query. Categories, subcategories, and attributes can also be used to optimize the searching capability of the system and method. In particular, the set of available attributes displayed to a user can depend on the particular category and/or subcategory. Listing owners can manage their listings and increase traffic and/or revenue using such filtering and viewing modes.

The World Wide Web ("Web") has evolved into an infinitely large virtual metropolis where a person can find just about anything from general information regarding people, places and things to real and commercial property offered for sale. For example, information on nearly anything and everything is offered on the Web for free or for a fee. Virtual communities are prevalent and buying and selling merchandise and services via the Internet has become a more widely accepted practice and way of doing business within the last handful of years.
Aside from established merchants and commercial retailers, individuals have found a marketplace online for shopping or peddling their new or used merchandise as well as seeking or offering a variety of services. Many employers seeking employees and those seeking employment have turned to the Internet for opportunities; and finding your future spouse or others with similar interests is a viable trend in recent years as well. Generally speaking, this marketplace can be referred to as an online listing service and some websites specializing in this type of commerce currently exist. Most notably, EBay and Craig's List are two of the more popular sites.
EBay is a national site for buyers and sellers across the country. However, national sites including EBay lack the level of personalization that may be more closely associated with some of the more parochial sites such as Craig's List. EBay has traditionally focused on the ability to hold auctions across the country while Craig's List has currently adopted a message board type of framework that is purely local based. Either one may offer apparent advantages over the other, but both appear to be deficient in providing users with a comprehensive and efficient marketplace. In addition, the national site can be too large-scale and intimidating for new or infrequent users. To the other extreme, the more local based site may seem too restricted in terms of the scope available items and ability to attract buyers and sellers across regions.


A deposition mask for forming a thin film pattern having a predetermined shape on a substrate by deposition, includes a resin film that transmits visible light and has an opening pattern penetrating through the resin film and having the same shape and dimension as those of the thin film pattern so as to correspond to a preliminarily determined forming region of the thin film pattern on the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a deposition mask for forming a plurality of thin film patterns on a substrate by deposition, and in particular, relates to a deposition mask enabling formation of fine thin film patterns, a method for producing the deposition mask and forming thin film patterns.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, this sort of mask has openings having a shape corresponding to a predetermined pattern, and which is configured to be aligned to a substrate, brought into close contact with the substrate and used for deposition to the substrate through the openings to form the patterns (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-open (Kokai) Patent Application Publication No. 2003-73804 (Patent Document 1)).
Furthermore, another deposition mask is a metal mask made of a ferromagnetic material provided with openings corresponding to a predetermined pattern, which is configured to be brought into close contact with a substrate so as to cover one surface thereof and is fixed to the substrate by using a magnetic force of a magnet disposed on the other side of the substrate, and is used for adhering a deposition material to the surface of the substrate through the above openings in a vacuum chamber of a vacuum deposition apparatus, to thereby form a thin film pattern (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-open (Kokai) Patent Application Publication No. 2009-164020 (Patent Document 2)).
However, among conventional deposition masks, the deposition mask disclosed in Patent Document 1 is, in general, a thin metal plate having openings corresponding to a thin film pattern formed by etching, for example. Thus, it is difficult to form the openings with high accuracy, and due to alignment error caused by thermal expansion or warp of the metal plate, it is difficult to form a fine thin film pattern of, for example, 300 dpi or higher.
Furthermore, the deposition mask disclosed in Patent Document 2 is improved in close contact with the substrate as compared with the deposition mask of Patent Document 1. However, in the same manner as the deposition mask of Patent Document 1, since the mask is a thin metal plate having openings corresponding to a thin film pattern formed by etching, for example, it is difficult to form the openings with high accuracy, and it is difficult to form a fine pattern of, for example, 300 dpi or higher.
Therefore, in view of the abovementioned problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a deposition mask enabling formation of a fine thin film pattern, a method for producing the deposition mask and a method for forming a thin film pattern.

Deposition mask, producing method therefor and forming method for thin film pattern


A method for producing a cutting or embossing roller having a cutting knife or embossing projection that projects out of the surface of a base body of the roller ensures the greatest possible optimal homogeneity of the cutting knife or the embossing projection, while minimizing production duration and costs. Single-layer or multi-layer application of the cutting knife or the embossing projection onto the roller base body occurs by laser resurfacing welding. Each layer is produced using an additional powdered material, which is melted in a melt bath at the weld point. The heat and/or light radiation emitted by the melt bath is detected, at least during application of each layer. Laser power is controlled or regulated as a function of the heat and/or light radiation emitted by the melt bath, so that melt bath temperature remains essentially constant during application of each layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a device for producing a cutting or embossing roller by means of laser resurfacing welding, particularly for use in an envelope or label production machine, for cutting or embossing moving material webs or moving individual cutouts. The invention furthermore relates to a cutting or embossing roller produced using this method. The invention also relates to the use of a powder composition for producing a cutting or embossing roller of this type, by means of laser resurfacing welding.
2. The Prior Art
In envelope or label production machines, cutting or embossing rollers rotate at a relatively high speed of rotation, in order to perform cuts or embossed regions on moving webs of paper or moving individual cutouts. The paper to be cut or embossed contains metallic and non-metallic components as well as earths and clays. As a result, the cutting or embossing projections are exposed to significant stresses and subject to great wear. For this reason, it was usual, some time ago, to mill the knife blades of cutting rollers from solid material. Accordingly, the entire cutting roller consisted of a high-quality material that would actually have been required only for the cutting knife, i.e. the knife blade, according to the profile of requirements. The result was high costs in the production of the cutting rollers.
In DE 29 07 325 A1, it was therefore proposed to form the cutting knife by welding onto the base body of the roller welding beads made of a high-alloy, wear-resistant, and relatively hard steel. In this way, the base body of the roller could be produced from a lower-quality and therefore inexpensive material, as compared with the blade material. Application of the welding beads in the sense of this known method took place by means of electrical wire welding. This welding method requires a relatively large amount of time for applying the weld seams to the base body of the roller. This welding method also causes undesirable weld splashes on the surface of the base body of the roller, and not infrequently results in bubbles and/or cracks in the weld seams. These bubbles or cracks reduce the ability of the cutting knives, which are subject to great stress, to withstand mechanical stress, and thereby reduce their useful lifetimes.
Another welding method, namely laser resurfacing welding, is known from DE 198 32 185 A1, for example. There, the use of a diode laser, in particular, is proposed for carrying out the laser resurfacing welding. This laser melts an additional material in powder form, in order to thereby repair molding dies for injection molding and die-casting.
Another use of laser resurfacing welding, which process is actually known, is described in DE 195 33 960 A1, but not with a diode laser. There, metallic molding dies are produced, in that a powder that contains metal is melted in layers, in a melting region of the laser beam, and the applied layers are subsequently cut by machine. It was recognized that a not insignificant aspect in conducting the process of layer-by-layer construction of the work piece by means of melting the powder consists in the temperature of the work piece. Only if every layer is produced under the same conditions can the desired homogeneity with the related good mechanical properties be achieved. For this reason, a temperature measuring system is proposed. This temperature measuring system detects the surface temperature of the work piece after a layer is cut and causes the further layer-by-layer construction of the work piece to take place only if the detected temperature does not exceed a pre-determined value. This requirement, of course, results in time delays in the production sequence.

Method and device for producing a cutting or embossing roller by means of laser resurfacing welding


The present disclosure relates to an enclosure comprising a body, a lid, a locking member, and a resilient element arranged between the body and the lid. The resilient member is arranged to exert a resistive force on the lid when pressed between the body and the lid to seal the enclosure in a sealed position. The body includes at least a first recess and the lid includes at least a second recess, where each pair of a first recess and second recess is arranged to align in the sealed position, and to form a corresponding channel when aligned against the resistive force such that the enclosure is in the sealed position, and to then receive a corresponding locking member in the channel.

Today a mechanical enclosure that should contain electronic equipment is often made in two halves. To withstand mechanical requirements such as IP class, mechanical stress etc., these two halves are put together by using screws and some kind of weather sealing. To be sure that the mechanical requirements are fulfilled, the amount of screws is usually relatively large. The amount of screws will of course affect production time, and also increase the risk of loss of yield. There is also a risk of that one screw misses its thread and gets damaged. If that happens, that enclosure needs to be disassembled and go to repair, where this risk increases with the amount of screws. Furthermore, an enclosure that is put together with screws can be disassembled by unauthorized persons.
In cases where electromagnetically sensitive equipment is placed side an enclosure, the enclosure will require a separate EMC (Electromagnetic compliance) shielding as well. An enclosure that is assembled with screws in a conventional way will not be EMC sealed; radiated emissions will be able to reach in or out of the enclosure. To ensure EMC sealing, an EMC gasket is needed, which will add cost.
PIM (passive intermodulation) is a problem that can accrue in metal to metal connections due to non-linear behavior in these connections. When mechanical units are affected by radiation from, for example a nearby antenna, intermodulation that will affect performance can be generated. The more metal to metal irregularities, the harder it is to predict the result. Each screw can be a source for PIM.
In view of the above, is desirable to provide an enclosure with improved locking of a lid in a sealed position. Advantageously, the locking should enable an effective EMC shielding as well as PIM reduction.

Enclosure with improved locking of a lid in a sealed position


A method for fabricating a color filter layer, which is applied to an integrated circuit manufacturing process, includes the following steps. Firstly, a substrate is provided, and a groove structure is formed on the substrate. The groove structure includes a plurality of positive photoresist patterns and a plurality of trenches. Then, a first group of color filter patterns is formed in the trenches. The plurality of positive photoresist patterns is removed, so that a portion of a top surface of the substrate is exposed. Then, a second group of color filter patterns is formed on the exposed top surface of the substrate.

Recently, a miniaturization trend of portable electronic products, such as cameras, has led to a dimension of an image sensor disposed therein to become smaller and smaller. On the other hand, a pixel density of the image sensor is substantially increased. In the image sensor, a color filter for filtering the color of light of an image is mainly made of a color photoresist material by a photo-lithography process. However, a resolution of a current color photoresist material cannot be suitable for the decreased dimensions of the image sensor, so that the current color photoresist material cannot satisfy the demand of the higher pixel density. Especially, a residue problem and a contamination problem are easy to occur to affect the quality of the color filter and to cause an image light interference, which would seriously affect the image quality of the image sensor.
Therefore, what are needed are a color filter layer and a method for fabricating the same to overcome the above drawbacks.

Color filter layer and method of fabricating the same


By a conventional mechanism for detecting a position of a knob of a toner bottle, the detection of the presence or absence of the toner bottle could not be effected. So, by providing an optical sensor on the inner surface of an interchange door opposed to the knob of the toner bottle, it is possible to effect the detection of the presence or absence of the toner bottle, and the detection of the position of the knob, i.e., the opening and closing of a shutter of the toner bottle.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a toner supplying container detachably attachable to a main body of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer or a facsimile apparatus using an electrophotographic process or an electrostatic recording process, and an image forming apparatus supplied with a toner from the toner supplying container.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional image forming apparatus capable of recording in a plurality of colors has been as follows.
It will hereinafter be described with reference to FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a rotary member.
The image forming apparatus has a so-called rotary type developing apparatus having a plurality of developing means (hereinafter referred to as the developing devices 52) and containers (hereinafter referred to as the toner bottles 15) containing therein a plurality of developers (hereinafter referred to as the toners) corresponding thereto circumferentially disposed in a cylindrical rotary member 51.
The reference numeral 51 designates the entire rotary member, the reference numeral 52 denotes the developing devices (of which only 52y is shown), and the reference numeral 15 designates the toner bottles (of which only 15c and 15y are shown). In the present example, there are held the developing devices and toner bottles of three colors, i.e., magenta (suffix m), cyan (suffix c) and yellow (suffix y).
The rotary member 51 is rotated to oppose a developing device 52 of a desired color to a photosensitive member (not shown), thereby visualizing a latent image on the photosensitive member with a toner.
When the toners become exhausted, a user interchanges the toner bottles 15 to thereby supplement.
The rotary member 51 is rotatably held in an apparatus main body (not shown), and has its rotation stoppage controlled at a desired rotational angle and speed by the use of a motor (not shown) provided in the apparatus main body.
The toner bottles 15 are provided with operating levers (hereinafter referred to as the bottle knobs) 1 (1m, 1c, 1y), and by these bottle knobs 1 being operated, the toner bottles 15 can be fixed/released relative to the rotary member 51.
The toner bottles 15 are inserted and removed in the direction of the rotary shaft of the rotary member 51 (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3).
The surrounding portions of the toner bottle interchanging portion of the apparatus main body will now be described with reference to FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings.
The reference numeral 11 designates the apparatus main body, and the reference numeral 12 denotes an opening for interchanging the toner bottles 15 therethrough.
When the toners become exhausted during an image forming operation, the apparatus discontinues image forming and calls upon the user to interchange the toner bottle 15 by a message or the like on the display of an operating portion.
The user opens the front cover (not shown) of the apparatus and has access to the opening 12. The user rotates the bottle knob 1 by a predetermined angle to thereby release the toner bottle 15 from the rotary member 51. Then, the user draws out the toner bottle 15 toward the side of the apparatus.
Even in an apparatus having toner bottles 15 of a plurality of colors, the number of the opening 12 for interchanging the toner bottles 15 therethrough is one.
This is because in the actually used state of the apparatus, it is rare that the toners of a plurality of colors become exhausted at the same time.
Further, if a plurality of interchange doors are provided, it will become possible for the user to have access to the plurality of toner bottles 15 and therefore, the toner bottle 15 to be interchanged will be difficult to recognize. Consequently, it is more advantageous to the user that a toner bottle 15 in which the toner has become exhausted waits in the opening 12.
The toner bottle 15 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 5A is a front view of the toner bottle 15. FIG. 5B is a perspective view of a portion of the toner bottle 15.
The reference numeral 2 designates a toner containing portion, and the reference numeral 3 denotes a shutter. The letter S designates a reflection type sensor provided in the apparatus main body 11, and the reference character 1a denotes a reflecting surface for reflecting light emitted from the sensor S.
The bottle knob 1 has a rotary shaft parallel to the rotary shaft of the rotary member 51, and the bottle knob 1 is rotated by a predetermined amount to thereby fix or release the toner bottle 15 relative to the rotary member 51. Simultaneously therewith, the opening and closing of the shutter 3 provided in the communicating portion between the toner bottle 15 and the developing device 52, or between the toner bottle 15 and an intermediate hopper portion (not shown) are also effected (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-194600).
The shutter 3 is opened when the toner bottle 15 is fixed, and is closed when the toner bottle 15 is released.
The intermediate hopper portion is a region having the function of once storing therein the toner from the toner bottle 15 and feeding a desired amount of it into the developing device 52.
The reflecting surface 1a is provided on the side surface (circumference) of the bottle knob 1, and the reflection type sensor S is installed so as to detect toward the center of rotation of the bottle knob 1.
When the user rotates the bottle knob 1, the reflecting surface 1a comes off from the detection area of the sensor S, whereby it can be detected that the user has rotated the bottle knob 1 or that the toner bottle 15 is in its drawn-out state.
The following problems arise in a case where as shown in the conventional art, the reflecting surface is provided on the side surface (circumference) of the bottle knob 1 and the reflection type sensor S is installed so as to detect toward the center of rotation of the bottle knob 1.                The detecting surface of the reflection type sensor S is near to such portions handling the toner as the shutter 3 and the developing device 52 and therefore, faulty detection due to toner stains is liable to be caused.        If the reflecting surface la is present on the side surface of the rotary member 51, when the rotary member 51 is rotated or stopped, one of the reflecting surfaces 1a of the plurality of toner bottles 15 will be stopped while facing substantially upwardly without fail and therefore, the toner is liable to accumulate thereon, and this is liable to cause faulty detection.        When the detecting surface of the reflection type sensor S is stained, to clean it, it is necessary to detach a single piece of the sensor S or the sensor unit from the apparatus main body 11, and this leads to a bad working property.        Usually, after the toner bottle 15 has been interchanged, the user enters the recovery operation of rotating the rotary member 51 several times or rotating the photosensitive member. However, judgment as to whether the toner bottle 15 has been interchanged can be effected only by a front cover opening-closing detection signal (usually the front cover is provided with a sensor for detecting the opening and closing thereof) and therefore, when the user has opened and closed the front cover for some reason or other without interchanging the toner bottle 15, the user performs the recovery operation in spite of the toner bottle 15 having not been interchanged.
This will hereinafter be described with the user's operation and the detection signal made to correspond to each other. First comes the description of a normal procedure.
(1) The toner becomes exhausted during the image forming operation, and image forming is discontinued and therefore, the user is called upon to interchange the toner bottle 15 by a message displayed on an operating portion.
(2) The user opens the front cover of the apparatus (not shown).
(3) The user starts the interchange of the toner bottle 15 with reference to an interchanging method or the like on the display of the operating portion.
(4) The user rotates the bottle knob 1 by a predetermined angle to thereby release the toner bottle 15 from the rotary member 51.
(5) The user draws out the toner bottle 15 toward this side of the apparatus.
(6) The user inserts a new toner bottle 15.
(7) The user rotates the bottle knob 1 by a predetermined angle and fixes it.
(8) The user closes the front cover.
Movements in the image forming apparatus corresponding thereto are as follows.
(1) When the toner becomes exhausted during the image forming operation, the apparatus discontinues image forming, and calls upon the user to interchange the toner bottle 15 by a message on the display of the operating portion.
(2) A sensor signal for opening the front cover is detected.
(3) In response to the signal, the display of the operating portion is changed over to the display of the interchanging procedure.
(4) to (6) (There is no change during the user's interchange of the toner bottle 15.)
(7) The sensor S receives reflected light from the reflecting surface 1a to thereby detect the fixing of the toner bottle 15. In response to the signal, the display of the operating portion is changed over to display for calling upon the user to close the front cover.
(8) The closing of the front cover is detected, and the display of the operating portion is returned to the ordinary display. The recovery sequence is started, and after it is completed, image forming is resumed.
An example of the user's abnormal action will now be described.
(1) The toner becomes exhausted during the image forming operation, and image forming is discontinued, the user is called upon to interchange the toner bottle 15 by a message on the display of the operating portion.
(2) The user opens the front cover of the apparatus (not shown).
(3) However, the user becomes aware that they have prepared a toner bottle of a wrong color, and again closes the front cover.
(4) The user has prepared a right bottle, but cannot immediately interchange with it because the apparatus is in operation.
(5) Toner absence is again displayed and the interchange of the toner bottle 15 is resumed (thereafter, normal action takes place).
The movements in the image forming apparatus corresponding thereto are as follows.
(1) When the toner becomes exhausted during the image forming operation, the apparatus discontinues image forming, and calls upon the user to interchange the toner bottle 15 by a message or the like on the display of the operating portion.
(2) A sensor signal for opening the front cover is detected.
(3) A signal for closing the front cover is again detected, and it is judged that the toner bottle 15 has been interchanged, and the display of the operating portion is returned to the ordinary display.
(4) The recovery operation is started. After it is completed, image forming is resumed.
5) Image forming is resumed, but the toner bottle 15 has not been interchanged and therefore, toner absence is immediately displayed.
If as described above, only the detection of the opening and closing of the front cover is used as a judgment signal for the interchange of the toner bottle 15, when the user performs abnormal action, the display of the operating portion is returned to the ordinary display or the recovery operation is repeated many times, in spite of the toner bottle 15 having not been interchanged.
To solve this, it is conceivable to discretely provide detecting means capable of detecting the presence or absence of the toner bottle 15 itself, but this will result in the rise of the cost of the apparatus and the complication of the apparatus, and is not advisable.

Toner supplying container with shutter position/detection portion sensor feature and image forming apparatus including the same


Balun device and differential phase shifter are provided. The balun device includes a first primary coil, a first secondary coil, a second primary coil and a second secondary coil, the first primary coil having a first terminal receiving a first differential signal, and a second terminal outputting a first in-phase component, the first secondary coil having a first terminal outputting a first component orthogonal to the first in-phase component, and a second terminal coupled to AC ground, the second primary coil having a first terminal receiving a second differential signal, and a second terminal outputting a second in-phase component; the second secondary coil having a first terminal outputting a second component orthogonal to the second in-phase component, and a second terminal coupled to AC ground; phase differences between the first and second differential signals, between the first and second in-phase components, between the first and second orthogonal component are 180°.

In existing techniques, an active differential phase shifter converts two differential signals into four orthogonal differential signals through two balun devices, and then converts the four orthogonal differential signals into two orthogonal differential signals. As two balun devices are used, and a size of the balun devices is related to wavelength corresponding to operating frequency, the balun devices occupy a relatively large area.

SPREADTRUM COMMUNICATIONS (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD.


Compositions exhibiting water resistant anti-static properties prepared from a thermoplastic polymer and a polymeric anti-static salt is disclosed.

Most polymers or blends of polymers are non-conductive. As such, a static charge build-up may result during processing and use of the polymer. The charged polymer molded parts can attract dust, which are small particles, and can thus interfere with a smooth surface appearance. The attracted particles to the surface of a molded article may also cause a decrease in the transparency of the article. In addition, the electrostatic charge can be a serious obstacle in the production process of such polymers.
Anti-static agents are small molecule materials which can be added to polymers to reduce their tendency to acquire an electrostatic charge, or when a charge is present, these anti-static agents promote the dissipation of such a charge. The anti-static agents are usually hydrophilic or ionic in nature. When present on the surface of polymeric materials, they facilitate the transfer of electrons and thus eliminate the build up of a static charge. Anti-static agents have been applied in two ways. One method uses external anti-static agents that are applied by spraying the surface or dipping of the polymeric material. The second method uses internal anti-static agents, which are added to the polymer before processing. It is necessary for anti-static agents applied in this manner to be thermally stable and able to migrate to the surface during processing.
Since there are many anti-static agents having surface-active additives as their main constituent, appropriate ones may be selected therefrom according to the situation. Surface activity can involve both migration of the agent to the surface of the article during molding as well as their ability to function to eliminate the build up of a static charge at the article surface. When used as an internally-applied anti-static agent, however, anionic surface active additives are difficult to handle because they are inferior in compatibility and uniform dispersibility and tend to decompose or deteriorate when heated. Cationic surface-active additives containing qualernary nitrogen in their molecules and amphoteric surface-active additives, on the other hand, can be used only in limited situations because they are extremely poor in heat resistance, although their anti-static characteristics are good. As for non-ionic surface-active additives, they are more compatible with polymeric materials, but tend to be weak in anti-static characteristics and their effects disappear with time at normal or high temperatures. Moreover, because of the limited thermal stability of these non-ionic surface-active anti-static agents, their use with engineering thermoplastic resins, such as aromatic polycarbonates, is also limited due to the temperatures at which such resins are processed. Thus, these types of surface-active additives adversely affect the optical properties of aromatic polycarbonates.
Although metal salts of organic sulfonic acids have been reported, especially as internally applied anti-static agents for polycarbonates and polyester resins which are molded at high temperatures, they are not sufficient in compatibility with resins, nor are they heat resistant. An adverse consequence of insufficient compatibility is that transparency characteristics of certain polymeric materials are lost with such anti-static agents. Also onium salts (such as phosphonium and ammonium salts of organic sulfonic acids) are known, particularly ammonium and phosphonium salts of perfluorinated alkyl sulfonates.
While there are known anti-static agents presently available, there remains a need for further improvements to provide anti-static agents that provide a thermoplastic composition with good anti-static properties, and good retention of the anti-static properties over time and/or after exposure to water. Preferably, such improvements are provided without detrimentally affecting the optical properties of the thermoplastic, including transparency.

Thermoplastic composition containing polymeric anti-static salt, method of making, and use thereof


Microfluidic delivery systems and methods for dispensing a fluid composition into the air comprising microfluidic die and at least one heating element that is configured to receive an electrical signal comprising a certain on-time and wave form to deliver a fluid composition into the air.

Various systems exist to deliver fluid compositions, such as perfume mixtures, into the air by an energized (i.e. electrically/battery powered) atomization system. Such systems include battery-powered automatic aerosol air fresheners, sold under the tradename AirWick® by Reckitt Benckiser. Another attempt is a piezoelectric actuator that atomizes a volatile composition into fluid droplets in the air, sold under the tradename Glade® by S.C. Johnson & Son.
Recent attempts have been made to deliver fluid compositions, including scented inks, by means of an ink jet spray head. These attempts are directed to emitting a fluid composition onto an adjacent substrate/surface or emitting a fluid composition into an adjacent space. For example, JP2007054445A1 describes an ink jet head that sprays fluids into a personal space (e.g. near a user's nose) for attaining a benefit. JP2005125225 describes an ink jet head that sprays an insecticide towards a target surface.
There remains a need for an improved microfluidic delivery system to efficiently deliver sufficient quantities of a fluid composition into the air to deliver a benefit, e.g., freshen a room or living space, with minimal deposition of the fluid composition onto adjacent surfaces.

Method of delivering a dose of a fluid composition from a microfluidic delivery cartridge


Methods, apparatus, and system to verify the source of a suspect message, so that it is no longer suspect.

Messaging is computer-aided communication in which users send and receive electronic messages, generally to one another. Software running on desktop computers, mobile devices, and servers facilitates messaging. For example, end-user software programs or "apps" may allow end-users to compose and send messages, either directly to one another (such as in peer-to-peer systems) or to one another through a server, wherein the server executes software to receive, store, and route the messages. Messages can consist of text, internet hyperlinks, pictures, files, and the like.
Some of the software facilitating messaging services allow messages to be sent by an individual or organization (message sender) to another individual or organization (message recipient) in an unsolicited manner. It is possible for message senders to engage in a range of communication behaviors that message recipients may find undesirable. For example, some message senders send messages or place phone calls which use or which "spoof" an area code known to a message recipient, in order to obtain the attention of the message recipient and/or to prey upon credibility which the message recipient may ascribe to the area code. For example, some message senders pretend to be known to or trusted by a message recipient in order to implement a phishing attack on the message recipient.
In many cases, there may be inadequate ways for the message recipient to verify which person or organization a message originated from, which, for the message recipient, can lead to suspicion regarding a message or message sender and with respect to receipt of messages in general. For example, in the context of text messages, a message recipient may only have a phone number to identify the message sender. Even if a message recipient desires to receive a message from a particular message sender, the phone number may not provide the message recipient with information regarding whether the message sender was the one whom the message recipient wanted to communicate with. The message recipient may be confused and anxious regarding whether to view the message instance. The message recipient may engage in inefficient and unproductive attempts to connect the phone number with an earlier contact or with "legitimate" or "spammy" phone numbers, as may be identified through Internet search results, which may, themselves, be unreliable or manipulated.
Inability to verify message senders leaves message recipients susceptible to phishing scams and other dubious activities and causes anxiety to message recipients.

Messaging source verification method, apparatus, and system


The disclosure discloses a method and apparatus for triggering special image effects and a hardware device. The method for triggering special image effects comprises: acquiring an original image from an image source and displaying the original image on a display device; collecting speech in an environment and recognizing the semantics of said speech; triggering a special effects process in response to recognizing predetermined semantics of said speech, the predetermined semantics being preset semantics associated with one or more special effects process; and according to the triggered special effects process, processing the original image to form and display special image effects. According to the method for triggering special image effects in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the image processing effect is triggered by recognition of speech semantics, thereby solving the technical problem in the prior art of inflexible image effect triggering being unable to free up a user's hands.

With the development of computer technology, intelligent terminals have been widely used. For example, intelligent terminals are used to listen to music, play games, chat on-line, take photos, etc. Regarding photo taking, current intelligent terminals may have cameras with ten millions pixels, which can realize high resolution and good effects comparable to professional cameras.
At present, when taking photos with an intelligent terminal, not only the built-in camera software can be used to achieve conventional functions of the camera, but also applications (usually referred to as APP) downloaded from network can be used to achieve additional image or video effects, such as various filter effects.
However, in the conventional technology, a user has to manually select an effect, such as a sticker or a filter, to add the effect, which is inconvenient, especially when the user's hands are not available. That is, the conventional technology cannot free the user's hands.

Method and apparatus for triggering special image effects and hardware device

BEIJING BYTEDANCE NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A semiconductor device is made by forming patterns on a semiconductor substrate. After forming the patterns, sequentially forming a spacer layer, an oxidation promotion layer and a buffer layer on the semiconductor substrate including the surfaces of the patterns previously formed. An insulation layer is then formed on the buffer layer to fill the patterns. The semiconductor substrate including the insulation layer is subsequently annealed such that the buffer layer is oxidized and the insulation layer is baked.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device which can minimize the occurrence of defects due to a change in the volume of an insulation layer.
In a memory device such as DRAM (dynamic random access memory), bit lines are formed to supply current to junction areas to allow a charge to be stored in capacitors and to transmit a difference in amount of charge between capacitors to sense amplifiers to thereby allow the charge stored in the capacitors to be used as data.
Meanwhile, as semiconductor devices become more highly integrated, the size of a contact hole, which serves as an electrical connection path between top and bottom conductors, gradually decreases. In this situation, a method for forming storage node contacts between the bit lines has been disclosed in the art.
Hereafter, a conventional method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, including processes for forming bit lines and storage node contacts, will be schematically explained.
A conductive layer for bit lines is formed on a semiconductor substrate. A hard mask layer is then formed on the conductive layer for bit lines. The bit lines are formed by sequentially etching the hard mask layer and the conductive layer for bit lines. The conductive layer for bit lines comprises a metal layer and the hard mask layer preferably comprises a nitride layer.
A spacer layer comprising a nitride layer is formed on the resultant semiconductor substrate including the bit lines. The spacer layer is formed to prevent the bit lines and storage node contacts, which are subsequently formed, from being short-circuited.
An insulation layer is deposited on the spacer layer to fill spaces defined between the bit lines. Preferably, the insulation layer is deposited as an HDP (high density plasma) layer or as an SOD (spin-on dielectric) layer. A mask pattern is then formed on the insulation layer to expose storage node contact forming regions between the bit lines. Storage node contact holes are defined by etching the insulation layer using the mask pattern as an etch mask. Storage node contacts are formed by filling a polysilicon layer in the storage node contact holes.
The manufacture of a semiconductor device is completed by sequentially conducting a series of subsequent well-known processes.
However, in the conventional method described above, stress is likely to occur in the bit lines in a subsequent process due to a change in the volume of the insulation layer or due to a difference in thermal expansion coefficients of the insulation layer and the bit lines. In particular, the stress occurs unevenly on both sides of each bit line causing the bit line to lean or collapse.
For example, when the insulation is deposited as an HDP layer, stress is occurs unevenly on both sides of each bit line because the thickness of the insulation layer deposited on the sidewalls of the bit line changes largely depending upon the volume of the space between the bit lines. Accordingly, the bit line leans or collapses. When the insulation layer is deposited as an SOD layer, a volume change largely occurs when conducting an annealing process to bake the SOD layer. Accordingly, stress once again occurs unevenly both sides of each bit line and the leaning or collapsing of the bit line occurs.
Specifically, where leaning or collapsing of the bit lines occurs, when defining the storage node contact holes, the storage node contact holes may not be properly defined on a side opposite to the direction in which the bit lines lean or collapse, or the storage node contacts and the bit lines are likely to come into contact with each other and bridges are likely to be formed in the direction in which the bit lines lean or collapse. Consequently, the reliability of the semiconductor device can be degraded and the manufacturing yield can decrease.
In order to reduce the change in the volume of the insulation layer, such as an SOD layer, a method has been suggested in the art. The method suggests that a silicon layer is formed on the nitride spacer layer formed on the bit lines. In this method, the decrease in the volume of the insulation layer can be partially compensated for since the silicon layer is oxidized and increases in volume when annealing the SOD layer.
Nevertheless, utilizing this method, as design rules for semiconductor devices decrease, it is difficult to secure a silicon layer thickness thick enough to compensate for the decrease in the is volume of the insulation layer since the silicon layer cannot be formed to have a thickness greater than 30˜50 Å. As a result, the change in the insulation layer volume cannot be properly reduced.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device to prevent defects due to insulation layer volume change


A digital notification and response system utilizing an administrator interface to transmit a message from an administrator to a user contact device. The system comprises a dynamic information database that includes user contact data, priority information, and response data. The administrator initiates distribution of the message based upon grouping information, priority information, and the priority order. The message is transmitted through at least two industry standard gateways simultaneously to groups of user contact devices based upon priority information. Once the message is received by the user contact device, the user contact device transmits a response through the industry standard gateways back to the dynamic information database.

Businesses and their employees are actively involved in sending and receiving information using a variety of messaging formats, systems, and message receiving devices. For example, a traveling employee might, in a single trip away from the office, receive messages sent by fax, pager, electronic mail (e-mail), and voice mail. In addition, the messaging devices by which these messages are actually received might include a pager, a cellular telephone, a paper fax machine, a voice mailbox, or a portable computer connected to the Internet or to a private local area network (LAN). Often these messages will vary in their level of importance. This could affect the delivery methods and/or the nature and timing of any needed response to the message. For example, the arrival of an e-mail message from a particular sender might cause the recipient to fax a report in response. A message reporting a failure in a mission-critical computer system may need an immediate response from a maintenance technician that the message has been received and will be acted on. A message reporting a fire or other disaster may need to be sent simultaneously, or in a notification hierarchy, to multiple members of a disaster response team, with escalating methods of messaging and response gathering to insure that every team member has been notified and has responded in an appropriate fashion. In some group messaging contexts, the post-message processing, organizing, and reporting of multiple message responses can be important in further decision making by the message originator.
The prior art methods implemented in commercially available unified messaging and device specific systems generally provide one-way delivery, with destinations defined by the sender. Unfortunately, prior art systems do not solve the need for originating a message, with attachment and response requirements, in a manner and format that is independent of the type of the device that is to be used for delivering the message to the recipients. Also, prior art systems do not permit the message notification methods to be defined by the recipients, and do not include a facility for automatic processing and organization of message responses. Accordingly, known e-mail, unified messaging and specific device systems using these prior art methods are deficient in responding to these requirements.
A need exists for a system and method for automating and escalating the delivery of messages and collection of message responses implemented through messaging devices of multiple types. The system needs to work in conjunction with recipient rules routing, verification of notification and response, and collection of responses in a predefined format.
A need exists for a digital information and response system to bridge the gap between the government and the public for communication without being limited to one device.
A need exists for a method of communication from an administrator which reaches all possible forms of communication devices, so that all members of the public can be reached.
A need exists for a system that can transmit a message in multiple languages to multiple user devices to inform the public of emergency situations, and general information simultaneously.
The present embodiments meet these needs.
The present embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Digital notification and response system


A transfer-type image recording method including the steps of applying a treatment liquid that causes aggregation of a component contained in ink to an image formation surface of an intermediate transfer member; applying ink to the surface to form an intermediate image; transferring the image from the surface to an recording medium; and applying an aqueous cleaning liquid to the surface. The treatment liquid contains a nonionic surfactant. In the step of applying a treatment liquid, T1<Tc1 is satisfied, where T1 and Tc1 are respectively the temperature and cloud point of the treatment liquid. In the step of applying an aqueous cleaning liquid, T2>Tc2 is satisfied, where T2 is the temperature of a liquid mixture, formed on the surface, of a remainder of the treatment liquid and the aqueous cleaning liquid, and Tc2 is the cloud point of the liquid mixture.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transfer-type image recording method using a treatment liquid and an ink.
Description of the Related Art
As an image recording method using an ink, a transfer-type image recording method has been known. By the method, an ink is applied to an image formation surface of an intermediate transfer member to form an intermediate image, and the intermediate image is transferred to a recording medium.
In the transfer-type image recording method, the fixation of an intermediate image formed with an ink proceeds on an intermediate transfer member, and thus the method enables stable image formation even when a recording medium having low ink absorbability or a recording medium having a small ink absorption capacity is used. For example, when a thin paper having a small water absorption capacity used in the commercial printing field is used to record an image by an ink jet method, damages such as cockling and curling may be caused to the paper itself. Even for such a thin paper, when the fixation of an intermediate image is allowed to proceed on an intermediate transfer member and then the image is transferred to the thin paper, the image in which the generation of cockling or curling is suppressed can be recorded.
In the transfer-type image recording method, an image recording method using two liquids of a treatment liquid and an ink has been known. The treatment liquid has a function of causing aggregation of components contained in an ink. Application of the treatment liquid causes aggregation of the ink applied to an intermediate transfer member to promote the fixation of an intermediate image.
As for typical coating of a treatment liquid, the whole of an ink image as an intermediate image formed by application of ink drops on an intermediate transfer member, that is, an area larger than the size of an ink image is preferably coated with a treatment liquid in order to certainly achieve the aggregation effect to the margin of the ink image. In this case, the treatment liquid coating film formed on an intermediate transfer member includes an area where the treatment liquid comes in contact or is mixed with the film of an ink and reacts with the ink to increase the viscosity and an area where the treatment liquid does not come in contact with the ink film and does not contribute to the viscosity increasing reaction. The area having a higher viscosity forms an intermediate image, which is transferred to a recording medium. At the time of transfer, most of the area that does not come in contact with the ink film and does not contribute the viscosity increasing reaction is not transferred to a recording medium and is left on the intermediate transfer member.
When an intermediate transfer member is reused (in other words, an intermediate image is transferred from an intermediate transfer member to a recording medium, and then another intermediate image is formed once again on the intermediate transfer member after the transfer), the surface of the intermediate transfer member after the transfer of an intermediate image is cleaned to remove the remainders such as a treatment liquid left on the intermediate transfer member. However, if a treatment liquid having high wettability with respect to an intermediate transfer member is used, the treatment liquid cannot be completely removed even by cleaning in some cases. If an intermediate transfer member on which a treatment liquid is left is coated with the treatment liquid once again, the coating state of the treatment liquid becomes uneven, and thus the treatment liquid coating film formed on the intermediate transfer member have various thicknesses in some cases. Such a variation in the thickness of the treatment liquid coating film causes a variation in the size of dots formed from ink drops applied to the treatment liquid coating film, and affects precise formation of an intermediate image, in some cases.
As measures against the above-described problem relating to cleaning, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-51118 discloses an ink jet recording method in which on an intermediate transfer member a first release agent, a second release agent as a treatment liquid, and ink dots are applied in this order to form an image and a cleaning step after image transfer is performed in the following conditions.Cleaning temperature>Tg of first release agent>transfer temperature>Tg of second release agent
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-51118, the temperature is controlled in such a way that only the second release agent becomes in a flowable state at the time of transfer and then the first release agent layer also becomes in a flowable state at the time of cleaning. On this account, by removing the first release agent layer from the intermediate transfer member at the time of cleaning, the reaction liquid and the ink can be removed together with the first release agent layer even if left on the first release agent layer, and thus insufficient cleaning can be suppressed according to this method.


An optical disc storage system comprises a sliding mode controller for actuating an optical read head assembly over an optical disc during focus capture, focus tracking, track seeking and centerline tracking. The sliding mode controller is a non-linear control system which operates by switching between positive and negative feedback in order to force certain phase states (such as the read head's position error and velocity) to follow a predetermined phase state trajectory. Sliding mode control provides improved compensation to parametric variations, external load disturbances and other transients such as, for example, the focus capture transient. Furthermore, the sliding mode positive and negative feedback gains need only be within a predetermined range, thereby allowing gain values of 2.sup.n which significantly reduces the complexity and cost of the gain multipliers.

Optical disc drives, such as CD-ROMs, are commonly used for storing large amounts of digital data on a single disc for use in audio/video or computer applications, and the like. The data on an optical disc is typically recorded as a series of "pits" arranged in tracks, where the length of the pit determines the presence of a digital "0" bit or a "1" bit. To read this recorded data, a servo system focuses a laser beam onto the surface of the disc such that the characteristics of the reflected beam allow detection of the data pits.
To this end, the servo system performs four operations: (1) a capture operation to "pull-in" the initial focus position, (2) a seek operation to move the beam to a desired track, (3) a centerline tracking operation to maintain the beam over the centerline of the selected track while reading the recorded data, and (4) a focus tracking operation to maintain proper focus as the disc spins over the beam.
Conventional optical disc drives use a head assembly comprised of a laser diode for generating the laser beam which is focused onto the surface of the optical disc through an objective lens. FIG. 1A illustrates a typical three beam optical head assembly, the operation of which is well known by those skilled in the art. A laser diode 1 produces a light beam which passes through a diffraction grating (not shown) splitting the main beam into three separate beams 2 (a center beam and two side beams); the three beams 2 then pass through a polarization beam splitter 3 and a collimator lens (not shown). The light beams 2 are then reflected by a prism 4, through an object lens (OL) 5, and onto the surface of the optical disc (not shown). The beams 2 reflect off the optical disc, again pass through the OL 5, and then reflect off the prism 4 back toward the polarization prism 3. The polarization prism 3 deflects the center beam onto a quadrant photodetector 6, and deflects the two side beams onto two tracking photodiodes (7A, 7B). The quadrant photodetector 6 generates a focus error signal (FES) for focusing the OL 5, and it generates an RF read signal for reading the recorded data. The tracking photodiodes (7A,7B) generate a tracking error signal (TES) used to maintain the position of the OL 5 over the centerline of a selected track while reading data from the disc.
In order to position the read head over a selected track during a seek operation, the entire sled assembly 8 slides radially along a lead screw 9 underneath the optical disc until the read head is positioned near the desired track. This coarse positioning (or coarse seeking) is accomplished by rotating the lead screw 9 in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Once near the selected track, OL voice coil motors (VCMs) (10A,10B) rotate an OL carriage unit 11 about a plastic hinge 12 in a "fine seeking" operation until the OL 5 is positioned directly over the desired track. Then, as the disc rotates and the track passes under the read head, the OL VCMs (10A,10B) perform fine adjustments in a "tracking" operation in order to maintain the position of the OL 5 over the centerline of the selected track as information is read from the disc.
The OL VCMs (10A,10B) can rotate the OL carriage unit 11, and thereby the OL 5, about the plastic hinge 12 in a range that spans approximately 200 tracks on either side of its center position. Thus, if during a seek operation the selected track is within 200 tracks of the current track, the OL carriage unit 11 can perform the entire seek operation without needing to slide the sled assembly 8 along the lead screw 9. At the end of a short seek operation and while tracking the centerline of the selected track, the lead screw 9 slowly slides the sled assembly 8 toward the selected track until the OL carriage unit 11 is again in its center position.
The OL VCMs (10A,10B) also move the OL carriage unit 11 up and down in the direction shown in order to "capture" and "track" the OL 5 focus position. For focus capture and focus tracking the quadrant photodetector 6 generates an astigmatic focus error signal indicative of the distance between the OL 5 and the optical disc. At the beginning of a capture operation, the OL carriage unit 1 is initially positioned sufficiently away from the disc so that it is out-of-focus. Then the OL VCMs (10A,10B) slowly move the OL carriage unit 11 toward the disc with the focus servo loop open until the quadrant photodetector 6 indicates that the OL 5 is within its focus pull-in range. Once within the pull-in range, the focus servo loop is closed and the initial focus point is captured. Thereafter, the OL VCMs (10A,10B) track the in-focus position in response to the astigmatic focus error signal (FES) as the read head seeks to selected tracks and reads data from the disc.
FIG. 1B illustrates how the changing image on the quadrant photodetector 6 generates the focus error signal (FES). When the disc surface lies precisely at the focal point of the OL 5, a circular spot strikes the center of the quadrant photodetector 6. When the distance between the disc and the OL 5 decreases, the reflected image becomes elliptical. Similarly, when the distance between the disc and the OL 5 increases, an elliptical pattern again results, only rotated 90 degrees from the first elliptical pattern. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1C, the quadrant photodetector 6 generates the focus error signal (FES) according to (A+C)-(B+D), and it generates the RF read signal according to (A+B+C+D). FIG. 1D is a plot of the focus error signal (FES) versus the distance between the OL 5 and the optical disc, where the linear region defines the focus "pull-in" range for the focus capture operation.
Similar to the quadrant photodetector 6, the tracking photodiodes (7A,7B) generate a tracking error signal (TES) used by the servo control system to maintain the OL 5 over the centerline of the selected track as the disc spins over the beam. FIG. 1E shows how the tracking photodiodes (7A,7B) generate the tracking error signal (TES) according to the intensity of the side beams. When positioned perfectly over the track's centerline, the tracking error signal is zero. When positioned to the left or right of the centerline, the tracking error signal (TES) is positive or negative, respectively. Thus, the tracking error signal (TES) is generated as (E-F) as illustrated by FIG. 1F. FIG. 1G is a plot of the tracking error signal (TES) versus the mistracking, where the linear region indicates the pull-in region for the tracking operation.
There are many difficulties inherent in controlling the read head actuator of an optical disc drive relative to focus capture, focus tracking, track seeking and centerline tracking. One significant aspect is the wide range of parametric variations that can occur due to internal factors, such as temperature and volt drift, as well as parametric variations in the servo system between disc drives. The servo system must be able to compensate for these parametric variations in order to perform adequately at the ever increasing data rates and densities.
Yet another problem is that the above described capture operation does not always end successfully; rather it can fail due to over shooting the pull-in range as defined by the linear region of the focus error signal (FES) shown in FIG. 1D. That is, there is a significant capture transient associated with closing the focus servo loop (see FIG. 14A) that varies with such factors as the relative disk/head velocity variation, surface contaminations and the driving force of the focus VCMs. For this reason, optical storage devices are generally designed to repeat the capture operation several times.
Still another problem is maintaining focus during seek operations which presents a significant external disturbance to the focus servo loop. If the focus is lost during a seek, the storage system must pause to perform a focus capture operation which can significantly increase the seek time.
Yet another problem associated with optical disc servo systems is the optical coupling or feed through phenomena that occurs between the focus tracking and centerline tracking loops. U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,513 discloses one solution to the optical feedthrough problem, but it has disadvantages which are overcome by the present invention--mainly, cost of implementation.
Conventional servo systems found in optical storage systems typically implement a linear controller using Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) feedback and/or state estimators. The problem with conventional linear controllers, however, is they are sensitive to parametric variations in the servo system and to external load disturbances. Conventional adaptive linear controllers overcome this sensitivity problem by executing complex calibration routines or by continuously re-programming the controller to compensate for the parameter variations and load disturbances. However, adaptive linear controllers are complex and may require notch filters for filtering out mechanical resonances. Furthermore, conventional linear controllers are not adept to the above described problems inherent in controlling an actuator for an optical disc drive.
There is, therefore, a need for an optical disc drive servo control system that is less sensitive to parametric variations, provides better control of transients, and avoids the implementation cost of a complex, adaptive linear controller.

Optical disc drive comprising switching gains for forcing phase states to follow a sliding line trajectory in a servo system


The present invention refers to a process and apparatus for manufacturing plastic articles through the rotational molding method, and is more particularly addressed to a process and apparatus of rotomolding in furnace for manufacturing containers with multiple layers. The apparatus of the present invention uses a series of bins for the introduction of the materials to be molten on the molds, which are controlled by a computerized control panel.

Rotational molding is a method for manufacturing hollow articles such as containers, from a thermoplastic material. The particles of said thermoplastic material in the form of liquid, powder or pellets, are provided within a hollow mold and the mold rotates in a heated environment until the thermoplastic material is molten within all the inner surface of the mold.
There are several kinds of machines, from the small and simple ones, to the ones with large rotation diameters with sophisticated controlling electric system. Its selection is made based on certain parameters to consider, as the size of piece, production rate, planned investment.
There are also different rotomoulding systems; the simplest known as stationary or quiescent to which the the mould carriers enter and come out; others with a central rotary unit or roundabout, with three, four or more arms that move among the different work stations (load, heating, cooling, load/unload). For pieces of large dimensions, the rotary looper-like machines are used.
The traditional rotomoulding process is made in open flame, with the disadvantage that the thickness of the walls of the resulting article is not homogeneous, as the heating of the mold is irregular. On the contrary, the processes of rotomoulding in furnace, allow the achievement of great quality articles, with homogeneous thickness walls. However, when it comes to manufacturing articles with multiple layers, the use of a furnace is impractical, as once the first layer is formed, the next load of material to be molten, generally implies the removal of the mold from the furnace. Alternatively, in order to avoid the removal of the mold from the furnace, a gate from the furnace is opened, and the thermoplastic material is introduced, either by means of a bin or box commonly named "drop-box", or by means of any spray device. Generally, the feeding stage, especially with the use of "drop-box", is commonly performed manually, and even in some cases, it comes necessary to suspend heating, as the material within the "drop-box" may be plastified before being poured into the mold. The above implies delays in the overall process, losses of heat from the furnace and thus, greater energy expenditure. The feeding stage becomes further limiting, when it comes to manufacturing several articles of several layers in a single cycle.
In the prior art there are several devices, which serve for introducing materials to the rotomoulding furnace. U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,531 from Potoczky, describes a device for layering structures with uniform walls that are made by rotation and heating in a mold, the mold being in an horizontal position, the device of the prior art, in order to achieve its objective, uses a device for introducing the material with a material sprinkler, which, by means of compressed air, spreads the material due to the use of an arm in the edge that is inserted into the mold, this arm may be moved at the horizontal axis and the part wherein the materials exit has a 90° movement, the mold is in a furnace which heats to a desired temperature. This device has the disadvantage that, at the moment of placing the material, there are some places wherein the provision of the material is not made, further, it requires involving a person that has the skills for handling the arm and providing the materials in a uniform manner, however, the device of the invention uses molds, which may be immediately reutilized for introducing the same material to the next mold, this is advantageous in a production line of more than one mold, further, in order to achieve the layering of two or more layers in the device of the prior art, it is necessary to provide another arm with any other material which, by the way, is not suggested in the same; finally, the arm has no cooling means, which eases the introduction of a different material for the layering of two or more layers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,744,951 from Szatkowski, describes a system for manufacturing containers, the system is provided with a furnace with containers in a roundabout shape, has different stations in which the molds are passed through each layering stage, one station has an arm for introducing the material, the arm is introduced within the molds for spreading the material as a powder and then be removed to continue with the rotomoulding; although it is an arm that enters and exits the mold, has the disadvantage that the same is made by means of sprinklers, thus, a number of supporting elements are used; further, for moving the arm, such arm has to be moved with all the basement set, so the energy consumption is relevant; further, for the layering of two or more containers, it is necessary that each mold moves to the arm position, which entails to manufacturing a minor number of containers per time unit; when using a roundabout, it may only feed a single container, and for the accomplishment of two or more layers, it would be necessary to have two or more arms with material, which would increase the cost of production, as the arm may only use one single material. The disadvantage of this device is that its maintenance is higher, and that it may only introduce the material one at a time. The cleansing on each introduction is possible only once the line of production is stopped.
Publication No. WO 2008/133535, shows a furnace wherein molds of different shapes are introduced and in wherein the horizontal axis of the molds is rotated for manufacturing pieces; this device has a gate in which there is a window through which a tube is introduced, said tube, by means of pressure, spreads the powder of the material into the inner part; once the material contacts the heated mold, it forms the desired piece, however, this furnace only makes one single piece at a time, and there is no mention of the material being deposited and that such material, due to the rotation, is homogeneously distributed to the mold. The material is not only deposited within the mold, it is also blown, so that afterwards, by means of rotation, it may be distributed to the mold. The disadvantage of this device is that, for the achievement of two or more layers, it would be necessary to have an arm for each material, as such arm may not be cleaned at the moment of manufacturing the product, and it would be necessary to have two tubes for introducing the materials, increasing, at the same time, the production cost.
As a further alternative, U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,654 describes the use of a furnace for rotomoulding that is attached to a cooling chamber, wherein the molds are carried from the furnace to the cooling chamber and, once loaded with the second layer material, they are again directed to the furnace and later to the cooling chamber, and so on. This system is complex, as it requires a device for carrying the molds from one chamber to another, and the time of production is considerably elongated.
Until now, no process allows for the manufacturing of multilayer articles in furnace through an automated cycle, highly efficient, with great volumes of production and without energy losses, wherein the bins for the introduction of the material to the molds are used, and that those same bins may be used in the same production cycle for providing the forming material of the first layer to the molds; those same bins, once cleaned, are used for providing the next layer of material, and so on, until the the completion of the desired number of layers is achieved.


The present specification provides a method, system and apparatus for posting data to a plurality of accounts at a plurality of remote servers. A display is controlled to generate a message region for receiving message data to be posted to at least a subset of the plurality of accounts. The display is controlled to generate icons, associated with the plurality of accounts, in a one-to-one relationship, the icons provided adjacent to the message region, each icon comprising: a first respective indicator of a respective account; a second respective indicator of a service associated with the account; and a respective picture. Icons are selected and the display is controlled to provide an indicator of selection at each of the selected icons. Message data is transmitted to each of the plurality of accounts associated with each of the icons which are selected via the communication subsystem.

The evolution of computers is currently quite active in the mobile device environment. It is now well-known to including news feed applications and posting applications in mobile devices. More recently, however, there has been a veritable explosion of the number and type of applications that are configured to the unique form factors and computing environments of mobile devices.

Method and apparatus for posting data to a plurality of accounts


A drive unit (1) for continuously, variably controlling rotational speed and reversing the rotational direction of at least one output shaft. The drive unit (1) having two identical transmission modules (2, 3) with a common input (4) and a way for power splitting a continuously variable rotational speed and reversing the rotational direction.

Drive units for a continuously variable rotational speed control are known from EP 0 902 213 A1. This known drive unit is based on the principle: of splitting power, in which the power inputted by way of a common drive shaft, is split into a mechanical power portion in the form of a mechanical transmission unit as well as to a continuously variably controllable power portion in the form of a hydrostat. The mechanical transmission unit has a summing transmission by way of which the continuously variably controllable rotational speed of the hydrostat can be superimposed on the input speed of the mechanical transmission unit. Consequently, the transmission has a motor-driven input and a continuously variably controllable output.
A continuously variable controllable output is also advantageous for crawler-type vehicles where two outputs, one for the left track and one for the right track, are in place and where a reversal of the rotational direction also must be possible, for example, when turning the vehicle in place. Known drive unit for crawler-type vehicles have a conventional transmission and a complex downstream power split transmission, which continuously variably distributes the rotational speed and the direction of rotation to both tracks. The conventional transmission must be designed to be able to handle the full engine torque as well as the full engine power.
From DE-A 2 017 716, a steering gear is known for crawler-type vehicles, in which a first differential gear is superimposed on a second differential gear and in which one and/or the other side of the superimposed differential gear can be fully or partially braked. In this way, the two output shafts, that is, the left and the right track of the crawler-type vehicle, can be driven in opposite rotational directions, but continuously variable rotational speed control is not possible with this type of input.
The engine in vehicles with permanent all-wheel drive must also drive two output shafts. Known all-wheel drives are equipped with a transfer transmission installed downstream of a conventional transmission, which transfers torque and power to the front and rear axles of the vehicle, wherein a locking or non-locking linear differential can also be provided. The conventional transmission and transfer transmission must be designed to be able to handle the full engine torque and the full engine power.
From the Applicant's DE 39 38 888 B4, a transfer transmission for a vehicle is known having an all-wheel drive in which the power originating from the engine is passed through a conventional transmission and is transferred by way of planetary gears to the front and rear axles and both outputs are co-axially arranged. A continuously variable rotational speed control for front and rear axle is not provided for the known transmission.
It is an object of the invention to create a continuously variable rotational speed control with the capability of reversing the rotational direction of two output shafts for a drive unit of the aforementioned type, where the drive unit can also be advantageously used for motor vehicles.

Drive unit for continuously variable rotational speed control and its use


The present invention describes a method for forming an interconnect to a region of an electronic device. The method comprises the steps of: forming a conductive material layer, wherein the conductive material layer fills an opening in a first dielectric layer and is disposed over the first dielectric layer; applying a patterning layer over the conductive material layer, wherein the patterning layer exposes a portion of the conductive material layer; etching the conductive material layer to remove the portion of the conductive material layer in order to provide an exposed conductive material structure that protrudes above the dielectric layer; forming a second dielectric layer; and planarizing the second dielectric layer to expose a portion of the exposed conductive material structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing method, and more particularly to a method for forming an interconnect that serves as a contact between regions of an electronic device.
2. Description of the Background
During the semiconductor fabrication process, multiple conductive layers such as metal or polysilicon layers are often deposited on a semiconductor substrate. Conductive layers are sometimes separated from each other by an insulating dielectric layer, such as silicon dioxide. These conductive layers are often selectively connected or "wired" together in order to allow for conduction of electricity in a desired pattern.
FIGS. 1A-FIG. 1J illustrate a method of making a connection between different conductive layers of a semiconductor substrate.
In FIG. 1A, a dielectric oxide layer 104 is shown deposited on top of a patterned local interconnect ("LI") 102. LI 102 may be a metal (e.g. titanium tungsten (TiW)) or a polysilicon gate member or other conductive material, such as a silicide, or doped polysilicon.
In FIG. 1B, the dielectric oxide layer 104 is polished.
In FIG. 1C, a contact or a via 106 through the dielectric oxide 104 is created by a suitable technique such as with a mask and etching, ending at the patterned LI 102.
As illustrated in FIG. 1D, the next step is to deposit an adhesive layer 108 over the dielectric oxide 104 and into the opening 106, without completely filling the opening 106. An adhesive layer helps an overlying conductive layer adhere to dielectric oxide layer 104 and may itself be formed of a conductive material such as titanium.
A conductive material, such as tungsten (W) 110, is then deposited as a conductive layer on top of the adhesive layer 108 until the opening 106 is filled as illustrated in FIG. 1E. There may be a small depression in the conductive material layer 110 (not shown) over the opening 106.
In FIG. 1F, an etch back is performed on the conductive 110 layer but the etch is stopped at the adhesive layer 108. Thus, a portion of the surface of the conductive layer is exposed as shown in FIG. 1F.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1G and 1H, a layer of a photoresist 114 is deposited covering adhesive layer 108 and onto the exposed portion of conductor 110. A mask 112 is used to pattern a local interconnect ("LI") 116 by etching the adhesive layer 108. The LI 116 has been formed by adhesive layer 108 and stripping photoresist 114.
FIG. 1I illustrates a dielectric oxide layer 118 which has been deposited over dielectric oxide 104 and a contact formed such as by a mask and etch of dielectric oxide 118. The result is an opening 120 formed in the dielectric oxide layer 118.
The previous steps are repeated as shown in FIG. 1J, when an adhesive layer 122 such as titanium is deposited over dielectric oxide layer 118 and a blanket layer of conductive material 124 is deposited on top of the adhesive layer 122. The conductive material 124 is then etched back so that only a portion of the conductive material 124 is shown in the opening. The etch of the conductive material 124 stops at the adhesive layer 122. In this way, LI 102 is connected to a LI 116 and to adhesive layer 122.
This method has several disadvantages. The contact surface of opening 120 in FIG. 1I is often compromised due to insufficient cleaning of the bottom of the contact opening 120. In addition, when LI 116 is made of a material having a low melting point (e.g. titanium), it is difficult to heat treat the bottom of the contact opening 120 to remove contaminants without causing LI 116 to reflow. Difficulties in getting adhesive layer 122 to the bottom of the opening 120 can also occur, especially when an opening has a high aspect ratio. This method is labor-intensive (i.e., two conductive material depositions and two etch-backs), thus increasing the possibility of error or contamination from the increased complexity of processing.
Thus, a need exists for a relatively simple process for making reliable connections between conductive material layers and/or local interconnects of a semiconductor substrate.


The present invention relates to a continuous process for acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic material through which the delignification and saccharification operations are carried out in a single reaction cycle utilizing a solubilizing organic solvent of lignin and a strong and extremely diluted inorganic acid, and obtaining highly concentrated recoveries of sugar. For the execution of the present process a hydrolysis reactor is further presented.

For the effect of hydrolysis, the lignocellulosic materials may be described as a celullosic, hemicellulose and lignin complex further containing lower organic components, such as taninnes, waxes, oils, etc, said "extractive" and mineral substances (silica, calcium, potassium, sodium, etc, the ashes). The cellulose (or glicane, 36 to 40% in mass) is a glucose polymer found in the amorphous form (its greater part) and in the microcrystalline form. The hemicellulose (34%) is a complex amorphous polymer containing glicane (-8%), xylane (22%), arabinane and galactane (total 4%). It has been shown that hemicellulose hydrolyzes almost instantly, microcrystalline cellulose is quite resistant to acid attacks and that amorphous cellulose is intermediary. The lignin (a polymer derived from phenyl propene containing active phenolitic functions) is not soluble in an exclusive acid medium, but may be dissolved by certain organic solvents. The ashes constitute of silica and aluminum and iron oxides that are very little soluble in hydrolytic means, and of potassium, sodium oxides, etc., that are soluble in acids. Such characteristics require desirable conditions for the hydrolysis apparatus and processes.
Acid hydrolysis processes of lignocellulosic materials produce, among others: hexoses (sugars with 6 carbons), such as glucose, galactose and mannose; pentoses (sugars with 5 carbons), such as xylose and arabinose: lignin; furfural; 5-hydromethil furfural; acetic acid; and methanol among others, in variable proportions, depending on the raw material being processed. Known acid hydrolysis processes of lignocellulosic materials are divided into two major groups: processes using concentrated acids and processes utilizing dilute acids.
From the first group, the "Bergius" and "Udic Rheinau" processes stand out, which use 40-45% hydrochloric acid, and the "Riga" process, which uses 75% sulfuric acid.
Although such processes present elevated hydrolysis yields (approximately 94% of the estoichiometrical value), high investments in equipment are required once they should be constructed with material resistant to such strongly concentrated acids. In addition, the manipulation of said acids makes the operation of the process extremely difficult.
Among processes which use dilute acids developed to overcome the drawbacks exposed hereinabove, the "Schoeller" process should be mentioned. According to this process the wood is heated in percolators at 134.degree. C. with the aid of sulfuric acid, thus obtaining, through repeated extractions, sugars with concentration of 2 to 4% in the resulting hydrolysis solution.
It is evident that this process, which is carried out in a batch procedure, presents a yield that is rather below that commercially expected.
In order to improve the process with dilute acid described above, a process namely "Madison" has been developed by the Laboratory of Forest Products of the United States, which uses 0.6% dilute sulfuric acid within the range of 18 m.sup.3 by ton of the dried treated material and is carried out in 3 to 5 hours, reaches a maximum yield of 67% of its estoichiometrical value. Although the "Madison" process is substantially improved relatively to the "Scholler" process, it presents a yield still below the desired. Further, due to the elevated temperature at which it is carried out, the equipment, even when dilute acid is used, must be made from special materials, such as titanium and zirconium, thus elevating the investment value therefor, even though below the investment made in processes wherein strong acids are used.
Apart from the drawbacks evidenced above, which are specific to each type of process, both present a common problem: during the saccharification operation of the acid hydrolysis process there is virtually no delignification, the lignin being retained in the equipment in a viscous state, from which it is taken in a batch process, thus creating the additional problem of managing the continuous step of saccharification and discontinuous step of withdrawing the lignin, consolidating them as a single process routine.
Endeavors carried out to obtain a continuous process for acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials that would provide simultaneous delignification and saccharification have resulted in a continuous countercurrent process for the production of lignin and sugars from wood and other lignocellulosic materials through delignification and saccharification by organossolvent at elevated temperatures and pressures, such process basically comprising: continuous introduction, by a reactor end, of comminuted lignocellulosic material; countercurrent introduction, by another end of the reactor, of a cooking liquor comprising a larger quantity of organic solvent and a smaller quantity of water, and a slight quantity of inorganic acid; contact of said lignocellulosic material with said cooking liquor, and withdrawal of the latter after being mixed with and having dissolved sugars and the remaining substances of the comminuted lignocellulosic material.
Although such process achieves elevated degrees of lignin recovery and sugar conversion, such performance has not been quantitatively disclosed. Further, the execution of said process in laboratory scales have shown many possibilities of improvements: once greater delignification or saccharification occurs in a distinct manner at each level of the reactor, and considering that the process in question provides cooking liquor feeding and withdrawal of the product from the liquor under unique flows, the temperature and concentration conditions of the solvent and reagent along the reactor's height are practically aleatory, thus making it difficult and even impossible to adequately control the process in terms of obtention of the total conversion of the lignocellulosic material, without overage of the reacting acid, as well as with respect to the prevention of decomposition of sugars obtained from the hydrolysis of the cellulosic material.

Process for rapid acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic material and hydrolysis reactor

Dedini S/A.Administracao e Participacoes


A facsimile system having a proximity sensor for automatically converting an operating mode such as a telephone mode, a facsimile mode, a telephone/facsimile mode, and a telephone answer mode of a facsimile system. The facsimile system includes an key input unit for allowing a user to set the facsimile system in an AUTO mode; a proximity sensor for sensing whether the user is within a proximity zone of the facsimile system; and a controller for automatically changing an operation mode of the facsimile system from the telephone mode to the facsimile mode, when the facsimile system is set in the AUTO mode and when the user is not within the proximity zone of the facsimile system.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a facsimile system having a proximity sensor incorporated therein, and more particularly, relates to a process for automatically changing an operational mode of the facsimile system between a telephone mode and a facsimile mode, in response to a determination of whether a user is within a proximity zone of the facsimile system.
2. Related Art
Generally, a facsimile system having facsimile and telephone functions as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,343 for Data Communication Apparatus issued to Yamaguchi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,851 for Facsimile Apparatus Operable In Facsimile Or Conversation Mode issued to Kotani et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,427 for Fax/Data Call Receiving System And Method issued to Godbole, U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,311 for Data Communication Apparatus issued to Yoshida, U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,991 for Facsimile Apparatus issued to Ikegaya, U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,451 for Facsimile Device And Automatic Receiving Method issued to Yatsunami, U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,378 for Data Transmitting Apparatus And Method For Executing Both Facsimile Communication And Data Communication Without Suspending A Communication Line issued to Matsumoto, U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,673 for Data Communication Apparatus Having The Function Of Automatically Switching Data Communication And Telephone Communication issued to Nakagawa, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,105 for Facsimile Apparatus Operable In Facsimile Or Telephone Mode issued to Sakai, is well known in the communication art for selectively operating either in a facsimile mode or in a telephone mode in dependence upon the type of signal sent from an originating side.
Other facsimile systems as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,455 for Facsimile Arrangement Having Automatic Answering Telephone Set And Facsimile Set And Switching Process Therefor issued to Satomi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,026 for Facsimile System Having Auto-Answering Function issued to Park, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,179 for Facsimile Apparatus With Automatic Answering Telephone Function issued to Yamamoto et al., are constructed with an automatic telephone answering device for recording a voice message from a calling subscriber when a user is not in the vicinity of the facsimile system to answer an incoming call.
In such a system, the facsimile machine and the telephone answering machine must be set manually by the owner in an automatic voice answer mode in order to receive both fax and voice messages when the owner is absent. When the facsimile system is set in the automatic voice answer mode, and a call comes in, the telephone answering machine answers and plays the recorded announcement. If the call is from a person, the calling subscriber can leave a message following the normal instructional procedure for the answering machine. If the call is from another facsimile system however, the facsimile system switches over to a facsimile mode for automatically receiving the document. In this arrangement, if the user neglects or fails to manually set the facsimile system and the telephone answering device in this operating mode however, the facsimile system and the telephone have difficulty in timely performing telephone and image data reception functions. Hence, the facsimile system can only selectively receive the caller's voice or data message according to either a telephone mode or a facsimile mode.
In order to facilitate the image data reception and automatic answer functions from a remote distance, a facsimile system equipped with a telephone has recently been constructed such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,693 for Remote Control Facsimile Apparatus With Remotely Set Operation Mode issued to Nakajima, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,706 for Communication Apparatus Having Remote Control Operation Mode issued to Nakajima, to incorporate a remote control operational mode in which respective image data reception and automatic answer functions can be controlled based on a predetermined remote control code transmitted from a remote telephone terminal. Using this construction however, the user must either memorize the remote control code or carry a wallet-sized card containing such remote control code in order to remotely control the functions of the facsimile system. I have found however, that even if the user carries the card containing such a remote control code, there may still be other problems inherently associated with the remote mode conversion operation such as, for example, entry of an incorrect code when the user fails to enter the correct remote control code. Accordingly, further operational mode improvement for the convenience of the user may be contemplated.

Facsimile system having a proximity sensor for automatically switching reception mode based upon presence or absence of an operator within a predetermined proximity zone and method for controlling the same


A method and apparatus for automatically securing non-volatile (NV) storage in an integrated circuit provides improved resistance to code copying and reverse-engineering attacks. External interfaces that provide read access to the NV storage are be disabled, for a predetermined time after a reset or other initialization signal is received. An internal lock state bit or key is checked as well as an external lock prevent indication. If the lock prevent indication is not received, or the internal lock state bit is already set, then the integrated circuit is operated under a locked condition, in which external access to the NV storage values is prevented. The lock prevent indication may be a signal provided during reset of the integrated circuit on a terminal that is used for another purpose after initialization of the integrated circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to integrated circuits including non-volatile storage, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus that automatically secure non-volatile (NV) storage from external intrusion.
2. Background of the Invention
A significant amount of the value contained in micro-controllers and other integrated circuits having non-volatile (NV) storage is in the proprietary program code and data stored in the integrated circuit. Without a method and circuit for securing the program code against read operations, the intellectual property (IP) contained therein can be easily copied and used by unauthorized persons. While micro-controllers and other integrated circuits such as one-time programmable (OTP) memory, and logic such as programmable logic devices (PLDs), have long included protection circuits, such as one-time fuses that control read mechanisms, techniques have been developed to get around such mechanisms to obtain the IP.
In particular, in micro-controllers, software pirates have used techniques to gain control of the processor core or scan logic interfaces by manipulating clock and control logic signals in a manner that defeats the protection mechanisms. For example, if a micro-controller core reads a "secured" bit that indicates that the program code has been secured prior to disabling functionality that might provide access to the values stored in the program code, then if the micro-controller can be manipulated to change its intended execution path, then the micro-controller might be forced to bypass the protection mechanisms and grant access to the IP. If access to the non-volatile storage can be accomplished through a programming interface such as Joint Tactical Action Group (JTAG) interface, or a port interface such as a serial port protocol provided for programming and verifying an integrated circuit NV storage, then the security is overcome.
While a one-time fuse can be used to provide a total bar to external access to the NV storage, signal manipulation techniques, such as those described above, can be employed to gain external access via what is treated as an internal access by the logic, and further a one-time fuse is disadvantageous in that the integrated circuit can typically only be programmed once, making debugging problems in the field very difficult. Other security techniques such as password/key matching have been employed to provide access to the read interface and/or programming interfaces of an integrated circuit having NV storage. However, simple password/key match techniques can be defeated by repetitive trial-and-error attacks.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus having improved security for program code and other NV storage. It would further be desirable to provide a mechanism that can automatically lock NV storage in an integrated circuit.

Method and apparatus for automatically securing non-volatile (NV) storage in an integrated circuit