An implement having a frame adapted to be transported in earth traversing movement along a predetermined path of travel; a first earth working tool mounted on the frame disposed for engagement with the earth during such earth traversing movement and operable to move earth laterally of the path of travel; a second earth working tool mounted on the frame forwardly of the first earth working tool relative to the path of travel disposed for engagement with the earth during the earth traversing movement and operable to move earth laterally of the path of travel; and a third earth working tool mounted on the frame rearwardly of the first earth working tool relative to the path of travel and disposed for engagement with the earth during such earth traversing movement and operable to move earth laterally of the path of travel and wherein the directions of movement of the earth laterally of the path of travel by the first, second and third earth working tools is such as to work the earth substantially evenly and to return the earth thereafter to a substantially ambient distribution.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to an implement and, more particularly, to such an earth working implement which obviates many of the difficulties associated with the use of conventional earth working devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
The prior art relative to earth working implements is replete with a multiplicity of devices broadly intended to perform the same operational objectives. The scope of this prior art is indicative of the fact that conventional devices have been less than completely successful in achieving these operational objectives. For example, the Willis U.S. Pat. No. 1,245,295 issued in 1917 discloses a device which is closely similar in structure and overall operation to the device disclosed by the Anderson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,789 issued in 1984. Both of these patents are directed to a device which has a center disc gang assembly extending to what can be defined as a full, operative width. There is a front gang assembly which extends laterally to engage approximately the left half of the swath traversed by the device and a rear gang assembly which extends laterally to engage approximately to the right half of the swath traversed by the device. The front and rear gang assemblies are individually disposed along substantially parallel longitudinal axes while the central gang assembly is disposed at an acute angle relative thereto. The disc blades of the central gang assembly are operable to turn the soil to the right relative to the path of travel while the disc blades of the front and rear gang assemblies are adapted to turn the soil to the left relative to the path of travel, but from opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the device.
The deficiencies inherent in such prior devices can readily be identified by those familiar with their rise, but may not be readily apparent simply upon examination of the devices by those unfamiliar with their operation. Such devices, of course, turn or otherwise disturb the soil within a swath of contact. The broad operational objectives for doing so include the control of plant growth; the improvement of drainage; preparation of the soil for further manipulation such as, for example, the formation of furrows for purposes of irrigation; aesthetic enhancement and the like; and any combination of these broad purposes. In general, the effectiveness of the devices in achieving these objectives may be determined by evaluation relative to several well recognized criteria.
A first criterion is that the soil be worked at depth rather than by means simply of superficial contact. If the soil is not worked thoroughly to a depth well beneath the surface, nothing more than perhaps a cosmetic result is achieved. Without turning of the soil through the medium of the concave disc blades, little or no benefit is attained. For example, unwanted plant life, such as weeds, should preferably be buried beneath a layer of soil so as to accelerate its decomposition while enriching the soil. Similarly, unless the soil is turned, the soil cannot be aerated to any beneficial depth. More importantly in the case of hardened earth, or earth which has not frequently been worked, or earth which contains substantial incursions of rock, hardpan or the like, the soil cannot be reduced to the desired consistency without being worked to an adequate depth. Conventional devices may simply pass over the surface of the earth without any significant penetration and with little beneficial result.
A second criterion is that the soil be worked as thoroughly and evenly as possible so as to be converted to a substantially uniform consistency. This facilitates the subsequent use of the soil, whether for the planting of a new crop, weed control, the subsequent reworking of the soil, or the like. To the extent the soil is not of a substantially uniform consistency, the resulting soil condition may be inadequate for the purposes intended.
A third criterion is that, to the extent possible, the soil after such working be returned to a grade and distribution desired. In normal farming operations, this is a substantially ambient condition. It is desired that the soil is simply worked and then returned to is original grade and distribution. Of course, if subsequent working of the soil is to be performed, such as in the formation of furrows for irrigation or where a land levelling operation is to follow, this may not be as significant. However, in most applications, the optimum result from a single pass with such a device is to turn the soil deeply and thoroughly, as previously noted, and then to return the soil to its ambient grade and distribution so that no further working of the soil is required to achieve this result.
A fourth criterion is that the device itself be readily and dependably adjustable to a multiplicity of adjusted settings for optimum performance of the desired task. This is important in order to permit the device to be adjusted for the particular width of the swath desired, to be able to adjust for the condition of the soil being turned, to be able to adjust for the grade of the ambient soil as well as to permit adjustment for such other variables as the power of the tractor pulling the implement, the topography of the area, and the like.
The prior art, when evaluated against these and other criteria, is deficient in nearly every instance to one degree or another. While some prior art devices may be more effective relative to certain of the criteria, in other respects they are frequently less effective.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have an earth working device which obviates the difficulties associated with the use of conventional earth working equipment; which is operable dependably to work the soil at depth during use thereof; which works the soil thoroughly and evenly to convert the soil to a substantially uniform consistency during a single pass; which returns the soil substantially to its ambient grade and distribution; which is dependably and readily adjusted to particular working configurations; and which is otherwise entirely effective in achieving its desired operational objectives.


Compositions useful for cleaning metal from a substrate or coating metal onto a substrate are described: Such compositions comprise (a) a densified carbon dioxide continuous phase; (b) a polar discrete phase in said carbon dioxide continuous phase; (c) a metal in said discrete phase (i.e., a metal removed from the substrate, or to be coated onto the substrate); (d) at least one ligand in said continuous phase, said discrete phase, or both said continuous and said discrete phase.

Carbon dioxide is an environmentally friendly solvent that is desirable for use in a variety of industrial applications. See generally J. DeSimone, Practical Approaches to Green Solvents, Science 297, 799 (Aug. 2, 2002). However, many industrial applications involve the handling of metals in solutions. There is a need for new systems to better enable the use of carbon dioxide for handling metals, both for cleaning metals from substrates and for depositing metals on substrates (e.g., plating).
The following references are noted herein: C. W. Wang et al., Supercritical CO2 Fluid for Chip Resistor Cleaning, Journal of the Electrochemical Society 146, 3485 (1999); U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,176,895, 5,789,027, 5,783,082, 5,868,56, 5,868,862, 5,908,510, 5,976,264, and 6,277,753.

Compositions of transition metal species in dense phase carbon dioxide and methods of use thereof


Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a solar cell. The method includes forming a protective film using an insulation film over a semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor substrate including a base area of a first conductive type and formed of crystalline silicon. The forming of the protective film includes a heat treatment process performed at a heat treatment temperature of 600 degrees Celsius or more under a gas atmosphere including a halogen gas, which has a halogen element.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a solar cell, and more particularly to a method of manufacturing a solar cell having a protective film formed over a semiconductor substrate or over a conductive area.
Description of the Related Art
Recently, due to depletion of existing energy resources, such as oil and coal, interest in alternative sources of energy to replace the existing energy resources is increasing. Most of all, solar cells are popular next generation cells to convert sunlight into electrical energy.
Solar cells may be manufactured by forming various layers and electrodes based on some design. The efficiency of solar cells may be determined by the design of the various layers and electrodes. In order for solar cells to be commercialized, the problem of low efficiency needs to be overcome, and thus, there is a demand to design the various layers and electrodes so as to maximize the efficiency of solar cells.
In one example, solar cells are provided with various protective films, in order to realize the passivation, physical protection, and electrical insulation of a semiconductor substrate or a semiconductor layer. These protective films may be formed by, for example, thermal oxidation or deposition. A protective film formed by thermal oxidation may make it difficult to precisely control the thickness thereof and to achieve excellent film properties. In addition, deposition is performed under an atmosphere including source gas, which contains elements for constituting a protective film, and, as needed, carrier gas. However, the protective film, formed using only basic gas, such as a source gas and carrier gas, may have a high interface trap density and may not provide good passivation for a semiconductor substrate or a semiconductor layer. Therefore, there is demand for a method of manufacturing a protective film having good properties.


The present invention is a novel compound which is a thiadiazole or oxadiazole analog of a fenamic acid having a substituted hydroxamate side chain and pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition or base salts thereof, pharmaceutical compositions and methods of use thereof. The invention compounds are now found to have activity as inhibitors of one or both of cyclooxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase providing treatment of conditions advantageously affected by such inhibition including inflammation, arthritis, pain, fever, and the like. Thus, the present invention is also a pharmaceutical composition or method of use thereof.

The present invention is a novel compound which is a thiadiazole or oxadiazole analog of a fenamic acid having a substituted hydroxamate side chain and pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition or base salts thereof, pharmaceutical compositions and methods of use thereof The invention compounds are now found to have activity as inhibitors of one or both of cyclooxygenase and 5 lipoxygenase providing treatment of conditions advantageously affected by such inhibition including inflammation, arthritis, pain, fever, and the like. Thus, the present invention is also a pharmaceutical composition or method of use thereof.
Fenamic acids and hydroxamic acid derivatives of fenamic acids are known antiinflammatory agents, 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors, or cyclooxygenase inhibitors. A few of these references disclosing hydroxamate derivatives of fenamic acids are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,430 disclosing acetohydroxamic acid derivatives of fenamates;
WO 8903818A disclosing N hydroxy(or alkoxy)-N-substituted derivatives and various quinazolinone, indole oxime derivatives or hydroxy imino derivatives of fenamates;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,604 disclosing methyl hydroxamate derivatives of fenamic acid;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,313 disclosing ketoxime derivatives of fenamic acids;
EP Application No. 81103066.7 disclosing N-aminomethyl-N-acyl hydroxylamine prodrugs of hydroxamic acid derivatives including fenamates;
British 2212153A disclosing C(O)N(OR2)R1 derivatives of pyridyl-substituted phenyl containing groups including fenamate moieties.
These references differ from the present invention by at least the lack of a teaching to the present thiadiazole or oxadiazole derivative group.
Heteroaryl amino or aminoalkyl substituted phenyl hydroxamic acid derivatives are also known as 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors or antiinflammatory agents 15 as shown by the following references, for example:
WO 9001929A discloses among its substituents a furyl, thienyl, thienyl-1,1-dioxide, pyrrolyl, pyridyl, benzofuranyl, benzothienyl, benzothienyl-1,1 dioxide, indolyl, attached through an alkylamino to phenyl hydroxamic acid derivatives; (This appears to be an application related to EP 196184)
NL 8602610A discloses 5 benzoyl N hydroxy-2-thiophene acetamides with suggested substituents on the benzoyl including thienyl, furyl, tetrahydrofuryl, or pyridyl;
EP Application No. 196674 discloses various rings in a hydroxamate derivative including heterocycles.
These references teach compounds which each differ from the present invention by at least the lack of a fenamate ring system.
Heterocycle substituted fenamate derivatives are also known having one or both of the activity of the present invention, i.e., 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase inhibition. References showing this class of compounds include the following:
U.S. application Ser. No. 07/769,562 shows a thia- or oxadiazole analog of a fenamic acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,119 shows a triazolyl analog of fenamic acid.
U.S. application Ser. No. 697,822 shows thiazolidinone, oxazolidinone, and imidazolidinone derivatives of fenamates
These references teach compounds which each differ from the present invention by at least the lack of a substituted hydroxamate side chain

Thiadiazole or oxadiazole analogs of fenamic acids containing substituted hydroxamate side chains as antiinflammatory agents


A process for producing a highly pure cis-epoxysuccinate in a high yield while suppressing a production of DL-tartrate as a by-product by epoxidizing a maleate with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of an epoxidation catalyst, wherein said epoxidation is carried out in an aqueous solution containing 30 to 90% by volume of a water-soluble alcohol. It is possible to recycle the mother liquor separated of the formed cis-epoxysuccinate to the reaction system. The obtained cis-epoxysuccinate is useful as a polymer resin additive, a detergent builder(surfactant) and an intermediate for producing tartaric acid.

In the past, there has been known a process for producing cis-epoxysuccinates, which comprises reacting maleates with hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous solution in the presence of an epoxidation catalyst such as tungstate or molybdate (G. B. Payne, J. Org. Chem. 24, 54, 1959). That process, however, when industrially applied, has suffered from the disadvantages of failing to avoid a large admixture of catalyst in the produced cis-epoxysuccinates, leading to not only the loss of the product quality but also the insufficiency of the recycling of an expensive catalyst, and as a result, it has seemed difficult of industrial practice also from the economical point of view.
There has also been proposed an improved process therefor, which is intended for producing an acid salts of cis-epoxysuccinic acid having a smaller water solubility than that of a normal salts of cis-epoxysuccinic acid, so that the catalyst may be more easily separated therefrom (Japanese Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. 51-20490 and Japanese Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. 54-29486). However, according to these prior processes, since pH of the reaction solution is in the acid range, the produced acid salts of cis-epoxysuccinic acid are further hydrolyzed to be converted to DL-tartrate. The production of DL-tartrate not only may bring about the loss of the product quality as well as that of the yield per unit weight of the starting maleate and hydrogen peroxide, but also the produced DL-tartrate may act as an epoxidation inhibitor. Consequently, it becomes necessary that such DL-tartrate is eliminated by any means, thereby disadvantageously complicating the catalyst recycling step. There can be considered an improved process therefor, wherein pH of the reaction solution is maintained in the neutral range. In such case, however, the yield of the acid salts of cis-epoxysuccinic acid may be remarkably decreased.

Process for producing cis-epoxysuccinates


Some aspects described herein may include a computer implemented method to display documents. Aspects may include determining section hierarchies of a document and generating a first view of a section hierarchy. The first view may include a hierarchy title; a portion of text associated with each respective section; and an interface element associated with a first section. Based on a selection of the first section, the system may generate a second view including a portion of text associated with the first section; a first portion of text associated with a first subsection of the first section; and a second portion of text associated with the first subsection. The second portion of text may be determined based on at least one warning criteria. The second view may include a warning panel indicating the warning criteria associated with the second portion of text and visual indicia indicating the correspondence.

It has become common in present times to exchange documents, especially contracts, in digital form and view them in electronic mediums. Commonly, most such documents are long and difficult to be visualized and satisfactorily comprehended, both to skilled and unskilled readers. Some of the reasons for these difficulties in visualization and comprehension generally lie in the components/actors of the reading process, e.g.: (i) the portion of view area available to the viewing applications—e.g., the size of the medium screen—is inadequate to display and properly navigate the document; (ii) the layout of the document makes it difficult to read and comprehend all its steps; (iii) the reader does not possess a sufficient level of expertise to fully understand relevant passages of the documents (e.g., legal documents); and/or (iv) the relevant passages referred to in the previous point "iii" have a visibility—in the document—that is not in accordance with their relevance (for example, in legal documents passages with low visibility may be known as "small prints"). In some cases the documents are available only in plain text, in other cases as web pages, or as documents in doc or pdf format. Depending on the document format, simple techniques provide partial solutions to the difficulties in visualizing and navigating the documents, especially to the difficulties related to the size of the medium screen. For example, (a) an HTML document may be visualized by means of a browser, which may by default implement display techniques generally applied to visualize the web pages (including, for example, a zooming function and a word wrap technique to adjust the text to the width of the screen); or (b) a pdf document can be visualized in a device by means of certain viewing applications (generally in case of pdf documents the zooming function of the document may be available, whereas the adjusting to the width might not).
This situation leaves a need for improved document navigability. Some document analyzers work only for documents with a pre-existing table of contents. Others perform analysis merely based on formatting and style, and therefore only work with a limited number of documents, thus escaping wide adoption. Some are limited to left-to-right languages, particular formatted documents, or are limited to alphabetic languages, only.
Embodiments described herein may address these and other limitations.

Device, system and method for displaying sectioned documents


An apparatus for heating water in a water tank includes a first tubular member and a second tubular member that has an input end and an exhaust end. The second tubular member is disposed at least in part within the first tubular member to form an annular clearance space therebetween. A burner is coupled to the input end of the second tubular member and supplies gases produced by combustion to the interior of the second tubular member.

This invention relates generally to water heaters for heating potable water and more particularly to a water heater that does not require a series of heat exchanger tubes.
In known water heaters such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,651,714 and 4,875,465, a tubular member serving as a combustion chamber is mounted in an opening in the side of a water tank and extends horizontally across the lower portion of the tank. An elongated burner is positioned within the combustion chamber. The waste gases of combustion generated by igniting a fuel-air mixture are discharged from the inner end of the tubular member and are directed into a series of heat exchanger tubes, which are positioned beneath the combustion chamber. The outer ends of the heat exchanger tubes extend through the wall of the tank and communicate with a flue collector through which the waste gases can be discharged.
Because the above-mentioned water heaters require a relatively large number of components, and further because of the particular type of construction such systems require, these water heaters are vulnerable to failure in several different ways. For example, the narrow heat exchanger tubes may fail as a result of corrosion through exposure to water in the tank, exposure to combustion gases in the tubes themselves, or through simple metal fatigue. Tube joints may also fail where the tubes are attached to the tube sheet. Thus, even a small water heater that has only a few heat exchanger tubes may fail in one of a multiple of different ways.
When such failures do occur they are difficult to correct. The process of replacing a heat exchanger tube is costly and time consuming, requiring that the heater be shut down and drained so that the entire chamber can be removed. An alternative procedure requires that the defective heat exchanger tube be sealed off so that the waste gases do not flow therethrough. However, this alternative method is not satisfactory because it increases the time required by the water heater to heat the water and, additionally, it is often a violation of local boiler codes. Furthermore, only a small number of heat exchanger tubes in any given water heater may be sealed off before the heater fails to operate properly.
An additional problem with these known water heaters is that it is expensive and time consuming to construct the heat exchanger tubes and mount them individually in the chamber. Furthermore, as the input power of the water heater increases, the number of heat exchanger tubes that are required increases and hence the time and expense also increases.

Submersible high-efficiency combustion chamber for a water heater


The invention relates to an airbag module for motor vehicles comprising a housing for an inflatable airbag and a gas generator, with the gas generator and the housing being movable independently of one another for reduction and isolation of vibration and for ease of horn actuation.

The invention relates to an airbag module for motor vehicles with a housing for an inflatable airbag and a gas generator.
Airbag modules of this kind serve to receive the airbag in the folded state and to inflate it by means of the gas generator in the event of an accident. The airbag modules are installed as a unit in the motor vehicle. For drivers"" side airbags, which are to be accommodated in the central region of the steering wheel, it is often desirable to have the functioning both of the airbag system as well as of the horn system of the vehicle arranged in the central region of the steering wheel. Furthermore, the air bag module is typically subject to vibrations that arise during the operation of the vehicle. Thus, it is desirable to provide an airbag module that is integrated into the vehicle in such a manner that further tasks are accomplished in addition to the protective function. Additional functions must not be affected by vibrations of the vehicle and steering column.
The object on which the invention is based is to create an airbag module that is simply constructed, that is not impaired by vehicle vibrations, and that can be used in particular as a driver""s airbag that can be integrated into a steering wheel unit.
This object is satisfied in accordance with the invention by the gas generator and the housing being movable independently of one another.
In accordance with the invention, the housing and the gas generator do not form a unit being rigidly connected to one another. This decoupling of the gas generator and the housing from one another enables the airbag module in accordance with the invention to be mounted in the motor vehicle in such a manner that vibrations arising can be specifically kept away from a certain component of the airbag module, for example from the housing. Furthermore, the total mass of the airbag module is divided up into the housing and the airbag on the one hand and into the gas generator on the other hand by the invention. The respective masses and the respective kind of coupling to the steering wheel system can be specifically tuned through the invention to additional functions which are to be assigned to the housing and/or the gas generator when installed.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention the gas generator is connected to a base element which can be secured to a steering wheel unit.
Through this the gas generator can be connected to the steering wheel unit, whereas the housing is movable relative to the steering wheel unit. The housing can be provided as the part of the horn system which is to be moved for actuating the vehicle horn, with the weight of the housing being considerably reduced as a result of the separation of the gas generator from the housing in accordance with the invention. A resilient seating of the housing at the base element, which is possibly provided, and which must be designed to be comparatively stiff in order to avoid an unintentional actuation of the vehicle horn through vibrations which are transmitted to the housing, can be designed in such a manner that the application of only a comparatively small force is required for actuating the vehicle horn. The reduced mass of the part of the airbag module to be moved thus permits the required actuation force to be reduced without at the same time increasing the possibility of unintentional actuations of the vehicle horn.
The airbag module in accordance with the invention is thus particularly well suited for use as a constituent of a combined airbag and horn system.
In accordance with a further preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, the gas generator serves as a vibration damper.
Vibrations that, during operation of the vehicle, are transmitted for example to the steering wheel unit can be damped by the mass of the gas generator through a suitable design of the connection between the gas generator and the steering wheel unit, which is designed for the transmission of typically arising vibrations. The mass of the gas generator, which is large in comparison with the total mass of the airbag module, is thus used as a damping mass. A transmission of the vibrations to the housing of the airbag module is thereby avoided in accordance with the invention. An additional function which is possibly assigned to the housing, for example, the design as part of the actuation unit of a vehicle horn, is thus not impaired through vibrations which arise during the operation of the vehicle. This in turn simplifies the design of a seating of the housing on the steering wheel unit.
In accordance with a further preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one wall of the housing is designed as a gas inlet, with the gas generator being surrounded at least region-wise by the housing wall, which is designed as a gas inlet.
Through this a compact overall arrangement can be achieved.
In accordance with a further preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, the gas generator, a wall of the housing which is designed as a gas inlet and at least one sealing element bound a gas inlet space.
The provision of a gas inlet space of this kind enables an optimal flowing of the gas into the housing, and thus into the airbag to be ensured, in spite of the decoupling of the gas generator from the housing.
Further preferred embodiments of the invention are set forth in the appended claims, in the description, and in the drawings.


A dispenser including a rotatable rod with a flexible member attached thereto. The flexible member includes an opening at one end for receiving and retaining the cap end of a tube-type container filled with flowable material. The pinched end of the tube-type container is positioned between the flexible member and the rod. When the rod is rotated, the flexible member, along with the tube-type container, is drawn towards and wrapped around the rod. The force applied by the flexible member and rod on the tube-type container in wrapping the tube around the rod squeezes out a predetermined amount of flowable material for consumer use.

Although pump-type dispensers are becoming increasingly available, the most commonly used container for holding flowable products (such as toothpastes, lotions, salves, caulks, adhesives and sealants) remains the tube. Such tubes are typically made of plastic or other suitable material, capped on one end from which the flowable product is dispensed, and laterally pinched and sealed on the other end following the filling of the tube with the product.
Although tube-type containers for flowable products have been used for a number of years, the use of such containers continues to this day to be plagued by one problem--the inability of the consumer to extract substantially all of the contained product from the tube. In these times of heightened concern with the cost of purchased consumer goods, nothing frustrates a consumer more than to waste purchased flowable product by leaving it in the tube. Tube-type dispensers suffer from an additional drawback in that they are difficult for some persons, especially the elderly or disabled, to use. While a number of devices have been invented claiming to efficiently and easily remove flowable products from tube-type containers, these devices have typically been mechanically complicated, unreliable and/or expensive to produce. Accordingly, there is a need for a low cost, efficient and easy to use device for dispensing flowable products from tube-type containers.

Apparatus for dispensing flowable products from tube-type containers


A polishing apparatus is used for polishing a surface of a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate. The polishing apparatus comprises a polishing table having a polishing surface thereon, a plurality of workpiece holders each for holding a workpiece and pressing the workpiece against the polishing surface, and a controller for controlling the workpiece holders individually so that polishing operations of the workpiece holders are controlled independently of each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus for polishing a plate-like workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent rapid progress in semiconductor device integration demands smaller and smaller wiring patterns or interconnections and also narrower spaces between interconnections which connect active areas. One of the processes available for forming such interconnection is photolithography. Although the photolithographic process can form interconnections that are at most 0.5 xcexcm wide, it requires that surfaces of semiconductor wafers on which pattern images are to be focused by a stepper be as flat as possible because the depth of focus of the optical system is relatively small. It is therefore necessary to planarize the surfaces of the semiconductor wafers for photolithography. One customary way of planarizing the surfaces of the semiconductor wafers is to polish them with a polishing apparatus.
FIG. 17 of the accompanying drawings shows a main part of a conventional polishing apparatus. The polishing apparatus comprises a rotating polishing table 100 with a polishing cloth 102 made of urethane or the like attached to an upper surface thereof, a top ring (workpiece holder) 104 for holding a semiconductor wafer W which is a workpiece to be polished and pressing the semiconductor wafer W against the polishing table 100 while the top ring 104 is rotated, and a polishing liquid supply nozzle 106 for supplying a polishing liquid Q to the polishing cloth 102. The top ring 104 is connected to a top ring shaft 110 through a spherical bearing 108 so that the top ring 104 is tiltable with respect to the top ring shaft 110. The top ring 104 is provided with an elastic pad 112 made of polyurethane or the like on its lower surface, and the semiconductor W is held by the top ring 104 in contact with the elastic pad 112. The top ring 104 also has a cylindrical guide ring 114 mounted on a lower outer circumferential edge thereof for retaining the semiconductor wafer W on the lower surface of the top ring 104.
In operation, the semiconductor wafer W is held against the lower surface of the elastic pad 112, and pressed against the polishing cloth 102 on the polishing table 100 by the top ring 104. The polishing table 100 and the top ring 104 are rotated to move the polishing cloth 102 and the semiconductor wafer W relatively to each other. At this time, the polishing liquid Q is supplied onto the polishing cloth 102 from the polishing liquid supply nozzle 106. The polishing liquid Q comprises a chemical solution such as an alkali solution containing abrasive particles suspended therein. The semiconductor wafer W is polished by a composite action comprising a chemical polishing action of the chemical solution and a mechanical polishing action of the abrasive particles. This polishing is called chemical mechanical polishing.
In the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus using the polishing cloth 102, since the polishing cloth 102 is made of material having elasticity, irregularities of a polished surface of the semiconductor wafer remain, and the surface of the semiconductor wafer cannot be sufficiently planarized. Therefore, the conventional CMP apparatus cannot cope with a demand for a higher degree of planarization of the semiconductor wafer.
To be more specific, a device pattern on the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W has various irregularities having various dimensions and steps. When the semiconductor wafer W having step-like irregularities is planarized by the polishing cloth 102 having elasticity, not only raised regions but also depressed regions are polished, and hence irregularities of the polished surface of the semiconductor wafer are difficult to be eliminated, with the result that a high degree of flatness of the polished surface cannot be obtained.
Further, the surface of the polishing cloth 102 tends to have irregularities, and hence it is necessary to perform dressing of the surface of the polishing cloth 102 frequently for thereby removing glazing of the surface of the polishing cloth 102.
Furthermore, a considerable proportion of the polishing liquid Q supplied to the polishing cloth 102 is discharged without reaching the surface of the semiconductor wafer to be polished. Consequently, the polishing liquid Q is required to be supplied in a large quantity, and hence an operating cost of the polishing process becomes high because the polishing liquid is expensive and the cost of a process for treating the polishing drain liquid is high.
Therefore, there has been developed a fixed abrasive type polishing apparatus and method in which polishing surface comprising an abrading plate, i.e. a fixed abrasive plate is used, in place of the polishing cloth 102. The abrading plate comprises abrasive particles such as silica particles and a binder for binding the abrasive particles, and is formed into a flat plate. FIG. 18 shows a main part of a conventional polishing apparatus having such abrading plate. The polishing apparatus comprises a polishing table 100 with a polishing tool 120 attached to an upper surface thereof, and liquid supply nozzles 124 connected to a liquid supply device 122 for supplying water or a chemical liquid during polishing. The polishing tool 120 attached to the upper surface of the polishing table 100 comprises a base plate 116 and an abrading plate 118 attached to the surface of the base plate 116. Other structure of the polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 18 is the same as that of the conventional polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 17.
According to the above polishing process, the abrading plate (fixed abrasive) is harder than the polishing cloth and has less elastic deformation than the polishing cloth, and hence only the raised regions on the semiconductor wafer are polished and undulation of the polished surface of the semiconductor wafer is prevented from being formed. Therefore, selective polishing performance of the raised regions on the semiconductor wafer is improved, a degree of flatness of the semiconductor wafer is improved, and an expensive polishing liquid Q is not required to be used.
Further, it is confirmed by the inventors of the present application that in the polishing method using the fixed abrasive, the polished surface of the semiconductor wafer is planarized once to a certain level, and then the polishing rate is extremely lowered to show a self-stop ability of polishing because of the nature of the fixed abrasive. Therefore, the inventors of the present application have proposed to utilize such self-stop ability of polishing for detecting an endpoint of polishing or detecting a thickness of a film formed on the semiconductor wafer W in Japanese patent application Nos. 10-150546 and 10-134432.
Recently, there have been strong demands of the polishing apparatus for polishing semiconductor wafers towards improvement of productivity per an apparatus and improvement of productivity per unit installation area of the apparatus, as in other semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. However, in the polishing apparatus having a single top ring per a polishing table, the polishing surface on the polishing table is not effectively utilized, and therefore the productivity per unit installation area of the apparatus cannot be improved.
One solution is to provide a polishing apparatus with a plurality of holders each for holding a workpiece to be polished, the holders sharing a common polishing surface. Such a polishing apparatus is referred to as a multihead polishing apparatus. The multihead polishing apparatus is advantageous in that it can simultaneously polish an increased number of workpieces per unit time. However, it is difficult for the multihead polishing apparatus to polish workpieces to a uniform finish because the simultaneously polished workpieces tend to be polished to different levels at the termination of the polishing process.
Inasmuch as a plurality of workpieces are simultaneously polished with the common polishing surface, if the number or the position of workpieces to be polished changes, then the forces applied to the common polishing surface also change, making it difficult to keep the common polishing surface at a desired attitude or posture. As a result, the workpieces cannot be polished as desired.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a polishing apparatus which is capable of increasing the throughput of the workpieces per unit installation area in a clean room requiring an expensive operating cost with keeping uniformity and quality of polished surfaces of the workpieces.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of a workpiece, comprising: a polishing table having a polishing surface thereon; a plurality of workpiece holders each for holding a workpiece and pressing the workpiece against the polishing surface; and a controller for controlling the workpiece holders individually so that polishing operations of the workpiece holders are controlled independently of each other.
Since a plurality of workpieces can simultaneously be polished on one polishing table, the throughput per unit installation area can greatly be increased. Furthermore, because the process of polishing the workpieces is individually controlled by the controller, the workpieces can uniformly be polished to a desired level without being polished excessively or insufficiently by individually controlling the process of polishing the individual workpiece. Elements that can be controlled for controlling the polishing process include a polishing time, a polishing pressure, a relative sliding speed between the workpiece and the polishing surface, etc.
The controller may control the workpiece holders so as to be individually movable into and out of contact with the polishing surface.
Inasmuch as the workpiece holders can be moved into and out of contact with the polishing surface independently of each other for individually controlling the polishing times of the workpieces based on a suitable parameter, it is possible to cancel out differences between the polishing characteristics of the workpieces to eliminate variations in the workpieces and to polish the workpieces as required.
The motion of the polishing table within the predetermined plane may be a rotary motion as of a turntable or a scroll motion referred to as a circulative translational motion, which may be selected depending on the purpose of the polishing process.
The apparatus may further comprise a detecting device associated with each of the workpiece holders, for detecting condition of the workpiece which is being polished by the workpiece holder.
Various parameters may be detected as heretofore proposed. For example, if the polishing surface is a fixed abrasive surface which causes self-generation of abrasive particles, then its self-stop ability may be used to perform a simple control process by detecting a sliding torque between the workpieces and the polishing table.
The detecting device may detect formation of a liquid film between the workpiece and the polishing surface.
The apparatus may further comprise a transfer device for transferring workpieces to and from the workpiece holders. If the transfer device can hold a workpiece, then the rate of operation increases for replacing workpieces.
The transfer device may transfer one of the workpieces to and from one of the workpiece holders.
Alternatively, the transfer device may transfer the workpieces all together to and from the workpiece holders.
The polishing table may have an unpolishing surface disposed inwardly of the polishing surface. If the polishing table comprises a turntable, then since the unpolishing surface has a weak polishing capability, it may effectively be used to install a structure for supplying and discharging a polishing liquid or a temperature regulating heating medium, for example.
At least one of the workpiece holders may place the workpiece on a center of the polishing table for polishing the workpiece. Therefore, the surface of the polishing table can effectively be utilized for an increased throughput. If the polishing table comprises a turntable, then the center of the polishing table has a weak polishing capability. However, the weak polishing capability poses no problem particularly if the polishing surface is a fixed abrasive surface because its self-stop ability is effective to produce uniformly polished surfaces on the workpieces.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of a workpiece, comprising: a polishing table having a polishing surface thereon, the polishing surface being made of a material which causes self-generation of an abrasive; and a plurality of workpiece holders each for holding a workpiece and pressing the workpiece against the polishing surface. Since the polishing surface is a fixed abrasive surface, its self-stop ability can be used when a certain level of flatness is achieved by the workpieces. If a plurality of workpieces having different polishing characteristics are polished for a period of time greater than a certain threshold value, then the levels to which the workpieces are polished converge to a certain value.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of a workpiece, comprising: a polishing table having a polishing surface thereon; a plurality of workpiece holders each for holding a workpiece and pressing the workpiece against the polishing surface; and a noncontact bearing for supporting the polishing table in a noncontact manner while controlling an attitude thereof. Even if the workpiece holders are individually brought into and out of contact with the polishing surface and hence the load on the polishing table is locally changed, the polishing table can be maintained at a constant attitude, allowing the workpieces to be polished well stably.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of a workpiece, comprising: a polishing table having a polishing surface thereon; a plurality of workpiece holders each for holding a workpiece and pressing the workpiece against the polishing surface; and a noncontact bearing for supporting the polishing table in a noncontact manner while controlling an attitude thereof. Even if the workpiece holders are individually brought into and out of contact with the polishing surface and hence the load on the polishing table is locally changed, the polishing table can be maintained at a constant attitude, allowing the workpieces to be polished well stably.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention by way of example.


A printing blanket is provided which includes a reinforcing layer formed from a polymeric fabric reinforcing material which softens and flows at a temperature less than that used in the final curing step of forming the blanket or a polymeric reinforcing material having a thickness of between about 0.003 inches and 0.010 inches. The reinforcing layer provides a smooth surface to support an outer print surface layer and provides improved print performance while enabling a reduction in the overall thickness of the reinforcing layer.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a printing blanket for use in lithographic printing including a compressible layer and a reinforcing layer, and more particularly, to a printing blanket including a polymeric fabric reinforcing layer or a polymeric reinforcing layer which provides a smooth surface to support an outer print surface layer to provide improved print performance while enabling a reduction in the overall thickness of the reinforcing layer.
One of the most common commercial printing processes is offset lithography. In this printing process, ink is offset from a printing plate to a rubber-surfaced printing blanket or sleeve before being transferred to a substrate, such as paper. Where a printing blanket is used, it is typically constructed using a fabric or reinforced polymer base, and then the layers comprising the blanket are attached to the base. Such layers can include one or more compressible layers, one or more reinforcing layers, and an outer print surface layer.
The reinforcing layer for current commercial blankets typically comprises a fabric layer, which is comprised of natural or synthetic materials such as polyester, cotton, or blends thereof. The fabric layer stabilizes and reinforces the other functional layers on the blanket. However, a disadvantage of such materials is that the resulting reinforcing layer does not exhibit surface uniformity, which can result in the problem of threads or textures from the underlying reinforcement layer causing non-uniformities in the printing face, and ultimately the printed image. The fabric may also allow liquid printing chemicals such as inks, fountain solution, and blanket wash to wick into the fabric, potentially causing printing problems and reducing blanket life.
In addition, the reinforcing layer is typically about 0.008 to 0.010 inches (0.2 mm to 0.254 mm) in thickness. In order to improve print quality, it would be desirable to provide a printing blanket in which the reinforcing layer has a reduced thickness, which does not cause non-uniformities in the printing face, and which restricts the penetration of printing chemicals. Such a thinner reinforcing layer would allow the use of a thicker compressible layer without increasing the overall thickness of the blanket. This, in turn, would avoid undesirable compression set and improve print quality. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a printing blanket which provides improved print performance.

Printing blanket including meltable polymeric fabric reinforcing layer or polymeric reinforcing layer


Apparatus, and a method for using the apparatus, for stripping solid material containing at least one volatile organic compound (VOC). The apparatus is provided with a dryer having a heat source to heat the VOC-containing material to a first temperature, hot enough to volatilize the VOC, but below the cracking temperature of the VOC. The VOC in the dryer is volatilized to form VOC gases. A means for combusting the VOC gases (e.g. a kiln) heats the VOC gases with excess air to a second temperature, hot enough to destroy the organics in the VOC gases. Simultaneously the combustion means preferably can be used to treat a kiln processable material to form a desired product. The kiln includes means for feeding the kiln processable material to the heating chamber, means for cooling and recovering the desired product, and means for providing heat for the VOC dryer. The apparatus also includes a conduit for conducting the gases containing VOC from the dryer to the kiln.

This invention relates to apparatus and methods suitable for stripping volatile organic compounds (VOC's) from solid materials, e.g. detoxifying soils contaminated with volatile hydrocarbons or other volatile organic compounds.
Soils become contaminated by hydrocarbons and other organic compounds in many ways, including leakage from underground storage tanks or spillage during trucking and shipping. Contaminated soils should be treated, e.g., to prevent contamination of water supplies or nearby plants and animals, including humans. One treatment involves extremely high temperatures (2000.degree. F.) and requires substantial energy consumption to volatilize and breakdown the organic compounds to form relatively non-toxic gases. Alternatively, volatilized organic compounds are adsorped to solid material. In the former case, the volatile organic compounds are destroyed by prolonged heating at extremely high-temperatures so as to completely oxidize them to CO.sub.2, H.sub.2 O and other relatively non-toxic substances. In the latter case, the solid material must be disposed of.
For example, Hazardous Waste Consultant (1988, p. 1-16 to 1-20) describes new technology for removing volatile organic compounds ("VOCs") from soils. One process involves shredding and aerating the contaminated soil. The other involves use of a heat exchanger to dry and heat the soil to about 450.degree. F. "At this temperature, the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are vaporized and can either be destroyed through subsequent high-temperature incineration or recovered via condensation and adsorption on activated carbon." In the described system, the soil is heated by two "hot screws" which have hot oil circulating through them. Energy to heat the soil is provided by a 6-million-BTU/hour hot oil heater. "Combustion of propane and VOCs from the system heat the circulating oil to 640.degree. F." VOCs from the treated soil are passed through a baghouse filter, a condenser and then an after burner (fired by propane) for thermal treatment. Condensates from this treatment are either removed directly as oils, or adsorbed to carbon. See, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,206.
Eatherton (U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,405) describes use of a rotary dryer for depositing hydrocarbon contaminants onto wood. The dryer is heated with hot air of 1,100.degree. F.
The energy demand imposed for destroying volatile organic compounds is a significant drawback to processes with that requirement.

Method and apparatus for stripping volatile organic compounds from solid materials


A system and method are disclosed for providing geographic data to end users' mobile units from a remotely located navigation services provider so that navigation functions can be provided locally on the mobile units. The navigation services provider determines one or more map tile exit points along the route and sends the tile exit points and a set of map tiles to the mobile unit. The mobile unit calculates a route from its current position to the farthest map tile exit point for which map tile data has been received from the navigations services provider.

The present invention relates to a system that provides navigation-related features to end users throughout a geographic region. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system that includes a centrally-located server that provides geographic data to end users' mobile units located throughout a serviced geographic region based on requests from the end users' mobile units.
Navigation systems provide various useful features, such as calculating routes to desired destinations, providing guidance for following calculated routes, displaying maps, and so on. There are various computer architectures for navigation systems that deliver navigation-related and map-related features. In one type of architecture for a navigation system, end users (such as vehicle drivers) have local mobile units that obtain geographic data from a remotely located geographic database and server. The remotely located geographic database contains a relatively large amount of geographic data. The server associated with the remotely located geographic database handles requests for navigation-related or map-related data from end users' local mobile units. When an end user's local mobile unit requests data, the server accesses the geographic database associated therewith to obtain the necessary data to respond to the request and then sends the data to the requesting end user's local mobile unit.
This type of navigation system architecture provides several advantages. One advantage relates to providing updated geographic data. There is a continuing need to update the geographic data used by navigation systems to reflect changes in the represented features. For example, new streets are built, road construction closes roads, detours are established, new businesses open, posted speed limits change, new turn restrictions are established at intersections, streets are renamed, and so on. These kinds of changes can affect travel through a geographic region. Accordingly, the geographic data used by a navigation system should be updated on a regular basis in order to accurately reflect changes in the represented geographic features. An architecture in which individual local navigation units obtain geographic data from a single geographic database affords an advantage with respect to the updating of the geographic data. With this type of system, updates need to be applied only to the central database.
Although there are advantages associated with a navigation system architecture in which individual local navigation units obtain data from a single geographic database associated with a central server, there are considerations that need to be addressed. One consideration relates to providing data to a large number of end users in a timely and efficient manner. Another consideration is that a relatively large amount of data may need to be transmitted to each user in order to provide features such as route calculation, route guidance and map display. This is especially the case if a sufficient amount of data representing features located in the vicinity of the user and along a route is provided to assist the user if he/she deviates from the calculated route. Thus, an efficient way is needed to transmit geographic data from a remotely located server to end users' mobile navigation units.

Navigation system with downloadable map data


An annular air flow passage for a turbine engine such as a turbojet or a turboprop, crossed by an instrumented rod that includes mechanism(s) for measuring characteristics of a flow potentially traveling along the passage, the rod extending between an outer annular wall and an inner annular wall of the passage. Outer connection(s) fasten(s) an outer end of the instrumented rod to the outer wall in a manner that is rigid in all directions, and inner connection(s) fasten(s) an inner end of the instrumented rod to the inner wall, in a manner that is rigid in the circumferential direction and that has at least one degree of freedom to move in a first direction extending between the inner and outer walls of the passage and having at least a radial component.

Conventionally, a bypass turbojet 10, as shown in FIG. 1, is constituted by a gas turbine 12 of axis 14 driving a ducted fan 16 which is generally located upstream (UP) from the engine. The mass of air sucked in by the engine is split into a primary air stream (arrow A) that flows through the gas turbine or engine core, and a secondary air stream (arrow B) that comes from the fan 16 and that surrounds the engine core, the primary and secondary air streams being coaxial.
In well-known manner, the primary air stream (arrow A) is generally compressed by a first compressor 18 referred to as a low pressure (LP) compressor or booster, having an LP shaft that is connected to the shaft of the fan 14 and that is driven in rotation by the shaft of the downstream low pressure turbine (not shown), the air then being compressed in a second compressor 20 further downstream (DN), referred to as a high pressure (HP) compressor, having an HP shaft that is driven in rotation by the shaft of a high pressure turbine arranged at the outlet from a combustion chamber and located upstream from the low pressure turbine (the combustion chamber and the turbines not being shown).
In such a two-spool turbojet, the term "intermediate casing" 22 is commonly used to designate a casing having its hub arranged between a casing 24 of the low pressure compressor 18 and a casing 26 of the high pressure compressor 20.
The intermediate casing 22 has an inner annular wall 28 defining the outside of the annular primary air flow passage 18, an intermediate annular wall 30 defining the inside of the annular secondary air flow passage 33, and an outer wall 35 defining the outside of the annular secondary air flow passage 33.
Furthermore, such a turbojet is generally provided with devices known as variable bleed valves (VBVs) 32 that serve to divert a portion of the primary air stream at the outlet from the LP compressor 18 into the annular channel 33 of the secondary air stream. By lowering the pressure downstream from the LP compressor 18, this bleeding has the effect of lowering its operating point and thus of reducing the risks of the compressor 18, 20 surging which would lead to a sudden reversal of the flow direction of the hot gas stream from the combustion chamber, and which could damage the compressor 18, 20. Furthermore, in the event of accidental penetration of water, in particular in the form of rain or hail, or indeed in the event of accidental penetration of various kinds of debris, which can harm the operation of a turbojet, these valves make it possible to recover such water or debris and eject it from the primary passage feeding air to the combustion chamber.
Thus, the bleed valves 32 are formed in the inner annular shroud 28 of the hub of the intermediate casing 32 and they communicate with a space lying between the inner annular shroud 28 and the intermediate shroud 30 of the intermediate casing 22.
In order to bleed off air, the hub of the intermediate casing 22 has a downstream transverse plate 34 arranged upstream from the high pressure compressor 20 of the turbojet and connecting together the downstream ends of the inner and intermediate annular shrouds 28 and 30. The downstream plate 34 has a plurality of first openings 36 distributed around the axis 14 of the turbojet 10, each communicating upstream with the inside of the hub and downstream with a duct 38 having its downstream end leading to a shroud 40 that is perforated by second openings downstream from an outer annular shroud 42 formed to extend the intermediate annular wall 30 of the intermediate casing 32 downstream.
As shown in FIG. 1, the hub of the intermediate casing 22 carries stator vanes 44 that extend between the intermediate wall 30 and the outer wall 35 of the intermediate casing 22. The stator vanes 44, also known as outlet guide vanes (OGVs), are for straightening out the secondary air stream coming from the upstream fan 16.
In the context of developing a turbine engine, it is necessary to measure and verify its performance. It is desired in particular to measure the flow parameters of the stream flowing in the secondary passage, such as its speed, its pressure, and its temperature. For this purpose, it has been found that it is preferable to arrange measurement sensors at certain precise locations in the secondary passage. One of these locations is situated downstream from the stator vanes 44 of the intermediate casing 22, in a plane lying at a particular angle of inclination relative to the axis of the turbine engine and passing via the perforated shroud 40. This location makes it possible to take good measurements of the performance of the assembly comprising the fan 16 and the guide vanes 44. In order to take exhaustive measurements of the stream in this location, it is desirable to arrange a plurality of sensors at different heights in the secondary passage, while remaining in this plane. Even though these sensors are incorporated in intrusive manner, they must not influence the normal operation of the turbine engine, and they must be capable of withstanding the environment in which they are to be found during testing, where such environments generally cover all of the possible operating ranges of the turbine engine. In particular, during such tests, it is possible to observe variations in temperature, in pressure, and in relative positioning of parts because of various assembly clearances and because of differential expansions.

Instrumented flow passage of a turbine engine


The present invention relates to methods and compositions for detecting an interaction between a protein and a ligand, comprising: (i) binding at least one fluorescent molecular rotor to said ligand or protein; and (ii) detecting a change in fluorescence emitted by said fluorescent molecular rotor after contact of the bound fluorescent molecular rotor with the other of said ligand or protein, thereby detecting an interaction between the ligand and the protein, wherein the fluorescent molecular rotor comprises: a rotating ?-bond; an electron-donating moiety; an electron-accepting moiety; and a ?-conjugated linker.

Fluorescent Molecular Rotors
Molecular rotors are a collective group of fluorescent compounds that possess the ability to undergo twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) and are typically used as viscosity sensor probes. They typically consist of three parts: an electron-donating unit, an electron-accepting unit and a π-conjugated linking moiety which allows electron transfer to occur in the planar conformation. However, electrostatic forces upon irradiation result in the molecule adopting a twisted conformation around the σ-bond in the linker region. This non-planar, twisted conformation has a lower excited state energy and thus is associated with either a red-shifted fluorescence emission or can undergo a non-radiative torsional relaxation pathway, depending on the molecular structure of the rotor. If the intramolecular rotation is hindered, the non-radiative pathway is prevented and the molecule adopts a planar configuration, thus restoring fluorescence.
Protein Labelling Techniques
Progress in understanding complex biological systems depends on characterizing the underlying interactions of biomolecules, in particular proteins. The interaction of proteins with ligands, such as peptides, DNA or small molecules, offers biologists powerful tools for visualizing protein dynamics.
For example, the investigation of protein-peptide interactions. The p53 tumour suppressor protein is the key determinant of cell fate. It is mutated in 50% of all cancers. It is primarily regulated by the ubiquitin ligase MDM2 which targets it for proteosomal degradation. The interaction between MDM2 and p53 has been mapped to the N-terminal of p53 (residues 18-26) and the N-terminal domain of MDM2 (residues 1-110). In 50% of cancers with wild-type p53, inhibition of MDM2 leading to increased p53 levels and cell death represents an attractive therapeutic modality. Several compounds that bind to the N-terminal domain of MDM2 and abrogate p53 binding have shown promise in preclinical development. Both the further development of these pre-existing compounds and high-throughput screens for novel compounds will benefit greatly from robust, facile and sensitive methods enabling detection of the p53-MDM2 interaction.
Additionally, the interactions of proteins with DNA are essential cellular processes. Compromised protein-DNA interactions can give rise to severe disease phenotypes, notably cancer. There exists therefore, a requirement for robust assays enabling both fundamental understanding of interactions at the molecular level, and high-throughput screening of compound libraries for drugs capable of "reactivating" a mutant protein with diminished or absent DNA-binding.
One way to determine protein-DNA binding is through electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). EMSA identifies protein-DNA binding by the shift in the electrophoretic migration of DNA through a gel when it is bound by a protein. Another way is through and DNA footprinting. DNA footprinting identifies protein-DNA complexes through resistance of DNA to nucleolytic degradation when it is bound by a protein. However, these methods are technically demanding, semi-quantitative, not-easily reproduced, low-throughput and typically require the use of radioisotopes for optimal results.
Another way is based on the ELISA format involving the use of biotinylated DNA to capture protein-DNA (p53 protein bound to target DNA) complexes on streptavidin plates. The complexes are subsequently detected through the use of an anti-p53 monoclonal antibody that does do not disrupt the complex. A variation of this technique has also been described using microspheres and flow analysis. Other techniques include surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and fluorescence anisotropy. Whilst powerful and insightful, these methods require expensive instrumentation, are laborious, and are not suited for high-throughput applications.
One way of detecting protein-DNA binding occurs through a combination of immunoprecipitation and real-time PCR. However, this method is not optimal for high-throughput screening as it requires multiple washing steps and real-time PCR which can be costly.
There is therefore a need to provide a quantitative, label-free, homogenous, non-radioactive, reproducible and high-throughput method to measure protein-ligand binding.
There is also a need to provide a high-throughput screening method for measuring protein-ligand interactions which is non-laborious and does not require the use of expensive instrumentation.
There is also a need to provide a high-throughput screening method for measuring protein-ligand interactions which lessens the requirement for multiple washing steps.
Therefore, there is a need for methods for detecting interactions between a protein and ligands that ameliorate the above problems. The present invention seeks to fulfill these needs and provides further related advantages.

Agency for Science, Technology and Research


An orthopedic cushion for supporting the back when sitting comprising a cushion assembly and a rear support is disclosed. The cushion assembly has a front outer surface and a stiffening backbone that is essentially curved in cross section in a plane perpendicular to the front outer surface. The backbone is also provided with spaced zones. The rear support has an upper portion and a lower portion and is foldable about a zone interposed between the upper and lower portions. Means is provided for removably connecting the upper and lower portions to the spaced zones of the backbone.

It is known that many persons suffer discomfort and pain in their back at different stages of life, and many attempts have been made in the art to provide chairs, armchairs, vehicle seats and the like which support the back of the person sitting in them, in such a way as to alleviate the aforesaid discomfort and pain. Properly supporting the back when sitting is useful to healthy persons as well, to prevent the development of a complaint with the passing of time. However, seats having a properly designed back are not always available, and even when they are, their design may be suitable for certain persons and unsuitable for others. German Patent No. 1654203 is directed to a cushion which can be positioned in the middle portion of the back of a seat, which has a convex configuration and lacks a backbone. This configuration does not provide effective and comfortable support for the lower part of the back.
It is a purpose of this invention to provide means whereby a person may enjoy a satisfactory back support, even when sitting in a chair, armchair or other seats which are not designed to provide such support.
More specifically, it is a purpose of this invention to provide a portable cushion which can be used in connection with any seats, and provide the desired back support.
It is a further purpose of this invention to provide an orthopedic cushion having an adjustable geometry, to permit fitting it to different seats and different users.
Other purposes and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.


Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method of updating BIOS using an externally provided module may include the following. In this context, the term externally provided means that the module resides in a device other than that used to hold the firmware code, such as a magnetic storage device, typically with a lower cost per bit of information. In this embodiment, the BIOS, while in control of or being executed by a processor, applies a one-way hash process to a portion of the externally provided module. The computed hash of the module portion is compared with the pre-computed hash value included with the BIOS code. The external module is then invoked as a subprogram if and only if the hash values compare as equal. The module, while executing, may then validate the remainder of the update using more sophisticated cryptographic techniques and/or perform the update directly.

1. Field
This disclosure relates to basic input-output systems (BIOS) and, more particularly, to updating BIOS.
2. Background Information
As is well-known, system firmware is a relatively expensive form of memory in comparison with alternatives, such as random access memory and disk storage, for example. It is noted that through out this document the term xe2x80x9cfirmwarexe2x80x9d may refer to a memory device, such as flash memory, for example, or, alternatively, to the code stored on the device, depending on the particular context. Due to this expense, firmware is typically space constrained. Therefore, in many instances, it may be desirable to provide an externally originating BIOS, e.g., a non-resident part of the firmware, that may be used to update or supplement the existing BIOS. For example, such an externally provided module may include bug fixes or special purpose code to be executed once and then erased or discarded. One issue when updating BIOS is ensuring that the update is relatively resistant to tampering. Often, however, making an update tamper resistant may involve a large amount of additional code space in the firmware, such as if cryptographic techniques are implemented in code. A need, therefore, exists for a technique to update BIOS at run time that is both efficient in terms of size or memory utilization and also relatively resistant to tampering by unauthorized intruders.

Secure method of updating bios by using a simply authenticated external module to further validate new firmware code


A system for moderating the environment surrounding a driver assist camera of a vehicle having a camera mounted within a housing, the housing adapted to be attached to a window of the vehicle. A fan is connected to the housing to force airflow through the housing to moderate the environment surrounding the camera.

DAS cameras are incorporated in a vehicle platform to provide additional information to intelligent vehicle safety systems to aid the driver. The camera may be mounted near or on the vehicle windshield to ensure a maximum field of view. As a result, the camera may be exposed to direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time resulting in substantial heat build-up. The camera is also subject to extreme cold during winter and variable degrees of humidity.

Moderation of a driver assist camera environment by cooling fan


A chemical protective, fire resistant composition for impregnating plastic oam and textile laminate combinations and the process for imparting both chemical protection properties and fire resistance to plastic foam and textile laminate combinations, particularly to polyurethane foam and cotton fabric laminates or polyurethane foam and selected polyamide fabric laminates.

This invention relates to compositions for impregnating plastic foam and textile laminate combinations to impart chemical protection and fire resistance thereto, to a process for imparting both chemical protection and fire resistance to a plastic foam and textile laminate combination and to the resulting product.
In the field of chemical protection it has been customary for some time to employ polyurethane foam laminates with textile materials, such as nylon tricot knit cloth, impregnated with active carbon dispersed in an aqueous slurry and thereafter dried. Such products for use in making garments are covered by Military Specification MIL-C-43858(GL), 5 September 1973, "Cloth, Laminated, Nylon Tricot Knit, Polyurethane Foam Laminate For Chemical Protection". However, thus far products produced in accordance with that specification have not possessed fire resistance and, therefore, have constituted a serious hazard in situations where the wearers of such garments might be exposed to flames. Numerous attempts to apply fire retardants to such chemical protective materials have proven unsuccessful because of the necessity of using organic solvents in the preparation of fire retardant solutions or suspensions for application of the selected fire retardant materials to the polyurethane foam laminates and the tendency of such organic solvents to destroy or greatly reduce the activity of the carbon employed for imparting chemical protection to the laminates.
An object of the invention is to provide compositions for impregnating plastic foam and textile laminate combinations to impart chemical protection and fire resistance thereto.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a process for imparting both chemical protection and fire resistance to a plastic foam and textile laminate combination, and more particularly a polyurethane foam and textile laminate combination.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

Chemical protective, fire resistant composition

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


A driving control unit (21b) of a controller (21) determines which of an input shaft (32) and an output shaft (33) in a steering shaft (3) is dynamically superior and when the output shaft (33) is dynamically superior to the input shaft (32), a motor (6) is driven so that torque resulting in a time integral value smaller than a time integral value of relative torque between the input shaft (32) and the output shaft (33) is generated in a backward assist direction.

The present invention relates to a power steering apparatus.
In a related electric power steering apparatus described in, for example, JP-A-2002-29431, torque T is calculated from a relative difference between steering angles in an input shaft of the input side and an output shaft of the output side from a torsion bar in a steering shaft. Then, when it is determined that the torque T is backward input torque based on each angular speed and vehicle speed of the input shaft and the output shaft, a sign (+, −) of the torque T is reversed and the torque T is set to backward assist torque, and a motor for steering assistance is driven in order to generate it. Incidentally, the case that the torque T becomes the backward input torque is, for example, the case that disturbance from a road surface is received in a steering direction of wheels in a steering holding state at the time of straight travel.
Thus, the backward input torque due to the disturbance is offset by driving force of the motor to prevent the disturbance from propagating to a handle.
However, in the related electric power steering apparatus as described above, unnatural steering feeling may be given to a driver by performing a backward assist operation in which the disturbance is offset regardless of driver's intention. Since the disturbance hardly propagates to the handle, it is difficult for the driver to accurately grasp a state of the road surface. Giving an extreme example, there is little difference between the case of running a snowy road with low frictional resistance of the road surface in a steering direction and the case of running a gravel road with high frictional resistance in the disturbance propagating to the driver through the handle. That is, information about the road surface through the handle does not propagate to the driver accurately.


A system and method for a uniform website platform are provided. For a representative embodiment, a website is created so that one or more of its web pages are subdivided into a series of panels. Each panel is associated with a collection of inserts. Each insert can include any combination of the objects that are normally found on web pages, including content and applications. Users request pages from the website using their browser programs. The responding web server dynamically selects inserts for each of the panels included in each requested page. The selection process may be based on any number of different selection criteria including user preferences and the country or region associated with the web site. The web server renders the selected panels to create each requested page. The dynamically created pages are then returned to the requesting browser.

Websites design, implementation and maintenance often involve great expense. This is attributable, in part, to the increasingly complex set of features that make up even relatively generic websites. These features include both content and software (active components). The design, implementation and maintenance of content and software are often complex, and often require specialized practitioners. The need to keep both software and content current adds considerably to the expense of maintaining websites. Unfortunately, this is often an absolute necessity in the fast changing environment of the Internet and World Wide Web.
The expenses associated with website deployment and operation are exacerbated in cases where a company or organization must maintain a series of different websites. This can happen, for example, in cases where an organization must maintain a web presence in different countries or regions. In many cases, this involves far more than simply providing different language versions of the same website. Examples where this is true include websites maintained by financial institutions. These websites are often tightly constrained by local regulations and laws. As a result, financial institutions are often forced to build and maintain completely separate websites for each country or region of use. This can greatly increase the expense of maintaining a web presence.
The expenses of website deployment and operation are attributable (at least in part) with the traditional methodologies used to construct websites. These same methodologies have a number of other undesirable results. One of these is the difficulty of tailoring websites to fit the needs and preferences of individual users. This problem is similar, in many ways, to the problem of deploying multiple websites to suit different regions. In the case of websites for individuals, however, the scale of the problem can be quite massive with many websites having thousands of different users.
For these and other reasons, a need exists for systems that allow websites to be quickly and inexpensively targeted to multiple users, uses and environments. This is particularly important in cases where an organization needs to maintain a web presence in multiple countries or regions.

System and method for a uniform website platform that can be targeted to individual users and environments


A sensor has a housing, in which there is arranged a thermosetting molding compound which is encapsulated in a linear region in the longitudinal direction of the housing by a thermoplastic molding compound. The two molding compounds meet at a conical contact surface. An electrical terminal element is electrically connected to a printed-circuit board via lines. The printed-circuit board is embedded into the two molding compounds at the level of the center line, the thermosetting molding compound enclosing all the electrically active components and conductor tracks of the printed-circuit board. Annular grooves are arranged on the outer side of the thermosetting molding compound. Due to the encapsulation, the thermoplastic molding compound engages in these annular grooves in a positively and non-positively engaging manner. The groove arrangement has the advantage that effective sealing is ensured both when there is an increase in the temperature and when there is a decrease in the temperature of the sensor, since either the one groove surfaces or the other groove surfaces provide effective sealing on account of the respectively differing material expansion of the two molding compounds.

The present invention relates to a sensor with an electric circuit which is arranged on a support and is connected to an electrical terminal element and to a sensor element, and with a housing with an interior space for receiving the support with the electric circuit, which has an opening for the terminal element and an opening for the sensor element. The sensor element and at least part of the support with the electric circuit is embedded in a thermosetting molding compound. Moreover, the invention relates to a process for producing such a sensor.
A sensor of the generic type and a process for its production are known from German reference DE 195 44 815 C1. This sensor has an electric circuit which is arranged on a support and is connected to an electrical terminal element and to a sensor element. The support is accommodated in a housing of the sensor which has an opening for the terminal element and an opening for the sensor element. The sensor element and a first part of the support are embedded in a thermosetting molding compound, whereas the remaining part of the support and the terminal element are enclosed by a thermoplastic molding compound.
In the production process described in this reference, a first part of the support, which has already been provided with an electric circuit and is connected to a sensor element, is embedded in a thermosetting molding compound. Then, the unit produced in this way is introduced together with a second part of the support, which is not embedded in the thermosetting molding compound, and a terminal element into the interior of the housing. The intermediate spaces between the second part of the support and the housing and between the terminal element and the housing are filled with a thermoplastic molding compound.
A disadvantage of this sensor is that the thermosetting molding compound and the thermoplastic molding compound do not enter into a hermetically sealing bond, for example a chemical bond. Similarly, these molding compounds also do not enter into such a bond with a housing produced from metal. Therefore, at the two ends of the sensor, a liquid, in particular a liquid with a high surface tension such as water, is able, due to capillary forces, to penetrate into the intermediate space formed on the inner side of the housing between the housing on the one hand and the two molding compounds on the other hand. On account of the capillary forces, this water then moves up to the boundary surface between the two molding compounds. Since, as already stated, the two molding compounds themselves also do not enter into a sealing bond, this water can force its way into the gap formed between the molding compounds, until it reaches the support with the electric circuit. Electrical short-circuits can then occur there, ultimately making the entire sensor inoperative.
The known sensors are therefore not suitable for use under conditions with, in particular, cyclically changing temperatures, for example between 20xc2x0 and 70xc2x0 C., and high atmospheric humidity. This is because, in the case of cyclically changing temperatures, the molding compounds are subject to either tensile stresses or compressive stresses, depending on whether the temperature change is positive or negative, which may be considerable and on the one hand lead to gaps being formed on account of material fatigue and on the other hand the alternating stresses together with the correspondingly occurring capillary forces may lead to a xe2x80x98pumpingxe2x80x99 of liquid into the gaps.
The present invention is therefore based on the object of improving a sensor of the generic type to the extent that it is hermetically sealed better, in particular with respect to liquids, while being simple and inexpensive to produce. In particular, it is intended to avoid liquid being able to penetrate into the inner region of the sensor, in particular into the region of the electric circuit.
This object is achieved according to the invention in the case of a sensor of the type described previously by the thermosetting molding compound having a smaller outside diameter, in at least a first region in the longitudinal direction of the housing and on the side of the housing facing away from the sensor element, than the inside diameter of the housing and by the thermosetting molding compound in the intermediate space thus formed between the thermosetting molding compound and the housing being enclosed in a positively engaging manner by a thermoplastic molding compound. The thermosetting molding compound may in this case also be enclosed in the intermediate space by the thermoplastic molding compound in a non-positively engaging manner.
The invention is consequently based on the idea of providing a mechanical seal, with a good liquid-sealing effect, instead of a chemical bond between the molding compounds on the one hand and the housing on the other hand by means of the positive or non-positive bond between the molding compounds.
The advantage of the proposed construction of the sensor is consequently that it is ensured by the positive and possibly non-positive contact of the thermoplastic molding compound with the outer side of the thermosetting molding compound that no gap can form in the longitudinal direction of the housing even when the sensor undergoes cyclical temperature treatment.
The effectiveness of the sealing can then still be improved considerably by the thermosetting molding compound having on its outer side at least one annular groove which is arranged essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the housing and into which the thermoplastic molding compound engages in an essentially positive manner. The annular groove preferably has a V-shaped or U-shaped cross-sectional profile. This shaping of the outer side of the thermosetting molding compound, to be precise before the thermoplastic molding compound is applied, achieves the effect that any liquid entering at the sensor ends cannot be drawn far into the sensor body merely on account of the capillary forces, since the annular groove or the annular grooves effectively prevent a continuous flowing movement of the liquid.
The fact that the thermosetting molding compound is held non-positively on the side of the housing having the sensor element and the thermoplastic molding compound is held non-positively on the side of the housing having the terminal element, produces a further special sealing effect. This is because it has the result that, when the sensor is subjected to a cyclically changing temperature, the one, mutually opposite side surfaces of the annular groove(s) are sealed off in the warming-up phase and the other side surfaces are sealed off in the cooling phase. This effect is explained in more detail in the part of the description relating to the figures.
In order that the sealing effect mentioned can also take place over a relatively great length in the longitudinal direction of the sensor, it may be further provided that the outside diameter of the thermosetting molding compound between the side of the housing having the sensor element and the side of the housing facing away from the sensor element is formed such that it decreases continuously or in stages.
For still further improvement of the sealing, it may also be provided that the thermosetting molding compound ends on the side of the support facing away from the sensor element in a region of the support in which the terminal element is provided on the surface of the support, i.e. in a region in which neither an electric circuit nor conductor tracks are arranged.
The object according to the invention is also achieved by a process for producing a sensor in which the sensor element and a first part of the support with the electric circuit outside the housing are firstly embedded in a thermosetting molding compound, the outside diameter of which is smaller than the inside diameter of the housing, in at least one first region in the longitudinal direction of the housing on the side of the sensor element facing away from the sensor. The unit thereby produced is then introduced together with a second part of the support, not embedded into the thermoplastic molding compound, and the terminal element into the interior of the housing. The intermediate spaces present in the first region between the thermosetting molding compound and the housing, between the second part of the support and the housing and between the terminal element and the housing are subsequently filled with a thermoplastic molding compound.
For the reasons already stated above, the process preferably provides that at least one annular groove arranged essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the housing is provided on the outer side of the thermosetting molding compound, in particular in the first region in the longitudinal direction of the housing. The annular groove or annular grooves may be produced by means of a suitable injection mold.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of the disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages, and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the drawing and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

Hermetically encapsulated sensor and process for its production


A sewing machine needle capable of preventing stitch skipping and fabric yarn breakage, irrespective of high-speed and multifunction sewing machines and diversified materials being used. Over a predetermined length from an edge, closer to a needle point, of a needle eye toward the needle point, a blade has a straight profile extending parallel to a longitudinal axis of the needle as viewed from a side of the needle in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the needle eye extends. Over a predetermined length from the straight profile portion toward the needle point, the profile of the blade is a flat cross-section in which the thickness thereof in the direction in which the needle eye extends is larger than the width thereof in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the needle eye extends. In a needle point portion following the flat cross-section portion and extending to the needle point, the blade has a sectional shape of a perfect circle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sewing machine needle having less possibility of causing stitch skipping or fabric yarn breakage, irrespective of high-speed and multifunction sewing machines and diversified materials being used.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sewing machines used in sewing are roughly classified into ones for industrial use and ones for domestic use.
The industrial sewing machines are generally used at high rotational speeds from the viewpoint of pursuing productivity, and the rotational speed thereof may come up to as high as 8000 rpm. In automated industrial sewing machines, seams are formed in multi-directions and loops that are important for formation of the seams tend to become unstable under the influence of sewing threads having a certain twist angle.
A fabric feeding mechanism of automated sewing machines such as pattern seamers or cycle sewing machines employs an X-Y table to realize multi-directional sewing. When a tip of a rotary hook passes a scarf of a sewing machine needle, minute oscillations of the X-Y table cause a large shaking of the needle from the scarf thereof to a needle point thereof. As a result, the tip of the rotary hook fails to catch a loop so that stitch skipping is liable to occur.
In the conventional techniques, for the purpose of suppressing such stitch skipping arising from the shaking of the needle, the dimensions of a needle dropping portion or needle dropping hole of the rotary hook are lessened with respect to the thickness of the sewing machine needle so that the clearance therebetween is minimized to reduce the shaking of the needle. Due to a tip end portion of the sewing machine needle having to reciprocate through the needle dropping hole, however, the dimensions of the needle dropping hole can not be made smaller than the thickness of the needle in a direction in which a needle eye extends. In addition, since the tip end portion of the conventional sewing machine needle is tapered, the clearance between the needle and the needle dropping hole inevitably becomes large.
On the contrary, the household sewing machines have seldom experienced such problems so far unlike the industrial sewing machines since the former is basically used at a low rotational speed. Recently, however, more and more household sewing machines have come to employ an additional embroidery function. Since their mechanisms are similar to those of the automated industrial sewing machines, the household sewing machines are also facing the same problems as those of the industrial sewing machines.
A variety of materials used for sewn products have diversely been developed. Recent tendency is toward frequent development of materials rich in stretchability, which have come to be used for sewn products called heavy products such as jeans, which use has not hitherto been present by any means. Extremely delicate jersey-based materials have also come to be used for automobile seats and have posed another essential problem of fabric yarn breakage in addition to the sewing problems such as stitch skipping and needle breakage.
Thus, recent years have not required addressing only a single sewing trouble as before but have required a high-performance sewing machine needle capable of effectively coping with a plurality of sewing troubles, especially, combined troubles of stitch skipping and fabric yarn breakage.