The present invention is directed to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device which comprises the steps of forming an opening portion through a polycide film and an insulating film sequentially formed on a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type so as to expose the semiconductor substrate, forming an insulating film on the side surface of the opening portion and the surface of the semiconductor substrate implanting an ion of a second conductivity type into the semiconductor substrate through the insulating film, and forming an insulating side wall in the opening portion. Thus, a metal pollution or the like in the active region due to a metal included in the polycide film can be prevented and a semiconductor device of high performance and high reliability can be manufactured. Also, the present invention is directed to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device which comprises the steps of laminating two kinds of insulating films on a semiconductor substrate, forming a stepped opening portion for contact composed of a first opening portion through which the semiconductor substrate is exposed and a second opening portion, communicating to the first opening portion, formed by selectively removing only the upper insulating film, and burying a conductor in the stepped opening portion. Therefore, the contact widths can be reduced more and as a consequence, a semiconductor device of high performance and high reliability can be manufactured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing semiconductor devices, such as a bipolar transistor and so on.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a conventional bipolar transistor, a ultra-high speed bipolar transistor is proposed, in which a base lead-out electrode and an emitter lead-out electrode are made of a polycrystalline silicon film and base and emitter regions are formed in a self-alignment fashion.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of such conventional ultra-high speed bipolar transistor. As shown in FIG. 1, a base lead-out electrode 7 made of a first p.sup.+ type polycrystalline silicon film is formed on an n-type epitaxial film 6 which will be served as a collector region 3 on a first conductivity type, e.g., p-type semiconductor substrate 2. A p.sup.+ type external base region 8 is formed by the impurity diffusion process into the epitaxial film 6. After a link base region 11 is formed by the ion implantation-process via an opening 10 selectively formed through the p.sup.+ type polycrystalline silicon film and an SiO.sub.2 film 9 formed on the p.sup.+ type polycrystalline silicon film in order to connect the external base region 8 and an intrinsic base region, an insulating side wall, i.e., an SiO.sub.2 side wall 12 is formed at the opening 10 and a second polycrystalline silicon film 13 is formed on the opening 10, whereby p-type impurities and n-type impurities are introduced into the second polycrystalline silicon film 13 to form a p-type intrinsic base region 4 and an n-type emitter region 5 in a self-alignment fashion, thus the second polycrystalline silicon film 13 being formed as an emitter lead-out electrode. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 14 denotes an n-type collector buried layer, 15 a p-type channel stopper region, 16 an n-type collector lead-out region, 20 a field insulating film, and 17, 18 and 19 a base electrode, a collector electrode and an emitter electrode made of metal (e.g., aluminum, Al), respectively.
In order for this ultra-high speed bipolar transistor to operate at higher speed in the future, it is important to reduce the base resistance R.sub.BB. more by reducing the resistance of the base-deriving electrode 7, which then requires the base lead-out electrode 7 to be made of silicide
FIGS. 2A through 2F are respectively manufacturing-process diagrams of a bipolar transistor, and illustrating an example of the manufacturing-process such that the base lead-out electrode is made of a polycide film.
Referring to FIG. 2A, a second conductivity type, i.e., n-type collector buried layer 14 and a p-type channel stopper region 15 are formed on one major surface of a silicon substrate 2 of, for example, a first conductivity type, i.e., p type and then an n-type epitaxial layer 6a is grown on the n-type collector buried layer 14. An n-type collector lead-out region 16 of high concentration also is formed so as to reach the collector buried layer 14, and a field insulating film 20 is formed by the selective oxidation-process over the entire surface except the collector lead-out region 16 and the region 6a in which base and emitter regions will be formed. Then, a thin SiO.sub.2 film 21 is formed on the whole surface and etched out at its portion corresponding to the region 6a, thereby a so-called polycide film 24 being composed of a first p.sup.+ type polycrystalline silicon film 22 serving as a base lead-out electrode and a metal silicide, for example, a tungsten silicide (WSi) film 23. Thereafter, the polycide film 24 is subjected to the patterning-process via a first resist mask 25.
In the next process, as shown in FIG. 2B, an SiO.sub.2 film 9 is deposited over the whole surface including the polycide film 24 treated by the patterning-process by a chemical vapor depostion (CVD)-process and then a second resist mask 26 is formed. Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, the SiO.sub.2 film 9 and the polycide film 24 are selectively etched away at their portions corresponding to an active region in which base and emitter regions will be formed by means of the second resist mask 26, thereby an opening 10 and a base lead-out electrode 7 made of the polycide film 24 being formed.
As shown in FIG. 2D, a thin thermally-oxidized film, i.e., SiO.sub.2 film 27 is formed on the surfaces of the polycrystalline silicon film 22 and the substrate silicon within the opening 10 by the thermal oxidation-process. Thereafter, the ion implantation of p-type impurities, e.g., boron is carried out through the SiO.sub.2 film 27 so as to form, for example, a link base region, or an intrinsic base region, a link base region 11 in this example, on the surface of the region 6a.
In the next process, as shown in FIG. 2E, an SiO.sub.2 film is deposited by the CVD-process and then the resultant CVD SiO.sub.2 film is densified by the heat treatment-process of about 900.degree. C. In this heat treatment-process, an external base region 8 is partly formed by the diffusion of boron from the p.sup.+ type polycrystalline silicon film 22. Thereafter, the so-called etch back-process is carried out to form an SiO.sub.2 side wall 12 on the side surface of the opening 10.
Then, a second polycrystalline silicon film 13 is formed in an opening 28 restricted by the side wall 12 by the CVD-process as shown in FIG. 2F. The polycrystalline silicon film 13 is treated by the ion implantation-process of p-type impurities (e.g., B or BF.sub.2) and then annealed, thereby a p-type intrinsic base region 4 being formed on the active region. Subsequently, the polycrystalline silicon film 13 is treated by the ion implantation-process of n-type impurities (e.g., arsenic) and annealed, thereby forming an n-type emitter region 5. Alternatively, the p-type and n-type impurities may be implanted on the polycrystalline silicon film 13 by means of the ion implantation technique and simultaneously annealed by the annealing-process, thereby the p-type intrinsic base region 4 and the n-type emitter region 5 being formed. In the annealing-process when the base and emitter regions 4 and 5 are formed, the external base region 8 is finally formed by the diffusion-process of boron from the p.sup.+ polycrystalline silicon film 22 at the same time. Thereafter, contact holes are formed through the SiO.sub.2 film 9, whereby a base electrode 17, a collector electrode 18 and an emitter electrode 18 made of metal (e.g., aluminum, Al) are formed. A ultra-high speed bipolar transistor 29 is manufactured in this fashion.
As a method of manufacturing a bipolar transistor by utilizing a polycrystalline silicon burying technique (see PP. 420 to 423 of IEDM 86), a method shown in FIGS. 3A through 3E is proposed.
As shown in FIG. 3A, an n-type collector buried layer 32 and a p-type channel stopper region 33 are formed on a p-type silicon substrate 31 and then an n-type epitaxial film 34 serving as a collector region is formed. A collector lead-out region 35 reaching the collector buried layer 32 is formed and a field insulating film 36 is formed by the selecting oxidation-process. After an Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 film 37 and a CVD SiO.sub.2 film 38 are formed, they are treated by the patterning-process to form openings 39 at their portions corresponding to base lead-out electrodes which will be formed later.
In the next process, as shown in FIG. 3B, a p.sup.+ polycrystalline silicon film 40a is formed over the entire surface and a resist film 41 is formed. Then, the etch back-process is performed to leave resist films 41 on level difference portions of the p.sup.+ polycrystalline silicon film 40.
Referring to FIG. 3C, the p.sup.+ type polycrystalline silicon film 40a is treated by the selective etching-process by utilizing the resist films 41 as the mask to thereby form a base lead-out electrode 40 of the p.sup.+ type polycrystalline silicon film 40a.
In the next process, as shown in FIG. 3D, the CVD SiO.sub.2 film 38 is selectively removed at its portions corresponding to the active region and the collector lead-out region 35 and the surface of the p.sup.+ type polycrystalline silicon film 40a of the base lead-out electrode 40 is treated by the selective oxidation-process, thereby an SiO.sub.2 film 41 being formed. At that time, p-type impurities are diffused from the p.sup.+ type polycrystalline silicon film to partly form an external base region 42.
The Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 film 37 is selectively removed by hot phosphoric acid and a p-type base region 43 is formed by implanting p-type impurities on the active region by the ion implantation-technique.
Then, a second n.sup.+ type polycrystalline silicon film 45a is formed and treated by the patterning-process to thereby form an emitter lead-out electrode 46 and a collector lead-out electrode 47. Thereafter, the second n.sup.+ type polycrystalline silicon film 45a is annealed and an n-type emitter region 44 is formed by the diffusion-process of n-type impurities from the n type emitter region 44.
In the next process, contact holes are formed and a base electrode 48, an emitter electrode 49 and a collector electrode 50, each made of metal such as aluminum, Al are formed, thereby a bipolar transistor 51 shown in FIG. 3E being manufactured.
The bipolar transistor 29 made by using the polycide film 24 as shown in FIGS. 2A through 2F has the following problems such that the reliability characteristic, is degraded, etc.
More specifically, after the openings 10 are formed through the SiO.sub.2 film 9 and the polycide film 24, in the manufacturing process shown in FIG. 20D, the surfaces of the polycrystalline silicon film 22 and the substrate silicon are treated by the thermal oxidation-process and then the ion implantation-process is performed so as to form the link base region (or the intrinsic base region) by means of the thin SiO.sub.2 film. In that thermal oxidation-process, because the metal silicide film 23 is exposed to the side wall of the opening 10, metal escapes into the SiO.sub.2 film 27 due to the so-called metal diffusion (i.e., out-diffusion) from the metal silicide film 23 and diffused into the active region, which leads to the occurrence of so-called metal contamination. The metal contamination brings about various troubles, such as the reduction of life time of carriers in the active region, the increase of a recombination current and so on. Further, in the thermal oxidation-process, a stress occurs in the polycide film 24, thus rendering the metal silicide film 23 and the SiO.sub.2 film 9 formed thereon being released from each other.
The bipolar transistor 51 made by utilizing the polycrystalline silicon burying technique as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3E has the following problems.
(i) The polycrystalline silicon 40a from which the base electrode is derived and the polycrystalline silicon 45a from which the emitter and collector electrodes are derived are formed independently, which unavoidably increases the manufacturing process.
(ii) The surface of the base lead-out electrode 40 is treated by the thermal oxidation-process by using the film 41 in order to insulate and separate the base lead-out electrode 40 and the emitter lead-out electrode 46 as described above. In this thermal oxidation process (selective oxidation-process utilizing the so-called Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 film as the mask), a crystal defect occurs due to a stress produced near the bird's beak of the thermally-oxidized film 41 so that, when the emitter region 44 is formed by the impurities diffusion from the n.sup.+ polycrystalline silicon 45a serving as the emitter lead-out electrode, the impurities are diffused at an increased speed. There is then the risk that a part of the emitter will go through the base region 43, which brings about an emitter-collector path leakage, resulting in the transistor characteristic of the bipolar transistor being degraded.
(iii) Since a so-called base contact width W between the base lead-out electrode 40 and the external base region 42 depends on an alignment among the field insulating film 36, the SiO.sub.2 film 38 and the opening 39 formed through the Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 film 37, the bipolar transistor cannot be densified sufficiently, which unavoidably limits the reduction of the base-collector path junction capacitance, thus hindering the bipolar transistor from being operated at high speed.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device including a bipolar transistor


A guide rod, for rolling a toy hoop, formed of a squared U-shaped guide portion with a short shaft portion arranged approximately perpendicular to the plane of said guide portion and integral with the free end of one of the legs of the guide portion. An elongated pole-like handle is releasably connected to the end of the shaft. The guide portion is made in interchangeable left and right hand configurations, by arranging the U-shape on its side, to open sideways, with the shaft formed on the free end of the upper leg, and with the shaft extending approximately perpendicularly away from the plane of the U-shape in either one or the opposite direction to form either a left or right handed guide, either of which may be interchangeably used with the same handle. The U-shaped guide portion further includes a magnet embedded therein for magnetically attracting a magnetically responsive hoop.

The invention herein relates to a toy rolling hoop which is guided and propelled by means of a long rod provided with a U-shaped end portion for engaging the hoop. Examples of hoops and guide rods of the general type involved are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,984,937 issued May 23, 1961 to Rendon, U.S. Pat. No. 3,535,820 issued Oct. 27, 1970 to Thompson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,731,425 issued May 8, 1973 to Streeter and U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,851 issued May 18, 1976 to Tapinekis.
In the past, the guide rods were typically made for a right handed operation. Use of such a device by a left handed child is generally more difficult and somewhat frustrating. Hence, it would be desirable to provide a push rod device which can be easily used in either a right handed or left handed manner and yet is made very inexpensively since toys of this character are classified in the low price category. Hence, the invention herein is concerned essentially with the provision of a guide rod which may be selectively formed in either a right or left handed manner.


A flexible, plastics material boot for insertion within the adjacent opened windows in a camper, cap or canopy and truck combination. A central flexible tunnel has two inflatable toroidal chambers at the tunnel ends which are simply pushed or popped into placed after chamber inflation. No other attachment of any kind is required to install the boot in place.

This invention relates generally to passageway structures for interconnecting truck and camper, cap or canopy combinations and more particularly to an improved, easily installed and removed boot structure.
Trucks having campers carried by the truck commonly include a rear window on the cab of the truck in approximate registry with a window on a forward wall of the camper. It is desirable to interconnect or intercouple windows with a tunnel assembly which is sealed within the window openings of the cab and camper windows so that dirt, debris and weather are kept outside while providing communication between the truck cab and the camper body.
Commonly, such passageway tunnels or boots are permanently or semi-permanently installed in the window openings of the camper or cab or both window openings. The following five prior art patents are representative of the current state of the art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,321,234, issued May 23, 1967 to W. L. Harrell et al, discloses an assembly including a panel which completely replaces the rear window of the truck cab, and a rigid, rectangular tunnel interconnecting the panel in the cab with the camper. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,625,560, issued Dec. 7, 1971 to R. M. Bjork; 3,844,603, issued Oct. 29, 1974 to R. M. Bjork et al; and 3,853,348, also issued to R. M. Bjork et al, each disclose a boot permanently mounted within the camper with a semirigid, forwardly extended tunnel which fits in the truck cab window opening without need of altering the cab window opening. U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,224 discloses a boot with a flexible tunnel which is installed with rigid frame members behind the respective truck cab and camper window openings without need of altering either window opening.
Conversely, the present invention provides a boot for interconnecting the window openings of a truck cab and camper combination which is installed and removed at will in a few seconds without need of any installation tools, frames, staples, snaps, etc., of any kind whatsoever. The boot is of simple, uncomplicated structure and is readily manufactured from a simple rectangular sheet of vinyl or other plastics material. The boot includes a flexible tunnel with inflatable, toroidal chambers at each end of the tunnel which are simply popped into place behind the respective window openings of the truck cab and camper. The inflated boot is of no self-defined shape and thus is conformed easily to the window openings in which it is installed. When not in use, the boot may be deflated and folded into a compact size for storage.

Window boot for truck-camper combinations and the like


In one embodiment, a processing device is coupled between at least one content source and at least one subscriber device within an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) system in order to receive a plurality of service flows from the at least one content source and to process multicast service flow requests from the at least one subscriber device. The processing device includes a map module to map a service flow from a content source to a multicast service flow based on a multicast service flow request from a particular subscriber device and a unicast module to assign a unique identifier to the mapped multicast service flow to convert the mapped multicast service flow to a unicast delivery of the mapped multicast service flow to the particular subscriber device.

Digital video can be delivered in either a broadcast mode, a switched mode, or in an on-demand mode. In broadcast mode, all channels are broadcasted from a source (e.g., a cable television system hub) to all the subscribers connected to that hub (e.g., a service group). Broadcast delivery broadcasts all channels all the time, even when a channel has no active viewers. As the number of channels being broadcast increases, bandwidth demands placed on the cable television system also increase. On-demand delivery occupies bandwidth only while the viewer demands the video, and is a type of unicast delivery (i.e., to a single destination) of video assets. Switched digital video offers improved bandwidth utilization by delivering channels with active viewers. Switched digital video (in a non-IPTV environment) can be either switched unicast or switched multicast (i.e., any subscriber can access the channel being broadcast and in that sense the video is delivered to multiple subscribers). Switched multicast provides the best bandwidth efficiency by not duplicating channels, while switched unicast offers the ability to personalize content and advertisement. Targeted advertisement in a switched video delivery can either be based on geographic/demographic zones or based on individual subscribers.
In a traditional (non-IPTV) switched digital environment (Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) video delivery), there are several major components: a switched digital video session manager; an edge quadrature amplitude modulator; a video source; and a set top box switched client. When a user selects a channel, the set top box switched client signals the switched digital video session manager of the selected channel and the service group the set top box belongs to. If the channel is already delivered to the service group, the switched digital video session manager simply returns the tuning information to the set top box switched client. Otherwise, the switched digital video session manager will instruct the edge quadrature amplitude modulator to deliver the selected channel to the service group. The edge quadrature amplitude modulator then joins the multicast video source and delivers the video to the service group.
Policy control may be added in the switched digital video session manager to facilitate selection of targeted content (e.g., targeted advertisement). Based on current bandwidth utilization of the service group, the switched digital video session manager decides if a zone based multicast version or a unicast version of a channel should be used. If a zone based multicast version is used, the switched digital video session manager instructs the edge quadrature amplitude modulator to join the multicast group assigned to that the channel. If a unicast version is used, the switched digital video session manager instructs the video source to deliver the unicast version to the edge quadrature amplitude modulator and the edge quadrature amplitude modulator will then deliver the channel to the set top box switched client.
In traditional (non-IPTV) MPEG transport stream video delivery, switched multicast provides the same copy of the stream to be shared among all viewers in a service group by associating a channel (e.g., Cable Network News (CNN)) to a frequency and program number pair. However, in switched unicast, multiple copies of the stream (e.g., CNN) would be transported over different frequency and program number pairs. Each subscriber is assigned a unique frequency and program number pair and tunes to a personalized copy of the stream (e.g., CNN).

Switched unicast in an internet protocol television environment


The methods and systems of the present invention is an algorithm which estimates motion inside objects that change during the scan. The algorithm is flexible and can be used for solving the misalignment correction problem and, more generally, for finding scan parameters that are not accurately known. The algorithm is based on Local Tomography so it is faster and is not limited to a source trajectory for which accurate and efficient inversion formulas exist.

Cardiac and, more generally, dynamic imaging is one of the top challenges facing modern computed tomography. When the object being scanned changes during data acquisition the classic tomographic reconstruction theory does not apply. In cardiac computed tomography there are two major groups of approaches for dealing with this issue. One is based on gating, i.e., selecting the computed tomography data which correspond to a fixed cardiac phase, and then using mostly that data for image reconstruction. The second approach, known as motion compensation, is based on incorporating a motion model into a reconstruction algorithm. Motion compensation algorithms are preferable, because they use all data and have the potential to provide good image quality with reduced x-ray dose. The main difficulty of using such algorithms is that the motion model needs to be known. There are motion estimation algorithms available, but significant research still needs to be done to improve efficiency, accuracy, and stability with respect to noise, flexibility, and the like.
The methods and systems of the present invention solve the problems associated with the prior art using a novel approach to motion estimation, which is based on local tomography (LT). The ultimate goal is a robust algorithm which can reconstruct objects that change during the scan. Since there is no formula that recovers the object f and motion function ψ from the tomographic data, the most realistic approach to finding f and ψ is via iterations. On the other hand, recovering both of them at the same time would result in an iterative problem of a prohibitively large size.
The best approach is to decouple the two tasks, motion estimation and motion compensation, as much as possible. Not all methods achieve this goal. For example, when finding ψ using registration, one uses the images of f at different times. In other words, finding ψ depends on the knowledge of f. This has undesirable consequences. When motion is not known, f is reconstructed with significant artifacts, making subsequent registration unreliable and inaccurate. In contrast, LT is an ideal candidate for decoupling. LT does not reconstruct pointwise values of f, but rather a gradient-like image of f with edges enhanced. Thus the only informative feature of LT is the location of edges.

Method for estimating scan parameters from tomographic data

University of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


In an automatic ice maker of a refrigerator, water is supplied into an ice tray disposed in an ice making compartment of the refrigerator. The water in the ice tray is frozen and then, the ice tray is turned with a twisting motion by a drive mechanism including a motor so that ice cubes are removed from the ice tray. Vibration is applied to the ice tray by an electromagnet excited by a pulse current during a water freezing step so that escape of air bubbles out of the water is promoted. A cover covers an upper open end of the ice tray during the water freezing step so that freezing is retarded at the water surface side as compared with the ice tray bottom side. Alternatively, a heater is employed for the cover.

This invention relates to an automatic ice maker for refrigerators which automatically provides ice cubes, and more particularly to an automatic ice maker of the type that water is supplied into an ice tray disposed in an atmosphere of chilled air and then froze therein.
Household refrigerators equipped with automatic ice makers have been commercially produced One type of such automatic ice makers comprises a refrigerated plate, refrigerated such that the surface temperature thereof is decreased below the freezing point and a water circulator dispersing water over the refrigerated plate surface so that the water forms a membrane over the surface and circulating the water. Ice is gradually made in the process that the water is caused to flow on the plate. This type of ice maker is advantageous in that transparent ice can be obtained. However, the construction is large and complicated.
In another type of automatic ice maker, water is supplied into an ice tray disposed in an ice making compartment by water supply equipment. After ice is made, the ice tray is rotatively moved by a drive mechanism so as to be reversed, thereby removing ice cubes from the ice tray to be reserved Subsequently, water is repeatedly resupplied into the ice tray and ice is made.
In the latter type, however, the water supplied into the ice tray is frozen nearly uniformly from every side of the ice tray. Consequently, air bubbles are often left in the ice cubes and render the ice cubes opaque.


A method and apparatus is provided to reconstruct a computed tomography image from projection data using windowed filtered back-projection (FBP) and using regularization constraints that can be quadratic or non-quadratic. The method emulates multiple Landweber iterations using a single windowed FBP operation and then iterates between imposing regularization constraints and a single windowed FBP operation. This windowed FBP operation is only performed once. The regularization constraints can be imposed using edge-preserving denoising methods, including, e.g., a Huber filter, a median filter, a bilateral filter, a guided filter, a non-local means filter, a total-variation minimization regularizer, other known regularizer, or an anisotropic diffusion filter. The entire procedure contains no forward projection and contains only one back-projection.

X-ray computed tomography (CT) has found extensive clinical applications in cancer, heart, and brain imaging. As CT has been increasingly used for cancer screening and pediatric imaging, there has arisen a push to reduce the radiation dose of clinical CT scans to become as low as reasonably achievable. Thus, iterative image reconstruction has been playing a more significant role in CT imaging. Iterative image reconstruction algorithms, as compared with traditional analytical algorithms, are promising in reducing the radiation dose while improving the CT image quality.
In X-ray computed tomography (CT), iterative reconstruction can be used to generate images. While there are various iterative reconstruction (IR) methods, such as the algebraic reconstruction technique, one common IR method is optimizing the expressionmin{∥Ax−p∥W2+βU(x)}to obtain the argument x that minimizes the expression. For example, in X-ray CT, A is the system matrix that represents X-ray trajectories (i.e., line integrals) along various rays from a source through an object OBJ to an X-ray detector (e.g., the X-ray transform corresponding to projections through the three-dimensional object OBJ onto a two-dimensional projection image p), p represents projection data for series of projection images taken at a various projection angles in a CT scan and corresponding (e.g., the projection data can be log-transform of the measured X-ray intensity at the X-ray detector), and x represents the reconstructed image of the X-ray attenuation of the object OBJ. The notation ∥g∥W2 signifies a weighted inner product of the form gTWg, wherein W is the weight matrix. For example, the weight matrix W can weigh the pixel values according to their noise statistics (e.g., the signal-to-noise ratio), in which case the weight matrix W is diagonal when the noise of each pixel is statistically independent. The data-matching term ∥Ax−p∥W2 is minimized when the forward projection A of the reconstructed image x provides a good approximation to all measured projection images p. In the above expression, U(x) is a regularization term, and β is a regularization parameter that weights the relative contributions of the data-matching term and the regularization term.
IR methods augmented with regularization can have several advantages over other reconstruction methods such as filtered back-projection. For example, IR methods augmented with regularization can produce high-quality reconstructions for few-view projection data and in the presence of significant noise. For few-view, limited-angle, and noisy projection scenarios, the application of regularization operators between reconstruction iterations seeks to tune the final and/or intermediate results to some a priori model. For example, enforcing positivity for the attenuation coefficients can provide a level of regularization based on the practical assumption that there are no regions in the object OBJ that cause an increase (i.e., gain) in the intensity of the X-ray radiation.
Other regularization terms can similarly rely on a priori knowledge of characteristics or constraints imposed on the reconstructed image. For example, minimizing the "total variation" (TV) in conjunction with projection on convex sets (POCS) is also a very popular regularization scheme. The TV-minimization algorithm assumes that the image is predominantly uniform over large regions with sharp transitions at the boundaries of the uniform regions, which is generally true for an image of a discrete number of organs, each with an approximately constant X-ray absorption coefficient (e.g., bone having a first absorption coefficient, the lungs having second coefficient, and the heart having a third coefficient). When the a priori model corresponds well to the image object OBJ, these regularized IR algorithms can produce impressive images, even though the reconstruction problem is significantly underdetermined (e.g., few-view scenarios), missing projection angles, or noisy. One advantage of using regularization is the flexibility of selecting from a wide range of regularization constraints.
A challenge of regularized IR algorithms is that they can require significantly more computational resources than filtered back-projection methods, often taking several hours to reach convergence for clinical CT scans using standard computing hardware. For certain quadratic regularizers, a one-step filtered back-projection algorithm can be used to reconstruct the reconstructed image of the Landweber algorithm for IR. This one-step filtered back-projection algorithm has the benefit of obtaining the result of the iterative Landweber algorithm, but much more quickly than performing IR. While the one-step filtered back-projection algorithm works for IR using a quadratic regularizer, no similar method is known to achieve the results of IR using FBP and a non-quadratic regularizer. Non-quadratic regularizers are known to advantageously achieve high levels of noise reduction while maintaining sharp edges in the reconstructed image. Further, non-quadratic regularizers can help achieve artifact suppression and better image quality than quadratic regularizers.

Fast iterative reconstruction with one backprojection and no forward projection


A practical method and system for oversampled digitally controlled DC-DC converters is presented. To minimize the switching losses while maintaining all advantages of the oversampling, “glue logic” and application specific oversampling digital pulse-width modulator are introduced. Experimental results demonstrate transient response with 50% smaller deviation than that of conventional controllers, allowing for proportional reduction in the size of the power stage output capacitor.

Digital pulse width modulators (DPWM) are used to generate a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal for creating a DC output in DC-DC converters. The duty cycle (percentage of time high) of the PWM signal is used to set the DC output voltage.
The PWM signal is sent to external switches that send an input voltage into an LC circuit, which includes an inductor and an output capacitor, to produce the output voltage. The output voltage is used to create a feedback signal. The feedback signal is used to adjust the PWM signal so as to keep the output voltage at the desired DC output voltage value.
Digital controllers for DC-DC converters usually regulate the output voltage by taking the samples produced by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). To improve the converter efficiency, minimize the power consumption of the controller circuit and reduce the hardware complexity, the ADC and accompanying digital pulse-width modulator usually updates their values once per switching cycle. Previously, several such low-power, high-frequency digital controller IC implementations were presented. However, compared to analog IC controllers, the dynamic response of those is usually inferior, negatively affecting the size of the power stage components, especially the output capacitor.
Recent linear and non-linear digital controllers have demonstrated that oversampling of the output voltage results in significant response improvements and reduction of power stage components. However, such solutions usually introduce significant switching losses. As a result, for frequent load changes, the converter efficiency is lower compared to conventional implementations.

Glue-logic based method and system for minimizing losses in oversampled digitally controlled DC-DC converters


A method and system for authenticating an account holder is disclosed herein. The method and system allows for real-time authentication with multiple procedures to prevent fraud and spoofing of the authentication process. The method and system involves the user photographing himself or herself for facial recognition verification, determination of location by cell phone tower verification, and a PIN preferably sent by SMS text message directly the account holder's mobile phone. The method and system may be used for verifying that a gambler is within a gambling jurisdiction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to telecommunications. More specifically, the present invention relates to telecommunications used for authentication.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art discusses verifies method for authentication of a transaction using a mobile phone to confirm that the person conducting the transaction is a legitimate account holder.
The prior art discusses various techniques for betting. However, only recently has the Nevada Gaming Authority allowed some betting to be placed over a mobile telephone. The mobile telephone betting is currently limited to BLACKBERRY smartphones which can have a plurality of functions deactivated during the bet. Further, the location of the BLACKBERRY smartphone can be verified once all of the periphery functions are deactivated. Thus, when a gambler is placing a bet using his or her BLACKBERRY smartphone to communicate with a gambling facility, the Nevada Gambling Authority can verify that the gambler is located within Nevada.
Your face has certain distinguishable landmarks. These are the peaks and valleys that make up the different facial features. Facial recognition software defines these landmarks as nodal points. There are about 80 nodal points on a human face. A few of the nodal points that are measured by the facial recognition software: distance between eyes; width of nose; depth of eye sockets; cheekbones; Jaw line; and chin. These nodal points are measured to create a numerical code that represents the face in a database. This code is referred to as a faceprint and only fourteen to twenty-two nodal points are necessary for the software to complete the recognition process.
However, there is no solution to allowing other mobile phones to be used to place bets since the Nevada Gambling Authority cannot verify that the gambler is located within Nevada.


This invention relates to a goods-handling cart having chassis provided with a drive and steer wheel together with two swivelling stabilizing wheels, and at least one spring-effect element which acts on both of the stabilizing wheels via a mechanism that transmits a downwardly-directed vertical force to the stabilizing wheels, the mechanism is not attached to the wheels but merely bears thereagainst via simple contact surfaces engaging respective mounting elements for mounting the wheels in such a manner that the mechanism is free to move away from one or other of the mounting elements in a direction opposite to the direction in which the spring-effect element acts; retaining mechanism being associated with each wheel to limit displacement thereof in a downwards direction relative to the chassis.

In known goods-handling carts of this type, a single spring-effect element may be provided, as described in French patent No. 2 667 546, or two spring-effect elements may be provided which are located above respective ones of the stabilizing wheels, as is the case, for example, in the goods-handling carts sold by the company: BT (AKTIEBOLAGET BYGG-OCH TRANSPORTEKONOMI). In those known carts, each of the two stabilizing wheels is attached to a respective one of the two levers situated at the ends of the anti-roll bar. Under such conditions, when the cart leans to one side during a turn or on an inclined slope or indeed when tilted because of its load, the stabilizing wheel situated on the side towards which the cart is leaning exerts upwards vertical thrust on the associated lever. This vertical thrust has the effect of rotating the anti-roll bar about its longitudinal axis in its support bearings. As a result the spring-effect element(s), e.g. helical springs, are compressed, and the lever associated with the opposite stabilizing wheel, i.e. the wheel on the side that is opposite from the side towards which the cart is leaning, also rotates with the anti-roll bar. Consequently said opposite stabilizing wheel rises and looses contact with the ground. Thus, it is no longer steered by its contact with the ground and since it is free to swivel, it can swivel into any orientation while it is no longer in contact with the ground. Consequently, when the cart returns to its normal position, at the instant the stabilizing wheel regains contact with the ground, it may be oriented perpendicularly to the travel direction of the cart. Should that happen, the swivelling wheel or the elements mounting it on the chassis of the cart can be subjected to considerable damage.

Goods-handling cart with stabilizing wheels


A pistol-like device for ejecting toy balloons is provided which rapidly spins an inflated balloon and then releases the balloon while it is still spinning. The device thereby provides a spin stabilization to the balloon which causes the balloon to follow a prescribed course while being propelled by the air jet issuing from the neck of the balloon as the air within the balloon escapes.

Toy balloon ejecting pistols are known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,025,634, for example, discloses a toy balloon ejecting pistol which includes an airtight tubular portion having a mouthpiece at one end and a valve at the other end. A toy balloon is fitted over the valve. The balloon is inflated by blowing air through the mouthpiece and through the valve into the interior of the balloon, the valve acting to prevent the air in the interior of the balloon from escaping. By pulling a trigger, the balloon is separated from the pistol and the air in the balloon rushes out through the neck which causes the balloon to take flight. A similar type of balloon ejecting device is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,228.
However, the balloons ejected from the devices described in the prior art patents referred to in the preceding paragraph are propelled along wild and random flight paths. An important objective of the present invention is to provide a balloon ejecting device which is constructed to impart a rapid spin to the inflated balloon prior to ejection, so that the balloon upon leaving the device is rapidly spinning about its longitudinal axis. This causes the balloon to travel along a given, straight, predictable and prescribed flight path under the propulsion force of the air being emitted through its neck.
An important feature of the invention is that the pistol can be aimed at a given target and then fired to eject the inflated balloon and cause it to travel along a straight flight path toward the target. However, the projected balloon cannot harm the target, so that children can safely play with the pistol without any danger of harm to themselves or to their friends towards which the balloon projectiles may be fired.
In essence, the invention provides a toy balloon ejecting pistol-like device which imparts a rapid spin to an inflated balloon about its longitudinal axis prior to ejection of the balloon, and which releases the balloon while it is rapidly spinning to impart spin stabilization to the balloon. This stabilization maintains the balloon on its prescribed course while the balloon is being propelled along that course by the air jet issuing from its neck as the air within the balloon escapes.


The invention relates to a power control method in a mobile communications system in which transmission of a signal of one logical connection over the radio path employs hopping, such as frequency hopping, antenna hopping or timeslot hopping. According to the present invention, the method is characterized in that the quality of the signal received on the radio connection is determined on one hopping setting, such as frequency, antenna or timeslot, and the power control is carried out on the radio connection in question from hopping setting to hopping setting so that the transmission power of at least one hopping setting, such as frequency, differs from the transmission power of at least one other hopping setting, such as frequency, used on the same radio connection.

The present invention relates to a power control method in a mobile communications system employing a hopping scheme on the radio connection. The invention further relates to a mobile communications system.
FIG. 1 in the accompanying drawing shows a simplified block diagram of the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System). A mobile station (MS) communicates over the radio path with a base transceiver station (BTS), in the case of FIG. 1, with BTS1. The base station sub-system (BSS) consists of a base station controller (BSC) and base stations (BTS) under its control. A mobile services switching centre (MSC) usually controls a plurality of base station controllers BSC. The MSC communicates with other MSCs, and via a gateway mobile services switching centre, the UMTS network is connected to other networks such as the public switched telephone network PSTN, another mobile communications network PLMN or an ISDN network. The UMTS system is proposed to be implemented with the time division multiple access technique (TDMA) or with the code division multiple access technique (CDMA) or a combination of these two, i.e. a so-called hybrid system.
In digital radio systems implemented with the TDMA technique, such as the UMTS system, a group of mobile stations MS may, according to the time-division principle, use the same carrier frequency i.e. radio channel for communication with the base station BTS. The carrier is divided into successive frames that are further divided into timeslots, e.g. 8, 16 or 64 timeslots that are allocated to users as required. One frame lasts for 4.615 ms, which means that, in the case of eight timeslots, one timeslot lasts for 577 xcexcs. From the network point of view, one carrier may be used for establishing, for example, eight traffic channels.
Instead of duplex transmission implemented on two carrier frequencies, digital time-division radio systems may also carry time-division duplexing (TDD) transmission on one frequency. In such a case, at least one of the timeslots in the frame is assigned solely for uplink transmission and at least one for downlink transmission. The other timeslots in the frame are used, as need be, for either the uplink or the downlink communication.
Code division multiple access CDMA radio systems are based on spread spectrum communication. The data signal to be transmitted is multiplied by a special hash code assigned to the subscriber, whereby the transmission spreads out onto the broadband radio channel. This means that the same broadband radio channel may be used by several users for simultaneous transmission of CDMA signals processed with different hash codes. At the receiving end, the CDMA signal is despread by the subscriber""s hash code, whereby a narrow-band data signal is obtained. At the receiver, the other subscribers"" broadband signals represent noise by the desired signal. Therefore, the unique hash code of each subscriber in CDMA systems produces the traffic channel of the system in the same sense as the timeslot does in TDMA systems.
In mobile communications systems, the mobile station MS and/or the base station BTS carry out transmission power control to reduce the noise level in the network and to compensate for fading on the radio path. Power control usually aims at maintaining the received signal at almost the same, as low as possible a power level while maintaining the quality of the received signal. If the signal quality and/or level on the radio connection between the mobile communications network and the mobile station falls below the desired level, the transmission power may be adjusted at the base station BTS and/or the mobile station MS to improve the radio connection. The transmission power of the mobile station MS is usually adjusted from the fixed network by means of a special power control algorithm. The mobile station MS measures the received level (field strength) and the quality of the downlink signal received from the base station BTS1 of the serving cell, and the base station BTS1 of the serving cell, for its part, measures the received level (field strength) and quality of the uplink signal received from the mobile station MS. On the basis of these measurement results and power control parameters set, the power control algorithm determines a suitable transmission power level, which is then sent to the mobile station MS in a power adjustment command. Power control is continuously carried out during the call. In prior art TDMA systems, such as the GSM system, this typically takes place twice a second. An increase in the transmission power adds to the interference level in the network, which is why the aim is to keep transmission power levels as low as possible. Power control at the mobile station additionally contributes to reducing the power consumption of the mobile station.
Due to fading caused by reflections and multipath propagation of the signal transferred over the radio path, the amplitude of the received signal varies. In TDMA systems, particularly, fading makes signal transfer more difficult. To annul effects of fading, mobile communications systems employ not only power control but also, for example, frequency hopping and/or antenna hopping. The annulling effect of frequency hopping against fading is based on fading being frequency dependent. In antenna hopping, the transmission path of the signal changes, whereby the fading on the signal varies.
With the aid of frequency hopping, it is possible to reduce the co-channel interference caused by various base station signals, and effects on the signal to be transferred of fading on the radio path. In such a case, the frequency used on the radio connection is changed according to a predetermined frequency hopping pattern. Frequency hopping may be carried out as either baseband frequency hopping or transmitter-specifically as changes in the radio frequency. As shown by FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings, hopping is usually carried out in periods of one burst (timeslot). FIG. 2 shows an example of frequency hopping on four radio frequencies on the radio connection between a mobile communications network and a mobile station. According to the hopping scheme of the figure, the successive bursts of the signal are transmitted on the frequency F4, F2, F3, F1, F2, F3, F4, F2, F3, etc.
It is additionally possible to reduce the effects of fading on the signal to be transmitted by means of antenna hopping, in which the signal is transmitted and/or received alternately via two or more antennas that are located physically apart. In such an event, the propagation path of the signal is different to each antenna. As fading is not only dependent on frequency but also on place, the changes in the propagation path may result in better propagation conditions. In antenna hopping, the transmitting and/or receiving antenna is changed according to a pre-set hopping pattern.
In TDMA systems, the received signal quality can also be improved with timeslot hopping, in which the signal is transferred on the radio connection in successive frames of the same carrier in a different timeslot according to a timeslot hopping pattern. Timeslot hopping effectively reduces short-time, periodic interference to the signal to be transferred, such as that caused by radio signals from other subscribers transmitting in the same timeslot. FIG. 3 shows an example of timeslot hopping when the signal is transmitted in successive frames in timeslot 1, 4, 0, 6, 1, 4, etc.
When transmitting speech or data in a digital communications system, transmission errors are developed on the transmission path that deteriorate the quality of the transmitted signal. Transmission errors are produced on the radio path when the signal becomes distorted e.g. due to multipath propagation, a interfering signal, or a high level of background noise. Error correction, such as channel coding or retransmission, and bit interleaving of the transmitted digital signal improve the transmission quality and tolerance for transmission errors. In channel coding, redundant information is added to the data to be transmitted, by means of which the original data may be detected without errors at the receiver even though the signal gained errors on the transmission path. Retransmission is employed for correction of transmission errors either independently or as an addition to e.g. channel coding, in which case the errors of a channel-coded transmission are corrected by re-transmitting the corrupted frames. In the interleaving of bits to be transmitted, the bits in several code words are mixed with one another whereby the adjacent bits of the signal are spread out to several bursts. Due to interleaving, the signal can in most cases still be detected even though an entire burst were lost during the transmission.
The problem with the prior art power control methods is that the power control is slow, particularly if the radio system employs a hopping method, for example frequency hopping. In frequency hopping, the fading of different frequencies may not correlate, resulting in that power control carried out according to one frequency is not good on the next transmission frequency. In the prior art TDMA systems, e.g. the GSM system, power control is based on average power calculated over several frequency hops and the adjusted transmission power remains the same during a number of bursts, i.e. on various hopping frequencies. A similar problem also occurs with the prior art power control method combined in conjunction with antenna hopping and timeslot hopping.
It is an object of the present invention to implement fast power control in a mobile communications system that employs a hopping technique.
This new type of power control is achieved with the method according to the invention, characterized by that which is disclosed in the independent claims 1, 8 and 15. The specific embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.
The invention further relates to a mobile communications system which, according to the invention, is characterized by that which is claimed in the independent claims 21, 22 and 23.
The invention is based on the idea that power control is advantageously carried out in synchronization with the hopping scheme employed on the radio connection and the transmission power is adjusted to suit each value set by means of the hopping, such as each hopping frequency, antenna, and timeslot. Power control is advantageously carried out based on the quality of the transmitted/received signal, set as a result of the previous, same hopping value, for example on the basis of the quality of the previous signal transmitted on the same hopping frequency, antenna and/or timeslot, or on the basis of the quality of the signal transmitted with the previous hopping value. In the first implementation of the invention, the aim is to amplify a faded or otherwise attenuated signal by increasing the transmission power, and in the second implementation of the invention, the aim is to amplify all other signals but the faded or otherwise attenuated signal by increasing their transmission power, with the power wasted in the faded or otherwise attenuated signal being minimized e.g. by reducing its transmission power.
Such a power control method provides the advantage that the transmission power required can effectively be minimized, whereby, when implemented in a mobile station, the power consumption of the mobile station is reduced.
The inventive method provides the further advantage of a lower overall level of interference in the network.

Power control in mobile communications system


Prepared is an extract composition having an improved protein synthetic activity in a cell-free protein synthesis system using a mammalian cultured cell extract. An eukaryotic translation initiation factor and/or translational regulator are added to a cell-free protein synthesis system comprising an extract prepared from cultured mammalian cells and a template mRNA. These factors are one or more selected from the group consisting of eukaryotic translation initiation factors 4E (eIF4E), 2 (eIF2) and 2B (eIF2B), and eukaryotic translational regulator p97.

The cell-free protein synthesis system derived from cultured mammalian cells is important for analysis of gene products in eukaryotes and research of translational regulation. Most generally, rabbit reticulocyte lysate is used, and a number of proteins expressed in the system exhibit normal activities in vivo, through a correct folding and processing of those proteins (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). Post-translational modification such as acetylation, isoprenylation or phosphorylation is required in some cases for the function or activity of proteins. Alternative post-translational modification (processing) such as cleavage of a signal peptide or addition of a carbohydrate chain has been achieved by adding a canine microsomal membrane to the above-mentioned translation reaction mixture (for example, see Non-Patent Document 2).
On the other hand, it is known that in a synthetic reaction of proteins in eukaryotes, particularly translation reaction, a far larger number of translation initiation factors are involved than in prokaryotes and their interaction is complicated. In initiation of the protein synthetic system in eukaryotes, at least ten members of eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) are required. In the first step in which a pre-initiation complex is formed, the GTP type of eIF2 transports an initiation tRNA (Met-tRNAi) to a small subunit of 40S ribosome. Then, the pre-initiation complex attaches to the 5′-end of eukaryotic mRNA. In this step, eIF4F (also termed as cap-binding complex consisting of eIF4E, eIF4A and eIF4G) and eIF3 are required. This complex searches for AUG nearest at the 5′-end. After binding of Met-tRNAi with the initiation AUG, the initiation factor eIF5 releases eIF2 and eIF3. Finally, a 60S subunit binds to the complex comprising the initiation tRNA, mRNA and 40S subunit to form a 80S initiation complex. It is considered that in eukaryotic cells the translation reaction is mainly regulated by such initiation factors (for example, see Non-Patent Documents 3-5).
In eukaryotic cells, it is known that mRNA as a template for protein synthesis has a cap structure (m7GpppN) in which 7-methylguanosine binds to the 5′-end phosphate via pyrophosphate. This structure plays an important role not only in a protective action against enzymatic degradation of mRNA but also in a mechanism of initiation of translation. The translation is promoted by binding of a cap binding factor (eIF4E) to the cap structure. At the 3′-end of mRNA, there is a poly-A structure linked by 80-100 polyadenylic acids to stabilize mRNA, which structure interacts with a translation-initiating complex through a polyA binding factor (PABP). It is known that this cap structure promotes translation in a cell-free system for protein synthesis, too. In order to provide a cap structure at the 5′-end of mRNA in vitro, a cap-like material designated as cap analogue is used as a substrate for synthesizing a cap-carrying mRNA by enzymatic reaction with RNA polymerase. When this capped mRNA is used to synthesize a protein, however, since the coexisting cap analogue has an inhibitory action to the protein synthesis, an additional manipulation for removing the cap analogue from mRNA preparation is required. In addition, there is a problem in using a cap analogue that the amount of synthesized mRNA is reduced.
Non-Patent Document 1: Pelham, H R. and Jackson, R J., "An efficient mRNA-dependent translation system from reticulocyte lysates", (1976) Eur J Biochem. Vol. 67, pp. 247-256.
Non-Patent Document 2: Walter, P. and Blobel, G. (1983) Method, Enzymol., Vol. 96, pp. 84
Non-Patent Document 3: Imataka, H. et al., (1997) EMBO J. Vol. 16, pp. 817-825
Non-Patent Document 4: Imataka, H. et al., (1998) EMBO J. Vol. 17, pp. 7480-7489
Non-Patent Document 5: Svitkin, Y V, et al., (2001) RNA Vol. 7, pp. 1743-1752

Cell-free system for synthesis of proteins derived from cultured mammalian cells


A reinforced-concrete floor slab thickness indicator/reinforcement rod spacer combination consists of a base, a spacer and an indicator erected from the base, and a bracket integrally and laterally extended from the spacer. The indicator is releasably attached to the bracket by a U-shaped clamping member cooperating with a cam member. The spacer consisted of a seat fixedly mounted on the base, a medial portion threadedly connected with the seat and a supporting portion slideably mounted on the medial portion.

Conventionally, when constructing a reinforced-concrete building, spacers in the form of cement blocks are used to space reinforcement rods from the shuttering frame for forming a floor slab of the building a distance thereby to enable the floor slab to have an optimal strength.
Also, indicators are used for workers to easily perceive what is the thickness that the floor slab is intended to obtain so that they can decide when to stop the pouring of the concrete slurry into the shuttering frame.
Since the conventional spacers and indicators are individual from each other, to lay them on the shuttering frame is very laborious. Furthermore, since the height of the conventional indicators cannot be easily adjusted, the conventional indicators cannot be easily adapted to different building conditions which respectively require a different thickness for the floor slab.
In view of the disadvantages of the prior art, the present inventor has invented a reinforced-concrete floor slab thickness indicator/reinforcement rod spacer combination 80 (as shown in FIG. 8) which combines the indicator and spacer into a single unit, wherein the combination 80 forms a prior art of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 8, the combination 80 consists of an indicator 81 and a spacer 82 fixedly mounted on a base 89. The indicator 81 comprises an indicating portion 816, a threaded post 812 fixedly mounted on the base 89 and a first spring 814 connecting the indicating portion 816 and the threaded post 812 together. The first spring 814 can have a movement along the post 812 by rotating the first spring 814 about the post 812 so that the level of the indicating portion 816 may be adjusted to meet different building conditions.
The spacer 82 comprises a rod 83 fixedly connected to the base 89, a medial portion 85 slideably mounted on the rod 83, a second spring 84 has a first end seated on the base 89 and a second end supporting the medial portion 85, and a supporting portion 86 defining a reinforcement rod receiving recess 87, the supporting portion 86 being threadedly engaged with the medial portion 85. By rotating the supporting portion 86 about the medial portion 85, the level of the supporting portion 86 can be adjusted.
Although the above combination 80 which has a dual function to indicate the floor slab thickness and space the reinforcement rod from the shuttering frame a distance, is proved to be able to function well, it still has some disadvantages which need to be improved.
Among these disadvantages, the first is that to rotate the first spring 814 about the threaded post 812 to move the first spring 814 along the threaded post 812 is not convenient, and further causes the level of the indicating portion 816 to be not easily and quickly adjusted.
Furthermore, since the supporting portion 86 together with the medial portion 85 is only slideably supported on the relatively slim rod 83 by the second spring 84, the rigidity for supporting the medial and supporting portions 85, 86 is relatively poor, which results in that the reinforcement rod put on the supporting portion may not be able to be stabilized at its intended location. This situation becomes aggravated particularly when the flow of the concrete slurry poured onto the shuttering frame on which the combination 80 is laid has a violent current. If this situation happens, the reinforcement rod supported by the spacer 82 cannot be retained in its intended position, and, thus, the reinforced-concrete floor slab, which includes the reinforcement rod supported by the spacer 82 will not be able to obtain an optimal strength.
The present invention is disclosed to obviate/mitigate the above mentioned disadvantages of the conventional wooden shuttering frame.

Reinforced-concrete floor slab thickness indicator/reinforcement rod spacer combination


The invention relates to an arrangement for carrying objects, in particular medications or medical articles, in a vehicle. The arrangement includes a storage compartment for accommodating the objects to be carried and a regulating unit for regulating at least one parameter characteristic of the climatic conditions present in the storage compartment. The regulating unit is designed to carry out the regulation in dependence on the presence of one or more objects in the storage compartment.

A variety of illnesses require treatment with regular ingestion of medications. Thus, for example, persons who suffer from diabetes have to inject insulin at regular time intervals and also monitor their blood sugar level. Such persons are therefore forced to carry their medicine and any required equipment at all times, since otherwise hazardous or even life-threatening situations can occur.
Nonetheless, the case frequently occurs that persons forget the medications or equipment that they are to carry and only notice this when they have already left their residence. In such cases, an automatic warning device in the motor vehicle is desirable, which reminds the affected person that the required medications or equipment are not located in the vehicle.
A device and a method, inter alia, for the complete detection of objects in a vehicle are known from DE 10 2004 043 756 A1, wherein at least one marking associated with an object is detected and a marking signal corresponding to the marking is generated. After analysis of the marking signal, a comparison to at least one data set and the generation of a difference signal representing the comparison result are performed. In dependence on this difference signal, a warning signal is possibly generated, to indicate if necessary to the driver that he has forgotten objects to be carried.
Inter alia, a monitoring method for the presence and/or absence of objects, in particular in an interior of a vehicle, is known from DE 10 2007 009 741 A1, wherein in the event of presence or absence of detected objects, a message is possibly output on a display screen or in the form of an acoustic or visual alarm, wherein RFID tags on the respective objects to be checked are possibly also detected.
A further circumstance to be considered in practice, however, is that special storage conditions generally apply for medicines, which have to be maintained to ensure the effectiveness and reliability of these medicines. In this context, it is expressly noted, for example, by the German Federal Ministry of Health, that medicines should not be stored in a vehicle, since high interior temperatures are reached therein in summer, for example.

Arrangement for carrying objects, in particular medications or medical articles, in a vehicle


An improved synthetic heterodyne demodulator circuit. The circuit is arranged to accept the output signal s(t) from an interferometric sensor with large amplitude sinusoidal phase modulation (phase-generated carrier). The phase modulation amplitude is adjusted such that a selected pair of odd and even carrier harmonics are equal. The quadrature signal components are first extracted from the phase-generated carrier using standard homodyne techniques. The quadrature signal components are then used to AM-modulate a pair of equal-amplitude quadrature carrier components at an arbitrary frequency .omega..sub.c, and summed. The result is a conventional PM modulated carrier which can be demodulated using standard FM techniques, followed by integration, to recover with high fidelity the sensed information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for linear demodulation of fiber optic interferometric sensor signals. More particularly, this invention pertains to an improved synthetic heterodyne demodulator circuit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Primarily two methods have been suggested by the prior art for the linear demodulation of fiber optic sensor signals. The first of these, "synthetic heterodyne" is described in U.S. patent Ser. No. 4,436,425 of James H. Cole entitled "Signal Waveform Detector Using Synthetic FM Demodulation" and in the article of James H. Cole, B.A. Danver and J.A. Bucaro entitled "Synthetic-Heterodyne Interferometric Demodulation", IEEE J. Quantum Elec., QE-18 694-697, April 1982. The other method, "Passive Homodyne" is discussed in the article of A. Dandridge, A.B. Tveten and T.G. Giallorenzi entitled "Homodyne Demodulation Scheme For Fiber Optic Sensors Using Phase Generated Carrier", IEEE J. Quantum Elec., QE-18, 1647-1653, October 1982.
Both of the above-described methods process a signal of the form: EQU s(t)=1+.gamma.cos (B sin .omega..sub.m t+.psi.(t)) (1)
such that the information of interest .psi.(t) is recovered with high fidelity. (Various methods are known for generating the above-described carrier signal in a fiber optic interferometric sensor).
In the passive homodyne demodulation approach, the carrier is first multiplied by synchronous reference signals x(t)=sin .omega..sub.m t, and y(t)=cos 2.omega..sub.m t. The pair of signal products are then lowpass filtered, resulting in baseband signals proportional to the sin .psi.(t) and cos .psi.(t), respectively. This quatrature pair of signal components is then differentiated, cross-multiplied and differenced, resulting in a signal proportional to the time derivative of .psi.(t). After integration, the desired signal .psi.(t) is produced.
In the synthetic heterodyne method, the carrier is filtered with a pair of bandpass filters centered at .omega..sub.m and 2.omega..sub.m. The bandpass filter outputs are then multiplied by synchronous reference signals of the form cos 2.omega..sub.m t and sin .omega..sub.m t, respectively. The resulting products, each of which contains a component at 3.omega..sub.m t, are then filtered with bandpass filters centered at 3.omega..sub.m t and then summed. This process results in a conventional phase-modulated (PM) carrier at 3.omega..sub.m t, which is then demodulated using standard FM demodulation techniques followed by integration. The entire signal processing chain results in linear recovery of .psi.(t), the signal of interest.
Both of the known methods possess serious shortcomings. The passive homodyne circuit requires two differentiators, four analog multipliers, two lowpass filters, a summer and an integrator. Furthermore, the scale factor of that circuit will be directly proportional to the amplitude of the incoming carrier unless automatic gain control (AGC) is provided. Generally, the AGC is placed at the input, prior to the first pair of multipliers. Either direct rectification (diode AM envelope detector) or a like method is employed to measure the amplitude of the incoming carrier. Means are then provided for adjusting the carrier to a predetermined peak level prior to processing. An additional multiplier is usually required to control the carrier level.
The two differentiator stages must be stable and well-matched. Otherwise, the demodulation process will become non-linear. Differentiator circuits can be tricky to design, particularly when wide bandwidths are required.
The synthetic heterodyne method requires four bandpass filters, two multipliers, a summer, an FM demodulator and an integrator. (Assuming that the FM demodulator incorporates some form of hard limiter at the front end, a separate AGC block is not required to remove scale factor fluctuations caused by variations in carrier amplitude.)
The bandpass filter requirement includes: one filter at frequency .omega..sub.m, one at frequency 2.omega..sub.m and two filters at frequency 3.omega..sub.m. Although the design of each of such filters is straightforward, this requirement adds to circuit complexity and cost. The two filters at 3.omega..sub.m must be well-matched and must track over temperature or nonlinearities will appear in the demodulation process. The gain stabilities of the filters at .omega..sub.m and 2.omega..sub.m are also critical since any variation will result in unbalanced contributions from the quadrature components to the synthesized FM sidebands.
An additional shortcoming of the synthetic heterodyne method is the requirement that the FM carrier frequency be fixed at three times the original carrier frequency. This may preclude operation at FM carrier frequencies where performance is optimal. It may also result in crosstalk problems since the FM demodulator is operating at the third harmonic of a frequency that is present at high levels elsewhere in the circuit.

Synthetic heterodyne demodulator circuit


A method for identifying the TCP stack type of a transmitting node is disclosed in which a SYN packet is identified by the setting of the SYN bit in the packet. Following the identification of a set SYN bit in the SYN packet, the content of the data field includes a code to identify the TCP stack type associated with the node that transmitted the SYN packet.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to these users is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may vary with respect to the type of information handled; the methods for handling the information; the methods for processing, storing or communicating the information; the amount of information processed, stored, or communicated; and the speed and efficiency with which the information is processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include or comprise a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
An information handling system, including computer systems, may communicate with one another according to the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) communication standard, which is one foundation of communication through the Internet. Each transmitting and receiving node is associated with a TCP/IP stack. The TCP/IP stack is the software that implements TCP/IP. The TCP/IP stacks of each node may vary by type. For example, a node may operate according to a TCP stack that is TCP offload engine-based or operating system software based, but there is no mechanism for identifying the TCP stack type to other nodes in the communication network. For a connection between two nodes, knowledge of the type of TCP stack associated each node could be useful with respect to security and resource allocation decision making.

Method for identifying the transmission control protocol stack of a connection


An air conditioning control system adjusts a consumed energy amount of air conditioners installed in a property in an adjustment time period. The air conditioning control system includes a control apparatus and an assessment apparatus. The control apparatus performs adjustment control of the air conditioners so that the consumed energy amount is adjusted in the adjustment time period. The assessment apparatus adjusts, after the adjustment time period, a possible amount of a next adjustment control based on an environmental parameter of an air conditioned space.

In conventional practice, there have been proposals of energy management systems that adjust the energy amount consumed by an air conditioner during a predetermined time period in order to suppress the energy amount which increases with seasons and/or time ranges, as is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2011-193577, for example.


A sensor includes a sensor array formed on a first side of a substrate and at least one circuit operative to communicate with the sensor array formed on a second side of the substrate. At least one via extends through the substrate to electrically connect the sensor array to the at least one circuit. Placing the at least one circuit on the second side of the substrate allows the sensor array to occupy substantially all of the first side of the substrate.

Biometric sensing devices are increasingly common in computer or network security applications, financial applications, surveillance applications, and system access control applications. Biometric sensing devices detect or image a unique physical or behavioral trait of a person, providing biometric data that can reliably identify the person. For example, a fingerprint includes a unique pattern of ridges and valleys that can be imaged by a fingerprint sensor. The image of the fingerprint, or the unique characteristics of the fingerprint, is compared to previously captured reference data, such as a reference fingerprint image. The identity of the person is obtained or verified when the newly captured fingerprint image matches the reference fingerprint image
Devices that image fingerprints or other biometric data can be incorporated into a variety of electronic devices to provide enhanced functionality for those devices. Generally, many electronic devices, such as smart phones, tablet computing devices, computers, security keypads, and the like, may place a premium on space within the device. That is, the complexity of such devices leads to the incorporation of additional components, circuits and the like when compared with previous generations of devices. In order to maintain a similar form factor and/or size, the volume and/or area occupied by internal components may remain constant or even shrink between generations of electronic devices. Thus, more and more components compete for the same space. Thus, efficient designs of internal components, including biometric sensors, may be both useful and desired.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Biometric sensor chip having distributed sensor and control circuitry


A roller conveyor is assembled of several identical modules disposed end to end to define an elongated path for discrete commodities. Each module has a set of parallel idler rollers, an endless flexible belt with an upper reach in contact with the undersides of the rollers of the respective set, an electric motor which drives the belt, and a carrier and pad assembly which biases the upper reach of the belt against the adjacent rollers. The motors can be individually started and arrested in response to signals from photoelectronic detectors which are located above the downstream ends of successive modules and monitor the degree of occupancy of the respective modules.

The invention relates to improvements in roller conveyors in general, and more particularly to improvements in roller conveyors which are designed to transport discrete commodities, e.g., from a maker to a processing machine or to storage. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in roller conveyors adapted to be utilized for automatic transport of sensitive or highly sensitive commodities which are readily deformable, e.g., as a result of contact with neighboring commodities.
It is already known to assemble a roller conveyor from a desired number of cylindrical idler rollers which extend transversely of the direction of intended transport of commodities and can be engaged from below by an endless belt adapted to be driven by a suitable motor. If the rate of delivery of fresh commodities to the upstream end of the roller conveyor exceeds the rate of removal of commodities at the downstream end, the number of commodities which are carried by the rollers increases and ultimately reaches a value at which the neighboring commodities are likely to actually contact each other. In accordance with a presently known proposal, the roller conveyor is equipped with mechanical jam-responsive switches which disconnect the motor from certain rollers when a portion of the path for the commodities is crowded to a predetermined extent. The switches cause disengagement of the endless belt from the rollers beneath the crowded portion or portions of the path by causing the corresponding portion or portions of the belt to descend and to thus interrupt the torque transmitting connection between the motor and the adjacent rollers. At the same time, one or more brakes are set in operation to immediately prevent further rotation of the rollers which are no longer frictionally engaged by the belt.
A drawback of the just described conventional roller conveyor is that the mechanism for moving selected portions of the belt into and from engagement with the adjacent rollers constitutes a complex, bulky and expensive part of the conveyor. As a rule, such mechanism includes pneumatically or electrically operated parts. The provision of brakes for the rollers which are no longer driven by the belt also contributes to complexity and cost of the roller conveyor. Moreover, the brakes and the mechanism for lifting and lowering selected portions of the belt are not readily accessible so that each inspection, maintenance or repair work involves long stoppages of the entire roller conveyor and of the production line in which the conveyor is put to use.


Lighting device including a plurality of lighting elements, at least one sensor receiving sensory stimuli from an establishment, and a control means connected with the at least one sensor and with the lighting elements. The control means can send lighting management instructions to the lighting elements depending on the captured and processed information. The lighting device also allows managing lighting in an intelligent manner. The lighting device can light with greater intensity the areas of an establishment where there are more people or the areas where greater attention is needed but are not visited often enough. The lighting device can also light in any other suitable manner depending on the information provided by the implemented sensory metrics or other independent business rules.

The use of a lighting system which correctly lights all the areas depending on the use thereof is necessary in establishments such as business premises. Therefore, areas to be emphasized or which are envisaged to have a greater number of visitors are usually lit with greater intensity.
The lighting in said establishments covers the entire working surface, with a greater emphasis on those places where products or services are offered and for the purpose of guiding people through specific routes.
Therefore, the most common purpose of lighting systems is to favor the use of public or private spaces, improving the user's experience of said spaces and emphasizing the usefulness of the services offered therein.
In fact, the customer's experience in those business premises, and specifically at each different point of these business premises, is greatly conditioned by light intensity, its color, its beam and its chromatic reproduction, but it is also influenced by other factors such as sound, temperature and ambient humidity.
However, despite their strategic location, conventional lighting systems act as mere light emitters without measuring in any way whatsoever the experience at the point where they are installed, losing the opportunity of automatically or manually making decisions that transform the customers' experience, improving it or adapting it to the rationale behind said space and to the specific conditions of each moment.
On the other hand, today in business it is common to use data to analyze activities or factors that condition company results. For example, users' preferred choices of products in a business premise can be known today and decisions can be made depending on said data, for example changing the arrangement of the goods to be sold or to be put on sale, etc.
Despite significant data being available for some of the key factors in business results, data representing the customer's sensory experience in the business premise, i.e., the lighting level, number of people occupying the space, arrangement by areas in the shop, sound level at each point, temperature and humidity, etc., is not available today.
Therefore, it is evident that there is a need for a lighting device which allows obtaining sensory evidence in an integral manner, taking advantage of the strategic location thereof, which allows understanding the fundamental factors making up the experience at the point of sale, and which provides mechanisms for managing the lighting of an establishment, such as a business premise, depending on the actual wirelessly obtained data.
The lighting device and the managing method must therefore incorporate the capacity to collect sensory evidence, specifically to measure light intensity, to measure temperature and humidity, to measure ambient sound, to estimate the number of people present in the establishment by means of capturing radio signals coming from their mobile telephones or other devices and to use cameras for identifying the physical presence of people and their paths.
The lighting device and the managing method will in turn be complemented by a mechanism capable of collecting other determinant information, such as the weather in the town where the establishment is located, the outdoor temperature and humidity, the sales made at all times and combining this information with the data collected by the lighting device under the exact same time pattern.
Therefore, a first objective of the present invention is to provide a lighting device and a managing method which allows capturing the mentioned sensory evidence in a synchronized manner, generating valuable data for the owners of the establishment, and at the same time allowing intelligent lighting management according to business rules that are or are not linked with the taken metrics. Furthermore, a second objective of the present invention is to enable easily converting conventional lighting fixtures into the lighting device of the present invention by simply connecting a module in a conventional lighting fixture, with the evident economical benefit that it would entail.

Lighting device and method for managing a lighting system


By increasing the line spacing and the width of the grid wires of cadmium sulfide/copper sulfide photovoltaic cells, an easier to manufacture, low cost cell having a higher conversion efficiency is obtained. Seven to eight grid wires per inch have been found to be particularly desirable in achieving these end results.

This invention relates to an improved collector grid for CdS/Cu.sub.x S type photovoltaic cells.
It is known that poor design of the collector grid of a solar cell can cause significant increases in the total series resistance of the cell thus resulting in lower solar energy conversion efficiencies. Accordingly, various grid structures and designs have been tried over the years in an effort to improve the cell efficiency.
The transparent current collecting electrode, which is necesssary for the front wall type solar cells, has essentially two requirements. First, it must admit as much light to the active region of the cell as possible and second, the generated current must be collected and carried to a contact tab. In cadmium sulfide-copper sulfide type solar cells (or as more broadly designated, CdS/Cu.sub.x S type cells, x may vary between one and two, preferably closer to two) the copper compound generally has a higher resistance than is true for other type solar cells. Accordingly, relatively close grid wire spacings have been used. Close spacing was also thought necessary to minimize losses due to the recombination of carriers in the Cu.sub.x S layer.
Historically, metal mesh grids were applied to a CdS/Cu.sub.x S cell by Griffin at Harshaw Company using a mesh of approximately seventy lines per inch and having an 85% light transmission efficiency. This work is described in a report entitled "Research on Solar Energy Conversion Employing Photovoltaic Properties of CdS" Harshaw Chemical Co., AF 33 (616)-7528 Final Report Dec. 1961. Before metal mesh grids were used large area cell efficiencies were generally limited by high series resistance. The cell output efficiency was considerably improved by Clevite Corporation who determined that by switching from a grid with a spacing of 60.times.60 lines per inch and a 1 mil line width, which provided an 85% light transmission to a grid of 60.times.10 lines per inch (1pi) with 1 mil line widths, a 91% theoretical light transmission was achieved. Later work was done to optimize the collector grid design. This work was described in a report "Development of Improved CdS Solar Cells", Clevite Corp., NAS 3-13467, Final Report 1970. In this work different grid spacings between 50 and 80 lines per inch were used maintaining light transmission constant. The conclusion was that there was a trend toward increasing series resistance that would be detrimental to increasing grid spacing any further.
The metal mesh rid collector is generally photo etched from a specially rolled sheet of thin copper. Unfortunately, such copper is not only difficult to handle but also extremely costly because of its extreme thinness. Also, because it is such a delicate thinness, it is difficult to make grids and costs, in large scale manufacture, remain prohibitively high and preclude large scale utilization of solar cells for low cost terrestial use.
In most cells of the prior art, in order to achieve an optimized grid collector, the grid wires must be spaced closely enough to efficiently collect the generated current as noted above and at the same time space widely enough to provide sufficient transmission of light to the active region of the cells.
The compromises required in the design geometry of the present grid collectors generally result in an optimized maximum light transmission of approximately 80 to 90%, generally centering around 85%. This in itself results in lower efficiencies than would otherwise be desirable. But these requirements are contradictory. Accordingly, the use of optimum spacing and geometry of the collector grid wire for the best cell performance is an object of this invention.
A further object of this invention is to provide improved collector grids for CdS/Cu.sub.x S solar cells which provides a more easily manufactured grid.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved lower cost grid for CdS/Cu.sub.x S solar cells which provides a more easily manufactured grid.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved collector grid for CdS/Cu.sub.x S solar cells which provides an improved cell output efficiency.

Collector grid for CdS/CuS photovoltaic cells


On forming a ferroelectric capacitor structure, an IrO2 film and an IrOx film which are constituents of an upper electrode layer are sequentially formed on a capacitor film. By RTA treatment at 600° C. to 750° C., in this case, at 725° C. for about one minute under an O2 atmosphere, only a surface layer of the IrOx film is oxidized, and a highly oxidized layer which is higher in oxidation degree as compared with the other portion of the IrOx film is formed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a capacitor structure formed by sandwiching a capacitor film composed of a dielectric material between a lower electrode and an upper electrode, and is particularly preferable for application to a ferroelectric capacitor structure in which a capacitor film is composed of a ferroelectric material.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, development of a ferroelectric memory (FeRAM: Ferro-electric Random Access Memory) that holds information in a ferroelectric capacitor structure by using polarization inversion of ferroelectrics has been pursued. A ferroelectric memory especially attracts attention because it is a nonvolatile memory which does not lose information held therein even when the power supply is cut off, and realization of high integration density, high-speed drive, high durability and low power consumption can be expected from it.
A ferroelectric capacitor structure is easily deteriorated in its characteristics by an external hydrogen gas and water. It is also easily deteriorated in its characteristics by etching processing or the like. Therefore, restoration of capacitor characteristics by high temperature annealing is essential. Thus, as the materials of the upper electrodes and the lower electrodes constructing the ferroelectric capacitor structures, noble metals and noble metal oxides capable of resisting high temperature annealing are frequently used as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-174095. As the material of the upper electrodes, an iridium oxide which is a conductive oxide is promising for suppression of the characteristics degradation.
In a ferroelectric capacitor structures, the following two functions are required of the upper electrode in addition to the original role as the capacitor electrode.
(1) The function of forming a favorable interface between a capacitor film and the upper electrode, and obtaining excellent ferroelectric characteristics.
(2) The function of preventing deterioration of the ferroelectric characteristics of the ferroelectric capacitor structure as the manufacturing process advances.
As for the function of (1), an iridium oxide (first iridium oxide film) with high oxidation degree which is more crystallized is formed on the capacitor film. By the first iridium oxide film, excellent ferroelectric characteristics can be obtained.
As for the function of (2), the first iridium oxide film is not preferable as an upper layer in the respect that it is inferior in morphology though it has the above described function, and therefore, an iridium oxide (second iridium oxide film) which is lower in oxidation degree as compared with the first iridium oxide and is not completely crystallized is formed in the upper layer of the first oxide iridium film. The second oxide iridium film is formed into a uniform film excellent in morphology, and therefore, it can suppress degradation of ferroelectric characteristics.
Accordingly, as the upper electrode of the ferroelectric capacitor structure, it is desirable to form it into a construction including a stacked structure of the first iridium oxide film and the second iridium oxide film.
However, when the second iridium film of the upper layer is formed of an iridium oxide in the amorphous state, the iridium oxide is being reduced as the manufacturing process advances though it is formed into a uniform film excellent in morphology at the beginning of film formation. Thereby, a number of voids occur inside thereof, and it becomes an iridium oxide with sparse density, in a so-called porous state. As a result, hydrogen diffusion is promoted through the voids in the second iridium oxide film, and further reduction of the iridium oxide and degradation of the ferroelectric characteristics are promoted.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof