A radio channel estimation method includes a combination of BER (bit error rate) estimation and RSSI (received signal strength indicator) estimation. The RSSI and the BER are detected from a received signal through a radio channel, and then the radio channel is estimated based on the RSSI and the BER. A quality of the radio channel is estimated to be degraded unless the BER meets a first criterion and the RSSI meets a second criterion. The BER meets the first criterion when an average number of times during a time period that the BER exceeds a maximum value is smaller than a first threshold value. The RSSI meets the second criterion when an average number of times during a time period that the RSSI is below a minimum value is smaller than a second threshold value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to radio mobile communication systems, and in particular to a channel estimation method and system for use in a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a land mobile communication system, generally, a mobile terminal is subject to frequently changing radio conditions because there are many cases where the mobile terminal moves through an area where many buildings are located or moves rapidly through several cells of the cellular system. Therefore, the mobile terminal is provided with a channel estimation capability so as to switch to another radio channel having better communication quality.
The conventional channel estimation is performed based on bit error rates (BERs) detected from a received signal. More specifically, a channel estimator, receiving the BER for a radio channel now in use, counts the number of times during a constant time period that the BER exceeds a maximum permissible value. If the BER count exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is estimated that the communication quality of the radio channel has been degraded, and a channel changing request is transmitted to the nearest base station.
However, according to the conventional channel estimation method, the BER count frequently exceeds the predetermined threshold when a vehicle is moving through a downtown street. The reason is that fading is periodically caused by multipath propagation among the buildings depending on the speed of the vehicle. Therefore, channel changing requests are frequently transmitted to the base station, which performs the channel change each time a channel changing request is received. In other words, when vehicles are moving in the area where many buildings are located, too many hand-over procedures would be required of base stations. This causes the whole cellular system to reduce in channel use efficiency, resulting in a deteriorated connection reliability.

Radio channel estimation based on BER and RSSI


A method and apparatus for controlling electrical power to a satellite broadcast receiver forming a part of a television device. The television device receives a command receiving a command (e.g. from a remote controller) to turn off electrical power. The television device determines if broadcast satellite recording is currently being executed, for example by an external VTR connected to an output port of the television device. If broadcast satellite recording is being executed, power is turned off power to a portion of the television device while retaining electrical power to the satellite broadcast receiver. If broadcast satellite recording is not being executed, power is turned off to the broadcast satellite receiver also.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a television. More particularly, the invention relates to a television receiver capable of receiving, for example, not only conventional UHF and VHF television broadcasts but also satellite broadcasts.
2. Background of the Invention
Recently, a television receiver has been proposed which can receive not only the general UHF and VHF television broadcasts but also satellite broadcasts. This television receiver has a satellite broadcast receiving section which is separate from the conventional broadcast television tuner.
The main power supply of this television receiver can be turned on or off by, for example, a remote controller after the mechanical switch is turned on (called the stand-by state or the like). When the main power supply is turned on, power is supplied to the general television broadcast tuner and to the satellite broadcast receiving section. These tuner and receiving section receive broadcast signals and provide output to the remainder of the television. When the main power supply is turned off, power is interrupted to the conventional television tuner and the satellite broadcast receiving section, and thus these tuner and satellite receiving section cease operations.
When a conventional television broadcast is recorded by a video tape recorder (VTR), the tuner of the VTR can receive the television broadcast. Thus the broadcast can be recorded by the VTR, even though the main power of the television receiver is in the off-state.
If this VTR has no satellite broadcast receiving section, when the VTR is connected to the television receiver, the main power supply of the television receiver is turned on, and the satellite broadcast received by the satellite broadcast receiving section of the television receiver is recorded by the VTR. However, if the main power supply of the television receiver is turned off, no power is supplied to the satellite broadcast receiving section. That is, if the main power supply of the television receiver is switched off by mistake during the time in which a satellite broadcast is being recorded on the VTR, the received video and audio signals are not supplied from the satellite broadcast receiving section and thus they are not recorded on the VTR.
In view of this aspect, this invention provides a television receiver which, even though the main power is turned off, can still continuously receive the satellite broadcast and supply the video and audio signals to an outside apparatus such as a VTR during the time in which the satellite broadcast is being recorded on the outside apparatus.

Device for controlling power supplied to a satellite broadcast receiver in a television


According to the present invention, a ring oscillator coupled to an output node operable to output a clock signal including a first logic level generated by a first odd number of delay circuits, and a second logic level different from the first logic level generated by a second odd number of delay circuits different from the first odd number of delay circuits.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ring oscillator and a semiconductor device having the ring oscillator and particularly to a ring oscillator with a variable loop length and a semiconductor device having the ring oscillator.
Background
A ring oscillator is a circuit that generates a pulse having a given frequency through odd units of circularly connected delay circuits and is incorporated in many types of semiconductor devices. The ring oscillator is used mainly for generating a clock signal. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-117846 describes an example in which a ring oscillator is used as a random number generator.
The ring oscillator is also used for measuring the cycle of an incoming external clock signal. Clock single cycle measurement using the oscillator can be applied to a DLL (Delay Locked Loop) circuit, a DCC (Duty Cycle Corrector) circuit, etc., incorporated in a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), etc. A DRAM including a DCC circuit is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-210436.

Semiconductor device including oscillator


A control apparatus controls a circulating conveyor having areas each of which stores one of articles. A storage stores inventory information indicating a state of storage of each of the articles. A computer executes a program to perform a controlling process of controlling the conveyor. The controlling process includes a receiving process of receiving an instruction of storing or carrying out an article, a computing process of computing, in response to reception of the instruction by the receiving process, an amount of travel of the conveyor based on the inventory information, the amount of travel being necessary to move one of the areas of the conveyor to a predetermined position at which one of the articles is stored in or carried out of the one of the areas, and a first controlling process of controlling an operation of the conveyor in accordance with the computed amount of travel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a control apparatus, a control system and a control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are known various systems that automatically lend articles. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. H04-000882 discloses an automatic warehouse including a stationary shelf having many compartments and a movable body movable on a side surface of the stationary shelf. The movable body moves along the side surface of the stationary shelf to transfer articles stored in the compartments. In this automatic warehouse, two windows, which are a carry-out counter and a return counter, are provided on the side part of the stationary shelf. When an article to be stored is placed on the return counter, data of the compartment in which the article is to be stored is sent to and stored in a control apparatus. After completion of carrying-out a predetermined number of stored articles, a return signal is sent to the movable body based on the data stored in the control apparatus so as to return the article on the return counter to a predetermined storage room.
Moreover, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. H10-320636 discloses an automatic lending facility equipped with a lending apparatus. The lending apparatus automatically lends an article stored in a storage part in response to a lending request, and automatically stores an article, which is returned in response to a return request, in the storage part. The automatic lending facility sets a time period from a time of lending an article until a reference unit time has passed as a return time corresponding to a lending fee.
In a warehouse managing articles for lending, it is desired to manage articles while strictly keeping the rule of the FIFO so that no deviation occurs in lending frequency between individuals of each article.

Control apparatus, control system and control method


The proposed fuel injection system for gasoline engines eliminates or reduces the excessive fuel by-pass of current systems by use of an engine driven fuel pump or by modulating fuel pump speed and fuel delivery so as to be directly proportional to engine speed.

Current cars, trucks and other vehicles or devices driven by gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines include an on-board computer to provide means for electronically controlling the various systems and devices incorporated in these vehicles.
As is well known in the art, and as explained in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07,662,568 and the above Ser. No. 07/726,788, the basic components of a typical prior art electronically-controlled gasoline fuel injection system in such vehicles are generally as follows:
1. a fuel tank;
2. an electric fuel pump;
3. a pressure regulator for maintaining the pressure of the fuel supplied by the fuel pump at a required constant pressure;
4. sensors appropriately mounted on the engine or vehicle, each producing an electrical signal representative of the instantaneous value of one of the various conditions under which the engine must operate, and in accordance with which the quantity of fuel supplied to the engine is to be controlled;
5. a solenoid-operated or other suitable electronically-controlled fuel injector(s) for supplying a metered quantity of the pressure-regulated fuel to the engine induction system or directly to the individual engine cylinders;
6. an electronic control unit (ECU), which may be part of the on-board computer, for receiving, as inputs thereto, the electric signals generated by the sensors and producing, as the output therefrom, an integrated electrical signal controlling the injector(s);
7. a direct current electrical power source, such as a battery and/or an alternator;
8. appropriate electrical switches and conductors connecting the electrical/electronic components (electrical circuit) of the system; and
9. appropriate fuel conduits connecting the fuel components (hydraulic circuit) of the system. Examples of such a typical prior art systems are taught, as explained in U.S. Ser. No. 07,662,568, by the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:
______________________________________ 4,292,945 4,590,911 4,878,418 3,604,401 4,532,893 4,109,669 4,265,200 2,108,115 ______________________________________
Persons skilled in the internal combustions engine art understand the following principles relating thereto:
a) at any given speed (RPM), the engine may be developing minimum, intermediate or maximum power; PA1 b) engine fuel consumption varies, and, at any given speed, fuel consumption depends upon the power taken out of the engine; PA1 c) speed and power requirements determine fuel consumption and PA1 d) even at engine idle speed which usually involves low fuel consumption, more vehicle accessories in operation requires more power, and thus increased fuel consumption. PA1 (a) For one thing, substantial energy (gasoline to provide the power required to operate the pump) is being wasted pumping fuel to approximately 30-40 psi, and consuming very little (about 20%) of the total pumped fuel. PA1 (b) More importantly, vapor is being churned out of the fuel, which is undesirable and must be dealt with. PA1 (c) Especially importantly, pumping any fluid to a high pressure creates heat that must be dissipated somehow. This is specially true in gasoline engines where the injectors are designed to and must meter liquid fuel, rather than fuel vapors. PA1 It is understood that various automotive vehicle manufacturers and others are going to the expense of trying to develop means to overcome vapor and other hot fuel handling problems that complicate the metering function. PA1 (d) Additionally, pumping maximum fuel at the required pressure causes unnecessary motor/pump wear. PA1 (1) having means such that although the d.c. pump drive motor speed is constant, the driven pump speed is controlled to a speed proportional to vehicle engine speed; PA1 (2) wherein the positive displacement pump is driven by a d.c. electric motor, but wherein the drive connection between the d.c. motor and the pump comprises means adapted to drive the fuel pump at a speed directly proportional to engine speed; PA1 (3) wherein the drive connection means between the motor and the pump comprises a magnetic clutch, and wherein means is provided for controlling the operation of the clutch in a manner so that the d.c. motor effectively drives the pump at a speed directly proportional to engine speed; PA1 (4) wherein proper fuel metering is dependent upon maintenance of a constant required system fuel pressure, as by a pressure regulator, but wherein the quantity of fuel supplied by the fuel pump is in direct proportion to engine speed; PA1 (5) wherein a d.c. electric motor drives a positive displacement fuel pump, the drive connection between the motor and the pump being designed and controlled so as to be infinitely variable and adaptable to drive the pump at a speed that is continuously directly proportional to the instantaneous value of engine speed, so as to eliminate EXCESSIVE by-passed fuel; PA1 (6) wherein the pump speed is dependent upon the value of at least one other engine operating parameter, or a combination of other engine operating parameters, so as to reduce the quantity of by-passed fuel or even completely eliminate the need to by-pass any fuel; PA1 (7) wherein the pump drive connection includes a variable magnetic clutch, being variably controlled electronically, whereby the drive motor can function independently of the driven pump, such that even though motor speed may at times vary for reasons such as varying applied power voltage caused by varying loads on the electrical system, the fuel pressure in the pump discharge line will remain constant, possibly even in a no by-pass system, such as taught in U.S. Ser. No. 07,662,568, but by means other than d.c. drive motor control, since the magnetic clutch will compensate for variations in power voltage and/or wear in the drive motor and/or pump; PA1 (8) wherein the fuel pump assembly comprises at least two electrical components, one component being the d.c. electric drive motor and the other component being an electrically operated and controlled drive connection between the drive motor and the pump, whereby the motor and the pump can operate or be controlled independently so that, for example, motor speed can be controlled by a single or integrated voltage input, variable in accordance with a single or plurality of sensed parameters, the controlled components cooperating to provide the desired fuel quantity to the fuel injector(s); PA1 (9) wherein the fuel pump is a positive displacement pump driven by the engine (as opposed to the d.c. motor-driven pump) and designed to pump a quantity of fuel directly proportional to engine speed, whereby, in contrast to the above-described present day system, the quantity of pumped and by-passed fuel is greatly reduced, thereby greatly reducing the disadvantages and problems of present day EXCESSIVE by-pass systems; PA1 (10) wherein the pump is driven in any suitable manner (as by gear, clutch, chain, or belt, for example) by any engine part (ignition distributor, cam shaft, or the like) operating in direct proportion to engine speed; PA1 (11) wherein (a) the pump drive motor and (b) the drive motor/pump drive mechanism are separately powered and controlled so as to be capable of independent speed adjustment, and the speed of one is modified by the speed of the other; PA1 (12) wherein a fuel pump is driven at a speed directly proportional to engine speed supplying fuel to the engine (consumed fuel) and a by-pass means returns excess fuel not required by the engine (by-pass fuel) to the fuel tank or sump, the pump being driven at a variable speed directly proportional to variable actual engine speed, rather than at a constant maximum speed required to supply the maximum quantity of consumed fuel the engine could ever require, whereby the quantity of fuel being by-passed is eliminated or substantially less that the EXCESSIVE quantity by-passed in current systems; PA1 (13) wherein the system eliminates by-pass of substantial quantities of fuel required at WOT when actual engine speed is low, such as curb idle speed; PA1 (14) wherein proper fuel metering is dependent upon maintenance of a constant required system fuel pressure, as maintained by a pressure regulator, but wherein the quantity of fuel supplied by the fuel pump is is direct proportion to the engine speed. PA1 (a) means are provided wherein the speed of a fuel pump driven by a variable speed electric motor is controlled in accordance with pressure and/or flow conditions in the fuel by-pass conduit, PA1 (b) use is made of a variable supply of fuel to not only supply the quantity of fuel required to maintain the correct pressure in the injector supply conduit, but to supply that amount of fuel plus some quantity of fuel "Q" to make sure that the by-pass valve (pressure regulator) is always by-passing some, but a minimum, amount of fuel, PA1 (c) the fuel "Q" in above (b) is dependent upon and determined by the effect of transient conditions and the inability of a variable fuel supply systems to maintain the system design fuel pressure in the injector fuel supply conduit, PA1 (d) the fuel "Q" in (b) above is minimal as compared to the EXCESSIVE by-pass in current systems, PA1 (e) the means in (a) above includes a pressure transducer and a down stream restriction for the fuel by-pass conduit, the transducer transmitting pressure signals to an electronic control unit, which, in turn, transmits speed control signals to a variable speed electric motor/fuel pump assembly, PA1 (f) the means in (a) above includes a flow transducer in the by-pass conduit, the transducer transmitting signals to an electronic control unit, which, in turn, transmits speed control signals to the motor/pump assembly referred to in (e), PA1 (g) the means in (a) above includes a differential pressure transducer sensing and transmitting signals representative of the differential between the pressure in the injector feed conduit and the by-pass conduit to the electronic cotrol unit, which, in turn transmits speed control signals based on the differential pressure signals, to the motor/pump assembly, and PA1 (h) the variable speed electric motor/fuel pump assembly referred to above contemplates possible use of a constant speed electric motor driving the pump through a magnetic clutch, as already referred to above.
However, it is a fact that the quantity of fuel consumed by the engine is dependent mainly upon engine speed. As shown later in this specification, fuel consumed by the engine varies with different loads, but a change in engine speed (RPM) results in the most significant change in fuel consumption. In other words, while cold ambient temperatures and other power-demanding equipment increase the fuel consumption, by far, the greatest factor effecting fuel consumption is engine speed.
The fuel pump component of current state-of-the-art gasoline injection systems is typically a constant speed, positive displacement electric pump driven by a d.c. electric motor activated by turning the vehicle ignition switch to the ON position and designed to continuously (so long as the ignition switch is ON) supply the maximum quantity of fuel that will possibly ever be required by the engine under the most severe conditions of speed, load, low ambient temperature, etc., with all other power-demanding systems (air conditioning, heater, radio, lights, windshield wipers, etc.) operating.
However, since much more than 50% (possibly as much as 90%) of normal vehicle operation requires only a very small portion (possibly about 20%) of the above-mentioned continuous, total, maximum-required fuel pump output, it is necessary to by-pass the excess fuel (pumped to 30-40 psi) that is not required by the engine during most normal operating conditions back to the fuel tank or to sump pressure, through a by-pass conduit that normally carries a much greater volume of fuel than the conduit carrying fuel to be consumed in the engine cylinders. Obviously, total pumped fuel equals consumed fuel plus by-passed fuel, and it does not make sense to pump, at low curb idle engine speed and power, as when stopped at a red traffic signal with no accessories operating, the quantity of fuel required at wide-open throttle (WOT) high engine speed operation, with all accessories operating. Such by-pass of most of the pumped fuel (hereinafter referred to as "EXCESSIVE" by-pass) should be either completely eliminated, as proposed in the above-referenced U.S. application Ser. No. 07,662,568, or reduced to a minimum, which is a main object of this invention.
As explained in U.S. application Ser. No. 07,662,568, such EXCESSIVE fuel by-pass creates serious inherent problems, such as the following, for example:
The need to increase automotive fuel efficiency, to reduce noxious automotive exhaust emissions, to improve automotive engine performance, to meet world competition and ecological standards, and to conserve energy, is a continuing need of ever increasing importance that will not go away. In fact, it is understood that the U.S. patent and other laws provide for special considerations, such as expedited handling and mandatory licensing, regarding patent applications/patents covering inventions relating to conservation of energy.
Further, the automotive/gasoline industries are so huge that seemingly minute improvements in a single automobile produces astronomical results, when multiplied by the world vehicle population.
The importance of fuel economy is evidenced by the fact that a prominent automobile manufacturer recently announced it's plan to market a vehicle having a system to shut off the engine when it is not needed, such as when stopped at a traffic light or when coasting downhill, and to restart the engine when needed. Reportedly, the system development indicates feasibility, a main remaining problem being public acceptance of the concept.
Such matters are the very essence of the responsibilities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy, as well as various state agencies such as the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to which the EPA looks for leadership in the matter of air pollution control.
Prior to present day electronic gasoline fuel metering, an engine-driven fuel pump was used to supply fuel to the fuel bowl(s) of a carburetor, and the pump supplied only the amount of fuel required (being consumed) by the engine. This pump was unique, in that it was truly a variable displacement pump which pumped fuel only on demand, so that the fuel system did not require a fuel by-pass conduit back to sump pressure or the fuel tank.
However, the above diaphragm pump became impractical and obsolete with the advent of electronic fuel metering systems, since the fuel pressure requirement was increased from about 4-6 psi to about 30-40 psi, and the present day electric fuel pumps described above were substituted, at least in part to enhance electronic fuel system control, resulting in the above problems. It is believed that there have not been, and that there are not now, any engine-driven, gasoline fuel pumps in use, providing the fuel pressures necessary for current fuel injection systems.

Internal combustion engine fuel injection apparatus and system


An ink-jet recording apparatus includes a plurality of recording heads including a first recording head for ejecting black ink and a second recording head for ejecting a color ink; a rubber wipe blade; and a drive mechanism that moves the wipe blade along an ink ejecting surface and is able to move-up/down the wiper blade to approach or leave the ink ejecting surface. The wipe blade has: a first wipe blade that wipes purged ink on the ink ejecting surface of the first recording head; and a second wipe blade that wipes purged ink on the ink ejecting surface of the second recording head; wherein the first wipe blade is lower than the second wipe blade in rubber hardness, and the rubber hardness of the first wipe blade is 30° or higher to 45° or lower in ASKER C hardness.

The present disclosure relates to an ink-jet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium such a paper sheet.
As recording apparatuses such as facsimiles, copy machines, printers and the like, ink-jet recording apparatuses, which form an image by ejecting ink onto recording mediums such as paper, OHP sheets and the like, are widely used because they can form a high-definition image.
In such ink-jet recording apparatuses, generally, to prevent drying of ink in an ink ejecting nozzle whose opening is disposed through an ink ejecting surface of a recording head and clogging of the nozzle, the ink is forcibly pushed out (purged) from the nozzle. By means of this ink pushing-out, it is possible to discharge thickened ink, air bubbles, impurities and the like in the nozzle from the nozzle. Besides, the pushed-out ink dissolves again mists (ink residue) adhering to the ink ejecting surface.
And, a structure is employed, in which after pushing out the ink, the ink adhering to the ink ejecting surface (nozzle surface) is wiped by a blade-like wiper to perform a recovery operation of the recording head. The wiper is formed of a rubber-like elastic material, and the wiper is deformed elastically to be pushed against the ink ejecting surface, whereby it is possible to wipe the ink by making the wiper tightly contact the ink ejecting surface to prevent a gap from occurring between the ink ejecting surface and the wiper.
For example, an ink-jet recording apparatus is known, in which a blade for cleaning an ink ejecting surface of a recording head is formed of a material containing polyether polyurethane to obtain a high-quality image for a long period. Besides, an ink-jet recording apparatus is known, which includes a plurality of wipe blades that have different contact pressures on a nozzle surface and adjusts the contact pressures of the blades in accordance with dirty states and the like of the nozzle surface by switching the blades to be used.


An image forming apparatus includes LED heads protected from scratching. An optical head is mounted on an inner side of a lid pivotally mounted to a body of the apparatus. A protector is mounted to the lid. A mechanism is operatively coupled to the lid such that when the lid is positioned at an open position, the protector is at a protection position where the protector covers a light-emitting surface of the optical head and when the lid is positioned at a closed position, the protector is at an exposure position where the protector does not cover the light-emitting surface of the optical head. When the lid is pivoted from the closed position to a position at which the lid forms an angle with the body, the mechanism begins to cause the protector to move from the exposure position toward the protection position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that employs electrophotography, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus provided with a means for protecting an optical head that serves as an exposing unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some conventional electrophotographic printers employ an exposing unit, commonly called an LED head. One such printer incorporates a lid pivotally assembled to a body of the printer and a process cartridge detachably installed into the body. The process cartridge includes primarily a photoconductive drum, charging unit, developing unit, and toner cartridge. The lid includes an LED head mounted on the inner surface of the lid. When the lid is completely closed, the light-emitting surface of the LED head is positioned relative to the photoconductive drum so that the LED head can properly illuminate the surface of the photoconductive drum.
The problem with the conventional electrophotographic printers is that when a lid or cover is opened to dismount a process cartridge from the apparatus, the process cartridge can contact an LED head to scratch the light-emitting surface of the LED head. Such inadvertent contact of the process cartridge with the LED head causes adverse effects to print quality.


The present invention is directed to methods, compositions, kits and apparatus; to identify and detect the presence or absence of target analytes. The embodiments of the present invention have utility in medical diagnosis and analysis of various chemical compounds in specimens and samples, as well as the design of test kits and apparatus for implementing such methods.

Molecular biology advances in the last decade gave great promise for the introduction of new, sensitive technologies to identify various analytes in test specimens, including the ability to diagnose cancer, infectious agents and inherited diseases. Clinical molecular diagnostics depend almost exclusively on restriction enzyme analyses and nucleic acid hybridization (Southern and Northern blots) (Meselson and Yuan, 1968, Southern, 1975). Clinical tests based on molecular biology technology are more specific than conventional immunoassay procedures and can discriminate between genetic determinants of two closely related organisms. With their high specificity, nucleic acid procedures are very important tools of molecular pathology. However, nucleic acid procedures have limitations, the most important of which are the procedures consume time, they are labor intensive, and have low sensitivity (Nakamura 1993).
The subsequent attachment of radioactive or fluorescent reporting molecules to probes increased the sensitivity of nucleic acid technology. A signal from a single hybridization event could be amplified several hundred fold. The nature of the signal allowed simple visualization of each probe-target complex. However, nucleic acid reaction kinetics dictate that only 1-5% of the target molecules in a molecular pool of specimen are available for hybridization. Thus, there must be at least 5-10.times.10.sup.6 cells (or 5-10 ug of purified nucleic acid) in a specimen in order to identify affected cells with one target nucleic acid molecule in each specimen.
Another approach used to increase test sensitivity is to amplify target molecules. This was achieved by direct PCR and other target amplification methods (Saiki et al, 1985, Mullis et al., 1986). However, the use of PCR technology has been limited mainly to research applications and to use in a few sophisticated clinical reference laboratories. The power and sensitivity of PCR creates its major limitation--non-specific and false-positive amplification.
False amplification of sequence-markers for mutant oncogenes, chromosomal rearrangements or viral infectious pathogens in a clinical specimen may have profound implications for patients undergoing therapy as a result of the test results. It is technically difficult to distinguish a truly positive PCR product from the products created by non-specific amplification or by contamination with exogenous or previously-amplified DNA. There are several approaches to reducing the occurrence of false positive signals. (Saiki, 1990, Rys and Persing, 1993), however, these approaches have not brought PCR methods to the clinical laboratory.
False negative results represent another limitation of PCR-based methods. False negative results may occur due to possible inhibitory effects of the specimen on the reaction, nonoptimal concentrations of the components, or enzymes in a reaction mixture (Qi An et al., 1995). False negative results have serious implications for individuals, who in reliance on the test results do not receive timely therapy.
Amplification systems based on an enzyme of the Q-beta bacteriophage have been proposed. The Q-beta bacteriophage contains a plus-strand RNA. The plus-strand RNA serves as both mRNA for viral protein synthesis and a template for an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, Q-beta replicase. In the presence of the plus-strand RNA, and other cofactors, the enzyme Q-beta replicase synthesizes the complementary minus-strand RNA. The minus-strand, in a turn, can serve as a template for plus-strand RNA synthesis. There is potential to amplify RNA molecules exponentially in the interaction between Q-beta replicase and its two templates--the plus and minus RNA molecules (Weissmann et al., 1968, Dobkin et al., 1979).
A number of strategies have been devised to use Q-beta native RNA templates to propagate heterologous RNA inserts (Fernandez A., 1991, Munishkin et al., 1991, Wu et al., 1992). Recombinants that form more-stable two- and three-dimensional intramolecular structures have decreased tendency to form extended plus-minus RNA--RNA duplexes during replication, which results in increased synthesis of new RNA strands (Priano et al., 1987).
Chimeric Q-beta RNA template molecules with inserts containing heterologous sequences combine two functions that make them unique among other nucleic acid molecules and position them into a special group--they can serve simultaneously as both probes and reporting molecules. As a nucleic acid fragment with a specific nucleotide sequence, the insert retains its conventional hybridization ability with high specificity to its complementary target molecules, while the whole molecule maintains its tremendous efficacy for replication. Only a few target molecules are required for detection to be amplified a hundred billion times. Theoretically, a single DNA target molecule can be detected by Q-beta replicase, which can use a single MDV-I chimeric molecule as a template to produce a detectable signal after less than one hour (Lizardi et al., 1988, Pritchard and Stefano, 1990).
Being very sensitive by nature, the methods based in Q-beta replicase technology are subject to various sources of potential contamination. The major problem of "false positives" in Q-beta replicase experiments is from the template molecules, which do not hybridize to the target nucleic acid but are still present in the reaction as contaminant-templates for Q-beta replicase.
One strategy to eliminate background created by probes that do not hybridize to the target and has been described independently in two publications (Martinelli et al., 1995, Tyagi et al., 1996). Martinelli and Tyagi propose that a chimeric template, MDV-I RNA with inserted probe sequences, be divided into halves. Each half is composed of sequences homologous to the target molecule (probes) and half of the template molecule. Neither of these halves can be amplified separately because neither of them contains the full template complement necessary for replication. The probes are designed in such a way that upon hybridization to the target molecule, they are positioned adjacent to each other, binding to the target. The terminal nucleotides of these `binary probes` are ligated by DNA ligase and the restored template-reporter can be amplified by Q-beta replicase. This strategy was applied to MDV-I DNA (Martinelli et al., 1995) and later with MDV-I RNA as a template (Tyagi et al., 1996).
One of the major advantages that differentiates Q-beta amplification assays from PCR is that Q-beta can amplify a single reported MDV-I molecule up to a hundred billion fold isothermally in less than one hour. An easily manageable, extremely sensitive and highly specific diagnostic method, Q-beta replicase assays have the same flaws common to all other methods of targeting nucleic acid molecules. None of them can be applied to proteins.
In any sample, the number of protein molecules of one kind is usually several times higher than the corresponding mRNA, and several hundred times higher than the number of genes encoding them. Using antigen-specific antibodies is a routine procedure in the modern diagnostic industry, although antibody development and purification usually require laborious work. The specificity of tests based on monoclonal antibodies depends on the capacity of antibodies to differentiate between antigens, and might approach the specificity of tests based on nucleic acid hybridization. The sensitivity of these tests, however, is routinely significantly lower than tests based on nucleic acid hybridization, even though the number of protein target molecules in each cell is relatively higher than the nucleic acid molecules corresponding to them. It is desirable to use proteins as the targets in diagnostic tests because of their abundance.
Thus, a need exists for improved diagnostic and analytical methods to detect the presence or absence of target molecules. A need also exists to detect non-nucleic acid analytes with nucleic acid chemistry.
A new technology, SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment) (Tuerk and Gold, 1990) is a powerful tool to identify nucleic acid ligands with the ability to bind to compounds of various chemical compositions, including important medicinal targets. Similar to monoclonal antibodies, these ligands, resulting from `in vitro selection` demonstrate high affinity and specificity with various compounds, including proteins (Ellington and Szostak, 1990).
The starting point for the SELEX process is a pool of nucleic acid molecules with defined sequences into which another oligonucleotide from a library of randomized sequences is embedded. The SELEX procedure involves several cycles, each of which comprises affinity selection of the oligonucleotide from a heterogeneous population of nucleic acids (RNA or DNA) by target analyte, partition of the annealed nucleic acid and target, and amplification of the high affinity oligonucleotide subset. Each species of randomized nucleotides in the original library demonstrates a different degree of proclivity to the target molecule as a result of their sequence-dependent tertiary structure. The confiormational variability among members of such a library make it possible for the target molecule to select the RNA (or DNA) ligand with the highest affinity, termed aptamer (from Lat. `aptus`--to fit ), even though the fraction of functional molecules in the original library is very small. Positive selection through a number of cycles will progress toward the molecule with highest affinity to the target analyte and will reduce background. The number of cycles used depends upon the frequency of the `winner` aptamer in the pool of oligonucleotides at the end of each cycle, and varies from 3 to 24 with an average 10-12, depending on the nature of the target and composition of the original library (Gold et al., 1995). Twenty-five fully randomized four nucleotides (4.sup.25 =10.sup.15 species) is the practical limit of saturation in a SELEX process. The original complexity of the pool of randomized nucleotides generated is ample, considering that the number of antibodies produced by mice is five orders lower (Klug and Famulok, 1994).
As a result of `in vitro selection`, as few as three winners and as many as fourteen `aptamer-winners` are SELEXed at the end of the experiments for different targets (Gold et al., 1995). High affinity oligonucleotides have already been identified for more than forty different compounds. In general, aptamers from in vitro selection resemble protein antibodies to a great extent; they are highly specific for various antigens and more than one `winner` specific for different epitopes can be generated for the same target molecule. Their affinities reach the K.sub.d level as low as 1.0 nM (Schneider et al., 1995) or even nanomolar fractions (Bock et al., 1992, Kubik et al., 1994), which make them as good as or even better than proteinous antibodies. The aptamers make contact with the target through the domain of 10-15 nucleotides in the region of the 300-400 A.sup.2, which is approximately equal to the antigen recognition region of the Fab fragment of antibodies (Gold et al., 1995). Analogously, nucleic acid ligands with high affinity to the target analytes are termed "nucleic acid antibodies`. Similar to protein antibodies, nucleic acid antibodies can be modified in a such a way as to become carriers of a drug or other small molecule to the targets, making them a new, useful tool in therapeutic medicine, and they can be protected from endonucleases when they are used for therapeutic purposes or in diagnostic procedures on easy-to-obtain human blood or urine specimens (Pieken et al., 1991).
One of SELEX's major limitations, besides being technically very laborious and time consuming, follows from the conformational complexity of winning aptamers which determines their high affinity to the target analyte. The complex tertiary structure of the aptamers may affect the outcome of amplification performed by PCR or during cDNA synthesis using reverse transcriptase enzyme as the component of each cycle. Molecules with less complex structures have a comparative advantage over the most functionally potent aptamers because oligomers with `simple` structure replicate more efficiently (Klug and Famulok, 1994).

Compositions, methods, kits and apparatus for determining the presence or absence of target molecules


A semiconductor component includes a first emitter zone of a first conductivity type, a second emitter zone of a second conductivity type, a first base zone arranged between the first and second emitter zones and a first control structure. The first control structure includes a control electrode arranged adjacent the first emitter zone, the control electrode being insulated from the first emitter zone by a first dielectric layer and extending in a current flow direction of the semiconductor component. The first control structure includes a first control connection and at least one first connection zone arranged between the first control connection and the control electrode and comprising a semiconductor material.

Bipolar components have two emitters doped complementarily to one another and at least one base zone, which is more lightly doped than the emitters and is arranged between the emitters. When the component is in the on state, charge carriers are emitted into the base zone by the emitters, as a result of which a charge carrier plasma is formed in the base zone. When the component is turned off, the charge carriers that form the charge carrier plasma have to be removed from the base zone, which leads to turn-off losses.
IGBTs usually have an n-type source zone, which, by means of an inversion channel controlled via a gate electrode, serves as an electron source and can therefore be considered analogous to an n-type emitter in its function. The n-type source zone is separated from an n-type base zone by a p-type base zone or p-type body zone. An IGBT additionally comprises a p-type emitter, which is arranged on a side of the n-type base remote from the p-type body zone. In the case of an IGBT, the charge carrier plasma density in the n-type base is determined by the efficiency of the p-type emitter, in particular. In this case, a high emitter efficiency means a low forward voltage when the component is in the on state, but also leads to high turn-off losses upon turn-off. This is due to the fact that the charge carriers stored in the n-type base in the on state have to flow, upon turn-off, through the space charge zone established in the off state, which leads to turn-off losses.
In order to reduce turn-off losses, in the case of an IGBT, in addition to a gate electrode controlling a channel in the p-type base, a further control electrode can be provided, which serves to short-circuit or bridge the p-type emitter shortly before the component is actually turned off. The p-type emitter thus becomes inactive, as a result of which the density of the charge carrier plasma is reduced before the component is actually turned off.
When the component is in the off state, the n-type emitter or the n-type source and the p-type emitter are at different electrical potentials. These electrical potentials can differ by up to a few 100 V or up to a few kV depending on the dielectric strength of the component. Accordingly, in the case of conventional IGBTs having two control structures, two separate drive circuits are required. The first drive circuit serves to generate a drive voltage for the gate electrode, the drive voltage being relative to the potential of the n-type emitter or of the n-type source. The second drive circuit serves to generate a drive voltage for the additional control electrode, the drive voltage being relative to the electrical potential of the p-type emitter. These two drive circuits have to be electrically insulated from one another in a suitable manner in order to avoid voltage flashovers.

Semiconductor component with an emitter control electrode


A method and apparatus are described for removing an initial gas from a gas-filled enclosure between the mask-protective device, such as a pellicle, and the patterned mask, such as a reticle, and adding a purge gas with a different composition. The gas-filled enclosure includes a vent for adding the purge gas to the chamber and removing the initial gas from the chamber. Adding and removing may be accomplished by using pressure, diffusion, vacuum, or other means.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for making semiconductor devices using lithography. More particularly, the invention relates to a gas-filled enclosure between a mask protective device and a patterned mask, and a method and apparatus for removing a gas from the enclosure and adding a different gas.
2. Background Information
Photolithography is a process frequently used in processes to manufacture semiconductor devices. During photolithography, a light-sensitive layer on a semiconductor device is selectively exposed to light through the use of a reticle or mask. Light is transmitted toward the light-sensitive layer, through the reticle, which contains transparent regions that transmit light to the light-sensitive layer and opaque regions that prevent exposure of certain areas of the light-sensitive layer to the light. Typically, the reticle is a transparent quartz plate with a pattern defined by opaque chrome included on one side of the quartz plate. The transparent and opaque regions are associated with circuitry to be created on the semiconductor device. The exposed portions of the light-sensitive layer are transformed, allowing them to be removed by solvents, to create the circuitry of the semiconductor device.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art pellicle-reticle system 100. The pellicle-reticle system 100 includes a reticle 110 protected from ambient particles, by a pellicle 120. The pellicle 120 is typically a light-transparent polymeric film attached to a rigid frame. Particles, such as airborne particles, settle on the pellicle 120, rather than on the reticle 110. The pellicle 120 is typically separated from the reticle 110 by a short distance sufficient to eliminate or dissipate effects of particles on the surface of the pellicle 120 from creating a shadow on the reticle 110 or on a semiconductor device. Without the pellicle 120, such particles could create unintended images on the semiconductor device and alter the circuitry. Accordingly, the pellicle 120 allows particles to be collected a short distance away from the reticle 110, where they will be out of focus on the wafer surface, and will not generate circuitry defects.
The pellicle 120 is typically connected to the reticle 110 by a wall 130. The pellicle 120, the reticle 110, and the wall 130 create an enclosed volume 140, typically of air. A single, small pressure equalization orifice 150 is typically provided to equalize the pressure across the pellicle 120. This orifice 150 prevents changes in the pressure of the enclosed volume, or ambient air from damaging or altering optical properties of the pellicle 120. The orifice 150 is made small to discourage external particles from entering the enclosed volume 140 and surfacing directly on the reticle 110. For example, considering an enclosed volume approximately 115 mm in length and 90 mm in width, the single, small orifice 150 is typically less than approximately 3 mm in length by 1 mm in height. For the same reason, the orifice 150 is sometimes a convoluted passageway in order to trap particles in the passageway before entering the enclosed volume. Multiple orifices are not used, since multiple orifices promote convective flow into and out of the enclosure, which is not desired. The primary purpose of the pellicle 120 is to keep particles off of the surface of the reticle 110. Thus, only a single small orifice 150 has been used in prior art pellicle-reticle systems.
The wavelength of the light affects the size of the circuitry that can be produced by photolithography. Shorter light wavelengths allow circuits with smaller features to be produced. Likewise, single-frequency light allows smaller circuitry to be produced than multi-frequency light. Ultraviolet light has traditionally been used. Common wavelengths are 436 nm (called G-Line), 405 nm (H-line), 365 nm (I-line) and 248 nm (called Deep UV), and 193 nm. Prior art photolithography methods and apparatus based on these frequencies have been conducted in ambient temperature, humid air, since nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), water (H2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2) do not appreciably absorb ultraviolet light at these frequencies.
Shorter-wavelength ultraviolet light, such as 157 nm, may be used to produce even smaller circuitry features. However, oxygen and carbon containing species present in normal atmospheric air, such as oxygen (O2), water vapor (H2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2), absorb 157 nm ultraviolet light. This may cause irregularities and imperfections in the circuits produced. Unfortunately, due to the single, small orifice 150 and the prior art motivation to minimize airflow into and out of the enclosure, prior art photolithography methods and apparatus are not satisfactory for removal of these species.

Purging gas from a photolithography enclosure between a mask protective device and a patterned mask


A surgical instrument for applying an anastomotic ring device comprises a handle connected to an anastomotic ring deployment mechanism by a shaft. The shaft has at least one torsion member that is capable of communicating a torsional actuating force from the handle to the ring deployment mechanism. The ring deployment mechanism is configured to actuate in response to torsional actuating force communicated from the torsion member. A threaded shaft or rod may be positioned in the ring deployment mechanism to effect actuation of the ring deployment mechanism in response to torsion.

The percentage of the world population suffering from morbid obesity is steadily increasing. Severely obese persons may be susceptible to increased risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, pulmonary disease, and accidents. Because of the effects of morbid obesity on the life of the patient, methods of treating morbid obesity have been the subject of intense research.
One known method for treating morbid obesity includes the use of anastomotic rings. Devices for applying anastomotic rings are known in the art. Devices of this nature are commonly adapted to insert a compressed anastomotic ring to an anastomotic opening formed between proximate gastrointestinal tissue walls. These applier devices may utilize a ring deployment mechanism comprising an expansion element that is actuated once the compressed ring is placed in the anastomotic opening, causing the anastomotic ring to expand from its compressed, cylindrically-shaped position to an actuated, hollow rivet-shaped position.
Some conventional flexible applier devices that employ force transmission through cables to control the ring deployment mechanism might present the undesirable potential for cable buckling or device straightening. Consequently, it may be desirable to have an applier that employs torsional force transfer, such as via one or more threaded members.

Screw tip control for anastomotic ring applier


A brake system of an elevator, an escalator or a moving walkway includes a brake device with at least one brake shoe. The brake shoe has an effective surface which during brake use is pressed against a friction surface, which is moving or movable relative to the effective surface, of a counter-member. The brake system also includes a feed device which is supplied by a fluid source. A fluid can be fed between the effective surface of the brake shoe and the friction surface, which faces it, by means of the feed device. The friction between the effective surface and the friction surface can be influenced by the feed of the fluid.

Operating brakes serve for holding an elevator cage of an elevator or holding a step belt of an escalator in a specific position. They can also be used for retarding a moved elevator cage or a moved step belt. In cases of emergency such as, for example, in the case of power failure the brake systems are designed so that they brake with "maximum braking force." The maximum braking force is fixed in relevant standards. Operating brakes are usually electromechanical brake systems. The at least one brake thereof is pressed by means of spring elements against the friction surface, which is to be braked, of a brake disc, a brake drum or a support means (cable or belt). For release of the brake use is made of an electromagnet which is suitable for overcoming the spring force of the spring elements. The foregoing explanations can also apply analogously to moving walkways with a plate belt.
Even when the brake shoe is pressed by the effective surface thereof against the friction surface by a constant spring force the friction resulting therefrom and thus the deceleration during the braking process substantially change. Influences such as the temperature during the brake use, contamination of the effective surface and the friction surface, changes in the surface thereof and in the structure due to preceding use of the brake and the like lead to a strongly fluctuating braking performance. This can lead to unsatisfactory braking behavior, which due to the selected setting of the brake can represent a compromise between the bandwidth of the attainable braking travel and the maximum reasonable placing of load on the user.
Safety brakes are triggered usually only in cases of emergency and have the task of fixing moved components, such as an elevator cage, counterweight, a step belt or a plate belt, as rapidly as possible. Safety brakes can be arranged at the elevator cage and/or at the counterweight or act on a support means connecting the elevator cage with the counterweight. Triggering of a braking process takes place through an electrical or mechanical signal of a speed limiter. In elevator standards passed by regulators, deceleration values or negative acceleration values of the elevator cage, which are not to be exceeded, are stipulated for braking processes. Very high negative acceleration values usually arise between the friction surface and the effective surface shortly before transition from a sliding friction to an adhesive friction. The negative acceleration values usually run progressively in an unfavorable manner. A constant deceleration value of, for example, −3 m/s2 could be perceived as significantly unpleasant.


A machine tool comprises a workpiece table which has a clamping surface for workpieces to be machined and a spindle head displaceable in a working space above the workpiece table relative thereto by means of a shifting mechanism and having a spindle receiving tools for machining the workpieces. The shifting mechanism comprises three carriages movable orthogonally to one another, of which the second carriage is mounted displaceably on the first, and the third carriage displaceably on the second carriage, the spindle head being joined to the third carriage. The first carriage is arranged behind the working space and above the clamping surface, preferably above the working space.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machine tool having a workpiece table which has a clamping surface for workpieces to be machined; a spindle head displaceable in a working space above the workpiece table relative thereto by means of a shifting mechanism and having a spindle receiving tools for machining the workpieces; and three carriages movable orthogonally to one another in the shifting mechanism, of which the second carriage is mounted displaceably on the first, and the third carriage displaceably on the second carriage, the spindle head being joined to the third carriage.
2. Related Prior Art
A machine tool of this kind is known from the related art.
In the case of the known machine tool, the spindle head is displaceable in three mutually orthogonal coordinate directions, specifically the X, Y, and Z directions, in a working space above the workpiece table.
The shifting mechanism provided for this purpose comprises as the first carriage an X carriage which is arranged in the region of the clamping surface of the workpiece table, preferably below the clamping surface. Arranged on this X carriage as the second carriage is the Y carriage, which is displaceable perpendicular to the X carriage so that the X and Y carriages enclose a plane which lies parallel to the clamping plane.
Arranged on the Y carriage is an upright which extends over the entire height of the working space and bears at its upper end the third carriage, i.e. the Z carriage, to which the spindle head is attached and thus projects from above into the working space. In other words, the upright extends on the rear wall (as viewed from the operator side) of the working space.
Depending on the height of the working space, the upright has a relatively large mass, so that kinematic limits are imposed on the maximum acceleration achievable upon displacement of the spindle head in the X or Y direction. Acceleration and deceleration of the upright cannot be attained in arbitrarily short time spans.
The known machine tool further has an enclosure which not only covers the machine tool externally but also provides a lining for the working space, so as to protect the shifting mechanism from chips as well as cutting and cooling oil. The carriages and guide rails as well as the upright are protected, in this context, by telescoping covers which constitute what may be called variable-length covers, so that the parts of the machine tool projecting from the shifting mechanism into the working space do not need to pass through slits in the enclosure, through which chips and cooling or cutting fluid might get into the shifting mechanism.
The telescoping covers comprise U-shaped sheet-metal elements which can slide over one another and are, for example, arranged on both sides of the X carriage and overlap the guides for said carriage and thus protect them from soiling.
All in all, large surfaces must be sealed in the case of the known machine tool, and the variable-length telescoping covers are provided for them.
One disadvantage with the telescoping covers is their large mass, which results not only from their design but also from the large surfaces to be sealed, so that the telescoping covers also contribute to the acceleration problems already mentioned above. A further disadvantage is that the sheet-metal parts strike one another when being slid together or moved apart, especially at high displacement velocities. These impacts not only represent a noise problem, but also impair the machining accuracy of the known machine tool due to the vibrations associated with them.

Machine tool with roller-shade enclosure


A pressure sensor assembly includes a pressure sensor having a pressure sensing transducer connected to a plurality of electrode pins via a plurality of electrode pads disposed on the transducer, an inner casing configured to hold the pressure sensing transducer including a plurality of inner casing electrode pin channels having the electrode pins disposed therein. The pressure sensor further includes an outer casing holding the inner casing therein having a capsule header with a plurality of capsule header electrode pin channels defined therein which can include a ceramic seal disposed therein such that the capsule header electrode pin channels engage the electrode pins in an insulating sealed relationship. The outer casing further includes an isolator plate including an isolator plate fluid port defined therein and a pressure isolator disposed on the isolator plate and configured to deflect in response to a change in ambient pressure. The pressure sensor includes a pressure transmitting fluid disposed in the fluid volume.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to pressure sensing devices in the presence of high temperature, and more particularly to turbomachine pressure sensing devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Pressure sensors for turbomachines, aircraft, and/or other machines must be very robust due to the very harsh environments that the sensors must be exposed to in order to continue to produce meaningful readings. However, even the most robust of pressure sensors for turbines have limited upper temperature ranges that allow accurate pressure readings. Conventional pressure sensors only function up to maximum temperatures, which is a limitation on the use of such conventional pressure devices.
Such conventional methods and systems have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is still a need in the art for pressure sensing transducers having a high temperature range for accurate pressure readings. The present disclosure provides a solution for this problem.


The present document relates to processing of multimedia data, notably the encoding, the transmission, the decoding and the rendering of multimedia data, e.g. audio files or bitstreams. In particular, the present document relates to the implementation of loudness control in multimedia players. A method for providing loudness related data to a media player is described. The method comprises the steps of providing a first loudness related value associated with an audio signal; wherein the first loudness related value has been determined according to a first procedure; of converting the first loudness related value into a second loudness related value using a reversible relation; wherein the second loudness related value is associated with a second procedure for determining loudness related values; of storing the second loudness related value in metadata associated with the audio signal; and of providing the metadata to the media player.

The problem of varying mixing and playback levels of audio content is addressed in the movie industry by specifying the SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) recommendations which guarantee a consistent playback level across movie theaters and for different content. The SMPTE recommendations ensure that audio content is re-produced at a consistent level pleasant to consumers.
The situation in broadcast is more challenging, given that the individual playback systems of users are not controlled by technicians and due to the more complex distribution channels and networks for broadcast. With the introduction of digital broadcast, the industry established the concept of time-varying-metadata which enables to control gain-values at the receiving end to tailor content to a specific listening environment. An example is the metadata included in Dolby Digital which includes general loudness normalization information ("dialnorm") for dialogues, as well as gain-words ("dynrng" and "compr") to reduce the dynamic range of a program. It should be noted that throughout this specification and in the claims, references to Dolby Digital shall be understood to encompass both the Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus coding systems. Such systems are specifically powerful for situations where the operating modes at the receiver relating to the listening environment and the listening preferences are specified. By way of example, the dialnorm standard allows the specification of a so called "line mode" and "RF mode" for Dolby Digital. The "RF mode" is designed for peak limiting situations where the decoded program is intended for delivery through an RF input on a television, such as through the antenna output of a set-top box. The "Line mode" provides less compression of the dynamic range than the "RF mode" and also allows user adjustment of the low-level boost and high-level cut parameters within a home decoder. The adjustment or "scaling" of the boost and cut areas allows the user to customize the audio reproduction for their specific listening environment. These technologies are also part of today's audio/video discs like DVD and Blu-ray.
An important distribution channel for audio content is still the CD which contains 16-bit PCM data without any metadata. The peak-normalization typically used for CD's is said to be the main reason for the so called "loudness war" which has led to reduced dynamic range of audio content with high average audio levels. However, consumer behavior changed over recent years with coded content (e.g. content in data-reduced formats such as mp3) becoming more popular and important for content distribution and storage. Such formats allow for virtually unlimited dynamic range which content owners and audio enthusiasts can take advantage of. In addition, the increasing popularity of mobile phones, smart phones and other portable electronic devices as personal media players has created new challenges in designing high quality playback devices that meet customer expectations of consistent audio leveling and best audio quality under various listening conditions. The large number of content in personal music collections (often exceeding thousands of files) as well as the broad range of audio formats such as mp3, HE-AAC, OGG, WMA, and Dolby Digital further complicate the problem of providing audio playback devices with consistent audio leveling.

System for combining loudness measurements in a single playback mode

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation


In a double clutch transmission with a winding path power flux arrangement, which has two countershafts arranged coaxially with respect to one another and with seven forward gears and a plurality of reverse gears, for selected gears the power flux extends from a part region of the transmission forward and then again back to another part region of the transmission in such a way that only four shift clutches are needed for shifting through all the gears.

The invention relates to a double clutch transmission, which has two countershafts arranged coaxially with respect to one another, and to a method of shifting such a transmission.
Such a double clutch transmission is already known from the publication by Tenberge, P.: "Doppelkupplungsgetriebe in Windungsanordnung" ["Double clutch transmission in a winding arrangement"], VDI-Seminar No. 31 03 01 "Stufenlose Fahrzeuggetriebe" ["Continuously variable vehicle transmissions"], Stuttgart, 2001.
DE 103 25 647 A1, not yet published, likewise already shows a double clutch transmission in a winding arrangement. In this, however, the countershafts are arranged parallel to one another.
Furthermore, double clutch transmissions are known from EP 0 883 785 B1, DE 101 02 028 A1, WO 00/39484, U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,171 B1, DE 199 39 334 A1, DE 198 21 164 A1, DE 101 08 881 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,547 B1.
The double clutch transmissions described in these publications have various disadvantages. Thus, some double clutch transmission concepts have a relatively large overall length. Furthermore, in most cases, only one reverse gear is implemented.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an axially short double clutch transmission, which is free of interruption in traction during shifting and which has a relatively high number of gears, particularly for use with commercial vehicles.


Disclosed is a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor substrate, a gate electrode, a first insulating film formed between the semiconductor substrate and the gate electrode, and a second insulating film formed along a top surface or a side surface of the gate electrode and including a lower silicon nitride film containing nitrogen, silicon and hydrogen and an upper silicon nitride film formed on the lower silicon nitride film and containing nitrogen, silicon and hydrogen, and wherein a composition ratio N/Si of nitrogen (N) to silicon (Si) in the lower silicon nitride film is higher than that in the upper silicon nitride film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacture method thereof, and in particular, to an insulating film provided in a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Silicon nitride films (SiN films) are applied to various parts of a semiconductor device. However, conventional SiN films formed using dichlorosilane (SiH2Cl2:DCS) may create various problems when they are used to manufacture next-generation semiconductor devices.
Possible problems with a next-generation DRAM employing a dual gate will be described by way of example. In a next-generation DRAM, a thick SiN film of about 200 nm thickness is used as a hard mask used to process an electrode. In the case of an SiN film using DCS (DCS-SiN film), the diffusion of boron is enhanced owing to high temperature steps executed after film formation. Consequently, a PMOS device may be degraded. The degradation of the PMOS device attributed to the SiN film can be suppressed to some degree by taking measures to modify integration. However, such measures may degrade the performance of the transistor and are thus difficult to implement. Accordingly, for more essential solutions, SiN films must be developed which do not contribute to degrading PMOS devices.
The degradation of a device associated with a DCS-SiN film can be prevented using an SiN film (TCS-SiN film) used of tetrachlorosilane (SiCl4:TCS). However, the speed at which the TCS-SiN film is formed is low and about one-third of that of the DCS-SiN film. The film formation speed can be increased by changing film formation conditions (film formation temperature, pressure, and others). However, it is actually difficult to increase the film formation speed because of the need to keep the film uniform, prevent film quality from being degraded, suppress dusts, and the like. Consequently, the use of the TCS-SiN film may reduce productivity.
Further, a MONOS type device using a silicon nitride film as a charge storage layer has been proposed as a cell structure of a next-generation flash memory. The MONOS device comprises a semiconductor substrate, a silicon oxide film (a tunnel oxide film or bottom oxide film), a silicon nitride film (a charge storage layer), a silicon oxide film (a top oxide film), and an electrode sequentially stacked together. This is an M—O—N—O—S structure. An electric write of information is carried out by injecting electrons or holes from the semiconductor substrate into the silicon nitride film through the tunnel oxide film.
A problem with the MONOS device is destruction of data resulting from write/erase stress. Further, a problem with NAND type devices is destruction of data resulting from read stress. Non-volatile memories need to retain charges for 10 years after writes/erases have been carried out 100,000 times. At present, however, data are not sufficiently retained.
In the prior art, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 2-59632 discloses a structure using two SiN films containing different amounts of hydrogen, as a charge storage layer. In this case, silane and ammonia are used as film formation gases. Specifically, an SiN film having a larger number of Si—H bonds is provided under an SiN film having a smaller number of Si—H bonds to allow data to be more appropriately retained. However, this structure is not always optimum as described later.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-64205 discloses a structure using an SiN film as a charge storage layer which has a silicon concentration peak near a top surface of the SiN film, while having a nitrogen concentration peak near a bottom surface thereof. For example, DCS and ammonia are used as film formation gases. Specifically, the concentrations of silicon and nitrogen are adjusted by implanting silicon and nitrogen ions into a single layer SiN film. However, the SiN film is a single layer formed using DCS or the like, and this structure is not always optimum.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 5-48631 discloses a structure in which a silicon oxynitride film is formed on a side of a bottom oxide film as a charge storage layer. Such a structure allows data to be more appropriately retained. However, this is not always optimum as described later.
Further, for non-volatile memories such as flash memories, a tunnel insulating film is desired to be thinner in order to accommodate the continuously reduced thickness of devices. If a silicon oxide film or a silicon oxynitride film is used as a tunnel insulating film, a leakage current may be generated by a mechanism known as direct tunneling when a low electric field of at most 5 MV/cm is applied. This hinders data from being appropriately retained.
Thus, to reduce the low-electric-field leakage current, it has been proposed that a silicon nitride film be used as a tunnel insulating film (Non-Volatile Semiconductor Memory Workshop 1998, p. 95–97, and Non-Volatile Semiconductor Memory Workshop 2001, p. 67–69). However, in spite of the excellent initial characteristics of this film, a gradually increasing low-electric-field leakage current called an "SILC (Stress Induced Leakage Current)" may be generated therein as the number of writes/erases increases. Consequently, this film cannot sufficiently retain data.
As described above, the problem with the formation of a silicon nitride film using DCS can be solved using TCS. However, the use of TCS hinders the film formation speed from being increased, thus reducing productivity.
Further, the non-volatile memory device has been proposed which uses a silicon nitride film as a charge storage layer. However, the corresponding conventional structure does not allow data to be sufficiently retained.
Furthermore, it has been proposed that a silicon nitride film be used as a tunnel insulating film of a non-volatile memory device. However, the corresponding conventional structure does not allow data to be sufficiently retained.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


A data storage device includes a nonvolatile memory apparatus including a memory block including a plurality of pages; and a processor suitable for writing write data in target pages of the memory block, and backing up special management data of the write data in at least one backup page of the memory block.

1. Technical Field
Various embodiments generally relate to a data storage device and, more particularly, to an operating method of a data storage device for preventing data loss due to a sudden power-off.
2. Related Art
A semiconductor memory device may be used to store data. Semiconductor memory devices may be divided into nonvolatile and volatile memory devices.
The nonvolatile memory devices maintain data stored therein even though power is cut off. The nonvolatile memory devices include flash memory devices such as NAND flash or NOR flash, Ferroelectrics Random Access Memory (FeRAM), Phase-Change Random Access Memory (PCRAM), Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) or Resistive Random Access Memory (ReRAM).
The volatile memory devices fail to maintain data stored therein when power is cut off. The volatile memory devices include Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) and Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM). The volatile memory devices are generally used as buffer memory devices, cache memory devices, or working memory devices in a data processing system, based on their relatively high processing speed.

Data storage device and operating method thereof


A towable watercraft is provided with a tow bar which extends over a front portion of a hull of the watercraft, and downwardly along the outside of the hull front portion to an elevation where a tow line can be secured to an end portion of the tow bar. A steering system operates the tow bar to pivot the tow bar and the hull relative to each other as the watercraft is being towed. The steering system includes a steering column turned by a steering wheel or bar, a steering drive shaft secured to the tow bar and pivotally supported relative to the hull, and a gear mechanism or a pulley mechanism linking the steering column and the steering drive shaft and providing a substantial mechanical advantage. A housing is provided for the steering system to contain the drive shaft and the linking mechanism.

The present invention relates to a towable watercraft, and more particularly to systems and methods for steering a watercraft as the craft is being towed by a moving boat.
Motorboats can tow various kinds of water devices in providing water recreation for users of the devices. In the case of water skis, the water skier normally stands on the skis and holds a tow rope connected to a boat to be pulled forward under the driving force of the boat. The skier can maneuver back and forth across the wake of the boat by weight shifting and tow rope positioning, and thereby achieve greater enjoyment from the water skiing experience. A rider on a towed wakeboard faces similar maneuvering requirements during towing.
However, water skiing or wakeboarding requires use of personal maneuvering skills and places substantial physical demands on the skier or wakeboarder. As a result, the sport of towed water skiing or wakeboarding has somewhat limited participation.
Other types of towable watercraft facilitate wider participation in recreational watercraft towing. For example, aquaplanes, hydrofoils, inflatable watercraft, and the like free the rider from most physical demands with lower skill requirements, but they normally have little or no steering capability.
Water sleds, small boat-like craft, and other types of towable watercraft also typically impose reduced physical demands and reduced maneuvering skill requirements on a rider. Some prior art watercraft of these types have employed some forms of steering control, but such steering has been limited in effectiveness.
In a towable watercraft having a conventional rudder-type steering system, a steering mechanism is operated to pivot one or more rudders thereby producing water forces on the underside of the craft which change the direction in which the craft is moving subject to tow line limits. However, the rudder-type steering system has limited effectiveness due to relatively poor steering power and relatively slow steering response time. U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,001, entitled TOWED WATERCRAFT AND STEERING METHOD, and issued to J. H. Lemelson on Oct. 31, 1995 discloses an exemplary rudder type steering system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,858, entitled STEERABLE TOWED VEHICLE, and issued to F. M. Casciano on Dec. 1, 1981, discloses another type of steering system in which a control rope is extended to the underside of the vehicle where it is attached to a tow rope used to pull the vehicle. A rider on the vehicle uses a handle to pull or release the control rope, thereby pivoting the tow rope about its point of attachment to the back of the vehicle. The tow rope applies steering forces to the vehicle according to the extent of pivotal movement of the tow rope.
Even if the Casciano system provides some increase in steering response speed relative to rudder-type steering systems, this system operates with little or no mechanical advantage and places significant physical demands on the rider during steering operations.
In view of the state of the prior art, a need exists for a towable watercraft which can be conveniently and effectively steered by a rider substantially without requiring special rider operating skills and without placing objectionable physical demands on the rider.

Towable recreational watercraft having effective and convenient steering system


A visualization tool for creating graphic displays of trace data produced by a parallel computer program execution monitoring system. The visualization tool contains a display monitor, possible input devices, a mass storage device, and a computer system. Trace data is converted into data structures and later pixel maps to ultimately generate processing activity diagrams for each processor in the computer system. If more than one processor is present, more than one processing activity diagram can be generated and simultaneously displayed on the same screen in form of strip graphs and for certain indicated time intervals. An average processor utilization diagram is then calculated and plotted on every processor activity diagram for comparison purposes. Browsing through these strip graphs all at the same time while comparing them against the average utilization graph will allow a user to easily redistribute workload if necessary and/or locate problem situations.

In order to improve performance of computer code used in parallel processing computer systems, it is often necessary to determine and display certain data that is indicative of code execution. Generally, computer program execution monitoring systems, hereinafter referred to as monitoring systems, monitor computer programs as they are executed on parallel nodes or a parallel processing computer. The monitoring system subsequently generates data indicative of various functions performed by each node during program execution and stores this data in a mass storage memory device.
The monitoring system organizes the stored data into a historical file known as a trace file; the data within the trace file is known as trace data. Trace data are generally a time-ordered series of recorded indicia representing changes to the information and/or control state of the parallel processing computer. Therefore, trace files are used both for real time debugging of program and system elements as well as for studies
Each individual datum within the trace data is known as an event. Typically, an individual event contains a number of data fields. The type of event being recorded defines the number of fields in a given event and the information contained in each field. For example, a monitoring system produces a "send" event whenever one processor within the parallel processing computer passes information to another processor within the same computer. Another example is "receive" event, produced whenever a processor in the parallel processing environment receives a message from another processor.
An event may contain several information such as a time field indicating when the event was recorded by the monitoring system, an event processor field identifying the processor to which the message is directed, a start time field indicating a time that the message was sent or received, and a stop time field indicating the completion time of the event.
Those skilled in the art appreciate that the production and use of trace data is well known in the art and does not require further discussion since it is not per se necessary to understand the workings of the present invention.
As explained earlier, trace files are used either to study the system or as a debugging tool. Typically, a parallel processing computer in cooperation with a monitoring system displays trace data as a single, real time display while the computer executes a parallel program. The data is then stored via a direct access storage device (DASD) or other such storage devices for future use and analysis. Therefore, when the trace data is later sorted, errors and anomalies that occurred during program execution can be corrected.
Similarly by analyzing the trace data stored, a study of processor utilization can be made to optimize such use. One such data processing and display method is enclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,554 entitled "Converting Trace Data From Processor Executing In Parallel Into Graphical Form", issued to Charles A. Luke on Dec. 1, 1992 (herein after referred to as the Luke patent). Specifically, the Luke patent discloses a method of creating a "time process diagram" that depicts processor utilization during execution of a parallel program. The method includes searching previously recorded trace data for specific types of events, especially those events that indicate processor utilization, and generating a table of those events. The events in the table are arranged in a time sequential manner. From the table, the method disclosed in the Luke patent produces either a diagram or display showing a total number of processors operating during a particular time interval or a diagram showing specific event activities which occurred during that particular time interval. The user can scroll forward and backward within either diagram to display a different time interval than previously displayed. From these displays, a programmer can alter the parallel program to optimally execute on a particular parallel processing computer.
Inasmuch as conventional display apparatus known in the art typically concurrently displays trace data from many processors in a single display format, a programmer faces a tedious, burdensome and often confusing task of simultaneously visualizing relative performance data for more than a small number and comparing the trace data therefrom. Traditionally, the trace data displays portray the data in a textual format only, or in a mixed textual and graphical format. However, even in instances such as in Luke patent where non-textual data displays are available there are no available data portraying a detailed presentation of each processor's functioning as would be necessary in real time debugging. For example in Luke since the main concern is system utilization optimization, no emphasis is placed on detail visual displays of single processor workings. Moreover, the art presently does not provide methods of generating multiple and simultaneous displays of various trace data display formats. In addition in the present art there are no methods or apparatus that can show why a particular processor took more than average time for a particular task or a method that can flag possible on-going problems. Many display devices do not even calculate what an average time for task processing of a certain nature should be, but more importantly these devices do not clearly show the existence of such occurrences such as interrupts as part of their utilization diagrams.
Consequently, in an application program that extends over a relatively large number of processors, reviewing and analyzing the trace data can simply be too daunting to be practically accomplished by even an experienced programmer. Trace files generated by parallel processes contain information about dozens or even hundreds of processors. A visualization tool must be created that can handle any reasonable number of processors in a way that images projected are neither overwritten nor scaled down to such small size that they are un-interpretable by the user. The displays must also allow the user to make quantitative comparisons between the data of different processors and draw attention to display of statistically anomalous processor activity. Thus a need exists in the art for improved systems and methods that can afford a user the ability to quickly access, easily review and understand trace file data, as well as determine and highlight any problems with each individual processor.
Visual presentation devices in existence today do not provide a developer means of easily identifying glitches or bottlenecks in the application. For example, application developers are forced to make inferences concerning the relationships between various types of data that are presented in order to understand how to improve execution of the application program. Similarly, system activity caused by the application under inspection as well as system activity unrelated to the application is not identified by current displays. The user needs to be able to determine where their program is being interrupted from doing work or when their program could be doing useful work instead of waiting. Furthermore, the application developer typically must accept the content and presentation of the data as it is presented to them by the program visualizer rather than being able to specify the types of data that get displayed, and the relationships between these types of data.
The teachings of the present invention are further established on the basic workings and concepts presented originally in U.S. Ser. No. 011,436 (attorney docket KI9-92055) and filed on Jan. 29, 1993, now abandoned. However, the present invention presents novel ideas and other improvements over the concepts previously presented in that abandoned application. In addition, this invention is being filed at the same time with another application, attorney docket KI9-94-004 pertaining to related subject matter.

Visualization tool for graphically displaying trace data

International Business Machines Corporation


A latch for selectively connecting a sash of a double-hung window to a slide track in a window frame, including a lever including a gear at one end, a latch housing mountable to the sash, the housing including means for pivotally supporting the lever, and a locking member movable between a locked position securing the sash to the track and an unlocked position releasing the sash from the track. The locking member includes a tongue projecting from the latch housing when the tilt latch is in the locked position and lying within the latch housing when the tilt latch is in the unlocked position, and a rack engaging the lever gear to move the locking member to locked and unlocked positions in response to pivoting of the lever. The lever gear includes a disk formed along one side, and the locking member includes a channel along the rack receiving the disk during pivoting of the lever. A stop is secured to the latch housing, which stop engages the locking member to prevent overpivoting of the lever arm when the lever arm is moved into the unlocked position. A detent is provided including first and second spaced grooves on one of the lower housing and the locking member and a protuberance on the other of the lower housing and the locking member. The housing includes upper and lower housings which are secured together to mount axially aligned pivots extending from opposite sides of the gear in open notches on one or the other housing members.

1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed toward double-hung windows, and more particularly to tilt latches for double-hung windows.
2. Background Art
Double-hung windows include two window sashes typically mounted for vertical movement along adjacent parallel tracks. Traditional double-hung window designs provide poor washability, however, since it is difficult for a person located inside the room to wash the outside of the window pane. To fully wash the outer surface of such windows (which outer surface is the one which is most often in need of cleaning), the person cleaning the window must typically go outside the dwelling. This is not only extremely inconvenient (as the person has to walk significant distances merely to wash both sides of a single window), it can also force a window washer, when trying to wash double-hung windows located at significant heights, to face the undesirable choice of either risking injury by climbing to that height or doing a relatively poor job of washing by merely reaching from a distance with a hose or a special long pole apparatus of some type. Such cleaning is still further complicated where there are screens or storm windows which must be removed prior to washing.
To overcome this problem, tilting latches for double-hung windows have sometimes been provided. Such latches have generally been installed in opposite ends of a top horizontal rail of the upper and lower sash, and typically include a tongue which during normal operation extends out from the side of the sash into the sash track in the window frame to guide the sash for typical vertical movement. The tongue of each latch is retracted in some manner when washing is desired to free the top rail of the sash from the track so that the sash may be suitably pivoted inwardly about pivots guiding the bottom rail of the sash in the track and thereby allow the washer to easily reach the outside surface of the window pane of that sash.
The tongue in many of the prior art latches is commonly biased outwardly into the track by a spring structure or the like, with the tongue retracted inwardly by the washer manually pulling the tongues in toward the center of the top rail against the force of the spring (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,291). However, with such structures, the tongues can be difficult to move, not only due to the spring but also due to binding which can almost inevitably arise over the long period of use of the latches (due to grime which can gum up the latch as well as bending of the tongue which can occur from the stresses arising during normal sliding operation of the tongue in the track). Such problems can cause the person trying to retract the tongues to hurt their hands and, if the tongue is too difficult to move, they may just give up on trying to wash the window entirely and thereby lose the advantage of the latch structure completely.
Further, such tilt latches have typically had an assortment of complex structures which are difficult and time consuming (and therefore costly) to assemble. Still further, such tilt latches have commonly been made of plastic (in part due to cost constraints), with the result being that excessive load applied to the lever arm when unlocking the tilt latch can too easily damage the structure. Also, such latches may not adequately indicate whether they have been properly returned to their extended position after washing, with the possible result being that the window sash could unexpectedly pivot inwardly at some point thereafter, likely breaking with window pane as well as perhaps injuring any person nearby at the time.
Some attempts have also been made to control movement of the tongue by a pivoting lever. While this can aid in retracting the tongue, such latches have nevertheless encountered many of the above described problems (e.g., difficult, time consuming and costly to assemble, inadequately resistant to damage, and susceptible to allowing the window sash to inadvertently be inadequately secured to the track), and have further resulted in other problems. For example, some of these type latches are susceptible to damage in certain conditions of use. Further, latches of this type can have difficulty providing smooth and consistent operation over their long expect life.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.


A fuselage door for a pressurized aircraft fuselage in which the hoop tension loads caused by cabin pressure are carried through the door rather than around the door. Stationary interlocking moldings in the door and fuselage door seat transfer loads through the door-fuselage intersection. The interlocking portions of the moldings have a sloped engaging portion having an angle such that the inward directed force component of tension due to a pressure differential is less than the outward directed force from cabin pressure on the door.

Prior art pressurized fuselage doors are not a structural part of the fuselage, in that they do not carry any of the hoop tension caused by cabin pressure. Rather, the hoop tension is carried around the door in the door jamb structure, requiring extra weight because of the stress concentration around the hole in the fuselage. The internal pressure on the door causes a bending moment in the door, requiring a substantial and heavy door structure.
Much of this weight and complication could be eliminated if hoop stress could be transferred through the door structure. The prior art, however, shows no simple and reliable method for doing this.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a pressurized fuselage door for aircraft which is lighter and simpler than the prior art and which enables a lighter surrounding fuselage structure.
A further object of the invention is to provide a reliable method of carrying hoop stress through a hatch in a pressure vessel without complicated linkages.
A further object of the invention is to provide a door operable in highly curved or complex curved fuselages.
The above as well as additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following detailed description.