Apparatus and methods are provided for facilitating electronic commerce in an environment in which a service provider handles business transactions between registered users and participating vendors and shipping companies, wherein users may establish and manage primary accounts and sub-accounts to purchase goods and services from participating vendors' web sites.

On-line vendors sell a variety of products over the Internet. Users may browse a vendor's website and may purchase products directly from the vendor. Typically the user sets up an account with the vendor, and the vendor will provide some arrangement for accounting for purchases from the vendor's website either on a transaction or periodic basis.
For example, where the user is a member of a company department, it typically will be necessary for the user (in this case a department administrator) to set up an individual account for each authorized employee. A drawback of such an arrangement is that the transaction reports for each authorized user must be separately reviewed, and the department administrator cannot detect improper activity until the end of the billing cycle, and perhaps not even then.
In addition, there is the potential for disgruntled employees or even third-parties to steal the identity of authorized personnel, and incur improper charges or fraudulently obtain goods or services through an authorized individual's account. Presently, there is no method for a department administrator to detect such activity until the end of the billing cycle, when the improper charges might be detected, for example, during review of a monthly statement. In the interim, however, sizable improper charges may be incurred or goods stolen without possibility of recovery.
A similar situation arises where a user might want to set up an account with one or more vendors' website for a spouse or child. Specifically, the user may want to retain oversight of the spouse's or child's expenditures and the specific vendors at which purchases are made. It would also be desirable in this case for the user to be able to review purchases made by the spouse or child on a frequent basis to ensure that security for that account has not been compromised.
In view of the foregoing drawbacks of previously known on-line electronic commerce arrangements, it would be desirable to develop methods and apparatus whereby a user may create a primary account having multiple sub-accounts. The user may specify the features for each of the sub-accounts, including, for example, where purchases may be made, a spending limit per transaction or item, a notification threshold and reporting period.
An example of such a system in a family context would enable a parent to open a primary account with a service provider and then create sub-accounts for each child. In this manner the children could make purchases over the Internet at only those websites that are approved by the parent. The parent also could control the spending limits of the children's sub-accounts, receive a periodic notification of sub-account activity or a transaction-specific notification if a proposed purchase exceeds some threshold amount preset by the parent, and retain control in adding funds to the account.
In a business environment, a department administrator or company controller could open a primary account and then create sub-accounts for each authorized employee or department. The primary account holder then could control spending of the sub-accounts, control which websites are approved for sub-account purchases, receive periodic or transaction-specific notification of sub-account activity, and retain control to add additional funds to the account.
It therefore would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for facilitating electronic commerce by enabling a user to set up a primary account with a service provider, wherein the service provider can handle transactions with a variety of vendors, and wherein the main account can create and exercise control over a plurality of sub-accounts.
It further would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for facilitating electronic commerce that provide secure method financial transactions over the Internet or any other communication channel. It also would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for facilitating electronic commerce that provide enhanced security by, periodically or on a transaction-specific basis, sending an E-mail or other notification to the primary account holder summarizing all transactions within the period. Alternatively, the primary account holder may set a notification threshold, so a transaction-specific notification is sent only when the purchase amount exceeds some preset limit.
It yet further would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for wherein a security notification sent to the primary account holder could include a link that could be activated by the recipient to lock or freeze the sub-account associated with the notification. In this manner, if the primary account holder notices that a transaction was not authorized, the primary account holder may activate the link received in the notification to freeze the account, thereby preventing any further misuse. For example, a sub-account could be frozen by changing the password or by authorizing the service provider computer to temporarily lock the sub-account, subject to investigation.
It also would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for facilitating electronic commerce that enable the primary account holder to transfer or receive money from other users of the system. For example, in an auction environment where both the buyer and the seller are authorized users of the system, the buyer who has successfully won a bid may want to transfer funds to the seller using the system in a secure and cost effective environment.

Methods and apparatus for transacting electronic commerce using account hierarchy and locking of accounts


A damper device includes: a pair of first plates axially separated from each other along a rotation axis and rotatable integrally with each other around the axis in a state where the first plates intersect the axis; a second plate including a portion positioned between the first plates, having an opening, and rotatable around the axis in a state where the second plate intersects the axis; an elastic member between the first and second plates, and elastically deformed a circumferential direction of the axis; and a third plate having a first portion positioned on an inner side of the opening and coupled to the first plates in a state where the first portion is between the first plates, and a second portion positioned on an outer side of the opening, and rotatable around the axis in a state where the third plate intersects the axis.

In the related art, a damper device has been known which includes a pair of first plates rotating around a rotation axis, a second plate including a portion positioned between the pair of first plates, and an elastic member which is provided between the first plate and the second plate and is elastically deformed in a circumferential direction of the rotation axis. In the damper device, a spacer member which functions as a stopper for limiting a range of relative rotations around the rotation axis of the first plates and the second plate is provided between the pair of first plates (for example, refer to JP 2012-193773 (Reference 1)).


An article of footwear including a strapping and closure system providing additional support to a wearer's ankles and feet. The system includes a pair of heel straps fixedly attached to opposing sides of the article of footwear and includes an instep piece that is also fixedly attached to the article of footwear. The heel straps and the instep piece are not fixedly attached to an upper of the article of footwear, but are fixedly attached to a lasting board of the article of footwear, thereby allowing the heel straps and the instep piece to be tightened independently of an upper of the article of footwear. The article of footwear further includes a breathable piece of material or shroud attached to a base of the upper for protecting the upper from mud and dirt.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a strapping and closure system for an article of footwear. In particular, the present invention relates to a heel and instep strap and closure system for an athletic shoe. The present invention further includes a spat fit system for the athletic shoe.
2. Related Art
In many sports, athletes tape their ankles and feet to provide added support during play. For example, in soccer and football, athletes are prone to having ankle injuries due to the quick lateral movements required to play these sports. Further, in some sports requiring substantial contact between players, such as football, players also tape their shoes to their feet, to prevent the shoes from coming off during play. This taping over the top of the shoe also provides added support to the wearer's ankles and feet.
Athletes and trainers have devised a taping system to provide added support to their ankles and feet. What is needed is a strapping and closure system for a shoe that is similar to the taping system commonly utilized by athletes.

Strapping and closure system for an article of footwear


To prevent short-circuit due to contact of bonding wires each other and to make a semiconductor device compact. A semiconductor chip with a rectangular main surface may comprise: a first side composing the main surface; a second side opposed to the first side; a main electrode pad group composed of a plurality of main electrode pads, which plurality of main electrode pads is arranged on the main surface along the first side; a first electrode pad group composed of a plurality of first electrode pads, which plurality of first electrode pads is arranged between the first side and the main electrode pad group; a second electrode pad group composed of a plurality of second electrode pads, which plurality of second electrode pads is arranged on the main surface along the second side; a first interconnection connecting the main electrode pad with the first electrode pad; and a second interconnection connecting the main electrode pad with the second electrode pad.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor chip and a semiconductor device, and particularly relates to a plurality of semiconductor chips capable of being laminated and a semiconductor device composed of the lamination of these plural semiconductor chips. This is counterpart of and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 372265/2003 filed on Oct. 31, 2003, which is herein incorporated by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the aim of having a multifunctional semiconductor, a semiconductor chip laminated type package with a plurality of semiconductor chips laminated has been known.
As an example of such a semiconductor chip laminated type package, there is a stack type multichip package. The stack type multichip package is configured in such a manner that plural semiconductor chips are superimposed and mounted on a substrate and electrode pads of these semiconductor chips are connected to an electrical connection portion provided on the substrate by using a bonding wire, respectively.
In the stack type multichip package, with the aim of connecting the semiconductor chip to a circuit board electrically beyond a scope connectable by the wire bonding, it has been known that an electrode pad for relaying is provided in advance to relay an electrode pad of one semiconductor chip to an electrode pad of the other semiconductor chip (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In addition, with the aim of improving productivity of the semiconductor chip laminated type package, it has been known that plural semiconductor chips having the same configurations and the same functions are laminated with slightly deviated so that the electrode pads of respective semiconductor chips are arranged with deviated (for example, refer to Patent Document 2).
Further, in order to laminate two semiconductor chips, of which outer sizes and arrangements of the bonding pads are different, it has been known that a wiring sheet with a wire formed on its front surface is clipped between two semiconductor chips (for example, refer to Patent Document 3).
In addition, upon laminating a plurality of semiconductor chips, it has been known that the electrode pad of the semiconductor chip to be arranged at the lower side is formed larger than the normal electrode pad and it is formed in a long rectangular shape along an edge of the semiconductor chip (for example, refer to Patent Document 4).
To this larger formed electrode pad, a bonding wire to be connected to the electrode pad of the semiconductor chip arranged at the upper side, and a bonding wire to be connected to the electrode pad formed on an insulative substrate arranged further lower of the lower arranged semiconductor chip are connected.    [Patent Document 1] JP-A-2001-196529    [Patent Document 2] JP-A-2001-298150    [Patent Document 3] JP-A-2001-7278    [Patent Document 4] JP-A-2002-110898
The electrode pads disclosed in the above-described patent document 1 and patent document 4 are elongated and arranged along the edge of the semiconductor chip, and this results in limitation of the number of the electrode pads to be formed on the semiconductor chip.
According to the configuration of the patent document 2, leads and a plurality of semiconductor chips are directly connected with each other by wires. Accordingly, each wire is made longer and it is feared that short circuit and breaking of the wires each other may occur due to wire sweep.
According to the configuration of the patent document 3, a wiring sheet must be prepared separately, so that a process to clip this wiring sheet is required.
In the conventional semiconductor chip laminated type package with the same functional and same structural semiconductor chips laminated, the electrode pad of the semiconductor chip located at the upper side is directly connected to the substrate by the bonding wire. Accordingly, it may be feared that the short circuit and the breaking of the bonding wires one another may occur due to so-called wire sweep and this leads to malfunction of the device.
In addition, in order to prevent the short circuit of the bonding wires one another, the lengths of the bonding wires are made different each other in a height direction of the package so as to avoid contact of the plural bonding wires one another three-dimensionally. However, such a configuration may increase the thickness of the package.

Semiconductor chip and semiconductor device including lamination of semiconductor chips


A method and an apparatus for preventing the misplacement of a cassette pod on the loadport of a process machine are described. In the method, a cassette pod that is equipped with an identification tag on a front panel is first provided, a process machine that is equipped with a loadport for receiving the cassette pod is then provided, at least one position verification block is mounted on the loadport at a first preset position, and then at least one position verification finger is mounted on the front panel of the cassette pod corresponding to the first preset position of the at least one position verification block such that when the cassette pod is placed on the loadport, the at least one position verification finger does not interfere with the at least one position verification block.

The present invention generally relates to a method and an apparatus for loading/unloading a wafer cassette onto/from a loadport of a process machine and more particularly, relates to a method and an apparatus for loading a wafer cassette that is equipped with a position verification finger onto a loadport of a process machine that is equipped with a position verification block such that the misplacement of a wafer cassette onto a process machine can be avoided.
In the manufacturing of a semiconductor device, the device is usually processed at many work stations or processing machines. The transporting or conveying of partially finished devices, or work-in-process (WIP) parts, is an important aspect in the total manufacturing process. The conveying of semiconductor wafers is especially important in the manufacturing of integrated circuit chips due to the delicate nature of the chips. Furthermore, in fabricating an IC product, a multiplicity of fabrication steps, i.e., as many as several hundred, is usually required to complete the fabrication process. A semiconductor wafer or IC chips must be transported between various process stations in order to perform various fabrication processes.
For instance, to complete the fabrication of an IC chip, various steps of deposition, cleaning, ion implantation, etching and passivation steps must be carried out before an IC chip is packaged for shipment. Each of these fabrication steps must be performed in a different process machine, i.e. a chemical vapor deposition chamber, an ion implantation chamber, an etcher, etc. A partially processed semiconductor wafer must be conveyed between various work stations many times before the fabrication process is completed. The safe conveying and accurate tracking of such semiconductor wafers or work-in-process parts in a semiconductor fabrication facility is therefore an important aspect of the total fabrication process.
Conventionally, partially finished semiconductor wafers or WIP parts are conveyed in a fabrication plant by automatically guided vehicles (AGV) or overhead transport (OHT) vehicles that travel on predetermined routes or tracks. For the conveying of semiconductor wafers, the wafers are normally loaded into cassettes pods, such as SMIF (standard machine interface) or FOUP (front opening unified pod), and then picked up and placed in the automatic conveying vehicles. For identifying and locating the various semiconductor wafers or WIP parts being transported, the cassettes or pods are normally labeled with a tag positioned on the side of the cassette or pod. The tags can be read automatically by a tag reader that is mounted on the guard rails of the conveying vehicle.
An OHT system is frequently used to deliver a cassette pod such as a FOUP to a process machine. This is shown in FIG. 1. A cassette pod 10 of the FOUP type is positioned on a loadport 12 of a process machine 14. The loadport 12 is frequently equipped with a plurality of locating pins 16 for the proper positioning of the cassette pod 10. A detailed perspective view of the FOUP 10 is shown in FIG. 2. The FOUP 10 is constructed of a body portion 18 and a cover portion 28. The body portion 18 is provided with a cavity 46 equipped with a multiplicity of partitions 48 for the positioning of 25 wafers of the 300 mm size. The body portion 18 is further provided with sloped handles 50 on both sides of the body for ease of manual transportation. On top of the body portion 18, is provided with a plate member 52 for gripping by a transport arm (not shown) of an OHT system (not shown).
During wafer processing, the wrong wafer cassette pod is sometimes placed on a loadport of a process machine. The machine-readable tag positioned on the side of the cassette pod and the tag reader mounted on the conveying vehicle do not always prevent such error from occurring. When the misplacement of a cassette pod on a process machine occurs, for instance, when a cassette pod filled with wafers to be processed in a front-end-of-line process is placed on a process machine that executes a back-end-of-line process, serious contamination problem occurs both on the wafers and in the process chamber. Similarly, serious contamination on the wafers and in the process chamber occurs when a cassette pod filled with wafers for a cobalt process is placed on a process machine that is used for depositing copper layers. It is desirable to have a method that can automatically detect such error when not detected by a human operator or by a tag reader.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a contamination prevention device on a cassette pod for loading onto a process machine that does not have the drawbacks or shortcomings of conventional cassette pods.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing misplacement of a cassette pod onto a process machine so that serious contamination to the wafers and to the process chamber can be avoided.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing misplacement of a cassette pod onto a process machine by mounting position verification fingers on the cassette pod and a position verification block on the process machine.
It is another further object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing misplacement of a cassette pod on a process machine by mounting position verification fingers on the cassette pod corresponding to the position of a position verification block mounted on the process machine onto which the cassette pod is to be placed.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for preventing misplacement of a cassette pod onto a process machine which includes a cassette pod, a process machine, at least one position verification block mounted on the process machine, and at least one position verification finger mounted on the cassette pod.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for preventing misplacement of a cassette pod onto a process machine by providing various pairs of matched-position verification block/verification finger for various fabrication processes to be conducted on the process machine.
In accordance with the present invention, a method and an apparatus for preventing the misplacement of a cassette pod onto a process machine and thus avoiding contamination problems are provided.
In a preferred embodiment, a method for preventing misplacement of a cassette pod onto a process machine can be carried out by the operating steps of first providing a cassette pod that has a front panel, a back panel and two side panels; providing a process machine that is equipped with a loadport for receiving the cassette pod thereon; mounting at least one position verification block immediately adjacent to an outside periphery of the loadport at a first preset position on the process machine; and mounting at least one position verification finger on the front panel of the cassette pod at a first preset position on the front panel corresponding to the first preset position of the at least one position verification block such that when the cassette pod is mounted on the loadport, the at least one position verification finger does not interfere with and has a clearance of at least 1 mm from the at least one position verification block.
The method for preventing misplacement of a cassette pod on a process machine may further include the step of mounting two position verification blocks adjacent to the outside periphery of the loadport which are at least 5 cm apart from each other, the step of mounting one position verification finger on the front panel of the cassette pod, the step of adhesively mounting the at least one position verification block on the process machine, or the step of mechanically mounting the at least one position verification block on the process machine.
The method may further include the step of mounting a first position verification block at a first preset position on the process machine when the process machine is used for a front-end-of-line (FEOL) process, and mounting a second position verification block at a second preset position on the process machine when the process machine is used for a back-end-of-line (BEOL) process.
The method may further include the step of mounting a third position verification block at a third preset position on the process machine when the machine is used for a cobalt deposition process, and mounting a fourth position verification block at a fourth preset position on the process machine when the process machine is used for a copper deposition process.
The method may further include the step of mounting a first position verification finger at a first preset position on the front panel of the cassette pod when the pod is used for holding wafers for a FEOL process, or the step of mounting a second position verification finger at a second preset position on the front panel of the cassette pod when the cassette pod is used for holding wafers for a BEOL process. The method may further include the step of mounting a third position verification finger at a third preset position on the front panel of the cassette pod when the pod is used for holding wafers for a cobalt deposition process, or the step of mounting a fourth position verification finger at a fourth preset position on the front panel of the cassette pod when the pod is used for holding wafers for a copper deposition process.
The present invention is further directed to an apparatus for preventing misplacement of a cassette pod on a process machine which includes a cassette pod that has a front panel, a back panel and two side panels; a process machine that is equipped with a loadport for receiving the cassette pod thereon; at least one position verification block mounted immediately adjacent to an outside periphery of the loadport at a first preset position on the process machine; and at least one position verification finger on the front panel of the cassette pod at a first preset position on the front panel corresponding to the first preset position of the at least one position verification block such that when the cassette pod is mounted on the loadport, the at least one position verification finger does not interfere with and has a clearance of at least 1 mm from the at least one position verification block.
In the apparatus for preventing misplacement of a cassette pod on a process machine, the at least one position verification block may be two position verification blocks mounted on the process machine, the at least one position verification finger may be one position verification finger mounted on the front panel of the cassette pod. The at least one position verification block may be mounted on the process machine by adhesive means, or by screw means. The at least one position verification block may include a first position verification block mounted at a first preset position on the process machine used in a FEOL process. The at least one position verification block may include a second position verification block mounted at a second preset position on the process machine used in a BEOL process. The at least one position verification finger may include a first position verification finger mounted at a first preset position on the front panel of the cassette pod which holds wafers for a FEOL process, or may include a second position verification finger mounted at a second preset position on the front panel of the cassette pod which holds wafers for a BEOL process.

Apparatus for preventing misplacement of a cassette pod onto a process machine

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd


Air flotation dryer for floatingly drying travelling webs. The dryer includes a housing having a web inlet and a web outlet spaced from the web inlet, and a plurality of elongated air nozzles arranged transversely to the direction of movement of the web and preferably located on opposite sides of the web, the nozzles being secured directly to, supported by and in air-receiving communication with longitudinally extending supply air ducts. An air supply fan is in communication with the supply air ducts to supply air to the nozzles. Heat is provided to the apparatus with a draw-through style burner, which fires into the dryer enclosure and the proper amount of air flow to be heated by the burner (e.g., flowing past the burner) is regulated such as by a return air screen having a predetermined or variable open area, resulting in a simpler design and a lower pressure drop than in the conventional ducted design where the recirculation air is first collected in a duct and is then heated and sent to the supply fan inlet.

The present invention relates to web supporting and drying apparatus. In drying a moving web of material, such as paper, film or other sheet or planar material, it is often desirable that the web be contactless supported during the drying operation, in order to avoid damage to the web itself or to any ink or coating on the web surface or surfaces. A conventional arrangement for contactlessly supporting and drying a moving web includes upper and lower sets of air bars extending along a substantially horizontal stretch of the web. Heated air issuing from the air bars floatingly supports the web in a substantially sinusoidal path and expedites web drying. The air bar array is typically inside a dryer housing which can be maintained at a slightly sub-atmospheric pressure by an exhaust blower that draws off the volatiles emanating from the web as a result of the drying of the ink or coating thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,491 discloses a high velocity air flotation dryer for drying a running web along the lines of the foregoing. A plurality of spaced air nozzles are positioned on opposite sides of the web. Heated air issuing from the impingement nozzles impinges on the running web to floatingly support and dry the web. The nozzles are in air-receiving communication with an air supply fan through suitable ducting. A burner is located in the ducting downstream from the supply fan outlet for heating the supply air which flows through the air nozzles and impinges on the web. The burner employed is a blow-through type, in that it is located on the outlet or pressure side of the supply air fan. As a result, in order to supply combustion air to the burner, a fan or blower which has a higher pressure output than the supply air fan is required, which can be expensive.
In conventional designs where a draw-through style burner is used, a duct or large plenum collects the return air, and the burner fires into that duct or plenum to heat the air. The duct or plenum is in communication with the inlet of the supply air fan, and supplies the thus heated return air to the fan. Such an arrangement necessarily sends all of the return air past the burner, and is not efficient.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to reduce dryer cost by eliminating ducting otherwise necessary for burner operation. Reduced ductwork also decreases the supply fan pressure requirement which reduces motor size and energy usage.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a draw-through style burner which fires directly into the dryer enclosure.
It is a still further object of the present invention to regulate the amount of air subjected to the burner flame.

Open burner plenum for a flotation dryer


A digital system for controlling the quality factor in a resonant device. The resonant device can be any mechanically driven resonant device, but more particularly can be a device that includes a cantilever within its system, such as an atomic force microscope. The quality factor can be digitally controlled to avoid noise effect in the analog components. One of the controls can use a direct digital synthesizer implemented in a way that provides access to the output of the phase accumulator. That output is a number which usually drives eight lookup table to produce a cosine or sign output wave. The output wave is created, but the number is also adjusted to form a second number of the drives a second lookup table to create an adjustment factor. The adjustment factor is used to adjusts the output from the cosine table, to create an adjusted digital signal. The adjusted digital signal than drives a DA converter which produces an output drive for the cantilever.

Any mechanically driven resonant system has an inherent "quality factor" or "Q", that defines some aspect of the way the resonant system reacts to stimuli. The quality factor of certain resonant systems can be controlled and/or adjusted, for example electronically.
One exemplary mechanically-driven resonant system that can be Q-controlled is the cantilever portion of an scanning probe force microscope. When the microscope is operating in its AC mode, the driving amplitude and driving phase of the device can be adjusted. The effect of such an adjustment is to make the cantilever system behave as if it had a higher or lower Q then would naturally occur within the system.
FIG. 1 illustrates how an analog based implementation of Q control can be carried out. Circuit 100 is part of a control system for an atomic force microscope. A cantilever 105 has a tip 110 that contacts an item of interest. The cantilever is driven in AC mode via a piezoelectric based actuator 115. In a system with an optical detector, a laser or other optical source 120 projects a laser beam 122 on the cantilever. A reflection 124 based on the projected laser beam is reflected by a mirror 125 to a detector 130 that produces an output signal indicative of the position of the cantilever tip. For example, the detector may include, as shown, a split position detector 132 that detects deviation from its center. The output signal 133 of the detector represents the amount by which the cantilever tip has changed position. The signal 133 is sent to a lock-in amplifier 135 which also receives the output of a function generator 140 that drives the actuator 115.
In order to change the effective Q of the system, the output signal 133 is phase shifted by a variable phase shifter 145 which produces a 90 degree phase shift, and then multiplied by an amplitude gain by gain amplifier 150. The amplitude gain may be positive in order to damp the Q, and negative to enhance the Q. The resultant Q adjusting signal 155 is added by an adder 160, to the driving wave formed by the function generator 140.
This analog phase shifting circuit includes analog components which may be frequency dependent. Moreover, the resonant frequency may be based on characteristics of the specific cantilever, and the way the cantilever is used. Therefore, changing to a new cantilever may change the resonant frequency of the system. Also, characteristics of the medium in which the cantilever is used, such as in air versus in fluid, will change the resonant frequency of the system. This resonant frequency change must be compensated in the phase shift circuit 145 to insure a 90 degree phase shift between the signal from the cantilever position detector and the signal 155 that is added to the drive.
The phase shifter 145 is shown as an adjustable phase shifter. This kind of Q adjustment usually requires changing a manually-adjustable value, to change the circuit values of some aspect of the analog phase shift. This adjustment is made to ensure a 90 degree phase shift for the new resonant frequency.
Another possible disadvantage of the analog phase shift circuit is that analog phase shifters typically operate only over a limited range of frequencies. In order to phase shift a wideband signal, several different phase shifters may be used in tandem.
The analog implementation also requires a multiplier to effect the analog gain. For example, this may be a voltage controlled analog amplifier, or a digitally controlled analog amplifier. However, circuits of this type may add noise to the output signal 133, and thereby corrupt the effectiveness of the Q control.

Digital Q control for enhanced measurement capability in cantilever-based instruments


An atomizing nozzle (100) for use in a misting system and a process (300) for manufacturing the atomizing nozzle (100) are provided. The atomizing nozzle (100) is made up of a nozzle body (104), an orifice insert (106), and an impeller. The nozzle body (104) has an inlet end (110), has an outlet end (112), has an insert recess (116) proximate the outlet end (112), and encompasses a first chamber (122). The metallic orifice insert (106) is fabricated from a metallic sheet material (140) and affixed to the nozzle body (104) within the insert recess (116) and encompasses a second chamber (148). The non-metallic impeller (108) is configured to reside within the first and second chambers (122,148) between the metallic orifice insert (106) and the nozzle inlet end (110).

Atomizing nozzles, also called mist heads, are used in connection with misting systems to produce a fog or fine mist. A fluid, typically water, is forced under pressure through the atomizing nozzles to produce the mist. Desirably, the mist is sufficiently fine so that it rapidly evaporates. As the mist evaporates, the general area around the atomizing nozzles becomes cooler. Rapid evaporation prevents people and property located in the mist from getting wet and enhances the cooling effect. Accordingly, misting systems are often used for cooling and for increasing humidity.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional front view of a prior-art atomizing nozzle 20. Prior-art atomizing nozzle 20 is made up of a nozzle body 22 conventionally formed of metal or plastic. Nozzle body 22 conventionally includes a metallic orifice insert 24. Orifice insert 24 has a small orifice 26 through which the fluid passes under pressure to produce the desired fog or mist. In addition, an impeller 28, also called a plunger or poppet, is positioned within a fluid chamber 30 that connects to orifice 26. The action of impeller 28 within fluid chamber 30 fractures the fluid and produces a finer fog or mist.
Orifice 26 is typically formed of a hard metal, such as stainless steel, to minimize the effects of erosion. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in some embodiments, orifice 26 may be produced directly in nozzle body 22, i.e., nozzle body 22 and orifice insert 24 may be formed as one piece. It will be appreciated, however, that having orifice 26 directly in nozzle body 22 increases the cost and difficulty of machining nozzle body 22.
Conventionally, orifice 26 resides in orifice insert 24. Since orifice insert 24 is small, typically less than 0.2 inch in diameter, machining is expensive and time-consuming.
Orifice insert 24 is typically pressed into place in nozzle body 22 with great force to produce a fluid-tight seal even when the fluid is under high pressure. This requires that orifice insert 24 be of sufficient strength to resist deformation during the pressing process. This, too, increases cost.
Since orifice insert 24 is pressed into the nozzle body with great force, it cannot thereafter be removed for subsequent cleaning of orifice 26 to remove any deposited mineral materials. In time, these deposited mineral materials will eventually completely block orifice 26 and inhibit passage of the fluid. Atomizing nozzle 20 will then no longer be able to produce the desired fog or mist.
Accordingly, conventional atomizing nozzles 20 are expensive to manufacture and become clogged during use. Such clogged atomizing nozzles 20 cannot readily be unclogged, necessitating the purchase and installation of replacement atomizing nozzles 20.
Prior-art atomizing nozzle 20 conventionally has cup-shaped orifice insert 24. That is, orifice insert 24 has a cylindrical shape with an inside wall 32 substantially parallel to a centerline 34. The cup shape provides strength so as to avoid warpage of orifice insert 24 while being pressed into nozzle body 22.
The cup shape of orifice insert 24, while providing strength, adds significantly to fabrication costs. The small size of orifice insert 24 greatly increases the difficulty and care with which orifice insert 24 must be machined and handled.
Additionally, since conventional orifice inserts 24 are cup-shaped for increased strength, nozzle bodies 22 have a considerable length 36 to contain the cup. Such a "deep" body contains a considerable amount of material that serves no function but to accommodate a cup-shaped orifice insert 24. This excess material undesirably increases the mass of nozzle body 22. This increased mass equates to excesses in both the costs of raw materials to produce nozzle bodies 22 and the costs of shipping the finished atomizing nozzles 20.
A need exists, therefore to configure and manufacture an atomizing nozzle at less expense than has been achieved conventionally.

Atomizing-nozzle orifice insert and method for manufacture thereof


Methods and systems are provided for controlling airflow of an accumulator of a motorized vehicle. In one example, a method includes storing pressurized gases within the accumulator by flowing intake air from a compressor of an engine of the vehicle to a pressure booster arranged upstream of the accumulator. Pressurized gases stored within the accumulator may be used to drive one or more pneumatic devices.

Vehicles may utilize on-board compressed air generated in the engine air induction system to supply tools, such as described in US 20060137345. However, the inventors herein have recognized that the pressure generated by boost devices optimized for vehicle driving operation generate creates flows higher than needed for air-power tools, along with pressure lower then needed for such tools.
In one example, the issues described above may be addressed by a method for an engine comprising controlling a flow of engine intake air to a pressure booster arranged downstream of an intake air compressor based on a gas pressure of an accumulator.
The flow rate of engine intake air entering the pressure booster may be higher than the flow rate of air exiting the air pressure booster, and high pressure air from the accumulator may be supplied to off-board devices. In this way, it is possible to provide more effective air supply to off-board devices, such as air power tools, while still retaining compressor and turbine design characteristics for efficient vehicle propulsion with the engine.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.
FIG. 2 is shown to scale, although other relative dimensions may be used, if desired.

System and method for controlling vehicle accumulator airflow


A bow for a musical instrument is provided where the bow includes a bowstick having a proximal end configured to be grasped by a user and a distal end remote from the proximal end, the distal end being provided with a stylus configured for use with a capacitive touch screen. The stylus may include a touch screen contact portion for contacting a touch screen and a bow attachment portion for attachment to a bow of a musical instrument. The stylus allows a musician using the bow to interact with a touchscreen device without having to release the bow.

The design, functionality, and use of bows for stringed instruments have essentially remained the same since Francois Tourte's modifications in the second half of the 18th century.
The bow is a thin length of suitable material, typically wood, carbon fibre, or fibreglass, between 35 cm and 80 cm long (depending on the size and type of string instrument it is used for), with a ribbon of horse tail hair stretched between each end.
With the bow held in the right (or rarely, left) hand, the ribbon of hair is run perpendicularly along the string, with friction causing the string to vibrate and emit sound. Any variation in speed, pressure and/or contact point of this friction will cause a corresponding variation in sound production, therefore all elements of bow design and production must be considered in order to create a quality product.
With a few exceptions (e.g. Chinese erhu) the bow is a separate item to the instrument with which it is used.
With the advent of affordable touchscreen devices (which may be capacitive touchscreen devices or otherwise and are referred to herein generally as touchscreen devices), musicians have been using these devices to download and display musical scores. Such devices are also convenient and popular as learning tools. For example, the musician can play a video which demonstrates playing technique which the musician may then practice as the video is being played. Touchscreen devices also have the advantages of no need for lights; easy access to music scores; recording of video and audio, and sharing media.
Stringed instruments that are played using a bow require that the user must either put the bow down in order to use the touchscreen (for example to turn a page, mark a score, or pause a video) or the user must assume a position relative to the screen by which the user can extend a finger from the bow hand for example to manipulate the touch screen. Both of these alternatives are problematic, or at least inconvenient, for the musician. Similarly, interacting with a touchscreen by hand can be cumbersome, and potentially unhygienic (e.g. bacteria build up on the surface).
It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a bow, or a bow accessory, for a stringed musical instrument that will overcome or at least ameliorate one of more of the problems currently experienced by musicians making use of touchscreen devices while playing their instrument.


A liquid crystal display of transmission type comprises a light source, a polarizing film, a liquid crystal cell and another polarizing film in this order. An optical compensatory sheet is further provided between the liquid crystal cell and the polarizing film on a light source side or between the liquid crystal cell and the polarizing film on a display side. The optical compensatory sheet comprises a transparent support and an optically anisotropic layer. The optically anisotropic layer contains a discotic compound having a discotic plane. The discotic plane is inclined from a surface of the support surface at an angle. The angle varies along a direction of depth of the optically anisotropic layer. The liquid crystal display has a difference in chromaticity (ΔCuv) of 0.05 or less. The difference is measured between an image seen frontally and an image seen rightward or leftward at a viewing angle of 60°.

A liquid crystal display generally comprises a polarizing plate and a liquid crystal cell.
The most widely used display is a TFT liquid crystal display of TN mode. Japanese Patent Provisional Publication Nos. 8(1996)-50206, 7(1995)-191217 and European Patent No. 0911656A2 discloses a TFT liquid crystal display of TN mode showing an image of high quality, in which an optical compensatory sheet is provided between the polarizing plate and the liquid crystal cell.
However, gradation of an image displayed by the TFT liquid crystal display is often inverted when the screen is seen downward. Further, the screen reflects light coming from outside to impair the image quality. Furthermore, chromaticity of the image depends on what viewing angle the screen is seen at.

Liquid crystal display of transmission type


An accessory identification apparatus (195) used in an electronic device (102) includes a connector (122) to couple to an accessory (104) and a controller (108) coupled to the connector (122). The connector (122) includes an information pin (124) to receive information generated from operation of the accessory (104). The controller (108) identifies the accessory (104) from a voltage level generated by attachment of the accessory (104) to the information pin (124). Also, an accessory identification apparatus (195) used in an accessory (104) includes a connector (173) to couple to an electronic device (102) and an identification element (174) coupled to the connector (173). The connector (173) includes an information pin (179) to supply information generated from operation of the accessory (104). The identification element (174), upon attachment of the connector (173) to the electronic device (102), provides an identity of the accessory (104) via the information pin (179).

Electronic devices, such as cellular telephones, have become increasingly popular. Those devices that are compatible with a large number of accessories have a commercial advantage. Accessories are used in association with the device to increase the functionality thereof. Accessories are attached to the device via an accessory connector thereof. One such accessory connector is the standardized eight pin J3-type accessory connector used in MicroTAC.TM. cellular telephones manufactured and sold by Motorola, Inc. from 1989 to the present. The J3-type accessory connector has an external power supply pin; an audio in pin; an audio out pin; data pins for high speed data communications according to the three-wire bus protocol used in radiotelephone products by Motorola, Inc.; and two ground pins in a predetermined arrangement.
To be compatible with the J3-type accessory connector, an accessory must have a connector that is designed to mate with the accessory connector and have the same number and arrangement of pins. To communicate its identity to the device, the accessory includes a logic circuit or microcontroller capable of driving high speed data communications on the data pins according to the three-wire bus protocol. Unfortunately, such logic circuits or microcontrollers are expensive and oftentimes double the cost of the accessory. Therefore, what is needed is a low cost apparatus and method of identifying an accessory to a device that maintains backward compatibility with existing accessories that use the accessory connector.

Accessory identification apparatus and method


Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media for clock synchronization in half-duplex communication systems. Devices in a half-duplex system are synchronized based on time stamp values captured by each device that define a specified period of time that is of equal in length. The specified period of time spans two change-over periods to average the jitter and/or drift that occurs during each period. Each device uses these measured lengths to determine the variance in the rates at which the two internal clocks operates, which is then used to synchronizes the internal clocks of the two devices.

A half-duplex communication system is a point-to-point system in which communications between two connected devices (e.g., link partners) is limited to one direction at a time. This contrasts with full-duplex communication systems in which connected devices may communicate with each other simultaneously in both directions. In a half-duplex system, devices take turns transmitting communications, during which one device transmits data while the other device receives the transmission. The other device must wait for the transmission to complete before replying. After a transmission has been completed, a change-over in the functioning of the devices occurs, in which no signals are transmitted. During this period, a change in the clock timing master for the communication link also occurs.
Use of half-duplex systems is particularly beneficial in applications with limited bandwidth, such as automotive system, because half-duplex systems use a single communication channel that is shared by the connected devices. While beneficial for reducing bandwidth, half-duplex systems provide challenges in relation to clock synchronization. For example, current professional standards used for synchronizing clocks in full-duplex systems (e.g., Precision Time Protocol (PTP)) are not applicable to half-duplex systems due to the change-over period that is not needed in full-duplex systems. Accordingly, improvements are needed.

Clock synchronization in half-duplex communication systems


An air bag for a vehicle has a peripheral part of an occupant-associated panel and a peripheral part of an inflator-associated panel stitched together. At portions of the peripheral part of each panel where constituent threads of a fabric of that panel and a contour line of the air bag are substantially parallel, the peripheral part of the other panel stitched thereto is curtailed to form a curtailed portion where threads and the contour are not parallel. As result, the thread-contour substantially parallel portions are easily bent by gas flow on inflation of the air bag and an amount of thread fraying occurring on inflation of the bag is reduced by the bending.

This invention relates to an air bag of an air bag device for use in a vehicle as an occupant protection device.
An air bag device is a device which protects an occupant in the event of a vehicle collision by inflating an air bag, and comprises an inflator, which is a gas generator, and an air bag capable of inflation with gas from the inflator, installed, for example, in an instrument panel or in a central part of a steering wheel of a vehicle.
An air bag is made by stitching together peripheral parts of a plurality of panels made of flexible cloth or the like.
As the panels forming the air bag, so-called non-coated woven fabrics not coated with rubber or resin have been used, but when a non-coated woven fabric is cut by die cutting or knife cutting, at the cut ends, where the cut is almost parallel with a weave thread direction, there has been a tendency for warp or weft constituting the woven fabric to easily detach from the weave structure, i.e., for thread fraying to easily occur.
Because the cut ends are disposed inside the air bag, thread fraying has occurred due to viscous drag of gas flow produced by the inflator on inflation.
Conventionally, to prevent the thread fraying from occurring, as shown in FIG. 6, in an air bag 100 for a driver's seat, around the entire periphery of an occupant-associated panel 101 disposed on an occupant side and of an inflator-associated panel 102 disposed on an inflator side, the seam allowance (the distance from the seam 103 to the cut end) L has been made large (for example 20 mm or more). However, when the seam allowance L is made large around the entire periphery like this, the mass of the air bag becomes large and its bulk when folded also increases.
Also, conventionally, in cutting a non-coated woven fabric, thread fraying has sometimes been prevented by using laser cutting or the like and fusing the cut ends of the fabric. However, the use of a laser or the like leads to increased cost in productivity and equipment aspects.


The present invention relates to a bond enhancement process for promoting strong, stable adhesive bonds between surfaces of copper foil and adjacent resin impregnated substrates or superimposed metallic sublayers. According to the process of the invention, a black oxide-coated copper surface is treated with an aqueous reducing solution containing sodium metabisulfite and sodium sulfide to convert the black oxide coating to a roughened metallic copper coating. The roughened metallic copper-coated surface is then passivated and laminated to a resin impregnated substrate. The bond enhancement process is especially useful in multilayer printed circuit fabrication and in the treatment of copper circuit lines and areas which are disconnected from each other, that is, which do not have electrically conductive continuity. Inner-layer laminates prepared according to the process of the invention are not susceptible to pink-ring formation, exhibit excellent resistance to chemical attack at drilled holes and sheared edges and are stable under thermal and mechanical stresses.

Printed circuit (or wiring) boards are well known in the electronics field. In general, such boards consist of a dielectric resin impregnated substrate (e.g. of woven or non-woven glass fibers) that is adhered to a sheet or foil of conductive metal, generally copper, on at least one surface. Typical resins that can be used to impregnate the substrate include phenolic resins, epoxy resins, polyimides, polyesters and the like. The copper sheet or foil is joined to the semi-cured resin impregnated substrate using well known techniques, e.g. by application of heat and pressure.
Thereafter, electrical circuit patterns are formed on the copper layers by conventional techniques. For example, a layer of photoresist may be coated over the copper layer, exposed imagewise and developed to yield a relief resist image on the copper layer. The exposed copper is etched away and the resist image is removed, leaving the copper circuit pattern exposed. Elemental copper, like other pure metals, generally exhibits poor adhesion characteristics for bonding to dielectric resinous substrates typically used in circuit board manufacture, and intermediate conversion coatings are frequently helpful to enhance the adhesion of the metal to the substrate. Hence, the copper foil may be treated prior to being laminated to the resin substrate to form a layer of copper oxide, tin or other adhesion promoter on at least one surface. Various methods have been employed for this purpose. Examples of such methods are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,955,974; 3,177,103; and 3,198,672.
Printed circuit boards prepared as described above may be assembled to form multilayer printed circuit board constructions by stacking a predetermined number of boards one atop another. In such a construction, the cured or semi-cured polymeric non-conductive materials (such as epoxy resin impregnated fiberglass cloth) is in contact with the copper surface of the adjacent circuit board. The stacked circuit board assembly may be laminated together by application of heat and pressure to form a multilayer printed circuit board.
Typical laminating conditions involve pressing the stacked boards between metallic plates at a pressure between about 200 psi to about 600 psi at a temperature of between about 150.degree. C. to 205.degree. C. for up to about 4 hours. The electrical circuit patterns on the outer layers may then be interconnected to the circuit patterns on the inner layers by drilling an array of holes through the multilayer assembly circuit boards. The through-holes in the assembled boards are then cleaned by treatment with dilute solutions of strong acids and the like. Thereafter, the through-holes may be plated with copper to render the sides of the holes conductive thereby completing the circuit between the outer layer and the inner layer circuit patterns.
Black copper oxide (CuO) coatings have been employed for a number of years to promote adhesion between the etched copper circuit patterns and intermediate polymeric dielectric layers of multilayer boards. In general, such coatings are prepared by oxidizing the exposed surface of the copper with an oxidizing agent. However, problems with this approach have prompted a search for improved coatings. In particular, total or local delamination of the copper circuit pattern layer from the polymeric layer may occur due to poor adhesion and/or the tendency of the copper oxide layer to dissolve upon exposure to acidic solutions employed in subsequent treatment of the multilayer board. The combination of poor adhesion and susceptibility of the copper oxide to dissolution upon exposure to such solutions is known as the "pink-ring" or "halo" effect.
The pink-ring effect occurs primarily in the vicinity of the circuit through-holes that pass through two or more layers of a multilayer printed circuit board assembly. These so-called "through-holes" are subsequently made conductive by plating with copper metal or filling with solder to become part of the electrical circuit constructed on the printed circuit boards. Prior to the plating or soldering operation, but subsequent to lamination and drilling, the through-holes are cleaned to remove debris from drilling (e.g. resin smear) with a cleansing solution comprising a dilute aqueous solution of a strong acid (e.g. sulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid, chromic acid and the like). This cleansing operation tends to cause dissolution of the copper oxide coating exposed by the through-holes. This can later result in delamination or loss of adhesion between adjacent metal and plastic layers in the vicinity of the through-holes. Upon close inspection, a pink-ring appears to be formed in the area around the hole. Appearance of this pink-ring phenomenon is believed to be evidence of delamination of the metal/plastic layer in the printed circuit board in which such effect is observed.
A number of approaches to solving the problem of pink-ring have been tried. For example, thicker coatings of copper oxide have been deposited on the exposed copper surface to retard the dissolution process by sheer volume of the copper oxide remaining after dissolution (see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,955,974; 3,177,103; and 4,409,037). However, the thicker coatings result in poor initial adhesion between the coated metal and resinous substrate even before the cleansing solution is applied, and therefore do not solve the problem resulting from the pink-ring effect. Another approach has been to use a coating of tin in place of the copper oxide layer as an adhesion promoter. However, the level of adhesion achieved with this technique has not been sufficient to overcome the problem (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,732,649 and 4,775,444).
Other approaches to solving the problem of pink-ring include methods of treating copper oxide-coated copper surfaces to promote adhesion between said copper surfaces and resin impregnated substrates. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,661,417; 3,585,010; and 3,293,109 disclose methods to electrolytically reduce copper oxide coated surfaces to metallic copper or electrolytically deposit copper metal onto metallic copper surfaces prior to joining such surfaces to plastic substrates. These electrolytic methods, however, are not useful in printed circuit boards having disconnected elements, i.e. circuits that are not electrically connected to one another since the disconnected elements cannot be electrically connected to an electrical power source as required in performing an electrolytic reduction.
A variety of reducing agents known in the art, e.g. formaldehyde, sodium hypophosphite, hydrazine and the like, can reduce cupric compounds in aqueous solution to metallic copper. Such reductants are used for metallizing plastic surfaces and either do not appreciably reduce surface copper oxide to metallic copper or result in the formation of a powdery copper surface (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,161 for a general discussion of reducing agent limitations). For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,161 discloses a method of reducing copper oxide coatings to metallic copper using reducing solutions containing simple amine boranes. However, treatment of copper oxide surfaces with amine boranes has been determined to produce powdery copper coatings that are unacceptable for use in electrical circuit boards.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,516 discloses a method for reducing copper oxide coatings to metallic copper using an alkaline reducing solution containing sodium dithionite and polymeric addition agents such as gelatin and glue. However, treatment of copper oxide surfaces with sodium dithionite produces a mass of metallic copper whiskers by a primary reduction process and amorphous cuprous oxide which quickly converts to copper powder in a concurrent secondary reduction process. The copper powder cannot be separated from the copper whiskers and a significant amount of secondary reduction must be interrupted by rapid treatment of the copper surface with an acid-salt wash to dissolve the cuprous oxide and thus prevent formation of copper powder. This method is impractical because the timing of the acid-salt wash must be carefully balanced between allowing sufficient reduction of black oxide to metallic whiskers and preventing secondary formation of substantial amounts of copper powder.
Despite these efforts, a simple, cost-effective process which promotes strong adhesion between adjacent copper foils and polymeric substrates which imparts superior mechanical, thermal and electrical properties and avoids the delamination and loss of adhesion attendant to the so-called pink-ring effect has not been available until the advent of the present invention.

Method for making multi-layer circuit boards


The present invention provides a polyethylene glycol-conjugated erythropoietin (PEG-conjugated EPO) prepared by PEG conjugation on the lysine residue at position 52 of native erythropoietin (native EPO). In order to achieve more sustained efficacy without losing physiological activities of native EPO, a glycoprotein rich in sugar chains, there has been a need to develop a PEG-conjugated EPO with significantly sustained efficacy by introducing a controlled number of PEG molecules at controlled positions. This PEG-conjugated EPO addresses such a need and provides more sustained efficacy.

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a polypeptide rich in sugar chains, which is predominantly produced in the kidneys and acts on precursor cells of hematopoietic tissue to stimulate their differentiation and proliferation into erythrocytes. EPO is currently commercially available as human EPO recombinantly produced in animal host cells, and its main use is as a therapeutic agent for various types of anaemia, including renal anemia caused by the underproduction of EPO resulting from nephropathy.
As used herein, the term "native EPO" is intended to encompass human urine-derived EPO, such as those extracted, isolated and purified by various techniques, and recombinant human EPO (rhEPO) having the same sugar chains as human-derived EPO, such as those recombinantly produced in animal host cells (e.g., CHO cells, COS cells), as well as their variants modified to include substitution or deletion of one or more amino acids constituting such EPOs or modified to include addition of one or more amino acids.
Currently used EPO is administered, e.g., by intravenous, subcutaneous or intramuscular route. The percentage of reticulocytes (erythrocyte precursors) in total erythrocytes can be used as an indicator for EPO activity. The activity of native EPO observed as the percentage of reticulocytes will reach a peak 3 to 5 days after administration by any route mentioned above, followed by a rapid decline. Thus, native EPO should be injected twice or three times per week to ensure sufficient therapeutic effects in anaemia patients. This not only causes pain in the patients, but also provides additional load on overworked doctors and other medical staff members. Further, a decreased number of injections required within a fixed period of time will save medical costs.
On the other hand, there are reports on proteins or glycoproteins conjugated with water-soluble polymers (e.g., PEG) having a hydrazide or oxylamine moiety capable of covalent bonding through chemical reaction with an oxidizable functional group such as polyol, lactol, amine, carboxylic acid or a carboxylic acid derivative on the proteins or glycoproteins (see, e.g., JP 7-196925 A). According to this report, a water-soluble polymer, such as PEG, can be attached to various free radicals on amino acids or sugar residues constituting a protein or glycoprotein to yield a coupling product with 6 to 34 PEG molecules (molecular weight: 2000 to 12000) per protein molecule. In such a PEG-conjugated protein or glycoprotein with many PEG molecules, it is difficult to control the positions and number of PEG molecules attached to the protein or glycoprotein and it is hard to obtain an uniform PEG-conjugated protein or glycoprotein. Thus, there is a problem when the PEG-conjugated protein or glycoprotein thus prepared is formulated into pharmaceuticals.
There is also a report disclosing a sulfonate ester-activated polymer (e.g., sulfonate ester-activated PEG) and proposing a method in which this sulfonate ester-activated polymer is reacted with a target material (e.g., a protein or glycoprotein) to prepare a polymer-conjugated target material (see JP 9-504515 A). Examples of a reactive group on a target material which reacts with this sulfonate ester-activated polymer include a primary or secondary amino group, a thiol group and an aromatic hydroxyl group. In such a sulfonate ester-activated polymer capable of reacting with various reactive groups, it is therefore regarded as difficult to control the number and positions of conjugatable polymer molecules which are introduced. Also, such a polymer clearly has the possibility of sulfonate amide formation, which allows much higher heterogeneity for products.
Further, there is a report on a branched polymer (e.g., branched PEG) which is attached to a target material (e.g., a protein or glycoprotein) to give a branched polymer conjugate of the target material (see JP 9-504299 A). Although this branched polymer-conjugated target material also successfully sustains its efficacy, it has been desired to develop polymer-conjugated EPOs with more sustained efficacy.
Also, it has been believed that conjugation with higher molecular weight PEG would result in more sustained efficacy.
Conjugation with higher molecular weight PEG will cause a larger decrease in the in vitro activity of EPO. However, it has been believed that EPO conjugated with higher molecular weight PEG would show significantly improved plasma retention and hence sustained in vivo activity, resulting in greater and more sustained activity with increase in the molecular weight of PEG (Polyethylene glycol-conjugated pharmaceutical proteins; PSTT Vol. 1, No. 8, 1998, 352-356). For example, in the case of a PEG conjugate of G-CSF mutaine, it is known that its in vivo activity increases in proportion to the calculated molecular weight of PEG in the range of about 10 kDa up to 70 kDa (PCT/US00/01264, WO 00/44785).
Conventional PEG conjugates of EPO were designed to have many PEG molecules with a relatively low molecular weight of around 5 kDa in order to sustain their efficacy. However, in EPO rich in sugar chains, conjugation was limited exclusively to unglycosylated amino acid residues involved in receptor binding, making it impossible to avoid a decrease in in vivo activity and difficult to balance sustained efficacy and decreased in vivo activity. Also, even in a case where amino groups or sugar chains are conjugated with PEG of greater than 10 kDa as stated above, there has been a difficulty in practically formulating PEG-conjugated EPO into drugs because the problem of controlling the number of PEG molecules still remains.


The present invention provides a thin mucoadhesive sublingual film composition which provides improved allergen delivery and efficacy at a smaller dose while prolonging the contact time between the allergen and oral antigen presenting cells (APCs), and therefore minimizing the risk of systemic side effects. The thin film compositions of the present invention are also easier to standardize, and removes any need for measuring allergen doses at the physician's office, and which allows for a simplified dosing schedule. Methods of making the thin film compositions and methods for their use are also disclosed.

Peanut allergy affects about 1% percent of children in the United States, and the prevalence of this disease has increased dramatically in the past 20 years. Because peanuts and other food based allergies are pervasive, and reactions can occur to even minute quantities, these types of allergies pose substantial risks to individual health, and have significant negative impact on individual quality of life. Such allergies are typically life-long with a resolution rate of only about 20%. Avoidance of the allergens and treatment of accidental exposures have been the mainstays of therapy for allergic patients.
Allergen specific immunotherapy in the form of oral immunotherapy (OIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) have recently shown some promise, however with these therapies, the composition is in liquid form and must be held under the tongue for a specified period of time and then swallowing, or orally, with the product mixed with food or drink and swallowed.
Current methods of therapy using aqueous drops are not optimized either for practicality or efficiency. Currently, the maximal sublingual dose has been limited by both the ability to generate stable concentrated extracts and by the amount of liquid that can tolerably be held under the tongue by a subject. In addition, the amount of time that the allergen extract remains in the mouth is practically limited.
As such, there still exists an unmet need for improved methods of immunotherapy to treat food and other types of allergies.

Orally dissolving thin films containing allergens and methods of making and use


A single poly EE cell and an array using said cell, with the array being provided electrical connections such that the select gate for the read select transistor and the select gate for the write select transistor may be separately controlled. In the array, first level metal is utilized for connection to the gates of the read and write select transistors and second level metal is utilized for connection to the product term connections of the cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrically erasable and programmable read only memory (EEPROM) cells, and more particularly to single poly EEPROM memory cells and an array using such cells in which the cells are connected to provide a faster read and write performance with reduced product term coupling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Single poly EEPROM cells are known in the prior art and arrays using such cells are also known. Typical prior art circuits are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Referring to FIG. 1, the cell disclosed therein was described in an IEEE paper entitled "A Family of High Performance CMOS Programmable Logic Devices Using a Single Polysilicon Electrically Erasable Floating Gate Cell" by John Turner, presented at the 10th IEEE Non-Volatile Workshop, Aug. 14-16, 1989. Referring to FIG. 1, the Turner memory cell is comprised of memory transistor MC1, write transistor TW1 and read transistor TR1. Memory transistor MC1 of FIG. 1 is of the single poly type, that is, only the floating gate of polycrystalline silicon is utilized, and the control gate consists of a diffusion in the substrate below the floating gate. The write gate (WG) is effectively a portion of a diffusion of write transistor TW1, which is of course also in the substrate. It will be appreciated by reference to FIG. 1, that the select gate for both the write and read transistors are commonly connected to select line SL1. When performing either a write or read operation, the potential is provided to the select gates over select line SL1 with appropriate potentials being applied to the other terminals of the cell. When the cell is utilized in its typical environment, which is as part of a large array of cells, each of the select gates in a row of memory cells are commonly connected to the select line for that row. Since all of the select gates for the write and read transistors in a row are coupled to the same line, a significant amount of capacitance is seen by the select line and accordingly when either a write or a read operation is to be performed, a delay in its performance results because of the significant amount of capacitance which results from having all of the select gates coupled to the same line.
Another single poly EEPROM cell is schematically illustrated in FIG. 2. This cell was reported on in a paper entitled "A 20 ns CMOS Programmable Logic Device for Asynchronous Applications", by Jagdish Pathak et al. in the 9th IEEE Non-Volatile Semiconductor Memory Workshop, Feb. 22-24, 1988 in Monterey, Calif. Referring to FIG. 2, the Pathak et al. cell includes memory cell transistor MC2, write transistor TW2 and read transistor TR2. In the memory cell illustrated in FIG. 2, the select gates of both the write transistor and read transistor are commonly connected to select line SL2. Thus it will be apparent by comparison of the schematics in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, that the select gates for the cells are commonly connected. Accordingly, when a read or a write operation is to be performed, appropriate potential is applied to select line SL2, and potentials are applied to other terminals of the cell at the required levels to perform either a read or a write operation. Memory cell in FIG. 2 suffers from the same operational problems associated with the cell in FIG. 1 with respect to speed. Since all of the select gates on a row are commonly coupled, a speed degradation problem occurs in the same manner as described above with respect to the circuit of FIG. 1.
Other disadvantages of prior art single poly EE cells reside in the manner in which the first and second level metals are connected to the product term terminals of the read and write transistors and the connection from the select gates and the metallization to which the select gates are connected. More particularly, in prior art devices the second level metal is connected to the select gates and straps are used between the second level metal and the select gates at periodic intervals to provide reduced resistance in the select gate path. The first level metal in a prior art cell of this type is connected to the product term terminals of the cell (WRITE PT and READ PT). This utilization of first and second level metals results in what is known as the "sandwich effect" since the second metal (which is of course above the first level metal) and the poly select gates which are below the first level metal effectively result in a sandwich of those two conductors on opposite sides of the first level metal. This "sandwich" construction adds additional row to product term capacitance in the select lines which results in a slower speed read operation. Additionally, since first level metal is used for connection to the product term terminals, the relative proximity between first level metal and the substrate results in capacitance which decreases the speed with which a read operation may be performed when contrasted to the present invention in which second level metal is used for the product terms.
Another cell of the prior art is described in a paper entitled "A High Performance CMOS EEPAL Cell" by Nader Radjy et al. which was presented at the 9th IEEE Non-Volatile Semiconductor Memory Workshop, held Feb. 22-24, 1988 in Monterey, Calif. The cell described in the paper differs from the cell of the present invention in that the cell described in the paper is a double poly cell, and secondly, first level metal is utilized for connections to the product term terminals. The latter construction of course results in the undesirable increase in capacitance described above. Additionally, although the Radjy et al. description indicates that a separate select line is utilized for read and write select gates, since the cell is double poly, it is significantly more complicated to manufacture.

Single poly EE cell with separate read/write paths and reduced product term coupling


A location technique in an electronic encyclopedia for presenting relevant articles in response to a user input of a query term. The technique employs a user controlled hierarchy of filter parameters. The user selects a subset of the identifying parameters into which all articles are classified; each article being classified into at least one identifying parameter. There are 107 parameters disclosed. The encyclopedia automatically locates each article that employs the input or query term in each of the parameters selected by the user.. The 107 identifying parameters are divided into four Groups. The articles presented to the user are only those articles which are common to each of tex up to four Groups into which the user selected parameters are divided.. An optimally useful set of articles is provided to the user. By a combination of the union of the articles within the user selected parameters within each of the Groups together with the intersection of the articles between Groups.

This invention relates in general to an electronic encyclopedia and more particularly to improved techniques for presenting relevant information and relevant articles to the user.
It is known to provide large quantities of information on ROM chips for presentation to a user on a viewing screen where the user controls selection of material presented means of a data entry keyboard. There are known techniques for rapid scanning or searching of the data base against an entry word or term or set of words. By means of this scanning technique, a large number of separate entries or articles can be identified as having a term that matches the input or query term. These articles can be presented in sequence to the user so that the user can determine which of the articles is of greatest relevance to the user's inquiry or interest.
However, an encyclopedia has such an enormous data base that for many query terms, the number of articles identified are too numerous to permit the user to conveniently scan subject matter of greatest interest. What is required to make an electronic encyclopedia of optimum usefulness is to provide a technique under the user's control for determining the scope or depth of the search.
There is a great wealth of information relevant to any particular inquiry that a user might be making. That wealth of information is spread throughout an encyclopedia in many articles. What is needed is a way to organize a search through the material to provide a comprehensive yet efficient means for locating the information of greatest interest to the user.
Accordingly, a major purpose of this invention is to provide a technique for organizing the information available in an encyclopedia in response to a user input query in such a fashion that the user can efficiently focus on the information most likely to be of greatest pertinence to the user's reason for making the inquiry.

Franklin Electronic Publishers, Incorporated


The present invention relates to a sheet-like light source device, including a light-conducting plate having at least one convex portion disposed on the lateral portion thereof; at least one light-source unit disposed on one side of the light-conducting plate, which includes a light source and a reflecting sheet; and a housing having a chassis and at least one frame; in which the frame is mounted on the edges of the chassis, and a concave portion corresponding to the convex portion of the light-conducting plate to hold the convex portion and a plurality of light-guiding mechanisms are formed on the frame. The present invention further has a housing for a sheet-like light source device, including a chassis and a frame mounted on the edges of the chassis, in which a concave portion and a plurality of light-guiding mechanisms are formed on the frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet-like light source device; in particular, a sheet-like light source device for liquid crystal display devices.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, the flat panel display industry has rapidly developed. To improve the performance of the displays, the industry has devoted significant efforts to improve and design the structure of the respective components of the display devices, among which the sheet-like light source device of the liquid crystal displays has been improved to provide a light source with a highly uniform luminance distribution of light.
Because the liquid crystal itself is not luminous, it is necessary to add a backlight source (generally, a fluorescent tube) to the rear of a liquid crystal display panel to project light through the display panel. To this end, the light emitting from the light source passes through a polarizer and the liquid crystal in sequence, thereby the arrangement of liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal display is changed by voltage. Accordingly, the angle of the light passing through the liquid crystal is altered, resulting in a non-uniform luminance distribution of light on the liquid crystal panel.
In general, the sheet-like light source device is categorized into an edge-light type and a bottom-light type, depending on the position where the sheet-like light source device is disposed. The edge-light type sheet-like light source device is generally used in the small-and-medium displays such as notebook PC displays, PDA displays and cell phone displays. A key component of the edge-light type sheet-like light source device is the light-conducting plate which is provided primarily for directing light from the edge to the visual line. In other words, the light projected from in the edge is uniformly directed to and distributed on the whole light-conducting plate where the visual line is attainable.
A conventional sheet-like light source device has a housing (frame) for holding a light-source unit, a light-conducting plate and a print circuit board. The light-conducting plate is embedded in the center of the housing while the light source is disposed on a lateral side of the housing. A space remains between the light source and the light-conducting plate to facilitate transmission and reflection of light. To prevent the lamp (or the CCFL) within the sheet-like light source device from being cracked by the impacts caused by the motion of the light-conducting plate, a rectangular convex portion 100 is provided with the light-conducting plate, and also, a rectangular concave portion 201 corresponding to the rectangular convex portion 100 is disposed on a housing 200, as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the light-conducting plate is embedded and fixedly disposed. However, it has been found that light from the light source always concentrates in the right-angled position 100a or 100b of the rectangle when light projects to this light-conducting plate. The concentration phenomenon generates because the light is partially reflected and partially transmitted to the frame when light reaches the convex portion of the light-conducting plate. In addition, the light transmitted to the housing is reflected back to the lateral portion of the light-conducting plate, and the leaking light is repeatedly reflected between the housing and the light-conducting plate. As such, light is concentrated in the position where the convex portion is disposed.
To solve this drawback, U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,827 disclosed a method for changing the folded angle of a convex portion of a plastic frame (or retention member) in a sheet-like light source device so as to improve the reflection of light. As shown in FIG. 2, the right-angled portion is changed to become a rounded portion to disperse the light reflected to the convex portion. However, not only the angle of the light-conducting plate need to be changed, the concave portion of the frame (or retention member) has to be rounded to match the change of the angle of the convex portion 300. The change illustrated above in fact wastes time in manufacturing process and is not suitable for mass production.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,664 disclosed another method, in which a black tape 400 is adhered to a concave portion 201 of a frame 200, as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, most of the leaking light reflected directly from the position where the convex portion of a light-conducting plate is disposed can be absorbed. Even so, the black tape is easy to fall off, thereby impairing the engineering reliability.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved sheet-like light source device to mitigate the aforementioned problems.


A twin type stick-shaped material extending container comprised of a base sleeve having first and second concave inner end portions at both ends of the base sleeve. First and second rotary guide sleeves are inserted into the concave inner end portions of the base sleeve. First and second traveling bodies have first and second stick-shaped material receiving bases respectively, slidably fitting in first and second rotary guide sleeves. The first traveling body is inserted in the second traveling body and inserted in the base sleeve. First and second spiral threaded grooves are formed on circumferences of the first and second traveling bodies into which first and second raised portions engage. First and second rotation prevention means regulate the direction of rotation of the first rotary guide sleeve provided on the first and second traveling bodies. The first and second rotary guide sleeves are capped with first and second inner caps respectively detachably attached to outer caps. The rotation of the first rotary guide sleeve makes first stick-shaped material receiving base slide into the first rotary guide sleeve so that a thin eraser is extended from the rotary guide sleeve according to the direction of rotation of the first rotary guide sleeve as the first stick-shaped material receiving base slides into the first rotary guide sleeve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a twin-type stick-shaped material extending container comprising a base-sleeve which is provided with two extending and withdrawing mechanisms at both ends of the base-sleeve.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional stick-shaped material extending container comprises a tubular body provided with a rotary sleeve having an inner spiral threaded groove around the periphery of the tubular body in such a manner that the rotary sleeve can not travel in an axial direction, but can be rotatable. The tubular body has an axial guide groove. A stick-shaped material holder is inserted into the tubular body with a retaining piece of the stick-shaped material holder being inserted into the guide groove. A projection on the retaining piece is inserted into the spiral threaded groove of the rotary sleeve.
In a conventional container, when the rotary sleeve is turned on the tubular body, a stick-shaped material held by the retaining piece on the stick-shaped material holder is extended or withdrawn from the rotary sleeve according to the direction of rotation of the rotary sleeve. When the usable portion of the stick-shaped material is used up, the rest of the stick-shaped material is removed from the rotary sleeve by pulling it out of the rotary sleeve with one's fingers. However, since the conventional container is not a twin-type container, the thickness of the stick-shaped material is fixed. It is impossible to properly use a thin or thick stick-shaped material according to the thickness or size of line drawing or pattern. Further, in case of lipstick or retouching stick, it is difficult to hold a new lipstick or retouching stick while an unused lipstick or retouching stick is changed, in the retaining piece of the stick-shaped material holder because the fingers are stained by the new lipstick or retouching stick, so the lipstick or retouching stick which has been used up becomes disused together with the container thereof. Therefore the lipsticks or retouching sticks are high-priced.

Twin-type stick-shaped material extending container


A hydrodynamic suturing instrument, comprises a elongated cannulated suturing needle having a distal end configured to carry a suture through tissue and a proximal end adapted to connect to a syringe barrel and a lumen extending from said proximal end to an opening at the distal end for having a size for the passage of a suture, and the opening at the distal end configured to receive a suture extending from the lumen along an outer surface of the needle wherein a sharp point extends forward of the suture. A companion instrument includes forceps having a distal end with jaws and a proximal end with a lumen extending from the proximal end to the distal end for passage of the needle, and the jaws having an opening enabling passage of the needle through tissue grasped in the jaws.

The present invention relates to surgical instruments and pertains particularly to an apparatus and method for passing sutures through tissue.
Many surgical techniques are currently carried out in very confined space both by choice and by necessity. Open surgery is seldom used where other techniques such as arthroscopic, endoscopic or laproscopic surgical techniques are available because of the benefits to the patient.
Such techniques reduce the pain and discomfort to the patient and decreases the recovery time and scarring. However, the suturing of tissue under such conditions is difficult with the tools and instruments available today.
While many instruments have been proposed for this problem in the past, such instruments have a number of drawbacks. Presently available instruments or suture passers generally fall in two main categories. One type of device is designed to propel a relatively rigid, usually monofilament, suture with mechanical force through a cannula or hollow needle through the tissue. These devices cannot pass a braided suture through the tissue. Another type of device uses a solid needle or wire with a closed or open eyelet to carry the suture through tissue. The open eyelet may catch on tissue making passage through the tissue difficult. These devices also require other instruments to grasp and pull the free suture from the needle or wire.
A number of the prior art instruments are disclosed in the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,615 to Caspari et al, No. 919,138 to Drake et al, No. 3,840,017 to Violante, No. 4,224,947 to Fukuda, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,178 to Nastari et al disclose suturing instruments wherein sutures are passed through hollow needles after the needles penetrate through tissue to be sutured, and having the disadvantage of requiring grasping of the suture material by an instrument not useful in arthroscopic surgery.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,323 to Albright et al, and Nos. 4,602,635 and 4,621,640 to Mulhollan et al disclose instruments for internal suturing in confined space, but require multiple instrument manipulation and movement of needles carrying sutures entirely through tissue to be sutured. The Albright et al patent discloses a pair of needles that are forced outwardly through the end of a tube by a plunger to penetrate and extend through the tissue to be sutured to be grasped and pulled by the surgeon to position a suture thread loop attached to the needles. The Mulhollan et al patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,640 discloses a curved needle carried by a pivoting head movable to set the needle in the tissue to be sutured. The needle is then released and the instrument withdrawn and another instrument inserted to pull the needle through. Mulhollan et al patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,635 discloses an instrument for tying knots in sutures in a manipulation area external of the body after the sutures are passed through the tissue. The knots are then forced into place adjacent the tissue by another instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,815,725 to Pilling et al, No. 3,470,875 to Johnson, No. 3,842,840 to Schweizer, No. 3,946,740 to Bassett and No. 4,164,225 to Johnson et al disclose suturing instruments having pivoted, scissor-like arms with a needle at the end of an arm forced through tissue to be sutured and into the end of another arm where the suture is grasped or clamped. The instruments are of a structural design that is not practical in arthroscopic surgery.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,337 to Donohue discloses an instrument for drilling and wiring bones having scissor-like arms carrying cannula sections through which a wire is passed, the wire being cut and tied after the cannula sections are withdrawn. The structure is such that it does not permit the instrument to be used in arthroscopic surgery.
Accordingly there is a need for improved suturing instruments for effective use in close confined spaces.