A method of dynamic imaging and resolving respiratory motion includes acquiring volume data for a volume over a plurality of respiratory cycles, acquiring respiratory data representative of respiration over the plurality of respiratory cycles, dividing each respiratory cycle of the plurality of respiratory cycles into a set of respiratory intervals based on the respiratory data, and displaying a respective composite three-dimensional image of the volume for each respiratory interval based on the volume data acquired during the respiratory interval from each respiratory cycle of the plurality of respiratory cycles.

The present embodiments relate to dynamic medical imaging systems.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) are medical imaging techniques in widespread use for viewing the structure and function of the human body. MRI systems provide soft-tissue contrast, which may be useful for diagnosing soft-tissue disorders, such as tumors. CT is an image processing technique that generates a three-dimensional (3D) image from a large number of two-dimensional (2D) X-ray projections.
Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, has relied on MRI and CT to direct radiation at malignant tumors as part of cancer treatments. The information provided by the images helps determine a 3D dose distribution and avoid damage to surrounding tissue. Unfortunately, radiotherapy is hampered by motion and deformation of the organs in the thoracic and abdominal cavities, e.g., the lungs, liver and pancreas, during respiration. Such organ motion may lead to a discrepancy between planned and actual target positions. Until recently, there were no readily available imaging modalities capable of resolving and rendering respiratory motion in four dimensions, the fourth dimension being time. A typical strategy to account for respiratory motion used conventional CT, along with a generic uncertainty margin, to define a target volume for radiotherapy treatments delivered with patients breathing freely. A limitation of this technique is that the uncertainty margins are typically conservative (overly large and non-patient-specific), which leads to sub-optimal target conformality and thus more radiation dose to normal tissues.
More recently, radiotherapy treatments have become increasingly sophisticated with better imaging and targeting methods. In so called "respiratory gating" techniques, respiration is monitored during imaging and treatment. One such technique acquires or retrospectively samples images at a particular portion of the respiratory cycle, e.g., typically near end of normal exhalation. The same "gating window" is then used for the treatment delivery. By acquiring CT images or slices throughout a full respiratory cycle at each nominal slice location, time-resolved, or four-dimensional (4D), X-ray computed tomography ("respiratory-correlated CT" or "4D-CT") images are derived. 4D-CT images have been used to define patient-specific target volumes in connection with lung and abdominal radiotherapy and for dose planning.
4D-CT typically samples a single respiratory cycle at each slice location. As a result, slice-to-slice and phase-to-phase consistency of the 4D-CT image reconstruction relies on anatomic reproducibility in the breathing cycle. Irregular breathing leads to volume inconsistencies and geometric reconstruction artifacts. Furthermore, temporal limitations in CT image acquisition (mainly due to restrictions of gantry speed) oftentimes result in intra-phase residual motion, which tends to increase apparent volumes of tumors and contextual anatomy around the inhale (higher-velocity) portion of the respiratory cycle. Attempts to address these limitations with repeated 4D-CT acquisition may expose the patient to increased levels of ionizing radiation.
Dynamic MRI has been used to resolve respiratory motion. MRI procedures are not limited by concerns regarding radiation exposure. Dynamic MRI sequences can provide higher effective frame rates than 4D-CT, minimizing residual intra-phase motion. However, dynamic 3D MRI acquisitions are not yet suitable given present limitations in either signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), spatial resolution, or frame rate.
2D dynamic MRI images have also been used to resolve respiratory motion. For example, 2D slices have been stacked to generate a time-resolved, 3D liver volume. The volumes are retrospectively sorted by searching for similar anatomic liver states. See von Siebenthal et al., "4D MR imaging of respiratory organ motion and its variability," Phys. Med. Biol., Vol. 52, pp. 1547-1564 (2007). This technique may suffer from lack of extendibility to other sites of disease, and from a lower effective frame rate.

Respiratory interval-based correlation and processing of dynamic imaging data


A method for managing computer based messaging involves monitoring messages collectively making up a communication history; identifying related messages within the communication history; automatically analyzing the related messages, using natural language analytics, based upon: (i) subject, (ii) sentiment, (iii) context, and (iv) frequency of transmittals, wherein the analyzing comprises assigning at least: a first value based upon sentiment, a second value based upon content, and a third value based upon frequency; calculating a trend score as a function of the first value, second value and third value; comparing the trend score to a threshold value; and automatically generating and issuing at least one of: (i) a summary of the related messages, or (ii) a timing based notification message, when the trend score reflects a change over time corresponding to at least: an increasing or decreasing trend, an inflection point, a variation outside a tolerance amount, a sine or cosine pattern.

Mail clients and online social networks are now recognized as a universal mechanism for connecting people and information in logical and organized ways, thereby enabling easy sharing of information among the users. The most common mechanisms for sharing information within such mechanisms are the inbox, wall, activity stream, timeline or profile. While these mechanisms enable one to rapidly share and receive information, the volume can be daunting and, in many cases, each user must read and responds to countless separate conversations each day. Unfortunately, this creates a significant technical problem for those who may be on copy for the messages, but not directly involved because such conversations can distract from work activity or other more important conversations, yet they cannot be ignored entirely because there may be relevant information within them that the other recipient(s) need to know.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

International Business Machines Corporation


When a handwritten image is input using a handwriting input device while an image based on any general data stored in a storage unit is being displayed on a display unit, the input/output apparatus displays a handwritten image in addition to the displayed image, and creates handwritten data including data specifying information specifying general data which is a basis for the displayed image. The input/output apparatus terminates the display of the handwritten image when the display of the image superposed by the handwritten image is terminated, and displays the image based on the data specified by the data specifying information included in the handwritten data when the handwritten image is displayed. This allows the association between the displayed image and the handwritten image to be saved and to easily be reproduced.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an input/output apparatus capable of inputting a handwritten character or figure to be superposed onto any image displayed on a display unit.
2. Description of Related Art
An information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) is capable of, not only inputting data using a keyboard, but also inputting a handwritten character or the like using a pointing device such as a mouse or a tablet. For example, when drawing a picture using a graphic software, the user inputs a character or figure by handwriting through a pointing device. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-164148 describes a technique of creating data in which a handwritten image formed of a character or drawing which is input by handwriting is combined with an image of a spread sheet in order to edit a spread sheet, such as an order slip. Furthermore, some information processing apparatuses include, not limited to the case where a picture is drawn, a function of inputting a handwritten character or figure while displaying any image on a display unit. For example, a touch panel integrated with a display unit is used to input and display a handwritten image superposed onto an image displayed on the display unit.

Input/output apparatus for displaying superposed images including a handwritten image


A combination locking tube comprising a base end cap connected to a base tube having a longitudinal channel and at least one notch contiguous with the channel, at least one locking ring having a longitudinal ring channel, a notch contiguous with the ring channel and an interlocking pin, each locking ring rotatably mounted on the base tube such that the locking ring's notch is positioned over a base tube notch, at least one indicia ring rotatably mounted on a locking ring having a plurality of characters and a plurality of teeth on its outer and inner surfaces, respectively, at least one static ring statically mounted to the base tube having an interlocking pin receptacle and an annular recess, an inner tube having an end cap and at least one pin received within the base tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a locking tube having a combination lock that may be reset to a new combination.
2. Background Art
Locking tubes are used to protect items or messages. One example of a locking tube is a "cryptex" device that is described in the recently published book THE DAVINCI CODE written by Dan Brown. In THE DAVINCI CODE, the ancient cryptex device contains a secret message that can only be accessed if the tube is properly opened by lining up coding rings on the exterior of the locking tube. Ancient cryptex devices were designed to be opened only by a single dedicated code that could not be changed. The purpose of such devices was to provide a "time capsule" type device that could only be opened by a person having access to the secret code.
Combination locking tubes have been proposed for different uses, such as a puzzle box disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 430,261, as a child-safe pill box in U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,347 and as savings banks, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 615,381; 761,251; and 6,109,996. These devices generally do not provide any mechanism for easily changing the secret code. With such devices, once the code is known, there is no challenge for persons knowing the code to reopen the container and the novelty of the device is lost. These types of devices are not useable as a novelty item that could be reused again and again with different codes being required to be determined to obtain access to the contents of the locking tube.
There is a need for a locking tube that may be reused with different combinations being selectable for obtaining access to the contents of the tube. Such a device could be used as part of a board game or as a party game where different teams of players are provided with clues that may assist them in breaking the code. Once the code is broken, there is a need for a way to make the device useful again by quickly resetting the device with a different code.


In an image forming apparatus of the present invention, in the case where an image information reading mode is set by an operation panel, image information recorded on a rear surface of a document is read as a master CPU, via slave CPUs, instructs a double-sided automatic document transporting device to transport the document in such a manner that the rear surface of the document faces a document plate. The master CPU also instructs the slave CPU to check whether it is possible to recognize the image information thus read. In the case where the image information thus read can be recognized, the master CPU, via the slave CPU, sets the contents of the image information thus read from the rear surface of the document as image forming conditions to be used by an image reading section and an image forming section, thereby permitting to simplify the operation of setting the image forming conditions without causing the deterioration of the quality of a copy image.

An image forming apparatus reproduces an image signal (image data) which has been read from a document on a recording medium such as a sheet. Such an image forming apparatus includes a printer, a copying machine, and other apparatuses.
In such an image forming apparatus, in order to maintain the image quality of a reproduced image desirably, it is required to set the respective contents of processing to be carried out by an image processing section and an image recording section according to the document image. Such a setting of the processing contents is required, for example, for the case where the amount of light exposed on a document should increased or decreased according to the image density of the document, or for the case where the contrast adjustment should be changed by the image recording section for a photographic image having tones and a character image having no tones.
For this reason, an operation panel of the image forming apparatus is provided with (1) keys for inputting image forming conditions such as image density and a contrast and (2) mode changing keys for manually or automatically setting the image forming conditions.
In the case of sequentially carrying out an image forming process on a plurality of documents by an automatic document transporting device, it is possible that the image density differs in the plurality of documents, and a document having a photographic image and a document having a character image coexist. In this case, in order to obtain a high quality copy image (reproduced image) for each document, it is required to individually set the image forming conditions for each document.
However, if the image forming conditions are to be set solely by the operation of the keys on the operation panel, the operation by an operator becomes complicated when carrying out the image forming process. This presents a problem that it is difficult to completely prevent the deterioration of the image quality of the copy image due to an operational error of the operation panel, and the efficiency of the image forming process is lowered, accordingly. Particularly, in a color image forming apparatus for reproducing a color image, it is required to set various image forming conditions such that it is too complicated and difficult to change and set the image forming conditions for each document.
As a counter measure, Japanese Unexamined Patent publication No. 197965/1988 (Tokukaisho 63-197965) (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,438) discloses an arrangement wherein a sheet called a separator provided with a control code (separate body) is read with a document so as to set image forming conditions based on the control code which has been read from the sheet.
Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent publication No. 578/1989 (Tokukaisho 64-578) discloses an arrangement wherein a bar code control pattern is provided on the front end of a document so as to set image forming conditions based on the contents of the bar code thus read as a partial image of the document.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent publication No. 157866/1990 (Tokukaihei 2-157866) discloses an arrangement wherein a specifying pattern for specifying how the operation should be carried out is provided on a document so as to set image forming conditions based on the specifying pattern.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent publication No. 281474/1992 (Tokukaihei 4-281474) (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,896) discloses an arrangement wherein coded image forming conditions are provided on a portion of a transfer sheet so as to set image forming conditions based on the contents of the code thus read by reading means.
However, according to the inventions disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Unexamined Patent publication No. 578/1989 (Tokukaisho 64-578) and Japanese Unexamined Patent publication No. 157866/1990 (Tokukaihei 2-157866), information indicative of image forming conditions is provided on an image formed surface of a document. This presents problems that a portion of a document image is not reproduced, and the information thus provided is reproduced as a partial document image. This interferes with observing of a reproduced image so as to lower the quality of the copy image. Therefore, the inventions disclosed in the above-mentioned publications are not suitable for a color document image in particular in which a high image quality is demanded.
Also, according to the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent publication No. 197965/1988 (Tokukaisho 63-197965) , the control code indicative of the image forming conditions is provided on a control sheet which is different from a document. Thus, the control sheet can easily be lost or misused, thereby presenting the problem that the control sheet is not easy-to-use.
Further, according to the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent publication No. 281474/1992 (Tokukaihei 4-281474), the code indicative of the image forming conditions is provided on a sheet (transfer sheet). This presents a problem that the copy image partially overlaps the code, and the copy image and the code become close to one another so as to make the copy image difficult to be recognized, thereby resulting in that the image quality deteriorates.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method


A flow control valve for instant on-off operations with gases or liquids at relatively high pressures, such as pressures between 10,000 psi and 100,000 psi. The valve includes a valve body having two or more valve cavities in communication with each other and defined by two end seal assemblies and one or more valve port seal assemblies. An elongated, round, sliding valve stem is centrally located through the seal assemblies. End plugs are used to support the end seal assemblies. The valve stem has fluid passages which are preferably machined at a mid-section of the valve stem. The valve stem is slid parallel to its longitudinal axis to allow or prevent communication between the valve cavities by way of the fluid passage of the valve stem. Two opposite ends of the valve stem are either not exposed to the working fluid or are exposed to different pressures of the working fluid. With both opposite ends of the valve stem not being exposed to the working fluid, fluid-induced forces of relatively high magnitude are not exerted on the valve stem.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an instant on-off valve having few valve components, and particularly relatively few moving valve components, which is capable of handling fluids, even slurry type fluids, at extremely high operating pressures.
2. Description of Prior Art
By examining the teachings of certain prior references, the advantages of this invention will become more apparent. U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,575 teaches a hand-operated dump valve in which high-pressure fluid is quickly dumped as result of a hand-operated lever action, in order to reduce an intense, high-pressure waterjet. A fluid outlet is opened or closed with a conically-shaped cylindrical poppet, which is referred to as a floating valve. The sliding action of the poppet is governed by a sliding valve pin which is engaged with a hand-actuated lever operated by a handle. Pulling the lever against the handle initiates a chain of actions, resulting in a valve pin being pushed against the valve poppet to close the outlet port and thus allow fluid pressure to build within a valve cavity to a pressure sufficient to form a suitable waterjet through a discharge nozzle. To maintain the relatively high pressure within the valve, the dump port must be closed by hand forces during operation of the valve. Such requirement has proven quite difficult to accomplish in practice, since leakage around the conical valve seat invariably occurs, which can drastically increase the hand force required to keep the dump port closed. Furthermore, seals cannot be easily positioned around the dump port because of a fluid wash-out problem and because of the delicate force balances required for the valve closure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,607 teaches a high pressure fluid system and a nozzle and valve assembly which uses two flat sealing surfaces, in lieu of a conical valve seat. A hand-actuated valve pin is forced against a cylindrical valve poppet, referred to as a valve seat, which has a flat sealing surface in contact with a flat sealing surface of a fixed valve seat. The valve pin has a conical sealing face which is positioned against a conical sealing face of the valve poppet. Such arrangements are prone to leakage. A hand-operated lever must provide all of the force necessary to keep the valve pin tightly positioned against the valve poppet. Such arrangement is nearly impossible to achieve in practical applications. Even a slight fluid leakage around the valve pin will drastically increase the hand force necessary to maintain the valve pin seated against the valve poppet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,860 discloses a shutoff valve for high-pressure spray guns. The shutoff valve uses fluid forces to operate two valve poppets, a main valve poppet and a smaller pilot valve poppet, referred to as a differential piston and control piston, and a hand-actuated valve pin. The main valve poppet is free to slide within a valve cavity. Such sliding movement determines whether a valve port is open or closed. Such sliding movement is accomplished by the pressure differential from the pressurized fluid within the valve, which is controlled by a position of the pilot poppet that opens or closes a bypass channel. A hand-actuated valve pin is used to push the pilot poppet forward to open the bypass channel and to equalize fluid forces across the main valve poppet and thus open the main valve port. The valve pin does not have to seal any port and can be constructed in a relatively small size. Thus, fluid forces exerted on the valve pin can be reduced to a manageable level if the fluid pressure is not exceedingly high. To illustrate such point, a valve pin having a diameter of 0.0931" has a cross-sectional area of 0.0068 square inches. At a fluid pressure of 36,000 psi, the valve pin is pushed out by the fluid at a force of 245 lb.sub.f. To push the valve pin into the valve and thus move the pilot poppet, a force significantly greater than 245 lb.sub.f is necessary, which is not easily accomplished. Reducing the diameter of the valve pin to 0.0781" reduces the required force to about 172 lb.sub.f, which is still very difficult to achieve with the human hand. Furthermore, a 0.0781" diameter pin is a relatively small pin and thus its reliability becomes a negative factor. The valve according to the '860 patent has fluid leakage around the control poppet and around the conical sealing surface of the main poppet, due to the absence of necessary seals. Another disadvantage is that the main valve poppet may not close decisively when the hand force is removed. A natural tendency of the pressurized fluid is to keep the valve in an open position and some assistance, such as forces from a bias spring, must be provided to initiate the valve closure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,154 teaches a hand-operated, high-pressure dump valve in which fluid-induced forces help reduce forces necessary through an operator's human hand. A hand-actuated valve pin which is significantly reduced in diameter is used to open and close a small pilot port which routes the pressurized fluid in a chamber to act on a larger valve poppet, referred to as a piston. The valve pin has one end exposed to the pressurized fluid while the opposite end is exposed to atmosphere. Thus, hand forces must overcome the fluid-induced force acting on the valve pin, thus limiting the pressure capability of such valve. Although an externally actuated control valve can be used to actuate the valve pin, such arrangement complicates field applications of such dump valves.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,383 teaches a sliding, fluid-actuated valve poppet, referred to as a H-shaped piston, which is used to open and close a valve port. Such sliding motion of a valve poppet is accomplished with the pressurized fluid through a hand-operated spool valve and a bypass channel. A pressure balanced spool valve is used to route the pressurized fluid to desired ports. The hand force necessary to push and pull the valve spool is reduced to a manageable level. However, the pressure capability suffers due to fluid leakage at the pilot port and around the spool. Because of inadequate sealing means, the pressurized fluid leaks through the pilot port when the valve is in a closed position. Leakage of the pressurized fluid through the pilot port causes the valve to open inadvertently, which creates a hazardous condition.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,944 teaches an on-off dump valve. Pressurized fluid is routed through a sliding hollow spool that is also used as a rotating spindle in a high-pressure swivel joint. By opening or closing a relatively small dump port bored within the hollow spindle, the pressurized fluid is dumped to relieve the pressure. Thus, the valve does not act as a shutoff valve. Furthermore, the reliability of such valve is poor since the dump ports slide across a seal each time the valve is actuated, without means to avoid erosion problems. At relatively high fluid pressures, the seal of such valve can be quickly damaged by fluid forces and actions. Once leakage occurs, the bearings of the swivel are useless.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,866 teaches a complex poppet valve which is designed to replace a conventional direct spool valve which is known to generate hydraulic shocks. A sliding spool valve is used to route the pressurized fluid to desired parts for opening and closing multiple valve poppets and to route the pressurized fluid to a desired outlet. Such valve is applied in conventional hydraulic systems operating at pressures below 5,000 psi. Such valve is not at all suitable for pressures above 10,000 psi, due to fluid sealing problems and due to extraordinary wear of valve parts.
In view of the known technology with respect to instant on-off valves, it is apparent that there is a need for a reliable instant on-off or shutoff valve which is suitable for hand operation at relatively high fluid pressures. As discussed with respect to the known technology, it is apparent that with conventional valves, the minimum force required to open and close valve ports is too high to be supplied by the human hand, particularly over extended periods of time. Thus, a significant reduction of the valve-actuating force is necessary to reduce operator fatigue. In view of conventional technology, the number of valve components, particularly the number of moving valve components, must be reduced to improve reliability of the valve while keeping in mind that failure of any valve component cannot result in inadvertent opening of the outlet port of the valve, for obvious safety reasons. In view of conventional technology, the reliability of the outlet port is inadequate due to severe erosion problems and thus the metal-to-metal sealing used in conventional valves, which is prone to leakage and erosion, must be improved. While enhancing conventional valves, the outlet port of the valve must be maintained at a suitable size in order to minimize the pressure drop across the outlet port.

Instant on-off valve for high-pressure fluids


A noise barrier for use especially outdoors or by roadways. The barrier comprises two main components, namely a relatively light sound-insulating plane and a grating-like part which constitutes the outward appearance of the noise barrier. The sound-insulating plane is a carpet-like part disposed inside the grating-like part and hangs freely therefrom or from another support frame. The grating-like part screens the sound-insulating plane from view, and is designed such that neither accuracy nor an immobile foundation is needed in the mounting of the noise barrier in order to make its outward appearance acceptable. If the grating is made for example spiral and the plane folded or rolled up, the construction can be arranged in a small room for transport and unrolled when it is mounted. The noise barrier can also function as a crash wall.

Noise reduction in itself by building noise barriers is not a difficult problem in noise pollution technology. There are different fence-like solutions and noise reduction embankments in use. Because a part of the sound bends over the barrier, it is no use building one, which in very sound-insulating, about 20 dB is enough. For example, a tight carpet weighing about 5-10 kg reaches this level. Present solutions are heavier than necessary, more expensive and often unsatisfying in appearance. Embankments with vegetation are considered visually more natural, but they take often too much space and require expensive foundation reinforcement on a weak ground.


A printing method includes: preparing a drive element that corresponds to a nozzle, and a controller that drives the drive element so as to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle, the controller having a first input section and a second input section; in the case of printing with a first number of gradations, driving the drive element based on a first signal and a second signal, by inputting the first signal to the first input section and inputting the second signal to the second input section; and in the case of printing with a second number of gradations that is lower than the first number of gradations, driving the drive element based on a first signal, by inputting the first signal to the first input section and inputting a signal of a constant potential to the second input section.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to printing methods, printing apparatuses, and head units.
2. Related Art
Inkjet printers are known as one example of printing apparatuses that eject droplets of liquid. Inkjet printers form dots on paper by ejecting ink droplets from nozzles, thereby printing print images that are made of many dots on the paper.
In the head unit for ejecting ink droplets, a drive element such as a piezo element or a heater is provided for each nozzle in order to effect the ejection of an ink droplet from the nozzle. The head unit is also provided with a head controller for controlling the driving of the drive elements (see JP-A-9-11457).
There is a demand for printing in which the number of gradations is changed for each color of ink. For example, there is a demand for printing in which cyan and magenta are printed in six gradations, but in which yellow is printed in four gradations.
In such a case, there is the problem that it is costly to provide head controllers with different structures for each color.

Printing method, printing apparatus, and head unit


A method and apparatus for uniformly spin-coating photoresist material on wafers before the wafers are subjected to a photoetching process. The spin-coating apparatus comprises a first rotating device for rotating a rotating connector about a first axis and a second rotating device located on the outer portion of the rotating connector. The second rotating device rotates a wafer about a second axis while the rotating connector rotates around the first axis. The first and second axes are parallel to each other but are spaced apart by a designated distance. The designated distance can be adjusted and a plurality of second rotating devices may be connected to outer portions of the rotating connector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for applying photoresist material on a semiconductor wafer. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for obtaining a uniform photoresist layer on a wafer in preparation for a subsequent photoetching process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor devices are manufactured through a series of processes. One such process is the deposition of a photoresist material on the surface of a semiconductor wafer in preparation for a subsequent etching process. Many methods are available for applying photoresist material to wafers but they all have certain drawbacks.
Available methods include an immersing method, a spraying method, and a rolling method, which are usually adapted for use with liquid photoresist materials. Because the back sides of the wafers may be coated with the photoresist material during the immersion and spraying methods, these two methods are inappropriate for semiconductor devices. The rolling method is generally used for printed circuit boards but it is inappropriate for semiconductor devices because it is difficult to control the thickness of the photoresist layer using this method. Accordingly, a spin-coating method has been introduced to overcome the deficiencies of the above methods.
The spin-coating method is one of the better methods for precisely controlling the thickness of a photoresist layer. For example, if the thickness of the photoresist layer is 0.5 .mu.m, the thickness variation would be less than about 10% using the spin-coating method. A rotating device, also known as a spinner, is usually used in such a spin-coating method. A conventional spin-coating apparatus is shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, wafers 10 are fixed on vacuum chucks 7 by a vacuum suction force and are rotated by a spinner 5. A bowl 8 is installed above the vacuum chucks 7 to protect photoresist dispensed to the wafers 10 from scattering when the wafers 10 are rotated. An exhaust port 9 is formed at a predetermined position on the side of the bowl 8. A catch cup 11 is installed at the bottom of the apparatus, where the photoresist material dropping from the bowl 8 is collected.
The operation of the spin-coating apparatus is as follows. First, an elevator 12 is operated to elevate a cassette 2 loaded with wafers 10 to the level of the vacuum chucks 7. The wafers 10 in the cassette 2 are then successively transferred to the vacuum chucks 7. Filtered nitrogen 6 is supplied to the surface of the wafers 10 via a conduit to blow away the particles on the wafers 10.
Next, a primer 3 is applied to the wafers 10 via conduit to enhance the adhesion of the photoresist 4 to the wafers 10. The primer 3 may be applied to the wafers 10 by spinning or evaporating. An evaporation priming process or a vacuum baking evaporation priming process may also be used.
When the priming process is completed, the photoresist 4 is dispensed on the wafers 10 via a conduit. Two pumping systems may be used for the dispensing process. In the first pumping system, the photoresist contained in a vessel is pushed out of the vessel through a tip at the end of the conduit by using dry nitrogen gas to increase the pressure inside the vessel. The other pumping system is a diaphragm system in which a bellows is used to compress and push out photoresist through the tip of the conduit. The particular thickness of the photoresist layer coated on the wafers 10 does not have much of an influence on the process parameters. However, when an insufficient amount of photoresist is supplied, the surfaces of the wafers 10 cannot be completely coated with a photoresist layer. On the other hand, if too much photoresist is supplied, the back sides of the wafers may also be coated with the photoresist, which is undesirable because it affects wafer alignment.
The photoresist spin-coating process is carried out using a dynamic dispense cycle. In the dynamic dispense cycle, photoresist is applied to wafers 10 while the wafers 10 are rotated slowly at about 500 RPM. After applying the photoresist, the wafers 10 are rotated at a higher rate so that the photoresist can be uniformly spread out on the wafers 10.
After the deposition of the photoresist, the wafers 10 are unloaded from the vacuum chucks 7 and stored in the cassette 2 for transfer to an oven for subsequent processing, i.e., a soft baking process.
The spin-coating process using the spinner 5, however, suffers a drawback. Specifically, it is difficult to obtain a uniform thickness layer of photoresist on the wafers 10. The centrifugal force, which is generated by the rotation of the spinner 5, causes the photoresist to move away from the axis of the rotation. Because the magnitude of the centrifugal force depends on the distance from the axis of rotation, the movement of photoresist material varies with position on the wafer. This results in an uneven photoresist coating layer on the wafers 10.
Several approaches and apparatuses have been disclosed to overcome such deficiency. One such apparatus is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication Number 94-10497, and includes an inner bowl between a spinner and an outer bowl enclosing the spinner. The inner bowl is simultaneously moved up by an elevating means when the wafers stop rotating. When the inner bowl moves up and encloses the wafers, the movement of the air at the center of the wafers is the same as at the circumference of the wafers.
Korean Patent Publication Number 93-8859 discloses a spin-coating method for enhancing the uniformity of photoresist thickness on a wafer. The method includes three additional steps that are performed after dispensing photoresist on the surface of the wafers. First, the wafers are rotated at a first velocity for a designated amount of time. Then, the wafers are rotated at a second, faster velocity for another designated amount of time. During the rotation at the second velocity, the wafers are intermittently rotated for 1-2 seconds at a third velocity which is faster than the second velocity. The third rotation step is preferably repeated more than two times during the second rotation step. As a result, winding surfaces are formed on the wafers in association with the rotations at the different velocities.
However, the apparatus and methods described above fail to consider that a cause of the uneven photoresist thickness is the radially varying centrifugal force, which yields a radially varying thickness of photoresist material. In other words, the dispensed photoresist material is influenced by the varying centrifugal force as the spinner rotates and the material spreads over the whole surface of the wafer. The magnitude of the centrifugal force influencing the photoresist material is proportional to the square of the radius at which the material is located on the rotated wafer. Therefore the level of centrifugal force varies with the position on the wafer. For example, the force is almost zero at the center of the wafers and is at a maximum at the circumference of the wafers. Such differences in the centrifugal force result in differences in the thickness of the photoresist layer; inevitably the thickness of the photoresist layer at the center of the wafer will be different from that at the other areas of the wafer. Moreover, a wafer having a larger radius (e.g., 12 inch wafers which are still under development) will have a greater difference in the center-to-edge thickness of a photoresist layer than the 8 inch wafers that are currently used. The difference in thickness can be controlled to some extent by adjusting the spinning velocity of the spinner and modifying the process variables in association with the viscosity of the photoresist. However, the difference between the thicknesses at the center of the wafer where the centrifugal force is zero compared to the thickness at the other areas of the same wafer cannot be fundamentally eliminated.

Method and apparatus for uniformly spin-coating a photoresist material


A direct carbon fuel electrochemical device and method for generating electricity. The apparatus includes a solid oxide electrolyte having an anode side and a cathode side. Carbon and at least one metal oxide are provided to the anode side for reaction at the anode and air is provided to the cathode side. At least a portion of the carbon is oxidized and at least a portion of the metal oxide is reduced to a metal or lower oxide metal oxide on the anode side. The metal or lower oxide metal oxide is electrochemically reoxidized with oxygen in the air, thereby generating electricity.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrochemical devices for generating electricity, in particular, solid oxide fuel cells and high temperature batteries. This invention also relates to solid oxide fuel cells and high temperature batteries utilizing solid carbon directly as a fuel. This invention relates to coal fueled solid oxide fuel cells. This invention also relates to sulfur-tolerant solid oxide fuel cells.
2. Description of Related Art
Fossil fuels including coal, oil and natural gas represent the majority of the world's energy supply, a fact which is likely to be true for the foreseeable future. Notwithstanding, extending the availability of these resources as well as reducing the costs and pollution associated with the use of these resources remain highly desirable objectives, objectives which can be addressed by improvements in the efficiencies of fuel utilization and fuel conversion. Methods and devices for using coal directly to produce electricity have been under investigation for the last 40 years. One prospect for improving fuel conversion efficiency is the direct conversion of carbon fuels in batteries and fuel cells. See Cherepy, N. J. et al., "Direct Conversion of Carbon Fuels in a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell," Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 152 (1) A80-A87 (2005). The main idea is that coal is converted to an electrically conductive form and used in a molten carbonate fuel cell. In this application, the carbon reacts with carbonate ions at the fuel cell anode and oxygen reacts with carbon dioxide at the fuel cell cathode, which reactions are carried out at a temperature of about 800° C. in accordance with the following reactions:                Anode half reaction: C+CO32−→3CO2+4e−        Cathode half reaction: O2+2CO2+4e−→2CO32−        Overall cell reaction: C+O2→CO2
However, substantial barriers for achieving a practical carbon/air fuel cell have been encountered. These include blocking of the molten carbonate electrolyte by the build-up of ash, sluggishness of the anode reaction rate, and the high cost of carbon electrode manufacture and the complexity of distribution to the cells. An additional drawback to this fuel cell is that the cathode reaction requires at least double the amount of CO2 than oxygen, which is not possible using normal air as the oxygen source.

Direct carbon fueled solid oxide fuel cell or high temperature battery


Firmware of an InfiniBand (IB) host computer device provides a representation of an IB Host Channel Adapter (HCA) within the hierarchical data structure during system initialization. An ib-boot support package encapsulates arguments for booting over an IB network using an ibport device. The ib-boot support package supports use of one or more command keywords, each identifying a specific type of support package utilized to retrieve the boot image. When the srp keyword is provided, an SRP protocol is used to access the storage boot device and retrieve the boot file. Access to the boot server is thus provided via one of the support packages, and the boot image is returned to the host device via the IB network for completion of boot operations.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to computer systems and in particular to networked computer systems. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to remote network boot operations for computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Network computer systems are generally known in the computer arts. Also known is the general method for loading a boot image/file of a computer system from a remote server located across a network utilizing the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP). In particular, when booting a computer system (i.e., a network device) over a network, such as a local area network (LAN), the computer system's firmware typically utilize the TFTP bootstrap method to obtain the boot file from a boot server/device across the network.
With this TFTP bootstrap method, a network support package is provided to assist with the network boot operation. Specifically, the network support package utilizes the TFTP bootstrap method to retrieve and/or define specific boot arguments required to access and retrieve the boot image/file at the boot server. The network support package also processes the boot arguments obtained from the computer system and establishes a connection with the remote server to obtain the boot file. General information about the utilization of the network support package to enable loading of a boot image from a boot server located across a LAN via TFTP bootstrap may be found within Open Firmware Recommended Practice: TFTP Booting Extension Version 1.0, which is published by the Open Firmware Working Group.
While the above TFTP boot strap method is applied to and works well within standard LAN-based and other similarly configured networks, such methods have proven to not be effective with different network configurations or network-types. For example, the TFTP bootstrap method does not work with an InfiniBand (IB) network. See comments to disclosure 582.
As is known in the art, an InfiniBand (IB) network is a packet-switched, narrow parallel network, operating at a high data rate and at a large physical range, to interconnect remote devices to a host computer system (or server). The IB network comprises a host channel adapter (HCA), which couples the host computer system to a subnet. The network further comprises one or more target channel adapters (TCAs), which in turn couple other devices to the subnet. The subnet typically includes at least one switch and a plurality of links that connect the HCA and the TCAs to the switch(es). As an example, a simple IB network may have one switch, to which the HCA and the TCAs connect through respective links.
IB networks are often connected to local or wide area communication networks via adapters and routers. For example, an Ethernet network adapter may be utilized to enable communication over an Ethernet network. The network adapter has its own TCA, serving as an end node within the IB network for coupling to the Ethernet network. The IB specification further provides a raw datagram mode of communication to bridge packets received from an Ethernet network for transmission over an IB network, and vice-versa. Similarly, IB networks may include routers or adapters to connect to the Internet.
Given the increasing reliance on remote boot operations to complete the booting of computer devices, and the growing complexity of new networks such as an IB network, there is a need for expanding the remote boot process completed within a LAN to enable a host computer to complete a remote boot process from a boot server located across the IB network. There is presently no Open Firmware support to seamlessly perform a network boot operation via the standard network boot process of a network device connected to an IB fabric, where the boot device is connected directly to the IB fabric or to an external network coupled to an end node of the IB fabric.

Method to enable infiniband network bootstrap


Embodiments concern methods and compositions for treating or preventing a bacterial infection, particularly infection by a Staphylococcus bacterium. Aspects include methods and compositions for providing a passive immune response against the bacteria. In certain embodiments, the methods and compositions involve an antibody that binds Staphylococcal protein A (SpA).

The number of both community acquired and hospital acquired infections have increased over recent years with the increased use of intravascular devices. Hospital acquired (nosocomial) infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, more particularly in the United States, where they affect more than 2 million patients annually. The most frequent nosocomial infections are urinary tract infections (33% of the infections), followed by pneumonia (15.5%), surgical site infections (14.8%) and primary bloodstream infections (13%) (Emorl and Gaynes, 1993).
Staphylococcus aureus, Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (mostly Staphylococcus epidermidis), enterococcus spp., Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the major nosocomial pathogens. Although these pathogens almost cause the same number of infections, the severity of the disorders they can produce combined with the frequency of antibiotic resistant isolates balance this ranking towards S. aureus and S. epidermidis as being the most significant nosocomial pathogens.
Staphylococcus can cause a wide variety of diseases in humans and other animals through either toxin production or invasion. Staphylococcal toxins are a common cause of food poisoning, as the bacteria can grow in improperly-stored food.
Staphylococcus epidermidis is a normal skin commensal, which is also an important opportunistic pathogen responsible for infections of impaired medical devices and infections at sites of surgery. Medical devices infected by S. epidermidis include cardiac pacemakers, cerebrospinal fluid shunts, continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis catheters, orthopedic devices and prosthetic heart valves,
Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of nosocomial infections with a significant morbidity and mortality. It is the cause of some cases of osteomyelitis, endocarditis, septic arthritis, pneumonia, abscesses and toxic shock syndrome.
S. aureus can survive on dry surfaces, increasing the chance of transmission. Any S. aureus infection can cause the staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, a cutaneous reaction to exotoxin absorbed into the bloodstream. S. aureus can also cause a type of septicemia called pyaemia that can be life-threatening. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a major cause of hospital-acquired infections.
S. aureus and S. epidermidis infections are typically treated with antibiotics, with penicillin being the drug of choice, but vancomycin being used for methicillin resistant isolates. The percentage of staphylococcal strains exhibiting wide-spectrum resistance to antibiotics has increased, posing a threat to effective antimicrobial therapy. In addition, the recent appearance of vancomycin-resistant S. aureus strain has aroused fear that MRSA strains for which no effective therapy is available are starting to emerge and spread.
An alternative approach to antibiotics in the treatment of staphylococcal infections has been the use of antibodies against staphylococcal antigens in passive immunotherapy. Examples of this passive immunotherapy involves administration of polyclonal antisera (WO00/15238, WO00/12132) as well as treatment with monoclonal antibodies against lipoteichoic acid (WO98/57994).
The first generation of vaccines targeted against S. aureus or against the exoproteins it produces have met with limited success (Lee, 1996) and there remains a need to develop additional therapeutic compositions for treatment of staphylococcus infections.

Compositions and methods related to antibodies to staphylococcal protein A


A pad structure for speaker cabinet includes a lower disk having a plurality of recesses defined in a top surface thereof, an upper disk having a corresponding number of recesses defined at positions on a bottom surface thereof facing to the recesses of the lower disk, respectively, and a corresponding number of balls. Each of the balls is sandwiched between one of the recesses of the lower disk and a corresponding one of the recesses of the upper disk. The pad structure is put under the speaker cabinet to reduce the vibration generated by the cabinet when the speaker produces sound, provide the reaction force necessary for the speaker when producing sound and effectively insulate the cabinet from the vibration due to the natural resonance of the place where the cabinet is positioned.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pad structure for a speaker cabinet, which can reduce the undesirable harmonics generated from the cabinet when the speaker is in use, provide the necessary reaction force, and insulate the cabinet from a coloration of sound due to the natural resonance of the material of the place where the cabinet is positioned.
2. Description of Related Art
For a user of phonographic equipment, avoiding undesirable vibrations of the speaker cabinet is very important since such vibrations may degrade the sound quality of the speaker.
In operation, electrical signals converted from music are transmitted to a coil of the speaker, causing a cone to vibrate air to produce sound. Based on the principle of action and reaction, it is necessary for the cone to be supported when producing sound, and the cabinet is typically used to carry and support the cone. The cabinet and a place where the cabinet positioned are receivers for the reaction when the cone vibrates to produce sound. However, the cabinet and the place may generate various degrees of resonances and harmonics due to various materials and configurations thereof when receiving the reaction. Vibrations such as those resonances and harmonics feed back to the cone, and therefore noises are generated, resulting in degradation of the quality of the sound produced by the speaker.
A conventional method for reducing the vibration of the speaker cabinet is to provided pads made of vibration-absorbing material such as rubber or rigid material such as marble or metal on the bottom of the cabinet. However, although the vibration-absorbing material can absorb the vibration generated from the cabinet, such material also has a negative influence on the reaction applied by the cabinet to the cone, and the reaction is necessary when the cone produces sound. On other hand, using rigid material to carry the speaker can reduce the vibration due to the natural resonance of the place where the cabinet is positioned, however, the vibration generated from the cabinet itself can not be avoided.
There has been a pad structure for speaker cabinet provided to solve the above problem. Referring to FIG. 4, the pad structure comprises a bottom disk 50 having a conical hole 51 defined in the center, and a conical piece 60, the conical piece 60 supports the speaker cabinet with a top surface thereof, and the tip of the conical piece 60 can be received in the conical hole 51. By such arrangement, the vibration due to the natural resonance of the place where the cabinet is positioned can be insulated. However, the problem with respect to the vibration generated by the cabinet itself can not be solved effectively.


In a hot-rolled sheet, an average value of pole densities of an orientation group {100}<011> to {223}<110>, which is represented by an arithmetic mean of pole densities of orientations {100}<011>, {116}<110>, {114}<110>, {112}<110>, and {223}<110> in a thickness center portion of a thickness range of ⅝ to ⅜ from a surface of the steel sheet, is 1.0 to 6.5 and a pole density of a crystal orientation {332}<113> is 1.0 to 5.0; and a Lankford value rC in a direction perpendicular to a rolling direction is 0.70 to 1.10 and a Lankford value r30 in a direction that forms 30° with respect to the rolling direction is 0.70 to 1.10.

In order to suppress the amount of carbon dioxide gas emitted from a vehicle, the weight of a vehicle body has been reduced by the use of a high-strength steel sheet. From the viewpoint of securing the safety of a passenger, a large number of high-strength steel sheets, in addition to a mild steel sheets, are used in a vehicle body. However, in order to further reduce the weight of a vehicle body, the strength of a high-strength steel sheet to be used is required to be higher than that of the related art.
However, generally, as the strength of a steel sheet is increased, the formability thereof is reduced. For example, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses that uniform elongation, which is important during drawing or stretch forming, deteriorates due to high-strengthening.
Therefore, in order to use a high-strength steel sheet in, for example, suspension components or components of a vehicle body for absorbing collision energy, it is important to improve local deformability such as local ductility which contributes to formability such as burring workability or bending workability.
To that end, Non-Patent Document 2 discloses a method of improving uniform elongation at the same strength by preparing a complex metallographic structure of a steel sheet.
Non-Patent Document 3 discloses a method of controlling a metallographic structure in which local deformability, represented by bendability, hole expansibility, or burring workability, is improved by inclusion control, single structuring, and a reduction in hardness difference between structures. In this method, a single structure is prepared by structure control to improve hole expansibility. In order to prepare a single structure, basically, a heat treatment from an austenitic single phase is required in this method as disclosed in Non-Patent Document 4.
In addition, Non-Patent Document 4 discloses a technique of increasing strength and securing ductility at the same time in which cooling after hot rolling is controlled to control a metallographic structure; and a precipitate and a transformation structure are controlled to obtain appropriate fractions of ferrite and bainite.
However, the above-described techniques are the methods of improving local deformability which depend on structure control, and greatly affect the structure formation of a base.
Meanwhile, techniques relating to the improvement of material properties by an increase in rolling reduction during continuous hot rolling are disclosed in the related art. These techniques are so-called grain refinement techniques. For example, Non-Patent Document 5 discloses a technique of increasing strength and toughness by grain refinement in which large reduction is performed in an austenite region in a lowest possible temperature range to transform non-recrystallized austenite into ferrite and thus to facilitate the grain refinement of ferrite which is the primary phase of a product. However, measures for improving local deformability that the invention is to solve is not disclosed at all.

Method of producing a hot rolled steel sheet

NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION


The present invention provides a compound of formula I:

Caspases are a family of cysteine protease enzymes that are key mediators in inflammation. Caspase-1 (ICE) processes pre-IL-1β to produce the active form of IL-1β [WO 99/47545]. ICE has also been linked to the conversion of pro-IGIF to IGIF and/or to the production of IFN-γ [Id.]. Both IL-1β and IFN-γ contribute to the pathology associated with inflammatory, infectious, and autoimmune diseases (see, e.g., WO 99/47545; J. Invest. Dermatology, 120(1), pp. 164-167 (2003); Br. J. Dermatology, 141, pp. 739-746 (1999); Science, 282, pp. 490-493 (1998); Schweiz. Med. Wochenschr., 130, pp. 1656-1661 (2000)].
Caspases are also key mediators in the signaling pathways for apoptosis and cell disassembly [N. A. Thornberry, Chem. Biol., 5, pp. R97-R103 (1998)]. These signaling pathways vary depending on cell type and stimulus, but all apoptosis pathways appear to converge at a common effector pathway leading to proteolysis of key proteins. Caspases are involved in both the effector phase of the signaling pathway and further upstream at its initiation. The upstream caspases involved in initiation events become activated and in turn activate other caspases that are involved in the later phases of apoptosis.
The utility of caspase inhibitors to treat a variety of mammalian disease states associated with an increase in cellular apoptosis has been demonstrated using peptidic caspase inhibitors. For example, in rodent models, caspase inhibitors have been shown to reduce infarct size and inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis after myocardial infarction, to reduce lesion volume and neurological deficit resulting from stroke, to reduce post-traumatic apoptosis and neurological deficit in traumatic brain injury, to be effective in treating fulminant liver destruction, and to improve survival after endotoxic shock [H. Yaoita et al., Circulation, 97, pp. 276-281 (1998); M. Endres et al., J. Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 18, pp. 238-247, (1998); Y. Cheng et al., J. Clin. Invest., 101, pp. 1992-1999 (1998); A. G. Yakovlev et al., J. Neurosci., 17, pp. 7415-7424 (1997); I. Rodriquez et al., J. Exp. Med., 184, pp. 2067-2072 (1996); Grobmyer et al., Mol. Med., 5, p. 585 (1999)].
However, due to their peptidic nature, such inhibitors are typically characterized by undesirable pharmacological properties, such as poor cellular penetration and cellular activity, poor oral absorption, poor stability and rapid metabolism [J. J. Plattner and D. W. Norbeck, in Drug Discovery Technologies, C. R. Clark and W. H. Moos, Eds. (Ellis Horwood, Chichester, England, 1990), pp. 92-126]. This has hampered their development into effective drugs. These and other studies with peptidic caspase inhibitors have demonstrated that an aspartic acid residue is involved in a key interaction with the caspase enzyme [K. P. Wilson et al., Nature, 370, pp. 270-275 (1994); Lazebnik et al., Nature, 371, p. 346 (1994)].
Accordingly, peptidyl and non-peptidyl aspartic acid compounds are useful as caspase inhibitors.
A need nevertheless exists for compounds that have the ability to act as caspase inhibitors, particularly with selective activity against certain caspases.

Abstract: wherein the variables are as defined herein. The present invention also provides processes for preparing the compounds of formula I, and intermediates thereof, pharmaceutical compositions comprising those compounds, and methods of using the compounds and compositions.


There is provided a new and improved apparatus and method for rolling workpieces such as crankshafts. The apparatus has first and second rolling heads mounted at spaced positions along a common rolling arm to receive a crankshaft bearing therebetween which can then be shifted relative to one another along the common rolling arm to close the heads or rolling tools for clamping onto the workpiece. The in-line clamping action and force provided by the tools on the rolling arm are created by actuation of a tall, thin cylinder assembly including a number of aligned individual cylinders sized to keep the width of the cylinder assembly to a minimum so that all of the rolling arms can likewise be of a thin construction pivotally mounted on one side of the crankshaft and axially spaced according to the crankshaft bearing spacing for rolling all of the bearings in a single rolling operation. A strain sensor can be utilized to generate clamping force readouts that are based on the amount of structural deflection of the arm detected by the sensor.

The present invention is directed to a roll hardening apparatus used to surface or deep harden workpieces such as cam shafts and particularly crankshafts having main bearings and pin bearings. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,761, it is common in current crankshaft roll hardening machines to mount a rolling device such as a rolling head in a fixed position at the end of each of a pair of scissor action type lever arms having a common pivot and to open and close the scissor levers with hydraulic cylinder devices. That is, the hydraulic cylinder devices pivot the upper ends of the scissor lever arms to close and to clamp the hardening rollers of the rolling heads onto the respective bearing to be rolled and conversely, to pivot the upper ends of the scissor lever arms apart to a clearance or release position so that the rolling heads are disengaged from the crankshaft bearings for then being shifted away from the working area via advancing and retracting suspension devices to allow removal of the finished crankshaft and replacement with a new crankshaft to be rolled. Such an arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,893. The scissor lever arms are suspended by the suspension devices that allow the scissor lever arms to oscillate and follow the movement of a pin bearing as it travels eccentrically about the rotational axis of the crankshaft.
It will be appreciated that the main bearings and pin bearings on a crankshaft, particularly for automotive vehicles and trucks, are closely spaced, and that the scissor lever arms, their suspension devices and their hydraulic cylinder devices which can be quite elaborate and complex, thus have to be crowded into a small space. For example, the crankshaft rolling machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,893 includes an angled bellcrank lever that is pivotally connected to the suspension device and to one of the respective scissor arms that cooperates to allow opening of the jaws defined between the respective rolling tools to a width that is greater than twice the maximum radius of the crankshaft. To assist the positioning of the scissor lever arms for loading and unloading of crankshafts front and rear vertical guide surfaces are provided on the stationary frame, one at the front of the frame via vertical spars and the other toward the rear of the frame via housings for the suspension devices, and along which roll rollers on the upper ends of the scissor lever arms.
A large number of hydraulic cylinders are used in the rolling machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,893 to shift the scissor arms and to apply the rolling force. There are hydraulic cylinder devices that operate to shift the scissor arms through a long travel stroke, another hydraulic cylinder to open and close the roller heads, and yet another hydraulic cylinder shifts the scissor arms and rolling heads to apply the roll hardening force to the crankshaft.
Further, each of these hydraulic devices is pivotally mounted to various of the operating components for moving the scissor arms. In all, fourteen distinct pivot points for each set of scissor arms can be identified. And when there are ten such sets of arms, the machine will have one-hundred-and-forty pivot connections for the scissor-rolling arms. As is apparent, where the crankshaft bearings are very closely spaced, the number of the cylinders and their diameter sizing will make it very difficult to have the cylinders all fit in a compact fashion on one side of the crankshaft without staggering axially adjacent cylinders from each other, or separating the arms that roll the pin bearings from those used to roll the mains such as in the aforementioned '761 patent and as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,859. Also, the large number of pivotally mounted cylinders provide potential failure points due to the high number of moving parts and pivot points which may wear and cause seizing of parts. Accordingly, the reliability and maintainability of the '893 machine is significantly impaired by the large number of pivotal cylinders it employs. In other words, a machine that needs so many cylinders and pivot connections is much more prone to failure and will require more in the way of maintenance attention and expenses than is desirable.
From the foregoing, it will be seen that there is a need for an improved, high-production rolling method and apparatus that is simpler than the scissor action machines and yet is able to roll harden crankshafts or the like with the high quality required and at the high production speeds needed for automotive vehicles. More specifically, there is a need for an apparatus and method that simplifies the closing of the rolling heads into rolling engagement with the crankshaft bearings and subsequent opening of the heads. Preferably, the rolling parts will be suspended in a manner that allows them to be shifted in the axial direction to either roll other bearings on the same crankshaft or to be repositioned to roll bearings on other longer or shorter length crankshafts that have their respective bearings at different spacings such as in the aforementioned '761 patent which is incorporated herein by reference.

Apparatus and method for rolling workpieces


To provide a flip electronic device in which even when rain water or the like enters therein to a certain extent, it is absorbed and hence an electric circuit therein is not affected. In the flip electronic device, slight clearances are formed between bearings (3a), (3b), (4a), (4b) for rotatably connecting first and second enclosures (1), (2), and cylindrical members (13), (14) formed coaxially with the bearings (3a), (3b), (4a), (4b), and hence rain water may enter through these clearances. Therefore, water-absorbing members (19), (20) are mounted to an end of a printed wiring assembly (17), and rain water entered through the clearances is absorbed by the water absorbing members (19), (20), so as to prevent an electric circuit located in the enclosure from being affected.

In general, when configuring a foldable electronic device, a first enclosure and a second enclosure are rotatably connected via bearings. However, in this case, what comes into question is how an electronic circuit in the first enclosure and an electronic circuit in the second enclosure are electrically connected with respect to each other.
Normally, it is configured in many cases by forming bearings and coaxial cylindrical members respectively on the first and second enclosures, inserting a flexible substrate which is turned once into the cylindrical member, connecting both ends of the flexible substrate respectively to electronic circuits provided in the first and second enclosures, and connecting the electronic circuits provided in the first and second enclosure with respect to each other.
In this arrangement, since the flexible substrate is not exposed to the outside, and hence good appearance is achieved, such a configuration is widely employed especially in mobile phones or other devices in recent years.
In this type of electronic device, since it is necessary to insert the flexible substrate into the cylindrical members and connect the flexible substrate to the electronic circuits in the first and second enclosures, the first and second cylindrical members have to be provided integrally with the first and second enclosures separately from the bearings respectively, and hence slight clearances are inevitably generated between the cylindrical members and the bearings. Therefore, when it is used in rain, rain water may enter through these clearances and may affect to the electrical circuits therein.
The present invention is intended to solve the problem described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a flip electronic device in which rain even when rain water enters therein to some extent, it is absorbed and hence an electric circuit is not affected thereby.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Methods are disclosed for tonally balancing multiple images. In one embodiment, the method comprises using a subset of corresponding points in each of a plurality of image overlap regions to solve a set of minimization equations for gains and biases for each spectral band of each image, the corresponding points being points from different images having locations that correspond to each other, the subset of corresponding points consisting of corresponding points whose intensities differ less than a threshold, applying the gains and biases to the images, and iterating said using and applying actions for a predetermined number of iterations.

Images, such as satellite images, can be combined to produce one large panorama or mosaic of images. One problem encountered in combining images is that the images are often not tonally balanced. Tonal imbalances can be caused by a variety of factors. With respect to satellite images, for example, tonal imbalances can be caused by differences in the angle of the camera in relationship to the sun, or differences in the moisture content of the air when pictures are taken on different days. If the images are not tonally balanced, visible seams can appear where the different images come together. The differences between the tones of the images used in the panorama or mosaic can become even more noticeable when the images are taken at different times or different seasons because of differences in the brightness and position of the sun.
One approach that has been used to balance images is to tonally balance a single pair of images at a time. Because this approach only allows two images to be balanced at a time, a user is required to determine a path through the image mosaic when balancing the images. Different paths can result in greatly differing results. This approach is inherently unstable, as it is subject to choices made by the user in selecting a path, and is also time-consuming for the user.


A method for screening an active ingredient of a saltiness enhancer, the screening method including the following steps: (i) a step for determining whether a test substance is a compound capable of promoting functional expression of the TMC4 gene or TMC4 protein; and (ii) a step for selecting, as an active ingredient of a saltiness enhancer, a test substance that has been determined in step (i) to be a compound capable of promoting functional expression of the TMC4 gene or TMC4 protein.

Gustatory sense is one of five senses, and the sense is received by taste buds distributed on the intraoral epithelium. The stimulus is transmitted through the chorda tympani nerve and glossopharyngeal nerve to the taste area of the brain to be recognized.
As principal types of the gustatory sense, five basic tastes (sweet taste, umami (savory), bitter taste, sour taste and salty taste) are known. As for sweet taste, umami and bitter taste, G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) present in type II taste cells is known as the receptor. As for sour taste, it has been found through an experiment using diphtheria toxin that a sour taste receptor is present in type III cells, but a principal receptor has not been found yet.
Salty taste is a taste of salt (the principal ingredient is sodium chloride (NaCl)), and is a sense felt when NaCl is dissolved in the oral cavity and Na+ ion and Cl− ion thus ionized are sensed with the tongue.
As a molecule playing a role as a salty taste receptor molecule, as for a cation, it has been reported that epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) αβγ, that is, an amiloride sensitive (AS) epithelial Na+ channel, expresses, in the form of a heterotrimer, in type I cells of fungiform papillae present in a front portion of the tongue to receive low concentration salt (palatable) (Non Patent Literature 1).
Besides, as a receptor molecule of a high concentration salt (repellent), TRPV1t, that is, a splicing valiant of transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), is described as a candidate (Non Patent Literature 2).
Besides, there has been no report on a molecule receiving the anion of Cl−.
Since ENaC αβγ expresses in type I cells of fungiform papillae, it has been considered that salty taste is received by type I taste cells. Recently, however, there has been a theory that salty taste is received in conjugation of type II cells and type III cells, and discussion on which cells receive salty taste has not been concluded yet (Non Patent Literature 3).
NaCl is a significant nutrient ingredient for living things, and plays, in a human body, various roles in homeostasis of moisture balance and adjustment of pH, osmotic pressure and nerve conductance. It is considered, however, that excessive ingestion of Na+ is deeply linked to a risk of stomach cancer or hypertension, and it is desired to reduce the amount of salt ingested from food. When NaCl contained in food is simply reduced for this purpose, the taste of the food becomes too plain to get a sense of satisfaction. Therefore, there is a demand for development of a salty taste enhancer capable of making salty taste felt stronger without changing a salt concentration by searching a salty taste receptor and activating the receptor.

Method for screening saltiness enhancer using saltiness receptor


The present invention relates to a nitrogen-doped sulfide-based solid electrolyte for all-solid batteries. The a nitrogen-doped sulfide-based solid electrolyte for all-solid batteries includes a compound with an argyrodite-type crystal structure represented by the following Formula 1:LiaPSbNcXd  [Formula 1]                wherein 6≤a≤7, 3<b<6, 0<c≤1, 0<d≤2, and        each X is the same or different halogen atom selected from the group consisting of chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), and iodine (I).

Secondary batteries have been widely used in large devices such as automobiles and electric power storage systems and in small devices such as mobile phones, camcorders, laptop computers and the like.
As the application range of secondary batteries broadens, there is increasing demand for safe and highly functional batteries.
For example, lithium secondary batteries, which are one type of secondary battery, have advantages of high energy density and high capacity per unit area, compared to nickel-manganese batteries or nickel-cadmium batteries.
However, electrolytes conventionally used in lithium secondary batteries are liquid electrolytes such as organic solvents. Accordingly, safety problems such as leakage of electrolytes and risk of fire may continuously occur.
Recently, all-solid batteries including solid electrolytes, rather than liquid electrolytes have been used to improve the safety feature of the lithium secondary battery and have attracted much attention. For example, solid electrolytes are typically safer than liquid electrolytes due to non-combustible or flame retardant properties.
Solid electrolytes may include oxide-based solid electrolytes and sulfide-based solid electrolytes. Sulfide-based solid electrolytes have been generally used because they have higher lithium ionic conductivity range, compared to oxide-based solid electrolytes. However, sulfide-based solid electrolytes have a drawback of unstable operation of the batteries because they have lower chemical stability than oxide based solid electrolytes.
Thus, a variety of research has been underway to improve electrochemical stability of sulfide-based solid electrolytes, but essential physical properties such as ionic conductivity of solid electrolytes may have been disadvantageously deteriorated.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is provided only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Nitrogen-doped sulfide-based solid electrolyte for all-solid batteries

IUCF-HYU (Industry-University Cooperation Foundation Hanyang University)


A configuration ensuring a connector to be fixed to a connector housing with high water-tightness, free of damaging or breaking due to external force, and achieving high shielding performance and reliability is provided. The connector includes a terminal that is conductive, an intermediate insulating member that contains the terminal, and an outer conductor that is conductive and contains the intermediate insulating member. The connector housing includes an outer conductor holding part provided with an outer conductor insertion hole through which the outer conductor is inserted and a front outer conductor containing cavity that is formed on a front side of the outer conductor holding part and has a larger cross-sectional area than the outer conductor insertion hole. The connector is fixed to the connector housing with a tab welded to a front surface of the outer conductor holding part, the tab being integrally formed with the outer conductor, and with a potting material filled in a portion in the front outer conductor containing cavity close to the front surface of the outer conductor holding part.

In the related art, connectors such as a cable connector have been used to connect a power line such as a coaxial cable to a module including a sensor module including a light reception sensor such as an infrared sensor, a camera module in which an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor and an optical element such as a lens are integrated, and an acoustic element module such as a microphone (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional of a known connector.
In the figure, 871 denotes a housing, made of insulating resin, for a connector connected to a distal end of an unillustrated coaxial cable. The housing has a substantially cylindrical main body with a front end provided with a flange coupled with a casing 911 of a module. An outer conductor 861 having a substantially cylindrical shape is held in the housing 871. An inner conductor 851 having a rod shape is held in the outer conductor 861 via a dielectric body 811. The outer conductor 861 and the inner conductor 851 are held at a front end of the main body of the housing 871 with a potting material 818 made of waterproof silicone resin.
The module is a camera module having a lens 941 held by the casing 911. A first circuit board 931 and a second circuit board 932 surrounded by a cylindrical shielding member 971 are held in the casing 911. An image sensor 942 that converts light received from the lens 941 into an electrical signal is mounted on the first circuit board 931. The second circuit board 932 has a surface on which a contact part is formed. Distal ends of the outer conductor 861 and the inner conductor 851 of the connector are connected to the contact part via a relay terminal 951. The casing 911 has a back end coupled to the flange of the housing 871 of the connector in a waterproof manner via a sealing packing 912.
Patent Document 1: JP 2015-170515 A

Connector assembly with an intermediate insulating member and a potting material that fills a portion in an outer conductor more on the front side than on the front surface of the intermediate insulating member


Provided is a moving unit that enables a movable body to be smoothly moved along guide tracks for guiding the movable body across joints between a plurality of track rails arranged in series so as to serve as the guide tracks. The moving unit includes: the pair of guide tracks laid in parallel to each other; a plurality of moving blocks being two or more moving blocks assembled to each of the guide tracks and being freely movable along the guide tracks; and the movable body fixed to the moving blocks. The track rails arranged in series serve as the guide tracks, and each have a guide surface formed along a longitudinal direction of each of the track rails. The moving blocks each include contact elements configured to travel on the guide surface while passing across joint clearances each being formed between the track rails arranged in series.

Hitherto, the moving unit of this type has been disclosed in WO 2005/031082. This moving unit disclosed in NO 2005/031082 is used for freely moving furniture items, electric appliances, and the like on a wall surface of buildings. This moving unit includes a pair of track rails being laid on the wall surface in parallel to each other and each having rolling surfaces for rolling elements, which are formed along a longitudinal direction of the track rails, a plurality of moving blocks assembled to the track rails through intermediation of a large number of the rolling elements that roll on the rolling surfaces of the track rails, and a movable body fixed to the moving blocks and guided along the track rails on the wall surface. Examples of the movable body may include a base plate for fixing electric appliances such as a television or furniture items, and casings themselves of the electric appliances. This moving unit enables such movable bodies to be freely moved on the wall surface.
Further, the moving unit of this type may be used to, for example, move various devices, interior equipment, and the like in a large space such as passenger cabins in aircrafts, ships, or trains so that those devices and interior equipment are arranged at arbitrary positions in the space. Specifically, in a passenger cabin of an aircraft, service units are provided correspondingly to respective seats. Those service units each contain emergency supplies such as an oxygen mask, and devices such as a seat number indication and a reading light are mounted to the service units. When those service units can be moved along a ceiling surface in the passenger cabin and fixed at arbitrary positions, an array pitch of the seats in the passenger cabin can be changed significantly easily.
In this case, in order to move the service units over the entire length of the passenger cabin of the aircraft, a plurality of track rails need to be arranged in series so as to form long guide tracks, to thereby move the moving blocks along the guide tracks while passing from one track rail to another.


The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a multi-junction solar cell which makes it possible to implement a 4-junction solar cell and to increase the area of a device. A nucleus generation site is disposed on a substrate 2 made of a first semiconductor. A first material gas is fed to the nucleus generation site to form a wire-like semiconductor 3 in the nucleus generation site. A third material gas and a fourth material gas are fed to form a wire-like semiconductor 4 on the semiconductor 3 and a wire-like semiconductor 5 on the semiconductor 4. A nucleus generation site is disposed on a substrate 6. The first material gas is fed to the nucleus generation site to form a wire-like semiconductor 2a in the nucleus generation site. A second material gas to the fourth material gas are fed to form the wire-like semiconductor 3 on the semiconductor 2a, the wire-like semiconductor 4 on the semiconductor 3, and the wire-like semiconductor 5 on the semiconductor 4. The bandgaps of the semiconductors decrease and increase consistently with the distance to the substrate 2 or 6. The nucleus generation site is made of catalytic particles such as Au. The semiconductors 2 and 2a are Ge, the semiconductor 3 is InxGa1-xAs, the semiconductor 4 is GaAs, and the semiconductor 5 is AlyGa1-yAs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for manufacturing multi-junction solar cells.
2. Description of the Related Art
Single-junction solar cells each comprising a single pn junction have been known. However, the generation efficiency of the single-junction solar cell has a theoretical limit determined by the bandgap Eg of a semiconductor material used as a raw material. It is thus known that regardless of whatever semiconductor material is used, the generation efficiency achieved under ground-based solar irradiation conditions is limited to about 30%.
Thus, to offer generation efficiency higher than that of the single-junction solar cell, proposal has been made of a multi-junction solar cell formed by stacking a plurality of solar cells each having a pn junction. The most simple known multi-junction solar cell is a 2-junction solar cell 11 shown in FIG. 3 (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-64386).
The 2-junction solar cell 11 has a bottom cell 13 and a top cell 14 stacked on a back electrode 12 in this order by means of epitaxial growth. A surface electrode 15 is stacked on the top cell 14. In the 2-junction solar cell 11, the bottom cell 13 comprises a GaAs pn junction, whereas the top cell 14 comprises an InGaP pn junction.
The multi-junction solar cell is known to be based on the principle that the available area of a solar spectrum is increased by joining semiconductors with different bandgaps and to be more efficient with more junctions. For example, 4-junction solar cells have been simulated and high efficiency solar cells are expected.
A combination of semiconductors with different bandgaps normally has different lattice constants. Thus, joining semiconductors with significantly different lattice constants may disadvantageously result in a defect in the junction interface between the semiconductors, preventing an increase in efficiency. This problem is due to the fact that a large number of dangling bonds present in the defect urge excitations excited by solar light to be recombined, thereby power cannot be taken out.
As a result, the combination of semiconductors constituting the multi-junction solar cell is limited to the combination of materials having different bandgaps but similar lattice constants (what is called a well lattice matched combination). When taking further into account the matching with the solar spectrum, possible combinations of semiconductors include a combination of InGaP, GaAs, and Ge, a combination of InGaP, InGaAs, and Ge, and the like. Consequently, the multi-junction solar cell is limited to a 3-junction type.
Among these semiconductors, GaInNAs has been gathering much attention as a material having a bandgap of about 1 eV while maintaining lattice matching with Ge and GaAs. Continuous studies have thus been conducted on a 4-junction solar cell comprising a combination of InGaP, InGaAs, GaInNAs, and Ge (see, for example, J. F. Geisz, D. J. Friedman, C. Kramer, A. Kibbler, and S. R. Kurtz, "New Materials for Future Generations of III-V Solar Cells", NREL/CP-520-25631, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, December 1998).
However, GaInNAs may cause phase separation or other defects. Thus, with GaInNAs, there is a disadvantage that it is difficult to grow crystals in implementing a 4-junction solar cell.
Further, the performance of the 3-junction solar cell has been evaluated with a device with an area of at most 4 cm2. It is known that the efficiency of the 3-junction solar cell decreases with increasing area of the device (see Akira Ohmae, Yukiko Shimizu, and Yoshitake Okada, "GaInNAs for Multi-Junction Tandem Solar Cells", Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 2003. Proceedings of 3rd World conference on Volume 2, 12-16 May 2003). The reduced efficiency is expected to result from a possible defect in the vicinity of the junction interface caused by the different lattice constants of the semiconductors regardless of whether the solar cell is of the 2- or 3-junction type.
Therefore, the multi-junction solar cell has the disadvantage of making an increase in the area of the device difficult.

Method for manufacturing multi-junction solar cell


The tamper evident closure of the present invention includes a twist cap made of plastic that comprises a top portion and an interior sealing means which coacts with the rim of the container neck to provide a gas-tight seal. The top portion also has an annular depending skirt which includes an interior retaining means to coact with an exterior retaining means on the neck finish of the container. The exterior retaining means of the container has a positive stopping means to coact with interior retaining means of the cap so that when the cap is screwed onto the container neck the positive stopping means is engaged at a predetermined level of sealing force and capping torque. The depending skirt also includes locking means which lock the cap into place after the container is sealed. The locking means coacts with the positive stopping means on the container to prevent the cap from being unscrewed or twisted off the container after it has been screwed onto the container neck. The locking means are disengaged only after a tamper evident means is engaged to indicate that the container has been opened. The tamper evident means preferably comprises a hinged portion of the cap which must be lifted to open the container, thus providing an indication that the container has been opened or tampered with.

Closures such as crown seals or caps are routinely used and are well known in the art for sealing the openings of containers or bottles which typically contain carbonated or other beverages. With respect to crown seals, they are commonly formed of metal sheet material and comprise a top and a sidewall with a flared skirt. The skirt includes a plurality of flutes which extend around the circumference thereof at spaced intervals. When applied to cover an open end of a bottle, these flutes are bent or crimped at the points of intersection between the top and the skirt, gripping a bead at the upper rim of the bottle opening for sealing.
To obtain a seal of sufficient strength which will withstand the pressure of the contained carbonated or other beverages, a metal such as steel typically is used to form crown seals. In order to provide an effective gas-tight seal, metal crown seals generally will include a sealing gasket or liner which is attached to the inside of the top of the crown seal. Such a liner commonly is made of plastic or a similar resilient material which provides a seal between the bottle opening and the metal crown seal when it is applied to the bottle.
In recent years metal "twist-off" crown seals have become more popular and are used by numerous beverage manufacturers. The twist-off crown seal generally includes internal threads which are formed when the flutes of the crown seal are bent or crimped onto the external threads located near the upper rim of the container or bottle opening. The twist-off crown seal is removed from the bottle without the use of a bottle opener by rotating the crown seal to unthread it from the bottle. The metal flutes are relatively sharp, however, and can be uncomfortable when grasped by a consumer when the bottle is picked up or opened. Particularly with the twist-off crown seal design, the sharp edges of the flutes can be painful as the crown seal is removed. With respect to tamper evidence, moreover, crown seals, particularly twist-off crown seals, can easily be replaced onto the bottles after being removed with little or no evidence that the bottles have been opened or tampered with.
As a result of the disadvantages and limitations noted for metal crown seals, the use of plastic closures for bottles containing pressurized beverages has been proposed in the prior art. Such prior art designs for plastic closure caps have several advantages over metal crown seals. Among the advantages are ease of use, low torque removal, better protection for the bottle finish, less possibility of injuring the user's hand during removal, less possibility of injuring others if carelessly discarded, and a potential for biodegradability.
Despite these advantages, however, the prior art plastic closures have suffered from a number of disadvantages which have limited their use in commercial applications. For example, in order to provide sufficient sealing integrity to ensure a gas-tight seal for extended periods of time, some plastics caps have been made to incorporate an inner skirt that enters the bottle mouth to pressure seal the contained beverage. Other plastic caps have included an outer strengthening collar for holding the closure on the bead of the bottle mouth. Still other plastic closures have combined the features of screwing completely onto the bottle for a tight fit while employing an inner skirt for added pressure seal. To incorporate these features, additional material, manufacturing steps and/or specialized machinery is required which increases the time and cost of manufacturing the caps sealing containers with such caps.
Another disadvantage of the prior art plastic closures is that the closures can be relatively easily removed by hand by persons tampering with bottles. Furthermore, with these prior art designs, there is no convenient way by which it is possible to determine or detect whether a bottle has been previously opened by an unauthorized person and then resealed.
Thus, metal crown seals and the prior art plastic closures for bottles or other containers are beset with drawbacks and problems. All of the above-mentioned disadvantages are minimized or eliminated by the present invention.


In a reactor for the decomposition of a silicon-containing gas, provision is made, to avoid silicon deposition on an inner wall of a reactor vessel, for at least one catalytically active mesh to be provided within a reaction chamber between at least one gas feed line and the inner wall (4). The mesh accelerates the thermal decomposition of the gas and reduces the deposition of silicon on the inner wall. Also described is a process for the preparation of silicon using the reactor according to the invention and the use in photovoltaics of the silicon prepared.

Processes for the preparation of high-purity silicon have long been known. DE 10 2004 027 563.7 discloses, for example, an energy and cost-efficient preparation process for high-purity silicon wherein a monosilane/hydrogen gas mixture is thermally decomposed and there results in the gas phase powdered silicon which is then mechanically compacted. In this preparation process, it is possible for the silicon which has separated out of the gas phase to be deposited as a layer on the heated inner wall of the reactor vessel. The reactor vessel consists generally of quartz glass having a different coefficient of thermal expansion from silicon. During operation of the reactor, increasing amounts of silicon are deposited on the inner wall of the reactor vessel. As a result, on the one hand, the conduction of heat from the heating device arranged outside the reaction chamber to the reaction chamber decreases and, on the other hand, after a certain period of time has elapsed the reactor vessel has to be mechanically or chemically cleansed of the deposited silicon layer. This may interrupt the operation of the reactor. In addition, the differing coefficients of thermal expansion of the reactor vessel and the silicon layer result, on cooling of the reactor vessel, in substantial forces and tensions between the deposited silicon layer and the quartz glass. This can lead to damage to the reactor vessel, in particular to tears and cracks which pass into and contaminate the deposited powdered silicon.

Reactor and process for the preparation of silicon