A pulse width control circuit is used to control the pulse with of a modulation signal to be written to a recording medium, such as a CD-R. The circuit controls both the leading and trailing edges of the modulation signal. The circuit includes a first delay circuit including multiple series connected first inverters for delaying the modulation signal and generating multiple first delay signals. The first delay signals are input to a first selector, which selects one of the first delay signals. A first logic circuit receives the selected first delay signal and the modulation signal and performs a first logic operation. The output of the first logic circuit is input to a second delay circuit, which includes multiple series connected second inverters for delaying the first logic circuit output signal, and generating multiple second delay signals. A second selector selects one of the plurality of delayed logic signals in accordance with the second selection signal. A second logic circuit receives the selected second delay signal and the first logic circuit output signal and performs a second logical operation, thereby generating a pulse width controlled modulation signal. The first delay circuit and first selector control the leading edge of the modulation signal, and the second delay circuit and the second selector control the trailing edge of the modulation signal.

The present invention generally relates to a pulse control circuit, and, more particularly, to a pulse width control circuit including a delay circuit having a plurality of delay elements. The pulse width control circuit is suitable for use in a disk recording control circuit where the recording timing of recording marks is adjustable.
Optical disk devices and magneto-optical disk devices that can reproduce and write data are known. Data is written on a recording medium by recording a recording mark corresponding to a data modulation signal using a laser device.
For example, in a CD-R (compact disc-recordable), an EFM (Eight to Fourteen Modulation) encoder converts write data into an EFM signal, and the laser device records a recording mark corresponding to the EFM signal on the disk. However, the recording status varies in accordance with the type of recording medium and the rotational speed of the disk. In this case, a desired recording mark cannot be recorded simply by supplying the EFM signal to the laser device. As an experiment for recording the desired recording mark, delaying the rising (leading) edge and falling (trailing) edge of the EFM signal has been performed. For example, to delay the EFM signal, a delay circuit including a plurality of logic circuits such as D flip-flops that operate in synchronism with a clock signal is used.
The EFM signal is synchronized with a reference signal called an EFM clock signal and has a pulse width of three to eleven cycles of the EFM clock signal. Accordingly, the clock signal applied to the D flip-flop of the delay circuit should be faster than the EFM clock signal. For example, when the delay circuit has sixteen stage resolution, a clock signal having sixteen times the speed of the EFM clock signal is required.
Thus, the required frequency of the EFM clock signal is relatively high. For example, the frequency of the EFM clock signal is xe2x80x9c17.28 MHZxe2x80x9d for 4xc3x97 speed and xe2x80x9c34.56 MHZxe2x80x9d for 8xc3x97 speed. Accordingly, a clock signal of xe2x80x9c276.48 MHZxe2x80x9d should be applied to the D flip-flop for 4xc3x97 speed and a clock signal of xe2x80x9c552.96 MHZxe2x80x9d should be applied to it for 8xc3x97 speed. Today, it is impossible to supply such a high-speed clock signal, and it is also exceedingly difficult to obtain a logic circuit that stably operates in synchronism with the high-speed clock signal.
Further, the delay circuit is sensitive to external effects, such as power fluctuations and temperature changes. Accordingly, when a very short pulse width is desired, it is difficult to control the delay circuit with high accuracy.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pulse width control circuit which generates a pulse signal without using a high-speed clock signal.
In a first aspect, the present invention provides a pulse width control circuit including a first delay circuit which includes a plurality of first delay elements for delaying a pulse signal and generating a plurality of first delay pulse signals. A first selector selects one of the plurality of first delay pulse signals. A first logic circuit receives the selected first delay pulse signal and the pulse signal and generates a first logic output signal. A second delay circuit includes a plurality of second delay elements for delaying the first logic output signal and generating a plurality of delay logic signals. A second selector selects one of the plurality of delay logic signals. A second logic circuit receives the selected delay logic signal and the first logic output signal and generates a second logic output signal. The first and second logic circuits include a logic AND circuit and a logic OR circuit.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides a disk recording control circuit including a pulse width control circuit for receiving a pulse modulation signal and generating a pulse width controlled modulation signal in accordance with first and second selection signals related to a media type and/or a rotational speed of a recording medium. The pulse width control circuit includes a first delay circuit which includes a plurality of first delay elements for delaying the pulse modulation signal and generating a plurality of delayed pulse modulation signals. A first selector selects one of the plurality of delayed pulse modulation signals in accordance with the first selection signal. A first logic circuit receives the selected delayed pulse modulation signal and the pulse modulation signal and generates a logic output signal. A second delay circuit includes a plurality of second delay elements for delaying the logic output signal and generating a plurality of delayed logic signals. A second selector selects one of the plurality of delayed logic signals in accordance with the second selection signal. A second logic circuit receives the selected delayed logic signal and the logic output signal and generates the pulse width controlled modulation signal. The first and second logic circuits include a logic AND circuit and a logic OR circuit.
In a third aspect, the present invention provides a pulse width control circuit including a synchronous circuit for receiving a pulse signal and generating a delayed pulse signal which is synchronized with a reference clock signal and is delayed by a predetermined period. A first logic circuit receives the delayed pulse signal and the pulse signal and generates a first logic operation pulse signal. A selection circuit receives the delayed pulse signal and the first logic operation pulse signal and selects one of the delayed pulse signal and the first logic operation pulse signal in accordance with information indicating a decrease or increase of the pulse width. A first delay circuit includes a plurality of first delay elements for delaying the selected pulse signal and generating a plurality of first delayed pulse signals. A first selector selects one of the plurality of first delayed pulse signals. A second logic circuit receives the selected first delayed pulse signal and the selected one of delayed pulse signal and the first logic operation pulse signal from the selection circuit and generates a second logic operation pulse signal. A second delay circuit includes a plurality of second delay elements for delaying the second logic operation pulse signal and generating a plurality of delayed logic signals. A second selector selects one of the plurality of delayed logic signals and generates a pulse width controlled pulse signal.
In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a pulse width control circuit including a synchronous circuit for receiving a pulse signal and generating a delayed pulse signal which is synchronized with a reference clock signal and is delayed by a predetermined period. A first logic circuit receives the delayed pulse signal and the pulse signal and generates a logic operation pulse signal. A selection circuit receives the delayed pulse signal and the logic operation pulse signal and selects one of the delayed pulse signal and the logic operation pulse signal in accordance with information indicating a decrease or increase of the pulse width. A first delay circuit includes a plurality of first delay elements for delaying the selected pulse signal and generating a plurality of first delayed pulse signals. A first selector selects one of the plurality of first delayed pulse signals. A second delay circuit includes a plurality of second delay elements for delaying the selected first delayed pulse signal and generating a plurality of second delayed pulse signals. A second selector selects one of the plurality of second delayed pulse signals. A second logic circuit receives the selected second delayed pulse signal and the selected one of the delayed pulse signal and the logic operation pulse signal from the selection circuit and generates a pulse width controlled pulse signal.
In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a disk recording control circuit including a pulse width control circuit for receiving a pulse modulation signal and generating a pulse width controlled modulation signal in accordance with first and second selection signals related to a media type and/or a rotational speed of a recording medium. The pulse width control circuit includes a synchronous circuit for receiving the pulse modulation signal and generating a delayed pulse modulation signal which is synchronized with a reference clock signal and is delayed by a predetermined period. A first logic circuit receives the delayed pulse modulation signal and the pulse modulation signal and generates a first logic operation pulse modulation signal. A selection circuit receives the delayed pulse modulation signal and the first logic operation pulse modulation signal and selects one of the delayed pulse modulation signal and the first logic operation pulse modulation signal in accordance with information indicating a decrease or increase of the pulse width. A first delay circuit includes a plurality of first delay elements for delaying the selected pulse modulation signal and generating a plurality of first delayed pulse modulation signals. A first selector selects one of the plurality of first delayed pulse modulation signals in accordance with a first selection signal. A second logic circuit receives the selected first delayed pulse modulation signal and the selected one of the delayed pulse modulation signal and the first logic operation pulse modulation signal from the selection circuit and generates a second logic operation pulse modulation signal. A second delay circuit includes a plurality of second delay elements for delaying the second logic operation pulse modulation signal and generating a plurality of delayed logic signals. A second selector selects one of the plurality of delayed logic signals in accordance with a second selection signal and generates the pulse width controlled pulse modulation signal.
In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a disk recording control circuit including a pulse width control circuit for receiving a pulse modulation signal and generating a pulse width controlled modulation signal in accordance with first and second selection signals related to a media type and/or a rotational speed of a recording medium. The pulse width control circuit includes a synchronous circuit for receiving the pulse modulation signal and generating a delayed pulse modulation signal which is synchronized with a reference clock signal and is delayed by a predetermined period. A first logic circuit receives the delayed pulse modulation signal and the pulse modulation signal and generates a logic operation pulse modulation signal. A selection circuit receives the delayed pulse modulation signal and the logic operation pulse modulation signal and selects one of the delayed pulse modulation signal and the logic operation pulse modulation signal in accordance with information indicating a decrease or increase of the pulse width. A first delay circuit includes a plurality of first delay elements for delaying the selected pulse modulation signal and generating a plurality of first delayed pulse modulation signals. A first selector selects one of the plurality of first delayed pulse modulation signals. A second delay circuit includes a plurality of second delay elements for delaying the selected first delayed pulse modulation signal and generating a plurality of second delayed pulse modulation signals. A second selector selects one of the plurality of second delayed pulse modulation signals. A second logic circuit receives the selected second delayed pulse modulation signal and the selected one of the delayed pulse modulation signal and the logic operation pulse modulation signal from the selection circuit and generates the pulse width controlled pulse modulation signal.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.


The disclosure relates to an arm holder for a pole-handled tool such as a broom, a mop, a squeegee, etc. that allows effective use of the pole-handled tool with only one hand. The arm holder comprises an arm grip having an arm-holding structure; and an attachment portion capable of attaching the arm grip to the pole-handled tool; wherein the arm-holding structure is capable of receiving an arm positioned within the arm-holding structure while a corresponding hand of the same arm grasps the pole handle, the pole handle acting as a lever where the corresponding hand forms a fulcrum of the lever.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arm holder for a pole-handled tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
Using a tool such as a broom or a mop with a pole handle typically constrains the user to use both hands to hold the tool. However, often it would be advantageous to have one hand free to do something else while using the tool. For example, it would be desirable to use a broom to sweep while moving furniture and other objects out of the way or to hold a dustpan to sweep debris into the dustpan with the broom. Accordingly, there is a need for a device to allow effective use of a pole-handled tool with only one hand.


Apparatus and method for retrieving traffic cones from roadway surfaces comprises a framework which is adapted to be attached to a roadwork vehicle so as to be movable therewith along a roadway surface. A knock-down bar upon the framework knocks down a normally upstanding traffic cone, and a substantially horizontally oriented, substantially conically configured spearing mechanism mounted upon the framework is inserted into the hollow interior of the traffic cone. The spearing mechanism and traffic cone are pivoted to a vertical orientation, and subsequently elevated so as to place the traffic cones onto a platform in a nested stacked array.

Traffic cones are a ubiquitous sight upon the nation's roadways whether they are being used, for example, to visually indicate to motorists either the presence of a construction site, to delineate and separate moving lanes of traffic from roadside work zones, to close particular street regions to oncoming traffic, or the like. As is well known, a supply of traffic cones is usually carried upon a roadwork truck or vehicle operated either by means of a local government agency or a subcontractor organization hired by the local government, and as is often the case, the traffic cones are manually deposited or placed upon the particular roadway by means of operator or workmen personnel who take individual traffic cones from a supply of such cones carried upon the roadwork truck or vehicle and place the individual traffic cones upon the roadway surface at predeterminedly spaced intervals along the particular route being travelled by the roadwork truck or vehicle. In accordance with one mode of operation, the operator or workmen personnel may be positioned upon one side of the roadwork truck or vehicle, and while effectively hanging onto, for example, a rail member, or similar support, of the roadwork truck or vehicle by means of one arm, the operator or workman places a traffic cone onto the roadway with his or her other arm. Alternatively, an individual operator or workman will often sit upon a rear bed, deck, or platform portion of the roadwork vehicle or truck so as to be capable of periodically depositing the traffic cones along the roadway as the roadwork vehicle or truck moves along the particular route along which the traffic cones are to be deposited.
As can readily be appreciated, the aforenoted well-known modes of operation present significant safety problems for the operators or workmen personnel in that the operators or workmen personnel are disposed in precarious positions or orientations upon the roadwork truck or vehicle. Incidents have in fact occurred, for example, during such traffic cone placement or deposition operations, wherein workmen or operator personnel have accidentally fallen from the trucks or vehicles and have either suffered serious injuries, or even worse, have suffered injuries which have proven to be fatal. These situations are not of course entirely unanticipated in view of the fact that sometimes unexpected events occur during movement of the roadwork truck or vehicle alongside ongoing traffic. These events may cause, for example, the particular roadwork truck or vehicle to undergo somewhat sudden movements comprising a change in direction, necessary braking or acceleration, or the like. In addition, it is sometimes difficult for the workmen personnel or operators to simultaneously pick up and then properly control the disposition and placement of the traffic cones onto the roadway surface in view of the fact that each traffic cone weighs at least ten pounds depending upon the particular cone and its size. All of such movements, and the weight force inherent to each traffic cone, can cause destabilizing forces to effectively be impressed upon or transmitted to the operators or workmen personnel which can of course lead to the afore-noted unfortunate injury or death situations to occur as a result of an operator or workman either losing his or her balance, or losing his or her hand-held grip upon the truck or vehicle support structure. Still further, the constant lifting and manipulation of the traffic cones is not ergonomically desirable from a health point of view for the operators or workmen personnel.
In a similar manner, once the traffic cones, which have previously been set or deposited at predeterminedly spaced locations of the roadway surface in accordance with predeterminedly timed sequences, are no longer needed, due for example, to the fact that the particular construction or roadwork has been completed, or that the need to close particular street regions to oncoming traffic is no longer required, then the traffic cones must obviously be retrieved or removed from the roadway surface. As was the case with the procedures or modes of operation by means of which the traffic cones were set or deposited onto the roadway surfaces, conventional retrieval or removal procedures practiced by roadwork operators or workmen personnel have likewise not been able to be achieved in a manner which is relatively safe for the operators or workman personnel. For example, in connection with the removal or retrieval of the traffic cones from the roadway surfaces, operators or workmen personnel have conventionally walked behind the roadwork truck or vehicle and manually loaded the traffic cones back onto the rear bed or deck region of the truck. Obviously, such a mode of operation exposes the operators or workmen personnel to dangers presented by means of ongoing vehicular traffic which are passing the construction or work zones within adjacent traffic lanes. In addition, as was the case with the manual deposition of the traffic cones onto the roadway surfaces, the constant lifting and manipulation of the traffic cones is not ergonomically desirable from a health point of view for the operators or workmen personnel.
In order to overcome such operational drawbacks characteristic of manual procedures for retrieving and removing traffic cones from roadway surfaces, several automated systems have been proposed such as those systems disclosed, for example, within U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,948 which issued to Calvert on Dec. 12, 2000, U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,498 which issued to Velinsky et al. on May 2, 2000, U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,334 which issued to Akita et al. on Sep. 14, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,464 which issued to Nicholson et al. on May 25, 1993, or U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,648 which issued to Luoma on Oct. 8, 1991. While all of such disclosed systems comprise implements for removing the traffic cones from the roadway surface, several of such systems comprise several integrated systems which effectively render the overall system extremely complex. In addition, none of such systems comprise, in effect, a single implement for not only removing the traffic cones from the roadway surface, but in addition, for stacking the retrieved traffic cones into nested groups for simplifying storage of the traffic cones.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved device, mechanism, system, or apparatus for automatically retrieving and removing traffic cones from roadway surfaces, and for stacking the removed traffic cones within nested arrangements so as to efficiently store the same, wherein as a result of the provision of such a system or apparatus, the operators or workmen personnel are not exposed to the dangers of oncoming traffic, and wherein the traffic cones can be readily, easily, and efficiently retrieved and removed without adversely affecting the workmen or operator personnel from an ergonomically healthful and non-fatiguing point of view.

Traffic cone retrieving device for removing traffic cones from roadway surfaces


User interface and policy loading aspects of a policy-based, outsourced, network management system. In one aspect, a user selects policies using a graphical user interface (GUI) with a two paned window having a tree view of the policies in one pane. In another aspect, the policies are (1) created in the GUI format (e.g., XML), (2) sent over a network (e.g., the internet) to a service center in the same format, and (3) are loaded, manipulated and stored in the same format. In another aspect, the initial loading of the policies is done using a bulk loader in a logic layer. In another aspect, the logic layer also includes a configuration checker which handles changes or additions to policies in a finished network management system. Any aspects of the new or changed policy that are inconsistent with the finished system are parsed and stripped out. In another aspect, where the details of a new policy or change aren't specified, a base configuration creator creates a policy with minimal attributes. In another aspect, the logic layer also contains a device control console, which allows bypassing the policy creating and configuring to allow a user to directly access a device for configuration.

The present invention relates to management and control of communication networks and, in particular, to management and control of communication networks via policies and over a network.
Networks
A communication network typically includes a number of network devices that, among other functions, transmit or receive data. A local area network, commonly referred to as a LAN, is a privately owned network that facilitates communication among the devices coupled to the network via one of several data communication protocols such as Ethernet or FDDI. Multiple LANs are typically interconnected via, for example, private links or satellite transmissions to form a wide area network, commonly referred to as a WAN. Such LANs and WANs are increasingly being interconnected through the internet.
Communication network systems are becoming ever more complex. To increase resource sharing and facilitate their supervision, computer systems, such as facsimile machines, desktop computers, printers, etc. are typically coupled to a LAN. The complexity that arises as a result of increasing the number and the variety of systems, which in the aggregate form a computer network, coupled with the variety of communication protocols that such devices are required to support, increase the knowledge base that is often required to manage such networks. The problem is further compounded by the increasing complexity of new generation of high performance network devices and their interoperability as well as by the lack of qualified and well-trained network administrators. To operate and conform to a network's objectives, a network device (e.g. a router) is first configured—i.e., the networking parameters of the device are set to desired values. An inventory as well as a record of the configuration parameters of each configured networked device is typically maintained for future reference. Network devices are often reconfigured (e.g., by changing router ports, routing tables, IP addresses) to accommodate for network expansion or modification—for example, to add a new user to the network.
Device Based Network Management
One conventional method of configuring a networked device is to issue commands which are specific to the device via a computer system. A drawback of this method is that each networked device is configured and subsequently verified separately to ensure its conformity with the desired network objectives. Another drawback of this method is that it requires an extensive knowledge base—of the various network device types—which may become prohibitively large as the number of device types in a network rises.
Outsourcing Network Management
Another known method for managing a communications network is through outsourcing the network management to another commercial entity. For example, WorldCom Inc., located at 500 Clinton Center Drive, Clinton Miss., 39056 offers a network management service based on which a group of network administrators at WorldCom, upon receiving specific requests to manage or configure a network device, transmit related commands and data via the internet to the network device thereby to manage or configure the device. The method, however, involves human intervention and is thus inefficient and unautomated.
Policy-Based Network Management
A third known method for managing networked devices is to include a number of individual devices of a given type in a policy domain and apply a set of policies to the domain. Such policy-based methods, however, are only applicable to a limited number of specific device types. Furthermore, in such conventional policy-based network communication systems, policies are defined through a descriptive programming language. The applied policies so defined become attributes of their associated devices and are thus not objects which can be pointed to and thus viewed.
In directory-enabled policy-based network management systems, a directory serves as the central location for storing policies, profiles, user information, network configuration data, and internet protocol (IP) infrastructure data, such as network addresses and server information. Policies in directory-enabled networking (DEN) are defined in terms of rules containing conditions and actions for managing users, network resources, and services/applications.
In DEN, physical details of a network are separated from the logical attributes of the application types. DEN has many key attributes and characteristics that typically enable an associated network to be rapidly reconfigured and operate with other platforms. A directory-enabled network is typically scalable, fault-tolerant, and, preferably recognizes people and application by their associated attributes and characteristics and not by their numerical sequences, such as their IP addresses.
Data stored in the directory of a directory-enabled network are typically in formats derived from standard schemas based on the DEN specification published by a group of companies which are collectively known as the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF). A schema is a collection of rules defining the relationships among objects representing users, applications, network elements, and network services. Each schema contains rules which govern the organization and logical representation of the schema objects.
Access to a directory in DEN is commonly governed by version 3 of the lightweight directory access protocol (LDAPv3), which is a stripped down version of X.500 directory services standard. LDAP is used for bulk loading policies into a directory.
In a directory-enabled network, network entities and the relationship between such network entities are governed by an information system, known in the art as the common information model (CIM). A CIM contains rules regarding management of, for example, hardware, operating systems, operations, application installation and configuration, security, identity, etc. The CIM, which is also defined by the DMTF, is a standard object-oriented model that represents objects in terms of instances, properties, relationships, classes and subclasses. A primary goal of the CIM is to present a consistent view of managed networks independent of the protocols and data formats supported by the various devices in and applications running on the networks.
One known directory serving as the central storage location in a directory-enabled network is the Windows 2000 Active DirectoryTM, which is developed by and is available from Microsoft Corporation located at One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Wash., 98052. In addition to serving as the cental policy store, Windows 2000 Active DirectoryTM provides a framework for, among other functions, publishing network services, managing users, computer systems, applications and services, as well as secure intranet and internet network services. Furthermore, Windows 2000 Active DirectoryTM provides a backbone for distributed security in Windows 2000 and a central service point for administrators to manage network services. Windows 2000 Active DirectoryTM, which is an effective platform for DEN, is based on standard protocols such as Domain Name System (DNS)—which is used to locate servers running Active Directory—LDAPv3 (described briefly above) and Kerberos—which is a security protocol for logon authentication.
The Windows 2000 Active DirectoryTM includes a schema with definitions for every object class that exists in the directory service. Therefore, the universe of objects that may be represented in the Active DirectoryTM is extensible. Other information related to the Windows 2000 Active DirectoryTM features and functions are available from Microsoft corporation. The Active Directory supports Component Object Model (COM) features. COM is a language independent standard that promotes object oriented programming by specifying the interfaces of a component at the binary level.
As stated above, conventional methods of configuring and maintaining a communication network are costly, time-consuming and require expert administrators capable of reliably managing and controlling ever more complex network systems in a timely manner.

Selection and storage of policies in network management


A method for utilizing interference fringe patterns generated when milling a trench through a semiconductor substrate by a method such as FIB milling, to determine and optimize the thickness uniformity of the trench bottom. The interference fringes may be mapped and the mapping used to direct the FIB milling to those regions which are thicker to correct observed non-uniformities in the trench floor thickness by varying the pixel dwell time across the milled area. The interference fringe mapping may be used to develop computerized contour lines to automate the pixel dwell time variations as described above, for correcting non-uniformities in the trench floor thickness. The method may be applied to applications other than trench formation for backside editing, such as monitoring progress in forming a milled object.

It is well known to use a focused ion beam (FIB) for exposing conductors on an integrated circuit (IC) to aid in debug, or failure analysis, and editing of the integrated circuit. See for instance U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,626, issued May 1, 2001, to Talbot et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,164, issued Aug. 18, 1992 to Talbot et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,921, issued Apr. 1, 1997 to Talbot et al., all incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,626 discloses methods for exposing a selected feature of an IC such as a selective conductor, from the backside of the IC substrate without disturbing adjacent features of the device, such as the active (semiconductor) regions. The method includes determining a region of the IC in which the selected feature is located; obtaining from the backside of the IC substrate a near IR (infra-red) optical microscope image of the region; aligning the optical microscope image with a coordinate system of a milling (FIB) system; and using structures visible in the near IR microscope image as a guide (also described in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/159,527 by Madhumita Sengupta and Mamta Sinha), operating the milling system to expose the selected feature from the backside of the IC without disturbing adjacent features.
Other aspects of this approach include forming the trench through the backside of the substrate where the trench may be stepped in cross-section, and milling down most of the way through the substrate from the backside surface thereof to just above the substrate circuit elements. Following this an access hole is milled to to expose ILD0 and the metal interconnections (circuitry) typically formed overlying the principal surface of the substrate. The focused ion beam is then used to cut or reform various portions of these metal layers in order to reconnect the transistors formed within the substrate. This operation requires the local isolation of the routed interconnect prior to its construction by means of the deposition of a dielectric layer, as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,116 by Talbot et al. issued Oct. 18, 1994. This is used typically for failure analysis, debug, and edit (rework) of ICs. It is most typically used in the research and development and manufacturing engineering stages, but is applicable to the reworking or discretionary rewiring of actual production ICs. This is described in Crawford and PE Kudirka, "Electron Microbeam Testing for Large Microcircuit Arrays" IEEE-Proceedings of the Symposium on Electron, Ion and Laser Beam Technology (1971) 131–140. Credence, assignee of this application and of the above-referenced patents, produces commercially available FIB systems, such as the IDS P3Xd instrument and the IDS OptiFIB instrument. A FIB system typically includes a source of ions, such as gallium ions, suitable magnetic and/or electric lenses for focusing the ion beam, and also a chemical source, injected to enhance milling, such as xenon difluoride (XeF2). The OptiFIB includes the focused ion beam column coaxial with a light microscope for optical observation of the milling process when using near infra-red (as described in US Patent Publication number U.S. 20030102436A1), and for navigation (finding specific locations) across the IC die.
It has been recognized by the present inventors that prior to performing the final circuit editing operations (cutting and/or filling in of the metal layers), the edit is generally more successful if the access trench itself which is formed on the backside surface of the substrate is etched precisely so that the remaining silicon thickness is uniform across the trench floor. In most applications the trench does not extend all the way through the substrate; instead, it extends to within, for instance, 2 to 5 μm of the principal surface of the substrate, leaving an intervening thin layer of, e.g., silicon. The reason for this is that in advanced ICs, the transistor density on the principal surface leaves no room for very large trenching operations. The actual circuit editing is generally performed through this thin layer by the FIB. For instance, a 30 KeV gallium ion beam, assisted by a chemistry such as xenon difluoride (XeF2), or alternatively with a chemistry less aggressive to silicon such as chemicals containing iodine, bromine, or chlorine, can mill a small via (cavity) through the trench floor by locally removing the last few microns of silicon, and can then add dielectric and conductor, thereby performing the circuit (metal layer) edit.
Since this silicon layer is the floor of the trench formed from the backside surface-of the substrate, the present inventors have determined that the floor of the trench should be nearly perfectly flat (smooth) and parallel to the principal surface of the substrate; i.e., it is preferable if during the trenching process the remaining silicon has uniform thickness. A non-uniform trench floor may locally enhance the spontaneous etching, which may result in penetration of the ion beam through the silicon into the device active areas and lead to inaccuracy in the circuit edit. Operations such as the automation of edit steps (see for instance U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,229 by Keckley et al., issued Feb. 29, 2000) would depend on this uniformity. Additionally, non-uniformity affects the aspect ratio of the access hole milled through the remaining silicon, and may ultimately influence the success or yield of the attempted edit. Non-uniformity may occur, by way of example, due to the fast silicon removal rate by the assist chemistry which is typically injected into the FIB milling (etching) region. Often the detected non-uniformity is the result of a tilting of the floor of the trench due to the nature of the FIB chemical gas delivery injector.
It is believed that others in the field have not adequately recognized the significance of having such a uniform trench floor or at least of having its non-uniformity determined. This has been found by the present inventors to be a significant shortcoming of FIB trench etching processes. In addition to its importance in circuit editing accuracy, thickness uniformity of the trench floor is also critical for enabling accurate navigation by methods such as IR imaging navigation (as described by Talbot et al in U.S. Pat. No. 6,518,571) or voltage/materials contrast navigation, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/789,336. In particular, voltage contrast navigation requires etching quite close to the active regions: therefore uniformity of the trench bottom to the die surface is even more important, so as not to damage the active regions. Potentially, as dimensions continue to decrease, milling down to the actual diffusions may be required to achieve sufficient navigation and editing accuracies, which will place even a more stringent requirement on uniformity of remaining substrate thickness.

Method and apparatus for addressing thickness variations of a trench floor formed in a semiconductor substrate


An adjustment mechanism for a back support cushion of an exercise machine has two separate pivotal adjustments. One pivot is located above and behind the back support cushion and a second is located below and behind the back support cushion. A two-arm linkage system connects the back support cushion to the exercise machine at the two pivot locations.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of exercise equipment and, more particularly, to a mechanism for adjusting the tilt angle of a back support cushion of a multi-purpose exercise machine.
2. Background
Exercise machines for performing a variety of different exercises have become widely popular. Such multi-purpose or multi-station exercise machines are relatively compact, but permit exercises to be performed that involve virtually all of the major muscle groups of the body. Such machines typically have a single seat from which many of the exercises are performed. The seat generally comprises separate seat and back cushions, each of which may be adjustable to accommodate different physiques and to more effectively position the body for the various exercises.
The back support cushion, which may also be used a chest support cushion for certain exercises, typically requires a broad range of adjustment. Prior art exercise machines have employed a variety of adjustments for back support cushions. These include telescoping adjustment; a single pivot below and behind the cushion as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,456; a single pivot adjustment below and behind the cushion with a loose swivel pivot at the top of the cushion; and a slotted adjustment as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,682. Prior art single pivot adjustments do not provide sufficient adjustment of the back support cushion for a leg extension exercise. The range of adjustment is inherently limited by the nature of the single pivot adjustment mechanism. Back support cushions with telescopic adjustments are more difficult to adjust because of friction and have more slop in the adjustment. A slotted adjustment, such as shown in the '682 patent, is cumbersome to adjust since the entire back support cushion must be dislodged from one slot position and moved into another.


A camera includes a signal input circuit mounted in a back cover, a processing circuit receptive of signals from the signal input circuit for processing camera information, a control circuit operating with selection of exposure modes, and a circuit for changing over kinds of camera information to be input by the signal input circuit in accordance with the selected one of the modes.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a camera having a capability of inputting information from the back cover.
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional device for inputting items of information into a camera is provided with a number of actuating members in the form of levers, dials or buttons, either equal to, or less than, the number of the items. In the latter, any two of some of the actuating members are operated at the same time to select a sequence of functions, thus being provided as the multi-function actuating members.
For the camera with such an information input device, most of the actuating members are laid out on the upper and front sides of the camera. In particular, the aforesaid levers and the dials, if any, are made to take their places in the neighborhood of the shutter release button.
The conventional camera of the character described above has the following problems:
Suppose, while aiming the camera at an object, one has yet to input information into the camera by the actuating member on the front or upper side thereof, then the index, middle or third finger of his or her right hand must be used to operate that actuating member. Because this is very difficult to do, one has many occasions for moving the index finger away from touching the shutter button. Therefore, the probability of missing a good shutter chance becomes high.
With the motor drive device (or high-speed winding device) attached to the camera, when taking vertical shots, one has to use another release button which is provided on that motor drive device for the vertical position. In this case, because no equivalent actuating members to the aforesaid ones are provided in the neighborhood of the second release button, they cannot be operated under the condition that the index finger is touching, but not fully pressing, it. Therefore, it is impossible to input information, while simultaneously aiming the camera at the object to be photographed.


A catalyst is disclosed which comprises a clay belonging to the family of smectites, containing multi-metal pillars, together with a process which uses such a catalyst for the alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons by means of long chain linear olefins. The resulting alkyl-aromatic compounds are useful for preparing biodegradable synthetic detergents.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a catalyst comprising a clay belonging to the family of smectites, containing multi-metal pillars; as well as to a process using such a catalyst for the alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons by means of long chain linear olefins.
2. Description of the Background
The alkyl aromatic compounds are useful in a plurality of commercial applications. Among these, the most important application is their use in the preparation of biodegradable synthetic detergents. Processes for preparing aromatic compounds using catalysts of Friedel-Crafts type, such as, e.g., AlCl.sub.3, BF.sub.3, H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 and HF, has been long known. Unfortunately, these catalysts display, obviously, considerable drawbacks, because they cause corrosion problems in the used materials, as well as environmental problems associated with the disposal of the processing wastes.
Subsequently, some solid catalysts were found which are useful for performing the alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons with olefins, yielding a production of comparable quality to the preceding one, however without the above said environmental and corrosion problems. Therefore, suitably treated zeolites and clays were used for that purpose. The latter can be both from natural sources and synthetic, exchanged with metal cations. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,826, a natural or synthetic tri-octaedral clay exchanged with metal cations is used for alkylating benzene with long chain olefins. U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,319 claims the use of layered clays with laminar structure, such as montmorillonite, exchanged with such metal cations as chromium and aluminum, for the alkylation of aromatic compounds with alkylating agents containing less than 6 carbon atoms. Cation-exchanged and then suitably activated synthetic clays useful for alkylating aromatic compounds, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,126. In EP-353,813, for the catalytic alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons with olefins, either natural or synthetic zeolites, amorphous silico-aluminas, clays or their mixtures, possibly submitted to ionic exchange with aluminum, chromium or rare earths salts, are used.
However, metal cation exchanged clays showed poor heat stability. Therefore, as alkylation catalysts, modified clays were subsequently used which are referred to as "pillared clays", which, as compared to the above disclosed materials, are also stable at high temperatures.
These materials are prepared by starting from either synthetic or natural clays, such as, e.g., smectites, vermiculites or bentonites. The clays are constituted by layers of semi-crystalline alumino-silicate bonded to each other by electrostatic Van der Waals forces. The anionic charges on silica layers are neutralized by cations situated inside the interlaminar spaces. These cations, usually Na.sup.+ and Ca.sup.2+, can be exchanged with monomeric, oligomeric or polymeric species deriving from metal hydroxides, such as, e.g., hydroxo-polymeric cations EQU [Al.sub.13 O.sub.4 (OH).sub.24 (H.sub.2 O).sub.12 ].sup.7+ or [Zr(OH).sub.2 H.sub.2 O].sub.4.sup.8+.
Such cations act as a separation system for crystalline silico-aluminate planes, i.e., as a pillaring system. EP-83,970 discloses the use of a clay in which alumina pillars are anchored inside the interior of the laminar structure, for benzene alkylation with light olefins. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,564, a pillared clay containing an oxide of a metal selected from Al, Zr, La, Ce and Ti as spacer element for crystalline planes, co-extruded with a binder, is used in aromatic hydrocarbons alkylation reactions.
In Applied Catal., 14, 69-82 (1985) by M. L. Occelli, an Na montmorillonite layered with a system of aluminum oxide clusters, is compared to other catalyst types in toluene ethylation reaction.
These catalysts should display a high heat stability, also in the presence of water, in order to be able to withstand the regeneration treatments which are carried out in the presence of an oxidizer agent, such as air or oxygen, and which cause water to be simultaneously formed.
Catalysts with improved heat stability both when dry and in the presence of moisture are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,739, relating to the use of high molecular weight complex cations for clay pillaring, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,518, in which the stabilization treatment of pillared clays by means of a silylating agent is disclosed. A method to increase the distance between clay layers, with the stability of clay being retained, consists in pretreating clays with non-ionic organic compounds, such as polyvinyl alcohol, and then submitting them to pillaring treatment (K. Suzuki et al. Clays and Clay Miner., 1988, 36, 147-152).
Also pillared clays are known which contain simultaneously two intercalating metals, i.e.: gallium and aluminum (A. V. Coelho, G. Ponclet, Appl. Catal., 1991, 77, 303-314), aluminum and iron (F. Bergaya et al., Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal., Preparation of catalysts V., 1991, 329-336), lanthanum and nickel (A.K. Ladavos et al., Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal., Preparation of catalysts V., 1991, 319-328), aluminum and rare earths (J. Serte, Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal., Preparation of catalysts V., 1991, 301-310).
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,877, a pillared clay is disclosed which is prepared by treating a smectite with a pillaring agent consisting of a hydroxo-polymer cation with formula EQU [Al.sub.13 O.sub.4 (OH).sub.24 (H.sub.2 O).sub.12 ].sup.7+
in which some aluminum ions have been replaced by transition metals, to yield a polyoxo metallic ion having formula EQU N(Al.sub.12-x M.sub.x)O.sub.4 (OH).sub.24.sup.+a
in which N is selected from Al, Si, Ga, Ge, As, P, Cr, Fe, V, Ru, or Ni, and M is selected from V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Nb, Mo, Te, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt. These materials are useful as catalysts for conventional processes of petroleum transformation, such as cracking, hydrocracking, isomerization, reforming and polymerization.

Catalyst and process for preparing long chain alkyl-aromatic compounds


A pressure transducer for clean environments is disclosed. The pressure transducer includes a process coupler, a sensor module, a shield and electronics. The process coupler is configured to couple to a source of process media at a process inlet. The sensor module is coupled to the process coupler and has a pressure sensor therein. The pressure sensor has an electrical characteristic that varies in response to pressure within the sensor module. The shield is disposed adjacent to the process coupler and configured to obstruct substantially all lines of sight between the process inlet and the pressure sensor. Electronics within the transducer are coupled to the pressure sensor to measure the electrical characteristic and provide an indication thereof. A method of sensing a pressure in a clean environment is also provided.

Pressure/vacuum transducers are known. Such devices typically couple to a source of pressure or vacuum; generate an electrical characteristic that varies according to the pressure or vacuum; and provide an electrical representation of the varied electrical characteristic such that the vacuum or pressure can be known to an operator, or other parts of the process.
High purity pressure or vacuum transducers are a relatively small subset of general vacuum or pressure transducers. These devices are specifically adapted for exposure to extremely delicate and/or very clean processes. These are the types of processes where a particle breaking from the pressure transducer or even-outgassing therefrom could have a deleterious effect on an entire processing line. One example of such an application is semiconductor processing.
Vacuum transducers are used for high purity applications involving, for example, the deposition or removal (etching) of materials, such as in the semiconductor industry. One concern when operating vacuum transducers in semiconductor deposition chambers is the accumulation of deposition material on the pressure sensor itself. In such applications, it has generally been known to employ a "plasma shield" to limit deposition onto the sensor. This has typically been accomplished by using a perforated piece of sheet metal, which is then spot welded to the housing in front of the sensor. This type of shield has several undesirable side effects. First, due to the thin cross-section of material, thermal conduction of the shield is poor. This poor thermal conduction can decrease the efficiency of heating systems that attempt to maintain the sensor and shield at elevated temperatures in order to reduce the accumulation of deposition material. Accordingly, the poor thermal conductivity of the shield may lead to premature deposited process material on the shield. Another undesirable side effect is that the shield will typically have many narrow, deep crevices at its attachment point to the sidewalls. These trapped volumes lengthen the "pump-down" times and present cleaning difficulties. Yet another undesirable side effect is that the typical sheet-metal shield is often very thin offering limited physical protection for the sensor. Due to its relatively poor physical robustness, the shield can sometimes break or generate particles that are undesirable in the extremely clean environments with which the sensors are employed.


A system for supporting a window sash that allows for the removal of the sash from between opposed window jambs. The system supports the window sash through counterbalance shoes supporting sash support arms pivotally attached to the sash. The shoes include hooks which, in first positions, engage lances in the window jambs to hold the shoes in place as the sash is removed from or installed between the window lambs. The hooks, in second positions, engage pins extending from the support arms to retain the support arms on the shoes.

Large and heavy window sash, such as those used in schools, offices, and institutional buildings, move vertically between opposed pairs of jambs that are generally extruded of metal. A sash for such a window can weigh over 100 pounds so that a counterbalance system for shoes supporting such a sash must exert a corresponding upward lift. Locking the support shoes of the counterbalance system within the jambs must be secure and reliable, because of the large spring forces involved. Also, the sash support must make a heavy sash easy to raise and lower, and removal and replacement of a sash must be convenient and reliable. Since such windows are often used in schools, the counterbalance support system must also be tamper resistant to the manipulations of curious children. Besides these requirements, an effective window system must accomplish all the necessary functions in a reliable way with elements that are inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.
This invention improves upon solutions proposed in application Ser. No. 08/839,161 (the aforementioned application being hereby incorporated by reference), now U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,279 B1, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,795 for supporting and counterbalancing a heavy sash that is laterally removable from between opposed jambs of a window. The sash counterbalancing and removal problem is the same one addressed in the '795 patent and the '279 patent, but the new solution of this invention offers improvements on the performance provided by the '279 patent and the '795 patent.

System for shoe latching in laterally removable sash


A quick demountable high-reliability radio-frequency coaxial connector including a front shell and a rear protective jacket, a cavity of the front shell is internally provided with a front insulator and a central conductor, a first locating hole of a central axial position of the front insulator, the center of the front end of the central conductor is provided with a front protrusion, the front protrusion is arranged towards the first locating hole, a penetration hole is formed in a central part of the axial tail of the central conductor, the axial tail is a necking conical structure, the inner diameter of the outer end of the necking conical structure is smaller than that of an inner conductor of a cable, and meanwhile, the inner diameter of the inner end of the necking conical structure is larger than that of the inner conductor of the cable.

In the industry, a radio-frequency coaxial cable connector commonly comprises an installation type, a soldering type and a crimp-connection type. The traditional installation-type connector adopts a threaded-connection structure, which can be conveniently disassembled. Although its cost is much higher than the other two, but its advantage is that it is flexible in the construction of the project and can be adjusted according to the actual length or connection type. According to the investigation, for a skilled operator spends 2-3 minutes in installing one connector. For a novice who needs to follow the instruction manual, the process usually takes more than 10-15 minutes. Under the circumstances, the connector may not be installed improperly, resulting in a poor operating performance index.
At present, the internal structure of the same-model connectors sold in domestic is nearly the same as that sold in abroad, and their shortcomings on the electrical performance are also basically consistent, especially in the industry with more dynamic intermodulation. In view of the problem of dynamic intermodulation, we have also carried out more experimental analysis. In addition to the factors such as the material and the electroplating, it is mainly affected by the clamping force that the connector cable clamp imposes on the cable outer conductor, and the clamping force that the connector jack imposes on the cable inner conductor. The cable outer conductor is only partially clamped by the connector, and the gap between the other parts of the connector and the cable outer conductor is large. Due to the shaking of the cable outer conductor, mutual adjustment is not stable under the dynamic condition. Likewise, the cable inner conductor is not sufficiently clamped. The aforesaid are two main factors that affect the stability of the dynamic intermodulation.
With the increasing requirements of the base station system for the performance of each component and the increasing cost of artificial construction, it's urgent for those skilled in the art to develop a novel connector that has a high stability and can be conveniently installed.

Quick demountable high-reliability radio-frequency coaxial connector


A device for adjusting a sawing device's width, wherein the sawing device comprises at least two circular blades 10, 12, facing each other and adjacently positioned, and a fastener 44 adapted to assemble the blades together. The device for adjusting the sawing device's width comprises a wavy annular spring 14 provided between the blades, a recess 42 provided in each of the blades, wherein the recesses are positioned opposite to one another and wherein said wavy annular spring is received within the recesses, an adjustment member 32 adapted to force the blades together against said wavy annular spring or to part them so as to maintain a predetermined distance between the blades. The distance between the blades is set to present a desired cutting width.

Occasionally, when a board covered with a brittle surface such as melamine, plastic-laminated, or other type of veneer needs to be sawn; the brittle material tends to break in an uncontrolled manner, especially at the edges of the board.
Two types of circular saw blades are usually used in order to avoid breaking of the edges: a leading saw blade followed by a main saw blade. The leading saw blade is used to produce a slit in the edge of the board, the slit is slightly broader than the cut made by the main saw. The presence of the broader slit at the edge prevents the main saw blade form violently breaking the edge.
The leading saw usually comprises two blades adjacently arranged, and coupled by a locking bolt. The profile, and in other words the width of the slit corresponds to the main saw, being slightly broader than the profile of the main saw, leaving small room on either sides of the main saw, so as to allow the main saw to cut through the board within the boundaries of the slit, thus preventing violent chopping of the board's edge.
A common way of achieving this is to provide a combined leading saw comprised of the two saw blades coupled together while keeping a slight distance between them, in a manner which leaves the sawing teeth of the discs partially overlapping. By varying the distance between the discs the width of the combined saw can be adjusted according to the needs of the user. In most cases, the profile of the combined saw is determined by trial and error.
There are a few ways for changing the width of the leading saw. One of the simplest and popular solutions is to provide corresponding shims having different widths; the shims are positioned between the adjacent discs. This solution is highly time-consuming since the blades have to be separated each time the width needs to be changed, and in a trial and error process, it hinders the work.
Other solutions were introduces by Leitz and GUHDO® from Germany. In one of the solutions, a separator is installed between the blades and its width is adjustable to allow variations in the distance between the blades. The separator consists of numerous parts and is complicated, and therefore rather difficult to operate. Moreover, the separator is designed to work with certain types of circular saw blades machines but not with others and is therefore not universally applicable.

Sawing device having an adjustable profile


A pressure and temperature probe of a gas turbine engine includes a base portion and an airfoil portion extending from the base portion to an end portion located at a distal end of the probe. The airfoil portion includes a leading edge located at an upstream end of the probe relative to a direction of airflow across the probe. A temperature sensor is located in a temperature sensor chamber located in the airfoil portion, and a temperature airflow hole in the end portion is configured to admit an airflow into the temperature sensor chamber around the temperature sensor. The temperature airflow hole is configured and positioned such that the airflow admitted via the temperature airflow hole has a turning angle of less than 90 degrees into the temperature sensor chamber.

Exemplary embodiments pertain to the art of pressure and/or temperature probes for gas turbine engines.
Gas turbine engines use a combination pressure and temperature probe to measure pressure and temperature at an inlet of the gas turbine engine. Such a probe is commonly referred to as a P2T2 probe.
The probe typically includes a housing that protrudes into an inlet air stream of the gas turbine engine. The housing may have an aerodynamically efficient shape to reduce airflow disturbances in the inlet. A temperature sensing element is located in the housing, with an airflow inlet in the housing to supply airflow to the temperature sensing element. The airflow around the temperature sensing element plays a major role in the response time of temperature sensing. Generally, with increased airflow, the response time is decreased.

Engine intake pressure and temperature sensor performance enhancement


The present invention provides compounds, or salts or solvates thereof, which can be used as probes for the imaging diagnosis of diseases in which tau protein accumulates, and compositions and kits comprising such compounds, or salts or solvates thereof. The present invention also provides a method for staining neurofibrillary tangles in brain samples, and a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of a disease in which β-sheet structure is the cause or possible cause.

Amyloid accumulating diseases include a variety of diseases characterized by the deposition of insoluble fibrillary proteins (amyloids) in various organs and tissues in the body, including Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome and others. Among them, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is considered as a disease which is most difficult to treat at present, and there is a need for its accurate and early diagnosis.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is considered as a disease which is most difficult to treat at present and whose accurate and early diagnosis is required. Alzheimer's disease is a disease whose feature is progressive dementia developing predominantly in a presenile to senile period. Alzheimer's disease is pathologically characterized by overall cerebral atrophy, remarkable degeneration and neuronal loss, and appearing of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. It is known that the highest risk factor of dementia represented by Alzheimer's disease is aging. Thus, an increase in the number of patients as an old population increases is remarkable in especially Japan, America, and European countries, which have reached an aging society, and medical costs for the patients bring the medical system of those countries to a crisis.
In Japan, it is estimated that the number of patients with Alzheimer's disease are about one million, and it is certain that the number of the patients will increase with the aging of the population in future. The costs associated with Alzheimer's disease patients, including the nursing care expense, are supposed to exceed 2.5 million yen per patient for a year, which means that in Japan, socioeconomic costs more than 2.5 trillion yen have been already paid for a year. It has now become common in the world that significant effects of medical economy will be brought about by administering treatment before symptoms of dementia in Alzheimer's disease become appeared or as early as possible. At present, however, it is extremely difficult to make an accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease at these stages.
Currently there are various types of methods for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease. Japan commonly employs methods which make a quantitative evaluation of the decrease in cognitive functions of an individual suspected to be affected with Alzheimer's disease, such as Hasegawa's procedure, ADAS, and MMSE, and although not often, imaging diagnosis methods (MRI, CT, and others) are employed supplementarily. However, these methods are insufficient to define the disease, and its definitive diagnosis requires biopsy of the brain before death or histopathological examinations of the brain after death. In spite of these intensive studies on methods for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease, progress has been not made so much. From results of many studies, it has turned out that neural degeneration characteristic of Alzheimer's disease has already took place for a considerable period of time (about 40 years, in the case of a long period) prior to developing its initial clinical symptom. In addition, it is known for Alzheimer's disease that the pathologic feature in the brain has already progressed to an irrecoverable stage when family members and clinicians surrounding an AD patient recognize its initial clinical symptom. Considering together the progression properties of disease conditions and a sharp increase in the number of AD patients as described above, the need for and the value of an accurate, early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease are of extreme significance.
The histopathological feature of Alzheimer's disease is represented by two major signs: senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The former has, as the main component, amyloid β-protein (Aβ protein) taking β-sheet structures, whereas the latter has, as the main component, hyperphosphorylated tau protein. The definite diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease relies on the appearance of these pathological characteristics in the brain of a patient.
Amyloid β-protein is characteristic of diseases in which amyloid accumulates, including Alzheimer's disease, and has a close relation with the disease. Thus, detection of amyloid β-protein taking β-sheet structures in the body, especially in the brain, as a marker, will provide for an important method for the diagnosis of a disease in which amyloid accumulates, particularly Alzheimer's disease. In the past, substances which can bind specifically to and stain amyloid β-protein in the body, especially in the brain, have been searched for the purpose of diagnosing diseases in which amyloid accumulates, including Alzheimer's disease. Such substances known include Congo red (Puchtler et al., Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, vol. 10, 35, 1962), thioflavin S (Puchtler et al., Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, vol. 77, 431, 1983), thioflavin T (LeVine, Protein Science, vol. 2, 404–410, 1993), and chrysamine G and derivatives thereof (International Patent Application Nos. PCT/US96/05918 and PCT/US98/07889), and they have not a few problems in terms of binding specificity to amyloid β-protein, permeability through the blood-brain barrier, solubility, toxicity, and others. The present inventors have found a variety of compounds characterized by having high specificity to amyloid β-protein, high permeability through the blood-brain barrier, high solubilities, reduced toxicities, and others (Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2000-080082, 2000-080083, and 2001-076075, and International Patent Application Nos. PCT/JP01/02204 and PCT/JP01/02205).
It is known that intracerebral proteins may take β-sheet structures, thereby resulting in diseases whose etiology can be assigned to such proteins themselves. In the case of Alzheimer's disease, it is supposed that amyloid β-protein and tau protein take β-sheet structures, whereby such proteins themselves are responsible for or contribute to the disease. Yankner et al. have first reported that amyloid β-protein is allowed to take β-sheet structures, thereby displaying neural cytotoxicity (Science, vol. 245, 417–420, 1989). Later, many experiments for corroboration have been performed and ascertained that amyloid β-protein with β-sheet structures possess neural cytotoxicity. Thus, the fact that neural cytotoxicity is observed with amyloid β-protein and tau protein taking β-sheet structures suggests that compounds inhibiting their cytotoxicity could be drugs for treating a disease in which a protein itself takes β-sheet structures, thereby causing or contributing to the disease, for example, Alzheimer's disease.
Neurofibrillary tangles and their main component, hyperphosphorylated tau protein, which are another histopathological major sign of Alzheimer's disease, are generally supposed to develop later than amyloid β-protein. However, it is likely that neurofibrillary tangles correlate well with the degree of dementia, compared to amyloid β-protein (Braak H and Braak E: Acta Neuropathol., vol. 82, 239–259, 1991; Wischik et al., In "Neurobiology of Alzheimer's Disease," 103–206, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001).
Besides Alzheimer's disease, disorders whose major sign is accumulation of tau protein in the brain (tauopathies) include Pick's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and others.
As mentioned above, tau protein is characteristic of diseases in which tau protein accumulates, including Alzheimer's disease, and has a close relation with the disease. Thus, detection of tau protein taking β-sheet structures in the body, especially in the brain, as a marker, will provide for an important method for the diagnosis of a disease in which tau accumulates, particularly Alzheimer's disease.
Methods have been reported by a few groups for quantifying tau in the body, especially in the cerebrospinal fluid for the purpose of diagnosing diseases in which tau accumulates, including Alzheimer's disease (Ishiguro et al., Neurosci. Lett., vol. 270, 81–84, 1999 and Itoh et al., Ann. Neurol., vol. 50, 150–156, 2001). However, no probe intended to quantify tau noninvasively in vivo can be found throughout the world.
Therefore, there is an increased need for compounds having high specificity to tau which is for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in which tau accumulates, including Alzheimer's disease.
On the one hand, studies of Alzheimer's disease or diagnoses employing biopsy or autopsy samples until now involve preparation of brain sections from a patient with Alzheimer's disease and staining them. Conventional staining agents have mainly utilized Congo red or thioflavin S. These staining agents are characterized by staining both senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, which are said to be two major pathological signs of Alzheimer's disease.
However, none of many reports so far reports low molecular-weight organic compounds capable of staining only neurofibrillary tangles.

Quinoline derivative as diagnostic probe for disease with tau protein accumulation


In some example embodiments there is provided a method. The method may include receiving, at a user equipment, configuration information, wherein the configuration information at least configures the user equipment for wireless local area network aggregation with cellular; and dividing, based on the received configuration, packet transmission between a cellular transceiver and a wireless local area network transceiver. Related systems, methods, and articles of manufacture are also described.

The use of heterogeneous networks (HetNets) may provide opportunities for offloading traffic from macro cells to a typically higher capacity small cells. The heterogeneous network may include one or more wireless access points, such as WiFi wireless access points, serving one or more small cells, and may also include one or more base stations serving macro cells. For example, a WiFi wireless access point may be implemented to cover a small cell, or coverage area, examples of which include a residence, a small business, a building, an office, or a small area. The WiFi wireless access point may have less range and output power given its limited coverage area but provide greater capacity and data rates. Accordingly, wireless service providers view small cells as a way to extend service coverage, as a way to offload traffic to the small cells, and/or as a way to provide enhanced service, such as for example higher data rates, lower latencies, energy efficiency and the like.

Uplink scheduling with WLAN/3GPP aggregation


A weight stack exercise unit particularly for working on one's waist, abdomen and legs comprised of a frame that can be folded up for storage or shipment and expanded holding onto ground to support the unit; a handlebar each being provided on both sides and a lever laterally provided in the center of the frame; the lever pivoted to a rotary turntable; a circular track formed on the turntable to engage with a pulley beneath the seat; a lateral bar extending from front of the seat; a foot support each provided to the utmost front of the lateral bar; two weighted sections on both sides of the handlebar; the user sitting or lying on the seat to hold the handlebar with feet in both foot supports applying force to cause the lateral bar and the seat to swivel up and down, or to swivel laterally by releasing the seat for it to slide along a circular track on turntable and by changing loads of the weights depending on the individual user and the length of the training session.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a fitness exercise unit, and more particularly to one that works on one's waist, abdomen and legs.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Whereas people today are more conscious of fitness thanks to the ever-improved living standard, fitness equipment has become very popular. However, some of the fitness equipment emphasizing sit up in bear hands may get too rough and violent resulting in stretch in larger angles that causes injuries to the user having overweighed problem or in middle ages or elder. Furthermore, the sit up may become so monotonous and the user may be disinterested very quickly. Besides, fitness equipment generally available in the market either consumes too much space at home or is very expensive, plus other factors, such as the users in a family whose age, physical strength vary, the confined space available at home, the limit to only one function, and nature and length of training session. All these may well frustrate the consumer for a buy. Therefore, a fitness equipment that allows fast and easy adjustment to suit needs by individual user, keeps the users highly motivated for a work-out in long term, and helps significant reduction of space is required.


A security system for protecting information stored in portable storage media by checking identifiers assigned to each medium, system, and terminal. Medium IDs are identifiers written by manufacturers of the storage media. System IDs, or corporate IDs, are assigned to enterprise-wide computer systems each consisting of a host computer and terminals. Terminal IDs are affixed to the respective terminals. Data is stored in the media in encrypted form. The security system checks the validity of the medium ID, system ID, and terminal ID, manages before allowing the user to perform any data access, thus protecting the contents from unauthorized access. The security system also writes permission data into each storage medium to manage the decryption of encrypted data stored therein. The permission data contains an encrypted key which is necessary for decrypting the data, and the key can be decoded only with a valid medium ID and unit ID, thus protecting the data in the medium against any attempt to decrypt it with unqualified equipment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a security system for protecting information stored in portable storage media, and more specifically, to a security system for protecting information stored in portable storage media by validating identifiers written in the storage media. The present invention also relates to a security system for protecting data stored in portable storage media by using cryptography.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today's mass storage device technologies allow a large amount of information to be stored into a handy storage medium, and new high-capacity media, such as magneto-optical (MO) disks, are used for delivering data and programs on an off-line basis. In business computer systems in which a plurality of terminals are connected to a host computer via communications networks, executive programs for the terminals, as well as data processed in daily jobs, are stored in those portable storage media and transported from headquarters to terminals or vice versa. Besides being capable of storing large-volume files, they are easy to carry, store, and use.
In business activities, however, data security will be a serious concern because of a confidential nature of the contents of data files. Since there is always a risk that such important storage media might be lost or stolen in transit, password protection techniques are commonly used to protect information in the media from unauthorized access and to ensure reliable delivery. A password, or a uniquely defined identifier, is previously written into the storage media, and a user attempting access to the contents will be required to enter the correct password.
This conventional password protection is simple and easy to implement, but it should be noted that such a password is also a potential subject of theft and illegal use. Particularly in the case that data and a program for its retrieval are packaged in the same medium, the data will be exposed to more serious risk and threats, since any terminal equipment can be used for retrieving the data. Therefore, there has long been a demand for more reliable security systems to protect information in storage media from unauthorized access and to ensure safe delivery.

Security system for protecting information stored in portable storage media


An inserting system has an envelope feeding station, an enclosure feeding station, and a folding station having a first and a second folding nip for folding documents. Documents are inserted into envelopes, which are held in an inserting position. Envelopes are transported through an envelope transport path from their feeding station to the inserting position, and enclosures are transported through an enclosure transport path from their feeding station to the inserting position. The enclosure transport path comprises a diverter, a first enclosure transport path part between the enclosure feeding station and the diverter and a second enclosure transport path part between the diverter and the inserting position. The second enclosure transport path part passes through the first and the second folding nip. A third enclosure transport path part is present between the diverter and the inserting position and bypasses the first folding nip and passes through the second folding nip.

The invention relates to an inserting system, comprising:                a document feeding station for feeding documents,        an envelope feeding station for feeding envelopes,        an enclosure feeding station for feeding enclosures,        a folding station having a first pair of folding rollers forming a first folding nip there between and a second pair of folding rollers forming a second folding nip there between for folding documents,        an inserting station for inserting documents into envelopes, said inserting station being connected to the folding station for receiving folded documents from the folding station,        a document transport path for transporting documents from the document feeding station through the folding station to the inserting position,        an envelope transport path for transporting envelopes from the envelope feeding station to the inserting position, and        an enclosure transport path for transporting enclosures from the enclosure feeding station to the inserting position.
Such an inserting system is known from US-A1-2006/0220307. In this United States patent application an insertion system for inserting materials into envelopes to form mail pieces of a first type and mail pieces of a second type is described. This known insertion system comprises a folding subsystem for folding documents, said folding subsystem having a first pair of folding rollers forming a first folding nip there between and a second pair of folding rollers forming a second folding nip there between. In a path of travel of such materials from a feed station to an inserting position a diverter is present which can be activated either to send the materials through the folding subsystem or to bypass the folding subsystem.
In practice, a system as mentioned above is typically used in mailrooms where large numbers of documents or sets of documents are each to be inserted in an envelope in order to send these documents to addressees.
However, also in organizations that send relatively small numbers of documents, and where documents to be sent are for a considerable part processed by hand also when being prepared prior to insertion, mechanized insertion should lead to considerable saving of labor. To be considered here are, for instance, medical practices, workshops and club administrations, as well as service companies taking care of sending smaller mailings for third parties. In addition, in some organizations there is a desire to have several smaller inserting systems rather than one or a few larger ones. Accordingly, there is a need for inserting systems that are attractive due to smaller size than existing systems and involving relatively low cost, still being able to handle a wide variety of applications and having an attractive operation speed.

Inserting system and a method of inserting enclosures in envelopes using said inserting system


Silicon oxide films which are good as gate insulation films are formed by subjecting a silicon oxide film which has been formed on an active layer comprising a silicon film by means of a PVD method or CVD method to a heat treatment at 300-700.degree. C. in a dinitrogen monoxide atmosphere, or in an NH.sub.3 or N.sub.2 H.sub.4 atmosphere, while irradiating with ultraviolet light, reducing the hydrogen and carbon contents in the silicon oxide film and introducing nitrogen into the boundary with the silicon film in particular. Furthermore, silicon oxide films which are good as gate insulating films have been formed by subjecting silicon oxide films which have been formed on an active layer comprising a silicon film by means of a PVD method or CVD method to a heat treatment at 300-700.degree. C. in an N.sub.2 O atmosphere (or hydrogen nitride atmosphere) while irradiating with ultraviolet light, and then carrying out a heat treatment at 300-700.degree. C. in a hydrogen nitride atmosphere (N.sub.2 O atmosphere), and reducing the amount of hydrogen and carbon in the silicon oxide film and introducing nitrogen into the boundary with the silicon film in particular.

Semiconductor devices wherein TFT are established on an insulating substrate such as glass, such as image sensors and active type liquid crystal display apparatus in which TFT are used to drive the picture elements for example, have been developed in recent years.
TFT in which silicon semiconductors are used in the form of a thin film have generally been used for the TFT in such devices. The thin film silicon semiconductors can be broadly classified into two types, namely those consisting of an amorphous silicon semiconductor and those consisting of a silicon semiconductor which has crystallinity. The amorphous silicon semiconductors can be manufactured comparatively easily with a gas phase method, having a low manufacturing temperature, and they are suitable for mass production, and so they are used most generally, but their properties, such as their electrical conductivity for example, are poor when compared with those of the silicon semiconductors which have crystallinity and so, in the future, there will be a considerable demand for the establishment of a method for the manufacture of TFT consisting of silicon semiconductors which have crystallinity in order to attain higher speeds.
The properties of the gate insulating film do not present much of a problem in the case of a TFT where amorphous silicon which has a small mobility has been used. For example, a silicon nitride film which has poor electrical characteristics when compared with silicon oxide can be used for the gate insulating film in a TFT in which amorphous silicon has been used. However, with a TFT in which a crystalline silicon film which has a high mobility is used, the characteristics of the gate insulating film which are about the same as those of the silicon film itself present a major problem.
A thermal oxide film is preferred for the gate insulating film. For example, a gate insulating film can be obtained using the thermal oxidation method if the substrate can withstand high temperatures, being a quartz substrate for example. (For example, JP-B-H3-71793) (The term "JP-B" as used herein signifies an "examined Japanese patent publication".)
A high temperature of at least 950.degree. C. is required to obtain a silicon oxide film which is satisfactory for use as a gate insulating film using the thermal oxidation method. However, there are no other substrates except quartz which can withstand such high temperature treatment, and quartz substrates are expensive and, moreover, there has been a problem in that the production of larger areas has been difficult because the melting point is so high.
However, less expensive glass substrate materials have the problem that their distortion point is less than 750.degree. C., usually 550-650.degree. C., and thus the substrate cannot withstand high temperatures required to obtain a thermal oxide layer using normal methods. Consequently, gate insulating films have been formed using the physical gas phase growing methods (PVD methods, for example the sputter method) and chemical gas phase growing methods (CVD methods, for example the plasma CVD and photo CVD methods) with which they can be formed at lower temperatures.
However, insulating films which have been manufactured using PVD methods or CVD methods have a high concentration of hydrogen and unpaired bonds, for example, and furthermore the boundary surface characteristics are not good. They are therefore also weak in respect of the implantation of hot carriers for example, and centers for charge capture are easily formed, originating from the unpaired bonds and hydrogen. Consequently, when these films are used as gate insulating films for TFT, there is a problem in that the electric field mobility and the sub-threshold characteristic value (S value) are not good, or there are problems in that the gate electrode leakage current increases and the ON current is reduced (deterioration, change with the passage of time).
For example, generally, in those cases where the sputter method which is a PVD method is used, a film of a compound of essentially just oxygen and silicon is formed in principle if a synthetic quartz target comprising oxygen and silicon of high purity is used for the target. However, it is very difficult to obtain a silicon oxide film in which the proportions of oxygen and silicon in the film obtained are close to the stoichiometric ratio and in which there are few unpaired bonds. For example, oxygen is preferred as the sputter gas. However, oxygen has a low atomic weight and so the sputter rate (the accumulation rate) is low, and it is inappropriate as a sputter gas when mass production is being considered.
Furthermore, although a satisfactory rate of film formation can be obtained in an atmosphere of argon, for example, the proportions of oxygen and silicon differ from the stoichiometric ratio and the material obtained is very inappropriate as a gate insulating film.
Moreover, it is difficult to reduce the number of unpaired silicon bonds whatever the sputtering atmosphere, and the unpaired silicon bonds Si. or SiO. must be stabilized as Si--H and Si--OH by carrying out a heat treatment in a hydrogen atmosphere after film formation. However, the Si--H and Si--OH bonds are unstable and they are easily broken by accelerated electrons, and they inevitably revert back into unpaired silicon bonds. The presence of the weak Si--H and Si--OH bonds is the cause of the deterioration which is caused by hot carrier implantation mentioned above.
Similarly, a large amount of water in the form of Si--H and Si--OH is included in a silicon oxide film which has been manufactured using the plasma CVD method, and there are many unpaired bonds, and this also gives rise to the problems mentioned above. In addition, in those cases where tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) has been used as a source of silicon which can be handled comparatively easily, there is a problem in that a high concentration of carbon is included in the silicon oxide film. The present invention provides a means of resolving the problems described above.

Methods of heat treating silicon oxide films by irradiating ultra-violet light

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The present invention provides a method for a batter to position a ball for hitting and therefore provides a method for playing the game of baseball without a pitcher. The ball is slidingly engaged with the baseball bat such that the baseball bat hitting end is inserted through a bore through the ball, the ball can be tossed into the air in front of the batter with a flipping motion of the bat, and the batter can strike the ball with a batting motion to deliver the ball into the field of play.

The game of baseball typically involves a pitcher throwing a baseball to a batter so that the batter can hit the baseball into the field of play for advancing to a subsequent base or scoring a run. The game typically requires at least several people—a batter, a person or pitcher throwing a baseball to the batter, a catcher, and at least one person fielding the baseball after said baseball is hit. In many cases, though, the requisite number of people is unavailable to play baseball at the most basic level. For instance, if only two people are available, a decision must be made as to who will bat, pitch, catch, or field the ball—the most basic positions. In many cases, a compromise is made, wherein the game is played without the pitcher and catcher. In this situation, the batter, striving to hit the ball without benefit of the pitcher throwing the ball to the batter, improvises various methods as a substitute for the pitcher, such as tossing the ball into the air with one hand and quickly grasping the bat with both hands and swinging the bat toward the falling ball in order to hit the ball before it drops to the ground. Such a method of hitting a baseball can lead to unsatisfactory results as the batter must undertake and concentrate on several tasks at once, thereby compromising the ability of the batter to focus on and hit the baseball in a manner that takes full advantage of the batter's capabilities.
The present invention provides a method by which the game of baseball can be played when no pitcher is available. The present invention allows the batter to concentrate more fully on hitting or otherwise delivering the baseball to the field of play without the distractions or encumbrances heretofore experienced by batters playing baseball without benefit of a pitcher.


Systems and methods for generating and deploying integrated circuit (IC) applications are provided. Partial reconfiguration functionality of an IC may be used to build reconfigurable application platforms that enable application execution on the IC. These apps may include partial reconfiguration bitstreams that allow ease of access to programming without cumbersome compilation via a set of complex tools. The apps may be acquired via a purchasing website or other mechanism, where the bitstreams may be downloaded to the IC, thus increasing usability of the IC as well providing addition revenue streams.

The present disclosure relates generally to integrated circuits, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an application ecosystem and framework for integrated circuits (e.g., FPGAs).
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Integrated circuits (ICs) take a variety of forms. For instance, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are integrated circuits that are intended as relatively general-purpose devices. FPGAs may include logic that may be programmed (e.g., configured) after manufacturing to provide any desired functionality that the FPGA is designed to support. Thus, FPGAs contain programmable logic, or logic blocks, that may be configured to perform a variety of functions on the FPGAs, according to a designer's design. Additionally, FPGAs may include input/output (I/O) logic, as well as high-speed communication circuitry. For instance, the high-speed communication circuitry may support various communication protocols and may include high-speed transceiver channels through which the FPGA may transmit serial data to and/or receive serial data from circuitry that is external to the FPGA.
In ICs such as FPGAs, there has been little ability for designers/entities to share their functionalities (e.g., as shareware and/or commercial application) with consumers. Unfortunately, as IC programmable logic designs become more complex and/or sophisticated, this silo approach may inhibit growth of the IC market, by limiting utility of the IC and/or limiting income potential for these IC devices. Further, prior attempts to share programmable logic designs have relied upon access to complex design tools and significant technical expertise (e.g., using knowledge of hardware description language, timing constraints, etc.). Accordingly, the process for using such designs is technically challenging, error-prone, and time-consuming.

Integrated circuit applications using partial reconfiguration