A semiconductor memory card includes a direction obtainment unit which obtains a first access direction type in which the semiconductor memory card accesses the reader/writer; a condition management unit which previously hold and manages an access condition including two or more of second access direction types; a condition judgment unit which compares two or more of the first access direction types and two or more of the second access direction types, and judges whether or not they match each other; and an execution unit which executes a predetermined application program when it is judged that the first and second access direction types match each other.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory card which performs contactless communication with a reader/writer.
2. Background Art
A system which employs a semiconductor memory card (contactless semiconductor memory card) which performs contactless communication with a reader/writer has been used in wide range of fields such as mass media, financial institutions, governments, and municipalities. It is because of the convenience and security of the contactless semiconductor memory card. Specifically, it is convenient for a user that the user can enjoy a service only by passing the contactless semiconductor memory card over the IC card reader/writer, that is, only by bringing it closer to the reader/writer. Also, in order to receive a service, the security is secured that the user does not need to present confidential information in the IC card to the outside. As such contactless semiconductor memory card, a typical example is a contactless IC card (hereafter it may be simply referred to as "IC card").
FIG. 1 is a drawing showing usage patterns of a general IC card. A user can enjoy a service only by passing IC card 110 over reader/writer 106. Even if the IC card is passed over reader/writer 106 while keeping IC card 110 in a purse or a bag or connecting IC card 110 to portable device 107, the user can enjoy the similar service as in the case of using the IC card itself.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware structure of the general IC card. The IC card includes antenna coil 310, ROM 301, RAM 302, CPU 303, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) 304. Antenna coil 310 receives power supply from an external device, and communicates with the external device. ROM 301 stores a program. RAM 302 temporally stores data used for executing a program. CPU 303 controls various command processing according to the program stored in ROM 301. EEPROM 304 is a rewritable memory, in which a program downloaded from the outside is stored.
In general, as a characteristic of the IC card, not to mention that the IC card has larger memory storage than a magnetic card, it can be said that the security function for personal information and the like stored in the IC card is tightened.
Conventionally, the service realized by a single IC card had been a single service such as electronic money. However, in recent years, it has been proposed to realize more than one services using single IC card due to increases of memory storage in the IC card and of processing speed of CPU in the IC card.
Consequently, the user can enjoy various services using single IC card without having many different IC cards. Thus, multiple applications are installed in the IC card corresponding to multiple services. Therefore, hereafter, the IC card corresponding to multiple services may be referred to as "multi-application IC card".
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a software structure of the general IC card. Software of IC card 110 has a three-layered structure. The bottom layer has memory area 405 for application programs; the middle layer has OS 404; and the top layer has at least one application program.
Here, it is shown as an example that in the top layer, there are i numbers of EC client application programs (C_E_APL) 401, 402, . . . , and 40i. These C_E_APL 401, 402, . . . , and 40i respectively correspond to i numbers of EC server application programs (E_APL) 101, 102, . . . , and 10i that are not shown in the diagram.
Thus, each application program corresponds to each service. Therefore, hereafter, the application program may be referred to as a "service".


A trowel device for use by an operator in an upright position comprises a trowel blade receiving assembly and a first elongate handle section, operably coupled to and extending away from the blade receiving assembly toward a proximal end of the device. A second elongate handle section is rotatably fixable with respect to the first elongate handle section and extends away from the blade receiving assembly toward the proximal end of the device. The first handle section is rotatable with respect to the second handle section about a longitudinal axis common to each of the handle sections to allow the operator to adjust an angle of a trowel blade of the trowel blade receiving assembly while the operator is an upright position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to trowels for use in flooring installation. More particularly, the present invention relates to trowels that are used by an operator while the operator is in a generally upright orientation.
2. Related Art
Installation of flooring materials, such as vinyl flooring and some types of carpeting, often requires application of adhesive material to the floor area over which the flooring is to be installed. Adhesive materials are most often applied by heaping a large portion of adhesive in a central location and spreading the adhesive outwardly with a hand trowel that includes toothed depressions through which the adhesive passes to ensure consistent coverage of the adhesive. Hand trowels generally require that the operator kneel in position adjacent the adhesive and move, on hands and knees, in one or more directions as the adhesive is spread. The physical toll taken on the knees, legs and backs of operators from kneeling while spreading adhesive can result in significant discomfort during the adhesive application process and/or in significant injury resulting therefrom.
In an effort to address the problems associated with the use of hand trowels in flooring applications, trowels have been developed that purport to enable an operator to use the trowel while in a standing, upright position. While such upright trowels have addressed some of the problems discussed above, they have proved unsuccessful in that merely adding an elongate handle to an ordinary hand trowel results in a trowel that cannot be manipulated by the operator with enough precision to allow suitable coverage of the adhesive.
In other cases, attempts have been made to add control to the trowel in variety of manners, for example, by allowing adjustment, from an upright position, of tilt of the trowel blade relative to the handle and/or twist of the trowel blade relative to the handle. However, such attempts have resulted in upright trowels that are overly bulky and difficult to transport and store. In addition, such conventional upright trowels generally include components that are easily damaged when transported or stored in utility vehicles, and that can become easily fouled with adhesive materials during the adhesive application process.


A high speed CMOS-implemented equalizer architecture as described herein utilizes a digitally controlled analog equalization scheme to equalize intersymbol interference present in an input signal. The equalizer structure includes an inductor high frequency gain boosting stage and a feed forward high frequency equalizer stage connected in series. The equalization performed by each of these gain boosting stages is controlled by one or more digital control signals. The combination of these stages results in the equalization of both amplitude and phase distortion. The equalizer architecture is suitable for use with communication systems that operate at 11.2 Gbps speeds.

Intersymbol interference ("ISI") can be a significant source of error that adversely affects the data transmission speed and reliability of high speed communication applications such as OC-192 and 10 Gb Ethernet systems. The ISI is caused by imperfect communication channel conditions, such as lossy transmission lines and connectors.
The prior art is replete with various equalization techniques that address the problem of ISI. Both analog and digital equalizers have been developed, with the digital approach generally providing easier control, lower speed, and higher power operation. On the other hand, analog solutions generally result in higher speed and lower power operation. Unfortunately, prior art approaches, whether digital or analog, are limited to applications below the Gigabit per second range, especially for CMOS implementations.

Digitally adjusted high speed analog equalizer


The invention relates to compounds which are suitable for use in electronic devices, and electronic devices, in particular organic electroluminescent devices, containing said compounds.

Emitting materials used in organic electroluminescent devices (OLEDs) are increasingly organometallic complexes which exhibit phosphorescence rather than fluorescence, especially iridium or platinum complexes. For quantum-mechanical reasons, up to four times the energy efficiency and power efficiency is possible using phosphorescent organometallic compounds as phosphorescent emitters. In general terms, however, there is still a need for improvement in OLEDs, especially also in OLEDs which exhibit triplet emission (phosphorescence), for example with regard to efficiency, operating voltage and lifetime.
The properties of phosphorescent OLEDs are not just determined by the triplet emitters used. Also of particular significance here are especially the other materials used, such as matrix materials, hole blocker materials, electron transport materials, hole transport materials and electron or exciton blocker materials. Improvements to these materials can thus also lead to distinct improvements in the OLED properties. For fluorescent OLEDs too, there is still a need for improvement in these materials.
According to the prior art, lactams, for example according to WO 2011/137951 or WO 2013/064206, are one kind of matrix materials used for phosphorescent emitters. However, there is still a need for improvement in the case of use of these matrix materials, and likewise of other matrix materials, especially in relation to the efficiency and lifetime of the device.

Materials for organic light-emitting devices


A self-capping syringe is provided, which consists of a barrel having a first end and a second end. A finger flange is on the first end and a needle hub is on the second end of the barrel. A plunger slides within the barrel and extends from the finger flange, while a thumb rest is on an outer end of the plunger. A needle extends axially outward from the needle hub on the second end of the barrel. A protective cap is also provided. A mechanism is for allowing the protective cap to twist upon the barrel from a retracted position that exposes the needle to an extended position which covers the needle. A structure is for locking the protective cap in the extended position after use, so as to prevent an accidental needle stick before disposal.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates generally to hypodermic syringes and more specifically it relates to a self-capping syringe.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous hypodermic syringes have been provided in prior art that are adapted to include safety covers for the needles, so that the hypodermic syringes can be safely disposed of. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.


A substrate cleaning and drying apparatus for performing drying treatment after cleaning treatment of substrates. The apparatus includes a treating tank for storing a treating liquid, and performing the cleaning treatment of the substrates immersed in the treating liquid, a treating chamber housing the treating tank, and having an opening formed in an upper position of the treating chamber for allowing passage of the substrates into and out of the treating chamber, a lid member movable to open and close the opening of the treating chamber, and a holding mechanism for holding the substrates within the treating tank, the holding mechanism having suction bores. After the cleaning treatment of the substrates with the treating liquid in the treating tank, a gas is supplied toward the substrates, with the lid member closed, while suction is effected through the suction bores of the holding mechanism.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a substrate cleaning and drying apparatus for cleaning and then drying semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for photomasks, glass substrate for liquid crystal displays, substrates for optical disks or the like (hereinafter called simply substrates). More particularly, the invention relates to a technique for performing drying treatment by suction from a holding device, after cleaning treatment.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, this type of apparatus withdraws substrates cleaned in a treating tank up from deionized water stored in the tank, and moves the substrates to a drying device separate from the treating tank. Thereafter, the substrates are dried by air flowing down in a cleanroom while the air is sucked from substrate holders supporting the substrates (see Japanese patent No. 3244220, paragraph No. 0015 and FIG. 3, for example).
The above apparatus is satisfactory for drying hydrophilic substrates having smooth surfaces, such as substrates having oxide film formed thereon or substrates with oxide film, after cleaning treatment with an oxidizer such as a hydrogen peroxide solution.
While the above patent does not give a detailed description regarding the shape of suction bores in the substrate holders, it is understood that a single round bore is formed in each substrate holder as a suction bore. In the light of the level of requirement by semiconductor device makers to date, certain stains (i.e. residues called water marks) are regarded as presenting no serious problem.
The conventional apparatus having such a construction has the following drawbacks:
(1) In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, devices are made from substrates having a complicated three-dimensional configuration. Specifically, the substrates have holes such as contact holes and via holes, groove-like trenches, fins like walls standing close together, and so on. Their surface conditions are diverse from hydrophilic to hydrophobic surfaces. In drying treatment following cleaning of the substrates performed in the course of such device manufacture, the substrates are dried with air taken into a cleanroom as noted above. This drying operation is time-consuming. Deionized water retained by the hydrophilic surfaces could cover the hydrophobic surfaces. Silicon, for example, could dissolve into deionized water remaining on the hydrophobic surfaces. In the gas-liquid-solid interfaces, silicon could be oxidized by the oxygen in the atmosphere.
Further, as the oxidized silicon dissolves into the deionized water, the oxidized silicon and other silicon accumulate in the deionized water. When dried, hydrates of the oxidized silicon, i.e. water marks, are formed to deposit on silicon surfaces. This gives rise to a problem of deteriorating the characteristics of the devices.
Particularly, in cleaning before forming gate oxide film, and cleaning before gate insulation film deposition (CVD), these hydrates of oxidized silicon are electrically insulators and act as resistors. Thus, a normal ohmic contact cannot be obtained, and the structure of the deposited CVD film is distorted by the water marks. This results in defective device characteristics or malfunctioning of the devices per se.
(2) With the recent trend toward larger substrates, a substrate cleaning apparatus, unless designed compact, will pose a serious problem of occupying a large area in a cleanroom. A development has been in progress from a huge apparatus construction in which substrates are linearly moved from one side toward the other side, to a compact apparatus construction having a substrate transport system and an interface only at one side. Where the conventional apparatus noted hereinbefore were employed in combination with such an apparatus, substrates would be transported above the apparatus. Substrate could not be transported during drying treatment of other substrates. Thus, it is practically impossible to employ the conventional apparatus. Even if it were employed, the apparatus, because of low throughput, would fail to demonstrate a satisfactory performance.
Device makers have begun to point out that, with further progress in the technique of semiconductor devices, even minute stains on substrate edges will present a problem in device manufacture. Such stains, for example, accumulate on the substrate transport system, contaminate other substrates, detach from the substrates contaminated in the cleaning apparatus or the like into the cleaning solution or rinse solution to adhere to device surfaces, and ultimately cause device defects.
Each substrate holder in the conventional apparatus defines only one ordinary round bore. Such a construction cannot meet the above requirement.
The above problem arises from a physical positional relationship between the round bore and the substrate holder. That is, a gas flowing into the round bore from right above dries, in a relatively short time, deionized water adhering to a lower edge of the substrate lying over the round bore. However, the drying gas does not flow, in sufficient quantities, down opposite portions outward of the above lower edge, more particularly, arcuate portions obliquely downward from the center of the substrate and portions adjacent positions pinched by the round bore of the substrate holder. Such portions are slow to dry, and stains are formed thereon. These stains, in the case of a silicon substrate, are silicon and oxidized silicon remaining as hydrates of oxidized silicon on substrate surfaces after drying treatment. Silicon dissolves into remaining deionized water, and oxidized silicon is formed in gas-liquid-solid interfaces and dissolves into the remaining deionized water, both accumulating on the substrate surfaces.


A harness for use with breathing apparatus has: a flexible hip plate 12 and a flexible bandolier-style shoulder panel 14, linked together by a strap 15, and a waist belt 16 fastenable by a sprung fastener. In use, the flexible hip plate 12 rests against the hip of a user (the left hip in this example), the waist belt is fitted around the waist of the user, and the shoulder panel 14 rests against the shoulder opposite to the hip against which the flexible plate is resting (the right shoulder in this example). At least the bandolier-style panel 14, and optionally also the hip plate 12 of the harness 10, are made of a resilient material which, though flexible, allows the harness substantially to retain its operational configuration even when not being worn. The material is preferably a composite, and may comprise closed cell, open face foam, such as compression moulded EVA foam. Two layers of such foam may be used in a sandwich construction, and may be glued or otherwise bonded together.

A number of known harnesses exist for use with breathing apparatuses, where the harness typically incorporates a rigid mounting plate or housing for receiving a cylinder containing fluid (such as air or any gas suitable for breathing) under super-atmospheric pressure for breathing. Straps typically hold the cylinder in place. The cylinders may be large and heavy, since they must contain enough breathing fluid under pressure to support the breathing of the user for some time. Such a harness is worn by the user in such a way that the heavy pressurised cylinder is carried on the user's back with a number of supports, such as shoulder straps and a waist belt ensuring that the harness, and therefore the cylinder, is held in place securely. The user wears a facemask, and a line conveys fluid from the cylinder to the facemask, with suitable regulation of the pressure, so that the user can breathe the fluid.
Such prior art harnesses are particularly useful for long duration, planned excursions into hazardous conditions, where a large, heavy cylinder of breathing gas is needed. However, there are circumstances in which a large, heavy, bulky cylinder is not necessary and in which, therefore, it is desirable to provide a smaller cylinder. In such cases a smaller, lighter harness is advantageous. For example, it may be desirable to provide a number of emergency sets of breathing apparatus, for use by personnel in case of a fire, or leak of hazardous chemicals, in a factory or manufacturing plant. In an emergency, the workers would enter a storage area, and put on a set of breathing apparatus. Clearly such action must be taken quickly, for the workers' safety, and therefore the harnesses must be easy to put on. Ideally, such harnesses should not be bulky so as to avoid taking up a large amount of storage space.
In another example, if the use of the breathing apparatus is planned but the foreseen usage time is relatively short, such as, for example, if an operative must use the apparatus whilst cleaning a chemical vat, it is unnecessary for the operative to wear an uncomfortable, rigid harness with a heavy long-duration cylinder mounted thereon. Furthermore, the user might be required to enter a relatively confined space, or negotiate an obstacle. In such cases a full-size cylinder mounted on a rigid harness might unduly hinder or prevent the operative's progress or even his escape.
In prior attempts to address such needs harnesses comprising a number of straps without a rigid plate have been proposed, for use with small cylinders. Such harnesses would be less heavy and cumbersome than the rigid harnesses discussed above, and would require less storage space. However, such prior harnesses as have been proposed are not without problems.
For example, it is not immediately obvious how to don a lightweight, flimsy harness, the various straps of which may be overlying each other, leaving the harness flat and shapeless in appearance. Time spent considering how to put on the harness might be better used effecting an escape.


A foamable composition, containing a saccharide for use in the treatment of various disorders including: water, a saccharide, about 0.2% to about 5% by weight of a surface-active agent, about 0.01% to about 5% by weight of at least one polymeric agent selected from a bio-adhesive agent, a gelling agent, a film forming agent and a phase change agent, and a liquefied or compressed gas propellant at a concentration of about 3% to about 25% by weight of the total composition.

This invention relates to foamable pharmaceutical and cosmetic compositions.
External topical administration is an important route for the administration of drugs in disease treatment. Many groups of drugs, including, for example, antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anesthetic, analgesic, anti-allergic, corticosteroid, retinoid and anti-proliferative medications are generally administered in semisolid preparations. While semi-solid compositions, such as cream and ointment are commonly used by consumers, new forms are desirable in order to achieve better control of the application, while maintaining or bestowing the skin beneficial properties of such products.
There remains an unmet need for improved, easy to use, stable and non-irritating foam formulations, intended for treatment of dermal and mucosal tissues, with unique therapeutic properties.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Provided is a method of assaying for an analyte, including combining a test sample having the analyte, with a calibration sample having at least two different aliquots of the analyte, each aliquot having a different known quantity of the analyte. The test sample and each aliquot are differentially labeled with one or more isobaric mass labels each with a mass spectrometrically distinct mass marker group, such that the test sample and each aliquot of the calibration sample can be distinguished by mass spectrometry. The method further includes determining by mass spectrometry the quantity of analyte in the test sample and in each aliquot, and calibrating the quantity of analyte in the test sample against known and determined quantities of analytes in the aliquots.

Various methods of labelling molecules of interest are known in the art, including radioactive atoms, fluorescent dyes, luminescent reagents, electron capture reagents and light absorbing dyes. Each of these labelling systems has features which make it suitable for certain applications and not others. For reasons of safety, interest in non-radioactive labelling systems lead to the widespread commercial development of fluorescent labelling schemes particularly for genetic analysis. Fluorescent labelling schemes permit the labelling of a relatively small number of molecules simultaneously, typically four labels can be used simultaneously and possibly up to eight. However the costs of the detection apparatus and the difficulties of analysing the resultant signals limit the number of labels that can be used simultaneously in a fluorescence detection scheme.
More recently there has been development in the area of mass spectrometry as a method of detecting labels that are cleavably attached to their associated molecule of interest. In many molecular biology applications one needs to be able to perform separations of the molecules of interest prior to analysis. These are generally liquid phase separations. Mass spectrometry in recent years has developed a number of interfaces for liquid phase separations which make mass spectrometry particularly effective as a detection system for these kinds of applications. Until recently Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry was used to detect analyte ions or their fragment ions directly, however for many applications such as nucleic acid analysis, the structure of the analyte can be determined from indirect labelling. This is advantageous particularly with respect to the use of mass spectrometry because complex biomolecules such as DNA have complex mass spectra and are detected with relatively poor sensitivity. Indirect detection means that an associated label molecule can be used to identify the original analyte, where the label is designed for sensitive detection and a simple mass spectrum. Simple mass spectra mean that multiple labels can be used to analyse multiple analytes simultaneously.
PCT/GB98/00127 describes arrays of nucleic acid probes covalently attached to cleavable labels that are detectable by mass spectrometry which identify the sequence of the covalently linked nucleic acid probe. The labelled probes of this application have the structure Nu-L-M where Nu is a nucleic acid covalently linked to L, a cleavable linker, covalently linked to M, a mass label. Preferred cleavable linkers in this application cleave within the ion source of the mass spectrometer. Preferred mass labels are substituted poly-aryl ethers. This application discloses a variety of ionisation methods and analysis by quadrupole mass analysers, TOF analysers and magnetic sector instruments as specific methods of analysing mass labels by mass spectrometry.
PCT/GB94/01675 discloses ligands, and specifically nucleic acids, cleavably linked to mass tag molecules. Preferred cleavable linkers are photo-cleavable. This application discloses Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation (MALDI) Time of Flight (TOF) mass spectrometry as a specific method of analysing mass labels by mass spectrometry.
PCT/US97/22639 discloses releasable non-volatile mass-label molecules. In preferred embodiments these labels comprise polymers, typically biopolymers which are cleavably attached to a reactive group or ligand, i.e. a probe. Preferred cleavable linkers appear to be chemically or enzymatically cleavable. This application discloses MALDI TOF mass spectrometry as a specific method of analysing mass labels by mass spectrometry.
PCT/US97/01070, PCT/US97/01046, and PCT/US97/01304 disclose ligands, and specifically nucleic acids, cleavably linked to mass tag molecules. Preferred cleavable linkers appear to be chemically or photo-cleavable. These applications disclose a variety of ionisation methods and analysis by quadrupole mass analysers, TOF analysers and magnetic sector instruments as specific methods of analysing mass labels by mass spectrometry.
None of these prior art applications mention the use of tandem or serial mass analysis for use in analysing mass labels.
Gygi et al. (Nature Biotechnology 17: 994-999, "Quantitative analysis of complex protein mixtures using isotope-coded affinity tags" 1999) disclose the use of 'isotope encoded affinity tags' for the capture of peptides from proteins, to allow protein expression analysis. In this article, the authors describe the use of a biotin linker, which is reactive to thiols, for the capture peptides with cysteine in them. A sample of protein from one source is reacted with the biotin linker and cleaved with an endopeptidase. The biotinylated cysteine-containing peptides can then be isolated on avidinated beads for subsequent analysis by mass spectrometry. Two samples can be compared quantitatively by labelling one sample with the biotin linker and labelling the second sample with a deuterated form of the biotin linker. Each peptide in the samples is then represented as a pair of peaks in the mass spectrum. Integration of the peaks in the mass spectrum corresponding to each tag indicates the relative expression levels of the peptide linked to the tags.
PCT/GB01/01122 discloses a set of two or more mass labels, each label in the set comprising a mass marker moiety attached via a cleavable linker to a mass normalisation moiety, the mass marker moiety being fragmentation resistant. The aggregate mass of each label in the set may be the same or different and the mass of the mass marker moiety of each label in the set may be the same or different. In any group of labels within the set having a mass marker moiety of a common mass each label has an aggregate mass different from all other labels in that group, and in any group of labels within the set having a common aggregate mass each label has a mass marker moiety having a mass different from that of all other mass marker moieties in that group, such that all of the mass labels in the set are distinguishable from each other by mass spectrometry. This application also discloses an array of mass labels, comprising two or more sets of mass labels as defined above. The aggregate mass of each of the mass labels in any one set is different from the aggregate mass of each of the mass labels in every other set in the array. This application further discloses methods of analysis comprising detecting an analyte by identifying by mass spectrometry a mass label or a combination of mass labels unique to the analyte. This application discloses a vast number of different specific mass labels. Preferred mass labels have the structure M-L-X, where M is the mass normalization group, L is the cleavable linker and X is the mass marker moiety. The nature of M and X is not particularly limited.
PCT/GB02/04240 discloses a set of two or more mass labels, each label in the set comprising a mass marker moiety attached via at least one amide bond to a mass normalisation moiety. The mass marker moiety comprises an amino acid and the mass normalisation moiety comprises an amino acid. As for PCT/GB01/01122 the aggregate mass of each label in the set may be the same or different and the mass of the mass marker moiety of each label in the set may be the same or different such that all of the mass labels in the set are distinguishable from each other by mass spectrometry. As for PCT/GB01/01122 this application also discloses an array of mass labels and a method of analysis. This application is specifically directed to the analysis of peptides and mass labels with mass normalisation moieties and mass marker moieties comprising at least one amino acid.
Whilst the mass labels and methods of analysis disclosed in PCT/GB01/01122 and PCT/GB02/04240 are by and large successful, there is still a requirement to provide improved reagents and methods of relatively or absolutely quantifying an analyte by providing a mass labelled reference corresponding to the said analyte, which labelled reference material can be added to the sample containing the analyte and wherein the analyte and the reference material can be simultaneously quantified and identified by tandem mass spectrometry.
The development of isobaric mass tags in the late 1990's has revolutionised biomarker discovery. The ability to analyse multiple samples in theoretically unlimited numbers in a single LC-MS/MS workflow increases throughput whilst at the same time reducing analytical variability. Whilst application of these methodologies provides enhanced biomarker discovery there remains a significant bottleneck in biomarker validation and development of routine assays capable of analysing large numbers of samples. This bottleneck is created by the need to obtain high specificity reagents, typically in the form of antibodies, against each candidate biomarker. The production of antibodies is laborious, costly and takes several months with no guarantee of success.
In addition to cost and time constraints, use of antibody based methods for biomarker validation are also hampered by the limit of such methods to detect analytes with widely different normal and regulated concentration ranges. For example it is seldom possible to measure more than 10 up to 20 different analytes in a single multiplex assay using antibody arrays. Where the normal concentration of such proteins is separated by more than one log (i.e. micromolar to nanomolar) it is even less likely that such multiplex antibody arrays can accurately quantify each analyte and multiplexing rates are consequently significantly lower.
There remains therefore a need for improved methods of quantitatively detecting and routinely measuring analytes by mass spectrometry in a wide range of samples.
The majority of protein biomarker discovery is performed using mass spectrometry linked to various methods of protein separation. More recently a number of groups have proposed using mass spectrometers to provide absolute quantitation of proteins based on one or more isotopically labelled reference peptides. WO 03/016861 discloses one such embodiment termed 'AQUA' which uses synthetic peptides incorporating one or more stable isotope labelled amino acids as a reference standard. Such peptides are normally selected based on a number of criteria including their ionisation behaviour, physicochemical properties, and ease and cost of manufacture. In an Aqua experiment the reference peptides are spiked into the sample of interest at a defined concentration. Because they are labelled with stable isotopes the reference peptide will produce a distinct peak from the naturally occurring form of the peptide in the sample of interest. Typically the AQUA peptide mass will be separated by an increased mass of about 5-50 daltons compared to the natural peptide. By comparing the relative peak intensities of the natural peptide and its AQUA equivalent the absolute concentration of the parent peptide in the sample can be determined.
Whilst AQUA is able to measure absolute quantities of multiple proteins in a single experiment, it is not suitable for development of reference standard curves to cover a range of naturally occurring concentrations. For biomarker validation studies this may be problematic since regulation of protein expression may result in a ten-fold or greater range of concentrations for a given protein. Using a single reference standard may lead to inaccurate quantitation of natural peptide levels at the extremes of regulation and it would be desirable to provide a means of including readily distinguishable reference peptides at several different concentrations to cover the physiological range and which provide an appropriate standard curve against which the level of the target peptide in a sample can be read. Producing such curves using AQUA would be difficult since each added peptide increases the complexity of the MS profile. In addition, to ensure that the standard curve is built only on the reference peptides it would be advisable if not essential to perform sequence confirmation by MS/MS of each reference peptide as well as for the target peptide in the sample.


A system for controlling the quality of industrial processes including the steps of: having one or more reference signals relating to the industrial process, acquiring one or more real signals which are indicative of the quality of said industrial process, obtaining a transformed signal from the reference signal, obtaining a transformed signal from the real signal, calculating energies of the transformed reference and real signals, comparing the one or more reference signals to the one or more real signals to identify defects in the industrial process. Also, the comparing step includes: comparing the energies of the transformed reference and real signals to each other to extract corresponding time frequency distributions for selected frequency values, calculating energies of the time frequency distributions, and comparing the energies of the time frequency distributions with threshold values to identify energy values associated to defects.

The present invention relates to methods for controlling the quality of an industrial process, comprising the steps of:
making available one or more reference signals relating to the industrial process
acquiring one or more real signals indicating the quality of said industrial process,
comparing said one or more reference signals to said one or more real signals to identify defects of said industrial process
Monitoring defects in industrial processes is assuming a growing economic importance due to its impact in the analysis of the quality of industrial products. The ability to obtain an assessment of the quality of the industrial process in line and automatically has many advantages, both in economic terms and in terms of process velocity. Therefore, the desirable characteristics of the system are:                on line and real time processing;        ability to recognise the main production defects with accuracy.
Currently, the problem of recognising the quality of an industrial process, and thus of identifying any defects, takes place through an off-line inspection by experts, or with automatic methods which, through sensors, identify only some of the aforementioned defects, in a manner that is not satisfactory and that is also sensitive to the different settings of the machine.
Methods and systems for controlling the quality of industrial processes are known, for instance applied to the on-line monitoring of the laser welding process, in particular in the case of metal sheet welding. The controlling system is able to assess the presence of porosities in the welded area or, in the case of butt-weeded thin metal sheets, the presence of defects due to the superposition or to the disjunction of the metal sheets.
Said used systems base quality control on a comparison between the signals obtained during the process and one or more predetermined reference signals, indicative of a high quality weld. Said reference signals, usually in a variable number between two and ten, are predetermined starting from multiple samples of high quality welds. Obviously, this way of proceeding implies the presence of an experienced operator able to certify the quality of the weld at the moment of the creation of the reference signals, entails time wastage and at times also material wastage (which is used to obtain the samples needed to obtain the reference signals). In some cases, reference signals indicating a defective weld are also arranged, and this entails additional problems and difficulties.
The European patent application EP-A-1275464 in the name of the present Applicant teaches to divide into blocks the signal acquired by means of a photodiode which collects the radiation emitted by a weld point, calculating the mean of the signal in each sampled block and taking in account the blocks whose value is lower than or equal to the offset of the photodiode to be indicative of the presence of a defect. Said method eliminates the need for the reference, but it allows for a very approximate detection of defects.

Method of controlling the quality of industrial processes and system therefor


Disclosed is a retro-reflective fabric, having an inner surface and an outer surface; one or more strands of retro-reflective yarn incorporated into the fabric; and a reflective ink coupled to the outer surface of the fabric. Also provided is a method of making a retro-reflective fabric, including: providing a coated retro-reflective yarn; incorporating the coated retro-reflective yarn into the weave or knit of a fabric; and disposing a reflective ink into an outward facing surface of the fabric.

The placement of glass beads upon a surface to create a retro-reflective surface has been conventionally employed for some time. In general, glass beads are adhered to a reflective surface and act as a lens for transmission and reflection of incident light. Typically, the retro-reflective surfaces compose a tape or applique that is coupled or otherwise adhered to the surface of a garment. While many articles of clothing are required to meet the ANSI/ISEA-107 standard guidelines for worker safety, there are other, "safety-related," products in the market that are not required to meet the ANSI/ISEA-107 standard. These types of garments typically contain reflective trims, tapes, and logos, strategically placed onto the garment/fabric background. Most of these products are tuned to the athleisure/active-wear space with little application/use in everyday garments (for example, office/business casual-, commuter-, and work-wear).
Other approaches to retro-reflective garments include the incorporation of retro-reflective tapes into the weave of a fabric and printing of reflective inks into the outward facing surface of a garment. Yarns containing retro-reflective technology have been produced for incorporation into garments. These retro-reflective yarns are typically made by converting/slitting 3M Scotchlite™ reflective and the like tapes into very fine/narrow yarns. These tape based yarns are either woven or knitted to make a reflective fabric, for example as either a neat form or plied with another yarn to reinforce the brittle reflective tape yarn. The reflective ink application containing retro-reflective technology is referred to as reflective visible print. The visible prints are mostly grey/silver in color and recent developments have incorporated the use of color in these reflective inks, at the expense of reflective performance. As in many coatings applied on fabrics, reflective inks can restrict the airflow wherever treated.


In a horizontal electric field drive type liquid crystal electro-optic device wherein a liquid crystal material is driven by controlling the strength of an electric field parallel to a substrate, noncontinuity of the electric field strength around each pixel electrode is minimized and thereby the occurrence of flaws in the orientation of the liquid crystal material and dispersion in operation are reduced and a construction having improved display characteristics and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. In a horizontal electric field drive type liquid crystal electro-optic device wherein a gate electrode 403, a source electrode 407, a drain electrode 408, a semiconductor film 406 and a common electrode 404 are formed on a glass substrate and a liquid crystal material is driven by controlling the strength of an electric field substantially parallel to the glass substrate, the electrodes and the semiconductor film are made curved, for example semi-circular or semi-elliptical, in sectional profile. These curved sectional profiles can be formed by suitably selecting and combining various patterning and etching methods.

This invention relates to a liquid crystal electro-optic device having good electrical characteristics and angle of visibility characteristics with which a uniform display can be obtained over an entire screen.
As a method of widening the angle of visibility of a liquid crystal electro-optic device, a method wherein the direction of an electric field impressed on a liquid crystal is made substantially parallel to the surface of a substrate (hereinafter referred to as the super TFT method) is disclosed for example in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H.6-160878. In this case, an electric field is induced between a source electrode and a common electrode formed on one substrate, and the liquid crystal molecules are oriented in the direction of this electric field. Also, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H.6-214244, the electric field impressed on the liquid crystal is made uniform by making the height of the electrodes the same as the cell thickness.
In this kind of liquid crystal electro-optic device, because switching is carried out with the long axes of the liquid crystal molecules kept parallel with the substrate, there is no change with angle of visibility in the optical characteristics of the liquid crystal. Consequently, there is less light leakage and contrast reduction and the like resulting from angle of visibility than with conventional TN and STN methods.
However, electrodes of the super TFT method conventionally used have been of a trapezoidal or rectangular structure, and the electric fields produced by these electrodes have been noncontinuous at vertices of the trapezoid or rectangle. Consequently, the electric field impressed on the liquid crystal has changed at certain points. That is, the electric field (electric flux density) has changed suddenly at the vertices of the trapezoid or rectangle. Consequently, switching of the liquid crystal by the electric field has not been carried out evenly in the cell, and a phenomenon of the time taken for the electric field to change from OFF to ON or from ON to OFF (these are respectively called the rise time and the fall time) varying within the cell has appeared.
This is a shortcoming which appears particularly markedly in the super TFT method, wherein a horizontal electric field is used to carry out liquid crystal driving.
The above-mentioned electric field noncontinuity will be explained with reference to FIG. 1. Here, for simplicity, the state of lines of electric force around the electrodes when a voltage is impressed across a pair of parallel electrodes (101, 102) each of a rectangular cross-section of height xe2x80x98axe2x80x99 and width c formed with a spacing 2b between the electrodes on an insulating substrate (103) will be described. (For lines of electric form formed by electric changes, please refer to works on electromagnetism, for example xe2x80x98Electromagnetismxe2x80x99, Kazukiyo Nagata, published by Asakura, or xe2x80x98Detailed Electromagnetic Practicexe2x80x99, Goto and Yamazaki, Kyoritsu publishing.) Here, a direction parallel with the substrate and perpendicular to (the height direction of) the electrodes will be made an x-axis and a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate will be made a y-axis. An origin will be so defined that the electrode surfaces parallel with the substrate are at y=0.
(1) In the region y less than 0 (xe2x88x92bxe2x89xa6xc3x97xe2x89xa6b), i.e. the region between the electrodes:
Because electric charge can be regarded as being distributed evenly over the electrode surfaces (104, 105), the lines of electric force (106) here are perpendicular to the electrodes (and parallel with the substrate).
(2) In the region y greater than 0, i.e. the region above the electrodes:
Here, for the sake of simplicity, the state of the lines of electric force in the xy plane will be investigated.
Electric charge can be regarded as being distributed evenly over the electrode surfaces (107, 108).
For any point in the region y greater than 0, the distance from the origin will be written r and the angle made by r and the x-axis will be written xcex8. Also, expressing z as a point in a complex plane using x, y and r, xcex8, the following relationship holds:
z=x+iy=rexp (ixcex8)
Here, to simplify the analysis, a value w will be defined as follows:
w=A log z
(A is a constant of proportionality). If the real and imaginary parts of w are written u and v, then:
w=u+iv=A log z
and
u+iv=A log {rexp (ixcex8)}=A log r+iAxcex8
is obtained. Therefore,
xe2x80x83u=A log r, v=Axcex8
Therefore, the set of curves expressed u=constant in the w plane are the set of curves r=constant in the xy plane, i.e. the set of concentric circles about the origin.
This result is illustrated in FIG. 1, from which it can be seen that the electric field distributions of the electrode side surfaces and the electrode top surfaces are different.
Here, as an example, the electric field between electrodes whose cross-sections are rectangular was shown, but the situation is the same between electrodes whose cross-sections are trapezoidal also. This is because since electric fields are formed perpendicular to the electrode surfaces the electric field of the taper parts and the electric field of the parts parallel with the substrate are noncontinuous at the electrode vertices.
This kind of noncontinuity of the electric field at the electrode vertices is a problem which cannot be ignored when making very small pixels. This is because when as a result of the adoption of very small pixels the number of electrodes increases and the interelectrode distance becomes small the noncontinuous electric field distributes at a high density.
As another method of solving the above-mentioned problem, an invention wherein in order to impress an electric field on the liquid crystal evenly in the cell thickness direction the height of the electrodes is made the same as the thickness of the cell has been proposed, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H.6-214244. However, in making extremely tall electrodes, the following technological difficulties arise.
Firstly, when the height of an electrode is made as great as the cell thickness, a large difference in the horizontal direction electrode thickness tends to arise between the top and the base of the electrode. In the super TFT method, wherein the liquid crystal is driven with a horizontal electric field, a difference in the electrode thickness constitutes a difference in the interelectrode distance. Consequently, because the electric field strength in the cell thickness direction varies within the same pixel, driving the liquid crystal becomes difficult.
Secondly, when the electrodes are extremely tall, the coverage of layers formed on top of the electrodes is poor and line breakage tends to occur.
Thirdly, in making very small pixels, with extremely tall electrodes it is difficult to make the horizontal direction film thickness thin and obtain a large taper angle.
Consequently, in making very small pixels, to solve the above-mentioned problems, an electrode structure which can be made by a simple method and which also does not produce a noncontinuous electric field has been being sought.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a liquid crystal electro-optic device which has an electrode structure such that noncontinuity of the electric field strength around each pixel electrode is minimized and the display characteristics of the device are thereby improved and which can be made by a simple method.
To achieve this object and other objects, the invention provides a liquid crystal electro-optic device comprising a pair of substrates of which at least one is transparent, electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates, a liquid crystal layer held between the substrates, and electric field impressing means for impressing an electric field on the liquid crystal layer by way of the electrodes, wherein at least one of the electrodes has a curved sectional profile.
The invention also provides a liquid crystal electro-optic device comprising a pair of substrates of which at least one is transparent, electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates, a liquid crystal layer held between the substrates, and electric field impressing means for impressing an electric field on the liquid crystal layer by way of the electrodes, wherein at least one of the electrodes has a semi-circular or semi-elliptical sectional profile.
The invention also provides a liquid crystal electro-optic device comprising a pair of substrates of which at least one is transparent, electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates including an electrode for liquid crystal driving and a common electrode having parts formed in parallel on the same substrate, a liquid crystal layer held between the substrates, and electric field impressing means for impressing an electric field on the liquid crystal layer by way of the electrodes, wherein at least one of the electrodes has a curved sectional profile.
The invention also provides a liquid crystal electro-optic device comprising a pair of substrates of which at least one is transparent, electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates including an electrode for liquid crystal driving and a common electrode having parts formed in parallel on the same substrate, a liquid crystal layer held between the substrates, and electric field impressing means for impressing an electric field on the liquid crystal layer by way of the electrodes, wherein at least one of the electrodes has a semi-circular or semi-elliptical sectional profile.
The invention also provides a liquid crystal electro-optic device comprising a pair of substrates of which at least one is transparent, electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates including an electrode for liquid crystal driving and a common electrode having parts formed in parallel on the same substrate, a liquid crystal layer held between the substrates, and electric field impressing means for impressing an electric field on the liquid crystal layer by way of the electrodes, wherein a nonlinear device is connected to at least one of the electrodes and at least one of the electrodes has a curved sectional profile.
The invention also provides a liquid crystal device comprising a pair of substrates of which at least one is transparent, electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates including an electrode for liquid crystal driving and a common electrode having parts formed in parallel on the same substrate, a liquid crystal layer held between the substrates, and electric field impressing means for impressing an electric field on the liquid crystal layer by way of the electrodes, wherein a nonlinear device is connected to at least one of the electrodes and a peripheral driving circuit for driving a liquid crystal material is formed on at least one of the substrates and at least one of the electrodes has a curved sectional profile.
The invention also provides a liquid crystal electro-optic device comprising a pair of substrates of which at least one is transparent, electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates including an electrode for liquid crystal driving and a common electrode having parts formed in parallel on the same substrate, a liquid crystal layer held between the substrates, and electric field impressing means for impressing an electric field on the liquid crystal layer by way of the electrodes, wherein a nonlinear device is connected to at least one of the electrodes and at least one of the electrodes has a semi-circular or semi-elliptical sectional profile.
The invention also provides a liquid crystal electro-optic device comprising a pair of substrates of which at least one is transparent, electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates including an electrode for liquid crystal driving and a common electrode having parts formed in parallel on the same substrate, a liquid crystal layer held between the substrates, and electric field impressing means for impressing an electric field on the liquid crystal layer by way of the electrodes, wherein a nonlinear device is connected to at least one of the electrodes and a peripheral driving circuit for driving a liquid crystal material is formed on at least one of the substrates and at least one of the electrodes has a semicircular or semi-elliptical sectional profile.
The invention also provides a liquid crystal electro-optic device comprising a pair of substrates of which at least one is transparent, electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates, a liquid crystal layer held between the substrates, and electric field impressing means for impressing an electric field on the liquid crystal layer by way of the electrodes, wherein at least one of the electrodes has a curved sectional profile and the tangential direction of a line of electric force around the surface of this electrode changes continuously over the entire surface of the electrode.
The invention also provides a liquid crystal electro-optic device comprising a pair of substrates of which at least one is transparent, electrodes formed on at least one of the substrates, a liquid crystal layer held between the substrates, and electric field impressing means for impressing an electric field on the liquid crystal layer by way of the electrodes, wherein at least one of the electrodes has a semi-circular or semi-elliptical sectional profile and the tangential direction of a line of electric force around the surface of this electrode changes continuously over the entire surface of the electrode.
An example of a construction using the invention disclosed in this specification is shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a pixel part of an active matrix type liquid crystal electro-optic device wherein nematic liquid crystal is used and this liquid crystal material is driven with a horizontal electric field and a-Si TFTs are used as the driving devices, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view on the line A-Axe2x80x2 in FIG. 4.
In the construction shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, 401 denotes first and second substrates, 402 a base SiO2 film, 403 a gate electrode, 404 a common electrode, 405 a gate insulating film, 406 a-Si, 407 a source electrode, 408 a drain electrode, 409 a protective layer, 411 an orienting film, 412 a polarizing plate and 413 a liquid crystal layer.
The liquid crystal electro-optic device of this invention is one wherein a liquid crystal material is operated by controlling the strength of an electric field (a horizontal electric field) between a drain electrode and a common electrode formed on a TFT substrate.
For the above-mentioned first and second substrates, a transparent material having a certain degree of strength with respect to outside forces, for example an inorganic material such as glass or quartz, is used. For the substrate on which the TFTs are formed (hereinafter called the TFT substrate), non-alkali glass or quartz glass is used. When a lightweight liquid crystal electro-optic device is to be made, a film having little birefringence, for example PES (Poly Ethylene Sulfate) or the like also can be used.
As the method by which the liquid crystal material is driven, the multiplex method or the active matrix method may be used.
With the multiplex method, all that need be formed on the first substrate are electrodes for display and reference electrodes, but in the case of the active matrix method, in addition to these a nonlinear device, for example a thin film transistor (TFT) or a diode, is formed for each pixel as a switching device.
As the TFT, a transistor in which amorphous silicon or polysilicon (polycrystalline silicon) is used as an active layer can be used. In the case of the active matrix method, as the construction of the driving device, a known construction such as the stagger type or the reverse stagger type can be used. In the case of a transistor wherein polysilicon is used, it is possible to form a peripheral driving circuit for driving the liquid crystal material on the substrate on which the TFTs are formed. The peripheral driving circuit can be formed in the same process as that by which the TFTs are made. This peripheral driving circuit is made up of complementary devices wherein n-channel and p-channel transistors are combined.
As the device electrodes, Cr, Al, ITO and Ta can be used. The sectional profiles of the electrodes are made smoothly sloping or curved by a method shown below. A sectional profile forming a smoothly sloping surface or a curved surface shown in this specification can be made by a dry process or a wet process. Examples of dry processes include:
(a) methods wherein anisotropic plasma etching and isotropic plasma etching are combined; and
(b) methods wherein plasma isotropic etching is carried out using a mask.
As a method of category (a) above, a mask is patterned on an electrode and anisotropic plasma etching is carried out. The mask is then removed, and resist is coated onto parts not to be isotropically plasma etched. After that, isotropic plasma etching is carried out without a mask on parts to be given a curved sectional profile. In this way, projecting parts are shaved off and it is possible to make an electrode having a smoothly sloping curved sectional profile. After that, the resist is removed. As a method of category (b) above, it is possible to obtain a neat arcuate sectional profile by suitably setting a discharge gas voltage.
In a wet process, on the other hand, as the resist, one whose etching selection ratio is not much different from that of the electrode being etched is used. Also, a resist whose taper angle is somewhat small is used. When this is done, the mask and the electrode being etched are etched by wet etching at about the same rate. In this way, it is possible to make an electrode having a smoothly sloping curved sectional profile with rounded vertices.
The above-mentioned methods are just examples of methods for making electrodes having smoothly sloping curved sectional profiles, and the method by which an electrode having a smoothly sloping curved sectional profile of the invention is made is not limited to these methods.
If one of the electrode materials mentioned above is used, by forming an oxide film of the metal constituting the electrode material on the electrode surface by a method such as anodic oxidation after the curved sectional profile is formed as described above, it is possible to make this an interlayer insulating film. In this way, it is possible to improve interelectrode insulation even in cases of constructions wherein adjacent electrodes or electrode patterns overlap.
Also, it is possible to use silicon oxide (SiO2) or silicon nitride (SiN) as interlayer insulating films and TFT protecting layers.
For the opposing substrate, the same material as that used for the substrate on which the TFTs are formed can be used. Also, although it is not particularly necessary to form any electrodes on the opposing substrate, in some cases electrodes 414 may be formed on all or part of the opposing substrate as shown in. FIG. 8A. As the electrode material in this case, besides the above-mentioned metals, a material having transparency, for example ITO or the like, can be used.
To improve contrast by blocking light from parts not contributing to display, a black matrix 415 is formed on the opposing substrate or the TFT substrate or both substrates using a metal such as Cr or a resin material in which a black pigment has been dispersed as shown in FIG. 8B. Also, in the case of color display, R (red), G (green), B (blue) or C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow) color filters are formed in positions corresponding to respective pixels. As the arrangement of the colors of the color filters, a stripe arrangement or a delta arrangement or the like can be used.
After that, an orienting process is carried out on the substrate on which the driving devices are formed and on the opposing substrate. This orienting process is carried out so that the liquid crystal molecules are parallel with the substrate and oriented uniaxially. As the orienting process, rubbing treatment wherein the substrate surface or the surface of an organic resin film of nylon or polyimide or the like (orienting film) (411) formed on the substrate is rubbed in one direction is effective.
The rubbing direction differs according to the liquid crystal material (413) used, and on the TFT substrate side, in the case of a liquid crystal material whose dielectric constant anisotropy is positive, the rubbing direction is made a direction not parallel to the electric field, and preferably at 45xc2x0 to the electric field. In the case of a material whose dielectric constant anisotropy is negative, the rubbing direction is made a direction not orthogonal to the electric field, and preferably 45xc2x0 to the electric field. Rubbing of the opposing substrate side is carried out in a direction parallel or oppositely parallel to the rubbing direction of the TFT substrate.
The pair of substrates thus made are brought face-to-face with each other with a fixed spacing therebetween to form a liquid crystal cell. A sealing agent (not shown) as an adhesive is formed in a predetermined pattern on one of the substrates. As the sealing agent, a resin material hardened thermally or by ultraviolet rays is used. As this resin material, an epoxy or urethane acrylate material can be used. Spacers (not shown) for maintaining the spacing between the two substrates over the whole cell are distributed on the other substrate. After the sealing agent is hardened, the liquid crystal material is injected into the liquid crystal cell by vacuum injection or the like.
Examples of liquid crystal materials which can be used in this invention include nematic, cholesteric and smectic materials, but using a nematic material is particularly preferable. Also, from among nematic liquid crystals, one whose dielectric constant anisotropy is positive or one whose dielectric constant anisotropy is negative is suitably chosen according to the driving method. Also, to reduce the influence of birefringence, a liquid crystal material whose refractive index anisotropy is small is preferable.
In a liquid crystal electro-optic device of the invention, to carry out display utilizing the birefringence of the liquid crystal material, a pair of polarizing plates (412) are arranged with their optical axes intersecting orthogonally and the liquid crystal cell is sandwiched between this pair of polarizing plates. At this time, the orientation direction of the liquid crystal material is parallel with the optical axis of the analyzer, i.e. the polarizing plate nearer the light source.
In a liquid crystal electro-optic device made in this way, the orientation of the liquid crystal material is such that when there is no electric field the long axis of the liquid crystal material is uniaxially oriented in parallel with the substrate and in parallel with the rubbing direction. Then, when an electric field is impressed, the liquid crystal molecules in the vicinities of the orienting film surfaces, which are subject to a strong orientation restricting force, remain parallel with the rubbing direction while the optical axes of the liquid crystal molecules in the vicinity of the middle of the liquid crystal layer, which are only subject to a weak orientation restricting force, are changed by the electric field. When a liquid crystal material whose dielectric constant anisotropy is positive is used, the long axes of the liquid crystal molecules become oriented in parallel with the electric field direction, and when the dielectric constant anisotropy is negative the long axes of the liquid crystal molecules become oriented perpendicular to the electric field direction.
Consequently, with respect to light passing through the liquid crystal electro-optic device, because when there is no electric field the orientation of the liquid crystal material inside the cell is parallel with the optical axis of the analyzer, incident light cannot pass through the polarizer and the amount of light passing through at this time is zero. When an electric field is impressed, on the other hand, the orientation of the optical axis of the liquid crystal material changes and consequently incident light becomes elliptically polarized light and passes through the polarizer.
In the construction described above, two polarizing plates are used, but if a reflecting plate made of metal or the like is formed on one of the two substrates, it is possible to make the liquid crystal electro-optic device using only one polarizing plate, and a bright display can be realized. The metallic reflecting plate can also double as for example a pixel electrode.
When a liquid crystal electro-optic device is constructed according to this invention, compared to electrodes having rectangular or trapezoidal sectional profiles which have been used in conventional liquid crystal electro-optic devices, the electric field around the electrodes is continuous. This continuity of the electric field is clear from the state of lines of electric force around the electrodes when a voltage is impressed on the electrodes. The state of lines of electric force around electrodes will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.
First, for simplicity, a case wherein point charges q1, q2 exist at points O1, O2 will be considered.
Here, the straight line joining O1, O2 will be taken as an x-axis and a direction perpendicular to the x-axis will be made a y-axis. An origin will be defined as the point half-way between the points O1, O2.
A line of electric force passing through any point P as shown in FIG. 2 will be considered. This is in the plane formed by the point P and the points O1, O2.
When this line of electric force is rotated about the O1, O2 axis, a surface of rotation is obtained, and the electric flux passing through any cross-section of this surface of rotation should be constant.
The electric flux passing through a vertical section S passing through P will now be obtained.
If the angles made by the lines O1P and O2P and the O1O2 axis are respectively written xcex81, xcex82, the electric flux xcfx861 passing through S due to q1 is:
xcfx861=q1xc2x72xcfx80(1xe2x88x92cos xcex81)/4xcfx80
and the electric flux xcfx862 passing through S due to q2 is:
xcfx862=q2xc2x72xcfx80(1xe2x88x92cos xcex82)/4xcfx80
and therefore the total electric flux xcfx86 passing through S is given by:
xcfx86=1/2{(q1+q2)xe2x88x92(q1 cos xcex81+q2 cos xcex82)}
Therefore, on one line of electric force,
q1 cos xcex81+q2 cos xcex82=constant
If
q1=xe2x88x92q2,
on the line of electric force there is the relationship:
cos xcex81xe2x88x92 cos xcex82=constant
Lines of electric force (110) and equipotential surfaces (111) formed by this pair of point charges are shown in FIG. 3.
The distribution of these lines of electric force is the same even if charges the same size as the above-mentioned point charges are distributed on a conducting surface of radius xe2x80x98axe2x80x99. Also, in the region yxe2x89xa70, it can be approximated to an electric field created by two semi-circular electrodes. Therefore, if the electrode sectional profiles are semi-circular, the distribution of the lines of electric force is continuous with respect to the cell thickness direction.
In the above description, an example wherein the entire sectional profile of the electrode has a circular curvature was shown, but the invention is not limited to this and the same effects can be obtained with an electrode having an elliptical curvature. Also, the sectional profile does not have to form a regular semicircle, and the same effects can be obtained with a sectional profile forming an arc. The electrode edge section may have a curved surface of a circular arc shape or the like. An electrode having a sectional profile having a polygonal shape with gentle boundary changes may of course also be used.
Also, films formed on thin films such as electrodes having smoothly sloping curved sectioned profiles have good coverage, because of roundness of the thin films. Therefore, there is also the effect of preventing mixing in of impurities and line breakage caused by poor coverage.
The technique of this invention of making the sectional profile of an electrode curved or smoothly sloping can of course be applied not only to the above-mentioned a-Si type TFTs but also to poly-Si type TFTs.
In particular, when poly-Si is used for the active layer of a TFT, because the carrier mobility of the active layer is larger than when a-Si is used for the active layer and consequently the same characteristics as an a-Si transistor can be obtained with a smaller device region, devices can be made small and therefore a high percentage aperture can be realized. Also, in impressing a horizontal electric field, a higher response speed can be realized when poly-Si, having a large carrier mobility, is used for the TFT active layer. Furthermore, when poly-Si is used, it is possible to also form a peripheral driving circuit for driving the liquid crystal material on the substrate and this contributes to reduction of the number of steps required to manufacture the device, improvement of yield and reduction of the price of the device.
The invention has been discussed above with reference to a liquid crystal electro-optic device of a type wherein a horizontal electric field is impressed on a liquid crystal material; however, the invention is not limited to this and can also be used in a liquid crystal electro-optic device of a type wherein a vertical electric field is impressed on liquid crystal material, for example a conventional TN type or the like, whereby disturbances in the electric field at the ends can be reduced and it is possible to make an electro-optic device having good coverage.

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A power supply apparatus is provided, which reduces undershoot of a DC source voltage when a power supply interrupt occurs. The power supply apparatus supplies a DC voltage to an output of the power supply apparatus, an output capacitor is provided between the power supply output and ground, and a resistor controls the discharge time constant when the supply of source voltage is temporarily halted. The resistor is coupled in series with a switch, forming a discharge path to ground for the output capacitor. A discharge path switch disables the discharge path when source voltage is supplied. The discharge path is enabled in the event of a power supply interrupt and disabled during normal power supply operation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a power supply apparatus and a power supply control device, and particularly to a power supply apparatus and a power supply control device to reduce undershoot of source voltage when a power supply interrupt occurs.
2. Background of the Invention
Conventional integrated circuit power supply systems include, a DC/DC converter with a synchronous commutation type switching regulator. When a power supply incorporating a DC/DC converter experiences an interrupt, a synchronous commutation FET is commonly used to discharge an output capacitor on the low voltage side of the DC/DC converter.
However, this approach suffers from a rapid decrease in source voltage as the output capacitor discharges, which may result in voltage undershoot of the power supply. Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application (PUPA) 10-295074 (pp. 3 and 6, FIG. 2) discloses a method of preventing undershoot whereby a synchronous commutation FET coupled to the low voltage side of a DC/DC converter is turned off. At the onset of a power supply interrupt, an output capacitor is gradually discharged through a resistance connected between an output terminal of the source voltage and ground, which divides the voltage from the output terminal.
An aluminum or tantalum output capacitor is disclosed in Japanese PUPA 10-295074, which exhibits a dedicated polarity for each terminal and cannot be reverse biased without damaging the device. Therefore, discharging an output capacitor with an active synchronous commutation FET on the low voltage side of the DC/DC converter may result in a reverse bias of the output capacitor due to the voltage undershoot caused by the power supply interrupt, leading in turn to mechanical failure of the output capacitor. This is not an unusual occurrence since semiconductor devices connected to a power supply apparatus typically specify an allowable reverse voltage value. Accordingly, if reverse voltage with undershoot is applied to such a semiconductor device, malfunction or physical damage may result.
Conversely, if an output capacitor is gradually discharged while a synchronous commutation FET on the low voltage side of the DC/DC converter is turned off, the source voltage slowly decreases and a reverse voltage outside the specification of the semiconductor may be applied. In this instance, the probability of malfunction of the semiconductor is increased.

Power supply apparatus and power supply control device

International Business Machines Corporation


Disclosed is a storage medium protection system for protecting one or more storage media from the effects of one or more undesirable conditions. The system includes an enclosure formed from a material resistant to the one or more undesirable conditions, and the storage medium is positioned within the interior of the enclosure. Further, the system provides a sealing mechanism for sealing a circulation passageway of the enclosure in the event of an occurrence of the one or more undesirable conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to protection systems and enclosures for protecting specified items in harsh environmental situations, such as flood, fire, etc. and, in particular, to a storage medium protection system that provides a secure enclosure to protect a user's storage medium, such as a hard drive or other valuable media, in the case of such an adverse physical or harsh environmental occurrence or condition.
2. Description of Related Art
As technology advances and information chiefly resides in electronic form, as opposed to paper form, the value of this information is exceedingly important. Accordingly, there is a need to protect this information during certain situations. For example, when using a typical personal computer or laptop, with a hard drive or similar storage medium therein, the information stored on the storage medium is subject to outside conditions, such as adverse physical or harsh environmental occurrences or conditions. If a flood or fire would occur, and this condition impacts a personal computer or a laptop, all of the data and information stored on the hard drive would be lost if not properly backed up. Unfortunately, very few people back up their hard drives on a regular basis, and this "back-up" procedure typically occurs only sporadically, even in a corporate setting.
In order to protect the data on one's hard drive, many presently-available systems require the user to continually upload the data to an offsite location. Other systems require the user to save a copy of important data or information to a DVD or CD ROM. However, both of these methods are very time consuming, and renting hard drive or storage space at an offsite location is extremely expensive, especially when considering long-term storage. In addition, most users, whether on a personal level or a corporate level, are resistant to taking the time and the necessary steps to back up the data.
One well-known system for protection of data is a "Black Box" enclosure. This type of enclosure provides a local data protection system, however, this Black Box uses a solid state memory chip, which has no moving parts. Such solid state memory chips must not overheat, as there is no air flow inside the enclosure. Still further, a solid state memory chip is highly expensive technology to purchase and implement, and accordingly, these Black Boxes are typically only used by large corporate entities or airlines.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to provide a storage medium protection system that provides a safe and easy way to back up or store data at an onsite location. There is also a need for an onsite storage mechanism that is affordable by the consumer, and protects the consumer's data on the storage medium in the event of a harsh environmental situation or other undesirable conditions.


A centrifugal dewatering conveyor system for removing liquid from a conveyed product comprises a modular conveyor belt designed to follow a path that includes both straight portions and helical portions. The modular conveyor belt comprises a plurality of hingedly connected modules having side walls and capable of shifting laterally relative to each other and curling up about the hinge rods to form the helical portions. In the helical portions, a centrifugal force imparted on conveyed product forces water through openings in the conveyor belt.

The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and more particularly to modular conveyor belts.
Conveyor belts are widely used in various industries to convey products. Modular conveyor belts are generally constructed of a series of rows of side-by-side belt modules, which can be formed of injection molded plastic, metal or another suitable material. Hinge eyes along opposite ends of each row interleave with hinge eyes of consecutive rows. A hinge rod inserted in the interleaved hinge eyes connects the rows together at hinge joints into an endless conveyor belt loop.
In certain instances, it may be desirable to remove water or other liquid from a conveyed product. Current dewatering systems are batch operated and costly.


Systems and methods for asynchronous multi-channel data communications are provided. An embodiment of the invention includes a minimum of three channels for digital computation in Primary Flight Computers and four channels for digital/analog conversion in Actuation Control Electronics. Each channel (Primary Flight Computer or Actuation Control Electronics) contains two computation lanes with dissimilar processors and compilers. Hence with dual-dissimilar processors the computer architecture is fail-passive to generic errors. The two Actuation Control Electronics computation lanes select the digital control data of one of the two computation lanes of one of the three digital computation channels for conversion and transmission to associated actuators.

Prior to the advent of fly-by-wire technology, flight control surfaces on a commercial aircraft were controlled using a complex system of cables and mechanical controls. Since the advent of fly-by-wire technology, such mechanical control systems were replaced with systems having no direct mechanical couplings between pilot controls and flight control surfaces. Instead of using mechanical couplings such as cables, a fly-by-wire system including pilot control transducers senses the position of the pilot controls and generates electrical signals proportional to the position of the pilot controls. The electrical signals are combined with other airplane data in a primary flight computer to produce a flight control surface command that controls movement of the flight control surfaces of the aircraft.
Because safety is always a high priority in the aircraft industry, a fly-by-wire system usually includes redundant components so that if one component of the system fails, a pilot can still safely control the aircraft. An example of such a fly-by-wire system is described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/893,339, entitled Multi-Access Redundant Fly-By-Wire Primary Flight Control System, to Buus, filed Jun. 3, 1992, the disclosure and drawings of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference. The described fly-by-wire system is divided into a series of independent control channels wherein each control channel within the system is substantially isolated from the other control channels. Consequently, a data error value occurring in one channel does not affect the continued operation of the remaining channels such that a pilot can fly the aircraft using only one channel.
This example of a fly-by-wire system includes many other redundant systems to ensure the continuous smooth operation during flight. For example, this system includes autopilot flight director computers, air data modules, engine indication and crew alerting systems, airplane information management systems, etc. The independent control channels are in direct communication with these aircraft systems via a global communications data bus. However, each component of the fly-by-wire system, including the global communication data bus, may represent a potentially weak link that might introduce a problem in the event of failure of that component or in the event of a broken or loose connection to that component.
To this end, fly-by-wire architectures for the Boeing 777 have been developed with an asynchronous multi-channel system (that includes a minimum of three channels with a minimum of three computation lanes in each channel) as the host to serve as guardian of common communication media. Three computation lanes in each channel employ dissimilar processors and compilers so that the computer architecture is fail-operational to generic errors. However, these systems are expensive because of their reliance on hardware solutions.
Consequently, there is a need to provide fly-by-wire systems with the ability to monitor and identify failures or faults in aircraft components efficiently and economically.

Method and apparatus for obtaining high integrity and availability in multi-channel systems


A method of manufacture and resulting structure for a single crystal electronic device with an enhanced strain interface region. The method of manufacture can include forming a nucleation layer overlying a substrate and forming a first and second single crystal layer overlying the nucleation layer. This first and second layers can be doped by introducing one or more impurity species to form a strained single crystal layers. The first and second strained layers can be aligned along the same crystallographic direction to form a strained single crystal bi-layer having an enhanced strain interface region. Using this enhanced single crystal bi-layer to form active or passive devices results in improved physical characteristics, such as enhanced photon velocity or improved density charges.

The present invention relates generally to electronic devices. More particularly, the present invention provides techniques related to scandium incorporation in single crystal electronic devices. Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied to a single crystal resonator and filter device for communication devices, mobile devices, other mobile communications, computing devices, global positioning system (GPS) devices, military communications (MilCom), other infrastructure, etc., and other electronic devices such as high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), low noise amplifiers (LNAs), switches, heterojunction bi-polar transistors (HBTs), etc., and combinations thereof.
Mobile telecommunication devices have been successfully deployed world-wide. Over a billion mobile devices, including cell phones and smartphones, were manufactured in a single year and unit volume continues to increase year-over-year. With ramp of 4G/LTE in about 2012, and explosion of mobile data traffic, data rich content is driving the growth of the smartphone segment—which is expected to reach 2B per annum within the next few years. Coexistence of new and legacy standards and thirst for higher data rate requirements is driving RF complexity in smartphones. Unfortunately, limitations exist with conventional RF technology that is problematic, and may lead to drawbacks in the future.
From the above, it is seen that techniques for improving electronic devices are highly desirable.

Method and structure of single crystal electronic devices with enhanced strain interface regions by impurity introduction


Disclosed herein are CCR7 aptamers that specifically bind to and internalize into CCR7-expressing cells. The aptamers can be used as a therapeutic agent by itself or in combination with a small molecule by forming a conjugate with the small molecule. Targeted delivery of the small molecule can be achieved by such conjugates. Also disclosed are methods of treating a subject suffering from cancer by administering an effective amount of the aptamer or the aptamer-small molecule conjugate to the subject.

It has been challenging to develop aptamer-based therapeutics due to nuclease degradation. The half-life of an unmodified nucleic acid is very short, less than 10 minutes. Therefore, a need exists to develop targeted therapy as an effective and safe treatment for various diseases and conditions such as cancer. This disclosure satisfies the need in the art.


The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a bioactive constituent trans-tetracos-15-enoic acid and a process for the isolation of tetracos-15-enoic acid from the plant Indigofera tinctoria along with a method of treatment for hepatotoxicity.

Indigofera tinctoria Linn. (Family Leguminosae, Hindi-Neel) is an annual herbaceous shrub, 4–6 ft. high, found throughout India. Earlier it was cultivated in India, China and other eastern countries as a source of Indigo.
In an indigenous system of medicine, extract of this plant is used for the treatment of epilepsy, nervous disorders and bronchitis [Wealth of India, vol. 5 (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi) 182, (1959)]. The plant is also known to be used as an ointment for sores, old ulcers and haemorrhoids [R. N. Chopra, S. L. Nayar and I C Chopra, Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants, 141 (1956)]. The leaves of the plant have been used in liver ailments [Nadkarni, K. M., Indian Materia Medica, vol. 1 (Popular Book Depot, Bombay, 680 (1954)].
Organic solvent extract of the leaves of the plant exhibited marked hepatoprotective effect against carbon tetrachloride induced hepatic injury in rabbits, rats and mice [Anand, K. K., Chand Dewan, Ghatak, B. J. Ray & Arya, R. K., Indian J. Expl. Biol. 19, 298 (1981), Anand, K. K., Chand Dewan & Ghatak, B. J. Ray, Indian J. Expl. Biol., 17, 685(1979)].
Literature survey revealed that earlier reports showed the presence of trans-tetracos-15-enoic acid in Jojoba oil ex. Simmondsia chinensis seeds (0.62–1.11%), c/s isomer of the acid in fatty acids of the seed oil of. Microula sikkimensis (1.2%). [Wang, Huiying, Yu, Xuefian, Yi, Yuanfen & Ding, Jingkai, Yunnan Zhiwu Yanjiu 1989 11 (I), 60-4 (Ch.), L, Jing Jingmin; Wang, Jingping; Yu, Feuglau. Zhiwn, Xuebao, 1989, 31 (1) 50-3; (Ch). These reports do not mention isolation of the constituent and the content estimation is based on GLC data.
The bioactive constituent thus isolated in the present invention from the plant Indigofera tinctoria is designated as RLJ-NE-598 (025)(F)(A3) (TCA)
Hepatotoxins that cause acute hepatitis have close resemblance with the viral hepatitis-clinically, biochemically and histologically. Drugs also cause of chronic hepatic disease as chronic hepatitis, fatty liver, cirrhosis and several vascular lesions of the liver.
In many instances drug induced hepatitis proves indistinguishable from viral hepatitis. Chemically induced hepatic injury for experimental studies should be severe enough to cause cell death or to modify hepatic functions. The mechanism of acute hepatic injury depends upon the chemical compound and the species of animals used. Many chemicals produce parenchymal damage, arrest bile flow and cause jaundice (choleretic injury).
In the present invention the applicants have studied hepatoprotective activity against CCl4, paracetamol (APAP, acetaminophen), D-galactosamine and alcohol induced hepatotoxicity.

Pharmaceutical composition and process for isolation of trans-tetracos-15-enoic acid and method of treatment for hepatotoxicity

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research


The Invention is a muzzle brake-bullet stabilizer, cylindrical in form affixed to the end of a rifle or pistol having internally a primary exhaust stage, a transition stage and nozzle. The primary exhaust stage being adjacent to the muzzle and consisting of a limited number of exhaust port holes drilled radially into progressively smaller internal bores serving as the primary exhaust stage and muzzle brake. A metering orifice being a strait cylindrical bore section of a diameter slightly larger than that of the bullet. The nozzle being conical with the small diameter being that of the metering orifice and increasing slightly thereafter, serving to increase the velocity of the remaining exhaust gases in a manner as to stabilize the bullet in its transition to supersonic velocity of the outside air from that of a negative velocity with respect to the exhaust gases.

It is generally known that the bullets from rifles and pistols often developed eccentric rotation (or wobble) after leaving the muzzle of the firearm. This phenomenon is generally attributed to the instability of the muzzle itself and/or the action of the exhaust gases on the projectile. It is also generally known that rifles and pistols in the higher calibers produce a substantial recoil on the firearm as a resultant force of the combination velocity/mass relationship of the projectile and propellent. The net result of this interaction destabilizes the muzzle considerably. Much effort has been placed on devices (known as Muzzle Brakes) to diminish this effect, with great success. These devices generally reduce the recoil via a resultant force obtained by the side or rear redirection of the exhaust gases.
This redirection of the gases also redirects the muzzle blast noise toward the shooter, greatly increasing the shooters perception of the blast noise. Some of this noise perception has been reduced by using smaller gas orifices which provide better gas diffusion. However, this is generally at the expense of an increase in recoil over that obtained with a muzzle brake with larger orifices.
A desirable objective is to increase the accuracy of a firearm by directing and controlling various portions of the exhaust gases in a manner as to achieve a balance between projectile stability, recoil, muzzle stability and perceived noise.


A method of controlling the weight of granulated products on a multiple metering machine; the method operating on a machine performing a metering cycle in which at least two products are metered into a container; and the method including: a step wherein the dosage of each product is formed in a chamber; at least one step wherein one of the metered products is transferred from the chamber to the container; at least one step wherein one of the metered products is extracted from the chamber; and a step wherein the products inside the container are weighed at the end of the metering cycle.

The present invention relates to a method of controlling the weight of granulated (delayed-action) products on a machine for metering such products into containers.
The present invention also relates to a metering machine implementing the above method.
The method according to the present invention may be used to an advantage on metering machines for metering a number of granulated products into hard-gel capsules, to which the following description refers purely by way of example.
As is known, one of the biggest problems on such machines is controlling the weight of the dosage of each product.
One solution currently adopted on multiple metering machines for successively metering a number of different products into one capsule consists in removing from the machine and weighing a specimen capsule of known tare into which only one of the products involved in the metering process has been dispensed.
The above solution involves several drawbacks. In particular, the various granulated products are weighed with the machine idle, which, as each single product and each single metering member must be controlled, therefore results in considerable downtime. Moreover, all the above operations must be repeated for each change in the metered products, for each variation in the amount of product to be metered, and at any rate at predetermined intervals to compensate for any variation in the parameters, on or off the machine, affecting the metering cycle. In addition to the complex nature and the time required to perform the weighing operations, the possibility also exists of a container subjected to the above operations, and therefore containing only one product, being mistaken for and packed with those containing all the metered products.
A second solution enabling control during normal operation of two-product metering machines involves two weighing methods: a first for controlling the weight of the first product, which, after it is metered out, and before metering out the second product, is removed from the capsule by opening the bottom of the capsule and collecting the product which falls out by force of gravity, and is sent to a weighing station; and a second for controlling the weight of the second product, which is calculated by subtracting from the weight of a capsule of known tare, and containing both products, the tare of the capsule and the weight of the first product.
A major drawback of this second solution is that it is limited to machines metering at most two different products. Moreover, when the capsule is opened to extract the first product, fragments of the capsule may also be collected together with the product, thus seriously impairing the accuracy of the weighing operation.

Method of controlling the weight of granulated products on multiple metering machines, and metering machine implementing such a method