Multiple plasma jet path sensing positions and multiple localized steering magnetic fields for each plasma jet leg in an atmospheric plasma jet control system are described for a precise control over positions of plasma jet legs as well as their directions in a vertex zone, where a hot gas stream is generated for treatment of a semiconductor device. With a plasma jet generator system in accordance with the invention precise control over the plasma jet legs enables one to virtually eliminate plasma jet path instability at the vertex region.

This invention generally relates to a system and method for using an atmospheric plasma in the processing of substrates and particularly to the fabrication of semiconductor devices. More specifically this invention relates to a method and system to regulate the position of a plasma jet used to produce an intense hot gas stream employed in the manufacture of semiconductor devices such as Miniature Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS).
An atmospheric arc-type plasma referred to as a plasma jet may be used for processing substrates used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. An atmospheric, plasma jet generation system has previously been described; see the International patent WO9746056, by Siniaguine, entitled xe2x80x9cApparatus for generating and deflecting a plasma jet.xe2x80x9d This atmospheric plasma provides a means for generating an intense, hot gas stream that subsequently can be used for processing a substrate. Processing of the substrate may include: etching by reactive species generated in the hot gas stream; deposition resulting from species introduced into the gas stream; and thermal processing of the substrate by the heat flux carried to the substrate by the hot gas stream. An etching application for polymer removal, has previously been disclosed in the prior International patent pending application no. PCT/US00/27113 by Bollinger and Tokmouline and which is entitled: xe2x80x9cAtmospheric process and system for controlled, rapid removal of polymers from high depth to width aspect ratio holes.xe2x80x9d The application of very rapid thermal processing has been disclosed in International patent pending Application No. PCT/US00/41492 by Bollinger and Tokmouline xe2x80x9cMethod for rapid thermal processing of substrates.xe2x80x9d
This atmospheric plasma as used in these prior international patent applications is shown in FIG. 1 and is also described in the aforementioned patent applications by Bollinger and Tokmouline. In such system, an arc-type electrical discharge or plasma jet 20 is generated between two electrode subassemblies, an anode 22 and a cathode 24. The geometric configuration of the generated plasma jet 20 is such that it creates a vertex 25 where an intense hot gas stream 26 is produced that is directed toward a substrate or wafer 28 that is to be processed by the stream 26. The substrate 28 is held in a substrate holder 30 that is moved through the hot gas stream. Control and repeatability of the hot gas stream 26 is critical for highly controlled, repeatable treatment of the substrate.
Arc-type plasmas by their nature involve electrical current flow and are well known for unstable behavior. Stabilization using this type of plasma generation system is accomplished in the prior art as illustrated in FIG. 2 by an optical sensing of the plasma jet position at P with optical sensors such as a CCD camera. These generate an image into a computer, which produces a feedback signal, not shown, to a steering magnetic field M. The magnetic field M is intended to correct for a sensed deviation in the plasma jet path position as shown from the solid line at 20 to the dashed line at 20xe2x80x2. In the prior art the adjustment possible with a single magnetic field does not lend itself for compensating for both a positional and angular alignment of the jet at the vertex 25. Hence, the repeatability of a process as measured by uniformity of treatment by gas stream 26, U%, has been limited to approximately 5%.
%U=100xc3x97(max. treatmentxe2x88x92min. treatment)/(ave. treatment)xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
Where xe2x80x9ctreatmentxe2x80x9d refers to a measured process result depending on the application, such as etch depth in an etch application or diffusion depth of a doping impurity in a thermal processing application. For some applications, such as for stripping photoresist from a wafer in which the etch selectivity to the layer underlying the photoresist is practically infinite, this process repeatability is sufficient. For other applications, such as for very rapid thermal processing as described in the above referenced in patent application PCT/US00/41492, thermal treatment to better than 1% is needed.
Prior literature has described the concept of optically sensing the plasma jet position from its light emission and feeding back the sensed position to magnetic fields applied to the plasma jet over a single localized area to stabilize and to re-adjust the plasma jet position. Localized magnetic fields applied to a localized area of the plasma jet have been described in open literature and patent disclosures. A three magnetic pole geometry is described in the International patent WO9212610 by Pavlovich et al xe2x80x9cDevice for plasma-arc processing of material.xe2x80x9d Four magnetic pole configurations are described in the Russian patent RU2059344 by Siniaguine xe2x80x9cPlasma current generating device;xe2x80x9d in the International patent WO9746056 by Siniaguine xe2x80x9cApparatus for generating and deflecting a plasma jet;xe2x80x9d and WO9831038 by Siniaguine xe2x80x9cPlasma generation and plasma processing of materials.xe2x80x9d In these configurations, the position of each leg of the plasma jet is sensed at one location and a steering magnetic field is applied at one location.
The magnetic fields are generated by electromagnets. Changing the electrical current to the coils in the magnetic circuits varies the applied magnetic field strength. Response time to a sensed change in the path position to magnetically correcting the path position can be fast. Feed back loops with response time near 1 msec have been demonstrated. However, these magnetic field configurations are limited in their capability to precisely control the plasma jet position with consequent limitation in control of the treatment of the substrate.
The prior art of sensing the plasma jet path position at a single point and feed-back control to the magnetic field applied to one localized position cannot precisely control the plasma jet position and direction in the vertex region where the hot gas stream is generated. The difficulty arises from variations in the direction of the plasma jet path as it emerges from the electrode assemblies 22 and 24. Particularly for the cathode assembly 24, the path direction of the emerging plasma jet varies from one position to another within a cone concurrent with the longitudinal axis of the electrode assembly. It is believed this variation in the path direction originates from a variation in the position of the electron emission spot on the emitting surface within the electrode assembly.
The prior art optically senses the position of each leg 21.1 (PJ1) and 21.2 (PJ2) of the plasma jet 20 and to feed-back any deviation from a pre-set position to a localized magnetic field whose strength and direction may be varied to bring the plasma jet position back to the pre-set position at the optical sensing point. Optical sensing of the path position at a given location is conveniently done by using two optical sensors, S1 and S2, at different positions that are aligned to pick-up the emitted light from that given location on the plasma jet path. The optical signal is fed from each sensor position to a photo-sensitive array such as contained by a CCD camera. The electrical current output from the pixels in the photo-sensitive array along with the geometry of the positioning of two optical sensors, which view the plasma jet position, can then be used to determine the position of the plasma jet at the given, sensed location.
Magnetic field configurations using three and four magnetic poles, referenced above, apply a localized magnetic field that can be varied in intensity and direction in the two directions perpendicular to the plasma jet path direction. The current in the plasma jet then responds to a force by the applied magnetic field according to the well-known relation:
dF=I(d/xc3x97B)xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
where: dF is the force that results from an applied magnetic field, B, on the current element of length d/ (i.e., plasma jet element of length d/) through which a current, i is flowing. The direction of dF is perpendicular to both the directions of the current, i, and the applied magnetic field, B. dF, d/ and B are vectors. xe2x80x9cxxe2x80x9d denotes the standard vector cross-product that applies the component of B that is perpendicular to d/.
According to (2), the plasma jet path direction will change in a direction perpendicular to the applied magnetic field direction. Various design configurations for the magnetic poles that apply the localized magnetic field may be used. The common feature of each must be that the field direction and intensity be variable in two directions perpendicular to the plasma jet path direction.
FIG. 2 shows how use of the prior art for correction of a variation in the plasma jet path cannot provide a precise correction to the position and the direction of the plasma jet at the vertex where the hot gas stream is generated. The heavy dashed line 23.1 for the path of plasma jet leg PJ1 is a path with no deviation as shown in FIG. 2. The solid shaded line 21.1 for PJ1 is a path for which the plasma jet emerges from the electrode assembly at an angle to the normal or non-deviated path.
In the prior art, a magnetic field is applied to each leg of the plasma jet at a single localized area. In FIG. 2, the components of the applied magnetic field perpendicular to the path direction are shown in a plane M for the plasma jet leg PJ1. The path position for each leg of the plasma jet is sensed at a single position. In FIG. 2 the position of PJ1 is sensed at position P. Two optical sensors S1 and S2 look at position P from two directions to provide the information needed to determine the 3-dimensional position of the leg of the plasma jet PJ1 at P. This position is fed-back to a magnetic control system, not shown in FIG. 2, that applies magnetic fields that can be varied in intensity and direction at the localized position M.
If the optical sensing system detects that the plasma jet position has changed from a desired position, the magnetic field is changed to bring the sensed path position back to the controlled position at P (see the dashed path 23.1 for PJ1). As shown for the deviated path in FIG. 2, the localized magnetic field applied at M is changed to bring PJ1 to its pre-set position at P. To make this correction, the magnetic field intensity in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper would be changed. However, as shown by FIG. 2, even though the plasma jet path 21.1 is at the correct position at the sensing position P, the direction, i.e. its vector, and the position of the path of PJ1 at the vertex 25 is changed to a less desired position as represented by the dashed path 23.1 at the vertex 25.
Consequently, there is a variance in the hot gas stream generated at the vertex. FIG. 2 shows a 1-dimensional variation in the plasma jet path. In practice the path variation and the magnetic field feedback control is in 2-dimensions. The variation in the position and direction of the plasma jet after correction of a variation can be reduced by making the sensed path position P close to the vertex 25 but optical interference from the second plasma jet PJ2 limits how close P may be to vertex 25. In practice the best positioning attainable with single position sensing as employed by the prior art yields a process stability control that is of the order of about 5%. For many substrate processing steps, such as the rapid thermal processing as described in the aforementioned patent applications by Bollinger et al, this stability is inadequate.
This invention discloses a plasma jet generator, using a magnetic field system, including optical position sensing, that gives precise control, typically better than about 1%, with 0.1% being obtainable, either over the position of the plasma jet at the vertex or with the processing steps conducted with the hot gas stream obtained from the plasma jet. Hence, and in particular, such control relates to the use of a hot gas stream that subsequently processes a substrate. For precise control over the plasma jet legs in accordance with the invention a means is provided with which a precise control over the position of the plasma jet in the region where the hot gas stream, that processes the substrate, originates.
This is achieved in accordance with one feature of the invention by using multiple plasma jet path sensing positions and multiple localized steering magnetic fields for each plasma jet leg so that their positions as well as their directions in the vertex zone, where the hot gas stream is generated, are precisely controlled. With a plasma jet generator system in accordance with the invention one can virtually eliminate plasma jet path instability at the vertex region.
This invention solves the problem of the limitation on treatment uniformity resulting from lack of precise control of the plasma jet direction and position in the region where the hot gas stream is generated. This disclosure recognizes that this lack of control:
1. Arises from the variation of the plasma jet path as it emerges from the electrode assemblies.
2. That prior art control configurations, consisting of sensing the path position at a single position and changing the path position by applying a localized magnetic field at a single position, are limited in capability to correct resulting plasma jet path deviations.
In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, the position of both the arms of the plasma jet are each optically sensed at two or more positions, and, magnetic fields are applied at separate areas to each leg of the plasma jet to allow precise positioning of the two legs of the plasma jet where they meet and generate the hot gas stream.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention only the position of the cathode originating arm or leg of the plasma jet is precisely controlled with a second optical sensor and magnetic field control because the other anode arm is more stable.
In still another form of the invention, the voltage between the cathode and anode assemblies is monitored and variations of the voltage are attributed to a change in the position of a plasma jet leg and thus used to adjust the plasma leg position with a second magnetic field.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a plasma jet generator and a method with which a precise control over the plasma jet position at a vertex where a hot substrate processing gas stream is produced is obtained.
It is a further object of the invention to produce a method and apparatus with which a highly improved control, typically in the range from about five to 10 to one or better, over the processing of a substrate with a hot gas stream is obtained.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention can be understood from the following detailed description of several embodiments in conjunction with the drawings.

System for precision control of the position of an atmospheric plasma


A semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus for inspecting an outer circumference edge part of a semiconductor wafer. The apparatus has a camera lens arranged facing an outer circumference edge part of a semiconductor wafer, an imaging surface arranged facing an outer circumference end face of a semiconductor wafer via the camera lens, a mirror forming an image of a first outer circumference bevel surface of the semiconductor wafer on the imaging surface via the camera lens, a mirror forming an image of a second outer circumference bevel surface of the semiconductor wafer on the imaging surface via the camera lens, a correction lens forming an image of an outer circumference end face of the semiconductor wafer on the imaging surface via the center part of the camera lens, and an illumination light guide lamp part illuminating the surfaces. With use of the apparatus the first outer circumference bevel surface and second outer circumference bevel surface become brighter compared with the outer circumference end face.

In the past, the art of capturing an image of an outer circumference edge part of a semiconductor wafer and using that image to inspect the outer circumference edge part for damage, projections, and other conditions has been proposed. For example, the art described in Patent Literature 1 is a system for inspecting the state of the outer circumference edge part of a semiconductor wafer where the outer circumference edge part is comprised of an outer circumference end face, a first outer circumference bevel surface slanted at an outer edge of a first main surface, and a second outer circumference bevel surface slanted at an outer edge of a second main surface. This inspection apparatus arranges a camera lens facing the outer circumference edge part of the semiconductor wafer and forms an image of the outer circumference end face and forms images of the first outer circumference bevel surface and second outer circumference bevel surface on an imaging surface through the camera lens so as to be able to capture the outer circumference end face, first outer circumference bevel surface, and second outer circumference bevel surface all together.
Further, in the art described in Patent Literature 1, the length of the light path from the outer circumference end face of the semiconductor wafer to the imaging surface and the lengths of the light paths from the first outer circumference bevel surface and second outer circumference bevel surface to the imaging surface differ. It is difficult to form an image of the outer circumference end face and images of the first outer circumference bevel surface and second outer circumference bevel surface on a single imaging surface. In consideration of this, a correction lens is arranged between the outer circumference end face of the semiconductor wafer and the camera lens to make the lengths of the light paths match.                Patent Literature 1: International Publication No. 2006/059647 pamphlet


A structural bonding composite includes a polymeric base member, a first structural adhesive layer on a first side of the base member, a second structural adhesive layer on a second side of the base member opposite the first side, and a reinforcement member secured to a portion of the base member to maintain a predetermined thickness of the base member against compression applied to the first and second sides of the base member.

Structural glazing in building construction, for example, in window, window wall, curtainwall, storefront, custom windows, entrances or related façade fabrication and installation, typically involves use of structural silicone sealant or other structural bonding adhesives, injected or otherwise placed in a cavity formed, for example, by a fenestration panel, frame member, and a spacer component that maintains a predetermined gap (e.g., ¼ inch) between the fenestration panel and the frame member. The required curing time for this structural sealant has created fabrication schedule challenges in the construction industry.


A rotor for an induction motor includes a core having a central hole extending axially therethrough for receiving a shaft. A plurality of large spaces are formed in the core radially outside of the center hole. The spaces are filled with a non-ferrous metal, and blowholes extend through the non-ferrous metal for conducting cooling air through the core.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotor for an induction motor and, more particularly to the rotor that reduces loss of the magnetomotive force of the induction motor for thus improving a start-up efficiency of the induction motor, and that is reduced in weight thereof for greatly reducing the manufacturing cost therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, as shown in FIG. 1, an induction motor has a core formed of a plurality of stacked circular rotor cores, each being made of a Si-steel plate, and a stator having a primary winding from which a magnetic field is generated, wherein the rotor is positioned within an effective range of the generated magnetic field. Thus, the location of the rotor as a secondary conductor causes the magnetic flux to be formed over the bulk of the rotor due to a circular shape of the rotor cores.
A rotor 1a used in a conventional induction motor as shown in FIG. 14A is configured such that in the central portion of a plurality of stacked rotor cores 2a, is formed a shaft inserting hole 3a for inserting a motor shaft 11 (FIG. 1), and an outer portion of the shaft inserting hole 3a is provided with many blowholes 6a for an air flow.
Another induction motor conventionally provided includes, as shown in FIG. 14B, a plurality of stacked rotor cores 2b having a shaft inserting hole 3b at a central portion thereof prepared for inserting a motor shaft, and a plurality of blowholes 6b at an outer portion thereof for an air flow. Furthermore self-stacking recesses 8 used for automatically stacking rotor cores 2a are formed outside of the blowholes 6b of the rotor core 2b.
However, for each of rotors 1a, 1b in two examples stated above, the magnetic flux is wholly distributed throughout the circular rotor cores 2a, 2b, resulting in the production of relatively longer paths among the magnetic flux paths. The more long paths for the magnetic flux are, the higher increased magnetic reluctances are generated.
Accordingly, there is a problem in that higher magnetic reluctance acts as a cause of the considerable loss of magnetomotive force which consequently reduces a start-up efficiency of the motor.
Furthermore, there is another problem in that heavier rotors 1a and 1b result in increased no-load torque and inertia force, caused by their heavy weight, and lead to an increase in the manufacturing cost.


An RF signal that is a disk reproduction signal is binarized through an equalizer and a slicer, followed by data demodulation, and an error rate of the reproduction signal is detected in an error detection circuit. If the error rate in the error detection circuit is higher than a prescribed value, a slice balance adjustment circuit performs slice balance adjustment for the slicer and a boost adjustment circuit performs boost adjustment for the equalizer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk reproducing device reproducing a signal recorded in a disk such as an optical disk, and more particularly to a disk reproducing device capable of reducing errors of reproduction signals.
2. Description of the Background Art
A method of adjusting reproduction signals of a disk reproducing device of interest to the present invention is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 11-328858. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a main part of a disk reproduction signal processing portion disclosed in this publication.
Referring to FIG. 7, in the conventional disk reproducing device, an RF (Radio Frequency) signal 109 that is a disk reproduction signal from a reproducing head is amplified by a preamplifier 101 and is then output to an AGC (Automatic Gain Control) & equalizer 102. AGC & equalizer 102 absorbs reduction in the output and holds the gain constant of RF signal. A high frequency enhancing filter (equalizer) is used to remove a high frequency noise of RF signal 109 and to boost the vicinity of a high frequency component of RF signal 109 having an amplitude extremely deteriorated due to interference between codes, for waveform equalization. Thereafter, RF signal 109 is binarized in slicer 103 and a clock signal 111 is separated in a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) 104. Binarized synchronous data 112 is generated from clock signal 111 and binarized data 110. A voltage is applied to the equalizer as a boost voltage value 114 in order to specify a boost amount. A phase error pulse 113 output from PLL 104 is converted to a phase error voltage 115 in a voltage conversion circuit 105. An A/D (Analog/Digital) converter 106, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a D/A (Digital/Analog) converter 108 adjust phase error voltage 115 to the minimum for output as a boost voltage amount 114.
Conventionally, a reproduction signal of an optical disk has been adjusted as described above. A boost amount of the high frequency enhancing filter (equalizer) has been adjusted with phase error voltage 115 adjusted to the minimum value. Unfortunately, with only adjustment of boost amount, the error correction for an individual disk is not sufficient.
In addition, since slicer 103 conventionally has a fixed binarization slice value, an optimum correction for each disk cannot be carried out.

Disk reproducing device with suppressed reproduction signal error


In a non-volatile memory cell, charge is stored in a fully isolated substrate or floating bulk that forms a storage capacitor with a first poly strip and includes a second poly strip defining a read gate and a poly-filled trench defining a control gate.

FIG. 1 shows a prior art electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) 100. It includes an n+ drain 102 and n+ source 104 formed in a p-well 106 and separated by a channel region 108. A floating gate 110 is formed over the channel region 108 and separated from the substrate 106 by a dielectric 112 in the form of a gate oxide. A control gate 114, separated from the floating gate 110 by an insulating layer 116, is formed over the floating gate 110. The floating gate 110 acts as the charge storage region for the memory device and is programmed by applying a voltage to the drain 102 and pulsing the control gate 114. This creates a high conductivity region in the channel region 108. High energy electrons (hot electrons) are accelerated across the channel region 108 and occasionally collide with lattice or dopant atoms to generate additional electron-hole pairs by impact ionization. The resultant scattered electrons occasionally have sufficient energy to bridge the gap of the dielectric 112 to the floating gate 110, being helped across by the voltage on the control gate. While programming of the cells involved hot electrons colliding with lattice and dopant atoms, erasing involves Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. In order to achieve this tunneling effect, a high electric field is established across the gate oxide 112 between the floating gate 110 and the channel 108. The effect is that during erasing of the memory cell, electrons are removed from the floating gate 110 by pulsing the drain 102 while holding the control gate 114 at ground or negative potential. The source 104 is permitted to float during erasing. The EEPROM thus has the advantage of allowing individual memory cells to be erased electronically.
FIG. 2 shows an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) 200, which differs from the EEPROM in FIG. 1 in that it includes a thin tunnel dielectric 202 between the drain 204 and the floating gate 206. This allows both programming and erasing by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, which is achieved by providing a potential difference across the drain 204 and control gate 208 of the order of 20V. During programming, electrons are added to the floating gate 206 by holding the drain at ground level and pulsing the control gate 208 at 20V for about 10 ms.
In contrast, during erasing of the memory cell, electrons are removed from the floating gate 206 by pulsing the drain 204 while holding the control gate 208 at ground potential. The source 210 is permitted to float during programming and erasing. As mentioned above, the EEPROM has the advantage of allowing individual memory cells to be erased electronically. In fact, in practice all of the memory cells in an array are typically erased and thereafter select memory cells are programmed.
Yet another type of memory cell, known as the Frohmann-Bentchkowsky EPROM 300, is shown in FIG. 3 and involves only a single poly layer defining a gate 302 separated from a channel region 304 by a gate oxide layer 306. An insulating layer 310 also covers the gate 302 to completely encapsulate the gate 302, thereby defining a floating gate that acts as the charge accumulation region. A p+ drain 312 and p+ source 314 are formed in an n-well 320 or n-substrate on either side of the channel region 304 and programming of the memory cell occurs by providing a lower voltage to the drain 312 compared to the source 314 and well 320. In particular, the well 320 can be held at ground level with the source 314 at ground level, while the drain 312 is held at a negative voltage. Alternatively the drain 312 can be held at ground while the well 320 is provided with a positive voltage and the source 314 is held at the positive voltage. The effect is a high electric field across the channel region 304 which causes hot electrons to be accelerated across the channel and occasionally to generate electron hole pairs by impact ionization. Some of the electrons generated by the impact ionization bridge the gap to the floating gate 302 to establish a negative charge in the gate. However, during the erasing process, since there is no control gate, there is no way to remove the charge from the floating gate. Thus the only way to erase a memory array made of memory cells of this nature is to eradiate them with UV radiation thereby erasing all of the memory cells in the array. Thus while this structure has the advantage of making use of only a single poly layer, it suffers from the disadvantage that individual memory cells in an array cannot be separately erased and the erasing is not electrical.
In order to address this problem, a single poly EEPROM was developed as shown in FIG. 4. This prior art EEPROM includes a first PMOS involving a p+ drain 400 and a p+ source 402 in a first n-well 404 with a floating poly gate 406 formed above a channel 408 between the drain 400 and source 402. The EEPROM further includes a second PMOS comprising a p+ drain 410 and a p+ source 412 in a second n-well 414, with a floating poly 416 formed over a channel region 418 between the drain 410 and p+ source 412. By including a second capacitor as defined by the second poly 416, spaced from the channel region 418 by an oxide layer 420, the cell of FIG. 4 provides for a control gate that allows the storage capacitor (as defined by the poly 406 spaced from the channel 408 by an oxide layer) to be electrically erased. It will however be appreciated that this structure has the drawback that it requires two PMOS devices. It therefore requires a considerable amount of space as defined by the well spacing between the two PMOS devices.
The applicant has therefore developed a new structure, which is described in concurrently filed patent application entitled "NON-VOLATILE MEMORY CELL WITH FULLY ISOLATED SUBSTRATE AS CHARGE STORAGE". In this structure, which is shown in plan view in FIG. 5 and folded out cross-section in FIG. 6, a single poly layer is used to form a control gate (CG) 512, erase/program gate (E/P G) 510 and read gate (RG) 540 formed over an isolated substrate or floating bulk (FB) 502 (that is isolated from a substrate 530 below by a buried oxide 531, and is isolated along its sides by trench oxide (deep or shallow trench) 506, and from the poly strips above by gate oxide 508. The RG 540 provides an extension 542 that extends over a second substrate region that is isolated from the FB. A drain region 520 and a source region 522 are formed in the second substrate region 532 and form a channel region 524 between them to define a read transistor 518 with the extension 542 serving as transistor poly gate. The detailed description of the structure 500 and its operation is given in the above patent application entitled "NON-VOLATILE MEMORY CELL WITH FULLY ISOLATED SUBSTRATE AS CHARGE STORAGE", which is included herein in its entirety by reference. The one drawback that exists in the structure 500 is that it still uses up a considerably amount of space due to the need for a large CG 512 to provide the necessary capacitive coupling with the FB 502.
Thus it will be appreciated that each of the prior art devices suffers from certain disadvantages. In the EPROM cell of FIG. 3 the capacitor is defined by a floating gate separated from a well by a gate oxide, however since there is no control gate, the erasing process requires UV radiation. In contrast, all of the electrically erasable memory cells involve a control transistor and a capacitor for charge storage. For instance, in the EEPROM of FIG. 1 and EEPROM of FIG. 2 the capacitor is formed by the floating gate separated by the gate oxide from the well, and a control gate is used to control the floating gate voltage. These EEPROM devices however also suffer from disadvantages, in that the floating gate and control gate are formed from two separate poly layers. In the case of the EEPROMs of FIG. 4 and FIGS. 5 and 6 the above problem is addressed in that both these structures make use of only a single poly. However, in the case of the FIG. 4 embodiment it requires two n-wells and therefore uses up a lot of space as determined by the well-to-well spacing, while in the FIGS. 5 and 6 embodiment the large control gate consumes a considerable amount of space.
The present invention seeks to improve the memory cell density of the structures of the prior art and of the concurrently filed application shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, while maintaining the advantage of a single poly structure.

Non-volatile memory cell with poly filled trench as control gate and fully isolated substrate as charge storage


Processes for preparing monochloroethylene carbonate include reacting ethylene carbonate with chlorine gas in a liquid phase under irradiation of UV light and introducing a separate feed of an inert gas into the liquid phase. Monochloroethylene carbonate may be subsequently converted to vinylene carbonate.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a process for preparing monochloroethylene carbonate from ethylene carbonate, as well as to a process comprising the further conversion of the monochloroethylene carbonate to vinylene carbonate.
Vinylene carbonate is an important intermediate for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, plant protection agents, polymers, especially for lacquers, and various other chemicals. One important use of vinylene carbonate is as an additive to solutions for batteries, especially for lithium ion batteries. Lithium ion batteries are, for example, used as storage batteries in hybrid electric vehicles.
Generally, vinylene carbonate is prepared from monochloroethylene carbonate by eliminating hydrogen chloride by means of a tertiary amine, usually triethylamine, in an organic solvent. The monochloroethylene carbonate used as a starting material in this elimination reaction is prepared by radical chlorination of ethylene carbonate. Examples of chlorination agents include sulfuryl chloride in combination with a radical initiator, or chlorine gas under the irradiation of UV light. Hydrogen chloride inevitably evolving as a by-product favors the formation of unwanted chlorinated decomposition products of ethylene carbonate. These unwanted chlorinated decomposition products present in the monochloroethylene carbonate which is—for economical reasons—usually directly employed in the synthesis of vinylene carbonate without any purification result in impurities of the final vinylene carbonate product which are difficult to remove. Consequently, a time-consuming and thus expensive recrystallization step is necessary in addition to several distillation steps in order to obtain vinylene carbonate having a high purity, e.g., required for battery applications.
JP-A-2007091604 describes a method for producing monochloroethylene carbonate comprising reacting ethylene carbonate with chlorine gas under the irradiation of light, wherein the chlorine gas is mixed with an inert gas and the gas mixture is then introduced into the reaction system. The method is said to improve the purity of the monochloroethylene carbonate product. However, the purity may still be insufficient for some uses.

Process for preparing monochloroethylene carbonate and subsequent conversion to vinylene carbonate


Methods and systems for synchronization and control of multiple processes in a printer controller using headers associated with data and exchanged among the processes of the printer controller. A first feature hereof provides a method for job control and synchronization among a plurality of processes operable in a printer controller. The method includes associating a job control header with all print data exchanged between the plurality of processes of the printer controller. The method then includes synchronizing operation of the plurality of processes in accordance with information in the job control header. The headers may be exchanged in conjunction with print data moving through the multiple processes and may be generated and exchanged for synchronization and control independent of any print data. Synchronization events may include beginning and/or end of processing for a job, a page, a document, a page description language, etc.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of printer control and in particular, to methods and systems for integrating job control and synchronization of printer controller processes with exchanges over the data paths between the various printer controller processes.
2. Statement of the Problem
Present day printing systems typically include a local printer controller that performs a number of functions within the printing system. In particular, a printer controller typically includes features for interaction with attached host systems wherein application programs generate data forwarded to the printer to be presented on appropriate print media (e.g., cut sheet or continuous feed paper). Another function of the print controller is to process any such received data to generate corresponding page images representing the received data on the printed media. Typically, such host generated data includes textual information and/or rasterized image information to be presented to a user on the printable media. The printer controller is therefore principally responsible for receiving data encoded in raw form and for converting the received raw data into rendered or rasterized printed pages. The rendered image information is then passed from the print controller to a marking engine to mark appropriate pixels on the printable media to represent the received raw print data on the printed page.
Typical print controllers therefore include a number of distinct processes operable on one or more processors of the printer controller. For example, a first process may be responsible for interacting with the host systems to receive the print data generated by host system applications. One or more other processes may then be responsible for rasterizing or rendering page images from the received, encoded print data. Still other processes may be responsible for transferring the rasterized or rendered page images to the marking engine for eventual presentation on the printable media. Still other processes may be responsible for interaction with the print operator to manage overall operation of the printing system as it relates to the eventual presentation of rasterized print jobs.
Each of these processes plays some role in the processing of received print jobs from attached host systems. A print job may therefore move between a number of different processes and may exist in a number of different states as processing continues through each of the multiple processes. For example, a raw print job generated by a host system may be received from a host system by a first process within the printer controller and may be stored or spooled in that raw form. The spooled print job may then be forwarded to an appropriate translator or rasterizer for the particular language or encoding of the received print job. Alternatively, the received print job may be sent directly from the receiving process to a translator or rasterizer appropriate for the particular print job encoding.
One or more appropriate rasterizers may be involved in processing a particular print job when the print job incorporates multiple languages or encodings. For example, a single print job may include PCL encoded information as well as Postscript encoded information. Therefore, portions of the print data receives from a host system may be directed to a first translator while other portions may be directed to other translators among the plurality of processes within the printer controller.
Still further, the output generated by such translators or rasterizers is generally page images to then be further formatted into appropriate positions on one or both sides of sheets of the printable media. Still other processes within the printer controller handle such formatting processing to place the rasterized page images into appropriate positions on one or more sides of the printable media. Still other processes within the printer controller may handle certain advanced print languages such as IBM's Intelligent Presentation Data System ("IPDS"). An IPDS translator may receive the raw print data and more fully control operation of the printing system during all phases of processing of the received IPDS data.
Clearly coordination and synchronization of such multiple processes operable within a printer controller is an ongoing problem for printer controller designs. It is desirable that the various processes are allowed to proceed largely independent of one another through queue structures used to couple the various processes so that each process may proceed at its optimum speed regardless of the speed of processing of other processes within the printer controller. Simultaneously, it is important to maintain a level of control and synchronization among such a plurality of substantially independent processes to assure that all print data is processed in an orderly manner and that print jobs are eventually printed in a logical, controlled order.
Further, a printer operator or administrative user may wish to alter the normal sequencing of such print job processing and thus may need to impose still further synchronization and control operations among the various processes within the printer controller based on such user interactions.
To achieve such synchronization and control, all processes within the printer controller may be designed to operate in complete lockstep such that a single print job is processed at any given time from beginning to end. In such a lockstep design a print operator or administrative user would have little capability to redefine the synchronization or control of the printing operation to achieve the desired goal for the printing enterprise. Further, since various processes may operate at different speeds, the computational capabilities of the printer controller may be underutilized in that all print job processing would be performed at the speed of the slowest processing process of the multiple processes within the printer controller. Computational processing power within the printer controller may therefore go underutilized in such a lockstep design.
Other known techniques to aid in synchronization and control while allowing substantial concurrent processing among the plurality of processes provide for complex messaging systems. In such complex messaging systems, the various processes exchange synchronization and control information outside of the normal print data processing data communication paths of the various multiple processes of the printer controller. Such an additional, independent, communication path among the various processes of the printer controller generates significant complexity and hence associated costs in the architecture of the printer controller. Further, since the synchronization and control related messaging communication is separate and independent from the data paths associated with the processing of print data, synchronization for certain types of events relating to the print data per se is still further complicated. For example, identifying the beginning or end of a particular document, a particular job, or a particular page description language to be processed may be overly complicated when the synchronization and control communications are totally separate and distinct from the print data processing data paths of the various processes.
It is evident from the above discussion that a need exists to simplify and improve processing of synchronization and control information within a printer controller to permit flexible synchronization and control of print jobs while still allowing significant concurrent processing of multiple such print jobs within a printer controller to thereby better utilize available computational power of the printer controller.

Integration of job control and synchronization with printer controller data exchanges


A method for storing images of a workpiece is provided. The method includes the steps of: (a) reading an image of the workpiece from the storage; (b) reading one byte of the three bytes' color information of each pixel of the image; (c) storing one by one the read one byte of the three bytes' color information of each pixel of the image in an array allocated by the storage; (d) obtaining a coordinate value of a center point of the image from the location file; (e) storing the coordinate value of the center point of the image and the array representing the image's color information as an object in a source file; and (f) repeating the steps (a) to (e) till all the images of the workpiece are read. A related system is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a system and method for storing images of a workpiece in a source file.
2. Description of Related Art
CCDs are used in a variety of different imaging devices, such as imagers, CCD cameras or scanners. The CCD is purely a light-sensitive integrated circuit that stores and displays data for an image of a workpiece in such a way that each pixel (picture element) in the image is converted into an electrical charge and the intensity of which is related to a color in the color spectrum. So, an optical lens is required to properly focus the incident radiation from the workpiece onto an array during a process of capturing the images of the workpiece.
The standard CCD can identify a pixel corresponding to the workpiece whose length is about 0.01 millimeter. If the resolution of a computer display is 1024*768 bytes, the image of the workpiece is only displayable up to 10 millimeter in its length. However, when there is a larger workpiece that needs to be measured on a measuring machine, the measuring engineer has to capture a series of images of the workpiece for measurement. However, the series of images occupy plenty of memory space.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for storing images of a workpiece in a source file with less memory space.

System and method for storing images of a workpiece

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


A battery cassette is disclosed. The battery cassette may include a frame including one or more hollow tubes. The battery cassette may further include a seal component having one or more hollow tubes aligned with the hollow tubes of the frame. The frame and the seal component may be configured to receive one or more battery cells in the hollow tubes.

An electric vehicle (EV), also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, uses an electric motor for propulsion. Electric vehicles may include all-electric vehicles where the electric motor is the sole source of power, and hybrid electric vehicles that include an auxiliary power source in addition to the electric motor. In an electric vehicle, energy may be stored in a rechargeable battery system that includes multiple battery cells to power the electric motor. The battery system typically includes a plurality of battery packs that each include a plurality of battery modules. Each battery module includes multiple battery cells. Standard battery packs use fixed size modules to create battery packs.
Battery modules are the base building blocks of a battery pack. A battery module includes multiple battery cells connected together in parallel and series. Typically, a battery module is not sub-dividable and is not easy to scale up or down in size. For example, existing battery module designs include a fixed amount of battery cells and voltages where changing either parameter would require major, structural changes. Further, current battery module designs may not adequately protect their battery cells from neighboring cell side ruptures or from exterior impacts. Moreover, existing battery modules may not protect battery cells well against convective, conductive, and/or radiation heat transfer in the case of thermal runaway.
Embodiments of the current disclosure disclose battery cassettes that address some of the above-described limitations. In some embodiments, the disclosed battery cassette includes a protective frame for mounting battery cells in a rigid assembly. The disclosed battery cassette may include a seal to protect battery cells from hot gases and a hard plastic frame to protect battery cells from exterior damage/impacts. In some embodiments, the disclosed battery cassette may include features that allow multiple battery cassettes to easily connect in integer numbers to create larger/smaller battery modules. The scope of the current disclosure, however, is defined by the attached claims, and not by the ability to solve any specific problem.


Digitally encoded content (e.g., music) is provided in a protected mode, along with a player that can unlock and/or decode this music on a user's personal computer (PC) for enjoyment only at their PC. Since the music is in a proprietary, protected form, the user cannot download to players for other formats, e.g., MP3 players, nor can a CD be burned for use external to the PC. If the user decides that they like the content and wants to use it on another playback device, e.g., a MP3 player, or copy it onto a CD-R for use in a standard audio player, the user can initiate a transaction for payment through the player. Once the transaction is completed, the player either converts or transforms the content into a format usable by the, e.g., MP3 player, or converts or transforms the content into wave format and writes it to a CD-R.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices, systems, and processes useful for distributing data and/or content, and more specifically to controlling how a user of that data and/or content uses it and can compensate the author or owner.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Music sharing has become a very popular activity for many people, and has occasioned the rapid creation and development of formats, devices, and systems that facilitate it. A number of digital music formats, including MP3 and wave formats, have spawned whole industries, and even new vernacular language, to make the use and distribution of digitally encoded music easier, faster, and commercially acceptable. The distribution of such content has been greatly advanced through the use of public networks, e.g., the internet and WWW.
There have been a number of problems that have arisen with the rise of the distribution of digital content, including music, in these new formats and through the internet. Many of the digital formats that are used are not copy-protected, thus opening up the possibility that a single digital copy of a song or set of songs could be distributed without any compensation to the copyright holder. It has been the case that such copying and distribution of digitized copyrighted material has caused economic harm to persons and businesses to whom royalties would have been due for the copies which were distributed in this manner.
Another difficulty in the use of some of these digital formats for music is that a person who wants to preview a song or set of songs typically must pay for a complete copy of the title or titles that they are interested in, effectively defeating the whole notion of previewing them. Instead, the person has, at that time, paid for the title(s) without having made an informed purchasing decision by having first heard the music. Thus, the potential 'buyer' must either pay without having previewed the title(s), or not receive a copy of the title to listen to. Still other prior systems permit the potential buyer only a partial exposure to the content, e.g., a low-fidelity and/or shortened version of a song, low-resolution copy of an image, etc.
Systems have been proposed to address some of the problems associated with the distribution of digitally encoded content, such as music, but are not completely satisfactory for some purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,076, published International applications WO 01/29732 A2 and WO 01/86842 A2, and published U.S. application Ser. No. US 2002/0062357 A1 all describe various systems and processes of this variety. Subscription services have also been proposed, but are not cost-effective to infrequent users, as they are typically structured so that the user pays a flat fee for access to whole databases of content. The prior art does not, however, provide an acceptable combination of content delivery, protection of encoded content, value to the user, and remuneration to the content source. Indeed, commercial ventures have been launched, such as burnitnow.com, that attempt to address these problems, but fall short of a solution acceptable to both users and content providers.
There therefore remains a need to allow the sharing and distribution of music, whether through the internet or not, while enabling successful content providers, e.g. musicians and labels, to obtain revenue from successful content.


A fastener coupler includes a first securing member configured to receive and retain a first fastener within a first inner cavity, wherein at least one passage is formed through the first securing member, and a setting indication material within at least a portion of the first inner cavity. The setting indication material is configured to extrude through the first passage when the first fastener is urged into the setting indication material in order to indicate that the first fastener is properly secured to the first securing member.

Cap fasteners, such as Sammy fastener assemblies, typically include caps of varying dimensions that are configured to mate with various screws or bolts of varying lengths and sizes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,351, entitled "Self-Tapping Screw Having Threaded Nut As A Head," and U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,680, entitled "Mounting Apparatus Having A Swivel Head," both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties, describe such fastening assemblies.
Sammy fastener assemblies may be used in various applications, but are commonly used to attach various items, such as pipes, lights, electrical equipment, and the like, to ceilings of associated structures. A Sammy fastener assembly includes a fastener fixedly secured to a Sammy cap. After the Sammy fastener assembly is installed into a ceiling, a threaded member, such as a rod, is threaded into a cap end of the Sammy fastener assembly. The threaded rod is used to secure a pipe support, electrical fixture, etc., to the Sammy fastener assembly. Typically, the Sammy fastener assembly serves as an anchor for mating components, and provides an overhead anchor with an internal thread to accept a threaded rod or other member. In one application, the Sammy fastener assembly secures sprinkler piping in commercial buildings for fire suppression systems. Further, such assemblies may be used to secure conduit to a ceiling.
In order to assemble a Sammy fastener assembly, a hex portion of a lag bolt, drill screw, masonry screw, or the like, is press fit into a slightly smaller, preferably round cylindrical counter bore of a Sammy cap. The cap typically includes a threaded section (about half the length of the cap) and a head attachment section (which usually includes two different diameter counter bores). The hex portion of a screw interferes with the rounded counter bore in the cap to provide torque transmission for the assembly. In other words, the cap and screw move together. That is, the screw does not move relative to the cap once secured within the cap. A counter bore of the Sammy screw is then folded or crimpled over the underside of the cap of the screw, thereby further securely retaining the screw to the cap.
Proper attachment of the Sammy screw to its mating structure (e.g., ceiling) and the attachment of the mating rod to the Sammy fastener assembly is important to ensure that the Sammy fastener assembly will properly secure a component to the structure. Typically, the Sammy fastener assemblies are inspected to ensure that the correct length Sammy screw was installed into a structure, such as a ceiling or post. However, such inspection is not always quick, easy or accurate.
Thus, a need exists for a system and method of quickly, easily, and accurately ensuring that a fastening assembly is properly secured to a structure. Further a need exists for a system and method of ensuring that a component is properly secured to the fastening assembly.


The invention relates to preparations that are useful in maintaining mammalian blood glucose concentrations. These preparations contain insulin, and a polymeric matrix. The polymeric matrix has a core of biodegradable, hydrophobic polymer, and an outer shell of a biodegradable, hydrophobic polymer. Alternately, the formulations contain insulin, a polymeric matrix, and a histone.

The basic object of the present invention is to provide a technical teaching including specified means for maintenance of a constant minimum level of insulin, on the one hand, and also specified means for correction as needed of a variable component of an optimal (physiological) level of insulin in the living organism, on the other hand, and also a combination of both. In said combination, first mentioned means is to be applied for long term correction preferably, and second mentioned means is to be applied for short term correction preferably. The combined correction minimizes natural fluctuation of glucose in blood plasma of a mammal with diabetes mellitus. The changes of the glucose concentration in blood plasma are illustrated in FIG. 1.
Legend to FIG. 1:
Zone A corresponds to increase in glucose concentration in blood plasma as a result of food intake;
Zone B corresponds to decrease in glucose concentration as a result of physical activities.
During a daily cycle the glucose concentration level in blood plasma constantly changes: it raises as a result of food intake and decreases during the maintenance of the organism's vital functions subsequently. Thus, if the fluctuations go beyond certain levels determined as "norm", the complex of pathologic biochemical processes, determined as hypo- or hyperglycemia develops in the organism. As is known to the person skilled in the art, the lowest level of glucose concentration, adequate to concept "norm", meets approximately 80 mg % and top level corresponds to about 100-150 mg %. The insignificant fluctuations in certain sections of the cycle, as well as maintenance of an average normal level glucose in blood plasma in a healthy organism are regulated by the insulin produced by the pancreas. In case of a disease called diabetes mellitus the insulin level in blood is essentially reduced against norm, which effect results in a hyperglycemia of a varying level.

Means for maintenance and/or correction of glucose concentration in blood


There is provided methods and apparatuses for secure updating of firmware/software. The methods and apparatus can be enabled by making use of the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) to request the revocation status of certificates in the certificate chain. In particular, a method called ‘OCSP stapling’ can ensure the validity of the certificates or verify authenticity of the software/firmware. By virtue of features of the OCSP stapling, the user device does not need to contact CAs directly for the purpose of verifying the status of the certificates that ensure authenticity and integrity of the delivered software/firmware and thus is not required to open an extra communication channel to obtain status of certificates. This process can also reduce the burden on CAs because the CAs are neither required to keep a large volume of CRLs nor to maintain connection with user devices for which the CAs are responsible.

Updating software and firmware is often required for a wide range of devices such as computers, cellular phones and printers. Such software and firmware updates can promote the best performance by adding new features and/or fixing errors. To enjoy newly updated features, it is important to have genuine and trusted software/firmware copies being installed in the desired devices; accordingly, verification of the authenticity and integrity of the software or firmware image can become important.
To ensure authenticity and integrity of the updated software or firmware image, a secure update scheme embracing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) can be used. Such secure update schemes may embed a public key for verifying the digital signature in a standard signing certificate called X.509 certificate. The signing certificate is included in the updated package which is sent to the desired device. The credential of Root Certificate Authority (CA), the issuer of the signing certificate, is pre-provisioned in the device and is usually provided in the form of a self-signed certificate. When the device receives an update package, it verifies firmware or software against the digital signature in the signing certificate and verifies the signing certificate against the Root CA.
However, there exists one or more potential problems that are often ignored or overlooked with respect to the signing certificate. The issue is that the signing certificate may be revoked by the issuing CA because the private key of the certificate can be compromised.
One of the most frequently used ways to deal with certificate revocation is that the device downloads a Certificate Revocation List (CRL) from the issuing CA, then checks whether the certificate has been revoked by consulting the downloaded CRL. While the device can download the CRL from the Root CA, it can also download the list from a trusted intermediate CA if it is more appropriate. The PKI could be extended to include a hierarchy of Intermediate CAs in which case the CRL would contain the entire certificate chain and the revocation status for each certificate in the chain would need to be checked.
One outstanding problem in this method is that it requires both the device and the CA to be online. Another problem with a CRL is that it can grow without bounds requiring larger download size and more processing (time). Especially in the context of IoT (Internet of Things) devices, the problem may become even worse since each device needs to download its own copy of the CRL. The size of the CRL can be extremely massive; as a result, a huge burden would be placed on the CA server, especially in the cases where the server serves an entire fleet of devices.
Therefore there is a need for a method and apparatus for secure software update that is not subject to one or more limitations of the prior art.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.

Method and apparatus for secure software update


A system providing methods for improved compression of images that have been compressed using Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) based compression is described. A digital image that has been compressed using DCT based compression, such as an image compressed using the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) compression scheme, is received and partially decompressed to generate DCT coefficients of the image. The decoded coefficients of the image are then rearranged to aggregate like frequencies together. After rearrangement, the image is recompressed using a wavelet-based compression scheme.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to digital image processing and, more particularly, to improved techniques for compression of digital images.
2. Description of the Background Art
Today, digital imaging, particularly in the form of digital cameras, is a prevalent reality that affords a new way to capture photos using a solid-state image sensor instead of traditional film. A digital camera functions by recording incoming light on some sort of sensing mechanism and then processes that information (basically, through analog-to-digital conversion) to create a memory image of the target picture. A digital camera's biggest advantage is that it creates images digitally thus making it easy to transfer images between all kinds of devices and applications. For instance, one can easily insert digital images into word processing documents, send them by e-mail to friends, or post them on a Web site where anyone in the world can see them. Additionally, one can use photo-editing software to manipulate digital images to improve or alter them. For example, one can crop them, remove red-eye, change colors or contrast, and even add and delete elements. Digital cameras also provide immediate access to one's images, thus avoiding the hassle and delay of film processing. All told, digital photography is becoming increasingly popular because of the flexibility it gives the user when he or she wants to use or distribute an image.
The defining difference between digital cameras and those of the film variety is the medium used to record the image. While a conventional camera uses film, digital cameras use an array of digital image sensors. When the shutter opens, rather than exposing film, the digital camera collects light on an image sensor, a solid-state electronic device. The image sensor contains a grid of tiny photosites that convert light shining on them to electrical charges. The image sensor may be of the charged-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) variety. During camera operation, an image is focused through the camera lens so that it will fall on the image sensor. Depending on a given image, varying amounts of light hit each photosite, resulting in varying amounts of electrical charge at the photosites. These charges can then be measured and converted into digital information that indicates how much light hit each site which, in turn, can be used to recreate the image. When the exposure is completed, the sensor is much like a checkerboard, with different numbers of checkers (electrons) piled on each square (photosite). When the image is read off of the sensor, the stored electrons are converted to a series of analog charges which are then converted to digital values by an Analog-to-Digital (A-to-D) converter, which indicates how much light hit each site which, in turn, can be used to recreate the image.
In order to generate an image of quality that is roughly comparable to a conventional photograph, a substantial amount of information must be captured and processed. For example, a low-resolution 640×480 image has 307,200 pixels. If each pixel uses 24 bits (3 bytes) for true color, a single image takes up about a megabyte of storage space. As the resolution increases, so does the image's file size. At a resolution of 1024×768, each 24-bit picture takes up 2.5 megabytes of storage space. Because of the large size of this information, digital cameras usually do not store a picture in its raw digital format but, instead, apply compression techniques, such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) compression, to the image so that it can be stored in a standard-compressed image format (e.g., JPEG File Interchange Format). Compressing images allows the user to save more images on the camera's "digital film," such as flash memory (available in a variety of specific formats) or other facsimile of film. It also allows the user to download and display those images more quickly.
During compression, data that is duplicated or which has little value is eliminated or saved in a shorter form, greatly reducing a file's size. When the image is then edited or displayed, the compression process is reversed. In digital photography, two forms of compression are used: lossless and lossy. In lossless compression (also called reversible compression), reversing the compression process produces an image having a quality that matches the original source. Although lossless compression sounds ideal, it does not provide much compression. Generally, compressed files are still a third the size of the original file, not small enough to make much difference in most situations. For this reason, lossless compression is used mainly where detail is extremely important as in x-rays and satellite imagery. A leading lossless compression scheme is LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch). This is used in GIF and TIFF files and achieves compression ratios of 50 to 90%.
Although it is possible to compress images without losing some quality, it is not practical in many cases. Therefore, all popular digital cameras use a lossy compression scheme. Although lossy compression does not uncompress images to the same quality as the original source, the image remains visually lossless and appears normal. In many situations, such as posting images on the Web, the image degradation is not obvious. The trick is to remove data that is not obvious to the viewer. For example, if large areas of the sky are the same shade of blue, only the value for one pixel needs to be saved along with the locations of where the other identical pixels appear in the image.
Currently, the leading lossy compression scheme is JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) used in JFIF files (JPEG File Interchange Format). For purposes of this document, JPEG compression is used as an example of a DCT based compression scheme. Today, JPEG is the most widely used scheme for compression of digital images in digital cameras. JPEG is a lossy compression algorithm that works by converting the spatial image representation into a frequency map. The scheme typically allows the user to select the degree of compression, with compression ratios between 10:1 and 40:1 being common. Because lossy compression affects the image, most cameras allow the user to choose between different levels of compression. This allows the user to choose between lower compression and higher image quality or greater compression and poorer image quality.
Although the JPEG scheme is widely used and does enable considerable reduction of the size of an image file, it has some drawbacks. One problem with JPEG is that it operates on 8×8 pixel blocks rather than the entire image. This may result in visible "block" artifacts (wherein the boundaries of the 8×8 pixel blocks become visible when the image is decompressed), especially at high compression ratios. To avoid block artifacts, JPEG is typically used at lower compression ratios, which results in larger image files. This means that fewer images may be stored on a digital camera and/or that greater memory resources must be available on the camera.
Relatively large files may also present problems in other applications. For example, large files may be problematic when image information is being transferred wirelessly from a digital camera to another device. In fact, wireless transfer of a digital image may be effectively precluded if the image file is too large because of current bandwidth constraints of most wireless networks. In the emerging market of "wireless imaging," small file sizes are important to transmit pictures over limited bandwidth public cellular networks (e.g., for storing to a repository or for peer-to-peer sharing). Another example of a need for smaller image file sizes is the print graphics industry. In this industry there is a need for smaller file sizes to enable high-resolution pictures to be shared using modems over ordinary phone lines.
Recently it has been discovered that other compression methods (e.g., wavelet-based compression methods) have been found to offer compression performance that is superior to JPEG. Wavelet-based compression operates on the entire image while JPEG operates on 8×8 pixel blocks. The use of "global" information about an image allows wavelet-based compression to avoid the block artifact problems of JPEG, especially at high compression ratios. For example, the new JPEG2000 standard utilizes a wavelet-based compression method. See e.g., "JPEG 2000 image coding system—Part 1: Core coding system," recently approved by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO/IEC 15444-1:2000. For purposes of this document, "JPEG2000" refers to this recently approved image coding system utilizing wavelet-based compression and not the prior JPEG standard.
Despite the above limitations of JPEG and the advances offered by wavelet-based compression methods, JPEG continues to be used in digital cameras as the hardware and software systems for JPEG based compression are readily available from a number of vendors. Given that many digital camera manufacturers have already made considerable investments in developing camera components to support JPEG compression, they are reluctant to abandon this investment in order to implement wavelet-based compression. For example, a number of manufacturers have developed custom hardware modules (e.g., Application Specific Integrated Circuits or ASICs) including functionality for JPEG compression. Another reason for continuing use of JPEG by camera manufacturers is the fact that JPEG is supported in almost all applications for image editing, enhancement, and display.
Given the widespread use of JPEG and other DCT based compression schemes, there is considerable interest in a method that will enable improved compression of DCT compressed images (e.g., JPEG images) thereby enabling such images to be more efficiently stored or transmitted. In particular, a method enabling more efficient compression of digital images would be particularly useful for transmission of digital images over limited bandwidth channels, such as wireless channels. Ideally, this improved compression method will also maintain or even improve upon image quality by reducing the impact of block artifacts inherent with the use of JPEG. The present invention fulfills these and other needs.

System and method for improved compression of DCT compressed images


A FRU assembly (10) comprises a melt chamber (20) including multiple subchambers (30) in which sticks of phase change ink (38, 40) are inserted and melted. Melted ink flows through apertures (54) to a reservoir (28) comprising multiple compartments (56). Each compartment contains a channel (90) and a siphon plate (114) that allow a siphon action that siphons melted ink in the compartments to an orifice (100) that leads to an ink jet print head (16). Heaters (52, 82, and 142) under the control of a CPU (154) melt the ink and keep the melted ink at a desired temperature during various modes of operation.

Ink jet printers eject ink onto a print medium, such as paper, in controlled patterns of closely spaced dots. Two commonly used inks are aqueous ink and phase change or hot melt ink. Phase change ink has a liquid phase when it is above the melting temperature, for example 86.degree. C., and a solid phase when it is at or below the melting temperature.
Phase change ink is conveniently stored, transported, and inserted into an ink jet printer assembly in solid phase. However, for phase change ink to be properly ejected from a print head, the ink must be in the liquid phase and relatively hot. Because it typically takes a few minutes for phase change ink to melt after heat has been applied to it, there must be a supply of melted ink having the proper temperature for the print head to eject. There is, therefore, a need for a method and an apparatus for melting and storing phase change ink and providing the ink to a print head at the proper temperature.

Method and apparatus for providing phase change ink to an ink jet printer


A system and method are used to form incoherent beams from a coherent beam. A system comprises a source of radiation and a reflective loop system. The source of radiation produces a coherent or partially coherent beam. The reflective loop system received the partially coherent beam and reflects the partially coherent beam through a loop, or alternatively through non-overlapping loops, to form an incoherent beam.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to radiation systems.
2. Related Art
A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate or part of a substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of flat panel displays, integrated circuits (ICs) and other devices involving fine structures. In a conventional apparatus, a patterning device, which can be referred to as a mask or a reticle, can be used to generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of a flat panel display (or other device). This pattern can be transferred onto all or part of the substrate (e.g., a glass plate), by imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (e.g., resist) provided on the substrate.
Instead of a circuit pattern, the patterning device can be used to generate other patterns, for example a color filter pattern or a matrix of dots. Instead of a mask, the patterning device can comprise a patterning array that comprises an array of individually controllable elements. The pattern can be changed more quickly and for less cost in such a system compared to a mask-based system.
A flat panel display substrate is typically rectangular in shape. Lithographic apparatus designed to expose a substrate of this type can provide an exposure region that covers a full width of the rectangular substrate, or covers a portion of the width (for example half of the width). The substrate can be scanned underneath the exposure region, while the mask or reticle is synchronously scanned through a beam. In this way, the pattern is trarisferred to the substrate. If the exposure region covers the full width of the substrate then exposure can be completed with a single scan. If the exposure region covers, for example, half of the width of the substrate, then the substrate can be moved transversely after the first scan, and a further scan is typically performed to expose the remainder of the substrate.
Typically, lithography systems use lasers as radiation sources to produce an illumination beam, e.g., a coherent illumination beam or a partially coherent illumination beam. During its travel through the lithography system, the illumination beam may reflect from components in the lithography system, which can form scattered light. The scattered light can interfere with the illuminating beam causing speckle patterns in an image. The speckle patterns are undesirable because they can cause errors in a pattern formed on a substrate. The speckle patterns can be caused by interference of partially coherent beams that are subject to minute temporal and spatial fluctuations. The speckle patterns are sometimes referred to as noise-like characteristics of the (partial) coherent illumination beam. Speckle patterns can also be caused when an element that increases angular distribution is used because multiple coherent copies of the beam are made. The multiple coherent copies of the beam can interfere with each other when an optical path difference between the different coherent copies (e.g., between generation of the beams and detection of the beams) is small compared to a coherence length (e.g., transverse and temporal) of the beams.
Conventionally, the speckle patterns have been compensated for through use of a diffractive or refractive optical element positioned after the laser, which are used to form an incoherent beam from the coherent beam. These elements are sometimes referred to as "coherence busting elements." As discussed above, the incoherent beam comprises multiple copies of the coherent beam.
The speckle pattern can be further reduced through movement of the optical element with respect to the illumination beam. The movement of the optical element changes a phase distribution for each copy of the coherent beams, which changes the speckle pattern for set of copies of the coherent beam. Through integrating (e.g., summing) of all the speckle patterns, uniform light is produced. However, a significant movement of the optical element is needed to substantially eliminate the speckle patterns. Also, typically the significant movement must be done within a short period of time, for example an exposure time. In an example where 30 pulses are used from a 1000 Hz laser, the exposure time could be about 30 μs. The significant movement in this short period of time can cause large oscillations within the lithography system, including high acceleration and jerks. The high acceleration and jerks can cause problems within the lithography system. Also, due to typically limited integration time, e.g., about 50 ns per pulse, it becomes nearly impossible to move the optical element enough with respect to the beam to substantially eliminate the speckle patterns.
Another way of compensating for the speckle patterns is to use a large number of laser pulses, e.g., 60 laser pulses, during each exposure cycle. A different speckle pattern results from each laser pulse. Thus, through use of a large number of laser pulses, the speckle patterns can be averaged out over time. However, recent lithography systems have decreased the number of laser pulses and/or have reduced the duration of each laser pulse during each exposure cycle. Unfortunately, reducing the number of laser pulses during each exposure cycle may not allow for the averaging effect to occur. Further, it may be difficult to move an optical element an acceptable amount during a reduced laser pulse duration to allow for compensation of the speckle patterns.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method that produces incoherent radiation having uniform intensity.

Reflective loop system producing incoherent radiation


A particulate TiO2 includes a TiO2 content of at least 99 wt.-%, an anatase content of at least 98 wt.-%, a primary crystallite size X50 of at least 200 nm, a numerical fraction of TiO2 with a primary crystallite size of at most 100 nm of at most 10%, a specific surface area of at most 8 m2/g as determined by BET measurements, 1200 ppm to 2400 ppm of alkali with respect to the TiO2 content, an Al content of 1 ppm to 1000 ppm, expressed as Al and with respect to the TiO2 content, a weight ratio of Al2O3 to Nb2O5 of from 0.17 to 0.74, and 0.1 wt.-% to 0.3 wt.-% of P, expressed as phosphorus and with respect to the TiO2 content.

In the production of titanium dioxide using the sulfate process, titanium dioxide-containing raw materials (slag, ilmenite) are dried and ground and then digested with concentrated sulfuric acid. The reaction between the raw materials and the concentrated sulfuric acid is carried out in batches in lined reaction vessels. During the digestion reaction, almost all of the metal oxides present in the raw materials which react with sulfuric acid are transformed into the corresponding metal sulfates. After the reaction, a solid mass (digestion cake) remains which is dissolved with water and/or dilute sulfuric acid.
This digestion solution, which is known as black liquor, is completely freed from the undissolved components (digestion residues, gangue) by sedimentation and/or filtration processes. Further on in the process, a suspension of metatitanic acid is produced from the solids-free digestion solution by hydrolysis. The metatitanic acid can be supplied to the downstream process by washing, bleaching and, if appropriate, salt treatment, as well as filtration.
The digestion residues precipitating out during the solid/liquid separation processes as sediment or filter cake are mashed with water and/or dilute sulfuric acid and are dumped after neutralization, usually with calcium hydroxide suspension and fresh filtration.
Processes for the production of such titanium dioxides are known in the prior art. A process for the production of anatase with large crystals using added seed crystals has been described in GB 2 247 009. Alternative processes have been described in EP 0 772 905 and EP 0 782 971. However, these processes are all complicated to control and cannot reliably produce an anatase with the desired color stability.

Process for the production of titanium dioxide, and titanium dioxide obtained thereby


Provided are methods of controlling disassociation of cells from a carrier, compositions, and methods of collecting cells. The methods of controlling disassociation of cells from a carrier may include contacting a polymeric carrier with one or more digesting agents to disassociate at least a portion of a plurality of cells from the polymeric carrier. The polymeric carrier may be crosslinked with a crosslinker including at least one of a redox sensitive moiety, a UV light sensitive moiety, a pH sensitive moiety, and a temperature sensitive moiety.

Crosslinked porous gelatin microcarriers are widely used as a cell substrate for cell therapy applications. For example, Cultispher-G is a porcine gelatin-based porous microsphere, which is widely used as a microcarrier for adherent cell suspension culture and expansion. The porous structure of Cultispher-G beads may increase the surface area available for cell attachment and proliferation. Moreover, gelatin, which is derived from collagen, is one of the main components of the extracellular matrix, and, therefore, can provide binding motifs for cell attachment.
Gelatin also is digestible via proteolytic enzymes, which enables facile cell dissociation from the porous gelatin microcarriers, as well as a simplified downstream process while maintaining cell viability.
However, the production of extracellular matrix by the highly dense cells usually slows the complete digestion of the porous gelatin microcarriers, thereby undesirably delaying the disassociation of the cells. This can result in low cell recovery, low cell viability, suboptimal biological properties, or a combination thereof, which can hinder the use of porous gelatin microcarriers in clinical applications.
There remains a need to improve compositions and methods for better control of digestion time, cell recovery, and/or cell viability.


A medical robot system and a method for controlling the same. The medical robot system includes a trocar, inserted into an incision of a patient, to guide a surgical apparatus and transmit at least one of position information of the surgical apparatus and pressure information of the surgical apparatus, and a console to display a screen including at least one of the position information and the pressure information.

1. Field
Example embodiments of the following disclosure relate to a medical robot system and a method for controlling the same. More specifically, example embodiments of the following disclosure relate to a medical robot system and a method for controlling the same to improve stability of robotic surgery.
2. Description of the Related Art
Robotic surgery is a surgery in which a robot capable of moving a surgical apparatus is controlled by a doctor. Due to various benefits, robotic surgery is widely utilized in a variety of medical fields including general surgery.
Generally, a medical robot system includes a robot and a console to control movement of the robot. A doctor moves the robot by operating an input unit provided in the console and thereby incising or suturing the surgical site of a patient.
However, disadvantageously, a serial link-type medical robot system of the related art does not secure patient incision safety. Specifically, when the doctor operates the robot using a console, the doctor does not know a level of force applied to a patient incision by the robot, and thus, the patient's safety during performance of surgery is reduced.
As such, the doctor does not know the force applied to the incision by the robot. For this reason, it is difficult for the doctor to control force in order to prevent the incision of the patient from being damaged. Accordingly, the incision of the patient may be readily damaged.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method of robotic surgery, which ensures the safety of the patient during surgery.

Medical robot system and method for controlling the same


In a screw compressor for a refrigerator, suction-side rotor shafts of screw rotors are supported rotatably by angular ball bearings for forward thrust load, an annular gap is formed between the angular ball bearings and a suction-side bearing casing, and outermost end faces of outer rings of the angular ball bearings are pressed through a spring member by means of a presser member fixed to an end face of the suction-side bearing casing, whereby the angular ball bearings are held movably in the thrust direction within the suction-side bearing casing. Discharge-side rotor shafts of the screw rotors are supported rotatably by angular ball bearings for forward thrust load and an angular ball bearing for reverse thrust load which are held at predetermined certain positions within a discharge-side bearing casing. A screw compressor which permits structural simplification, reduction of size, and lightening of a maintenance burden is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a screw compressor and more particularly to a screw compressor for compressing a refrigerant in a refrigerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, a screw compressor applicable to a refrigerator has been publicly known (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,227).
Screw compressors are broadly classified into an oil-cooled type screw compressor and an oil-free type screw compressor. In an oil-cooled type screw compressor, oil is fed into a rotor chamber for the purpose of sealing between rotors, sealing between rotors and an inner wall surface of the rotor chamber, cooling a portion whose temperature rises with compression, and lubrication. In an oil-free type screw compressor, oil is not fed into a rotor chamber, a bearing portion is completely shut off from the rotor chamber by sealing, and a synchronous gear is used for the transfer of a rotational drive force between male and female rotors. As to the structure of the compressor body itself, the oil-free screw compressor is more complicated than the oil-cooled screw compressor. At the same discharge air volume, the oil-free screw compressor is more expensive, correspondingly to the more complicated structure thereof, than the oil-cooled screw compressor. Further, the gap between rotors and the gap between the rotors and an inner wall surface of the rotor chamber are larger in the oil-free screw compressor than in the oil-cooled screw compressor. The amount of gas leaking through those gaps is also larger in the oil-free screw compressor. Generally, therefore, the oil-cooled screw compressor is used and the oil-free screw compressor is not used except in such a special use as requires only a clean compressed gas without permitting the inclusion of lubricating oil in the compressed gas.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,227 is disclosed an oil-cooled screw compressor 30 which is illustrated in FIG. 4. The screw compressor 30 has a pair of intermeshing male and female screw rotors 32 and a motor 33 within an integral type casing 31. At one end of the integral type casing 31 is formed a gas inlet 35 which is provided with a filter 34. At an end portion of the screw rotors 32 located close to the motor 33 is formed a suction port 36, while at an opposite end portion thereof is formed a discharge port 37.
Suction-side rotor shafts 41 of the screw rotors 32 are supported within a suction-side bearing casing 42 rotatably by two cylindrical roller bearings 43a and 43b for radial load whose outer rings are held at predetermined certain positions through an appropriate spacing. Discharge-side rotor shafts 44 of the screw rotors 32 are arranged within a discharge-side bearing casing 45 so as to be in close contact with each other and are supported rotatably by one cylindrical roller bearing 46 for radial load whose outer ring is held at a predetermined certain position, two angular ball bearings 47a and 47b for forward thrust load, and one angular ball bearing 48 for reverse thrust load. As to the thrust loads, the direction from the suction side toward the discharge side is assumed to be a reverse direction, while the direction from the discharge side toward the suction side is assumed to be a forward direction.
The suction-side rotor shaft 41 of one of the paired male and female screw rotors 32 shown in FIG. 4 is coupled for integral rotation to an output shaft 49 of the motor 33, and the screw rotors 32 are rotated by the motor 33. Since the screw compressor 30 is an oil-cooled type, oil is fed through an oil flow path (not shown) to each of the bearing portion within the suction-side bearing casing 42, the bearing portion within the discharge-side bearing casing 45, and a tooth space not communicating with the discharge port 37 of the screw rotors 32.
When the screw compressor 30 is applied to a refrigerator, a gaseous refrigerant which has entered the screw compressor 30 from the gas inlet 35 through the filter 34 passes the motor 33 and is sucked from the suction port 36 into the tooth space of the screw rotors 32 which are rotating, whereby it is compressed under the supply of oil. The thus-compressed gaseous refrigerant together with oil is discharged from the discharge port 37 to an oil separating/recovering unit, in which the refrigerant and the oil are separated from each other. The refrigerant then passes through a condenser and is conducted to an expansion valve and an evaporator. On the other hand, the oil which has been separated from the refrigerant is once stored in an oil sump and is then fed through the foregoing oil flow path to the bearing portion within the suction-side bearing casing 42, the bearing portion within the discharge-side bearing casing 45, and the tooth space not communicating with the discharge port 37 of the screw rotors 32. The oil is recycled repeatedly.
In the screw rotors 32, a radial load is imposed on each of the suction side and the discharge side and it is borne by the suction-side cylindrical roller bearings 43a, 43b and the discharge-side cylindrical roller bearing 46. Further, due to a pressure difference between the suction side and the discharge side, a forward thrust load acts on the screw rotors 32 from the discharge side toward the suction side, and the screw rotors 32 undergo a thermal expansion caused by the compression of gas and the resulting rise of temperature. However, the discharge-side rotor shafts 44 are restrained its movement in the thrust direction by the two angular ball bearings 47a, 47b for forward thrust load and one angular ball bearing 48 for reverse thrust load.
On the other hand, the suction-side rotor shafts 41 are merely supported by the cylindrical roller bearings 43a and 43b which permit free movement in the thrust direction of outer rings relative to inner rings, and their movement in the thrust direction is not restrained at all. Therefore, in the event of thermal expansion of the screw rotors 32, the suction-side rotor shafts 41 move relatively in the thrust direction with respect to the suction-side bearing casing 42. In these cases, it is the oil that ensures a smooth movement in each bearing.
As described above, the structure of the screw compressor body itself is simpler in the oil-cooled type than in the oil-free type, but in the case of an oil-cooled screw compressor, not only it is necessary to use an oil separating/recovering unit and, as the case may be, an oil cooler and an oil filter, but also an oil flow path including these devices is needed. As an additional problem, maintenance of those devices and the management of oil are required. That is, in case of applying an oil-cooled screw compressor to a refrigerator, it is necessary to provide an oil flow path for the recycle of oil, in addition to the refrigerant recycle path.
It is ideal if an oil-cooled screw compressor having a simple structure and not requiring the use of oil is applied to a refrigerator, but even if such a screw compressor is adopted, it is necessary to use liquid as a substitute for oil.
In this connection, reference will be made below to the case where a portion of the liquid refrigerant after condensation in the condenser and before reaching the expansion valve is used as a substitute for the oil in the screw compressor 30 shown in FIG. 4.
In the screw compressor 30, the cylindrical roller bearings 43a and 43b are used for the suction-side rotor shafts 41, while the cylindrical roller bearing 46 is used for the discharge-side rotor shafts 44. In these bearings, cylindrical rollers are in linear contact with inner and outer rings, so it is difficult to effect lubrication using a refrigerant. More specifically, in the case of an angular ball bearing, balls are in point contact with inner and outer rings, so by allowing a liquid refrigerant to be present in the point contact portions it is possible to lubricate between the balls and the inner and outer rings. But in the case of a cylindrical roller bearing, it is difficult to make a liquid refrigerant of a lower viscosity than oil be present in linear contact portions between cylindrical rollers and the inner and outer rings, with consequent insufficient lubrication giving rise to a problem of seizure of the cylindrical roller bearing.