Process for the production of cell mass and/or fermentation products under sterile conditions, during which the fermentation mixture, at least at times, is recycled and the metabolic products of the cultivated cells, and possibly the cell mass are separated; the process comprises the following steps:. charging the fermentation equipment with a sufficient amount of nutrient medium to start the required cell culture. PA1 sterilizing the equipment as well as adjustment of the required concentration of nutrient medium, PA1 inoculation of the nutrient medium with the starter culture and allowing undisturbed growth of the culture for a defined time, PA1 increasing the concentration of the nutrient medium to the specific nutrient medium concentration of the cell culture by simultaneously increasing the volume of the nutrient medium to the working volume of the fermenter and increasing the concentration of cells, PA1 transition to continuous procedure with exchange of the nutrient medium and separation of the metabolic products as well as complete or partial cell recycling, PA1 termination of the continuous procedure at a required time, harvest of the cell mass under sterile conditions, and possibly PA1 repetition of some or all of the abovementioned steps in the order stated, as well as a device for the implementation of these processes.

In the meantime several processes for the continuous fermentation of liquid substrates have become known. DE-A 33 23 205 describes a process and equipment for the continuous fermentation of a liquid substrate with simultaneous separation of the metabolic products formed in the fermentation. It is characteristic of this method that the fermentation mixture is circulated; during the circulation a thin stream of liquid flows over a membrane surface, and the circulating fermentation mixture is pressurized to the extent that the metabolic products formed are simultaneously selectively fractionated and separated from the fermentation mixture by filtration through a membrane. To maintain continuous operation a substrate supply cycle from which fresh substrate is continuously withdrawn and led into the fermentation cycle through a sterilization module is provided upstream. Metabolic products are continuously removed from the process.
This continuous process of the prior art, however, has a number of disadvantages, which are due to characteristics of construction as well as those connected with its operation.
In the process disclosed in DE-A 33 32 205, a membrane is used to remove the metabolic products produced from the fermentation mixture. Such membranes, however, tend to become blocked, which reduces the separation efficiency and requires very large membrane surface areas. In addition, special techniques and high pressure must be used to maintain the permeability of the membrane. Also, the membrane does not permit continuous removal of sediment from the fermentation equipment or continuous separation of the cell mass formed in the fermentation.
Additionally, this process of the prior art has a number of the disadvantages described above for the batchwise process. These disadvantages in particular relate to sterilization of the equipment and media and additionally the inability to adapt the culture conditions to the prevailing growth phase of the microorganism. This disadvantage results in a diminished yield of cell mass and/or catabolite formation and simultaneously poor substrate utilization, and also leads to unacceptably long culture times.


An arithmetic unit for multiplying a first quantity x by a second quantity y, the arithmetic unit including a Booth coder having a plurality of inputs for receiving a plurality bits of the second quantity and a plurality of outputs for providing Booth coded outputs; and circuitry connected to at least one of the inputs and the outputs for modifying at least one output of the coder.

In known arithmetic units, it is possible to calculate a multiply accumulate function. In a multiply accumulate function, a first number X is multiplied by a second number Y and added to an accumulator ACCU. This function may be repeated a number of times to modify each time the value of the accumulator ACCU. In mathematical notation, the result RES of this function can be represented as follows:RES=ACCU+X*Y
In the next operation which is performed, ACCU will equal the result RES obtained by carrying out the preceding function.
Reference is made to FIG. 1 which shows a known arithmetic unit 2 which performs a multiply accumulate function. The unit 2 generates n partial products 4. The current accumulator ACCU is stored in the accumulator register 6. The partial products 4 along with the output from the accumulator register 6 are input to a carry save adder 8. The carry save adder 8 reduces the number of partial products and the output of the accumulator register 6 to two partial products. In other words, the N+1 inputs to the carry save adder 8 are reduced to two. These two partial products are output to a final adder 10 which adds together the two partial products to provide the final result RES.
In the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to perform a carry save operation in the carry save adder 8 on the partial products and the contents of the accumulator register 6 at the same time. X*Y is equal to the sum of all of the partial products P0 to P(n−1). In other words X*Y=ΣPi for i=0, 1 . . . n−1. Thus, RES=ACCU+ΣPi. As shown by this equation, all the partial products and the accumulator ACCU are added together in order to obtain the result RES.
It is also desirable in certain circumstances to be able to perform a multiply subtract operation. In this operation, a first number X is multiplied by a second number Y and subtracted from a accumulator ACCU (which in fact may be modified by subsequent operations) to provide the result RES. In mathematical notation, RES=ACCU−X*Y. Again, X*Y can be determined by adding together the n partial products. Accordingly, RES=ACCU−ΣPi. The architecture shown in FIG. 1 is not suitable for use with a multiply subtract operation. This is because the partial products and accumulator ACCU cannot simply be added together to provide the result RES. Some additional circuitry will therefore be required in order to allow a multiply subtract operation to be performed as well as a multiply accumulate function. This additional circuitry would inevitably result in an increase in the time taken to complete an operation.

Arithmetic unit for multiplying a first quantity X by a second quantity Y


An impact dynamometer is provided to determine a force history that has high and low frequency components. An impact plate receives an impact force at a zone of impact and an accelerometer measures the acceleration of the impact plate at the zone of impact. A plurality of posts, located distally from the zone of impact, support the impact plate and transmit the impact force from the impact plate. One or more accelerometers measure acceleration of the impact plate at the posts. The acceleration measured at the zone of impact and at the posts is indicative of the high frequency components of the impact force. Strain gauges measure the impact force at the posts which is indicative of the low frequency components of the impact force. A spring cushion supports the posts and elastically absorbs the impact force passed through the posts in order to maintain the structural integrity of the impact dynamometer.

During various Navy test and practice operations, practice torpedoes are routinely fired at ships, submarines or models thereof. Although these practice torpedoes are designed for last minute impact avoidance, they nevertheless occasionally strike their intended target. It is therefore of interest to know `a priori` what kind of impact forces may result in order to predict the consequences of such an impact. Accordingly, it is desirable to develop an accurate force history spanning the time that a torpedo impacts a target.
Upon impact, torpedoes experience large inelastic deformation and often fracture. In addition, equipment internal to the torpedo may break loose and strike the forward portion of the torpedo, thereby modifying the delivered impact load. Thus, reliable impact force histories cannot in general be predicted entirely by analytical means. In the past, impact force histories were obtained from full scale tests carried out on operational boats in drydock. Alternatively, large single compartment models containing simulated equipment were impacted and various schemes were used to reconstitute the impact force histories. However, the schemes used did not provide for an accurate definition of the higher frequency impact response components (on the order of 1-10 kHz) generated by the impact. In very general terms, the higher frequency components occur during the first few milliseconds after impact while lower frequency components (less than approximately 1 kHz) are associated with the remainder of the event. An additional drawback is that the expense associated with using operational boats or large scale models greatly inhibits the amount of testing and development defining torpedo impact forces.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A termiticidal composition containing a compound represented by the formula [I]; ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 represents 2-chloro-5-pyridyl, 2-chloro-5-pyrazinyl, 2-methyl-5-pyrazinyl or 2-chloro-5-thiazolyl; R.sub.2 represents hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, methoxymethyl, cyclopropyl, propynyl or methoxy; R.sub.3 represents hydrogen or methyl or chloromethyl; and R.sub.4 represents cyano or nitro, or a salt thereof as an active ingredient.

Many types of termiticide, such as organochlorine compounds, organophosphorous compounds, carbamate compounds, etc., have been used for the control of termites in the past, however, most of those termiticide have not been always satisfied in terms of their insufficient effectiveness and/or their high toxic property. Therefore, the development of novel termiticide which has less disadvantages as described above and is highly safe to human beings, has been intensively demanded.
The compounds, the manufacturing process and the use of those amine derivatives of present invention as insecticides are disclosed in WO91/04965 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,566 and 5,612,358).
It is described that a kind of 2-chloro-5-pyridylmethylamino derivatives have termiticidal effect in U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,442.


A system for calibrating a closed power control loop includes an adder configured to inject a test signal into an adjustable element, a first peak detector configured to determine an amplitude of the injected test signal, a second peak detector configured to determine an amplitude of a return test signal, a comparator configured to determine the difference between the injected test signal and the return test signal, and a calibration engine configured to adjust the adjustable element so that the return test signal is offset from the injected test signal by a predetermined amount.

Radio frequency (RF) transmitters are found in many one-way and two-way communication devices, such as portable communication devices (cellular telephones), personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other communication devices. An RF transmitter transmits using whatever communication methodology is dictated by the particular communication system within which it is operating. For example, communication methodologies typically include amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, phase modulation, or a combination of these. In a typical global system for mobile communications (GSM) communication system using narrowband TDMA technology, a GMSK modulation scheme supplies a low noise phase modulated (PM) transmit signal to a non-linear power amplifier directly from an oscillator.
In such an arrangement, a non-linear power amplifier, which is highly efficient, can be used, thus allowing efficient transmission of the phase-modulated signal and minimizing power consumption. Because the modulated signal is supplied directly from an oscillator, the need for filtering, either before or after the power amplifier, is minimized.
One manner of controlling the output of the power amplifier is referred to as a closed-loop power control system. In a closed-loop power control system, a portion of the output of the power amplifier is diverted to closed-loop power control circuitry associated with the power amplifier. The closed-loop power control circuitry analyzes a number of factors, including a power control signal generated in the device and the power output of the power amplifier, and determines the optimal desired power to be output from the power amplifier. The closed-loop power control circuitry then delivers a power control signal to the power amplifier to control the power amplifier power output.
In a closed-loop power control system, the behavior of the power control loop, as well as overall system performance, depends to a large degree on the bandwidth of the power control loop and on the phase and gain margins of the power control loop.
Ideally, the bandwidth of the closed power control loop is maintained within a certain, and sometimes narrow, range to provide proper system functionality and to eliminate any out-of-band noise so as to comply with cellular transmission standards. One manner of calibrating a closed power control loop requires costly external components and dedicated test equipment. Such a calibration system is also time consuming.
Therefore, it would be desirable to minimize complexity and duration when calibrating a closed power control loop.

System and method for closed loop power control calibration


Compositions, and methods of use thereof, for use as blood substitute products comprise aqueous mixtures of oxygen-carrying and non-oxygen carrying plasma expanders and methods for the use thereof. The oxygen-carrying component may consist of any hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier, while the non-oxygen carrying plasma expander my consist of an oncotic colloid-like starch.

A. The Circulatory System and the Nature of Hemoglobin
The blood is the means for delivering nutrients to the tissues and removing waste products from the tissues for excretion. The blood is composed of plasma in which red blood cells (RBCs or erythrocytes), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets are suspended. Red blood cells comprise approximately 99% of the cells in blood, and their principal function is the transport of oxygen to the tissues and the removal of carbon dioxide therefrom.
The left ventricle of the heart pumps the blood through the arteries and the smaller arterioles of the circulatory system. The blood then enters the capillaries, where the majority of the exchange of nutrients and cellular waste products occurs. [See, e.g., A. C. Guyton, Human Physiology And Mechanisms Of Disease (3rd. ed.; W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, Pa.), pp. 228-229 (1982)]. Thereafter, the blood travels through the venules and veins in its return to the right atrium of the heart. Though the blood that returns to the heart is oxygen-poor compared to that which is pumped from the heart, in resting man the returning blood still contains about 75% of the original oxygen content.
The reversible oxygenation function (i.e., the delivery of oxygen and the removal of carbon dioxide) of RBCs is carried out by the protein hemoglobin. In mammals, hemoglobin has a molecular weight of approximately 68,000 and is composed of about 6% heme and 94% globin. In its native form, it contains two pairs of subunits (i.e., it is a tetramer), each containing a heme group and a globin polypeptide chain. In aqueous solution, hemoglobin is present in equilibrium between the tetrameric (MW 68,000) and dimeric forms (MW 34,000); outside of the RBC, the dimers are prematurely excreted by the kidney (plasma half-life of approximately two to four hours). Along with hemoglobin, RBCs contain stroma (the RBC membrane), which comprises proteins, cholesterol, and phospholipids.
B. Exogenous Blood Products
Due to the demand for blood products in hospitals and other settings, extensive research has been directed at the development of blood substitutes and plasma expanders. A blood substitute is a blood product that is capable of carrying and supplying oxygen to the tissues. Blood substitutes have a number of uses, including replacing blood lost during surgical procedures and following acute hemorrhage, and for resuscitation procedures following traumatic injury. Plasma expanders are blood products that are administered into the vascular system but are typically not capable of carrying oxygen. Plasma expanders can be used, for example, for replacing plasma lost from burns, to treat volume deficiency shock, and to effect hemodilution (for, e.g., the maintenance of normovolemia and to lower blood viscosity). Essentially, blood products can be used for these purposes or any purpose in which banked blood is currently administered to patients. [See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,001,401 to Bonson et al., and 4,061,736 to Morris et al., hereby incorporated by reference].
The current human blood supply is associated with several limitations that can be alleviated through the use of an exogenous blood product. To illustrate, the widespread availability of safe and effective blood substitutes would reduce the need for banked (allogeneic) blood. Moreover, such blood substitutes would allow the immediate infusion of a resuscitation solution following traumatic injury without regard to cross-matching (as is required for blood), thereby saving valuable time in resupplying oxygen to ischemic tissue. Likewise, blood substitutes can be administered to patients prior to surgery, allowing removal of autologous blood from the patients which could be returned later in the procedure, if needed, or after surgery. Thus, the use of exogenous blood products not only protects patients from exposure to non-autologous (allogeneic) blood, it conserves either autologous or allogeneic (banked, crossmatched) blood for its optimal use.
C. Limitations of Current Blood Substitutes
Attempts to produce blood substitutes (sometimes referred to as "oxygen-carrying plasma expanders") have thus far produced products with marginal efficacy or whose manufacture is tedious and expensive, or both. Frequently, the cost of manufacturing such products is so high that it effectively precludes the widespread use of the products, particularly in those markets where the greatest need exists (e.g., emerging third-world economies).
The blood substitutes that have been developed previously are reviewed in Winslow, 1992. They can be grouped into the following three categories: i) perfluorocarbon-based emulsions, ii) liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin, and iii) modified cell-free hemoglobin. As discussed below, none has been entirely successful, though products comprising modified cell-free hemoglobin are thought to be the most promising. Perfluorochemical-based compositions dissolve oxygen as opposed to binding it as a chelate. In order to be used in biological systems, the perfluorochemical must be emulsified with a lipid, typically egg-yolk phospholipid. Though the perfluorocarbon emulsions are inexpensive to manufacture, they do not carry sufficient oxygen at clinically tolerated doses to be effective. Conversely, while liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin has been shown to be effective, it is far too costly for widespread use. [See generally, Winslow, Robert M., "Hemoglobin-based Red Cell Substitutes", Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1992].
Most of the blood substitute products in clinical trials today are based on modified hemoglobin. These products, frequently referred to as hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers (HBOCs), generally comprise a homogeneous aqueous solution of a chemically-modified hemoglobin, essentially free from other red cell residues (stroma). Although stroma-free human hemoglobin is the most common raw material for preparing a HBOC, other sources of hemoglobin have also been used. For example, hemoglobin can be obtained or derived from animal blood (e.g., bovine hemoglobin) or from bacteria or yeast or transgenic animals molecularly altered to produce a desired hemoglobin product. [See generally, Winslow, supra].
The chemical modification is generally one of intramolecular crosslinking and/or oligomerization to modify the hemoglobin such that its persistence in the circulation is prolonged relative to that of unmodified hemoglobin, and its oxygen binding properties are similar to those of blood. Intramolecular crosslinking chemically binds together subunits of the tetrameric hemoglobin unit to prevent the formation of dimers which, as previously indicated, are prematurely excreted. [See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,465 to Rausch et al., hereby incorporated by reference].
The high costs of manufacturing HBOC products have greatly limited their commercial viability. In addition, the present inventors have found that known HBOCs have a tendency to release excessive amounts of oxygen to the tissues at the arteriole walls rather than the capillaries; this can result in insufficient oxygen available for delivery by the HBOC to the tissues surrounding the capillaries. This is despite the fact that the initial loading of the HBOC with oxygen may be relatively high, even higher than that normally achieved with natural red blood cells.
What is needed is a blood product that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and that delivers adequate amounts of oxygen to the tissues.

Methods and compositions for optimization of oxygen transport by cell-free systems

The Regents of the University of California


A system is provided for latching and draining a torque transmitting device. The system may include a clutch feed channel having an inlet portion and a clutch portion. The inlet portion is configured to provide hydraulic fluid from a pressurized source to the clutch portion. The clutch portion is configured to provide hydraulic fluid to a torque transmitting device. An inlet valve connects the inlet portion of the clutch feed channel to the clutch portion of the clutch feed channel. The inlet valve is configured to open to allow the hydraulic fluid to flow from the inlet portion to the clutch portion when the torque transmitting device is engaged. The inlet valve is configured to close and to trap hydraulic fluid within the torque transmitting device when the torque transmitting device is not actively pressurized. A multispeed transmission is also provided.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
A typical multiple speed transmission uses a combination of a plurality of torque transmitting mechanisms, planetary gear arrangements and fixed interconnections to achieve a plurality of gear ratios. The number and physical arrangement of the planetary gear sets, generally, are dictated by packaging, cost and desired speed ratios.
In order to increase the fuel economy of motor vehicles, it may be desirable to stop the engine during certain circumstances, such as when stopped at a red light or idling. However, after the engine has been shut down and has remained off for an extended period of time, the fluid generally tends to drain down from the passages into a transmission sump under the force of gravity. Upon engine restart, the transmission may take an appreciable amount of time to establish pressure before full transmission operation may resume.
In some powertrain systems, it is also generally desirable to have quick shift timing. In addition, in engine stop/start systems, it is desirable to have quick system recovery. As such, it may be desirable to maintain pressure in a clutch, even when line pressure and/or clutch feed pressure is zero or near zero. In other situations, however, clutch pressure should be eliminated, such as when putting a vehicle in reverse. Accordingly, there is a need for a clutch pressure control system that allows for timely shifting and recovery, even if the engine or motor is shut off, but that also allows a vehicle to move in reverse or to otherwise deactivate a clutch or multiple clutches, if desired.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A hinge feeder for feeding open hinges at a predetermined orientation to a receiver ready for use by an automatic door hinger. A dispenser is provided to hold a stack of closed hinges. The orientation of the top end and hinge joint of each hinge is sensed and the hinges sequentially dispensed at a uniform orientation, except for the pinhead location, to a rotator that rotates those hinges to bring their top ends to a desired side. The hinges are then opened by a leaf turner, fed to a stacker and the opened and oriented hinges then deposited in a stack by a stacker.

First, as background, door units for installation in building constructions comprise a door and a doorframe, the doorframe, in turn, comprising a doorjamb at either vertical side of the door and a header, the horizontal member above the door connecting the two jambs. Hinges attach the door to one of the jambs for opening and closing the door. Looking from the opening side of the door, if the hinges are attached to the left jamb, the door will be a right opening door. If the hinges are attached to the right jamb, it will be a left opening door. Such units are referred to as "prehung" doors.
Two or three hinges are normally applied, spaced apart along the door side edge and jamb margin. Hinges for doors typically are butt hinges which comprise two flanges or leaves that are joined together at adjacent margins with a pin extending along the margins from the top of the flanges to the bottom to form the hinge joint. The leaves are for applying the application side of the hinge against the receiving surfaces of the door and jamb. Typically, the receiving surfaces are prepared by routing out a pocket for each flange to a depth that the outer surface or face of each flange is flush with the adjacent door and jamb surface.
The leaves of a butt hinge are capable of rotating about the hinge joint from a door-closed position with their outer faces closed together to a door-open position with leaves rotating apart typically up to maximum arc somewhat greater than 270 degrees. Thus, when they are installed, as described above, with the application side of each hinge against the door edge and jamb face, the door may be pivoted between a fully closed position to a fully opened position.
There are fluted sections extending intermittently along each adjacent flange margin to form knuckles that cooperate to receive the pin. The two leaves each extend generally flat from the hinge joint to their respective free side margins opposed to their margins at the joint. They are generally without bends or outward projections so that they will nest in hinge pockets prepared in the surface of the door edge or jamb face with the inner (application) face applied against the door surface in the pocket and outer face of the leaf flush with the door edge or jamb face surface.
The hinge pin has a head at one end thereof larger than the openings of the fluted sections so that when the pin is inserted through the fluted sections the head remains at the top of the hinge above the upper ends of the flanges. The pin head end of the hinge is normally the upper end of the hinge when installed on a door. With the pinhead at the top end of the hinge the pin cannot accidentally slide down and out of the hinge. The flanges are each provided with openings therethrough for receiving screws to fix the hinge to the door margin and jamb face.
Door units may be fabricated using automated workstations, which apply hinges to connect a jamb face to one side edge of the door. In order to apply hinges at multiple locations along the side of the door using a stationary hinger either a separate hinger must be used for each site or a conveyor for the door and jamb must be used to move the hinge locations to a single stationary hinger. An example of the latter is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,757.
Alternatively, a hinger may be mounted on a carriage for movement between each hinge site to apply all of the hinges consecutively with the same hinger. Two hinges are normally applied, spaced apart along the door edge and jamb margin. Please refer to accompanying U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,290 of the present inventor for an illustration of this type of workstation. In the workstation depicted there a door and a doorjamb are held with the appropriate door edge and jamb face in juxtaposition for receiving hinges therebetween at appropriate intervals. A carriage is mounted for movement along the door edge and jamb face (see the specification at column 4, lines 52-64). Various equipment mounted on the carriage prepares the door edge and jamb face for receiving the hinges, drills the screw holes, applies the hinges and drives screws through the hinges to fix them to the door edge and jamb face. The carriage contains a magazine with plate 332 carrying pins 330 for receiving opened hinges in a stack with their screw holes engaged in pins 330. Hinges are picked off of the magazine for application at the hinge sites along the door edge and jamb face by receiving block 50.
To apply the hinge to a door edge and jamb face, the hinge must be open with the application side thereof against the door edge and jamb surfaces so that after application of the hinge the door may be rotated about the pin to bring the door fully to the closed position with the flanges flat against each other and the door edge against the adjacent side of the jamb. Additionally, the hinge must be oriented so that it is applied with the head of the pin at top of the hinge and toward the top of the door.
This is accomplished with the apparatus of Patent No. '290 by first stacking open hinges in the magazine with the closure side of the hinges facing upward and with their pinheads all in the same direction and with their application sides facing downward. Then screw and hinge block 50, with the block face horizontally, will pick up screws on the upper side and the uppermost hinge in the stack will be picked up magnetically on the opposite side. Then block 50 is rotated ninety degrees to bring the block face to the vertical with hinge flanges against the door edge and jamb face with the closure side facing outwardly of the door and jamb. As noted in column 9 of the patent, depending upon whether the door is to be right or left side opening, magazine 180 may be rotated one hundred eighty degrees as need so that pin head of the hinge is on the side of the hinge toward the top of the door.
A somewhat similar approach is shown in U.S. Patent '757 where a bin contains a stack of opened and oriented hinges having their respective application sides facing downward. They are dispensed sequentially from the bottom to a location for loading with screws. Each hinge is then moved onto an adjacent horizontal plate at the hinge applying location which tips the screw-loaded hinge to the vertical to presenting it to the door and jamb. In either of the foregoing approaches provides no automatic means of forming the required stack of opened and oriented hinges.
Hinges are normally supplied for fabrication operations packaged stacked in containers with each hinge closed upon itself, i.e. with the flanges rotated about the hinge joint to bring them in abutting relationship with their outer faces against each other and with the hinge joint at one side of the flanges. Every other hinge in the stack is positioned with the knuckles and pin on the left side and the other hinges are positioned with their knuckles and pins on the right side. This allows the hinges to be stacked in a relatively vertical stack. The pin head sides of the hinges often are randomly placed to one side or the other. For use in automated hingers, all of the closed hinges must be opened and placed in stacks oriented so that their sides and ends, including top and bottom directions, are aligned and so that the application faces of their leaves are all at the same side.
When applied by hand in the conventional manner, the hinges are removed individually from the package, opened by hand and oriented to place the pin head at the top and then applied to the door and jamb. When automated equipment such as described in Patent '290 is employed, the hinges are preloaded by hand after first opening them by hand and then orienting them to have the head of each pin at the same end. This consumes both valuable machine time and operator time. Clearly devising an automated way to provide hinges to the hinger properly opened and oriented would be highly advantageous.
Previously automatic procedures have been proposed for opening hinges having "L" shaped hinges. United Kingdom Patent No. 2,047,214 discloses a procedure in which closed "L" shaped hinges are oriented in a bowl feeder and consecutively fed along a track having a stepped abutment along one side against which the hinge joint rests. A ram is pushed from the other side of the track against the free edge of the uppermost hinge leaf to cause this "L" shaped leaf to pivot upward ninety degrees to half open it. A second ram at a subsequent station then pushes downward against the now vertical free end of the uppermost leaf to pivot that leaf a further ninety degrees to fully open it. The opened hinge is then moved to an electro-magnetic pick that lifts it and applies it to a window sash frame. However this procedure is applicable only to an "L" shaped hinge because a flat leaf hinge does not lend itself to orienting by a feeding bowl and a closed flat hinge because of its flat configuration could not be opened effectively by application of a ram against the free end of the upper leaf.


Wires are inserted through a layer of a damper material filling a space provided in a fixed side support member. The space is formed by a groove shaped cavity, while the front part of the groove shaped cavity is provided with an opening surrounded by a groove shaped surface and a columnar section. The damper material filling the space contacts closely with the groove shaped surface and the columnar section within an opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup installed in an optical disk drive and, in particular, to an optical pickup including an actuator in which a movable side lens holder provided with an objective lens is supported in a displaceable manner in a cantilever state by elastic wires extending from a fixed side support member.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical pickup installed in an optical disk drive is used for focusing laser light on a disk surface serving as a recording medium and thereby for writing and reading data. Such an optical pickup has the function of adjusting the position of the objective lens in the focusing direction or the tracking direction in response to surface deflection and off-centering during the rotation of the disk.
FIG. 4 schematically shows an actuator 1 adopted in a prior art optical pickup. The actuator 1 of the figure is mounted on a base (not shown) driven and thereby traveling in a radial direction of a disk. The actuator 1 includes: a fixed side support member 2 fixed to the base; a movable side lens holder 3 provided with an objective lens 31; a wiring board 4 adhered to the rear end face of the fixed side support member 2; terminal plates 5 and 5 each composed of a wiring board adhered to each of both side faces located in the right and the left direction of the movable side lens holder 3; and electrically conductive wires 6 . . . having elasticity and arranged in the same number on each of the right and left sides of the actuator 1. Further, the movable side lens holder 3 is provided with a plurality of coils (not shown) for generating a biasing force in a focusing direction For a tracking direction T. The end portions of these coils are connected to patterns of the terminal plates 5. A plurality of these wires 6 . . . and these terminal plates 5 are arranged symmetrically on both right and left sides of the actuator 1. In the example of the figure, three wires 6 are arranged on one side. However, although not shown, two wires 6 can be arranged on one side in some cases. Then, one-end portions 61 of the wires 6 are soldered and fixed to lands of the wiring board 4, while the other end portions 62 are soldered and fixed to lands of the terminal plates 5 so that the movable side lens holder 3 is supported in a displaceable manner in the form of a cantilever by the fixed side support member 2 via a plurality of the wires 6 . . . . Numerals 41 and 51 indicate solder. Spaces 7 each having the same volume are arranged in a plurality of sites of each side face located in the right and the left direction of the fixed side support member 2. Three spaces 7 are stacked vertically in three decks each corresponding to each individual wire 6 so that each wire 6 is inserted through the inside of a layer of a damper material (not shown in FIG. 4) filling each individual space 7.
In the actuator 1 of FIG. 4, when an electric current is supplied to the pattern of the wiring board 4, the above-mentioned coils are energized through the wiring board 4, the wires 6, and the terminal plates 5 so that the coils generate a biasing force in the focusing direction or the tracking direction. As a result, the movable side lens holder 5 is driven and displaces in the focusing direction For the tracking direction T together with the objective lens 31.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional plan view showing the main part of the fixed side support member 2. In the figure, numeral 8 indicates a damper material filling the space 7 (see FIG. 4). The above-mentioned wire 6 is inserted through the inside of the layer of this damper material 8. This damper material 8 is composed of a gel substance of a photo-curing type, thermosetting type, or the like, and provides the effect of suppressing the primary resonance of the wires 6 occurring when the movable side lens holder 3 is driven and displaces by means of the deflection deformation of the wires 6.
Each space 7 provided independently in correspondence to each wire 6 shown in FIG. 4 is composed of a groove shaped cavity surrounded by a groove shaped surface 71 formed in a C shape or an approximate C shape viewed from the front. The entirety of the groove shaped cavities (that is, the spaces 7) is open in the front surface, the rear surface, and a side face of the fixed side support member 2.
Meanwhile, in an optical system supporting apparatus in which a retention member for supporting an optical element such as an objective lens is supported by a support spring having a leaf spring shape, a prior art technique is known that a damping gel material is applied to a retention section provided integrally near an end portion of the support spring so that the control characteristics of the optical system supporting apparatus are stabilized (see Patent Document 1, for example). Further, in an optical system supporting apparatus, a prior art technique has been proposed that an end of an elastic metal member for supporting a lens holder is fixed to a first space region provided in a fixed member with adhesive, and that an elastic gel material is then caused to fill a second space region adjacent to the first space region so that the elastic gel material is prevented from overflowing from the second space region (see JP-A-2002-352451 for example).
As described above, in the prior art example described with reference to FIG. 4, each space 7 for holding the damper material 8 is composed of a groove shaped cavity surrounded by the groove shaped surface 71, while the entirety of the spaces 7 is open in the front surface, the rear surface, and a side face of the fixed side support member 2. Thus, when each space 7 is charged with a fixed amount of the damper material 8 by using these open portions, the surface shape of the damper gel material 8 exposed in each of these open portions of the spaces 7 hardly becomes uniform, so that the situation could have occurred whereby the surface shape of the damper material 8 varies depending on each of the open portions of the spaces 7. For example, the surface shape of the damper material 8 is different among the open portions of the spaces 7 located on one of the right and left sides of the fixed side support member 2. Alternatively, the surface shape of the damper material 8 of the open portions of the space 7 located on one of the right and left sides of the fixed side support member 2 are different from that of the other side.
Further, when such a difference in the surface shape of the damper material 8 occurs in the open portions on the front surface side of the spaces 7, this causes a difference among the wires 6 with respect to the wire length (effective length of the wire) measured between the front surface of the damper material 8 through which the wire 6 is inserted and the portion soldered with the terminal plate 5 in the other end portion 62 of the wire 6 shown in FIG. 4. This causes a difference in the spring constant of each wire 6 imparted to the actuator 1, and hence causes a variation in the primary resonance frequency of the wires 6 or in the so-called DC sensitivity. This causes difficulty in achieving stability in the characteristics required in the actuator 1.
FIG. 5 shows an example of the surface shape of the damper gel material 8 filling a space 7 of the fixed side support member 2 of the prior art actuator 1 described in FIG. 4. In this example, the front surface 81 of the damper gel material 8 in the front surface side open portion 700 of the space 7 has such a curved shape that the surface is located more backward with increasing distance from the rear wall (groove bottom surface) of the groove shaped surface 71. In this case, if the surface of the front surface 81 of the damper gel material 8 is in the same curved shape among the front surface side open portions 700 of the spaces 7, the effective length of the wire 6 becomes the same among the wires 6, and hence almost no variation occurs in the primary resonance frequency of the wires 6 or in the so-called DC sensitivity. In contrast, if the surface of the front surface 81 of the damper gel material 8 filling the space 7 is individually in a different curved shape, the position of the crossing portion of the front surface 81 of the damper material 8 with each wire 6 inserted through the damper material 8 becomes different depending on the wire 6. Thus, the effective length of each wire 6 varies depending on the wire 6, and hence the spring constant of each wire 6 becomes different. This causes a variation in the primary resonance frequency of the wires 6 or in the so-called DC sensitivity, and hence causes instability in the characteristics of the actuator 1. This can degrade the stability in the read and write performance of the optical pickup.
In this point, the technique described in JP-A-6-314432 is merely that the retention portion for the damping gel material is provided in the support spring itself. Thus, this technique is hardly applicable to the prior art example of the actuator 1 described in FIG. 4 where the damper material 8 is caused to fill the space 7 provided in the fixed side support member 2. Even if applicable, the technique cannot avoid the variation in the surface shape of the front surface 81 of the damper material 8.
On the other hand, the technique described in JP-A-2002-352451 is a procedure that an end of an elastic metal member is fixed to a first space region provided in a fixed member with adhesive, and that an elastic gel material is then caused to fill a second space region adjacent to the first space region. This causes the necessity of an extra step of applying the adhesive before the process of filling the elastic gel material, and hence increases complexity in the work.


The electron emitting cathode of an initiator (spark plug or ignitor) comprises a small button of high temperature, preferably austenitic, stainless steel powder welded to a support conductor. The stainless steel powder has distributed through it a dopant powder consisting of a minor portion of a highly stable oxide of an element having a low work function. The dopant powder has a much smaller mesh size than the stainless steel powder (1/5or less). Rare earth lanthanides are preferred that have a low work function, preferably under 3.0 eV and are not radioactive. Cerium, in the form of CeO.sub.2 is most preferred. The compositions of the low work function stainless steel electrodes and methods of making the same are disclosed.

Combustion initiators for internal combustion engines have traditionally employed electrode materials that require very small gaps between their electrodes--on the order of 1 mm for use with conventional automobile ignition systems. Traditional materials for these electrodes, for example nickel-chromium (Inconel) wear out after about 30,000 Km in ordinary automobiles. Platinum electrodes last longer, but are very expensive.
The spark in prior art plugs is so short in length that it often doesn't ignite all of the fuel air mixture and sometimes completely fails to ignite the fuel. Furthermore, the spark has a slow rise time so that it is not as "hot" as it could be if its rise time were shorter.
As a result, each cylinder in an internal combustion engine in automobiles, for example, experience misfires about 2% of the time. This leads to high emissions of unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide pollutants and high fuel consumption.

Combustion initiators employing reduced work function stainless steel electrodes


A method of fabricating a metal silicide layer over a substrate is provided. First, a hard mask layer is formed over a gate formed on a substrate and a portion of the substrate is exposed. Thereafter, a first metal silicide layer, which is a cobalt silicide or a titanium silicide layer, is formed on the exposed substrate. After that, the hard mask layer is removed and a second metal silicide layer is formed over the gate, wherein a material of the second metal silicide layer is selected from a group consisting of nickel silicide, platinum silicide, palladium silicide and nickel alloy. Since different metal silicide layers are formed on the substrate and the gate, the problem of having a high resistance in lines with a narrow line width and the problem of nickel silicide forming spikes and pipelines in the source region and the drain region are improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor processing method and structure thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of fabricating a metal silicide layer such that different metal silicide materials are formed on different crystalline regions of a substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In ultra-high level integration, the size of each semiconductor device is reduced so that the level of integration can continue to increase. After miniaturizing the electronic devices, the semiconductor integrated circuit can have the highest level of integration. However, as the dimension of an electronic device is reduced, a number of challenging problems is encountered in the process of fabricating the integrated circuits. In particular, as devices continue to shrink in size, a reduction in the resistance of electrical connection structures has become increasingly important because any increase in the resistance will directly lead to a slow-down in the operating speed through an increase in RC delay.
To reduce the resistance of connection structures, a self-aligned silicide process is frequently carried out to form a metal silicide layer thereon. Due to the high melting point, stability and low resistance of a metal silicide layer, the use of metal silicide layers in the fabrication of integrated circuits has become increasingly common. In the deep sub-micron regime of integrated circuit fabrication, a polycide gate structure instead of a conventional polysilicon gate structure is often used to improve device operating characteristics, lower resistance and minimize RC delay because line width, contact area and junction depth are all reduced. Furthermore, forming a metal silicide layer over a junction is an effective means of lowering contact resistance at the junction.
In general, a metal silicide film is formed by performing a thermal treatment to a metallic film. The metallic film can be deposited by performing an evaporation process or a sputtering process. Thereafter, the metallic film is annealed by heating inside a furnace or performing a rapid thermal treatment in an atmosphere containing pure inert gases (nitrogen or argon) so that the metal reacts with silicon at their interface to form a metal silicide layer. The most commonly used metal silicide materials include titanium silicide, tungsten silicide, cobalt silicide, nickel silicide, molybdenum silicide and platinum silicide.
Because titanium silicide has a low resistance and is amenable to fine processing control, it is one of the most commonly deployed metal silicide materials. Yet, as the line width of the integrated circuits continues to shrink, the line width of gate lines is reduced correspondingly. With a narrowing of the gate line, the so-called narrow line width effect is increasingly dominant in a titanium silicide layer. When the gate width is lowered to 1 μm or smaller, the sheet resistance of a titanium silicide layer formed on the gate will increase with a decrease in dimension. In other words, the advantage of forming a titanium silicide layer over the gate to lower the sheet resistance is gone. Under these circumstances, titanium silicide layers are replaced using cobalt silicide layers. However, the same problem is encountered when the line width is again reduced. Among the types of metal silicide materials, nickel silicide appears to be the most promising one for replacing cobalt silicide because nickel silicide does not have the aforementioned problem.
Nevertheless, spiking often occurs in the heavily doped P-type region while piping often occurs in the heavily doped N-type region after a nickel silicide layer is formed on an active area.

Method of fabricating metal silicide layer


An object of the invention is to provide a display device having a display section that displays different images intended for a plurality of different viewing ranges on the same screen, wherein provisions are made so that the image intended for at least one viewing range can be viewed in good condition, and a method for mounting such a display device. More specifically, a display device according to the invention includes a display section that displays different images intended for a plurality of different viewing ranges on the same screen, wherein the viewing range of at least one of the different images displayed on the display section is not narrower than 20°, but not wider than 40°.

It is known to provide a display device (hereinafter called a "multi-view capable display device") that can display different kinds of content on the same display screen that can be viewed from at least two different directions, for example, from a driver's side and passenger's side (refer, for example, to patent document 1).
When using such a multi-view capable display device for automotive application, images displayed on the display screen are split into a large number of vertical strips to provide a right view display and a left view display, and an image intended for the driver is displayed on the right view display and an image for the passenger is displayed on the left view display. This enables different images to be viewed from the driver's side and the passenger's side, respectively.
Patent document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-73076

Display device and method for mounting the same


The invention relates to a drive circuit for an electric motor having an aerodynamic bearing of the motor shaft, wherein the drive circuit comprises at least one storage means for storing electrical energy by which the electric motor can be fed with electrical energy on a failure of the supply voltage or DC-link voltage to obtain a minimum speed of the motor shaft required for the air support at least at times.

The invention relates to a drive circuit for an electric motor having an aerodynamic bearing of the motor shaft.
Air bearings are bearings in which two parts moving against one another are separated by a thin air film. They thereby allow an almost friction-free relative movement.
The air bearing can in particular be used with electric motors in which the driven motor shaft, i.e. the rotor, is supported by an air gap in the motor housing. A distinction is made between static bearings and dynamic bearings in air bearings. With static bearings, the air gap is generated by introduction of compressed air by external means. Dynamic bearings do not require any compressed air supply since the compressed air required in the air gap is generated by inherent movement. The problem arises here, however, that the two bearing parts which move with respect to one another can contact one another below a characteristic relative speed and are thus subject to wear and increased friction.
Air bearing motors are used, for example, in air-conditioning units, in particular in air-conditioning units for rail vehicles. The air bearing motors are coupled to a compressor and drive it. Since the air-conditioning system, like other consumers within the rail vehicle, are fed by the supply voltage of the overhead line, this voltage supply can be briefly interrupted at specific transition points. Depending on the interruption period, this can have the result that the speed of the air bearing motors in air-conditioning units is abruptly reduced, down to a standstill, and sufficient compressed air for the air bearing cannot be generated. Harmful friction phenomena thereby arise within the air bearings and the service life of the motor is greatly reduced.


Systems and methods described herein are directed to optical light sources, such as an external cavity laser (ECL) with an active phase shifter. The system may include control circuitry for controlling one or more parameters associated with the active phase shifter. The phase shifter may be a p-i-n phase shifter. The control circuitry may cause variation in a refractive index associated with the phase shifter, thereby varying a lasing frequency of the ECL. The ECL may be configured to operate as a light source for a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system based on generating frequency modulated light signals. In some embodiments, the ECL may generate an output LIDAR signal with alternating segments of increasing and decreasing chirp frequencies. The ECL may exhibit increased stability and improved chirp linearities with less dependence on ambient temperature fluctuations.

With the advent of autonomous devices and systems, increasing attention has been placed on improving the performance of remote imaging systems. For example, remote imaging systems, such as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems, are relying on increasingly sophisticated imagers that can resolve target features over tens of meters with millimeter-scale precision. Lasers are routinely used as the light sources for such LiDAR systems. Improvements in laser performance can significantly improve the performance of the imaging systems and in many cases, reduce costs of the imaging systems.
Recently, frequency modulated continuous wavelength (FMCW) LiDAR systems have been making significant in-roads into the remote imaging space due to several inherent advantages such as instantaneous velocity, depth, and target material-specific information associated with every target location imaged. Moreover, FMCW LiDAR systems can be immune to interference from other LiDAR systems operating over a common field-of-view (FOV) and can acquire images without a need for ambient lighting.
A common method for frequency modulating the laser light source of the FMCW LiDAR system includes amplitude modulation of a laser drive current. The modulation frequency for such amplitude modulation tends to be limited to hundreds of kHz due to a reliance on carrier injection and carrier depletion speeds associated with a gain medium of the laser. Carrier injection and depletion may also cause temperature variations and heat dissipation issues that further limit the rate at which the frequency of the laser may be varied or chirped. This may limit an overall speed of operation of the FMCW LiDAR system. As such, the limited amplitude modulation frequency of hundreds of kHz limits an overall speed of operation of the FMCW LiDAR system.
Variations in laser temperature during the carrier injection and depletion phases of the amplitude modulation of the laser drive current can further give rise to non-linearities in the laser chirp signal. For example, the chirp frequency of the laser may not linearly increase during an up-chirp portion and may not linearly decrease during a down-chirp portion of the laser signal. The chirp non-linearities can significantly affect FMCW LiDAR system performance by causing degradations in signal-to-noise (SNR) ratios, increase in false positives, decrease in target detection probabilities, reduction in a range of operation, and/or reduction in a speed of operation. Therefore, it is of increasing importance to enable highly linear chirp rates for FMCW lasers for supporting improved LiDAR performance.

External cavity laser with a phase shifter


A self-locking orthodontic bracket includes a base for attachment to a tooth or tooth band. Transversely spaced tying lugs are fixed to the base and include opposed extensions for orthodontic attachment purposes. The tying lugs present an anterior or front surface interrupted by a transverse archwire slot. A closure mounted on the bracket includes a movable cover slidably engaging the anterior surface of the bracket. The cover spans the full width of the tying lugs and has a perpendicular width greater than the width of the archwire slot across the anterior surface. The closure is supported on the bracket by a pair of guides that slidably engage opposed side surfaces of the tying lugs for opening and closing the cover. The closure can also be designed to complement the archwire slot structure between the lugs, forming a complete tube encircling the archwire across the full width of the bracket when the cover is in its closed position.

Orthodontic brackets attached to teeth are adapted to engage an archwire that exerts forces upon them to move the teeth. Such brackets typically include an archwire slot for reception of the archwire. An archwire slot can have any desired cross-sectional configuration or size to match requirements of the archwire, or archwires, that are to be engaged within the slot.
Orthodontic brackets are typically bonded to a tooth or to a tooth band with the archwire slot oriented parallel to the occlusal plane. However, the slot can also be angularly oriented across the bracket when desired.
Most brackets in use today include extensions that project upwardly and downwardly at the top and bottom of the installed bracket, respectively. These extensions permit the archwire to be held within the archwire slot of the bracket by means of a twisted wire (ligature) or an elastomer O-ring.
Numerous attempts have been made to design brackets that are self-locking or ligatureless. A detailed discussion of patents and publications describing various closures that have been proposed for the archwire slots of such orthodontic brackets can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,614 to Wildman, issued Mar. 10, 1992, which is hereby incorporated into this disclosure by reference.
As recognized in the Wildman patent, an ideal locking device for an orthodontic bracket should leave the top and bottom of the bracket, including the projections conventionally used for anchoring the tying wires, free to receive other attachments or auxiliary devices.
The Wildman patent discloses a slidable closure that engages the front of the archwire. The closure is recessed from the front or anterior surfaces of the disclosed bracket. This is also true of sliding closures shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,671,964 to Russell et al., which was issued on Mar. 16, 1954 and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,131,474, which was issued on May 5, 1964 to Johnson. The fact that such recessed sliding closures require the archwire also to be recessed within the archwire slot before the closure can be moved over the archwire makes it very difficult for the user to visually confirm that the archwire is properly seated within the archwire slot to facilitate closing of the slidable cover.
When using a conventional bracket and tying wires, proper seating of the archwire can be confirmed by visually noting that the anterior surface of the archwire is flush with the anterior surface of the bracket. It is desirable that a self-locking bracket provide similar visual reference capabilities to the user. This cannot be attained where a sliding closure is recessed within the bracket.
A flush-mounted closure in the form of a spring clip is shown in various embodiments illustrated within U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,274 to Wallshein, issued on May 17, 1977. In FIGS. 4A and 4B of the Wallshein patent, there is illustrated a spring clip having a closure panel that extends across the full width of a bracket and covers aligned slots in two separate lugs. However, the spring clip also covers the bottom of the bracket and presents a separable bracket element that must be attached to the bracket prior to its utilization. A sliding closure is more easily manipulated than a spring clip. Slidable closures are particularly desirable because they substantially reduce the time required for opening and closing of the archwire slots during periodic adjustment of the archwire and brackets.
The present bracket was designed to mount an archwire flush with the anterior surface of an orthodontic bracket to facilitate visual positioning of the archwire during orthodontic treatment. It also was designed to utilize a sliding closure that is permanently retained on the bracket during use, whether the closure is left in an open or closed condition. This guards against accidental release of the closure while the bracket is worn on a tooth.
Most importantly, the closure has been designed to leave the usual tying extensions that protrude from the top and bottom of the bracket fully accessible to other orthodontic attachments to apply torsional forces to the teeth. The exposed tying lugs remain always available for repositioning of the bracket and tooth by use of tying wires or other conventional attachment systems.
The present bracket also includes a closure that completes a continuous tube surrounding the archwire when the closure is in a closed position. This can be effectively achieved in a Siamese bracket configuration without covering or interfering with projecting extensions on the bracket.
Creation of a continuous tube surrounding the archwire across the full width of the bracket eliminates the binding of the archwire within the confines of the bracket which occurs across the corners typically presented by conventional slotted bracket lugs.


A method for analyzing automatic line insulation testing (ALIT) data comprising inserting ALIT error data into an ALIT database that includes records for exceptions located in the error data. A number of exceptions occurring on a selected summary date is calculated in response to receiving a summary request from a user including the selected summary date. Input to the calculating is the selected summary date and the ALIT database. The number of exceptions occurring on the summary date is transmitted to the user in response to the calculating. The user records located in the ALIT database that include a selected detail date are transmitted to the user in response to receiving from the user a request including the selected detail date. The ALIT database is updated with repair package information in response to receiving an add repair package request.

The present disclosure relates generally to the analysis of automatic line insulation testing data and in particular, to a method of facilitating the retrieval, organization and analysis of automatic line insulation testing data.
A typical regional telephone company central office, or wire center, houses a telephone switch to connect telephone calls between two or more parties. A main distribution frame (MDF) frame includes a row of jumpers to connect the switch wires to cable pairs from outside of the central office. Some cables utilize paper as insulation between the wires in the cable. Air compressors, located in the central office, are utilized to minimize the amount of water in the cables. When a cable gets nicked, the paper inside the cable may get wet and cause a short in the cable. It may be necessary to deploy a technician to fix the cable depending on factors such as the number of shorts in a particular cable. In some cases, such as when there is only one short in the cable, the paper may be dry once the technician gets to the cable to repair it. Sending a technician to repair a problem that was corrected should be avoided and technicians should be sent to repair cables that need technician action. One way to determine if a repair package should be built to send a technician to correct a problem is to have criteria such as: only build a repair package if there are more than three shorts, or crossings, of more than twenty volts in a twenty-five pair complement; and if there is only a two volt cross in a cable pair then do not build a repair package as the paper within the cable will probably be dry once the technician gets there. Any criteria may be used to determine when to build a repair package and the criteria may be varied or modified based on experience (e.g., in general or in a particular geographic location).
Currently, many regional telephone companies utilized an off-the-shelf computer product called Predictor to compile morning reports detailing automatic line insulation testing (ALIT) exceptions. ALIT is performed nightly by equipment that sequentially tests lines in the central office for battery crosses and grounds. The Predictor reports that include the results of all the tests, including good cables and cables with battery crosses and grounds, are sent to a printer. The Predictor report for each state (e.g., Tennessee) requires about one box of paper each night. Each morning maintenance administrators (MAs) analyze the reports and build Predictor patterns so that the technicians in the field may correct the problems identified by the tests. The MAs must sift through a box or more of paper each morning to find the failures, or exceptions, that need to be fixed. This practice may be cumbersome for the MA and because it is manual, may be error prone. Also, it may take all morning for the MA to sort through a particular portion of the Predictor report, with repair packages not being built until the afternoon. In addition, the current process does not produce back-up information for determining what information was presented to the MA when a decision to build a repair package was made.

Method, system and computer program product for facilitating the analysis of automatic line insulation testing data


A folding top is provided for vehicles, with the top being lowered into a rear storage compartment of the vehicle when the top is open. The upwardly directed opening of the rear storage compartment is covered by at least one lid which can be displaced for closing the top into a deflecting position that provides the pivoting clearance for the top. The lid has a supporting means arrangement which, when folding top is lowered and the lid cooperates with a corresponding supporting means arrangement of the folding top so that the folding top can be secured by the locking means of the lid.

This application claims the priority of German application 196 35 869.8, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a folding top for vehicles, with the top being lowered into a rear storage compartment of the vehicle when the top is open, with the upwardly directed opening of the rear storage compartment being covered by at least one lid that can be displaced for closing the top into a deflecting position that provides the pivoting clearance for the top.
DE 44 46 483 A1 describes a known folding top with the upwardly directed opening of the rear storage compartment being covered by a cover plate in the forward area and by a rear lid which can be folded upwardly and rearwardly behind the cover plate when the folding top is lowered. In its lowered storage position, the folding top is secured below the closed covers but is not secured in the rear storage area in such manner that it will not rattle, especially under the influence of acceleration forces when driving.
Also, DE 195 07 431 C1 describes a folding top in which two latching hooks project from the folding top in the vicinity of the forward end of the roof. The hooks engage matching retaining bolts at the forward edge of the roof above the windshield when the top is closed. When the top is open, the latching hooks instead are each locked to a matching retaining lug that projects rearward from a forward limiting wall of the rear storage area. The folding top, in its storage position, is locked secured in a rattle-free manner in the rear storage area.
In order to close the known folding top, however, the latching hooks must first be unlocked from their retaining lugs so that the folding top is released. For this purpose, with manual top operation, an additional operating procedure is required, and for automatic top operation, an additional control expense is required. In addition, this type of locking is suitable only for folding tops in which immovable retaining lugs can be located without difficulty in the forward end area of the rear storage compartment, because this compartment need not serve as a location or provide clearance for movement of other components.
An object of the present invention is to improve a folding top so that it can be secured in the rear storage area in its stored position without the retaining means that project immovably from the body being required.
The foregoing object has been achieved according to the present invention by providing that the lid has a supporting means arrangement which, when folding top is lowered and the lid cooperates with a corresponding supporting means arrangement of the folding top so that the folding top can be secured by the locking means of the lid.
Because the cooperating supports are located on the foldably movable folding top, on one hand, and on the cover which can be moved into a deployed position, on the other hand, it is moved outward together with the folding top and/or the cover and thus out of the rear storage compartment. Limitation of the space available in the rear storage compartment can therefore be largely avoided.


A floating point addition/subtraction apparatus is internally provided with a leading one anticipator having redundant binary numeral generators, intermediate-carry/intermediate-sum generators, and scan-value generators. Each of the redundant binary numeral generators performs a subtraction with respect to two binary operands, a binary minuend and a binary subtrahend, to generate a redundant binary numeral Zsd having "-1", "0" or "1" at each digit thereof. Each of the intermediate-carry/intermediate-sum generators generates an intermediate carry C.sub.k and an intermediate sum S.sub.k in accordance with Zsd.sub.k =2C.sub.k +S.sub.k using a redundant binary numeral Zsd.sub.k positioned at a k.sup.th digit from a least significant digit of the redundant binary numeral Zsd and a redundant binary numeral Zsd.sub.k+1 positioned at a (k+1).sup.th digit so that C.sub.k =Zsd.sub.k when Zsd.sub.k+1 ="1" or "-1" and C.sub.k =0 when Zsd.sub.k+1 ="0". Each of the scan-value generators generates "1" (or "0") when a result of an addition with respect to an intermediate carry C.sub.k-1 and the intermediate sum S.sub.k is "0" and generates "0"(or "1") when the result of the addition is a numeral other than "0".

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an arithmetic processor and more particularly to a high-speed leading one anticipator capable of anticipating the uppermost position of significant digits in the result of a floating point addition or subtraction. The leading one anticipator according to the present invention is particularly effective when non-significant digits are generated at upper-order digit positions upon addition or subtraction of two floating point data each having a mantissa part, an exponent part, and a sign part. The present invention also relates to a floating point addition/subtraction apparatus employing a leading one anticipator of the above-described type.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, when a mantissa subtraction is performed with respect to two floating point data X and Y each having a mantissa part, an exponent part, and a sign part, a digit alignment, a mantissa addition or subtraction, and a normalization are performed in this order.
The digit alignment is initially discussed hereinafter with reference to FIG. 1 depicting a conventional floating point addition/subtraction apparatus.
Exponent parts (Xe, Ye) of two operands are inputted into a subtracter 405, a SHIFT-signal generator 404, and a selector 406. At the same time, mantissa parts (1.Xf or 0.Xf, 1.Yf or 0.Yf) of the two operands are inputted into a right/left shifter 401, which shifts the mantissa parts right or left by one digit. The subtracter 405 performs a subtraction with respect to the exponent values Xe and Ye to calculate an absolute value .vertline.Xe-Ye.vertline. and a sign value S(Xe-Ye). At the same time, the SHIFT-signal generator 404 detects whether or not the individual operands are normalized numbers with the use of respective exponent values Xe and Ye and generates control signals required for shifting respective mantissa values right or left by one digit with the use of respective sign values (Xs, Ys) and a subtraction signal SUB. This control is disclosed, for example in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-38687. Based on the control signals from the SHIFT-signal generator 404, the right/left shifter 401 shifts the two mantissa values right or left. Outputs from the right/left shifter 401 are inputted into a swapping circuit 402 in which they are swapped in accordance with the sign value S(Xe-Ye) outputted from the subtracter 405 so that the mantissa value of one operand having an exponent value not greater than that of the other operand may be inputted into a right barrel shifter 403 whereas the mantissa value of the latter having a greater exponent value may be inputted into an adder/subtracter 407. The right barrel shifter 403 shifts right the mantissa value inputted thereinto by the absolute value .vertline.Xe-Ye.vertline., which is indicative of the difference between the two exponent values and is outputted from the subtracter 405. The digit alignment is performed in this way.
The adder/subtracter 407 then performs an addition/subtraction processing and a rounding processing.
Subsequently, the normalization processing is discussed hereinafter.
When the result of a subtraction in which the exponent value Ye is subtracted from the exponent value Xe is "0", "1", or "-1", there is a possibility of a digit drop occurring in a mantissa part of the result of a subtraction with respect to the mantissa parts of the two operands. The digit drop is a phenomenon in which non-significant digits are generated at upper digit positions. A priority encoder (PE) 408 and a left barrel shifter 409 are required to normalize this mantissa value. An output from the adder/subtracter 407 is inputted to both the PE 408 and the left barrel shifter 409. Based on the output from the adder/subtracter 407, the PE 408 detects a left shift amount required for normalization, and based on the left shift amount detected by the PE 408, the left barrel shifter 409 normalizes the result of the mantissa subtraction.
As to the two exponent values Xe and Ye inputted into the selector 406, one exponent value which is not less than the other is selected in accordance with the sign value S(Xe-Ye). An output from the selector 406 is inputted into a subtracter 410, which subtracts the shift amount detected by the PE 408 therefrom to obtain an exponent value of the result of a floating point addition/subtraction.
In this way, in order to normalize the result of the mantissa subtraction, the conventional floating point addition/subtraction apparatus detects the number of upper non-significant digits contained in the result of the mantissa subtraction by the use of the PE 408 and performs a normalization based on the amount detected.
Accordingly, the mantissa subtraction, the detection of the shift amount required for normalization, and the normalization are consecutively performed, thereby retarding the floating point addition/subtraction speed.

Leading one anticipator and floating point addition/subtraction apparatus employing same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


According to one embodiment, a method to automatically transfer funds between accounts is provided. The method may include: linking a checking account and a savings account; establishing a maintained balance limit for the checking account; querying the checking account to determine a checking account balance; comparing the checking account balance to the maintained balance limit; and, if the checking account balance exceeds the maintained balance limit, automatically transferring an excess balance to the savings account. According to another embodiment a system for automatically transferring funds is provided. The system may include an account establishment module, an account funds module and an account management module. These module may be able to perform various steps of the method.

Many consumers today maintain more money in checking accounts or other low-interest accounts than is needed. Transfer of this money to other, higher interest accounts generally requires the consumer to monitor the checking account and initiate or take an active part in the transfer transaction. This level of attention is often burdensome on the consumer and results in suboptimal allocation of monetary assets. Further, should the consumer accidentally transfer too much money to the higher interest account or experience an unexpected withdrawal of funds from the checking account, transferring money from the higher interest account to the checking account is also burdensome and may even result in fees.

System and method for automatically transferring funds between accounts


A back end of the line (BEOL) structure of a semiconductor device is presented. In one embodiment, the structure may include a first liner layer disposed on an intermediate interconnect structure, the intermediate interconnect structure having an opening disposed between two surfaces of a dielectric material, wherein the first liner layer is in direct contact with at least a portion of a conductive wiring material of an underneath interconnect layer; a noble metal layer disposed on the first liner layer at least in the opening; and a conductive wiring material disposed on the noble metal layer, the conductive wiring material substantially filling the opening; wherein the first liner layer, the noble metal layer and the conductive wiring material are coplanar with the two surfaces of the dielectric material of the intermediate interconnect structure, and the noble metal layer includes a different material than the first liner layer.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to semiconductor fabrication, and more particularly, to methods for fabricating a back end of the line (BEOL) interconnect structure with liner and seed materials for integration of conductive materials on the substrate layer of the semiconductor.
2. Background Art
The current trend of diminishing critical dimensions of semiconductor devices presents fill issues with the conventional fabrication methods of interconnect layers using a seed layer of conductive wiring material. Noble metals as liner layers have been adopted in light of thermodynamic stability, good adhesion, and immiscibility with conductive wiring materials where fill issues are eliminated. The fairly low electrical resistivity of noble metals, like ruthenium (Ru), enables direct electroplating of conductive wiring materials, like copper (Cu), making this an essential and advantageous feature due to better electrical performance and a wider process window for later Cu plating.
With these advantages, noble metals are good alternative liner materials in place of conductive wiring materials as seed layers. As illustrated in FIG. 1, however, it is a challenge to remove a noble metal liner layer 14 using conventional chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) such that the noble metal layer 14, first liner layer 12, hard mask 10 and conductive wiring material 20 are coplanar. The polishing removal rate of noble metals, like ruthenium (Ru) is comparatively lower than that of conventional liner materials like tantalum nitride (TaN), tantalum (Ta), titanium (Ti), titanium (TiN). Hardware and the chemistries for existing CMP process need to be modified due to this difference. Such modification is costly and disruptive to the semiconductor fabrication process. Introduction of a new material may also require development or use of new slurries in the CMP process as compared to existing slurries used in the removal of barrier materials like tantalum nitride (TaN) and titanium nitride (TiN).
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for a solution to the problems of the related art.

Back end of the line structures with liner and noble metal layer

International Business Machines Corporation, Inc.


In one embodiment the present invention relates to a method for investing yield restricted monies including bond proceeds associated with at least one bond having a bond yield, wherein the bond proceeds achieve a return above the bond yield to which the bond proceeds would otherwise be restricted by regulation, comprising: obtaining the bond proceeds; and investing at least part of the bond proceeds in a tax-exempt inverse-floater financial instrument, wherein the inverse-floater financial instrument has a first rate of return which varies substantially inversely with regard to a second rate of return of a floater financial instrument. In another embodiment the present invention relates to a method for investing yield restricted monies including bond proceeds associated with a portfolio containing at least two bonds, wherein each of the bonds has a respective bond term and a respective bond yield, wherein the portfolio has a term overlapping at least the terms of each of the bonds, wherein an aggregate bond yield is formed of a combination of the yields of each of the bonds, and wherein the bond proceeds achieve an aggregate return, over the term of the portfolio, above the aggregate bond yield to which the bond proceeds would otherwise be restricted by regulation, comprising: obtaining the bond proceeds; and investing, for at least part of the term of a first one of the bonds contained in the portfolio, at least part of the bond proceeds in a tax-exempt inverse-floater financial instrument, wherein the inverse-floater financial instrument has a first rate of return which varies substantially inversely with regard to a second rate of return of a floater financial instrument.

Traditionally, when one or more tax-exempt bonds is issued (e.g., by a municipal issuer), the bond proceeds associated therewith are typically yield restricted monies. Thus, in order to maintain the tax-exempt status of such bonds, any yield on the bond proceeds greater than the bond yield itself must generally be turned over to the Federal government.
Also, in the financial field, a pair of instruments designed to create a fixed rate liability by combining two variable rate components has been utilized to issue debt. For example, bonds have been issued as "INFLOS" (a proprietary financial mechanism designed to create a fixed rate liability by combining two variable rate components). Of note, if a traditional fixed rate bond would bear interest at 5.20%, for example, the interrelated pair of financial instruments might bear a fixed rate of 5.10% (the difference being designed to give an incentive to utilize the interrelated pair structure).
Nevertheless, it is believed that no conventional mechanism exists for structuring a bond issue (i.e., a tax-exempt bond issue) to achieve unrestricted earnings on at least a portion of bond proceeds by investing in an inverse-floater, as provided for by the present invention.
Among those benefits and improvements that have been disclosed, other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures. The figures constitute a part of this specification and include illustrative embodiments of the instant invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.

Method for investing yield restricted monies


In an enclosure-collating device, in particular for mail-processing installations, a shorter dimensioning of the enclosure-conveying compartments on a collating path in the direction of the enclosure conveying on said collating path is achieved in that enclosures are fed into the enclosure-conveying compartments obliquely with a movement component in the conveying direction of the enclosure-conveying arrangement by an oblique conveying device of a transfer device serving to feed the enclosures into the enclosure-conveying compartments.

The invention pertains to an enclosure-collating device, in particular for mail-processing installations, having an enclosure-forwarding device, which exhibits endless, driven, circulating conveying chains or conveying belts that are provided with conveying fingers that project beyond the surface of a collating path in the region of the top chain or belt strands and, in pairs, define enclosure-conveying compartments located in front of them as seen in the conveying direction. In the case of known enclosure-collating devices, enclosure-feeding devices are located alongside the collating path over the course of said collating path, and serve for introducing individual documents into the enclosure-conveying compartments that are being conveyed past.
This known design of enclosure-collating devices provides that the enclosure-conveying arrangement is driven intermittently in such a way that conveying-finger pairs that define an enclosure-conveying compartment located in front of them are stopped immediately before the introduction region of an enclosure-feeding device and then the enclosure-feeding device is started in order to insert or dispense an enclosure into an enclosure-conveying compartment perpendicularly to the conveying direction of the enclosure-conveying arrangement.
If one wants to drive the enclosure-conveying arrangement continuously in order to increase the operating speed of the enclosure-collating devices, then, in combination with such a continuously driven enclosure-conveying device, special forms of enclosure-feeding devices are required that discharge or insert enclosures into the enclosure-conveying compartments from above.
If conventional enclosure-feeding devices of the type briefly described above, which feed enclosures into the conveying compartments from the side and perpendicular to the conveying direction of the enclosure-conveying arrangement, are to be used in combination with continuously driven enclosure-conveying arrangements, then these conveying compartments must be dimensioned very large in the conveying direction of the enclosure-conveying arrangement, which requires a large spacing of the enclosure-conveying compartments along the enclosure-conveying direction, and the advantage of a continuous driving of the enclosure-conveying arrangement in the sense of an increase in operating speed is largely negated. This is due to the fact that in addition to the format of the enclosure to be inserted, an enclosure-conveying compartment that is to be filled during its continuous movement must be made larger by at least one segment, in the conveying direction of the enclosure-conveying arrangement, which corresponds to the time of the complete insertion of an enclosure by the enclosure-feeding device transversely to the conveying direction of the enclosure-conveying arrangement, multiplied by the conveying speed of the enclosure-conveying arrangement.

Enclosure-collating device, in particular for mail-processing installations


A commercial credit scoring method which enables a perfectly anonymous commercial transaction on a site built on a computer network. A person intended to newly participate as a seller or purchaser in a commercial transaction on the site is certified as a transactor when the person satisfies a given condition. A rank of the certified transactor is determined based on a given company data including at least one of a capital, sales amount, and transaction history about the transactor. A transaction limit in the transaction of the transactor is determined based on the rank, and a restraint is placed on the transaction when the amount of the transaction exceeds the transaction limit of the seller or purchaser. It is possible to perform an electronic commerce entirely in a perfectly anonymous manner including the business discussion, contract, settlement, and delivery.

In the commercial transaction between companies in the real world, not on the computer network, there is an intermediary agent such as a trading company between a supplying company (a seller) and a buying company (a purchaser). The agent determines a selling limit for an individual seller company based on its state of production capacity and quality control etc., and also determines a credit limit for a purchaser company based on its financial situation and mode of payment etc. for each transaction to promote the transaction such as settlement of draft. In other words, a large-scale commercial transaction is established by the intermediary agent such as a trading firm, which mediates an inter-business transaction through undertaking, for example, an inventory risk, and provides the so-called trading firm finance by providing a usance based on the settlement conditions and the like.
On the other hand, the electronic commerce (hereinafter abbreviated by "EC") on the computer network, a typical example of which is the Internet, has been increasingly spreading explosively in recent years, and in the EC, a form of EC between a company and an individual client (hereinafter abbreviated by "B-to-C") or between an individual client and another individual client (hereinafter abbreviated by "C-to-C") is becoming popular. However, because there is no safe form of EC established yet, such troubles as a fraudulent transaction, a complaint problem, and the like has occurred frequently, which is becoming a serious social problem. Particularly EC on the Internet is characterized in that it is highly anonymous and consequently, in spite of the fact that falsification of user can readily be made, it is difficult to detect it, and thus in the present situation, EC on the Internet accompanies very high risks for a credit transaction. Compared with EC in B-to-C and C-to-C, the commercial transaction between companies (hereinafter abbreviated by B-to-B) deals with large amount of value and has potentially more risks because of delay in establishing infrastructures for a settlement part, which is referred to so-called an Internet bank or the like.
Conventional EC on an EC site for B-to-B adopts a method where users participating in EC enter into negotiations anonymously until they come to an agreement with regard to their desired terms of transaction and, once having reached the agreement, both parties make their counter party public to decide the remaining terms (for example, delivery, settlement, etc.).
Because of its simplicity, easiness, and very high speed in completing the transaction compared to the commercial transaction in the real world, EC on the network is expected to form a large market in future. However, in order to maintain this merit of EC in the case of B-to-B also, it is necessary to grasp and manage the risks in real time in performing EC.
Also, in order to operate the EC site, it is common for a company user to pay a considerable amount of participation charge to be in the EC site since it costs in establishing and operating the EC site. If EC costs relatively inexpensive than a direct transaction in the real world, it is meaningful to participate for a user who wants to participate and do EC in spite of his paying the participation charge. In the above-described form of EC for B-to-B, when a company user participates in EC for the first time, the user has a chance to be able to get acquainted and matched with many business counter parties whom the user did not know before participating in EC. This is useful for the company user, but once a promising counter-party company has been found, the significance of participating in this EC site will be reduced. Especially, if the company users can negotiate in adjusting a desired price by themselves, there may be a case where the direct transaction without EC turns out to be inexpensive than EC, owing to an extra expense in the transaction due to the participation charge for the EC site and an intermediary charge.

System for anonymity electronic commerce having crediting function and method


A fabric article includes a variety of structural features for swaddling a person, providing warmth to the head, supporting the neck, permitting the use of restraining belts, and/or allowing independent leg movement. The article includes opposing protrusions for wrapping around the torso of a body and securing the arms within. The lower portion of the article preferably defines a slit with overlapping flaps, which are easily configured into legs. The slit allows a restraining belt to fit snugly between the legs of a wearer, such that a person can be swaddled while still being properly secured by restraining belts.

The present invention relates to fabric articles for providing warmth and comfort, and more specifically to a fabric article including a variety of features for swaddling a person, providing warmth to the head, supporting the neck, permitting the use of restraining belts, and/or allowing independent leg movement.
Newborn babies are typically swaddled for warmth and comfort. This is accomplished by wrapping the baby in a blanket in a manner such that the head is exposed, but the rest of the body is snugly enclosed in fabric. This conventional method of wrapping a newborn, which typically uses a small blanket, has shortcomings. One issue is that a newborn's neck muscles are not developed, and new parents and others holding the newborn may not know how to properly support the neck. As a result the baby's head may undesirably bounce around, or otherwise not be in proper alignment with the body. Another shortcoming of swaddles is that they loosen, especially as the baby gets a bit stronger and moves with more force. As a result the swaddle does not provide the desired snugness, and the caretaker must re-swaddle the baby.
Another problem associated with swaddling babies, and using blankets in general, is that they are incompatible with restraining belts used with car seats, strollers and other baby carriers. More specifically, conventional swaddling encloses the legs in a unitary bundle, so a restraining belt can't be secured between the wearer's legs, as is required for 5-point systems and the like. Alternatively, one can secure an uncovered baby into restraining system and simply drape the blanket over the baby, but this blanket can easily fall off.
While the various shortcomings of baby blankets and swaddling systems have been discussed, many blanket and/or clothing issues also exist for elderly, physically challenged and other persons. For example, standard clothing is difficult to put on and take off for many people. Additionally, draping a blanket over a wheelchair bound person is often ineffective because blankets fall off or can be blown off in the wind. Moreover, a person who is wrapped snugly in a blanket can't use restraint belts which pass between the legs.
As can be seen, there is a need for an article that provides the benefits of conventional swaddling, except also provides warmth to the head, supports the neck, permits the use of restraining belts, and/or allows independent leg movement. It is desirable that the same general design can be used with people of all sizes, from newborn to adults, by merely scaling up the size of the article with identical or similar proportions. It is also desirable that one article can accommodate a variety of sizes and functionalities, including swaddling a newborn to a pajamas-like garment for older children.

Wearable blanket-like article for providing warmth and comfort