An amplifying circuit is formed by a combination of a dielectric line waveguide and a semiconductor device. Two electrically conductive plates are provided substantially parallel to each other. Two dielectric strips are disposed between the two conductive plates, and a dielectric plate is further inserted between the dielectric strips. Ground conductors are formed on the dielectric plate. The ground conductors have an area which equals an amount required for blocking a RF signal propagating in the dielectric line waveguide. A slot line is formed between the ground conductors in a position intermediate opposed sides of the dielectric strips. Line-switching conductor patterns are provided at both sides of the ends of the slot line. A field-effect transistor is mounted on the slot line such that it bridges over the slot line. Accordingly, losses and distortion of an RF signal, which would occur in an input/output circuit, are suppressed, and the generation of parasitic coupling is eliminated. Further, the dielectric line waveguide is miniaturized free from an external circuit, and accordingly, the manufacturing cost is reduced as well.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dielectric line waveguide which forms an amplifying circuit or a modulation circuit, used in, for example, a circuit module in a millimetric wave or microwave band.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, a dielectric line waveguide has been used as a communication module in a millimetric wave band. In particular, a nonradiative dielectric line waveguide (NRD guide) is free from radiation losses and can be miniaturized due to its configuration such that a dielectric strip is inserted between two plane-parallel plates having an interval of a half-wave length or less. Thus, research is being made on applications of the NRD guides to millimetric-wave integrated circuits. An example of applications of the above type of dielectric line waveguide to an amplifying circuit is shown in HEMT Amplifier Used in NRD Guide Integrated Circuit, by Wilkinson, A. A, and Tsutomu Yoneyama, The 1990 IEICE Spring Conference, SC-2-2, (1990) pp. 2-627.
In an amplifying circuit formed by a combination of a dielectric line waveguide and a semiconductor device, as shown in the above example, the semiconductor device is conventionally disposed outside the dielectric line waveguide. Accordingly, a signal propagating in the dielectric line waveguide is first output from the waveguide and is then processed in the semiconductor device, and is once again returned to the dielectric line waveguide.
When a frequency signal (RF signal) is input into or output from a semiconductor device, impedance matching should be, in general, performed in an input/output circuit provided between a transmission line and the semiconductor device in order to improve input/output efficiency. However, the foregoing amplifying circuit in which the semiconductor device is provided on the exterior of the dielectric line waveguide encounters the following problems. Loss and distortion may be incurred in the RF signal while impedance matching is performed in the input/output circuit, such as a matching circuit, and parasitic coupling is easily generated between an external circuit, such as a semiconductor device, and the dielectric line waveguide, thereby degrading the RF characteristics. Further, the configuration of the circuit is complicated, which inevitably makes the manufacturing process very complicated as well.

Dielectric line waveguide which forms electronic circuits


Techniques are disclosed for constructing web (or other networked) documents as parameterized forms of other networked documents. For example, a document may be represented as a collection of changes to be applied to a first document which is incorporated by reference in the second document. Instead of delivering the entire document over a slower network connecting the content server to the content browser, the document is delivered as a collection of changes to previously delivered documents that are much closer to the user's content browser. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, special software is not necessarily required at the end user for reconstructing the second document from the set of base documents and the set of modifications to the base documents. Instead, the second document may be encoded as a program in a scripting (or other form of computer) language that can be readily executed by common content browsers and which, upon execution, causes the second document to be displayed by the content browser.

It is commonly required to personalize a web document for each user who views the document. Such personalization might involve an advertisement that is targeted on the basis of the preferences of the user, or information such as quotes for stocks in the user's portfolio etc. Furthermore, it is also commonly required to update pages that a user or a group of users has previously viewed with fresh information on stock prices, news etc. In either case, the web document requested by the user comprises content that is common to another web document previously delivered to the same user or other users, as well as content that is new and possibly particularized to the user. Furthermore, the common content typically forms the majority of the bytes in the document. In other words, only a small percentage of the document changes between subsequent downloads.
In the background art (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,461), it is known to encode web documents as variations of previously delivered documents that require explicit action on the part of the user's content browser. In particular, the user's content browser selects one or more objects from its cache that it expects to be similar to the current document and includes references to these documents when requesting the current document from the content server. The difficulty with this browser-driven approach is that it requires millions of content browsers to be upgraded to include this modification. Furthermore, it requires that the server have access to the millions of old documents previously transmitted to the users in order to correctly recover the base documents referenced in each request.
Another approach was disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/634,134, filed on Aug. 8, 2000, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. That application disclosed general techniques for transmitting the incremental differences between successive downloads of web documents were disclosed. In the present application, we expand upon those teachings.

Method and system for parameterized web documents


A contact monolithically formed of a single metal plate includes a tubular part, a first end part, a second end part, and a spring accommodated in the tubular part. The first end part is at a first end of the tubular part and moves relative to the tubular part. The second end part includes a terminal and a flexible portion. The flexible portion extends from a second end of the tubular part. The terminal extends from the flexible portion in a direction away from the tubular part. The spring urges the first end part in a direction away from the second end part. The flexible portion deforms and thereby moves the terminal on a surface of an object when the terminal is pressed against the object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to contacts.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits, a measurement apparatus that measures the electrical characteristics of semiconductor integrated circuits formed on a wafer may be employed. Such a measurement apparatus performs measurement by bringing contacts into contact with electrode pads or electrode terminals formed on the wafer.
Contacts used for the measurement apparatus include a contact referred to as "coil spring probe." The coil spring probe includes a coil spring housed in a tubular body, and a first end of the coil spring probe, which is a contact terminal provided at one end of the coil spring, comes into contact with an electrode pad or electrode terminal formed on a substrate such as a wafer. Furthermore, a second end of the coil spring probe electrically connects to the measurement apparatus. Furthermore, according to the coil spring probe, the coil spring provided in the tubular body allows the contact terminal to project and retract relative to the tubular body. (See, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2007-024664.)


A method of programming a flash memory device including performing a first program for programming cells to a first state and a second state higher than the first state, and performing a second program simultaneously together with the first program, for programming cells to the second state and a third state higher than the second state.

The present invention relates to a flash memory device a program method thereof, and more particularly, to a flash memory device and program method capable of increasing a programming speed.
Generally, a flash memory device includes an insulating layer, a floating gate, a dielectric layer and a control gate, which are laminated on a semiconductor substrate. The floating gate is used as a charge storing layer, and the details thereof will be described.
When a program voltage is applied to a control gate through a selected word line, a Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling phenomenon is produced between a semiconductor substrate and a floating gate, and thus electrons flow into the floating gate from the semiconductor substrate to perform a program operation.
A floating gate storing electrons becomes a programmed cell to be higher in a voltage than a threshold voltage of an erase, and thus the programmed cell can be distinguished from the erase cell by reading this distribution difference of a threshold voltage.
A flash memory device has two states, for example, an erase state or a programmed state, and the memory device driven in one erase state and one programmed state refers to as a single level chip ("SLC"). In the other hands, a programming method of each memory cell in multi-level to store much more data than the single line chip SLC has been developed, which is referred to as a multi level chip ("MLC"). The multi line chip MLC is operated in a way of defining each data state which is different each other in respective distribution intervals of the threshold voltage. More details thereof will be described.
For example, when data is stored on the multi line chip MLC, the states that one memory cell may have can be sorted into an erase state, a PV1 state, a PV2 state and PV3 state. Here, assuming that the PV1 state is the programmed state with the lowest interval among the programmed threshold voltage intervals, the PV2 state is higher in threshold distributions than the PV1 state, and the PV3 state is higher than the PV2 state. Like this, with respect to the respective threshold voltage intervals, data of multi bit (i.e., 11, 01, 00 and 01) may be defined in sequence. In the following, a description thereof will be made with reference to FIG. 1.
FIGS. 1A to 1D show a conventional program method of a flash memory device. Each threshold voltage interval that a memory cell may have sorted into an erase state, a PV1 state, a PV2 state and PV3 state, and data value of 2 bit (multi bit) is defined to each state. A lower bit of data values of 2 bit refers to as a low page, and a higher bit refers to as a high page. A program operation of the low page refers to as a low page program "LSB program", and a program operation of the high page refers to as a high page program "MSB program".
The programming sequence of the multi line chip MLC will be described.
Firstly, in memory cell array configured by a unit of block, all of the memory cells of the selected blocks are erased (FIG. 1A). Subsequently, a low page program LSB operation is performed.
In the low page program LSB operation, among memory cells of erase states, a ground voltage is applied to the bit lines of the selected memory cells and a source voltage is applied to the bit lines of the non-selected memory cells. The low page program LSB operation is performed in such a way that a program voltage is applied to the selected word lines and a pass voltage is applied to the non-selected word lines. Accordingly, through these procedures of the low page program LSB operation, the selected memory cells of erase states become PV1 state (FIG. 1B).
The high page program MSB operations may be sorted into a first high page program MSB and a second high page program MSB.
The first high page program MSB operation is an operation for programming the selected memory cells into the PV2 state. To program the erased memory cells into the PV2 state, the selected memory cells are LSB-programmed to the PV1 state from the erase state and then the first MSB program is performed thereto to make the selected memory cells be in PV2 state (FIG. 1C).
The second high page program MSB operation is an operation for programming the selected memory cells into the PV3 state (FIG. 1D). The second high page program MSB is performed in such a way that among memory cells of erase states, a ground voltage is applied to the bit lines of the selected memory cells and a program voltage is applied to the word lines connected to the selected memory cells.
A program operation speed of the multi level chip MLC may be reduced since each program operation has to be performed to program cells from erase states to the respective programmed state (PV 1 state, PV2 state or PV3 state).

Flash memory device and program method thereof


A molding process is disclosed in which an extruded column of plastic is introduced into a mold cavity having a predetermined surface profile. A region of negative air pressure is created inside the mold cavity, exterior to the extruded column. The negative air pressure is applied to the exterior of the extruded column to draw the extruded column into contact with the entire surface profile of the mold cavity, to produce a molded article. The invention can also include a step of co-extruding multiple types of plastic resulting in an extruded column having multiple layers, to produce a molded article having multiple layers. The present method also includes a step of internally inserting a component into the extruded column at a predetermined position so that it will end up at a predetermined position of the molded article after the molding process.

The present invention is directed to the field of extrusion molding technology, particularly for fashioning large articles. Various molding processes are known for fashioning articles of polymer materials, such as blow molding. In a blow molding process, a "parison" (i.e. tube of extruded plastic) is extruded into a mold, and high-pressure air is blown into the mold to force the plastic to the edges of the mold cavity. It is known to use a continuous high-speed, high-volume blowing molding process for bottles. While such a blow molding process is perfect for making small parts like bottles, it is absolutely unsuited for making large plastic parts, such as a plastic pallet, because of its many limitations. When blowing a large plastic part, such as a plastic pallet, there will be too many areas of uneven stretching, especially for corners, edges and deep draws, resulting in extremely weak structural integrity. Also, in order to blow out a large part, the extruded parison in this process must be of a very large diameter, which creates certain physical limitations. The extruded parison will have walls too thick to be properly blown out by the blow molding process, and the concentrated weight of the plastic will create sagging and elongation. Also, a high level of inconsistency is encountered in the finished product.
It is often desirable to add color to a molded product. Under the standard process, color or pigment must be incorporated into the entire polymer. However, this approach results in excess cost since a pigment medium requires a higher quality plastic material, either virgin or high quality recycled plastic. Thus, the entire part must be made up of higher cost material, and it would not be possible to use a less expensive type of recycled plastic. It is known to use multiple layers in blow molding small parts such as bottles. For example, plastic bottles for food products may have an ultraviolet-blocking layer to preserve food freshness and increase shelf life of a product. It may also be desirable to add a colored pigment layer to a product to avoid the above-indicated difficulties. However, it is not feasible to use a multiple layer process in the manufacture of most large objects. It is known that such a multi-layer process can be successfully in making large objects that are of a simple, generally round shape, for example applying a color layer in the manufacture of trash cans and barrels. However, this process for making these objects is in most cases intermittent and not continuous, requiring considerable handling and special steps by manufacturing personnel.
It is known to manufacture large objects such as plastic pallets on a limited basis with a blow molding process. However, this process is also intermittent and non-continuous, requiring considerable handling and special steps by manufacturing personnel. Also, many other problems are associated with this process. The pallet-making process is necessarily a single-layer process, where the article can only be formed of a single layer of plastic, and does not allow using multiple layers. Thus it is difficult to obtain the benefits and flexibility that would result from controlling various parameters, including strength, weight, color, cost and level of anti-skid effectiveness, fire retardance, barrier protection, UV protection and recycle content of materials used. Also, since each part must be handled separately, and production is intermittent and not continuous, the plastic in the extruder and the extrusion header accumulates and overheats for an extended time while waiting for the next cycle, thus resulting in degradation of the plastic resin. Such pallets also suffer from the aforementioned problems with over-stretching at corners, edges and deep draws, and the extruded parison over-stretches under its own weight as it is coming down into the mold. Further, since the extrusion cycle is slow, the cooling of the extruded parison is uneven, with the lower end being progressively cooled at a much more excessive rate. This results in uneven blowing and an inferior surface finish.
Pallets manufactured in the conventional manner tend to have a smooth surface, and so extra steps must be taken to achieve anti-skid utility. It is common to spray or paint an anti-skid coating material such as epoxy, solvent or glue. Additionally, foreign materials like sand or rubber shreds are sometimes applied with the coating for better traction. It is also known to insert rubber grommets or strips into the product surface to provide an anti-skid surface. Also, it is known to machine the product surface to roughen it up and provide traction. These methods are performed after the product is made, resulting in extra manufacturing steps. They also result in other problems. In the coating method, epoxy, rubber, sand etc. are incompatible material with the plastic resin, and are not recyclable, as would be desired. The same is true with the rubber grommet and strip inserts, which are also very expensive and fall off easily. The surface machining method is again labor intensive and is not very effective as an anti-skid surface. Furthermore, a machine-roughed surface traps dirt and contaminants and is not believed to provide sufficient cleanliness to obtain USDA approval for food applications.
Similar difficulties are encountered in providing a fire-retardant plastic pallet. Fire-retardant material is very expensive, and the blended resin costs over four times that of a standard polymer without the fire-retardant additive. The resin with the fire-retardant additive is extremely heavy, making it undesirable and unsuitable for shipping and handling because of potential for injuries. Also, the resulting product with the additive is very brittle and breaks and cracks very easily, resulting in reduced strength and a short useful life. Because of the high quantity of additive required, the plastic part is not suitable for recycling, further limiting the incentive to a widespread usage.
Other issues are important in the manufacture of pallets and other large molded items. On one hand, it is important to provide as much mechanical strength as possible. On the other hand, it is desirable to provide impact resistance. This is often accomplished by making plastic products of structural foam. However, in the structural foam process the foaming has to be done throughout the product and may require a certain amount of sacrifice in rigidity and mechanical strength. In other applications, a barrier between the inside content and the outside environment is often a crucial feature in certain type of product. One obvious example is the gasoline tank used in an automobile. Barrier materials in almost all cases are very expensive. Moreover, depending on the type of barrier materials used, they could have problems with being too heavy or too rigid. Products for some markets may require an antistatic feature. Some of the common industries require an anti-static feature, such as the chemical industry where static can spark and thereby create a fire hazard, and the electronic industry with sensitive electronic components that static electricity may interfere or damage. Anti-static additives are again expensive and result in penalties in physical properties.
In a typical extruded polymer molding process (including blow molding, and other type of profile extrusion with hollow core,) it has been difficult to perform steps of in-filling of material(s) and/or fibers to the inside of column for enhanced physical properties, including higher strength, better impact resistance, better flexural properties, and higher tensile strength. The difficulties with such in-filling of material(s) and/or fibers limits the type of polymer products that can be manufactured and restricts the innovation and design of polymer products that could have been made as preferable alternative to the replacing of existing utilities, including the making of a polymer structural post or other types of polymer support structures.
The in-fill of foamed material offers polymer parts that are more impact resistant, high in insulation value, and high in tensile and flexural strength. However, in typical molding processes, the in-filling of materials including foamed material into the internal cavities of a molded product is a very cumbersome, costly, and slow process, and offers less than ideal quality in the finished product. A common process where in-filling of material generally takes place is rotational molding and/or urethane batch mixing and filling, which is an expensive and slow process.
In utilizing typical molding processes, it is known that when fibers (natural or synthetic) like fiberglass or hemp are introduced into polymer and sent through the molding machine system (such as but not limited to extruders, accumulator, injection port etc.,) the fibers have a natural tendency to align themselves in the same direction. This tendency for fibers to line up creates undesirable consequences, including the lowering of maximum strength, tensile and flex potential, and the increase in surface cracks and brittleness for the fibers embedded polymer.
In a typical molding process, it would be desirable if a color or clear stripe could be applied or embedded into a molded polymer product for identification or aesthetic purposes. However, such a striping system is not available for products that are manufactured under the typical extrusion molding processes as described above.


A secured system is provided for accessing application services running on a remote server from a client station. The system includes at least one client station, each having low-level graphical interface and file logic stored therein and at least one controller, such as a digital signal processor. The controller controls the graphical interface and the file logic. The file logic includes a file system capable of storing data corresponding to the application programs. Further, the system includes at least one remote application server, each server having high-level application logic for running corresponding application programs stored locally or remotely. In addition, a low-level interface connects each client and server. In this system, the cost of manufacturing such clients are far less expensive but far more robust than conventional general purpose computers. Further, the server application programs need not be written specific to or be dependent on any specific operating system platform.

As we are looking forward to year 2000 and beyond, a question arises. How will computing look in the future? The trends we have seen are obvious; more powerful chips are being released every few months, while software development struggles to keep up with the hardware but never does. Of course, we now have a slightly new twist, i.e. the new found popularity of internet, the web, and Java.RTM. code (developed by SUN.RTM.). For instance, with respect to the web, typically a server downloads code (e.g. graphics, Java applets) to a general purpose computer, and the computer's browser software interprets the codes for display. However, interpreting and downloading the code takes significant time.
Some have said that Java (being platform independent) has finally brought a tool to the computer market to break the major chip and operating system (OS) dominance which have developed in the desktop industry, via Intel.RTM. and Microsoft.RTM., respectively. However, different software vendors are creating their own Java extensions, such that Java is losing its portability. For example, Microsoft has developed its own Java interpreter, MS J++.RTM. with extensions specific to the Microsoft web browser Explorer.RTM. and other related Microsoft technology, such as Active-X.RTM..
Further, we have seen neither Intel nor Microsoft despair about web development, i.e., they do not see the currently available internet technologies as able to threaten their respective monopolies, as "Intel Inside" will continue to power general purpose PCs and Microsoft's OSs will continue to manage them, while its Microsoft web-browser Explorer.RTM. now supports Java code. Further, Microsoft's proprietary Active-X technology is a Java competitor which may yet derail the industry's effort to use open standards. Accordingly, Intel's and Microsoft's dominance remains the same.
It has been predicted that computing, especially network computing, will change so drastically in the near future that no company/vendor would be able to dominate any market but the current efforts by many software vendors to "extend" the Java standards is putting that prediction in doubt. As Java applets get developed, incorporating non-standard extensions will eventually cause the emergence of another yet another dominant Java applet supplier. At this point, there is little doubt it is going to be the current software giant Microsoft. By modifying its proprietary operating systems, like Windows 96 and Windows NT to more effectively process either Java applets or Active-X objects, Microsoft once again will dominate software application development.
General purpose computing on the desktop, i.e., desktops having a standard OS (such as Windows 95.RTM.) and a microprocessor (such as the Pentium.RTM. chip), has to be replaced by a system which is less expensive to own and maintain but at the same time does not short-change the user by taking away features which we all have come to expect from our PCs, such as flexibility, extendibility, high-security, ease-of-use, and reasonable cost of initial ownership to enable the software and hardware industry to proceed forward in new and creative ways.
Foreseeable disadvantages of the standard general purpose PC, with respect to the networks and Java, include the following. Java applications will increase in complexity, therefore requiring faster processors and greater memory in the desktop unit to run them (the same problem which PCs have always had) again forcing the user into a never-ending spiral of hardware and software upgrades. Currently, Java applets are four to five times slower than compiled code, requiring more powerful processors to get similar performance as compared to an application that runs native binary code. Further, converting applications from another high-level language to Java (or even from C++) is a very expensive, labor-intensive effort, so that it is no wonder that legacy COBOL applications are still often used in business.
It is also a concern that the computer's writable resources, e.g. a hard drive, can be compromised or damaged by rogue Java applets. On the other hand, if the computer has no writable resources, then the user typically keeps his or her files in remote locations, e.g. on a remote file server, thereby making the user's data files a security risk which no company can afford. An example of a computer having no writable resources is the proposed Network Computer "NC" (a joint effort by Apple.RTM., Netscape.RTM., IBM.RTM., Oracle.RTM. and SUN.RTM.).
A typical network system having server-client architecture, which can be utilized in the present invention, is illustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, network 10 includes a central server 7 connected to a plurality of clients 5 over a shared transmission medium 8. Network 10 is applicable to supporting the transmission of data on a local area network (LAN) or on a wide area network (WAN).
A typical server 7 may vary substantially in its architecture. It may be a unior multi-processor machine, a PC or a mainframe, a workstation from a major manufacturer or a proprietary technology based computer, etc. It may even be a special function device without any OS or software. Server 7 should be able, however, to function in a predefined way or to run whatever software that the company which owns the server needs to run on it. It should also be able to comply with standard transport protocol, such as tcp/ip used by the internet or other transport protocols used on wireless or wired LANs.
Server 7 may have its own file system for storing service-related files and data or server 7 may strictly be a computational server whose software is loaded from the file system of another server, i.e., a file server or file system of super-client (neither shown), which is preferable for security reasons. If the computational server runs the booted programs solely from RAM, then it would not have access to its local file system after the software is loaded into its main memory (RAM).
FIG. 1 illustrates the so called two-tier computing configuration. In addition, a three- or N-tier computing configuration may also be utilized, as will be discussed hereinlater.
Conventionally, in a first major configuration, the client stations 5 are essentially "dumb" terminals connected to a central server 7 via transmission medium 8. The central server contains the client users' data and the application/program code. Further, the central server executes all the programs for its clients 5.
Substantially all of the application logic (i.e., presentation logic, business logic, and database logic) is resident within the central server. Such application logic (presentation, business, database) includes any program logic concerned with delivering and/or executing the application service. Note, however, that each client may harbor some low-level graphical interface logic such as X11 protocol. These clients are diskless and perform no general computational tasks. Further, the database (file system) logic on the server is shared among the clients. An example of such a system is a set of X-terminals attached to a central server.
In a second major configuration, the central server 7 contains both the program code and the file system which the clients use, as with the first configuration, but does not execute any applications. Instead, the applications are downloaded into each requesting client 5 through the network and run on each client. The client, however, continues using the central server as the client database/file system source. The clients in this configuration are usually diskiess but do contain powerful CPUs, such as by SPARC.RTM., MIPS.RTM. and ALPHA.RTM.. Although all of the presentation, business and database logic (while running) reside on the client, the file system is located on the central server and is shared among the clients. An example of the second configuration include a LAN with a central database such as ORACLE, Informix or Sybase running on an IBM AS/100 file server and set of diskless desktop machines like SUN or RS6000 workstations using a central file server to get their program code and data.
Further, the proposed NC is similar to the second configuration, except that instead of loading native machine code onto a client, Java code is sent to be either interpreted or compiled on-the-fly into native code at the client station. That is, the Java code is either interpreted by the browser software on the client or the browser first compiles the Java code, then runs it. The obvious problems with this solution are that interpreted code and compilation is slow, and as the complexity of Java code increases, the CPU/memory combination of the NC or general purpose PC/browser combination would also have to increase in computational power and memory size to accommodate the growth. Further, Java code would arrive to the desktop in source form making it very difficult to determine whether malfunctions or bugs are associated with the Java applet or the browser software itself.
In addition, since the Java code is supplied to run on the client, an application foreign to the client is accepted which may potentially damage the PC's writable resources by malice or mistake (e.g., by utilizing security holes in the browsers). Further, the NC fails to protect the user's private data from other clients since it lacks local storage and all client data has to reside in a central location. Java also makes copyright enforcement an extremely difficult task for the software vendors. Since Java applets have absolutely no protection from being copied by the client/user machine, as they are delivered in source form.
In a third configuration, a three- or N-tier computing network is employed. Such a configuration is currently being utilized by Forte Technologies. They offer programming tools to decompose client-server applications into presentation logic which runs on each client 5, business logic which runs on the central server 7 and database logic which runs on a file server (not shown). However, the business and database logic may run on the same physical server. As with the first and second configurations, the client's database/file system logic is stored remotely from the client, as it is shared among the clients, and thus poses a security risk. Since the presentation logic runs on the client, this system is also faced with the problem of constant upgrades and high maintenance costs of the client stations. Another great problem in this model is that application codes have to be written specifically to one software vendor's implementation of the N-tier network and a user is typically forced to license and distribute parts of the system to run his own applications.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

Secured system for accessing application services from a remote station

Sinectonalysis, Inc., Suite g-12 #189, 3702 S. Virginia St.


A nickel-base superalloy, in particular for the fabrication of monocrystalline components, consisting essentially of (measured in wt %) 6.0-6.8% of Cr, 8.0-10.0% of Co, 0.5-0.7% of Mo, 6.2-6.6% of W, 2.7-3.2% of Re, 5.4-5.8% of Al, 0.5-0.9% of Ti, 7.2-7.8% of Ta, 0.15-0.3% of Hf. 0.02-0.04% of C, 40-100 ppM of B, the remainder being nickel with impurities. The ratio (Ta+1.5 Hf+0.5 Mo-0.5 Ti)/(W+1.2 Re) is greater than or equal to 0.7.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a nickel-base superalloy, in particular for the fabrication of monocrystalline components.
2. Discussion of Background
Nickel-base superalloys of this type are known. These alloys are used to fabricate monocrystalline components, in particular turbine blades of gas turbines. By means of these monocrystalline components, the mechanical strength of the material at high temperatures can be maximized. As a result, the inlet temperature of gas turbines can be increased, with a consequent rise in the efficiency of the gas turbine.
Monocrystalline alloys as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,782, Swiss Patent No. 637 165, EP 0 076 360, U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,123 and EP 0 208 645 to this end include solid solution strengthening elements such as Re, W, Mo, Co, Cr, as well as elements forming .gamma.' phases such as Al, Ta and Ti. The percentage of refractory alloy elements in the base matrix Ni increases continually with the increase of the operating temperature required for the alloys. Customarily, a monocrystalline alloy contains (in wt %): 6-8% of W, up to 6% of Re and up to 2% of Mo. The alloys described in the abovementioned publications exhibit high creep resistance, good LCF (low cycle fatigue) and HCF (high cycle fatigue) characteristics, as well as high oxidation resistance.
These known alloys were developed for aircraft turbines and therefore optimized with respect to short-term and medium-term characteristics, i.e. the service life is designed to be up to 20,000 hours. In contrast, industrial gas turbine components have to be designed for a service life of up to 75,000 hours. By virtue of the optimization in terms of maximum creep strength at high temperatures and high stresses, these alloys have a positive heat treatment window i.e. the primary .gamma.' phase is completely dissolved without incipient melting of the alloy.
Thus, an alloy "CMSX-4" from U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,782, when used in industrial gas turbines, does indeed exhibit good creep resistance, but has a high susceptibility to the formation of small-angle grain boundaries, of freckles, i.e. imperfections due to a chain of equidirectional grains having a high eutectic content, and also to extensive recrystallization of the monocrystalline components during solutionizing After an operating time of 3000 hours at temperatures above 1000.degree. C., the alloy shows marked coarsening of the .gamma.' structure, followed by an increase in the creep rate.
Swiss Patent No. 637 165, EP 0 208 645 and "Second generation nickel-base superalloy", A. D. Cetel et al., Superalloys 1988, ed S. Reichman et al., Met. Soc., 1988, p. 235, disclose alloys designated as "PWA", in particular "PWA 1484", and EP 0 076 360 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,123 disclose alloys designated as "Ren", in particular "Rene N5", but these have drawbacks similar to those of the alloy CMSX-4.
By means of the alloying elements chosen, a positive or negative lattice offset between .gamma. phase and .gamma.', phase is generated in the abovementioned alloys. As a result of the lattice distortion, .gamma.' grains impede slippage or intersection of dislocations. While said lattice distortion does bring about an increase in the low-cycle fatigue strength, it also causes, with prolonged loading, coarsening of the microstructure and, correspondingly, a long-term mechanical weakening of the alloy.


An infrared photodetector that is capable of efficiently detecting single photon over an extensive range of wavelengths from several μm to several hundreds of μm and is suitable for arraying, and wherein an oscillatory electric field of a single infrared photon (37) parallel to a plane of the patch section (36) of a microstrip antenna when the photon is incident to cause the latter to resonate therewith is converted to an oscillatory electric field (38z) in a z direction, which an electron (39) in a quantum dot (24a) in its base state subband (30) is allowed to absorb, thereby being excited to a first excitation state subband (31) to tunnel through a potential barrier (32) and set free to escape into a quantum well (26) in a −z direction where it is absorbed. An electric field by ionization of the quantum dot (24a) as a result of escape of the electron (39) causes change in conductance of a point contact (26e). An ionized state continuing long, the integral of change in current (42) flowing from a source (26a) to a drain (26b) becomes a magnitude that can be detected, and sensitivity that allows detecting a single infrared photon is achieved.

As infrared photodetectors of this type there conventionally are three kinds.
The first type is a two-dimensional quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) utilizing a photoconducting phenomenon that accompanies the intersubband excitation of a semiconductor two-dimensional quantum well, which has widely been known as a detector for a mid-infrared range of wavelengths around 3 microns to 20 microns in wavelength (see B. F. Levine, J. Appl. Phys. 74, R1-R81 (1993)). This detector as shown in FIG. 8 in the paper detects free electrons absorbing an infrared light and excited in two-dimensional intersubband transition as an electric current between electrodes across the two-dimensional quantum well. Because of the impracticality to detect a current by one single free electron, however, the detector is far behind the level of detecting single photon and has its sensitivity D* in the order of 1010 cmHz0.5/W.
As the second type, a single photon detector has been proposed and put to realization for a far-infrared region of wavelengths around 100 μm (microns) to 600 μm, which uses a semiconductor quantum dot and a single-electron transistor (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application, JP 2001-119041 A; U.S. Pat. No. 6,627,914; S. Komiyama et al., Nature 403, p. 405 (2000); O. Astafiev et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 4250 (2002)). This detector is so configured that electrons of a semiconductor quantum dot are excited upon absorbing far-infrared photons to leave the semiconductor quantum dot polarized or ionized for a long time period and a change in potential by the polarization or ionization causes the single-electron transistor to be driven. According to this detector in which the semiconductor quantum dot remains polarized or ionized for a long time period, it is possible to detect a single far-infrared photon absorbed since integration of a change in current value of the single-electron transistor gives rise to a value that is detectable in magnitude even for one single far-infrared photon. However, this detector is a measuring device designed to aim at the millimeter wave to far-infrared range and does not operate in the mid-infrared range of wavelengths shorter than several tens of microns. To wit, this detector utilizes a transition between levels whose level distance corresponds to energy in a millimeter wave to far-infrared range such as quantum levels by the in-plane size effect, in-plane plasma vibrations or Landau levels of in-plane orbital motions, and is therefore incapable of detecting infrared lights in a range of wavelengths shorter than several tens of microns. For operation in such a range of short wavelengths as well, a detector must utilize a two-dimensional intersubband transition that is selectively brought about and it requires a new physical mechanism, new both in condensing light and in detection, and a device structure for the same to function.
As the third, there has been proposed a quantum well type detector for detecting single photon by two-dimensional intersubband transition in a semiconductor two-dimensional quantum well (see Japanese patent Laid-Open Application, JP 2004-214383 A). This detector as shown in FIG. 32(a) includes a semiconductor mesa structure 191 and a single-electron transistor 192 on the semiconductor mesa structure 191 wherein the mesa structure 191 has an electron energy barrier which is designed to have a structure as shown in FIG. 32(b). Absorbing an infrared light 190, electrons 194 in a quantum dot 193 in the semiconductor mesa structure 191 bring about an intersubband transition, escaping in a vertical direction and being absorbed in an electrode 195. An ionized state of the quantum dot 193 by escape of electrons 194 continues for a long time period, and the infrared light 190 is detected by detecting a change in the single-electron transistor current by ionized charges 196. Having the structure that a semiconductor quantum dot remains ionized for long time period by two-dimensional intersubband transition, the structure that a single-electron transistor is driven by the ionization potential and the antenna effect by the electrode of the single-electron transistor, this detector is stated to be capable of condensing an infrared light efficiently at the area of a quantum well. In the absence of means for coupling the quantum dot and electromagnetic waves to selectively bring about the two-dimensional intersubband transition, however, the detector is poor in sensitivity. Further, it is difficult to design the quantum well structure such as to set free excited electrons 194 to escape. Moreover, the structure that a single-electron transistor made of a metal or metal oxide such as Al or Al2O3 is fabricated on a quantum well formed of a substrate of a heteroepitaxial semiconductor such as of a GaAs group tends to cause a semiconductor quantum well surface during the fabrication to be oxidized and thereby to deteriorate, and is not suitable for an infrared photodetector in the form of an array which requires quite a high yield.


A light unit, a backlight, a front light, and a display device, have a structure such that an uneven luminance generated in display is suppressed by radiating light in a sufficient amount even to an end portion of a display region, thereby uniformly radiating light in a sufficient amount to the entire display region, without a complicated structure. The light unit includes a light guide plate and a plurality of light sources, the plurality of light sources being arranged in a line to oppose at least one side surface of the light guide plate, wherein one or more light sources at at least one terminal among the plurality of light sources are positioned outside a lateral edge of a display region, and such a light unit is preferably used in a side-light type backlight or front light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-unit, a backlight, a front light, and a display device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a light unit preferably used in a side-light type backlight or front light, and a display device such as a liquid crystal display device, including the light unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display device including a non-self-emitting display panel, such as a liquid crystal display panel, needs to include light sources in order to display an image. Reflected sunlight is used as a light source, but a light unit needs to be arranged in the following display devices: a display device which is mainly used indoors such as a word processor, a laptop personal computer, and an in-car liquid crystal display device (LCD); and a display device which is used outdoors but constantly needs a certain light amount.
Side-light type and direct-type backlights and the like are known as the light unit. A side-light type backlight in a liquid crystal display device including a small-sized screen has been widely used because it can display an image with a small power consumption using a small number of light sources.
Examples of members for the backlight include, for example, a reflective film, a diffusion sheet, and a prism sheet, in addition to the light source. The side-light type backlight has a structure in which light sources are arranged on a lateral edge of a display surface, and therefore the backlight is further provided with a light guide plate, which is different from the direct-type backlight. The light guide plate is generally made of a colorless and transparent material, and it is a plate member with which a pattern for reflecting, refracting, or diffusing light is provided. Furthermore, according to the side-light type backlight, the light guide plate is arranged below the display panel such that the main surface of the light guide plate faces the display screen and such that point light sources or linear light sources are arranged to oppose a side surface of the light guide plate. According to such a configuration, lights from the point light sources or linear light sources enter the light guide plate from the side surface of the light guide plate. Further, the lights are reflected, refracted, or diffused by the pattern provided for the light guide plate when passing through the inside of the light guide plate, and then the lights are emitted into a planar shape from the main surface side.
In the display device, a frontlight may be used instead of the backlight. According to a side-light type frontlight, point light sources or linear light sources are arranged to face a side surface of a light guide plate, similarly in the backlight. Lights from the point light sources or the linear light sources enter the light guide plate from the side surface of the light guide plate. Further, the lights are reflected, refracted, or diffused by the pattern provided for the light guide plate when passing through the inside of the light guide plate, and then the lights are once outputted into a planar shape from the main surface side to the display screen side as output light. In the frontlight, the light guide plate is arranged on the side opposite to the side where the light guide plate is arranged in the backlight relative to a liquid crystal layer. Lights which have passed through the light guide plate are reflected by a reflector such as a reflective sheet, provided on the side opposite to the light guide plate relative to the liquid crystal layer. Therefore, the lights pass through the liquid crystal layer twice.
Recently, the use of a thin display device, such as a liquid crystal display device, has increasingly spread. Along with this, such a display device needs higher display qualities. For the side-light type backlight or frontlight, it is necessary to increase a luminance of light outputted through the light guide plate and further increase uniformity of the luminance.
For such a need, luminance characteristics have conventionally been improved by modifying a structure of the light guide plate or arrangement of light sources (for example, refer to Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2001-43718, Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2002-100231, Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2002-157911, Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2003-132722, Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2002-203422, and Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2002-350846). For example, Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2001-43718 discloses the following light unit. A light source portion in a light guide plate is provided with a reflection and refraction portion and thereby part of the light, with a high luminance near the center, emitted from a light emitting diode (LED), is not directly guided into an output portion, but into both side surfaces. Further, irregular reflection parts on both side surfaces are arranged in such a way that an area ratio of the irregular reflection portion increases as it is further from the light sources, and thereby a light amount near the light sources is suppressed and lights from the LED light sources are uniformly output from an output surface with efficiency. Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2002-100231 discloses that point light sources are arranged at a pair of opposing corners of a light guide plate, and a light guide portion having a light-entering surface and a reflection surface is formed integrally with the light guide plate so as to protrude outwardly. As a result, light from the light sources is spread over the entire light guide plate, and generation of uneven luminance is prevented. However, even if these technologies are used, a dark portion where the luminance is low is generated at a position far from the light source or at a corner portion of the display region, or the backlight or the frontlight might have a complicated structure. In such points, there is room for improvement.
In the side-light type backlight or frontlight, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) that is a linear light source or an LED that is a point light source, and the like are used as a light source. Recently, LEDs tend to be increasingly used because they can be driven at a low voltage. For example, an LED has been used in a display of a portable apparatus such as a cellular phone. However, if a light source which emits light with a strong straight forward property, such as an LED, is used, uneven luminance and the like tends to be generated. In this point, there is room for improvement. For example, if an LED is used as the light source, a sidelight type backlight or front light includes, as shown in FIG. 15A, a rectangular light guide plate 201 and a plurality of light sources 203 arranged in a line to oppose one side surface on the side of a long side of four sides of the rectangular light guide plate 201. As shown in FIG. 15B, light sources 203a at both terminals of these light sources 203 are arranged in a region opposing an end portion 102a of the display region 102. However, according to such a light-irradiating method, an end portion 102a of the display region, particularly at a corner portion 102b is not sufficiently irradiated with light in a sufficient amount. Therefore, this region becomes a dark portion where the luminance is lower than that in other display regions. As a result, display uniformity is deteriorated. FIG. 15B schematically shows overlapping of lights from the respective light sources. FIG. 15C shows measurement results of a luminance distribution. As shown in FIGS. 15B and 15C, a dark portion is generated at the end portion 102a of the display region, particularly at a corner portion 102b. The luminance uniformity in the entire display region 102 is deteriorated.
Under such circumstances, a light unit which can obtain sufficient luminance at the end portion of the display region and which can radiate light having a high luminance and excellent uniformity to the entire display region, without a complicated structure, has been needed.

Light unit, backlight, frontlight, and display device


An electromagnetic wave detector that detects incident light by converting the incident light into an electric signal includes a flat metal layer formed on a supporting substrate, an intermediate layer formed on the metal layer, a graphene layer formed on the intermediate layer, isolated metals periodically formed on the graphene layer, and electrodes arranged oppositely on both sides of the isolated metals. Depending on a size of a planar shape of each of the isolated metals, light having a predetermined wavelength at which surface plasmon occurs is determined out of the incident light, and the light having the predetermined wavelength is absorbed to detect a change in the electric signal generated in the graphene layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic wave detector and an electromagnetic wave detector array, and more particularly to an electromagnetic wave detector and an electromagnetic wave detector array using single or multilayer graphene as a photodetecting layer.
2. Description of Related Art
In conventional electromagnetic wave detectors, semiconductor materials are used for photodetecting layers. However, because the semiconductor material has a band gap, only light having larger energy than the band gap can be detected, and therefore, the semiconductor cannot be said to be optimum for an electromagnetic wave detector. Therefore, attention has been focused on graphene as a next-generation light detection material. Graphene is a monoatomic layer of a two-dimensional carbon crystal, and single-layer graphene has a very small thickness of 0.34 nm which is equivalent to one carbon atom. Graphene has a carbon atom in each chain arranged in a hexagon shape, and is reported to be able to increase carrier mobility to ten thousand cm2/Vs or more. Researches and developments of using graphene for wirings of transistor channel layers and LSI are also being progressed. By utilizing such unique electric properties of graphene, there has been recently proposed the use of graphene, not only as materials of high-speed devices, LSI wirings, and electrodes, but also as materials of photodetecting layers of electromagnetic wave detectors.
For example, JP 2013-502735 A discloses an electromagnetic wave detector that has a graphene channel layer deposited on a gate oxide film on a substrate, and has source and drain contact regions formed on both ends on the graphene. It is described that the graphene of the photodetecting layer of the electromagnetic wave detector is zero or a very small band gap material, and can detect light in a broad bandwidth. Further, it is described that a carrier 1 of graphene in a high electric field is ten times to a hundred times of the carrier transfer rate in a conventional semiconductor.
However, because a photoabsorbing layer formed of only graphene has a very low optical absorption rate of a few percent, the photoabsorbing layer cannot effectively acquire optical information as an electromagnetic wave detector. Further, the conventional electromagnetic wave detector using graphene does not have a function of detecting polarization of incident light. Therefore, in order to detect specific polarization, it has been necessary to provide a polarization filter or the like on a light incident surface.

Electromagnetic wave detector and electromagnetic wave detector array


A method and apparatus for receiving motion data and determining acceleration vectors based on biomechanical data and the received motion data. The method further comprises creating an improved image based on the acceleration vectors.

The problem of blurred images resulting form human hand motion is well known in the photography field. Human hand motion includes tremors, jitter, accidental motions, etc. Though tripods have been used to secure cameras and eliminate motion, they are bulky and are rarely used for amateur photography. Instead electronic, electro-mechanical stabilization schemes are typically used in higher end digital cameras. Two approaches to image stabilization are popular.
Feedback stabilization systems use sensors like gyroscopes to measure rotational motion and feed a compensating signal to actuators that adjust the sensor and/or lens position to compensate for the motion. However, actuators are expensive and consume a lot of power.
Post-processing Systems process the captured image(s) to compensate for blur and motion. The degree of motion is inferred by analyzing the image(s). However, this analysis is extremely computing intensive and time consuming.

Method and apparatus for improving photo image quality


A motorcar burglar proof system comprised of a mechanism to lock up the steering wheel, an image retrieve device, and a built in control circuit; an IC chip integrated by the control circuit recording physical features of the genuine driver to compare with the image retrieved so to release the steering wheel if fits; if not, the steering wheel remaining to be locked up, the image being saved, and the alarm being activated to alert the parties concerned to respond in time.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a motorcar burglar proof system mounted to the steering wheel, and more particularly, to one performs physical ID of the driver, locks up the steering wheel, sounds the alarm, and retrieves the image of the burglar in providing an active burglar proof function.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Generally, the door lock for a motorcar is the basic equipment to prevent burglar form entering into the motorcar. The shame is that practically all the door locks no matter how advanced and sophisticated, installed by the genuine motor makers can be easily opened up by the burglar; and even they do stop the burglar, the burglar could break up the window and get into the car. This fact alone warrants the installation of a secondary burglar proof system.
To keep the motorcar on the road, it takes the running engine and the steering wheel to control the motorcar driving in the correct direction. Therefore, many burglar proof systems generally available in the market are essentially designed to lock up the steering wheel while the motorcar is parked. However, all these systems are limited to a mechanical locking system to restrict the turning of the steering wheel; once the mechanical structure to restrict the steering wheel is tempered, the motorcar could still be easily stolen.


A semiconductor device includes a filter circuit operable to pass a desired signal component of a high-frequency signal inputted and operable to attenuate a harmonic component of an integral multiple of the desired signal, wherein the filter circuit includes a first inductor and a second inductor coupled in series to a signal line transmitting the high-frequency signal, a first variable capacitor coupled between a power supply line and a node of the first inductor and the second inductor, and a second variable capacitor coupled between the signal line and the power supply line.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, especially to a semiconductor device provided with a filter circuit employed in a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), for example.
In an RFIC (semiconductor device) implemented in wireless communication devices, such as a mobile-phone and a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a filter circuit for removing an unnecessary out-of-band signal is provided in each of a receiving unit for downconverting a reception RF signal received with an antenna to a reception baseband signal, and a transmitting unit for upconverting a transmission baseband signal to a transmission RF signal. Such a filter circuit is generally configured with the use of an inductor, a capacitor, and a resistive element (refer to Patent Literature 1, for example).
For example, when an LC circuit configured with an inductor and a capacitor coupled in parallel is employed as the filter circuit, input impedance of the filter circuit becomes maximum at a resonance frequency of the LC circuit. Therefore, the filter circuit functions as a kind of band-pass filter which passes a frequency in the neighborhood of the resonance frequency and attenuates a frequency distant from the resonance frequency.
(Patent Literature 1) U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,285

Semiconductor device and adjustment method of filter circuit


The present invention is directed to a method for identifying one or more matching formulas for matching color and appearance of a target coating containing effect pigments. The present invention is also directed to a system for identifying one or more matching formulas for matching color and appearance of a target coating containing effect pigments.

Surface coatings containing effect pigments, such as light absorbing pigment, light scattering pigments, light interference pigments, and light reflecting pigments are well known. Metallic flake pigments, for example aluminum flakes, are examples of such effect pigments and are especially favored for the protection and decoration of automobile bodies, such as for example by reason of their imparting a differential light reflection effect, usually referred, to as "flop", as well as flake appearance effects, which include flake size distribution and the sparkle imparted by the flake as well as the enhancement of depth perception in the coating. The flop effect is dependent upon the angle from which the car body is viewed. The degree of the flop effect achieved, is a function of the orientation of the metallic flakes with respect to the outer surface of the coating. The degree of sparkle is a function of the flake size, surface smoothness, orientation, and uniformity of the edges. Metallic coatings usually also contain pigments, generally of a light absorbing rather than a light scattering type. Any light scatter from the pigments or the flakes themselves, e.g., from the flake edges, diminishes both the flop and the sparkle of the coating.
For repairing a previously coated substrate, for example, of an automotive body, it is necessary to choose the correct pigments to match the color of that substrate as well as the correct effect pigments such as flakes to match the color and appearance of that substrate. Many coating formulas are made available by paint suppliers to match various vehicles and objects to be coated. Often there are multiple coating formulas available for the same vehicle make and model because of vehicle coating color and appearance variability due to slight variations in formulations, ingredients used, coating application conditions such as coating application techniques or locations used by vehicle original equipment manufacturers. These color and appearance variations make it difficult to identify the best formula to attain excellent matches in autobody shops. A number of methods have been developed to identify formulas of correct pigments to achieve color match. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,633 disclosed a computer implemented method for identifying one or more color formulas matching the color of a standard by using color spectrum readings. European patent application EP 1139234, filed on Feb. 12, 2001, disclosed a method to identify one or more color matching formulas to match color of a vehicle using a vehicle identification number (VIN) and a color code of that vehicle.
Some attempts were made to match both color and appearance of a target coating. U.S. Pat. No. 6,952,265, disclosed a method to obtain appearance data of a target coating in digital images and to compare the appearance data to appearance characteristics stored in a coating database. However, it lacks the ability to correlate color data and cannot identify formula for matching both color and appearance. WO 2006/030028, filed on Sep. 16, 2005 with an international application No. PCT/EP2005/054627, disclosed a method using color and texture properties of paint modules to formulate a coating for matching both color and appearance. However, it considers each of the properties individually and lacks capability to consider complex relations among each of the properties when mixed in a coating. A U.S. Pat. No. 6,959,111, disclosed a method for matching color of a target coating by obtaining color data in L*,a*,b* values by using a calorimeter, and quantitative particle feeling data by using a CCD camera. However, it requires the production of multiple test panels coated with a plurality of candidate coatings and repeated measurements of color and particle feeling data of the test panels to select best match on color and appearance.
It is therefore still in need for a method and a system for automatic measurement of appearance of a target coating and for the selection, from multiple existing coating formulas, of one or more matching formulas that closely match both the color and appearance of the target coating.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for matching color and appearance of a coating containing effect pigments


Exemplary embodiments are directed to providing a method of preparing an anatomical vessel contained within a tissue bundle for ligation, including positioning a cannula adjacent to the tissue bundle, wherein the positioning is non-penetrating, the cannula including a first extendable member, a second extendable member, a Doppler wand, and a distal end, transmitting ultrasound signals toward the vessel through the tissue bundle with the Doppler wand, receiving ultrasound signals reflected by the vessel through the tissue bundle with the Doppler wand, invaginating the tissue bundle with the first extendable member on a first side of the tissue bundle, invaginating the tissue bundle with the second extendable member on a second side of the bundle opposite the first side, and interpenetrating a length of ligation material between the first and second extendable members on a side of the vessel opposite the cannula distal end.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ligation devices and methods, and more particularly to devices and methods for accurately locating and ligating an anatomical vessel.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
The Doppler effect is currently utilized in many fields. For example, Doppler stethoscopes and Doppler wands are currently utilized to listen to the blood flow within the anatomical structures in patients, especially in mammalian patients. Continuous wave Doppler sound signals are used to identify blood vessels, but do not provide feedback as to the distance of the vessel from the Doppler probe used. Pulsed wave Doppler has been used to identify blood vessels and, in conjunction with two dimensional (2D) imaging systems, identify the distance to a blood vessel and blood flow characteristics. Ultrasound systems with Doppler imaging are also currently used in medical fields, and typically produce gray-scale two-dimensional images. The addition of Doppler processing allows for the evaluation of fluid flow velocities through fluid conduits within the patient, and the relative position of these vessels to other anatomical structures.
Ligation devices have previously been proposed. These prior ligation devices have typically been used in laparascopic procedures, and have typically required that the anatomical feature of interest be dissected or visualized prior to ligation of that feature. Other ligation devices require the penetration of a tissue bundle encapsulating the anatomical vessel in order to perform location and ligation of the vessel.
The tissue of the vaginal wall is very elastic, pliable, and flexible. The vaginal wall can made to assume different shapes without tearing and without significant patient discomfort or pain. Heretofore, this inherent characteristic of these tissues has not been utilized in the area of tissue ligation.

Doppler directed suture ligation device and method


A method and apparatus for actively counteracting a disturbing force acting on a suspended elevator cab moving vertically in a hoistway is disclosed. A manifestation of the disturbing force such as acceleration is sensed and counteracted, for example, by effectively exerting counterforces against the cab. The magnitude and phase of the counterforce is selected according to the magnitude and phase of the system response to a disturbing force. The invention may be carried out using an electromagnet actuator for actuating the suspended cab in response to a control signal from a control means which is in turn responsive to the sensed signal. The control means may be analog or digital or a combination of both. A preferred analog-digital approach is disclosed in which the digital part is responsive to accelerometer signals, the analog part is responsive to a force command signal from the digital part and provides a force feedback signal for comparison to the force command signal. In a pendulum car embodiment, three pairs of electromagnets form three actuators situated between the floor of the frame and the bottom of the suspended cab.

Conventional elevator system suspensions can be characterized by the mechanical properties of the transmissive elements which connect three major elevator components: the car platform, the supporting frame, and the guide rails. The conventional elevator car platform is typically attached to the supporting frame with hard rubber pads. The frame, in turn, runs along the guide rails, which are supported either by stiffly sprung wheels or sliding gibs at four attachment points.
The motion of the car platform in these conventional elevator systems is affected by forces which act directly on the car, e.g., reactive forces due to passenger motion or wind forces, and by guide rail irregularities, e.g., butt joint misalignments, or waviness due to settling of the building. These conventional elevator suspension systems can be classified as "passive" in the sense that no energy is provided to the suspension system to counteract the direct or rail induced forces. For such passive systems, there is an inherent compromise in ride quality. Stiff transmissive elements mitigate the effects of direct car forces, while compliant (low stiffness) transmissive elements mitigate the effects of guide rail irregularities.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,852 issued to Salmon et al, a passive suspension configuration is disclosed with a mechanically compliant attachment between the car platform and frame. The mechanically compliant attachment is realized by suspending the car platform from the frame with long steel rods. This elevator configuration, hereafter referred to as the "pendulum car" is a passive design in which the mitigation of the effects of rail irregularities is maximized at the expense of an increased sensitivity to direct car forces.
In a non-pendulum cab disclosure, U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,849, Hiroshi Ando shows electromagnets disposed outside the car symmetrically about guide rails in a control system using opposing forces from the electromagnets to keep the car steady using the rails as the necessary ferromagnetic mass but, rather than using the rails as a straight reference line, instead using a cable stretched between the top and bottom of the hoistway. The position of the car with respect to the cable is controlled using detectors in a closed loop control system. There is serious question as to whether such a cable can be successfully used as a reliable guide of straightness.
In another non-pendulum cab disclosure, U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,590, Matti Otala discloses what appears to be an essentially open loop control system with solenoid actuated guide shoes that uses the concept of memorizing the out-of-straightness of the guide rails for storage in a computer memory and then sensing the position of the car in the hoistway for the purpose of recalling the corresponding information from memory and correcting the guide rail shoe positions accordingly. An acceleration sensor is mentioned in claim 6 but does not appear to be otherwise disclosed as to its purpose in the specification or drawing. Perhaps it is used to determine the acceleration of the car in the hoistway. Such an acceleration signal would presumably be needed to determine which data point to retrieve from memory as suggested in claim 2. Otala's approach suffers from the problem of changes in the out-of-straightness before a correction run can be effected and the accuracy with which the stored information can be made to conform to the car's actual position.
A mounting arrangement for a pendulum-type or hung cab is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,064 by Shigeta et al wherein the cab is suspended within and from the top of an outer car framework by a plurality of rods connected to the bottom of the cab. A plurality of stabilizing stoppers are shown interposed between the underside of the hung cab and the floor of the car frame. Each stopper comprises a cylinder extending downward from the underside of the hung cab surrounding a rubber torus placed on an upright rod extending from the floor of the car frame. Clearance between the cylinder and the hung cab is sufficient to permit movement but insufficient to allow the hung cab to strike the car frame. Another embodiment comprising "bolster" means having ball bearings permits movement in any direction of the horizontal plane.
Another approach is disclosed by Luinstra et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,682 wherein a pair of parallel rails are arranged horizontally in a parallelogram between the suspended cab and car frame with followers arranged to roll or slide on the rails in such a way that the hung cab can move in any horizontal direction relative to the car frame.
Both of the last two pendulum or supported cab approaches employ passive restraints on movement which by nature are reactive rather than active.
Active suspension systems are known in the automobile art. In particular, what we call "tunable shock absorbers" are used as tunable impedances. They comprise a relative displacement device made up, from a "systems" point of view, of a mechanical impedance (defined here as the frequency dependent ratio of deflection over applied force) of a stiffness in parallel with a damper. The stiffness and dampening elements are adjusted during different conditions. For example, during a cornering mode, as sensed by accelerometers, increased stiffness is desired on selected shock absorbers. Similarly, during braking, both front shocks are made stiffer. This is done in software by sensing the displacement of the car with respect to the frame and commanding a desired displacement. In simply adjusting stiffness and damping there is a trade-off; as the mechanical impedance of the shock absorbers is increased, the car becomes more sensitive to a bumpy road. Or, as the mechanical impedance of the shock absorbers is decreased, the car becomes more susceptible to direct forces, other than bumpiness.
In our study of improved ride quality, we compared the frequencies of disturbances caused by rail bumpiness in elevators to the frequency manifestations of direct forces and found, at least for elevators, a critical area of between two to ten Hertz where we could not satisfy both our desire to reduce mechanical impedance to cure rail bumpiness and our desire to increase mechanical impedance to mitigate direct forces. At least for elevators, this problem very significantly limits the effectiveness of the tunable impedance active suspension approach used in automobiles.


Novel peptides having pharmacologic activities, such as vasodilating, hypotensive and bronchodilating activities, and a method of making peptides are described.

A number of intestinal tract-derived peptide hormones are known. Among them, VIP (vasoactive intestinal polypeptide) is known to have favorable pharmacologic activities, for example vasodilating, hypotensive and bronchodilating activities VIP shows little variation in peptide sequence among animal species, for example, human VIP and porcine VIP are nearly identical in sequence. VIP is found not only in the intestinal tract but also in many other organs. Recently, it has become recognized that VIP may serve as a neurotransmitter.
However, because of a Met (L-methionine) residue in the molecule, naturally occurring human VIP is unstable to oxidation. Furthermore, VIP is susceptible to enzymolysis which results in inactivation. Therefore, investigations have been made on finding various derivatives of VIP that exhibit greater stability.
The present inventors made intensive investigations in an attempt to obtain peptides having naturally occurring human VIP-like activities by modifying the peptide sequence of VIP without impairing the activities of VIP and introducing one or more amino acids which would not preclude production of the peptide by recombinant DNA technology. As a result, it was found that novel peptides of the sequence:
H-His-Ser-Asp-Ala-Val-Phe-Thr-Asp-Asn-Tyr-Thr-Arg-Leu-Arg-Lys-Gln-Leu-Ala-V al-Lys-Lys-Tyr-Leu-Asn-Ser-Ile-Leu-Asn-Gly-Pro-R, wherein R is Glu-Ala-OH, Glu-OH or OH (SEQ ID NOs: 1 to 3, respectively) these peptides are equal or superior to human VIP from the viewpoint of pharmacologic activity and, in addition, are stable in vivo.
Meanwhile, at present, physiologically active peptides generally are produced by extraction from natural sources, by organic synthetic means, or by utilizing recombinant DNA or genetic engineering techniques.
However, large-quantity production of physiologically active peptides with a molecular weight of 2,000 to 10,000 by extraction from animal organs or by organic chemical synthesis is not cost effective. In producing such peptides by genetic engineering techniques, when they are expressed as such in prokaryotic cells, the peptides readily decompose resulting in low recoveries. Therefore, recombinant peptides have had to be recovered by an inefficient process comprising first producing fusion proteins between the desired peptide and .alpha.-galactosidase, for instance, followed by cleavage thereof and purification of the resulting desired peptides (for example, Simoncsits et al, Eur. J. Biochem., vol 178, pp 343-350 (1988) and JP-A-01-296996 (The term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application")).
The present inventors made intensive investigations on the production method of gene manipulation and found that large-quantity production of L-methionine-free peptides with a molecular weight of 2,000 to 10,000 becomes possible when a fused protein composed of a fragment of the galK protein, which fragment covers 200 to 300 amino acid residues from the N terminus of said protein, and any of the above-mentioned peptides having a molecular weight of 2,000 to 10,000 as coupled to said fragment at the C terminus thereof via a L-methionine residue, can be expressed in prokaryotic cells using the trp promoter. The fused protein is purified, treated with cyanogen bromide and said peptide, 2,000 to 10,000 in molecular weight, is purified from the resulting peptide mixture.

Method of producing 2 KD to 10 KD peptides having no L-methionine residue


A method and a system for metering an advertisement having a message to be presented to a plurality of users of a communications network, wherein the metering is used to count the number of times the message is actually presented to one or more users. The method comprises the steps of embedding a code in the message; and detecting the embedded code to count the number of presentations. Preferably, the embedded code contains the client's identity so as to allow the server to identify the client who should pay for the advertisement, and a rate code for calculating an advertisement charge to the client. In order to prevent an unscrupulous host web server from manipulating the metering system, a challenge-response mechanism is used to ensure the metering system has not been reconnected through an alternate channel of the network. Furthermore, a click-through monitoring process is used to monitor whether the user actually clicks on the advertisement image to learn more about the advertised service or product.

The growth of the Internet has created significant opportunities for electronic commerce. The primary business that drives growth in the Internet today is advertising. Web technology has made it possible to target advertising information to viewers with specific interests. What is missing is the ability for the service provider to efficiently bill the client for these dynamic opportunities to reach a potential customer.
Internet based advertising is currently billed in a fashion, which is similar to print, radio or television broadcast advertising. In this fashion, the billing is based on the availability of the advertisement to the viewer, and not on the actual number of viewers. Take television broadcast, for example, where billing is based largely on the rating of the program during which the advertisement is broadcast and the total time span of the advertising broadcast. Although the rating of the program correlates strongly with the number of viewers who are likely to view the program, it is derived from a survey prior to the actual broadcast of the program. While buying advertising time during a popular program could certainly help expose a product or service to a larger segment of the population than the potential viewers of a less popular program, the number of actual viewers cannot be precisely known. Likewise, in Internet based advertising, buying a segment of the web page on a popular portal is very likely to expose the product or service to more web surfers, but this exposure is estimated based on statistics and not actual numbers.
The current model for most Internet advertising consists of an agreement between a host web server and a client who has a product or service that he or she wishes to advertise. Typically, a fee is set based on the expected number of viewers, and the amount of screen space occupied by the message. This would be a fixed fee that is prepaid by the client. The difficulty with this arrangement is that the client has no reliable means of verifying that the host web server is meeting the server's part of the bargain. Certainly the client could check periodically to ensure the advertisement message appears, but the client has no method of knowing how many users see the advertisement. Any traffic logging information regarding the number of hits is controlled by the host web server. Accordingly, a dishonest host web server could overcharge the client by manipulating the traffic logging information.
Thus, it is advantageous and desirable to provide a method and system to accurately and securely track the distribution of digital information. This information may include advertisement distributed through the Internet. Once the distribution of Internet advertising can be accurately measured, alternative mechanisms of payment for Internet advertising will become possible. For example, instead of prepaying for advertising space over a period of time, a client could pay a small amount every time the advertisement appears.

Internet advertisement metering system and method


An airflow device includes a cooling air passage structure formed external to and along a side of a server chassis, the cooling air passage structure extending in a depth direction of the server chassis from a front side of the server chassis. The airflow device further includes an airflow channel formed within the cooling air passage structure, the airflow channel extending in the depth direction, and a vent fluidically connecting the airflow channel with an interior of the server chassis at a vent location that is rearward in the depth direction relative to the front side.

Cooling server components for optimal performance is important for general server function. Temperature control in server racks where heat generation may be high presents a greater challenge. Air may be drawn to the interior of a server that is cooler than air having already circulated within the server. Continually drawing cooler air results in ongoing heat transfer from heat-generating components of the server to the drawn air. Circulated air is then exhausted from the interior to an exterior of the server, thereby cooling interior components. Portions of the server, especially where hard drives, batteries, and other heat-generating components are located may be given special consideration in temperature-control designs for cooling servers.


A system for substantially minimising sway of a towed vehicle, fitted with electric brakes, hitched to a towing vehicle, the system including an electric stability control (ESC) device adapted for mounting to a portion of the towed vehicle, the ESC device being operably connected to the electric brakes by cable means, the ESC including a sway detecting means for measuring lateral acceleration of the towed vehicle; an actuator means for activating the electric brakes of the towed vehicle, the actuator means being operatively connected to the sway detecting means whereby the sway detecting means activates the actuator means to apply a voltage to the brakes for a period of time when the sway detecting means detects a predetermined lateral acceleration of the towed vehicle relative to the towing vehicle. The system can also be used for controlling dangerous sway and instability of a towed vehicle.

It is known that when a vehicle such as a caravan or camper trailer or the like is being towed by a towing vehicle such as a car or truck or the like, the towed vehicle has an inherent tendency to become unstable by swaying or fishtailing, which creates a hazardous condition for driving. The tendency of the towed vehicle to sway is initiated and amplified by uneven weight distribution and driving conditions including speed, braking, prevailing wind and rain, and even passing or being passed by other vehicles on the road.
There have been many reported accidents and roll-overs as a result of loss of control of the towing vehicle steering due to uncontrollable sway of the caravan or trailer. One way of trying to minimise swaying of a towed vehicle when towing, has been to use a friction sway control device. The sway control device includes a metal plate, on which is a small ball mount, that can be bolted onto the a frame or draw bar of a caravan or trailer. The hitch receiver can be modified by welding on a small ball mount for the other end of the sway control bar to attach. While this type of sway control device is practical for correcting minor sway of a towed vehicle by varying weight distribution when towing, further improvements or alternative means are required to address potential loss of control arising from dangerous and/or excessive sway.
National towing regulations exist in many jurisdictions now which make it mandatory for all towed vehicles such as caravans, camper trailers and the like with an aggregate trailer mass (including load) over 750 kg to have an effective braking system fitted. It is not unusual for caravans exceeding 1000 kgs to be fitted with electric brakes.
In order to operate electric trailer brakes, an electric brake controller is installed in the towing vehicle. In a towing condition, power is supplied from the towing vehicle battery to the electric brake controller, and the controller is also wired to the towing vehicle's stop light circuit through the towed vehicle's plug and socket. This allows the towed vehicle's brakes to come on automatically when the towing vehicle brakes are applied so that when a towing vehicle slows down under braking, the electric brakes on the caravan can be applied in proportion to reduce the effect of the (weight of the) caravan pushing the towing vehicle.
One problem with this is that while an electric brake controller can assist to minimise the effect of a towed vehicle mass on the operation of a towing vehicle under braking conditions, there is a need to provide a system which can operate the towed vehicle's brakes independent from the towing vehicle's brakes so as to manage an unstable conditions caused by swaying of the towed vehicle.
Some electric brake controllers have included a manual over ride systems which allow a driver to manually adjust the level of power to the electric brakes. One practical problem with this however is that a driver first has to identify an unstable towing condition and then operate the controller to apply an effective braking force. This has the potential to increase instability while braking, and in practice there is usually a delay which may allow an unstable condition to worsen.
While electric brake controllers have gone some way toward addressing problems associated with proportional pushing forces exerted by a towed vehicle on a towing vehicle during braking, there still remains the practical issues of swaying and oscillation caused by road conditions such as wind, slippery road surfaces or even pressure variations when passing another vehicle, which could have catastrophic consequences.
Further, electric brake controllers are usually fitted under a dash board element of a towing vehicle so as to be within reach of a driver. A problem with electric brake controllers is that most newly manufactured vehicles now include knee airbags to protect the knees of the driver, and the location of controllers will interfere with the normal operation of the knee airbag.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to address one or more of the foregoing problems. In particular an object of the invention is to provide an alternate device or system for improving sway stability of a towed vehicle when being towed substantially independently of the towing vehicle.

Electric stability control system and device for controlling sway stability of a caravan or trailer and the like


A substrate developing method and apparatus for improving uniformity of a developing process by adjusting a temperature gradient of a developer spread over the surface of a substrate. The developer is delivered to a central region of the substrate surface and spread over the surface. The developer in this state has activity diminishing, and thereby lowering the developing rate, gradually from center to edge of the substrate. With a gas flowing down around the edge of the substrate during the developing process, the developer vaporizes from peripheral regions of the substrate at an increased rate, thereby lowering the developer temperature in the peripheral regions. This increases the developing rate gradually from edge to center of the substrate. The uniformity of the developing process is improved by balancing the gradient of developing rate due to the temperature variation of the developer against the gradient of developing rate due to the lowering of developer activity.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for developing photoresist film patterns on substrates such as semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, glass substrates for photomasks, and substrates for optical disks. More particularly, the invention relates to a technique of developing film patterns (in what is called puddle development) with a developer spread and retained on substrates utilizing the surface tension thereof.
(2) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows an apparatus of the type noted above. A conventional developing technique will be described with reference to this figure.
In FIG. 1, reference W denotes a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, an upper surface thereof being formed with a photoresist film having a predetermined thickness and a predetermined pattern printed and exposed thereon. The wafer W is suction-supported in a substantially horizontal position on a spin chuck 1. The spin chuck 1 is surrounded by a scatter preventive cup 4 for collecting a developer and the like. The scatter preventive cup 4 includes, disposed in lower positions thereof, drain ports 8 for draining used developer and the like, and exhaust ports 10 for exhausting a gas including mist of the developer scattering within the cup 4. A cylindrical wall 13 is continuous with an upper end of the scatter preventive cup 4 for preventing the odor of the developer and the like from diffusing to the ambient. The apparatus further includes a nozzle 16 for supplying the developer to the vicinity of the spin center of wafer W.
With the apparatus having the above construction, when the wafer W is suction-supported on the spin chuck 1, developer L is delivered from the nozzle 16 to make puddle the wafer W. A developing process takes place in this state. Upon completion of development, the spin chuck 1 is driven to spin at a high speed to spread the developer from the wafer W. At the same time, a different nozzle, not shown, is moved to a position above the wafer W to jet out a cleaning liquid, such as deionized water, for cleaning the wafer W. The wafer W is maintained in the spinning state for a fixed time after stopping the cleaning liquid. As a result, the wafer W is stripped of the cleaning liquid supplied thereto, and is allowed to dry.
During this developing process, down-ward flows of clean air DF in the cleanroom in which the developing apparatus is installed are taken into the scatter preventive cup 4 through an upper opening of the cylindrical wall 13, and forcibly exhausted through the exhaust ports 10 in the lower positions of the scatter preventive cup 4. These downflows DF prevent the odor of the developer from diffusing outside the apparatus, and mist of the developer and the like generated in the scatter preventive cup 4 from adhering to the upper surface of wafer W.
The conventional apparatus having the above construction has the following disadvantages.
During the developing process with the developer spread over the wafer W, the conventional apparatus takes downflows DF into the scatter preventive cup 4 and exhausts the downflows through the lower positions thereof. Consequently, gas flows downward around the edge of wafer W during the developing process, whereby the developer vaporizes at a higher rate from adjacent the edge of the wafer than from a central region of the wafer. The part of the developer adjacent the wafer's edge gives up a high heat of vaporization. As a result, peripheral regions of the wafer become cooler than the central region thereof, with a sharp temperature gradient from center to edge (i.e. lowering toward the edge). Thus, the conventional apparatus has the disadvantage of producing uneven developing (i.e. non-uniformity in the line width of a pattern developed). Specifically, where the temperature of the developer is around 23.degree. C., the developer temperature and an average line width of the developed pattern are in a relationship of approximately 0.01 .mu.m/.degree.C. The lower the temperature, the thinner the line width of the pattern tends to be (with the higher rate of development). Thus, this uneven developing results mainly in the line width of the pattern becoming gradually thinner from the center to the edge of wafer W.
To avoid such uneveness in developing, the temperature gradient may be eliminated by stopping the gas exhaust from the scatter preventive cup 4 during the developing process. However, this measure will bring about the following inconvenience.
The region of wafer W directly under the nozzle 16, e.g. the central region of wafer W, constantly receives a fresh supply of the developer from nozzle 16. Consequently, the part of the photoresist film in the central region is in constant contact with the developer having high activity. On the other hand, the peripheral regions of wafer W receive the developer spread from the central region. The developer reacts with the photoresist film while spreading from the central region to the peripheral regions, and its effectiveness has been reduced by the time the developer reaches the peripheral regions and acts on the photoresist film. That is, the effectiveness of the developer lowers gradually from the central region to the peripheral regions of the wafer. As a result, the developed pattern has a thinner line width in the central region than in the peripheral regions. In other words, an uneveness in developing occurs from a different cause that development progresses at a higher rate in the central region than in the peripheral regions.

Substrate developing method and apparatus