A paper feeding apparatus of an image forming device having a feeder opening and closing unit to automatically rotate a paper feeder between a storing position and a paper feeding-standby position selectively employing a driving source driving a transporting unit with a pickup roller and a feed roller. The paper feeding apparatus automatically opens the paper feeder to the paper feeding-standby position when the image forming device is used, and automatically closes the paper feeder to the storing position to minimize space when the image forming device is not in use, thereby accommodating a user and minimizing a size of the image forming device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper feeding apparatus of an image forming device such as a laser printer, a copier, and an ink jet printer, and more particularly, to a paper feeding apparatus of an image forming device, which is capable of automatically opening a paper cassette into a paper feeding-standby position when the image forming device should be used, and automatically closing the paper cassette into a space-minimized position when the image forming device is not in use.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1 and 2 show an ink jet printer as an image forming device. Generally, the ink jet printer has an ink cartridge 1 having a print head to jet ink to form an image on a sheet of paper P, a carrier 2 to move the ink cartridge 1 right and left, and a paper feeding apparatus 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 to feed the sheet of paper P into the printer.
The paper feeding apparatus 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 is composed of a paper cassette 3 to stack sheets of paper P, a pickup roller 4 to pick up a sheet of paper P, a paper sensor (not shown) to sense the sheets of paper P, a feed roller 5 to align a leading end of the picked-up paper P and transport it, a register sensor 6 to sense a timing driving the feed roller 5 to allow the feed roller 5 to align the leading end of the picked-up paper P, a guide 7 to guide the feed of paper P, and a discharging roller 8 and a discharging backup roller 12 to discharge the paper P.
The operation of the ink jet printer constructed as above will be explained as follows.
According to a print command from a computer, the pickup roller 4 picks up a sheet of paper P from the paper cassette 3, and transports it toward the feed roller 5 along the guide 7.
At this point, the register sensor 6 installed in front of the feed roller 5 is actuated by the paper P, and thereby a controller (not shown) calculates how long it takes the leading end of paper P to move from the register sensor 6 to an entrance of the feed roller 5, and then drives the pickup roller 4 for the calculated time, that is, until the leading end of paper P is curled and aligned at a nip between the feed roller 5 and a backup roller 10.
After the leading end of paper P is aligned, the controller stops the pickup roller 4, and at the same time, drives the feed roller 5 to move the paper P into a printing area under a nozzle 1a of the print head of the ink cartridge 1.
When the paper P is moved into the printing area, the carrier 2 moves the ink cartridge 1 right and left, so that the ink cartridge 1 can jet ink through the nozzle 1a of the print head to perform the printing operation.
When the printing is completed as above, the discharging roller 8 discharges the paper P, and the printing operation is finished.
But in such a conventional ink jet printer, since the paper cassette 3 of the paper feeding apparatus is integrally connected with a main body of the printer, there is a problem that a space for installing and mounting the paper cassette 3 is required, thereby increasing a size of the printer.
To solve the problem, as is shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, there has been proposed another image forming device having a paper cassette 3′ which is mounted on a main body 20 of the printer when in use, and separated from the main body 20 and stored in a separate space when not in use.
This image forming device has an advantage that when the paper cassette 3′ is separated from the main body 20 and stored in the separate space, a size of the printer is reduced. But it is troublesome that for use, the paper cassette 3′ must be mounted on the main body 20.
Also, when the paper cassette 3′ is separated from the main body 20 and stored in the separate space, the paper cassette 3′ can be lost or damaged due to poor management or limitation of space.
To solve these problems, as is shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, there has been proposed still another image forming device having a paper cassette or unit 3″ which is hinged on a front portion or a side portion of a main body 20′ of the printer. The hinged paper cassette 3″ is manually opened and closed, rather than being mounted on and separated from the main body 20′.
But with this image forming device, it is troublesome that for use, a user must manually open and close the paper cassette 3″. And as an additional problem, when sheets of paper P remain in the paper cassette 3″ after printing, the remaining sheets of paper must be stored in a separate space when the paper cassette 3″ is closed.

Paper feeding apparatus of image forming device


An oxide protection circuit prevents failure of the MOS transistors in a digital device. A voltage difference at a gate oxide of a digital device does not exceed a breakdown voltage magnitude. The gate oxide protection circuit includes a plurality of transistors which turn OFF or ON when a node reaches a predetermined voltage of V.sub.refp +V.sub.t or V.sub.refn -V.sub.t, where V.sub.refp and V.sub.refn are reference applied at a gate of a PMOS or an NMOS transistor, and V.sub.t equals a threshold voltage of the MOS transistor.

To save power, the core circuitry of a device, e.g., a microprocessor, operates on a predetermined voltage level, even though the device must communicate externally using an input/output (I/O) voltage level which is higher than the predetermined voltage used by the core of the device. For example, a microprocessor operates on logic levels of high (H) and low (L) having voltage levels of 2 volts (V) and 0 V, respectively, although the device is connected to a 3.3 V power rail for use in external communications. When the core of the device outputs a signal, the device uses an I/O buffer to convert the voltage levels of 0 V and 2 V to output voltage levels of 0 V and 3.3 V.
FIG. 1 is an illustration of an inverter 2 which may be used for such a voltage conversion. A source terminal of a PMOS transistor P.sub.I1 is connected to a predetermined source voltage V.sub.CCIO of 3.3 V while a source terminal of an NMOS transistor N.sub.I1 is connected to a predetermined voltage V.sub.SSIO of 0V (ground voltage). The drain terminals of transistors P.sub.I1 and N.sub.I1 are connected to each other. The commonly connected gates of transistors P.sub.I1 and N.sub.I1 receive an input signal at an input terminal IN. When an input signal of 0 V from the internal device is applied at terminal IN, transistor N.sub.I1 is turned OFF, and transistor P.sub.I1 is turned ON such that inverter 2 outputs a signal of 3.3 V at an output terminal OUT. The inverter 2 outputs a signal of 0 V at output terminal OUT in response to an input signal of 2 V at input terminal IN.
In the latter case, however, both transistors N.sub.I1 and P.sub.I1 will be ON since there is a gate-source voltage V.sub.gs of 1.3 V, i.e., V.sub.CCIO -V.sub.IN. With both transistors P.sub.I1 and N.sub.I1 ON, there is a static current drain through inverter 2, undesirably consuming power as a result of static current drain.
FIG. 2 is an illustration of an inverting level shifter 4 used for voltage conversion, improved by avoiding static current flow induced power consumption. This circuit configuration is very similar to that of cross-coupled inverters with a static dc path cut off by transistor N.sub.L1 when a high input signal is applied at input terminal IN.
The source terminals of PMOS transistors P.sub.L3 and P.sub.L4 are connected to the source of voltage V.sub.CCIO. The drain terminals of PMOS and NMOS transistors P.sub.L3 and N.sub.L1 are connected to each other, and the drain electrodes of PMOS and NMOS transistors P.sub.L4 and N.sub.L3 are connected together. The gate of transistor P.sub.L3 is connected to output terminal OUT while a gate of transistor P.sub.L4 is connected to a drain terminal of transistor P.sub.L3. The gate of transistor N.sub.L1 is connected to a reference voltage V.sub.refn, e.g., 2.0 V. The gate of transistor N.sub.L3 and the source terminal of transistor N.sub.L1 are connected to input terminal IN. The source terminal of transistor N.sub.L3 is connected to the source of predetermined ground voltage V.sub.SSIO.
When an input signal of 0 V from the internal device is applied at terminal IN, transistors P.sub.L3 and N.sub.L3 are turned OFF while transistors P.sub.L4 and N.sub.L1 are turned ON, and level shifter 4 hence outputs a voltage level of 3.3 V at terminal OUT. When an input signal of 2 V is applied at input terminal IN, transistors P.sub.L3 and N.sub.L3 are turned ON while transistors P.sub.L4 and N.sub.L1 are turned OFF, and level shifter 4 outputs a voltage level of 0 V at terminal OUT.
After the voltage conversion, the voltage level of 0 V or 3.3 V from inverting level shifter 4 is applied to an output driver circuit of the I/O buffer. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a conventional output driver circuit 6 connected to a capacitative load C.sub.load, representative of an external device connected to an output node N.sub.out.
The source terminal of a PMOS transistor P.sub.D1 is connected to the source of voltage V.sub.CCIO, e.g, 3.3 V, while a source electrode of an NMOS transistor N.sub.D1 is connected to the source of predetermined voltage V.sub.SSIO, e.g., 0 V. The drain of transistor P.sub.D1 is connected to the source of a PMOS transistor P.sub.D2, and a drain of transistor N.sub.D1 is connected to a source of an NMOS transistor N.sub.D2. The drains of transistors P.sub.D2 and N.sub.D2 are connected to an output node N.sub.out. The gate of transistor P.sub.D2 is connected to the source of voltage V.sub.SSIO while a gate of the transistor is connected to reference voltage source V.sub.refn, e.g., 2.0 V or 3.3 V. The gates of transistors P.sub.D1 and N.sub.D1 receive the converted voltage levels of 0 V and 3.3 V, respectively. The transistors P.sub.D2 and N.sub.D2 of FIG. 3 are optional. They are most often used to limit charge leakage through the device, or to lessen hot-electron caused device lifetime or performance degradation.
When an input signal of 0 V is applied to the gates of transistors P.sub.D1 and N.sub.D1, transistor N.sub.D1 turns OFF while transistor P.sub.D1 turns ON. Both transistors P.sub.D2 and N.sub.D2 are initially ON, but transistor N.sub.D2 turns OFF as the voltage level at node N.sub.out rises to 3.3 V. When an input signal of 3.3 V is applied to the gates of transistors P.sub.D1 and N.sub.D1, transistor N.sub.D1 turns ON while transistor P.sub.D1 turns OFF. The transistor N.sub.D2 is ON, and node N.sub.out drops to 0 V, which forces transistor P.sub.D2 to turn OFF.
As shown in FIGS. 1-3, inverter 2, level shifter 4 and output driver 6 are fabricated using CMOS technology. Due to advances, such devices are becoming smaller, the thickness of the transistor gate oxides is becoming thinner. For most semiconductor processes, when the thickness of the gate oxide becomes less than or equal to approximately 60 angstroms (.ANG.), a voltage greater than approximately 2.4 V-2.5 V across the gate oxide causes the oxide to break down. For example, if an input signal of 2.0 V is applied to the gate of transistor N.sub.L3, level shifter 4 of FIG. 2 outputs a voltage of 0 V at the output terminal OUT, and a voltage difference of 3.3 V exists between the bulk and gate of transistor P.sub.L3. If the gate oxide thickness is .ltoreq.60 .ANG., the gate oxide will break down, causing level shifter 4 to fail. Likewise, inverter 2 and output driver 6 will fail if the gate oxide thickness of the transistors is less than about 60 .ANG. for most processes.

Gate oxide voltage limiting devices for digital circuits


A multilayer PCB includes a plurality of signal layers, a ground layer and a power layer disposed between the plurality of signal layers, a signal via extending through the plurality of signal layers to allow a signal current to flow therethrough, at least one stitching capacitor provided in one of the plurality of signal layers to allow a return current that corresponds to the signal current to flow between the power layer and the ground layer. Thus, the multiplayer PCB can form a path of a return current that minimizes generation of EMI when a signal current is generated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to a multilayer printed circuit board (PCB), and more particularly, to a multilayer PCB having a stitching capacitor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A multi-layer PCB comprises a plurality of chips and electronic components, a plurality of signal layers communicating with each other through a signal current, and a ground layer and a power layer through which a return current corresponding to the signal current flows. One or more openings (not shown) are disposed in each layer of the multilayer PCB. A via is disposed at the one or more openings to electrically connect to each layer.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional multilayer PCB, and FIG. 2 is a plane view illustrating the conventional multiplayer PCB of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional multilayer PCB comprises a first signal layer 10, which is the uppermost layer of the PCB, and a second signal layer 40, which is the lowermost layer of the PCB. A ground layer 20 and a power layer 30 are disposed between the first signal layer 10 and the second signal layer 40. A signal via 50 is formed between the first signal layer 10 and the second signal layer 40 to pass a signal current 1 therebetween.
In this case, a signal transmitted to a target chip (not shown) disposed at the second signal layer 40 from a source chip (not shown) disposed at the first signal layer 10 is represented by the signal current 1 illustrated by a solid line in FIG. 1.
In addition, a return current 2 is generated according to the signal current 1. The signal current 1 and the return current 2 form a current loop together. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the return current 2 flows through a path that can have a minimal impedance, since the return current 2 flows through the shortest possible path (i.e., between the power layer 30 and the ground layer 20 adjacent to the signal current 1). The return current 2 may flow through a grounded guard covering the signal current 1 at the first signal layer 10 and the second signal layer 40, which is a path extending directly through the ground layer 20 and the power layer 30 that are used as a reference surface.
Alternatively, a return current 3 can flow through a decoupling capacitor 60 from the power layer 30 to the ground layer 20. However, in this case the impedance that corresponds to the return current 3 is greater than when the return current 2 is allowed to flow directly through the reference surface (i.e., the shortest path).
Thus, the conventional multilayer PCB provides a path of the return current 3 through the reference surface using a plurality of decoupling capacitors 60 disposed all over the PCB. The decoupling capacitor 60 is formed at the first signal layer 10 and includes a power via 61 connected to the power layer 30 and a ground via 62 connected to the ground layer 20.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the decoupling capacitors 60 allow the return current 3 to form a current loop by returning from the power layer 30, which is used as the reference surface of the second signal layer 40, to the ground layer 20, which is used as the reference surface of the first signal layer 10, by passing through the power via 61 and the ground via 62 of the decoupling capacitors 60.
However, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a loop area (A) formed by the signal current 1 and the return current 3 increases. The increase in the loop area (A) causes an increase in electromagnetic interference (EMI), having a negative effect on nearby electronic components. The increase in EMI may prevent the PCB from functioning properly when the signal current 1, which is transferred between the first and second signal layers 10 and 40, is controlled by a frequency value.


A lift chair is provided which includes a frame having four legs and a back rest portion. A seat has a front portion pivotally attached to the frame and has a rear portion which can be lifted upwardly. The seat movable from a first generally horizontal sitting position to a second angled lift position where the rear portion of said seat is lifted upwardly. Arm rests members are movably attached to opposite sides of the frame. Each arm rest member has a generally horizontal arm rest portion and a vertical activating rod member. The arm rests are movable from a first upper vertical position to a second lower vertical position. A rope and pulley system is provided which includes a pulley attached to a lower end of each activating rod and additional pulleys are attached to the frame. A rope is attached to the rear portion of the seat and extends around the pulleys. When a user pushes downwardly on the arm rests, the arm rests together with the rope and pulleys cause the rear portion of said seat to be lifted upwardly thus helping the user to stand up and get out of the chair.

1. Field of the Intention
The present invention relates to a chair lift. More specifically, the present invention relates to a chair which allows a user to push downwardly on arm rests to cause, with the help of ropes and pulleys, a rear portion of said seat to be efficiently lifted upwardly thus helping the user to stand up and get out of the chair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of lift chair devices have been proposed over the years. A number of existing patents teach the use of an electric screw drive or the like to lift all or a large portion of a chair to assist a user to stand up. Examples of such devices include: Ambrose, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,062; Lin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,153; Gaffney, U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,599; Mohn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,297; Gaffney, U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,569; Rudes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,179; and Kemmerer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,532.
Marcoux et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,554 provides a lift chair utilizing a piston 96 to tip a chair forward. Kao et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,021,713 utilizes a telescopic lifter 40 to lift a movable seat portion 22 of a chair.
Bressler et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,000,988 discloses a lift chair which utilizes biasing means preferably in the form of gas springs 80 to lift a chair (see FIG. 2). The gas springs can be placed in various locations.
Crisp, U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,327 discloses a lift apparatus for use with a chair which provides a number of torsion springs 46 which tend to spread the upper and lower frame members apart from each other. The number of springs and their spring rates may be varied to provide the proper lift for a given weight range of intended users.
Geraci, U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,726 provides a chair having a lift apparatus which uses a spring operated lever assembly 26. Geraci, U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,022 provides a lift chair wherein the user steps on a foot rest, pulls rearwardly on hand gripped levers and springs assist the user in standing up (see FIG. 2).
Bathrick et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,508 discloses an elevator chair which includes a vertically telescopic back frame which is raised and lowered by a motor driven screw and tube assembly. As shown in FIG. 1 rear legs 30 and 31 are telescopically disposed in rear square frame tubes 18 and 19.
Poncy et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,457 discloses a chair with a lift assist mechanism which utilizes a pneumatic cylinder 34 to lift a seat frame 11 and cushion 12 by manipulating a control lever 50.
Farran et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,423 discloses a chair which includes a cable 74 and plural pulleys 71 and 72 (FIG. 3) along the sides of the chair which are used for exercise purposes.
Other devices of general interest include Olcheski, U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,397 (infrared sensing chair lift); Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,468 (wall clearing recliner); and Sicher, U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,986 (rowing arms driven wheel chair).
There remains a need for a lift chair which is inexpensive to produce and which does not require external power, lift cylinders, springs, screw jacks or other biasing means. There also remains a need for a lift chair which efficiently utilizes the natural force of a user pushing downwardly on the arms of a chair to provide a vertical lift on the seat of a chair.


Nucleic acid molecules and compositions comprising one or more nucleic acid sequences that encode a consensus Marburgvirus filovirus glycoprotein immunogens. Immunomodulatory methods and methods of inducing an immune response against Marburgvirus are disclosed. Method of preventing infection by Marburgvirus and methods of treating individuals infected with Marburgvirus are disclosed. Consensus Marburgvirus filovirus glycoprotein immunogens are disclosed.

The Filoviridae are non-segmented, single stranded RNA viruses which contain two divergent genera, Marburgvirus (MARV) and Ebolavirus (EBOV). Members from each can cause severe and highly lethal hemorrhagic fever disease to which there is no cure or licensed vaccine (Bradfute S. B., et al. (2011) Filovirus vaccines. Hum Vaccin 7: 701-711; Falzarano D., et al. (2011) Progress in filovirus vaccine development: evaluating the potential for clinical use. Expert Rev Vaccines 10: 63-77; and Towner J. S., et al. (2006) Marburgvirus genomics and association with a large hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Angola. J Virol 80: 6497-6516).
The haemorrhagic fever diseases are acute infectious with no carrier state, although they are easily transmissible among humans and nonhuman primates by direct contact with contaminated bodily fluids, blood, and tissue (Feldmann H., et al. (2003) Ebola virus: from discovery to vaccine. Nat Rev Immunol 3: 677-685). During outbreak situations, reuse of medical equipment, health care facilities with limited resources, and untimely application of prevention measures escalate transmission of the disease, allowing amplification of infections in medical settings.
Since the natural reservoirs of these zoonotic pathogens are likely to be African bats and pigs (Kobinger G. P., et al. (2011) Replication, pathogenicity, shedding, and transmission of Zaire ebolavirus in pigs. J Infect Dis 204: 200-208), the latter possibly being more of an amplifying host, the manner in which the virus first appears at the start of an outbreak is thought to occur through human contact with an infected animal. Unpredictable endemic surfacing in the Philippines, potentially Europe, and primarily Africa of this disease further constitutes a major public health concern (Outbreak news. (2009) Ebola Reston in pigs and humans, Philippines. Wkly Epidemiol Rec 84: 49-50).
Vaccine-induced adaptive immune responses have been described in numerous preclinical animal models (Blaney J E, et al. (2011). Live attenuated recombinant vaccine protects nonhuman primates against Ebola and Marburg viruses. Nat Med 11: 786-790; Kalina W V, Warfield K L, Olinger G G, Bavari S (2009). Discovery of common Marburgvirus protective epitopes in a BALB/c mouse model. Virol J 6: 132; Grant-Klein R J et al. (2012) A multiagent filovirus DNA vaccine delivered by intramuscular electroporation protects mice from ebola and Marburg virus challenge. Hum Vaccin Immunother 8.; 1703-6; Geisbert T W et al. (2010) Vector choice determines immunogenicity and potency of genetic vaccines against Angola Marburg virus in nonhuman primates. J Virol 84: 10386-10394.) Viral vaccines have shown promise and include mainly the recombinant adenoviruses and vesicular stomatitis viruses. Non-infectious strategies such as recombinant DNA and Antigen-coupled virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines have also demonstrated levels of preclinical efficacy and are generally considered to be safer than virus-based platforms. (Warfield K L, Olinger G G (2011) Protective role of cytotoxic T lymphocytes in filovirus hemorrhagic fever. J Biomed Biotechnol 2011: 984241). T cells have also been shown to provide protection based on studies performed in knockout mice, depletion studies in NHPs, and murine adoptive transfer studies where efficacy was greatly associated with the lytic function of adoptively-transferred CD8+ T cells. However, little detailed analysis of this response as driven by a protective vaccine has been reported.
Therefore, there is need in the art for protective vaccines against Marburgvirus. The current invention satisfies this unmet need.

Marburgvirus consensus antigens, nucleic acid constructs and vaccines made therefrom, and methods of using same

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania

The Wistar Institute of Anatomv and Biologv


Provided is a network game system for providing a game played by players of game machines by operating at least one of the game machines as a server, in which: the game machine to be operated as a server can be appropriately selected; a measuring unit (22) of each of the game machines (12) measures a time required to exchange predetermined data between the game machine (12) and another game machine (12) of the game machines (12); and a server determining unit (28) determines at least one of the game machines (12) as the game machine (12) to be operated as the server according to the results of the measurement by the measuring units (22) of the game machines (12).

There is known a network game system which includes a plurality of game machines and provides a game played by players that respectively correspond to the plurality of game machines by operating at least one game machine as a server. For example, there is known a network game system which operates any one of 4 game machines as a server-client machine that operates as a server and a client, and operates the other game machines as a client-dedicated machine that operates as a client without operating as a server, thereby realizing a soccer game, a Mahjong game, or the like played by participation of players that respectively correspond to the 4 game machines.
Patent Document 1: JP 2000-342855 A

Network game system, game machine, game machine control method, and information storage medium


Methods of using a catheter involve providing a sheath comprising a proximal region, a deflection region, a distal-end region including a shapeable region, an anchor region defined between the deflection region and the shapeable region, and a longitudinal axis. The method also involves imparting a pre-established shape to the shapeable region. The method further involves applying axial force in a proximal direction at the anchor region so as to cause the deflection region to deflect relative to the longitudinal axis while the pre-established shape imparted to the shapeable region of the sheath is substantially maintained.

Mapping and ablation catheters are well-established technologies that allow the physician to locate and treat damaged cardiac tissue. Presently, a considerable amount of time is often spent by the physician when manipulating such catheters within cardiac structures, such as the right atrium, simply trying to locate an anatomical feature of interest, such as the coronary sinus ostium.
A pre-shaped guiding catheter is typically used to blindly locate the coronary sinus ostium, but this endeavor is complicated by the fact that the location of the coronary sinus ostium may vary appreciably from one patient to another, especially among patients with diseased hearts. Oftentimes, the clinician is entirely unable to locate the coronary sinus ostium using the guiding catheter, and must resort to finding the ostium by "mapping" (interpreting localized bipolar waveforms) using an electrophysiological (EP) catheter and an ECG monitor. After the ostium is located, a guiding catheter or sheath is typically used to inject radiographic contrast media into the coronary sinus to highlight the associated venous system, and then a pacing lead is installed within one of the coronary branches.
Steerability is also important for ablation catheter implementations. In many cases, ablation of the damaged tissue can restore the correct operation of the heart. Ablation can be performed, for example, by percutaneous ablation, a procedure in which a catheter is percutaneously introduced into the patient and directed through an artery to the atrium or ventricle of the heart to perform single or multiple diagnostic, therapeutic, and/or surgical procedures. In such a case, an ablation procedure is used to destroy the tissue causing the arrhythmia in an attempt to remove the electrical signal irregularities or create a conductive tissue block to restore normal heartbeat or at least an improved heartbeat. Successful ablation of the conductive tissue at the arrhythmia initiation site usually terminates the arrhythmia or at least moderates the heart rhythm to acceptable levels. A widely accepted treatment for arrhythmia involves the application of radio frequency (RF) energy to the conductive tissue.
By way of example, a procedure to address atrial fibrillation, referred to as Cox's Maze procedure, involves the development of continuous atrial incisions to prevent atrial re-entry and to allow sinus impulses to activate the entire myocardium. While this procedure has been found to be successful, it involves an intensely invasive approach. It is more desirable to accomplish the same result as the Maze procedure by use of a less invasive approach, such as through the use of an appropriate electrophysiological (EP) catheter system having enhanced steering and shape adjustment capabilities.
Steerable conventional mapping and ablation catheter systems are typically configured to allow the profile of the distal end of the catheter to be manipulated from a location outside the patient's body. The contours of pre-shaped diagnostic catheters, for example, are generally fixed, and this is typically achieved in production by constraining the distal end within a shaping fixture while warming them until they assume the intended shape (i.e., by "heat setting" their polymer shaft). The shape of steerable mapping catheters, on the other hand, can be altered by the user simply by applying tension to one or more internal steering tendons affixed to a distal-end tip of the catheter. However, most steerable mapping catheters are generally straight when no tension is applied to the tendons. When steered, the distal end of such steerable catheters assumes a semicircular arc or full circular shape whose radius of curvature depends upon the amount of tension applied to the steering tendon.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional steerable catheter in a relaxed configuration and a steered configuration, respectively. Catheter 20 is shown to include a number of band electrodes 22 and a tip electrode 24. As can be seen in FIG. 1, catheter 20 maintains a relatively straight profile while in a relaxed configuration.
FIG. 2 illustrates the catheter 20 of FIG. 1 in a steered configuration. According to this and other conventional steerable catheter implementations, catheter 20 has a distal end that assumes a semicircular arc or a fully circular shape when tension is applied to the catheter's steering tendon(s). The circular arc of catheter 20, when in its steered configuration, develops a shape whose radius, R, of curvature depends upon the amount of tension applied to the distal end vis-à-vis the steering tendon(s). It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that enhanced steering capabilities are often required over and above those offered by conventional steerable catheters, such as those of the type depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, for locating (e.g., such as by mapping) certain anatomical features and performing an ablation technique once such anatomical features have been located and accessed.
There is a need for an improved steerable catheter having enhanced steering capabilities for mapping and ablation applications. There exists a further need for such a catheter that provides for increased lumen space for accommodating larger payloads and one that resists deformation after repeated steering. The present invention fulfills these and other needs, and addresses other deficiencies of prior art implementations.

Catheterization method using proximal articulation and pre-formed distal end


In a development device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image bearing body, the development device includes: a developer bearing body for conveying a developer borne thereon to a developing area on the image bearing body; a plurality of magnetic poles provided inside the developer bearing body; a detaching magnetic pole including optional two adjoining poles of the plurality of magnetic poles which are arranged to have the same polarity as each other for forming a repulsive magnetic field to remove the developer on the developer bearing body; and a magnetic body provided in the vicinity of and spaced away from the detaching magnetic pole, for forming a repulsive magnetic field having the same polarity as that of the detaching magnetic pole.

The present invention relates to a development device provided in image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic copiers, printers, facsimile machines, etc. and a development method, and specifically to a color image forming apparatus comprised of a plurality of development devices.
As development methods of an electrophotographic apparatus, have been known a normal development method employed in common electrophotographic copiers, etc. and a reversal development method employed in digital printers, digital electrophotographic copiers, etc. The reversal development method is a method in that generally, laser, LED, etc. are employed as a light source, and a latent image formed on an image bearing body (hereinafter referred to as a photoreceptor) by charging and exposure is developed employing a toner charged with the same polarity as that of the charge on the photoreceptor to obtain a toner image. For example, when a photoreceptor is negatively charged, the toner is negatively charged, and development is carried out utilizing the difference in potential generated by exposure, and a toner image is formed on the photoreceptor. After development, a transfer material is charged in opposite as of the toner employing a transfer device using corona discharging, etc. and the toner image on the photoreceptor is transferred onto the transfer material. Thereafter, the potential of the transfer material is lowered by AC corona discharging or DC corona discharging; adhesion between the transfer material and the photoreceptor is lowered; the transfer material is then separated from the surface of the photoreceptor, and the subsequent process follows.
In the conventional development device, a rotating developer material bearing device (development sleeve) is arranged adjacent to a rotating photoreceptor. The development sleeve is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, and is housed in a housing with an opening in the side facing the above-mentioned photoreceptor. In the development sleeve, development bias voltage with which AC voltage of 2,700 volts and 8,000 Hz are superposed is applied to DC voltage of -650 volts. The developer material bearing body comprises a fixed magnet in the interior and the circumferential surface bears a two-component developer material prepared by mixing toner particles with magnetic granules (carrier).
The development device is composed of a development unit housing loading a two-component developer material comprised of the above-mentioned toner and carrier, a development sleeve as a developer material transport means with a magnetic field generating means (magnet roll) comprising a fixed magnet in the interior, a developer material supply roller (hereinafter, referred to as supply roller), a developer material layer regulating member, which regulates the thickness of the developer material layer on the above-mentioned development sleeve, and a developer material stirring screw (stirring screw). In the toner supply opening section which is opened in the upper position of the above-mentioned development unit housing, the toner supplied from a toner cartridge to the interior of the above-mentioned development unit housing is stirred and mixed with the developer material loaded into the above-mentioned development unit housing to prepare the toner uniform in concentration and the resulting toner is supplied onto the circumferential surface of the above-mentioned development sleeve.
Of the developer materials on the development sleeve, the toner is only employed for development in the development range of an image bearing body (photoreceptor), and depending on an image pattern, the hysteresis of an image remains on the development sleeve. Irrespective of developing an image pattern having the same image and density, the image defect occasionally causes a density difference termed "ghosting". The conventional technique to minimize this ghosting is a rubber material termed a scraper, which is brought into contact with the development sleeve and the image hysteresis is eliminated by scraping the developer material from the development sleeve after development to minimize the ghosting problem.
However, in the conventional scraper method in which the scraper is in contact with the development sleeve, several problems are caused such that the developer material is not perfectly removed by the contact of the development sleeve with the scraper; the results are a deterioration of the developer material when it is scraped, and scratches and abrasion on the development sleeve.
Furthermore, by adjoining the magnetic field of the development sleeve to a portion termed "detaching magnetic pole" having the same magnetic polarity as that of the development sleeve, the developer material can be detached to some extent from the sleeve in the repulsive magnetic field of the detaching magnetic pole. However, only by providing the detaching magnetic pole, the developer material cannot be perfectly detached from the development sleeve. By optimizing the detaching magnetic pole and peripheral processes, the ghosting is minimized fairly well. However, the result is unsatisfactory.

Development method, development device, and image forming apparatus therewith


According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes a housing including an opening, a partition wall which partitions an interior part of the housing into a first chamber and a second chamber which is opened to the outside through the opening, first and second heat generating parts mounted in the first chamber, a first heat radiation member located in the second chamber, a heat transfer member which transfers heat generated by the first heat generating part, a cooling fan which draws outside air and exhausts the air against the first heat radiation member, a second heat radiation member which is exposed to the outside of the housing and is thermally connected to the second heat generating part, and a cover covering the opening and the second heat radiation member. The cover forms a gap between the cover and the housing. The gap communicates with the second chamber.

1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates to an electronic device, for example, including heat generating parts mounted thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic device such as, for example, a portable computer contains heat generating parts mounted within a housing thereof. Recently, heat generating parts, for example, a CPU, exhibit a tendency wherein the amount of heat generated is increasing. The same is also true for circuit parts such as memory chips and north bridge circuits. Under these circumstances, there is a strong demand of further enhancement of cooling efficiency in electronic devices.
A display device provided with heat radiation parts is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-189453. In the display device, a heat radiation member is provided on the rear side of a case thereof, while being exposed to outside. The heat radiation member is thermally connected to a liquid crystal display unit within the case.
An electronic device provided with a waterproof and cooling structure is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-119844. The electronic device includes a metal housing having a heating component mounted therein, and a cover entirely covering the metal housing. The cover has an intake port and an exhaust port. An air passage whereby the intake port communicates with the exhaust port is formed between the cover and the metal housing. A fan is provided at the exhaust port of the housing.
The heat radiating member of the display device functions as a heat sink exposed to the outside of the housing to thereby cool the liquid crystal display unit. In other words, the heat radiating member exhausts the heat generated by the liquid crystal display unit to the outside of the housing by natural heat radiation. This leaves room for improvement from the standpoint of cooling efficiency.
In the cooling structure of the electronic device, the heat from the heating component is radiated through the metal housing. Even when a plurality of heating components having different heating amounts are installed in the housing of the electronic device, the heat from all the heating components is radiated through the metal housing. This leaves room for improvement from the standpoint of cooling efficiency.


A planing boat including: a hull having a boarding area; a screw unit having a screw, and configured to be rotatable with respect to the hull so that the expulsion direction of a water current by the screw can vary by 360 degrees; and a direction change mechanism having a turning drive force source, and configured to change the expulsion direction by rotating the screw unit with respect to the hull with a drive force of the turning drive force source.

Planing boats (or personal water crafts) such as marine jets, jet skis, and watercrafts use a power source such as an engine to drive a screw, and expel a water current to travel over water.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a planing boat. The planing boat includes: a hull which is boarded by a passenger; an engine disposed inside the hull; a jet propulsion device which drives the screw with the engine and expels a water current; and a steering nozzle serving as a rudder; wherein the steering nozzle swings according to a horizontal swinging of a control board provided in the hull, and the hull is configured to be capable of freely turning.


A temperature change of a device on an integrated circuit chip due to self-heating and thermal coupling with other device(s) is modeled considering inefficient heat removal from the backside of the chip. To perform such modeling, ratios of an imaginary heat amount to an actual heat amount for different locations on the IC chip must be predetermined using a test integrated circuit (IC) chip. During testing, one test device at one specific location on the test IC chip is selected to function as a heat source, while at least two other test devices at other locations on the test IC chip function as temperature sensors. The heat source is biased and changes in temperature at the heat source and at the sensors are determined. These changes are used to calculate the value of the imaginary heat amount to actual heat amount ratio to be associated with the specific location.

More particularly, the performance of a device (e.g., a field effect transistor (FET), a bipolar transistor, a resistor, a capacitor, etc.) on an integrated circuit (IC) chip can vary as a function of temperature. The temperature of a device can vary due to the self-heating effect (SHE). The self-heating effect refers to heat generated by the device itself, when active. Those skilled in the art will recognize that there is a strong relationship between the supply voltage applied to a device when active and the temperature of that device. The temperature of a device can also vary due to the thermal coupling (i.e., due to the device's proximity to adjacent heat source(s), such as adjacent device(s)). Current modeling techniques provide for modeling localized temperature changes due to self-heating and due to thermal coupling with adjacent heat source(s). However, modeling of a localized temperature change due to thermal coupling typically involves calculations of thermal resistance along thermal pathways and such calculations can be quite complex, time consuming and oftentimes inaccurate. This is particularly true when heat removal (e.g., by convection or radiation) from the backside of IC chip contained in a chip package is inefficient such that the temperature distribution across the backside of the IC chip varies, changing the heat flow lines and, thereby changing the thermal resistances that need to be calculated. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a more efficient technique for modeling such localized temperature changes due to self-heating and thermal coupling.

Modeling localized temperature changes on an integrated circuit chip using thermal potential theory


Bearings with visually distinct wear indicators are disclosed. An example bearing disclosed herein includes a movable portion, a race to receive the movable portion along a first surface to thereby permit movement of the movable portion within the race, and a liner disposed on the first surface of the race, the liner having a first layer and a second layer, the first layer disposed on top of the second layer, the first layer visually distinctive from the second layer.

A gas turbine engine generally includes, in serial flow order, an inlet section, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. In operation, air enters the inlet section and flows to the compressor section where one or more axial compressors progressively compress the air until it reaches the combustion section. Fuel mixes with the compressed air and burns within the combustion section, thereby creating combustion gases. The combustion gases flow from the combustion section through a hot gas path defined within the turbine section and then exit the turbine section via the exhaust section. Gas turbine engines can include bearings to couple sections and/or mount the gas turbine engine to vehicle.
Bearings are mechanical devices that constrain the relative motion of coupled parts therewith to particular motion(s). Bearings include rolling elements (e.g., balls, etc.) and races, in which the rolling elements move. Bearings often include features that reduce the friction between the rolling elements and the races to reduce the loading and/or wear imparted into the coupled parts. For example, bearings can include polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) liners. PTFE liners wear after repeated use and, thus, have a finite useful life. As such, bearings with PTFE liners have to be replaced at the PTFE liner's life cycle.


A golf ball 2 includes a spherical core 4, an adhesive layer 6 covering the core 4, and a cover 8 covering the adhesive layer 6. The core 4 includes a spherical center 10 and a mid layer 12 covering the center 10. The adhesive layer 6 is formed from an adhesive. The base polymer of the adhesive is a two-component curing type epoxy resin obtained by curing a bisphenol A type epoxy resin with a curing agent including a polyamine compound. The gel fraction of the adhesive is equal to or greater than 40% but equal to or less than 80%. The ratio of the epoxy equivalent to the amine active hydrogen equivalent in the adhesive is equal to or greater than 2.0/1.0 but equal to or less than 13.0/1.0. The amine active hydrogen equivalent of the curing agent is equal to or greater than 100 g/eq but equal to or less than 800 g/eq. In the adhesive, the proportion of water to the entire volatile component is equal to or greater than 90% by weight.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf balls. Specifically, the present invention relates to golf balls including a first layer, a second layer, and an adhesive layer positioned between the first layer and the second layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Golf players place importance on spin performance of golf balls. When a backspin rate is high, the run is short. It is easy for golf players to cause a golf ball, to which backspin is easily provided, to stop at a target point. When a sidespin rate is high, the golf ball tends to curve. It is easy for golf players to intentionally cause a golf ball, to which sidespin is easily provided, to curve. A golf ball having excellent spin performance has excellent controllability. In particular, advanced golf players place importance on controllability upon a shot with a short iron.
For golf players, durability of golf balls is also important. A golf ball that does not break even by repeated hitting is desired. In addition, a golf ball in which a scuff and a wrinkle are unlikely to occur in a cover when being hit with a short iron is desired.
In light of controllability, golf balls having various structures have been proposed. JPH11-137725 (US 2001/0002372, US 2002/0086744) discloses a golf ball that includes an inner cover formed from an ionomer resin and an outer cover formed from a thermoplastic elastomer. JP2001-54588 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,695) discloses a golf ball that includes an inner cover having a Shore D hardness of 45 to 61 and an outer cover having a Shore D hardness of 35 to 55. JP2006-34745 (US 2006/0025241) discloses a golf ball that includes a mid layer formed from an ionomer resin and a cover formed from a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer. JP2006-289059 (US 2006/0211517) discloses a golf ball that includes a mid layer including a styrene block-containing thermoplastic elastomer and a cover formed from an ionomer resin.
In a golf ball including a mid layer (namely, an inner cover) and a cover, insufficient adhesion between the mid layer and the cover leads to breakage of the golf ball. The insufficient adhesion also leads to a scuff and a wrinkle in the cover. The insufficient adhesion further leads to loss of energy transfer when the golf ball is hit with a golf club. The loss impairs the resilience performance of the golf ball.
In the golf balls disclosed in the above four publications, an adhesive layer is present between the mid layer and the cover. The golf ball disclosed in JPH11-137725 includes an adhesive layer formed from a copolymer of an olefin compound and glycidyl methacrylate. The golf ball disclosed in JP2001-54588 includes an adhesive layer formed from a polyurethane or a chlorinated polyolefin. The golf ball disclosed in JP2006-34745 includes an adhesive layer formed from a two-component curing type epoxy resin. The golf ball disclosed in JP2006-289059 includes an adhesive layer formed from a reaction product of a carboxyl group-containing polyurethane and a polycarbodiimide.
In the conventional golf balls, the adhesion between the mid layer and the cover is insufficient. In a golf ball in which a flexible cover is used for the purpose of providing controllability, this adhesion is particularly insufficient.
An object of the present invention is to provide a golf ball having excellent adhesion between a first layer and a second layer.


A method is provided for wireless communication. The method includes communicating from a first unit to a second unit a plurality of transition signals. Each of the transition signals has a sequential value. The method further includes transitioning the first unit and the second unit from a first state to a second state simultaneously based on the sequential values of the transition signals.

This invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications and, more specifically, to a method and system for changing states in a wireless telecommunication system.
As society grows more complex and operates at an ever accelerating pace, there has been a growing need for better and more flexible communication devices. One area that has experienced substantial development activity is the area of wireless communication. Wireless telephone systems are also known as portable, cordless or mobile telephone systems. A typical wireless communication system has a base station located at a customer""s or user""s premises. The base is connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) over a wireline interface and communicates with a mobile unit or handset over an air interface that permits the user to communicate remotely from the base station. While users desire the freedom and flexibility afforded by mobile wireless communications systems, they typically do not want to sacrifice the numerous features, such as caller ID, that are available through the wireline service over the PSTN. In addition, users of wireless systems increasingly demand a voice quality that is as good as the voice quality available over a wireline link.
In the past, the enhanced features and high voice quality demanded by users have been achieved by the use of sophisticated and complex algorithms and methods that require substantial processor resources and large amounts of memory. These processing and memory resources are not only expensive but also place a substantial drain on battery power, therefore shortening the effective use of the mobile unit. Other technical problems associated with the need for using faster and more powerful processors include larger packaging to accommodate the larger-sized components and to dissipate the heat generated by such units. In the past, wireless systems have been large and bulky and have weighed more than what is satisfactory to many users.
While wireless communication devices and methods have provided an improvement over prior approaches in terms of features, voice quality, cost, packaging size and weight, the challenges in the field of wireless telecommunications have continued to increase with demands for more and better techniques having greater flexibility and adaptability.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a new method and system for changing states in a wireless telecommunication system.
In accordance with the present invention, a method and system for changing states in a wireless telecommunication system are provided that substantially eliminate or reduce disadvantages and problems associated with previously developed systems and methods.
A method for wireless communication is disclosed. The method includes communicating from a first unit to a second unit a plurality of transition signals. Each of the transition signals has a sequential value. The method further includes transitioning the first unit and the second unit from a first state to a second state simultaneously based on the sequential values of the transition signals.
Technical advantages of the present invention include providing an improved method for transitioning units in a telecommunication system between states. In particular, a first unit communicates a plurality of transition signals to a second unit that have sequential values. The first unit transitions from a first state to a second state after transmitting the transition signal with a final value. Accordingly, the second unit may determine at what point the first unit will transition between states if any one of the plurality of transition signals is received. As a result, the units may transition from the first state to the second state simultaneously.
Other technical advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions and claims.

Method and system for changing states in a wireless telecommunication system

Siemens Information and Communication Mobile, LLC


An image reading apparatus in which, in a case in which one of a recorded position of a leading image frame of a film or recorded positions of images successive from the leading image frame of the film, among a plurality of image frames recorded on the film, cannot be specified, the film is conveyed to detect images until the image frame whose recorded position can be specified is arrived, the recorded position of the image frame whose recorded position cannot be specified, is specified on the basis of a recorded position of the image frame whose recorded position can be specified, and the film is conveyed in a predetermined direction such that the leading image frame is positioned at an optical axis of an image reading section, and image reading is carried out from the leading image frame, is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus and method, and in particular, to an image reading apparatus and method which read a plurality of images recorded on a film.
2. Description of the Related Art
In image reading of a 135 size photographic film, in a case in which, even though an image frame which is supposed to be a leading frame is conveyed to a reading position, frame positions of subsequent frames are not defined, conveyance of the photographic film is stopped and an operator sets a leading frame position at the reading position manually.
Regarding technique relating to such positioning of an image frame, there is a technique in which positioning of a failure image frame, whose frame edge cannot be detected due to transmission density distribution being abnormal, is carried out by feeding a film with a determined amount. In this technique, a film conveying amount for the determined-amount-feeding is set on the basis of trends which are unique to the film being processed. To be more concretely, a trend of a size of the image frames which are photographed by a camera photographing images on the film is grasped by obtaining an average of image frame lengths (dimensions in a film conveying direction) L1n of all normal image frames, which are located in frontal position on the film with respect to the failure image frame which is to be positioned, is obtained. Further, a trend of a feeding pitch of the image frames of the camera is grasped by obtaining an average of dimensions L2n between the normal image frames. Thus, the film conveying amount for the determined-amount-feeding is set on the basis of the trends (sum of the average of L1n and the average of L2n). Therefore, in this technique, the positioning of the failure image frame can be positioned correctly compared to a case in which the film conveying amount is set to a predetermined amount based on the specification.
(refer to FIGS. 12 and 18 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 5-142661)
However, in this prior technique, the above mentioned trends which are unique to the film cannot be grasped in a case in which the failure image frame is a leading image frame (a first image frame) of the film. Accordingly, in this case, the film is conveyed by a predetermined reference amount. Namely, it is necessary that an operator sets the leading image frame to the proper reading position manually after the film is conveyed by the predetermined reference amount.
Further, there is another technique in which, in a state in which at least one of an edge of an image frame at an upstream side in a conveying direction and an edge of the image frame at a downstream side in the conveying direction cannot be detected, a central position of this image frame is set on the basis of a central position of an image frame located at the downstream side, which has been already set, or on the basis of positions of a downstream side edge or an upstream side edge of an image located at the downstream side, which have been already set.
(refer to FIGS. 10 and 13 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2000-284377)
Further, in this prior reference, it is mentioned that, in a case in which an edge of a leading image frame is not clear, because positions of other image frames have not defined yet, it may be possible that a position of the leading image frame may be determined on the basis of a subsequent image frame whose edge is supposed to be detected by an optical sensor.
However, regarding positioning of the leading image frame whose edge cannot be detected at the reading position, even though the leading image frame may be defined, a concrete process or the like after the leading image frame is defined is not at all written in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2000-284377. Further, in a case of image reading of a film in which many image frames are subsequent from the leading image frame, whose frame edges cannot be detected and whose reading positions cannot be specified, further improvements must be needed.


An embodiment of the disclosure includes a method of forming metal gate structures. A substrate is provided. A first dummy gate electrode and a second dummy gate electrode are formed on the substrate. The first dummy gate electrode comprises first spacers on its sidewalls and the second dummy gate electrode comprises second spacers on its sidewalls. A hardmask layer is formed to covers both the first dummy gate electrode and the second dummy gate electrode. A patterned photoresist layer on the hardmask layer that covers a portion of the hardmask layer over the second dummy gate electrode and that leaves a portion of the hardmask layer over the first dummy gate electrode exposed. The portion of the exposed hardmask layer over the first dummy gate electrode is removed. The first spacers and the first dummy gate electrode is exposed to a first plasma environment comprising O2, HBr, and Cl2. The first dummy gate electrode is removed in a second plasma environment comprising NF3, HBr, and Cl2 thereby leaving a hole surrounded by the first spacers. The hole is filled with a metal gate layer.

As the dimensions of transistors decrease, the thickness of the gate oxide must be reduced to maintain performance with the decreased gate length. However, in order to reduce gate leakage, high dielectric constant (high-k) gate oxide layers are used which allow greater physical thicknesses while maintaining the same effective thickness as would be provided by a typical gate oxide used in future technology nodes.
Additionally, as technology nodes shrink, in some integrated circuit (IC) designs, there has been a desire to replace the typical polysilicon gate electrode with a metal gate electrode to improve device performance with the decreased feature sizes. One process of forming the metal gate electrode is termed "gate last" process because the final metal gate electrode is fabricated after the other transistor components, which allows for reduced number of subsequent processes, including high temperature processing, that must be performed after formation of the gate.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a plurality of conventional gate structures for semiconductor device 100 at a fabrication stage in a "gate last" process. The semiconductor device 100 in FIG. 1 comprises a P-well region 102 and an N-well region 103 formed within a substrate. An isolation structure 104 is formed between the P-well region 102 and the N-well region 103. Gate structures 101 are formed on the P-well 102 region and the N-well region 103, respectively. The gate structures 101 include a high K dielectric layer 106 and a metal layer 107 below a dummy gate electrode 105. Spacers 108a and 108b is disposed adjacent to the gate structure 101. An interlayer dielectric layer 109 (ILD) is formed to surround the spacer 108a and 108b. A hardmask layer 110 and a photoresist layer 111 are deposited and patterned to expose the dummy gate electrode 105 in N-well region 103. An etching step is performed to remove the exposed dummy gates 105 for forming a recess for accommodating a metal gate electrode. The metal gate electrodes above the P-Well region 102 and N-well region 103 are formed separately so that the respective metal gate electrodes may be formed using different materials.
However, the dummy gate removal step presents a number of challenges. For example, the metal layer 107 at the bottom the dummy gates may be oxidized. Another example, the spacers 108a and 108b may be damaged and metal residues may be formed during the metal gate electrode formation stage. Therefore, electrical shorting and device failure could occur.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an improved formation method for metal gate structure, so that the device performance can be satisfied.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


There has been an inefficient respect for printing control in a color printer in which only nozzle columns for black ink are high resolution. For a color printer 17b equipped with a plurality of nozzles arranged zigzag so that dark color ink droplets and light color ink droplets can be squirted onto one pixel at high resolution, resolution reduction to combine adjoining two lines into one line is performed (in step S400) and dark-light color separation is performed (in step S500), and subsequently nozzles for dark color ink and nozzles for light color ink squirt ink droplets for one pixel of pixels of two lines, thereby handling pixels for two lines as one pixel, and hence it is possible to realize high-speed printing mode with reduced scanning number to squirt ink droplets for all pixels of high resolution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer control unit, printer control method, printer control program, medium storing printer control program, printer, and printing method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An ink-jet printer squirts ink droplets onto pixels arranged in dot-matrix array through the nozzles of the print head, thereby performing printing. The nozzles of the print head are arranged at a constant interval in the paper feed direction, and they constitute the nozzle column. Usually, an ink-jet printer has one or more nozzle columns for each color ink.
The nozzle interval is not related directly with the printing resolution; however, the nozzle interval in the paper feed direction usually corresponds to the printing resolution. For example, it will be possible to arrange nozzles (for one color ink) in two columns, offset by half the nozzle spacing, so that each of two columns prints one line of pixels alternately. In this case, each nozzle squirts as many ink droplets as necessary to completely fill one line.
With the above-mentioned structure, the first column of nozzles and the second column of nozzles are allotted alternately to one line having pixels arranged in dot matrix array, and the nozzles squirt ink droplets of specified color to print a completely filled image as desired. Once the printing resolution based on the nozzle interval is established, it is possible to prepare image data (for printing data) according to the printing resolution.
There is another structure designed to eliminate "graininess" resulting from an ink-jet printer. With this structure, nozzles in the first column squirt a dark color ink and nozzles in the second column squirt a light color ink.
It is assumed that the distance between adjacent nozzles in each column is equivalent to 180 dpi and the distance between the first and second columns is equivalent to 360 dpi. It is further assumed that the size of a dot formed by an ink droplet is equivalent to 360 dpi. In this case, when the print head traverses the paper, each line of pixels is printed with a dark color ink and a light color ink alternately. Subsequently, printing is repeated, with the print head shifted by a distance equivalent to 360 dpi, so that the line for a dark color ink and the line for a light color ink are exchanged each other. In this way it is possible to print each line of pixels with a dark color ink and a light color ink, thereby eliminating graininess. In this case, the image data corresponds to the printing resolution of 360 dpi as a matter of course.
The conventional high-resolution printing mentioned above employs nozzles arranged zigzag in two columns to eliminate graininess. The disadvantage of this system for high resolution is a low print speed. Monochrome printing with black ink squirted from nozzles arranged zigzag in two columns permits high-speed printing with 360-dpi resolution by one print head traverse; however, this advantage is offset by slow printing with a dark color ink and a light color ink which are squirted separately twice.

Printer control unit, printer control method, printer control program, medium storing printer control program, printer, and printing method


The present invention provides an improved field assembly of an electric motor which is free from broken wires or short circuits when being incorporated in a power-driven tool. The field assembly of the invention includes a metallic core formed of a stack of annular laminations around a cavity and having an upper end and a lower end, and a terminal plate composed of an insulating material and mounted on the upper end of the core. The terminal plate includes a plurality of first terminal supporting structures each disposed in the vicinity of a first or starting end of a coil winding for supporting and retaining an end of a coil wire extending from the coil winding; and a plurality of second terminal supporting structures each disposed in the vicinity of a second or terminal end of the coil winding for supporting and retaining an end of the coil wire. A first or starting end of the coil wire is wound outside the coil winding to be received by the second terminal supporting structures while a second or terminal end of the coil wire is wound outside the coil winding to be received by the first terminal supporting structures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a field assembly of an electric motor incorporated in power-driven tools, and more specifically to a coil terminating structure of a field assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional coil terminating structure, a coil winding 20 is wound on a field assembly 23, which includes a core 21 and a terminal plate 22 mounted on one end of the core 21 as shown in FIG. 4. A starting end 20a and a terminal end 20b of the coil winding 20 are respectively received by terminal structures, each including a terminal well 24 integrally formed on the terminal plate 22 and a terminal 25 inserted in the terminal well 24. The coil winding 20 is wound on the core 21 by a coil winding machine. Each end 20a or 20b of the coil winding 20 is held in each terminal well 24 under tension. When a commutator motor with such a field assembly is incorporated in power-driven tools such as electric hammers or drills causing vibration or shock, both ends of the coil winding are exposed to concentrated stress. Especially the starting end of the coil winding is pressed by the primary portion of the coil winding and has only a small degree of freedom, thus causing undesirable breaking or short circuit. In order to solve such problems, improved structures of a field assembly have been proposed, which includes a structure wherein a coil terminating portion of the terminal well is fixed by an adhesive (Japanese Patent Laying-Open Gazette No. 62-88435) and another structure which has a slack between the terminal well and the coil wire (Japanese Patent Laying-Open Gazette No. 2-214433).
However, the former structure prevents broken wires only at coil terminating portions and can not prevent the same on the boundary between the coil wire and the adhesive or a contact between the coil wire and another portion. The latter structure can not ensure a sufficient amount of slack and may cause broken wires when large vibration or shock is applied to.


The present invention provides an automatic blood pressure monitor for measuring the arterial blood pressure at a location on a patient. The automatic monitor of the invention does not require an external pump of any type. The invention uses a propellant supply chamber containing a predetermined quantity of propellant in order to inflate a pressure occluding bladder, thus allowing the measurement to be made. All of the elements comprising the monitor are attached to or are an integral part of a strap, which supports the monitor at the desired location on the patient. The monitor of the invention is inexpensive and simple to operate and can be used by non-professional persons in non-clinical or non-laboratory environments.

Automatic home monitoring devices for blood pressure measurements at the arm, wrist, or finger have become available in ever increasing numbers of designs in recent years.
Home monitors are recommended for use by persons who wish to take either periodic or sporadic measurements in order to keep track of the general state of their health especially persons in various groups that are considered potential candidates for developing high blood pressure such as overweight persons, smokers, and pregnant women. Home monitors are useful to take a series of measurements over a period of time in order to establish a data base for later diagnosis, to monitor drug dosages in order to optimize treatment for controlling high blood pressure, in emergency situations, in cases when it is simply not possible or convenient to visit a doctor or clinic, etc. For many people home monitoring is considered to be the most accurate method for blood pressure measurement because at home these people are relaxed whereas they tend to become nervous in clinical environments causing their blood pressure to rise.
Despite the fact that sales of automatic home monitoring devices increase yearly, only a very small percentage of the persons in the groups mentioned above who should be periodically monitoring their blood pressure actually own such a device. The reasons for this situation are many but the principal ones are cost, reliability over time, and the psychological one that most people normally consider themselves to be healthy and therefore refrain from purchasing medical monitoring devices since such a purchase would be considered to be an admission that perhaps all is not well.
Automatic monitoring devices for blood pressure measurement usually contain the following elements: inflatable cuff; electro-pneumatic unit, mainly comprising a pump and an electric valve to inflate and deflate the cuff; transducer; electronic circuit; digital readout; and power supply, either batteries or connection to mains supply. All of these elements, especially the pump, the electric valve, and the significant power requirements of the pump combine to make the majority of automatic monitors expensive for the average potential user, the relative expense being all the more pronounced for a device that is normally not used frequently. Additionally, inclusion of all of the above elements results in relatively bulky devices and limits the ability of manufacturers to reduce the size of monitors to pocket-size dimensions which can be conveniently carried out of the house on business trips, vacations, etc.
It is therefore a purpose of the present invention to provide an automatic monitoring device for blood pressure measurement that avoids the above-mentioned drawbacks of presently available devices designed for a similar purpose, specifically it is a purpose of the present invention to provide an automatic monitoring device that does not comprise an electro-pneumatic unit to inflate and deflate a cuff.
It is another purpose of the present invention to provide an automatic monitoring device for blood pressure measurement that is significantly less expensive than presently available devices.
It is yet another purpose of the present invention to provide an automatic monitoring device for blood pressure measurement that is significantly smaller than presently available devices.
It is still another purpose of the present invention to provide an automatic monitoring device for blood pressure measurement that is small enough to be carried in the pocket.
It is yet a further purpose of the present invention to provide an automatic monitoring device for blood pressure measurement that can be discarded after a single or a limited number of uses.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide an automatic monitoring device for blood pressure measurement that is extremely reliable over its intended life span.
It is a still further purpose of the present invention to provide an automatic monitoring device for blood pressure measurement that is easy to operate.
Further purposes and advantages of this invention will appear as the description proceeds.


An electronic circuit comprises a high-pass and a low-pass. The low-pass comprises at least one low-pass series element and a low-pass transverse element. The high-pass comprises at least one high-pass series element and a high-pass transverse element. The low-pass series element and the high-pass transverse element are realised in this context by a common component, and/or the high-pass series element and the low-pass transverse element are realised in this context by a common component.

Switches are conventionally used in signal pathways to combine signals of different frequency ranges. However, such switches in the signal pathways provide unfavourable properties, especially in the high-frequency range. Accordingly, for example, European patent specification EP 1 780 889 B1 discloses an electronic circuit for switching between two signal pathways of different frequency ranges. The circuit shown in this context is disadvantageous because the signals guided through it are attenuated, and the load impedances of the disabled branch have an influence on the signal transmission.
Moreover, series elements, that is, circuit elements which are connected in series within the signal pathway, must be suitable for the lowest and the highest frequencies occurring. Losses in the series elements, especially at high frequencies, lead to a high attenuation in the signal transmission. Moreover, an inadequate linearity of the series elements influences the signal quality.
The invention is based upon the object of providing an electronic circuit, which allows a switching between at least two signal pathways of different, preferably overlapping frequency ranges with low attenuation and low non-linear distortions, and preferably providing a signal generator with the use of such a circuit.


A method of treating a preformed flexible imaging belt including providing a rigid cylindrical support drum having a precisely predetermined outer circumference, a first end and a second end, providing a preformed flexible electrostatographic imaging belt, circumferentially expanding the belt with a flowing fluid under pressure until the circumference of the inner surface of the belt adjacent the first end of the drum is stretched to a new dimension of at least about 0.1 percent greater than the outer circumference of the rigid support drum while maintaining the belt below the elastic limit of the belt to smooth out physical defects, sliding the belt onto the drum from the first end toward the second end until substantially all of the belt encircles the outer surface of the drum, terminating the flow of the flowing fluid to allow the belt to contract onto the outer surface of the support drum, heating the belt to a treatment temperature of between about the glass transition temperature and about 10.degree. C. above the glass transition temperature of the substrate or the imaging layer, the treatment temperature being the higher of these two glass transition temperatures, until the belt relaxes onto the outer circumference of the rigid drum and is substantially free of any tendency to contract back to the original circumference of the inner exposed surface prior to circumferentially expanding the belt, cooling the belt to ambient room temperature, and removing the belt from the drum, the belt having a new inner circumference substantially identical to the precisely predetermined outer circumference of the rigid cylindrical support drum.

This invention relates in general to a method for treating a preformed flexible imaging member belt to substantially eliminate ripples from the belt.
Coated flexible belts or tubes are employed extensively in various arts. They are, for example, commonly utilized for numerous purposes such as electrostatographic imaging members, which include electrophotographic imaging members and electrographic imaging members.
Flexible electrostatographic imaging members, e.g. belts, are well known in the art. Typical electrostatographic flexible imaging members include, for example, photoreceptors (i.e. electrophotographic imaging members) for electrophotographic imaging systems and electroreceptors (e.g. ionographic imaging members) for electrographic imaging systems. Though both electrophotographic and ionographic imaging members are commonly utilized in either a belt or a drum configuration, nevertheless, the belt configuration is generally preferred based on cost and flexibility of machine design considerations. These electrostatographic imaging member belts may be seamless or seamed. Although the present invention encompasses both electrographic and electrophotographic imaging members, the discussion hereinafter will focus mainly on electrophotographic imaging members for reasons of simplicity.
For electrophotographic applications, the imaging member belts often comprise a flexible biaxially oriented thermoplastic supporting substrate coated with one or more layers including at least one layer of photoconductive material. The substrates may be inorganic such as electroformed nickel or organic such as a film forming polymer. The photoconductive coatings applied to these belts may be inorganic such as selenium or selenium alloys or organic. The organic photoconductive layers may comprise, for example, single binder layer in which photoconductive particles are dispersed in a film forming binder or multilayers comprising, for example, a charge generating layer and a charge transport layer.
Electrophotographic imaging members having a belt configuration are normally entrained around and supported by at least two rollers. Generally, one of the rollers is driven by a motor to transport the belt around the rollers during electrophotographic imaging cycles. Since electrophotographic imaging belts, particularly welded seam belts, are not perfectly cylindrical and, more specifically, tend to be slightly cone shaped, these flexible belts tend to "walk" axially along the support rollers. Belt walking causes one edge of the belt to strike one or more edge guides positioned adjacent the ends of the rollers to limit axial movement. Friction between the edge guide and the edge of the electrophotographic imaging member belt can cause the belt edge to wear, rip, buckle and otherwise damage the belt. Also, there are other serious drawbacks in terms of belt tracking and problems with good image registration. Welded belts, because of the difficulties associated with perfectly aligning overlapping ends during seam welding, are not is as concentric as desired.
Moreover, an imaging member belt fabricated by overlapping the opposite ends of an imaging member sheet and ultrasonically welding the overlapped ends to form a welded seam belt has always been observed to give rise to ripples formation near either side of the welded seam. Cross sections of these ripples exhibit a sinewave pattern which traverses across the entire width of the belt. Typical ripples seen in a seamed belt have a peak to peak height of between about 400 micrometers and about 500 micrometers and with a wavelength of from about 35 to about 45 millimeters. These ripples are clearly visible to the naked eye. Since the ripples undesirably alter the often critical distances between the belt imaging surface and devices such as optical exposure means, charging corotrons, developer applicators, transfer stations and the like, the ripples adversely affect copy print quality and are manifested as print-out defects.
Another type of electrophotographic imaging member that is well known in the art are drum type photoreceptors. Some drum photoreceptors are coated with one or more coatings. Coatings may be applied by well known techniques such as dip coating or spray coating. Dip coating of drums usually involves immersing of a cylindrical drum while the axis of the drum is maintained in a vertical alignment during the entire coating and subsequent drying operations. Although the drum photoreceptors have the benefit of being very dimensionally precise than the belt photoreceptor counterparts, yet they do have an inherent coating layer shortfall due to the vertical alignment of the drum axis during the coating operation, the applied coatings tend to be thicker at the lower end of the drum relative to the upper end of the drum due to the influence of gravity on the flow of the coating material. Drum coatings applied by spray coating technique can also be uneven, e.g., the well known orange peel effect. Coatings that have an uneven thickness do not have uniform electrical properties at different locations of the coating. Also, the coating of drums in a batch operation is time consuming and costly. In addition, the many handling steps required for batch drum coating processes tend to increase the likelihood that one or more coatings will be damaged or contaminated. Although the drum photoreceptor configuration produces excellent precise dimensions compared to belt photoreceptors, dip or spray coated photoreceptor drums do not exhibit the superior electrophotographic characteristics of flexible electrostatographic imaging belts. Moreover, the coatings are difficult to remove without damaging the underlying drum during reclaiming operations thereby rendering the drum less suitable for recycling.

Method of treating preformed flexible imaging belts to form ripple-free and dimensionally precise belts


Methods of patterning features, methods of manufacturing semiconductor devices, and semiconductor devices are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of patterning a feature includes forming a first portion of the feature in a first material layer. A second portion of the feature is formed in the first material layer, and a third portion of the feature is formed in a second material layer.

Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic applications, such as personal computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and other electronic equipment, as examples. Semiconductor devices are typically fabricated by sequentially depositing several insulating or dielectric layers, conductive layers, and semiconductive layers of material over a semiconductor substrate, and patterning the various layers using lithography to form circuit components and elements thereon.
There is a trend in the semiconductor industry towards reducing the size of features, e.g., the circuits, elements, conductive lines, vias, and contacts of semiconductor devices, in order to improve the performance of the semiconductor devices, reduce power consumption, and meet smaller packaging requirements, for example. However, as feature sizes of semiconductor devices diminish, the patterning of features becomes more challenging. The transfer of patterns of lithography masks to semiconductor devices having small feature sizes may be inaccurate or unpredictable in some applications, for example.
Double patterning is a process that is used to print small minimum feature sizes of some semiconductor devices. In double patterning, a design for conductive lines is split into two layouts each having a minimum pitch equal to two times the minimum pitch of the original design. Two lithography masks are used to print alternating conductive lines, so that each mask can be imaged with better contrast due to the relaxed pitch. A patterning process flow for double patterning typically includes exposing a first resist film with a first lithography mask, transferring an image of the first mask from the first resist film into a hard mask, and stripping the first resist film. A second resist film is recoated and exposed with a second lithography mask, and the second resist image from the second lithography mask is transferred into the hard mask. The hard mask is then used as an etch mask to pattern a material layer beneath the hard mask.
Double patterning techniques may work well in some applications where the conductive lines are parallel along their entire length. However, double patterning presents problems such as shorts and misalignment in some designs, such as designs having meandering patterns, particularly when optical proximity correction (OPC) is used to improve pattern transfer, because minimum pitch and/or gap sizes can be reintroduced.
Thus, what are needed in the art are improved methods of patterning features of semiconductor devices.

Feature patterning methods and structures thereof