Vehicle based computing systems, such as the FORD SYNC system are growing in popularity. Using various sources of vehicle information, driver inputs and connections to vehicle systems, the SYNC system can add a variety of functionality and novelty to the driving experience.
Furthermore, systems such as SYNC can often communicate with remote devices either to gain information from those devices, or to use those devices to access a remote network. For example, in one instance, SYNC can communicate with a cellular phone, and use the cellular phone's ability to communicate with a remote network to send and receive information to and from the remote network. In another example, SYNC can query a GPS navigational device, such as a TOMTOM, and receive navigational information.
In addition to querying a device, such as a TOMTOM to receive navigational information, SYNC can also communicate with the TOMTOM and provide instructions, often comparable to pressing a selection on the TOMTOM's screen, through the SYNC system. The instructions can be provided, for example, by a spoken driver command processed through the SYNC system.


Prior to this invention various fluorometers have been used in a wide variety of applications for measuring the fluorescence of fluorescently excitable materials. For example, fluorometers are used in junction with fluorescent assays to detect and measure the quantities of immunological and non-immunological substances.
In carrying out fluorescent assays, microtest plates (or microtitration plates, as they are also called) and strips of microtest wells are often used. Microtest plates are formed with a multiplicity of wells which are joined together in a molded one-piece structure for containing microliter quantities of fluid samples in liquid or solid form. Examples of a microtest plate and microtest wells in strip form are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,795 which issued to A. C. Thorne on May 15, 1979.
The use of microtest plates and microtest strips of wells in fluorescent and other types of assays offers several important advantages. First, they permit the mass preparation of a large number of test sample solutions at the same time. Second, they are more convenient to handle as compared with individual test tubes. Third, they can easily and inexpensively be washed. Fourth, they are inexpensive and disposable. Fifth, they are customarily formed from plastic materials which are not fragile like glass. Sixth, they can be made from a material having an ability to attract certain molecules such as protein molecules so that they can serve as a solid phase in an immunoassay.
Some fluorometers are not sufficiently sensitive to measure the fluorescence of the small, microliter quantities of the relatively low fluorescent samples which are prepared with the microtest plate and strip equipment described above. Other fluorometers, while having sufficient sensititvity, are usually unsuitable for measuring the fluorescence of substances in microtest wells because they are designed to direct the exciting light and/or the sample's emitted light through a wall of the sample-holding vessel. As a result, the microtest plates and strips, which are customarily molded from plastic materials having a substantial level of native fluorescence, are excessively excited to produce spurious light emissions which interfere with and impair accurate measurements of the intensity of the light emitted by the fluorescently excited test sample itself.


The present invention relates to an apparatus for recycling the exhaust gas of the engine crankcase of a car which filtrates the exhaust gas of the engine crankcase permitting the filtrated gas to be further guided into the engine of the car for burning.
During the operation of the engine of a car, fuel mixture may partially leak out of the combustion chamber to the engine crankcase through the gap between the piston ring and the cylinder wall of the engine. Leaked fuel mixture mixed with exhaust gas of the engine crankcase must be properly treated otherwise it will pollute the air. Various economizers have been disclosed to collect the exhaust gas of the engine crankcase for recycling. The positive crankcase ventilating system (PCV system) is one of the most commonly used systems for recycling the exhaust gas of the engine crankcase. However, the PCV system cannot completely recycle the exhaust gas of the engine crankcase and partial exhaust gas will come out of the engine crankcase to pollute the air. Beside this Carbon will be precipitated on the inside wall of the engine crankcase when engine gas is retained in the hot engine crankcase, causing the air and oil holes of the engine blocked or partially blocked, and therefore the service life of the engine will be greatly shortened. Furthermore, when the speed of the car is reducing or the car is stopped while the engine is operating at a high speed, the throttle valve is closed, causing a high negative pressure produced at the intake manifold of the engine. Under this stage, the suction force of the high negative pressure will stop the valve of the PCV system, causing the cylinder of the engine unable to obtain sufficient air for combustion, and therefore carbon monoxide will instantly increase.


The present disclosure relates to needle access disconnection detection.
It is especially important in instances in which a catheter enabled therapy is performed while the patient is sleeping or who otherwise may move in a manner likely to compromise catheter position and/or catheterization integrity to have an access disconnection detection system. Traditional means for attaching a catheter to a patient include the use of adhesive catheter securing devices, such as a Grip-Lok™ Universal Catheter Securement manufactured by Zefon International Inc. While a mechanical securement is beneficial, the device provides no recourse if the needle becomes dislodged despite the securement device.
Devices that sense when a needle dislodgement occurs are also available, such as a RedSense™ device manufactured by RedSense Medical, which alarms when an absorbent pad covering the catheterization site becomes saturated with blood flowing from a wound site upon inadvertent catheter withdrawal. Disadvantages of this device include its requirement of a relatively large amount of blood to activate the device, and the device's passive audible alarm, which may not be heard by patients with hearing impairment or subject to other environmental sound source. Also, the alarm is not fed back to the dialysis machine.
Other prior art access disconnection systems rely on current flowing through the patient's blood to indicate that a proper needle access exists. A drawback of these systems is that current must flow in many instances through high impedance or high resistance components, such as, a pump (membrane or peristaltic), a bubble trap, a valve or filter. These systems accordingly can succumb to noise, ground loops or loss of signal.
A more robust electrical access disconnection system, in particular for blood cleansing renal therapy treatments, such as hemodialysis, hemofiltration and hemodiafiltration, in which loss of a venous needle can lead to severe blood loss, is needed accordingly.


This invention relates to the gun locking and security field and more particularly to a safe and secure case for a loaded hand gun that allows an authorized user rapid, unobstructed and effortless access to the hand gun.
Crime and violence is not confined to the urban environment, but also persists throughout suburban and rural communities. As a result, there exist a large and expanding segment of the population who choose to own hand guns for self-protection, protection of others and protection of property. For this population, immediate and unrestricted access to the hand gun is crucial, since the need typically arises only in an emergency situation, such as when an intruder enters ones dwelling. Thus, anything less than free, open, unobstructed and immediate access to the hand gun defeats the primary purpose of owning the hand gun, i.e., protection.
Wide spread gun ownership has increased the number of accidents or incidents involving the use of the hand gun by an unauthorized person. Just as the population of gun owners is growing, a strong movement to protect innocent third parties, such as children, from the dangers of an accessible loaded hand gun is gaining momentum. Children in particular are intrigued by guns and have fallen victim to accidental shootings because the gun owner has taken less than adequate measures to secure the hand gun. Just as tragic is the unfortunate trend involving school shootings, which may have been prevented had the gun owner taken measures to prevent access to the hand gun by unauthorized persons. Thus, the safety-conscious segment of the population demand virtually infallible security and safety measures to prevent the unfortunate consequences that can arise from unauthorized access to a hand gun.
Until now, no one has been able to solve the problem of effectively marrying the two competing interests of accessibilIty and safety demanded by the seemingly opposing population segments discussed above. The present invention solves this problem by offering a hand gun case that is safe and secure from unauthorized access without sacrificing rapid and unobstructed accessibility when the need arises.
The present invention solves the aforementioned problems and meets the aforementioned needs by providing a secure rapidly accessible two-part impregnable gun case that uses feature recognition to allow an authorized user immediate and unobstructed access to a hand gun.
In the preferred embodiment, a gun case is made out of a lightweight material, such as plastic, reinforced with embedded belts that cannot be readily cut. One end of the case has an access cover that is hingably attached to the case. The case attaches Lo a fixed energized base through the use of a locking mechanism that prevents the case from being moved without unlocking it from the base. The two-part case allows the user to remove the case from the base, transport and attach the case to a fixed base in a different location, such as in a motor home or vacation property. This feature facilitates portability of the case without sacrificing safety and security.
Enclosed in the case is a slide mechanism that supports the hand gun and projects it out of the case when the access door opens. The access cover opens when the lock is activated by a feature recognition system""s identification of an authorized user""s feature. It is the preferred embodiment of this invention to use fingerprint recognition, but other forms of feature recognition can be used such as voice activation.
The invention involves security measures used to meet the needs of the safety-conscious population. The case locks to a base that is securely attached to a surface in a location chosen by the authorized user. This prevents removal without unlocking the case. This is an improvement over the prior art, which generally cover secure cases that are not fixed to a surface. If an unauthorized person attempts to cut through the case or forcibly remove the case from the base, an audible alarm will sound. A further safety measure includes strategic placement within the case of a material, such as LEXAN, to absorb a bullet if the gun accidentally fires.
The invention also involves features that meet the gun owner population""s demands of immediate and unobstructed access to the hand gun by using a fully enclosed spring loaded adjustable slide mechanism, which projects the gun out of the case when the access door is opened. This allows the authorized user clean, immediate and properly oriented access to the hand gun in an emergency. The gun attaches to the slide by the use of an interchangeable dowel sized to fit a particular caliber of gun. The position of the slide is adjustable depending on the size of the gun. It is desirable that the butt of the gun be located just behind the access cover so the gun projects out to maximum reach. The springs in the slide are enclosed within the slide unit and there is no support to the butt of the gun, thus once projected, the user may cleanly grab the gun.
The present invention also caters to both the gun owner and safety conscious population by providing immediate, unobstructed, yet secure access to the hand gun through the use of feature recognition to activate the lock securing the case access cover. In the preferred embodiment, when an emergency arises, the authorized user can touch a reader board mounted on the case. If the person""s print is recognized as an authorized print, it Will activate a solenoid and unlock the access cover. This is an improvement over the prior art that teaches using a key or combination lock to prevent access by an unauthorized user. In a panic situation, fumbling with a key, possibly in the dark, or trying to remember a combination, code or sequence of button depressions is cumbersome, time consuming, and potentially life threatening. This invention also is an improvement over the prior art that teaches using a fingerprint recognition system because the prior art, requires the user to, once he or she has properly deactivated the locking mechanism, affirmatively reach into the container to retrieve the hand gun. This too, is cumbersome and time consuming depending on the orientation of the hand gun, and may also be life threatening. The feature recognition system is energized by a constant power source provided to the base, or in the event of an interruption of this source, i.e. power failure, the case contains a rechargeable battery source. A key activated manual override is provided in case there may be total failure or the energy source.
The present invention is an improvement over known prior art with particular reference to U.S. Pat. No. 1,557,339 issued to Sander. Sander describes a spring-loaded plate that attaches to both the butt and barrel of the gun, and projects the hand gun when the access door is opened. In Sander, the projecting springs are exposed and encumber access to the gun. Also, the gun butt is cradled by a two-piece mounting bracket that, due to the upturned ends, obstructs clean access to the gun and sacrifices speed.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved gun case that meets the competing societal demands of providing a secure, tamper. resistant, safe gun case without sacrificing unobstructed access to the hand gun.
It is a further object of the preferred embodiment to accommodate portability of the case without sacrificing security or safety.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the following drawings.


The present invention relates to a plasma method for driving a plasma display panel. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for driving an AC-driven plasma display panel (referred to as an AC-driven PDP hereinafter) that has a three-electrode structure and performs memory display.
FIG. 1 is a diagram that shows the general structure of an AC-driven PDP.
A PDP 1 comprises a pair of substrates arranged opposite to each other and a discharge gas sealed therebetween. On one of the substrates, sustain electrodes (X1 to X3) and scan electrodes (Y1 to Y3) arranged in parallel to each other are provided, and on the other substrate, address electrodes (A1 to A4) arranged in the direction perpendicular to the sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes and partitions 2 arranged in parallel to the address electrodes to define a discharge space are provided. Although only the three sustain electrodes, three scan electrodes and four address electrodes are shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity, many electrodes are actually used according to the resolution of the PDP 1.
A display line L is formed between a sustain electrode and a scan electrode adjacent to each other. In the example in FIG. 1, the X1 electrode and the Y1 electrode form a display line L1, the X2 electrode and the Y2 electrode form a display line L2, and the X3 electrode and the Y3 electrode form a display line 3. On the other hand, adjacent pairs of the sustain electrode and the scan electrode that form the display lines form a non-display line therebetween. In the example in FIG. 1, the non-display lines are formed between the Y1 electrode and the X2 electrode, and between the Y2 electrode and the X3 electrode. In order to prevent an erroneous discharge from occurring in the adjacent display lines L1 to L3, the interval between neighboring electrodes that form a non-display line is made wider than the interval between neighboring electrodes that form a display line. Moreover, a discharge cell is formed in an area defined by a pair of the neighboring sustain electrode and the scan electrode and the address electrode that is perpendicular thereto, and a phosphor is provided in the discharge cell in order to obtain visible light.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram that shows the general structure of the PDP apparatus shown in FIG. 5.
The PDP apparatus in FIG. 2 comprises the PDP 1, a data (address) driver 22, a sustain driver 23, a first (odd-numbered) scan driver 24a, a second (even-numbered) scan driver 24b, a scan pulse generation circuit 25 and an interface circuit 26 (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 10-39834).
The display data and the control signal from the outside of the apparatus are converted properly in the interface circuit 26 and supplied to the data (address) driver 22, the sustain driver 23, the first (odd-numbered) scan driver 24a and the second (even-numbered) scan driver 24b. The scan pulse and the sustain pulse to be applied to the scan electrode Y are generated in the scan pulse generation circuit 25 and their timings are controlled in the first (odd-numbered) scan driver 24a and the second (even-numbered) scan driver 24b by the signal from the interface circuit 26.
Similarly, the sustain pulse and the erasure pulse to be applied to the sustain electrode X are generated in the sustain driver 23 while being controlled by the interface circuit 26.
A description about a method for driving the above-mentioned AC-driven PDP is given below with reference to drawings.
A gradated display in the PDP 1 shown in FIG. 1 is performed by using the subfield driving method in which a frame is divided into a plurality of subfields and driven.
FIG. 3 is a diagram that shows the structure of a field in the PDP shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 shows an example of the subfield driving method in which a field is divided into eight subfields SF1 to SF8 for a gradated display. The luminance of each field is weighted by two to the n-th power and it is possible to perform a gradated display of any level by combining proper subfields.
In this method, each subfield is divided into a write period (address period), a sustain discharge period and an erasure period (reset period).
FIG. 4 is a diagram that shows the waveforms that illustrate the method for driving the PDP shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 shows the waveforms at the address electrode, the sustain electrodes X1 to Xn and the scan electrodes Y1 to Yn in an arbitrary subfield in a field, and each subfield is composed of the write period (address period), the sustain discharge period and the erasure period (reset period). When the scan electrode is scanned and display data is written during the write discharge period (address period), subsequent scanning is performed not to the next but the following scan electrode so that a write discharge (address discharge) is prevented from being caused to occur in the adjacent pixel successively with respect to time, and all the discharges are maintained at a time in the sustain discharge period for a light emitted display (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2001-13915).
As shown in FIG. 4, in the write action (addressing) in the first half of the write period (address period), a voltage Vx is applied to the odd-numbered X electrodes X1, X3, . . . , a voltage 0V is applied to the even-numbered X electrodes X2, X4, . . . , and a scan pulse voltage −Vsc is applied to the odd-numbered Y electrodes Y1, Y3, . . . At this time, the voltage 0V is applied to the even-numbered Y electrodes. In concurrence with this, an address pulse having a voltage Va is applied selectively to the address electrode and a first discharge is caused to occur between the address electrode and the Y electrode in the selected cell in the odd-numbered display lines (L1, L3, . . . ) to be lit. Then with this discharge serving as a priming, a second discharge is immediately caused to occur between the X electrode and the Y electrode. “Address discharge” is a general term for the first discharge and the second discharge. Due to this, wall charges that enable a sustain discharge to occur are accumulated on the X electrode and the Y electrode in the selected cell in the odd-numbered display lines. When the above action is performed as far as the last odd-numbered Y electrode (Yn−1), the writing (addressing) of the selected cells in the odd-numbered display lines is completed in the first half of the write address (address period).
Next, in the second half of the write period (address period), the voltage Vx is applied to the even-numbered X electrodes X2, X4, . . . , the voltage 0V is applied to the odd-numbered X electrodes Y1, Y3, . . . , and the scan pulse voltage −Vsc is applied to the even-numbered Y electrodes Y2, Y4, . . . , sequentially. In this way, the writing (addressing) of the selected cells in the even-numbered display lines is completed. As described above, the writing (addressing) of the selected cells in all of the display lines is completed in the first half and the second half of the write period (address period).
In the next sustain discharge period, a sustain pulse having a (alternating) voltage Vs is applied alternately to the Y electrode and the X electrode, a sustain discharge is caused to occur (only in the selected cells in the display lines in which the address discharge has been formed) according to the wall charges written (addressed) during the write period, as described above, and the image of a subfield in a field is displayed.
In the erasure period (reset period), an erasure pulse voltage VB is applied to all the sustain electrodes (X1 to Xn) to cause an erasure discharge to occur and the wall charges in the (lit) cells in the display lines, in which the sustain discharge has been caused to occur in the previous sustain period, are reduced or erased.
However, in the driving method described above, the address discharge is weak in the skipped display lines (even-numbered lines in this case). As a result, a problem occurs that the light emitted display in the display line flickers or the lines appear dim.
Concerning this problem, a description is given below with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5.
FIG. 5 is a diagram that shows how an address discharge is caused to occur when the driving method described in FIG. 4 is applied to the PDP shown in FIG. 1. For simplicity, only four sustain discharge electrodes and four scan electrodes are shown and the X1 electrode and the Y1 electrode form the display line L1, the X2 electrode and the Y2 electrode form the display line L2, the X3 electrode and the Y3 electrode form the display line L3, and the X4 electrode and the Y4 electrode form the display line L4 as shown schematically.
As described above, in the first half of the write period (address period), the first discharge is caused to occur between the address electrode and the Y electrode (Y1 and Y3) in the selected cell in the odd-numbered display lines (L1 and L3) to be lit, and with the first discharge serving as a priming, the second discharge is immediately caused to occur between the scan electrode Y and the sustain electrode X (between the X1 and the Y1 electrodes, and between the X3 and the Y3 electrodes).
However, as the above-mentioned address discharge propagates while extending along the address electrode, it may happen that an erroneous discharge (referred to as a first erroneous discharge hereinafter) is caused to occur in the X electrode (X2) in the adjacent display line L2 adjacent to the Y1 electrode during the period of the address discharge in the odd-numbered line L1 in the first half of the write period (address period), as shown by the dotted line in the figure.
As a result, the address discharge during the scanning of the even-numbered line L2 in the second half of the write period (address period), which follows the scanning of the odd-numbered line L1 in the first half of the write period (address period), becomes weak and unstable, therefore, a problem occurs that the light emitted display of the display line (the even-numbered line L2) in the subsequent sustain discharge period flickers or the line appears dim.
The reason may be that the wall charges, which tend to decrease the potential of the sustain electrode X2 with respect to the scan electrode Y2 and the address electrode, are formed on the sustain electrode X2 due to the erroneous discharge (the first erroneous discharge), the voltage between the scan electrode Y2 and the sustain electrode X2 in the even-numbered line L2 is reduced, and the address discharge during the scanning of the even-numbered line L2 becomes weaker than the address discharge during the scanning of the odd-numbered line L1.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2001-13915, a driving method has been proposed, as an improved method for driving an AC-driven PDP, in which the above-mentioned problems have been solved, the object of which is to stabilize the address discharge in the second half of the write period (address period) by increasing the voltage to be applied to the sustain electrode in the second half of the write period (address period) to recover the internal voltage that has been lowered due to the excessive wall charges caused to form by the erroneous discharge in the first half of the write period (address period), using a driving method in which either one of the odd-numbered lines and the even-numbered lines are scanned in the first half of the write period (address period) and the others are scanned in the second half of the write period (address period).
FIG. 6 is a diagram that shows the waveforms illustrating the method for driving the PDP shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 shows the driving method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2001-13915, described above, wherein a voltage Vy to be applied to the sustain electrodes (X2, X4, . . . ) during the scanning of the even-lines in the second half of the write period (address period) is set to a value larger than the voltage Vx (Vx<Vy) to be applied to the sustain electrodes (X1, X3, . . . ) during the scanning of the odd-numbered lines in the first half of the write period (address period).
As described above, when the scanning of the odd-numbered lines and the even-numbered lines is performed separately in the first half and the second half of the write period (address period), it is possible to compensate for the amount of decrease in the potential of the sustain electrodes (X2, X4, . . . ) due to the wall charges formed on the sustain electrodes (X2, X4, . . . ) in the even-numbered lines by the erroneous discharge of the address discharge during the scanning of the odd-numbered lines in the first half of the write period (address period) by increasing the potential of the sustain electrode X with respect to the scan electrode Y and the address electrode. In this way, the address discharge can stably be caused to occur during the scanning of the even-numbered lines.
FIG. 7 is a diagram that shows how the address discharge is caused to occur when the driving method described in FIG. 6 is applied to the PDP shown in FIG. 1.
As described above, the voltage Vy to be applied to the X2 electrode during the scanning of the even-numbered line L2 in the second half of the write period (address period) becomes larger than the voltage Vx to be applied to the X1 and X3 electrodes during the scanning of the odd-numbered lines L1 and L3 in the first half of the address period (Vx<Vy), therefore, the potential difference Vy+Vs between the X2 and Y2 electrodes in the even-numbered line L2 becomes larger than the potential difference Vx+Vs between the X1 and Y1 electrodes in the odd-numbered display line L1 and between the X3 and Y3 electrodes in the odd-numbered display line L3 (Vx+Vs<Vy+Vs). Due to this, the scale of the address discharge in the even-numbered line L2 becomes greater than that in the odd-numbered line L1 (by the amount of the potential difference Vy−Vx>0).
As a result, when the sustain discharge is caused to occur in the subsequent sustain discharge period, the scale of the sustain discharge in the even-numbered line L2 is increased by the alternating sustain pulse voltage Vs to be applied to cause the sustain discharge to occur in the selected cells in all of the display lines, and the discharge propagates to the odd-numbered line L3 adjacent to the Y2 electrode in the even-numbered line L2, as shown in FIG. 7 (a second erroneous discharge is caused to occur). This is because the wall charges, which tend to decrease the potential of the sustain electrode X3 with respect to the scan electrode Y3 and the address electrode, are formed on the sustain electrode X3 in the odd-numbered line L3 due to the second erroneous discharge, as is the same in the first erroneous discharge described above, the voltage between the scan electrode Y3 and the sustain electrode X3 in the even-numbered line L3 is reduced, and the sustain discharge in the even-numbered line L3 becomes weak and unstable. As a result, a problem occurs that the light emitted display in the display line flickers or the line appears dim.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photovoltaic device for converting the energy of solar light or the like into electric energy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a photovoltaic device for converting the energy of solar light or the like into electric energy, photovoltaic devices having a variety of structures are known. One example of the photovoltaic devices is a photovoltaic device in which a transparent conductive film 2 composed of SnO.sub.2, ITO or the like is provided on a transparent substrate 1, a photoelectric conversion layer 3 in which a p-type (or n-type) semiconductor layer 3a (or 3c), an intrinsic (i-type) semiconductor layer 3b, and an e-type (or p-type) semiconductor layer 3c (or 3a) are laminated is provided on the transparent conductive film 2, and a back electrode 4 composed of a high-reflective metal such as Ag or Al is provided on the photoelectric conversion layer 3.
In such a photovoltaic device, light is introduced into the above described photoelectric conversion layer 3 through the transparent conductive film 2 from the side of the above described transparent substrate 1 whereby carriers are generated in the above described intrinsic layer 3b to carry out a photoelectric conversion.
Furthermore, there has been developed in recent years a photovoltaic device so constructed that the interface between the transparent conductive film 2 and a photoelectric conversion layer 3 is so textured as to have an irregular shape so that reflection of light from the interface between the transparent conductive film 2 and the photoelectric conversion layer 3 is reduced when the light is introduced into the photoelectric conversion layer 3 through the transparent conductive film 2, thereby increasing the amount of the light introduced into the photoelectric conversion layer 3, and the light introduced into the photoelectric conversion layer 3 is scattered, thereby increasing the optical path length of the light passing through the photoelectric conversion layer 3, whereby many carriers are generated in the intrinsic layer 3b, thereby increasing the conversion efficiency as shown in FIG. 2.
If the interface between the transparent conductive film 2 and the photoelectric conversion layer 3 is formed in an irregular shape, however, the internal electric field in the photoelectric conversion layer 3 comprising a semiconductor junction which constituted by the p-type semiconductor layer 3a, the intrinsic layer 3b, and the n-type semiconductor layer 3c becomes non-uniform in the surface direction of the layer. As shown in FIG. 3, in a portion of the photoelectric converting layer 3 which is in contact with a recess 2a of the transparent conductive film 2 where much light is absorbed, the density of lines of electric force indicated by broken lines is decreased toward the transparent conductive film 2. Consequently, the interval between equipotential lines indicated by dot and dash lines is gradually increased toward the transparent conductive film 2, so that the internal electric field in the photoelectric conversion layer 3 in the portion which is in contact with the recess 2a of the transparent conductive film 2 becomes weak. In the portion of the photoelectric conversion layer 3 where the internal electric field becomes weak, many carriers recombine, whereby fill factor of the photovoltaic device is decreased, thereby preventing an improvement in conversion efficiency.


The present application relates to an optical element, a replica substrate configured to form an optical element, and methods for producing the optical element and the replica substrate. Specifically, the present application relates to an optical element having many structures each being in the form of a projection or depression on a surface of a base.
In an optical element including a transparent substrate composed of a material such as glass or plastic, in order to reduce surface reflection of light to improve light transmission characteristics, a method for forming fine and dense projections and depressions (subwavelength structure: moth-eye structure) on a surface of the optical element is employed. Generally, in the case where periodic projections and depressions are provided on a surface of an optical element, light passes through the projections and depressions and is diffracted, significantly reducing the amount of light components that travel in straight lines. However, in the case where the pitch of the projections or depressions is smaller than the wavelength of light transmitted, diffraction does not occur. For example, in the case where each of the projections is in the form of a cone, an effective antireflection effect and excellent transmission characteristics are obtained for single-wavelength light corresponding to the pitch and the height of the projections.
For example, Non-Patent Document 1 (NTT Advanced Technology Corporation site (accessed May 21, 2006), “Master Mold for Antireflective (Moth Eye) Structure Independent of Wavelength”) describes a method for producing the foregoing optical element. A photoresist on a Si substrate is formed into an uneven photoresist pattern by electron beam lithography. The Si substrate is subjected to etching with the resulting uneven photoresist pattern as a mask, thereby forming a Si master mold having subwavelength structures each being in the form of a fine cone (pitch: about 300 nm, depth: about 400 nm) as shown in FIG. 15.
The resulting Si master mold described above can also have an antireflection effect on light having a wide wavelength range. As shown in FIG. 16, the arrangement of the subwavelength structures in a hexagonal lattice results in an extremely high antireflection effect (reflectivity: 1% or less) in the visible region (see FIG. 17). In FIG. 17, 11 represents the reflectivity of a flat portion of the Si master mold, and 12 represents the reflectivity of the patterned portion of the Si master mold.
As shown in FIG. 18, a Ni electroformed stamper of the Si master mold is produced. As shown in FIG. 19, the stamper has an uneven pattern in a predetermined region RI of a surface of the stamper, the pattern being the inverse of the pattern of the surface of the Si master mold. The uneven pattern is transferred to a transparent polycarbonate resin with the stamper, thereby affording a target optical element (replica substrate). The resulting optical element also has a high antireflection effect (reflectivity: 1% or less) (see FIG. 20). In FIG. 20, 13 represents the reflectivity of a portion other than the pattern, and 14 represents the reflectivity of the pattern. However, Non-Patent Document 1 does not describe the transmission characteristics of the optical element or improvement in the light-guiding performance of a display or the like with the optical element.
In recent years, attempts have been made to apply uneven surfaces of subwavelength structures to antireflection elements and high-transmittance elements used for various optical devices such as displays, optoelectronics devices, optical communication devices, solar cells, and lighting systems. Hereinafter, liquid crystal displays as an example of the application of the uneven surfaces of subwavelength structures will be described below.
In recent years, ultrathin displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and plasma display panels (PDPs), have been practically used instead of cathode-ray tube (CRTs) displays. In particular, LCDs are spreading at an accelerating pace because of low-power-consumption operation and a reduction in the cost of large color LCD panels.
In liquid crystal displays, backlight systems in which transmissive color LCD panels are illuminated from the back side of the panels by backlights to display color images are mainly employed. As light sources of backlight systems, cold-cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) that emit white light are often used.
Cold-cathode fluorescent lamps contain mercury in their fluorescent tubes and may adversely affect the environment. Thus, as light sources of backlight systems, light sources to replace cold-cathode fluorescent lamps may be needed. Since blue-light-emitting diodes have been recently developed, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emitting red light, green light, and blue light, which are the primary colors of light, have been commercially available. Thus, LEDs hold promise for light sources to replace cold-cathode fluorescent lamp. Mixing red light, green light, and blue light emitted from LEDs results in white light with excellent color purity.
The use of LEDs as light sources of backlight systems enhances the color purity of colored light through color liquid crystal display panel. Thus, the color reproduction range is expected to extend to the extent specified by the NTSC (national television system committee) system or to the extent more than specified.
In the case where LEDs emitting red light, green light, and blue light are used as light sources of backlight systems configured to illuminate color LCD panels, a technique for efficiently transmitting each colored light may be required. As described above, therefore, attempts have been made to apply uneven surfaces of subwavelength structures to LCDs.
For example, Japanese Patent No. 3723843 discloses an antireflection filter (subwavelength structure) formed by subjecting a resist film to electron beam lithography and then development to form a resist pattern and directly subjecting a second semiconductor layer to etching with the resist pattern using a predetermined etching gas. The patent document also describes that a semiconductor light-emitting element having the antireflection filter has an emission intensity 30% higher than that of a semiconductor light-emitting element not having the antireflection filter.
However, electron beam exposure disadvantageously requires a long operation time and thus is not suitable for industrial production. For example, in the case where an electron beam with a beam current of 100 pA, which is used for the finest pattern, is used for a resist such as calixarene requiring a dose of several tens of mC/cm2, the exposure of a square with a side length of 200 μm is not completed even after 24-hour exposure. In the case where the area of a 2.5-inch display (50.8 mm×38.1 mm), which is commonly used for mobile phones, is exposed, it takes about 20 days.
A method described in Non-Patent Document 2 (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology site. http://aist.go.jp/aist_i/press_release/pr2006/pr20060306/pr20060306.html (accessed May 21, 2006), “Development of Desktop Apparatus Enabling Nanometer-Scale Microfabrication”) utilizes optical-disk-recording technology. Thus, a large-area optical element can be produced at high speed and low cost. However, the resulting optical element produced by the method has poor wavelength-dependent characteristics of reflectivity and a reflectivity exceeding 1%; hence, the optical element is not practical for an antireflection structure. This may because the density (aperture ratio) of the nanodot pattern is low (50% or less).
In addition to the foregoing subwavelength structures, attempts have been made to apply inorganic multilayer films to LCDs. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-145885 discloses that low-refractive-index dielectric layers composed of silicon oxide (SiO2) and high-refractive-index dielectric layers composed of niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) are stacked to form a 24-layer optical filter having the foregoing optical properties, thereby increasing transmittances of red light (640 nm), green light (530 nm), and blue light (450 nm) to 80%, 80%, and 50%, respectively. However, such an optical filter does not sufficiently improve transmittance characteristics. Thus, further improvement in transmittance characteristics, in particular, improvement in transmittance characteristics of blue light is desired.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an x-ray tube of the type having an evacuated housing rotatable around a rotational axis with a drive arrangement in which, firmly connected to the housing, a cathode that emits electrons and an anode onto which the electron beam accelerated with an electrical field, strikes are arranged, and having a non-rotating (stationary) electromagnetic system for the deflection and focusing of the electron beam that includes a number of current-permeated coil elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An x-ray tube of the above type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,055. In this rotating bulb tube, the elements required for generating the x-radiation, i.e. the cathode and the anode, are firmly connected to the housing and rotate together with it during the operation of the x-ray tube. In order to be able to guide the beam on a predetermined path during the rotation so that the path proceeds quasi stationarily and always strikes the rotating anode in the same focal spot, a stationary electromagnetic system is provided that is fashioned for the deflection as well as for the focusing of the electron beam. According to this patent, this electromagnetic system has four coils, known as quadrupole coils, that are arranged around the housing of the tube and that enable operation in a combined deflection/focusing mode on the basis of corresponding control. In this way, it is possible to control the electron beam and the generated focal spot on the anode from the exterior within broad ranges.
The arrangement and fastening of the individual coil elements represents a significant problem, since the coil elements are to be provided in the region of the housing in as simple a way as possible, but a high alignment precision must be achieved at the same time. U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,055, wherein rectangular coils having large dimensions are employed, does not disclose a satisfactory solution.


Vinyl chloride polymers and copolymers are known to deteriorate under the influence of heat, so resulting in alteration of the physical properties thereof and discoloration which precludes use in transparent and lightly colored articles. This thermal, nonoxidative degradation involves the sequential loss of hydrogen chloride from adjacent monomer units and results in the formation of conjugated polyene structures which impart undesirable color to the vinyl chloride polymer.
Efforts to obviate these limitations have included the use of stabilizing compositions of the MY.sub.2 type wherein M is a metal cation, for example R.sub.2 Sn.sup.+2 (R=alkyl), Ba.sup.+2, Cd.sup.+2, Zn.sup.+2, Pb.sup.+2, Ca.sup.+2, and so forth, and Y is an organic anion. The most effective stabilizers arising from this class of compounds are those classified as organotin compounds. It has been theorized that these MY.sub.2 stabilizers react with hydrogen chloride, and since hydrogen chloride is known to catalyze PVC degradation, the efficacy of these stabilizers is due in part to hydrogen chloride scavenging. However, the stabilizers are also believed to have the ability to undergo rapid and selective metathetical reactions which destroy certain PVC structural anomalies that are the active degradation sites. Accordingly, in addition to reducing the rate of color development in PVC by interrupting polyene growth, the MY.sub.2 stabilizers should manifest a true chemical stabilization effect by reducing the rate of formation of total chloride.
Despite conflicting theories advanced by workers in the art relative to the described stabilization mechanism, the MY.sub.2 stabilizers have been used extensively in industry. Although considered satisfactory from the standpoint of stabilization, toxicity of the heavy metal residues and ecological considerations have stimulated further evaluation of the subject compositions and have generated a search for alternatives.
In accordance with the present invention, this end is attained by means of a novel process which yields a product that is free from toxic heavy metal residues characteristic of most of the prior art. Additionally, the polymer so prepared evidences enhanced stability with respect to the unstabilized compositions, and such stability has been found comparable to that provided by many prior art vinyl chloride stabilizers.
Briefly, the inventive technique involves heating a vinyl chloride polymer in solution with an organotin compound, precipitating the vinyl chloride polymer from the reaction product, and subjecting the resultant precipitate to solvent extraction to remove heavy metal residues.


The invention relates to an openable twin tank toilet flush box of multi-outlets using recycled water. Openable tanks will make it easy to clean, maintain and stop residues in the flush box under hand, washing tubs by using recycled water from hand washing tubs and bathtubs to be used in toilet flush boxes of various types.


Due to demand for miniaturized, highly functional electronic products in the semiconductor industry, a variety of techniques for providing high-capacity semiconductor packages are being researched and developed.
In general, since wafer level packages are packaged on a wafer level, packaging costs can be considerably reduced according to the number of semiconductor die produced for each wafer. However, when a stress buffer is removed (e.g., a substrate serving as a stress buffer), the wafer level packages have poor reliability compared to packages with the stress buffer in place.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the present disclosure as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.


The thermoresistive materials used for measuring temperature in the field of application up to 1400° C. are mechanically unstable and, thus, typically cannot be used as self-supporting temperature sensor elements. Therefore, they are typically mounted in protective tubes or on or between substrates. These are usually ceramic substrates. Known temperature sensors that are suitable for exhaust gas are thermoelements, which are typically made of precious metal wires of Pb/PtRh or Ni/CrNi, whose connecting legs are mutually insulated in ceramic tubes and whose contact point is protected by a metal casing or ceramic casing or by being welded into the metal casing of a sheathed type glow plug. Further known are temperature sensors designed as thick or thin layer elements, where the temperature-sensitive functional layer is vapor deposited or sintered on or between the substrates. This requires a certain (thermal) inertia of the thermoelements on the part of the respective carrier material.
Furthermore, it is quite difficult to measure temperature during the combustion processes in the combustion chamber of combustion engines. Particularly in the case of modern four-valve direct injection engines, there is often no possibility to provide an additional borehole for the access to the combustion chamber for a temperature sensor.
Moreover, the temperatures or the temperature ranges from −40 to 1400° C. to be measured, in conjunction with an aggressive atmosphere in the form of hot gas place extremely high demands on corresponding temperature sensors.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a boring and conduit/pipe system and more particularly pertains to forming a hole through a wall and for pulling a linear member through a hole.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of boring and conduit/pipe systems of known designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, boring and conduit/pipe systems of known designs and configurations previously devised and utilized for the purpose of boring through known methods and apparatuses are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,035 issued Mar. 30, 1999 to Cutler relates to a system for installing a length of cable within a wall. U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,269 issued May 13, 2003 to Brown relates to a canister, sealing method and composition for sealing a bore hole. U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,026 issued Sep. 7, 1993 to Deken relates to a method and apparatus for drilling a horizontal controlled borehole in the earth. U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,418 issued Jul. 28, 1992 to Gibson relates to a directional drilling system with eccentric mounted motor and biaxial sensor and method. U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,638 issued Sep. 4, 1990 to Dunn relates to a method and apparatus for drilling a horizontal controlled borehole in the earth. U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,930 issued Jul. 24, 1990 to Millsapps relates to a lubrication system for an earth boring drill bit and method for filling and retrofit installing thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,723 issued Mar. 13, 1979 to Schmotzer relates to a carbide tipped drill bit for boring holes in concrete and steel. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,245 issued Mar. 30, 1973 to Mater relates to a drill bit for pole boring machine.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe boring and conduit/pipe system that allows forming a hole through a wall and for pulling a linear member through a hole.
In this respect, the boring and conduit/pipe system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of forming a hole through a wall and for pulling a linear member through a hole.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved boring and conduit/pipe system which can be used for forming a hole through a wall and for pulling a linear member through a hole. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


Many aircraft in use today require the presence of an auxiliary power unit at one stage or another during their operation. Generally speaking, the function of the auxiliary power unit is to provide electrical and/or hydraulic power to aircraft systems when the aircraft's main engines are not in operation.
Additionally, in aircraft operating environments, it is also desirable in many instances to have a source of compressed air that may be utilized, for example, in starting the aircraft's main propulsion engines or in providing compressed air to aircraft systems that ordinarily would receive compressed air as bleed air from their main propulsion engines.
Further, not infrequently, such environments also require an air turbine starter for initiating operation of a turbine and/or an air turbine starter motor which is much the same as an air turbine starter but is adapted to be operated more or less continuously.
Needless to say, to provide all the equipment necessary to perform the foregoing functions is quite expensive, and where such equipment is on board the aircraft, it lessens the load carrying capability of the aircraft, all other things being equal, because of the weight of such equipment.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above problems.


The increased popularity of ice skating in cold weather areas has led to great competition for the limited resources of the public and private ice skating venues presently available. As a result, the costs of using private ice skating facilities has increased dramatically and public rinks must generally maintain long hours to accommodate the large numbers of hockey teams, figure skaters and the desires of the general public for time on the ice. Often times a hockey club or those practicing for competitive figure skating will be forced to accept practice time in the very late evenings or very early morning hours.
Traditionally, skaters have used a frozen lake or pond on which to skate in the winter time. Where a lake or pond is not available a field has been flooded and allowed to freeze-up to provide a skating surface. This is done by flooding an area with water until the ground is saturated and the local water table rises above ground level and allowing the water to freeze. However, because of variable weather conditions in the winter months, skating on frozen ponds and lakes is extremely dangerous and the ice on flooded fields may melt causing a loss of all of the water poured onto the field.
Presently, the method used to make an outdoor skating rink is to create some sort of perimeter, place a liner in the perimeter, fill it with water and let it freeze. The perimeters have generally been constructed by driving dimensional lumber, such as two-by-twos or two-by-fours, part way into the ground, as a structure, and then attaching plywood, using nails or screws, to the structure to form the perimeter. On flat fields such a system, while requiring a great deal of labor to construct, works well. However, where there is a slope to the ground, as in most areas, the perimeter must be made so that the walls on the downward part of the slope are high enough to contain the deepest portion of the water. Often times during construction of the rink structure, because a field will often look more level than it is, the height of the water is not taken into account until water is poured into the rink. After the water is poured into the rink it is difficult to remove a section, or entire wall, of plywood and/or to drive more or larger dimensional lumber into the ground for support.
Also, such construction generally must begin early in the season while the ground is still soft enough to drive dimensional lumber into the ground. Because of the variability of weather, it has often been found that the effort of constructing such a rink is lost because a winter season is not cold enough to allow skating often enough or long enough to justify the effort of such construction. As a result, owners of these rinks are discouraged from exerting the effort to construct such rinks in future years. Also, driving large pieces of lumber into the ground, to construct the structure of the rinks, causes considerable damage to a field, or back yard, which must be repaired in the summer time.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an ice skating rink structure that is easy and quick to construct.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an ice skating rink structure that can be easily used on level or sloped ground.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an ice skating rink structure that can easily accommodate various sizes of plywood, or other boards, and that can allow the easy removal and replacement of boards.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an ice skating rink structure which can be easily constructed at any time during the winter season without regard to the condition of the soil.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a skating rink structure that can be installed and removed without causing great damage to a field or lawn.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.


The present invention relates to an ionization smoke detector connected to an alarm circuit triggered by a sensor in the detector when a predetermined smoke level is exceeded. The detector has particular utility as a fire detector in residences since it is battery-operated and the alarm circuit provides warnings for both fires and approaching weak battery conditions.
Ionization smoke detectors such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,728,706, are already well known in the art. Such detectors operate upon the principle that an ionization current catalyzed by a radiation source is affected by the presence of particulate matter such as that found in aerosols or smoke emanating from a fire. The particulates reduce the ionization current and such a reduction in current can be detected and correlated with the density of the particulate matter to provide a fairly accurate indication of a smoke condition.
It is desirable to operate such a detector with a battery, especially in residential homes and apartments. To provide a prominent alarm signal, a pulsating circuit energized by the battery may be triggered by the smoke detector. A pulsating circuit reserves battery strengths so that the alarm may continue for an extended period of time even after the life of the battery is partially expended.
In view of the reliance that may be placed upon a smoke detector, particularly in a residential environment, safety considerations must be given careful consideration. The limited life of a battery might suggest that it is not suitable for an alarm device; however, it is also recognized that fire can destroy or cut off outside electrical sources before the fire is detected. The battery-operated system functions independently and can be safely relied upon if it includes low-voltage detection circuitry for sounding the alarm when the battery level is approaching a weakened or marginal condition.
It is, accordingly, a general object of the present invention to disclose a battery-operated ionization smoke detector connected to an alarm circuit possessing features insuring safe operation in the residential environment.


The present invention relates generally to multiplexing of communications signals and more particularly to the wavelength division multiplexing of optical signals in fiber optics communications.
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) is a way of increasing the capacity of an optical fiber by simultaneously operating at more than one wavelength within a single optical fiber. Multiple optical signals of different wavelength are transmitted in the same direction over one strand of fiber, and the signals are later separated by wavelength at the distant end. In order to establish some standards for WDM operations, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has proposed successive systems of standardized frequencies to be used as channels for optical telecommunications, with each system incorporating more and more channels, usually with smaller and smaller wavelength separation between the channels. This system of channels is spoken of as the xe2x80x9cITU gridxe2x80x9d and currently includes 80 channels utilizing a wavelength range centered around 1550 nm (193,300 GHZ ) with a channel spacing of approximately 0.4 nm (50 GHZ). An ITU grid with 50 GHZ frequency spacing is shown in FIG. 1 with the fringe order pattern from a Fabry-Perot interferometer using an etalon of appropriate parameters superimposed on the grid. There has also been a system proposed which uses channel spacing of 25 GHZ (0.2 nm). It will be easily apparent that the smaller the spacing is between channels, the more sensitive a multiplexed channel system will be to fluctuations that will cause the channel frequencies to drift away from the target grid frequencies. In a system where the frequency spacing is 100 GHz, the variation of from the grid frequency of 0.01 nm (1.2 GHz) would be undesirable, but perhaps may not be disastrous. In a 50 GHz system, a 0.01 nm variation would impair the performance of the system, and in a 25 GHz system, such a deviation would likely be disabling.
An interference filter is a type of tool that is often used to separate multiple wavelengths of light that are included in a beam of light. A Fabry-Perot Interferometer is one type of interference filter that is often used for wavelength filtering and separation. Interference filters operate by providing a pair of mirrored surfaces with a cavity formed between them. Incident light undergoes multiple reflections between the mirrored surfaces, which typically reflect greater than 95% of the light at each surface. The incident and reflected wave interfere with each other constructively or destructively depending on their phase relationship. Where there is no phase difference between successive wave, constructive interference is produced and a maximum is produced in the transmission portion. Where the phase are 180 degrees out of phase, destructive interference occurs and a minimum is transmitted. A maximum occurs when the round trip optical path is some integer multiple of whole wavelengths, and also depends on the thickness of the cavity (d), the index of refraction of the cavity material (n), and the angle of incidence (0), which are related by the formula:
2d n cosxcex8=mxcex,
where m is an integer, often termed the order number and xcex is the wavelength of the light. The parallel rays of each wavelength are often focused by a lens in order to produce a familiar ring pattern. The result is a series of transmission peaks of separated wavelength. The separation distance between adjacent peaks is equally spaced when plotted with respect to inverse wavelength, and is called the Free Spectral Range (FSR).
Etalons are special Fabry-Perot interferometers which have fixed spacing between the reflective surfaces, thus the thickness of the cavity d is therefore not subject to direct parallel variation. However, the etalon may be tilted, changing the angle of the etalon relative to the angle of incidence of the light beam, which thus increases the optical path length. This allows the etalon to be xe2x80x9ctunedxe2x80x9d over a limited range to alter the peak transmission wavelengths. FIGS. 2 and 3 show etalons as used in the prior art. FIG. 2 shows the incident light striking the etalon at an angle xcex8, and FIG. 3 shows the same etalon tuned at the same angle xcex8, thereby increasing the optical path length n to angle tune the etalon.
However, angle tuning of an etalon introduces other problems caused by the insertion loss due to the variation in angle. Besides the difficulties of producing very tiny variations in angle, when the etalon is tuned at a small angle, the output beam can become oblong in shape, with non-uniform beam intensity distribution. As this angle increases, this effect becomes more pronounced. When optics are used to collect the output light from the etalon, a large insertion loss variation is often seen. This variation is typically from 1-4 dB.
The variation of etalon insertion loss also commonly causes the operating point of the output spectrum to shift by as much as 10 pm (0.01 nm=1.2 GHz). As discussed above, errors of this magnitude can seriously interfere with operation of systems which use 25 Ghz frequency separations and even with 50 GHz systems.
Thus, there is a great need for a etalon which is usable in a multi-channel wavelength locking system which does not produce such large variations in insertion loss, beam quality, and wavelength shift.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-channel wavelength locking system with better ITU setting repeatability.
Another object of the invention is to provide a multi-channel wavelength locking system with improved temperature stability.
And another object of the invention is to provide a multi-channel wavelength locking system which produces smaller variations in insertion loss.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a multi-channel wavelength locking system which produces smaller variations in beam quality.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a multi-channel wavelength locking system which produces less wavelength shift.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-channel wavelength locking system which can be used with wavelengths which are separated by as little as 25 GHz or less.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a tunable etalon which has reduced manufacturing costs due to more relaxed dimensional tolerances in the parts.
Briefly, one preferred embodiment of the present invention is a wavelength locker for providing wavelength-locked multi-channels signals, including a number of radiation sources providing beams of radiation at wavelengths separated by a predetermined spacing, each spaced wavelength being a channel which is connected to a multiplexer. One or more wavelength lockers produce equally-spaced spectral lines which are tunable wavelength locker includes one or more etalons which includes a gas-tunable medium having a variable optical index of refraction. The etalons may either be transmissive, or reflective with respect to which surface the major portion of the light exits. The etalons are tuned by varying the pressure or composition of the gas-tunable medium until the spectral lines of the etalon align with the ITU grid. The gas properties are then fixed by at least temporarily sealing the etalon enclosure.
In use in a multi-channel system, beam splitters divert a portion of the beams of radiation into the wavelength lockers. Detectors then receive the spectral line output of the wavelength lockers and detects shifts in wavelength of the spectral line output to generates control signals. The wavelength of each of the radiation sources is then adjusted in response to the control signals.
The output of the detector may also be normalized in order to isolate the variations which are attributable to shift in wavelength. The channels may be sequentially sampled and the outputs adjusted by a single wavelength locker or there may be separate wavelength lockers for each input channel.
A method for locking the wavelengths of a plurality of radiation sources to a wavelength reference is also included.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides improved ITU setting repeatability.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides improved temperature stability.
And another advantage of the present invention is that it produces very small variations in insertion loss and beam quality.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it can be used with wavelengths which are separated by as little as 25 GHz or less.
A yet further advantage is that the present invention can provide a tunable etalon which has reduced manufacturing costs due to more relaxed dimensional tolerances in the parts.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear to those skilled in the art in view of the description of the best presently known mode of carrying out the invention and the industrial applicability of the preferred embodiment as described herein and as illustrated in the several figures of the drawings.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital broadcast system for transmitting/receiving digital broadcast data, and a data processing method for use in the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A variety of digital broadcast standards have been widely used throughout the world. For example, a vestigial sideband (VSB) transmission scheme has been used as a digital broadcast standard for the North America and the Republic of Korea. This VSB scheme is based on a single-carrier scheme, such that a reception (Rx) performance of a reception (Rx) system may deteriorate under poor channel environments. Specifically, a portable or mobile broadcast receiver requires much higher resistance to a channel variation or noise. So, if mobile service data is transmitted according to the VSB transmission scheme, a reception (Rx) performance becomes deteriorated.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rectal balloons that are used for immobilizing the region surrounding the prostate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Treatment of prostate cancer using radiation therapy is difficult due to the prostate's position near radiation-sensitive tissues, and is further complicated by prostate motion. Adenocarcinoma of the prostate commonly occurs in the posterior portion of the prostate gland, which is in very close proximity to the rectal wall. To date, external beam radiation treatment, urethrograms, CT scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have all been used to visually localize the prostate, as well as the normal critical structures in the surrounding area.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,095, issued on Dec. 19, 1995 to Schnall et al., proposes an insertable pickup probe for use in providing diagnostic MRI images. The pickup probe, in its preferred embodiment, is proposed for use in imaging the male prostate and comprises an elongated shaft supporting an inflatable patient interface balloon at its distal end. The interface balloon comprises an inner balloon and an outer balloon, between which a receiving coil is positioned. A lumen for air supply is provided in the shaft for expanding the inner balloon against the outer balloon to place the receiving coil in close proximity to the area of interest in order to provide MRI images.
Typically, the planning of radiation therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer involves the patient undergoing a CT-based simulation scan of the pelvis to determine the location of the prostate gland. In the simulation phase, the patient is placed on CT equipment that is preferably similar to the radiation treatment equipment (except that it does not generate the high energy radiation beam). The simulation equipment is positioned to simulate the delivery of the sequence of treatment beams prescribed by the treating oncologist. Normally, during the simulation procedure, CT images are acquired. These CT images allow the oncologist to locate the position of the tumor and help to facilitate the composition of a radiation treatment plan. This treatment plan delineates the positions of the radiation equipment components for delivery of the treatment beams.
During the actual treatment phase, the patient is placed in the same position on the treatment equipment as in the simulation scans. Radiation-emitting devices are generally known and used for radiation therapy in the treatment of patients. Typically, a radiation therapy device includes a gantry, which can be swiveled around a horizontal axis of rotation in the course of a therapeutic treatment. A linear accelerator is located in the gantry for generating a high-energy radiation beam for therapy. During treatment, the radiation beam is provided by this equipment and is delivered to the patient at the precise location as delineated by the physician during simulation. A further feature of radiation therapy involves portal images, which are commonly used in radiation therapy to verify and record the patient tumor location. Portal images include manual (film) and electronic images (EPI) taken before and/or after the treatment.
During external beam radiation therapy, radiation is directed to the target prostate which is near the rectal wall. A misdirected radiation beam may perforate the rectal wall causing radiation proctitus (rectal bleeding). This toxicity is related to the total radiation dose prescribed and the volume of the anterior rectal wall receiving a high radiation dose. A major factor limiting radiation oncologists' attempts to reduce the volume of the anterior rectal wall receiving a high radiation dose is the position of the prostate gland as well as the intrinsic motion up to 5 mm in the anterior to posterior direction caused by rectal peristalsis. Accordingly, oncologists generally will add a margin to the radiation field in order to ensure that the entire prostate gland receives the prescription dose. This margin is typically on the order of 5 to 15 mm. As a consequence, lower doses of radiation may need to be used so as not to overexpose radiation sensitive structures. However, this may lead to inadequate radiation treatment and a higher probability of local cancer recurrence.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0028097, published on Feb. 6, 2003 to D'Amico et al., proposes an insertable probe for immobilizing a region of interest during staging and radiation therapy thereof. In particular, a balloon is proposed having a rectangular cross section connected to a shaft. The shaft extends to an end of the balloon so as to allow fluid flow through an interior of the shaft and into the balloon so as to selectively inflate the balloon once the balloon is installed into the rectal cavity. The balloon, shaft and handle are bonded together so that they move radially as a single unit when torque is applied. A syringe is provided which connects the shaft and serves as an air pump to deliver a volume-limited amount of air to the air lumen of the shaft to the balloon. A stop cock is provided to maintain the air within the balloon.
One of the problems with the subject of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0028097 is the discomfort associated with installing the rectal balloon within the rectal cavity. In particular, a relatively sturdy and wide diameter shaft is connected to a relatively large thick-walled balloon. Because the balloon is not supported by anything other than by the shaft, the balloon is formed of a relatively rugged and thick material. Because of the relatively large size of the shaft and the thick material of the rectangular-cross section balloon, the installation of the rectal balloon creates a large amount of discomfort for a patient. It is often difficult for the medical personnel to know exactly how far within the rectum the balloon has been installed. It is difficult to achieve a standardized and fixed position of the balloon during each and every use. The medical personnel must generally approximate the desired position of the balloon within the rectal cavity. As such, a need has developed whereby the rectal balloon can be formed of a minimal diameter shaft and of a balloon of relatively thin material.
When the rectal balloon of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0028097 is in an inflated condition, the outer surface is generally round. As such, the prostate will tend to balance on the curved surface rather than be properly seated thereon. Since seating is important for proper use, this device requires that the physician approximate a seated position rather than providing any feedback of the seated position. When the balloon is in a curved inflated condition, the prostate will have a tendency to slide to one side of the balloon. As such, a need developed to provide a rectal balloon that retains the prostate in a proper seated position when the balloon is in a fully inflated condition.
As discussed above, a very important consideration when treating patients using radiation therapy is that the proper dose of radiation reaches the treatment site. This is very important whether the treatment method utilizes implanted radiation seeds or external beams of radiation. Excessive dosing of the patient can lead to severe side effects including impotence and urinary incontinence. A proper treatment plan should deliver an adequate amount of radiation to the treatment site while minimizing the dose delivered to the surrounding tissues.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,963,771, issued on Nov. 8, 2005 to Scarantino et al., describes a method, system and implantable device for radiation dose verification. The method includes (a) placing at least one wireless implantable sensor in a first subject at a target location; (b) administering a first dose of radiation therapy into the first subject; (c) obtaining radiation data from the at least one wireless implantable sensor; and (d) calculating a radiation dose amount received by the first subject at the target location based on the radiation data obtained from the at least one wireless sensor during and/or after exposure to the first administered dose of radiation to determine and/or verify a dose amount of radiation delivered to the target location.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,361,134, issued on Apr. 22, 2008 to Rozenfeld et al., proposes a method of determining the dose rate of a radiation source including locating three or more detectors in the vicinity of a source. Each of the detectors provides an output indicative of the amount of radiation received from the source and determines the location of the source from at least some of the detector outputs. International Pub. No. WO 2008/148150, published on Dec. 11, 2008 to Rozenfeld, proposes a semiconductor radiation sensor.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0236510, published on Sep. 24, 2009 to Lacroix et al., proposes a radiation dosimeter for measuring a relative dose of a predetermined radiation type within a detection region by using a plurality of scintillating optical fibers. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0094923, published on May 4, 2006 to Mate, proposes a marker comprising a wireless transponder configured to wirelessly transmit a location signal in response to a wirelessly transmitted excitation energy.
A significant cause of patient discomfort associated with rectal balloons of the prior art is the buildup of gas pressure when the balloon is inserted into the rectum. This buildup of gas pressure can also affect the ability to properly seat the balloon in a desired position.
The above discussed U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,476,095; 6,963,771; and 7,361,134; and Pub. Nos. U.S. 2003/0028097; 2006/0094923; and 2009/0236510; and International Pub No. WO 2008/148150 are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes in their entirety.
A need exists for a rectal balloon apparatus that relieves rectal gas pressure prior to or during inflation of the balloon. A need also exists for a rectal balloon apparatus that senses the amount of radiation received at or near a treatment site, and that also detects the motion of the rectal balloon apparatus and/or the means used by the apparatus to sense the radiation.


Unproctored (unsupervised) testing of people is suitable in some situations, for example assessing candidates for employment or students for grading purposes. This has occurred because there are some significant cost saving in unproctored testing when compared to proctored (supervised and typically onsite) testing. However the cost saving comes with some disadvantages.
In particular, the unproctored testing process is more open to abuse than proctored testing. For example, cheating is made easier by having someone else perform the test on the person's behalf. This is unfair to the remaining candidates or students and at the same time lessens the accuracy and therefore value of the tests for the organisation relying on the testing results.


In recent years, a technology relevant to an antenna for wireless communication, which can be applied to a wearable device (device that a user can wear to use), such as a device of a watch type and a device of a glasses type, has been developed. Technologies relevant to the above antenna are, for example, the technologies described in below Patent Literatures 1 to 3.


Other than referring to a store directory (if one exists) or finding a store sales clerk or a knowledgeable shopper, there is currently nothing available to help shoppers locate items in a store. Thus, many shoppers may search all over a store to locate one or more items, or may wait in a long line at a service counter to ask where particular items are located. This is a particularly difficult problem for handicapped shoppers who use motorized chairs. Such a shopper must press a button, or the like, in order to control movement of the chair. While searching for the location of store items, these shoppers may experience discomfort or fatigue from controlling the motorized chair. Further, shoppers who are hearing impaired may not be able to easily communicate with store employees and may not be able to effectively ask where an item is located. A quick and easy way to locate items in stores is needed to make shopping trips shorter and more productive.


The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus of the the which employs a photo- and pressure-sensitive heat-developable material which is composed of a substrate and a layer formed on the substrate from a material which is photosensitive and which enables a latent image thereon to be developed by heat and the developed image to be fixed by application of pressure. The invention also is concerned with an image recording method which makes use of such a photo- and pressure-sensitive heat-developable material.
An image recording material employing microcapsules containing a photosensitive composition has been known. An example of such a recording material is disclosed in Japanese Kokai No. 179,836/1982. This recording material has a substrate which carries capsules made of a synthetic polymeric resin and containing a vinyl compound, a photopolymerization initiator and a coloring precursor.
In recording an image, using this recording material, the material is first exposed so that the microcapsules are hardened in conformity with the form of the image. Then, as the recording material is pressed, the microcapsules which have not been hardened are ruptured so as to release the coloring agent precursor, thus forming a color image. This image recording system provides a high quality of the recorded image with a dry-type simple processing, but suffers from a disadvantage in that the photosensitivity is much smaller as compared with the system which makes use of silver halide.
Under this circumstance, the present applicant has proposed, in the specification of Japanese Kokai No. 275,742/1986, a novel recording material which has a high photosensitivity and which ensures a high quality of the recorded image with a simple dry-type process. This recording material is a photo- and pressure-sensitive heat-developable material constituted by a carrier and a layer formed on the surface of the carrier, the layer containing at least a photosensitive silver halide, reducing agent, polymerizable compound and a color image forming substance, wherein the polymerizable compound and the color image forming substance are confined in common microcapsules.
An image recording method which makes use of this photo- and pressure-sensitive heat-developable material is disclosed in the specification of Japanese Kokai No. 278,849/1986 filed by the same applicant. According to this method, the heat-developable material is first exposed so that a latent image is formed thereon in conformity with the image to be recorded. Then, the material is heated for development so that the polymerizable compound in the area where the latent image exists is polymerized to produce a polymeric compound, thus thermally setting the microcapsules. Then, the material is superposed on an image receiving material having an image receiving layer capable of receiving the color image forming substance, and is pressed to the image receiving material so that at least part of the microcapsules having no latent image is ruptured so as to transfer the color image forming substance to the image receiving material, thereby forming an image on the latter.
In order to obtain a clear image by the transfer of the heat-developed image from the photo- and pressure-sensitive heat-developable material to the image receiving material, it is essential that the heat-developable material be pressed uniformly onto the image receiving material under a given condition.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capacitor in a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly, to a capacitor including a perovskite series dielectric film and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As integration of semiconductor devices progresses, the area occupied by capacitors is increasingly reduced. Thus, various approaches have been made to obtain high and stable capacitance in a relatively small area. These approaches include a method of using dielectric films in the metal oxide series such as tantalum oxide (Ta2O5), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), and titanum oxide (TiO2), or dielectric films in the perovskite series such as BST((Ba, Sr) TiO3), SBT((SrBi2Ta2O9), and PZT((Pb,Zr)TiO3). These dielectric films have dielectric constants of tens to hundreds times higher than conventional dielectric films made of conventional silicon nitride or silicon oxide film or composite film thereof have.
Among them, using BST as a dielectric film in dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or ferroelectric RAM (FRAM) has been continuously pursued. However, in the case of BST, when it is deposited as a thin film for a capacitor in high integrated semiconductor devices, there is a limitation in reducing the thickness of the film due to poor leakage current characteristics. This limits high integration of semi conductor devices using BST as a dielectric film of a capacitor.
Accordingly, regardless of the causes of poor leakage characteristics of BST dielectric film, methods of reducing the leakage current of a BST dielectric film capacitor are under study. For example, a method of forming buffer layers has been proposed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,364. In this case, the buffer layers are made of low dielectric constant materials formed between a BST dielectric film and an upper electrode or a lower electrode but that exhibit good leakage current characteristics. In addition, the buffer layers are thinner than the BST dielectric film. Furthermore, another method is proposed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,220 to reduce leakage currents. In this method, a small amount of erbium (Er) is added to a BST precursor solution with the molar ratio of the erbium to titanium in the BST precursor solution between 0.01-0.05 to deposit a BST film.
A method of interposing buffer layers, however, has a problem in that forming a dielectric film of a relatively low dielectric constant results in a reduction in the overall capacitance. Furthermore, a method of adding a small amount of Er has many problems in mass production because the process is complicated. Also, changes in capacitance characteristics resulting from changes in process variables are difficult to predict. Additionally, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,220, only the importance of reducing the leakage currents by addition of ER has been described, but the implementation of the invention has not been successful because the mechanism for such reduction is not clearly identified.
Accordingly, there is a need to improve the method of depositing a perovskite series dielectric film, e.g., a BST film, to avoid the problems described above, for example, reduction in overall capacitance, complicated process steps, and unpredictable changes in capacitor dielectric characteristics caused by changes in process conditions, particularly, during actual mass production.
To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a capacitor having a perovskite series dielectric film, in which the leakage current characteristics are improved.
In addition, the present invention provides a simplified method of manufacturing a perovskite series dielectric capacitor which improves the leakage current characteristics of the dielectric film.
Accordingly, the present invention reduces leakage currents by containing CuXO or copper in a perovskite series dielectric film. That is, a capacitor according to the present invention includes a perovskite series dielectric film disposed between upper and lower electrodes made of conductive material, wherein the perovskite series dielectric film contains CuXO or copper. The CuXO or copper is preferably contained in the grain boundary of the perovskite series dielectric film.
More preferably, the perovskite series dielectric film is a barium strontium titanate (BST) film or a PZT film.
Also, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a perovskite series dielectric film capacitor, including penetrating the perovskite series dielectric film with CuxO or copper. According to a method of manufacturing a general perovskite series dielectric film capacitor, after depositing a conductive material on a substrate to form a lower electrode and depositing a perovskite series dielectric film on the lower electrode, a conductive material is deposited on the perovskite series dielectric film to form an upper electrode. The method of manufacturing the perovskite series dielectric film capacitor according to the invention has steps similar to the method of manufacturing the general perovskite series dielectric film capacitor, further including unique steps of depositing CuxO (x=1 or 2) on the perovskite series dielectric film to form a CuxO film, and performing a heat treatment on the substrate to permit CuxO or copper of the CuxO film to penetrate the perovskite series dielectric film.
In this case, the CuXO film may be formed sufficiently thin that substantially all CuXO or copper penetrates the perovskite series dielectric film to leave substantially no residue on the perovskite series dielectric film after the heat treatment. This is for preventing a reduction in the overall capacitance caused by CuxO film having a relatively low dielectric constant compared to the perovskite series film. Furthermore, the heat treatment is performed before, after, or both before and after forming the upper electrode.
It is believed that the prevention of leakage current flowing through a grain boundary of a columnar crystal structure of the perovskite series dielectric film is made possible by permitting CuXO or copper to penetrate the grain boundary of the perovskite series dielectric film.


Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) are probabilistic models for computing the probability p(Y|X) of a possible output label sequence Y=(y1, y2, . . . , yn) given the input feature sequence X=(x1, x2, . . . , xn). CRFs are widely used in Natural Language Processing (NLP). For example, CRFs may be used in the frontend of TTS (Text To Speech) to implement word segmentation, POS (Part Of Speech) tagging, prosodic break prediction, and the like. CRFs use an N-gram feature (generally bigram) to model the relationship between neighboring output types. The computation complexity grows exponentially as N increases.


As a method for forming a fine wiring by electroless plating, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a method where a resin base surface with excimer light in a desired pattern, the resin base is then brought into contact with a silane coupling agent having an amino group or an amino-modified reactive silicon oil, a receptive layer for trapping/immobilizing a catalyst for initiating an electroless plating reaction is formed on the part irradiated with the excimer light, and a nickel/phosphorus plating layer is formed on the receptive layer by electroless plating.