Patents Represented by Law Firm Dickstein, Shapiro & Morin
  • Scanning electron microscope
    Patent number: 7049591
    Abstract: A scanning electron microscope with an energy filter which can positively utilize secondary electrons and/or reflected electrons which collide against a mesh electrode and are lost. The scanning electron microscope which has a porous electrode for producing an electric field for energy-filtering electrons produced by applying a primary electron beam to a sample and a 1st electron detector which detects electrons passing through the porous electrode is characterized by further having a porous structure provided near the sample, a deflector which deflects electrons from the axis of the primary electron beam, and a 2nd electron detector which detects the electrons deflected by the deflector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideo Todokoro, Makoto Ezumi, Yoichi Ose, Naomasa Suzuki
  • Elastic material having variable modulus of elasticity
    Patent number: 7048013
    Abstract: An elastic material includes a plurality of zones. Each of the zones has a particular modulus of elasticity associated with it and the distribution of the zones throughout the elastic material causes the material to have a variation of modulus of elasticity along a particular direction in the material. The elastic material includes a weft, which includes a relatively inelastic component, and a warp, which includes the relatively inelastic component together with the relatively elastic component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Maidenform, Inc.
    Inventor: Catherine Shannon
  • Optical element, optical pickup unit, and optical disk drive unit
    Patent number: 7050380
    Abstract: An optical pickup unit includes first and second light sources of first and second wavelengths, respectively, a dichroic element, a phase plate, and an objective lens. One of the first and second light sources is selected so that information recording or reproduction is performed by converging a light beam emitted from the selected one of the first and second light sources on an optical recording medium via the dichroic element, the phase plate, and the objective lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideaki Hirai, Hiroshi Akiyama
  • Memory architecture and method of manufacture and operation thereof
    Patent number: 7050319
    Abstract: An architecture, and its method of formation and operation, containing a high density memory array of semi-volatile or non-volatile memory elements, including, but not limited to, programmable conductive access memory elements. The architecture in one exemplary embodiment has a pair of semi-volatile or non-volatile memory elements which selectively share a bit line through respective first electrodes and access transistors controlled by respective word lines. The memory elements each have a respective second electrode coupled thereto which in cooperation with the bit line access transistors and first electrode, serves to apply read, write and erase signals to the memory element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: John T. Moore, Terry L. Gilton
  • Data management information obtaining method for obtaining data management information including information concerning part of data areas as information concerning a pseudo area
    Patent number: 7050384
    Abstract: On an information recording medium, a recording area is divided in a plurality of data areas, and data is recorded on each of the data areas. In response to a request for obtaining data management information concerning a recording of the data recorded on each of the data areas, a plurality of predetermined data areas among the foregoing data areas are regarded as a predetermined pseudo area, and the data management information including information concerning the predetermined pseudo area is obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshiyuki Sasaki
  • Particle beam irradiation system and method of adjusting irradiation field forming apparatus
    Patent number: 7049613
    Abstract: A particle therapy system, as one example of a particle beam irradiation system, comprises a charged particle beam generator and an irradiation field forming apparatus. An ion beam from the charged particle beam generator is irradiated to a diseased part in the body of a patient through the irradiation field forming apparatus. A scattering compensator and a range modulation wheel (RMW) are disposed on the upstream side in a direction of beam advance and are movable along a beam axis. The movement of the scattering compensator and the RMW adjusts a size of the ion beam entering a scatterer device, whereby a change in scattering intensity of the ion beam in the scatterer device is adjusted. As a result, a penumbra in dose distribution is reduced and a more uniform dose distribution in a direction perpendicular to the direction of beam advance is obtained in the diseased part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Yanagisawa, Hiroshi Akiyama, Koji Matsuda, Hisataka Fujimaki
  • Silver selenide film stoichiometry and morphology control in sputter deposition
    Patent number: 7049009
    Abstract: A method of sputter depositing silver selenide and controlling the stoichiometry and nodular defect formations of a sputter deposited silver-selenide film. The method includes depositing silver-selenide using a sputter deposition process at a pressure of about 0.3 mTorr to about 10 mTorr. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, an RF sputter deposition process may be used preferably at pressures of about 2 mTorr to about 3 mTorr. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a pulse DC sputter deposition process may be used preferably at pressures of about 4 mTorr to about 5 mTorr.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Jiutao Li, Keith Hampton, Allen McTeer
  • Charge pump circuit and power supply circuit
    Patent number: 7050315
    Abstract: A charge pump circuit is provided for generating a voltage (1+1/n) times as high as a supply voltage. The charge pump circuit eliminates the need for diodes for preventing a current from flowing back from a high potential side of capacitors to prevent a reduction in the voltage due to a forward voltage, and reduces a reactive current and latch-up when the charge pump circuit is integrated into a single IC chip. The charge pump circuit includes a fourth switching element having a substrate gate connected to a drain for preventing a current from flowing back to an input terminal from a high potential side of fly back capacitors connected in series, and a second switching element having a substrate gate connected to a drain for preventing a current from flowing back from a high potential side of a catch-up capacitor to the fly back capacitors connected in series.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Kohzoh Itoh
  • PLL (Phase-Locked Loop) circuit
    Patent number: 7050520
    Abstract: If a phase difference between a synchronizing source signal F1 and a comparison signal F2 is higher than a first lower limit a or lower than a first upper limit b, a comparator 3 selects this phase difference, if the phase difference is not higher than the lower limit a, selects the lower limit a, and if the phase difference is not lower than the upper limit b, selects the upper limit b, and a divider 7A outputs a comparison signal F2 obtained by dividing a frequency of an output signal F0, to change a phase of the signal F2 so that if the phase difference is not higher than a second lower limit e lower than the lower limit a, the phase difference may become the lower limit a and, if the phase difference is higher than a second upper limit f higher than the upper limit b, the phase difference may become the upper limit b.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Hideyuki Asakawa, Yoshimasa Endou
  • Hybrid wind instrument selectively producing acoustic tones and electric tones and electronic system used therein
    Patent number: 7049503
    Abstract: A hybrid saxophone is a combination of an acoustic saxophone and an electronic system, and the electronic system includes key sensors for monitoring the keys and a tonguing sensor for detecting the position of the tongue together with a breath sensor and a lip sensor, and the pieces of playing data are brought to an electronic tone generator for producing electric tones; the mouthpiece of the acoustic saxophone is replaced with another mouthpiece, which does not supply the breath to the reed, and a rotary type air-flow regulator is provided in the mouthpiece so that the player feels the blowing same as that in the acoustic saxophone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Naoyuki Onozawa, Kazuhiro Fujita
  • Piezoelectric ceramic composition and piezoelectric ceramic device composed of same
    Patent number: 7049731
    Abstract: A piezoelectric ceramic composition that is based on a layered bismuth compound composed of Sr, Bi, Nb, oxygen, contains an additional monovalent metallic element. The piezoelectric ceramic composition has an elevated Curie point, is highly reliable at higher temperatures, that is, minimizes the reduction in the piezoelectric effect, and is useful as a material for piezoelectric ceramic devices that contain little or no lead or lead compounds. The layered bismuth compound contains not more than about 0.125 mol and more than 0 mol of the monovalent metallic element for 1 mol of Nb.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hirozumi Ogawa, Masahiko Kimura, Tatsuya Yamaguchi, Akira Ando
  • High frequency band oscillator
    Patent number: 7049897
    Abstract: In an oscillator used in a high frequency band such as the microwave band, the millimeter wave band, etc., an oscillation element and circuit components such as a resonator coupled to the oscillation element, etc., are provided inside a casing, the oscillation element is disposed inside a cavity having at least one opening portion, and a part or the whole of the resonator is disposed outside the cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazumasa Haruta
  • Remote maintenance method, industrial device, and semiconductor device
    Patent number: 7047096
    Abstract: The present invention provides a remote maintenance method, a remote maintenance system, and an industrial device for enabling control and thorough services and billing according to the contents of the remote maintenance operation and the request destination of maintenance and enabling access limit according to the attribute of a service person, access limit according to the device state, and output limit according to the output mode. The industrial device 123 installed at the factory 120 and the operation device 113 installed in the maintenance center 110 are connected via the network 100.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Juntaro Arima, Masaaki Inaba, Takeiki Aizono, Takashi Iizumi
  • Wobble detection circuit corresponding to a plurality of media having different pre-formats and optical disk apparatus having reduced size
    Patent number: 7046615
    Abstract: A wobble detection circuit detects a signal by a common photodetector (light receiving) element from several kinds of media having different pre-formats. Further, the wobble detection circuit changes a gain for amplifying the signal in a wobble signal detection process depending on the pre-format of a reproducing or recording medium to obtain a wobble signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Maegawa
  • Recording medium suitable for recording/reproducing multi-level data
    Patent number: 7046610
    Abstract: A recording medium with a data format is provided. The data format includes frames and an ECC block. Each of the frames includes a plurality of n-level data, n being an integer satisfying n?3, a clock mark that is n-level data for sampling the n-level data, and a frame sync that is n-level data for indicating a break point of the n-level data of a predetermined amount. The ECC block is a data block for error correction using a product code. The ECC block is formed by binary data of J×K words, where J is a natural number indicating the number of valid binary data in each frame, and K is a natural number indicating the number of frames when the n-level data are converted into binary data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Koubun Sakagami, Yuichi Kadokawa
  • Fabrication of printed dining plates
    Patent number: 7044057
    Abstract: A method of fabricating a formed object, comprising the steps of printing a desired high quality photo or near photo like image on a forming material at a resolution substantially equal to the resolution of an original digital image used to form the high quality image, and forming the formed object by a forming process in which the temperature and pressure across the object are varied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Inventors: Mary Louise Parker, Anthony Paolino, Bud Damiano, Tracy Wolf
  • Gateway system and fault management method
    Patent number: 7046684
    Abstract: A gateway system prevent an occurrence of a call loss and an inaccessibility of the SG and can effectively utilize communication lines, even if a fault occurs on the MGC side. In the gateway system, a PC is supplied to an SG connected to a plurality of MGCs, and an occurrence of a call loss and an inaccessibility of the SC can be prevented by incorporating to the SG a function that requires line close operation for an opposed node of the SCN when a fault occurs on the MGC which is structured to have no PC.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Makoto Matsuura
  • Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof
    Patent number: 7045898
    Abstract: There is presented a structure in which outlines of a metal interconnection 111 that is laid in an interlayer insulating film are covered with a barrier metal film 110. As the material for the barrier metal film 110, TaN or the like is utilized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: NEC Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Tatsuya Usami
  • Antenna apparatus
    Patent number: 7046208
    Abstract: A loop shape of a receiving antenna corresponding to at least one magnetic flux passing region of the receiving antenna is modified to provide such that totals of an amount of magnetic fluxes in a positive phase and an amount of magnetic fluxes in an inverse phase produced at respective magnetic flux passing regions of the receiving antenna in correspondence with the respective loops of three or more loops of a transmitting antenna are canceled by each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: Omron Corporation
    Inventors: Jun Shishido, Toshiya Kitagawa
  • Full color multi-function printing machine
    Patent number: D521056
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeru Horiguchi, Yoshihisa Minakawa, Tamaki Someya, Masateru Kohno, Kazuyoshi Yamada