Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Hayes, Soloway, Hennessey, Grossman & Hages PC
  • Patent number: 6313390
    Abstract: Method for fast (real-time) storage and retrieval of digital code sequences, each representing one or more predetermined features of a musical note, a fraction of a musical note, or group of musical notes and a system that implements this method, with the aim to automatically control electronic musical devices and thereby to avoid or alleviate certain problems associated with the prior art. Storage and retrieval will increase rapidity and efficiency even more by pre-selecting on the basis of related data or by using statistical information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2001
    Assignee: Adriaans Adza Beheer B.V.
    Inventors: Pieter Willem Adriaans, Maarten Van Den Dungen
  • Patent number: 6307698
    Abstract: An amplitude comparator compares to one another amplitudes of data items, which have been read by read heads and amplified by amplifiers. An error identification circuit detects a read level lowering in the read heads according to the result of the comparison. A signal processor references the detection result of the error identification circuit if a read error is detected. If any of the read units has a lowered read level, the cause of the read error is determined to be in that read unit. If none of the read heads has a lowered read level, it is determined that the read error has been caused by other than the read heads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Tadashi Ishitsuka
  • Patent number: 6306188
    Abstract: Method for the fabrication of filters with deep folds connecting of opposed sides of the filter to prevent blow-out, by welding intermediate distance elements to the filter material on each side. The distance elements include bridges and/or connections between parts welded to the difference filter sides. The bridges are extendable to different lengths at different locations in the filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Camfil AB
    Inventor: Niclas Karlsson
  • Patent number: 6303778
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a new fractionated polydisperse carbohydrate composition having the following definition: an av. DP which is significantly higher than the av. DP of a native polydisperse carbohydrate composition, significantly free of low molecular monomers, dimers, and oligomers, significantly free of impurities chosen among the group consisting of colourings, salts, proteins and organic acids, significantly free of technological aids such as solubility affecting products. The present invention concerns also the preparation process of the composition according to the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: Tiense Suikerrafinaderij N.V.
    Inventors: Georges Smits, Luc Daenekindt, Karl Booten
  • Patent number: 6303487
    Abstract: In a method for forming an air gap in an insulating film between adjacent interconnection conductors in a semiconductor device, a substrate having a first insulator film and a plurality of lower level interconnection conductors formed separately from each other on the first insulator film is set in a chemical vapor process machine. A second insulator film is deposited to completely cover the plurality of lower level interconnection conductors and the first insulator film in a chemical vapor process under the condition that a growth speed in a vertical direction perpendicular to a principal surface of the substrate is lower than a growth speed in a horizontal direction in parallel to the principal surface of the substrate, until the second insulator film has such a thickness that an air gap is formed within the second insulator film between the adjacent interconnection conductors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Masaki Kagamihara
  • Patent number: 6300803
    Abstract: A phase-comparison circuit includes (a) a first PNP transistor, (b) a second PNP transistor, (c) a third NPN transistor electrically connected to both a collector of the first PNP transistor and a base of the second PNP transistor, and (d) a constant current source electrically connected to an emitter of the third NPN transistor. The phase comparison circuit compensates for an offset current between a reference current and an output current, and as a result, can properly operate at a low voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Naohiro Matsui
  • Patent number: 6300186
    Abstract: There is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a MOS transistor formed on a silicon substrate, and a stacked capacitor constituted by an information storage electrode provided above the MOS transistor through an insulating interlayer and a counter-electrode separated from the information storage electrode due to the presence of a capacitor insulating film. In this method, the capacitor is formed by adding an impurity in a silicon oxide film which is formed on the insulating interlayer and used to shape the information storage electrode, and performing etching by using a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, or a solution mixture thereof, or a chemical solution containing a solution mixture of an aqueous ammonia solution and a hydrogen peroxide solution to selectively remove the silicon oxide film added with the impurity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Hirota, Shuji Fujiwara
  • Patent number: 6291890
    Abstract: A semiconductor device has a thin semi-insulating polycrystalline silicon (SIPOS) film on the surface of a silicon substrate having a diffused region therein. The SIOPS film is thermally treated at the bottom of a via-plug of an overlying metallic film to form a metallic silicide for electrically connecting the via-plug with the diffused region, whereas the SIPOS film is maintained as it is for insulation on a dielectric film. The SIPOS film protects the diffused regions against over-etching to thereby improve the junction characteristics and provide a larger process margin for contacts between the metallic interconnects and the diffused regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Koji Hamada
  • Patent number: 6288452
    Abstract: As an outside box mark for automatic overlay measurement formed on a semiconductor substrate, a (#) shape is formed by laying two vertical lines formed by word lines over two parallel lines formed of bit lines. Thereby, a misalignment value in the word line direction and a misalignment value in the bit line direction are measured simultaneously by using one box mark. When forming capacity contacts between wiring lines of a (#)-shaped structure formed of word lines and bit lines, it is conducted by using a box mark for automatic overlay measurement. As a result, it becomes possible to shorten the time required for measuring the misalignment values in the X direction (word lines) and Y direction (bit lines) and analyzing the measurement result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Masahiro Komuro
  • Patent number: 6287915
    Abstract: In a flash memory that has a floating gate that is formed by a polysilicon layer having grains, a gate electrode is formed on a gate oxide film that is provided on a semiconductor substrate, this gate electrode being formed as a multilayer structure by a polysilicon layer that has grains and at least one more polysilicon layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Satoru Muramatsu
  • Patent number: 6287750
    Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, an inorganic insulating layer is formed to cover a conductive layer, a polyimide layer is formed to cover the inorganic insulating layer, and a photo-resist layer is formed to cover the polyimide layer. An opening portion is formed by use of development or a wet etching to pass through the photo-resist layer and the polyimide layer to the inorganic insulating film. Then, after the photo-resist layer is removed, heat treatment is performed of the polyimide layer. Subsequently, the inorganic insulating film is etched using the polyimide layer having the opening portion as a mask. The photo-resist layer has a film thickness in a range of 4 to 10 &mgr;m, and the polyimide layer has a film thickness in a range of 5 to 20 &mgr;m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Michio Sakurai
  • Patent number: 6287929
    Abstract: In accordance with the above first embodiment of the present invention, after a base polysilicon film has been grown, a lump anneal is carried out because of an extremely small variation to the silicon dioxide film. Subsequently, a buffered fluorine acid is used which has a large selective etching ratio of the silicon oxide film to the polysilicon film to side-etch the silicon oxide film in the horizontal direction by a predetermined width before the base impurity BF2+ is implanted and then the emitter polysilicon film is formed. For those reasons, a variation in distance between the n+-substrate and a collector is small. The base width “WB” of the base region is not varied, whereby variations in high frequency performance of the bipolar transistor are suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Hiroshi Kato
  • Patent number: 6284244
    Abstract: Mediating the effects of alcohol consumption by orally administering an active dry yeast containing alcohol dehydrogenase to a person prior to or simultaneously with consumption of an alcohol-containing beverage to oxidize a portion of the alcohol while it is still in the stomach of the person is described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2001
    Inventor: Joseph L. Owades
  • Patent number: 6280669
    Abstract: A method for making insulated pre-formed wall panels for attachment to like insulated pre-formed wall panels for building a wall. The method includes providing a mold for casting a concrete body having a generally planar portion with a plurality of rib portions extending therefrom, nesting at least one insulation strip within a respective spring member, covering the end portions of the respective spring member with a thermally insulating material to limit thermal conductivity from each respective rib portion of the concrete body to each respective spring member, inserting each respective spring member with the at least one nested insulation strip in the mold, and casting the concrete body in the mold with each respective spring member with the at least one insulation strip being unitarily attached to an edge portion of each respective rib portion with the end portion of each respective spring member being anchored in each respective rib portion of the concrete body to make the insulated pre-formed wall panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignee: Kistner Concrete Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael J. Kistner, Paul J. Rowe, Kenneth J. Kistner, William M. Kistner
  • Patent number: 6280816
    Abstract: An automotive interior trim panel has an outer flexible skin that overlies a rigid backing panel formed with a foam entry hole through which foam precursors are poured into a space between the skin and panel and they react and expand to generate a foam layer within the space. Tab projections are carried by the panel and extend into the foam space to at least partially cover the opening and provide rigid backing support for foam expanding in the region of the entry hole to control the density of the foam in this entry hole region such that it conforms more closely with the density of the immediate surrounding foam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignee: Textron Automotive Company Inc.
    Inventor: David R. McCooey
  • Patent number: 6277706
    Abstract: In fabrication of a semiconductor device, firstly an isolation trench is formed on a substrate to isolate a plurality of semiconductor elements, and then a thermal oxide film is formed on a sidewall of the trench, whereupon a silicon oxide film is formed on the substrate by chemical vapor deposition. Finally the entire substrate is annealed in a high-pressure ambient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Hiraku Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 6276981
    Abstract: The invention involves the making of a group of apertures spaced in a precise manner on a structure and including, for example, a first aperture made in a first layer and a second aperture made in a second layer which covers the first layer, the first aperture being located within the second aperture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique
    Inventors: Aimé Perrin, Brigitte Montmayeul, Régis Blanc
  • Patent number: 6277316
    Abstract: A method of forming a prefabricated insulated wall panel for installation with like wall panels for easily and inexpensively building a wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: Kistner Concrete Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael J. Kistner, Paul J. Rowe
  • Patent number: 6276713
    Abstract: A passenger protection apparatus for a motor vehicle is provided comprising a first interior trim member and a second interior trim member. The first interior trim member, preferably an instrument panel, is attached to the motor vehicle and the second interior trim member attached to the first interior trim member. The second trim member is attached to the first trim member such that the second interior trim member is removable from the first interior trim member without detaching the first interior tnm member from the motor vehicle The second interior trim member is located in the knee impact region of the motor vehicle and comprises a first energy management device in the form of an inflatable restraint apparatus having an airbag and an inflator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: Textron Automotive Company Inc.
    Inventor: Scott J. Duletzke
  • Patent number: 6276485
    Abstract: Arrangement at tiller truck, at which the communication between the handle and the truck itself is done via a serial connection, for instance a serial cable (31) between a logic unit in the handle and a logic unit in the truck itself. A drive control (7, 8) includes a number of Hall-sensors (19) that are successively activated by a magnet (17) that is in turn mechanically activated, so that via a logic circuit a varied drive current is fed to the drive motor. The Hall-sensors (18) are arranged on a circuit card 19 that also include logic circuits. A safety control (belly button) (9) that is arranged on the handle. If the belly button is depressed this is on an inward protruding arm (21) provided with a magnet 22 that at this movement is moved so that it will influence one or several Hall elements belonging to the drive control (7, 8), at which however the magnet (22) is on the other side of a circuit card (20) that carries the Hall elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: BT Industries AB
    Inventors: Lars Eriksson, Gert Precenth, Kurt-Ove Stenberg