Abstract: A process gas consisting of one of N2, N2O or a mixture thereof is converted to a plasma and then a surface of a copper wiring layer is exposed to the plasma of the process gas, whereby a surface portion of the copper wiring layer is reformed and made into a copper diffusion preventing barrier. According to this method, a noble semiconductor device can be provided having increased operational speed and less copper diffusion.

Abstract: A vehicle front end structure has a firewall structure and a pair of hood ledge structures that extend in a cantilevered manner. Each of the hood ledge structures has a vehicle frame mounting part for coupling its free end to the vehicle chassis. Thus, the hood ledge structures are configured and arranged to be separately supported by the firewall structure to form an unobstructed space between the hood ledge structures. A front end module is fixedly coupled to the hood ledge structures at a pair of upper attachment points and at pair of lower attachment points. The lower attachment points are offset inwardly relative to the upper attachment points. The front end module and the hood ledge structures are provided with mating guide members that have horizontal and vertical guide portions to aid in the installation of the front end module on the hood ledge structures.

Abstract: A vehicle cowl structure basically comprises a cowl panel and a vent pipe disposed in the cowl panel at a low drainage point on a lateral wall portion of the cowl panel. The vent pipe includes an opening that is split by a divider into an upper air passageway and a lower water drain passageway. The vent pipe also includes a mounting flange that contacts with an interior surface of the lateral wall portion and retaining projections to create a snap-fit between the vent pipe and the drainage aperture of the cowl panel. The vent pipe is also inserted into a hole formed in a vehicle body section such that a retaining member installed over the vent pipe contacts the vehicle body section around the hole and seals a space between the vent pipe and the hole of the vehicle body member.

Abstract: A vehicle floating nut assembly is part of a body mounting fixture that couples a vehicle body onto a vehicle frame. The floating nut assembly has a nut element that floats with in a nut retainer assembly. At least one of the sliding surfaces located between the nut element and the retainer assembly is coated with a coating resistant material such as polytetrafluoroethylene. Thus, the nut retainer assembly is arranged so that the nut element is slideable relative to the planar surface of the retainer assembly within a predetermined range of movement. Several floating nut assemblies are utilized to fixedly couple the vehicle body to the vehicle frame in which one of the vehicle floating nut assemblies includes is arranged to only allow limited movement of the nut element in one linear direction.

Abstract: In a database system of a client-server arrangement, a database server operating in a server outputs data to a storage device. Here, the data stores in a database that is requested by a user application operating in a client. The user application refers to the storage device to which the data is outputted, to obtain the data. Thereby, the data managed by the database server is passed to an application at high speed in the database system.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a film forming method of forming an interlayer insulating film having a low dielectric constant for covering wiring. The insulating film covering wiring is formed on a substrate by converting into a plasma and reacting a film forming gas including a component selected from the group consisting of alkoxy compounds having Si—H bonds and siloxanes having Si—H bonds and an oxygen-containing gas selected from a group consisting of O2, N2O, NO2, CO, CO2, and H2O.

Abstract: A recording apparatus, allowing a user to view video data while dubbing of other video data, which requires the actual time of the video data, is executed. The recording apparatus comprises a view buffer, and an encode buffer. A MPEG2 decoder decodes a VOBU for dubbing and a VOBU for viewing in parallel by time-sharing, writes the decoded VOBU for dubbing into the encode buffer, and writes the decoded VOBU for viewing into the view buffer. A MPEG2 encoder encodes the decoded VOBU for dubbing stored in the encode buffer. The MPEG2 decoder performs the decoding and the writing at a higher processing rate than a display rate for reproduction. A display control unit reads and reproduces, at the display rate, the decoded VOBU for viewing which is written into the view buffer at the higher processing rate.

Abstract: An inverter circuit for discharge lamps for multi-lamp lighting in which the value of a negative resistance characteristic of a fluorescent lamp is controlled, and an excessively set reactance is eliminated by causing a shunt transformer to have a reactance exceeding the negative resistance characteristic, whereby shunting characteristics high in performance are obtained while reducing the size of the circuit. In an inverter circuit for discharge lamps for multi-lamp lighting, two coils connected to a secondary winding of a step-up transformer of the inverter circuit are arranged and magnetically coupled to each other to form a shunt transformer for shunting current such that magnetic fluxes generated thereby are opposed to each other to cancel out. Discharge lamps are connected to the coils, respectively, with currents flowing therethrough being balanced with each other.

Abstract: The recording apparatus comprises: a TS obtaining unit 220 that is operable to obtain a transport stream including video data and data broadcast content; a BML generating unit 230 that is operable to generate state information in which a user interface screen showing in what state the apparatus is in as a result of a user's operation is described by a description method used to describe the data broadcast content; and a re-multiplexing unit that is operable to multiplex the state information onto the transport stream.

Abstract: A user defined ADT function (to be implemented by an embedded module assigned to the function) is executed with module calling triggers other than the execution of the ADT function described in an SQL statement in a database management method which allows the user to define a data type. By creating a proper execution procedure command package, an embedded module implementing an ADT function can be executed even if the function is defined in a format to return execution results as a set. The database processing method includes an ADT function analysis for selecting a procedural model for creating a proper execution procedure command package in accordance with an evaluation style and a non-ADT function called embedded module analysis for adding information on embedded modules called on module calling triggers other than execution of ADT functions.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a film forming method for forming an insulating film having a low dielectric constant. This method comprises the steps of adding at least one diluting gas of an inert gas and a nitrogen gas (N2) to a major deposition gas component consisting of siloxane and N2O, converting the resultant deposition gas into plasma, causing reaction in the plasma, and forming an insulating film 25,27, or 28 on a substrate targeted for film formation.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing method for forming an interlayer insulating film containing a coating insulating film having a low dielectric constant. In construction, there are provided the steps of preparing a substrate 20 on a surface of which a coating insulating film 26 is formed by coating a coating liquid containing any one selected from a group consisting of silicon-containing inorganic compound and silicon-containing organic compound, and forming a protection layer 27 for covering the coating insulating film 26 by plasmanizing a first film forming gas to react, wherein the first film forming gas consists of any one selected from a group consisting of alkoxy compound having Si—H bonds and siloxane having Si—H bonds and any one oxygen-containing gas selected from a group consisting of O2, N2O, NO2, CO, CO2, and H2O.

Abstract: There is provided the film forming method of forming the insulating film 204 containing silicon on the substrate 103 by plasmanizing the compound having the siloxane bonds and the oxidizing gas to react with each other.

Abstract: A disk device provided in a record/playback device stores a plurality of programs as well as a record-setting content and playback history of each program. When specified by a remote controller as to a program to be played from a program list displayed on a television screen, a serial judging unit judges whether the specified program is an episode in a serial having another episode that was recorded prior to the specified program, by comparing the record-setting content of each of the programs. If judged in the affirmative, a playback judging unit judges whether the other episode has yet to be played, by referring to the playback history of the other episode. If judged in the affirmative, a presentation unit has displayed on the television screen that there is an unplayed episode in the serial. Then, when instructed by a user to start the playback from the unplayed episode, a playback unit plays the unplayed episode.

Abstract: In a semiconductor device manufacturing method for forming an interlayer insulating film having a low dielectric constant on a substrate 21 from a surface of which a copper wiring 23 is exposed, the interlayer insulating film consists of multi-layered insulating films 24, 25, 29 and the insulating film 24, that contacts to the copper wiring 23, out of the multi-layered insulating films 24, 25, 29 is formed by plasmanizing a film forming gas containing at least an alkyl compound having siloxane bonds and any one of nitrogen (N2) and ammonia (NH3) to react.

Abstract: MPEG encoder 3 generates VOBUs from broadcast waves and writes them to HDD 5. Record controlling unit 10 controls MPEG encoder 3 and HDD 5 to repeatedly perform this writing process for achieving a continuous recording function. Record controlling unit 10 also judges if there are points of time at which, by a broadcast station, (i) a service period is switched to an out-of-service period, and (ii) an out-of-service period is switched to a service period. Record controlling unit 10 suspends the writing to the HDD 5 at a point of time at which a service period is switched to an out-of service period, and resumes the writing to the HDD 5 at a point of time at which an out-of-service period is switched to a service period.

Abstract: A newly defined data type is added to a database management system. Information about a query component assisting in querying data belonging to the newly defined data type is registered along with data type information in a query component information. If the data type being queried is the newly added data type, the query component information is searched to find a query component for assisting queries to data belonging to the particular data type. The matching query component is activated and a screen is displayed to input information needed to the query data belonging to the data type. The information is input and a query statement is generated using the inputted information. The generated query statement is issued to the database management system and query results are obtained.

Abstract: A hard disk drive 102 includes: a disk 11 that stores data in units of sectors; a ROM unit 12 and a RAM unit 13 that store sector information D showing an extent to which a maximum number of transfer-target sectors can be extended; and a control unit 14. The control unit 14 sends the sector information D in response to an inquiry from a controller 101 about the sector information D, extends the maximum number of the transfer-target sectors in accordance with a transfer request for transferring data and with an instruction from the external device on receiving the transfer request while in a state of being instructed by the instruction to ease the restrictions, and transfers data to/from the disk 11.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing method of forming an inter-wiring layer insulating film having a low dielectric constant to cover a copper wiring. In construction, in a semiconductor device manufacturing method of forming an insulating film 34 having a low dielectric constant on a substrate 20, the insulating film 34 is formed by plasmanizing a film forming gas, that consists of at least any one of alkyl compound having siloxane bonds and methylsilane (SiHn(CH3)4−n: n=0, 1, 2, 3), any one oxygen-containing gas selected from a group consisting of N2O, H2O, and CO2, and ammonia (NH3) to react.

Abstract: A user defined ADT function (to be implemented by an embedded module assigned to the function) is executed with module calling triggers other than the execution of the ADT function described in an SQL statement in a database management method which allows the user to define a data type. By creating a proper execution procedure command package, an embedded module implementing an ADT function can be executed even if the function is defined in a format to return execution results as a set. The database processing method includes an ADT function analysis for selecting a procedural model for creating a proper execution procedure command package in accordance with an evaluation style and a non-ADT function called embedded module analysis for adding information on embedded modules called on module calling triggers other than execution of ADT functions.