A high pressure fuel pump control apparatus for an engine can suppress or avoid uncontrolled fuel delivery of a flow control valve upon delivery of a maximum amount of fuel, and resultant great deterioration in drivability and exhaust gas. An advance angle setting limiting section limits a closed position of the flow control valve from being set to a location advanced from a predetermined advance angle limiting position. A flow control valve control section decides a target pressure in accordance with an engine operating condition, and sets the closed position such that the fuel pressure coincides with the target pressure. When the closed position is being controlled to be limited to the advance angle limiting position, and when the fuel pressure does not show a tendency to coincide with the target pressure, the advance angle limiting position is changed from the last set value to a value more retarded therefrom.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high pressure fuel pump control apparatus for an engine that serves to inject fuel into individual cylinders while controlling the fuel pressure in an accumulator to a target pressure, and more particularly, to a new technique for controlling the delivery of a maximum amount of fuel from a high pressure fuel pump.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there have been proposed engines in which the pressure of fuel in an accumulator is controlled to a high pressure value so as to inject the fuel in an atomized state (see, for example, a first patent document (Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2002-188545) and a second patent document (Japanese patent application laid-open No. H8-303325)).
Hereinafter, an example of the construction of a fuel system in such a kind of engine will be described.
A high pressure fuel pump for pressurizing the fuel to be injected to a high pressure is provided with a plunger that reciprocates in a pressure chamber in synchronization with the rotation of a camshaft of the engine, with a lower end of the plunger being arranged in pressure contact with a pump cam mounted on the camshaft. With such an arrangement, as the pump cam rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the camshaft, the plunger is caused to reciprocate in the pressure chamber, whereby the volume of the pressure chamber is changed to expand or contract.
In addition, a high pressure passage (delivery passage) downstream of the pressure chamber is connected with an accumulator through a delivery valve ( check valve) that permits the fuel to pass only in a direction from the pressure chamber toward the accumulator, whereby the accumulator holds the fuel delivered from the pressure chamber and distributes it to fuel injection valves.
Further, a low pressure passage upstream of the pressure chamber is connected with a fuel tank through a normally open flow control valve, a low pressure fuel pump and a low pressure regulator, so that the fuel drawn up from the low pressure fuel pump into the low pressure passage is adjusted to a predetermined feed pressure by the low pressure regulator, and then it is sucked into the pressure chamber through the flow control valve that is opened in a descending period in which the plunger moves downward from top dead center (TDC) up to bottom dead center (BDC) (i.e., a period in which the volume of the pressure chamber expands).
On the other hand, in an ascending period (i.e., a period in which the volume of the pressure chamber contracts) in which the plunger moves upward from the bottom dead center up to the top dead center, when the normally open flow control valve is closed, a maximum amount of fuel pressurized in the pressure chamber is delivered to the accumulator in accordance with the upward movement of the plunger.
In addition, when the flow control valve is not opened at all in the ascending period of the plunger in the high pressure fuel pump, the fuel sucked into the pressure chamber is relieved to the low pressure passage, so it is not delivered to the accumulator.
Moreover, when the flow control valve is closed during the ascending period of the plunger, a part of the fuel sucked into the pressure chamber is relieved into the low pressure passage for a period of time from the bottom dead center of the plunger until the arrival of the flow control valve at its closed position, and subsequently, the fuel left in the pressure chamber is pressurized and delivered into the accumulator for a period of time from the closed position of the flow control valve until the arrival of the plunger at its top dead center.
Thus, by controlling to close the flow control valve at arbitrary timing during the ascending period of the plunger, the amount of fuel delivered to the accumulator can be adjusted to an arbitrary amount between from a maximum amount of delivery to a minimum amount of delivery. Here, note that the normally open flow control valve has a normally deenergized solenoid built therein, so it is driven to close upon energization of the solenoid.
Hereinbelow, detailed reference will be made to the relation between a target closed position (hereinafter simply referred to as a "closed position") TVC of the flow control valve and an amount of delivery fuel Q delivered from the high pressure fuel pump to the accumulator, in the ascending period of the plunger (from the time point of arrival at bottom dead center BDC to the time point of arrival at top dead center TDC) while referring to a timing chart in FIG. 10.
In FIG. 10, the axis of abscissa represents a time base (advance angle side-retard angle side) corresponding to the closed position TVC of the flow control valve, and the axis of ordinate represents, in the order from top to bottom, the active position of the plunger in the high pressure fuel pump (i.e., the ascending period from the bottom dead center BDC to the top dead center TDC being shown herein), energization timing TON of the solenoid (and interruption timing TOFF), the opened/closed state of the flow control valve, the internal pressure of the pressure chamber in the high pressure fuel pump (a pressure value Pa that acts as a valve-closing urging force on the flow control valve), and an amount of delivery fuel Q (a maximum amount of delivery fuel OMAX, an amount of relieved fuel QR, and a target amount of delivery fuel QO).
In FIG. 10, there is shown, as an example, an operation state of the flow control valve at the time when the closed position TVC of the flow control valve is controlled to a substantially midpoint from the time point of arrival of the plunger at the bottom dead center BDC to the time point of arrival thereof at the top dead center TDC.
That is, the energization timing of the solenoid in the flow control valve and the opened/closed state of the flow control valve are controlled in such a manner that the flow control valve is closed at a time point corresponding to the closed position TVC of the flow control valve, and the internal pressure of the pressure chamber is pressurized corresponding to the closed position TVC of the flow control valve.
In the amount of delivery fuel in FIG. 10, a range QR indicated by a broken line arrow represents the amount of fuel relieved to the low pressure passage (an amount of relieved fuel), a range QO indicated by a solid line arrow represents the amount of fuel actually delivered to the accumulator (a target amount of delivery fuel), and the target amount of delivery fuel QO is represented by a difference (QMAX-QR) between the maximum amount of delivery fuel QMAX and the amount of delivery fuel QR.
The maximum amount of delivery fuel QMAX is the amount of fuel sucked to the pressure chamber during the downward movement of the plunger (corresponding to the maximum amount of delivery fuel that can be supplied to a fuel rail).
An unillustrated ECU (electronic control unit) specifies the time point of arrival of the plunger at the bottom dead center BDC based on the rotational position of the engine, and determines, as a time point corresponding to the closed position TVC of the flow control valve, a time point at which a first or former half period Tr has elapsed from the time point of arrival of the plunger at the bottom dead center BDC.
In addition, in order to close the flow control valve at the time point corresponding to the closed position TVC, an energization start time point TON and an energization end time point TOFF for the solenoid of the flow control valve are controlled as energization timings of the solenoid.
At this time, there exists an operation delay time Tp from the start of energization of the solenoid to the completion of closing of the flow control valve, so the energization of the solenoid is started at a time point TON going back by the operation delay time Tp from the time point corresponding to the target closed position TVC.
Also, since the operation delay time Tp is changed mainly depending on the electrical energy supplied to the solenoid, it is stored in a memory in the ECU beforehand as data for individual battery voltages so that an appropriate time is set in accordance with the battery voltage actually detected upon energization of the solenoid. As a result, even if the battery voltage varies, it is possible to control the closed position TVC of the flow control valve with a high degree of precision.
Hereinafter, when the operation delay time Tp has elapsed from the start of energization of the solenoid, the flow control valve completes its valve closing operation (TVC), whereafter the fuel in the pressure chamber is pressurized by an upward movement of the plunger in the high pressure fuel pump, so that the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber itself acts as a valve-closing urging force (≧Pa) sufficient to maintain the flow control valve in its closed state.
The valve-closing urging force due to the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber at this time continues up to a time point just before the time point of arrival of the plunger at the top dead center TDC at which the pressure in the pressure chamber begins to be reduced.
Accordingly, after the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber has risen above the pressure value Pa that acts as the valve-closing urging force enough to close the flow control valve after the closure of the flow control valve, it is possible to maintain the closed state of the flow control valve over a period up to around the time point TDC of arrival of the plunger at the top dead center even without continuing to apply the electromagnetic valve-closing urging force due to the energization of the solenoid.
Thus, in a second patent document, power consumption is intended to be reduced by setting an energization holding time Th, for which the energization of the solenoid is continued after the arrival of the flow control valve at the closed position TVC, to a minimum time that will be required from the time point of arrival of the flow control valve at the closed position TVC to the time the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber itself rises above the pressure value Pa that acts as the valve-closing urging force of the flow control valve.
When the flow control valve is closed at its target closed position TVC, a part of the amount of fuel (=QMAX ), which has been sucked from the low pressure passage to the pressure chamber during the downward or descending movement of the plunger immediately before it (a plunger operation position at an advance angle side from the bottom dead center BDC), is relieved through the opened flow control valve to the low pressure passage as the amount of relieved fuel QR in the ascending period (the first half period Tr in FIG. 10) from the time point of arrival of the plunger at the bottom dead center BDC to the time point of arrival thereof at the closed position TVC.
On the other hand, the flow control valve is closed for a period from the closed position TVC to the time point of arrival of the plunger at the top dead center TDC (a second or latter half period To), so an amount of fuel (=QMAX-QR) left in the pressure chamber at the closed position TVC is pressurized so as to be delivered to the accumulator through the delivery valve as the target amount of the delivery fuel QO.
In addition, for example, when the time point (Tr=0) of the plunger bottom dead center BDC that is the position of the most advance angle side in the plunger ascending period (Tr+To) is decided as the closed position TVC, the flow control valve is closed in the entire plunger ascending period, so the entire amount of fuel (=QMAX) sucked into the pressure chamber is pressurized and delivered to the accumulator as the maximum amount of delivery fuel QMAX.
On the other hand, when the solenoid has not been energized at all in the plunger ascending period, the normally open flow control valve remains opened in the entire plunger ascending period, so the entire amount of fuel (=QMAX) sucked into the pressure chamber is relieved to the low pressure passage, and pressurized fuel is not delivered to the accumulator at all.
Thus, by controlling the closed position TVC to an arbitrary position between from the plunger bottom dead center BDC to the plunger top dead center TDC, it is possible to adjust the amount of fuel to be delivered to the accumulator to an arbitrary amount from the maximum amount of delivery fuel QMAX to the minimum amount of delivery fuel (=0).
The ECU determines a target pressure in accordance with the operating condition of the engine (the number of revolutions per minute of the engine, the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal, etc.), and calculates the target delivery amount QO of the fuel to be delivered to the accumulator through a feedback arithmetic calculation (e.g., PID calculation, etc.) based on a pressure deviation between the value of the fuel pressure in the accumulator. detected by the fuel pressure sensor and the target pressure.
Moreover, the ECU determines a time (or angle) Tr from the position of arrival of the plunger at the bottom dead center BDC based on the relation between the closed position TVC of the flow control valve and the amount of delivery fuel Q (the characteristics of FIG. 10), and controls the actual closed position TVC.
Next, detailed reference will be made to a general control operation when the maximum amount of fuel QMAX is delivered from the high pressure fuel pump while referring to a timing chart (solid lines) in FIG. 11.
In FIG. 11, the axis of abscissa represents a time base, similarly as stated above (FIG. 10), and the axis of ordinate represents, in the order from the top to the bottom, a reference signal REF generated based on the rotational position of the engine, the operation position of the plunger in the high pressure fuel pump, the energization timing of the solenoid in the flow control valve, the opened/closed state of the flow control valve, and the internal pressure in the pressure chamber of the high pressure fuel pump. Here, note that in the operating position of the plunger in FIG. 11, solid lines represent a normal plunger operation, and broken lines represent a plunger operation shifted to a retard angle side.
In FIG. 11, first of all, the ECU generate the reference signal (pulse) REF that indicates a predetermined rotational position in the rotational phase of the engine.
Here, note that the positional relation between the position of the reference signal REF and the position of arrival of the plunger at the bottom dead center BDC that is reached thereafter is stored beforehand in the memory of the ECU as design values, and a time point at which an offset value Td (corresponding to a predetermined time or a predetermined angle) has elapsed from the reference signal REF is specified as the position of arrival of the plunger at the bottom dead center BDC.
Hereinafter, the bottom dead center BDC estimated by the ECU based on the design values is called an "estimated bottom dead center BDC". That is, the ECU recognizes the operation characteristics of the plunger represented by the solid lines in FIG. 11 as the normal operation position of the plunger, and decides, as the target closed position TVC, the same position (i.e., a position of Tr=0) as the estimated bottom dead center BDC when the maximum amount of delivery fuel QMAX (see FIG. 10) is controlled.
The ECU starts to energize the solenoid at the time point TON going back by the operation delay time Tp from the closed position TVC, and terminates the energization of the solenoid at the time point TOFF at which the energization holding time Th has elapsed from the closed position TVC (i.e., at a time point at which the internal pressure of the pressure chamber has reached Pa or higher).
As a result, like the opened/closed state of the flow control valve indicated by a solid line in FIG. 11, the flow control valve is closed at the position of the estimated bottom dead center BDC of the plunger, and the fuel in the pressure chamber is pressurized in the plunger ascending period therefrom to the time point of arrival of the plunger at the top dead center TDC so that the maximum amount of fuel QMAX is delivered to the accumulator.
However, the ECU controls the closed position TVC of the flow control valve in a feedback manner according to a PID calculation based on the pressure deviation between the target pressure determined in accordance with the operating condition of the engine and the fuel pressure in the accumulator, as previously stated above.
Thus, when there occurs a situation in which the fuel pressure in the accumulator is much lower than the target pressure, the amount of feedback correction becomes excessively large so there is a possibility that the closed valve position TVC might pass the estimated bottom dead center BDC toward the advance angle side. In this case, there is a fear that it might become unable to ensure the energization holding time Th that is required to maintain a minimum amount of energization during the ascending period of the plunger, thus making it impossible to control the amount of fuel to be delivered.
Accordingly, in the first patent document (see claim 2), the position of the estimated bottom dead center BDC is decided as an advance angle limiting position LIM (=L0), as shown in FIG. 11, so that the closed position TVC is limited or prevented from being controlled to a position more advanced than the advance angle limiting position LIM (=L0).
As shown in FIG. 11, in a conventional apparatus, in case where the positional relation between the reference signal REF and the estimated bottom dead center BDC that is arrived at thereafter coincides with the design values stored beforehand in the ECU, there will be any problem when the maximum amount of fuel QMAX is delivered from the high pressure fuel pump to the accumulator.
In an actual control apparatus, however, it is considered that the positional relation of the reference signal REF and the estimated bottom dead center BDC that is arrived at thereafter might shift from a normal relation due, for example, to the variations of those parts which are associated with position control such as the assembly positions of the high pressure fuel pump and a cam angle sensor for detecting the rotational position of a cam, the machining accuracy of a pump cam, etc.
However, since in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, no special consideration is made with respect to the variations of those parts which are associated with the position control of a fuel supply system, there are the following problems.
Hereinafter, specific reference will be made to problems arising when the maximum amount of fuel QMAX is caused to be delivered from the high pressure fuel pump with the occurrence of the variations of the parts associated with position control while referring to FIG. 11, similarly as described above.
Here, note that the characteristics represented by broken lines in FIG. 11 show the operation positions of the plunger when the plunger generates a maximum deviation in the retard angle direction.
The actual bottom dead center BDC1 when the operation position of the plunger generates a maximum deviation to the retard angle side (broken line) shifts by the maximum amount of deviation Trtd to the retard angle side from the estimated bottom dead center BDC when the plunger operates at normal timing (solid line).
In this case, since the ECU does not detect the deviation of the operation position of the plunger even though the plunger operation position has shifted from the normal position, the time point after only the offset value Td has elapsed from the reference signal REF is specified as the estimated bottom dead center BDC assuming that the plunger is in the normal operation position.
Accordingly, in order to deliver the maximum amount of delivery fuel QMAX to the accumulator, the closed position TVC is controlled until the position of Tr=0 (i.e., the same position as the estimated bottom dead center BDC) is made as the advance angle limiting position LIM (=L0).
As a result, the ECU starts to energize the solenoid at the time point TON going back by the operation delay time Tp from the closed position TVC, and terminates the energization of the solenoid at the time point TOFF at which the energization holding time Th has elapsed from the closed position TVC.
However, the actual bottom dead center BDC1 in the actual operation position of the plunger is shifted by the maximum amount of deviation Trtd to the retard angle side from the estimated bottom dead center BDC.
Therefore, in the example of FIG. 11, the energization of the solenoid has been terminated before the plunger arrives at the actual bottom dead center BDC1, so the energization holding time Th for which the solenoid is originally to be energized after the closure of the flow control valve in the ascending period of the plunger can not be ensured.
Accordingly, fuel will pass through the normally open flow control valve which is not closed in the ascending period of the plunger (the opened/closed state of the flow control valve indicated by the broken line in FIG. 11), as a consequence of which the fuel sucked into the pressure chamber is relieved to the low pressure passage through the flow control valve that remains in the open state, and hence the fuel is not delivered to the accumulator.
In the conventional high pressure fuel pump control apparatus for an engine, in cases where the plunger generates the maximum amount of deviation Trtd in the retard angle direction resulting from variations associated with the position control of the flow control valve, when the maximum amount of delivery fuel QMAX is to be delivered to the accumulator, the energization to the solenoid is terminated based on the estimated bottom dead center BDC more advanced than the actual bottom dead center BDC1, so there might occur a situation where delivery control becomes impossible.
Thus, there arises the following problems. That is, when the maximum amount of delivery fuel QMAX is controlled to be delivered, there occurs a situation in which fuel delivery control becomes unable to be done due to variations associated with the position control of the flow control valve, so a required amount of fuel can not be delivered to the accumulator, and hence the fuel pressure in the accumulator can not be maintained at the target pressure, making it impossible to obtain desired combustion performance and inducing deterioration in drivability and the exhaust gas.

High pressure fuel pump control apparatus for an engine


The management of files, folders, and other data is facilitated. When a user inputs a character string (tag), which is desired to be retrieved, to a retrieval character input space and operates a retrieval button on a screen, retrieval is started, and a screen (file) corresponding to the input character string is displayed. This makes it possible for the user to fetch a desired file as required. That is, the user is able to manage and control files without using folders.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and to a distribution medium. More particularly, the present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method suitable for managing files and for managing access to a variety of information, and to a distribution medium therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, as a technique for managing files created by a computer user, for example, there is a technique for hierarchically storing files using folders. For example, an example of the display of a screen when a user creates a "MEMO" file on a computer and the created "MEMO" file is stored (recorded on a hard disk in a HDD (Hard Disk Drive)) in, for example, a "My Documents" folder is described with reference to FIGS. 27 to 29.
On a PC (Personal Computer), when a user starts up an OS (for example, commonly-known Windows 95 or Windows 98 (trademarks) of Microsoft Corporation), etc., for example, a desktop screen (hereinafter also referred to simply as a "screen") such as that shown in FIG. 27 is displayed. In FIG. 27, when a user operates a pointing device, such as a mouse, and clicks on, for example, a "My Computer" icon 151 on the upper left of the screen, a screen such as that shown in FIG. 28 is displayed.
On the screen of FIG. 28, in the "My Computer" icon 151, an A drive icon 161 for a 3.5-inch FDD (Floppy Disk Drive), a C drive icon 162 for a HDD, a D drive icon 163 for a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory) drive, a printer icon 164, etc., are stored. When the user operates the pointing device in order to click the C drive icon 162 and further clicks on the "My Documents" folder (not shown) of a layer below, a screen such as that shown in FIG. 29 is displayed.
On the screen of FIG. 29, a "MEMO" file (document file) icon 172 that the user has created and stored, a "1998.10.20" folder icon 171 in which year/month/day is used as a folder name, and for example, a "China" file (document file) icon 173, which is a material about China, are stored in the "My Documents" folder.
However, in the above-mentioned technique, it is required that a user determines which folder a file created by the user should be stored in, and this is burdensome.
Also, for example, as a file management technique in which "Chou Seiri Hou (Ultra Management Technique)" (Chuko Sinsho (small-sized paperback book), written by Yukio Noguchi) is applied, a technique in which the creation year/month/day is used as a folder name like the "1998.10.20" folder icon 171 of FIG. 29, and a created file is stored therein has been proposed. However, it is difficult to accurately perform this technique.
Furthermore, as can be understood from the screen of FIG. 29, since the number of icons which can be placed on the desktop screen is limited due to the limitation of the screen size, when the number of icons is large, management is difficult.
In addition, there is also a problem in that when the above-mentioned application programs which handle files, folders, and other various types of data differ from each other, access and retrieval of these files, folders, and various types of data become very complex. For example, in an operation in which "it is desired to reproduce the state of the desktop at the time a particular piece of electronic mail was received and to access a file of a work being processed at that time" or "it is desired to retrieve an image photographed when a particular text was being written", an operation of several stages extending across a plurality of application programs is required, and this is complex.

Information processing apparatus and method, and distribution medium for storing and accessing data


A method for allocating bandwidth in a communications environment is provided that includes receiving one or more data streams associated with one or more subscribers at a voice gateway. One or more algorithms included in the voice gateway are executed that are associated with traffic management of the data streams in order to generate a designated bandwidth value associated with one or more of the data streams. The designated bandwidth value is assigned to one or more of the data streams based on one or more of the algorithms that use an aggregation of one or more activity characteristics associated with a selected one or more of the subscribers.

Network communications have become increasingly important in today's society. Equally important may be the concept of bandwidth which generally refers to one or more network resources or data pathways that may be provisioned for data flows, communication streams, or information propagation. The ability to properly allocate bandwidth may be critical for achieving efficient communications and for ensuring that components within a network architecture are not overtaxed. Overburdened systems may fail to provide promised capabilities to one or more end users or entities or negatively affect services and features associated with a given communications protocol.
Another concern that may be associated with bandwidth allocation arises when a system designer or a network engineer attempts to approximate a minimum requisite bandwidth value that properly accommodates all users or entities coupled to an associated communications platform. Rudimentary groupings or broad classifications of users often fail to take into account the specific needs of end users or entities within a given system. In addition, such short-sighted approaches in the field of network communications may inhibit the potential for future scalability as a subscriber, a subscriber pool, or an entity group increases in number or grows in bandwidth needs. In an ideal scenario, the growth of a subscriber base should be reflected by corresponding growth associated with a network architecture. Such optimal and flexible parameters may be needed in order to ensure adequate resources are being provided to end users or entities that depend on the network architecture for the propagation of their communication flows.

System and method for allocating bandwidth in a communications environment


Methods and systems are disclosed for reducing resist residue defects in a semiconductor manufacturing process. The methods comprise appropriate adjustment of hardware, substrate, resist, developer, and process variables in order to remove resist residues from a semiconductor substrate structure in order to reduce resist residue defects therein, including special vapor prime and development operations.

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor manufacturing processes, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for controlling resist residue defects at Polysilicon Gate layer in a semiconductor device manufacturing process.
In the semiconductor industry, there is a continuing trend toward higher device densities. To achieve these high densities there have been and continue to be efforts toward scaling down the device dimensions on semiconductor wafers. In order to accomplish such high device packing densities, smaller and smaller feature sizes are required. The requirement of small features (and close spacing between adjacent features) requires high resolution lithographic processes. In general, lithography refers to processes for pattern transfer between various media It is a technique used for integrated circuit fabrication in which a silicon slice, the wafer, is coated uniformly with a radiation-sensitive film, the photoresist. The photoresist coated substrate is baked to evaporate any solvent in the photoresist composition and to fix the photoresist coating onto the substrate.
The baked coated surface of the substrate is next subjected to selective radiation using a mask, wherein the mask is employed to effect an image-wise exposure to actinic radiation. The masking step is used to protect one area of the wafer while working on another. Alignment apparatus aligns the wafer to the mask, and then projects an intense light through the mask and through a series of reducing lenses, exposing the photoresist with the mask pattern. The mask permits radiation to contact certain areas of the photoresist and prevents radiation from contacting other areas of the photoresist. This selective radiation exposure causes a chemical transformation in the exposed areas of the photoresist coated surface. Types of radiation commonly used in microlithographic processes include visible light, ultraviolet (UV) light, deep ultraviolet (DUV) light and electron beam radiant energy. After selective exposure, the photoresist coated substrate is treated with a developer solution to dissolve and remove either the radiation-exposed or the unexposed areas of the photoresist (depending upon whether a positive or a negative photoresist is utilized) resulting in a patterned or developed photoresist, exposing the underlying layer (e.g., oxide) previously deposited. The portions of the underlying layer not protected by the hardened resist layer may now be etched away, by, for example, a chemical solution or plasma gas discharge, or may otherwise be operated on.
Due to the large number of critical masking steps in a modem process flow and the inherent ability to impact pattern fidelity, photolithographic defects are particularly dangerous. The ability to detect and eliminate new defect types becomes increasingly important as integrated circuit device geometries continue to shrink into the deep sub-micron regime. Post-develop residue is a common defect phenomenon particularly in DUV lithography which occurs at a critical mask layer. For example, post-develop defects may occur at an active mask layer on a nitride film and/or at a Gate mask on a polysilicon/silicon oxide film or on a silicon nitride BARC (bottom anti-reflective coating) film.
Formation of post-develop or resist residue defects commonly occurs during a pattern image transfer associated with a lithography process. As a result of irradiating a photoresist through a photomask, resist residue or byproducts often form on the photoresist. A developer solution is then deposited over the selectively irradiated photoresist. However, the solubility of the radiation sensitive Photo Acid Generator (PAG) contained in the photoresist can be low. Moreover, it is believed that low solubility rates of the PAG in the developer are exacerbated by the presence of impurities (calcium, sulfur), which cause exposed (open) regions of the resist to be incompletely dissolved in the developer solution within a common process time (typically a 30 to 60 second develop time). As a result, circular defects are generated and remain on the wafer at the completion of the development cycle.
If the resist residue (resist byproducts) contains impurities, such as carbon, calcium (such as in the form of CaF), nitrogen and/or sulfur, the defects become robust enough to withstand decay during a subsequent Barc (bottom anti-reflective coating)/Polysilicon etch process. Hence, poor fidelity of the desired pattern at that layer results (the defects prevent processing of the underlying layer). These post-develop defects tend to have a circular appearance and thus are typically referred to as circular, satellite or cluster defects. Due to their subtle physical characteristics and low density, these defects are often dismissed as non-fatal defects. However, they may contribute to yield loss and raise device reliability issues because of the sheer volume (hundreds to thousands) of such defects on the wafer. In addition, despite their subtle physical characteristics, they can undesirably act as a hard mask, resulting in pattern deformation after etch. Thus, pattern deformation poses a substantial yield risk. In light of these problems, there is an unmet need for detecting, reducing and controlling the presence of post-develop defects at critical mask layers
The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of one or more aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the invention, nor to delineate the scope of the present invention. Rather, the sole purpose of this summary is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented hereinafter. The present invention provides methods and apparatus for controlling resist residue defects in a semiconductor device manufacturing process.
One aspect of the invention provides a method of reducing resist residue defects in a semiconductor manufacturing process, comprising performing a special vapor prime operation to a semiconductor substrate structure, applying a photoresist coat to the semiconductor substrate structure, and selectively exposing a first portion of the photoresist coat using an exposure source and a photomask, wherein a second portion of the photoresist is unexposed. The method further comprises performing a special development operation on the first portion of the photoresist using a developer, removing the developed first portion of the photoresist from the structure, and removing resist residues from the structure in order to reduce resist residue defects. The vapor prime operation comprises priming the structure using an HDMS type priming agent at a temperature from about 85 degrees C. or more to about 130 degrees C. or less for a time period from about 5 seconds or more to about 20 seconds or less.
The development operation comprises dispensing developer onto a semiconductor substrate structure, rinsing front and back sides of the semiconductor substrate structure while spinning the semiconductor substrate structure at a medium speed for a first time period, rinsing the front and back sides of the semiconductor substrate structure while spinning the semiconductor substrate structure at a low speed for a second time period, rinsing the front side of the semiconductor substrate structure for a third time period, and drying the semiconductor substrate structure while spinning the semiconductor substrate structure at a high speed. The development is performed while maintaining a high exhaust air velocity, and may employ extended rinse times, in order to mitigate resist residue defects in the process.

Methods and systems for controlling resist residue defects at gate layer in a semiconductor device manufacturing process


A system, method and computer program product for quickly and approximately solving structured regression problems. In one aspect, the system, method and computer program product are applied to problems that arise naturally in various statistical modeling settings—when the design matrix is a Vandermonde matrix or a sequence of such matrices. Using the Vandermonde matrix structure further accelerates the solution of the regression problem, achieving running times that are faster than “input sparsity”. The modeling framework speedup benefits of randomized regression for solving structured regression problems.

The disclosure relates to the field of predictive analytics generally, and particularly, to an efficient and scalable predictive analytics system based on sketching structured matrices in nonlinear regression problems.
A basic statistical problem that arises pervasively in data analytics applications is non-linear regression. On big datasets, solving such problems is computationally very challenging.
While development of randomized techniques for solving linear least squares regression and least absolute deviation problems exist, they do not exploit structure that is commonly found in regression problems. For example, in the polynomial fitting problem and certain kernel regression problems, the design matrix is heavily structured, which conceivably could lead to faster methods for solving the regression problems.
What is needed is a method to exploit this structure.

Sketching structured matrices in nonlinear regression problems

International Business Machines Corporation


A system including a reading device that reads an image from a document and a control device that controls the reading device is disclosed herein. The control device includes a processor and a memory storing computer-readable instructions. The computer-readable instructions instruct the processor to determine whether a read image read by the reading device comprises a table image. The computer-readable instructions instruct the processor to generate a first file in a first file format when the processor determines that the read image comprises the table image. The computer-readable instructions instruct the processor to generate a second file in a second file format when the processor determines that the read image does not comprise the table image. The second file is different from the first file. The second file format is different from the first file format. Computer-readable media storing the computer-readable instructions and corresponding methods also are disclosed herein.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to control devices and computer-readable media comprising computer-readable instructions for control devices. More specifically, the invention relates to reading documents and generating files corresponding to the read documents.
2. Description of the Related Art
Software for use in an optical character recognition ("OCR") process exists. Known OCR software scans an original table, recognizes the table by recognizing vertical and horizontal lines, and generates an electronic file in a table compilation software format. The known technology and software generates an electronic file in a single file format, such as a table compilation format.

Control devices for scanning documents, systems including such control devices, and non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructions for such control devices


A hydraulic pressurizing medium supply assembly has an adjustable axial piston machine. An actuating cylinder is controlled by way of a pilot valve. The pilot valve is actuated by a control installation. The control installation, as input variables, has an actual pressure and/or an actual swivel angle of the adjustable axial piston machine. One or a plurality of the input variables are compared with a matching nominal value and a control value is emitted, or in each case a control value is emitted. The controlling of the input variables is part of a first closed-loop control circuit. An underlying second closed-loop control circuit has an input variable which is based on the control variable or the control variables and serves as a nominal variable. A further input variable of the second closed-loop control circuit is an actual delivery-volume adjustment rate of the axial piston machine.

A pressure and flow control system is known from document RD 30630/04.13 of the Rexroth company. Said pressure and flow control system serves for the electro-hydraulic control of a swivel angle, pressure and power of an axial piston variable-displacement pump. The control system has an axial piston variable-displacement pump with an electrically actuated proportional valve. A set piston can be actuated by way of said proportional valve. Said set piston serves for adjusting a swash plate of the variable-displacement pump. A displacement transducer by way of which a swivel angle of the swash plate can be determined by way of the displacement path of the set piston is provided for the set piston. As an alternative to the displacement transducer, a swivel angle of the swash plate can also be detected on the pivot axle by way of a Hall sensor. The volumetric flow of the variable-displacement pump can in turn be ascertained from the swivel angle of the swash plate. The variable-displacement pump is driven by a motor. When the variable-displacement pump is not being driven and pressure is absent in the actuating system, the variable-displacement pump, on account of a spring force of a spring, pivots toward a maximum delivery volume. In contrast, the variable-displacement pump in the driven state of the variable-displacement pump and with a non-energized pilot valve and a closed pump outlet pivots toward a zero-stroke pressure. An equilibrium between the pump pressure at the set piston and the spring force of the spring is established at approximately 4 to 8 bar. The initial position is usually assumed when the control electronics are de-energized. A control system for the pilot valve as an input variable has a nominal pressure, a nominal swivel angle, and optionally a nominal output value. An actual pressure at the outlet side of the variable-displacement pump is detected by a pressure sensor. As has been explained above, an actual swivel angle is ascertained by way of the displacement transducer. The recorded actual values are digitally processed in an electronics unit and compared with the predefined nominal values. A minimum value generator then automatically ensures that only the controller assigned to the desired operating point is active. An output signal of the minimum value generator in this instance is a nominal value for a proportional solenoid on the pilot valve. A displacement path of a valve slide of the pilot valve is detected by way of a displacement transducer and relayed to the control system in order for the pilot valve to be controlled. External control electronics are disclosed for the described adjustment of the axial piston variable-displacement machine in document RD 30242/03.10 of the Rexroth company. An electro-hydraulic control system is furthermore disclosed in document RD 92 088/08.04 of the Rexroth company.
A control system for alternatingly controlling a pressure and a conveyed flow is disclosed in EP 1 460 505 A2. A pivotable hydraulic axial piston variable-displacement machine which by way of a drive shaft is connected to a further hydro machine is provided here. A closed-loop control circuit for a drive torque of the variable-displacement machine is furthermore provided. The closed-loop control circuit is supplied an actual drive torque and a nominal drive torque from which a control variable for an actuating installation of the variable-displacement machine is determined. The nominal drive torque in turn is an output variable of a minimum value generator. The latter herein selects an output variable of a pressure controller and of a volumetric flow controller. The volumetric flow of the hydro machine connected to the variable-displacement machine is provided as the actual volumetric flow herein. A high pressure of this hydro machine is furthermore provided as the actual pressure.
A hydro machine with a swivel angle sensor and a pressure sensor is furthermore disclosed in each of documents EP 2 851 565 B 1, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,801,247, 5,182,908, EP 0 349 092 B 1, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,267,441, 5,967,756, 5,170,625. The pressure, the volumetric flow, and the output can be controlled.

Hydraulic pressurizing medium supply assembly for a mobile work machine, and method


A plastic molding system and a method for delivering a melt stream of moldable plastic material to a mold cavity wherein a plastic melt is conveyed through a distribution channel and a mold channel or heated nozzle communicating with the distribution channel to the mold cavity via a mold gate between the mold channel and the mold cavity to fill the mold cavity. The plastic melt is frozen in the gate after the mold cavity is filled to block access from the mold channel to the mold cavity. A heated probe is provided in the mold channel movable from a first position spaced from the mold gate to provide a wide flow channel to the mold cavity to a second position adjacent the mold gate to melt the frozen plastic in the gate.

The present invention relates to a method for delivering a melt stream of moldable plastic material under pressure through a flow passageway into a mold cavity. The plastic melt is conveyed through a distribution channel generally a hot runner or insulated runner and through a mold channel or heated nozzle communicating with the distribution channel to a mold cavity via a mold gate between the mold channel and the mold cavity.
Various means are known in the art to control the flow of resin into the mold cavities through the mold gates. U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,240 shows an air operated valve gate with a heated nozzle combined with a hot runner system for supplying resin to the mold cavity. The mold gate is opened or closed by moving a valve stem into opening or closing position with respect to the mold gate. Heated probes are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,244 shows a fixed heated probe inside a channel combined with an insulated runner system for supplying a resin to the mold cavity. The gate remains in the open condition relying on ejection pressure to push out the frozen gate slug at the beginning of each injection cycle. An alternate system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,453 which uses a fixed heated probe having external and internal heaters combined with a hot runner system. The mold gate is controlled by an internal tip heater. By turning the internal tip heater on or off, the gate can be opened or closed by alternately melting or freezing the small amount of resin in the gate orifice. An additional representative patent showing the use of a fixed heating probe is U.S. Pat. 4,795,126.
An alternate system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,248 which uses a heated probe movable by spring pressure to close the gate and movable in the opposite direction by the injection pressure of the resin to open the gate.
Controlling the opening and closing of the mold gate in an efficient and convenient manner and in a rapid operating cycle especially involving a plurality of mold cavities, has presented problems to this art. Firstly, it is naturally highly desirable to be able to open and close the gate in an efficient and convenient manner and in a rapid operating cycle without leakage or drooling of the molten resin. Furthermore, the vestige or mark left on the molded part from the gate orifice has always represented a difficult aspect of hot runner and insulated runner molding.
Using injection pressure to open the mold gate and to compress springs has been found unreliable in multicavity molds especially because simultaneous opening of the gates is usually not achievable since spring pressures may vary from nozzle to nozzle and sometimes the probes may stick or bind in their housings, e.g., because resin has leaked into the spring cavity. Alternatively, the use of fixed probes has not been entirely satisfactory. For example, heat sensitive resins generally have narrow processing windows. Thus, when fixed probes are used in the processing of such heat sensitive resins degradation of the resin may occur in the gate area. The size of the gate orifice in combination with the proximity of the fixed heated probe thereto must be designed to both allow a quick freeze of resin in the gate area to shut off the gate and a large enough flow passage after the frozen resin is melted to allow easy filling when the gate is open. Naturally, also this must be done quickly and expeditiously in a rapid operating cycle. Too large a passage means little or even no freeze off at all, causing melted resin to drool from the mold gate. Too small a passage means restricted resin flow through the gate area causing the resin to be shear heated and often causes resin degradation during filling. Indeed, in some cases fixed heated probes cannot be used when processing heat sensitive resins.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for conveniently and expeditiously delivering a melt stream of moldable plastic material through a mold gate.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus as aforesaid which is readily usable on multicavity molds and which employs the use of a heated probe in the mold channel.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus as aforesaid which is readily usable with heat sensitive resins and which enables quick freeze off of the gate area and rapid opening of the gate area without an overly restricted gate passageway.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.


A multi-hop wireless communication network is disclosed, which includes a fixed communication unit, at least one mobile communication unit, and a relay communication unit. The relay communication unit is operable to relay a plurality of signals bi-directionally between the fixed communication unit and the at least one mobile communication unit, by receiving a first signal on at least one of a dedicated sub-carrier and a dynamic sub-carrier in a first downlink channel segment from the fixed communication unit, and transmitting the received first signal to the at least one mobile communication unit on a dynamic sub-carrier in a second downlink channel segment. Also, the relay communication unit is operable to receive a second signal on a dynamic sub-carrier in a first uplink channel segment from the at least one mobile communication unit, and transmit the received second signal to the fixed communication unit on at least one of a dedicated sub-carrier and a dynamic sub-carrier in a second uplink channel segment. Also, the fixed communication unit can allocate bandwidth dynamically or in a fixed amount in the first downlink channel segment, the relay communication unit can allocate bandwidth dynamically in the second downlink channel segment based on at least one Quality of Service value received from the at least one mobile communication unit, the relay communication unit can allocate bandwidth dynamically for the at least one mobile communication unit in the first uplink channel segment, and the fixed communication unit can allocate bandwidth dynamically or in a fixed amount for the relay communication unit in the second uplink channel segment.

In conventional cellular communication networks, a fixed base station (BS) is responsible for controlling communications with the mobile stations (MSs) within the coverage area of that BS. The BS maintains control by selecting channels and communicating directly with the MSs. Thus, conventional cellular communication networks are considered single hop networks.
The limitations of single hop cellular networks are known. For example, the coverage of single hop cellular networks is limited by radio "dead spots" caused by interference from structures (e.g., buildings, etc.) located in the paths of the radiated signals. Also, the coverage of these networks is limited by the transmit power of the MSs. Significant increases in MS transmit power in single hop cellular networks increases signal interference, which decreases network capacity and throughput as a result.
Another limitation of single hop cellular networks is that their channel configurations are fixed. In order to maintain centralized control in single hop cellular networks, the BS selects the channels for communications with the MSs. The channel configuration designs in single hop cellular networks take these centralized control and channel selection features into account. Consequently, the channel configurations of conventional single hop cellular networks are not scalable.
In order to resolve these and other problems encountered with conventional signal hop cellular networks, standards that support multi-hop cellular communications have been approved. For example, IEEE Standard 802.16-2004 (formerly known as IEEE Standard 802.16d) for local and metropolitan area networks specifies the air interface for fixed broadband wireless access (BWA) systems supporting multimedia services. The medium access control (MAC) layer specified in Standard 802.16-2004 supports the use of point-to-multipoint architectures and mesh topologies. Using a mesh topology, a source node in a mesh network can communicate with a destination node via one or more intermediate nodes, and network control is distributed or decentralized. Thus, in the context of a cellular network using a mesh topology, a BS in a multi-hop cellular network can communicate with an MS via one or more fixed or mobile (intermediate) relay stations.
The advantages of multi-hop cellular networks over single hop cellular networks are known. For example, in multi-hop cellular networks, a BS can communicate indirectly with an MS via an intermediate relay station. Consequently, by providing alternate propagation paths, the effects of radio "dead spots" in these networks can be reduced. Also, because intermediate mobile or fixed relay stations can be used in multi-hop cellular networks, the transmit power of the individual MSs in these networks can be reduced. As a result, signal interference in multi-hop cellular networks can be reduced, which increases network capacity and throughput.
Although standards and protocols have been approved that support the use of multi-hop cellular communication networks, a number of important technical problems need to be resolved before such networks can be implemented. For example, in order to implement a multi-hop cellular network successfully, suitable channel configuration and bandwidth allocation mechanisms have to be developed with distributed access and control network objectives in mind.

Channel configuration and bandwidth allocation in multi-hop cellular communication networks


Self-healing coatings are formed by first phosphating or nitriding ferrous parts, then coating with an emulsion of e.g. polysiloxane, oil, sorbitan derivative and sodium sulfonate, butyl cellosolve, oleic acid. Preferred phosphating is to a thickness of 2,000-3,000 mg Zn phosphate/square foot. This coating passes 240-plus hours in 5% salt spray (ASTM B-117) and resists wash off with car wash soap.

(1) Field of the Invention:
The present invention pertains to coatings and metal surface treatments preparatory to applying such coatings.
(2) Description of the Prior Art:
Many attempts have been made to improve the salt spray protection provided by protective coatings including among others, improvements in compositions of coating materials and also pretreatments prior to coatings to modify the chemical surface for better bond with the protective coating.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,528,535 to Merker teaches phosphating oil-in-water systems for lubricating compositions, preferably with oxidation inhibitors and mentions the possibility of adding and rust corrosion inhibitors, preferably less than 3% by weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,457,173 to Pater lubricates metal surfaces by applying siloxane-polyoxyalkylene block co-polymers.
Soviet Union Pat. No. 0810782 teaches polymerized cotton seed oil apparently used as a lubricant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,582 to Smith, et al. claims coating compositions consisting essentially of phosphating oil, polysiloxane or alkylpolysiloxane and water and expresses a preference for applying such coating compositions to metal parts which have been phosphated.
None of the above references teach the surprising improvement obtained by the present invention's use of sorbitan and preferably also alkaline earth, e.g. barium, sulfonates.
It is particularly surprising that, in spite of the teaching of U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,582 that the compositions should consist essentially of (be restricted to) phosphating oils, silioxanes and water, the present invention involves the discovery that very substantial increases in performance can be obtained by adding one or more of the additional ingredients disclosed herein.

Coating compositions and method for forming a self-healing corrosion preventative film


A method for managing electrical power to a server or server system is used in a power management system. The power management system comprises a power module, a backup power module, and a server system, the method comprises setting the server system to operate under a first working mode and controlling initialization of a BMC by an initialization command. A specified pin of the BMC is measured for a logic low voltage level and the server system is set to operate under a second working mode if the specified pin of the BMC is at the logic low voltage level. In different modes, the manner of supplying power and the working parameters of the server system are adjusted.

A server system usually includes a power module, a backup power module, and servers. The servers are electrically connected to the power module and the backup power module. When the power module is not working correctly, the servers can work based on the backup power module. When being powered by the backup power module, the state of the backup power module cannot be monitored. The power capacity of the backup module is small, and the servers will be powered off when the backup power module is exhausted, risking data loss. The stability of a server system should be improved.

System and method for managing power to server

HONGFUJIN PRECISION ELECTRONICS (TIANJIN) CO., LTD.


Apparatus and methods spread input symbols for transmission in multiple dimensions. When input symbols are spread over time, frequency, and code space, the resulting symbols exhibit good immunity to interference. In one embodiment, a system with a multi-tone outer code/modulation and a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) inner code/modulation provides good communications performance characteristics and can be efficiently implemented.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to electronics, and in particular, to communications systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Desirable characteristics of a communications technology are near capacity data rate, flexibility, reliability, robustness to interference, co-existence with other systems, etc. A relatively important characteristic of a communications waveform required to exhibit these characteristics is high dimensionality. For example, a wideband orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) system has high dimensionality in frequency. Shannon's theory derives capacity as dimensionality goes to infinity (water filling analogy).
Highly dimensional systems can have more inherent flexibility with regard to how capacity is allocated. Similar benefits are applicable for highly dimensional systems for interference tolerance, coexistence and other desirable properties. An arbitrary application of the concept of dimensionality does not necessarily yield a good waveform. While an OFDM system with a large number of tones can exhibit very good jamming resistance in the presence of narrowband jammers, each tone can be affected by an impulse jammer. It is therefore desirable to incorporate dimensionality on multiple axes: time, frequency, and code space (code space is not independent from the other two in a strict sense but from a functional perspective it is useful to consider separately).

Multi-tone concatenated spread spectrum communications


An optical lens assembly for imaging pickup, sequentially arranged from an object side to an image side, comprising: a first lens element, a second lens element, a third lens element, a fourth lens element and a fifth lens element. The first lens element with positive refractive power has a convex object-side surface. The second lens element has negative refractive power. The third lens element with refractive power has bi-aspheric surfaces. The fourth lens element with positive refractive power has a concave object-side surface and a convex image-side surface and both being aspheric. The fifth lens element with negative refractive power has a concave image-side surface, bi-aspheric surfaces and at least one inflection point. Therefore, the optical lens assembly for imaging pickup satisfies conditions related to shorten the total length and to reduce the sensitivity for use in compact cameras and mobile phones with camera functionalities.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical lens assembly for imaging pickup, and more particularly to the optical lens assembly for imaging pickup comprised of five lens elements to provide a good image quality and reduce the total length to satisfy the specifications for electronic products.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, a personal computer is generally equipped with a web camera, and a mobile phone camera has become a necessary item. To meet user requirements, compact electronic products such as web cameras, mobile phone cameras, and digital still cameras tend to be developed with a thin design, and an optical lens assembly for imaging pickup is generally installed for capturing images of an object, and the optical lens assembly for imaging pickup must be installed in the thin computer, mobile phone or camera, and thus the compact and thin optical lens assembly for imaging pickup has a high demand. As the pixel of the camera keeps increasing, the optical lens assembly for imaging pickup tends to be developed with smaller volume and thickness, while meeting the user requirements by improving the resolution, the telecentricity, and the optical performance of the aberration correction.
In general, a conventional optical lens assembly for imaging pickup of a compact electronic product comes with different designs, including the two-lens, three-lens, four-lens, and five-or-more lens designs. If the imaging quality is taken into consideration, the optical lens assembly for imaging pickup with the four-lens or five-lens designs has advantages on image aberration and modulation transfer function (MTF) performance, wherein the five-lens design having a higher resolution than the four-lens designs thus being applicable for electronic products requiring the high quality and high pixels.
In various compact designs of the five-lens optical lens assembly for imaging pickup having a fixed focal length, prior arts adopt different combinations of positive and negative refractive powers and a group of stacked lens elements as disclosed in publications and U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,663,813, in which the two cemented glass lenses incur a higher manufacturing cost, and such conventional optical lens assembly for imaging pickup is unfavorable for the cost control of mass production. Another conventional technique is the combination of a first lens element with negative refractive power and a second lens element with positive refractive power as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,480,105, but such conventional optical lens assembly for image pickup cannot reduce the total length of the optical system easily to meet the requirement of the compact design.
In products such as compact digital cameras, web cameras, and mobile phone cameras, the optical lens assembly for imaging pickup requires a compact design, a short focal length, and a good aberration correction. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,502,181, a first lens element with positive refractive power, a second lens element with negative refractive power, and a fourth lens element with negative refractive power are installed to shorten the total length of the optically system. Since the fourth lens element has a convex object-side surface and a concave image-side surface, the aberration correction can be compensated, and the surface shapes of the fourth lens element and the fifth lens element have a large change and must be matched with each other, and such requirements are unfavorable for mass production. In the description above, the conventional designs will increase the back focal length and the total length of the optical lens assembly for imaging pickup. In various different designs of the five-lens focal length optical lens assembly for imaging pickup with a fixed focal length, a first lens element having a convex object-side surface is used for decreasing the refractive angle of the incident light to avoid an excessive aberration, so as to facilitate obtaining a good balance between the effects of increasing the view angle of the system and correcting the aberration. If the complementary combination of the fourth lens element with positive refractive power and the fifth lens element with negative refractive power is adopted, the telecentric effect can be improved to facilitate reducing the total length of the optical lens assembly for imaging pickup effectively. Therefore, the present invention provides a more practical design to shorten the optical lens assembly for imaging pickup, while using a combination of refractive powers and a combination of convex and concave surfaces of five lens elements to lower the cost for mass production easily and apply the optical lens assembly for imaging pickup to compact electronic products.

Optical lens assembly for imaging pickup


Metal oxides are modified by aminohydrocarbyl-substituted monoalkyltrisiloxy groups in a defined percentage of T1 and T2 groups relative to total T groups wherein the T groups denote connectivity of siloxy bonds to the metal oxide have a high positive triboelectric chargeability, the triboelectric charge being stable even in conditions of high humidity.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to metal oxides which have a high positive surface charge and the preparation and use thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
The surface charge properties of particulate metal oxides are important properties when these substances are used for controlling the flow properties and triboelectric charge in toners, developers and powder coats.
Particulate metal oxides having electrostatically positive chargeability are used in particular as constituents of developers and toners for visualization of negative electrostatic charge images. A precondition is high, stable, uniform positive triboelectric chargeability of the particles.
Particulate metal oxides having electrostatically positive chargeability are used in particular as constituents of powder coats for controlling the charging in the triboelectric application of powder coats. A precondition is again, high, stable, uniform positive triboelectric chargeability of the particles.
Particulate metal oxides having electrostatically negative chargeability are used in particular as constituents of developers and toners for visualization of positive electrostatic charge images. A precondition is high, stable, uniform negative triboelectric chargeability of the particles.
Particulate metal oxides having electrostatically negative chargeability are used in particular as constituents of powder coats for controlling the powder flow properties in the application by means of the corona process.
The sign, the magnitude and the density of the surface charge of particulate metal oxides are decisively determined by the chemical structure of the particle surface. In the case of metal oxides, such as silicon dioxides, aluminum oxides or titanium dioxides, surface hydroxyl groups are the charge-determining groups, the acid strength of the metal-hydroxyl groups decisively influencing the sign of the charge and the surface charge density. Thus, unmodified silicas or metal oxides modified with alkylsilyloxy groups are particles which can be triboelectrically charged to have a negative charge.
For producing positive triboelectric charges, as described, for example, in DE 33 30 380, aminosilanes can be chemically fixed on the particle surface. However, the positive triboelectric charge build-ups achieved with particles modified in this manner tend to have a low magnitude and are greatly dependent on the ambient conditions, such as the atmospheric humidity.
More stable triboelectric charging can be achieved by additional hydrophobization of the particles, as described, for example, in DE 33 30 380 or DE 37 07 226. However, in these cases too, the magnitude of the positive triboelectric charge build-up is frequently small.

Highly disperse metal oxides having a high positive surface charge


Method and device for connecting the end of a flattened tube of plastic foil to the beginning of a subsequent tube, said tubes being used in particular for applying sleeves onto bottles or like objects. The leading end of the beginning of a flattened tube is provided with an obliquely cut away corner at both longitudinal edges. The thus established two loose lips are separated from each other and the end of the spent tube is slid between the lips and fixed in relation to said lips. The materials of said tubes are melted together by a short-time, pressurized supply of heat.

The invention relates to a method and a device for connecting the end of a flattened tube of plastic foil to the beginning of a subsequent tube, said tubes being used in particular for applying sleeves onto bottles or the like.
When using such a tube, it is drawn from a reel. When the end of the tube has been reached, this end has to be connected to the end of a tube being situated on a subsequent reel, to wit in such a way that the process of applying sleeves on subsequent bottles will not be interrupted.
Such a method and device are known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,994. According to this document, the beginning of the subsequent tube is put against the end of the spent tube and then fixed with adhesive tape. To that end, both ends should be positioned in relation to one another with extreme accuracy both in longitudinal direction and in transverse direction. This requires a complicated device, which is sensitive to malfunction. In case of inaccurate positioning, malfunctioning may also occur in the machine which is employed for applying the sleeves.
According to another method, the end of the tube from the spent reel can be stuck in the beginning of the tube on the next reel and be fixed with adhesive tape. This has the disadvantage that the inner diameter in reduced across the distance where the beginning of the next tube is stuck in the end or the tube of the spent reel. This can cause problems when applying the sleeves on a bottle with the help of the machine concerned.
Now the object of the invention is to provide a method in which these difficulties do not arise. This method is characterized by the following steps: the leading edge of the beginning of the flattened tube is provided with an obliquely cut-away corner at both longitudinal edges; the thus established two loose lips are separated from each other; the end of the spent tube is slid between the lips and fixed in relation to said lips.
It has turned out that such a method can easily be carried out. Neither does the method cause any difficulties in further processing of the tube on the machine by which sleeves are mounted on objects, even it parts of both tubes are on top of each other.
In particular it will be provided for, that the end edge of the spent tube is at a distance from those locations of the longitudinal edges of the subsequent tube where the obliquely cut-away corners of said tube end, thus leaving a free space between the longitudinal edges of both flattened tubes.
Through this, it is achieved that there is always an opening, be it a small one, at the point where the tubes are connected to one another, so that air possibly present in the tube is allowed to escape.
For fixing the ends of both tubes in relation to each other, adhesive tape or an xe2x80x9cimpulse sealxe2x80x9d can be used, in which the materials of said tubes are melted together by means of a short-time, pressurized supply of heat.
The invention also relates to a device for applying the method described above. Said device is characterized by: a frame in which some reels of flattened tube can be accomodated; means for supporting the beginnings of subsequent flattened tubes, said beginning being provided with obliquely cut-away corners near its longitudinal edges for forming loose lips; a guide, extending in parallel to said means for supporting the beginnings of the subsequent tubes, for supporting a transport module comprising a beak situated within said tube, which is kept in place by rollers mounted outside of said tube, and a tube transport motor drawing the tube across the beak; with further means being provided for bringing said transport module to a location where the beginning of a subsequent tube is situated and for bringing the end of a tube between the lips of said subsequent tube.
It is desirable that both leading edges of the lips of a subsequent tube are positioned exactly on a certain location.
In connection with that, means will be provided for, such as in the shape of clamping members, for clamping the beginning of a subsequent tube, at a distance from said lips, for the time during which said tube is not used.
It is desirable, that applying sleeves on the objects should not be interrupted on commencing use of a subsequent tube.
To that end, it will be provided for, that after commencing use of a subsequent tube, the transport motor will temporarily move it at a higher speed in order to create a buffer supply, which is used during connecting the end of one tube to the beginning of a subsequent tube.
For connecting the tubes to one another, the device will in particular be provided with sealing beams, which are carried by the transport module and are situated above and below said tube and which can be brought together and be heated for melting the abutting parts of the tubes together where a part of the beak is situated.
The presence of the beak prevents the tubes from being melted to each other internally as well, on account of which the tubes could no longer be pulled across the beak.
Given the relatively small dimensions of the lips of a tube kept in stock, a belt can be used for supporting the lips. This belt need only have a small thickness.
In order to guarantee, that the lips will be at the desired location when they has to be connected to the ends of a tube, the transport module will be provided with belt guides being connected to the belt guided across some rollers and being situated at both sides of the beak and extending to near its lateral edges.
Since a printed foil is used in most cases, it must be provided for that when cutting a sleeve from the tube, the print is situated at the proper position.
In connection with that, the transport module can be provided with a detecting photo cell which, on detection of a certain point of the print, will stop the tube transport motor, a cutting knife being present for cutting the tube in a certain position.
In view of this a cutting knife can be situated at each clamping member for clamping the beginning of a subsequent tube, and operation of the clamping member and the cutting knife can take place by means of a pressurized medium cylinder being located on the transport module.


A system described herein may provide a technique for the modeling of channel condition information, associated with a base station of a radio access network (“RAN”) associated with a wireless network, over time. The model may be used to determine, estimate, or predict channel information associated with the base station at a given time, such as a time corresponding to a request for content (e.g., streaming content). The channel condition information corresponding to this time, as determined based on the model, may be used to select a particular version of the content to provide in response to the request. By virtue of receiving this information, the content provider may forgo performing a speed test, a ramp up transmission scheme, and/or other technique that may otherwise used to select the version of the content to provide in response to the request.

Content providers, such as streaming video providers, may utilize techniques such as speed tests, throttled streaming, and/or other techniques to determine a manner in which to provide content to a given user. For example, one user's device may be capable of receiving a higher bandwidth stream (such as a 1080p resolution video stream) while another user's device may only be capable of receiving a lower bandwidth stream (such as a 480p resolution video stream). In some situations, these differing capabilities may be caused by differing levels of wireless connectivity.

Systems and methods for content selection and delivery based on radio access network (“RAN”) conditions


In an apparatus for cutting a work by an abrasive water jet containing abrasive particles, an abrasive suspension such that abrasive particles with an average size of up to about 100 microns are held in suspension in water is supplied to a jet nozzle assembly in which the abrasive suspension is induced by a high pressure ejected water and directed against the work. The ejected water is passed through an ejected water passageway to which is connected an abrasive water orifice of an abrasive water nozzle tip. The abrasive water orifice has an upstream tapered portion the diameter of which gradually increases toward an upstream opening at which the abrasive water orifice is connected smoothly to the downstream end of the ejected water passageway, whereby the flow of ejected water is streamlined. The abrasive suspension is supplied to, and merges with, the streamlined flow of the ejected water near the junction of the ejected water passageway and the abrasive water orifice, as an outer layer of the streamlined flow, whereby a dual-layer streamlined jet is obtained which enables fine cutting and also reduces wear of the nozzle tip.

This invention pertains to apparatus for cutting sheet metal or like work by means of a jet of highly pressurized water containing particles of an abrasive material. Such a jet of water containing abrasive particles is herein referred to as an abrasive water jet.
The cutting of metal or like materials by an abrasive water jet per se is not new and has been extensively practiced for some time now. As the abrasive particles there have been employed materials such as silica sand, cast iron grit, or powdered garnet or alumina. The average size of such abrasive particles has heretofore ranged from 0.2 to 0.8 millimeters.
The conventional abrasive water jet cutting practice has been such that highly pressurized water and "dry" abrasive particles are separately delivered to an abrasive water jet nozzle assembly. The abrasive particles merge into the stream of pressurized water within the nozzle assembly. The pressurized water containing the abrasive particles emerges from the nozzle assembly in the form of an abrasive water jet directed against the work. The abrasive water jet cuts the work as the nozzle assembly and work are moved relative to each other.
An objection to this conventional practice is that the abrasive particles are fed in the "dry" state to the nozzle assembly and, in consequence, cannot possibly be reduced in size to such an extent as can be desired. The use of such coarse abrasive particles (from 0.2 to 0.8 millimeters in average size) is undesirable for more reasons than one. First, they give rise to the rapid wear of the nozzle tip and other parts of the nozzle assembly that are exposed to the abrasive particles. Second, the width of cut (kerf) created in the work is very large, usually larger than the orifice diameter of the nozzle tip. An additional problem is the production of burrs on the back of the work. Consequently, the abrasive water jet cutting as heretofore practiced has required subsequent machining operations in applications where close tolerances and fine finishes are important.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,972,150 to Hart teaches the use of a slurry made of a mixture of abrasive material and water for cutting a work. The slurry is induced by and merges into high pressure water jets and is directed against the work to cut the same. Again, the abrasive material used is made of coarse abrasive particles, so that fine cutting with a small width of cut and without the production of burrs cannot be realized.


A ferroelectric liquid crystal display is supplied with voltages by STN driving IC's, and a bias voltage circuit for generating voltages supplied to bias pins of driving IC's is provided. The two composite voltages are supplied to liquid crystal cells during the pixel period and the kinds of composite voltage is five or six. In order to supply these composite voltages to the liquid crystal cells, control signal pins of STN driving IC's are supplied with a signal which is "high" during the first half of pixel period and "low" during the latter half of pixel period, and bias voltage pins are supplied with voltages which should be applied to common electrodes and segment electrodes. The circuit for generating bias voltages such voltages includes a plurality of resistors and two power supplies. Thus, the ferroelectric liquid crystal displays can be economically driven, and the flickering of a picture is decreased.

The present invention relates to method for driving a ferroelectric liquid crystal displays, and more particularly to a driving method of a ferroelectric liquid crystal displays in a 1-frame reset mode, using a super twisted nematic (STN) driving IC, and a bias voltage circuit for generating a bias voltage supplied to the STN driving IC.
Ferroelectric liquid crystal displays which can present an image by a simple matrix driving without using active elements, have a characteristic that alignment of the liquid crystal is stored regardless of the interruption of the supplied power, so that contrast is not degraded even though duty is decreased. Also, while the switching of a nematic liquid crystal is carried out by a weak interaction (.DELTA..epsilon..multidot.E .sup.2 /2) between the dielectric anisotrophy (.DELTA..epsilon.) of the liquid crystal and the external electric field (E), the switching of a ferroelectric liquid crystal is carried out by a strong interaction (Ps.multidot.E) between the spontaneous polarization (Ps) of the liquid crystal and the external electric field. Accordingly, the response speed of the ferroelectric liquid crystal becomes to be measured in terms of microseconds, which is much faster than that of the nematic liquid crystal. Here, the basic characteristics of the ferroelectric liquid crystal display, which should be considered in the driving thereof, are as follows.
Generally, if a sustained DC component is applied to the liquid crystal, the liquid crystal deteriorates due to the electrochemical reaction. Also, the alignment orientation of the ferroelectric liquid crystal is changed due to the polarity of pulses. Therefore, a waveform of one period supplied to the liquid crystal during driving must have no DC component, and the data is displayed by selectively supplying one of both pulses of opposite polarities. Additionally, the pulse width supplied to the ferroelectric liquid crystal is restricted by the kind of liquid crystal, so that, when the pulse width is wide, the threshold voltage which causes state transition becomes low. In other words, the value obtained by multiplying threshold voltage V.sub.th by pulse width .tau. is a generally constant, and thus the pulse width must be lengthened to lower the driving voltage. However, to lengthen the pulse width undesirably requires a long period of time for expressing one pixel.
Meanwhile, the driving method of a ferroelectric liquid crystal display is classified into 5-pulse, 4-pulse, 3-pulse and 2-pulse techniques according to the number of the pulses required to display one pixel. Here, the 4-pulse and 2-pulse techniques are termed the 2-field method and 1-frame reset method, respectively, and will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional 2-field method for displaying one picture by performing scanning twice, i.e., two fields wherein a first data state is designated in the first field, and a second data state is designated in the second field. However, in such a driving method, since the time required for expressing one picture becomes twice the field time, the displayed number of pictures in a unit time is halved, which impedes presentation of smoothly succeeding pictures. Furthermore, four pulses are required for displaying one pixel, which in turn narrows the pulse width, and raises the driving voltage in case of displaying many pixels within the unit time.
FIG. 2 illustrates 1-frame reset method, wherein one picture can be expressed by scanning once, and so that two pulses are required for expressing one pixel. Therefore, a larger number of pixels can be driven within a unit time. The voltage supplied to each electrode is one of three voltages. These features consequently simplify driving. However, an exclusive driving IC for driving the ferroelectric liquid crystal should be necessarily developed to realize the driving. That is, driving by way of the conventional STN driving IC becomes very complicated and is, for all practical purposes, impossible.

Method for driving a ferroelectric liquid crystal displays and bias voltage circuit therefor


Disclosed are dye compositions of the formula ##STR1## wherein Cp and Cp' are each coupler compounds of the formula ##STR2## wherein the --COOH group and the --OH group can be in any position on either ring, provided that in the naphthalene ring system there is present least one hydrogen activated through resonance by the --OH group for an electrophilic aromatic substitution coupling reaction, n represents the number of substituents on the rings and is a number of from 0 to 8, and R represents the substituent groups on the ring, wherein each R is independently selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl groups, alkyl groups, substituted alkyl groups, aryl groups, substituted aryl groups, aryl-alkyl groups, substituted aryl-alkyl groups, halogen atoms, and nitro groups. Also disclosed are aqueous ink compositions containing the dyes, processes for making the dyes, processes for making the inks containing the dyes, and printing processes employing the inks.

The present invention is directed to dye compositions. More specifically, the present invention is directed to dye compositions exhibiting waterfast characteristics and suitable for applications wherein waterfast images are desirable, such as ink jet printing. One embodiment of the present invention is directed to dye compositions of the formula ##STR3## wherein Cp and Cp' are each coupler compounds of the formula ##STR4## wherein the --COOH group and the --OH group can be in any position on either ring, provided that in the naphthalene ring system there is present least one hydrogen activated through resonance by the --OH group for an electrophilic aromatic substitution coupling reaction, n represents the number of substituents on the rings and is a number of from 0 to 8, and R represents the substituent groups on the ring, wherein each R is independently selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl groups, alkyl groups, substituted alkyl groups, aryl groups, substituted aryl groups, aryl-alkyl groups, substituted aryl-alkyl groups, halogen atoms, and nitro groups. Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a process for making the aforementioned dye which comprises (a) reacting 4,4'-diamino-2,2'-stilbene disulfonic acid with a base, hydrochloric acid, and a nitrite salt, said reaction taking place in aqueous solution, thereby forming a diazonium intermediate; and (b) reacting the diazonium intermediate with an alkaline aqueous solution containing a coupler compound of the formula ##STR5## wherein the --COOH group and the --OH group can be in any position on either ring, provided that in the naphthalene ring system there is present least one hydrogen activated through resonance by the --OH group for an electrophilic aromatic substitution coupling reaction, n represents the number of substituents on the rings and is a number of from 0 to 8, and R represents the substituent groups on the ring. Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed to an ink composition for ink jet printing which comprises an aqueous liquid vehicle and the aforementioned dye composition. Still another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a process for making the aforementioned ink composition which comprises (a) reacting 4,4'-diamino 2,2'-stilbene disulfonic acid with a base, hydrochloric acid, and a nitrite salt, said reaction taking place in aqueous solution, thereby forming a diazonium intermediate; and (b) forming a dye composition by reacting the diazonium intermediate with an alkaline aqueous solution containing a coupler compound of the formula ##STR6## wherein the --COOH group and the --OH group can be in any position on either ring, provided that in the naphthalene ring system there is present least one hydrogen activated through resonance by the --OH group for an electrophilic aromatic substitution coupling reaction, n represents the number of substituents on the rings and is a number of from 0 to 8, and R represents the substituent groups on the ring; and (c) admixing the dye compound with water to form an ink composition. Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to an ink jet printing process which comprises incorporating the aforementioned ink composition into an ink jet printing apparatus and causing droplets of the ink composition to be ejected in an imagewise pattern onto a substrate.
Colorant materials with waterfast characteristics are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,361 (Winnik et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses an ink composition which comprises a solution comprising a dendrimer and a dye or dyes. The ink composition exhibits excellent waterfastness.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,475 (Winnik et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses an ink composition comprising a solution with a dendrimer colored with a dye or dyes covalently attached thereto. As optional additives there may be included in the ink humectants and biocides. The aforementioned inks can be prepared by mixing the appropriate components such as a dendrimer, water and a reactive dye. Also disclosed is a process for the utilization of the aforementioned compositions and ink jet printing processes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,189 (Hindagolla) discloses inks comprising (a) a dye corresponding to the formula ##STR7## wherein W is COOH, X is H or COOH, Y is H, COOH, or SO.sub.3 H, Z is H, COOH, or SO.sub.3 H, and R is H, CH.sub.2 COOH, or CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 COOH; with the proviso that there are at least two COOH groups and that the number of COOH groups is equal to or greater than the number of SO.sub.3 groups, and (b) a solvent which may be water or a mixture of water and a water-soluble organic solvent. The inks preferably have a pH from about 7 to about 9.5.
Although known compositions are suitable for their intended purposes, a need remains for dye compositions with waterfast characteristics. In addition, there is a need for dye compositions which enable the production of waterfast images when incorporated into aqueous inks. Further, there is a need for waterfast dye compositions suitable for use in ink jet printing applications. Additionally, there is a need for waterfast dye compositions suitable for use in thermal ink jet printing applications. There is also a need for waterfast ink jet ink compositions. In addition, a need remains for waterfast ink jet inks of relatively simple composition, without the need for ink additives to enhance the waterfastness of the ink.


A vector slot processor that is capable of supporting multiple signal processing operations for multiple demodulation standards is provided. The vector slot processor includes a plurality of micro execution slot (MES) that performs the multiple signal processing operations on the high speed streaming inputs. Each of the MES includes one or more n-way signal registers that receive the high speed streaming inputs, one or more n-way coefficient registers that store filter coefficients for the multiple signal processing, and one or more n-way Multiply and Accumulate (MAC) units that receive the high speed streaming inputs from the one or more n-way signal registers and filter coefficients from one or more n-way coefficient registers. The one or more n-way MAC units perform a vertical MAC operation and a horizontal multiply and add operation on the high speed streaming inputs.

1. Technical Field
The embodiments herein generally relate to a vector slot processor, and, more particularly, to a vector slot processor that is capable of performing multiple signal processing operations of finite impulse response filters, decimators, interpolators and cubic polynomial based waveform interpolations for high speed streaming inputs.
2. Description of the Related Art
In digital communication systems, it is essential to convert an incoming intermediate frequency (IF) signal to a baseband signal before further processing. In addition, the baseband signal needs to be filtered before processing any symbol. This is very computationally intensive, especially if the incoming stream of samples is at a high speed. Current application specific hardwired architectures typically support single or very few demodulation standards. This becomes extremely challenging for a software defined radio (SDR) platform that supports multiple demodulation standards. Typical digital signal processing (DSP) CPUs do not provide an optimized and scalable solution that caters to all data rates.
A demodulation chain of any digital communication receiver typically includes a first section where the intermediate frequency (IF) signal is digitized after receiving it from a tuner using an analog to digital convertor (ADC). This digitized signal can be optionally converted to baseband. When there is a need to cater to a specific demodulation receiver, the design features are supported which is optimized for a combination of sample rates (as obtained from ADC) and required symbol rates. Such design features are inflexible and not scalable for higher sampling rates or multiple input streams as is the case for multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems.

Vector slot processor execution unit for high speed streaming inputs