A substrate holding pallet assembly of the present invention comprises a pallet for holding a substrate on upper face thereof, and a probe laid on said pallet from above so as to hold said substrate between said pallet and said probe. Also, a substrate inspection device of the invention comprises a chamber having an exhauster for exhausting the chamber into a high vacuum state, an electron beam generator for radiating an electron beam to the substrate, and a secondary electron detector for detecting a secondary electron generated from the substrate by radiation of electron beam from the electron beam generator, a pallet for holding the substrate on upper face thereof, and a probe laid on said pallet from above so as to hold said substrate between said pallet and said probe.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pallet assembly for substrate inspection device and a substrate inspection device.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the display devices using a liquid crystal substrate is a flat panel display (hereinafter referred to as an FPD) This FPD is a display device for displaying electronic information. One of the recent typical FPDs is a liquid crystal display (hereinafter an LCD) composed of a thin film transistor (hereinafter a TFT). The LCD composed of the TFT is employed for a high performance laptop computer.
The constitution and the operation of the LCD composed of the TFT will be described below. The LCD composed of the TFT has a fundamental structure of a liquid crystal panel in which a liquid crystal is poured between one glass substrate on which the TFT and pixel electrodes are formed and the other glass substrate on which counter electrodes are formed. In this specification, the one glass substrate on which the TFT and pixel electrodes are formed is defined as a substrate.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a substrate on which the TFT and pixel electrodes are formed. In FIG. 6, the substrate 10 has a plurality of panels formed on a single glass substrate 11 through a process for manufacturing a typical integrated circuit, each panel 12 being composed of a plurality of pixels 13 arrayed like a matrix.
Each pixel 13 comprises a pixel electrode 14, a storage capacitor 15 and the TFT 16. The pixel electrode 14 is formed from a light transmitting material, typically, ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). An electrode having a reference voltage of the pixel 13 applied within the storage capacitor 15 is grounded. Namely, the reference voltage of each TFT 16 is set to a ground level. The TFT 16 functions as a switch. A row selection signal LR for switching control is supplied to a gate electrode G of the TFT 16, and a column selection signal LC as the data signal is supplied to a source electrode S of the TFT 16.
In driving the pixels 13, when a voltage VS is applied to the source electrode S of the TFT 16 (i.e., when the column selection signal LC is supplied), if a voltage VG is applied to the gate electrode G (i.e., when the row selection signal LR is supplied), the TFT 16 is turned on to increase the drain voltage VD. At this time, the storage capacitor 15 is charged to maintain a drain voltage VD till the next refresh cycle. By repeating this process for each pixel 13, a liquid crystal molecular array between two glass substrates is controlled to display a two-dimensional image on a liquid crystal display.
In the inspection of the substrate on which the TFT and pixel electrodes are formed, a method for determining a state of each pixel on the substrate without contact, employing the voltage contrast technique of electron beam was proposed U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,190). This substrate inspection method using the voltage contrast technique has the advantages that it is cheaper in the cost than the inspection method using the conventional mechanical probe, and faster in the inspection speed than the optical inspection method.
FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the substrate inspection method using the voltage contrast technique. This inspection method is made within a high vacuum chamber. The substrate to be inspected is conveyed to the high vacuum chamber, and inspected in a state where it is laid on the stage.
In FIG. 7, the inspection device comprises an electron beam generating source 21, a secondary electron detector 24 and a signal analyzer 25. The electron beam generating source 21 radiates an electron beam 22 to each pixel 13 of the substrate 10. The secondary electron detector 24 detects a secondary electron 23 generated by radiating the electron beam 22 to each pixel 13 of the substrate 10. Also, the secondary electron detector 24 outputs a signal representing a voltage waveform of pixel 13 to the signal analyzer 25 on the basis of the detected quantity of secondary electron 23. The signal analyzer 25 analyzes an output signal from the secondary electron detector 24 to inspect the state of pixel 13, particularly, the presence or absence or the content of defective pixel. Also, the signal analyzer 25 outputs a drive signal for electrically scanning each pixel 13 on the substrate 10 via a line 26. This scanning is performed in synchronism with the scanning on the substrate 10 as indicated by the arrow S with the electron beam 22.
A principle of the voltage contrast technique based on the detected quantity of secondary electron will be described below.
The quantity of secondary electron 23 discharged from each pixel 13 of the substrate 10 depends on an electrode for the voltage of pixel 13 on the substrate 10. For example, when the pixel 13 of the substrate 10 is driven positively, the secondary electron 23 generated by radiating the electron beam 22 to the pixel 13 has a negative electric charge, and is led into the pixel 13. As a result, the quantity of secondary electron 23 arriving at the secondary electron detector 24 is decreased.
On one hand, when the pixel 13 of the substrate 10 is driven negatively, the secondary electron 23 generated by radiating the electron beam 22 to the pixel 13 has a negative electric charge, and is repelled against the pixel 13. As a result, the quantity of secondary electron 23 generated from the pixel 13 arrives at the secondary electron detector 24.
In this manner, because the detected quantity of secondary electron 23 generated from the pixel 13 is affected by the polarity of voltage of the pixel 13, a voltage signal waveform of the pixel 13 is measured and the presence or absence of defective pixel is determined.
As above described, the inspection of the substrate is made within the high vacuum environment, and usually within a sealed chamber. Conventionally, this substrate was inspected in the state where it was laid directly on the stage within the chamber. In inspecting the substrate in this situation, the substrate might be broken within the sealed chamber, or a part of the apparatus comprising the chamber might be damaged. Namely, a glass substrate of the substrate might be fractured during the inspection, its fractions being scattered within the chamber to apart of the apparatus comprising the chamber, for example, a turbo molecular pump rotor for vacuum evacuation, damaging the apparatus. Also, it took a lot of trouble to draw back glass fractions scattered within the chamber and over the stage. Thus, it was apprehended conventionally that the apparatus might be damaged due to scattered fractions into the chamber or the withdrawal of fractions was made.
The present invention has been achieved in the light of the above affairs, and it is an object of the invention to provide a pallet assembly for substrate inspection device and a substrate inspection device for use with this pallet assembly, in which even when the substrate is broken with the inspection device, broken fractions can be easily withdrawn without damaging the inspection device.
In order to achieve the above object, this invention provides a substrate holding pallet assembly comprising a pallet for holding a substrate on upper face thereof, and a probe laid on said pallet from above so as to hold said substrate between said pallet and said probe.
It is preferable that concave grooves that receive conveyance unit for conveying the substrate are formed on the upper face of the pallet. In addition to this, one concave groove may be employed on the pallet.
Also, it is preferable that the pallet comprises a position alignment mechanism for aligning the position of the substrate on the pallet when the substrate is laid.
Also, it is preferable that the pallet comprises an electrode in contact with an external power supply, a feeding portion for applying a voltage from the electrode to a prober, and a flexible circuit for connecting the electrode with the feeding portion, and the prober comprises an electrode in contact with a feeding portion of the pallet, and probe pins for applying a voltage from the electrode to the substrate, the probe pins being mounted via an insulating member to the prober.
Also, in order to solve the above object, this invention provides a substrate inspection device comprising a chamber having an exhauster for exhausting the chamber into a high vacuum state, an electron beam generator for radiating an electron beam to the substrate, and a secondary electron detector for detecting a secondary electron generated from the substrate by radiation of electron beam from the electron beam generator, a pallet for holding the substrate on upper face thereof, and a probe laid on said pallet from above so as to hold said substrate between said pallet and said probe.
It is preferable that concave grooves that receive conveyance unit for conveying the substrate are formed on the upper face of the pallet.
Also, it is preferable that the pallet comprises a position alignment mechanism for aligning the position of the substrate on the pallet when the substrate is laid.
Also, it is preferable that the pallet comprises an electrode in contact with an external power supply, a feeding portion for applying a voltage from the electrode to a prober, and a flexible circuit for connecting the electrode with the feeding portion, and the prober comprises an electrode in contact with a feeding portion of the pallet, and probe pins for applying a voltage from the electrode to the substrate, the probe pins being mounted via an insulating member to the prober.
Also, it is preferable that the chamber is composed of a preliminary chamber having the exhauster and connected via an openable and closable first partition wall to the outside, and a main chamber having the electron beam generator and a secondary electron generator, and wherein the preliminary chamber and the main chamber are connected via an openable and closable second partition wall, and further comprising conveyance unit for conveying the pallet assembly between the preliminary chamber and the main chamber.
Also, it is preferable that at least two the preliminary chambers are provided for each one main chamber.
In the inspection device of the above constitution, even if the substrate is broken within the chamber, the fractions remain within the pallet assembly, and do not splash into the chamber. Accordingly, even if the glass substrate of the substrate is broken during the inspection, glass fractions do not splash into the chamber to damage a part of the device constituting the chamber.
Also, even if the glass substrate is broken within the chamber, the fractions do not splash into the chamber but remain within the pallet assembly, and thereby can be easily collected by withdrawing the pallet assembly.

Pallet assembly for substrate inspection device and substrate inspection device


A work machine including a machine base mounted movably over an undercarriage, and a hydraulic arrangement which includes a first cylinder configured for operating a working blade of the work machine, a second cylinder configured to vary the width of the undercarriage, a source of fluid at high pressure which is fluidly connected to the first and second cylinders and which is housed in the machine base, and a selection valve which is fluidly interposed between the source and at least one of the first and second cylinders. The valve is housed in the undercarriage.

Mini-excavator is a work machine having a relative small weight (e.g. less than 1.8 tons) and voted to earth moving.
Mini-excavator essentially comprises a machine base rotatably mounted on an undercarriage movable thanks to moving means, e.g. track bands, and a work blade, also known as dozer, pivotally carried by a boom which is pivoted with respect to the machine base.
Width of undercarriage may be varied in function of the space through which the mini-excavator must pass. Indeed, in certain situation undercarriage should be retracted to a minimum width, e.g. during the passage in a narrow space, or should be extended to a maximum width, e.g. when a great stability is needed. Dozer may be controlled by controlling the operation boom.
The above described operation of undercarriage and dozer are hydraulically operated thanks to an hydraulic arrangement essentially comprising a hydraulic cylinder configured to operate boom carrying the dozer, a hydraulic cylinder configured to vary the width of the undercarriage and a selection valve configured to switch the passage of operating fluid so as to control only one of the two aforementioned cylinders.
Such selection valve is placed in the machine base and therefore at least four hoses (two per cylinder), suitable for the passage of high pressure fluid, have to be provided between selection valve and cylinders. Such hoses may be subject to loads and wear due to their long path from valve to cylinders.
Moreover hoses have to pass through a swivel joint which connects machine base to the undercarriage and allows the relative motion of machine base with respect to undercarriage. Therefore, swivel joint needs to be dimensioned to allow the passage of at least such four hoses, therefore increasing its costs and dimensions.
In view of the above, the need is felt to reduce the number of hoses passing through the swivel joint of a mini-excavator for controlling the hydraulic cylinders which control the dozer and the width of the undercarriage. Moreover, the need is felt to simplify the control of the two aforementioned cylinders in an economic way.
An aim of the present invention is to satisfy the above mentioned needs.

Work machine comprising a hydraulic arrangement for a selection valve


Provided is a terminal including a receiver, which, in operation, receives a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) candidate list for CSI-RS configuration information. The CSI-RS candidate list is indicated as Radio Resource Control (RRC) control information for respective terminals. The terminal further includes circuitry, which, in operation, specifies at least one CSI-RS resource information of a measurement target based on the CSI-RS candidate list, and measures a reception power using the specified CSI-RS resource information. The terminal also includes a transmitter, which, in operation, reports the result of the reception power measurement. A reception power measurement method is also provided.

In Release 8 (hereinafter, referred to Rel. 8) of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project Radio Access Network Long Term Evolution (3GPP-LTE, hereinafter, referred to as "LTE"), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) is employed as a downlink communication scheme, and single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) is employed as an uplink communication scheme.
In the downlink of Rel. 8, a cell specific reference signal (hereinafter, referred to as CRS) is used as a reference signal for demodulation of a data signal (PDSCH). The CRS is a reference signal commonly used within a cell. The CRS is transmitted in a time/frequency resource depending on a cell ID and is transmitted to cover the entire area of the cell. Further, the CRS is transmitted in all subframes. Further, the CRS is also used for measurement for link adoption and mobility management such as cell selection. That is, a terminal (called user equipment (UE)) measures reception power (reference signal reception power (RSRP)) or reception quality (reference signal reception quality (RSRQ)) using a CRS of a cell (serving cell) to which the UE is connected and a CRS of an adjacent cell. Further, when a predetermined reference is satisfied, for example, when the RSRP of the adjacent cell is higher than the RSRP of the serving cell by 3 [dB], the terminal reports the cell ID and the RSRP of the adjacent cell. In this case, when information relating to the cell ID of the adjacent cell is broadcasted, the terminal may perform cell detection using the cell ID (for example, see NPL 1).
In contrast, LTE-Advanced (hereinafter, referred to as "LTE-A" or "Release 10 (Rel. 10)," which is an advanced version of LTE (Rel. 8) supports data transmission using a demodulation reference signal called "DMRS" or "UE specific Reference Signal" as an extension of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transmission in the downlink. While the CRS is transmitted to the entire cell, the DMRS is transmitted to a terminal for which data is assigned, so that the DMRS enables beam formation by precoding, and data transmission of high throughput (for example, see NPL 2, NPL 3 and NPL 4). In Rel. 10, the transmission using the DMRS can be used for a terminal in which transmission mode 9 is set.
Further, channel state information (CSI) used for link adoption or scheduling is measured using a CSI-RS. The CSI-RS is transmitted in different resources (time, frequency or code) from respective antennas (antenna ports). For example, the CSI-RS is normally transmitted at an interval of about 10 subframes (10 ms). Further, resource information on the CSI-RS that is to be a CSI measurement and reporting target in a terminal is indicated to the terminal (UE) from a base station (or referred to as "eNB"). The CSI includes a channel quality indicator (CQI) indicating reception quality (SINR) or achievable data rate, and a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) indicating an optimal precoding matrix.
Further, in Release 11 (hereinafter, referred to as Rel. 11), which is the next release of Rel. 10, studies have been carried out on coordinated multi point transmission and reception (CoMP) in a heterogeneous network that uses a plurality of base stations having coverage areas different in size. The heterogeneous network is a network that includes a macro base station (high power node (HPN)) and a pico base station (low power node (LPN)) or a remote radio head (RRH). In the CoMP network, a plurality of nodes (transmission points (TP)) perform data transmission and reception with a terminal in a coordinated manner. Here, in the system of the related art, each transmission point forms a cell having a different cell ID. Accordingly, a CRS transmitted in a time/frequency resource arrangement depending on the cell ID is transmitted in a different arrangement for each cell. For this reason, data (PDSCH) is also transmitted in a different resource arrangement, so that coordinated transmission from the plurality of transmission points is performed in a restricted manner.
In this respect, in Rel. 11, a CoMP operation using the same cell ID has been discussed (for example, see NPL 5). The CoMP operation using the same cell ID refers to an operation in which the same cell ID as the cell ID of an HPN (macro base station, Macro eNB) is assigned to a plurality of LPNs (pico base stations) in a macro cell (cell covered by the HPN) (for example, see FIG. 1). In such an operation, since the cell IDs of the HPN and the LPN (hereinafter, referred to as transmission points) in the same macro cell ID are the same, CRSs transmitted in a resource depending on the cell ID are transmitted in the same resource at the plurality of transmission points. Accordingly, the CRSs transmitted from the respective transmission points are combined in a manner for signals transmitted in single frequency network for reception in a terminal. Further, a data channel (PDSCH) and a control channel (PDCCH) for each terminal to be demodulated using the CRS are transmitted in the same time/frequency resource from all the transmission points in order to maintain the same phase relationship with the CRS. Thus, in Rel. 11, a method for transmitting a PDSCH for a different terminal using the same time/frequency resource from different transmission points using a UE specific reference signal (for example, DMRS) has been discussed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Terminal and reception power measurement method

Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America


An apparatus, a computer program and a method in an apparatus for causing obtaining from a wireless charging detector (220) an indication of the presence of a wireless charging field; causing obtaining from a near field communication circuitry (210) an indication of proximity of a near field communication device (1 10, 120); and responsively to obtaining the indications, causing negotiating with the near field communication device (1 10, 120).

Automatic wireless data transfer is used e.g. for synchronizing mobile phone data with a network based service or with a personal computer of the user of the mobile phone. Such automatic wireless data transfer is often used to backup, update or share calendar entries and messages. The transfer is typically configured to occur with a predetermined period such as once a day or once every 30 minutes.
Some modern mobile phones are provided with near field communication (NFC) circuitry with which such phones can exchange information with proximate devices. This technique is used also in some public transport ticket systems in which an electronic ticket device or tag is merely brought against or next to an NFC ticket validation device. When in proximity, these devices detect each other and perform a process that leaves desired evidence of ticket validation. As NFC typically requires proximity in the range of millimeters or centimeters, the NFC devices are momentarily held together for the ticket validation purpose. Moreover, as the communication connection between NFC devices remains for an unknown and possibly very short period of time, NFC is typically used for transactions in which two NFC devices can be placed next to each other and in which relatively small amounts of information are transferred.

Method and apparatus for automatic wireless data transfer


A wave power converter employing independently staged surge energy capture for converting useful wave surge energy to electric power over a relatively broad range of surf conditions. The wave surge power converter includes an inclined ramp with several openings for receiving wave water into several independent chambers for capturing and retaining surge water in hydraulic isolation, a check valve in each chamber permitting water to flow into a conduit and a generator for producing electrical power from water flow in the conduit. The apparatus is suitable for low-cost manufacture, offers simple robust operation suitable for underdeveloped regions of the world, may be fabricated from commonly-available components, requires few moving parts and no valuable (lootable) components other than a generator, and is self-flushing for low maintenance operation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a wave power converter and more particularly to a wave power converter employing a plurality of independent water chambers to capture both vertical and horizontal components of surge energy from overtopping waves.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wave power as a means of generating electricity has been the focus of low-key study in the US and Europe for over thirty years, but with little public support. Wave energy flux arises primarily from wind friction at the sea surface and is entirely distinct from the diurnal flux of tidal energy arising from the lunar cycle and from the steady flow of the major ocean currents arising primarily from the several solar heating and cooling cycles. Wave power generation is not a widely employed technology. The world's first commercial wave energy conversion farm, the Aguçadora Wave Park in Portugal, was established in 2006. Public interest in this carbon-free power source is now growing because of recent public concern over the accumulating effects of atmospheric carbon loading on world climate.
Ocean waves are generated from a portion of the wind energy coupled to the ocean surface over large areas and the available wave energy in a local region is greater than the solar and wind energies available in the same area. Wave energy available from U.S. coasts alone exceeds the entire U.S. production of coal-fired electrical power, constitutes a perpetual, renewable energy source, and is perhaps the only carbon-free energy source suitable for replacing carbon-based power production on a very large scale without concomitant environmental effects.
The prior art is replete with wave power conversion proposals. Wave power conversion devices may be generally categorized by the choice of energy capture method used to capture the wave energy. They may also be categorized by choice of location and by choice of power extractor. Types of energy capture methods well-known in the art include point absorber or buoy; surfacing and following or attenuator; terminator with perpendicular alignment to wave propagation; oscillating water column; and overtopping. Location types well-known in the art include shoreline, near-shore and offshore. Well-known types of power extraction systems include: hydraulic ram, elastomeric hose pump, pump-to-shore, hydroelectric turbine, air turbine, and linear electrical generator.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,471, Schroeder proposes a terminator system using a plurality of units with unidirectional intake gates disposed horizontally at one elevation to operate independently to capture wave surges upstream from an input penstock. They are adapted to intercept waves and convert their kinetic energy to drive a turbine. Each gate unit includes a horizontally-hinged movable gate adapted to permit the incoming waves to slide over the upper surfaces of the gates and into the penstock. The penstock back pressure operates to push each gate upward to direct the remaining forward moving wave energy to a higher elevation, thereby increasing the water head in the penstock. Schroeder controls the penstock head by applying the same penstock back pressure to every gate unit, which are accordingly hydraulicly coupled to one another (not in hydraulic isolation). Schroeder neither considers nor suggests adapting his wave power converter to an overtopping method that retains the captured water at different head pressures in a plurality of substantially isolated chambers each coupled to a penstock, some by way of a check valve.
As another example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,089, Andersen proposes an overtopping wave power station device of the kind where the waves flow up a ramp provided with fixed openings arranged so that little of the water flowing up the ramp flows down through the openings and water flowing down the ramp flows down through the openings and into storage reservoirs positioned below the ramp and extending horizontally at various elevations. Andersen couples each storage reservoirs to an associated penstock and turbine intake. All turbine outlets are coupled together, thereby equalizing the head pressures. Andersen relies on ramp intake closing devices to reduce water and head losses at the ramp openings to the lower storage reservoirs and neither considers nor suggests adapting his overtopping wave power converter to retain the captured water at different head pressures in a plurality of substantially isolated chambers each coupled to a penstock, some by way of a check valve.
Normally, the relation between output and investment grows advantageously with the size of the plant. In many cases, it pays to build large plants. However, a large rotating machine, such as a turbine equipped with a generator, costs more than a number of smaller machines with a corresponding total capacity. Complex systems such as hydraulic control systems, are not well suited to incremental implementation (do not scale up well), and have high costs and risks associated with large installations.
Traditionally, low head water turbines have been of an open type, as exemplified for example by conventional water wheels, and have had extremely low efficiency. Conventional power generation turbines such as Francis turbines, Kaplan turbines and Peleton turbines traditionally require high heads of water to generate the water pressure and velocity required to move the turbine blades. Such arrangements require large high dams, additional flumes and the like, requiring massive capital expenditures. A more efficient class of turbines, such as the Root Turbine, for example, can be economically constructed to operate at the higher efficiencies suitable for low head electric power generation applications requiring closed turbine systems to maintain siphon.
Another well-known challenge is to provide a wave power converter able to tolerate the sometimes volatile conditions of the sea surface. Some practitioners suggest selecting installation sites where the average waves are similar in scope to the extreme waves. Also, the wave power converter must withstand a major storm while also operating with acceptable efficiency during average wave conditions.
These unresolved problems and deficiencies are clearly felt in the art and are solved by this invention in the manner described below.

Wave power converter apparatus employing independently staged capture of surge energy


A piezoelectric element includes a first electrode, a piezoelectric film disposed on the first electrode, and a second electrode disposed on the piezoelectric film. The piezoelectric film is composed of piezoelectric material that is lead free and formed by mixing 100(1−x) % of material A having a spontaneous polarization of 0.5 C/m2 or greater at 25° C. and 100 x % of material B having piezoelectric characteristics and a dielectric constant of 1000 or greater at 25° C., wherein (1−x)Tc(A)+x Tc(B)≧300° C., where Tc(A) is the Curie temperature of the material A and Tc(B) is the Curie temperature of the material B.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to piezoelectric materials that are used for piezoelectric elements.
2. Related Art
Piezoelectric elements possess a characteristic in which crystals are charged when they are deformed, or they are deformed when they are placed in an electric filed. As such, they are commonly used for liquid jet apparatuses such as ink jet printers.
Piezoelectric thin films such as PZT (lead titanate zirconate: Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3) films have been widely used for such piezoelectric elements.
Unfortunately, PZT films contain lead (Pb), and therefore could pose problems for the safety of operators and the environment. Accordingly, research and development regarding lead free piezoelectric materials are being extensively conducted. For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Applications JP-A-2004-6722, JP-A-2007-266346 and JP-A-2007-287745 describe lead free piezoelectric materials.
Among the aforementioned piezoelectric elements, thin film piezoelectric elements in which a thin film piezoelectric layer is sandwiched between electrodes have been studied and developed in recent years. Thin film piezoelectric elements are generally formed by a process in which a piezoelectric layer having a film thickness of several μm or less is formed on an electrode that is formed on a substrate, and an upper electrode is formed on the piezoelectric layer. This process is conducted through micro-processing that is similar to a semiconductor process. Therefore, thin film piezoelectric elements have an advantage in that piezoelectric elements can be formed at a higher density than ordinary piezoelectric elements.
Although PZT is often used as the piezoelectric material for thin film piezoelectric elements, the use of lead free piezoelectric materials is now also being considered.
In fact, the inventors of the present invention have been conducting research and development on piezoelectric materials, and examining the application of lead free piezoelectric materials and the improvement of lead free piezoelectric material characteristics.
BaTiO3 and a variety of materials containing Bi may be representative examples of lead free piezoelectric materials. BaTiO3 has a large piezoelectric constant but has a low Curie temperature of about 120° C., and thus has a problem with temperature stability. Many of the materials containing Bi have a high Curie temperature, but many of them have certain problems, such as a small dielectric constant and a small spontaneous polarization, as well as problems in temperature stability due to the phase transfer temperature being lower than the Curie temperature. Thus, although lead free piezoelectric materials are being widely studied and developed as described above, in reality they have both advantages and disadvantages.
Other problems that may be encountered when using lead free piezoelectric materials for thin film piezoelectric elements include a compositional shift due to the fallout of alkali metal elements in materials containing such alkali metal elements, and diffusion into lower electrode layers due to the high temperature crystallization necessary for BaTiO3. In either case, it is difficult to use these materials for thin film piezoelectric elements.
BiFeO3 has a high Curie temperature and a large spontaneous polarization, and also has many other advantages suitable for thin film formation. For example, BiFeO3 does not have elements that would likely cause compositional shift, such as alkali metal elements, and has a lower crystallization temperature, such that BiFeO3 is attracting attention as a material for ferroelectric memories. Thus, attempts to use BiFeO3 as piezoelectric material have also been made in recent years. However, BiFeO3 has a small dielectric constant, and thus cannot be expected to achieve a high piezoelectric constant as a stand alone material.
In view of the foregoing, there has been a study to increase the piezoelectric constant by mixing crystals of BiFeO3 and BaTiO3. However, when BaTiO3 is mixed too much, BaTiO3 becomes dominant and as a result the high Curie temperature and large spontaneous polarization of BiFeO3 cannot be best used. Also, if piezoelectric elements are manufactured independently with either of the materials, BiFeO3 would likely result in a poor dielectric property, and BaTiO3 would deteriorate the piezoelectric characteristics since it is difficult to make its composition uniform, and thus would likely form layers with a lower dielectric constant. Therefore it is necessary to devise a solution for controlling the shortcomings of the respective materials, and to select appropriate mixing ratios.

Piezoelectric material and piezoelectric element


Gate driver circuit for driving power transistor includes: gate line to be connected to the transistor; source line to be connected to the transistor; first current source sourcing current to the gate line; and second current source sinking current from the gate line, wherein the first current source includes: first reference impedance element connected to power supply line; first reference transistor installed between the first reference impedance element and the gate line; first error amplifier having output connected to gate of the first reference transistor, one input connected to the first reference impedance element, and the other input where first reference voltage is input; and first transistor elements installed between the power supply line and the gate line, and wherein the first current source is switched between a state, in which gate of each first transistor element is connected to the output of the first error amplifier, and OFF state.

In the field of power electronics such as a motor driver, a switching power supply, and the like, a gate driver circuit for driving a power transistor is a very important element technology. In the present disclosure, a combination of a power transistor such as a half-bridge circuit, an H-bridge circuit, a single-phase inverter, a three-phase inverter, a switching power supply, or the like, and a driver circuit for driving the power transistor will be generally referred to as a switching circuit.
FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a switching circuit. A switching circuit 100R includes a half-bridge circuit 102 and a gate driver circuit 200, and supplies a load connected to an OUT terminal with a rectangular AC voltage VOUT that transitions to two voltages VDD and VSS.
The half-bridge circuit 102 includes a high-side transistor 104 and a low-side transistor 106, which are power transistors.
The gate driver circuit 200 includes a high-side driver 210 and a low-side driver 220. The high-side driver 210 includes a first current source 212 for sourcing a current to a gate of the high-side transistor 104 in an enable state and a second current source 214 for sinking a current from the gate of the high-side transistor 104 in the enable state.
When a control signal SH is at an ON level (e.g., high) for instructing to turn on the high-side transistor 104, the first current source 212 is enabled and the second current source 214 is disabled. Thus, a current ION is supplied from the first current source 212 to the gate of the high-side transistor 104 to raise a gate voltage VGH, and when it exceeds a threshold value, the high-side transistor 104 is turned on.
When the control signal SH is at an OFF level (e.g., low) for instructing to turn off the high-side transistor 104, the first current source 212 is disabled and the second current source 214 is enabled. Thus, the charge on the gate of the high-side transistor 104 is discharged by a current IOFF generated by the second current source 214 to decrease the gate voltage VGH, and when it falls below the threshold value, the high-side transistor 104 is turned off.
The low-side driver 220 includes a first current source 222 and a second current source 224, and is configured in a similar manner to the high-side driver 210.
When the high-side transistor 104 and the low-side transistor 106 are externally attached to the gate driver circuit 200, there may be a case where it is desired to adjust the amounts of the currents ION and IOFF according to a required slew rate (slope) of gate capacitance and gate voltage of the high-side transistor 104 and the low-side transistor 106.

Gate driver circuit of power transistor, and motor driver circuit


An original reading apparatus, according to the present invention can include a reading portion capable of acquiring image data by reading an original, a communication portion that is connected to an external terminal device, a console capable of enabling an input operation by a user, a scan control portion that, based on a read command that is received through the communication portion from the terminal device, is capable of executing communication scan processing that sends image data that is acquired by the reading portion to the terminal device through the communication portion, and a warning portion capable of issuing a warning when an input operation is performed at the console when executing the communication scan processing.

Technology has already been proposed in which a reading operation of a scanner apparatus (original reading apparatus), on which an original is set, is executed upon receipt of a read command from a terminal device on a network, and the image data acquired by the reading operation is then supplied to the terminal device. This kind of network scan offers the advantage that it is possible to set reading conditions and the like in detail at the terminal device at the time of a reading operation. On the other hand, however, since there are many cases in which the scanner apparatus and the terminal device are located at separate locations, there is a risk that if a read command is sent from a terminal device by another user while a user who has set an original on the scanner apparatus is away from the scanner apparatus, the image data will be sent in error to the terminal device of the wrong user.
As a countermeasure for this kind of problem, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-33859 discloses a scanner apparatus that is configured such that the user is made to input an ID when setting an original on the scanner apparatus. Thereafter, when that ID matches an ID that is sent from a terminal device the scanner apparatus accepts and executes the read command from the terminal device. It is thereby possible to prevent a situation in which image data is sent in error to the wrong terminal device due to an operation by another user at a terminal device.
However, even with an apparatus as described above, it is possible that an operation that directly obstructs a network scan may be performed by another user at the scanner apparatus. More specifically, in a case where another user removes originals that have been set in the automatic document feeder (ADF), opens the original cover, or presses a button such as a stop key, appropriate countermeasures can not be taken by the user to stop such an obstruction.
In view of this situation, there is a need for technology that enables a user to take appropriate action in a case in which an operation that obstructs a network scan is directly performed with respect to an original reading apparatus, an image forming apparatus or an original reading system.

Issuing a warning when a user attempts to use a device that is already being used


Techniques for controlling communication amongst a group of vehicles include determining whether a cellular network is unavailable or a user input indicative of a switchover request has been received, when the cellular network is available, controlling a cellular network transceiver to share information between the vehicle and one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the cellular network, and when the cellular network is unavailable or in response to receiving the user input indicative of the switchover request, controlling a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network transceiver to share information between the vehicle and the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via an LEO satellite network and not via the cellular network.

Existing vehicles offer a relatively limited social experience during driving. As a result, vehicle drivers and passengers typically utilize a variety of mobile applications to stay connected to other friends and family, some of which could be driving or riding in other nearby vehicles as part of a caravan (e.g., off-roading). Different mobile applications could be used, for example, for each of maps/navigation, voice calls, video calls, obstacle reporting, music playback/sharing, and the like. Switching between these various mobile applications is a cumbersome process, and these mobile applications are also typically installed on separate mobile phones or tablet computers, which results in the vehicle drivers and passengers being somewhat disconnected from the actual vehicles and the overall driving experience. Some vehicle-specific features, such as images or video captured by exterior camera systems, may also not be easily sharable with others. In addition, communication amongst vehicles may be difficult or impossible in remote areas where conventional networks (e.g., cellular networks) are unavailable. Accordingly, while such vehicle communication systems work well for their intended purpose, there remains a need for improvement in the relevant art.

Systems and methods for communication and sharing amongst groups of vehicles


A sewing machine of the present embodiment comprises a movement amount detector which detects a movement amount of fabric, a sewing machine motor serving as a rotary drive source of an upper shaft which applies vertical movement to a needle bar, a shaft angle detector which detects a shaft angle of an output shaft of the upper shaft or the sewing machine motor, and a controller which controls the sewing machine motor based on the detection of the movement amount detector and performs controls of maintaining a constant stitch length. The controller performs controls of maintaining the constant stitch length, by a movement amount of the fabric detected by the movement amount detector in a shaft angle section where a sewing needle is not stuck into a cloth, based on the detection by the shaft angle detector.

A sewing machine has been known which maintains a constant stitch length, by determining the amount of movement of the fabric on a throat plate by an optical sensor fixedly mounted on a frame of a sewing machine, and by controlling the rotational speed of a sewing machine motor so that the stitch is performed with a fixed amount of movement, are known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 4724938).
However, in the sewing machine of the related art, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, when a sewing needle 112 is positioned above the fabric, a sensor 121 can correctly detect the movement amount m of the fabric C. However, when the sewing needle 112 is stuck into the fabric C, since the movement of the fabric C is restricted, the sensor 121 cannot accurately detect the movement amount of the fabric.
In particular, when the sewing needle 112 passes through the bottom dead center and moves upward, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, since the fabric C is pulled up together with the sewing needle 112, a movement component mf is generated in the fabric C, and the sensor 121 further degrades the detection precision of the movement amount of the fabric.


A cylinder head for an international combustion engine comprises at least two separate intake ports with each incorporate one intake valve and at least one exhaust port, which in turn incorporates one exhaust valve, where the intake ports and the exhaust port have their openings on opposite lateral faces of the cylinder head. The cylinder head also comprises a centrally arranged fuel injector which is driven by a top rocker arm, a push rod passing through the cylinder head, and a bottom camshaft. The cylinder head is also designed with a common vertical shaft or through hole which incorporates push rods for transferring the drive from the camshaft to the valves and to the fuel injector. The shaft is arranged between the two intake ports.

The present invention relates to a cylinder head for an internal combustion engine, having a fuel injector therewith associated and particularly to the design of the head for receiving the operating rods of the cylinder head components.
The design of a cylinder head normally involves several compromises between a number of conflicting aims. Several of these are here mentioned. Intake ports are required to be designed with sufficient length to provide suitable intake air control. The intake ports must connect to the combustion chamber with a certain inclination to provide a certain vorticity or swirling in the combustion chamber. The exhaust ports must be designed short enough to avoid the diffusion of heat in the cylinder head. The mounting holes of the cylinder head must be arranged so that they are uniformly distributed to provide even clamping against the engine block. Cooling ducts must be located in the most suitable position. Fuel injectors must be fitted centrally to optimize combustion in the combustion changer. Provision must be made for supplying fuel to the fuel injectors via suitably shaped feed lines. The cylinder head must be manufactured by a suitable production method. One basic problem is that there is a shortage of sufficient space for the required partial solutions within the limited volume of the cylinder head.
In the case of cylinder heads for diesel engines with four valves per cylinder and with separate intake ports these problems are more pronounced. Moreover, if the fuel injector is of the type which is referred to as a "unit injector", it requires a mechanical drive for generating a high injection pressure, and this drive also requires a great deal of space. Normally, such a fuel injector is driven by the engine camshaft in a similar fashion to the valve drive. Where the camshaft is located below the cylinder head, a number of push rods must be arranged between the camshaft and the cylinder head. These push rods must in turn actuate rocker arms on the cylinder head to control the fuel injector and valves. The push rods are normally arranged to pass through the cylinder head via a number of through holes designed for this purpose. Where the cylinder head is of the so-called crossflow type, which means that the intake ports and exhaust ports open out on opposite sides of the cylinder head, the intake and exhaust ports will occupy a large amount of space, causing problems in finding a suitable space for the through holes of the push rods.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,873 describes a cylinder head in which the push rods for the intake and exhaust valves are located in the same through hole. There is no push rod for driving the fuel injectors, and there are no further details given on the design of the cylinder head. In order to find space for the intake ports, they are not designed as separate ports but they are combined to form one common port, which is not only common to the intake ports for one cylinder but for two. This makes it necessary to provide a cylinder head which is common to at least two cylinders. In this case it is necessary to sacrifice the design of the intake ports, which is probably not the best design from the flow viewpoint.

Cylinder head for an internal combustion engine


A method for setting the parameters of electronic motor controls of hoisting equipment with a control mechanism (10) for the hoisting equipment with at least one hoisting switch (5), one lowering switch (6) and one emergency shutoff switch (4) and with a display (8) in which the following steps are preformed:(i) starting of the parameter setup mode,(ii) automatic, sequential run-through and display of all parameters,(iii) binary selection of a displayed parameter, if so desired,(iv) changing of the setting of the selected parameter, if so desired,(v) saving of the changes,(vi) termination of the parameter setup mode.

The invention is directed to a method for setting the parameters of motor control systems of hoisting equipment, especially hoisting equipment having cable and chain type pulley blocks.
For hoisting equipment with electronic motor controls, it is necessary to adjust the control parameters specific to the application and the customer. For example, in chain pulley blocks with electronic motor controls, the following parameters are adjusted to adapt the motor to the local circumstances:                Setting the direction of the hoisting mechanism in the case of right-hand rotation of the motor by changing the polarity,        Adjusting the behavior of the electronic brake to a two or three phase braking process,        Setting of one or two hoisting/lowering speeds, and the actual speed thereof,        Interlocking of a master switch,        Selection of a time or speed-triggered start,        Monitoring speed for the speeds,        Time filter for the speed monitoring.
It may further be desired to adjust the parameters relevant to the safety, such as the resetting of a fault counter.
Typically, a rewiring by means of plug-in patches, switch bays, and the like, is undertaken for this adjustment. However, this solution is not very variable and it requires large expense when placing the unit in service or changing the circumstances.
An adjustment by means of data interfaces is also known, using a parameterization terminal or PC or laptop computer. This, however, requires additional equipment, resulting in overhead costs and expenditure.
EP 0 364 994 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,012 disclose electronic motor controls for cranes, in which the operating parameters are placed in a memory.
From Flender Loher: DYNAVERT® L brief instructions, version 11 October 2002, it is known how to sequentially run through the parameters and possibly change them when setting the parameters for drive rectifiers. A corresponding procedure is known from DE 39 107 18 A1 for motor protection devices.

Method for setting the parameters of motor control systems of hoisting equipment


An electrostatic discharge protection device comprising a multi-finger gate, a first lightly doped region of a second conductivity, a first heavily doped region of the second conductivity, and a second lightly doped region of the second conductivity. The multi-finger gate comprises a plurality of fingers mutually connected in parallel over an active region of a first conductivity. The first lightly doped region of a second conductivity is disposed in the semiconductor substrate and between two of the fingers. The first heavily doped region of the second conductivity is disposed in the first lightly doped region of the second conductivity. The second lightly doped region of the second conductivity is beneath and adjoins the first lightly doped region of the second conductivity.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electrostatic discharge protection and, in particular, to an electrostatic discharge protection device applied in high voltage input/output (I/O).
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1A and 1B respectively show a layout and a cross section of a conventional double diffused drain (DDD) N-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) device acting as an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device applied in high voltage input/output (I/O). The NMOS device comprises a poly gate 101 with multiple fingers, an N-type double diffused drain region 103, an N-type drain region 105, and two N-type source regions 107. The multiple fingers are mutually connected in parallel over a P-type substrate or active region 109 and together form the poly gate 101. The N-type double diffused drain region 103 is disposed in the P-type substrate or active region 109 and located between the two fingers of the poly gate 101. The N-type double diffused drain region 105 is disposed in the N-type double diffused drain region 103. The N-type source regions 107 are disposed in the substrate or active region 109 and on two sides of the poly gate 101.
In FIG. 1B, P-type guard rings are connected to a low voltage potential (Vss) such that the P-type substrate or active region 109 is biased at the low voltage potential and junctions between the N-type source regions 107 and the P-type substrate or active region 109 are not forward biased. The N-type source regions 107 are also connected to the low voltage potential (Vss). As shown in FIG. 1B, a parasitic bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is formed in the NMOS device. The N-type source regions 107, the P-type substrate or active region 109, and the N-type double diffused drain respectively act as emitters, bases, and collectors of the parasitic BJT. When the N-type drain region 105 is subject to an ESD pulse, the parasitic BJT is instantly turned on and a large ESD current is discharged through the NMOS device.

Electrostatic discharge protection device

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A communications cable includes: a cable jacket; first, second, third and fourth twisted pairs of insulated conductors positioned within the jacket, the first, second, third and fourth twisted pairs having, respectively, first, second, third and fourth twist lengths, wherein a first difference between the first and third twist lengths and a second difference between the second and fourth twist lengths are greater than the difference between the twist lengths of any other combination of twisted pairs, and wherein a third difference between the third twist length and the fourth twist length is greater than the difference between the twist lengths of any other combination of twisted pairs except for the first and second differences; and a separator positioned between the third and fourth pairs. There is no separator present between the first and second pairs, the second and third pairs, and the first and fourth pairs.

Pursuant to certain industry standards (e.g., the TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1 standard approved Jun. 20, 2002 by the Telecommunications Industry Association), each jack, plug and cable segment in a communications system may include a total of at least eight conductors that comprise four twisted differential pairs. The industry standards specify that, in at least the connection region where the contacts (blades) of a modular plug mate with the contacts of the modular jack (referred to herein as the "plug-jack mating region"), the eight contacts of the jack or plug are aligned in a row and are assigned specific pair numbers.
Local area network (LAN) cables may suffer from many transmission impairments. One such impairment is crosstalk between twisted pairs in a four-pair cable. "Crosstalk" in a communication system refers to unwanted signal energy that is induced onto the conductors of a first "victim" differential pair from a signal that is transmitted over a second "disturbing" differential pair. The induced crosstalk may include both near-end crosstalk (NEXT), which is the crosstalk measured at an input location corresponding to a source at the same location (i.e., crosstalk whose induced voltage signal travels in an opposite direction to that of an originating, disturbing signal in a different path), and far-end crosstalk (FEXT), which is the crosstalk measured at the output location corresponding to a source at the input location (i.e., crosstalk whose signal travels in the same direction as the disturbing signal in the different path). Both types of crosstalk comprise an undesirable noise signal that interferes with the information signal on the victim differential pair.
A variety of techniques may be used to reduce crosstalk in communications systems such as, for example, tightly twisting the paired conductors in a cable, whereby different pairs are twisted at different rates (also known as different "lay lengths") that are not harmonically related, so that each conductor in the cable picks up approximately equal amounts of signal energy from the two conductors of each of the other differential pairs included in the cable. If this condition can be maintained, then the crosstalk noise may be significantly reduced, as the conductors of each differential pair carry equal magnitude, but opposite phase signals such that the crosstalk added by the two conductors of a differential pair onto the other conductors in the cable tends to cancel out.
In addition, some prior cables have included separators which introduce physical barriers between pairs. These barriers serve to increase the distance between pairs and in turn reduce the amount of crosstalk between the six distinct combinations of pairs. The barrier ay also act as a shield, which may further reduce crosstalk. By way of example, FIG. 1a is a cross-sectional view of a four pair unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable 20 with no separator. The conductor pairs of the cable 20 are identified with the labels 1, 2, 3 and 4 (for the purposes of this discussion, these pair labels are arbitrary and do not necessarily correspond to the pair designations for jacks and plugs under TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1). In the cable 20 of FIG. 1a, some crosstalk exists between all six different combinations of pairs: namely, between pairs 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 2-3, 2-4 and 3-4.
FIG. 1b illustrates a cable 20′ that includes a cruciform-shaped separator 30, which is used to increase the distance between all pairs 1-4, thereby resulting in improved crosstalk immunity. Such a separator 30 is typically formed of a polymeric material. An exemplary separator 30 of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,295 to Boucino et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 1c illustrates a cable 20″ in which a flat tape is used as a separator 30′. As can be seen in FIG. 1c, the tape 30′ is arranged such that pairs 1 and 4 are located on one side of the tape 30′ and pairs 2 and 3 are located on the other side of the tape 30′. As a result, the combinations of pairs 1-2, 1-3, 2-4 and 3-4 realize improved crosstalk immunity. An exemplary separator of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,095 to Clark et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.

Twisted pair communications cable with selective separation of pairs


The invention relates to a novel horse allergen consisting of a heterodimeric protein having a first peptide chain and a second peptide chain together having an overall sequence identity of at least 70% with the combined sequences of SEQ ID NO:3 and SEQ ID NO: 4, as well as a single chain protein having an overall sequence identity of at least 70%, such as 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 98%, with the combined amino acid sequences according to SEQ ID NO: 3 and SEQ ID NO: 4. The invention further relates to the use of the protein in methods of diagnosis and therapy of Type I allergy, and kits and compositions for use in such methods.

Approximately 20% of the populations of the industrialized world become hypersensitive (allergic) upon exposure to antigens from a variety of environmental sources. Those antigens that induce immediate and/or delayed types of hypersensitivity are known as allergens (Breiteneder, Hoffmann-Sommergruber et al. 1997). These include products of grasses, trees, weeds, animal dander, insects, food, drugs and chemicals. The antibodies involved in atopic allergy belong primarily to the immunoglobulin E isotype (IgE). IgE binds to basophils mast cells and dendritic cells via a specific high affinity receptor FcεRT. Upon exposure to an allergen, allergen-specific IgE antibodies on the cell surface become cross linked leading to the release of inflammatory mediators such as histamine and leukotrienes resulting in physiological manifestations of allergy (Akdis 2006).
Diagnostic tests for allergy involve the detection of IgE antibodies from patients with a specificity to proteins from an allergen source. However, a positive IgE test, i.e. IgE sensitisation, do not always lead to clinical manifestations of allergy and this discrepancy is one of the main reasons for trying to develop new and better diagnostic procedures. In typical tests, an aqueous extract from the allergen source, containing a mixture of proteins, is used in these tests. For most allergen sources, the allergenic proteins present in crude extract have only partly been identified and characterised. Diagnostic test procedures for detection of specific IgE antibodies in patients can either utilize an in vitro immunoassay using serum from the patient, or be a skin prick test (SPT), performed by topical application of the specific extract on the skin of the patient (Wainstein, Yee et al. 2007). In clinical practice, a doctor's diagnosis of allergy is usually based on both a positive test of IgE sensitisation for the relevant allergen source and a convincing clinical history of allergic reactions to this allergen. In recent years, many important allergenic proteins in the allergenic extracts have been identified and characterized. This has enabled the quantitation of specific IgE antibodies to each of these individual allergenic components, often referred to as component resolved diagnostics (CRD) (Hiller, Laffer et al. 2002) (Valenta, Lidholm et al. 1999) or molecular-based allergy (MA) diagnostics (Canonica, Ansotegui et al. 2013).
It is now widely recognised that Molecular-based allergy (MA) diagnostics has several distinct advantages as compared to conventional IgE analysis using allergen extracts (Canonica, Ansotegui et al. 2013). Analysis of all relevant allergen components from an allergen source has been shown to significantly increase the clinical utility of IgE testing as exemplified by wheat, peanut and hazelnut. (Nicolaou, Poorafshar et al. 2010; Codreanu, Collignon et al. 2011; Ebisawa, Moverare et al. 2012) (Masthoff, Mattsson et al. 2013). A necessary requirement if MA can be applied is that the majority of the individual allergen components from an allergen source has been identified and characterised.
One of the most important implications of MA diagnostics is to distinguish a genuine IgE sensitisation from sensitisation due to cross reactivity which may help the clinician to determine whether a single, a few closely related or several widely different allergen sources are responsible for the allergic symptoms. This can lead to an improved diagnosis of hypersensitivity of pollen (Stumvoll, Westritschnig et al. 2003), venoms (Müller, Schmid-Grendelmeier et al. 2012) and food allergy (Matsuo, Dahlstrom et al. 2008; Ebisawa, Shibata et al. 2012) In particular for peanut and hazelnut allergy, the use of allergen component IgE tests are better at predicting a clinical outcome of allergy than the use of a classical extract IgE test (Nicolaou, Poorafshar et al. 2010; Codreanu, Collignon et al. 2011; Masthoff, Mattsson et al. 2013). One reason for this is that some components may be low abundant and therefore only demonstrate IgE reactivity due to cross reactivity with homologous components from other species. Individuals having only IgE reactivity to such cross reactive components may therefore be less likely to have clinical symptoms to this allergen (Asarnoj, Moverare et al. 2010; Asarnoj, Nilsson et al. 2012). Despite their low clinical association, it is very important to identify all those low abundant cross reactive components in an allergen extract because in the clinical work up of a patient it is important that the sum of IgE reactivities to all components add up to that of the whole extract in order to rule out IgE reactivity to other minor or unknown components in the extract. The outcome of MA diagnostics can thus lead to improved selection of optimal immunotherapy treatment and better risk assessment of different food allergies.
Another use of allergen components is to use these to enhance the diagnostic sensitivity of an extract by spiking the extract with a component. This may be particularly important in miniaturized or non-laboratory immunoassay, such as an allergen microarray or a doctor's office test where the combination of less favourable assay conditions, lower capacity for antibody-binding allergen reagent and natural allergen extract of limited potency, may cause insufficient diagnostic sensitivity.
In conclusion, it is thus of great importance to identify and characterise all important allergenic proteins in each allergen source.
The treatment of allergy is most often reducing symptoms of allergy by e. g. anti-histamines but more long-term and curative treatment of allergy can be performed with specific immunotherapy. Application of the disease causing allergenic extract, most commonly either subcutaneously or sublingually, that causes a specific activation of a protective immune response to the allergenic proteins. Although the exact mechanisms are not fully known, such a specific activation of the immune system alleviates the symptoms of allergy upon subsequent environmental exposure of the same allergen (Akdis and Akdis 2007). A further development of regular immunotherapy has been to use one or several purified allergenic proteins instead of a crude natural extract. Such immunotherapy has been successfully performed for grass pollen allergic patients (Jutel, Jaeger et al. 2005) (Cromwell, Fiebig et al. 2006) (Saarne, Kaiser et al. 2005) and it has also been suggested for treating allergy against animal dander (Valenta, Lidholm et al. 1999; Gronlund, Saarne et al. 2009).
In recent years there has been increasing attention on allergen-specific IgG antibodies. These may modulate the effect of IgE antibodies, either directly by acting as blocking antibodies on the allergen or indirectly by acting via Fc receptors (Akdis and Akdis 2007; Uermosi, Beerli et al. 2010; Uermosi, Zabel et al. 2014).
Thus, by assessing both the specific IgE and the specific IgG response to an allergen may be more clinically relevant than measuring the IgE response alone (Custovic, Soderstrom et al. 2011; Caubet, Bencharitiwong et al. 2012; Du Toit, Roberts et al. 2015). It is well known that immunotherapy induces a specific IgG response which mainly consists of the IgG4 subclass. Since this antibody response is part of the mechanism for successful immunotherapy (Uermosi, Beerli et al. 2010; Uermosi, Zabel et al. 2014), the analysis-of allergen specific IgG antibodies may be a way to monitor the efficacy of the treatment.
In conclusion, the measurement of allergen-specific IgG levels may reflect natural or induced tolerance to the allergen through environmental exposure or immunotherapy treatment and may in combination with IgE levels increase the clinical relevance of a diagnostic test.
Horse dander is an increasingly common cause of respiratory allergy (Liccardi, D'Amato et al. 2011), with symptoms including rhinitis, conjunctivitis, bronchial inflammation and asthma. Occupational exposure to horse allergens is a significant risk factor for allergic sensitisation (Tutluoglu, Atis et al. 2002) but considerable concentrations of allergens can be detected also in other places such as schools (Kim, Elfman et al. 2005). IgE sensitisation to horse dander was in one study shown to be associated with a high risk of developing asthma (Ronmark, Perzanowski et al. 2003).
Extracts of horse hair and dander contain a complexity of allergenic proteins and four horse allergens have so far been identified: Equ c 1, Equ c 2, Equ c 3 and Equ c 4. The first two are both members of the lipocalin protein family and have been purified from their natural source (Dandeu, Rabillon et al. 1993; Goubran Botros, Rabillon et al. 1998) while only Equ c 1 has been expressed as a recombinant protein (Gregoire, Rosinski-Chupin et al. 1996). The amino acid sequence of Equ c 1 is 67% similar to that of the cat allergen Fel d 4 (Smith, Butler et al. 2004). Equ c 3, horse serum albumin, is a relatively conserved protein showing extensive cross-reactivity to other mammalian albumins (Goubran Botros, Gregoire et al. 1996). Equ c 4, was first purified (Goubran Botros, Rabillon et al. 1998; Goubran Botros, Poncet et al. 2001) and only later identified as horse sweat latherin (McDonald, Fleming et al. 2009). Recently, a novel horse allergen from the C-D subfamily of the secretoglobin protein family has been characterised (Equ c 15k, WO2011/133105).
Equ c 1 is claimed to be the most important one of the known horse allergens (Dandeu, Rabillon et al. 1993) and IgE antibody recognition of the recombinant protein was present in 76% of a population of horse allergic subjects studied (Saarelainen, Rytkonen-Nissinen et al. 2008). In another study using purified native allergens, only 33% of horse allergic patients were sensitized to Equ c 2 and 23% to Equ c 4 (Goubran Botros, Rabillon et al. 1998). The frequency of IgE binding to horse serum albumin has been addressed in several studies demonstrating reactivity in up to 40% of horse allergic subjects (Spitzauer et al. 1993; Cabañas et al. 2000). However, as sensitization to serum albumins is often accompanied by higher concentrations of IgE antibodies to other allergen components, its specific clinical relevance is uncertain (Spitzauer, Schweiger et al. 1993; Cabañas, López-Serrano et al. 2000). A recent study confirmed the relative prevalence of these horse allergen components and demonstrated a prevalence of 48% of the horse allergic patients having IgE reactivity to Equ c 15k. (WO2011/133105).


The present invention comprises a lighting apparatus main body having a reflecting surface, a main light source arranged in the reflecting surface of the lighting apparatus main body, a sub-light source which is arranged at the lighting apparatus main body and illuminates the neighborhood of the main light source directly, and a control circuit which controls the main light source and the sub-light source. Since the lighting apparatus illuminates downward with a direct illumination of the main light source and an indirect illumination of the sub-light source, the glare of the main light source is reduced.

Recently, a lighting apparatus employing LED (Light Emitting Diode) as a light source performing a main lighting has been developed for obtaining a high-power light output or a high efficiency light output.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-91238, discloses an LED light, which directly illuminates a room or an indoor with a light illuminated downward from a plurality of LEDs arranged on a main surface, and which indirectly illuminates the room with another light illuminated from a different group of LEDs mounted on a tapered surface formed backward from the main surface by reflecting the illuminated light on a reflecting surface facing the tapered surface.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-81912, discloses a lighting apparatus which is arranged a straight fluorescent light tube on the bilateral portions of a lighting apparatus main body, respectively. The direct illumination is carrying out by the illuminated light to a lower part from each fluorescent light tube.
And the indirect illumination is carrying out by the reflected light which is illuminated to the main surface formed in the central region of the lighting apparatus main body and upwards in the interior of a room from each fluorescent light tube.
Since the lighting apparatus disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-81912, can brighten the whole illumination opening, the lighting apparatus can reduce reflection of the light source to the display surface of an indoor personal computer etc., while it can illuminate the interior of a room brightly.
When the lighting apparatus with the structure disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-81912, in addition, adopts point light sources, such as LED, instead of a fluorescent light as a main light source for direct illumination, the interior of a room can be illuminated to some extent by the indirect light.
However, the luminance must be made fairly high in order to obtain a direct illumination light comparable as a fluorescent light by LED.
Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the glare of the main light source only with the art of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-81912.
The present invention has been made in view of solving the afore-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce glare of a main light source in the lighting apparatus employing a point light source such as an LED as a main light source for directly illuminating a room.

Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation


A method for producing a cast-iron cylinder liner for piston engines in which a metal chill mold (1) is used which has a tubular mold cavity (2) lined with a layer of a hardening molding material or green sand (3). The melt (7) is introduced into the mold cavity from above in such a manner that the cooling effect from the chill mold and the lining provides a frontage of solidification directed upwardly from the bottom.

Cylinder liners for car and truck engines are normally centrifugally cast. The reason for this is that the phosphorous-alloyed grey iron which is normally employed is almost impossible to cast in a conventional green sand mold because the iron is particularly susceptible to shrinkage. In centrifugal casting, a heated mold is employed which is made up of rotating tube, the mold cavity of which having a thin layer of an insulating material. Due to the effect of the centrifugal forces, the shrinkage of the cast product is compensated for.
Centrifugal casting does however impart limitations as to the strength of the material due to the fact that the quick cooling during solidification i.a. precludes high alloying with carbon-stabilizing alloying elements and low C.sub.eq, these being the most common measures which can be employed to increase strength. Other disadvantages are that the centrifugal casting breaks up the first precipitated reinforcing primary austenitic dendrites in the structure and centrifugally separates primary austenite and graphite eutecticum at low C.sub.eq.
In order to avoid these problems, cylinder liners could, for example, be cast in stable molds of cold hardening mold material or core sand, though such molds are very expensive and detrimental to the environment.

Method and casting mold for the production of cast-iron cylinder liners


When fabricating an optical wavelength by proton exchange method on a substrate of LiNb.sub.x Ta.sub.1-x O.sub.3 (0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.1), by using Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 as the protective mask, the edge of the mask becomes smooth and diffusion of impurity from the protective mask into the substrate does not occur during heat treatment, and the propagation loss may be notably reduced. As a result, the efficiency of the frequency doubler may be enhanced.

This invention relates to a manufacturing method of a frequency doubler (optical harmonic generating device) used in the field of optical information processing utilizing coherent light or in the field of measurement control applying light.
The structure of a conventional frequency doubler is shown in FIG. 6. Referring to this drawing, the optical harmonic generation (wavelength 0.42 .mu.m) to the fundamental wave of 0.84 .mu.m in wavelength using this frequency doubler is described in detail below. [See T. Taniuchi and K. Yamamoto, "Second harmonic generation by Cherenkov radiation in proton-exchanged LiNbO.sub.3 optical waveguide" CLEO '86, WR3, 1986.] When the light of fundamental wave P1 from a laser diode enters an incident plane 5 of a buried optical waveguide 2 formed on an LiNbO.sub.3 substrate 1, if the condition for equalizing the effective index N1 of the guided mode of the fundamental wave and the effective index N2 of the harmonic wave is satisfied, the light of the harmonic wave P2 is effectively emitted from the optical waveguide 2 into the LiNbO.sub.3 substrate so as to operate as an optical harmonic generating device.
Such conventional optical harmonic generating device required a buried type optical waveguide as a fundamental constituent element. The method of fabricating this buried type optical waveguide is explained by reference to FIG. 7. In FIG. 7A, a Ta film 13 is evaporated on the LiNbO.sub.3 substrate which is a ferroelectric crystal. In FIG. 7B, a slit of several micrometers in width is opened by photo process or etching using a photoresist 11. In FIG. 7C, heat treatment is effected in phosphoric acid to form a high refractive index layer (with the refractive index difference from the substrate of about .DELTA.Ne=0.14) as the waveguide 2.
The optical harmonic generating device fabricated in this manner, when the fundamental wave P1 with wavelength of 0.84 um enters one end of the waveguide 2 and the harmonic wave P2 is emitted from the other end, presents the maximum conversion efficiency at the thickness of 0.4 .mu.m of the waveguide with respect to the fundamental wave P1 of wavelength of 0.84 um from the laser diode, and a harmonic wave of P2=0.4 mW is obtained when the length of the waveguide is 6 mm and P1 is 40 mW. The conversion efficiency P1/P2 at this time is 1%. The propagation loss of this device is 1.5 dB/cm.
According to the research by the present inventors, in the optical harmonic generating device fabricated by using Ta mask as mentioned above, diffusion of Ta from the Ta mask to the LiNbO.sub.3 occurs, and the loss of the optical waveguide caused by this is about 1.5 dB/cm, which made it difficult to enhance the efficiency. For example, if the length of the waveguide is increased five times from 6 mm to 30 mm, the conversion efficiency of the device is not five-folded because of the propagation loss, and is actually about 2.7 times. When a short wavelength laser source was composed of the optical harmonic generating device using Ta mask, it was difficult to increase the output owing to the same reasons. It was therefore difficult to obtain stably harmonic waves of over 1 mW which is the practical level of the short wavelength laser source

Manufacturing method of frequency doubler

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An acoustically insulating electrical box made of plastic material comprises a box-like wall structure with an open face. A planar, outward flange is integral with the box-like structure around all of the open face. A building, wall or ceiling board is provided with an opening therein to receive the box-like structure with the back of the flange facing the front of the board. Fasteners attach the flange directly on the board with a silicone sealant pressed between the back of the flange and the front of the board. The box-like structure includes apertures through which electrically conducting wires enter the electrical box and which are also sealed with silicone, the box-like structure being otherwise non perforated.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to an acoustically insulating electrical box in particular but not exclusively of the type designed to receive a conventional, domestic A.C. switch or outlet. The invention also relates to a method of acoustically insulating an electrical box of the above type.
2. Brief description of the prior art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,870 issued on Oct. 27, 1981 to BALKWILL et AL proposes a cover for a metallic electrical box mounted in an opening cut in a building wall or ceiling board. This cover, made of plastic material, extends around all of the electrical box except the open face thereof and is provided with a slanted flange which contacts and seals against the back surface of the wall or ceiling board. The function of the cover of BALKWILL et AL is to prevent passage of air and moisture through and around the electrical box. It is not mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,870 that the plastic cover acoustically insulates the electrical box.
It is very questionable as to whether the slanted flange of BALKWILL et AL produces sufficient pressure on the back of the board to result into a joint impervious to aerial acoustic waves. In any case, it is very important that a constant, sufficient pressure be applied by the flange on the back of the board around all of the open face of the box. This accordingly results in a tedious, time consuming and therefore costly installation of the covers of BALKWILL et AL.
BALKWILL et AL further propose to attach the electrical box on the stud structure by means of nails drived through the box cover. These nails cancel any acoustic insulation effect produced by the slanted flange applied on the back surface of the wall or ceiling board as they cause an opening in the cover allowing passage of acoustic waves. Moreover, the nails establish an acoustic short circuit between the electrical box and the stud structure allowing transmission of acoustic vibrations from the box to the stud structure and of course from the stud structure to the box.
When the metallic, electrical box is nailed on a vertical stud through the cover of BALKWILL et AL, any twisting in the stud causes lack of parallelism between the cover flange and the board, variation in the pressure applied by the flange on the back surface of the board and accordingly a deficiency in the joint between these flange and board.
BALKWILL et AL further suggest mounting of a plurality of metallic, electrical boxes through a pair of metallic straps again nailed to the stud structure. A plastic cover for such a box assembly is provided with slots to allow passage of the straps. Again, the joint between the metallic straps and the plastic material of the cover is not tight enough to stop aerial acoustic waves. Again, the mounting straps, made of metal, cause an acoustic short circuit between the metal of the electrical boxes and the stud structure whereby acoustic vibrations are transmitted through these straps from the stud structure to the electrical boxes, and vice versa.


A photonic integrated device comprises a waveguide embedded in a photonic substrate. The waveguide has a waveguide radiation exit surface and the waveguide is optically connected to a two dimensional grating. The photonic integrated device also comprises a two dimensional grating having a plurality of curved elongate scattering elements. The two dimensional grating is adapted for diffracting radiation received from the waveguide toward a direction out of the photonic substrate and the curved elongate scattering elements are oriented with respect to the waveguide such that, for points of the scattering elements which can be irradiated by radiations stemming from the waveguide, normal lines to at least the curved elongate scattering element closest to the waveguide radiation exit surface do not substantially intersect with the waveguide radiation exit surface of the waveguide.

Photonic integration is considered to be a key technology for future advancement in optical communication technology. Scaling down of the optical building blocks enables cost-effective, complex and ultra-compact photonic circuits, i.e. chips which comprise integrated optical components formed on or in a substrate and which are interconnected by planar waveguides. It is typically desirable to be able to optically couple the signals conducted by such planar waveguides into or out of the integrated chip, for example from or into an optical fiber.
Choosing an appropriate platform for developing this miniaturization technology is guided by functionality, compatibility, performance, yield and cost. Currently, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) can be considered as the leading technology for low-cost and high-volume photonic integration, since it benefits from processes developed in the mature electronics industry. Although the high refractive index contrast of SOI reduces the footprint of integrated photonic devices considerably, it becomes more difficult to achieve a high-performance mode-size convertor between a single-mode optical fiber, with a typical cross-sectional area of 100 μm2, and an on-chip integrated optical waveguide, with a typical cross-sectional area in the order of 0.1 μm2.
A possible solution is a grating coupler which is a periodic structure that couples light out of the chip, e.g. to free space or to an optical fiber. Fiber-to-chip grating couplers with very high efficiency have been demonstrated. However, a typical reflection back into the on-chip waveguide for such a high-efficiency grating coupler may be around −17 dB, while high back-reflections of −10 dB and −8 dB have been reported as well. These levels of back-reflection may be unacceptable for integrated circuits, especially for example for circuits which contain integrated lasers, or which implement interferometer-based designs.
For grating couplers, two main sources may contribute to the back-reflection, i.e. reflection back into the waveguide. The second order reflection of the grating may be considered the dominant source. Typically this second order reflection may be eliminated by tilting the optical fiber under a small angle of around 10° with respect to the surface normal. The second source of back reflection is due the Fresnel reflection at the grating coupler interface. This reflection may be highly dependent on the grating structure itself and may therefore be very difficult to eliminate.
Besides optimizing reflection and coupling efficiency, there is also an incentive for further reducing integrated photonics circuits in size. In "compact focusing grating couplers for Silicon-on-Insulator integrated circuits" by F. Van Laere et al. in IEEE Photonics Technology Letters 19(23) 2007 p 1919-1921, a compact focusing grating coupler is presented which uses a curved grating to focus the coupled light onto a single-mode waveguide, achieving an eight-fold length reduction as compared to a conventional linear grating with adiabatic taper, without performance penalty. More specifically, this grating is elliptically curved, i.e. comprises a plurality of grating ridges having an elliptical profile. The radiation is coupled to the grating coupler along the direction of the long axes of these grating ridges, and due to the curvature of the grating, the distance between the grating and the output opening of the waveguide can be drastically reduced.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,627 B1, a grating coupler is disclosed, which comprises a plurality of scattering elements, and at least one distributed Bragg reflector to reflect radiation passing through the grating towards the substrate of the grating coupler back toward the grating.

Integrated photonics waveguide grating coupler


A system, device, and method quantitatively measure average concentrations of target constituents (e.g., volatile organic compounds (VOCs)) in an ambient fluid (e.g., groundwater, surface water, air, etc.) over an extended period of time. The system uses a passive device having an outer equilibration chamber and an inner kinetic sampler. The device is placed in an ambient fluid for a specified period of time, wherein the target constituent(s) rapidly diffuse through a high-permeability membrane into the fluid-filled equilibration chamber. From there, the target constituents are taken up by an uptake rate the kinetic sampler that is configured to be less than an equilibration rate of the equilibration chamber.

The most common method of measuring the concentration of contaminants and other constituents in environmental media, such as water and air, involves collecting "grab samples" (i.e., the direct collection of a sample of the environmental media over a time period of minutes or less, such that it represents the concentration at an instant in time). Most of the currently available sampling methods (e.g., purge sampling; SNAP Sampler as in U.S. Pat. No. 7,178,415, HYDRASleeve as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,481,300 & 6,837,120; etc.) collect such grab samples.
However, grab samples can be significantly affected by short-term variability in the concentrations of contaminants in the environment. Short-term variability has been shown to primarily occur over a time scale of days to weeks or less, and can present as a seemingly random increase or decrease in contaminant concentrations unrelated to the long-term trends associated with ongoing impacts, natural contaminant attenuation, or site remediation. Because grab samples capture the concentration at an instant in time, rather than a period of time, the grab samples are particularly subject to the effects of short-term variability, making it difficult to observe meaningful trends in concentration over time.
As a result of the random variability associated with grab samples (i.e., individual grab samples commonly over-estimate or under-estimate the average concentration by a factor of 2×, and sometimes by as much as 10×), additional sample locations and more frequent sampling events are often utilized to better understand the overall trend in concentrations. However, increased monitoring can drive up costs, and may still yield incorrect conclusions. For example, even in a network of 10 or 20 monitoring wells used for measuring groundwater pollution, concerns may be raised after only one of the monitoring wells in the network shows increasing concentrations in one sampling event despite the fact that the likely explanation for this apparent increase in concentration is natural short-term variability.
To address these problems, the environmental monitoring field is moving away from these types of methods of obtaining multiple grab samples of an environmental media to more time-integrated sampling methods (i.e., sampling that occurs over a period of days, weeks, or months to provide an average concentration). Instead of collecting a direct sample of the environmental media (e.g., water or air), time-averaged sampling involves extraction and collection of the contaminant from the environmental media over time—thus reducing the volume of the sample needed, and extending the period of time in which a time-averaged concentration can be determined. In addition, by averaging the sampling over a longer period of time, the confounding influence of spurious data is reduced, and the actual time involved in observing the key environmental variable (such as concentrations in air, water, or sediment) is greatly increased. For example, taking two grab samples per year means that just two brief moments in time represent the entire year of concentrations in the environment. A three-month integrative sampling, however, can increase this temporal coverage. Also, the costs for performing time-integrated sampling in environmental media can be significantly less compared to conventional grab sampling methods because repetitive field trips to do the sampling are not needed.
Various examples of time-integrated samplers are available to measure concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). For instance, the 24-hr Summa canisters or 7-day passive sorbent samplers have been the default devices for measuring VOC concentrations in air. Various samplers that measure average concentrations of semi-volatiles in sediments over multi-month periods are also available. In groundwater, deployment periods for currently-available time-integrated samplers are constrained by the design of those samplers, where current groundwater samplers (e.g., AGI Universal Sampler aka Gore Sorber, Enviroflux, etc.) are typically deployed over a time period of only hours to 28 days, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,547 to Enviroflux.
Each of these devices is a form of "kinetic" sampler, where the sampler is designed to have a constant uptake rate throughout the sampling duration. Unfortunately, kinetic samplers can face limitations that compromise the accuracy of the measurements over an extended time period. Specifically, kinetic samplers are sensitive to changes in the flow velocity of the medium (e.g., air or water), which can alter the thickness of the sampler's boundary diffusion layer (comprised of a stagnant fluid layer in front of a membrane and the membrane itself). In turn, this sensitivity can affect the concentration's gradient across the layer and ultimately can affect the contaminant's mass that is trapped within the sampler (e.g., adsorbed to a sorbent). Consequently, uptake rates can vary in kinetic samplers if changes in the ambient fluid flow velocity change the thickness of the kinetic sampler's diffusion layer.
Also, kinetic samplers are subject to potential biofouling, degradation of their membranes and/or sorbents, or other detrimental processes that change the sampler's uptake rate or otherwise cause sampling errors. Moreover, these detrimental processes can limit the effective deployment time of the sampling device in certain settings.
For at least these reasons, a time-integrated sampler is needed that addresses these limitations and provides a dependable and effective method for the measurement of average constituent concentrations in a fluid over an extended period of time (i.e., months). Such a time-integrated sampler could potentially eliminate most short-term variability problems that now plague monitoring programs based on the individual grab samples. To that end, the subject matter of the present disclosure is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.

Long-exposure, time-integrated sampler for groundwater or the like


Systems and methods described herein are provided for beamforming and uplink control and data transmission techniques. Such techniques enable a UE to maintain at least one beam process for operation with multiple beams and/or points. A beam process may be indicated for transmission or reception over a downlink or uplink physical channel. Power, timing, and channel state information may be specific to a beam process. A beam process may be established as part of a random access procedure in which resources may be provisioned in random access response messages. Techniques are provided to handle beam process failures, to use beam processes for mobility, and to select beams using open-loop and closed-loop selection procedures.

To meet the high data rates required for the next generation of cellular communication systems, the wireless industry and academia have been exploring ways to leverage large bandwidths available at high frequencies, such as cmW and mmW frequencies.
These high frequencies may have propagation characteristics unfavorable for wireless communication, especially in an outdoor environment. Higher frequency transmissions may experience higher, free space path loss. Rainfall and atmospheric gasses (such as oxygen and foliage) may add further attenuation compared to sub-6 GHz frequencies. In addition, penetration and diffraction attenuation may become more severe at higher frequencies, such as at mmW frequencies.
All these propagation characteristics may result in significant Non Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) propagation path losses. For example, at mmW frequencies, NLOS path losses may be more than 20 dB higher than Line-Of-Sight (LOS) path losses and severely limit the coverage of mmW transmissions.

Systems and methods for beamformed uplink transmission