A computer method of diagramming provide a diagram of a subject model. In response to a primary edit to the subject model, the invention method generates a non-persistent view for secondary edits. The diagram is formed of notational elements corresponding to model elements of the subject model. The invention method provides a notation meta-model for persisting the notational elements with references to corresponding model elements. The notation meta-model allows notational elements to be recreated and changed dynamically in a manner free of replacing original notational elements.

Diagrams are graphical representations of some semantic data. They are used to visualize the data in a way that is understandable to the user and also to allow a more intuitive way to modify/edit the semantic data. An example is a UML class diagram. The data that the class diagram is representing can either be java code that is being directly visualized or a model that the user is using for his design activities. To display different aspects of the java code or model, the user may wish to have multiple diagrams. This means there may be more then one notation element representing the same semantic element, and that the notation data may in fact be stored in a separate file to accomplish this.
This causes a number of problems when the project files that people are working on are under a source control system such as CVS or ClearCase. First take the example of a UML model that contains a state machine where a diagram of that state machine exists in a separately source controlled file. If the user adds a composite state inside the state machine through an external API or a tree control explorer (outside of the diagram), then this will cause the diagram to update to create a view of the new state. If the diagram is under source control it will have a prompt for check-out before the view can be added. This is called a "secondary edit" assuming the "primary edit" is the modification of the UML model that owns the state machine. There can be as many of these "secondary edits" as there are diagrams. This poses two problems: first it is cumbersome for the user to manage these check-out requests, and secondly the user may not have access or permissions to make the check-outs. As well, assuming the secondary edits can be performed, the number of files associated with a given activity has increased considerably making it difficult to isolate where the core change or "primary edit" occurred.
A more damaging problem is when the dynamics of team environment are considered. Specifically this is an issue when two or more people edit the model which in turn spawns secondary edits as above in the same resource. When the contributors go to deliver/check-in their work to source control they could encounter conflicts in a file that they didn't directly change themselves that requires merging either through tool assistance or manual edit of the file. Anytime a merge occurs on a file this is an inherently risky procedure that can cause errors or even file corruption.
Even if one considers cases where a source control system is not utilized there can be issues. Since the secondary edits are causing a file change, this usually implies something additional is being stored inside the file. This consequently will increase the file size of those modified resources. Larger files have impact on loading performance and come at a cost of utilized disk space.
In addition, the semantic data graphically represented by a diagram can be a UML model, business data or simply a set of graphical objects used for drawing pictures. The graphical representation data often needs to be persisted separately from the semantic data. The concept of a notation meta-model to persist the graphical representation data with semantic references has been derived from this need. A notation meta-model is a model designed to represent nodes and arcs in different graphical representations. Usually the semantic information is stored completely separately and merely references to the semantic elements are stored in the notation meta-model. A number of implementations for a notation meta-model exist in the market place most notably the new OMG standard for Diagram Interchange.
There are usually three major concerns when designing notation meta-models:
1. The versatility: how easy is it to create instances of a meta-model and change it dynamically?
2. The extensibility: how easy is it to extend the meta-model and how does this extensibility scale?
3. The manageability: How to manage team interaction? How easy is it to manage change events?
Versatility
A lot of the notation meta-models that exist today fail to recognize the difference between a property that is characteristic of the notational element and one that is use-case driven. For example to represent a shape that is laid out in an x-y layout one needs to have a position and a size constraint in the notational element. However, to represent a shape that is laid out in a vertical flow layout one needs an index constraint. One way to solve this problem is to create a shape notational element that contains both kinds of constraints causing redundancy.
Another way is to create an XY-Shape element and an Order-Shape element. The problem with that shows up when the need to change the layout dynamically presents itself. One then needs to create a new element and destroy the old element after copying the unrelated property values.
Along the same lines exist similar problems if there are notation elements with properties related to their semantic reference. If the semantic element changes dynamically, the old notational element needs to be changed into another that has different properties with the same complication of the recreation.
Extensibility
Usually the designers of the meta-model do not anticipate all the use-cases of their model. That is why it is always a good idea to leave room for extension. The problem here is often the choice of the extensibility mechanism. One way to extend a notation element is to inherit it. Unfortunately, this does not work well if the intent of the extension is to remove properties versus add properties.
Another problem is the scalability of this solution. For example, if there are three notation classes that one needs to add a few properties to, one would then extend every one of them to create three derived classes with the new properties. To add more properties later, one needs to again extend off the leaf classes to create more and more classes. Basically, one either has to live with fewer classes that have redundant properties or live with a huge number of classes that represent all the possible combinations. Both cases are not usually acceptable leave alone feasible.
Another idea, adopted by the DI from OMG, is a property map where both the key and the value are strings. The inherent problem with representing all properties as strings is the inefficiency of serialization and de-serialization. It is also particularly inefficient for reference properties since one loses some inherent traceability features (looking up object inter-references). One also loses the ability to make a complex property that encompasses several other properties (a style).
Manageability
Manageability is a major concern for almost all notation meta-model designers. It deals with how to manage events that are generated when a model change occurs, how to manage merge issues when models get touched by different team contributors and so forth. Usually, some fundamental but not very obvious details make all the difference. For example, the assumption that all notational elements are laid out in relative x-y coordinates proves to be a poor one to make. Consider the case where a shape has sub-shapes that are laid out in a flow layout. The key point to that layout is the order of children. If the meta-model persists x-y constraints relative to the container element for each one of the sub-shapes, it needs to update those constraints when the container is resized. This results in two problems: (i) more events to listen and react to in the client code, and (ii) more deltas to detect and analyze in compare and merge (C&M).
Another problem exists if some modeled properties in the notation meta-model are not team oriented but rather specific to the sole user. Examples of such properties are the diagram zoom ratio or its scroll position. These properties usually hold the user preferences and should not be part of the meta-model but rather in a kind of a local preference store. Impact of changing these properties would be unnecessary deltas for user models, which could lead to complications if these models are under source control in a team environment.


A system for a vehicle having an engine with an exhaust comprises a fuel cell coupled in the engine exhaust wherein the fuel cell has an output circuit; a battery coupled with the fuel cell; and a controller receiving a signal indicative of an electric output of the fuel cell output circuit, and adjusting one of the fuel amount and the air amount supplied to the engine in response to said signal to affect air-fuel ratio of the exhaust of the engine.

Internal combustion engines use only a portion (for example, approximately 31% to 38% in some cases) of the supplied fuel energy due to heat wasted, friction, incomplete combustion, and others. In addition, approximately 3-17% of the supplied fuel energy can be used to maintain the engine operation during standby and another 1-2% can be used to operate accessories. Therefore, it can be advantageous to utilize the waste energy, typically in the form of thermal and chemical energy, to improve the overall vehicle system fuel efficiency.
One approach uses a fuel cell arranged in an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, such as described in U.S. 2004/0177607 ("the '607 reference). This system uses unburnt fuel from the engine to convert chemical energy into electric energy that can be used in vehicle. The system includes various exhaust gas sensors separate from the fuel cell, such as air-fuel ratio sensors for controlling operation. Further, the '607 reference describes operating the engine independently of the conditions of the fuel cell.
The inventors herein have recognized that while separate air-fuel ratio sensors may be used, it is also possible, at least under some conditions, to use a fuel cell to provide information that can be used in controlling or adjusting engine operation. For example, the conditions of the fuel cell may be used to determine, estimate, or provide information about the air/fuel ratio or relative oxygen amount in the exhaust. Thus, it may be possible to use the current, voltage, and/or impedance of the fuel cell to provide an indication of the exhaust air-fuel ratio, or other conditions of the exhaust.
Thus, according to one aspect, a system for a vehicle having an engine with an exhaust comprises a fuel cell coupled in the engine exhaust wherein the fuel cell has an output circuit; a battery coupled with the fuel cell; and a controller receiving a signal indicative of an electric output of the fuel cell output circuit, and adjusting one of the fuel amount and the air amount supplied to the engine in response to said signal to affect air-fuel ratio of the exhaust of the engine
In this way, the electrical output of the fuel cell can be used as an indication of exhaust information, such as exhaust air/fuel ratio, and then be used to adjust engine operation. For example, the fuel cell can operate as a Nerst cell in one embodiment.
Thus, in one embodiment, it may be possible to reduce a number of exhaust air-fuel ratio sensors, thus reducing system cost. In another embodiment, the fuel cell can be used as an additional air-fuel ratio sensor to supplement other air-fuel ratio sensor information. Further, in some examples, the fuel cell output can be used to determine degradation of the fuel cell and/or of other exhaust air-fuel ratio sensors. Therefore, the fuel cell may serve multiple functions such as power generation, sensing, and/or diagnosis.
According to another aspect, a method to operate an internal combustion engine of a vehicle, the engine also includes a fuel cell disposed downstream of the engine coupled in an engine exhaust and a battery coupled with the fuel cell. The method comprises adjusting an engine operating parameter in response to an electrical output of the fuel cell coupled in the engine exhaust.
In this way, it is possible to take advantage of the fuel cell location and operation to provide information about engine operation, for example, that can then be used in adjusting engine operation.
According to yet another aspect, a method to operate an internal combustion engine of a vehicle, the engine also having a fuel cell disposed at the downstream of the engine and a battery coupled with the fuel cell, is provided. The method comprises: generating an electrical output of the fuel cell by controlling current supplied to the fuel cell from the battery; and adjusting an engine operating parameter in response to said electrical output of the fuel cell.
Such system can provide various advantages. For example, application of the current to the fuel cell allows for generation of an electrical output that may provide information about the exhaust gases, such as air-fuel ratio. For example, in one embodiment, by determining the change in current, it may be possible to infer exhaust air-fuel ratio using the Nernst equation in conjunction with speciation information. Further, applying the current enables an electrochemical reaction that reduces NOx to N2 and O2. Such an approach may enable the fuel cell to serve multiple functions such as power generation, sensing, and/or emission reduction.

System and method to operate a fuel cell in the exhaust of an internal combustion engine


In one embodiment, a technique for detecting a break in a pseudowire and automatic shutting down user network interface (UNI) ports affected by the break is provided. In response to the loss of connectivity on the shut down ports, customer edge devices may automatically switch over to redundant circuits (e.g., other UNI ports not affected by the break in the pseudowire) and establish a different pseudowire.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to network traffic management.
2. Description of the Related Art
Service providers often offer Layer 2 services over Internet Protocol (IP) based Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network cores. As an example, a service provider may offer Metro Ethernet services that provide customers emulated Ethernet connections between distributed customer sites, such as different offices of a business or different campuses of a school or university. The customers of such service providers often require redundant links to the same MPLS core, or maybe even to another Service Provider.
Unfortunately, in the event of a transport failure, identifying and closing customer connections that are affected is a complex process. Further, shutting down affected connections and switching over to redundant connections is a time consuming process that is performed manually.

Active fault management for metro Ethernet service over MPLS network


A container closure having a multiple liner seal is disclosed. The closure comprises a plastic closure cap having a circular top wall portion and a depending annular skirt portion. The skirt portion has an internal thread formation for threadedly engaging a cooperative container. In a typical closure, a pilfer band depends from the skirt portion. The closure cap has an abutment internal thereto, generally at the juncture of the top wall portion and the skirt portion. A first resilient, molded-in plastic seal is positioned in the cap adjacent to and against the top wall portion, and a second resilient plastic seal is positioned in the closure and extends thereacross resting upon the abutment. When the closure is threadedly engaged with a container, the second seal provides a top/side seal to seal the contents from the environs. The closure will seal a container with or without the second seal in place because of the independent sealing capabilities of the first seal.

Various types of closures and closure seals for containers such as bottles or the like are known in the art. One of the most widely used type of closure is comprised of a plastic closure cap with a deformable plastic liner formed or positioned therein, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,976 to Pohlenz, entitled "Lined Plastic Closure." The liners currently known in the art function well to provide an effective seal for the container contents such as carbonated beverages. However, because the container may be resealed numerous times, therein lies the opportunity for a liner to be removed or inadvertently fall out, leaving the closure without a seal. It has also been observed that some soft drink manufacturers and bottlers have made use of seals for novelty and sales promotions, vis-a-vis redemption of the seals for cash or awards. In these instances, if the seal is removed from the closure before the container is emptied, the closure cannot function to properly seal the contents of the container.
Accordingly, a container closure is disclosed which has multiple liner seals to seal the container, but which effectively seals a container with only one liner in place therein.

Container closure with multiple liner seals


The present disclosure relates to a nucleotide sequence comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and/or sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6, vector and host cell line comprising the nucleotide. The present disclosure also relates to an antibody that binds to extracellular region of human CD147, wherein the antibody comprises a heavy chain variable region having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and/or a light chain variable region having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, and the antibody contains a glycoform lacking both fucose residues and xylose residues, pharmaceutical composition comprising the antibody or fragment thereof, the method of producing the antibody or fragment thereof, and use of the pharmaceutical composition in treatment of CD147 expression-related diseases.

CD147 is a highly glycosylated transmembrane protein that belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily. CD147 is commonly over-expressed in many tumors (Li et al., 2009. HAb18G (CD147), a cancer-associated biomarker and its role in cancer detection. Histopathology 54, 677-687.), including carcinomas of liver, lung, breast, pancreas, prostate, and bladder. CD147 over expression level is correlated with tumor histopathologic type and clinical stage of disease. Importantly, CD147 surface expression is closely associated with tumorigenesis, tumor progression and reduced patient survival in various cancers, and these facts validate CD147 as a therapeutic target for cancer treatment.
Antibody Dependent Cell-mediated Cytotoxicity (ADCC) is a major clinical mechanism of action for therapeutic antibodies. Generally, when the antibody binds to a tumor target on the surface of a cell in a tumor tissue of a cancer patient, the Fc region of the antibody attracts effector cells, such as NK cells, by binding to the surface Fc receptor (e.g. CD16) of the NK cells. Binding of the Fc region to CD16 of the effector cells induces secretion of perforin and granzyme that lead to apoptosis of the target cells. Macrophages, neutrophils and eosinophils can also be activated by the Fc effector function.
ADCC efficacy of IgG antibodies is significantly dependent on Fc glycosylation patterns (Jefferis, 2009). We previously generated an anti-CD147 murine monoclonal antibody, HAb18 (U.S. Pat. No. 7,638,619, PCT/CN03/00188 and China patent No. ZL02114471.0), and developed a 131I-labeled HAb18 F(ab′)2 (named Licartin) to treat liver cancer (Xu et al., 2007a; A randomized controlled trial of Licartin for preventing hepatoma recurrence after liver transplantation. Hepatology 45, 269-276). Licartin has been shown to be effective in the treatment of liver cancer, demonstrating anti-CD147 antibodies as molecular targeted therapeutics. Although efficient, safe and tolerated in therapy, Licartin suffered from immunogenicity which triggers generation of human-anti-mouse antibodies (HAMA) in 4 out of 130 treated patients without affecting therapeutic results (Chen et al., 2006; Targeting radioimmunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma with iodine (131I) metuximab injection: clinical phase I/II trials. International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics 65, 435-444.). Such limitations have prompted efforts to improve the efficacy and tolerability of HAb18 through antibody engineering, as well as the inconvenience of administration of a non-radioactively labelled therapeutic antibody. The present disclosure addresses these and other needs and provides several additional benefits for efficient and safe treatment of cancer patients, which will be described in the remainder of this document.

Human-mouse chimeric anti-CD147 antibody with non-fucosylated glycosylation


An FSK demodulator which outputs an enable signal in response to the detection of a data change point in a detected signal of an amplitude associated with the received frequency of an input FSK signal, outputs an average signal of the detected signal for each predetermined time period, acquires the average signal in response to the enable signal to output as an offset signal an average value of M average signals, and subtracts the offset signal from the detected signal to output the resulting signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) demodulator for demodulating an FSK signal.
2. Description of the Related Background Art
A typical frequency shift keying demodulator (hereinafter referred to as an FSK demodulator), which is used in wireless communication receivers, receives an input FSK signal to acquire, as data, a detected signal of an amplitude associated with the received frequency. The FSK demodulator then compares the amplitude of the detected signal with a threshold value to make an evaluation of the data. A data error may occur at the FSK demodulator due to the effect of noise produced when the detected signal is acquired or due to an offset caused by a frequency error at a local oscillator that is included in a transmitter or receiver.
To suppress the noise effect produced when a detected signal is acquired, a method is available for performing demodulations without using a signal around the zero cross point that is susceptible to noise (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. Hei 6-54004.)
In some methods typically available for removing offsets, a detected signal is introduced into an integrator to acquire the average of amplitude values of the detected signal, which is in turn determined as the quantity of offset.
Another method for removing offsets is also disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. Hei 7-231338 in which a sign evaluation point is set past the center of a symbol period. Still another method for removing offsets is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. 2001-358786 in which upon acquirement of a detected signal, a cycle is determined on the basis of the intersection between the time axis and the sampled value of an FSK signal waveform to compute the frequency from the cycle. A further method for removing offsets is also disclosed in Japanese Patent Application kokai No. Hei 11-298541 in which a sample value of the detected signal at the zero cross point is subtracted from the detected signal.
According to the method for determining the average value of a detected signal as the quantity of offset, a system in which "0" and "1" equally appear in data provides a stable average value between "0" and "1." However, in a system in which "0" and "1" do not equally appear, the output from the integrator, i.e., the quantity of offset may vary depending on the data pattern, thereby causing the offset not to be properly removed.


An equalization system for a multi-axis imaging system. A plurality of light detectors are arranged in a detector array and a plurality of light sources corresponding to detectors in the detector array are arranged in a source array so that light radiated from a point on the object illuminated by a given source is detected by a corresponding detector. A signal conditioning system is provided for receiving output signals from the plurality of detectors. An equalizer system, adapted to interact with said signal conditioning system, is provided for equalizing the output values for given amounts of optical power illuminating the respective fields of view of the imaging elements.

In an imaging system, adequate and appropriate illumination of the object to be imaged is essential. There must be enough light provided to the object to permit a viewer or detector to discern features of the object in the image thereof. In addition, the manner in which the light is provided to the object makes a difference in what features can be detected and the contrast with which they are imaged.
The way in which illumination is provided is particularly important in a microscope. If the object is opaque, it must be illuminated so that the light used to form an image of the object is radiated from the same side of the object on which light illuminates the object. This type of illumination is known primarily as epi-illumination. In epi-illumination the light radiated from an object may be in the form of reflection, in which case the illumination light is modulated upon reflection from the object, or it may be in the form of fluorescence, in which case the illumination light induces fluorescent emission by the object at a different wavelength from the illumination light, as determined by the fluorescence characteristics of the object. The latter case is known as epi-fluorescence. The term "radiated" is used throughout this specification and the claims hereof to include reflection, scattering and fluorescence.
One type of epi-illumination is critical illumination. In this case, the light source is imaged into the object plane. This provides efficient illumination and a short illumination system, but requires that the light source provide uniform radiance. The light source is ordinarily disposed actually or virtually on the optical axis of the imaging lens.
In the foregoing it is assumed that the entire field of view of the imaging lens is simultaneously imaged. However, in a confocal microscope only discrete points in object space are imaged. This is accomplished by placing one or more "pinhole" stops at the image plane of the microscope matched to corresponding discrete points in the object plane, and scanning the object laterally, either by moving the object or the microscope, or moving the scanning beam through the microscope using, for example, scan mirrors. The light passed by the pinhole is detected and related to the object position as the scan occurs, and the output of the detector is used to produce an image of the object as a whole. In this case, light from the light source is focused to the point on the object plane that is currently imaged. This is typically accomplished by placing a beam splitter between the imaging lens and the image plane so as to pass image light to the image plane while reflecting source light from a virtual image plane created by the beam splitter along the optical axis of the microscope toward the object plane.
In classic optical instruments employing critical illumination, the image is detected by the human eye. In many modern optical instruments, the image is detected by a photo-sensitive device, typically an array of photodetectors. In confocal microscopy, the image is necessarily detected by a photodetector. While the use of electronic image detection offers electronic capture of an image and the possibility of reducing the size of an imaging system, effective, compact epi-illumination has remained a challenge.
The recent development of miniaturized microscope arrays presents new challenges for illumination. In a miniature microscope array a plurality of laterally-distributed optical imaging elements having respective longitudinal optical axes are configured to image respective sections of a common object, or a plurality of respective objects and disposed with respect to a common object plane, so as to produce images thereof at respective image planes. The individual lenses of this array are formed of small optical elements, or "lenslets," that place severe constraints on providing illumination. Indeed, the multiplicity of lenslets arranged in an array and the small dimensions of the array suggest that prior art epi-illumination techniques cannot be used. Yet, a principal application for miniature microscope arrays is to image specimens, such as biological microarrays for protein analysis, that are sufficiently opaque that trans-illumination cannot be used effectively.
In a miniaturized microscope array each of the microscopes has at least one, and ordinarily many, optical detectors associated therewith for producing an electrical representation of the image produced by the microscope. The detectors are most likely to be semiconductor optical detectors. Each microscope may also have an illumination source associated therewith.
The electrical output of a semiconductor optical detector in response to a given radiance depends on its responsivity as well as the amount of radiant flux that actually reaches the active area of the detector. Such detectors typically produce a DC offset component in their output due to dark current, as well as a signal that varies with the radiant flux received by the detector. The responsivities and DC offsets of detectors may vary from detector to detector, even though the detectors may be the same kind of device. Consequently, where multiple detectors are employed as in an array microscope, the respective detectors may produce different electrical output amplitudes and offsets, even when illuminated by the same radiant flux. Similarly, the output radiances of optical sources may vary from source to source, even though the sources may be the same kind of device and may experience the same input current or voltage. Consequently, where multiple sources are employed to provide illumination for respective detectors, the respective detectors may receive varying light radiances, all other things being equal. These variations in source radiance and detector responsivity and flux-dependent DC offset can create pixel-to-pixel brightness errors in the images produced by a microscope array.
Accordingly, there is a need for novel systems and methods for providing critical illumination in epi-illumination imaging systems employing electronic image detection, and for equalizing the response of an imaging system over the entire image to an object whose radiance response to a given irradiance is uniform over the entire object.

Equalization for a multi-axis imaging system


A galvanic isolation system provides galvanic isolation in digital transfer integrated circuits by using conductivity modulation of the semiconductor substrate. Modulation of the conductivity of the substrate affects eddy current losses of a (differential) RF inductor that is isolated from the substrate by a sufficient amount of dielectric material, which provides a basis for signal transfer from the modulated substrate to the inductor across the isolation barrier.

Known methods of galvanic isolation used in on-chip or in-package digital signal processing (DSP) systems include optoelectronic-couplers, inductive coupling transformers, capacitive couplers, inductive coupling bond wire transformers, and inductive coupling magnetoresistor-based coupling devices.
FIG. 1 shows a galvanic isolation system 100 that utilizes an optoelectronic coupler. The system 100 comprises proven technology that is widely used and provides low cost per basic unit. The system 100 provides high isolation capability and requires no data encoding. However, it requires high power (10 mA). If fast light emitting diodes (LEDs) are used, they are expensive and their response time degrades over time. The system 100 also exhibits low speed performance (−50 Mbps), high temperature dependence and utilizes a large board footprint.
FIG. 2 shows a galvanic isolation system 200 that utilizes an inductive coupling transformer. The system 200 is low cost, exhibits high performance and can be implemented in CMOS technology. It also exhibits high common mode rejection, utilizes very low power, depends little on temperature and utilizes a small board footprint. However, it is sensitive to external magnetic fields and requires clock encoded data.
FIG. 3 shows a galvanic isolation system 300 that utilizes capacitive coupling. The system 300 is low cost and can be implemented using CMOS technology. It exhibits little temperature dependency and is relatively immune to magnetic interference. However, it also exhibits low common mode transient immunity, higher noise, larger area than the other conventional options, and requires clock encoded data.
FIG. 4 shows a galvanic isolation system 400 that utilizes an inductive coupling bond wire transformer. The system 400 exhibits poor flux coupling, low speed and poor manufacturability.
FIG. 5 shows a galvanic isolation system 500 that utilizes an inductive coupling magnetoresistor. The system 500 exhibits benefits similar to and the same data rates as the transformer systems. However, it requires giant magnetoresistor (GMR) technology and is sensitive to external magnetic fields.

System and method of galvanic isolation in digital signal transfer integrated circuits utilizing conductivity modulation of semiconductor substrate


A frequency compensation device for providing added compensation to an operational amplifier, such as a bipolar or MOS rail-to-rail output operational amplifier, when the output device of the operational amplifier is in saturation. The device comprises a detector circuit for detecting those conditions which can cause the output device to go into saturation. When saturation is detected, an auxiliary frequency compensation device provides added frequency. Thereby, in a normal mode of operation, the op-amp is not overcompensated. Yet, when an output device becomes saturated, the auxiliary compensation is added to improve stability and prevent the op-amp from becoming oscillatory.

1. Field
The present invention relates to rail-to-rail operational amplifiers (op-amps). More particularly, the present invention selectively adds auxiliary frequency compensation, depending on the behavior of an output transistor of the op-amp.
2. Background
Today, virtually every electronic circuit contains one or more operational amplifiers (op-amps). Basically, an op-amp is used to amplify an input signal. General use of op-amps has been extended to include applications such as DC amplifiers, AC amplifiers, comparators, servo valve drivers, deflection yoke drivers, low distortion oscillators, AC to DC converters, multivibrators, and many other applications. As electronic circuits become more complex, performance requirements are becoming more stringent, leaving designers with more difficult specifications to comply with and less flexibility to meet those difficult specification requirements. For example, with the proliferation of wireless communication (e.g., cell phones, pdas, laptops, etc.), electronic devices are becoming smaller, lighter, and are typically run off of batteries. For battery powered electronic devices, low power consumption is of critical importance. Consequently, many of these electronic devices require op-amps to operate with low supply voltage and low quiescent current. Due to the stringent requirements of low voltage applications, op-amps are being specifically designed to make use of the entire dynamic range offered by the power supply. In other words, the output stage of these op-amps are driven towards the upper and lower supply voltages (the "rails"). This has lead to the design of what is commonly referred to as "rail-to-rail" op-amps.
Unfortunately, when the output stage of a rail-to-rail op-amp is driven towards the upper and lower supply voltages, the output bipolar transistors are prone to becoming "saturated." When the output bipolar transistors become saturated, the entire frequency response of the op-amp is detrimentally affected. In extreme cases, the op-amp can be caused to enter oscillation. An oscillatory op-amp may render the electronic device unusable or otherwise result in malfunctions.
In order to stabilize the op-amp and otherwise prevent oscillation, some form of frequency compensation is typically implemented. FIG. 1 shows a typical prior art op-amp with compensation circuitry. Op-amp 101 is comprised of an input stage 102. Input stage 102 is typically a differential pair for accepting the positive and negative input signals. A gain stage 103 follows the input stage 103. Gain stage 103 provides high voltage gain. The output stage 104, which provides high current driving capability, is coupled to the gain stage 103. Additionally, in a rail-to-rail configuration, the output stage is also a voltage gain stage. A frequency compensation circuit 105 is added to provide the requisite frequency compensation.
When choosing the degree of frequency compensation to be implemented, the worst-case scenario is often taken into account. The worst-case scenario typically arises when one or both of the op-amp's output bipolar transistors is in saturation. In order to address this possibility, most frequency compensation circuits are designed to prevent the op-amp from entering oscillation, even if either or both of the output bipolar transistors become saturated. In other words, the op-amp is overcompensated in case the output bipolar transistors ever become saturated. Unfortunately, this results in the op-amp being overcompensated when it is running in its normal (i.e., non-saturated) mode of operation. This overcompensation is undesirable because it degrades the frequency response of the op-amp.
Thus, designers are faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, a bipolar rail-to-rail op-amp can be designed to consider the worst-case scenario, by compensating for it. The advantage of this approach is that the op-amp is guaranteed to operate in a totally reliable and predictable manner, in spite of saturated output transistors. The disadvantage to this approach is that when the op-amp operates normally, the overcompensation results in a degraded frequency response. On the other hand, a bipolar rail-to-rail op-amp can be designed with minimal frequency compensation. The op-amp can thereby run near or at its peak frequency potential under most normal conditions. However, the downside is that, should a situation arise which exceeds the compensation capability of that op-amp, the op-amp might cease to work properly.
This problem is also manifest in MOS output rail-to-rail op-amps as well as in the bipolar output rail-to-rail op-amp described above. However, in a MOS device, what is called "saturation" in a bipolar transistor, is referred to as the "linear" or "resistive" region. In this linear region, also encountered when the MOS op-amp output node voltage approaches one or the other supply potential, the MOS device's characteristics are heavily compromised.

Selectively adding auxiliary frequency compensation depending on the behaviour of an output transistor of a rail-to-rail operational amplifier


A vehicle seatbelt device that includes: a lap belt that restrains a waist portion of an occupant seated in a vehicle seat; a connection member that connects an end portion of the lap belt with an anchor provided at either a side of the vehicle seat or a location on a vehicle body; a retractor that is provided at a front side of a vehicle relative to the anchor, and that is actuated in a vehicle collision or in a case in which a vehicle collision has been predicted; and a load transmission member that is coupled with the connection member so as to be movable relative to the connection member, and that is retracted by the retractor in a case in which the retractor is actuated.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a vehicle seatbelt device.
Related Art
One hitherto disclosed anchor pretensioner is provided on the vehicle outer side of a vehicle seat. In a vehicle collision, this anchor pretensioner uses two wires to pull a webbing lap belt that restrains the waist of an occupant in a direction angled with respect to the horizontal direction. With this configuration, an acute angle formed between the horizontal direction and the lap belt in vehicle side view is deliberately increased such that the lap belt digs into the waist of the occupant, preventing submarining (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2014-46914).
However, since the direction in which the anchor pretensioner pulls is toward the vehicle lower side, it is difficult to effect a large increase in the angle of the lap belt.
The position of a lap belt anchor for fixing an end portion of the lap belt to, for example, the side of the vehicle seat or to the vehicle floor is stipulated by law. It is therefore difficult to set the position of the lap belt anchor more toward the vehicle front than usual for the purpose of increasing the angle of the lap belt.
A buckle is also provided on the opposite side of the seat to the lap belt anchor in the vehicle width direction. The buckle is coupled to a tongue plate provided to the lap belt when the webbing is put on by an occupant.
Although it is conceivable to employ the vehicle-outer-side anchor pretensioner described above as a pretensioner to pull on the buckle, it would still be difficult to effect a large increase the angle of the lap belt.
Further, from the perspective of ease of tongue plate insertion and removal, the initial position of the buckle cannot be set at the vehicle lower side of the center of the waist of the occupant, and it is therefore difficult to have the lap belt run along the side of the waist of the occupant when the webbing is put on.


A system and method for conducting a game between at least one live player and at least one computer-controlled player includes executing a training program between at least two agents to generate probability weights correlating actions or meta-actions representing a set or sequenced set of actions with a probability that the action or meta-action will produce a game outcome meeting a specified criterion or specified criteria. A game is conducted in which at least one live player plays against at least one computer-controlled player in which the computer-controlled player selects actions at one or more of the decision nodes in the game based, at least in part, on the probability weights.

The game of poker presents a serious challenge to artificial intelligence research. Uncertainty in the game stems from partial information, unknown opponents, and game dynamics dictated by a shuffled deck. Add to this the large space of possible game situations in real poker games such as Texas Hold'em, and the problem becomes very difficult indeed. Human players, and even the best computer players, are certainly not optimal in that idiosyncratic weaknesses associated with the human or computer players can be exploited to obtain higher pay offs as compared to an approximating approach utilizing linear programming techniques.
Existing approaches to opponent modeling have employed a variety of approaches including reinforcement learning, neural nets and frequent statistics. Additionally, earlier work on using Bayesian models for poker has attempted to classify the opponent's hand into one of a variety of broad hand classes. They did not model uncertainty in the opponent's strategy, utilizing instead an explicit strategy representation. This strategy was updated based on empirical frequencies at play, but these models showed little improvement due to this updating. Other systems utilized Bayesian probabilistic models for Hold'em poker games wherein the uncertainty in the game and the opponent was completely modeled.
In certain circumstances and in certain games, it is desirable to decrease the element of skill element and increase the chance element. For example, when a game such as poker is implemented as a house-banked game, such as in a gaming machine, it may be desirable that the game be a game where chance, rather than skill, is a factor in determining the outcome. That is, where a game is implemented in a gaming machine, the player competes against the gaming machine. If the gaming machine adapts to the player's skill, then this arguably becomes a game of skill and may not be desirable for two reasons. First, the gaming machine would arguably play "too well" and only expert players or players who are exceptionally fortunate would have a chance to win against the gaming machine. Second, under some states' gaming regulations, games of skill are only allowed when the game is "player-banked" and only non-casino, human players are competing against one another. Thus, casino poker is typically played in poker rooms in which multiple players each contribute to a pot. The pot, minus a "rake" retained by the house for hosting the game, is awarded to the winning player.
Among the problems in modeling poker play are the large number of unknowns, such as the cards that have not been dealt at any point in the game, and the multiple options available to a player at various points in the game. Another unknown is the role of "bluffing" by a player.
For example, in a typical hand of Texas Hold'em poker, a single game consists of a number of stages separated by decision nodes where a decision must be made by a player. At a first stage, the pot is seeded. In one embodiment, a blind bet is placed by at least one player. In alternate embodiments, multiple blind bets, e.g. a small blind and a large blind, are received from different players. Optionally, the blind bet(s) rotates among players. In an alternate or additional optional embodiment, each participating player may place an ante wager. The blind bet(s) and/or ante wagers are aggregated to a pot and each player is dealt a hand of cards.
In conventional Texas Hold'em, the hand consists of two cards. This is typically followed by a round of betting. In a typical game of Texas Hold'em, the actions available to a player are to: (a) fold, e.g. terminate play by the player; (b) bet or check, if no other player has previously placed an additional wager, or call, if another player has previously placed an additional wager; or (c) raise, if another player has placed an additional wager and the player wishes to increase the amount of the additional wager. Bets, calls, and raises are aggregated to the pot. In some versions, the number of raises, as well as the size of the bets and raises, is limited.
Additional stages are conducted in which community cards available to all the players on constructing the player's final hand are revealed. In conventional Texas Hold'em, a total of five community cards are revealed in three stages, with each stage followed by a round of betting. As known in the art, three cards (referred to as the "flop") are revealed in a stage, one card (referred to as the "turn") is revealed in an ensuing stage, and one card (referred to as the "river") is revealed in a later ensuing stage. If players fold thereby leaving only one active player, the active player wins. If more than one player remains in the game through the revelation of all the community cards and the rounds of betting, each player forms a final hand using five of the seven cards (two in the player's hand plus five community cards) available to the player. The final hands are compared, and at least a portion of the pot is awarded to the player with the highest ranking poker hand.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for conducting a game including a computer-controlled player


A nonvolatile semiconductor memory system including a memory cell array (1) having a plurality of floating gate memory cell transistors (MC) arranged in a matrix of rows and columns with plurality of bit lines (BL) connected to the drains of the floating gate memory cell transistors arranged in a same column and a plurality of word lines (WL) connected to the control gates of the floating gate memory cell transistors in a same row, and a refresh circuit for periodically refreshing the stored data in the floating gate memory cell transistor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory system with a plurality of erase blocks.
2. Description of the Related Art
A memory cell array of a Flash Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, or Flash EEPROM, which utilizes a one transistor memory cell, is about the same size as the Ultra Violet ray Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, or UVEPROM. This makes the chip fabrication cost for the Flash EEPROM far smaller than that of the conventional EEPROM which utilizes a two transistor memory cell. In the Flash EEPROM, floating gate memory cell transistors are connected to a bit line without a transfer gate transistor. This is the structural barrier to achieving small sector erase operation which is long awaited by users who want to replace magnetic storage devices with the Flash EEPROM.
The Flash EEPROM has a problem called "drain disturb". This is a gradual disappearing of programmed data stored in one memory cell transistor, caused by a program operation of the other memory cell transistors which are commonly connected with the former one.
The programming operation of the Flash EEPROM is conducted by setting the drain electrode of the selected memory cell transistor to 5[V] and the control gate to 10[V], which causes hot carrier injection from the drain to the floating gate making the threshold voltage higher. To the unselected memory cell transistor which is connected to the selected bit line, the drain electrode is set to 5[V], and control gate is set to 0[V], which causes unwanted tunneling current from the floating gate to the drain. Due to this tunneling current, the threshold voltage of the unselected memory cell transistor is lowered, such that "drain disturb" occurs.
Such drain stress time is increasingly multiplied with the increase in the number of erase blocks. The worst case occurs when one memory cell transistor is programmed only once, and all other memory cell transistors connected with the former memory cell transistor by a bit line are erased and programmed 100,000 times (which is an assured limitation set by a manufacturer of the Flash EEPROM). In this case, the, drain stress time is 100,000 times longer than conventional EEPROM with only one erase block.

Nonvolatile semiconductor memory system with a plurality of erase blocks


Candidate data record prioritization for match processing includes identifying candidate records for use in match processing to determine records that match to an incoming record. The candidates are grouped into buckets according to bucket roles, with each bucket correlating to a bucket role, and with each bucket role being defined by a unique record attribute set. The method obtains an effectiveness score for each of the bucket roles. The scores are measures of effectiveness of the bucket roles in identifying candidates that match to incoming data records. The method establishes an order of priority in which to process the candidates by prioritizing the buckets into an order based on the effectiveness scores for the bucket roles. The process then commences match processing to process the candidates in the established order of priority where the match processing processes candidates of a higher priority bucket before processing candidates of lower priority buckets.

Master Data Management (MDM) solutions commonly offer data record matching and linking capability. Matching refers to processing that compares a subject data record to one or more candidate data records to determine which candidates, if any, match to the subject data record. 'Match' in this sense often means that the records represent or correlate to a common entity though the records may not necessarily include the exact same data. Match processing is commonly used to identify duplicate records to be linked together or merged, in which data of the records are consolidated into a master record. Since finding duplicates in a given population can require a prohibitively large number of comparisons, indexing approaches are used to select a set of candidate records via a selection process and therefore limit the number of comparisons to be performed. Reducing the number of comparisons can reduce match processing time but the success of the matching capability is highly dependent on the accuracy of the candidate selection process.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A cleaning brush includes an elongated handle having opposed ends and a handle shape for use as a manual cleaning brush. A primary wire stem extends outwardly from one end of the handle and supports a primary bristle array having a generally cylindrical shape portion terminating in an outwardly extending domed portion. A secondary wire stem extends oppositely from the primary wire stem outwardly from the opposite end of the handle and supports a secondary bristle array. The secondary bristle array defines a cylindrical bristle portion proximate the handle end and a tapered bristle portion extending beyond the cylindrical bristle portion. The secondary bristle array is configured to correspond to the interior of a typical tint bottle nozzle cap while the primary bristle array is configured to correspond to the interior of a typical tint bottle.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to cleaning brushes and particularly to cleaning brushes utilized in cleaning specialized tint bottles.
In hairstyling salons and similar facilities, clients often desire to obtain a hair color change or color tint. In some coloring and tinting procedures, portions of the client's hair are treated while other portions of the client's hair are not. To accomplish this localized tinting or hair coloring, practitioners in the art utilize small product applicators known generally in the art as "tint bottles". In their most common form, these tint bottles comprise generally cylindrical resilient plastic bottles having a narrowed neck portion upon which a combination nozzle and cap also usually formed of a molded plastic material is received in a threaded engagement. In the most common types of tint bottles, the nozzle cap defines a tapered nozzle having a tapered passage therein which terminates in a relatively small almost pointed tip having a small discharge aperture therein.
In most instances, the tint bottles are reused on successive clients and must therefore be cleaned between uses to remove the residue of tint or dye within the bottle and nozzle to avoid contamination of hair coloring or tint used on subsequent clients. Unfortunately, the tint or dye materials used in such processes are extremely difficult to remove during the cleaning operation of the tint bottles following use. In most instances, practitioners are encouraged to place the tint bottles within a cleaning solution bath or soaking following use and thereafter to thoroughly wash and clean the tint bottles. In many instances, however, the tint bottles are not properly soaked or processed after use. In many hairstyling salons as a result, a quantity of tint bottles requiring cleaning accumulates within the salon cleaning facility making the tint bottle cleaning process more difficult.
Thus, despite the pervasive use of such tint bottles, an effective easy and reliable cleaning system for such bottles has yet to be found. As a result, such bottles are often discarded prematurely due to the excessive work required to clean the bottles.
There remains, therefore, a need in the art for an improved apparatus for cleaning such tint bottles which is specifically directed to the problems associated with cleaning tint bottles.


A semiconductor memory includes a delay locked loop (DLL) configured to generate a timing code based on a clock signal. A plurality of memory devices are coupled to the DLL. Each of the plurality of memory devices is configured to generate internal control signals for operating a memory array based on the timing code received from the DLL.

Technology scaling allows a great number of system components on a single chip. From 65 nm and below, computational and network chips include multiple cores requiring a large amount of memory per chip. Static random access memory ("SRAM") is often the first choice, given the need for high-speed random access. However, increasing leakage power per transistor makes SRAM less attractive as on-chip memory densities grow. Also, process fluctuations affect SRAM cell stability and decrease static noise margin especially at low voltage. In large power sensitive designs with embedded memory, system designers are turning to embedded DRAM because it is denser, has less power consumption in standby mode, and can have better low-voltage operation.

Digital DLL for timing control in semiconductor memory

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A hybrid electric propulsion system includes a gas turbine engine having a low speed spool and a high speed spool. The low speed spool includes a low pressure compressor and turbine, and the high speed spool includes a high pressure compressor and turbine. The hybrid electric propulsion system includes an electric generator configured to extract power from the low speed spool, an electric motor configured to augment rotational power of the high speed spool, and a controller. The controller is operable to determine a target operating condition of the low pressure compressor to achieve a compressor stability margin in the gas turbine engine, determine a current operating condition of the low pressure compressor, and control a power transfer between the electric generator of the low speed spool and the electric motor of the high speed spool to adjust the current operating condition based on the target operating condition.

The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to rotating machinery and, more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for compressor operability control for hybrid electric propulsion.
Gas turbine engines typically include multiple spools with a compressor section and a turbine section on opposite sides of a combustor section in an engine core. As an example, in a two-spool design, fuel in air that has been compressed by a low pressure compressor (LPC) followed by a high pressure compressor (HPC) of the compressor section is combusted. The combustion takes place in the combustor section to create heated gases with increased pressure and density. The heated gases are used to rotate a high pressure turbine (HPT) followed by a low pressure turbine (LPT) in the turbine section that are used to produce thrust or power. Air flows through the compressor and turbine sections differ at various operating conditions of an engine, with more air flow being required at higher output levels and vice versa. Aerodynamic interaction between the LPC and HPC with respect to speed can impact compressor stability in the compressor section. To maintain compressor stability, engine bleeds are typically used to extract engine bleed air; however, the use of engine bleeds can detract from performance and efficiency of an engine. An alternate approach to enhance engine stability is to control vane angles of variable stator vanes within the compressor section. Active control of variable stator vanes can improve air flow and prevent stalling within the compressor section but can also result in increased inter-turbine temperatures between the HPT and LPT along with higher exhaust gas temperatures, which may impact engine component lifespan.

Compressor operability control for hybrid electric propulsion


A semiconductor device and method is disclosed. The semiconductor device may include a semiconductor substrate including an active area, a metal layer structure over the active area, wherein the metal layer structure is configured to form an electrical contact, the metal layer structure including a solder area, a buffer area, and a barrier area between the solder area and the buffer area, wherein, in the barrier area, the metal layer structure is further away from the active area than in the solder area and in the buffer area, and wherein each of the solder area and the buffer area is in direct contact with the active area or with a wiring layer structure arranged between the active area and the metal layer structure.

Using copper (Cu) clips in transistor outline (TO) packages is a fairly recent development, wherein a soft solder, a diffusion solder or a solder paste is used for a clip attach. During the clip attach, a solder coverage (under the clip) is a critical process, which is controlled to ensure that more than approximately 80% under the clip is covered by solder.
This is important to obtain a low RDS(on), a high power efficiency, and a good interconnect from the source pad to a lead frame.
However, it is challenging to control the solder bleed out and at the same time ensure the good solder coverage under the clip. Excessive solder bleed out may contaminate the bond pad, which may lead to a short in a case where the bled-out solder reaches additional bond pads (contacts) and may result in nonstick-on-pad during wire bonding.
In the prior art, a clearance between the clip and the additional bond pads is provided in order to prevent that the bled-out solder reaches the additional bond pads.
However, this may have the disadvantage that the chip size is increased.
Reducing instead the clip size results in high RDS(on), worse chip cooling via the clip, worse performance regarding a safe operating area (SOA), and a reduced cost effectiveness.

Semiconductor device and method of forming a semiconductor device


Under one aspect, a structure is provided that includes a substrate including a first material having a threshold temperature above which the first material is damaged and a layer consisting essentially of a second material molecularly bonded to the first material of the substrate. The second material is formed on the substrate at a reaction temperature that is higher than the threshold temperature of the first material. An interface between the substrate and the second material is a substantially defect-free surface.

A variety of gas-phase techniques for depositing materials on a substrate are known in the art, including physical vapor deposition (PVD) based techniques such as evaporation, sputtering, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), and pulsed laser deposition (PLD), and a wide variety of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) based techniques, including atomic layer deposition (ALD). These techniques are ubiquitous in the development of novel materials and films that have a wide range of applications from consumer electronics to biology or medicine, from architectural engineering to aerospace. Both PVD and CVD based techniques may include exposing the substrate to an atomic or molecular species at a set of processing parameters that are selected based on the deposition technique to be used, the material to be deposited, and the substrate upon which the material is to be deposited.
For example, FIGS. 1A-1B schematically illustrate structures that may be formed during a previously known gas-phase material deposition technique. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, substrate 110 may be exposed to an atomic or molecular species 120 that is in the gas phase. In the evaporation and MBE techniques, such gas phase atomic or molecular species 120 may be formed by heating and evaporating a material using a variety of known power sources, including a resistive or radiative heater or an electron beam. The PLD technique is similar, but irradiates a material using a pulsed laser to generate gas phase atomic or molecular species 120. In the sputtering technique, such gas phase atomic or molecular species 120 may be formed by bombarding a material with energetic particles so as to liberate molecules of the material into the gas phase; the energetic particles may be generated using a variety of known sources, including a plasma, an ion source, a particle accelerator, or a radioactive material. In the CVD and ALD techniques, such gas phase atomic or molecular species 120 may be stored separately in gaseous form and introduced to a reaction chamber that contains the substrate; the species optionally may be activated using a suitable source, such as with a plasma, combustion, or thermal decomposition.
As illustrated in FIG. 1A, gas phase atomic or molecular species 120 may adsorb onto substrate 110, forming adsorbed atomic or molecular species 120′. Upon such adsorption, atomic or molecular species 120′ may form a molecular bond with substrate 110, e.g., a covalent or ionic bond, or a bond based on dipole-dipole interactions, London dispersion force, or hydrogen bonding. Upon such bonding with substrate 110, atomic or molecular species 120′ may directly form material 140 disposed on substrate 110, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, or may first undergo a further chemical reaction, e.g., with substrate 110, with another atomic or molecular species 120′ adsorbed to substrate 110, or with another gas phase atomic or molecular species 120, to form material 140 illustrated in FIG. 1B. In many situations, the adsorbed atomic or molecular species 120′ may move along the surface to find the right accommodation (e.g., site on substrate 110, or another gas phase or adsorbed atomic or molecular species) for the ultimate reaction to occur. At the macroscopic level, the processing parameters used during a given material deposition technique may include the type and power level of any source selected to assist with generating or activating gas phase atomic or molecular species 120; any electrical bias that may be applied to substrate 110; any heating or cooling that may be applied to gas phase atomic or molecular species 120 or to substrate 110; the flow rate or concentration of gas phase atomic or molecular species 120; the pressure or partial pressure of gas phase atomic or molecular species 120; and the amount of time with which substrate 110 is exposed to gas phase atomic or molecular species 120.
At the microscopic level, the energy barrier that may be required to convert gas phase atomic or molecular species 120 illustrated in FIG. 1A into material 140 illustrated in FIG. 1B may be far lower than the total amount of energy provided by the processing parameters. In this regard, at the microscopic level, substrate 110 may be viewed as an energy "sink" toward which atomic or molecular species 120 is attracted, and additional energy may be applied to "agitate" adsorbed atomic or molecular species 120′—that is, to enhance the mobility of species 120 on substrate 110—to convert species 120′ into material 140. The conversion of species 120 to material 140 thus may be considered to have two different types of energy deficits, the first arising from the particular chemical reactivity of atomic or molecular species 120, and the second being of a more general thermodynamic and kinetic nature.
The processing parameters may nominally provide the amount of energy that may be required at the microscopic level to overcome both the first and second types of energy deficits. However, such processing parameters may be applied at the macroscopic or "bulk" level and thus applied to the entirety of substrate 110 and to all gas phase species 120 and all adsorbed species 120′. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1B, substrate 110 may be disposed on heater 130 that heats substrate 110 to a temperature sufficient to enhance the mobility of absorbed species 120′ to convert such species into material 140. However, such bulk heating may produce a number of engineering constraints that may limit the type of material 140 that may be deposited on a particular substrate 110. Specifically, the material from substrate 110 is made, including the materials of any structures buried therein, must be compatible with the bulk heating temperature used; while the substrate is maintained at the bulk heating temperature, other objects in the reaction chamber preferably are kept sufficiently cool to inhibit contamination; and supporting hardware to maintain substantially uniform heating, cooling, or temperature stability must be provided to maintain uniform growth of material 140 on substrate 110. In particular, elevated temperatures may cause materials buried within substrate 110 to diffuse into each other or into substrate 110, thus damaging the materials.
Thus, what is needed is a way to enhance mobility of adsorbed atomic or molecular species on a substrate, while reducing the bulk temperature of the substrate.

Systems and methods for enhancing mobility of atomic or molecular species on a substrate at reduced bulk temperature using acoustic waves, and structures formed using same


A computerized method comprising using at least one hardware processor for receiving a plurality of digital responses in response to a digital broadcast, each digital response associated with at least one of a plurality of computerized devices. The method comprises an action of calculating a plurality of priority scores, one each for some of the plurality of digital responses, and an action of selecting an ordered subset of the plurality of digital responses based on the plurality of priority scores. The method comprises an action of presenting to a user the ordered subset, and an action of receiving at least one digital counter-response for at least one of the plurality of digital response. The method comprises an action of sending the at least one digital counter-response to a respective one of the plurality of computerized devices associated with the respective digital response.

The invention relates to the field of operational resource management.
In many industrial and computerized systems, broadcast-response networks are used to communicate information between nodes or devices of the network, such as between a central device and peripheral devices. One node may broadcast an electronic communication, and receive from at least some of the other nodes a response. As a result of the response, the broadcaster may issue a counter-response, such as sending a maintenance crew to repair a faulty sensor, sending requested data, sending an acknowledgment, replying to an email, and the like
For example, maintenance tasks are collected during the day in a factory, and at night a maintenance manager will review the tasks, prioritize based on the resources, and dispatch maintenance personnel to perform the tasks based on the prioritization. This example may be performed using a push (peripheral device initiated) or pull (central broadcaster initiated) technique. For example, a manager may broadcast a message to the factory workers to report maintenance needs, and receive response form the factory workers.
For example, a politician receives a large number of emails every day, optionally in response to a news article, a blog post, or the like, and assigns assistants to send email replies. For example, a user sends a post to a social network, receives a large number of responses, such as comments and/or reactions, to the post, and sends a counter-response to some of the responses, such as comments and/or reactions.
For example, a vehicle central processor sends a broadcast for information from peripheral devices of the vehicle using the controller area network bus (CAN-bus), and the peripheral devices (such as electronic control units—ECUs) send the information periodically until an acknowledgement is received.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the figures.

Broadcast response prioritization and engagements

International Business Machines Corporation


A connecting apparatus and method of using the apparatus provide for attaching an implement to a utility vehicle that has a 3-point hitch including lower lift arms and connecting arms attached to rockshaft arms. The attachment apparatus and corresponding method include a lift support attached to the lower lift arms of the 3-point hitch. This combination of the lift support and lower lift arms provides for the hydraulic positioning of the implement, so that the implement (and/or brackets attached to the implement) may be attached to the utility vehicle (and/or brackets attached to the utility vehicle) without removing the lower lift arms and connecting arms.

People use utility vehicles for many purposes. Implements are often attached to the back or front of such utility vehicles to accomplish work. For example, utility vehicles may be used to pull implements including plows (to turn over the upper layer of soil), harrows (for breaking up clumps and clods of dirt), seed drills (for introducing seed to the soil), and sprayers (for introducing liquid herbicides, insecticides, or other chemicals). In many cases, workers attach such implements to the back of the utility vehicle using a 3-point hitch. (The term "utility vehicle" as used herein shall include, without limitation, tractors, ATVs, UTVs, trucks, and other similar vehicles.)
A 3-point hitch, which is a conventional component on many utility vehicles provides a way of attaching implements to the back of the vehicle. A 3-point hitch includes three movable arms: two lower lift arms and a single upper arm, known as the top link. When each of these three arms is attached to an implement, the terminal ends of the arms may be thought of as defining the three vertices of an upright triangle, or letter "A" (viewed by an observer facing the back of the utility vehicle). Furthermore, the lower lift arms are typically operable hydraulically, allowing a worker using a utility vehicle to pull an implement to adjust the height of the implement relative to the ground. Hydraulic operation is typically achieved by attaching the lower lift arms of the 3-point hitch—using connectors known as lift links—to hydraulically driven rockshaft arms. The operator actuates a control that hydraulically raises the rockshaft arms; which in turn raises the lower lift arms of the 3-point hitch—by virtue of the fact that the rockshaft arms are connected to the lower lift arms via the aforementioned lift links; which in turn raises the implement (or portion thereof) to which the 3-point hitch is attached.
As should be apparent, a 3-point hitch is a useful way to join many kinds of pull-behind implements to a utility vehicle. This is especially true when the implement is to be raised (with the force supplied by the hydraulic system of utility vehicle) and lowered (with the force supplied by gravity) during use. For example, a utility vehicle pulling a plow that is attached using a 3-point hitch can be raised and lowered as the utility vehicle goes forward. In this way the operator of the utility vehicle can lower the plow to dig more deeply into the soil, or raise the plow to dig less deeply into the soil. Raising and lowering the implement, in this case a plow, affects the soil depth at which the implement operates and, therefore, the load on the utility vehicle. Because of its utility, a 3-point hitch has become a standardized piece of equipment on many utility vehicles. Similarly, many implements are adapted to connect to a utility vehicle using a 3-point hitch.
For some implements, however, a 3-point hitch may not be as useful, or optimal, for connecting the implement to a utility vehicle. Backhoes, for example, are used for digging. The digging motion of a backhoe can generate significant forces on the backhoe itself, and any utility vehicle to which the backhoe is attached. Unlike a pull-behind implement, which benefits from some flexibility in lateral and vertical movement during operation of the implement, a backhoe performs better if it is more rigidly attached to a utility vehicle. Accordingly, a user attaching a backhoe to a utility vehicle typically has two options: (1) remove the 3-point hitch (or move parts of the 3-point hitch, such as the lower lift arms, out of the way, and keep them out of the way, because they will not be used to attach the backhoe or other equipment to the utility vehicle), which is generally designed for a somewhat mobile and flexible connection to a pull-behind implement; or (2) modify the 3-point hitch to increase its rigidity when connecting an implement like a backhoe to the utility vehicle.
A user choosing option (1) above must remove the 3-point hitch, or parts thereof (e.g. the lower lift arms), before attaching the backhoe or other implement to the back of the utility vehicle—using, of course, another connection device to attach the backhoe. Or parts of the 3-point hitch, such as the lower lift arms, must be moved and kept out of the way, because they are not used when connecting the implement to the utility vehicle. If a user goes back and forth between operating the utility vehicle with pull-behind implements and operating the utility vehicle with other implements, then the user must also go back and forth between mounting the 3-point hitch (when attaching implements that make use of the hitch); and removing the 3-point hitch, or parts thereof (when attaching equipment such as a backhoe)—or moving and keeping parts of the 3-point hitch out of the way. This is time consuming, and inefficient.
For example, one method of attaching an implement such as a backhoe to a utility vehicle involves attaching the implement directly to the frame of the utility vehicle (typically denominated as a "subframe installation"). As discussed above, the 3-point hitch, or parts thereof (e.g., the lower lift arms), are removed. The utility vehicle is then positioned proximate to the backhoe, typically by backing up the utility vehicle so that it is near the backhoe, and the hydraulic hoses of the backhoe are then connected to the utility vehicle. The hydraulic system of the utility vehicle is then used to power the backhoe, enabling an operator to use the backhoe's controls to raise and/or lower and/or level the backhoe (e.g., by rotating the backhoe; or by adjusting the stabilizers of the backhoe) so that the backhoe is generally aligned with portions of the utility vehicle frame (specifically, the backhoe and utility vehicle are aligned such that the backhoe and/or utility vehicle may be moved so that the backhoe engages a utility vehicle mount adapted to connect to the backhoe). Generally an operator adjusting the position of the backhoe does so while standing on the ground next to the backhoe while manipulating the backhoe's controls. After the operator has aligned the utility vehicle relative to the backhoe in this manner, the utility vehicle and/or backhoe are moved so that the backhoe engages the utility vehicle mount adapted to connect to the backhoe. The backhoe is then securely connected via the utility vehicle mount to the utility vehicle, typically by inserting pins, bolts, retainers, or other such connectors.
Another method for attaching a backhoe to a utility vehicle, typically denominated as a "four point installation," includes steps like those presented in the previous paragraph. First, the 3-point hitch, or parts thereof (e.g., the lower lift arms), are removed. Next the utility vehicle is positioned proximate to the backhoe, typically by backing up the utility vehicle so that it is near the backhoe, and the hydraulic hoses of the backhoe are then connected to the utility vehicle. The hydraulic system of the utility vehicle is then used to power the backhoe, enabling an operator to use the backhoe's controls to raise and/or lower and/or level the backhoe (e.g., by rotating the backhoe; or by adjusting the stabilizers of the backhoe) so that the backhoe is generally aligned with portions of the utility vehicle frame (specifically, the backhoe and utility vehicle are aligned such that the backhoe and/or utility vehicle may be moved so that the backhoe engages the utility vehicle frame/mount). Generally an operator adjusting the position of the backhoe does so while standing on the ground next to the backhoe while manipulating the backhoe's controls. After the operator has aligned the utility vehicle relative to the backhoe in this manner, the utility vehicle and/or backhoe are moved so that the backhoe engages the utility vehicle frame, which is adapted to connect to the backhoe. The backhoe is then securely connected via the utility vehicle mount to the utility vehicle, typically by inserting pins, bolts, retainers, or other such connectors.
A user choosing option (2), rather than removing the 3-point hitch, typically modifies the 3-point hitch to stabilize the three arms. For example, the upper link of a conventional 3-point hitch may be replaced by a longer adjustable bar that is attached to upper metal braces on either side of the bar. The upper metal braces attach to the adjustable bar and to the utility vehicle or utility vehicle. This combination of an upper adjustable bar with upper metal braces serves as one attachment between the utility vehicle and the backhoe. This upper attachment is further stabilized by connecting additional metal links between this upper combination and either the lower lift arms of the 3-point hitch or a lower portion of the frame of the backhoe itself. The lower lift arms of the 3-point hitch may also be connected directly to a lower portion of the frame of the backhoe. As discussed above, this way of attaching a backhoe works. But it takes time to modify the hitch and connect it to the backhoe. And because the 3-point hitch is designed to provide a flexible connection to pull-behind implements—e.g., ball-and-socket joints are typically employed at both ends of the 3 arms of the 3-point hitch to provide such flexibility and accommodate up-and-down and lateral movement of the implement as it is pulled—even this stabilized 3-point hitch allows some back-and-forth and up-and-down movement during operation of the backhoe. Also, the method of connecting a stabilized 3-point hitch to an implement typically requires that the hydraulic hoses of the backhoe first be connected to the utility vehicle's hydraulic system (so that the hydraulic system of the utility vehicle may be used to power the backhoe and allow an operator to use the backhoe's controls to adjust the backhoe's orientation relative to the utility vehicle). Similar to the four-point and subframe installation methods described above, this step is typically required in order to raise and/or lower and/or align the backhoe prior to securely attaching the backhoe to the utility vehicle (in this last case using the stabilized 3-point hitch).

Apparatus and method for attaching a utility vehicle 3-point hitch to an implement bracket


The present invention relates to an electrode system, in particular of a gas discharge device for generating EUV radiation and/or soft X-rays. The electrode system comprises at least two electrodes (1, 2) formed of an electrode material which contains Mo or W or an alloy of Mo or W as a main component. The electrode material has a fine grained structure with fine grains having a mean size of <500 nm. With the proposed electrode system, a high thermo-mechanical and thermo-chemical resistance of the electrodes is achieved. The electrode system can therefore be used in known EUV light sources using liquid Sn and being operated at high temperatures.

The present invention relates to an electrode system comprising at least two electrodes formed of an electrode material which comprises molybdenum (Mo) or tungsten (W) or an alloy of molybdenum or tungsten as a main component. The invention in particular relates to a gas discharge electrode system, for example a EUV and/or soft X-ray radiation generating electrode system.
Light sources emitting extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and/or soft X-ray radiation, i.e. in the wavelength region of 1-20 nm, are required for example in the field of EUV lithography or metrology. These devices are by far the most promising candidates to be the high power light source for the upcoming lithography tools of the semiconductor industry. It is known in the art how to create EUV light efficiently at a wavelength of 13.5 nm using a highly ionized plasma. The excitation of such a plasma from an EUV emitting target material may be generated by means of a high power laser beam (laser produced plasma, LPP) or by an electrical gas discharge between electrodes (discharge produced plasma, DPP).
An example of a gas discharge light source is schematically presented and described in connection with FIG. 1. In current state-of-the-art DPP based systems a change from gaseous supply to liquid metal based discharge material in conjunction with two rotating, circular electrodes is used in order to achieve higher conversion efficiencies and thus high amounts of EUV photons required for the target application. A pulsed laser triggers the discharge by evaporating at least partially some of the liquid metal, in particular tin (Sn), from the liquid surface between the electrodes (see e.g. FIG. 2). The capacitor bank is discharged through the tin vapour, creating the high current pinch discharge. There are some decisive features of this type, e.g. the metal melt supply system, the control of the layer thickness of the liquid metal on the electrodes, the necessity to at least partially evaporate the metal melt by means of e.g. a laser beam of some ten mJ pulse energy. There exist many configurations of the application of the metal melt or of the electrode arrangement, for example, however, the use of liquid Sn as a discharge media is generally accepted. Both, in DPP and LPP usually a flow of liquid target material is required to provide the plasma with the EUV emitting species.
Although the scalability to reach high power levels has been fundamentally shown quite recently, one of the potential showstoppers for high volume manufacturing is still the critical requirement of a high power source delivering >200 W at the intermediate focus which corresponds to >1000 W emitted in 2π sr by a point-like light source. In the very near future, the EUV source is expected to run continuously at about 10 kHz pulse frequency and a minimum lifetime of the order of 1011 shots has to be demonstrated. In order to achieve high radiation power, very high average electrical powers have to be fed into the source and this may lead to high electrode wear and thus short lifetimes of the electrode system. For a Xe DPP it is reported that the lifetime of the electrode system is limited by erosion and erosion rates are around 0.2 μg/shot at 11 J/shot for tungsten electrodes which results in significant less EUV output.
Apart from the decrease in lifetime, another disadvantage is due to the fact that the plasma will become spatially larger because of the change in electrode geometry, leading to the effect that only a smaller fraction of the produced light can be exploited and thus, optical performance is diminished. From the statements above it is understandable that dedicated components of the EUV generating device are more or less permanently exposed to relatively harsh physical and chemical conditions at elevated temperatures of greater than e.g. 200° C. A substantial portion of the pulse energy is concentrated in the pinch plasma which leads to thermal loading of the electrodes by the emission of radiation and of hot particles (ions, electrons). Moreover, the pulsed plasma light source is not merely emitting photons, but also producing undesired material, so called debris, such as e.g. Sn, Li, Sb, Xe, . . . depending on the nature of the source itself. In systems with extreme UV or soft X-ray radiation optical components such as mirrors or filters are in use which are close to the high-power light source. The contaminating debris may condense on these optical components whose performance consequently deteriorates and finally becomes inefficacious. To further complicate the situation there is also the prerequisite that the tin needs to be free from contamination (alien elements) in order to secure a high quality of a pure tin plasma. It is well known that pure Sn is much more aggressive than diluted solutions used e.g. in former soldering systems.
In case of the electrode system and its potential problems due to removal of electrode material, there could be several main root causes. The main drivers might be the high heat load and the high current densities along with their spatial and temporal conditions (thermo-mechanical effect). Both are related to the pulsed operation of the plasma and the small distance between the electrodes and the plasma. Due to the high heat fluxes and the high current densities electrode erosion is inevitable. In conjunction with metal melts erosion will lead to an inhomogeneous, thick and unstable layer of liquid metal and thus to a failure in discharge. The minimum thickness of liquid metal is said to be about 5 μm in order to avoid impact of the laser focus spot and cathode spots on the morphology of the electrode surface (e.g. crater formation). Too thick a layer of metal melt (beyond about 40 μm) is also disadvantageous in controlling the amount of debris material in the pinch plasma. It is also stated that erosion mechanisms may include volumetric boiling and explosion of large bubbles developed in the surface layer (of e.g. W with dissolved gases) and even splashing of the molten electrode material at the surface due surface wave excitation caused by energetic particles from the plasma.
Furthermore, another cause for the removal of electrode material can be found in the chemical corrosion due to liquid Sn at elevated temperatures (thermo-chemical effect). As this is a thermo-dynamically driven process it is more pronounced at an increased temperature level. This is not only detrimental to the electrode system by erosion, but also may reduce the EUV performance, i.e. output of EUV light, as unwished elements or reaction products which do not emit efficiently in the EUV wavelength range may become part of the discharge region. It has been shown that in particular in case of pure Sn the liquid is very aggressive to common materials such as stainless steel and gray cast irons.
WO 2005/025280 A2 discloses a gas discharge light source emitting EUV and/or soft X-ray radiation. The electrodes of this light source are disclosed to be made of Cu, W or Cu covered with Mo. These materials are highly heat conductive. Moreover, between the electrodes and the liquid metal a high electrical conductivity is also required. In case of (solid) Sn as a target material the values of electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity are 11 μΩcm and 67 W/(mK), respectively, both worse than the values of common electrode materials. Thus, the thinner the Sn layer can be made the more heat can be dissipated and the more electrical power can be coupled in. Generally, W and Mo are expected to be promising refractory transition metals for use in extreme environments. However, they are known to undergo serious embrittlement in several regimes, e.g. recrystallization embrittlement, which inevitably limits structural application of W and Mo. The weakness of the grain boundaries stems from their intrinsic character and recrystallization and embrittlement are further potential failure modes at elevated temperatures.
In case of solid electrodes, i.e. Xe DPP, a method is known to reduce electrode erosion by treating the surface of the electrode to allow for increased re-deposition of eroded electrode material into fabricated grooves. Alternatively, coatings by a porous material to reduce erosion due to brittle destruction is also proposed. In another known technique, dedicated sputter deposition is mentioned to regenerate the electrodes by material and account for the loss.

Electrode system, in particular for gas discharge light sources


An image encoding method is provided, in which image data divided into basic blocks is classified in units of groups and subgroups, wherein each group comprises at least one basic block and each subgroup comprises at least one basic block and is included in each group; an encoding mode for a predetermined group is determined in order to encode the predetermined group, wherein the encoding mode represents a mode for encoding data included in the predetermined group in units of one data processing unit selected from a group, a subgroup, and a basic block; and the data of the predetermined group is encoded according to the determined encoding mode. Detailed operations in the image encoding method are performed in consideration of the encoding mode of the group.

Field
The present application relates to image encoding and image decoding.
Description of the Related Art
In conventional block-based video encoding and decoding methods, such as Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG)2, MPEG4, and H.264/Advanced Video Coding (AVC), the size of a macroblock is fixed to 16×16. In addition, in H.264/AVC, image data may be divided into blocks less than or equal to 8×8 blocks, namely, into 4×4 blocks, in order to achieve more accurate estimation or prediction.

Image-encoding method and a device therefor, and image-decoding method and a device therefor


A collimator according to an embodiment is a collimator for use in an X-ray CT apparatus and includes a collimator module and resin. The collimator module includes a first scattered ray eliminating part and a second scattered ray eliminating part. The resin is provided between the first scattered ray eliminating part and the second scattered ray eliminating part and is configured to hold the first scattered ray eliminating part and the second scattered ray eliminating part.

Conventionally, X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) apparatuses include an X-ray detector configured to detect X-rays. Generally speaking, such an X-ray detector for use in an X-ray CT apparatus includes a collimator in which a plurality of X-ray blocking plates are arranged in a grid formation, so that the X-ray blocking plates protect X-ray detecting elements from scattered X-rays that may become incident thereto.


A current distribution circuit for application in a communication device, such as a telephone subscriber circuit comprises a first current sinking branch, which is connected in parallel to a second current sinking branch. Both branches sink at least the DC current on the telephone line, whereas an excess current in the DC line is taken up by the second current sinking branch, which is provided with a current sinking transistor, whose collector/emitter voltage is relatively large. This leads to a reduced effectively needed chip area. The DC line-current can be measured by means of a low pass filter, preferable connected to a current mirror means.

The present invention concerns a current distribution circuit comprising:
a first at least DC current sinking branch, which is provided with the main current stream of a first controlled semiconductor having a first control input, PA1 a second current sinking branch connected in parallel to the series arrangement of the first current sinking branch, which second current sinking branch is provided with a second control input, and PA1 means for controlling the currents through the first and second current sinking branches, which controlling means are coupled to the first and second control inputs respectively. PA1 a first AC and DC current sinking branch, which is provided with the series arrangement of the main current stream of a first current controlled semiconductor having a first combined AC/DC current control input, and a stabilising circuit for providing a DC supply voltage, PA1 a second AC current sinking branch connected in parallel to the series arrangement of the first current sinking branch, which second current sinking branch is provided with a second AC current control input, and PA1 means for controlling said currents through the first and second current sinking branches, which controlling means are coupled to the first and second current control inputs respectively.
The present invention also concerns a telecommunication device provided with a current distribution circuit.
Such a current distribution circuit and device are known from application note ETT/AN93015 on the TEA 1093 chip. In particular this note discloses a current distribution circuit comprising:
Such a current distribution circuit is being applied in telecommunication devices, such as for example a subscriber telephone, a handsfree telephone, a facsimile, a WEB-television having a telephone card, a personal computer having a telephone card etc. Usually such telephone ICs' are capable of controlling the AC-speech signals on the telephone line to facilitate communication between the telecommunication device and a central device. Furthermore they are equipped for processing the DC-line-current from the telephone line in the first current sinking branch. The stabilising circuit provides the DC supply voltage having a relative high magnitude. Processing a necessary maximum DC-line-current in the first current sinking branch of say for example approximately 140 mA would lead to an IC having a relatively large chip area for the DC current controlled semi-conductor transistor used in that first current sinking branch, because said transistor has to have a certain limited collector/emitter voltage. This collector/emitter voltage is limited and has to be kept limited because the DC supply voltage needs to have a relative high magnitude for controlling present day telephone add-on equipment, such as handsfree facilities, extra loudspeakers, and other peripheral devices.

Current distribution circuit having an additional parallel DC-current sinking branch