A clock signal xc(t) that has been converted into a digital signal is transformed into a complex analytic signal zc(t), and an instantaneous phase "THgr" of the zc(t) is estimated. A linear phase is removed from the "THgr" to obtain a phase noise waveform xcex94xcfx86(t). The xcex94xcfx86(t) is sampled at a timing close to a zero crossing timing of the xc(t) to extract the xcex94xcfx86(t) sample. A root-mean-square value "sgr"t of the xcex94xcfx86(t) samples is obtained, and a differential waveform of the extracted xcex94xcfx86(t) samples is also obtained to obtain a period jitter Jp. Then a root-mean-square value "sgr"p of the Jp is obtained to calculate a correlation coefficient xcfx81tt=1xe2x88x92("sgr"p2/(2"sgr"t2)). If necessary, an SNRt=xcfx81tt2/(1xe2x88x92xcfx81tt2) is obtained. The xcfx81tt and/or the SNRt is defined as a quality measure of a clock signal.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for measuring a quality measure of a clock signal that drives, for example, a microprocessor.
A jitter has traditionally been used as a measure for estimating quality of a clock signal of a microprocessor. Incidentally, there are two types of jitters, i.e., a period jitter and a timing jitter. As shown in FIG. 1A, in a jitter-free ideal clock signal, for example, an interval Tint between adjacent rising points is constant as indicated by a dotted line waveform, and in this case a period jitter is zero. In an actual clock signal, a rising edge fluctuates from an arrow toward leading side or trailing side, i.e., an interval Tint between adjacent rising points fluctuates, and this fluctuation of the interval is a period jitter. For example, in the case of a sine wave that does not have a rectangular waveform like a clock signal, a fluctuation of an interval Tint between zero crossing points is also a period jitter.
As shown in FIG. 1B, when a jitter-free square waveform is assumed to be a dashed line waveform, a deviation width xcex94xcfx86 of an actual rising point (solid line) from a normal rising point (dashed line) is a timing jitter in the case of a jittery square waveform.
A conventional measurement of a period jitter is performed by a time interval analyzer (hereinafter, this measuring method is referred to as a time interval method or a TIA method). This is shown in xe2x80x9cPhase Digitizing Sharpens Timing Measurementsxe2x80x9d, by David Chu, IEEE Spectrum, pp. 28-32, 1988, and xe2x80x9cTime Domain Analysis and Its Practical Application to the Measurement of Phase Noise and Jitterxe2x80x9d, by Lee D. Cosart et al., IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas., vol. 46, pp. 1016-1019, 1997. This time interval method is a method in which zero crossing points of a signal under test are counted, an elapsed time is measured, and a time fluctuation between zero crossing points is obtained to obtain a period jitter. In addition, a root-mean-square value of the period jitters is obtained.
There is a method, as a conventional timing jitter measurement, in which a timing jitter is measured by measuring a phase noise-spectrum in frequency domain, and those spectrums are summed to estimate a root-mean-square value of timing jitters.
The inventors of the present invention have proposed a method of measuring a jitter as described below in an article entitled xe2x80x9cAn Application of An Instantaneous Phase Estimating Method to A Jitter Measurementxe2x80x9d in a technical report xe2x80x9cProboxe2x80x9d pp. 9-16 issued by Probo Editorial Room of ADVANTEST CORPORATION, Nov. 12, 1999. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, an analog clock waveform from a PLL circuit under test (Phase locked loop) 11 is converted into a digital clock signal xc(t) by an analog-digital converter 12, and the digital clock signal xc(t) is supplied to a Hilbert pair generator 14 acting as analytic signal transforming means 13, where the digital clock signal xc(t) is transformed into an analytic signal zc(t).
Now, a clock signal xc(t) is defined as follows.
xc(t)=Ac cos(2xcfx80fct+xcex8c+xcex94xcfx86(t))
The Ac and the fc are nominal values of amplitude and frequency of the clock signal respectively, the xcex8c is an initial phase angle, and the xcex94xcfx86(t) is a phase fluctuation that is called a phase noise.
The clock signal xc(t) is Hilbert-transformed by a Hilbert transformer 15 in the Hilbert pair generator 14 to obtain the following equation.
{circumflex over (x)}c(t)=H[xc(t)]=Ac sin(2xcfx80fct+xcex8c+xcex94xcfx86(t))
Then, an analytic signal zc(t) having xc(t) and {circumflex over (x)}c(t) as a real part and an imaginary part, respectively is obtained as follows.   "AutoLeftMatch"                                                        z              c                                                  (              t              )                                =                      xe2x80x83                                                                        x                c                                                          (                t                )                                      +                                                            x                  ^                                c                                                          (                t                )                                                                                =                      xe2x80x83                                                        A              c                                                  cos              (                                                2                                                        xe2x80x83                                                      π                                                        xe2x80x83                                                                          f                    c                                                      t                                +                                  θ                  c                                +                                  Δ                                                        xe2x80x83                                                      φ                                                        xe2x80x83                                                                          (                    t                    )                                                  +                                  j                                                        xe2x80x83                                                                          A                    c                                                      sin                                                        xe2x80x83                                                                          (                                                                  2                                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                        π                                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                                f                          c                                                                        t                                            +                                              θ                        c                                            +                                              Δ                                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                        φ                                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                                (                          t                          )                                                                                )
From this analytic signal zc(t), an instantaneous phase "THgr"(t) of the clock signal xc(t) can be estimated by the instantaneous phase estimator 16 as follows.
"THgr"(T)=[2xcfx80fct+xcex8c+xcex94xcfx86(t)] mod 2xcfx80
A linear phase is removed from this instantaneous phase "THgr"(t) by a linear phase remover 17 to obtain a phase noise waveform xcex94xcfx86(t). That is, in the linear phase remover 17, a continuous phase converting part 18 applies a phase unwrap method to the instantaneous phase "THgr"(t) to obtain a continuous phase xcex8(t) as follows.
xcex8(t)=2xcfx80fct+xcex8c+xcex94xcfx86(t)
The phase unwrap method is shown in xe2x80x9cA New Phase Unwrapping Algorithmxe2x80x9d by Jose M. Tribolet, IEEE Trans. Acoust., Speech, Signal Processing, vol. ASSP-25, pp. 170-177, 1977 and in xe2x80x9cOn Frequency-Domain and Time-Domain Phase Unwrappingxe2x80x9d by Kuno P. Zimmermann, Proc. IEEE. vol. 75, pp. 519-520, 1987.
A linear phase [2xcfx80fct+xcex8c] of a continuous phase xcex8(t) is estimated by a linear phase evaluator 19 using a linear trend estimating method. This estimated linear phase [2xcfx80fct+xcex8c] is subtracted from the continuous phase xcex8(t) by a subtractor 21 to obtain a variable term xcex94xcfx86(t) of the instantaneous phase "THgr"(t), i.e., phase noise waveform as follows.
xcex8(t)=xcex94xcfx86(t)
The phase noise waveform xcex94xcfx86(t) thus obtained is inputted to a peak-to-peak detector 22, where a difference between the maximum peak value max (xcex94xcfx86(k)) and the minimum peak value min (xcex94xcfx86(1)) of the xcex94xcfx86(t) is calculated to obtain a peak value xcex94xcfx86pp of timing jitters as follows.       Δ              xe2x80x83                  φ      pp        =                    max        k                          xe2x80x83                          (                  Δ                                xe2x80x83                              φ                                xe2x80x83                                          (            k            )                          )              -                  min        l                          xe2x80x83                          (                  Δ                                xe2x80x83                              φ                                xe2x80x83                                          (            1            )                          )
In addition, the phase noise waveform xcex94xcfx86(t) is inputted to a root-mean-square detector 23, where a root-mean-square value of the phase noise waveform xcex94xcfx86(t) is calculated using following equation to obtain a root-mean-square value xcex94xcfx86RMS of timing jitters.       Δ              xe2x80x83                  φ      RMS        =                    1        N                          xe2x80x83                                    ∑                      k            =            0                                N            -            1                                            xe2x80x83                                  Δ                                xe2x80x83                                                        φ              2                                                  (              k              )
A method for obtaining, in this manner, a peak value of timing jitters and/or a root-mean-square value of timing jitters from the phase noise waveform xcex94xcfx86(t) is called a xcex94xcfx86 method. According to the xcex94xcfx86 method, a jitter measurement can be performed in a test time of 100 millisecond order since measuring points are not limited to zero crossing points. Further, in FIG. 2, the analytic signal transforming means 13, the instantaneous phase estimator 16 and the linear phase remover 17 compose phase noise detecting means 25.
In the case of a jitter that each rising edge of a clock signal fluctuates in the same direction with substantially same quantity, a microprocessor driven by this clock signal is not influenced so much by the jitter. In a design of a PLL circuit that generates a clock signal, a correlation coefficient between rising edges of the clock signal is important. The correlation coefficient takes a vale of xe2x88x921 to +1. If, for example, this value is 0.6, it can be seen that the PLL circuit has room for improvement in correlation coefficient by 0.4. It can be deemed that a fluctuation between adjacent rising edges of a clock signal consists of a linear fluctuation (signal) in which a fluctuation of a following rising edge depends on a fluctuation of an immediately leading rising edge and a fluctuation (noise) in which a fluctuation of a following rising edge does not relate to a fluctuation of an immediately leading rising edge, whereby a signal to noise ratio of a fluctuation of a rising edge can be defined. Such a correlation coefficient or a signal to noise ratio can clarify more correctly than a root-mean-square value of period jitters or a root-mean-square value of timing jitters can as to whether or not, for example, a PLL circuit operates in the performance close to its theoretical limit. In addition, if such a correlation coefficient or a signal to noise ratio can be measured, those are effective for a test of a PLL circuit or the like. However, a method for measuring such a correlation coefficient or a signal to noise ratio between zero crossings of a signal, namely a quality measure of a phase noise waveform has not been proposed up to today.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method that can measure a quality measure of a phase noise waveform.
According to a method of the present invention, an input signal is transformed into a complex analytic signal, and an instantaneous phase of the analytic signal is obtained. A linear phase is removed from the instantaneous phase to obtain a phase noise waveform, and a correlation coefficient and/or a signal to noise ratio of the phase noise waveform, i.e., a quality measure of the phase noise waveform is obtained from the phase noise waveform. That is, according to the present invention, a quality measure is obtained by the aforementioned xcex94xcfx86 method.
A signal to noise ration is obtained from the correlation coefficient. There will be explained below a principle for obtaining a correlation coefficient, and also for obtaining a signal to noise ratio from the correlation coefficient.
A correlation coefficient xcfx81tt(T) between adjacent zero crossing points nT and (n+1)T of an instantaneous timing jitter {xcex94xcfx86(nT)} (T is a period of a clock signal) is obtained as follows.
A period jitter Jp is obtained from a difference between two timing jitters xcex94xcfx86(nT) and xcex94xcfx86((n+1)T) of an input signal each being spaced apart from one another by a period T. A variance "sgr"p2(T) of this period jitter Jp is obtained by the following equation as an expected value of the period jitter Jp.   "AutoLeftMatch"                                                        σ              p              2                                                  (              T              )                                =                      E                                      (                                                {                                                            Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                  φ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                (                                                                              (                                                          n                              +                              1                                                        )                                                                              T                                                )                                                              -                                          Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                φ                                                                          (                          T                          )                                                                                }                                2                            )                                                                    =                                    E                                            (                                                      {                                          Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                  φ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                (                                                                              (                                                          n                              +                              1                                                        )                                                                              T                                                )                                                              }                                    2                                )                                      -                          2                                            xe2x80x83                                                          E                                                  (                                      Δ                                                              xe2x80x83                                                            φ                                                              xe2x80x83                                                                                (                                                                        (                                                      n                            +                            1                                                    )                                                                        T                                            )                                                                                xe2x80x83                                                            Δ                                                              xe2x80x83                                                                                φ                                                                    (                        T                        )                                                                              )                                                      +                          E                                            (                                                      {                                          Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                  φ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                (                        T                        )                                                              }                                    2                                )                                                                                =                                    σ              t              2                        -                          2                                            xe2x80x83                                                                            E                                                        (                                          Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                  φ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                (                                                                              (                                                          n                              +                              1                                                        )                                                                              T                                                )                                                                                xe2x80x83                                                                  Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                φ                                                                          (                          T                          )                                                                                )                                                                                σ                    t                                                                          σ                    t                                                                                xe2x80x83                                                          σ                t                                                          σ                t                                      +                          σ              t              2
In this case, "sgr"t2 is a variance of timing jitter xcex94xcfx86(T).
From equations (7-6) and (7-8) in page 150 of xe2x80x9cProbability, Random Variables, and Stochastic Processesxe2x80x9d by A. Papoulis, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill Book Company, and from a fact that each of xcex94xcfx86(nT) and xcex94xcfx86((n+1)T) is a deviation from an average value,       E              (              Δ                          xe2x80x83                        φ                          xe2x80x83                                  (                                    (                              n                +                1                            )                                    T                    )                                  xe2x80x83                        Δ                          xe2x80x83                        φ                          xe2x80x83                                  (          T          )                    )                  σ      t                  σ      t
is a correlation coefficient xcfx81tt between xcex94xcfx86(nT) and xcex94xcfx86((n+1)T). Therefore, the following equation is obtained.
"sgr"p2(T)=2(1xe2x88x92xcfx81tt(T))"sgr"t2(T)xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
This can be re-written as follows.                                           ρ            tt                                          (            T            )                          =                  1          -                                                    σ                p                2                                                          (                T                )                                                    2                                            xe2x80x83                                                                            σ                  t                  2                                                                  (                  T                  )                                                                                (        2        )
In the above equation, "sgr"p(T) is a root-mean-square value of period jitters Jp, and "sgr"t,(T) is a root-mean-square value of timing jitters xcex94xcfx86(T).
Alternatively, a correlation coefficient "sgr"tt(T) can be obtained, from the definition of a correlation coefficient, by the following equation using a timing jitter {xcex94xcfx86(nT)}.                                           ρ            tt                                          (            T            )                          =                                            σ              tt                                                      σ                t                                                          σ                t                                              =                                                    ∑                i                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                            {                                                            Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                φ                                                                          (                          iT                          )                                                                                -                                          Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                φ                        xe2x80x2                                                                              }                                                                  {                                                            Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                φ                                                                          (                                                                                (                                                              i                                +                                1                                                            )                                                                                T                                                    )                                                                                -                                          Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                φ                        xe2x80x2                                                                              }                                                                                ∑                i                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                            (                                                            Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                φ                                                                          (                          iT                          )                                                                                -                                          Δ                                                                    xe2x80x83                                                                                φ                        xe2x80x2                                                                              )                                2                                                                        (        3        )                                =                                                            ∑                i                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          Δ                                                  xe2x80x83                                                                  φ                                                        (                    iT                    )                                                                  Δ                                                  xe2x80x83                                                φ                                                  xe2x80x83                                                                  (                                                            (                                              i                        +                        1                                            )                                                            T                                    )                                                      -                          Δ                                            xe2x80x83                                                          φ                                  xe2x80x2                                                        xe2x80x83                                                      2                                                                                ∑              i                                                  xe2x80x83                                                                  (                                                      Δ                                                              xe2x80x83                                                                                φ                                                                    (                        iT                        )                                                                              -                                      Δ                                                              xe2x80x83                                                                                φ                      xe2x80x2                                                                      )                            2                                                          (        4        )
In the above equation, xcex94xcfx86xe2x80x2 is an average value of the xcex94xcfx86(nT).
Further, since xcex94xcfx86(iT) itself is a deviation from the linearity according to the definition of a timing jitter, xcex94xcfx86xe2x80x2 is zero and hence this may be omitted from the equations (3) and (4). In addition, since xcex94xcfx86xe2x80x2/"sgr"t is a small value such as xcex94xcfx86xe2x80x2/"sgr"txe2x89xa1{fraction (6/1000)} from an experiment, xcex94xcfx86xe2x80x2 may be omitted from the equations (3) and (4).
A timing jitter variance "sgr"tt2 of xcex94xcfx86((n+1)T) that fluctuates against a timing jitter xcex94xcfx86(nT) based on only a linear relationship with its fluctuation can be expressed by the following equation.
"sgr"tt2=xcfx81tt2"sgr"t(n+1)2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(5)
A timing jitter variance "sgr"t,n2 of xcex94xcfx86((n+1)T) that fluctuates against a timing jitter xcex94xcfx86(nT) based on other noises including a nonlinear relationship with its fluctuation can be expressed by the following equation.
xe2x80x83"sgr"t,n=(1xe2x88x92xcfx81tt2)"sgr"t(n+1)2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(6)
The equations (5) and (6) are shown in equations (3.10) and (3.11) in page 43-47 of xe2x80x9cEngineering Applications of Correlation and Spectral Analysisxe2x80x9d by J. S. Bendat and A. G. Piersol, John Wiley and Sons, 1980.
From the equations (5) and (6), a ratio of a linear fluctuation (signal component) of a timing jitter {xcex94xcfx86((n+1)T)} based on a fluctuation of xcex94xcfx86(nT) to a fluctuation (noise) not related to a fluctuation of the xcex94xcfx86(nT), i.e., a noise to signal ratio SNRt can be obtained by the following equation.                               SNR          t                =                                            σ                              t                ,                t                            2                                      σ                              t                ,                n                            2                                =                                    ρ              tt              2                                      1              -                              ρ                tt                2                                                                        (        7        )
Incidentally, if a timing jitter variance "sgr"t is large, 1/SNRt is also large, and if a timing jitter variance "sgr"t is small, 1/SNRt is also small. That is, "sgr"t is proportional to 1/SNRt. Therefore, if "sgr"t2 in the right side of the equation (1) is multiplied by 1/SNRt as a proportional coefficient, and the both sides are extracted and then the both sides are divided by T, the following equations can be obtained.                                           σ            p                    T                                  xe2x80x83                ∝                                            2                                            (                                  1                  -                                      ρ                    tt                                                  )                                              ·                                                                      σ                  t                  2                                                  SNR                  t                                                      T                                              (        8        )
As mentioned above, by obtaining a period jitter variance "sgr"p and a timing jitter variance "sgr"t, a correlation coefficient xcfx81tt of a timing jitter, i.e., a phase noise waveform xcex94xcfx86(t) can be obtained. In addition, a correlation coefficient xcfx81tt can be obtained from the equations (3) and (4) using a timing jitter xcex94xcfx86(nT). Furthermore, a signal to noise ratio SNrt of a phase noise waveform xcex94xcfx86(t) can be obtained from the equation (7) using the correlation coefficient xcfx81tt.
In the present invention, a quality measure such as a correlation coefficient xcfx81tt or a signal to noise ratio SNRt is obtained by such a method using the xcex94xcfx86(t).

Apparatus and method for measuring quality measure of phase noise waveform


There is provided a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices includes the steps of: packaging onto a wiring board a semiconductor chip that flux is coated to its right face onto which ball-like solder electrodes are connected; forcedly spraying a washing solution to an under-fill portion between the semiconductor chip and the wiring board, to wash off the flux; and exposing the wiring board to an oxygen-plasma atmosphere to conduct plasma processing on the wiring board.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices and, more particularly, to the method for manufacturing semiconductor devices by packaging a semiconductor chip onto a wiring board by use of a flip-chip approach.
2. Description of the Related Art
To manufacture a semiconductor device represented by an LSI (Large Scale Integration) such as a microprocessor, a memory, or a like, it is necessary to package onto a wiring board a semiconductor chip in which desired circuits are incorporated. To thus package the semiconductor chip, there have been known the following two approaches conventionally.
One approach is a face-up approach, whereby the semiconductor chip is packaged onto a wiring board with its right face facing upward on which pads are formed electrodes. According to this face-up approach, pad electrodes of the semiconductor chip are bonded with a wire to their corresponding wiring portions on the wiring board, thus being connected to an outside of the semiconductor chip. An other approach is a face-down approach, whereby the semiconductor chip is packaged onto the wiring board with its right face facing downward on which its pad electrodes are formed, an outgrowth of which approach is known as a flip-chip approach using ball-like solder electrodes (solder bumps) for connection. According to this approach, the ball-like solder electrode is formed at each pad of the semiconductor chip and connected to its corresponding wiring portion on the wiring board, thus being connected to the outside of the semiconductor chip.
As can be appreciated from comparison between the above-mentioned two approaches of packaging, the flip-chip approach eliminates a process of wire bonding and, moreover, is advantageously capable of connecting a number of ball-like solder electrodes to the wiring board simultaneously, thus tending to be employed preferably in manufacturing of LSIs having an ever increasing number of pins with increasing integration densities and functions required.
The following will describe the above-mentioned method of manufacturing semiconductor devices with reference to FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, 8A, 8B, 9A and 9B.
First, as shown in FIG. 7A, a semiconductor chip 51 is prepared in which a number of ball-like solder electrodes 52 made of high-melting-point solder are connected onto a right face of the semiconductor chip 51. Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, flux 53 is coated, to improve solderability, to the right face of the semiconductor chip 51 on which the ball-like solder electrodes 52 are formed. This flux 53 coating is performed by immersing that right face of the semiconductor chip 51 in for example a flux tub filled with flux 53. Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, a wiring board 55 is prepared which includes a multi-layer wiring board and a number of eutectic solder bumps 54 connected thereto, so that on this wiring board 55 is mounted the semiconductor chip 51 in such a manner that its ball-like solder electrodes 52 may be aligned with corresponding eutectic solder bumps 54 and then, as shown in FIG. 8A, the eutectic solder bumps 54 are melted, thus packaging the semiconductor chip 51 to the wiring board 55 (primary packaging). This semiconductor-chip packaging process is performed by moving the wiring board 55 mounted with the semiconductor chip 51 as mentioned above, into a solder reflow furnace.
Next, to remove residual flux remaining on the right face of the semiconductor chip 51 or that of the wiring board 55, it is washed to remove the flux. This flux removal by washing has been conventionally performed specifically by immersing the wiring board 55 as mounted with the semiconductor chip 51 thereon into a washing tub and by applying supersonic waves to a washing solution. Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, a resin is injected to an under-fill portion 56 sandwiched between the semiconductor chip 51 and the wiring board 55, which is followed by a cure process to harden the resin, thus forming an under-fill resin 57. By the above steps, a main portion of the semiconductor device is manufactured.
Next, as shown in FIG. 9A, a radiation plate 58 is attached to a back face of the semiconductor chip 51 and then, as shown in FIG. 9B, ball-like solder electrodes 59 for use in secondary packaging are connected onto a back face of the wiring board 55, thus completing the semiconductor device.
The conventional method for manufacturing semiconductor devices, however, has a problem in that a process of flux removal by washing performed after a semiconductor chip 51 is mounted onto a wiring board 55 is not capable of completely removing the flux, thus leaving residual flux.
That is, as mentioned above, even when the wiring board 55 mounted with the semiconductor chip 51 thereon is immersed into the washing tub and washed therein, the flux cannot completely be removed, to leave part of its organic film on the right face of the semiconductor chip 51 or that of the wiring board 55, thus generating flux residue. This may be because a distance between the ball-like solder electrodes 52 of the semiconductor chip 51 is extremely small and, at a same time, distance between the semiconductor chip 51 and the wiring board 55 is also small, thus suppressing full exertion of stirring effects by the supersonic wave in the washing solution. Such flux residue may be formed increasingly, taking into account that the distance between the ball-like solder electrodes 52 will be smaller with an ever increasing number of pins of a future LSI.
Although such a conventional method has been worked out that employs, instead of the supersonic-wave approach, a shower approach for spraying a washing solution to the under-fill portion 56 to wash off the flux, this shower approach cannot avoid the above-mentioned disadvantage either because it also finds it difficult to permit the washing solution to go sufficiently around an extremely small area between the ball-like solder electrodes 52 as well as narrow under-fill portion 56 sandwiched between the semiconductor chip 51 and the wiring board 55.
As mentioned above, if the flux residue is generated, the following process of injecting a resin to the under-fill portion 56 suffers from a poor flowability of the resin. That is, the flowability of the resin degrades because flow of the resin is inhibited by action of the organic film of the flux left on the right face of the semiconductor chip 51 or that of the wiring board 55. Therefore, the resin cannot completely be injected to the under-fill portion 56, thus always giving rise to a void in the under-fill resin 57 when it is being injected. The void thus generated in the under-fill resin 57 may contribute to a poor continuity between the semiconductor chip 51 and the ball-like solder electrodes 52 when a completed semiconductor device is packaged onto a mother board of an electronic apparatus (secondary packaging).
As shown in FIG. 10A, a void 60, if generated in the under-fill resin 57 when the resin is injected, may expand over melted ball-like solder electrodes 52, as shown in FIG. 10B, because of heat treatment conducted when the semiconductor device is secondary-packaged to the mother board, to deform mutually adjacent ball-like solder electrodes 52, thus resulting in short-circuiting therebetween.
Also, poor flowability, due to occurrence of the flux residue, of the resin during a process of injecting the resin to the under-fill portion 56 brings about longer time required for resin injection, thus affecting manufacturing costs.
In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide such a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device that improves flowability of a resin when it is injected to an under-fill portion, thus preventing a void from occurring in an under-fill resin during a resin injection process and also shortening a time required for that process.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices for packaging a semiconductor chip onto a wiring board by a flip-chip approach and then injecting a resin to an under-fill portion between the wiring board and the semiconductor chip, including the steps of:
preparing, as a flux-coating step, the semiconductor chip onto a right face of which are connected ball-like solder electrodes and then coating flux onto the right face of the semiconductor chip;
preparing, as a semiconductor-chip packaging step, the wiring board onto a right face of which are connected eutectic solder bumps and mounting the semiconductor chip onto the wiring board in such a way that the ball-like solder electrodes may be aligned with the eutectic solder bumps and then melting the eutectic solder bumps, to thereby package the semiconductor chip onto the wiring board;
forcedly spraying, as a flux wash-off step, a washing solution to the under-fill portion, to wash off the flux coated to the under-fill portion;
exposing, as a plasma processing step, to a plasma atmosphere the wiring board mounted with the semiconductor chip thereon, to subject the wiring board to plasma processing; and
injecting the resin to the under-fill portion as an under-fill resin-injection process.
In the foregoing, a preferable mode is one that wherein further including the step of, after the under-fill resin-injection process, a packaging ball-like solder electrode-connection step of connecting packaging ball-like solder electrodes onto a back face of the wiring board.
Also, a preferable mode is one that wherein further including step of a radiation-plate mounting process of mounting a radiation plate onto a back face of the semiconductor chip after the under-fill resin-injection process and before the packaging ball-like solder electrode-connection step.
Also, a preferable mode is one wherein the plasma processing step is specifically performed by performing plasma processing by use of oxygen, argon, or a gas mixture of oxygen and argon.
Also, a preferable mode is one wherein a melting point of the ball-like solder electrodes of the semiconductor chip is higher than a melting point of the eutectic solder bumps of the wiring board.
Also, a preferable mode is one wherein the ball-like solder electrodes of the semiconductor chip are made of solder having a high melting point.
Also, a preferable mode is one wherein the packaging ball-like solder electrodes of the wiring board are made of eutectic solder.
Also, a preferable mode is one wherein a region where the ball-like solder electrodes are not connected onto the right face of the semiconductor chip is covered with an insulator protection film.
Furthermore, a preferable mode is one wherein a region where the eutectic solder bumps are not formed on the right face of the wiring board is covered with an insulator protection film.
Still furthermore, a preferable mode is one wherein the wiring board makes up of a multi-layer wiring board.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor devices


A shower curtain support has a shower curtain rod mounted by opposing wall brackets on parallel end walls of a shower stall. The rod slidably suspends a conventional shower curtain across the front opening of the shower stall. Spiders on the terminal ends of the rod are indexably received by spider plates of the wall brackets to dispose the rod in a number of radial orientations relative to the wall brackets. In another embodiment for infinite radial orientations of the rod within the full range of 360.degree., outturned flanges on the rod ends, sandwiched between inturned flanges of compression nuts and closed ends of threaded studs projecting from wall brackets, allow such infinite radial orientations of the rod relative to the wall brackets.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a shower curtain support for slidably mounting a shower curtain in suspending relationship.
2. Background
A conventional shower curtain rod slidably mounts a shower curtain in suspending relationship. Since bath shower stalls and bathtub enclosures used as shower stalls present similar problems in the art, the terms "shower stall" or "stall", as used herein and in the claims, mean any area adaptable for showering notwithstanding the fact that the same area may be used for other purposes such as bathing. A conventional shower curtain rod even when its shower curtain is closed does not seal the parallel end walls of the shower stall opening because there remains gaps between the lateral sides of such closed shower curtain and their immediate lateral sides of the parallel end walls. Hence, shower water sprays and leaks through such gaps and onto the bathroom floor causing consequent water damage to the bathroom floor and walls. To attempt to prevent such water damage requires continuous attempts to effect complete water cleanups after showering. Hence, there is need for a shower curtain support for slidably suspending a conventional shower curtain across a shower stall opening and which is adjustable radially at the option of the homeowner to meet the needs of such homeowner to have the lateral sides of the conventional shower curtain seal in mating relationship the lateral sides of the parallel end walls of the shower stall opening against shower water spraying and leaking onto the bathroom floor.


A closure piece for a powder syringe has a main body and a sealing element. The sealing element is disposed on the main body such that it rests in a sealing manner against a distal opening of a powder syringe when the closure piece is disposed in the closing position thereof on the powder syringe. A channel passes through the main body and the sealing element and has a proximal and a distal end. The closure piece includes a retaining element configured and/or disposed such that, prior to an activation of the powder syringe, any powder from a chamber of the powder syringe is at least substantially prevented from penetrating the channel when the closure piece is disposed in the closing position thereof on the powder syringe.

Closure pieces and powder syringes of the presently mentioned kind are known in the art. Dual chamber systems having a proximal and a distal chamber are preferably used as powder syringes. The proximal chamber typically comprises a liquid solvent and is separated from the distal chamber by a central plug, which includes a material that is soluble in the solvent. Said material can be a free-flowing powder. Known closure pieces include a channel that is in communication with the distal chamber, on the one hand, and that can be brought in fluid communication with a cannula or needle of a syringe that is attached to the closure piece, on the other hand. It is possible for powder to enter the area of the closure piece that is provided for the channel and/or into the channel itself. This can cause clumping, meaning the formation of agglomerates of the powder-type material, and the material may no longer be soluble. When this occurs, the channel is blocked such that the dual chamber system is no longer usable. The same problem also exists with a powder syringe that is not configured as a dual chamber system but that includes one closure piece with one channel. Powder agglomerates can form inside the channel in this instance as well, thus blocking the channel.

Closure piece for a powder syringe, and powder syringe


A rotary vane compressor comprises a cylinder having two closed ends defining a cylinder chamber in which is rotatably mounted a rotor. The rotor carries a plurality of radially movable vanes which move radially into sliding contact with the inner surface of the cylinder chamber during rotation of the rotor to compress a refrigerant gas. The rotor is rotationally driven by a rotor shaft rotatably mounted by bearings in the cylinder ends. To prevent destruction of the ozone layer, a refrigerant containing no chlorine, such as HFC-134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane; CH.sub.2 FCF.sub.3) is used, and to compensate for the inferior lubricating properties of the chlorine-free refrigerant, the bearings are provided with a manganese phosphate coating of 10 .mu.m-15 .mu.m thickness to prevent cohesion and seizure of the mutually contacting surfaces of the bearings and rotor shaft.

The present invention relates generally to a vane type gas compressor, and in particular to a vane type gas compressor used for air conditioners for automobiles.
As conventional vane type gas compressors, for example, there are those in which a front side block, a rear side block, a cylinder, a rotor and vanes which constitute the compressor main body are made of aluminum alloys, a rotor shaft is made of a hardened steel material such as an SCM material or the like, and CFC-12 (dichlorodifluoromethane; CCl.sub.2 F.sub.2) is used as a refrigerant.
In such a vane type gas compressor, the rotor shaft is maintained in a plain bearing, wherein both ends of the rotor shaft are supported in a manner freely capable of rotation by means of bearing portions provided at boss portions at the centers of the front side block and the rear side block, respectively. The lubrication at the bearing portions has been usually performed by blowing lubricating oil under a high pressure from an oil reservoir in the rear space of a casing, or by using lubricating oil dissolved in CFC-12 refrigerant. In addition, lubrication has been also performed by the lubricating action of the CFC-12 itself.
However, CFC-12, which is used for the conventional vane type gas compressor, contains chlorine as a component, and this chlorine destroys the ozone layer, so that the use of CFC-12 as a refrigerant for automobile air conditioners will be prohibited in the future.
Therefore, an alternative refrigerant is necessary, and for this purpose, it is considered that a refrigerant containing no chlorine is used. However, the chlorine itself is an element having good lubricating action, so that on the contrary, when a refrigerant containing no chlorine is used, its lubricating property is inferior to that of CFC-12.
For example, when the compressor is stopped under an operating condition in which a relatively small amount of lubricating oil is in the oil reservoir in the rear space of the casing, and this condition is left for a long time, such a state occurs that the lubricating oil is diluted by the liquid refrigerant, and the lubricating oil at the bearing portion is washed out by the liquid refrigerant. When the compressor is started from this state, the bearing portion temporarily is in a no-oil feeding state, however, when the refrigerant containing no chlorine is used, the lubricating action of the refrigerant itself cannot be expected at all, so that there is a fear to cause a new problem that cohesion takes place due to the mutual sliding contact between metals of the rotor shaft of the iron series metal and the bearing surface of the aluminum alloy, resulting in seizure.


A method for downscaling a weather forecast including obtaining a sky image and location data indicative of a user location via a mobile computing device; sending the location data to a weather forecast provider; generating, by the weather forecast provider, a local weather forecast for the user location; sending the local weather forecast to a server; determining, by the mobile computing device, cloud cover data and cloud type data based on the sky image, and sending the cloud cover data and cloud type data to the server or sending the sky image to the server and determining cloud cover data and cloud type data based on the sky image; increasing the resolution of the local weather forecast based on the cloud cover data and the cloud type data, thus obtaining a downscaled local weather forecast; and, sending the downscaled local weather forecast to the mobile computing device.

Weather forecasting companies offer the weather forecasts globally with personalized and actionable insights to millions of consumers and thousands of businesses. The goal of the weather forecast solutions is to connect people with the weather intel they need, on any device. To accomplish this task, weather forecast companies aggregate the deepest, richest data sets—both business and consumer—to deliver personal, reliable and actionable weather information, analytics and insight.
Currently, these weather forecasts are provided globally for various time spans (current, 15-days, seasonal) and are pixelated with a resolution that is in the order of magnitude of several kilometres. For example, IBM weather forecasts are provided for various time spans at a resolution of 4 km. In the market today, companies such as Dark Sky, IBM and Understory, provide these services by using cutting-edge forecast modelling techniques on spatial and temporal scales; however these forecasts differ greatly, see J. Anderson, "Operation of Live, Local Weather Information in Decision Support Tools for Agriculture," p. 7. (n.d.) and Forecast Watch, "Three Region Accuracy Overview, 2010 through June 2016," (2016).
Weather forecasts typically contain several types of information: air temperature, amount of rain/precipitation, wind direction and/or speed, cloud type and/or altitude, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and sun brightness or sunshine. This information is very important for a number of people, in particular farmers, who need to adapt their daily work to the weather forecast. To maximize the yield of their crops with the investment available, they need precise weather data to make the best decisions regarding for example fertilizer or crop protection applications, or crop harvests.
US 2018/0372914 A1 discloses techniques for local weather forecast using a local weather forecast model, wherein the techniques include generating data indicative of future weather conditions for a plurality of locations based at least on future forecast data provided by an existing forecast provider and a correlation between data collected by a plurality of data collection devices and historical data provided by the existing forecast provider. Historical cloud information must be present at the location of interest.
US2017/0351970 A1 discloses the prediction of solar irradiation based on input terrestrial sky images comprising cloud images, the terrestrial sky images taken from a plurality of geographic locations by a plurality of devices; for example, wherein the terrestrial sky images are crowd sourced from the plurality of devices. A plurality of devices is required to obtain the terrestrial sky images.
Even though the weather forecasts provided are impressive, they still do not serve the purpose of farmers whose land holdings are much smaller. Further, weather drives various physiological responses of plants, such as crops, making the importance of accurate information vital to the farmer.
Furthermore, existing weather feeds all have differing geographical variances in predictive accuracy. Weather feeds typically supply averages, but will not divulge that region X is not as accurate as region Y. Therefore, farmers relying on a highly rated weather feed, but operating in a "weak" spot, may require a weather feed that is less accurate overall but more accurate at their specific location.


Provided is an imaging device capable of reducing image degradation due to a shake of a hand or an object and easily capturing an image of preferable image quality. The imaging device (1) includes: an imaging optical system (L) for forming an optical image of an object; an imaging sensor (4) for receiving the formed optical image and converting it into an electric image signal for output; a motion detecting unit (100) for detecting a motion of an object to be imaged according to the outputted image signal; and a microcomputer (3) for controlling an exposure time in accordance with the motion of the detected optical image of the object.

Image pickup apparatuses such as a digital still camera and digital video camera capable of converting an optical image of a photographing object to an electrical image signal and outputting the image signal (hereinafter simply "digital camera") are rapidly becoming widespread. With reductions in size and weight and escalation in the magnification of optical zooming in recent years in particular, digital cameras are significantly becoming convenient for photographers.
However, together with the reductions in size and weight and escalation in the magnification of optical zooming of digital cameras, a blur may occur in photographed images and may degrade image quality thereof.
Patent Document 1 discloses a digital camera having a blur correction optical system which reduces the influence of image shake on the image upon shot. The digital camera disclosed in Patent Document 1 moves a correction lens up, down, left and right in directions perpendicular to the optical axis, in accordance with the image shake upon shot and corrects the distorting image. It is thereby possible to take a photograph with image shake reduced using even a smaller-sized and lighter-weighted digital camera. Furthermore, the digital camera disclosed in Patent Document 1 need not use a strobe to emit flashlight for a photographing object to prevent image shake, so that it is possible to take a photograph with atmosphere under similar conditions to natural colors.
On the other hand, among causes for degrading the image quality of a photographed image is object shake caused by the motion of a shooting target in addition to camera shake caused by vibration such as hand shake added to the camera body. Such object shake can be prevented by shortening the exposure time and taking a photograph at a high shutter speed. The shutter speed can be made faster by, for example, increasing photographing sensitivity or performing strobe light flashing. Hereinafter, as for an optical image shake of a photographing object on an image pickup plane, one caused by vibration added to the camera body will be referred to as "camera shake", one caused by the motion of a photographing object will be referred to as "object shake", and camera shake and object shake will be generically referred to as "image shake" with respect to the image pickup plane.
Patent Document 2 discloses an apparatus and a method, having a motion prediction section that estimates the motion of a photographing object, that change photographing conditions such as a shutter speed when there is a high possibility that the photographing object may move.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-13671    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-157428

Image pickup apparatus to control an exposure time based on motion of a detected optical image


A simplified installation method is provided in this improved insulation seal for inspection holes. The sealing assembly consists of a compressible elastomeric flanged hollow sleeve which is first inserted into the inspection hole. A rigid metal cup-shaped plug then inserted into the sleeve forms tight weatherproof seals in downward and outward directions against the insulation jacket. No special installing tools are needed and the seal is adaptable to severely corrugated, or other non-flat, insulation jackets. Primary exposure of the metal plug protects the assembly against sand blasting and other external wear. The seal is easily removed for reuse upon later inspections.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to seals and more specifically to insulation sealing devices for inspection holes.
Safety precautions and legal duties often require periodic inspection of insulated process equipment (i.e. tanks, tank cars, pipelines, etc.) for evaluation of wall thickness or deterioration due to corrosion/or erosion. Non-destructive testing (NDT), such as ultrasonics, are periodically made for such determinations. Holes are cut through the insulation to facilitate the inspection and are quickly closed after test completion. The tests are periodically repeated to maintain progressive status at the designated location. Principally, the seals should be weatherproof, easily installed, and reusable.
2. Prior Art Higuera, U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,096 provided a spring-secured insulation plug. This patent was modified in Elesta, U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,462. Greenawalt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,842 then substituted a swage-securing arrangement.
These insulation seal invention have insuffiencies in various degrees in (1) involving complex spring and swage arrangements to secure the seals, (2) requiring special installation tools, such as for swaging, (3) allowing primary exposure of elastomeric material subject to deterioration by sand-blasting and other external wear, (4) requiring adhesives or caulking, and (5) involving limited weather sealing ability, particularly with corrugated insulation jackets.


A smoke evacuation system for an open surgical site is disclosed which includes a filter cartridge assembly including a housing having an inlet port, a flow path extending from the inlet port, and a filter element disposed within the flow path, a flexible conduit having a proximal end connected to the inlet port of the filter assembly, and a smoke evacuator configured for detachable connection to a distal end of the flexible conduit for drawing smoke away from the surgical site and into the filter assembly through the conduit.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention is directed to surgery, and more particularly, to a smoke evacuation system for use during invasive or open surgical procedures, which includes a disposable filtration cartridge.
2. Description of Related Art
Surgical smoke and aerosol, or plume, is created when energy is imparted to tissue cells during surgery. For example, when laser or electrosurgical energy is delivered to a cell, heat is created. The heat vaporizes the intracellular fluid, which increases the pressure inside the cell and eventually causes the cell membrane to burst. When this happens, a plume of smoke containing mostly water vapor is released into the atmosphere of the operating room or doctor's office. At the same time, the intense heat created chars the protein and other organic matter within the cell, and causes thermal necrosis in adjacent cells. The charring of cells releases other harmful contaminants, such as carbonized cell fragments and gaseous hydrocarbons.
These small particles and gases are potentially hazardous if inhaled. If they are not evacuated, they become airborne and can be inhaled. This has led to the development and implementation of smoke evacuation systems during surgical procedures. A smoke evacuator is basically a vacuum pump with one or more filters designed to evacuate surgical smoke and aerosol from the operative site, filter out essentially all of the contaminants, and return the filtered air to the operating room. Different types of filters may be employed in hospital-grade smoke evacuators, including High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter, Ultra Low Penetration Air (ULPA) filters, and activated charcoal filters.
Research confirms the effectiveness of these filter media in screening out harmful contaminants. To extend their use, filters may be impregnated with an antimicrobial agent, to inhibit the growth and reproduction of microorganisms that become trapped in the filter. The prior art also teaches that a suction canister may be installed upstream of the filter to receive any liquids suctioned during a procedure.

Smoke evacuation system for invasive surgical procedures


A VCR utilizes two rotary heads so as to allow a user to playback a portion of the endless loop magnetic tape while recording onto another portion of the tape. The cassette cartridge is compartmentalized so as to separate that portion of the tape which has just passed by the record head from that portion of the tape which has just passed across the playback head. A middle compartment is used to store any tape rewound from the compartment used to store that tape which has just been played back so as to allow a user to repeat the playback of any portion of the tape inside that compartment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to endless loop video tape cartridges and players therefor having a plurality of compartments therein for storing tape. More particularly, the present invention pertains to those video tape cartridges and players therefor for storing tape in a first compartment of the video tape cartridge having newly recorded programming thereon, while storing in last compartment thereof tape which came from the first compartment and has just been played back.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,805 issued Sep. 28, 1971 to Osamu Ogata, U.S. Pat. No. 3,281,042 issued Oct. 25, 1966 to John A. Hardison, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,287 issued Oct. 29, 1959 disclose endless loop tape cartridges.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,553 issued Jul. 31, 1984 to Kazuo Hashimoto discloses, U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,999 issued May 3, 1977 to Marvin Camras, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,820 issued Dec. 9, 1975 to Hanjiro Eashi disclose endless loop tape cartridges for storing and reproducing video information.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

Multicompartment video tape and player therefor


A new apple variety distinguished by the amount and intensity of over-color of the fruit and the earlier coloration of the fruit.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of apple tree named 'Lady Laura.' The new tree resulted from a spontaneous limb sport mutation of 'Cripps Pink' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,880). The 'Cripps Pink' tree containing the limb sport of the new variety was discovered growing in a cultivated area in Borenore NSW, Australia.


An apparatus for clamping a flexible printing plate onto a plate cylinder including an adjustable front clamping strip for releasably engaging a leading end of the printing plate and a plurality of axially spaced pins which engage respective axially spaced holes in the rear of the printing plate. The printing plate is held on the circumference of the printing cylinder with relative little force so that any inaccuracies can be easily corrected through adjustment of the front clamping strip.

Printing plate clamping devices of such type are known, such as shown in EP 0,232,730 A2, EP 0,426,022 A2 and DE 3,933,678 C2 to applicant. A feature common to these known clamping devices is that the printing plate is clamped onto the plate cylinder by means of respective front and rear clamping rails or strips. At least one and preferably both of the clamping strips are adjustable at least in the circumferential direction, and spring means act on the clamping strips to tension the printing plate on the cylinder surface.
Although the above-mentioned clamping devices of applicant have proved successful, the printing plate is clamped on the plate cylinder with relatively high force as a result of spring elements acting on both the front and rear clamping strips, and this sometimes can be disadvantageous. Since modern printing plates are made of relatively thin material, usually aluminum, if subjected to excessive stress, they will experience inadmissible deformation, or even tear. Reinforcement of the leading and trailing edges of the printing plate which are engaged by the clamping strips does not remedy the problem because the surface of the printing plate is still thin and therefore sensitive.
Prior clamping devices have a further disadvantage in that when a register correction is made, the register error can only be rectified locally, while the error may persist at other points on the printing plate because the plate cannot be entirely shifted during the registration correction. Moreover, because of the relatively high tensile forces exerted on the printing plate, relatively high frictional forces exist between the printing plate and the cylinder surface, and therefore, during a registration correction on one of the clamping strips, the correction does not carry over the entire surface of the printing plate without further action, as might otherwise occur with a rigid or stiff material. Finally, a further disadvantage of prior clamping devices is that they require a large amount of space and have a high weight, caused, in particular, by the requirement of two separate clamping strips. When the printing machine is in operation, this weight can result in an imbalance which, in turn, must be compensated for by suitable means.

Device for clamping a printing plate onto a plate cylinder


A method and system are provided for comparing an effect of an audio-visual ad on Internet searches. In one example, the method includes receiving a keyword search related to the audio-visual ad and storing the keyword search in a keyword search database, extracting ad related keywords from digitized text of the audio-visual ad and storing the ad related keywords in an ad keyword database, comparing the ad keyword database to the keyword search database, wherein the comparing includes determining an ad effectiveness rank of the audio-visual ad, and storing the ad effectiveness rank of the audio-visual ad in an ad effectiveness database.

An advertiser, such as Ford® or McDonald's®, generally contracts a creative agency for ads to be placed in various media for the advertiser's products. Such media may include TV, radio, Internet ads (e.g., banner display ads, textual ads, streaming ads, mobile phone ads), print media ads (e.g., ads in newspapers, magazines and posters). It is quite possible that the advertiser may engage one or more creative agencies that specialize in creating ads for one or more of the above media.
The search advertising marketplace generates billions of dollars in revenue each year for a search engine, for example, Yahoo!®. The search marketing marketplace works on a cost-per-click (CPC) model. When a consumer performs a search query online and clicks on a sponsored search text ad, a company like Yahoo!® is paid by the respective advertiser. Consumers tend to click on more relevant ads. It is the company's best interest to show the most relevant ads to consumers, in order to get more clicks on these ads. In order to do this, the company needs to gather information about consumers' search behavior and click behavior. Search behavior is what the consumer searches. Primary evidence for search behavior is the key words used in the consumer search. Click behavior is what the consumer clicks on the search page after a search. The clicks may include clicking to select an ad, clicking to close an ad, etc. The company can then use this information to target relevant ads to different consumers.
In the CPC model, there are two important events—search events and click events. Search events occur when a consumer performs a search query. Click events occur when a consumer clicks on a sponsored text ad. Web servers of a company like Yahoo!® collect search events when a consumer performs a query on the company's search page. URLs of the ads on the search result webpage may contain the click event information. The company wants to collect and analyze the search and click events in order to build a model for query-to-text ad relevance. If the company can learn which ads are more relevant, then the company can target these ads to consumers and get a higher click-through rate (CTR).
Perhaps what is more difficult is that there is currently no way for a company like Yahoo!® to tell non-search advertisers whether or not a particular Internet search was related to a particular non-search ad. Non-search advertisers include advertisers who place TV ads, radio ads or Internet-based visual ads (e.g., display ads, video ads, etc.). For example, a consumer may see a JCPenney® TV commercial related to diamond jewelry. That consumer may subsequently perform an Internet search based on the JCPenney® ad, which may have sparked the consumer's interest in getting an engagement ring for his fiance. It is difficult for advertisers like JCPenney® to understand effects that their audio-visual ad campaigns have on consumers who see an offline ad and later do Internet searches.

Method and system for comparing effects of audio-visual ads on internet searches


A sensor for ultrasonically measuring a portion of a structure having a temperature significantly above room-temperature, the sensor comprising: a high-temperature portion for intimate contact with the structure, the high-temperature portion comprising at least: at least one transducer for converting a first signal to an ultrasonic transmit signal, and for converting an ultrasonic reflected signal to a second signal; a low-temperature portion comprising at least: at least one digital sensor interface (DSI) to which the transducer is electrically connected, the DSI being configured to transmit the first electrical signal and receive the second electrical signal, and to generate an A-scan signal based on the first and second electrical signals; a wireless interface for transmitting a digital signal based directly or indirectly on at least said A-scan signal; and a battery for powering the DSI and the wireless interface; and an elongated member containing one or more electrical conductors for conducting the first and second signals between the transducer and the DSI, the elongated member being configured to offset the low-temperature portion a sufficient distance away from the high-temperature portion such that the low-temperature portion is subjected to significantly less heat from the structure compared to the high-temperature portion.

Wall thickness and the presence of defects such as cracks are important factors in determining the fitness-for-service of structures such as above- and below-ground pipes and tanks, including bulk material and weldments. When a pipe is in operation, it can be subject to corrosion and/or erosion due to the content, flow and/or environmental conditions inside or outside of the pipe. Cracks can form and propagate due to the presence of manufacturing defects, creep, thermal cycling, fatigue and environmental conditions causing defects such as high-temperature hydrogen attack (HTHA), stress-corrosion cracking, etc. Corrosion and/or erosion results in the reduction in wall thickness, which can reach a point at which operating conditions becomes unsafe, considering that the pipe can be pressurized and may contain hazardous or flammable materials. Likewise formation and propagation of cracks, in welds for instance, can cause similar unsafe conditions. A failure may cause catastrophic consequences such as loss of life and environmental damage, leaking pipes, in addition to the loss of the use of the asset, and any corresponding costs associated with repair, loss of capacity and revenue loss.
Ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques are commonly used for evaluating the integrity of industrial components. In the case of measuring wall thickness reduction due to erosion/corrosion, the traditional process involves using an ultrasonic transducer (probe) to measure the wall thickness. The instrument excites the probe via an electrical pulse, and the probe, in turn, generates an ultrasonic pulse which is transmitted through the structure. The probe also receives an echo of the ultrasonic pulse from the structure, and converts the pulse back into an electrical signal. The ultrasonic pulses that are transmitted into and received from a structure are used to determine the relative position of the surfaces (i.e. thickness) of the structure wall. More specifically, by knowing the travel time of the ultrasonic pulse from the outer wall to the inner wall and back (ΔT) and acoustic velocity (V) of the ultrasonic pulse through the material of the structure (through calibration or just initialization), a wall thickness (d) can be calculated—i.e. d=ΔT*V/2. Successively measuring the thickness change over time allows for the calculation of a corrosion (erosion) rate for the asset. There are many variants of these two basic descriptions of ultrasonic thickness gauging and flaw detection that are known to skilled practitioners of ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation.
Traditionally, an ultrasonic NDE approach involved an operator manually positioning a probe on the wall of the asset to take a reading. Not only does this necessitate the operator manually taking each reading, but also the measurement location must be accessible, which can be challenging and costly. For example buried pipelines require excavation to access, insulated pipe requires costly removal of the insulation, offshore assets require helicopter or boat access, and elevated vessels requiring scaffolding or crane access. While the measurement is relatively simple, the cost of access (scaffolding, excavation, insulation removal, etc) is often much higher than the cost of measurement. Moreover, the operator is often subjected to hazardous conditions while taking the readings. Furthermore, to obtain trending data with thickness resolution of 0.001″ or better requires that the transducer be placed in the same exact location for consistent readings at regular time intervals. This is difficult and often impractical especially when the data-capture rate needs to be frequent. Variations in operator and/or equipment also tend to skew the quality and integrity of the measurement data.
One approach for avoiding some of the aforementioned problems is to use installed sensors/systems for asset-condition or asset-integrity measurement. The sensors are permanently or semi-permanently installed on the asset and can take advantage of features such as wireless data transmission to avoid costly wiring installations. Automated systems require no operator to be in the vicinity of the asset and can stream data to a control room or to an operator's desk. Current state of the art devices/systems have been shown to be useful and commercially successful for permanently monitoring structures using ultrasound.
While current state of the art devices are useful and valued for corrosion monitoring, the applicants have identified several shortcomings for existing solutions, particularly for measuring high temperature monitoring.
An important requirement for ultrasonically monitoring structures in oil and gas (O&G) and power generation facilities is a transducer that can withstand very high-temperatures in the range of 300 to 500° C. For example, many piping circuits in a catalytic cracking unit operate in this temperature range. The traditional approach for measuring high-temperature structures is to use portable devices for manual thickness measurement. These devices are designed to operate in this temperature range only for a short duration at a low duty cycle, and must be removed from the high-temperature structure before the device heats up because the transducer is not constructed to withstand such temperatures.
In an installed sensor scenario, the transducer, if placed in contact with the pipe will achieve nominally the same temperature as the pipe and therefore must be designed to withstand the operating temperature of the pipe or asset. Typically, this involves a specialty designed high-temperature sensor which is cabled to electronics that are located remotely away from the high-temperature structure being monitored. A major disadvantage of installed sensor systems with wired transducers is the cost of long cabling, connectors, cable installation and signal degradation. Cabling with suitable electrical characteristics and appropriate for the harsh environments can cost several dollars per foot. Coaxial connectors are also expensive from both a part and assembly cost. Cable and connector costs can easily exceed $50-100. The high-frequency signals that connect the probe to its ultrasonic instrument degrade considerable over distances as short as 8 meters. Labor costs for the type of industrial wiring and conduits at Oil & Gas or Power Plant sites often renders wiring too costly to be practical especially for semi-permanent installations. Additionally, the cable tends to pose a risk of snagging, and thereby becoming disconnected form the sensors/electronics.
Alternatively, the transducer can be placed remotely, at a distance from the pipe, and a waveguide can be used to direct the ultrasonic energy to the surface of the structure. A commercial product by Permasense offers this type of solution. While this approach solves the issue of maintaining an appropriately lower temperature of the transducer and electronics, it is generally substandard in ultrasonic performance. The use of a waveguide requires lower ultrasonic frequencies that degrade the ability to resolve small wall thicknesses. Furthermore, the end of the waveguide ultrasonically presents a line source/receiver that has poor directivity, resulting in a large ultrasonic spot size in the component. This reduces the ability of the system to resolve small changes in wall thickness.
Therefore, Applicants have identified the need for a high-temperature, ultrasonic thickness gauging sensor that can be permanently installed directly on the surface of a high-temperature structure without the need for waveguides, while avoiding the complexity, inconvenience and cost of cables. The present invention fulfills this need among others.


A clutch device for a clutch system has an input member that rotates at a first speed. A friction medium is disposed between the input member and an output member. The output member rotates on a bearing coupled to a piston. The piston translates relative to the input member, between an engaged position in which the friction ring frictionally engages with the input member, thereby driving the output member to rotate at the first speed, and a disengaged position in which the friction ring is spaced apart from the input member. A biasing member urges the piston toward the engaged position. A pressurized fluid in a fluid receiving chamber selectively urges the piston toward the disengaged position. A resistance member disposed in a chamber containing a viscous fluid transfers torque from the input member to rotate the output member at a second speed.

Vehicle transmission systems, cooling systems, and braking systems may employ clutches or like devices to selectively transmit rotational forces from a drive source to an output member. For example, some cooling systems employ fan clutch systems that control the output rotation of engine cooling fans. A fan clutch may be driven by a drive pulley that rotates in response to the vehicle engine.
In general, a clutch may be operated to engage (or disengage) opposing clutch surfaces, which rotationally interconnect (or rotationally disconnect) a drive pulley and an output member. In an example related to fan clutches, when clutch surfaces are shifted to the engaged position, an output member (carrying fan blades) may be driven to rotate along with a drive pulley. However, when the clutch surfaces are shifted to the disengaged position, the output member is no longer directly urged by the drive pulley.


A User Equipment (UE) apparatus for use in a cellular wireless communications network, and method for its operation, are provided. The apparatus includes a measuring unit for measuring signals received from at least one of a serving cell of the network and from neighboring cells, a memory for storing information defining a plurality of conditions for triggering the UE to send a measurement report to the network, the measurement report comprising a result of at least one measurement performed by the UE, a determining unit for determining when one of the plurality of conditions is met, and a sending unit for sending, in response to one of the plurality of conditions being met, a measurement report for reception by the network, wherein each of the plurality of conditions is defined by a respective plurality of at least one of parameters and variables.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communication networks. More particularly, although not exclusively, the present invention relates to networks adapted to implement or operate according to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 36.331 version (v) 8.4.0, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, and/or to User Equipment (UE) for use in such networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 36.331 version (v) 8.4.0 specifies a number of conditions, criteria or events in response to which User Equipment (UE) is triggered to send a measurement report to a network, such as an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN).
To operate in accordance with the 3GPP TS 36.331 v 8.4.0 specification, the UE is arranged/adapted to report measurement information in accordance with a measurement configuration, which is provided to the UE by the E-UTRAN, that is, the E-UTRAN provides a signal or signals containing the measurement configuration to the UE.
Generally, the measurement configuration tells the UE, inter alia, the conditions, criteria or events in response to which it should send a measurement report, that is, the measurement configuration tells the UE the "reporting criteria". Further, the measurement configuration tells the UE what to measure when triggered to send a report. In other words, the measurement configuration tells the UE the measurement objects, which are the objects on which the UE should perform the measurements. Also, the measurement configuration tells the UE the format in which the measurement results should be sent. In other words, the measurement configuration tells the UE the reporting format, including the quantities that the UE should include in the measurement report and associated information, such as the number of cells to report.
These events, in response to which the UE should send a measurement report, include events A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B1 and B2 as defined in Table 1 below. Here, "serving" refers to a currently serving cell, e.g., a cell with which the UE is in communication, and "neighbor" refers to a neighboring cell.
Table 1 shows the current definitions of these events in 3GPP TS 33.331 v 8.4.0. Table 1 defines these events in terms of entering and leaving conditions. The entering conditions define the circumstances under which an event is regarded as occurring, when the event was not previously occurring. In other words, the UE is triggered to send a measurement report when there is a change from the conditions specified in the "entering condition" column not being met to being met.
The "leaving conditions" specify the conditions under which each event is considered to be no longer occurring. Thus, the UE is triggered to send a measurement report when, after entering an event, the circumstances change and the relevant leaving condition is met.
In each case, the entering conditions and leaving conditions associated with the various events, which can be regarded as defining the measurement report triggering conditions, are defined using a plurality of parameters or variables including Ms, Mn, Ofn, Ocn, Ofs, Ocs, Hys, Off, Thresh, Thresh1, and Thresh2, where:                Ms denotes a measurement result of a serving cell,        Mn denotes a measurement result of a neighboring cell,        Ofn denotes a frequency specific offset of the frequency of the neighbor cell,        Ocn denotes a cell specific offset of the neighbor cell,        Ofs denotes a frequency specific offset of the serving frequency,        Ocs denotes a cell specific offset of the serving cell,        Hys denotes a hysteresis parameter for the respective event,        Off denotes an offset parameter for the respective event,        Thresh denotes a threshold parameter for the respective event,        Thresh1 denotes a threshold parameter for the respective event, and        Thresh2 denotes a threshold parameter for the respective event.
Further information on these parameters or variables can be found at the end of this description, in an extract from 3GPP TS 36.331 v 8.4.0.

User equipment for triggering measurement report and method of its operation


A sound attenuating covering for an architectural opening is provided. The covering may include a frame, a first shade, and a second shade. The frame may include opposing side members, each defining an opposing channel extending along at least a portion of the side member. The first shade may be positioned forward of the frame and may define a plurality of horizontally-extending, transversely-collapsible cells. The second shade may be positioned rearward of the first shade and may be slidably received within the channels of the side members. The first and second shades may be operably coupled to a roller and may move in conjunction with one another across the architectural opening.

Coverings for architectural openings, such as windows, doors, archways, and the like, have taken numerous forms for many years. Some coverings include a retractable shade that is movable between an extended position and a retracted position. In the extended position, the shade of the covering may be positioned across the opening. In the retracted position, the shade of the covering may be positioned adjacent one or more sides of the opening.
Conventional coverings provide numerous functions, including light control, energy efficiency, and privacy. One area of need is in the area of sound attenuation. For example, in commercial applications, such as hotel buildings, high levels of exterior sound often results in guest complaints, which may ultimately result in bad publicity and decreased occupancy for the hotel. In residential applications, high levels of exterior sound (such as dogs barking and other sound nuisances) often results in neighborly disputes, among other things. Conventional coverings may provide some level of sound attenuation. However, in some applications additional sound attenuation is desired.

Sound attenuating covering for an architectural opening


A thin film transistor array panel can include: a substrate; a gate line formed on the substrate; a gate pad formed at an end of the gate line; a gate identification member corresponding to the gate pad and formed in the same layer as the gate pad; a gate insulating layer covering the gate line and the gate identification member; a data line formed on the gate insulating layer; a passivation layer formed on the gate insulating layer and the data line; a gate contact assistant formed on the passivation layer; and a gate driving chip electrically connected to the gate contact assistant, wherein the gate contact assistant at least partially overlaps the gate identification member. The gate identification member is formed without producing a step in the gate contact assistant, reducing the risk of defects when wires or other objects are pressed onto the gate pad.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film transistor array panel.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are among the most widely used flat panel displays. A typical LCD includes a pair of panels provided with field-generating electrodes, and a liquid crystal (LC) layer interposed therebetween. The LCD displays images by applying voltages to the field-generating electrodes to generate an electric field in the LC layer. This field orients the LC molecules, which polarizes incident light.
One widely employed LCD structure utilizes field generating electrodes respectively formed on two display panels. A plurality of pixel electrodes are arranged in a matrix format on one display panel, and one common electrode covers the surface of the other display panel. In the liquid crystal display, each pixel electrode is separately applied with a voltage to display images. A thin film transistor (TFT) is connected to each pixel electrode for switching the voltage applied to the pixel electrode, as well as a plurality of gate lines transmitting signals to control the thin film transistor, and a plurality of data lines transmitting the voltage that is applied to the pixel electrode.
The thin film transistor array panel is controlled by a driving circuit connected to the gate line and the data line. The driving circuit may be attached to the panel by a tape carrier package (TCP) type structure, or a chip-on-glass (COG) type structure. With the TCP type structure, a tape mounted with the driving chip is separately attached to the thin film transistor array panel, whereas with the COG type structure, the driving chip is directly mounted on an insulation substrate of the thin film transistor array panel. Conventionally, TCP type structures have been more widely used. However, the COG type structure has recently gained popularity due to its smaller footprint and lower cost. Also, TCP type structures typically require an additional circuit for applying signals to their driving circuits. This added circuit must be formed on an additional printed circuit board (PCB), and connected through an additional flexible printed circuit (FPC) film.
In COG type thin film transistor array panels, to easily confirm a defect in wiring when inspecting for defects, an identification number is given to each gate pad and each data pad (i.e., the pads connected to a gate driving chip and a data driving chip, respectively).
However, as components have become more highly integrated, the interval between the plurality of gate pads or the plurality of data pads has shrunk to the point that it is difficult to form these identification numbers.
When an identification number is not formed between the gate pads or the data pads, it is difficult to find and keep track of defective wiring. Also, if the identification number partially overlaps the gate pad and is formed with a different material from the gate pad, a step is generated at the overlap. This partial overlap is more likely to generate defects during pressing of bond wires onto the pads. One approach to overcoming this problem is to form small identification numbers in the narrow spaces between neighboring pads. However, these numbers are often too small to read easily, and also risk shorting their adjacent pads to each other.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention. Therefore, it may contain information not in the prior art and not already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A migration system for distributed control system migration uses a parser that parses system configuration information for a source control system into an intermediate language. A block equivalence module then finds destination system control blocks that are equivalent to source system control blocks and builds logical control loops using the destination system control blocks. In one embodiment, some source system control block may be migrated to two destination system control blocks. Selected source system control blocks may have integrated alarms. Such control blocks may be migrated to control blocks with separate alarms blocks.

Migration from older distributed control systems, such as industrial process control systems to new distributed control systems has been a tedious proposition. In some cases, the new system is designed from scratch to implement the existing process. This can take a significant amount of time, and result in a new system that needs to be extensively tested to make sure that it is functionally equivalent, or at least works as well as the prior system.