The invention resides in a rotary blow molding machine in which under an extruder for extruding a parison, a turntable is arranged which has plural sets of molds mounted thereon for holding the parison therebetween and blow-molding the parison, the turntable is rotated by a motor, an annular driven gear is provided on the turntable, and one pair of idle gears are made to intervene between the driven gear and a driving gear for transmitting the rotation of the motor so as to intermesh with both the gears.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a molding machine for molding detergent containers, cosmetic bottles or the like from parisons.
2. The Prior Arts
(A) Turntable driving system of a blow molding machine
For example, there is a rotary blow molding machine in which under an extruder for extruding a parison made of thermoplastic resin downward in the vertical direction, a turntable is arranged which has plural sets of shut-off molds mounted thereon, each set consisting of a pair of the shut-off molds for holding said parison therebetween and blow-molding the parison, and a driving gear for transmitting the rotation of a motor is intermeshed with an annular driven gear provided on the lower part of said turntable, thereby making the turntable intermittently rotatable, wherein hollow articles made of the resin are continuously molded (there is disclosed a similar structure thereto, for example in the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 256,420/1988).
In such a conventional rotary blow molding machine in which the driving gear for transmitting the rotation of a motor is directly intermeshed with the annular driven gear of a turntable, however, there is a drawback that the position of said turntable in its intermittent rotation or stoppage can not be positioned with high accuracy due to any backlash of both the gears.
Thus, the present invention is intended to provide a rotary blow molding machine in which the aforementioned problems can be solved.
(B) Parison extruding system of a blow molding machine
For example, there is a rotary blow molding machine in which under an extruder for extruding a parison made of thermoplastic resin downward in the vertical direction, a turntable is arranged which has plural sets of shut-off molds mounted thereon, each set consisting of a pair of the shut-off molds for holding said parison therebetween and blow-molding the parison, and the turntable is lifted up to the extruder side when said parison is fed into each pair of the shut-off molds, and it is lifted down to its original position after the feed of the parison, and said turntable is intermittently rotated by a motor equipped with a driving gear intermeshing with an annular driven gear provided on the turntable, wherein hollow articles made of the resin are continuously molded (there is disclosed a similar structure thereto, for example in the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 256,420/1988).
In such a conventional rotary blow molding machine in which a mold lifting mechanism for lifting up the turntable to the extruder side in the feed of a parison, other than a driving mechanism comprising a motor for rotating the turntable and the like, must be installed on the turntable side, however, there is a drawback that the structure of the molding machine on the turntable side is complicated and its weight becomes heavier.
Thus, the present invention is intended to provide a rotary blow molding machine in which the aforementioned problems can be solved.
(C) Extruder turning system of a blow molding machine
When a screw of the extruder for kneading thermoplastic resin is drawn out for cleaning, in the conventional rotary blow molding machine described in the item (A), the pair of said shut-off molds on the turntable and the screw to be drawn out of said extruder interfere with each other, and the turntable must be therefore moved, for instance along a pair of movement rails arranged in the installation place. As a result, there is required a wider installation space.
Thus, the present invention is intended to provide a rotary blow molding machine in which the aforementioned problems can be solved.
(D) Mold clamping unit of a blow molding machine
In the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 256,420/1988 aforesaid in the items (A), (B) and (C), there is disclosed a mold clamping unit for a rotary blow molding machine in which parisons made of thermoplastic resin are continuously molded to hollow articles made of the resin by a pair of shut-off molds.
The mold clamping unit of this rotary blow molding machine comprises roughly a bed plate, a pair of guide shafts fixed so as to be parallel on said bed plate by way of a supporting block, a pair of movable plates slidably provided on the pair of said guide shafts, in which said molds are fixed on their opposite surfaces, respectively, a pair of clamp rods fixed at their one end on the back surface side of each movable plate, which contact the respective molds with each other or alienate them from each other, a swing lever swingably supported on a bracket erected at one end of said bed plate by way of a pivot positioned almost at the same height as that of each guide shaft, in which the other end of one clamp rod is pivotally supported at its upper end, and its lower end part is protruded downward from the top surface of said bed plate, a slide rod slidably supported under the bed plate, in which one end thereof is pivotally supported at the other end of the one clamp rod of said swing lever, and a connection plate for connecting the respective other ends of said slide rod and the other clamp rod with each other. After the parison is fed from the extruder, the turntable having each pair of shut-off molds mounted thereon, which are clamped by said mold clamping unit, is intermittently rotated by the motor, wherein hollow articles made of the resin are continuously molded.
In the mold clamping unit of the conventional rotary blow molding machine mentioned above, in which the pivot of the swing lever of the mold clamping unit is positioned at the height of a pair of guide shafts and the pair of said guide shafts are provided nearly midway between the clamp rod and the slide rod, however, there is a drawback that the clamping force of the mold clamping unit can not be divided uniformly by the pair of said guide shafts and the bed plate, with any unnatural load applyed on the bed plate. Furthermore, there is required a complicated retaining means in order to retain the opened or shut state of the pair of said molds.
Thus, the present invention is intended to provide a rotary blow molding machine in which the aforementioned problems can be solved.
(E) Parison cutting unit of a blow molding machine
For example, there is a parison cutting unit of a blow molding machine in which a cutter reciprocated by an air cylinder is provided on an extruder for extruding a parison made of thermoplastic resin downward in the vertical direction, and said cutter is repeatedly moved alternately forward and backward, thereby cutting in order the parison extruded from the extruder into a pair of shut-off molds arranged under said extruder, wherein hollow articles made of the resin are continuously molded.
In the parison cutting unit of such a conventional blow molding machine, in which the cutter is reciprocated by the air cylinder, thereby cutting the parison in order, and the cutting start-up positions in the forward and backward movements of said cutter are different, respectively, however, there is a drawback that each parison can not be cut at the same length at all times.
Thus, the present invention is intended to provide a parison cutting unit of a rotary blow molding machine in which the aforementioned problems can be solved.
(F) Flash shape correcting unit of a blow molding machine, and
(G) Molding taking-out unit of a blow molding machine
In the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 111,167/1975, for example, there is disclosed a rotary blow molding machine in which hollow articles made of thermoplastic resin are continuously molded by use of parisons made of the resin. This rotary blow molding machine has a pair of rotary frames, and has, between the pair of said rotary frames, plural (eight) sets of shut-off molds, each set consisting of a pair of the shut-off molds which are opened or shut by a mold clamping unit. By an extruder positioned above the pair of said rotary frames, a parison is fed in order into each pair of said shut-off molds positioned under said extruder, and after the molds are clamped, said parison is cut off from the extruder by the rotation of the pair of said rotary frames in a given direction, and after the blow molding is carried out, a blow molding is taken out of the pair of said shut-off molds which are opened, by holding a flash of said blow molding by the chuck of a product taking-out unit.
In the conventional rotary blow molding machine mentioned above, which is composed so that the parison fed into the pair of said shut-off molds is cut off from the extruder when the pair of said rotary frames are rotated, however, there is a drawback that the upper end portion of the parison protruded upward from the top surface of the pair of said shut-off molds that will become a flash is easy to fold and bend to the top surface side of the pair of said shut-off molds shut, and said portion becomes a flash of a blow molding after its solidification in this state, and it is therefore difficult to hold said flash and take out said blow molding with the chuck of the product taking-out unit.
Thus, the present invention is intended to provide a rotary blow molding machine in which the aforementioned problems can be solved.
(H) Parison presealing method and unit of a blow molding machine
In the official gazette of Japanese Patent Publication No. 34,777/1989, there is disclosed a blow molding machine composed so as to have an extruder for extruding and hanging down a parison, a presealing device for presealing one end part of said parison, a preblowing device for preblowing a blow gas into the presealed parison, a pair of molds for holding said parison therebetween and closing both end parts of the parison, and a blowing device for injecting the blow gas into the parison enclosed in the molds until the parison accords with the cavity of said molds.
The reason why said parison is previously imparted with a given expansion by presealing and preblowing the parison is that when the parison is held between the molds and a blow needle of the blowing device is punctured into the parison, a sufficient space is formed between two parison skins so that said blow needle punctures only one parison skin of the annular parison and it does not puncture two parison skins thereof. If the blow needle punctures the two parison skins, it is impossible to inject the blow gas between the two parison skins of the same parison.
In the prior art, however, the presealing device is provided on the upper end part of a pair of molds and said one end part of a parison is presealed in the upper part of the pair of said molds.
Accordingly in the prior art, there are the following problems (1) to (3).
(1) The presealing of a parison is carried out in the upper part of the molds, i.e. just under the extruder. Therefore, the parison undergoes a strong bending action just under the dies and core which are the outlet of said extruder by the presealing device, and as a result, some ring mark flaws caused by this strong bending are formed on the inside and outside surfaces of the parison. Thus, a lower flash to be cut at the lower end part of the parison becomes larger, reducing the yield.
(2) At the stage where a parison is presealed, the parison is only extruded at a short length corresponding to the lower end part of a molding. When the preblowing is carried out simultaneously with the presealing, only the portion of the parison corresponding to the lower end of a molding is expanded and as a result, it is impossible to impart to said parison an expansion due to the preblowing that is uniform in the whole the parison. In the prior art, accordingly, the control of preblowing is complicated, for instance which comprises, after the lapse of the presealing, starting up the preblowing, with waiting such a time that the lower end part of the parison reaches the vicinity of the lower part of the molds.
(3) If the extrusion of a parison is not carried out with blowing air into the parison, after the parison is sealed in the upper part of the molds, the inside of the parison will be negative in pressure and a molding will be inferior. Also in a cace the preblowing is not positively carried out, there is therefore required a preblowing device (which may be an atmosphere release passage) in order to prevent the negative pressure state in the inside of the parison.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to obtain a superior molding by presealing a parison, with no formation of any ring mark flaw or the like thereon, and blow-molding said parison while air is enclosed in the parison, and to enable to simplify the control of preblowing when the preblowing is carried out.
(I) Ejector-contained molds of a molding machine
A molding machine has hitherto an ejector provided therein such as a blow needle or ejector pin.
In the official gazette of Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 114,136/1989, there is disclosed a molding machine in which an ejector pin driving part is provided on a mold fixture plate side and an ejector pin is provided on a mold side.
In a conventional blow molding machine, in addition, a blow needle driving part and a blow needle are provided on the mold fixture plate side.
In the prior art in which an ejector pin driving part is provided on the mold fixture plate side and an ejector pin on mold side, respectively, however, it is necessary to carry out an attaching and detaching work for the ejector pin driving part and the ejector pin, when the molds are attached on or detached from the mold fixture plate. And, it is difficult to ensure the smooth motion of the ejector pin, because of the presence of a mechanical looseness and an error in assemblying position in a portion where the ejector pin driving part and the ejector pin are attached or detached.
In the prior art in which a blow needle driving part and a blow needle are provided on the mold fixture plate side, furthermore, it is necessary to carry out a work of inserting the blow needle on the mold fixture plate side into a blow needle guide hole on the mold side, when the molds are attached on or detached from the mold fixture plate. And, it is difficult to ensure the smooth motion of the blow needle, because of the presence of an error in assemblying position between the blow needle on the mold fixture plate side and the blow needle guide hole on the mold side.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to eliminate the setting work of an ejector such as a blow needle or ejector pin when molds are attached on or detached from a mold fixture plate, whereby the exchanging workability of the molds can be made satisfactory and the smooth motion of said ejector can be ensured.
(J) Mold pipe line connecting structure of a molding machine
In the official gazette of Japanese Patent Publication No. 48,412/1990, there is disclosed, as the mold pipe line connecting structure of a molding machine, such a connecting structure that an inlet and an outlet for a temperature regulating flow passage are opened in a clamp provided on a mold fixture plate side so as to press and hold molds against said mold fixture plate, and an inlet and an outlet for the temperature regulating flow passage are opened also on the surface of said molds pressed down by said clamp, wherein when the molds are fastened and fixed on the mold fixture plate by the clamp, both the inlets and outlets are communicated with each other in such a state that a sealing material is held under pressure between the mating surfaces of both said inlets and outlets.
According to this prior art, the pipe line on the mold fixture plate side and the pipe line on the mold side can be compactly connected at the same time when the molds are fixed onto the mold fixture plate.
In this prior art, however, there are the following problems (1) and (2).
(1) The exchanging workability of molds is inferior, because it is necessary to confirm that the inlet and outlet on the mold side accord with the inlet and outlet on the clamp side, when the clamp is fastened and fixed.
(2) Since a sealing material is held under pressure between the mating surfaces of the inlet and outlet on the mold side and the inlet and outlet on the clamp side, it is necessary to accompany a fastening and fixing means such as a bolt for each pair of these inlets and outlets. In a case the molds and clamp have plural pairs of pipe lines, the exchanging workability of the molds is inferior, because it takes a long working time.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to simplify a pipe line connecting work when the pipe line on a mold fixture plate side and the pipe line on a mold side are compactly connected simultaneously with the fixing of the molds to the mold fixture plate, whereby the exchanging workability of the molds can be made satisfactory.
(K) Mold hanging structure of a molding machine
In the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 103,660/1986, there is disclosed a molding machine in which a hanger equipped with a device for moving and regulating a center of gravity is used to enable to hang up a pair of molds horizontally.
The official gazette of Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 34,214/1990 discloses a molding machine in which retainers provided in one pair of molds, respectively are retained with each other, thereby restraining the pair of said molds from opening when the molds are hung up.
In the prior art described in the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 103,880/1986, however, the molding machine becomes complicated in constitution, because a hanger must be equipped with a device for moving and regulating the center of gravity in order to enable to hang up a pair of molds horizontally.
In the prior art described in the official gazette of Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 34,214/1990, there is really no constitution for enabling to hang up a pair of molds horizontally, so that the molds may be inclined when they are hung up. Also in this prior art, the molding machine becomes complicated in constitution, because an especial retainer for restraining said molds from opening must be fixed on each of the molds in order to restrain the molds from opening.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to enable to hang up a pair of molds horizontally by means of a simple constitution.
Furthermore, it is a further object of this invention to enable to restrain the molds from opening when they are hung up, by means of a simple constitution.


A method and apparatus for refreshing stale materialized views is provided. Prior to executing a query to refresh a materialized view from data in the base tables of the materialized view, the query is rewritten to refresh the materialized view from data in one or more other materialized views. To take advantage of the efficiency gained by refreshing a materialized view based on another materialized view, a refresh sequence is established based on the dependencies between materialized views in the database system. The dependencies indicate which materialized views can be refreshed from which other materialized views. When a materialized view can be refreshed based on any one of a number of eligible materialized views, the refresh sequence may additionally take into account the relative benefit associated with refreshing the materialized view with each of the eligible materialized views.

In a database management system (DBMS), data is stored in one or more data containers, each container contains records, and the data within each record is organized into one or more fields. In relational database systems, the data containers are referred to as tables, the records are referred to as rows, and the fields are referred to as columns. In object oriented databases, the data containers are referred to as object classes, the records are referred to as objects, and the fields are referred to as attributes. Other database architectures may use other terminology.
The present invention is not limited to any particular type of data container or database architecture. However, for the purpose of explanation, the examples and the terminology used herein shall be that typically associated with relational databases. Thus, the terms "table", "row" and "column" shall be used herein to refer respectively to the data container, record, and field.
In a database used for "data warehousing" or "decision support", it is common for identical or closely related queries to be issued frequently. For example, a business may periodically generate reports that summarize the business facts stored in the database, such as: "What have been the best selling brands of soft drinks in each of our sales regions, during the past six months?".
To respond to such queries, the database server typically has perform numerous joins because the database records that contain the information that is required to respond to the queries are often organized into a star schema. A star schema is distinguished by the presence of one or more relatively large tables and several relatively smaller tables. Rather than duplicating the information contained in the smaller tables, the large tables contain references (foreign key values) to rows stored in the smaller tables. The larger tables within a star schema are referred to as "fact tables", while the smaller tables are referred to as "dimension tables".
When a database management system contains very large amounts of data, certain queries against the database can take an unacceptably long time to execute. The cost of executing a query may be particularly significant when the query (which takes the form of a "SELECT" statement in the SQL database language) requires joins among a large number of database tables.

Method and apparatus for efficiently refreshing sets of summary tables and materialized views in a database management system


A printed circuit board trace coupling system for providing high voltage isolation includes a driving circuit, a coupling transformer including a printed circuit board trace, and a receiving circuit.

The present invention relates to the field of signal coupling, receiving, and driving techniques, and more particularly to transmitting timing, triggering, front-stage-driving, and last stage driving signals used for driving MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Silicon Field Effect Transistor) where high voltage isolation between the signal source and the MOSFETs is needed.
Conventional devices used for coupling signals in high voltage isolation applications include optical couplers and transformers. An optical coupler includes a light emitter and receiver. The former converts electric signals into light signals and the latter converts the light signals back to electric signals. In this manner the coupling function is completed.
A transformer device converts an electric signal into a magnetic signal by sending a voltage to a first coil winding, conventionally called the primary winding. The magnetic field is then picked up by a second coil winding, conventionally called the secondary winding, and converted back into an electric signal, which is similar to the original signal sent to the primary winding.
The optical coupler can provide high voltage isolation because the light can travel across a free space, such as air, or an optically transparent but electrically isolative material, such as clear plastic and glass. However the optical coupler can only couple signals having a low power level, such as a few milliwatts. When high power signal coupling is needed, the optical coupler becomes very expensive and high cost lasers have to be used as the emitter and high cost large area photo-detectors have to be used as the receiver for sending and receiving the high power signals respectively.
The transformer device can provide high power coupling, or high power transmission, with high voltage isolation capability. However both the cost and size of the transformer device increase dramatically as the power increases. Furthermore, when low frequency signals need to be coupled, or transmitted, the transformer device size increases compared with that required for transmitting a same power signal having a higher frequency. Keeping the size of the transformer device constant, the level of power that can be transmitted is lower for signals of low frequencies and the efficiency lower.
There is therefore a need in the art for a low cost high voltage isolation device capable of transmitting pulse signals having a wide range of pulse widths with a short time delay and precise timing.

PCB trace coupling system for providing high voltage isolation


An improved technique and associated apparatus for timing calibration of a logic device is provided. A calibration test pattern is transferred to a logic device first at a data rate slower than normal operating speed to ensure correct capture of the pattern at the device to be calibrated. Once the pattern is correctly captured and stored, the test pattern is transmitted to the logic device at the normal operating data rate to perform timing calibration. The improved technique and apparatus permits the use of any pattern of bits as a calibration test pattern, programmable by the user or using easily-interchangeable hardware.

The present invention relates to calibrating timing of command and data signals on data paths of logic devices, e.g. memory devices, and in particular to using a first data rate slower than the devices"" normal operating rate to transfer a calibration bit pattern between logic devices during calibration.
Memory devices are constantly evolving in the directions of faster speed and higher memory density. To this end, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices have evolved from simple DRAM devices to EDO to SDRAM to DDR SDRAM.
One characteristic of modern memory technology is that it may use both the positive- and negative-going edges of a clock cycle to READ and WRITE data to the memory cells and to receive command data from a memory controller. DDR SDRAM represents one example of a modern memory technology that utilizes both positive- and negative-going edges of a clock cycle.
Because of the required high speed operation of contemporary memory devices, system timing and output signal drive level calibration at start-up or reset is a very important aspect of the operation of such devices to compensate for wide variations in individual device parameters or within the system design itself.
One of the several calibration procedures which is performed in current memory devices is a timing synchronization of a clock signal with data provided on an incoming command/address path and on a data path DQ so that incoming data is correctly sampled and outgoing data is correctly timed. Currently, a memory controller achieves this timing calibration at system initialization (start-up or reset) by sending continuous transitions on the clock path and transmitting a 15 bit repeating pseudo random SYNC sequence xe2x80x9c111101011001000xe2x80x9d on the READ/WRITE data path DQ and the command/address path. The memory device determines an optimal internal delay for the clock path relative to arriving command/address and data signals to optimally sample the known bit pattern. This optimal delay is achieved by adjusting the timing of the received data bits to achieve a desired bit alignment relative to the clock. This is accomplished by adjusting a relative timing of clock and data signals, for example setting delay values in the clock or data signal paths, until the received data is properly sampled by the clock and recognized internally. Once synchronization has been achieved, that is, the proper timing on the receiving data or clock paths have been set, the memory controller stops sending the SYNC pattern and the memory device, after all calibrations are completed, can be used for normal memory READ and WRITE access.
To perform the above-described calibration operations, each memory device in a current memory system typically contains means for generating the calibration bit pattern internally, independent of the memory controller. During calibration, the data incoming on a data path under calibration is compared to the internally-generated calibration pattern at each memory device. Internal generation of the calibration bit pattern requires that each memory device contain the additional circuitry needed for pattern generation. For example, each memory device may include the four-bit shift register circuit illustrated in FIG. 6. Because of circuit die size constraints, it would be preferable to simplify the circuitry by avoiding the requirement of generating the calibration bit pattern at every memory device.
While the timing calibration described above, which is conducted at start-up and reset, has been found to perform adequately in most circumstances, there is a problem in that as the data rate of memory devices is increased, the timing margin for data capture is decreased. The timing margin for data capture is the amount of time that valid data is available on the bus or at a device for use during system operations after practical system effects are introduced. For example, for a data transfer rate of 1 GHz (1xc3x97109 Hz), the maximum possible data valid time is only 1 ns (1xc3x9710xe2x88x929 seconds). When practical system effects are introduced, such as accounting for device setup and hold, the timing margin for data capture is even less, for example, a timing margin of less than 100 ps (100xc3x9710xe2x88x9212 seconds) is typical.
This timing margin can be increased by precisely calibrating and aligning the received data with the data capture clock. Improved calibration techniques can reduce the total data arrival time uncertainty that must be accounted for from a theoretical maximum to the actual timing uncertainty observed at the device under actual operating conditions. This reduction in uncertainty results in a corresponding decrease in the timing budget allocated to uncertainty and thus an increase in the timing margin for data capture.
One area in which calibration and alignment with the data capture clock may be improved is in the bit composition of the calibration test pattern. Current systems customarily use a single calibration bit pattern for all calibration operations. Because the same calibration bit pattern may be used for multiple circuit configurations, the bit pattern is designed to test a variety of circuit conditions, although the exact conditions to be encountered are largely unknown at the time of circuit design. The bit pattern may be selected to test a variety of circuit characteristics that affect timing, including static layout length differences, input path delay differences, intersymbol interference, and simultaneously switching outputs.
Moreover, the calibration bit pattern currently in use, for example the 15-bit pseudo random pattern, may not perform optimally for modern high performance memory systems. Because current memory devices capture incoming data on both positive and negative going transitions of the clock signal, even when timing calibration is achieved it may not be clear if alignment was achieved on a positive going or negative going clock edge. That is, the 15-bit synchronization pattern lacks any timing signature. If, for example, synchronization was achieved on the negative going edge of a clock signal when the circuitry is designed on the assumption that synchronization is achieved on a positive going edge, when data is later sampled during memory access the data sampling may be off by one bit. Thus, calibration may be achieved in the wrong phase of the clock signal, leading to incorrect sampling of the data during memory access operations, or requiring additional complicated circuitry to ensure that incoming data is synchronized to the proper phase of the clock.
Therefore, there is a need and desire for an improved calibration technique implementable in logic using simplified circuitry that is capable of compensating for a variety of circuit characteristics that may affect timing.
An improved technique and associated apparatus for timing calibration of a logic device, e.g. a memory device, is provided. A calibration bit pattern is transferred to a logic device first at a data rate slower than normal operating speed to ensure correct capture of the bit pattern at the device to be calibrated. Once the pattern is correctly captured and stored, a calibration signal containing the calibration bit s pattern is transmitted to the logic device at the normal operating data rate and timing calibration at the logic device can occur.
The improved technique and apparatus permits the use of any pattern of bits as a calibration test pattern, programmable by the user or using easily-interchangeable hardware. The test bit pattern can thus be adapted to provide a better stimulus for characterizing the timing performance of a particular system or the expected data patterns that the data paths are expected to encounter.
Because the logic for generating the calibration test pattern is no longer required to be included in each system device (i.e., each logic device no longer requires a shift register for generating a local pseudo-random pattern), the invention simplifies the logic and thus reduces die size overhead for many logic devices. The resulting die size savings desirably reduces the cost and complexity of system devices.

Method of timing calibration using slower data rate pattern


An apparatus for configuring CAS line signaling using plain text strings includes at least one configurable CAS plain text line signal template having corresponding associated CAS signal parameters, a memory to store the configurable CAS plain text line signal template, a trunk controller to receive and transmit the CAS signal parameter, and a processor to match and interpose the configurable CAS plain text line signal template with the associated CAS parameters. The method for configuring CAS line signaling using plain text strings includes defining in a call processor at least one CAS plain text line signal template having corresponding signaling parameters, detecting the signaling parameters, selecting the CAS plain text line signal template using the signaling parameters to create a CAS protocol, and executing the CAS protocol.

This invention relates to a method and system to dynamically configure signal protocols used in public switching telephone network processing devices.
Public Switching Telephone network (xe2x80x9cPSTNxe2x80x9d) devices such as Plain Old Telephone Switch (xe2x80x9cPOTSxe2x80x9d), Carrier Switches, Private Branch Exchange switches, Network Access Servers (xe2x80x9cNASxe2x80x9d), and the like are all interconnected using Time Division Multiplexed (xe2x80x9cTDMxe2x80x9d) connections to transmit data such as speech between them. Furthermore, these network devices require a means to communicate between the various endpoints to accurately manage the actual voice or data payload on each of the connections. This call management is achieved with the use of signaling to relay call information between the different endpoints. This signaling is in addition to the actual voice or data payload that is transferred over the telephone network. For example, this signaling may transfer the phone numbers used in the telephone network to set up the connection links within the network to interconnect two or more end user devices, such as phones, together. In other examples, this signaling is used to inform the other endpoint of resource availability.
Various signaling protocols and architectures are used to interconnect devices within the PSTN. Over the years, little has changed with respect to the actual voice or data payload transfer over a DSO timeslot on a TDM trunk. However, the signaling between the various PSTN devices has evolved substantially. Originally, the first digital signaling was designed to be in-band and share the DSO timeslot with the actual voice or data payload. These TDM trunks were known as Pulse Trunk Signaling (xe2x80x9cPTSxe2x80x9d) trunks. Various flavors of PTS trunks have evolved in different geographical markets to address national regulatory and market requirements. Years later, new signaling architectures evolved to address architectural problems with PTS trunks caused due to the fact that the signaling was still in-bank, such as blue-box fraud. Prime Rate Interface and Basic Rate Interface trunks evolved whereby a dedicated timeslot within a trunk was used for signaling; thus, not having to share a common medium with the voice and data payload such as PTS trunks. Newer signaling architectures such as Signaling System 7 (xe2x80x9cSS7xe2x80x9d) have further changed the PSTN architecture whereby the signaling is being done separately from the trunks transmitting the voice and data payloads, giving more connectivity and management functionality than previously possible at a network wide level. All the signaling formats are predominately standardized and do not deviate from the standard. Furthermore, flavors of all these trunk types coexist in the current PSTN architecture. Although PTS trunks are considered old technology, their low lease access rates make them very popular in many PSTN architectures. This invention will concentrate on a PTS trunk flavor used within PSTN known as Channel Associated Signaling (xe2x80x9cCASxe2x80x9d).
There exists a number of different CAS signaling types. However, each signaling type has a line or supervisory signaling component, and optionally an address component. The line or supervisory signaling initiate and terminate calls, and the address component which is for communicating the Dialed Number Identification Service (xe2x80x9cDNISxe2x80x9d) and Automatic Number Identification (xe2x80x9cANIxe2x80x9d). This invention will focus on the line or supervisory signaling.
In some equipment, the line signaling components are hard-coded within the software with knobs available on commonly customized parameters. However, there are still cases where the existing knobs do not provide the flexibility required and a development cycle is required to modify the line signaling state machine. To make things more complicated, the line signaling state machine has been implemented in different ways for different platforms in both international and national areas.
Hence, there exists a need for a configurable interface to CAS line signaling to customize or even write entirely new line signaling types in the field so that equipment manufacturers do not need to rewrite software for each platform.
An apparatus for configuring CAS line signaling using plain text strings includes at least one configurable CAS plain text line signal template having corresponding associated CAS signal parameters, a memory to store the configurable CAS plain text line signal template, a trunk controller to receive and transmit the CAS signal parameter, and a processor to match and interpose the configurable CAS plain text line signal template with the associated CAS parameters. The method for configuring CAS line signaling using plain text strings includes defining in a call processor at least one CAS plain text line signal template having corresponding signaling parameters, detecting the signaling parameters, selecting the CAS plain text line signal template using the signaling parameters to create a CAS protocol, and executing the CAS protocol.

Configurable channel associated signaling (xe2x80x9cCASxe2x80x9d) line signaling using plain text strings


A dynamic semiconductor memory has memory cells disposed in a cell field. The memory cells are connected to master word lines by way of a word line driver for driving the memory cells. As a rule, all the master word lines that are located in the segmented cell field are inactive, with at most one master word line being active. The master word lines are switched to an active low state, and a portion of the master word lines in a region of the cell field are inverted by a control device located at the beginning of the cell field. The deactivated master word lines in the cell field are at a ground potential, which, in view of the large number of existing master word lines, advantageously substantially reduces the leakage current that must be applied by the generators.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for driving memory cells of a dynamic semiconductor memory according to which the memory cells are configured in a cell field and are connected to an output of a word line driver by way of at least one segmented word line. The word line driver is controlled by a signal of a master word line. It is already known that, in memory modules such as dynamic random access memories (DRAMs) a plurality of word lines are spread over the entire surface in the cell field (array region) of the memory chip. The word lines are at a ground potential in a deactivated state. They can be driven by what are known as master word lines, which are usually at a high potential and are switched to ground potential, or 0 V, in an event of activation. Interposed between the master word line and the word line is a word line driver, which inverts the signal of the master word line, so that the corresponding word line switches to the high potential in the event of activation.
Given segmenting of a cell field, word line drivers are disposed in the word lines at regular intervals. The master word lines must then be extended to the individual word line drivers accordingly. The master word lines are usually led across the whole cell field in a separate metal level. For example, depending on the size of the semiconductor chip, 16,000 master word lines can be disposed across four quadrants. The master word lines must then run very close to one another owing to the tight space conditions. This creates the danger of unwanted shorts at adjacent lines because of particles.
Because all master word lines are at high potential in the deactivated state, a leakage current flows against ground, which can be large owing to the large number of master word lines, and which cannot be ignored.
Another disadvantage of this problem is that the leakage current has to be tapped from the operating voltage by the generators. In voltage boosting circuits such as pumps, the problem is amplified, because such circuits work at a very low level of efficiency for physical reasons, and therefore a still larger load current (for instance the input current of the pump is twice as high as the output current) must be supplied, which flows against ground as a wasted leakage current. This is unfavorable for capacitive, thermal, and economic reasons.
In the past, the above problems were avoided by not utilizing segmented word lines. But segmented word lines are becoming necessary with the progress of miniaturization of integrated circuits and with the increasing of their capacity, particularly in memory modules such as DRAMs.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a method for driving memory cells of a dynamic semiconductor memory and a circuit configuration that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art methods and devices of this general type, which reduces a load on a supply network that is caused by unwanted leakage currents in a dynamic semiconductor memory.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, in a dynamic semiconductor memory having memory cells configured in a cell field, a circuit configuration for driving the memory cells. The circuit configuration contains a master word line having a first part, a second part, and a third part, at least one segmented word line connected to the memory cells, and a word line driver having an output connected to the segmented word line and through the segmented word line to the memory cells. The word line driver is connected to and driven exclusively by the master word line. The word line driver is disposed in the cell field. A first control device is connected to the first part of the master word line and disposed outside of the cell field. The first control device has an output connected to the second part of the master word line. A second control device is connected to the second part of the master word line. The second control device is disposed in a region of the word line driver and connected to the word line driver through the third part of the master word line. The segmented word line, through the word line driver, is connectible to a supply voltage or a ground potential in dependence on a signal on the master word line. The master word line is switchable to a high logic state for activating the word line driver.
The relative advantage of the inventive method for driving the memory cells of the dynamic semiconductor memory is that the portions of the master word lines (inverted master word lines) which run in the cell field are at ground potential in the deactivated state. Only if one of the master word lines outside the cell field is switched to low does the relevant (selected) inverted master word line in the cell field get switched to high. Because this can only be a master word line and is only temporary, the emerging leakage current is extremely small, because the several remaining master word lines are still at ground potential, and therefore no leakage current can develop in those lines. Shorts to other metallization levels such as ground or Vbleq do not cause any long-term loading of the supply generators (Vpp generators) either. In addition, the useful current that must be applied by the generators (Vpp pumps) is substantially smaller and thus the input current of the pump can be reduced substantially, particularly given its poor performance. It is particularly advantageous that this circuit behavior can be achieved with a simple control circuit which is disposed at the beginning of the cell field and which inverts the signal of the master word line.
It is particularly advantageous that the control circuit is constructed as an inverter, with the signal at its input being tapped at the output of the inverter as an inverted signal.
In order to achieve these advantages, the word line drivers for each segmented word line must be moved into the cell field; preferably an additional control device is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the word line driver. That way, practically the entire plane of the master word lines is at ground potential in the deactivated state, and therefore the leakage current is minimal.
It is also advantageous that the additional control device re-inverts the inverted signal of the master word lines. In that way, the original control signal of the master word line is obtained for driving the word line driver, and the wiring of the remaining control logic, including the controlling of the selection transistors and memory cells, does not have to be changed.
With this configuration, the inverted signals are switched to low (ground) by deactivated master word lines and to high (Vpp potential) by an activated master word line in the cell field.
The two control devices are simply realized as gate circuits. These contain simple logical switching transistors such as FETs and are easy to integrate in the silicon chip.
An advantageous alternative solution is to effectuate the inverting of the signals by a one-bit counter. The advantage of the one-bit counter is that it is driven only with a short impulse, being edge-triggered, whereupon it flips into its output state and holds that until the next impulse. This is particularly advantageous for the additional control circuit with respect to minimizing leakage currents. The reason is that a possible leakage current to a neighboring master word line or ground can flow only as long as the drive pulse lasts.
It is also a particularly advantageous solution for the word line driver control to take into account the delays that occur based on the signal transit times through the gate circuits of the two control devices. Taking these delay times into account makes it possible to advantageously achieve an optimal synchronization of the control times for the word line drivers.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a method for driving memory cells of a dynamic semiconductor memory and a circuit configuration, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Method for driving memory cells of a dynamic semiconductor memory and circuit configuration


An improved hand-held laser device that can simultaneously provide multiple types of low level laser therapy treatments. The device enables laser light of different pulse widths, different beam shapes and spot sizes to be applied externally to a patient""s body. The device includes multiple laser sources. In the preferred embodiment, two semiconductor diode laser sources simultaneously provide two separate laser beams, one laser beam producing a line of continuous red laser light and the other producing a spot of pulsed laser light.

This invention relates generally to medical devices that employ lasers. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved hand-held laser light generator device.
Low energy laser therapy (LLLT) is used in the treatment of a broad range of conditions. LLLT improves wound healing, reduces edema, and relieves pain of various etiologies, including successful application post-operatively to liposuction to reduce inflammation and pain. LLLT is also used during liposuction procedures to facilitate removal of fat by causing intracellular fat to be released into the interstice. It is also used in the treatment and repair of injured muscles and tendons.
LLLT utilizes low level laser energy, that is, the treatment has a dose rate that causes no immediate detectable temperature rise of the treated tissue and no macroscopically visible changes in tissue structure. Consequently, the treated and surrounding tissue is not heated and is not damaged. There are a number of variables in laser therapy including the wavelength of the laser beam, the area impinged by the laser beam, laser energy, pulse width, treatment duration and tissue characteristics. The success of each therapy depends on the relationship and combination of these variables. For example, liposuction may be facilitated with one regimen utilizing a given wavelength and treatment duration, whereas pain may be treated with a regimen utilizing a different wavelength and treatment duration, and inflammation a third regimen. Specific devices are known in the art for each type of therapy.
Often it is desirable to treat a patient for multiple types of problems during a single treatment. Because specific therapies require different regimen, treating multiple problems currently requires multiple laser devices. It is desirable to provide a device that enables multiple types of treatments with a single device. It is also desirable to be able to provide multiple treatments simultaneously with a single device.
Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a laser therapy device that enables multiple types of treatments. It is another object to provide a single device that provides these treatments simultaneously. It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus that can simultaneously emit multiple beams of laser light. It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus that can simultaneously emit laser light in multiple different pulse widths. It is a further object of this invention to provide an apparatus that can simultaneously emit laser light in multiple beam shapes and spot sizes. It is a particular object of this invention to provide a hand-held therapeutic laser device to provide low level laser therapy which can be used to simultaneously facilitate liposuction, treat post-operative inflammation, and post-operative pain.
This invention is an improved hand-held laser device that can simultaneously provide multiple types of low level laser therapy treatments. The device enables laser light of different pulse widths, different beam shapes and spot sizes to be applied externally to a patient""s body. The device includes multiple laser sources. In the preferred embodiment, two semiconductor diode laser sources simultaneously provide two separate laser beams, one laser beam producing a line of continuous red laser light and the other producing a spot of pulsed laser light.


The invention comprises a measuring device for turbine packing rings which may be used for measuring the critical distance from the free ends of the packing ring teeth to the packing ring hook fit slot.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to measuring devices which may be fixed to a workpiece for measuring a specific distance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of measuring devices are available in the prior art. However, to my knowledge, no such devices are available for use with packing rings as used in turbines and the like for measuring the critical distance from the free ends of the packing ring teeth to the packing ring hook fit slot.


Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems, methods, and computer storage media for customizing a user agent profile for a mobile communications device. The mobile communications device communicates a request for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) compatible data. The request includes information about capabilities of the mobile communications device. The mobile communications device receives an options page that includes selectable options associated with the capabilities of the mobile communications device. Selectable options of the options page are selected to identify one or more preferences of a user of the mobile communications device. The mobile communications device communicates the selected options to be used for generating the customized user agent profile. The mobile device receives a target HTTP-compatible page that is a variation of the requested HTTP-compatible page, converted based on the customized user agent profile.

Typically, a mobile communications device has the capability of presenting an Internet page that includes a variety of elements. For example, the Internet page may include textual, graphic, audio, and video elements. Each of the elements that comprise the Internet page can be in a variety of file formats. For example, a graphic element can be in a jpeg or a gif file format, depending on the structure of the Internet page.
Traditionally, before the Internet page is presented on the mobile communications device, the elements of the Internet page are converted into file formats that are compatible with the mobile communications device. The decision as to which elements are converted and what file type is utilized in the conversion are determined based on a service provider or manufacturer supplied specification. The conversion of the Internet page is not based on the preference of the user, but instead on a specification associated with the particular model of the mobile communications device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Customizing a browsing experience on a mobile communications device


The invention provides a level shift circuit which uses a low supply voltage level shift circuit as a first level shift element and a high supply voltage level shift circuit as a second level shift element and which is configured to switch these level shift circuits in accordance with supply voltage. The low supply voltage level shift circuit is in an operating state with its power supply turned ON when supply voltage is low and in a shut-down state with the power supply turned OFF to ensure the breakdown voltages of the elements when supply voltage is high. The high supply voltage level shift circuit is in a shut-down state with its power supply turned OFF when supply voltage is low and comes into an operating state with the power supply turned ON while ensuring the breakdown voltages of elements when supply voltage is high.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for attaining high breakdown voltage in a level shift circuit without increasing the thickness of the gate oxides of the MOS transistors used therein, which circuit transmits a signal from its low supply voltage side to its high supply voltage side. More particularly, the invention relates to a technique suitably applicable to level shift circuits and semiconductor devices for use in, e.g., switching regulators and others.
2. Description of the Related Art
The level shift circuits, which have heretofore been developed, have such a configuration as shown in FIG. 13.
FIG. 13 shows one known level shift circuit that is cited in JP-A-2004-72829 (Page 11 and FIG. 6).
The known level shift circuit will be described with reference to FIG. 13.
In FIG. 13, numerals 76, 81 each designate an inverter; numerals 79, 80 designate a PMOS transistor (hereinafter referred to as a "PMOS"); numerals 77, 78 designate an NMOS transistor (hereinafter referred to as an "NOMS"); Vdd1 designates a first high potential side power supply; Vdd2 designates a second high potential side power supply; Vss1 designates a low potential side power supply; VIN designates a signal input terminal; and VOUT designates a signal output terminal.
In the known level shift circuit, the signal input terminal VIN is connected to the gate of the NMOS (78) and to the input terminal of the inverter (76) whose earth terminal is connected to the Vss1 and whose power supply terminal is connected to the Vdd1. The output terminal of the inverter (76) is connected to the gate of the NMOS (77). The PMOSs (79) and (80), whose sources are connected to the Vdd2, are interconnected, with the gates of the PMOS (79), (80) being connected to the drains of the PMOSs (80), (79) respectively. The drain of the PMOS (79) is connected to the Vss1 through the NMOS (77), and the drain of the PMOS (80) is connected to the Vss1 through the NMOS (78). The drain of the PMOS (80) is also connected to the input terminal of the inverter (81) whose earth terminal is connected to the Vss1 and whose power supply terminal is connected to the Vdd2. The output of the inverter (81) is connected to the signal output terminal VOUT.
This circuit is for level shifting an input signal VIN generated by a supply voltage [Vdd1−Vss1(GND)] to output an output signal VOUT whose amplitude differs from the input signal VIN, using a supply voltage [Vdd2−Vss1] that differs from the supply voltage [Vdd1−Vss1].
The level shift circuit shown in FIG. 13 is operable when the potential of the Vdd2 is lower than that of the Vdd1. However, if the Vdd2 becomes higher, a high potential difference [Vdd2−Vss1] is applied as the gate to source voltage VGS of the PMOS (79) and the PMOS (80) and therefore there is a need to increase the breakdown voltages (withstand voltages) of the elements. Generally, element breakdown caused by application of a high voltage across a gate and a source is avoided by increasing breakdown voltage by thickening the gate oxide of the element. However, thickening of the gate oxide is accompanied by an increase in the size of the element, which leads to not only an increase in the cost of the IC but also the problem that the threshold voltage Vth (that is, the operating voltage) of the MOS transistor increases and the inversion speed of the MOS transistor decreases.
To overcome the problem presented by the circuit shown in FIG. 13, a configuration such as shown in FIG. 12 is proposed by JP-A-2004-72829. FIG. 12 shows a known level shift circuit disclosed in JP-A-2004-72829 (Page 10, FIG. 1).
This known level shift circuit will be described with reference to FIG. 12.
Referring to FIG. 12, numerals 59, 73 each designate an inverter; numerals 68, 69 designate a PMOS; numerals 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 71, 72 designate an NMOS; numerals 66. 67 designate a drain high breakdown voltage NMOS transistor (hereinafter referred to as a "drain high breakdown voltage NMOS"); numerals 62, 70 designate a resistor, numeral 74 designates a first constant current circuit; numeral 75 designates a second constant current circuit; Vdd1 designates a first high potential side power supply; Vdd2 designates a second high potential side power supply; Vss1 designates a first low potential side power supply; Vss2 designates a second low potential side power supply; VIN designates a signal input terminal and VOUT designates a signal output terminal.
The drain high breakdown voltage NMOSs are NMOS transistors in which the drain has high breakdown voltage and therefore element breakdown can be avoided even if a high voltage is applied across the gate and drain or across the source and drain.
This circuit is intended to level shift the input signal VIN generated by a supply voltage [Vdd1−Vss1] to output the output signal VOUT, using a supply voltage [Vdd2−Vss2] that is higher in potential than the supply voltage [Vdd1−Vss1]. Herein, the output signal VOUT has higher central potential than that of the input signal VIN.
According to JP-A-2004-72829, the operating condition for the circuit shown in FIG. 12 is as follows.
The following description is written in Page 4, Paragraph No. 0009.
"The above supply voltage [Vdd2−Vss2] is substantially the same in potential difference as the supply voltage [Vdd1−Vss1 (GND)] (e.g., 10V-5V) of a logic system, but only the potential of [Vdd2−Vss2] is higher than that of [Vdd1−Vss1]"
The following description is written in Page 5, Paragraph No. 0016.
"the reference potential for the high potential side (lower supply voltage) Vss2"
According to this operating condition, the voltage of the Vdd1 (lower supply voltage) is the same as that of the Vss2 (reference potential for the high potential side). The supply voltage [Vdd2−Vss2] is substantially the same as the supply voltage [Vdd1−Vss 1] in potential difference but higher than the supply voltage [Vdd1−Vss1] only in potential. This indicates that the potential difference of the supply voltage [Vdd2−Vss1] needs to be substantially twice that of the supply voltage [Vdd1−Vss1]. The circuit shown in FIG. 12 operates on the condition that the potential of the Vdd2 is higher than that of the Vdd1.
The level shift circuit shown in FIG. 12 is comprised of:
a pair of input MOS transistors NMOS (60), NMOS (61) that receive, at their gates, an input signal VIN and its inversion signal respectively;
current mirror-connected load MOS transistors PMOS (68), PMOS (69) whose sources are connected to the Vdd2;
drain high breakdown voltage MOS transistors NMOS (66), NMOS (67) and current limitation MOS transistors NMOS (64), NMOS (65) for limiting the currents flowing in the NMOS (66), NMOS (67) respectively, the NMOS (66) being connected in series between the input MOS transistor NMOS (60) and the load MOS transistor PMOS (68) whereas the NMOS (67) is connected in series between the input MOS transistor NMOS (61) and the load MOS transistor PMOS (69);
a first constant current circuit (74) that determines the amount of electric current flowing in the current limitation MOS transistors NMOS (64), NMOS (65);
a current supply MOS transistor NMOS (71) that supplies electric current in order to prevent the drain potential of the drain high breakdown voltage MOS transistor NMOS (67) from excessively dropping;
a second constant current circuit (75) that determines the amount of electric current flowing in the NMOS (71); and
an inverter (73) that shapes the waveform of an output voltage to output the output voltage, the output voltage being generated at the drain of the load MOS transistor PMOS (69).
The sources of the NMOSs (60) and (61) are connected to the Vss1 and the input signal VIN is directly input into the gate of one of them. An inversion signal produced by inversion of the input signal VIN by the inverter (59) is input into the gate of the other NMOS, and the NMOSs (60), (61) are turned ON or OFF in accordance with the signal level of the input signal VIN.
The sources of the PMOSs (68), (69) are connected to the Vdd2, and the gate and drain of the PMOS (68) are connected together. The drain voltage of the PMOS (68) is applied to the gate of the PMOS (69).
The drains of the drain high breakdown voltage NMOSs (66), (67) are connected to the PMOS (68) side and the PMOS (69) side respectively. Their sources are connected to the NMOS (60) side and the NMOS (61) side respectively. The Vdd1 is connected to the gates of the NMOSs (66), (67) so as to apply voltage thereto. According to such NMOSs (66) and (67), even if high voltage is applied to their drains, the source potential is clamped to a clamp voltage (Vdd1−Vth) determined by the gate potential (Vdd1) and the threshold voltage Vth of the MOS transistors so that the high voltage is not applied to the elements NMOSs (64), (65), (60), (61) located on their source sides.
The NMOS (64) is connected in series between the NMOSs (60) and (66) whereas the NMOS (65) is connected in series between the NMOSs (61) and (67), and the NMOSs (64), (65) are current mirror-connected to the NMOS (63) that constitutes the first constant current circuit (74). When either the NMOS (60) or the NMOS (61) is in its ON state, the electric current flowing in its associated transistor NMOS (66) or NMOS (67) is limited to the amount of current determined by the first constant current circuit (74).
The first constant current circuit (74) is constituted by the NMOS (63) whose gate and drain are connected together and the resistor (62), the NMOS (63) and the resistor (62) being connected in series between the Vdd1 and the Vss1. The NMOS (71) is current mirror-connected to the NMOS (72) of the second constant current circuit (75) and feeds a current determined by the second constant current circuit (75) to an output node N11 when the potential of the output node 11 has dropped, so that the potential of the N11 is controlled to be prevented from becoming lower than the reference potential (lower supply voltage) Vss2 of the high potential side. As long as the potential of the N11 is prevented from becoming lower than the reference potential Vss2 by the current limitation with the NMOSs (64) and (65) or similar means, the NMOS (71) and the second constant current circuit (75) may be omitted. In the second constant current circuit (75), the resistor (70) and the NMOS (72) are connected in series between the Vdd2 and the Vss2. In the level shift circuit of the configuration described above, when the input signal VIN is at an H level, one (61) of the input NMOSs is turned ON so that current flows through the PMOS (69), the NMOS (67) and the NMOS (65), whereas the other NMOS (60) is turned OFF so that the electric current flowing in the PMOS (68), the NMOS (66) and the NMOS (64) is shut off. As a result, the potential of the N11 is brought into a Low state and the output signal VOUT of the inverter (73) becomes close to the level of the Vdd2.
On the other hand, when the input signal VIN is at an L level, one (61) of the input NMOSs is turned OFF so that the electric current flowing in the NMOSs (67) and (65) is shut off, while the other input NMOS (60) is turned ON so that electric current is allowed to flow in the PMOS (68), the NMOSs (66) and (64). Since the PMOS (68) and the PMOS (69) are current mirror connected, the drain voltage of the PMOS (69) enters an unsaturated region while charging the node connected to the N11 and, in consequence, the potential of the N11 becomes close to the level of the Vdd2 so that the output signal of the inverter (73) become close to the level of the Vss2.
The unsaturated region stated herein is a static characteristic of a MOS transistor designated by numeral 56 in FIG. 10, in which the drain to source voltage VDS is low, the drain current ID is low and the changes in ID relative to VDS are significant. Note that numeral 57 in FIG. 10 designates a saturated region.
In the level shift circuit of such a configuration, although a high voltage corresponding to the potential difference between the Vss1 and the Vdd2 is applied only across the gate and drain and across the source and drain of the NMOSs (66) and (67), element breakdown can be avoided because the drains of the NMOSs (66) and (67) have high breakdown voltages. More specifically, even if the level shifting amount of the level shift circuit increases, there is no need to increase the thickness of the gate oxides of the elements and therefore the area occupied by the circuit can be reduced and the operating speed can be increased as compared to the level shift circuit in which high breakdown voltage is ensured by thickening the gate oxides.
In the approach shown in FIG. 12, although high breakdown voltage can be ensured for the elements without increasing the thickness of the gate oxides, the Vdd2 does not operate at lower voltage than the Vdd1 so that low voltage operation cannot be performed. In addition, it has revealed the problem that in a configuration in which operation is performed by charging the input portion of the inverter (73), located in the last stage, with the current source, current consumption increases by increasing the operating speed.


A transmitter, a transmission system and a transmission method whereby AM-PM distortions can be compensated with high accuracy without affecting the functions of a predistortor, a ΔΣ modulator and so on. The transmitter includes: a baseband signal generation circuit that outputs the amplitude value and phase value of a baseband signal; a ΔΣ modulation circuit that performs a ΔΣ modulation of the outputted amplitude and phase values to output a pulse signal train; a power supply modulation circuit that supplies, to a pre-stage amplifier, a voltage determined in accordance with the outputted amplitude value; the pre-stage amplifier and a post-stage amplifier that amplify the outputted pulse signal train; and a filter circuit that generates an output signal from the pulse signal train as amplified and outputs the output signal. The power supply modulation circuit determines the voltage for canceling a phase error occurring in the post-stage amplifier.

A transmitter used for telecommunication and broadcasting apparatuses such as a mobile telephone system and a wireless LAN apparatus needs to maintain the waveforms of transmitted signals with high accuracy while keeping its power consumption low. In recent years research and development is underway concerning a digital transmitter employing a combination of a ΔΣ modulator and a Class-D amplifier, which is expected to be a high power efficiency transmitter. Modulation methods for modulation by a ΔΣ modulator of a digital transmitter include envelope ΔΣ modulation, lowpass ΔΣ modulation, and bandpass ΔΣ modulation. These are disclosed in NPL 1-3 and other literature. A digital transmitter employing a combination of a ΔΣ modulator and a Class-D amplifier is disclosed, for example, in PLT 1 and other literature.
A block configuration diagram of a wireless communication device disclosed in PTL 1 is illustrated in FIG. 12. A wireless communication device 900 illustrated in FIG. 12 includes a baseband signal generator 910, an up-converter 920, a Class-D amplifier 930 and a bandpass filer 940. The Class-D amplifier 930 includes a bandpass ΔΣ modulator 931, a drive amplifier 932, a switching voltage controller 933, and a Class-D amplification unit 934.
The wireless communication device 900 generates a baseband signal in the baseband signal generator 910, up-converts the generated baseband signal to a carrier frequency fc in the up-converter 920, and ΔΣ modulates the carrier frequency signal in the bandpass ΔΣ modulator 931 of the Class-D amplifier 930. The ΔΣ modified carrier frequency signal is amplified in the drive amplifier 932 and the Class-D amplification unit 934, and then restored in the bandpass filer 940 and transmitted to the outside as a transmission signal.
In the wireless communication device 900 of PTL 1, the switching voltage controller 933 controls the switching voltage threshold value of the Class-D amplification unit 934 at an optimal value, based on the effective power value of the input signal to the Class-D amplification unit 934. Therefore, even when the drive amplifier 932 is disposed anterior to the Class-D amplification unit 934, deterioration of the EVM (Error Vector Magnitude) of the transmitted signal is reduced.

Transmitter, transmission system, and transmission method


A printed wiring board is mounted with an electronic component which is provided with grooves at the opposite sides thereof. The grooves are constructed so that the electronic component can be mounted on the printed wiring board in either the vertical or horizontal directions. Preferably, the grooves have a cross-shaped configuration, one extending vertically and one extending horizontally. The grooves may be formed on tongue pieces projecting from the electronic component body. The groove may be provided with a resilient piece. Another groove may be provided on the body so as to be capable of changing the direction of terminals.

The present invention relates to an electronic component such as a switch, a connector, etc, and more particularly to improvements in an electronic component which is mounted on a printed wiring board.
There have been proposed many types of electronic components such as a switch, a connector, etc., which are to be mounted on a printed wiring board. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing examples of conventional switches of such a type. In FIG. 13, a switch generally designated by a which is exclusively provided for vertical use is mounted on a printed wiring board in a vertical direction, and a switch generally designated by b which is exclusively provided for horizontal use is mounted on a printed wiring board in a horizontal direction. The switch a comprises a switch body 11, a sleeve 12 attached to the body 11 at the top portion thereof and a switch lever 13 pivotally mounted within the sleeve 12. The body 11 is provided with a bracket 25 which covers the body 11. The bracket 25 has a plurality of downwardly extending pawl pieces 25a which are inserted into apertures 15c formed on a printed wiring board 15 and frictionally held therein. Furthermore terminals 16 of the switch a are inserted in the apertures 15c and provide electric connections. Thus, switch a is for vertically exclusive use so that the lever 13 is located above the body 11 when the switch a is mounted on the board 15. The switch b comprises a body 11, a sleeve 12 and a lever 13 similar to the switch a. However, in the case of the switch b, a metal mounting 24 is attached between the body 11 and the sleeve juxtaposed with each other. A plurality of pawl pieces 24a extend downward from the metal mounting 24 and are inserted into the apertures 15c of the board 15 to be frictionally held therein. Thus, the switch b is for exclusive horizontal use so that the lever 13 is located at the side of the body 11 when the switch b is mounted on the board 15.
Furthermore, as an example of a conventional switch, there has been proposed a structure in which a board is formed with a cut-out and an electronic component is attached to the cut-out portion. This structure is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Nos. 155774/1984 and 207515/1984 and the Japanese Utility Model Application No. 189556/1984, which all pertain to the same applicant as that of the present application.
However, the electronic components including central instruments of the above-mentioned prior art were for exclusive vertical or horizontal use and there is no electronic component which can be mounted on a board-in either the vertical or horizontal direction, if desired.

Printed wiring board mounted electronic component


A modular chute, down which to slide articles, that is made of: a a frame made of a rib, a bracket, a backbone member connected to either the rib or the bracket or to both the rib and the bracket, and a guide member connected to either the rib or the bracket or to both the rib and the bracket, and a curvilinear panel connected to the frame, and a lining disposed within the frame, where the lining is made from a plurality of sections.

Chutes and slides, which will be used interchangeably here, are well-known devices for moving a wide variety of articles from one location to another. Often, the articles located in the chute move from an upper location to a lower location, by sliding down the chute via the force of gravity. Mechanical, electrical and/or human means may also provide the necessary force to move the articles down the chute, in addition to gravity.
Chutes may be constructed of a wide variety of materials. Often the material from which a chute is constructed is a function of how it is to be used and the articles that are slid down the chute. By way of example only, chutes constructed of fiberglass are often used for relatively lightweight articles. It has been found that when heavy articles are slid on fiberglass chutes, the articles wear the fiberglass down. Gaps, holes and tears can develop in the fiberglass which may catch articles and prevent them from moving in the chute.
Fiberglass chutes also suffer from another disadvantage regardless of the kind of articles that are slid on them. Namely, the chutes must be created from molds. The molds are expensive and only an exact duplicate of the mold can be created. The molds cannot be readily adapted to accommodate even the smallest desired change in the chute.
It is also known to use steel, or other metals, to construct chutes. While these chutes often can accommodate heavier articles, they also suffer from several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that their components are generally welded together. When one component fails, is damaged, or in need of repair, the weld often results in much more than just the single component needing to be removed. Instead, in such a situation, sections adjacent the component must also be removed or are caused to be removed by the removed component; in some cases, the entire chute must be removed. Additionally, because chutes can be located in very hard to reach areas, welds make it impossible to remove individual sections and the entire chute must be removed. This results in the original investment in the chute being wasted or much greater expense to repair the chute being incurred.
All of the prior art chutes also suffer from another disadvantage. Namely, it is often desirable to use a chute for articles of different weights and sizes, all of which may have varying lubricities, and for those articles to travel along the chute at a predetermined rate. However, when a chute constructed of a single material, with a fixed shape and pitch, is used in a way that it was not designed for, it often results in the articles in the chute not moving as it should. The result can be a chute clogged with articles, damage to the chute or articles within it.
In view of just some of the mentioned disadvantages of the prior art chutes, it would be advantageous for a chute to be readily adaptable to articles of various sizes, shapes, and lubricities. It would also be advantageous for the rate at which the chute transports articles to be adaptable to the desired situation. It would also be advantageous for the chute to be readily repairable and to replace any portion easily and efficiently.

Chute for materials and method of making the same


Disclosed is a mold with sliders employed for molding a plastic product having a first lateral bulge and a second lateral bulge in different directions. The mold comprises a fixed half, an angle pin, a moving half, a main slider and a tilted slider. The angle pin comprises an angle pin body with two opposite forcing surfaces. The main slider comprises a tilted slide track corresponding to the second lateral bulge. A pin slot is formed on the main slider. Two weighted surfaces are formed on the main slider at the opposite two sides of the pin slot. The angle pin body can slidably dip into the pin slot and the driving guide slot. By acting on the tilted slider and then on the main slider with the angle pin body, the mold can respectively complete the procedure of pulling out laterally bulges aslant and horizontally.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a mold, and more particularly to a mold with sliders.
2. Description of Prior Art
Generally, a mold structure of using a slider to pull the core out is usual in injection mold. When the plastic product has one lateral bulge or several lateral bulges in the same direction, a mold structure with merely one general slider, the smooth mold release to pull the core out can be realized.
However, once the plastic product has lateral bulges in different directions, a mold structure with multiple independent sliders becoming necessary for the smooth mold to release for pulling the core out can be possibly achieved. Nevertheless, Interferences among different sliders frequently occur.


The present invention relates to a method for ensuring data consistency upon mapping of a hierarchical data format to a relational database management system.

The future of digital recording will be characterised by the preparation, presentation and archiving of added value data services, i.e. a recorder, like a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) for example, will store and handle additional information delivered by content providers like broadcasters or special services or even assembled by the user himself. Added value (metadata) is generated to give further information to the user. For example, added value may be a movie summary explaining the story, a listing of the actors etc. Also the provision of additional information facilitating navigation inside the movie constitutes added value. For example, a movie can be structured into sections, subsections etc. each having an individual title and possibly comprising further useful information.
For providing structural information and for transporting other metadata for multimedia objects like video or audio streams, an hierarchical data format is generally used. A well-known and widely accepted hierarchical data format is the extensible markup language XML. XML is a system for defining specialized markup languages that are used for transmitting formatted data. It is, therefore, also called a meta language, a language used for creating other specialized languages. XML data consists of text, which is organised in form of a plurality of descriptors. The text itself contains elements, attributes and content, i.e. the remaining text. Besides the use for multimedia objects, many other applications for XML are known.
It is to be expected that in the foreseeable future digital recorders will store quite a large amount of data in XML or another hierarchical data format in relational databases, since these databases are widely used and quite sophisticated. For storage the hierarchical data format has to be mapped to a relational database management system (RDBMS). Therefore, a method for mapping a hierarchical data format comprising descriptors to a relational database management system has been proposed in the co-pending European patent application 02017045.2. According to this method the descriptors are separated into portions of a common format, which are stored in relations in the relational database. The database model will be explained later on with reference to FIG. 4.
In XML a single document may contain elements and attributes that are defined for and used by multiple software modules. For such documents recognition and possible collisions have to be considered. The software modules need to recognize the elements and attributes, which they have to process, even if collisions occur when the same elements types or attribute names have been defined differently for another software module. This requires that the elements and attributes should have universal names with a scope extending beyond their containing document. For this purpose namespaces are used in XML. An XML namespace is a collection of names identified by a locator, i.e. a universal resource identifier (URI). For an unambiguous identification elements and attributes within the document are provided with a prefix. The prefix is separated from the element or attribute to which it refers by a separator, e.g. mw:author (prefix="mw", separator=":", element name="author"). Before such a prefix may be used, it has to be defined in the XML document:    <Section xmlns:mw="http://www.mw-homepage/mws-namespaces">            <mw:author>Winter et al.</mw:author>            </Section>
In this example the namespace declaration is initiated by the tag "xmlns", followed by the separator ":" and the URI "http://www.mw-homepage/mws-namespaces". However, since the prefixes may be chosen freely by anybody, with only a small number of constraints, conflicting definitions are likely to occur:    <Section xmlns:mw="http://www.mw-homepage/mws-namespaces">            <mw:title>Namespaces</mw:section>            /Section>    <Chapter xmlns:mw="http://www.another-mw-homepage/XML/ns">            <mw:section>Section 1</mw:section>            </Chapter>
In the above example two different locators are used with the same prefix. If both definitions were stored in a database the data in the database would be inconsistent.

Database model for hierarchical data formats

Abstract: According to the invention, a method for ensuring data consistency upon storage of a data item in a database, the data item having an identifier and a locator for linking the data item to a destination, whereby the identifier and the locator are stored in the database in addition to the data item, comprises the steps of:                checking (11) whether the current combination of identifier and locator has already been stored in the database, and using (12) the stored combination of the data item if this is the case,        in case the current combination of identifier and locator has not yet been stored in the database, checking (13, 15) whether either the identifier or the locator has already been stored in the database, replacing (14, 16) the current combination of identifier and locator with a univocal combination if this is the case, and storing (17) the univocal combination together with the data item, and        storing (17) the current combination of identifier and locator together with the data item else.


In an embodiment, an apparatus comprises an in-phase-quadrature (IQ) signal amplifier having an IQ baseband input, an IQ mixer input connected to the IQ signal amplifier, a carrier leakage detector connected to outputs of the IQ mixer, and a carrier-null offset signal generator connected to the carrier leakage detector. The IQ mixer is configured to be driven by an IQ carrier signal. The carrier leakage detector is configured to output an in-phase leakage level measurement and a quadrature leakage level measurement in the absence of an IQ baseband signal at the IQ baseband input. The carrier-null offset signal generator is configured to (i) inject an in-phase carrier-null offset signal based on the in-phase leakage level measurement and (ii) inject a quadrature carrier-null offset signal based on the quadrature leakage level measurement.

In a radio frequency (RF) transmitter, an IQ modulator is used for modulating source information from in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) signal components. Baseband I and Q signals are commonly used for modulation, as these signals or baseband waveforms are easier to manipulate as compared to a higher frequency or bandpass waveform signals. Translation from baseband signals to an RF bandpass signal is achieved by mixing the baseband IQ signal components with a reference signal (generated by a local oscillator (LO)) at a carrier frequency. The nonlinear mixing and summation of the two baseband IQ signals results in a modulated RF signal that may then be amplified and transmitted. Direct conversion transmitters use an LO synchronized to the exact frequency of the carrier in order to directly translate the baseband signals to RF frequencies.
Unfortunately, IQ modulators are susceptible to carrier leakage such that a significant amount of energy at the carrier frequency is present at the output of the transmitter. Carrier leakage can originate from DC offsets generated in the baseband source, or can be injected by baseband signal processing elements or imbalances within the mixers, any of which potentially impose unacceptable amounts of energy at the carrier frequency. Accordingly, there is a need for measuring and reducing the amount of carrier leakage.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Method and apparatus for reducing carrier leakage


A method for inhibiting metal dusting corrosion of surfaces exposed to supersaturated carbon environments comprising constructing said surfaces of, or coating said surfaces with a copper based alloy. The invention is also directed to a composition resistant to metal dusting.

The invention herein described, includes alloys which are resistant to metal dusting.
High temperature alloys which are Fe, Ni, or Co based are prone to a virulent form of corrosion known as metal dusting when subjected to environments which are supersaturated with carbon. The problem is generally encountered at temperatures ranging from 300-850xc2x0 C. Many processes of interest to the petrochemical industry which involve carbon-supersaturated environments, are limited by the lack of available reactor materials and heat exchanger materials that are resistant to metal dusting. Research has led to some understanding of the underlying mechanisms. For the Fe-based systems, the mechanism involves the initial formation of a metastable Fe3C carbide on the alloy surface in the carbon-supersaturated environments. Subsequently, graphite deposits on the metastable carbide whereby it is destabilized and decomposes to iron particles and carbon, thus triggering the corrosion process. For Ni based and Co based systems, while no metastable surface carbide forms, graphite deposition on the metal provides channels through which the metal can migrate out. In addition, carbon also supersaturates the metal and causes profuse graphite precipitation in the interior, thus leading to a breaking up of the bulk metal.
The carbon-supersaturated environment that is encountered in process streams consists of either hydrocarbon molecules or carbon monoxide. Of these, the latter is a more virulent metal dusting molecule. Heyse and coworkers have proposed carburization and metal dusting resistant coating systems that are applicable to hydroalkylation processes where hydrocarbon is the main corrosive medium. The general approach to control metal dusting is the use of alloys that can form protective surface oxide films in the environment involved. But in most currently available alloy systems, the break up of the protective surface oxide film leads to local metal dusting corrosion.
Current approaches to control metal dusting involve the use of H2S as a gas phase corrosion inhibitor, expensive high temperature alloys and tin based coatings for selected applications involving hydrocarbon corrosives (See for example, Heyse, et.al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,418). However, even the more expensive alloys are not fully metal dusting resistant. Coating systems, especially based on tin, have limited applications in predominantly hydrocarbon environments. The use of H2S necessitates clean up of the downstream process gas. Further, in many catalytic processes, H2S can be a catalyst poison. Thus, its use is rather limited.
Certain coating materials have been taught in the prior art. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,902 which teaches the use of Group VIB metals, specifically chromium for coating surfaces susceptible to carburization.
What is needed in the art are materials that are highly resistant to metal dusting corrosion in petrochemical processes where supersaturated carbon environments are present.

Metal dusting resistant copper based alloy surfaces

ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company