Systems and methods for the automated recording of time entries by a mobile device of interactions between a professional and other parties occurring on that device on behalf of a client of the professional are described. File information is automatically retrieved from a first server based on identifying information associated with an interaction, and the recording of the file number, as selected from candidates presented to the professional, along with the duration of the interaction, a description of the interaction and identifiers for the professional and the other party in a time entry that may then be buffered on the first server prior to transmission to a billing server. Encrypted sensitive information may be stored on the first server, which may thereby be operated by a third party and shared with other professionals.

Communications between professionals and their clients, or with others on behalf of clients, are frequently carried out on mobile hand-held devices, such as smart phones. This is typically done when a professional is out of the office and is without access to his or her time reporting system, so that the time spent on such communications may not be accurately recorded. Professionals often bill clients on the basis of the amount of time spent on activities on behalf of the client, and, as such, it is important that a professional accurately records as much of such time as possible.
Many systems have been developed to record professionals' time on a computer. Clients are generally assigned client numbers, and may also be assigned matter or file numbers for particular tasks. A typical time reporting system facilitates recording the amount of time a professional spends on a particular matter by recording, for each continuous activity performed on that matter, or for all such activities related to a matter performed in a day, the time spent along with the matter number and a description of the work performed. Such time records may be periodically transmitted to a billing system that incorporates into each client's bill a charge for the activity described in each time record based on the amount of time spent and the professional's billing rate.
Some systems have attempted to capture billable time while using a mobile device by the use of an application that resides on the mobile device and records the durations of calls. Such systems typically require the professional to manually enter client or file identification information into the mobile device. This can be difficult for professionals who deal with many clients or where clients may have many on-going matters. Some systems have attempted to address these problems by caching client or matter numbers, and associated descriptions, associated with particular telephone numbers or e-mail addresses on the mobile device. However this still requires the professional to enter the information into the mobile device initially, whenever any new matter arises and whenever an entry has been removed from the cache because of space limitations. Such systems also do not automate entry of a description of the interaction.
Some such prior art systems have provision for automatically transmitting time records back to a server. Recognizing that such transmissions may overtax the capacity of a professional firm's servers, some systems incorporate a third party server for collection of time records. This approach creates the problem of placing sensitive, confidential or privileged information in the hands of a third party.

Mobile device time tracking system and method


An apparatus for reducing procession of a gapless tubular printing blanket in an offset printing press caused by at least one fluid wave having a certain pressure trapped at an interface of the printing blanket and a blanket cylinder. The apparatus includes a blanket cylinder which is adapted to receive the printing blanket for mounting on its circumferential surface. The blanket cylinder has at least one path which connects an interface of the blanket cylinder and the printing blanket to a region of pressure lower than the pressure in the fluid wave. The path allows the fluid wave, which is trapped at the interface and advancing in front of a nip between the blanket cylinder and an adjacent cylinder, to escape to the region of low pressure.

In offset printing, printed images are transferred from printing plates mounted on plate cylinders to a moving web of material by transfer cylinders known as blanket cylinders. Typically, printing blankets are mounted on the blanket cylinders which have a rubber surface for transferring the printed images. Conventional printing blankets are rectangular in shape and mounted in axial gaps extending across the circumferential surface of the blanket cylinders. One problem with this design is that at high operational speeds the gap in the blanket cylinder causes vibrations in the printing press which have the effect of varying the optical densities of the printed image. There are a number of other problems associated with this design which affects the quality of the final printed product.
Many of these problems have been solved by making the printing blankets gapless and tubular in shape. However, this improved design has created several problems of its own.
To mount the tubular printing blankets, an air canal is provided at one end of the blanket cylinder. The canal supplies pressurized air radially outward through a plurality of passages. As a printing blanket is placed over the passages, the pressure from the exiting air radially expands the printing blanket enabling it to be axially mounted onto the circumferential surface of the blanket cylinder. Since the inner circumference of the printing blanket is slightly smaller than the outer circumference of the blanket cylinder, once the printing blanket is mounted it is stressed in tension by the blanket cylinder to provide a tight pressure relationship between the printing blanket and the blanket cylinder. This pressure relationship fixes the printing blanket on the blanket cylinder so that there is no relative movement therebetween during operation of the press.
A problem with this arrangement is that air gets trapped at the interface of the printing blanket and the blanket cylinder. During operation of the press this trapped air creates a continually advancing wave in front of a nip between the blanket cylinder and the cylinder against which it is pressed causing the printing blanket to bulge. This phenomena is known as printing blanket procession. It creates defects in the printed product by forming latent double images.
Several attempts have been made to reduce or eliminate blanket procession, but none have been successful. One attempted solution was to increase interference between the printing blanket and the blanket cylinder. Another was to change the material combination of the printing blanket and the blanket cylinder surface to a combination having higher coefficients of friction. Both of these attempted solutions failed, since the primary cause of procession does not involve slippage of the printing blanket relative to the blanket cylinder.
Another attempted solution was to decrease the normal forces between the blanket cylinder and its adjacent cylinders, i.e., the printing cylinder and impression cylinder or other blanket cylinder. Although this solution reduces the rate of procession, it also reduces the quality of print to an unacceptable level. Still another solution was attempted which involved mechanically fixing the printing blanket to the blanket cylinder. This attempt was also unsuccessful because the printing blanket was too thin to withstand the forces required to stop the procession, and hence the printing blanket would tear.
The deficiencies in each of these attempts are fundamental and cannot be eliminated.

Apparatus for reducing procession of a printing blanket


An aqueous or oil-based mixture containing a non-toxic, low pH, antimicrobial, acidic composition having a pH between approximately 0.5 and approximately 3.5 with and without a proppant is used as a subterranean well stimulation additive. Without a proppant, the LpHAC stimulation additive is used for acidization. In another embodiment, with a proppant, the LpHAC stimulation fluid is used in hydraulic fracturing. As a well stimulation fluid, it involves the injection of specially engineered fluids and other materials into the well bore at rates that actually cause the cracking or fracturing of the reservoir formation to create fissures or cracks in the formation to increase fluid flow of underground resources from the reservoir into the well bore.

Well Stimulation.
Oil and gas well stimulation plays a vital role in production operations. With oil and gas prices at all-time highs in 2008, it is imperative from an oil or gas company's perspective and a consumer's perspective that as much production as possible be safely extracted from the subterranean reservoir.
Natural production tendencies for wells are for the oil or gas production rates, and reservoir pressure, to be at its highest at initial production, and fall-off considerably as the well is produced. Typically, oil rates decline as water production increases causing the permeability of the reservoir to decrease, thereby reducing flow of fluid to the perforations in the casing of the well bore, driving up operating costs while revenue shrinks. This scenario continues until the well fails and/or becomes uneconomic to operate or repair. Thus, the purpose of oil or gas well stimulation is to increase a well's productivity by restoring oil production to original rates less normal decline, or to boost production above normal predictions.
Stimulation operations can be focused solely on the wellbore or on the reservoir, it can be conducted on old wells and new wells alike; and it can be designed for remedial purposes or for enhanced production. There are two main types of stimulation operations, matrix acidization and hydraulic fracturing.
Matrix acidization involves the placement of acid within the wellbore at rates and pressures designed to attack an impediment to production without fracturing or damaging the reservoir. Typically, hydrofluoric acid is used for sandstone/silica-based problems, and hydrochloric acid or acetic acid is used for limestone/carbonate-based problems. Most matrix stimulation operations target up to a ten foot radius in the reservoir surrounding the wellbore.
Hydraulic fracturing, which includes acid fracturing, involves the injection of a variety of fluids and other materials into the well at rates that actually cause the cracking or fracturing of the reservoir formation. The variety of material includes, but is not limited to, water, acid, special polymer gels, and sand. The fracturing of the reservoir rock and the subsequent filling of the fractured voids with sand ("proppant") or the creation of acid channels allows for an enhanced conduit to the wellbore from distances in excess of a hundred feet.
The following patents discuss methods and systems for stimulating oil or gas production from subterranean wells: U.S. Pat. No. 7,198,103 to Campbell, Method for Stimulating a Petroleum Well; U.S. Pat. No. 7,278,481 to Eken, Method and System for Producing an Oil and Gas Mixture through a Well; U.S. Pat. No. 7,360,595 to Zupanick et al., Method and System for Underground Treatment of Materials; U.S. Pat. No. 7,380,606 to Pursley et al., Composition and Process for Well Cleaning; U.S. Pat. No. 7,419,223 to Seams, System and Method for Enhancing Permeability of a subterranean Zone at a Horizontal Well Bore.
Collectively, the above references describe a variety of stimulants or well stimulation methods that are either oil based or use synthetic compositions injected into the well and recovered, when possible. Often the well stimulation additives and methods include the use of caustic, harsh acids, such as sulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid and the like or combustible or flammable liquids. The prior art stimulation additives are harmful to equipment, people who work in the industry, and create disposal hazards in the environment. Even more alarming are reports from landowners that hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells has allegedly contaminated underground drinking water because aquifers are known to exist in and around formations with fluid underground resources, such as, natural gas, oil and water.
There is a need for a well stimulation additive and method that is heat tolerant, not pressure sensitive, not harmful to the environment or health of human workers in the well drilling industry and, importantly, can be disposed of without detrimental environmental impact to animals, land or water. The present invention fulfills that need.
Stuck Drill Pipe
Another aspect of drilling oil and gas wells involves drilling through subterranean and geological formations wherein, specialized drilling fluids, referred to as "muds," are used to help maintain well control and to remove drill cuttings from the hole. The drilling pipe or string can become stuck in the hole, causing catastrophic delays in drilling, significant loss of time and money. There are a number of causes which may contribute to the stuck drill pipe problem including hole cave-in, blow-outs, mud or filter cake buildup in the bore hole. It is essential to free the stuck drill pipe as quickly as possible, with the least amount of down time and the least amount of damage to equipment, the environment and the operators.
Historically, either water-based muds (WBMs) or oil-based muds (OBMs) have been used for offshore wells. Recently, in response to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations and drilling-waste discharge requirements imposed by North Sea nations, the drilling industry has developed several types of synthetic-based muds (SBMs) that combine the desirable operating qualities of OBMs with the lower toxicity and environmental impact qualities of WBMs.
Each drilling fluid has positive and negative features. For example, on the positive side, water-based muds (WBMs) do not release free oil, are usually without toxic contaminants such as cadmium and mercury, are typically discharged at the well site and are widely used in shallow wells and in shallower portions of deeper wells; however, on the negative side, in deep or extended-reach wells, the performance of WBMs is often poor. Thus, for deep well intervals and complex drilling situations, oil-based muds (OBMs) and synthetic-based muds (SBMs) are needed for their superior performance.
The problem with OBMs is that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines prohibit release of free oil, as detected by the static sheen test, from drilling fluids and drill cuttings discharges. Thus, OBMs must be recycled and cannot be discharged on-site, so there is the added cost of hauling and disposing of wastes onshore and long-term liability concerns associated with onshore disposal sites. OBMs also pose greater risk to workers through skin irritation and the effects of inhalation. Thus, despite their unique and valuable properties widespread use of OBMs is severely limited.
With regard to synthetic-based muds (SMBs), the synthetic liquid forms the continuous phase, while brine serves as the dispersed phase. The synthetic based fluids are classified according to the molecular structure as, esters (synthesized from fatty acids and alcohols), ethers, usually synthesized from alcohols (U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,235 to Keener et al.), poly-alphaolefins (manufactured by the catalytic polymerization of linear alpha-olefins), olefin isomers (manufactured by selective isomerization of normal alpha-olefins) and other base compounds are reported.
An oil-based stuck pipe additive containing propoxylated C18-C32 alkanols, an oil-soluble emulsifier-wetting agent and if desired an imidazoline for high temperature emulsion stability is reported in U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,638 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,269 to Walker et al.
SBMs have a wide range of chemical properties, drilling performance and environmental impacts, advantages and disadvantages for drilling operations and disposal of cuttings. For example, SBMs have drilling and operational properties similar to OBM systems and are used where OBMs are commonly used in difficult drilling situations, such as, high downhole temperatures, hydratable shales or salt, where the properties of WMBs would limit performance. Experience has shown that SBMs have higher cost, superior drilling performance and lower environmental impact than OBMs. SBMs must be recycled, with only the cuttings and a small amount of associated drilling fluids being disposed of on-site, if EPA and other environmental regulations will permit. Since 1990, several low-toxicity, biodegradable SBMs have entered the market. However, restrictions on discharge of cuttings pose a barrier to their use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,992 to Lockhart describes a fluid for releasing stuck drill pipe that contains one or more carboxylic acids with specific chemical and physical properties.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,033,976 B2 to Guzman a fluid system additive for use in hydrocarbon exploitation used a biopolymer derived from at least one species of the banana family that allegedly reduces the costs and environmental effects of existing additives.
Nonetheless, a drilling mud or stuck pipe additive is still needed by the drilling industry that provides superior drilling performance, low environmental impact, no release of oil, reasonable cost, and no toxicity to man or the environment.
In addition, the drilling industry needs fluid compositions and methods for production operations and remedial operations of all kinds, throughout a well's life, including well stimulation to increase productivity. It is desirable that the fluid compositions and methods have low environmental impact, reasonable cost, little or no toxicity to man or the environment.
The present invention fulfills many of the needed attributes of a stuck pipe additive and provides a fluid system additive that supports and improves the efficiency of a water-based mud (WBM) system and a well stimulation system for the drilling industry.

Stuck pipe and well stimulation additive and method


A mobile phone (10) includes a display (14), an acceleration sensor (54), etc., and a displaying direction of the display (14) is set based on an inclination detected by the acceleration sensor. If the mobile phone (10) is rendered in a horizontal posture or approximately horizontal posture, an image imaged by a first camera module (50) is output so as to be subjected to face detection processing. If a face of a user is detected from the imaged image, a direction of the face is detected. When the face direction is detected, the displaying direction of the display (14) is set based on the face direction. An image is displayed on the display (14) in a displaying direction being set based on the direction of the face of the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a controlling method of a displaying direction, and more specifically a mobile terminal that the displaying direction of a display is changed, and a controlling method of a displaying direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a mobile terminal in which a displaying direction is changed is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open No. 2008-131616 [H04M 1/00, H04M 1/725, H04Q 7/38, H04Q 7/32] laid-open on Jun. 5, 2008. A mobile terminal device in this related art comprises a display, an acceleration sensor portion, etc., and based on a rotating direction and a rotating angle of the mobile terminal device, being output from the acceleration sensor portion, a displaying direction of a content is automatically rotated so as to be matched with a displaying screen of the display.

Mobile terminal and controlling method of displaying direction


A battery temperature rise causing system has a converting unit for converting voltage of electric power held in one of a rechargeable battery and an accumulator and applies the converted voltage to the other one, and a control unit controlling the converting unit to alternately perform first transfer of electric power from the battery to the accumulator and second transfer of electric power from the accumulator to the battery while changing the first transfer for the second transfer each time the battery voltage reaches a lower limit and changing the second transfer for the first transfer each time the battery voltage reaches an upper limit, and to increase temperature of the battery due to heat generated by electric current flowing through the battery during the electric power transfer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for rapidly causing a temperature rise in a battery of a hybrid vehicle or an electric car, and more particularly to the system for rapidly causing a temperature rise in the battery while assuring the safety of the battery and the system for rapidly causing a temperature rise in the battery while keeping the voltage of electric power, applied from the battery to an electric motor, at a value required to drive the vehicle or car at a desired speed.
2. Description of Related Art
A voltage converting device mounted on a hybrid vehicle or an electric car rapidly increases the temperature of a rechargeable secondary battery. This device is, for example, disclosed in Published Japanese Patent First Publication No. JP2005-312160.
In this device of the Publication, a temperature sensor detects a temperature of a direct-current (dc) power source. When the source temperature is lower than a reference value, the device performs a temperature increasing control for the source. More specifically, a control unit controls a boost converter to repeatedly perform a voltage increasing operation and a voltage dropping operation. In the voltage increasing operation, electric power is sent from the power source to a capacitor through resistors of the power source. In the voltage dropping operation, electric power is sent from the capacitor to the power source through the resistors. Therefore, the temperature of the source heated by the resistors is increased. When the source temperature exceeds the reference value, the temperature increasing control is stopped, and the control unit controls the boost converter to perform a normal operation. In this normal operation, the voltage increasing operation, the voltage dropping operation or repetition of the increasing and dropping operations is performed. The voltage of the electric power accumulated in the capacitor is applied to the motor as a driving voltage, required to drive the motor at a desired speed.
However, when a rechargeable battery such as a lithium-ion rechargeable battery or the like is used as the dc power source, the internal resistance of the battery is increased during a low temperature period of time in which the atmospheric temperature is, for example, lower than the freezing point. Therefore, when large electric current flows through the battery at a low frequency during the voltage rising and dropping operations repeatedly performed, a change in the voltage of the battery is increased. In this case, the battery voltage sometimes exceeds its upper limit or becomes lower than its lower limit. Therefore, it is difficult to rapidly increase the battery temperature while assuring the safety of the battery (first drawback of the voltage converting device).
For example, in the case of the lithium-ion rechargeable battery, when the battery is overcharged so as to exceed the upper limit of the battery voltage, electrolytic solution of the battery is sometimes oxidized near the positive electrode of the battery, the crystal structure of the positive electrode is sometimes broken or damaged, and lithium is sometimes deposited on the negative electrode of the battery. In contrast, when the battery is over-discharged so as to become lower than the lower limit of the battery voltage, copper composing the negative electrode is sometimes dissolved away by the electrolyte. In the same manner, any rechargeable battery other than the lithium-ion rechargeable battery is also damaged when being overcharged or over-discharged.
Further, the driving voltage applied from the capacitor to the motor is changeable. When the engine of the vehicle or car starts driving or when the motor is operated to run the vehicle or car at a high speed, this driving voltage is sometimes increased to the maximum value such as 650 V. In this situation, when the temperature increasing control is performed, the voltage of the capacitor is considerably decreased during the voltage drop operation to be lower than the required driving voltage, and a voltage lower than the driving voltage, which is insufficient to drive the motor, is undesirably applied to the motor. Therefore, it is difficult to generate a driving torque, required to start the running of the vehicle or car or to run the vehicle or car at a desired speed, in the motor (second drawback of the voltage converting device).

System for causing temperature rise in battery


A maneuvering drive for a trailer includes a fastening means for fastening to the trailer, a carrier movable relative to the fastening means, a drive motor held by the carrier, a drive roller rotatable drivable by the drive motor and a braking means for braking a rotary movement of the drive roller. The drive motor and the braking means are arranged coaxially to each other. In the flux of force between the drive motor and the drive roller a transmission device is provided, which has no self-locking feature.

Trailers usually are towed by tractors. It is known, for example, that a passenger car can tow a caravan. When the trailer is removed from the tractor, it mostly is pushed into the final position by hand. Nowadays, however, there are more and more offered trailers in the caravan sector, which due to their size and hence there weight only can be shifted by hand with great effort. Therefore, maneuvering or auxiliary drives have been developed, which provide for shifting or turning a trailer even without tractor with the aid of a motor.
EP 1 714 858 A1 describes a maneuvering drive for a vehicle trailer with unilaterally supported drive roller. The maneuvering drive includes a carrier movable relative to a chassis of the trailer, which carries a drive motor and a drive roller. A moving mechanism serves for moving the carrier between a rest position, in which the drive roller is separated from a wheel of the trailer, and a drive position in which the drive roller is pressed against the wheel of the trailer. The drive motor drives the drive roller via a transmission.
From DE 20 2009 001 675 U1 a maneuvering drive with a braking means is known. The braking means acts in a transmission which transmits the drive power of two drive motors to the drive roller. The construction of the maneuvering drive requires considerable installation space.
From EP 2 208 661 A1 a maneuvering drive is known, in which both the drive motor and the transmission are arranged inside the drive roller. The drive motor can be a brushless electric motor. The construction of the maneuvering drive is very compact, but requires quite a considerable technical effort.
Due to the limited space available on the bottom side of a trailer, in particular in the region of the trailer wheels or wheelhouses, a maneuvering drive is desirable, which only makes minimal demands on the required installation space.
It is the object underlying the invention to indicate a maneuvering drive for a trailer, which provides for a simple and yet compact construction.


A switch machine that includes a first relay having first normally open contacts and first normally closed contacts provided in the normal motor connection path and a second relay having second normally open contacts and second normally closed contacts provided in the reverse motor connection path. The normally open and closed contacts of each relay are associated in pairs and the first relays are structured such that each normally closed contact and the corresponding normally open contact cannot be simultaneously closed. Also, a method of protecting a motor of a switch machine that includes integrating a current being drawn by the motor and opening a motor circuit that includes the motor if the integrated current exceeds a threshold.

Switch machines are used to move a portion of track at a switch point in a railway system to switch a train from one track to another. It is commonplace for personnel controlling switch machines to be located hundreds or even thousands of miles away from the locations of switch points at which the switch machines are installed such that they cannot observe the operation of the switch machine with their own eyes. Such personnel must remotely control such switch machines via control signals sent to those locations, and they must rely on indicator signals sent back from sensors at those locations to tell them when a switch machine has completed a given track switching operation.
Such remote operation, therefore, makes the reliability of switch machines and the ability to be certain of the status of the tracks at switch points at any given time of great importance. Of all of the possible scenarios for a malfunction of a switch machine, the one that railroad operators most wish to avoid is a control malfunction causing the switch machine to suddenly change the position of a portion of track at a switch point just at the moment where a train is approaching the switch point such that it is too late for the train to stop before reaching the switch point with the result that the train is derailed.
As is known in the art, electromechanical switching devices (vital relays or contactors) are used for the control of switch machines. These devices are of such a design and construction to preclude malfunction and related movement of points. Erosion of contacts in a relay employed in current switch machines can occur when arcing takes place between a moving contact and a stationary contact as the moving contact moves into or out of engagement with the stationary contact. Contact erosion is the result of there being a large amount of electrical current being switched by the relay, which is the case in a switch machine since the motor required to move a portion of track between two switch positions is typically a large motor requiring a great deal of power. With current state of the art there is no mitigation of arcing and resultant contact erosion and thus the switching devices must be replaced periodically. However, the controls are consistent with prevention that could cause the points to move opposite to the intended direction. Although indicator lights at the switch point will warn the train engineer operating the train that the switch point has suddenly started moving the portion of track again, trains are typically unable to stop very quickly, and the train engineer may not be able to stop his train soon enough to avoid derailment or collision. Therefore it is imperative to maintain that security with any new control scheme.
Another issue affecting reliability of switching machines is an occasion in which the movement of a portion of track from one switch position to another cannot be completed because of either a mechanical malfunction or an obstruction preventing the portion of track from moving to the new switch position. In such situations, there is the risk of damaging the motor of the switch machine if the motor is allowed to continue struggling to move the portion of track. It is typical to employ a second relay configured to cut the power to the motor in such a circumstance. A resistor with a high temperature coefficient is coupled in parallel with the actuating coil of the second relay that causes the second relay to trip in response to the motor suddenly drawing more current for a protracted time. Such a use of a relay is effective, but adds considerably to the cost of the switching machine.


A torque angle and peak current detector for a three-phase synchronous motor utilizes a phase-locked loop to generate a digital stator field position signal phase locked to the stator current. The phases of digital -sine and cosine reference signals generated from the field position signal are compared with x and y stator current component signals in multiplying digital to analog converters to generate a phase error signal which is driven to zero with the reference signals in quadrature with the current component signals at phase lock. The reference signals are also multiplied by in-phase current component signals and the products are summed to generate the peak current signal. A digital rotor angle position generated by a resolver and an analog to digital converter is subtracted from the digital field position signal to generate the torque angle signal.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a detector which generates an electrical signal representative of the instantaneous angle of the torque generated by a synchronous motor, and which, in addition, generates a signal representative of the magnitude of motor current which can be used together with the torque angle to determine the torque.
2. Background of the Invention
In many synchronous machine control applications it is useful to know the torque angle on a dynamic basis. It is known to measure torque with an electromechanical torque transducer. However, such devices utilize a strain gauge which produces a low level signal. In addition, the electromechanical torque transducer is not very accurate and due to mechanical torque transients has a narrow bandwidth response.
There is a need therefore for an improved sensor for dynamically measuring torque in a synchronous motor.
There is a further need for such a sensor with a wide bandwidth.
There is also a need for such a system which provides a dynamic reading of the torque angle.
There is an additional need for such a sensor which provides a dynamic wide bandwidth signal representing the magnitude of the multiphase current applied to the stator of the synchronous motor.

Torque angle and peak current detector for synchronous motors


Microelectronic imagers, methods for packaging microelectronic imagers, and methods for forming electrically conductive through-wafer interconnects in microelectronic imagers are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a microelectronic imaging die can include a microelectronic substrate, an integrated circuit, and an image sensor electrically coupled to the integrated circuit. A bond-pad is carried by the substrate and electrically coupled to the integrated circuit. An electrically conductive through-wafer interconnect extends through the substrate and is in contact with the bond-pad. The interconnect can include a passage extending completely through the substrate and the bond-pad, a dielectric liner deposited into the passage and in contact with the substrate, first and second conductive layers deposited onto at least a portion of the dielectric liner, and a conductive fill material deposited into the passage over at least a portion of the second conductive layer and electrically coupled to the bond-pad.

Microelectronic imagers are used in digital cameras, wireless devices with picture capabilities, and many other applications. Cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), for example, are incorporating microelectronic imagers for capturing and sending pictures. The growth rate of microelectronic imagers has been steadily increasing as they become smaller and produce better images with higher pixel counts.
Microelectronic imagers include image sensors that use Charged Coupled Device (CCD) systems, Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) systems, or other systems. CCD image sensors have been widely used in digital cameras and other applications. CMOS image sensors are also quickly becoming very popular because they are expected to have low production costs, high yields, and small sizes. CMOS image sensors can provide these advantages because they are manufactured using technology and equipment developed for fabricating semiconductor devices. CMOS image sensors, as well as CCD image sensors, are accordingly "packaged" to protect the delicate components and to provide external electrical contacts.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional microelectronic imager 1 with a conventional package. The imager 1 includes a die 10, an interposer substrate 20 attached to the die 10, and a housing 30 attached to the interposer substrate 20. The housing 30 surrounds the periphery of the die 10 and has an opening 32. The imager 1 also includes a transparent cover 40 over the die 10.
The die 10 includes an image sensor 12 and a plurality of bond-pads 14 electrically coupled to the image sensor 12. The interposer substrate 20 is typically a dielectric fixture having a plurality of bond-pads 22, a plurality of ball-pads 24, and traces 26 electrically coupling bond-pads 22 to corresponding ball-pads 24. The ball-pads 24 are arranged in an array for surface mounting the imager 1 to a board or module of another device. The bond-pads 14 on the die 10 are electrically coupled to the bond-pads 22 on the interposer substrate 20 by wire-bonds 28 to provide electrical pathways between the bond-pads 14 and the ball-pads 24.
The imager 1 shown in FIG. 1 also has an optics unit including a support 50 attached to the housing 30 and a barrel 60 adjustably attached to the support 50. The support 50 can include internal threads 52, and the barrel 60 can include external threads 62 engaged with the threads 52. The optics unit also includes a lens 70 carried by the barrel 60.
One problem with packaging conventional microelectronic imagers is that they have relatively large footprints and occupy a significant amount of vertical space (i.e., high profiles). The footprint of the imager in FIG. 1 is the surface area of the bottom of the interposer substrate 20. This is typically much larger than the surface area of the die 10 and can be a limiting factor in the design and marketability of picture cell phones or PDAs because these devices are continually shrinking to be more portable. Therefore, there is a need to provide microelectronic imagers with smaller footprints and lower profiles.
Another problem with packaging conventional microelectronic imagers is the manufacturing costs for packaging the dies. Forming the wire bonds 28, for example, in the imager 1 shown in FIG. 1 can be complex and/or expensive because it requires individual wires between each set of bond-pads and ball-pads. In addition, it may not be feasible to form wire-bonds for the high-density, fine-pitch arrays of some high-performance devices. Therefore, there is a significant need to enhance the efficiency, reliability, and precision of packaging microelectronic imagers.

Packaged microelectronic imagers and methods of packaging microelectronic imagers


Catalysts and methods for alkane oxydehydrogenation are disclosed. The catalysts of the invention generally comprise (i) nickel or a nickel-containing compound and (ii) at least one or more of titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), niobium (Nb), hafnium (Hf), tungsten (W), yttrium (Y), zinc (Zn), zirconium (Zr), or aluminum (Al), or a compound containing one or more of such element(s). In preferred embodiments, the catalyst is a supported catalyst, the alkane is selected from the group consisting of ethane, propane, isobutane, n-butane and ethyl chloride, molecular oxygen is co-fed with the alkane to a reaction zone maintained at a temperature ranging from about 250° C. to about 350° C., and the ethane is oxidatively dehydrogenated to form the corresponding alkene with an alkane conversion of at least about 10% and an alkene selectivity of at least about 70%.

The present invention generally relates to catalysts and methods for alkane or alkene dehydrogenation and specifically, to Ni-containing catalysts and methods for oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes or alkenes. The invention particularly relates, in preferred embodiments, to Ni oxide/mixed-metal oxide catalysts and methods for oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes or alkenes, and especially of C2 to C4 alkanes, and particularly, for oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene.
Ethylene can be produced by thermal cracking of hydrocarbons, by non-oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane, or by oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (ODHE). The latter process is attractive for many reasons. For example, compared to thermal cracking, high ethane conversion can be achieved at relatively low temperatures (about 400° C. or below). Unlike thermal cracking, catalytic ODHE is exothermic, requiring no additional heat to sustain the reaction. In contrast to catalytic non-oxidative dehydrogenation, catalyst deactivation by coke formation is relatively minimal in ODHE because of the presence of oxidant (e.g., molecular oxygen) in the reactor feed. Other alkanes can be similarly oxidatively dehydrogenated to the corresponding alkene.
Thorsteinson and coworkers have disclosed useful low-temperature ODHE catalysts comprising mixed oxides of molybdenum, vanadium, and a third transition metal. E. M Thorsteinson et al., "The Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane over Catalyst Containing Mixed Oxide of Molybdenum and Vanadium," 52 J. Catalysis 116-32 (1978). More recent studies examined families of alumina-supported vanadium-containing oxide catalysts, MV and MVSb, where M is Ni, Co, Bi, and Sn. R. Juarez Lopez et al., "Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane on Supported Vanadium-Containing Oxides," 124 Applied Catalysis A: General 281-96 (1995). Baharadwaj et al. disclose oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane and other alkanes using a catalysts of Pt, Rh, Ni or Pt/Au supported on alumina or zirconia. See PCT Patent Application WO 96/33149. U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,859 to Durante et al. discloses the use of reduced, sulfided nickel crystallites on siliceous supports for dehydrogenation and successive oxidation of alkanes. Schuurman and coworkers describe unsupported iron, cobalt and nickel oxide catalysts that are active in ODHE. Y. Schuurman et al., "Low Temperature Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane over Catalysts Based on Group VIII Metals," 163 Applied Catalysis A: General 227-35 (1997). Other investigators have also considered the use of nickel or nickel oxide as catalysts or catalyst components for oxidative dehydrogenation. See, for example, Ducarme et al., "Low Temperature Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane over Ni-based Catalysts", 23 Catalysis Letters 97-101 (1994); U.S. Pat. No. 3,670,044 to Drehrnan et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,715 to Haskell; U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,707 to Heyse et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,613 to Dellinger et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,413 to Imai et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,346 to Young et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,578 to McCain et al.
Although nickel-containing catalysts are known in the art for alkane dehydrogenation reactions, none of the known nickel-containing catalysts have been particularly attractive for commercial applications—primarily due to relatively low conversion and/or selectivity. Hence, a need exists for new, industrially suitable catalysts and methods having improved performance characteristics (e.g., conversion and selectivity) for the oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Ni catalysts and methods for alkane dehydrogenation


A DC/DC converter has a linear voltage regulator for reducing or eliminating the output ripple of the converter with a minimum loss of efficiency. The converter comprises a converter stage with a supply voltage input, a converted voltage output and a control input, a regulator stage having an input connected to the converted voltage output of the converter stage and an output connected to a load, and a tracking circuit with inputs for a voltage at the converted voltage output of the converter stage, a voltage at the output of the regulator stage and a load sense current, and an output connected to the control input of the converter stage. The tracking circuit controls the converter stage so as to increase the converted voltage with an increasing load sense current and vice versa. The output voltage of the converter is always just sufficient to eliminate the ripple without having to operate the regulator's pass transistor in its linear range.

The output voltage of a conventional DC/DC converter operating in a switched mode usually has a considerable ripple. This is especially the case for converters with hysteretic control. When such ripple cannot be tolerated for a particular application, a linear regulator is inserted between the output of the converter stage and the load to eliminate the ripple. Since the voltage regulator is not aware of the load requirements, the output voltage of the converter is adjusted to a level sufficient for the regulator to eliminate the ripple under all load conditions. As a consequence, the load current pass transistor in the voltage regulator usually operates in an unsaturated condition, resulting in a considerable loss of efficiency.

Active dropout optimization for current mode LDOs


A storage device provides single-port read multiple-port write functionality and includes first and second memory arrays and a controller. The first memory array includes first and second single-port memory cells. The second single-port memory cell stores data in response to a memory access conflict associated with the first single-port memory cell. The second memory array stores location information associated with data stored in the first and second single-port memory cells. The controller is operatively coupled to the first and second memory arrays, and resolves the memory access conflict by determining locations to store data in the first and second single-port memory cells to thereby avoid a collision between concurrent memory accesses to the first single-port memory cell in response to the memory access conflict. The controller determines locations to store data in the first and second single-port memory cells based on the location information.

Multiple-port memories are widely used in electronic applications, in which high-speed data transfer is critical, including, but not limited to, data and packet buffering, shared memory switching, video processing, data communications, and the like. Multiple-port memory, such as dual-port memory, unlike its single-port memory counterpart, is generally characterized by its ability to read data from or write data to the memory on one port while concurrently reading a second piece of data from or writing a second piece of data to the memory on another port. Hence, each port provides a separate, independent read and write access path for reading data from the memory, or writing new data into the memory. One embodiment of a multiple-port memory is a two-port memory, such as a single-port read, single-port write (1R1W) memory, which has a dedicated read port and a dedicated write port.

Single-port read multiple-port write storage device using single-port memory cells


An applicator for evenly applying an adhesive backed foil to edges of pieces of stained glass. The applicator includes guide members which direct a foil strip from a foil spool past an application point to a take-up reel. The take-up reel is motor driven to pull the foil from the foil spool at a constant speed and to wind up a protective backing after the backing has been removed from the foil and the foil applied to the edge of a piece of stained glass.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to apparatus for applying adhesive backed foil onto the edges of stained glass.
2. State of the Art
So-called stained glass articles are formed of numerous small pieces of variously colored glass or plastic which are joined together along adjacent, butting edges to form the desired finished article. Typically, each stained glass piece is edged with a thin strip of metallic foil, such as copper foil, to form a base for the application of lead solder to join adjacent, butted pieces together.
The metallic foil is commonly available in a continuous strip on a roll or spool and has a pressure sensitive adhesive applied to one side or surface to attach the foil to the edges of stained glass. The adhesive is covered by a thin paper backing which is peeled off to expose the adhesive.
As the foil is unwound from the spool and separated from the backing, it is applied to the edge of a piece of stained glass. The width of the foil strip is wider than the thickness of the stained glass such that both edges of the foil strip extend outward over the edges of the piece of stained glass after the foil is initially applied to the edge of the stained glass. The foil edges are subsequently folded over and urged under pressure into contact the adjacent surfaces of the piece of stained glass. Pieces of foil edge stained glass are then butted edge-to-edge and lead solder applied over the foil edges to securely join the stained glass pieces together.
It is well known that the failure to evenly apply the foil to the edges of stained glass pieces frequently results in an uneven distribution of solder once the stained glass pieces are joined together. This results in an undesirable aesthetic finish to the stained glass article and could result in a weak joint between two pieces of stained glass.
The narrow width of the foil and the thinness of the stained glass pieces are major factors in the difficultly in precisely aligning the foil on the edge of a piece of stained glass such that equal amounts of the foil overlap or are folded over both opposed surfaces adjacent to an edge of the stained glass.
The conventional method of applying the foil to stained glass pieces is by hand pressing the foil against the edges of stained glass. In using such a method, the risk of injury from glass splinters in the stained glass pieces is high. Further, the narrow width of the foil and the thinness of the stained glass pieces make it difficult if not impossible to obtain an even distribution of the foil over the entire length of an edge of a piece of stained glass or a foil edge which is not wrinkled or crimped.
In order to alleviate these problems and to insure an even distribution of foil over the edges of stained glass pieces, a variety of tools or applicators have been developed. Such tools or applicators are manually operated devices which typically guide the adhesive surface of the foil as it is unwound from the spool in a channel or other alignment device through which the edge of a piece of stained glass is passed. The channel is designed to evenly align the foil with the piece of stained glass and to provide equal amounts of overlap of the edges of the foil with the piece of stained glass. Such tools or applicators have also be designed with adjustable or variable features to accommodate different foil widths and stained glass piece thicknesses.
However, all such previously devised foil applicator tools require the user to manually urge the piece of stained glass over the foil. An uneven application of force can cause wrinkling or crimping of the foil on the edge of the piece of stained glass. Further, the previously devised foil applicators separate the paper backing from the foil, but do not control the flow or path of movement of the backing after it has been separated from the foil. The separated backing can thus interfere with the application of the foil to the edge of a piece of stained glass.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a stained glass foil applicator which overcomes the deficiencies found in previously devised foil applicator tools. It would also be desirable to provide a stained glass foil applicator which provides a constant application of force to evenly apply foil to the edge of a piece of stained glass without wrinkling or crimping of the foil. It would also be desirable to provide a stained glass foil applicator which easily and evenly applies foil to the edges of pieces of stained glass. It would also be desirable to provide a stained glass foil applicator which is easier to use than previously devised foil applicators. Finally, it would be desirable to provide a stained glass foil applicator which can be adjusted to accommodate different amounts of foil edge overlap with respect to the edges of stained glass.


A system having an adaptive browse feature and an adaptive flip feature is provided. The adaptative browse and flip features may be selected to receive program viewing suggestions. The system may provide a suggestion by displaying an adaptive browse region or adaptative flip region including a program suggestion. The system identifies programs to suggest based on a user=s viewing activity. The system uses different algorithms that are user-selectable and user-adjustable to identify program suggestions. The system may query a program guide database to build a list of programs having attributes similar to the attributes of the current program or the last viewed program. The system may use an adaptive learning algorithm such as a neural network. The neural network may be trained by the program guide by monitoring user-viewing activity.

This invention relates to television systems, and more particularly, to television systems such as interactive television program guide systems having aided user program searching.
Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide a large number of television channels.
Typically, the number of channels provided by cable and satellite systems is over a hundred and ever increasing. Television viewers have traditionally consulted printed television program schedules to obtain programming information. More recently, interactive electronic television program guides have been developed to allow television program information to be displayed on viewer television equipment.
Interactive electronic television program guides (Aprogram guides@) typically provide program listings of all channels available in the television system. Some program guides include features for allowing users to scan through channel information or programs in order to select a program to access.
As detailed in Knee et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,892, a program guide may include browse and flip for user program searching. The browse feature presents a browse overlay region on the user=s television screen that contains a program listing. The user may use up and down arrow keys take action from a user input interface device to direct the browse overlay to scan the listings on other channels while remaining tuned to the current channel. This allows the user to browse available program listings without missing any of the program on the current channel. The flip feature presents a flip overlay region on the user=s television screen that contains a program listing. The user may flip through these listings. As the user changes channels, the program listing in the flip display region is updated to match the program on the current channel. With either the browse or flip feature, finding a suitable program for viewing may require scanning through individual program listings for numerous channels. Scanning through such a large number of channels to find a suitable program for viewing may be time-consuming and cumbersome.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a television system that monitors a user=s television viewing activity and suggests programs for the user to view.
Is it also an object of the present invention to provide a television system that displays suggested program listings and that allows the user to browse the suggested program listings using an adaptive browse feature.
It is also a further object of the present invention to provide a television system that displays suggested program listings and that allows the user to flip through the suggested listings using an adaptive flip feature.

Television system with aided user program searching

Abstract: Each algorithm may be personalized for multiple users.


The invention relates to dosage regimens for administering pharmaceutical compositions comprising 3-[5-amino-4-(3-cyanobenzoyl)-pyrazol-1-yl]-N-cyclopropyl-4-methylbenzamide for the treatment of a human patient suffering from COPD, or suffering from an acute exacerbation of COPD, or at risk of developing an acute exacerbation of COPD, or to prevent a reoccurrence of an acute exacerbation of COPD, or to prevent a treatment failure of an acute exacerbation of COPD, and to methods of prevention or reduction in the rate of acute exacerbations of COPD in a human patient.

A large number of cytokines participate in the inflammatory response, including interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL6, IL-8 and TNF-α. Overproduction of cytokines such as IL-1 and TNF-α are implicated in a wide variety of diseases, including acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD).
Evidence in human patients indicates that protein antagonists of cytokines are effective in treating chronic inflammatory diseases. International patent application WO2005/009973 discloses various pyrazole- and imidazole-based compounds or pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives thereof that have cytokine inhibitory activity. It discloses such compounds can be used to treat conditions associated with p38 kinases, especially p38α and β kinases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). WO2005/009973 discloses 3-[5-amino-4-(3-cyanobenzoyl)-pyrazol-1-yl]-N-cyclopropyl-4-methylbenzamide as one such novel pyrazole-based p38 kinase inhibitor and describes processes for its preparation. 3-[5-Amino-4-(3-cyanobenzoyl)-pyrazol-1-yl]-N-cyclopropyl-4-methylbenzamide has the following chemical structure:

This compound is also known as BCT197.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are distinct indications or at least concern distinct disease states that require different treatment. Acute exacerbations of COPD are associated with increased mortality, accelerated decline in lung function, and impaired quality of life.
WO 2013/139809 discloses the use of 3-[5-amino-4-(3-cyanobenzoyl)-pyrazol-1-yl]-N-cyclopropyl-4-methylbenzamide and pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives thereof and use of these compounds in treating AECOPD. A single oral dose of 3-[5-Amino-4-(3-cyanobenzoyl)-pyrazol-1-yl]-N-cyclopropyl-4-methylbenzamide was administered and the effect on recovery of AECOPD to the stable disease state was studied. A single dose administered orally accelerates the recovery to the stable disease state.
It has surprisingly been found that the dosage regimens of the present invention are particularly effective for preventing or reducing the rate of recurrent acute exacerbations of COPD.

Use of 3-[5-amino-4-(3-cyanobenzoyl)-pyrazol-1-yl]-n-cyclopropyl-4-methylbenzamide in the prevention or reduction of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease


Provided is an organic EL display device including a resin substrate layer, a TFT layer provided on the resin substrate layer, and a light-emitting element that is provided on the TFT layer and constitutes a display region. The resin substrate layer includes a first resin layer, an inorganic layer, and a second resin layer, which are provided in that order from a side opposite to the TFT layer. The interior of the first resin layer contains a plurality of air bubbles.

In recent years, organic EL display devices, which use organic electroluminescence (EL) elements and are of the self-luminous type, have attracted attention as a display device that can replace the liquid crystal display device. As the organic EL display device, a flexible organic EL display device in which an organic EL element, a variety of films, and the like are layered on a resin substrate having flexibility, has been proposed.
For example, PTL 1 discloses an organic EL device provided with a resin substrate made of polyimide or the like.

Display device and method for manufacturing same where a resin layer containing air bubbles


A mineral insulated heating cable for a heat tracing system. The heating cable includes a sheath having at least a first, and optionally a second layer, wherein the thermal conductivity of the second layer is greater than a thermal conductivity of the first layer. In addition, the first and second layers are in intimate thermal contact. The heating cable also includes at least one heating conductor for generating heat and a dielectric layer located within the sheath for electrically insulating the heating conductor, wherein the sheath, heating conductor and dielectric layer form a heating section. In addition, the heating cable includes a conduit for receiving the heating section. Further, the heating cable includes a cold lead section and a hot-cold joint for connecting the heating and cold lead sections. In addition, a high emissivity coating may be formed on the first layer.

Electrical heat tracing systems frequently utilize mineral insulated (MI) heating cables which function as auxiliary heat sources to compensate for heat losses encountered during normal operation of plants and equipment such as pipes, tanks, foundations, etc. Typical applications for such systems include freeze protection and process temperature maintenance.
MI cables are designed to operate as a series electrical heating circuit. When used in hazardous area locations, i.e. areas defined as potentially explosive by national and international standards such as NFPA 70 (The National Electrical Code), electrical heat tracing systems must comply with an additional operational constraint which requires that the maximum surface or sheath temperature of the heating cable does not exceed a local area auto-ignition temperature (AIT). Maximum sheath temperatures often occur in sections of the heat tracing system where the heating cable becomes spaced apart from the substrate surface (such as a pipe) and is no longer in direct contact with it, i.e. where the cable is no longer effectively heat sunk. Such sections are typically located where heating cables are routed over complex shapes of a heat tracing system. With respect to the heat tracing of pipes, this occurs in areas around flanges, valves and bends, for example, of a piping system.
Frequently, a heat tracing system designer is not able to utilize a single run or pass of cable for a particular installation since the higher wattage typically utilized in single runs may result in a maximum sheath temperature that exceeds the AIT. Instead, the designer will specify several lower-wattage cables operated in parallel so that the heat tracing system will operate at a low enough power density to ensure the cable sheath temperatures stay below the AIT. For example, if a piping system requires 20 watts/foot of heat tracing, the designer may have to specify two passes of 10 watt/foot cable instead of one pass of 20 watt/foot cable to keep the maximum sheath temperature of the heating cables below the AIT. In this example, the two-pass configuration will increase the cost of the installed heat tracing and can also result in configurations that are difficult to install when there is physically not enough room (such as on a small valve or pipe support) to place the multiple passes of heating cable. Thus, it would be desirable to operate a heating cable at increased power densities while reducing both the maximum sheath temperature to below the AIT and the number of passes of cable for a given application.
An approach is to use heat transfer compounds to reduce sheath temperature in electric heating cables. Heat transfer compounds have been used in the steam tracing industry to increase the heat transfer rate from steam tracers to piping. However, such compounds are only allowed in certain lower risk hazardous areas, require additional labor and material costs, and are difficult to install in non-straight sections of heat tracing, for example, around flanges, valves and bends where higher sheath temperatures are often found.
Another approach used for extreme high temperature applications in straight heating rods is to increase the surface emissivity of the heater. This increases the heater's performance by improving the efficiency of radiation heat transfer and allowing the heater to run cooler and last longer. The increase in emissivity occurs when the surface is oxidized. While increasing the emissivity can be used to decrease heating cable sheath temperatures, this approach is limited since it is most effective only at very high temperatures.
A further approach involves increasing the surface area of heating cables to improve radiation and convection heat transfer. Because of its larger surface area, a larger diameter MI cable will have a lower sheath temperature compared with a smaller diameter cable when both are operated at the same heat output (watts/foot). However, this approach increases the material costs and the stiffness of the cable.
Parallel circuit heating cables are desirable for their cut-to-length feature that is useful when installing field-run heat tracing. However, parallel heating cables employ a heating element spaced between two bus conductors and tend to be larger than their series counterparts. There are commercial non-polymeric parallel heating cables that are assembled by positioning a heating element, electrical insulation and bus conductors inside an oval-shaped flexible metal sheath or jacket. The jacket serves to house the heating element, electrical insulation and bus conductors and thus the jacket is part of the heating cable itself. In addition, the jacket protects the heating, insulating and conductor elements from impact and the environment. However, such parallel heating cables tend to be large and thus are rather stiff and their oval shape makes them difficult to bend especially in certain directions. They also have open ends and space within the cable that allows for moisture ingress that can cause electrical failure.

Mineral insulated cable having reduced sheath temperature


A flower gift kit, the gift kit comprising: a flower; an enclosure; a presentation tray for the flower inserted in the enclosure; an insert configured to be flat beneath the presentation tray and between the presentation tray and the enclosure of the flower; wherein the insert comprises pre-determined fold lines; and wherein the insert is user-erectable into a 3D stand for the flower using the predetermined fold lines.

Techniques are known for delivering flowers and disposable flower containers to recipients by post. The disposable flower container is either pre-assembled or requires assembling by the recipient. However, technical limitations of current flower gift kits make them expensive as they are often made from water-proof materials or comprise water-proof linings. Furthermore, recipients are required to follow complicated instructions to assemble the disposable flower container.
Background prior art can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,356, WO 88/01593, CA2619453, EP0234139 and EP1076010. Further background prior art can be found in GB2379874 and JP2007 254029


A subscriber identity element authenticates a communication device to a communication network. The subscriber identity element is assigned a subscriber identity identifier. The communication network comprises a subnetwork having a discovery server. The subscriber identity element comprises: a memory in which an initialization profile of the subscriber identity element is stored, wherein the initialization profile indicates a subnetwork identifier the subnetwork; and a communication interface, configured to establish a communication link to the discovery server using the subnetwork identifier and to transmit the subscriber identity identifier to the discovery server via the communication link.

Subscriber identity elements are usually used for authenticating communication devices, for example mobile telephones, to a communication network. The subscriber identity elements are thereby configured to store data uniquely identifying the respective communication device.
With communication devices pursuant to the GSM standard (Global System for Mobile Communications), subscriber identity elements in the form of e.g. smart cards are used, which are also referred to as SIMs (Subscriber Identity Module). This includes for example an IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) which is assigned to a user of the communication device and is used to authenticate the communication device to the communication network.
Fifth-generation (5G) and further generation communication networks provide for subscriber identity elements to be fixedly integrated in the communication devices and for the respective data for identifying and authenticating to be provided via the communication network in the form of subscriber profiles.

Subscriber identity element for authenticating a communication device to a communication network


An interface apparatus (1600A) comprises a surface (1642) touchable by a finger (120). The surface has a touch-sensitive area with a predetermined position (1646), to which a function is assigned. The finger's presence at the predetermined position (1646) is detected. An electrosensory stimulus is generated to the finger by applying an alternating electrical drive to one or more electrodes (1662). Each electrode is provided with an insulator, which prevents DC flow from the electrode to the finger and a capacitive coupling over the insulator is formed between the electrode (1662) and the finger (120). The capacitive coupling and electrical drive are dimensioned to produce an electrosensory sensation, independently of mechanical vibration of the electrode. The electrosensory stimulus is varied temporally based on the detected presence or absence of the of the finger (120) near the at least one touch-sensitive area having the predetermined position (1646).

The invention relates to a touch device interface. By way of example, the inventive touch device interface can be used as a user-input section of a touch screen interface. Although a touch screen appears to be a unitary piece of hardware, it actually comprises an output device, namely a display or screen, and an input device which is sensitive to touching or approaching the surface of the display with a finger or stylus. Touch screens can be implemented by organizing an x-y matrix of infrared rays over the screen, in which case touching the display surface is not necessary. Alternatively the screen can be overlaid by a transparent pressure-sensitive switch matrix which is scanned in substantially similarly to the way electronic keyboard matrices are scanned. The layout of the switch matrix may resemble that of a general-purpose typewriter, or the layout may be dedicated to specific purposes or applications. Touch screen interfaces are frequently used in connection with laptop or palmtop computers, personal digital assistants ("PDA"), remote control devices, digital cameras, navigators, entertainment devices, and many other types of devices.
A problem with conventional touch screen interfaces is that the user of the touch screen interface must be able to see the layout of the switch matrix in order to be able to select a specific key to be activated ("pushed"). Seeing the layout of the switch matrix is not always possible or easy, and visually impaired persons are a prime example. Even in cases wherein the user could see the switch matrix layout, looking at the switch matrix layout may disturb the user, such as the driver of a car.

Interface apparatus for touch input and tactile output communication


An apparatus for providing an improved two-piece punch construction. The two-piece punch construction includes a supporting member and a punch body. The supporting member includes an aperture in which the punch body is accurately located. The supporting member further includes a supporting surface for supporting the punch body during a punching operation. The punch is constructed by providing at least one through-hole in the supporting member which receives a WEDM wire. The aperture for locating the punch body in the supporting member is made with a WEDM process. The supporting member and punch body are secured together by brazing material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the construction of a metal punch, and, more particularly, to the construction of a two-piece metal punch.
2. Description of the Related Art
A metal punch is traditionally made as a one-piece construction. The one-piece construction is typically made of a single piece of carbide. The punch is produced from a carbide preform whereby the rough shape of the punch is established in a pre-sintered state. The head, thickness dimensions, shank diameter (if of a shanked design), and the punch contour are finish ground. This method of creating a one-piece punch, however, is expensive and time-consuming. While this structure has the advantages of rigidity and strength, the material and labor necessary to produce a one-piece carbide punch cause such punches to be expensive.
A two-piece punch construction is an alternative to a one-piece construction. A common two-piece punch construction, however, only overcomes one problematic aspect of a one-piece construction. The common two-piece punch construction, while less time-consuming and expensive to make, is not as strong and rigid as the one-piece punch construction. In a two-piece punch construction, the punch body is made in the form of a xe2x80x9cstickxe2x80x9d by using wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) of a rectangular stock block of carbide. Alternatively, the punch body is made by the grinding of a headless carbide preform. The head is made of steel. The cross-sectional shape of the punch body may be WEDM-cut through the head. The head and punch body are joined by fillet brazing. This construction, however, raises problems. First, the two materials will often separate because the punch head is not supported by a perfectly flush substrate. Frequently, the punch head is supported by a setscrew the lower surface of which is cup-shaped. Even when the lower surface of the setscrew is ground flat, the setscrew may not provide even contact with the punch head. If the setscrew, or other support, comes in contact with the steel head but not the carbide portion of the punch, the impact of the punching operation will tend to shear the braze and separate the head and the punch body.
What is needed is a punch construction which provides the strength and rigidity of the one-piece punch construction without the cost and time problems associated therewith. What is further needed is a punch construction which provides the cost and time benefits of the common two-piece punch construction without the loss of strength and rigidity.
The present invention provides a two-piece punch construction which maintains the integrity of a one-piece punch construction while providing the cost and time advantages of a two-piece punch construction.
The present invention, in one form thereof, comprises a two-piece punch construction including a head (or head and shank combination) and a punch body. The head or head and shank combination hold the punch body and include an aperture in which the punch body is accurately located. The head or shank includes a supporting surface for the punch body. The head or head and shank are manufactured with at least one through-hole which is operable to receive a wire used in a WEDM process. The WEDM process creates the accurate aperture in the head in which the punch body is located.
An advantage of the present invention is that the punch according to the invention is less expensive than prior art punches.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the two-piece punch according to the invention is as strong and rigid as a prior art punch constructed of a single piece of material.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the two-piece punch according to the invention is considerably stronger than prior art two-piece punch constructions.
A still further advantage of the present invention is the reduction of production time to produce a punch according to the invention.


Accurate alignment can be attained irrespective of strains of the main body structure. An exposure apparatus, which has a substrate stage (13, 15) which holds and moves a substrate (18), a position measurement unit (14) for measuring the position of the substrate stage, and a control unit (16) for performing drive control of the substrate stage to align the substrate on the basis of the measured position, and which aligns the substrate and a master plate (2), and forms a pattern on the master plate on the substrate by exposure, has a strain measurement unit (9) for measuring strain of a structure (8) to which the position measurement unit is fixed, and the control unit aligns the substrate by the drive control of the stage in consideration of the measured strain.

The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus such as an exposure apparatus (so-called a stepper) for sequentially projecting and forming an electronic circuit pattern on a reticle surface onto a wafer surface by step and repeat exposure via a projection optical system in the manufacture of semiconductor elements such as ICs, LSIs, and the like, an exposure apparatus (so-called a scanner) for similarly sequentially projecting and forming an electronic circuit pattern on a reticle surface onto a wafer surface by step and scan exposure via a projection optical system, and the like, and so on, and a device manufacturing method that uses the exposure apparatus and, more particularly, to an exposure apparatus used in the manufacture of semiconductor elements, which is hardly influenced by deformation of the main body structure by detecting in advance the relationship between the deformation state of the main body structure and stage precision, and in actual exposure adequately measuring the deformation state and correcting the alignment measurement value and alignment position of a shot in real time, and a device manufacturing method using the apparatus.
The present invention further relates to a high-speed, high-precision alignment stage apparatus which can be suitably applied to, e.g., reticle and wafer moving stages of semiconductor exposure apparatuses, an exposure apparatus having the alignment stage apparatus, and a device manufacturing method of manufacturing a device using this exposure apparatus.
In recent years, as semiconductor integrated circuits such as ICs, LSIs, and the like continue to shrink in feature size, a projection exposure apparatus is required to have further improved image performance, superposing precision, throughput, and the like. The superposing precision can be roughly classified into global components of the shot matrix within a wafer and components within each shot. The former components can be generally subdivided into a wafer shift component, wafer magnification component, wafer rotation component, orthogonality component, and the like. The latter components can be generally accounted for by a shot (chip) magnification component, shot (chip) distortion component, shot (chip) rotation component, and the like. Among these errors, error components produced by deformation of the main body structure have gradually surfaced due to improvements of the apparatus performance.
The error components produced by deformation of the structure are classified into static components reproduced every time after wafer and reticle stages move, and dynamic components such as heat, repulsive force due to step and scan exposure, and the like, which are hard to reproduce.
In order to remove these error components, conventionally, the rigidity of the main body structure is increased; a structure which does not deform even when an external force is slightly applied to the structure, or a structure which does not follow disturbance vibrations due to raised natural frequency is exploited. However, as the rigidity of the main body increases, the weight increases accordingly, and a design that can attain both a weight reduction and high rigidity becomes hard to achieve. When a product is designed in consideration of only high rigidity of the main body, evidently the weight of the main body becomes large, and the obtained product is hard to handle in terms of carrying out/in, installation, and the like of the apparatus.
As measures against heat that have been conventionally taken, the heat source of the apparatus is cooled, its heat generation amount is reduced, a low thermal expansion material is used in a structure, and so on. However, there are more than one heat source in the apparatus, and it is impossible to cool all these sources. Furthermore, even when measures against heat conduction or transfer from the heat sources are taken, an effective measure cannot often be taken for radiation, and thermal influences remain unsolved. Also, the use of a low thermal expansion material in the structure results in higher costs than a normal material, and yet the thermal influences of the heat sources cannot be perfectly removed.
As described above, deformation factors of the main body include dynamic factors such as vibrations, forces, and the like, and thermal factors.
In the former factors, dynamic and static deformations attributed to the repulsion forces of the stages that support the main body structure, and dynamic and static deformations caused by a vibration control/vibration reduction device used for the purpose of controlling vibrations of the main body upon driving of the stages have large components. Of these components, alignment measurement data, print data, and the like indicate that the deformation component due to the force applied to the main body by the vibration control/vibration reduction device to control vibrations of the main body is by no means negligible. Since this deformation component is inevitable in terms of the function of the vibration control/vibration reduction device as long as the stages are driven, it is impossible to set the deformations of the main body structure zero.
The latter factors include changes in ambient temperature, changes in temperature of various heat sources, and the like. Especially, a non-steady process from when the thermal equilibrium state is broken until the thermal equilibrium state is reached again is important for the thermal factors. Since it is impossible to perfectly recognize the thermal behaviors of the individual heat sources and a cooling source such as air in the apparatus, such a non-steady process is produced more or less as long as the apparatus is in operation and processing wafers. Hence, it is impossible to set deformations of the main body structure arising from thermal expansion or shrinkage zero.
On the other hand, alignment stage apparatuses used in semiconductor exposure apparatuses are required to have high alignment precision in order to mount position control targets such as wafers and reticles, and thus widely adopt a stage position measurement means using a combination of a high-resolution laser interferometer and laser mirror.
However, since the position control point and position measurement point do not coincide with each other, deformations arising from changes in temperature and changes in stress cause position measurement errors.
To solve this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-291910 discloses a method of correcting variations in distance between the position control point and position measurement point. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 26, variations in distance between a laser mirror 2101 as a position measurement target and a wafer 2102 as a position control target are measured by an electric micrometer 2106, and the measurement values are added to an alignment laser target value.
Even this method cannot correct measurement errors produced by deformation and inclination of a fixing jig 2105 for fixing the electric micrometer 2106 to a top table 2104. That is, since measurement errors cannot be completely corrected as far as an additional critical dimension measurement sensor is used, variations in distance between the position control point and position measurement point must be accurately corrected without using any additional critical dimension measurement sensor.
Of these errors, measurement errors due to changes in temperature can be prevented by using a low thermal expansion material, a temperature adjustment device, and the like. However, high stage speeds for a short moving time increase measurement errors due to elastic deformation, so that demands have arisen for correction of variations in distance due to elastic deformation of the stage.
It is still another object of the present invention to correct alignment measurement errors, focus measurement errors, stage position measurement errors, and the like arising from elastic deformation of a projection main body structure in real time in consideration of the fact that the elastic deformation and measurement errors due to the elastic deformation represent the linear sum of operating forces which cause the elastic deformation.
It is still another object of the present invention to accurately correct variations in distance between the position control point and position measurement point due to elastic deformation of the stage.
It is an object of the present invention to attain accurate alignment irrespective of deformations of the main body structure in consideration of the conventional problems. It is another object of the present invention to improve exposure precision of an exposure apparatus without impairing the function of the vibration control/vibration reduction device.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, even when the structure has deformed, the deformation is measured, and alignment data is adequately corrected based on the measurement result, in place of the effort of making strains or distortions (deformations) of the main body structure due to dynamic factors such as vibrations, forces, and the like, and thermal factors close to zero.
More specifically, according to the present invention, an exposure apparatus, which comprises a substrate stage for holding and moving a substrate, position measurement means for measuring a position of the substrate stage, and control means for performing drive control of the substrate stage to align the substrate on the basis of the measured position, aligns the substrate and a master plate, and forms a pattern on the master plate on the substrate by exposure, comprises strain measurement means for measuring strain of a structure to which the position measurement means is fixed, and the control means aligns the substrate by the drive control of the substrate stage in consideration of the measured strain.
Also, according to the present invention, a control method for an exposure apparatus, which comprises a substrate stage for holding and moving a substrate, position measurement means for measuring a position of the substrate stage, and control means for performing drive control of the substrate stage to align the substrate on the basis of the measured position, aligns the substrate and a master plate, and forms a pattern on the master plate on the substrate by exposure, comprises the strain measurement step of measuring strain of a structure to which the position measurement means is fixed, and the control means aligns the substrate by the drive control of the substrate stage in consideration of the measured strain.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, a device manufacturing method for aligning a substrate held on a substrate stage by measuring a position of the substrate stage using position measurement means and controlling the position of the substrate stage based on the measured position, and for forming a pattern on a master disk onto the substrate by exposure, comprises the steps of: measuring strain of a structure to which the position measurement means is fixed; and aligning the substrate by the position control of the substrate stage in consideration of the measured strain.
In order to achieve the other object, according to the present invention, in an exposure apparatus which comprises a projection optical system, a substrate stage which is movable in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the projection optical system while carrying a substrate, a main body structure for supporting the projection optical system and substrate stage, and a vibration reduction device for supporting the main body structure and reducing vibration from a floor, when the substrate stage is aligned to sequentially move the substrate set on the substrate stage in turn to a plurality of predetermined shot positions, a force that the vibration reduction device imposes on the main body structure is measured, and an alignment error and/or stage alignment data are/is corrected on the basis of the measurement result. After the substrate stage is aligned to each shot position of the substrate, the circuit pattern on a master plate is illuminated with illumination light of a predetermined wavelength, thereby projecting and forming by exposure the circuit pattern on the substrate on the substrate stage via the projection optical system.
According to the present invention, a control method for an exposure apparatus, which comprises a projection optical system, a substrate stage which is movable in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of the projection optical system while carrying a substrate, a main body structure for supporting the projection optical system and the substrate stage, a vibration reduction device for supporting the main body structure and reducing vibration from a floor, and control means for aligning the substrate stage to move the substrate mounted on the substrate stage in turn to a plurality of predetermined shot positions, illuminating a circuit pattern on a master plate with illumination light of a predetermined wavelength after the substrate is aligned to each shot position, and projecting and forming the pattern by exposure onto the substrate on the substrate stage via the projection optical system, comprises the measurement step of measuring a force that the vibration reduction device exerts on the main body structure, and the correction step of correcting the aligned position of the substrate stage on the basis of a measurement result at the measurement step.
Also, according to the present invention, a device manufacturing method which uses a projection optical system, a substrate stage which is movable in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of the projection optical system while carrying a substrate, a main body structure for supporting the projection optical system and the substrate stage, and a vibration reduction device for supporting the main body structure and reducing vibration from a floor, and which aligns the substrate stage to move the substrate mounted on the substrate stage in turn to a plurality of predetermined shot positions, illuminates a circuit pattern on a master plate with illumination light of a predetermined wavelength after the substrate is aligned to each shot position, and projects and forms the pattern by exposure onto the substrate on the substrate stage via the projection optical system, comprises the measurement step of measuring a force that the vibration reduction device exerts on the main body structure, and the correction step of correcting the aligned position of the substrate stage on the basis of a measurement result at the measurement step.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.
According to the present invention, an exposure apparatus, which comprises a projection optical system such as a projection lens for forming an image of a pattern formed on a master plate such as a reticle, a substrate stage for holding and moving a substrate to be exposed such as a semiconductor wafer to an imaging position, position measurement means for measuring a position of the master plate or substrate or relative positions of the master plate and substrate, alignment means for moving the master plate or substrate on the basis of a measurement value of the position measurement means to adjust the position or relative positions, a main body structure for holding the projection optical system, the substrate stage, and the position measurement means, and a support base for supporting the main body structure, comprises means for measuring a variation amount of a principal force acting between the main body structure and the support base or a physical quantity proportional to the variation amount, and correction means for correcting a measurement value of the measurement means using a correction vector obtained by multiplying the measurement result of the measurement means by a predetermined coefficient matrix.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the measurement means is a stage position measurement device for measuring a position of the substrate stage, a focus measurement device for measuring a shift in position or posture of a substrate surface with reference to the imaging position, an alignment scope for measuring an alignment mark on the substrate so as to superpose a new pattern on a pattern which has been printed on the substrate surface, or the like. The alignment scope is a TTL on-axis alignment scope for measuring relative positions of alignment marks on the master plate and substrate using light passing on an optical axis of the projection optical system, a TTL off-axis alignment scope for measuring the relative positions of the alignment marks on the master plate and substrate using light passing off the optical axis of the projection optical system, an off-axis alignment scope for measuring the position of the alignment mark on the substrate outside the projection optical system, a reticle alignment scope for measuring a position of a reticle using a mark on a reticle as a master plate, or the like. To align the reticle, the alignment scope further comprises a reticle stage for holding and moving the reticle.
The predetermined coefficient matrix is estimated by measuring by the measurement means the position of the substrate on the substrate stage aligned and controlled to keep a position and posture constant, at the same time applying a forced operating force to respective portions for supporting the main body structure, and regressively analyzing a variation amount of a measurement value of the measurement means with respect to variations in the forced operating force.
Also, according to the present invention, a stage apparatus comprises a stage for holding and moving an object, stage position measurement means for measuring a position of the stage, a sensor for measuring a variation amount of a principal force acting on the stage or a physical quantity proportional to the variation amount, and means for correcting a measurement value of the stage position using a correction vector obtained by multiplying a measurement result of the sensor by a predetermined coefficient matrix.
The stage position measurement means may comprise a laser interferometer and a reflecting mirror.
In general, the apparatus further comprises position measurement means arranged in addition to the stage position measurement means, and the predetermined coefficient matrix is obtained by regressively analyzing a variation amount of a stage drive force of each axis when the stage is moved or a physical quantity proportional to the variation amount, and a difference between measurement values of the position measurement means and the stage position measurement means.
The sensor can be either one of means for monitoring a current value of a motor for driving the stage and a load cell or strain gauge arranged at a portion where a drive repulsion force of the motor acts.
Further, according to the present invention, there are provided an exposure apparatus comprising the stage apparatus and means for exposing a wafer or reticle mounted on the stage apparatus, and a device manufacturing method comprising the step of manufacturing a device using this exposure apparatus.

Exposure apparatus and its control method, stage apparatus, and device manufacturing method