Disclosed is a fluorescent sensor for phosphate ion and phosphorylated peptide, which comprises a phosphate anion-selective fluorescent compound expressed by the following general formula (1). In the formula (1), FL represents a fluorescent functional group or atomic group having an aromatic ring or heterocyclic ring (for example, dimethylanthlyl group), and X represents a functional group or atomic group which will be liberated in an aqueous solution to form an anion (for example, NO3):

The phosphate anion plays an important role in vivo. For example, in the signal transmission system, a variety of information transmissions can be controlled via the phosphate functional groups of phosphorylated proteins or phospholipids. It is therefore expected that an established sensing system for detecting phosphate anions in an aqueous solution corresponding to an in vivo environment will serve as a basic tool in cell biology and other fields for the analysis of a number of in vivo processes, the results thereof contributing to the development of new medicines and reagents. For example, the recognition of an intracellular phosphorylation signal, a key reaction for the malignant alteration caused by an abnormal information transmission, will be effective in designing inhibitors and the like against such reaction.
A potential useful means for detecting anions such as phosphate anion will be a fluorescent probe composed of a compound which exhibits fluorescence change upon being combined specifically with the anions. A number of probes have hitherto been developed for detecting cations typified by metal ions. However, with regard to fluorescent probes for detecting anions, only a small number of probes have been proposed which function in organic solvents, and there is found almost nothing for use in a neutral aqueous solution such as an in vivo media. This is because anions are generally larger in size than metal ions and are therefore more influenced by hydration, resulting in difficulty in chelation. In addition, while it is possible, with a probe for detecting metal ions, to develop fluorescence change via coordination of functional groups present in the structure of the fluorescent compound, such as aromatic amino groups, with metal ions, similar phenomena are unlikely to be utilizable in the detection of anions. For these reasons, very few examples are found of fluorescent probes for detecting anions such as phosphate anions.
One rare example of a fluorescent probe for recognizing phosphate anion in an aqueous solution is the ruthenium-bipyridylpolyaza compound reported by Beer et al. (P. D. Beer et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 40, 486 (2001); P. D. Beer et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 119, 11864 (1997)). However, this compound exhibits a very low fluorescence change. Another rare example is found in the utilization of a boronic acid-diester compound as a fluorescent probe for detecting anions such as phosphate ion (Japanese Patent Application Publication 2001-133407).
The object of the present invention is to provide a novel sensor composed of a fluorescent probe which is capable of detecting phosphate ion with a high sensitivity.

Fluorescent sensor for phosphate ion and phosphorylated peptide


An overshoot reduction circuit for a buck converter includes an operational amplifier, a first sampler circuit, a pulse generator circuit, a pulse calculator circuit, a second sampler circuit and a comparator. The operational amplifier outputs an operation amplified signal according to a buck converted signal of the buck converter and a voltage feedback signal of the operational amplifier. The first sampler circuit samples a first capacitor voltage signal according to a lower bridge conducted signal of the buck converter. The pulse generator circuit outputs a pulse signal. The pulse calculator circuit outputs a first sample compared signal according to the first capacitor voltage signal and the pulse signal. The second sampler circuit samples a second capacitor voltage signal according to the lower bridge conducted signal. The comparator compares the second capacitor voltage signal with the first sample compared signal to output a comparing signal to the buck converter.

An electronic device generally includes various components requiring different operating voltages. Therefore, a DC-DC voltage converter is essential for voltage adjustment and stabilization of the electronic device. Based upon different power requirements, various types of DC-DC voltage converters such as a buck converter and a boost converter have been developed. The buck converter can decrease an input DC voltage to a default voltage, and the boost converter can increase an input DC voltage. With advances in circuit technologies, both the buck and boost converters have been adjusted for different system architectures and requirements.

Overshoot reduction circuit for buck converter


There is provided an electronic device comprising: a first sensor configured to measure information for determining whether the electronic device is in water; a second sensor configured to measure information for determining whether the electronic device is held by a user of the electronic device; and at least one controller configured to determine whether the electronic device is in the water based on the information measured by the first sensor and thereafter determine whether the electronic device is held by the user of the electronic device based on the information measured by the second sensor.

Field
The present application relates to an electronic device, a control method, and a non-transitory storage medium.
Description of the Related Art
There is a known type of life-saving lamp that is lit automatically when it falls into water and that contributes to discovery of a person who has fallen into water (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-344185).
Conventional electronic devices have room for improvement in their functions to be executed at the time of detection when they fall into water, or the like.

Electronic device, control method, and non-transitory storage medium


A system for detecting contamination of an air filter for an internal combustion engine includes an air pressure sensor disposed downstream of the air filter, an air flow sensor disposed in an air intake system of the engine, and a control module in communication with the air pressure sensor and the air flow sensor. The control module is configured to estimate an atmospheric pressure based on a signal received from the air pressure sensor. The control module is further configured to determine a contamination level of the air filter based on an air flow rate provided by the air flow sensor and a pressure drop across the air filter based on a pressure difference between the estimated atmospheric pressure and a second pressure measurement from the air pressure sensor that corresponds to the provided air flow rate.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Internal combustion engines combust a fuel and air mixture to produce drive torque. More specifically, air is drawn into the engine through a throttle. The air is mixed with fuel and the air and fuel mixture is compressed within a cylinder using a piston. The air and fuel mixture is combusted within the cylinder to reciprocally drive the piston within the cylinder, which in turn rotationally drives a crankshaft of the engine.
An air filter is often used in an internal combustion engine to remove contamination from the induction air. Over a period of use the air filter can become plugged and restrict the air flow into the engine. This can reduce performance, reduce fuel economy and increase engine emissions. Therefore, it is important to determine whether air flow is restricted as a result of the air filter.
Traditional internal combustion engines include pressure sensors both upstream and downstream of the air filter. Accordingly, a traditional engine system is able to diagnose air flow restriction resulting from an air filter based on a calculated pressure drop across the air filter using the upstream and downstream pressure sensors. However, such additional hardware increases cost and manufacturing time, and is also a maintenance concern because proper operation of the sensors must be monitored and the sensors must be replaced if not functioning properly.

Throttle inlet absolute air pressure sensor for dirty air filter detection


A tricycle is provided for supporting multiple passengers. The multi-passenger tricycle has a frame member, a steering assembly, a rear axle assembly, an auxiliary handlebar and a rear passenger foot platform. The steering assembly is rotatable and is coupled to a first end of the frame member. The rear axle assembly is coupled to the second end of the frame member. The auxiliary handlebar is coupled to the frame member between the first end and the second end of the frame member. The rear passenger foot platform is coupled to the frame member adjacent a second end of the frame member, and is at least partially above the rear axle assembly. Preferably, the rear passenger foot platform includes a first foot platform on one side of the frame member and a second foot platform on an opposing side of the frame member.

Standard tricycles are generally known in the art. Further, tricycles that include an upwardly extending rear handle to allow a parent to steer the tricycle are similarly known. Some tricycles include features such as a footrest for a seated child to use while the parent is pushing the tricycle. Other tricycles include a substantially rigid restraining hoop that extends around the seated child, and a safety harness that secures the seated child to the seat. Some tricycles also include a trailer for pulling a second rider. Notwithstanding, the present embodiment seeks to overcome certain of the limitations and other drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide new features not heretofore available. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present invention is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.


An electronic gaming machine and methods of operating an electronic gaming machine that provide selectable sound beams. In various embodiments, the electronic gaming machine includes a housing having a front side, a head position tracker supported by the housing, a first speaker array supported by the housing, and a second speaker array supported by the housing. The first speaker array includes a plurality of independently operable first speakers that are positioned at different angles to direct sound beams at different angles relative to the front side of the housing. The second speaker array includes a plurality of independently operable second speakers that are positioned at different angles to direct sound beams at different angles relative to the front side of the housing.

Various electronic gaming machines ("EGMs") may be operable to enable play of wagering games. Various EGMs may include one or more primary wagering games. Various EGMs may also include one or more secondary games. Various EGMs may initiate a play of the primary wagering game following receipt of a wager input by the player that indicates how much the player desires to wager. Various EGMs may determine any primary awards for a wagered-on play of the primary wagering game based on the wager amount and a randomly determined outcome of the play of the primary wagering game (such as the randomly determined position that each of the reels of a slot EGM will stop at).

Electronic gaming machine and method with selectable sound beams


A system including a diversity module and an antenna selection module. The diversity module is configured to measure (i) a first signal-to-noise ratio and a first error rate associated with a first antenna, and (ii) a second signal-to-noise ratio and a second error rate associated with a second antenna. The antenna selection module is configured to select the first antenna or the second antenna by comparing (i) the first signal-to-noise ratio to the second signal-to-noise ratio, and (ii) the first error rate to the second error rate.

Wireless network devices with antenna diversity are employed to reduce signal fading in wireless communication applications. These wireless network device include two or more antennas. One of the antennas is employed to transmit and receive packets at a time. Signal to noise ratio (SNR) of each antenna is measured during a preamble of a packet and the antenna is selected.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a wireless network device 10 including hardware-based antenna diversity is shown. The wireless network device 10 typically includes a host device 12 such as a laptop, personal digital assistant, desktop computer or other computing device. The host device 12 includes a wireless network interface 13. The wireless network interface 13 communicates with another wireless network device 14 having an antenna system 16. The wireless network interface 13 may include a physical layer (PHY) module 20 that provides an interface between a medium access control (MAC) module 24 and a wireless medium. A host interface module 26 may provide an interface between the MAC module 24 and the host device 12. A hardware-based antenna diversity module 28 selects between a first antenna A1 and a second antenna A2 based on measurements made when packets are received.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the wireless network device 14 exchanges packets 50 with the wireless network interface 13. The packets 50 may include a preamble portion 54, a header portion 56, a variable length user data portion 58 and an error checking portion 60. The hardware-based antenna diversity module 28 samples a SNR of the preamble portion 54 and selects one of the antennas A1 or A2. More particularly, the hardware-based antenna diversity module 28 samples SNR of the first antenna during a first half of the preamble portion 54 of the packet 50. During a second half of the preamble portion 54, the hardware-based antenna diversity module 28 samples SNR of the second antenna. Based on the SNR sampling, the hardware-based antenna diversity module selects one of the antennas to be used for the packet.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention provides an image processing unit capable of differentiating two images with a difference which the user expects to see, an imaging processing method thereof, and an image processing program thereof. The image processing unit of the present invention includes: a histogram creation unit for creating a color histogram of each image obtained by an imaging sensor; a correlation calculation unit for comparing the color histogram of a processing object image to be subjected to predetermined processing with the color histogram of a comparison object image obtained prior to the processing object image, to calculate the color correlation between these images; and a decision unit for deciding a parameter to be used for the predetermined processing according to the calculated correlation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing unit to be mounted on or connected to a device such as an electronic camera. Further, the present invention relates to an image processing method and an image processing program which are applied to the image processing unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image processing circuit inside the conventional electronic camera automatically conducts white balance processing, color transformation processing, gray-scale transformation processing, and so on, on individual images.
Parameters, which are used for these processings, are decided for each of the processings according to color temperature, intensity, and the like of the individual images.
Therefore, if there exists even a slight difference between two images, even though they are obtained by photographing the same scene, different parameters are set for the above processings. This results in the individual images' having different finishes.
In general, however, when a user obtains two images by photographing the same scene twice consecutively, probably with slight framing changes, the two images will mostly have a little difference. In such a case, the user often hopes to have the two images with the same photographic atmosphere (particularly, color balance).
The aforesaid conventional electronic camera, however, may recognize a large difference between the two images, event though the user can see no difference therebetween, and as a result, these two images may have quite different photographic atmospheres.

Image processing unit, image processing method, and image processing program


A roll forming process and roll forming apparatus of a lead frame of quad flat a semiconductor package. The roll forming process comprises a roll forming step for bending using a form roller the plurality of leads into a predetermined bending shape while minimizing the frictional force between the form roller and the leads and a notching step for providing a pair of notches on the lead frame at opposite sides of the leads. The roll forming step is carried out between the trimming step and the lead cutting step, while the notching step is carried out at least before the roll forming step. The roll forming apparatus comprises a roll forming punch die including the form roller rotatably supported at its opposite sides by a pair of support holders. The form roller imparts an increasing bend to the package leads until the predetermined bending shape is achieved.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates in general to forming of semiconductor package lead frame, and more particularly to a process and apparatus for progressively forming a lead frame of a quad flat semiconductor package having fine pitch leads.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, the production method of semiconductor packages generally includes a progressive forming process for providing individual semiconductor packages having a plurality of leads bent into a desired shape using a forming punch die.
With reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, a lead frame 1 holding a plurality of quad flat semiconductor packages 2 having fine pitch leads 3 progressively passes through a forming punch die 4 as shown at the arrow of FIGS. 1A and 1B and subjected to a progressive forming process. When the lead frame 1 holding the plurality of semiconductor packages 2 reaches the forming punch die 4, a trimming step is carried out for cutting dam bars of the lead frame 1 and followed by a progressive forming step. In the progressive forming step, the plurality of leads 3 of each of the packages 2 are progressively bent into a desired shape. At the last position of the forming punch die 4, individual semiconductor packages 2 having the bent leads 3 are cut free from the lead frame 1.
The conventional forming punch die 4 is equipped with an integrated type forming punch or a cam type forming punch. Otherwise stated, as shown in FIG. 2, a forming punch 5 of the cam type is provided at the lower section of the forming punch die 4. While the lead frame 1 progressively passes through the forming punch die 4, the cam type forming punch 5 performs a repeated vertical reciprocation with respect to the lead frame 1 and carries out the progressive forming for the leads 3, thereby bending the leads 3 into the desired shape. Here, the forming punch 5 reciprocates at a velocity higher than 50 SPM., so that there is generated a face frictional heat of a higher temperature between the contact surface of the reciprocating forming punch 5 and the leads 3.
The temperature of the face frictional heat generated between the forming punch 5 and the leads 3 is higher than a plating temperature of the plated lead frame 1, so that the plating material, such as tin, of the lead frame 1 is melted and builds up on the contact surface of the forming punch 5 or between the leads 3 having the fine pitch of about 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm.
The build-up of the plating material on the contact surface of the forming punch 5 causes a scratch on the leads 3, thereby deteriorating the quality of the resulting semiconductor package. On the other hand, when the plating material builds up between the leads 3 having a pitch ranging ranged from about 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm, these leads 3 are often electrically connected to each other through the build-up material causing a short circuit of the resulting semiconductor package. This results in deterioration of the reliability and the productivity of the semiconductor packages.
In addition, there has been proposed a progressive roll forming of a semiconductor package carried out using a plurality of roller sets, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,139. This U.S. patent discloses a method by which leads of a semiconductor package are bent into their final shape by employing a roll forming process. This roll forming process achieves a final form by passing a lead frame holding a plurality of semiconductor packages through a series of form rollers which progressively bend the leads into the final shape. However, this forming method has a problem in that it is not used for forming the leads of a quad flat semiconductor package (QFP) but is used for forming the leads of a dual inline semiconductor package (DIP).

Process for forming lead frame of quad flat semiconductor package

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.


An image forming apparatus has an intermediate transfer belt and a plurality of image forming units located along the intermediate transfer belt. Each image forming unit has a photosensitive drum, a charger that charges the photosensitive drum, a developing device that forms a toner image by attaching toner to an electrostatic latent image formed by exposure after charging, a transfer device that transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum to the intermediate transfer belt, a cleaning device that removes toner remaining on the photosensitive drum, and a neutralization device that neutralizes the photosensitive drum using neutralization light. The neutralization device of at least one of the image forming units irradiates the photosensitive drum with neutralization light, irradiates the intermediate transfer belt with neutralization light, and irradiates the photosensitive drum of the adjacent image forming unit with reflected light of neutralization light from the intermediate transfer belt.

The present disclosure relates to a tandem type image forming apparatus such as a color multifunction device.
Tandem image forming apparatuses, such as an intermediate transfer type color multifunction device, have an intermediate transfer belt looped over a driving roller and a driven roller, and a plurality of photosensitive drums for yellow, cyan, magenta, and black positioned along the surface of the intermediate transfer belt. The tandem image forming apparatuses also have a charger, a developing device, a drum cleaning device, and others for each photosensitive drum. The peripheral surfaces of the photosensitive drums are charged by the chargers and are exposed by exposure devices, and electrostatic latent images are thereby formed. Toner is attached to these electrostatic latent images by developing devices, and toner images are thereby formed. The toner images formed on the peripheral surfaces of the photosensitive drums are transferred (primarily transferred) to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt so as to be superposed on each other. Next, the toner images multiply transferred to the intermediate transfer belt are transferred (secondarily transferred) to a sheet, and a color image is thereby formed on the sheet. Toner remaining on the peripheral surfaces of the photosensitive drums after the primary transfer is removed by the drum cleaning devices.
Many of the above-described image forming apparatuses have a neutralization device for each photosensitive drum. The neutralization device removes surface potential, such as an electrostatic latent image, remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum after a toner image is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt. The neutralization device irradiates a predetermined area on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum from a primary transfer position to a charging position where the photosensitive drum is charged by the charger, with neutralization light from a neutralization light source, and performs neutralization (post-transfer neutralization) of the surface potential of the photosensitive drum.
However, if the surface potential remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum cannot be sufficiently removed by the post-transfer neutralization, unevenness of surface potential remains on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum even after the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum is charged by the charger. This can result in so-called image memory. For example, after a dark image is formed, a large amount of toner is not primarily transferred and remains, neutralization light is blocked and sufficient neutralization is not performed, and therefore image memory occurs.
It is effective in suppressing the occurrence of image memory to perform, before the primary transfer, neutralization (pre-transfer neutralization) by irradiating the surface of the photosensitive drum after developing with neutralization light, and to thereby facilitate the transfer of the toner image on the photosensitive drum to the intermediate transfer belt.
In order to perform pre-transfer neutralization, in addition to post-transfer neutralization, and to thereby suppress the occurrence of image memory, in addition to a device that emits neutralization light for post-transfer neutralization, a device that emits neutralization light for pre-transfer neutralization in the image forming apparatus may be provided.
In the case of a tandem image forming apparatus, a neutralization device for post-transfer neutralization and a neutralization device for pre-transfer neutralization may be provided for each of the four photosensitive drums. However, it is difficult to find space for these neutralization devices without increasing the size of the apparatus. In addition, the electric wiring to these neutralization devices is complicated, and the manufacturing cost of the image forming apparatus therefore increases.

Tandem image forming apparatus having neutralization device performing pre-transfer neutralization and post-transfer neutralization


A method includes a deployment computer receiving a client request message comprising a plurality of established parameters and established values for the established parameters, and inquiry parameters and inquiry values for the inquiry parameters from a client computer. For each model of a plurality of models stored in a database, the deployment computer can determine if a model in the plurality of models is a suitable model based on a likelihood value. The deployment computer can then generate one or more client response messages comprising one or more assets created by one or more suitable models. The deployment computer can then transmit the one or more client response messages comprising the one or more assets to the client computer.

Computers can create virtual environments from which they may launch a number of applications. However, merely having the virtual environments may not solve an entity's needs. Further, many dependencies between applications may be needed in the virtual environment, and can be created by a subject matter expert. Security and privacy rules may need to be followed by every application in the virtual environment and may vary between applications. As security and operational needs quickly change, the applications in a virtual environment quickly become outdated, for example, become potentially unsecure to malicious parties.
Embodiments of the invention address this problem and other problems individually and collectively.

Automatic asset selection and creation system and method


Systems and methods are provided for a personal interaction game platform and may include, in a human-controlling gaming platform comprising a first communication device and a second communication device, each comprising a user input mechanism and a display: receiving commands in the first device via its user input mechanism; communicating the received commands to the second device; relaying the communicated commands to a user of the second device; sensing data regarding actions taken by the user of the second device in response to the relayed commands; and communicating the sensed data to the first device. The commands may be relayed to the user of the second device via an audio output. The commands may be relayed to the user of the second device via the display. One or more tactile sensors may be operatively coupled to the second device for sensing the data regarding actions of the receiver.

Conventional gaming platforms may be costly, cumbersome, and/or inefficient—e.g., they may be complex and/or time consuming.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one skilled in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present disclosure as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Method and system for a personal interaction game platform


Devices, methods, and systems for secure communications on a computing device. A host operating system (OS) runs on a host processor in communication with a host memory. A secure OS runs on a coprocessor in communication with a secure memory. The coprocessor receives information from an external device over a secure peer-to-peer (P2P) connection. The secure P2P connection is managed by the secure OS and is not accessible by the host OS.

Modern computers and computing devices receive, process, and output audio information in various ways. For example, audio information from a video clip source may be output to a speaker, or voice information may be input from a headset microphone and output to a modem for transmission over the internet. In some cases, different levels of security concern apply to different kinds of audio information.
In some cases, the computing system processes the audio information using a dedicated co-processor, such as an audio co-processor (ACP). In order to receive the input data and provide it to the co-processor, a host operating system (OS) and central processing unit (CPU) of the computing device are typically activated to manage the data path from input to co-processor.

Secure and power efficient audio data processing


A multi-lock latch for gates and other closures which utilizes one or more padlocks for security and includes a drum rotatably attached to the gate and having a peripheral flange provided with multiple, spaced padlock openings for receiving the respective padlock shackles. A horizontally-oriented locking bar is slidably attached to the gate, with one end of the locking bar positioned in alignment with the respective shackle openings in the drum flange as the drum is rotated, and the opposite, or locking end of the locking bar aligned with a plate opening provided in a gate post plate mounted on a gate post securing the gate. When the padlocks are attached to the drum flange by insertion of the respective shackles through corresponding shackle openings in the drum flange, the locking bar is disposed such that the locking end is inserted in the plate opening located in the gate post plate and the gate cannot be opened. However, when one of the padlock shackles is removed from a corresponding shackle opening in the drum flange, the drum and remaining padlocks may be rotated to align this opening with the locking bar and the locking bar then slidably adjusted, to extend through the opening vacated by the shackle, remove the opposite end of the locking bar from the plate opening and allow the gate to open.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to locking systems for gates and other closures and more particularly, to a multi-lock latch, which utilizes multiple padlocks to facilitate gate entry by as many persons. The multi-lock latch is characterized by a drum rotatably secured to the gate and provided with a peripheral flange having spaced padlock shackle openings for receiving the padlock shackles in locked configuration. A locking bar is horizontally mounted in sliding relationship on the gate, such that a drum-engaging end of the locking bar is aligned with the shackle openings as the drum is rotated and the opposite, or locking end of the padlock is aligned with a plate opening located in a gate post plate mounted on a gate post securing the gate. Accordingly, the gate is locked and cannot be opened when the locking bar is disposed such that the locking end thereof is inserted in the plate opening located in the gate post plate and the drum-engaging end is spaced from the drum. However, the gate may be opened by unlocking one of the padlocks, removing the padlock shackle from the corresponding shackle opening, rotating the drum and remaining padlocks to align the shackle opening and the drum-engaging end of the locking bar and sliding the locking bar horizontally, such that the drum-engaging end extends through the vacant shackle opening. This movement of the locking bar causes the locking end of the locking bar to vacate the plate opening in the gate post plate and allows the gate to open. It will be appreciated that this same procedure may be followed by unlocking each of the other padlocks attached to the drum flange, to facilitate access through the gate by multiple individuals, each having a key or the combination to one of the respective padlocks, as the case may be.
One of the problems which is realized in the locking of gates which block access to such properties as oil and gas leases, ranches and other areas which require access by more than one person, is that of providing a separate key for each person. A typical locking device for such gates is a chain wrapped around the gate post and gate, which chain is secured by a single padlock to prohibit unauthorized ingress. Since keys are easily lost and it is difficult and time-consuming to distribute new keys in such an event, or when a new padlock is required due to weathering or damage to the old one, a continuing problem of ingress and egress exists when several persons must enter the premises.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,707,125, dated Apr. 26, 1955 to J. W. Ritter, Sr., details a "Means for Locking a Gate to a Gatepost". The Ritter patent discloses vertically movable members which are each secured by a padlock and when unlocked, are adapted to slide in a gate post for lifting and lowering a gate latch slide bolt and opening and closing the gate, respectively. U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,497, dated June 17, 1975, to Herman I. Tuttle, details a "Multiple-Lock Securing System". The multiple-lock securing system includes a bar having a security device attached thereto. A locking plate contains openings with locks positioned therein and the bar can be fastened to the locking plate when the locks are positioned in each of the openings. When one of the locks is removed from the locking plate the bar is released, providing access to the secured area. A "Multiple Padlock Device" is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,988,031, dated Oct. 26, 1976, to Gordon R. Meyer. The multiple padlock device includes a vertically-rotatable plate mounted on a stationary, horizontal axis in the same plane as the fence and gate when the gate is closed. A series of holes are located in the rotatable plate, with individual bars pivotally attached to the plate to cover each respective hole. Locking holes are contained in both the rotatable plate and each pivotable bar contained thereon, to lock the bar into a position covering each of the respective holes. A horizontally slidable locking bar, which is in the same plane as the gates, slidably extends through a gate post, with one end thereof extending into a hole in the fence post. The other end of the locking bar is in abutting relationship with the rotatable plate, such that if a pivotal bar is moved to one side, the horizontal slidable locking bar may be extended through a hole in the rotatable plate, thereby removing the opposite end from the hole in the fence post to allow the gate to be opened. U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,278, dated Dec. 23, 1980, to Peter J. Linder, details a "Gate Locking Device". The device includes a locking mechanism for a horizontally swinging gate bar to lock the end of the bar to a vertical post. The vertical post has a cap member threadably mounted eccentrically thereon, the cap member having a cavity to receive the end of the gate bar. The cap member contains a locked linkage, one of the links of which includes a locking projection engaging a slot in the post. The linkage includes pivotal connections formed by the shackles of padlocks. By removing at least one of the padlocks, the linkage can be disconnected to allow withdrawal of the locking projection from the post slot and allow the cap member to be rotated sufficiently to enable the end of the gate bar to be swung out of the locking cavity. A stop member depending from the floor of the cavity cooperates with a horizontal lug in the post to prevent unscrewing of the cap member from the post. A "Multi-Lock Security Device" is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,443, dated Oct. 6, 1987, to Wilbert L. Hillin. The device includes a locking plate rotatably disposed on a stationary axis, the axis secured to an existing structure or embedded in the ground. The locking plate is provided with a series of radial access channels formed through a flange retaining rib disposed on the lock plate, to enable the gate pin to be slidably held within an interior latch race. Fastening gates are pivotally attached to the locking plate and may be closed across the access channels and secured with padlocks connectable through corresponding openings in both the fastening gate and the locking plate.
It is an object of this invention to provide a multi-lock latch which operates to facilitate ingress and egress by multiple individuals using multiple padlocks.
Another object of the invention is to provide a multi-lock latch which is designed to facilitate ingress and egress through a gate by using multiple padlocks mounted in locking openings on a rotatable drum flange, wherein one end of a cooperating, sliding locking bar may be slidably inserted in a selected one of the locking openings when a padlock is removed, to facilitate removal of the opposite end of the locking bar from a gate post and opening the gate.
Another object of this invention is to provide a multi-lock latch for closing a gate, which latch is characterized by a rotating drum provided with a peripheral flange having spaced openings therein for receiving the shackles of several padlocks, respectively, and a locking bar slidably mounted on the gate in alignment with the padlock openings as the drum rotates, to facilitate opening the gate after one or more of the padlocks are removed to vacate the padlock openings.


Sole (100; 200; 300; 400) comprising a support layer (101; 201; 301; 401) having at least one region (103; 203; 303; 403) which allows the passage of air through said layer (101; 201; 301; 401), characterized in that it comprises one or more reinforcing elements (111; 211, 311; 411) joined to one side of said layer (101; 201; 301; 401) in said at least one region (103; 203; 303, 403) and perforated with through-openings (113; 213; 313; 413) for evacuating the air which passes through said region; and a membrane (117; 290, 390; 417) made of material which is waterproof and vapor-permeable, situated above said at least one region (103; 203; 303, 403) on the side of said layer (101; 201; 301, 401) opposite to said elements (111; 211, 311; 411) and sealed with said layer (101; 201; 301; 401) at least along one contour (115; 215; 305) around said at least one region (103; 203; 303; 403).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shoe with a breathable sole.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that, in order to ensure hygienic and comfortable conditions for the feet, a shoe should not trap the products of perspiration (moisture and water vapour) but, on the contrary, should prevent stagnation thereof. This requirement is all the greater if the foot is subject to overheating or to stresses (for example sporting activities). Obviously the strength and the protection provided by the shoe must not be compromised in the attempt to make a shoe breathable.
Many solutions which aim to obtain a shoe which is both breathable as well as comfortable and safe are known. Patent application WO 04/028284 describes a sole comprising:
a support layer which in at least one macro-portion is made of "perforated" material;
a breathable membrane associated on top of the support layer at least in the macro-portion;
a tread made of plastic material with a macro-perforation at least at the macro-portion, the tread being joined hermetically to the membrane and to the support layer at least along the perimeter of the macro-portion.
The patent application WO 02/32246 attempts to solve the technical problem whereby, in a sole comprising a layer of felt to which a breathable membrane is joined, the latter tears because it is not sufficiently elastic with respect to the felt layer. The solution consists in providing an inner sole which has a layer preventing elongation of the felt situated underneath the membrane. These three layers are provided in sandwich form and communicate with the exterior by means of holes formed in the tread of the shoe.
In patent application WO 98/51177 the technical problem is that of improving the process for manufacturing a breathable shoe and ensuring that the associated breathable membrane is protected from mechanical stresses. A tread is provided with perforations and is in contact with an insole which comprises a membrane associated above a protective layer so as to form a stratified or sandwich structure. The insole is pre-moulded and assembled with the tread using glue or by means of overinjection.
In patent EP 1,089,642 the technical problem is that of increasing the circulation (otherwise poor) of air inside the shoes, while protecting the breathable membrane which renders the shoe breathable. It is considered that the poor circulation is due to the small number of perforations in the shoe with respect to its surface area, so that the solution proposed is a sole with an integrated tread in which raised vertical projections in an empty region are in contact with a protective layer on top of which a membrane is associated. The empty region communicates with the exterior of the shoe via numerous horizontal channels.
In the patent application WO 02/14326 the technical problem is to provide a breathable shoe. This patent describes a shoe which has an insole comprising a membrane associated with an underlying protective layer in turn joined to a perforated tread, all of which with a sandwich structure. A perforated filling layer or "filler" is arranged on the membrane. By way of a variation of assembly, the edges of the membrane may be also joined directly to the tread.
All these solutions have intrinsic disadvantages. The sandwich structure which includes the breathable membrane is commonly fixed to the remainder of the shoe by means of overinjection of plastic material which forms the tread. There is therefore the risk of damaging the membrane which per se is very delicate and does not withstand very well the aggressive action of the melted plastic material. Another very important disadvantage is that the expulsion of the moisture from inside the shoe through the membrane may take place only naturally, namely that the moisture must pass through the membrane spontaneously. This is a very slow natural process; a forced process which increases the efficiency thereof would be advantageous.


A power semiconductor module having surface-mountable flat external contact areas and a method for producing the same is disclosed. In one embodiment, the top sides of the external contacts form an inner housing plane, on which at least one power semiconductor chip is fixed by its rear side on a drain external contact. An insulation layer covers the top side over the edge sides of the semiconductor chip as far as the inner housing plane whilst leaving free the source and gate contact areas on the top side of the semiconductor chip and also whilst partly leaving free the top sides of the corresponding external contacts. Arranged on the insulation layer is a connecting conductive layer between the source contact areas on the top side of the semiconductor chip and the top sides of the source external contacts, and also a gate connecting layer from the gate contact areas to the top side of the gate external contact.

The invention relates to a power semiconductor module in a plastic housing having surface-mountable flat external contacts and to a method for producing the same using a planar connecting technique on a metallic leadframe. In the case of such a power semiconductor module having surface-mountable flat external contacts, the external contact areas of the external contacts are arranged on the underside of the semiconductor module. Such a power semiconductor module has at least one power semiconductor chip, the top side of the power semiconductor chip having source contact areas and gate contact areas and the rear side of the semiconductor chip having a drain contact area.
Making contact with power semiconductor devices, in particular power semiconductor modules having a high current density in a plastic housing, is problematic owing to the high evolution of heat loss. This is because said heat loss has to be dissipated within the plastic housing via connections with the highest possible electrical and thermal conductivity from the contact areas of the semiconductor chip to corresponding connection contacts of a metallic leadframe.
One conventional connecting technique is wire contact-making. In this case, the connections are produced by means of bonding wires made of gold or aluminum, the contact between the bonding wires and the contact areas on the semiconductor chip and also the contact areas on a leadframe arising as a result of the metals involved being alloyed with energy being supplied. However, the relatively small cross-sectional areas of the wire connections are critical for a high connecting resistance. Moreover, such wire connections are an obstacle to further shrinking of the contact areas on the top side of the semiconductor chip, advancing chip miniaturization and increasing integration.
Further disadvantages of such bonding wire technologies are the thermomechanical loading on the semiconductor chip upon contact-making and the possible bonding wire drifting in the course of molding composition encapsulation of the module components in the course of embedding into a plastic housing composition. Furthermore, a further weak point for instances of bonding wires being torn away are the molten and subsequently recrystallized regions at the contact areas. Ageing processes of the alloy compounds are observed there, diffusion processes constituting a creeping increase in the contact resistance and hence a reliability problem for the power semiconductor module.
An alternative has been developed for P-TDSON housings (Plastic Thin Dual Small Outline Non leaded package). This alternative contact-making method is also known by the term "clamping clip method", a metal clip instead of the bonding wires enabling large-area contact to be made with the source contact areas on account of its larger cross-sectional area, which leads to a reduction of the electrical resistance. At the same time, the clamping clip method improves the dissipation of heat from the chip top sides by virtue of a reduced thermal resistance and an increased heat buffer capacity of such a clamping clip connection. However, on account of its dimensions, the clip construction limits advancing and improved integration of power semiconductor chips in corresponding power semiconductor modules.
The flexibility of such clip structures is low with regard to the arrangement of the bonding contact areas, for which reason a change in each case necessitates a new clip construction. The contact-making on the contact areas of the semiconductor chip or on the contact pads of the "leadframe" is effected by soldering using a solder paste. The elimination of flux residues by means of a subsequent cleaning process forms a critical operation in this case. The flux residues have perfect adhesion on the components in the course of embedding and adversely influence the reliability of the power semiconductor module. In addition, fatigue cracks in the solder connections in the event of thermomechanical loading are a reliability problem.
The document WO 2004/077584 A2 discloses large-area metal coatings which are applied to an insulation layer of a substrate and in this case simultaneously produce the connection to contact areas on the top side of semiconductor chips. This technology requires, as the leadframe, a correspondingly prepared large-area substrate such as is known as a wiring substrate for BGA devices. Such prerequisites of a large-area plane substrate are not imposed, however, in the case of device housings such as the P-TDSON housing or P-VQFN housing (Plastic Very thin profile Quad Flat Non leaded package).
The document U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,922 also offers solutions with metal layers applied in large-area fashion and works on the basis of a conventional leadframe with flat conductors projecting laterally from the housing. Furthermore, the publication "Planar Metallization Interconnected 3-D Multichip Module" by Zhenxean Liang et al., 53. Electronic Compounds and Technology Conference 2003, pages 1090-1094, discloses orienting power semiconductor devices made of silicon with ceramic substrates in such a way that large-area metal coatings on the coplanar top side having ceramic substrate and semiconductor chip surface become possible without great disturbances. However, even this solution has the disadvantage that it is not very flexible and cannot readily be applied to power semiconductor modules having a plastic housing and having surface-mountable contacts such as the P-TDSON or the P-VQFN housings offer or have.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.

Power semiconductor module having surface-mountable flat external contacts and method for producing the same


An intellectual property (IP) block portion in an integrated circuit includes a first regulator, a first circuit, a power converter, and a second circuit. The first regulator is configured to receive a supply voltage and to generate a first output voltage. The first circuit is coupled with the first regulator and configured to receive the first output voltage. The power converter includes a charge pump configured to receive the supply voltage and to generate a pumped voltage; and a second regulator configured to receive the supply voltage or the pumped voltage and to generate a second output voltage. The second output voltage has a voltage level greater than a voltage level of the first output voltage. The second circuit is coupled with the power converter and configured to receive the second output voltage.

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. Such scaling down has also increased the complexity of an IC. In some applications, an IC includes different intellectual property (IP) block portions configured to be powered by power supply voltages having different voltage levels. An IP block portion incorporates an IP block that is a reusable circuit design and is usually the intellectual property of an IP block vendor. In some applications, even an IP block portion includes multiple circuit blocks configured to be powered by power supply voltages having different voltage levels.

Regulated power converter and method of operating the same

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


A CMOS image sensor and a method for forming the same are provided. According to the method, a gate insulating layer and a doped polysilicon layer which are sequentially stacked on a substrate are patterned to form a transfer gate and a reset gate set apart from each other. A floating diffusion layer between the transfer gate and the reset gate, a light receiving element at a side of the transfer gate away from and opposite to the floating diffusion layer and a source/drain region at a side of the reset gate away from and opposite to the floating diffusion layer are formed. An insulation layer and a mold layer are sequentially formed on an entire surface of the substrate, and the mold layer is planarized until the insulation layer is exposed. The exposed insulation layer is removed to further expose an upper surface of the gates. A selective silicidation process is carried out using a metal gate layer to form a metal gate silicide on the exposed gate. The sequential steps in the selective silicidation process alleviate the metal contamination prevalent in various wet cleaning processes that may increase the malfunction of CMOS image sensors.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for forming the same, more particularly, to a complementary-metal-oxide-silicon CMOS image sensor and a method for forming the same.
The CMOS image sensor is a device transforming an optical image into an electric signal. The CMOS image sensor has lower power consumption than the currently known charge coupled device CCD image sensor. In addition, the CMOS image sensor is advantageous for its high integration and simple driving method. Numerous research studies on CMOS image sensors have been prompted by the recent trends that require the rapid development of a CMOS manufacturing process of a semiconductor device.
In general, a pixel of a CMOS image sensor is divided into a light receiving unit and a CMOS unit for controlling signal charges accumulated in the light receiving unit. The light receiving unit may consist of photodiodes, and the CMOS unit may include some MOS transistors.
Concurrent with the high integration of a semiconductor device is the requirement for a CMOS image sensor to be operational at a high speed. In order to improve the operational speed of the CMOS image sensor, a method is used to reduce the resistance of a gate included in a MOS transistor. The gate may include tungsten silicide with a low resistivity in order to reduce the resistance of the gate. The technology that includes tungsten silicide in a gate of a MOS transistor in a pixel is disclosed in the Korean Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-41451. The method for forming a MOS transistor, as disclosed in the Korean Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-41451, is described next, with reference to the accompanying simplified drawings.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method for forming a conventional CMOS image sensor.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a gate oxide layer 2 is formed on a substrate 1, and a polysilicon layer 3 and a tungsten silicide layer 4 are sequentially formed on the gate oxide layer 2.
The tungsten silicide layer 4, the polysilicon layer 3 and the gate oxide layer 2 are patterned in series to form a gate electrode of a transfer transistor. The gate electrode includes a polysilicon pattern 3a and a tungsten silicide pattern 4a, which are sequentially stacked.
Impurity ions are selectively injected into the substrate 1 at one side of the gate electrode to form a photodiode 5. Impurity ions are selectively injected into the other side of the gate electrode to form an impurity doping layer 6. Even if not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a spacer is formed at the sidewalls of the gate electrode.
The tungsten silicide pattern 4a has a lower resistivity than the polysilicon pattern 3a. In turn, the resistance of the gate electrode is reduced by the tungsten silicide pattern 4a, which results to an improved operational speed of a CMOS image sensor.
However, when various kinds of wet cleaning processes are performed on the substrate 1, both after the tungsten silicide pattern 4a is formed and before the spacer is formed, the sidewalls of the tungsten silicide pattern 4a are exposed. Consequently, the photodiode 5 may be contaminated at the exposed portions of the tungsten silicide pattern 4a. The photodiode 5 may increase dark signals due to the metallic contamination. A dark signal can be described as a leakage current due to signal charges generated from the photodiode 5 when an external light is shielded. Accordingly, as the dark signal is increased, the CMOS image sensor may transmit an erroneous image signal; or, alternately, the CMOS may transmit a distorted image signal when impinged by an external light.

CMOS image sensor and method for forming the same


A robotic arm assembly (101) is provided which comprises a hub (103), a first arm segment (105) which is attached to the hub, and a second arm segment (107) which is attached to the first arm segment such that said second arm segment can rotate at least partially about its longitudinal axis.

Modern semiconductor processing systems include cluster tools that integrate a number of process chambers together in order to perform several sequential processing steps without removing the substrate from the highly controlled processing environment. These chambers may include, for example, degas chambers, substrate pre-conditioning chambers, cooldown chambers, transfer chambers, chemical vapor deposition chambers, physical vapor deposition chambers, and etch chambers. The combination of chambers in a cluster tool, as well as the operating conditions and parameters under which those chambers are run, are selected to fabricate specific structures using a specific process recipe and process flow.
Once the cluster tool has been set up with a desired set of chambers and auxiliary equipment for performing certain process steps, the cluster tool will typically process a large number of substrates by continuously passing them, one by one, through a series of chambers or process steps. The process recipes and sequences will typically be programmed into a microprocessor controller that will direct, control and monitor the processing of each substrate through the cluster tool. Once an entire cassette of wafers has been successfully processed through the cluster tool, the cassette may be passed to yet another cluster tool or stand alone tool, such as a chemical mechanical polisher, for further processing.
One example of a fabrication system of the type described above is the cluster tool disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,337 (Kroeker et al.), and reproduced in FIGS. 1 and 2 herein. The magnetically coupled robot disclosed therein is equipped with robotic arms having a frog-leg type construction that are adapted to provide both radial and rotational movement of the robot blade within a fixed plane. The radial and rotational movements can be coordinated or combined to allow for pickup, transfer and deliver of substrates from one location within the cluster tool to another location. For example, the robotic arm may be used to move substrates from one processing chamber to an adjacent chamber.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the integrated cluster tool 10 of Kroeker et al. Substrates are introduced into, and withdrawn from, the cluster tool 10 through a cassette loadlock 12. A robot 14 having a blade 17 is located within the cluster tool 10 to transfer the substrates from one process chamber to another. These process chambers include cassette loadlock 12, degas wafer orientation chamber 20, preclean chamber 24, PVD TiN chamber 22 and cooldown chamber 26. The robot blade 17 is illustrated in the retracted position in which it can rotate freely within the chamber 18.
A second robot 28 is located in transfer chamber 30 and is adapted to transfer substrates between various chambers, such as the cooldown chamber 26, preclean chamber 24, CVD Al chamber (not shown) and a PVD AlCu processing chamber (not shown). The specific configuration of chambers illustrated in FIG. 1 is designed to provide an integrated processing system capable of both CVD and PVD processes in a single cluster tool. A microprocessor controller 29 is provided to control the fabricating process sequence, conditions within the cluster tool, and the operation of the robots 14, 28.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the magnetically coupled robot of FIG. 1 shown in both the retracted and extended positions. The robot 14 (see FIG. 1) includes a first strut 81 rigidly attached to a first magnet clamp 80 and a second strut 82 rigidly attached to a second magnet clamp 80′. A third strut 83 is attached by a pivot 84 to strut 81 and by a pivot 85 to a wafer blade 86. A fourth strut 87 is attached by a pivot 88 to strut 82 and by a pivot 89 to wafer blade 86. The structure of struts 81-83, 87 and pivots 84, 85, 88, and 89 form a "frog leg" type connection of wafer blade 86 to magnet clamps 80,80′.
When magnet clamps 80,80′ rotate in the same direction with the same angular velocity, then the robot also rotates about axis x in this same direction with the same velocity. When magnet clamps 80, 80′ rotate in opposite directions with the same absolute angular velocity, then there is no rotation of assembly 14, but instead there is linear radial movement of wafer blade 86 to a position illustrated by dashed elements 81′-89′.
A wafer 35 is shown being loaded on wafer blade 86 to illustrate that the wafer blade can be extended through a wafer transfer slot 810 in a wall 811 of a chamber 32 to transfer such a wafer into or out of the chamber 32. The mode in which both magnet clamps 80, 80′ rotate in the same direction at the same speed can be used to rotate the robot from a position suitable for wafer exchange with one of the adjacent chambers 12, 20, 22, 24, 26 (see FIG. 1) to a position suitable for wafer exchange with another of these chambers. The mode in which both magnet clamps 80, 80′ rotate with the same speed in opposite directions is then used to extend the wafer blade into one of these chambers and then extract it from that chamber. Some other combination of clamp rotation can be used to extend or retract the wafer blade as the robot is being rotated about axis x.
To keep wafer blade 86 directed radially away from the rotation axes x, an interlocking mechanism is used between the pivots or cams 85, 89 to assure an equal and opposite angular rotation of each pivot. The interlocking mechanism may take on many designs. One possible interlocking mechanism is a pair of intermeshed gears 92 and 93 formed on the pivots 85 and 89. These gears are loosely meshed to minimize particulate generation by these gears. To eliminate play between these two gears because of this loose mesh, a weak spring 94 (see FIG. 4) may be extended between a point 95 on one gear to a point 96 on the other gear such that the spring tension lightly rotates these two gears in opposite directions until light contact between these gears is produced.
Although robots of the type depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,337 (Kroeker et al.) have many desirable features, robots of this type also have some shortcomings. In particular, it has been found that robots of this type often exhibit excessive wear in the wrist 85′, 89′ and elbow 84′, 88′ joints. This problem results in excessive maintenance requirements and interruptions to the manufacturing process. There is thus a need in the art for a robotic assembly which requires less maintenance and exhibits less wear in these areas. These and other needs are met by the devices and methodologies disclosed herein and hereinafter described.


A method is described for controlling instability of operation in a de-ethanizer tower (13) in the gas recovery unit in fluid catalytic cracking units and delayed coking units. The method comprises the step of intervening in the de-ethanizer tower (13) when instability occurs in it, and adjusting the material balance of water in such a way that the excess of water in the feed load stream (9) is removed only as an azeotrope. The intervention is performed by introducing into the feed load stream (9) of the de-ethanizer tower (13) a volume fraction (18) of a flow of hydrocarbon, which may be either dry hydrocarbons or hydrocarbons with a low level of water content.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention is in the field of methods for controlling instability of operation in a de-ethanizer tower in the gas recovery unit in fluid catalytic cracking units and delayed coking units.
2. Fundamentals of the Invention
Gases coming from the top section of fractionating towers of fluid catalytic cracking units and delayed coking units go through a procedure of compression, normally in two stages, and also a procedure of washing with water for removal of compounds considered to be contaminating.
The gases, now washed, are conducted, at high pressure, to an item of equipment known as a high pressure drum, for separation of water and hydrocarbons.
In terms of the operation in practice, the separation between water and hydrocarbons is subject to failures.
The immediate consequence is a presence and/or dragging of water, in a much higher quantity than foreseen by a unit's plan, together with the flow of hydrocarbons as load to a rectification tower, known as a de-ethanizer tower, in the gas recovery unit. The excess water in this de-ethanizer tower results in instability not only in its own capacity to operate, but also in the equipment connected to it.
The instability generates accumulation of water in the top of the tower, which can even reach a flooding situation. This inundation by excess liquid in the de-ethanizer tower is known by the expression "backup flood." In serious cases, the flooding affects other equipment such as the primary absorption tower, finally causing instability of the entire gas recovery unit.
The flooding takes place, in practice, due to excess formation of steam, known by the expression "choke flood." This excessive formation of steam takes place in the de-ethanizer tower, in the region of the upper half of the column. The excess vapor formed is the cause of the instability in the tower, in the form of its flooding.
It is this situation that leads to the need for reduction of the load of the de-ethanizer tower.
3. Description of the Related Art
In relation to the instability of de-ethanizer towers due to flooding, in the most serious case, the literature always seems puzzled by the fact that the flooding takes place in the higher part of the tower rather than the lower part, the location where there is always the largest load of liquid and, thus, the logical region for the start of a "backup flood."
The available literature on this subject discusses cases that have happened in refineries, refers to problems relating to errors in planning, or indeed raises the question of the disparity between the projection made in computational simulators and the functioning of the equipment in practice.
Given the varying findings about diverse aspects, normally alternatives for recovering the stability of the unit are favored, in the case of problems in the gas recovery unit focusing on the de-ethanizer tower for gas recovery.
Some solutions presented in specialized technical publications can be highlighted, such as the following examples:                Reduction of the de-ethanizer tower load or parameter control (Henry Z. Kister, Component Trapping in Distillation Towers: Causes, Symptoms and Cures, CEP, August 2004, at 22-33);        Elimination of the water present in the tower by a removal procedure (Dave Langdon et al., FCC Gas Plant Stripper Capacity, PTQ REVAMPS AND OPERATIONS, 2004, at 3-7); and        Preheating of the load of the de-ethanizer tower to a temperature at which instability does not cause effects (Stephen J. Deley & Kenneth Graf, Random Packing Debottlenecks Refinery De-Ethanizing Stripper's, OIL AND GAS JOURNAL, Aug. 1, 1994, at 39-41; and Tony Barletta & Scott Fulton, Maximizing Gas Plant Capacity, PTQ REVAMPS AND TURNAROUNDS, Spring 2004, at 105-113).
The solution above relating to the reduction of the tower load directly results in reduction of the load processed, both in the fluid catalytic cracking unit and also in the delayed coking unit.
To return the de-ethanizer tower to a stability situation, the solution relating to the removal of water present inside this de-ethanizer tower has the following proposals: installation of a device that allows outflow of the water to a vessel that is external to the tower, for accumulation and subsequent discarding; or the installation of an internal device which normally would be a plate known as a "sump" where the water is accumulated and removed from the system.
The second procedure involves the vaporization of the accumulated water before entering the de-ethanizer tower, by prior heating of the tower load to a temperature at which the water will be vaporized, that is to say, it does not enter the tower in liquid form.
The proposals for solution via removal of water and vaporization of the accumulated water have limitations. For example, for the removal of the water, the water still descends inside the tower, to be withdrawn from it only afterward.
In the prior vaporization of the water, although it avoids the water descending through the tower, if there is excessive vaporization of water, also, due to the effect of the temperature, light components in the load—such as hydrocarbons with one to four atoms of carbon—are excessively vaporized, which generates high recyclings of these light hydrocarbons to the high pressure drum with an overload of the systems involved, also affecting the primary and secondary absorbers and leading to considerable losses of hydrocarbons with three atoms of carbon in the combustible gas.
The literature, however, does not mention the occurrence of a phenomenon that takes place between the water and the hydrocarbons, which is the formation of azeotropes that are present in the load of the de-ethanizer tower. This formation is caused by water solubility in the hydrocarbon stream and also by accumulation in the high pressure drum.
The inventors realized that the azeotropy between the water and the hydrocarbons is the main factor responsible for formation of excess steam and, consequently, the basic cause of the generation of instabilities and flooding in the de-ethanizer tower, problems which until today's date have not had efficient solutions in the state of the art.

Method for control of instability in a de-ethanizer tower in fluid catalytic cracking units and delayed coking units


A lid for a trash container is disclosed including two lid members each having peripheral edge portions conforming to the size and shape of a rim of a standard trash container. The peripheral edge portions include a depending flange adapted to engage opposite outside surface portions of the trash container at the rim when the two members are drawn together. Each member is provided with at least one hole opening into the trash container sized to receive a predetermined shaped and sized article. According to a preferred embodiment, one lid member includes at least one circular hole having a diameter to receive a cylindrical container having a diameter not greater than the diameter of a predetermined size of standard beverage container and the other lid member includes at least one hole having a diameter to receive a cylindrical container having a diameter not greater than the diameter of a different predetermined size of standard beverage container.

This invention relates to trash containers. More particularly, the invention relates to a lid for use with a trash container specially adapted to help sort predetermined sized and shaped articles for disposal.
It is becoming increasingly common to recycle materials such as aluminum and in particular aluminum from containers such as beverage containers. Further, for the purpose of recycling, it may be desirable to sort such containers into their different standard sizes and to provide for a lid that can be used with standard trash containers to help sort articles being disposed into their common standard sizes and or at least to limit articles disposed to known sizes and shapes.


The invention provides a quantum dot particle and a preparation method thereof. The quantum dot particle includes at least one quantum dot core, a first protective layer covering the quantum dot core, and a second protective layer covering the first protective layer, wherein at least one hybrid nanoparticle is dispersed in the second protective layer, and the hybrid nanoparticle is configured to generate a near-field plasmon effect under irradiation of excitation light. The quantum dot particle has a higher fluorescence quantum yield. The invention also provides a photoluminescence device containing the quantum dot particle.

Quantum dots are important fluorescent nanomaterial. By virtues of wide absorption spectrum, narrow emission spectrum, high quantum yield, etc., quantum dots are widely used in the field of bioimaging, biosensors, photodiodes, solar cells and the like.
When used in applications such as illumination, display and biotherapy, quantum dots are required to maintain a high fluorescence emission intensity over a long period of time in a specific environment. Unfortunately, in practical applications, during the process of excitation light passing through the medium and irradiating to the quantum dots, the intensity of the excitation light may be lost or reduced. Consequently, it is difficult for the quantum dots to obtain high excitation energy, and thereby being difficult to obtain an ideal fluorescence quantum yield.
Conventionally, the excitation energy of the excitation light is increased, so as to increase the fluorescence quantum yield of the quantum dots. However, when applied in applications such as cell analysis or cell imaging, it will cause serious damage or destruction to the cell structure or intracellular biological macromolecules if the excitation light energy is too high. Therefore, how to improve the luminous intensity or luminous efficiency of quantum dots under a given excitation energy is an urgent issue needs to be addressed in applications.

Hybrid quantum dot nano-material, method for preparing the same and photoluminescence device

BEIJING BOE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.


In a system that demodulates a frequency modulated signal using a quadrature detector circuit, an apparatus that tunes the output signal to compensate for any offset in the signal includes an offset adjustment circuit and a control circuit. The offset adjustment circuit is operably coupled to the control circuit which may consist of a DAC and a digital logic such as a computer CPU. The control circuit determines a correction signal in response to a sequence of sampled of the system output, and supplies the correction signal to the offset adjustment circuit. The offset adjustment circuit provides an offset correction signal in response to the correction signal, and combines the offset correction signal with the output of the quadrature detector to provide an offset adjusted signal at an output node.

a. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of demodulation of frequency modulated data streams. More particularly, this invention relates to the dynamic adjustment of the output of a quadrature detector to compensate for DC offset errors in a demodulated data stream.
b. Description of Related Art
Many wireless data systems use a form of frequency modulation to modulate a carrier, due to its inherent simplicity. When frequency modulation is used to send and receive data, it is often referred to as Frequency-Shift Keying (FSK). A common implementation of FSK that is often used is to use a different frequency for each bit of information that is sent. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, if the bit is a logic xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d, one could transmit a frequency f1 that is slightly higher than some chosen carrier frequency fc. If a logic xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d is sent, one would send a frequency f0 that is slightly lower than some chosen carrier frequency fc. In this implementation of FSK, as long as one is sending non-return-to-zero data, the carrier frequency itself is never sent. In some such single-bit FSK systems however, an unmodulated carrier may be used to signal the start and stop of a data packet.
In another implementation of FSK, one might choose to send more than two frequencies (each of the two frequencies is sometimes referred to as a tone). A good example of this is where one uses different frequencies to represent more than one bit at a time. In other words, one could use a symbol, where the symbol is a particular frequency, to represent particular groups of bits. For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 2, one could transmit four different tones, each representing a group of two bits. Thus, for a given amount of data, one can cut down on the rate at which the output is modulated as compared to the single-bit FSK discussed above, simply by sending more than one bit with each symbol. This will result in less transmitted bandwidth. In general, the outer tones of a multiple-bit FSK system would be equal to the two tones of a single-bit FSK system operating at the same carrier frequency. In other words, the two outer tones f0 and f3 of FIG. 2, would be at the same frequencies as f0 and f1 of FIG. 1.
In general, most FSK systems directly modulate a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) in order to provide the frequency modulated data signal to be sent. The system is designed such that at the operating voltages of the digital input, the output frequency of the VCO is proportional to the input voltage. For example, a higher input voltage corresponds to a higher output frequency, and vice-versa. This is illustrated in FIG. 3. Often, a lowpass filter is used to bandlimit the input modulation signal prior to feeding it to the VCO. This results in a much narrower transmitted output spectrum from the VCO.
To receive the modulated signal, the reverse needs to be done. In other words, one needs to convert the frequency signal from the VCO back to a voltage signal which contains the original information. There are a variety of circuits that are well known in the art that can be used to perform this frequency-to-voltage conversion. These circuits include quadrature detectors, delay-line discriminators, frequency discriminators, ratio detectors and phase-locked loops. One such circuit, the quadrature detector circuit, is illustrated in FIG. 4 in simplified block diagram form. The quadrature detector is typically a four quadrant multiplier 40 which receives a frequency modulated signal s(t) as one input and multiplies this signal by a 90-degree phase shifted version 42 of this signal. Typically, the 90 degree phase shifted version 42 of the input signal is created using a tuning circuit 44 including an RLC network having a resistor R1, a capacitor C1 and an inductor L1 connected in parallel. The output q(t) of the multiplier 40 is a voltage that is proportional to the frequency of the input signal s(t). The output q(t) may then be further processed through a low pass filter 46 to provide an output r(t).
In a typical quadrature detector the two signals are exactly 90-degrees apart only at the carrier center frequency. If the input signal is below the carrier center frequency, then the phase-shifted version of the signal is less than 90-degrees apart and a negative voltage output from the quadrature detector results. If the input signal is above the carrier center frequency, then the output of the quadrature detector is positive.
FIG. 5 illustrates a typical FSK system in simplified block diagram form consisting of a VCO followed by a quadrature detector. The waveforms existing at various portions of the system are also illustrated. FIG. 6 illustrates a simple radio utilizing an FSK modulation scheme, and a quadrature detector in the demodulation path. In general, most radio systems will be far more complicated than the simple system shown here. Most systems would have one or more up and down frequency conversions, and would contain additional gain stages and filtering.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, the radio system includes an antenna 602, a transmit/receive switch 604, a receiver 606, and a transmitter 614. When the antenna 602 receives a signal, the signal is input to the transmit/receive switch 604, and further to the receiver 606 including a downconverter 608 and a quadrature detector 610. The signal from the receiver 606 is then input to an amplifier 612 that outputs a demodulated output signal. When a digital input signal is input to the transmitter 614, the signal is first input to a VCO 618 and then to an upconverter 616 that outputs an FSK modulated signal that is input to the transmit/receive switch 604.
Quadrature detectors are commonly used to demodulate FSK signals because they are simple to use and have low power dissipation. However, in order for the quadrature detector to perform optimally, the circuit should be tuned to precisely the carrier center frequency. This ensures that any input signal at the carrier center frequency has an output voltage of zero. If the quadrature detector is not tuned correctly, then a DC offset will be induced on the output of the demodulated bit stream as shown in FIG. 7. This DC offset will result in a degraded signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on the output signal, which, in turn, will result in more bit errors, especially in the presence of noise.
One method of tuning a quadrature detector is to manually tune it via a trimmer capacitor or variable inductor in the aforementioned RLC network, at the time of manufacture. However, manually tuned quadrature detectors are not accurate and robust over the long term as they can drift off the center frequency due to temperature changes and aging.
One possible solution to this problem that is known in the prior art is to have some sort of automatic tuning mechanism that relies on adjusting the reactive RLC circuit back to its correct frequency. This can be tough to do on an integrated circuit however, where inductors are sparingly used, of poor quality, and not adjustable. Further, although on-chip capacitors can be made voltage adjustable, they tend to exhibit nonlinear transfer voltage and susceptibility to process and temperature variations.
Another possible solution to the problem of a mistuned quadrature detector is to use a large number of frequency downconversions in the system. For, the output of the VC0 can be downconverted such that the +/xe2x88x92xcex94f is a significant percentage of the downconverted fc. If the percentage is large enough, then the significancexe2x80x94measured by the number of bit errors in the final system output streamxe2x80x94of any mistuning may be reduced substantially. This solution however, besides not addressing the problem of actually tuning the quadrature detector, requires additional power and amplification/mixer circuitry to implement several stages of downconversion. Further, each stage of downconversion adds a significant number of frequency harmonics to the overall system which must be filtered out lest they be amplified within the system and seen as actual signals.
Accordingly, there is the need for an apparatus which will reduce the effect of a mistuned quadrature detector on the overall operation of a frequency modulated information system. This apparatus must be capable of overcoming the temperature and age drift problems inherent in manual adjustment of an RLC tuning circuit. Further, it must overcome the process quality and temperature sensitivity problems encountered as a result of attempting to automatically adjust the reactance of the RLC circuit. Still further, the apparatus must be robust enough to be able to offset the effects of a mistuned quadrature detector without the aid of significant frequency downconversion and its inherent space constraints and harmonics filtering problems.
The present invention provides an apparatus that compensates for any offset present in the input signal of a system that demodulates a frequency modulated input signal using a quadrature detector. The apparatus includes an offset adjustment circuit and a control circuit. The offset adjustment circuit is operably coupled to the control circuit which may consist of a DAC and a digital logic. The control circuit determines a correction signal and supplies the correction signal to the offset adjustment circuit. The offset adjustment circuit provides an offset correction signal in response to the correction signal, and combines the offset correction signal with the output of the quadrature detector to provide an offset adjusted signal at an output node. In tuning the detector, the control circuit sets the magnitude of the correction signal such that the magnitude of the offset adjusted signal is equal to some predetermined voltage when the frequency of the frequency modulated input signal is substantially equal to the center frequency of the system.
Further, the present invention provides for a sampler which is coupled to the output node. The sampler converts the offset adjusted signal into a sequence of samples, and the control circuit determines the proper correction signal in response to the sequence of samples.
According to one aspect, the sampler is comprised of an output buffer circuit which clamps the voltage swing of the offset adjusted signal and produces a first demodulated signal. The first demodulated signal may then be input to a comparator circuit which produces a second demodulated signal at TTL levels. This second demodulated signal may then be provided to the digital logic of the control circuit as an input which informs the control circuit in setting the magnitude of the correction signal.
In addition, the present invention provides a source of a training signal whose frequency is substantially equal to the center frequency of the overall system. A switch which periodically applies the training signal to the input of the quadrature detector is also provided. The control circuit is coupled to this switch and executes an algorithm to determine the proper correction signal whenever the training signal is supplied to the quadrature detector.
In one embodiment of the apparatus, the offset adjustment circuit is provided in integrated circuit form along with the quadrature detector, the output buffer circuit, and the comparator circuit. The digital logic and DAC of the control circuit are external to the integrated circuit.
In one implementation of the invention, the apparatus is part of a transmit/receive station in a system for the wireless transfer of frequency modulated information. The transmit/receive station includes an antenna, a transmit/receive switch, a transmitter, and a receiver which includes a quadrature detector circuit, an offset adjustment circuit, and a control circuit. The quadrature detector circuit, offset adjustment circuit, and control circuit operate as summarized above.
In an embodiment of this implementation, the transmit/receive station is coupled to a host computer, and the digital logic of the control circuit is comprised of a routine that is executed by the host computer to determine the proper correction signal. In this embodiment, the DAC is responsive to the routine. Further, this embodiment provides for a sampler which may consist of an output buffer circuit and a comparator circuit as discussed above. The sampler provides a sequence of samples as an input to the routine that is run by the host computer to determine the proper correction signal.
In addition, this embodiment of the transmit/receive station also includes a source of a training signal whose frequency is substantially equal to the center frequency of the overall system, and a switch which periodically applies the training signal to the input of the quadrature detector. The control circuit is coupled to this switch and the host computer executes the routine to determine the proper correction signal whenever the training signal is supplied to the quadrature detector.
Accordingly, an apparatus that compensates for any offset present in the input signal of a system that demodulates a frequency modulated input signal using a quadrature detector has been provided. This apparatus is free from the temperature and age drift problems inherent in manual adjustment of an RLC tuning circuit. Further, the apparatus is also free from the process quality and temperature sensitivity problems encountered in the prior art as a result of attempting to automatically adjust the reactance of the RLC circuit. Still further, the apparatus compensates for the offset in a frequency modulated input signal without the aid of significant frequency downconversion and its inherent space constraints and harmonics filtering problems.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention can be seen upon review of the figures, the detailed description, and the claims which follow.

Dynamic adjustment to preserve signal-to-noise ratio in a quadrature detector system


A small-size, highly-reliable left-right independent steering device is provided without having to make significant modifications to existing vehicles or to develop dedicated vehicles. The device includes tie rods linked to left and right front wheels and axially expandable and contractible by means of small-size telescopic mechanism portions defined by ball-screw-type linear actuators. Each telescopic mechanism portion mainly includes a main body to which a tie-rod end of the corresponding tie rod is fixed, and an electric motor serving as an actuator attached substantially perpendicularly to the main body. The other end of the tie rod is coupled to a steering rod and functions as a piston rod that can advance or recede in the axial direction by means of the telescopic mechanism portion. Thus, the telescopic mechanism portions are mountable within tire wheels at positions free of, for example, suspension arms and stabilizers located near the tie rods.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to left-right independent steering devices for steering left and right wheels independently by controlling individual lengths of tie rods by extraction/contraction.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the aim of improving steering stability, usability, and stability of vehicles such as automobiles, there have been developed devices that can independently adjust turning angles or toe angles of left and right wheels. Recently, various types of systems have been developed that no longer have a mechanical linkage between the turning wheels and the steering wheel. One typical example is a steer-by-wire system in which steering control is performed by electrically detecting a driver's steering operation.
However, steer-by-wire systems have various problems to be solved due to being insufficient in reliability, requiring installation of a high-voltage (e.g. DC 42 V) power source, and requiring implementation of appropriate control of steering reaction force. For these reasons, a new vehicle design is required to apply a steer-by-wire system. Therefore, left-right independent steering technologies are still predominantly realized based on the conventional devices or technologies that apply the mechanical linkage between the turning wheels and the steering wheel. An example of such a left-right independent steering device is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-56374.
In the steering device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-56374, auxiliary rack bar mechanisms that advance or recede in response to rotation of a motor are provided at opposite ends of a rack bar that extends leftward and rightward from a gear box located at a lower end of a steering shaft. These auxiliary rack bar mechanisms transmit their advancing or receding motion to respective tie rods so that the left and right wheels can be steered individually with knuckle arms. When a difference in operation forces acting on the left and right turning wheels during forward movement of the vehicle is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the steering amount of at least one of the left and right turning wheels is controlled by driving the corresponding auxiliary rack bar mechanism. Accordingly, this can reduce the effect of the operation forces acting on the turning wheels from the road surface.
However, the steering device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-56374 has difficulties in view of mountability. Specifically, since the rack bar extending from the opposite sides of the gear box is provided with rod-length adjusting mechanisms and actuators (motors), the foot space for the driver at the vehicle interior side may have to be reduced in order to avoid interference with peripheral components such as suspension arms and stabilizers. This implies that significant modifications to existing vehicles or development of dedicated vehicles will need to be made, thus unfavorably eliminating the capability to use existing devices and technologies.
Furthermore, in order to perform independent steering control of left and right wheels by driving the respective actuators, it is necessary to obtain accurate and highly reliable information about actual turning angles of the wheels. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-56374 does not particularly discuss this point and therefore leaves room for improvement.

Left-right independent steering device for steering left and right wheels independently


Systems, methods and apparatuses for implementing enriched calling services for devices may include a first User Equipment (UE) that sends a call request to an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) Core network and a presence server. The IMS core network may determine that the first UE supports enriched calling services and may enable the first UE to perform an enriched calling operation. The IMS core network may forward the call request to a terminating device, such as a second UE and/or a computing device, with the enriched calling operation.

In IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS), a device (e.g., user equipment, herein referred to as a UE) may be capable of enriched calling that allows the IMS to determine additional information associated with the UE, and/or with a call session being attempted by the UE. With the proliferation of UEs and their enriched calling capabilities, it becomes increasingly important to efficiently determine which UEs and systems are enriched calling compatible, what additional information is included in a request to make an enriched call, and what action to take based on the additional information.

Enriched calling based call type notification


The present invention relates to a snap fit end cap for a control console positioned within a domestic appliance, particularly a washing or drying machine. Each of the end caps include mounting pins which extend through and support the control console. A stop surface is provided adjacent the mounting pins to limit the penetration of the pins into the control console and to prevent inward movement of the end cap relative to the control console. Resilient fastening devices are also provided by the end caps. The fastening devices extend through apertures provided by the control console, a shoulder surface of the fastening devices engaging an inner surface of the control console to prevent removal of the fastening device once installed therein as well as to prevent outward movement of the end cap relative to the control console. The distance between the shoulder surface and the stop surface is generally equal to the thickness of the control console, trapping the console therebetween and preventing the end cap from moving relatively towards or away from the control console. The end caps of the present invention eliminate or otherwise greatly reduce the amount of labor and hardware necessary to attach the end caps to the control console of the appliance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to appliances and, more particularly, to end caps for control consoles for use with such appliances.
2Description of Related Art
In electrical appliances, such as washers and dryers, the electrical controls are provided on a control console carried on the upper portion of the rear of the appliance cabinet. The console provides a housing structure for the mounting of control elements, such as rotary knobs, switches, push buttons and the like, which extend out of the control console and are readily manipulated by the user of the appliance.
The control console is conventionally mounted between a pair of end caps which are, in turn, mounted to the top of the appliance cabinet. The end caps known in the art tend to be two-piece assemblies, and require independent fastening means to attach the control console thereto. U.S. Pat. No. 4,003,613 is exemplary of this type of end cap.
The '613 patent discloses a two piece end cap including a base or bottom part which is mounted to the top surface of the appliance cabinet by conventional tongue and groove mounting means. The top part of the end cap provides a series of mounting flanges or extensions which project into slots provided by the bottom part to interconnect the two parts. The bottom part of the end cap provides inwardly extending posts which are positioned adjacent a flange of the control console and attached thereto by means of screws. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,798,424; and 4,765,698 disclose similar end cap constructions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,133 discloses an end cap which is used to form a uniform corner for the appliance cabinet. A control housing provides rear and side walls, and the end cap is attached to the front portion of each the side walls. The end cap is used to secure the control and decorative panels to the control housing by means of conventional fastening means.
In all the end caps known in the art, additional independent fastening means are required in order to mount the end caps to the control console. The use of additional fastening means increases both cost and assembly time. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an end cap which can be mounted to the control console without the need for additional fastening means.