An electronically controlled timepiece includes an analog circuit (160) driven by a power source (22), a logic circuit (170) driven by a constant voltage regulator circuit (161) forming part of the analog circuit, an oscillator circuit (51) driven by the constant voltage regulator, a power source switch (162) for cutting off the supply of power to the analog circuit other than the constant voltage regulator circuit from the power source during a time correction operation, and a clock cutoff gate (171) for cutting off a clock input from the oscillator circuit to the logic circuit. During the time correction operation, power consumption is reduced because only the oscillator circuit and the constant voltage regulator circuit are operative. The oscillator circuit is not suspended, and an error in time display is eliminated.

The present invention relates to an electronically controlled timepiece that controls timepiece hand driving in response to a signal, as a reference, from an oscillator circuit that employs a time standard source such as a crystal oscillator, a power supply control method for the electronically controlled timepiece and a time correction method for the electronically controlled timepiece.
In one of known electronically controlled mechanical timepieces that are controlled by making use of an IC or a crystal oscillator, a generator converts, into electrical energy, mechanical energy released by a mainspring, the electrical energy drives a rotation controller, which controls a current flowing through a coil of the generator, and hands secured to train wheels that transmit the mechanical energy from the mainspring to the generator are accurately driven to indicate accurate time.
Electrical energy from the generator is once stored in a smoothing capacitor, and the power from the capacitor drives the rotation controller. Since the capacitor is supplied with an alternating-current electromotive force in synchronization with the rotation period of the generator, it is not necessary to store power for a long period of time to enable the rotation controller having an IC or a crystal oscillator to operate. Conventionally, a relatively small capacitance capacitor enabling the IC or the crystal oscillator to operate for several seconds, i.e., a capacitor of 10 xcexcF or so is employed.
The electronically controlled mechanical timepiece needs no motor because the mainspring is a power source for driving timepiece hands, and is low cost with a small component count. It is sufficient if a small amount of electrical energy needed to drive an electrical circuit is generated. A small input energy is enough to drive the timepiece.
The electronically controlled mechanical timepiece has the following drawback. When a time correction operation (a timepiece hand setting operation) is performed with the crown pulled out, each of an hour hand, a minute hand, and a second hand is stopped to set an accurate time. The stop of the hands stops train wheels, and thus the generator as well.
The input of the electromotive force to the smoothing capacitor from the generator is suspended, while the IC is continuously driven. The charge stored in the capacitor is discharged to the IC side, and a voltage across terminals of the IC gradually drops. The voltage applied to the IC thus drops below an oscillation stop voltage (Vstop, for instance, 0.6 V), leading to the stop of the rotation controller.
When the oscillation of the IC stops, the power consumption is reduced, and the voltage drop rate in the capacitor also becomes slow. When the time correction operation takes time long enough to cause the voltage of the capacitor to drop below the oscillation stop voltage, the capacitor typically falls to a voltage of 0.3 to 0.4 V slightly lower than the oscillation stop voltage. When the time correction operation (hand setting time) becomes excessively long, to several minutes, for instance, the capacitor is fully discharged with the voltage thereof dropped to zero V.
Even if the generator starts rotating with the crown pushed into after the hand setting, the capacitor, the voltage of which has once dropped below the oscillation stop voltage as a result of discharge, takes time before the capacitor is charged again to be high enough to reach a drive start voltage (voltage capable of driving the IC) for the rotation controller. The IC (an oscillator circuit) remains inoperative throughout, and no accurate time control is performed.
Specifically, when the crown is pulled out to a second step (for a hand setting mode) from a zero step (for a normal hand driving mode) or from a first step (for a calendar correction mode) at time point A as shown in FIG. 26, the rotor of the generator stops, stopping charging a capacitor C1. On the other hand, the capacitor C1 continuously feeds electrical energy to the rotation controller (including a xe2x80x9cdrive ICxe2x80x9d in a drive circuit for driving the crystal oscillator as a time standard source), thereby allowing the crystal oscillator to continuously oscillate.
The voltage of the power source capacitor C1 gradually drops. At time point B1 (within three minutes from time A, for instance), the hand setting operation ends, and the crown is pushed in, moving from the second step to the first step or zero step (for the normal operation). The generator becomes operative again, restarting the charging of the power source capacitor C1, and raising the voltage of the power source capacitor C1. In this case, the oscillation of the crystal oscillator continuously oscillates, the drive circuit (the rotation controller) quickly resumes rotation control of the rotor (brake control), and an indication error subsequent to the hand setting becomes zero.
When the hand setting operation is prolonged to be longer than three minutes, for instance, the voltage of the capacitor C1 drops below the oscillation stop voltage (Vstop, 0.6 V, for instance) of the drive circuit, and the oscillation stops at time B2 at the moment the hand setting operation ends. Even if the crown is moved to the first step at point B2, the rotation controller takes the sum of time T1 and time T2 before it resumes rotation control of the rotor, leading to an indication error.
The time T1 is a duration of time, during which the power source capacitor C1 is charged to a voltage (Vstart) on which the drive circuit and the oscillator circuit in the rotation controller normally operate. The voltage Vstart is typically higher than the voltage Vstop, and is 0.7 V, for instance.
The time T2 is a duration of time from the application of the oscillation start voltage (Vstart) until the oscillator circuit starts oscillating. The time T2 becomes longer as the voltage of the power source capacitor C1 is lower, and ranges from several seconds to several minutes, as shown in FIG. 27. For instance, when the oscillation start voltage (Vstart=0.7 V) is reached with the power source capacitor C1 gradually charged, the time T2 is approximately 20 seconds with the voltage (0.7 V) applied thereto.
When the hand setting operation takes time, the voltage of the power source capacitor C1 drops, thereby stopping the oscillation. Subsequent to the end of the hand setting operation, the oscillator circuit takes time T1+T2 before the start of the oscillation. Because of a lower voltage applied thereto, the oscillator circuit takes several seconds to several minutes for T2 alone. Before the start of the oscillation, the rotation of the rotor is not controlled. The hands gain or lose time, suffering from a substantial indication error.
The use of a large capacitance capacitor C1 to permit a longer hand setting time is contemplated. The oscillator circuit is thus prevented from stopping even if the hand setting takes three minutes or longer.
The use of a large capacitance capacitor slows the rise rate of the power source voltage. When the mainspring is released and stopped, it takes a long time to increase the voltage across the capacitor from the state in which no charge is stored in the power source capacitor. For a long time from the start of tightening of the mainspring to the rise of the power source voltage, the hands remain unable to present accurate time. In this case, there is a possibility that the user may mistake the state for a timepiece failure. Increasing the capacitance of the capacitor is thus not practical.
Increasing the power generation capacity of the generator to complete charging in a short time is contemplated. This arrangement increases the size of the generator, and also needs to increase the size of the mainspring as the torque to be transferred from the mainspring for feeding mechanical energy to the generator increases. This arrangement cannot be adopted for use in wristwatches, which are subject to the limitation of area and thickness dimensions.
In some of a variety of electronically controlled timepieces, such as a self-winding generator timepiece, a solar-cell charging timepiece, a battery driven timepiece, other than the electronically controlled mechanical timepiece, an oscillator circuit or an IC is stopped during a time correction operation to reduce power consumption and to prolong operation time. In this case, it takes several seconds to several minutes for the oscillator circuit to stably operate. A time error is also introduced.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronically controlled timepiece, a power supply control method for the electronically controlled timepiece, and a time correction method for the electronically controlled timepiece.
An electronically controlled timepiece of the present invention which includes a power source, an analog circuit driven by the power source, a power supply circuit for a logic circuit arranged in the analog circuit, the logic circuit driven by the output of the power supply circuit therefor, and an oscillator circuit driven by the output of the power supply circuit for the logic circuit. The electronically controlled timepiece further includes a power source switch for suspending the supply of electrical energy to the analog circuit other than the power supply circuit for the logic circuit from the power source during a time correction operation of the electronically controlled timepiece, and clock input limiting means for suspending a clock input from the oscillator circuit to the logic circuit during the time correction operation.
In accordance with the present invention, the power source switch suspends the supply of electrical energy from the power source, such as a capacitor or a battery, to the analog circuit other than the power supply circuit for the logic circuit during the time correction operation (hand setting operation), and the clock limiting means suspends the clock input from the oscillator circuit to the logic circuit. During the hand setting operation, only both the oscillator circuit and the power supply circuit for the logic circuit required to drive the oscillator circuit are driven with the remaining circuits all inoperative. With this arrangement, power consumption during the hand setting operation is reduced. When the capacitance of the capacitor is small, the voltage drop in the power source capacitor is limited during a typical hand setting operation (for instance, 3 to 5 minutes), and the driving of the oscillator circuit is continuously performed. With the oscillator circuit continuously operating during the hand setting operation, a normal control operation is quickly resumed after the hand setting operation, and the indication error at the shifting back from the hand setting operation is eliminated. With the power consumption reduced, there is no need for a large-sized generator, and the present invention is implemented in a wristwatch, which is typically subject to the limitation of area and thickness dimensions.
The power supply circuit for the logic circuit employs a constant voltage regulator.
The electronically controlled timepiece preferably includes logic circuit initializing means for initializing the internal status of the logic circuit during the time correction operation (hand setting operation).
If control information prior to the hand setting operation remains in the logic circuit, governing control of a rotor is not smoothly performed at the shifting back from the hand setting operation, and the time taken before the start of the governing control may be included as an error. In contrast, if the internal status of the logic circuit is initialized when the clock input to the logic circuit is cut off at the hand setting operation, the governing control of the rotor at the shifting back from the hand setting operation is smoothly performed, and the time indication error is reliably eliminated.
An electronically controlled timepiece preferably includes an external control member for setting two-step statuses of a normal mode and a time correction mode, and an external control member detector circuit for detecting the status of the external control member, wherein the external control member detector circuit includes first and second inverters, a first signal line for connecting the output of the first inverter to the input of the second inverter, a second signal line for connecting the output of the second inverter to the input of the first inverter, and a selection switch for connecting a signal input line to one of the first and second signal lines with the external control member in the time correction mode, and for connecting the signal input line to the other of the first and second signal lines with the external control member in the other mode.
A crown detector circuit 100 shown in FIG. 28 has typically been used to detect the pulled status of the external control member such as a crown or a button. For instance, the pulled statuses of the crown of the electronically controlled mechanical timepiece include a normal zero step (in which the mainspring is tightened by turning the crown with the hands turning and the generator generating), a first step (in which a calendar is corrected by turning the crown with the hands turning and the generator generating), and a second step (in which time correction is performed by turning the crown with the rotor stopping moving, the hands motionless, and the generator not generating).
The crown detector circuit 100 includes a switch 101 which is turned on and off depending on the pulled status of the crown, two pull-down resistors 102 and 103, and an inverter 104. The gate of the pull-down resistor 102 is at a voltage VDD (high level), and the pull-down resistor 102 is normally turned on. The gate of the pull-down resistor 103 is connected to the pull-down resistor 102 through the inverter 104. The switch 101 is turned off (open) with the crown in the zero step or the first step, and is turned on with the crown in the second step (closed). When the switch 101 is turned off with the crown in the zero step or the first step, the pull-down resistor 102 is turned on, a voltage VSS, namely, a low-level signal is input to the inverter 104, and the output signal of the inverter 104 is transitioned to a high-level signal. The pull-down resistor 103 receives, at the gate thereof, the high-level signal, thereby turning itself on.
When the switch 101 is turned on with the crown in the second step, the voltage VDD, namely, a high-level signal is input to the inverter 104, and the output of the inverter 104 is transitioned to a low-level signal. As described above, depending on the pulled status of the crown, the crown detector circuit 100 alternates between a xe2x80x9chigh-levelxe2x80x9d, signal and a xe2x80x9clow-levelxe2x80x9d signal.in the output thereof, thereby detecting the position of the crown.
In the conventional crown detector circuit 100, the pull-down resistor 102 is turned on with the crown in the second step, and the pull-down resistor 102 consumes energy. Instead of the crown, a dedicated button is occasionally employed to set the hands. When the hands are set using the external control member, such as the crown or the button, an external control member detector circuit for detecting the status of the external control member has the same construction as that of the crown detector circuit 100, and thus suffers from the same problem.
In contrast, the electronically controlled timepiece having the above-described external control member detector circuit employing the logic circuit almost eliminates energy consumption by the external control member, and therefore substantially reduces power consumption during the hand setting operation.
An electronically controlled timepiece of the present invention preferably includes a mechanical energy source, a generator which is driven by the mechanical energy source, and generates an electromotive force, thereby supplying electrical energy, and a rotation controller, driven by the electrical energy, for controlling the rotation period of the generator.
In the electronically controlled timepiece, the capacitance of the capacitor as the power source is small. The power consumption for the hand setting operation is reduced with the present invention implemented, the time required for the hand setting operation is assured, and the ease of use is attained.
A power supply control method for an electronically controlled timepiece of the present invention, which includes a power source, an analog circuit driven by the power source, a power supply circuit for a logic circuit arranged in the analog circuit, the logic circuit driven by the output of the power supply circuit therefor, and an oscillator circuit driven by the output of the power supply circuit for the logic circuit, includes the step of suspending the supply of electrical energy to the analog circuit other than the power supply circuit for the logic circuit from the power source during a time correction operation of the electronically controlled timepiece, and the step of suspending a clock input from the oscillator circuit to the logic circuit during the time correction operation.
In accordance with the present invention, during the time correction operation of the electronically controlled timepiece, the supply of electrical energy to the analog circuit other than the power supply circuit for the logic circuit from the power source such as a capacitor or a battery is suspended, and the clock input from the oscillator circuit to the logic circuit is suspended. The power consumption during the hand setting operation is reduced. Even with a small capacitance capacitor, the voltage drop in the power source capacitor is limited during a typical hand setting operation (for instance, 3 to 5 minutes), and the driving of the oscillator circuit is continuously performed. At the shifting back from the hand setting operation, a normal control operation is quickly resumed after the hand setting operation, and the time indication error at the shifting back from the hand setting operation is eliminated.
During the hand setting operation of the electronically controlled timepiece, the internal status of the logic circuit is preferably initialized. If the internal status of the logic circuit is initialized when the clock input to the logic circuit is cut off at the hand setting operation, the governing control of the rotor at the shifting back from the hand setting operation is smoothly performed, and the time indication error is reliably eliminated.
An electronically controlled timepiece of the present invention, which includes a mechanical energy source, a generator, driven by the mechanical energy source, for outputting electrical energy, a storage unit for storing electrical energy output by the generator, and a rotation controller, driven by electrical energy supplied by the storage unit, for controlling the rotation period of the generator, includes a power supply control unit for suspending the supply of electrical energy from the storage unit to the rotation controller while the generator stops the operation thereof in response to the time correction operation, and an indication error corrector unit for correcting an error in time indication until the rotation controller resumes a normal operation, when the power supply control unit restarts the supply of electrical energy from the storage unit to the rotation controller in response to the operation of the generator.
In accordance with the present invention, the power supply control unit suspends the supply of electrical energy from the storage unit to the rotation controller when the generator stops the operation thereof during the time correction operation (hand setting operation). Although the oscillator circuit of the rotation controller stops operating, the storage unit is maintained in a charged state during the suspension of the operation of the generator.
Even before the generator fully reaches the operation thereof at the shifting back from the hand setting operation, the storage unit feeds electrical energy to the rotation controller to cause the rotation controller to be fully operative. A time lag prior to the operation of the rotation controller is eliminated, and an error in the time control at the hand setting operation is thus minimized. Since the voltage of the storage unit is maintained at a relatively high level, the time prior to the start of the oscillator circuit of the rotation controller is shortened, and the rotation controller is quickly set to be operative.
With the indication error corrector unit incorporated, the indication error of the hand before the normal operation of the rotation controller is corrected to the extent that the indication error is eliminated or minimized.
The indication error corrector unit may be designed to perform a constant quantity correction corresponding to a predetermined value, or may set a correction value in accordance with a voltage of the storage unit.
The indication error corrector unit may adjust a correction value by detecting temperature.
Specifically, the indication error corrector unit may include a temperature sensor, a voltage detector for measuring a voltage of the storage unit, and a correction value setter for setting a correction value based on values detected by the temperature sensor and the voltage detector.
Since the voltage of the storage unit is maintained at a certain magnitude, the time, which the oscillator circuit, with a certain voltage applied thereto, takes to start oscillation, is substantially constant. By performing a constant quantity correction corresponding to a certain value, the indication error is sufficiently reduced. When a correction value is adjusted by detecting the actual voltage of the storage unit, a highly precise correction is performed to minimize the indication error.
The time prior to the start of the oscillation with the voltage applied to the oscillator circuit varies with temperature as shown in FIG. 16. For this reason, the temperature sensor included in the electronically controlled timepiece measures temperature in the vicinity of the oscillator circuit, and the correction value is adjusted in accordance with the measured temperature. A more precise correction is thus performed. The indication error, under high temperature conditions or low temperature conditions, is thus further minimized.
The power supply control unit preferably includes a switch which is connected in series with the storage unit and is closed while the generator is running, and is opened while the generator is not running.
An electrical switch is acceptable as the switch, but a mechanically driven switch is preferable. When the electrical switch is used, the supply of power may be occasionally not completely blocked. In such a case, as well, a mere leakage current (1 nA) of a silicon diode constituting the electrical switch is discharged. The switch cutoff effect of the switch is almost identical to that of the mechanically driven switch. The use of the mechanically driven switch is preferable from the standpoint of the fully cutting off the supply of power.
The switch is preferably a mechanically driven switch that is opened when a crown remains pulled out to a time correction (hand setting) mode, and is closed when the crown is pushed into to a normal mode. With the switch opened and closed in response to the operation of the crown, the switch is interlocked with the hand setting operation.
A second storage unit (a second capacitor) is preferably connected in parallel with the storage unit. With the second storage unit arranged, power is continuously fed by the second storage even if the timepiece suffers from a mechanical shock, with the switch chattering. This arrangement prevents the rotation controller from being shut down by the chattering.
A time correction method for an electronically controlled timepiece, which includes a mechanical energy source, a generator, driven by the mechanical energy source, for outputting electrical energy, a storage unit for storing electrical energy output by the generator, and a rotation controller, driven by electrical energy supplied by the storage unit, for controlling the rotation period of the generator, includes the step of suspending the supply of electrical energy from the storage unit to the rotation controller during a time correction operation of the electronically controlled timepiece, and the step of correcting an error in time indication until the rotation controller resumes a normal operation when the supply of electrical energy from the storage unit to the rotation controller is restarted at the end of the time correction operation.
At the end of the time correction operation, the indication error may be corrected by a constant quantity correction corresponding to a predetermined value or may be corrected by a correction value set in response to the voltage of the storage unit. At the end of the time correction operation, temperature may be detected, and the correction value may be adjusted in accordance with the detected temperature.
In accordance with the present invention, the power supply control unit suspends the supply of electrical energy from the storage unit to the rotation controller when the generator stops the operation thereof during the time correction operation. The storage unit is maintained in a charged state during the suspension of the operation of the generator. Immediately subsequent to the shifting back from the time correction operation, the storage unit feeds electrical energy to the rotation controller to cause the rotation controller to be operative. Since the applied voltage is maintained at a relatively high level, the rotation controller is quickly set to be operative, and the indication error subsequent, to the time correction operation is reduced.
Furthermore, since the indication error is corrected in accordance with the voltage value of the storage unit and temperature, the indication error of the hands prior to the normal operation of the rotation controller is corrected. The indication error is thus eliminated.
An electronically controlled timepiece of the present invention, which includes a mechanical energy source, a generator, driven by the mechanical energy source, for outputting electrical energy, and a rotation controller, driven by electrical energy, for controlling the rotation period of the generator, includes a main storage unit for storing electrical energy supplied by the generator to drive the rotation controller, an auxiliary storage unit connected in parallel with the main storage unit through a mechanically driven switch that is interlocked with a time correction operation, and a charge control circuit, arranged between the main storage unit and the auxiliary storage unit, for adjusting charging currents to the main storage unit and the auxiliary storage unit, and a direction and a magnitude of a current flowing between the main storage unit and the auxiliary storage unit.
The charge control circuit preferably makes the charging current (charge quantity) to the auxiliary storage unit smaller than the charging current (charge quantity) to the main storage unit when the mechanically driven switch is closed to charge the main storage unit and the auxiliary storage unit with electrical energy from the generator, and allows the auxiliary storage unit to charge the main storage unit when the voltage of the auxiliary storage unit is higher than the voltage of the main storage unit.
Since the present invention includes the auxiliary storage unit that is disconnected from the main storage unit and the generator by the mechanically driven switch, the auxiliary storage unit is maintained in a charged state even when the generator stops the operation thereof during the time correction operation (hand setting operation) in the middle of the normal hand driving. Even if the terminal voltage across the main storage unit drops below the voltage capable of driving the rotation controller at the shifting back from the hand setting operation, a current flows from the auxiliary storage unit to the main storage unit with the mechanically controlled switch closed. With its voltage increased, the main storage unit drives the rotation controller, and a time lag prior to the operation of the rotation controller is eliminated, and an error in the time control at the hand setting operation (an error in the time indication subsequent to the time correction operation) is thus minimized.
When the hand setting operation takes time, when the timepiece has been left unattended for a long period of time to the degree that the terminal voltage across the auxiliary storage unit drops as a result of a self-discharge, the mechanically driven switch is closed to allow a current to flow from the generator to each storage unit. In this case, the charge control circuit for adjusting the direction and the magnitude of the current makes the charging current to the main storage unit larger than the charging current to the auxiliary storage unit, and the main storage unit is charged to be high enough to quickly drive the rotation control circuit. Even after the timepiece has been left unattended for a long period of time, the rotation controller is quickly driven. An error due to a time lag prior to the start of the driving of the rotation controller is reduced, and an error in the time control during the hand setting operation is minimized.
The present invention thus assures both the startup capability subsequent to the hand setting and the accuracy of the hand setting at the same time.
Preferably, the charge control circuit composed of a passive element only is used to control the charging and discharging between the main storage unit and the auxiliary storage unit. The use of the charge control circuit composed of the passive element reduces power consumption and the generation capacity of the generator, compared to the arrangement in which a comparator, i.e., an active element, is used.
When the charging and discharging are controlled between the two storage units (such as capacitors), i.e., the main storage unit and the auxiliary storage unit, the control of the charging and discharging of the capacitor is typically performed by detecting the voltage of each capacitor using a comparator, and by using the output of the comparator to cause a switch circuit, composed of transistors, to operate. In such a timepiece, the comparator is an active element, and the comparator needs power to detect the voltage. The power consumption thus increases.
In a system, such as this timepiece, in which the generation capacity is extremely small, the generation capacity of the generator needs to be increased from a current level to supply power to the comparator. To increase the generation capacity of the generator, means for increasing torque or increasing the size of the generator itself may be contemplated.
In the former means, increasing the energy supply from the mainspring allows the mainspring to fast release. The duration of time of the releasing of the mainspring from the fully tightened position thereof is shortened. In the latter means, the size of the generator becomes large, presenting difficulty in the layout of components in a timepiece that has a limited space available. As a result, the size of the timepiece itself is increased.
Since the present invention includes the charge control circuit having the passive element, the power consumption thereof is small, compared to the arrangement in which the comparator, as an active element, is employed. A generator having a small generation capacity thus works.
The capacitance of the main storage unit is preferably set to be equal to or lower than the capacitance of the auxiliary storage unit. With this arrangement, the voltage of the main storage unit is rapidly increased by allowing the current to f low from the auxiliary storage unit when the main storage unit is discharged. The drive circuit, driven by the main storage unit, is also rapidly driven.
Preferably, the mechanically driven switch is opened during the time correction operation, and is closed at the end of the time correction.
With this arrangement, the auxiliary storage unit is reliably cut off from the rotation controller with the generator stopped during the time correction operation (hand setting operation), and the auxiliary storage unit keeps the charged state thereof for a long period of time, and a long hand setting time is thus permitted.
The charge control circuit preferably includes a resistor and a diode connected in parallel with the resistor, wherein the diode is configured with the reverse direction thereof aligned with the direction of a current charging the auxiliary storage unit from the generator and the forward direction thereof aligned with the direction of a current of the auxiliary storage unit charging the main storage unit.
When the generator charges each storage unit in this arrangement, a current flows through the auxiliary storage unit via the resistor connected in parallel with the diode. The charge quantity to the main storage unit and to the auxiliary storage unit is controlled by the resistance of the resistor. For instance, the use of a resistor having a high resistance as large as 100 Mxcexa9 allows less current to flow to the auxiliary storage unit and more current to flow to the main storage unit, thereby rapidly charging the main storage unit. By setting an appropriate resistance to the resistor, the charge quantity to the main storage unit is controlled.
At the time of the shifting back from the hand setting operation, the charging of the main storage unit by the auxiliary storage unit is performed through the diode with a small charging loss involved therein, compared to the charging performed through the resistor.
The charge control circuit may include a diode only having a reverse leakage current, and wherein the diode is configured with the reverse direction thereof aligned with the direction of a current charging the auxiliary storage unit from the generator and the forward direction thereof aligned with the direction of a current of the auxiliary storage unit charging the main storage unit.
With this arrangement, a small reverse leakage current of the diode is fed to the auxiliary storage unit when each storage unit is charged with the generator. For this reason, less current flows to the auxiliary storage unit, while more,current flows to the main storage unit.
At the time of shifting back from the hand setting operation, the charging current from the auxiliary storage unit to the main storage unit is aligned with the forward direction of the diode, and the voltage drop and charging loss therethrough are thus reduced.
Furthermore, if the charging control circuit is constructed of a diode only, the component count of the charging control circuit, and thus of the timepiece, becomes smaller, leading reduced manufacturing costs.
The charge control circuit may include a resistor and a one-way element connected in parallel with the resistor, wherein the one-way element is configured to cut off a current flowing in a direction to charge the auxiliary storage unit from the generator and to conduct a current of the auxiliary storage unit flowing in a direction to charge the main storage unit. In this case, the one-way element may be a diode having no reverse leakage current.
As in the charge control circuit constructed of the diode and the resistor in parallel connection, the generator charges each of the storage units, and the auxiliary storage unit is charged through the resistor so that the charge quantity to the main storage unit is large for rapid charging. When the auxiliary storage unit charges the main storage unit, the charging is performed through the one-way element, and a charging loss to the main storage unit is minimized.
When the one-way element, such as a diode having no reverse leakage current, allowing currents flowing therethrough in one direction only, is used, an error in the charge quantity due to the reverse leakage current is not created. The charging current is thus precisely controlled.
An electronically controlled timepiece preferably includes an indication error corrector unit for correcting an error in time indication until the rotation controller resumes a normal operation when the supply of electrical energy of the main storage unit to the rotation controller is restarted with the mechanically driven switch closed.
With the indication error corrector unit incorporated, the time indication error until the rotation controller resumes the normal operation is corrected, and the indication error is eliminated or minimized.
In this case, again, the indication error corrector unit may be designed to perform a constant quantity correction corresponding to a predetermined value, or may set a correction value in accordance with a voltage of the storage unit. Furthermore, the indication error corrector unit may adjust a correction value by detecting temperature. More specifically, the indication error corrector unit may includes a temperature sensor, a voltage detector for measuring a voltage of the storage unit, a correction value setter for setting a correction value based on values detected by the temperature sensor and the voltage detector.
A power supply control method for an electronically controlled timepiece of the present invention which includes a mechanical energy source, a generator, driven by the mechanical energy source, for outputting electrical energy, and a rotation controller, driven by electrical energy, for controlling the rotation period of the generator, includes the step of arranging a main storage unit which stores electrical energy supplied by the generator to drive the rotation controller and connecting an auxiliary storage unit in parallel with the main storage unit through a mechanically driven switch, the step of opening the mechanically controlled switch during a time correction operation of the electronically controlled timepiece, and the step of flowing a current from the auxiliary storage unit to the main storage unit to charge the main storage when the voltage of the auxiliary storage unit is higher than the voltage of the main storage unit with the mechanically driven switch closed at the end of a time correction operation, and the step of making a charging current supplied from the generator to the main storage unit greater than a charging current supplied from the generator to the auxiliary storage unit when the voltage of the auxiliary storage unit is not higher than the voltage of the main storage unit.
In this arrangement as well, the main storage unit is charged to be high enough to quickly drive the rotation control circuit at the shifting back from the hand setting operation and an error due to a time lag before the start of the driving of the rotation controller is reduced, and an error in the time control during the hand setting operation (an error in the time indication subsequent to the time correction operation) is minimized.
Even after the timepiece has been left unattended for a long period of time, the rotation controller is quickly driven. An error due to a time lag before the start of the driving of the rotation controller is reduced, and an error in the time control during the hand setting operation is minimized. The present invention thus assures both the startup capability subsequent to the hand setting and the accuracy of the hand setting at the same time.

Electronically controlled timepiece, and power supply control method and time correction method therefor


In a method or apparatus to optimize transfer of a developer fluid having toner embedded in a carrier fluid in an electrophoretic printing apparatus, charge images of print images are generated on an intermediate image carrier. The print images are inked into toner images by means of a developer station with the developer fluid. The toner images are transfer printed onto a printing substrate in a transfer printing zone by a transfer unit. The toner embedded in the carrier fluid is thus transported from the developer station to the intermediate image carrier in a first transport path segment and from the transfer unit to the printing substrate in a second transport path segment. A temperature acting on the carrier fluid in the first transport path segment is above a melting point of the carrier fluid, and a temperature acting on the carrier fluid in the second transport path segment is below the melting point of the carrier fluid.

For single-color or multicolor printing of a printing substrate—for example a single page or a belt-shaped recording material made of the most varied materials, for example paper or thin plastic films or metal films—it is known to generate image-dependent charge images on an intermediate image carrier (for example a photoconductor), the charge images corresponding to the images to be printed, and the images being comprised of regions that are to be inked and regions that are not to be inked. The regions of the charge images that are to be inked are revealed with toner as toner images on the intermediate image carrier with a developer station. The toner images thereby generated are transfer-printed onto the printing substrate in a transfer printing zone and are fixed there.
A developer fluid having at least charged toner and carrier fluid can thereby be used to ink the charge images. Possible carrier fluids are hydrocarbons, among others.
A method for such an electrophoretic printing in digital printing systems is known from WO 2005/013013 A2 (US 2006/0150836 A1, DE 10 2005 055 156 B3), for example. After the charge images of the images to be printed have been generated on the intermediate image carrier, these are inked with toner into toner images via a developer station. For this purpose a developer fluid consisting of a carrier fluid containing silicone oil and colored particles (toner) dispersed therein is used. The feed of the developer fluid to the intermediate image carrier can take place via a developer roller to which the developer fluid is supplied via a raster roller at which a chamber blade is arranged. The toner images are subsequently accepted by a transfer unit from the intermediate image carrier and are transferred onto the printing substrate in a transfer printing zone.
In this printing method, using developer fluid the process of electrophoresis is thus used to transfer toner in the carrier fluid to the printing substrate via transport units. The solid, electrically charged toner thereby travels via the carrier fluid as a transport means from one transport unit to the next, wherein the transport can be controlled by an electrical field between the transport units. The film of carrier fluid divides after the contact region (nip) between the respective transport units in the depleted region, such that the toner is deposited with high efficiency on the target transport unit. In addition to the toner charge and the electrical field, the provision of a sufficiently thick carrier fluid layer through which toner can travel is a requirement for this. Rotating rollers can be used as transport units, for example.
The separation characteristics of the film of developer fluid and the electrophoretic migration velocity of the toner in the carrier fluid depend on the physical properties of the carrier fluid, in particular on its viscosity. The optimal viscosity can thereby differ for different transfer steps. The transfer of the developer fluid from the developer station to the transfer printing zone in the electrophoresis process requires a carrier fluid with low viscosity since the toner should respectively travel to a target transport unit. The relationships in the transfer printing of the toner image onto the printing substrate in the transfer printing zone are different. Problems in particular occur here. The transfer of the toner image to the printing substrate is affected by pores and roughness in the printing substrate surface (for example paper). The pores in the printing substrate draw carrier fluid from its surface into said printing substrate, with the consequence that the adhesion of the toner images to the printing substrate is reduced. The roughness in the surface of the printing substrate provides for an air gap between the transport unit (transfer roller) from which the toner image should be transferred and the printing substrate. The adhesion of the toner image to the printing substrate is also thereby reduced and the transfer printing is hindered.
One method to reduce this problem is the transfusion method according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,185. Carrier fluid is thereby no longer used as a transport means in the transfer printing of the toner images to the printing substrate. Instead of this, the toner is softened by high temperatures in the transfer unit and then is adapted with pressure to the printing substrate. A large common surface between printing substrate and toner image with strong adhesion forces thereby arises. Due to these surface forces, the toner is transferred from the transport unit onto the printing substrate in the transfer unit, although the carrier fluid is not used as a transport means.
A developing process in an electrophotographic printing apparatus is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,081 A. Developer that is present in solid form is filled into a developer station. The developer and the carrier in the developer as well have a melting point that is above 25° C.—room temperature is in a range from 20 to 25° C. In order to liquefy the developer, this must be heated. This must take place before the development of the charge images. After the development of the charge images on the charge image carrier into toner images, the transport of the toner images no longer takes place in carrier fluid. The transfer printing of the toner images onto a printing substrate is executed not in carrier fluid but rather using pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,557 A describes the design of developer fluid whose carrier fluid is selected such that environmental contamination and fire risk are minimized, in particular in the fixing.

Method and apparatus to optimize the transfer of developer fluid in an electrophoretic printing apparatus


Techniques are presented for determining effects of process variations on the leakage of an integrated circuit having multiple devices. The operation of the circuit is simulated using a first set of values for the process parameters for the devices and is also simulated with some of the process parameter values varied. For the simulation with the varied values, the circuit is split up into distinct components (such as channeled coupled components, CCCs), where each component has one or more devices, and a process parameters value in a device in each of two or more of these components is varied.

This application relates generally to integrated circuit design and simulation and, more particularly, to techniques for determining the effect of within die variations on leakage in integrated circuits.
With shrinking process node sizes, the inherent effect of process variations is playing a larger factor in defining the behavior of a circuit. Conventional Analysis techniques can no longer claim accuracy if they do not capture the effects of process variations. There are two factors that are becoming critical in this respect: Leakage is becoming dominant in overall power consumption; and leakage power has exponential dependency on critical process parameters. Leakage power can vary by an order of magnitude due to variation of process parameters; for instance, leakage power can vary by up to a factor of 12 for a 20% variation in effective length of a transistor. Although the absolute magnitude of a process variation (such an oxide thickness, gate length, gate width, doping density, etc.) may be the same, the relative magnitude increases greatly as device sizes shrink, so that a variation that is negligible at, say, a micron, becomes far more significant at half that size. Consequently, it becomes very imperative to factor in the effects of process variations, especially in the 45 nm and below process nodes.
Analysis tools working on standard cell-based designs typically work on standard cell models for leakage. These models may be capable of representing the effects of process variations on leakage power computation, including representing correlation of leakage power between various states. Typically, the models store the data of the effect of process variations on leakage in terms of sensitivities. One common method would be to calculate sensitivity of the log of leakage power to process parameters. In this technique, S Sensitivity to process parameter p will in general be defined as follows:
      S    =                            log                                [                          I                                            (                                  p                  1                                )                                      ]                          -                  log                                [                          I                                            (                                  p                  0                                )                                      ]                                                p          1                -                  p          0                      ,where p0 is the nominal value of process parameter, and p1 is the value of process parameter after variation.
Since Within-Die (WID) variations need to be considered separately for each transistor, we need to take the cumulative effect. For the nth transistor, this would be.
            S      n        =                            log                                [                          I                                            (                                  p                  1                                )                                      ]                          -                  log                                [                          I                                            (                                  p                  0                                )                                      ]                                                p          1                -                  p          0                      ,Once the sensitivities for all the transistors are available, sensitivity of leakage to normalized WID variation will be,
                              S          WID                =                                            ∑                              n                =                1                            N                                                                                (                                                      S                    n                                                                          σ                    n                                                  )                            2                                                          (        1        )            Where N is the number of transistors in the cell and σn represents the standard deviation of the process parameter for the nth transistor. For more detail, see, for example, Kenichi Okada, Kento Yamaoka, and Hidetoshi Onodera "A Statistical Gate Delay Model Considering Intra-Gate Variability", ICCAD-03.
Process variations can be classified into two broad buckets: Die-to-Die (D2D) variations and Within-Die (WID) variations. The effect of each of these needs to be computed and specified as part of the models in terms of sensitivities of the leakage current, so that the analysis tool can accurately factor for these effects during analysis.
WID variation effect is very runtime intensive to compute. As the within-die variations can be random in occurrence and amount across a chip, their effects on all the elements of the circuit need to be considered. A typical technique used for computing the effect of process variations is to perturb the various process parameters independently, measure the effect of these perturbations on the leakage power, and then use the non-perturbed and the perturbed library leakage data to generate sensitivities of the library leakage data to variations. For D2D variations, one additional simulation is required per process-parameter under consideration, so if there are 5 process parameters being considered, the runtime cost goes up to 5× the runtime for nominal leakage measurement; but for WID variations, since the variations have to be considered on a per-transistor basis, the runtime cost becomes prohibitive.
To understand this, we need to see that characterization for WID effects involves perturbation of each individual transistor in a given subcircuit, and computing the effect of that to generate the sensitivity of the cell to WID variations. For example, if a subcircuit had 20 transistors, and we are looking at the effect of variation of 5 process parameters as in the case above, then, ifNumber of simulations for generation of nominal timing data=x,Then,Number of simulations for generation of WID variations sensitivity=20*5x=100x. This is a considerable increase runtime overhead. Such simulations are already typically very computational intensive; and by taking the WID variations into account, what previously may have already been a very substantial run time of, say, a day, can now become weeks.
Consequently, there is room for improvement in the techniques available for incorporating the effects within die variations.

Netlist partitioning for characterizing effect of within-die variations


A plasma assisted cryogenic cleaner for and a method of performing cleaning of a surface that must be substantially free of contaminants has a resiliently mounted nozzle for spraying a cryogenic cleaning medium on the surface. The cleaning is conducted by applying to the substrate surface a mixture of gases selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, fluorine, hydrofluorocarbon or a mixture of such gases to both remove the photoresist layer and alter the composition of the residues such that the residues are soluble in water and/or have a weakened bonds that they can be removed with a stream of cryogenic medium. The cryogenic and plasma processes can be performed sequentially or simultaneously. In certain embodiments, the cryogenic cleaning medium nozzle is driven in an oscillatory or vibratory manner so the nozzle spray is delivered in a manner to provide pulsing of the spray and to provide as xe2x80x9csnow plowxe2x80x9d effect on contaminants as the spray delivers the cleaning medium against the surface. The surface may be transported past the nozzle, and the cleaning may occur in an enclosed controlled environment.

This invention relates to systems and methods for removing photoresist from an integrated circuit structure with a dry process, preferably, in a vacuum stripping chamber, such as photoresist remaining after etch, implant or other fabrication steps. The invented system and method also remove etch residues remaining from the previous fabrication step(s). The present invention also is suitable for cleaning surfaces on hard disks, semiconductor wafers, delicate optics, etc. The present invention more particularly relates to a preferably oscillating nozzle cleaning system, preferably dispensing cryogenic, solvent or solvent combination cleaning mediums, combined with plasma excited reactive gases. The oscillating nozzle cleaning and plasma processes can be performed sequentially or simultaneously.
Articles such as hard disks, semiconductor wafers, delicate optics, etc., often must be precisely cleaned in order to remove contaminants, either during or after a process for manufacturing the articles. For example, resist strip and residue clean typically are needed between etch, implant and deposition steps in IC fabrication processes. Conventional dry-type strip/clean sequences typically use plasma to ash resist and wet chemicals to clean residues. Resist stripping is typically carried out using dry plasma ashing. Conventional O2 plasma ashing at high temperature tends to leave polymeric residues that require acids and/or organic solvents for removal. Wet chemistries generally are not desirable due to non-uniformities, selectivity to exposed layers and incomplete resist removal because of mass transport and surface tension associated with the solutions. A variety of alternative cleaning methods have been employed with varying degrees of success. Certain of such methods that have been attempted involve imparting carbon dioxide snow onto the article to be cleaned.
An example of such a conventional carbon dioxide cleaning system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,061. As a general/summary description of this system, a conveyor transports a wafer-carrying cassette to be cleaned in an enclosure. Jet spray nozzles generate carbon dioxide spray that cleans the wafers. While methods such as described in this patent provide a certain level of cleaning efficacy, improved methods for cleaning a variety of articles are still very much in demand. In addition, conventional jet spray nozzle approaches, while effective in some applications, generally fail in the majority of applications where the bonding between the surface of the wafer and the contamination on the wafer are strong and require chemical reaction, such as plasma, as well as a physical cleaning mechanism for adequate de-contamination and removal of residues, etc.
The present invention relates to systems and methods preferably using a plasma generation system, as a chemical means, for resist and polymer residue removal and a preferably cryogenic cleaning medium, as a physical means, for enhancing the cleaning of an exposed surface of an article. The cryogenic cleaning medium also helps in reducing submicron defects. The plasma source preferably is either a remote source that provides free-radicals or an ion assisted chemistry activated by direct exposure of the wafer to an RF plasma. In certain preferred embodiments, the free radicals/ions ratio can be controlled by running simultaneously both sources (remote and RF sources). The cryogenic and plasma processes can be performed sequentially or simultaneously in the same chamber or in two separate chambers.
A summary of an exemplary preferred embodiment is as follows. An enclosure is provided for maintaining a controlled environment during the photoresist stripping and post etch, implant or other fabrication step residue cleaning process. The enclosure preferably provides ingress and egress from and to a surrounding environment. A holding chuck preferably is provided that is configured to secure the article to be cleaned of photoresist and/or remaining polymeric residue. The environment preferably is pressure controlled (vacuum) to optimize plasma reaction. A stage or stage means is mounted on the support structure and the holding chuck is mounted on the stage means in a manner so that movement of the article relative to the support structure is provided within the enclosure on a predetermined path between the ingress and the egress points. The stage or stage means, in alternative embodiments, is fixed and the system allows the nozzle to move relative to it for complete surface coverage of the cryogenic gas. A pre-heater, in certain embodiments, is mounted in a first position adjacent the predetermined path in thermal communication with the surface of the article at the first position. Reactive gases such as oxygen preferably are introduced through a remote plasma chamber. The processing chamber is connected to a vacuum exhaust line. A cryogenic spray nozzle assembly preferably is provided wherein a spray nozzle is mounted in the spray nozzle assembly. The spray nozzle is in communication with the cryogenic cleansing medium for providing a cleaning spray at a second position adjacent the predetermined path so that the cleaning spray impinges on the surface to be cleaned at the second position. A post heater optionally is provided and, if so provided, preferably mounted in a third position adjacent to the predetermined path in thermal communication with the surface of the article at the third position. The cryogenic spray nozzle assembly, in preferred embodiments, further includes an assembly or other means for imparting cyclic motion in the spray nozzle so that the cleaning spray is moved bi-directionally relative to the predetermined path. This cyclic motion assembly or means alternatively could be external to the environment.
In another aspect of the present invention, systems and methods are provided for cleaning a surface of an article, wherein a preferred system includes a framework, a holding means that holds the article with the surface exposed, and means for moving the holding means along a predetermined path. The plasma source preferably is separated remotely from the article that is being processed, with free radicals generated remotely. Ion assisted chemistry, optionally or in combination with the remotely generated free radicals, are provided preferably by direct exposure of the wafer to an RF plasma. The plasma also may be activated by both a remote source and an RF plasma source. In preferred embodiments, each form of plasma is independently controlled to cover a wide spectrum of processing conditions in a manner to satisfy the complexity and diversity of these residues. The present invention preferably involves placing the substrate (wafer or other article, etc.) in the plasma reactor, applying to the substrate surface an activated mixture of gases selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, fluorine, hydrofluorocarbon or a mixture of such gases to both remove the photoresist layer and alter the composition of the residues such that the residues are soluble in water and/or have a weakened bonds that they can be removed with a stream of cryogenic cleaning medium.
With respect to the cryogenic cleaning assembly, a nozzle having a nozzle axis and a nozzle tip preferably is spaced from and adjacent to the predetermined path for delivering a cleaning spray onto the article surface. Means preferably is mounted between the framework and the nozzle for supporting and driving the nozzle tip through a cyclic motion.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, an oscillating or vibratory nozzle assembly for use in cryogenic cleaning of a surface of an article that must be cleaned substantially free of contaminants is provided, particularly after or as part of a dry process as described herein. An oscillating nozzle assembly in accordance with certain preferred embodiments preferably includes an assembly mounting block, a nozzle mounting block, and means for resiliently connecting the nozzle mounting block to the assembly mounting block. Further, the oscillating nozzle assembly preferably includes an eccentric and a driver connected to the eccentric. In addition, means preferably is provided for mounting the eccentric and the driver between the nozzle mounting block and the assembly mounting block. At least one nozzle preferably is included having a nozzle tip, wherein the nozzle is mounted on the nozzle mounting block so that the driver operates to move the nozzle tip cyclically when the driver is energized. Alternatively, the oscillation can be accomplished by actuators that support the nozzle or nozzle mounting block.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, the oscillating nozzle assembly for dispensing a cleaning medium toward a surface on an article preferably includes a nozzle, a tip on the nozzle for dispensing the cleaning medium, and means for mounting the nozzle. A nozzle assembly base preferably is included together with means for controllably moving the means for mounting the nozzle relative to the nozzle assembly base in a cyclic pattern having a predetermined frequency and amplitude.
Methods in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention relate to processing an article having a surface to be cleaned substantially free of contaminates. The process includes the steps of performing a plasma etching/ashing process, preferably to remove a photoresist-type layer, a plurality of pre-cleaning fabrication steps, conducting a cleaning process at a cleaning position using a cleaning spray, and performing a plurality of post-cleaning fabrication steps. The plasma step preferably involves placing the substrate (or other article) in the plasma reactor, applying to the substrate surface an activated mixture of gases selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, fluorine, hydrofluorocarbon or a mixture of such gases to both remove the photoresist layer and alter the composition of the residues such that the residues are soluble in water and/or have a weakened bonds that they can be removed with a stream of cryogenic medium.
The step of conducting a cleaning process preferably includes the steps of transporting the surface to be cleaned to the cleaning position together with positioning the surface to be cleaned proximate to the cleaning spray at the cleaning position. Further, the step of oscillating the cleaning spray at the cleaning position in a predetermined pattern preferably is performed to provide improved cleaning in accordance with the present invention.

Methods for resist stripping and cleaning surfaces substantially free of contaminants


Radar receiver calculates a first reception power in each of a predetermined number of beam directions by using a reflected wave signal in a first cell among a plurality of cells into which a region represented by at least one of a distance component and a Doppler frequency component is divided, calculates a second reception power on the basis of reception powers of reception array antennae by using the reflected wave signal in a peripheral cell of the first cell among the plurality of cells, and determines whether or not a target is present in the first cell on the basis of a comparison result between the first reception power and a first threshold value that is a value obtained by multiplying the second reception power by a first coefficient.

A radar apparatus transmits a radio wave, receives a reflected wave received by a target, and thereby detects a distance to the target on the basis of an arrival delay time of the reflected wave, and can thus detect a relative speed of the target on the basis of a Doppler frequency component of the reflected wave.
In recent years, a radar apparatus using a radar transmission signal of which a wavelength is short, including a radio wave such as a microwave or a millimeter wave enabling a high resolution to be obtained has been examined. In order to improve the safety outdoors, there is the need for development of a radar apparatus (wide-angle radar apparatus) that detects a small object such as a pedestrian or a falling object in a wide-angle range in addition to a vehicle.
A wide-angle radar apparatus may have the following configuration.
There is a configuration using a method (an arrival angle estimation method or direction of arrival (DOA) estimation) in which a reflected wave is received by array antennae including a plurality of antennae (antenna elements), and an arrival angle (arrival direction) of the reflected wave is estimated by using a signal processing algorithm based on a reception phase difference for an element interval (antenna interval). For example, an arrival angle estimation method may include a fast Fourier transform (FFT) method, and a method enabling a high resolution to be obtained may include a Capon method, multiple signal classification (MUSIC), and estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques (ESPRIT) (for example, refer to NPL 1).

Radar apparatus and target determination method

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


An example journal pin includes a generally cylindrical body disposed on an axis having a supply passage. A first chamber and a second chamber are disposed in the generally cylindrical body and are in fluid communication with the supply passage. A recess on an outer diameter of the cylindrical body is in fluid communication with the first chamber and the second chamber. The first chamber and second chamber are each radially outward of the supply passage and including an outlet to the recess. The first chamber and second chamber each have a first section radially inward of a second section. A cross sectional area of the second section is greater than a cross sectional area of the corresponding first section.

This disclosure relates to a gear system and, in particular, to journal pins in an epicyclic gear system.
Turbomachines, such as gas turbine engines, typically propel aircraft and include a fan section, a turbine section, a compressor section, and a combustor section. Turbomachines may employ an epicyclic gear system connecting the fan section and the turbine section. Journal pins hold planet (or star) gears between the sun gear and a ring gear. The journal pins connect the planet gears to a gear carrier.
A single oil supply opening can supply outer surfaces of journal pins with oil to be distributed between the journal pin and the planet gears for lubrication. However, the use of a single supply opening necessitates an increased supply of oil, as well as increased oil pressure within the journal pin, for proper oil distribution. A single supply opening is also subject to blockage, resulting in bearing failure.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A lighting system and device for providing indirect light using free-cavity, double-diffusing configurations are disclosed. In accordance with the embodiments of the invention, a lighting fixture comprises a cover structure with a diffusion layer and a reflective plate that form the free-cavity. The free-cavity is preferably configured to provide an output of light from a light source positioned within the free-cavity with an efficiency rating of 70% or more and provide better than an 8:1 ceiling lighting contrast between the rows of fixtures with rows on 16 feet spacing. Further, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a device is configured to couple to a ceiling structure and provide the indirect lighting from a fluorescent light source.

Direct lighting is lighting provided from a source without reflection from other surfaces. In electrical lighting, direct lighting usually describes an installation of ceiling mounted or suspended luminaires with mostly downward light distribution characteristics. Direct lighting creates glare and harsh shadows. Parabolic fixtures create shafts of intense light. These shafts result in uneven illumination, harsh glare, and hard shadows. Deep wall shadows can cause eye strain and affect well-being and productivity.
Expensive "VDT-type" (visual display terminal) parabolic fixtures further restrict the lateral distribution of light, keeping glare off of some VDT's while increasing shadows, undue contrast and direct glare. Further, direct lighting causes veiling reflection and hard shadows.
Lensed troffers and wraps are often used for budget purposes, but result in too much glare for many uses. For example, these lighting types do not meet ANSI recommendations for today's classrooms. Light between 55° and 90° from lensed troffers and wrap-style type lighting goes directly onto computer screens and causes reflective glare.
Most indirect lighting devices require at least a 15″ spacing between the ceiling and the top of the fixture. Due to the need for this 15″ spacing, the aesthetics of the lighting fixture, in low-ceiling applications, are objectionable to architects. In addition there is concern that the low-hanging indirect devices will be vandalized in schools. Further, building codes require that the bottom of the fixtures be at least 6′-8″ AFF. Due to these restrictions and limitations, indirect fixtures are not generally used in spaces with the typical 8′-0″ to 8′-6″ ceiling heights.

Free-cavity, double-diffusing indirect lighting luminaire


Warming a metastable steel after coating and before or during cold rolling suppresses the transformation of austenite to martensite, resulting in lower mill loads and higher amounts of reduction at similar loads. As-warm rolled steel has enhanced mechanical properties when compared to steel reduced the same amount by cold rolling at room temperature.

The present invention pertains to steels containing a significant amount of metastable austenite (5%-100%). Austenite is deemed metastable if it transforms to martensite upon mechanical deformation. Such martensite is called deformation-induced martensite, which is stable until the steel is heated to high temperatures upon which the martensite reverts to austenite.
Due to the high work hardening rates associated with the deformation-induced transformation of metastable austenite to martensite, steels containing metastable austenite are sometimes rolled at ambient—or greater—temperatures to achieve high yield and tensile strengths.
If such a steel, in a rolled condition, was to be coated for protection against corrosion, then the high strength of the rolled steel introduces unique challenges during the coating process because coating lines have typically been designed for lower strength steel products. The increased strength causes challenges related to the ability to pull the strip through the line, the ability to bend the strip around rolls, and the ability to perform any shape correction by way of tension leveling or other means.
Furthermore, in some coating techniques, the steel strip is subjected to high temperatures, which result in some or all of the deformation-induced martensite reverting back to austenite. As a result of this reversion, the mechanical properties of the steel strip would degrade, thereby losing the beneficial effects of the earlier rolling process.

Reduction at elevated temperature of coated steels containing metastable austenite


The disclosure relates to a lighting device, in particular for integration into a vehicle surface, having a cover with optically opaque surface areas, a light-source carrier, arranged behind the cover and having a plurality of light sources, and signal structures which are arranged between the surface areas and can be illuminated for light emission, wherein different signal patterns can be adjusted by selective control of certain of the light sources for trans-illumination or illumination of one or more associated signal structures. The disclosure further relates to a vehicle, having such a lighting device, and to a method for carrying out various signal functions with such a lighting device.

Motor vehicle lights, such as taillights, in which light-emitting diodes, rather than incandescent lamps, function as illuminants, are known from the prior art. As examples, refer to DE 33 15 785 A1, DE 39 16 875 A1, and DE 42 28 895 A1, which relate to motor vehicle lights or signal lights in which light-emitting diodes are used as illuminants. The known luminous devices are designed according to the requirements of known signal functions of road vehicles.
For example, DE 39 16 875 A1 discloses a signal light that has several functional fields, each functional field being assigned to a specific signal function, such as direction-of-travel indicator, brakes, or tail light. It is desirable in the known lights that the function of the surfaces of the individual functional fields that are visible from the outside are perceptible due to reflected light, and that an adequate warning function is ensured thereby even when the illuminant is switched off, especially at night.
The use is known of accordingly configured headlights and taillights, which are typically present on a vehicle, —for implementing additional signal functions that go beyond the functions required by regulations, for example, the so-called coming-home function or the leaving-home function. For present-day and future vehicles, there currently exists an additional need to implement non-standard signal functions, for example, signaling an autonomous driving mode of the vehicle.
Further exemplary known lighting devices are disclosed in DE 100 21 114 A1, DE 10 2014 110 084 A1, DE 10 2016 123 877 A1, DE 202 16 948 U1, WO 2017/121 516 A1.

Lighting device for a vehicle, in particular an electric vehicle


An environment providing device having a test chamber; a spraying device for receiving the supply of a gas flow to spray, into the test chamber, a fluid that contains particles; a flow meter for measuring a measured value for the flow rate of the gas flow that is supplied to the spraying device; a flow rate controlling device for controlling to a prescribed value, based on the measured value, the flow rate of the gas flow that is supplied to the spraying device; a timer for measuring a time interval over which the fluid that includes the particles has been sprayed into the test chamber; and a spraying-device-controlling device for stopping the spraying of the fluid that contains the particles after spraying a prescribed quantity of particles into the test chamber.

In, for example, clean rooms in semiconductor manufacturing factories, the quantity of particles dispersed in the air within the room is monitored using a particle detecting device. In research and development of particle detecting devices, the correspondence between the quantity of particles dispersed in the air within the test environment and the results of detection by the particle detecting device is examined. At this time, it is desirable to be able to control accurately the quantity of particles dispersed in the air in the test environment. (See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2004-159508, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2008-22764, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2008-22765.)

Environment providing device, environment providing method, and particle detecting device evaluating method


A micromachined capacitor structure having a first anchor (12) attached to the substrate (24), a tether (13) coupled to the anchor (12) and having a portion free to move in a lateral direction over the substrate (24) in response to acceleration. A tie-bar (14) is coupled to the movable portion of the tether (13), and at least one movable capacitor plate (16) is coupled to the tie bar (13). A first fixed capacitor plate (16) is attached to the substrate (24) laterally overlapping and vertically spaced from the at least one movable capacitor plate (16).

The present invention relates, in general, to solid state sensors, and more particularly, to solid state sensors having a micromachined capacitor structure.
Many micromachined devices are now well known, including force, acceleration, and pressure sensors. The term "micromachined" is used because the devices employ mechanical structures and geometries which are as small as a few tenths of a micrometer. The small dimensions are achieved by photolithographic and etching techniques similar to that used in integrated circuit manufacturing. Usually, many devices are manufactured on a single substrate. Often, a silicon substrate is used.
Most often, micromachined sensors use piezoresistive properties of silicon to generate a signal. Alternatively, capacitor plates can be formed on the substrate so that at least one capacitor plate can move with respect no another capacitor plate. The relative movement in response to pressure or acceleration changes the capacitance of the structure. This change in capacitance is detected as an output signal.
Unfortunately, prior micromachined capacitor structures suffer from a number of limitations which raise the cost of manufacture, limit accuracy, and preclude their use in many applications. For example, most capacitor structures currently available are only sensitive to acceleration that occurs vertically with respect to the surface of the device. This creates difficulty in packaging and mounting the device in many applications.
Prior capacitor structures were usually designed as cantilevers with one end anchored to a substrate and another end free to swing vertically in relation to a fixed capacitor plate. Capacitance of the device varied as the spacing between the cantilevers and the substrate became smaller. Unfortunately, capacitance changes non-linearly with spacing between capacitor plates, resulting in a non-linear response characteristic for the accelerometer.
What is needed is a micromachined capacitor structure and method for making it that is sensitive to lateral acceleration and provides a linear capacitance change with acceleration.

Laterally sensitive accelerometer and method for making


A method is disclosed for forming vertical bipolar junction transistors including a regular array of base contact pillars and emitter contact pillars with a width below the minimum lithographical resolution F of the lithographic technique employed. In an embodiment, the pillar array features have a dimension of approximately F/2, though this dimension could be reduced down to other values compatible with embodiments of the invention. A storage element, such as a phase change storage element, can be formed above the regular array of base contact pillars and emitter contact pillars.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a method of fabricating a regular array of vertical bipolar junction transistors with dimensions below the minimum lithographical resolution. In particular, the present description refers to the manufacture of a regular array of vertical bipolar junction transistors operating as selection devices in a phase change memory.
Phase change memories are formed by memory cells connected at the intersections of bit-lines and word-lines and comprising each a memory element and a selection element. A memory element comprises a phase change region made of a phase change material, i.e., a material that may be electrically switched between a generally amorphous and a generally crystalline state across the entire spectrum between completely amorphous and completely crystalline states.
Typical materials suitable for the phase change region of the memory elements include various chalcogenide elements. The state of the phase change materials is non-volatile, absent application of excess temperatures, such as those in excess of 150° C., for extended times. When the memory is set in either a crystalline, semi-crystalline, amorphous, or semi-amorphous state representing a resistance value, that value is retained until reprogrammed, even if power is removed.
Selection elements may be formed according to different technologies. For example, they can be implemented by diodes, metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors or bipolar transistors.

Double patterning method for creating a regular array of pillars with dual shallow trench isolation


An element for fixing a ligament adapted to be inserted in an osseous canal comprising an at least partially hollowed truncated element including an internal conduit adapted to receive one of the end sections of a ligament. A fastening member is provided that extends through the truncated element and clamps the respective end section of the ligament inside the conduit.

The present invention relates to an element for fixing ligaments.
The grafting of natural ligaments or the placing of artificial ligaments is generally effected by previously making in the opposite osseous bodies canals in which the ends of the ligaments are introduced and fixed.
However, taking into account the efforts to which they are subjected, the ligaments tend to rupture, loosen or slacken to such an extent that it becomes necessary to operate again to replace or re-tension them.
In the case of conventional modes of fastening (screws, clips, . . . ), the operations prove to be delicate and the results are not always satisfactory.