The present invention provides a method and apparatus for generating electrical energy. In particular, the invention provides devices and methods by which the explosive energy provided by highly combustible propulsive sources, such as solid, liquid and gaseous propellants, can be used to generate sufficient electrical energy to power devices such as high energy spark generators, portable cardiac defibrilators, lasers and the like. The apparatus used can be compact, highly portable, and reusable. By providing a storage device and electrical discharge control, the method and apparatus can be adapted to power low energy devices over an extended period of time.

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for generating electrical energy. In particular, the invention provides a means by which the explosive energy provided by highly combustible propulsive sources, such as solid, liquid and gaseous propellants, can be used to generate sufficient electrical energy to power devices such as high energy spark generators, portable cardiac defibrilators, lasers and the like. The apparatus used can be compact, highly portable, and reusable. By providing a storage means and electrical discharge control, the method and apparatus can be adapted to power low energy devices over an extended period of time.
High energy systems require considerable electrical power in order to operate. Typically, energy levels in the hundreds of joules and greater are needed for devices such as defibrilators, lasers and the like. Such energy levels are commonly obtained by precharging one or more capacitors which are then quickly discharged into the device to be operated.
In view of the energy levels required, the capacitors are generally charged over a period of time from a constant power source, such as line current, which limits their portability and repeated use since the source must be present to provide a charge and/or recharge. Alternatively, storage batteries which are themselves heavy, have a finite life and must be periodically recharged by a separate power source are used.
Propellants, or explosive systems, exist in a wide range of physical forms from single compounds such as TNT to mixtures of substances and may be in solid, liquid or gaseous form. These compounds undergo rapid chemical reactions when ignited forming high pressure gases and releasing energy in the form of heat. Explosive materials are generally classified as either xe2x80x9clowxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chighxe2x80x9d depending on the rate of combustion. Low explosives burn at a rate of oxidation that is well below the speed of sound and produce gases at a manageable rate. These materials are used mainly as propellants for gun cartridges, solid fuel rockets and the like. High explosives burn at hypersonic speeds, i.e., 2,000 m to 8,500 m per second, so that the released gases form shock waves which shear and shatter nearby objects.
The purpose of propellants is to generate gases under pressure which can be used to provide thrust for a projectile. In most instances the gases are the means by which the energy released by combustion is converted to the work of pushing a projectile through the air. Other than for this purpose, the energy released does nothing else and is dissipated. The present invention seeks to provide a method whereby this energy can be used to generate electricity in a relatively simple manner and in an apparatus which can be readily carried by one individual. The invention further provides a means whereby electricity can be generated in high energy pulses for immediate use by high energy devices or stored and distributed in a controlled manner to low energy devices.
Electrical generators operate by rotation of a magnet within a coil to induce a current. This has been the principle on which electrical generators have worked since the electrical age began. The motive force to rotate the magnet in a generator has generally been provided by an external force such as steam, water, wind or the like in apparatus which has necessitated a large, fixed facility. Portable generators are usually powered either by a hand crank and have a limited output, or by a gasoline or diesel motor which is used to drive the shaft on which the magnet is mounted. Such generators are bulky, heavy, awkward and not easily portable. In addition, they require an fuel source that is also not easily transported. The output of the generator is in part governed by the speed of rotation of the magnet within the coil and in part by the windings in the coil and the field of the magnet. Where the windings and the magnetic field of two generators are identical, faster rotation of the magnet within the coil in one generator will produce a higher output than a slower rotation of the magnet within the coil of the other generator in accordance with the law of Energy=Velocity2.
By combining the motive force provided by explosive propellants with the principles of a generator, the inventors herein have devised a method and apparatus whereby these two features have been combined to provide a portable means to generate the energy levels needed to operate high energy systems in the field away from other sources of power. In addition, by providing a storage means, such as a bank of capacitors, and a controlling means, the high output of the method and apparatus of the present invention can be used to operate constant low level load systems over an extended period of time with periodic refreshing of the storage means.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for generating electricity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for generating electricity using the motive power generated by an explosive propellant.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the generation of electricity which is portable and which is capable of generating a high energy pulse suitable for use by high energy loads and which has a means for storing electricity for controlled release to low energy loads.
Further objects and advantages will become evident from the following description and claims.
In a basic configuration, the apparatus comprises a generator which operates by propelling a magnetic element through a series of electrical coils. The rapidly changing magnetic flux within the coils induces an electrical current in line with the existing laws for such machines. In this way, a single high energy electrical pulse can be created from a relatively simple apparatus. By utilizing appropriate power storage, control and discharge means, the generation of successive single pulses can be readily adapted to a variety of usable outputs including low energy continuous load devices as well as high energy pulse load devices.
In its simplest embodiment, the generator is constructed from copper coils wound around a bored barrel of non-magnetic, non-conductive material which is used to guide the magnetic element. Other conductor material may be used for the coils, including superconductors. The barrel is straight and of any suitable length to contain sufficient coils for the generation of the required amount of power to suit the final application or load. A simple receiver, sear and firing pin mechanism is attached to one end and is adapted to receive a cartridge comprising a casing housing a primer and propellant charge with the casing crimped to a magnetic element of a caliber corresponding to the barrel. A trigger mechanism activates the firing pin to fire the cartridge in the normal manner, thereby propelling the magnetic element along the barrel. In an alternative embodiment, the barrel may be circular so as to provide a continuous raceway for a trapped magnetic element thereby providing an effective infinite length to enable the extraction of the maximum amount of power from the passage of the magnetic element. In this instance, a xe2x80x9cblankxe2x80x9d cartridge may be used to provide the propellant gasses with appropriate means for admission of the pulse of gas into the barrel to propel the magnetic element.
The generator is unique in that it employs the pulse of energy created by the combustion of a ballistic propellant to drive a magnet through the coils thereby generating electrical energy which is extracted and used to power an electrical load. With a straight barrel, the length is such as to suite the particular application and may even be of sufficient length to slow the magnetic element sufficiently to permit its capture and reuse. Energy generated in an application utilizing typical existing firearm cartridge propellants may be in the region of 500 joules. Larger cartridges are capable of producing greater energy levels. When stored, the generated energy is available for discharge in comparatively short periods of time, about 1 millisecond, providing extremely high peak energy levels such as that required by laser flash lamps and cardiac defibrilators.
Thus, the present invention provides an apparatus for generating electrical energy comprising, an elongated conduit having a central bore adapted to receive a magnetic element for passage therethrough, a plurality of wire coils wound about the conduit and spaced along the length thereof, a magnetic element sized to pass through the bore, and means to propel the magnetic element through the bore, whereby passage of the magnetic element through the bore induces an electrical current in the coils.
The present invention also provides a method of generating electricity comprising propelling a magnetic pellet through at least one stationary tubular field coil.
The present invention further provides a method of generating electricity from high pressure combustion gases comprising, providing a plurality of field coils in substantially linear arrangement on a barrel having a central bore therethrough, providing a magnetic armature sized to pass through the bore, providing a means to propel the armature through the bore comprising a ballistic propellant capable of generating high pressure combustion gases directed against the armature in a direction corresponding to the linear arrangement of the field coils, and propelling the magnetic armature through the bore whereby the magnetic field of the armature passing across the field coils induces electrical current in the coils.

Method and apparatus for generating electrical energy


A fault and noise tolerant system and method for obtaining an original signal which is not influenced by a fault or noise occurring in an electronic equipment. The fault and noise tolerant system includes a first estimation filter for estimating an original signal from a signal output from the electronic equipment, considering noise of the electronic equipment; a second estimation filter for estimating the original signal and a fault signal from the signal output from the electronic equipment, considering a fault and the noise; a fault detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of a fault in the electronic equipment based on the estimated fault signal received from the second estimation filter; and a selection unit for selecting one of the estimated original signals from the first and second estimation filters, respectively, according to the result of detection of the fault detection unit. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain the signal of the electronic equipment that is not influenced by the fault and noise of the electronic equipment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fault and noise tolerant system and method for electronic equipment, and more particularly, to a system and method for tolerating unknown faults and noise in electronic equipment so that a signal generated by the electronic equipment is not influenced by the unknown faults and noise. The present application is based on Korean Patent Application No. 2001-47726, filed Aug. 8, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic equipment such as global positioning systems, inertial navigation systems, motor control systems, engine control systems, communication systems, and speech enhancement and recognition systems generate various types of signals. When unknown faults (such as faults, biases, or maneuvers) or noise occurs in electronic equipment, these signals are mixed with noise or fault signals generated due to the unknown faults.
When a signal generated in an electronic equipment is mixed with a fault signal or noise, a result obtained based on the signal has an error. In order to prevent a result from having an error due to an unknown fault or noise, there has been provided an apparatus which compares a signal generated from a system in which the characteristics of a given electronic equipment are mathematically modeled with a signal actually generated from the given electronic equipment to detect presence or absence of an unknown fault and/or noise.
However, the conventional apparatus only determines whether an unknown fault or noise occurs in the electronic equipment and reports the result of determination to allow an operator of the electronic equipment to take proper measures or to stop the operation of the electronic equipment. The conventional apparatus, however, does not obtain an original signal which does not include a fault signal or noise.
To solve the above-described problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fault and noise tolerant system and method for obtaining an original signal which is not influenced by a fault or noise occurring in an electronic equipment.
To achieve the above object of the present invention, there is provided a fault and noise tolerant system for electronic equipment. The fault and noise tolerant system includes a first estimation filter for estimating an original signal from a signal output from the electronic equipment, considering noise of the electronic equipment; a second estimation filter for estimating the original signal and a fault signal from the signal output from the electronic equipment, considering a fault and the noise; a fault detection unit for detecting presence or absence of a fault in the electronic equipment based on the estimated fault signal received from the second estimation filter; and a selection unit for selecting one of the estimated original signals from the first and second estimation filters, respectively, according to the result of detection of the fault detection unit.
Preferably, the first estimation filter is configured based on a state space model considering the noise without considering the fault with respect to the signal output from the electronic equipment, and the second estimation filter is configured based on a state space model considering both the noise and the fault with respect to the signal output from the electronic equipment.
Preferably, the fault detection unit includes a scalar value detector for detecting a scalar value of the estimated fault signal received from the second estimation filter, and a comparator for comparing the scalar value with a predetermined threshold value and outputting the result of comparison as the result of detection of the presence or absence of a fault.
Preferably, the comparator outputs the result of detection so that the selection unit selects the estimated original signal from the first estimation filter when the scalar value does not exceed the threshold value and selects the estimated original signal from the second estimation filter when the scalar value exceeds the threshold value.
To achieve the above object of the present invention, there is also provided a fault and noise tolerant method for electronic equipment, including the steps of estimating an original signal from a signal applied from the electronic equipment, considering noise of the electronic equipment; estimating the original signal and a fault signal from the signal applied from the electronic equipment, considering a fault signal and the noise; detecting presence or absence of a fault in the electronic equipment based on the estimated fault signal; and selecting the result of estimation considering the noise of the electronic equipment as a signal generated from the electronic equipment when there is no fault in the electronic equipment and selecting the result of estimation considering both noise and fault of the electronic equipment as the signal generated from the electronic equipment when there is any fault in the electronic equipment.
Preferably, the step of detecting presence or absence of a fault includes the steps of detecting a scalar value of the estimated fault signal; comparing the detected scalar value with a predetermined threshold value; if the detected scalar value does not exceed the predetermined threshold value, outputting a signal for selecting the result of estimation considering the noise of the electronic equipment as the result of detection of presence or absence of a fault; and if the detected scalar value exceeds the predetermined threshold value, outputting a signal for selecting the result of estimation considering both noise and fault of the electronic equipment as the result of detection of presence or absence of a fault.
Preferably, the fault and noise tolerant method further includes the step of providing the result of selection to the electronic equipment.

Fault and noise tolerant system and method


A liquefied gas treatment system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a boil-off gas heat exchanger exchanging heat between boil-off gas, pressurized by a boil-off gas compressor and recovered along a boil-off gas supply line branching off upstream of a liquefied gas-consuming unit, and the boil-off gas supplied from a liquefied gas storage tank, wherein the boil-off gas heat exchanger cools the boil-off gas, recovered along the boil-off gas supply line, with the boil-off gas, supplied from the liquefied gas storage tank, or flash gas, supplied through a vapor recovery line.

Field of Invention
An embodiment relates generally to a liquefied gas treatment system.
Description of Related Art
With recent technological advances, liquefied gas, such as liquefied natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas, which replaces gasoline or diesel, has come into widespread use.
Liquefied natural gas is natural gas that is converted into liquid form by cooling methane obtained by refining natural gas extracted from the gas field. Liquefied gas is a colorless, transparent liquid, and it is a fine fuel that produces little pollution and has a high calorific value. On the other hand, liquefied petroleum gas is a fuel made by compressing gas, which is mainly composed of propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10), extracted along with petroleum from oilfields, into liquid form at room temperature. Like liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas is colorless and odorless and has been widely used as household, commercial, industrial and automobile fuel.
The above-described liquefied gas is stored in a liquefied gas storage tank installed on the ground or on a ship which is a means of transportation sailing on the ocean. Liquefied natural gas takes up about 1/600 the volume of natural gas in its gaseous state. Propane and butane of liquefied petroleum gas take up about 1/260 and 1/230 the volume of petroleum gas in its gaseous state, respectively. Therefore, liquefied gas has high storage efficiency.
Such liquefied gas is supplied to and used by various sources of demand. In recent years, an LNG fuel supply method by which an LNG carrier drives an engine using LNG as a fuel has been developed. This method of using LNG as a fuel in an engine is also applicable to other ships.
However, the temperature and pressure of liquefied gas required by a source of demand, such as an engine, may be different from a state of liquefied gas stored in a liquefied gas storage tank. Therefore, recently, the technique of controlling the temperature and pressure of liquefied gas, which is stored in liquid state, and supplying the liquefied gas to a source of demand has been researched and developed.


An immunosuppressive agent which has low toxicity and which exhibits excellent effectiveness even if it is orally administered is presented. The immunosuppressive agent of the present invention is characterized in that it contains .delta.-opioid antagonist having high selectivity to .delta.-opioid receptor. The present invention also provides a process of producing a naltrindole derivative characterized by reacting naltrexone or a salt thereof with a phenylhydrazine derivative in a solvent in the presence of methanesulfonic acid.

Immunosuppressive agents are indispensable to inhibit rejection reaction mainly encountered in organ transplantations. Before 1980, no agent was known which can be called a real immunosuppressive agent. Therefore, even in the transplantation of pancreas which is thought to be the easiest one, the rate of success was only 7%. In 1980, cyclosporine A was discovered and the rate of success of organ transplantations was drastically promoted and the era of real organ transplantations initiated. However, cyclosporine A has a very strong toxicity to kidney, so that it is now tried to reduce the amount of cyclosporine A to be used as small as possible by co-employing other drugs. In 1984, FK-506 was discovered from a ray fungus. It was said that this compound has an immunosuppressive effect as high as 10 to 100 times higher than that of cyclosporine A, and at first, side effects such as toxicity to kidney are small (Science, January, 62, 1989). Recently, however, it was confirmed that FK-506 has stronger toxicity to kidney than cyclosporine A and also has a strong toxicity to liver. Thus, an effective immunosuppressive agent with low toxicity, which replaces these compounds is demanded.
In general, among the administration routes of drugs, oral administration is best preferred because it can be carried out in the absence of a doctor and patients can take the drug at their homes. However, the effectiveness of cyclosporine A when orally administered is insufficient.
On the other hand, through studies of action mechanism of analgesics such as morphine, it was found that there are sites called opioid receptors in various organs such as brain, to which these substances are specifically bound. The compounds which are bound to the receptors and exhibit pharmacological effects such as analgesic effect are called agonists.
The compounds which have affinities to the abovementioned opioid receptors but do not exhibits opioid activities, which exhibit antagonistic effects to opioid compounds are called opioid antagonists. Known opioid antagonists, such as naloxone and naltrexone, are used for studies of analgesic effects of the agonists such as morphine, and for treatment of respiration inhibition which is a side effect caused by administration of opiates such as morphine.
It was recently found that there are three subtypes called .mu., .kappa. and .delta. in opioid receptors. To study each of the subtypes, ligands, that is, agonists and antagonists which are specifically bound to eachsubtype are sought. It was recently confirmed that among these subtypes, the one which causes critical addiction and inhibition of respiration which are included in the side effects of morphine is the .mu. receptors. It was thus suggested by this study that for synthesizing an ideal analgesic free from addiction and inhibition respiration, compounds which have high selectivity to .mu. receptors should be avoided and compounds which have high selectivity to .kappa. or .delta. receptors should be sought. Thus, an antagonist having high selectivity to a particular subtype of opioid receptors is necessary not only for the studies of action mechanism of analgesics but also for the development of an ideal analgesic.
It was recently found that opioid receptors concern immune system. More particularly, it was found that the agonists represented by morphine, which act on .mu. receptors exhibit immunosuppressive effect and agonists represented by enkephalin, which act on .delta. receptors exhibit immunostimulating effect (Plotnikoff, Enkephalins and Endorphins, stress and immune system, Plenum Press, 1986).
Although a number of reports have been issued concerning the immunosuppressive effects of agonists of .mu. receptors, which are represented by morphine, since the agonists of .mu. receptors exhibit critical side effects such as addiction and inhibition of respiration, it is difficult to develop an immunosuppressive agent by employing an agonist of a .mu. receptor.

Immunosuppressive agent and process of producing the same


According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes a housing and a plurality of ribs. The housing houses at least part of an electronic component. The ribs are arranged along a flat side surface of the electronic component in the housing such that the inner surface of the ribs faces the side surface. The ribs comprises a rib that faces the side surface of the electronic component, and another rib that is located on an edge side of the side surface compared to the rib and more distant from the side surface than the rib.

There have been known electronic devices provided with a rib in the housing to absorb shock load acting on an electronic component moving in the housing due to an inertial force or the like (see, for example, Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) No. 2008-281644).
This type of electronic devices are required to reduce stress caused by the shock load acting on an electronic component.


The disclosed technology relates to cloud computing and, more specifically, to a cloud computing platform that manages cloud infrastructure to provide autonomous management of containers hosting applications. Based on prediction computations, the disclosed technology can scale up a VM or container, scale down a VM or container, shutdown a VM or container, change the location of a container, open a new container, or close a container.

As the growth of virtual machines and containers continues, software developers ("developers") have struggled to optimize the performance of virtual machines, containers, and applications. For example, a developer may unintentionally under provision a container because the demand for an application running on the container increases unexpectedly at peak hours to a level that a host virtual machine ("VM") or container is not capable of effectively handling. Not capable of effectively handling means the container's processing power, memory, or input/output capability are too low for running an application and the application will likely crash or function poorly (e.g., frequent errors). If the peak demand continues to grow without the developer knowing, the growth exacerbates the under provisioning problem. Accordingly, although under provisioning can save resources such as memory and processing power, it can cause customer disappointment.
In contrast to under provisioning a container or VM, developers may overprovision a container or VM to handle a high workload during peak hours. Even though the peak workload may last only a few hours, the overprovisioned VM or overprovisioned container continues to run throughout the day, month, or even year. Such overprovisioned VMs and containers can generate more heat or deplete resources (e.g., processing power, memory, or other computer resources). Further, because costs for a VM or container are generally based on rental rates regardless of utilization, over provisioning increases cost for companies, developers, and even customers.
Additionally, although developers can include an auto-scaling feature that provisions a new VM or new container every time peak load increases, the size of a network can grow uncontrollably, which can be costly or even make the network underutilized outside of peak hours. Accordingly, a need exists to address these problems and provide additional benefits.
The drawings are not to scale. Some components or operations can be separated into different blocks or combined into a single block for the purposes of discussion for implementations of the disclosed technology.

Systems and methods for managing a cloud computing environment


A steering column assembly comprises an outer jacket extending along an axis and defining a central opening for placing a steering shaft and a bearing assembly. A bearing retainer is located in the outer jacket for axially retaining the bearing assembly in the outer jacket. The bearing retainer comprises a first surface spaced from a second surface by an outer edge and an inner edge. The inner edge defines an opening for placement of the steering shaft. The bearing retainer includes a first spring finger extending from the first surface away from the second surface at an angle and a second spring finger extending from the second surface away from the first surface at an angle.

A vehicle, such as a car, truck, sport utility vehicle, crossover, mini-van, marine craft, aircraft, all-terrain vehicle, recreational vehicle, or other suitable vehicles, include various steering system schemes, for example, steer-by-wire and driver interface steering. These steering system schemes typically include a steering column for translating steering input to an output that interacts with a steering linkage to ultimately cause the vehicle wheels (or other elements) to turn the vehicle.
Steering columns typically include an outer jacket with a steering shaft located within the outer jacket that is operably connected on a first end to a steering input, such as a steering wheel, and an output on a second end, such as a pinion shaft assembly. When the steering wheel is turned, the steering shaft rotates within the outer jacket to interact with the steering linkage. Typically, the outer jacket is mounted to a component of the vehicle such that it cannot rotate and a bearing assembly permits the steering shaft to rotate relative to the jacket.
Some steering columns are axially adjustable between positions. In the past, a function of axially adjustable steering columns was to provide flexibility in the location of the hand wheel and facilitate more comfortable driving positions for different sizes of drivers. There axially adjustable steering columns typically include two or more outer jackets that move axially relative to one another but do not rotate. In such arrangements, the steering shaft rotates relative to each of the outer jackets and may require more than one bearing assembly.
There are a number of traditional bearing assembly configurations that typically include an inner race operably connected to the steering shaft and an outer race operably connected to the outer jacket that are separated by ball bearings. While these traditional bearing assemblies facilitate relative rotation between parts, they must be axially retained within the steering column such that they are not susceptible to misalignment or disassembly, which can be particularly challenging in steering columns that are axially adjustable. Traditional retaining systems include secondary mechanical fasteners or a tight press-fitting of the bearing assembly. While these traditional retaining systems serve to axially retain the bearing assembly, they are not without drawbacks. For example secondary mechanical fasteners require additional weight, fastener receiving apertures that can effect structural integrity, and complicated assembly processes. Similarly, bearing assemblies configured to be press-fit are subject to production variances and also require complicated assembly processes.
Accordingly, improvements in bearing retainer features continue to be of interest. Particularly, improvements on weight and simplicity of assembly.

Bearing retainer and steering column assembly with the bearing retainer

Steering Solutions IP Holding Corporation


This invention provides a method for manufacturing silicon single crystals. The method is capable of eliminating void defects existing in deep regions of a silicon single crystal despite the size of the silicon single crystal. The silicon single crystals according to this invention are pulled the radius of a ring-shaped oxidation induced stacking fault (OSF ring) of a wafer is larger than half the radius of the wafer during the process of thermal oxidation treatment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for manufacturing silicon single crystals and relates to wafers adapted for producing semiconductors. In particular, this invention relates to a method for manufacturing CZ silicon single crystals suitable for high-temperature heat treatments of CZ silicon wafers in a hydrogen atmosphere (hereinafter referred as hydrogen heat treatment). Furthermore, this invention relates to wafers that are cut out from single crystals manufactured by the above method and undergo a hydrogen heat-treatment to get rid of defects formed therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most substrates used for fabricating semiconductor components are silicon single crystals, which are dominantly manufactured by the CZ method. In the CZ method, polycrystalline silicon is fed into a crucible and is heated to melt into a liquid. Then, a seed crystal disposed in a seed chuck is immersed into the liquid stored in the crucible; subsequently, the seed is rotated and pulled to grow a silicon single crystal of preset diameter and length.
Silicon single crystals acquired through the above process are sliced to obtain wafers, and subsequently devices are mounted on the activated surfaces of the wafers. However, due to the tendency of miniaturization and high-integration of device structures, the voltage endurance characteristic of a gate oxidation layer has become highly important. Japanese Patent Gazette JB HEI 3-80338 disclosed a method for reducing defects contained in the gate oxidation layer during its forming process. The '338 patent suggested heat-treating a silicon wafer in a non-oxidizing atmosphere containing hydrogen gas prior to the process of forming a thermal oxidation thin layer on the surface of the silicon wafer. It has been known that grown-in defects contained in a CZ silicon wafer disappear after a hydrogen heat treatment and the oxidation layer voltage endurance characteristic of the treated CZ silicon is excellent. The above grown-in defects, such as LSTD (Laser Scattering Tomograghy Defects), FPD (Flow Pattern Defects), or COP (Crystal Originated Particle),can be detected near the outer surface layer of a wafer.
However, the distinguishable outcome brought about by hydrogen heat treatment can only be found near the most outer surface layer of the wafer. The inventors of this invention noticed that the smaller the defect size, the better the result of eliminating defects achieved through hydrogen heat treatment. Therefore, a proposal (Japanese Patent Application No. HEI 9-27213) was offered. Namely, the proposal is a method for raising the cooling rate while passing through the defect producing temperature zone in the process of pulling a crystal so as to miniaturize the defect sizes.
However, when a silicon single crystal diameter is over 200 mm, the heat capacity is larger than that of conventional small-diameter silicon single crystals; it is quite difficult to obtain a cooling rate capable of miniaturizing the defect sizes to a significant extent. In other words, due to insufficient cooling in the process of the pulling operation, it is quite difficult to eliminate defects existing in large silicon ingots with the aid of hydrogen heat treatment.

Method for manufacturing silicon single crystals and wafers adapted for producing semiconductors


A socket for an IC used in electrically connecting the IC to a test device for testing electrical properties of the IC. The socket for an IC includes a printed circuit board on one surface of which a plurality of contact electrodes are arranged at the same pitch as an arraying pitch of external electrodes for the IC and on the opposite surface of which are arranged a plurality of terminal electrodes connected to the contact electrodes, an anisotropic electrically conductive adhesive arranged on the contact electrodes of the printed circuit board, a base block arranged on the one surface of the printed circuit board and having an opening for setting the IC, with the opening facing the anisotropic electrically conductive adhesive. The socket for an IC also includes a plurality of coil-shaped contacts arranged in the opening, one ends of which are positioned above the contact electrodes via the anisotropic electrically conductive adhesive and the other ends of which are protruded from the opening. The contact electrodes and the coil-shaped contacts facing each other via the anisotropic electrically conductive adhesive are mechanically and electrically connected to each other via the anisotropic electrically conductive adhesive.

Up to now, a socket configured as shown in FIG. 1 is used as a socket for pre-shipment inspection of the inner surface mounting type IC. This socket includes a pre-set number of contact terminals 3 arranged in a main body portion 2. Referring to FIG. 1, the portion of the contact terminal 3 lying within the main body portion 2 of the socket is bowed to follow a stepped portion in the main body portion 2 of the socket, with a distal end of the contact terminal 3 operating as a contact portion 3a and a portion of the contact terminal 3 protruded from the bottom surface of the main body portion 2 of the socket operating as a terminal 3b. A retainer member 5 is rotationally mounted via a hinge 4 on the main body portion 2 of the socket.
An IC 6 to be housed in the socket 1 is housed in its main body portion 2 with a bump 7 as an external electrode on the bottom surface of a main body portion 8 of the IC in position for contacting with a contact portion 3a of a contact terminal 3 arranged in the main body portion 2 of the socket. The IC 6 is thrust and supported in position by a thrusting portion 5a provided as a boss on a surface of the retainer member 5 which is rotated for closing an upper opening side of the main body portion 2 of the socket. When rotated for closing the opening side of the main body portion 2 of the socket to thrust and support the IC 6 housed in the main body portion 2 of the socket, as shown in FIG. 1, the retainer member 5 is locked by a lock member, not shown, provided in the main body portion 2 of the socket, whereby the IC 6 is kept in the thrust and supported state.
The above-described socket 1 can be used for such a case wherein the bump arraying pitch is broader and wherein two rows of bumps are each arranged on opposite sides of the bottom of the main body portion 8 of the IC, as shown in FIG. 1. However, the above-described configuration cannot be applied to a ball grid array (BGA) type IC or to a chip size package (CSP) type IC in which a large number of bumps are arranged in a matrix configuration on the bottom of the main body portion of the IC. That is, in the socket 1 shown in FIG. 1, contact portions 3a of contact terminals 3 constituted by metal pins are bowed for extending along the bottom surface of the main body portion 2 of the socket, plural bumps formed on the BGA type or CSP type IC are simultaneously contacted with the sole contact portions 3a to render it impossible to cause the bumps and the contact portions 3a to be contacted with each other independently.

Socket for IC and method for manufacturing IC


An imaging optical system is provided and has a focusing section including a cemented lens (first and second lenses), which includes first and second fluid materials having different refractive indices from each other; and whose cemented surface shape can be electrically controlled. A refractive index Nd1 of the first fluid material, a refractive index Nd2 of the second fluid material, a minimum value RA of a radius of curvature of the cemented surface of the cemented lens, a focal length fa of the whole cemented lens, and a focal length f of the whole lens system satisfy the conditions specified in the specification.

Cameras and camcorders with an autofocus function have been known. In these imaging apparatuses, focusing is generally performed by moving the whole or a part of a lens system of an imaging lens using a drive systems such as a motor or the like. On the other hand, in recent years, a number of small-size information terminal apparatuses, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and the like, which includes an imaging module to have an imaging function, are becoming available on the market. Imaging optical systems in these information terminal apparatuses often employ pan focus, in which the depth of field of a lens is utilized, as a focusing method in favor of ease of miniaturization and configuration.
Recently, a fluid lens system in which the focal length can be changed without moving parts has been developed (Philips Research Press Release, "Philips' Fluid Lenses Bring Things into Focus", Mar. 3, 2004, on the Internet <URL: http://www.researchphilips.com/newscenter/archive/2004/fulidfocus.html>). This system is composed of two immiscible fluids (lens materials) of different refractive indices, which are loaded in a cylindrical tube and whose shapes are electrically controlled.
As described above, in recent years, it is often that small-size information terminal apparatuses have an imaging function and employs pan focus as a focusing method. However, in such apparatuses, a demand for image quality is growing year after year. Also, a demand is being shifted from the pan focus optical system to an autofocus optical system. However, autofocus in the related art is performed by moving an imaging lens using a drive system such as a motor or the like. Therefore, a lens moving mechanism is required, which is disadvantageous in terms of ease of miniaturization and configuration.

Imaging optical system with focusing function


The device drives one or more capacitive actuators with a control circuit. The device has a series circuit with a charging capacitor, a discharging capacitor, an electric coil, and the one or more actuators each with an associated selector switch. A discharging switch has a drain terminal connected to the node point between the two capacitors, and a source terminal connected via decoupling diodes to the drain terminals of the selector switches.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for driving at least one capacitive actuator, in particular an actuator of a fuel injection valve of a motor vehicle internal combustion engine. The device drives the capacitive actuator(s) by means of a control circuit. A charging capacitor is connected between the positive pole and the negative pole of a voltage source. A series circuit, connected in parallel with the charging capacitor, comprises a ring-around coil and at least one actuator with an assigned selector switch. The device further includes a discharging switch. The invention also relates to a method for operating the device.
A device of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,536, entitled "drive circuit for an electrostrictive actuator in a fuel injection valve." There, use is made of thyristors for the charging or selector switch and a discharging switch. During the switch-on operation, thyristors must be triggered with a pulse, and are extinguished automatically when the power current flowing via them vanishes. The relatively long critical hold-off interval of the thyristors is problematical. This can be countered if the thyristors are replaced by MOSFET switches and diodes. However, a very complicated high-side drive circuit is required for N-MOSFET switches; it is certainly true that the drive circuit can be of simpler construction for P-MOSFET switches, but with these the losses are approximately twice as high as with N-MOSFET switches.

Device and method for driving at least one capacitive actuator


A position indicator comprises: a first indicator pattern composed of a plurality of substantially identical first partial patterns periodically arranged in a direction of extension, and a second indicator pattern composed of a plurality of substantially identical second partial patterns periodically arranged in the direction of extension. The first partial patterns may extend, along a first line extending transversely to the direction of extension, and the second partial patterns may extend along a second line extending transversely to the first line and the direction of extension The first and second partial patterns may be each composed of plural sub-patterns disposed adjacent to one another in the direction of extension. The sub-patterns of each pair of sub-patterns of the respective partial pattern are different from each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an indicator for indicating a relative position of two components that are displaceable relative to one another, a measuring apparatus comprising such position indicator and a method of manufacturing an indicator pattern.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional caliper gauge for determining geometric dimensions of physical objects. Caliper gauge 1 comprises two components 3, 5 which are linearly displaceable relative to one another. Each component 3, 5 has one measuring leg 7, 9, respectively, which can be brought to rest on the object to be measured. The two components 3 and 5 bear indicator patterns 11, 13, respectively, which are conventionally termed scale or Nonius (vernier).
The first indicator pattern 11 of component 3, the scale, comprises a plurality of partial patterns 4, all of which are configured as markings and are spaced a distance of 1 mm apart from one another in a direction of displacement of the two components 3 and 5, i.e. recur in a periodic or regular pattern. In particular, over a length L1 of 20 mm N1=20 of such partial patterns 4, or partial markings, respectively, are disposed such that a distance between two partial patterns 4 is 1 mm. The indicator pattern 13, the Nonius, comprises N2=20 partial patterns 6, which are regularly spaced over a length L2=19 mm. Such a 19/20-Nonius allows an accuracy of reading of1 mm−19/20 mm=0.05 mm.
When reading the caliper gauge, the zero mark of the Nonius 13 is regarded as the decimal point. Left of the zero mark, the full millimeters are read off the scale 11. Subsequently, that partial mark 6 to the right of the zero mark of the Nonius 13 is selected that substantially aligns with partial mark 4 of scale 11. The number of partial marks 6 on the Nonius 13 between its zero mark and the aligned mark indicates the number of 1/20 millimeters behind the decimal point.
Those caliper gauges have, however, turned out to have a limited accuracy of reading. Furthermore, the caliper gauge described above is only suitable for measurement of linear, geometric distances.

Position indicator, measuring apparatus and method of manufacturing a position indicator


A drill may include a body extending from a first end toward a second end, and the body may include an outer peripheral surface and a cutting edge. The cutting edge may include a first cutting edge and a second cutting edge. The second cutting edge may be positioned closer to the second end and the outer peripheral surface than the first cutting edge. The second cutting edge may include a first part, a second part and a third part. The second part may be positioned closer to the outer peripheral surface than the first part and may be positioned closer to the second end as close to the first part. The third part may be positioned closer to the first cutting edge than the first part and may be positioned closer to the second end as close to the first part.

As a rotary tool used to perform milling on a workpiece, for example, a drill is disclosed in WO 2016/047803 (Patent Document 1). The drill discussed in Patent Document 1 may include a first tip cutting edge, a second tip cutting edge and a ridge line. The first tip cutting edge may extend from the side of the axis toward the outer side in the radial direction orthogonal to the axis. The second tip cutting edge may be positioned closer to the outer side in the radial direction than the first tip cutting edge. The ridge line may connect the first tip cutting edge and the second tip cutting edge.
In the drill discussed in Patent Document 1, the ridge line and the second tip cutting edge may be connected at an angle. Therefore, during machining, stress may be likely to be concentrated on the connection portion between the ridge line and the second tip cutting edge, and the connection portion may be broken.

Drill and method of manufacturing machined product


Microcarriers, matrices and scaffolds for growing mammalian cells are provided which include copolymer particles and matrices comprising of polysaccharide-polyamine copolymers. The copolymeric particles and matrices have a pore size of at least 50 microns and permit the mammalian cells to grow both on an exterior surface of the particles and matrices and within an interior of the particles and matrices. Methods for making such microcarriers, matrices and scaffolds, and compositions are also provided. Methods for growing mammalian cells utilizing such microcarriers, matrices and scaffolds and compositions are also provided.

Culturing mammalian cells, especially human cells, is crucial in life science, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology research, as human cell cultures may be used to determine cell function and interactions and, for example, produce therapeutic cells, large quantities of proteins, and pathogens for the development of vaccines. Human gene products are commonly produced utilizing in vitro methods via bacterial, yeast, and insect gene expression systems. However, normal biological functionalities, activities, and metabolism of many human proteins are dependent on post-translational modification, such as glycosylation, ubiquitination, proteolytic cleavage, and disulfide bridges. These post-translational modifications can only be properly carried out in mammalian and sometimes only in human cells. In addition, proteins with a molecular weight above 30,000 Daltons (Da) generally cannot be expressed by micro-organisms. To produce such human proteins with their normal biological functions, mammalian cell expression systems may be the only suitable systems. Therefore, the ability to scale up the production of these proteins and the costs of such production are dependent on the yields of mammalian cell cultures, which are often proportional to the cell density of a cell culture.
Culturing anchorage-dependent mammalian cells in a three-dimensional (3-D) suspension model is one way of achieving high density culturing of cells. To achieve higher cell density growth, organotypic culture and microcarrier methods are used as the two major improved culture models. Although organotypic culture is real 3-D growth, the achievement of high density culture is still impeded by nutrient diffusion. The microcarrier method provides an anchor surface and allows culture of anchorage-dependent cells in a suspension model. However, cells typically grow as monolayers on the surface of the microcarriers suspended in the culture medium by gentle agitation, which is not true 3-D growth.
Most mammalian cells derived from solid tissues can only grow in an adherent mode. Affected by gravity, anchorage-dependent mammalian cells typically grow as monolayer on the lowest surface of the culture container. Since it is difficult to achieve high cell density growth in the conventional adherent growth mode, the cost of commercially produced pharmaceutical products by mammalian cell culture is very high. In addition, cells growing in a monolayer may be susceptible to damage resulting from collision of the cells during agitation of the culture medium or a bioreactor. In addition, such monolayer growth systems may be vulnerable to contamination, since they are directly exposed to the culture environment.
Furthermore, the surfaces of conventional cell growth microcarriers are often treated (e.g., by coating the carriers with collagen, fibronectin, laminin and Poly 1-lysine) to promote and enhance attachment of the cultured cells. The use of such coating materials and coating procedures significantly increases the cost of cell carriers and their related products.
Water soluble cationic copolymers presently have very limited application in the biomedical field due to their known high cytotoxicity. The cytotoxicity is known to result from the high charge density of soluble and mobile molecules in the solution.
Accordingly, systems for growing mammalian cells that overcome at least the above-discussed disadvantages are needed.

Microcarriers, matrices and scaffolds for culturing mammalian cells and methods of manufacture


The present disclosure relates generally to modified adeno-associated virus (AAV) from serotypes other than serotype 2, which have a viral capsid protein with a subunit 1 (VP1) sequence which is modified relative to the corresponding wildtype sequence. In particular, the modified AAVs of the disclosure comprise site-specific amino acid substitutions within the phospholipase A2 (PLA2) domain and flanking sequence relative to the corresponding wild-type sequence which improve functionality of the AAV when produced in insect cells. The present disclosure also relates to methods of producing the modified AAVs, reagents therefor, baculovirus expression systems and insect cells for producing said modified AAVs.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is one of the most promising viral vectors for human gene therapy. AAV contains a ssDNA genome of approximately 4.7 kb which expresses two ORFs; one encodes the viral coat proteins VP1, VP2 and VP3 as well as the Assembly Associated Protein or Assembly Activated Protein (AAP) and the second encodes four viral replicase components; the ORFs are flanked by two Inverted Terminal Repeats (ITRs). The ITRs are recognised by the viral rep proteins where they play a crucial role in genome replication and loading of newly synthesized genomes in nascent viral capsids. Recombinant AAV particles can be prepared using vectors where a Gene of Interest (GOI) is cloned between the two ITRs and viral cap and rep proteins are provided in trans.
Recombinant AAV particles retain the ability to efficiently infect dividing as well as non-dividing human cells. Viral particles are thought to enter the nucleus where the genome persists as an episome and continues to express any transgenes present in the recombinant vector for extended periods, months to years. Importantly, even though AAV infection is common, the virus is not generally thought to be associated with any disease. Moreover, there are a number of AAV serotypes, typically termed serotypes 1-12, which differ in their tissue tropisms. In view of these advantages, recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) is being evaluated in gene therapy clinical trials for a number of human diseases.
There are two main types of production systems for recombinant AAV: (1) conventional production systems using mammalian cell lines (e.g., HEK293 cells, COS cells, HeLa cells, KB cells); and (2) more recently, production systems using insect cells.
The mammalian production system typically involves a triple transfection where three plasmids are transfected into mammalian cell lines, these plasmids encode i) AAV rep and coat proteins ii) helper functions derived from adenovirus and iii) a gene of interest flanked by ITRs. The AAV rep and ITR sequences are typically derived from the AAV2 serotype, as well as CAP sequences, although sequences from other serotypes can be substituted to create pseudotyped viral particles, the choice of viral capsid proteins reflecting the desired tissue tropisms.
Mammalian production systems suffer from several drawbacks. The most important drawback for therapeutic use is difficulties associated with large scale transfection of adherent mammalian cells and consequent poor scalability of AAV production systems. Furthermore, there is a risk that a vector for clinical use that is produced in a mammalian cell culture will be contaminated with undesirable, and perhaps pathogenic, material present in the mammalian host cell.
As an alternative to mammalian productions systems, insect cells can be used for the production of AAV using baculovirus vectors. Baculoviruses infect insect cells where they replicate episomally and through the use of baculovirus-derived promoters can drive extremely high levels of transgene expression in infected cells. Typically insect cells are co-infected with two recombinant baculoviruses, one expressing AAV cap and rep proteins and the second containing the GOI flanked by ITRs, viral helper functions are not required.
The principal advantage of using insect cells for production of AAV is scalability, since insect cells have been adapted to grow in suspension culture without supplements such as Fetal Calf Serum. However, insect cell production systems also have several drawbacks, including difficulties in achieving the correct stoichiometry of the three AAV capsid proteins (VP1, VP2 and VP3), passaging instability of the baculovirus expression vectors and, most significantly, low functionality of the resultant AAVs compared to corresponding AAVs produced in conventional mammalian cells.
The functionality of AAVs produced in insects cell varies according to the AAV serotype. For example, Urabe et al. (2006) J. Virol. 80(4):1874-1885 reported that AAV5 particles produced in the baculovirus system in insect cell have a poor activity in contrast to AAV2 produced in the same system. It has since been recognised that AAV2 retains activity of the phospholipase domain (PLA) in subunit 1 (VP1) of its viral capsid protein when produced from a baculovirus expression system in insect cells, thereby enabling the virus to escape the endosomal compartment and reach the cell cytoplasm. Urabe et al. partially addressed this problem by constructing chimeric AAV2/5 VP1 proteins, wherein a N-terminal portion of at least 49 amino acids of AAV5 VP1 is replaced with the corresponding part of AAV2 VP1 in order to improve the functionality of the virions. However, given the interest in using AAVs in human gene therapy, there is still a need in the art for alternative and/or improved methods of producing recombinant AAVs (from serotypes other than AAV2) in insect cells, wherein the AAVs are capable of escaping the endosome following cellular internalisation.
It is to be understood that any discussion of public documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like included herein is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of any claim of this application.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) with modified phospholipase domain


Dendron ligands or other branched ligands with cross-linkable groups were coordinated to colloidal inorganic nanoparticles, including nanocrystals, and substantially globally cross-linked through different strategies, such as ring-closing metathesis (RCM), dendrimer-bridging methods, and the like. This global cross-linking reaction sealed each nanocrystal within a dendron box to yield box-nanocrystals which showed dramatically enhanced stability against chemical, photochemical and thermal treatments in comparison to the non-cross-linked dendron-nanocrystals. Empty dendron boxes possessing a very narrow size distribution were formed by the dissolution of the inorganic nanocrystals contained therein upon acid or other etching treatments.

Colloidal nanoparticles are nanometer-sized solid particles which are of interest for advanced materials applications. Generally, colloidal nanoparticles include colloidal nanocrystals as well as amorphous particles, and can comprise either inorganic or organic solids. For simplicity, inorganic nanocrystals are discussed as the representatives of nanometer-sized solids. The term "nanometer-sized" is typically used to refer to particles with an approximate size range between about 1 nm to about 1000 nm in diameter (one nanometer is 10−9 meter). More typically, "nanometer-sized" refers to an approximate size range between about 1 nm to about 100 nm in diameter.
Usually, nanocrystals are thermodynamically metastable and typically need kinetic stabilization with a monolayer of organic ligands, typically referred to as capping groups, surfactants, stabilizers, and the like. These organic ligands function by having at least one binding site with which to bind the surface atoms of the nanocrystals, while the remaining portion of the ligand molecules provides steric isolation between nanocrystals.
Organic dendrons are regularly branched organic molecules starting from a focal point or molecular branching point, which can be used as ligands for nanocrystals. For simplicity, the term dendron is used to refer to any organic ligand that is substantially branched. With organic dendrons, the molecular focal point typically constitutes the site at which the ligand binding occurs while the periphery constitutes the organic groups that provide steric protection. The number of branching points from the focal point to the terminal groups of the dendron is used to characterize these ligands and is referred to as the number of generations of the dendrons. For instance, generation 3 (G3) dendrons refers to dendrons with three branching points from the focal point to the terminal groups of the dendrons.
Colloidal nanocrystals have generated great fundamental interest in recent years and continue to exhibit tremendous promise for developing advanced materials for a variety of important technical applications. The size-dependent emission is probably the most attractive property of semiconductor nanocrystals. For example, differently sized CdSe nanocrystals can be prepared that emit from blue to red with very pure color. These nanocrystal-based emitters can be used for many purposes, such as light-emitting diodes, lasers, biomedical tags, and the like. Further, magnetic nanocrystals can be used as enhancing agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the medical diagnostics industry.
Current research and development activities in colloidal nanocrystals remain hindered by the paucity of reliable processing chemistry. Recent developments in the synthesis of semiconductor, metal, and oxide nanocrystal systems, have placed the need for better processing chemistry in an even more urgent position. The processibility of colloidal nanocrystals is related to the stability of the nanocrystal-ligand complex, which it turn is related to the nature and structure of the surface ligand monolayer, the interface between the inorganic core and the organic ligand monolayer, and the structure of the surface of the inorganic nanocrystals themselves. Yet, knowledge regarding the structure of inorganic nanocrystal surface, the nature of the nanocrystal-ligand interface, and the dynamics and structure of the ligands within the monolayer is limited.
An example of the importance in obtaining stable nanocrystal-ligand complexes is seen in the lifetime of the light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on semiconductor nanocrystals. Presently, this attainable lifetime is relatively short, which is likely the result of the thermal dissociation of organic ligands from the nanocrystal surface during operation of the LED device. Further, the troublesome conjugation chemistry related to promising biological labeling applications using semiconductor nanocrystals has been also found to be associated with the detachment of the organic ligands from the nanocrystal surface. Additionally, the long-pursued enhancement effect of magnetic nanocrystals for magnetic resonance imaging is still in its infancy because of the instability of the ligands on the surface of the nanocrystals.
Two types of stability/instability issues related to nanocrystal/ligand complexes have been identified. Type I instability arises when the organic ligands dissociate from the inorganic core, and the nanocrystal/ligand complex is thus destroyed. In solution, this type instability results in uncontrollable chemical properties of the outer surface of the ligand monolayer and the detachment of the desired chemical/biochemical functions from the inorganic core. In many cases, this Type I instability also induces precipitation of the nanocrystals. In both solid state and in solution, dissociation of the organic ligands and the inorganic core often causes undesired variations of the properties of nanocrystals, such as decrease of either photoluminescence or electroluminescence brightness. Type II instability is associated with the inorganic core of the nanoparticle or nanocrystal being subject to oxidation, etching, and even complete dissolution. Thus, Type II instability normally defeats the function of the original nanocrystal/ligand complex.
Therefore, what is needed are new processing methods to impart and maintain greater stability to the nanocrystal/ligand complex. Both Type I instability resulting from dissociation of organic ligands from the inorganic core, and Type II instability arising from the chemical oxidation, etching, or dissolution of the inorganic core following ligand dissociation should be addressed. Nanocrystal stability is closely associated with the nature and structure of the surface ligand monolayer, the interface between the inorganic core and the organic ligand monolayer, and the structure of the surface of the inorganic nanocrystals themselves, therefore all these aspects of nanocrystal stability should be addressed. If possible, these new processing methods would be applicable to enhance the thermal stability, the redox stability, and the photolytic stability of the nanocrystal/ligand complex.

Nanocrystals in ligand boxes exhibiting enhanced chemical, photochemical, and thermal stability, and methods of making the same

The Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas


The present invention provides a semiconductor device and a control method thereof, the semiconductor device including: a bit line connected to a memory cell; a voltage control circuit controlling a voltage supplied from a voltage source to the bit line; a differential amplifier circuit providing the control voltage to the voltage control circuit in response to a voltage at a node coupled to the bit line and a reference voltage; and a current source providing a current to the differential amplifier circuit. The current source provides more current to the differential amplifier circuit in the first period including a period for precharging than in the second period after precharging.

In recent years, non-volatile memories of semiconductor devices, in which data is rewritable, are widely used. For example, in flash memories that are typical non-volatile memories, a transistor making up a memory cell has a floating gate or insulation film, also known as a charge storage layer. Data is stored by accumulating charge in the charge storage layer. When the charge is stored in the charge storage layer, a threshold voltage of the transistor is changed. Data is read by reading the threshold voltage of the transistor as a drain current value.
The drain current value is read as follows. Firstly, in a cascode circuit, a bit line connected to a memory cell is precharged. After the bit line is precharged, a cascode circuit converts the drain current into voltage. A sense amplifier compares the converted voltage with a reference voltage to determine whether the data is "0" or "1". Here, to precharge the bit line means that the bit line is boosted up to a given voltage before the cascode circuit reads the drain current.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a cascode circuit 100 of a conventional example. A bit line BL is connected to the drain of the transistor making up a memory cell 12 (hereinafter, simply referred to as memory cell). The bit line BL is connected through a pass gate composed of a resistor 101 and a capacitor 102 to a node DATAB. The node DATAB is connected to a differential amplifier circuit 105. The differential amplifier circuit 105 compares a voltage of DATAB with a reference voltage CASREF, and outputs the voltage Vo in proportion to the difference between DATAB and CASREF. Vo is input into the gate of a P-type FET 104 arranged between the node DATAB and the voltage source Vcc.
While the bit line BL is being precharged, if the voltage of DATAB corresponding to the voltage of the bit line BL is lower than the reference voltage CASREF, the voltage Vo becomes lower and the FET 104 supplies current. Accordingly, the bit line BL is charged. If the bit line BL comes to reach the voltage to read the data in the memory cell 12, precharge is completed. At the time of reading the data in the memory cell 12 (that is, reading the current flowing across the memory cell 12), the differential amplifier circuit 105 controls the FET 104 so that the voltage of the bit line BL may be constant. The more the current flows across the memory cell 12, the more the current flows across the FET 104 and the voltage Vo decreases. The less the current flows across the memory cell 12, the less the current flows across the FET 104 and the voltage Vo increases. In this manner, the current flowing across the memory cell 12 is converted into the voltage Vo and the voltage Vo is output to the sense amplifier circuit.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-149790 discloses a sense amplifier circuit that allows high-speed data reading, by switching on a transistor for precharge at the time of precharging.
In the cascode circuit 100 having the differential amplifier circuit 105 of the conventional example, the differential amplifier circuit 105 is used for precharging and reading data. In order to shorten the data reading time, it is effective to shorten the time necessary for precharging. If the current of the differential amplifier circuit 105 is increased, the time for precharging can be shortened. However, the current for reading the data is increased, thereby increasing the consumption current.

Semiconductir device and programming method


An operation panel includes a mode which can selectively set the display form, whether new image information is formed by a dynamic image forming section, and a plurality of static image information are sequentially displayed in a display section together with static image information controlled in a guidance information control section, to thereby display for guidance to a user as continuous guidance image information, or the static image information controlled in the guidance information control section is displayed for guidance to a user as guidance image information.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information display device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a FAX machine or the like, and having a function of displaying operation procedure information for guidance with an image or the like.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
High-function and high-performance copying machines have been commercialized to meet the demand in the market, on the other hand, however, the construction of the apparatus becomes complicated, and there is a possibility that the apparatus becomes difficult to use for persons who do not use it very often.
Moreover, in convenience stores and the like, a copying machine is provided as a copying service, and anyone who has not utilized it before can use it very easily. Here, it should be provided as an apparatus which can be used easily by anyone.
In such situations, copying machines which mount a big display device in an operation panel, and has a function of kindly informing the procedure information with pictures, messages or the like have been recently commercialized. Thereby, these apparatus can be utilized at ease by providing an user information such as pictures and messages regarding many devices on a big display section, so as to be easy to understand.
However, if lots of guidance information is to be displayed on a big display section so as to be easy to understand, it is necessary to prepare in advance lots of display image information, increasing the capacity of a memory for storing the display image information to thereby impose a large burden thereon in terms of cost. On the other hand, if the display information displayed on the display device is simplified (reduced), the guidance information becomes here and there to be difficult to understand, and there will be no sense in mounting a big display device.
The present inventor has disclosed a display device, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Hei 11 No. 15400, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Hei 11 No. 134160 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Hei 11 No. 134156, wherein a large liquid-crystal display panel is mounted on an operation panel so as to display a sketch drawing of the device and peripheral devices approximately in the central portion thereof and information regarding the devices in the vicinity thereof, and when a status change of the device occurs, the information to be transmitted to a user is displayed on the display device as image information including message information, while sequentially changing the display, to thereby lead the user. However, with this device, there is a possibility that a user who does not understand the device sufficiently may be confused, when the screen display information that has been displayed is changed over to new screen display information.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a low price information display device which can reliably display for guidance information to be transmitted, without increasing the capacity of a memory for storing the image information.
With a view to achieving the above object, the gist of the present invention is constituted as follows.
A first gist of the present invention is an information display device comprising: a display section for displaying guidance information of operation to an operator, regarding an equipment to be operated; a guidance information control section for storing and controlling a plurality of the guidance information to be displayed on the display section; and a display control section for selectively displaying the guidance information controlled in the guidance information control section on the display section.
The guidance information is characterized in that it includes a sketch drawing of the equipment to be operated and status information representing a status change of the equipment to be operated, and when a status change occurs in the equipment to be operated, the display control section displays the status information with respect to the status change, by overlapping the status information on a portion of the sketch drawing where the status change occurred.
According to the first gist of the present invention, a sketch drawing of an equipment to be operated and status information representing a status change of the equipment to be operated are displayed on the display section. Here, the status information is message and image information showing the status and operation of the equipment to be operated. When a change occurs in the status of the equipment to be operated, the status information is overlapped and displayed on a portion of the sketch drawing where the status change occurred. Hence, an operator can easily understand in which portion a status change occurred. Therefore, the operator can easily understand which operation should be performed.
A second gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the first invention, characterized in that the display control section displays the status information so as to leave at least a part of the sketch drawing.
According to the second gist of the present invention, by displaying the status information so as to leave a part of the sketch drawing, the sketch drawing is not hidden by the status information, and it becomes easy to confirm which part of the equipment to be operated the status information shows.
A third gist of the present invention is an information display device comprising: a display section for displaying guidance information of operation to an operator, regarding an equipment to be operated; a guidance information control section for storing and controlling a plurality of the guidance information to be displayed on the display section; and a display control section for selectively displaying the guidance information controlled in the guidance information control section on the display section.
The guidance information is characterized in that it includes a sketch drawing of the equipment to be operated and status information representing a status change of the equipment to be operated, and when a status change occurs in the equipment to be operated, the display control section displays the status information with respect to the status change in the vicinity of a portion of the sketch drawing where the status change occurred.
According to the third gist of the present invention, by displaying the status information in the vicinity of a portion of the sketch drawing where the status change occurred, the portion of the sketch drawing corresponding to the status information can be seen by an operator. Hence, the operator can easily confirm which portion of the equipment to be operated the status information shows.
A fourth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the first or third gist, characterized in that the status information is a partially enlarged diagram of a portion of the device where a status change occurred.
According to the fourth gist of the present invention, since the status information is a partially enlarged diagram of a portion of the device where a status change occurred, it is quite obvious to the operator what is the status information, and the operator can easily understand.
A fifth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the first or third gist, characterized in that the status information is a plurality of transition display information regarding a method of handling the portion where the status change occurred, and the plurality of transition display information are transitionally displayed approximately in the same position in the sketch drawing.
A sixth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the fourth gist, characterized in that the status information is a plurality of transition display information regarding a method of handling the portion where the status change occurred, and the plurality of transition display information are transitionally displayed approximately in the same position in the sketch drawing.
According to the fifth and sixth gist of the present invention, since the plurality of transition display information, that is, the status information showing the handling method is transitionally displayed approximately in the same position in the sketch drawing, the handling procedure and the status change are displayed in a state of dynamic image to the operator, making it easy to understand for the operator how to handle it.
A seventh gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the first or third gist, characterized in that the sketch drawing is maintained and displayed in a predetermined position on a display screen area of the display section.
An eighth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the fourth gist, characterized in that the sketch drawing is maintained and displayed in a predetermined position on a display screen area of the display section.
A ninth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the fifth gist, characterized in that the sketch drawing is maintained and displayed in a predetermined position on a display screen area of the display section.
According to the seventh to ninth gist of the present invention, the sketch drawing is maintained and displayed in a predetermined position on the display screen area of the display section, and is not moved. Therefore, if the position is moved even in the same sketch drawing, an operator tends to confirm if there is any change, but since there is no movement in the position, it is not necessary for the operator to perform such wasteful confirmation. Moreover, when the status information is displayed, the operation can confirm the portion immediately.
A tenth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the first or third gist, characterized in that the display forms of the sketch drawing and the status information are respectively different.
An eleventh gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the fourth gist, characterized in that the display forms of the sketch drawing and the status information are respectively different.
A twelfth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the fifth gist, characterized in that the display forms of the sketch drawing and the status information are respectively different.
According to the tenth to twelfth gist of the present invention, by displaying the sketch drawing and the status information in a different display form (color, density, etc.), these can be easily identified. Hence, the operator can quickly understand the position and the content of the status information.
A thirteenth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the tenth gist, characterized in that the status information is displayed on the display section in a state of being emphasized than the sketch drawing.
A fourteenth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the eleventh or twelfth gist, characterized in that the status information is displayed on the display section in a state of being emphasized than the sketch drawing.
According to the thirteenth and fourteenth gist of the present invention, the status information is displayed on the display section in a state of being emphasized than the sketch drawing, so that the operator can easily identify it.
A fifteenth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the tenth gist, characterized in that the difference of the display form on the display section of the sketch drawing and the status information can be optionally set.
A sixteenth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the eleventh or twelfth gist, characterized in that the difference of the display form on the display section of the sketch drawing and the status information can be optionally set.
According to the fifteenth and sixteenth gist of the present invention, the difference of the display form on the display section of the sketch drawing and the status information can be optionally set, depending upon the environment of the place where the apparatus is installed, such as the level of a person who uses the device (the understanding level of the device), etc.
A seventeenth gist of the present invention is an information display device comprising: a display section for displaying guidance information of operation to an operator, regarding an equipment to be operated, including a plurality of image information showing a status change of the equipment to be operated; a guidance information control section for storing and controlling the guidance information to be displayed on the display section; an image forming section for forming, from at least two static image information showing a status change of the equipment to be operated, at least one interpolated image information corresponding to the state during the status change; and a display control section for selectively displaying on the display section, the guidance information controlled in the guidance information control section and the image information formed in the image forming section. It is characterized in that a series of operation procedure can be informed by displaying the image information sequentially in response to the operation of an operator.
According to the seventeenth gist of the present invention, the image forming section forms, from two static image information, at least one interpolated image information corresponding to the state during the status change, and displays the image information sequentially, in response to the operation of the operator, to thereby enable display of the information regarding the device in a dynamic image. The operator has only to perform operation in accordance with the information, hence the operability is improved. Moreover, since this operation can be accomplished by using a memory area for controlling the static image serving as a point and a work memory area for temporarily storing the image formed from the static image, the total memory capacity can be made small.
An eighteenth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the seventeenth gist, characterized in that the guidance information control section stores and controls static image information in which the display position of a portion not interpolated and displaced is fixed and the display position of a displaced portion is changed in the image forming section.
According to the eighteenth gist of the present invention, the static image information controlled in the guidance information control section fixes the display position of a portion not interpolated and displaced and changes the display position of a displaced portion. Therefore, the formed image can be obtained only by changing the display position of the displaced portion, making the movement smooth. Since the image forming section has only to perform processing of the portion where the position thereof changes, processing of image formation becomes simple, enabling improvement of the processing speed.
A nineteenth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the seventeenth gist, characterized in that the guidance information control section controls the information by dividing them into background image information in which there is no change on the display position, and changed image information in which the display position changes, and the image forming section forms at least one interpolated image information from at least two changed image information, corresponding to the state during the change, and synthesizes the interpolated image information with the background image information.
According to the nineteenth gist of the present invention, by utilizing the background image information controlled in the guidance information control section and the changed image information, the image forming section forms at least one interpolated image information from the changed image information, corresponding to the state during the change, and synthesizes the interpolated image information with the background image information. Therefore, the guidance information control section has only to store the background image information and the changed image in the memory, and there is no need to store the interpolated image information, hence the memory capacity can be made small.
A twentieth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the seventeenth gist, characterized in that the guidance information control section controls the information by dividing them into background image information in which there is no change on the display position, and displacement data of a portion where the display position changes, and the image forming section forms a partially interpolated image information representing the displaced state, based on the displacement data, and synthesizes the partially interpolated image information and the background image information.
According to the twentieth gist of the present invention, the guidance information control section controls the information by dividing them into background image information in which there is no change on the display position, and displacement data of a portion where the display position changes. The displacement data refers to data regarding movement (displacement) of partial image information, such as direction of movement of the display position and distance of movement of the display position. Therefore, the guidance information control section has only to store the background image information and the displacement data in the memory, and there is no need to store the interpolated image information, enabling reduction of the memory capacity.
A twenty-first gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the seventeenth gist, characterized in that a guidance information control section is provided also in a peripheral equipment connected to the equipment to be operated, and the peripheral guidance information control section controls at least two static image information showing a status change of the peripheral equipment, and the image forming section forms at least one image information corresponding to the image during the status change from the the at least two image information.
According to the twenty-first gist of the present invention, a guidance information control section is provided also in a peripheral equipment, and the peripheral guidance information control section stores and controls static image information. Therefore, when the peripheral equipment is connected to the equipment to be operated, the static image stored and controlled in the peripheral guidance information control section is sent out to the image forming section, and the image forming section forms an interpolated image based on the static image. Hence, the equipment to be operated does not need to control the image regarding the peripheral equipment, and has only to control the static image regarding the equipment to be operated, enabling reduction of the memory capacity.
A twenty-second gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the twenty-first gist, characterized in that the static image information controlled in the peripheral guidance information control section is image information including the equipment to be operated and a peripheral equipment.
According to the twenty-second gist of the present invention, the static image information controlled in the peripheral guidance information control section is image information including image information of the equipment to be operated and a peripheral equipment, therefore, with regard to a peripheral equipment added as an option, it is not necessary to take out the image information thereof from the guidance information control section of the equipment to be operated. The image formation can be performed using the static image information controlled in the peripheral guidance information control section. Hence, it becomes possible to display for guidance with a simple processing, using appropriate display image information.
A twenty-third gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the twenty-first gist, characterized in that the static image information controlled in the peripheral guidance information control section is preferentially displayed as new image information, without invalidating the image information corresponding to the equivalent portion controlled in the guidance information control section.
According to the twenty-third gist of the present invention, the peripheral equipment added as the option can be attached to or detached from the equipment to be operated. Since the static image information controlled in the peripheral guidance information control section is preferentially displayed as new image information, without invalidating the image information corresponding to the equivalent portion controlled in the guidance information control section, even if the peripheral equipment is detached therefrom, only the static image information of the peripheral equipment is deleted, so that the dynamic image display can be performed by the equipment to be operated alone.
A twenty-fourth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to any one of the first, third or seventeenth gist, characterized in that the guidance information control section is provided in the equipment to be operated, the image forming section is provided outside of the equipment to be operated, and the image information in the guidance information control section is transmitted to the image forming apparatus to thereby form an image.
According to the twenty-fourth gist of the present invention, the image forming section is, for example, a personal computer or a host computer, provided outside of the equipment to be operated. Therefore, it is not necessary to install the image forming section in the equipment to be operated, enabling reduction of the number of parts, and hence reduction in cost. Moreover, since a dedicated image forming section is provided externally, a burden on the operation processing of the equipment to be operated can be reduced, enabling improvement of the processing efficiency. Furthermore, since a dedicated processing apparatus is used for image forming, the operational efficiency can be improved, and correspondence for each model of the equipment to be operated can be effected.
A twenty-fifth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to any one of the first, third or seventeenth gist, characterized in that the display control section is provided with a first information display mode for displaying only the information controlled in the guidance information control section on the display section, and a second information display mode for displaying the information including the image information formed by the image forming section on the display section, thereby enabling selection of one of these.
A twenty-sixth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the twenty-fourth gist, characterized in that the display control section is provided with a first information display mode for displaying only the information controlled in the guidance information control section on the display section, and a second information display mode for displaying the information including the image information formed by the image forming section on the display section, thereby enabling selection of one of these.
According to the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth gist of the present invention, it is possible to select information guidance by section of a static image or information guidance by section of a dynamic image, in compliance with the demands of the operator. Therefore, depending upon the preference of the operator or the environment of the place where the apparatus is installed, it becomes possible to change the display form of the information displayed for guidance on the display section on the operation panel.
A twenty-seventh gist of the present invention is an information display device according to any one of the first, third or seventeenth gist, characterized in that the image forming section is constituted so as to be added as an extended unit, and hence can be additionally operated selectively.
A twenty-eighth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the twenty-fourth gist, characterized in that the image forming section is constituted so as to be added as an extended unit, and hence can be additionally operated selectively.
A twenty-ninth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the twenty-fifth gist, characterized in that the image forming section is constituted so as to be added as an extended unit, and hence can be additionally operated selectively.
A thirtieth gist of the present invention is an information display device according to the twenty-sixth gist, characterized in that the image forming section is constituted so as to be added as an extended unit, and hence can be additionally operated selectively.
According to the twenty-seventh to the thirtieth gist of the present invention, since the image forming section is constituted so as to be added as an extended unit, and can be additionally operated selectively, it becomes possible to change the display form of the information displayed for guidance on the display section on the operation panel, depending upon the environment of the place where the apparatus is installed and/or the demands of a user. It is possible to change the information guidance by section of a static image to the information guidance by section of a dynamic image, depending upon the demands of a user, to thereby display the information for guidance, so as to be easy to understand and to eliminate a feeling of being hard to deal with the device.

Information display device for displaying guidance information on status of operation


To provide a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus capable of automatically feeding a plurality of visual images by one picture feed operation. By pressing an operation button for picture-by-picture reproduction, a tape feed controller controls a capstan motor to feed a magnetic tape by n pictures specified by a picture feed amount setting means. As a consequence, n pictures are automatically fed by one button operation, always allowing picture-by-picture reproduction only for fixed camera visual images.

In the prior art, visual images from n units of cameras are switched on a picture by picture basis (in other words, a field by field basis or a frame by frame basis, because a picture is composed of a field or a frame) and recorded on magnetic tape or the like as a recording medium by a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus over a long time.
If any event or accident happens, the magnetic tape is played back to analyze the event or accident. For this analysis, "picture-by-picture reproduction" is carried out to reproduce important scenes.
However, the conventional magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus feeds the recording medium by only one picture when a picture feed button is operated once. Accordingly, if visual images from one particular fixed camera is to be reproduced on a picture by picture basis, the picture feed button must be depressed n times in order to update an arbitrary visual image from the fixed camera because a visual image desired to be reproduced (analyzed) is recorded every n-th picture on the magnetic tape.
The present invention solves this problem. It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus which enables a recording medium to be automatically fed by n pictures through one picture feed operation and which is internally provided with visual image storage means for enabling an arbitrary camera visual image to be reproduced even during a picture feed shift.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.