The configurations of a resonant converter system and a controlling method thereof are provided. The proposed resonant converter system includes a resonant converter and a hybrid control apparatus coupled to the resonant converter for generating a driving signal to adjust a phase angle and a frequency of the resonant converter such that the resonant converter would reach a relatively lower voltage gain and have a relatively lower loss during an abnormal operation.

The developing trend of the DC/DC converters is in the same direction like most of the power supply products that is to have the high efficiency, the high power density, the high reliability and the low cost. Since the resonant converters usually employ the controlling method of pulse frequency modulation (PFM), the zero-voltage switching of their switches is relatively easy to accomplish so as to achieve the requirements of high efficiency and high power density.
However, the resonant converters still have some problems when simply adopting PFM during the abnormal status such as a circuit starting status or an output current-limiting status etc. A relatively lower voltage gain of the circuit is required when a resonant converter is working under an abnormal status; especially when a circuit is under the output current-limiting status, the circuit current has to be controlled so as to cause the circuit to operate normally. To achieve these requirements, the working frequency of the resonant converter has to be increased, and the increased working frequency means that the loss of the circuit is also increased. The total loss of the converter is larger than the converter could bear when the frequency increased to a specific value, and the converter is thus damaged. Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a waveform diagram of a converter's frequency ratio vs. the converter's duty ratio regarding a controlling method of simply adjusting the frequency for a resonant converter in the prior art. In FIG. 1, the horizontal axis is the duty ratio of the converter and the vertical axis is the frequency ratio of the working frequency of the converter to the resonant frequency of the converter.
The aforementioned control method of simply changing the frequency cannot solve the problem that the loss of the circuit is too big to bear when it is working under an abnormal status. Another controlling method uses the frequency modulation plus the pulse-width modulation as shown in FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 2, it shows a waveform diagram of a converter's frequency ratio vs. the converter's duty ratio regarding a controlling method of adjusting the frequency firstly and the duty ratio secondly, for a resonant converter in the prior art. Also, the horizontal axis is the duty ratio of the converter and the vertical axis is the frequency ratio of the working frequency and the resonant frequency of the converter. The working trace of the converter goes by controlling the duty ratio from A to B firstly, and then modifying the operating frequency of the converter within BC stage secondly, and vice versa. Due to that the controlling method of pulse-width modulation is employed, the switch frequency is relatively lower than that only adopting of the controlling method of changing the frequency under the same voltage gain. But through minishing the pulse-width, it may cause the hard-switching of the circuit which increases the total loss of the converter.
Keeping the drawbacks of the prior arts in mind, and employing experiments and research full-heartily and persistently, the applicant finally conceived a resonant converter system and a controlling method thereof having a relatively better efficiency. In FIG. 3, it shows a waveform diagram of a converter's frequency ratio vs. the converter's duty ratio regarding a controlling method of adjusting the frequency and the phase angle for a resonant converter according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

Resonant converter system with hybrid control apparatus and controlling method thereof having relatively better efficiency


A method for management of sampled traffic data is described herein. For each network device of a plurality of network devices, one or more data sources of the network device is determined. Each of the one or more data sources is associated with a local identifier. A sampler proxy receives a sampling configuration from a data collector, The sampling configuration includes a selection of a data source of a network device of the plurality of network devices. The selected data source is identified by a global identifier. The sampling configuration is translated to a local sampling configuration and is provided to the selected data source.

A possible method for collecting data for network analysis is known as sFlow. As described in RFC-3176, sFlow is a technology designed for network monitoring based on packet sampling. sFlow operates by randomly sampling one out of every "n" data packets at a network device such as a switch, router, wireless access point, etc. The packet header, interface counters, and additional packet information are collected by an sFlow agent residing on the network device. The sFlow agent forwards the captured information to an sFlow collector for processing. For example, an sFlow agent may sample an interface, generate information about the network traffic, and send the information to an sFlow collector, which then analyzes the information.
An sFlow collector typically establishes direct communication with each of the network devices. An sFlow agent may be running on a network device that is controlled by a controlling device (e.g., a wireless controller) or behind a filtering device (e.g., a firewall). In such instances, the control traffic of the sFlow collector may go through a firewall, but the sampled traffic may not be permitted to travel back to the sFlow controller. Moreover, when the sFlow agents are directly and individually configured and communicate to the sFlow controller through the controlling device, the sFlow collector may discard the sampled traffic data, thereby losing potentially relevant information that could have otherwise been used for network management.

Method and system for management of sampled traffic data

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A semiconductor memory, including: a first memory cell including a first transistor; a second memory cell including a second transistor; and a memory peripherals transistor overlaying the second transistor or underneath the first transistor, where the second memory cell overlays the first memory cell, and where the first memory cell and the second memory cell have both been processed following a lithography step and accordingly are precisely aligned, and where the memory peripherals transistor is part of a peripherals circuit controlling the memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general field of Integrated Circuit (IC) devices and fabrication methods, and more particularly to multilayer or Three Dimensional Integrated Circuit (3D IC) devices and fabrication methods.
2. Discussion of Background Art
Semiconductor manufacturing is known to improve device density in an exponential manner over time, but such improvements come with a price. The mask set cost required for each new process technology has also been increasing exponentially. While 20 years ago a mask set cost less than $20,000, it is now quite common to be charged more than $1M for today's state of the art device mask set.
These changes represent an increasing challenge primarily to custom products, which tend to target smaller volume and less diverse markets therefore making the increased cost of product development very hard to accommodate.
Over the past 40 years, there has been a dramatic increase in functionality and performance of Integrated Circuits (ICs). This has largely been due to the phenomenon of "scaling"; i.e., component sizes such as lateral and vertical dimensions within ICs have been reduced ("scaled") with every successive generation of technology. There are two main classes of components in Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) ICs, namely transistors and wires. With "scaling", transistor performance and density typically improve and this has contributed to the previously-mentioned increases in IC performance and functionality. However, wires (interconnects) that connect together transistors degrade in performance with "scaling". The situation today is that wires dominate the performance, functionality and power consumption of ICs.
3D stacking of semiconductor devices or chips is one avenue to tackle the wire issues. By arranging transistors in 3 dimensions instead of 2 dimensions (as was the case in the 1990s), the transistors in ICs can be placed closer to each other. This reduces wire lengths and keeps wiring delay low.
There are many techniques to construct 3D stacked integrated circuits or chips including:                Through-silicon via (TSV) technology: Multiple layers of transistors (with or without wiring levels) can be constructed separately. Following this, they can be bonded to each other and connected to each other with through-silicon vias (TSVs).        Monolithic 3D technology: With this approach, multiple layers of transistors and wires can be monolithically constructed. Some monolithic 3D and 3DIC approaches are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,273,610, 8,557,632, 8,298,875, 8,642,416, 8,362,482, 8,378,715, 8,379,458, 8,450,804, 8,574,929, 8,581,349, 8,642,416, 8,687,399, 8,742,476, 8,674,470, 8,803,206, 8,836,073, 8,902,663, 8,994,404, 9,021,414, 9,023,688, 9,030,858, 9,117,749, 9,142,553, 9,219,005, 9,385,088, 9,406,670, 9,460,978, 9,509,313; U.S. patent publications 2011/0092030, 2016/0218046; and pending U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 62/077,280, 62/042,229, 61/932,617, 14/607,077, 14/642,724, 62/139,636, 62/149,651, 62/198,126, 62/239,931, 62/246,054, 62/307,568, 62/297,857, 15/095,187, 15/150,395, 15/173,686, 62/383,463, 62/440,720, 62/443,751, 15/243,941, PCT/US16/52726, 62/406,376, 62/432,575, 62/440,720, 62/297,857, 15/333,138, 15/344,562, and 15/351,389. The entire contents of the foregoing patents, publications, and applications are incorporated herein by reference.        Electro-Optics: There is also work done for integrated monolithic 3D including layers of different crystals, such as U.S. Pat. No. 8,283,215, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,163,581, 8,753,913, 8,823,122, 9,197,804, 9,419,031; and U.S. patent publication 2016/0064439. The entire contents of the foregoing patents, publications, and applications are incorporated herein by reference.
In landmark papers at VLSI 2007 and IEDM 2007, Toshiba presented techniques to construct 3D memories which they called—BiCS. Many of the memory vendors followed that work by variation and alternatives mostly for non-volatile memory applications, such as now being referred to as 3D-NAND. They provide an important manufacturing advantage of being able to utilize one, usually 'critical', lithography step for the patterning of multiple layers. The vast majority of these 3D Memory schemes use poly-silicon for the active memory cell channel which suffers from higher cell to cell performance variations and lower drive than a cell with a monocrystalline channel. In at least our U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,026,521, 8,114,757, 8,687,399, 8,379,458, and 8,902,663, incorporated herein by reference, we presented multiple 3D memory structures generally constructed by successive layer transfers using ion cut techniques. In this work we are presenting methods and structures to construct 3D memory with monocrystalline channels constructed by successive layer transfers. This structure provides the benefit of multiple layers being processed by one lithography step with many of the benefits of a monocrystalline channel, and provides overall lower construction costs.
Additionally some embodiments of the invention may provide innovative alternatives for multi layer 3D IC technology. As on-chip interconnects are becoming the limiting factor for performance and power enhancement with device scaling, 3D IC may be an important technology for future generations of ICs. Currently the only viable technology for 3D IC is to finish the IC by the use of Through-Silicon-Via (TSV). The problem with TSVs is that they are relatively large (a few microns each in area) and therefore may lead to highly limited vertical connectivity. The current invention may provide multiple alternatives for 3D IC with at least an order of magnitude improvement in vertical connectivity.
Constructing future 3D ICs will require new architectures and new ways of thinking. In particular, yield and reliability of extremely complex three dimensional systems will have to be addressed, particularly given the yield and reliability difficulties encountered in building complex Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) of recent deep submicron process generations.
Additionally the 3D technology according to some embodiments of the current invention may enable some very innovative IC alternatives with reduced development costs, increased yield, and other important benefits.

Semiconductor memory device and structure


A character string retrieval system retrieves a character string corresponding to a retrieval key input thereto from a text file including a plurality of characters. The system includes an index indicating position data identifying a position of each of characters in the text file and indicating next character data identifying either a character or a character string formed of a plurality of characters arranged next to each of the characters in the text file, a selecting unit for selecting a first character from characters forming the character string corresponding to the retrieval key, a determining unit for determining, with reference to said index, whether or not a character or a character string next to the first character, selected by said selecting unit, in the retrieval key is equal to a character or a character string identified by the character data corresponding to the first character; and output unit for outputting a retrieval result when said determining unit determines that a character or a character string next to the first character in the retrieval key is equal to a character or a character string identified by the character data corresponding to the first character, the retrieval result being obtained based on the position data corresponding to the first character in said index.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a character string retrieval system using an index and a unit for making the index, and more particularly to a character string retrieval system in which a character string input, as a retrieval key, thereto is retrieved from a text file with reference to the index, and a unit for making the index used in the character string retrieval system.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, two types of character string retrieval systems have been proposed. In the first type, a character string is retrieved from characters in a text file without an index. That is, the text file is read and a character string corresponding to a retrieval key is searched in the text file. In the second type, a character string is retrieved from characters in a text file with reference to an index. That is, words which can be retrieval keys are extracted from the text file, an index regarding the extracted words having been made previously. A character string corresponding to a retrieval key input by an operator is searched with reference to the index.
However, the above first and second types of the character string retrieval systems have the following disadvantages.
In the first type, as all characters in the text file must be read out, when retrieving a text file including a large number of characters is being retrieved, a retrieving time increases. In the second type, it is difficult to choose words which can be retrieval keys in each text file. Thus, a long time is required for making the index. Furthermore, a character string which is not included in the index can not be retrieved.
A character string retrieval system similar to the above second type is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid Open Application No. 64-8441. This character string retrieval system are provided with an address table having entries corresponding to characters forming a text file. In the address table, the same characters in the text file is linked using address information stored in the entries. A character string corresponding to a retrieval key is retrieved with reference to the address table.
In this system, entries for all the characters in the text file must be provided in the address table. For example, although "hiragana" (Japanese characters of a certain type) is almost never used for retrieving a character string, the address table must be provided with entries corresponding to "hiragana" characters. Thus, the address table must have a large capacity.

Character string retrieval system using index and unit for making the index


An adjustable bent housing consisting of three tubular members arranged in end to end relation. Each of the tubular members has an interior bore. A first tubular member has a first axis. A second tubular member has a second axis. A central tubular member is centrally disposed between the first tubular member and the second tubular member and has a third axis. An internal tubular member extends into and engages the interior bores of the three tubular members thereby maintaining the tubular members in end to end relation.

Bent subs are used when earth drilling with downhole motors. There are used to create a bend which results in the bore hole deviating from vertical. In order to avoid having a plurality of bent subs on site, adjustable bents subs were developed in which the magnitude of the bend was adjustable.
There are presently two alternative ways of constructing an adjustable bent sub. One alternative construction is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,657 which issued to Kurt H. Trzeciak. The Trzeciak adjustable bent sub has two tubular members in end to end relation. The two tubular members meet at a mating end formed with respect to a common mating plane which is at an angle to the axis of the part. Means is provided to lock the tubular members to each other at selected angular rotation of the ends with respect to each other. In other words, the angular adjustment is accomplished through angularly offset mating faces. Another alternative construction is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,497 which issued to Kenneth Hugh Wenzel. The Wenzel patent has one tubular member which is telescopically received in a second tubular member. Each of the tubular members is "bent" having a primary axis and a secondary axis. Angular adjustment is accomplished by relative rotation of the tubular members. The tubular members may be rotated to offset the "bends" so the opposed ends of the tubular members are parallel or rotated to create a cumulative bend.
As the art of horizontal and directional drilling evolved, it was determined that the preferred placement of the adjustable bend housing was as close to the drill bit, as possible. Drilling motors operate in an eccentric motion in response to mud pumped from on surface pumps. The bearing assemblies are used to rotate the drill but in a concentric motion. A universal joint type of drive shaft connects the drilling motor and the bearing assembly and is used to convert the eccentric motion of the drilling motor to a concentric motion of the bearing assembly which rotates the drill bit. U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,497 which issued to Kenneth Hugo Wenzel was the first adjustable bent housing which could be placed over the connecting drive shaft between the drilling motor and the bearing assembly. The distinction between an adjustable bent sub and an adjustable bent housing is the ability of the tool to accommodate a universal joint type of drive shaft through its central bore.
An adjustable bent housing is subjected to friction where it comes into contact with the side wall of the borehole. With each of the above described constructions of adjustable bent housing problems are encountered due to contact with the side wall of the borehole. The Wenzel design has one tubular member with an exterior neck portion on which a locking nut is positioned. This neck can break due to the force of friction when the bend of the adjustable bent housing comes into contact with the side wall of the borehole. The Trzeciak design would require significant modification before it could be used as a housing. Even with those modifications, having the entire adjustment occurring on one common plane requires more rotational clearance and therefore exacerbates the problem of friction against the sidewall of the borehole.
Some friction between the body of the adjustable bent housings and the sidewall of the borehole is unavoidable, therefore means must be found to strengthen the adjustable bent housing.


Optical glasses and optical articles comprised of the optical glass are disclosed. One of which comprises, by means of weight percentages, more than 32 percent and not more than 45 percent P2O5, more than 0.5 percent and not more than 6 percent Li2O, more than 5 percent and not more than 22 percent Na2O, 6-30 percent Nb2O5, 0.5-10 percent B2O3, 0-35 percent WO3, 0-14 percent K2O, and 10-24 percent Na2O+K2O, and the total of all the above components is not less than 80 percent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical glass that has a medium to high refractive index and high dispersion characteristics, can be pressed at relative low temperature, and has a relatively low sag temperature and liquidus temperature.
2. Description of Related Art
A number of glasses having medium to high refractive indexes and high dispersion characteristics are known.
For example, Japanese Patent Un-examined Publication No. Hei 07-97234 describes a low melting point optical glass having a medium to high refractive index and high dispersion characteristics and comprising prescribed quantities of P2O5, Na2O, Nb2O5, and WO3. This optical glass is described as having a refractive index of 1.69-1.83, a dispersion ratio of 21-32, and a sag temperature of not more than 570xc2x0 C. However, when comparison is conducted between the examples described in Japanese Patent Un-examined Publication No. Hei 07-97234 having a refractive index of not greater than 1.73, those glasses characterized by having a sag temperature Ts exceeding 520xc2x0 C. are numerous. This is attributed to an Li2O content of 0-0.5 weight percent. Further, there are also examples (Examples 6, 7, and 8) in which Ts is less than 520xc2x0 C. even with an Li2O content within the range of 0-0.5 weight percent. In that case, there is the problem of the use of expensive GeO2 as a glass starting material. When the GeO2 is removed from the glasses of these examples, the liquidus temperature (also referred to hereinafter as xe2x80x9cLTxe2x80x9d) ends up exceeding 900xc2x0 C. This is attributed to a P2O5 content of not greater than 32 percent.
Japanese Patent Un-examined Publication No. Hei 05-270853 describes an optical glass having a medium to high refractive index and high dispersion characteristics and comprising prescribed quantities of SiO2, B2O3, P2O5, Nb2O5, and Na2O+K2O. In the glasses described in this publication, all the glasses described in the examples having a refractive index of 1.64-1.73 have liquidus temperatures exceeding 900xc2x0 C. This is attributed to a P2O5 content of not greater than 32 weight percent. Further, these glasses also have a Ts exceeding 520xc2x0 C. This is attributed to an Na2O content of not greater than 5 weight percent.
Japanese Patent Un-examined Publication No. Sh{overscore (o)} 52-132012 describes an optical glass having a medium to high refractive index and high dispersion characteristics and comprising prescribed quantities of B2O3, P2O5, and Nb2O5. The glasses described in the examples of this publication, which have refractive indexes of 1.64-1.73, all have a Ts exceeding 520xc2x0 C. This is attributed to an Na2O content not exceeding 5 weight percent. Excluding the glasses described in Examples 2 and 3, the lack of Li2O is thought to result in a Ts exceeding 520xc2x0 C. Even in the glasses of Examples 2 and 3 which comprise Li2O in a quantity exceeding 0.5 weight percent, the Ts exceeds 520xc2x0 C. and the liquidus temperature exceeds 900xc2x0 C. This is attributed to a P2O5 content of not more than 32 weight percent and an Nb2O5 content exceeding 30 weight percent.
The press-molding of glass is normally conducted within a high temperature range exceeding the sag temperature temperature Ts of the glass by about 20-60xc2x0 C. When the yield temperature of the glass exceeds 520xc2x0 C., the press temperature becomes at least 540xc2x0 C. Thus, the glass has a strong tendency to react with the molding surface of the mold, shortening the service life of the mold and rendering the glass unsuited to mass production.
When the liquidus temperature is high, the glass tends to lose transparency in the vicinity of its softening point, that is, in the vicinity of the molding temperature in press-molding.
Further, the glass preforms employed in reheating presses are required not to have variation in shape and weight. Thus, when forming preforms by shaping molten glass, the shaping is conducted at a prescribed viscosity where there tends not to be variation in shape and weight. Thus, when the glass is at a temperature at which the viscosity is suited to shaping, it must not tend to lose transparency, that is, the liquidus temperature must be lower than the temperature at which viscosity is suited to shaping. From these perspectives, the liquidus temperature is required to be 800-900xc2x0 C.
However, in the above-described glasses, almost all of those glasses having a refractive index falling within a range of 1.64-1.72 and an Abbxc3xa9 number of 29-36 have a sag temperature temperature exceeding 520xc2x0 C. and a liquidus temperature exceeding 900xc2x0 C. In glasses used in press-molding, when the life of the mold and the tendency of the glass to lose transparency are considered, a sag temperature of not greater than 520xc2x0 C. and a relatively low liquidus temperature, particularly one not greater than 900xc2x0 C., are desirable.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an optical glass having a medium to high refractive index and high dispersion characteristics, the liquidus temperature of which is comparatively low, specifically not greater than 900xc2x0 C., and more particularly, an optical glass the refractive index of which falls within the range of 1.64-1.72 and the Abbxc3xa9 number of which falls within the range of 29-36.
The invention relates to an optical glass comprising, by means of weight percentages, more than 32 percent and not more than 45 percent P2O5, more than 0.5 percent and not more than 6 percent Li2O, more than 5 percent and not more than 22 percent Na2O, 6-30 percent Nb2O5, 0.5-10 percent B2O3, 0-35 percent WO3, 0-14 percent K2O, and 10-24 percent Na2O+K2O, and the total of all the above components is not less than 80 percent.
With the above optical glass, the glass preferably comprises, by means of weight percentages, more than 32 percent and not more than 40 percent P2O5, 1-4 percent Li2O, 10-19 percent Na2O, 10-28 percent Nb2O5, 1-5 percent B2O3, 0-8 percent K2O, and 12-22 percent Na2O+K2O, and the total of all the above components is not less than 80 percent. With this optical glass, the glass more preferably comprises 12-17 percent Na2O, 15-26 percent Nb2O5, 0-4 percent K2O, and 14-19 percent Na2O+K2O.
With the above optical glasses, the glass may further comprise, by means of weight percentages, 0-2 percent SiO2, 0-5 percent Al2O3, not less than 0 percent but less than 8 percent TiO2, 0-15 percent ZnO, 0-12 percent BaO, 0-18 percent WO3, not less than 0 percent but less than 1 percent Sb2O3, and 0-1 percent SnO2, and the total of all of the above components and the components listed in any one of claims 1 to 3 is not less than 95 percent. With this optical glass, the glass preferably comprises, by means of weight percentages, 0-3 percent Al2O3, 0-6 percent TiO2, and 0-9 percent ZnO, where the total of all of the components listed is not less than 95 weight percent; and the glass preferably comprises 0-1 percent SiO2.
With the above optical glasses, the glass may comprise not less than 0 percent but less than 0.5 percent SiO2, 0-5 percent TiO2, 0-5 percent ZnO, and the total of all of the components listed is not less than 98 percent; and the glass may further comprise 3-15 weight percent WO3.
The invention further relates to an optical glass comprised phosphate glass which comprises, by means of weight percentages, more than 0.5 percent and but not more than 6 percent Li2O, more than 5 percent but not more than 22 percent Na2O, 0-14 percent K2O, 10-24 percent Na2O+K2O, 6-30 percent Nb2O5, and not more than 45 percent P2O5, and exhibits a refractive index (nd) of 1.64-1.72, an Abbxc3xa9 number (vd) of 29-36, and a sag temperature (Ts) of not greater than 520xc2x0 C.; and an optical glass comprised of phosphate glass which comprises, by means of weight percentages, more than 0.5 percent but not more than 6 percent Li2O, more than 5 percent but not more than 22 percent Na2O, 0-14 percent K2O, 10-24 percent Na2O+K2O, 6-30 percent Nb2O5, 0-35 percent WO3, 0-5 percent Al2O3, and not less than 0 percent but less than 8 percent TiO2, and exhibits a refractive index (nd) of 1.64-1.72, an Abbxc3xa9 number (vd) of 29-36, and an sag temperature (Ts) of not greater than 520xc2x0 C.
With these glasses, the glass preferably comprises more than 32 weight percent but not more than 45 weight percent P2O5.
The invention still further relates to an optical glass comprising, by means of weight percentages, more than 32 percent but not more than 45 percent P2O5, more than 0.5 percent but not more than 6 percent Li2O, more than 5 percent but not more than 22 percent Na2O, 6-30 percent Nb2O5, 0.5-10 percent B2O3, 0-35 percent WO3, 0-14 percent K2O, 10-24 percent Na2O+K2O, 0-2 percent SiO2, 0-5 percent Al2O3, not less than 0 percent but less than 8 percent TiO2, 0-15 percent ZnO, 0-12 percent BaO, not less than 0 percent but less than 1 percent Sb2O3, and 0-1 percent SnO2, where the total of the contents of each of the above-listed components is not less than 95 percent, the refractive index (nd) is 1.64-1.72, the Abbxc3xa9 number (vd) is 29-36, and the sag temperature (Ts) is not more than 520xc2x0 C.
The invention further relates to an optical glass comprised of phosphate glass which comprises Li2O, Na2O, Nb2O5, and B2O3 as essential components, and not more than 2 weight percent SiO2 an optional component, with a refractive index (nd) of 1.64-1.72, an Abbxc3xa9 number (vd) of 29-36, a sag temperature (Ts) of not more than 520xc2x0 C., and a liquidus temperature (LT) of not more than 900xc2x0 C.
With this optical glass, the glass may further comprise, by means of weight percentages, more than 32 percent but not more than 45 percent P2O5, more than 0.5 percent but not more than 6 percent Li2O, more than 5 percent but not more than 22 percent Na2O, 6-30 percent Nb2O5, and 0.5-10 percent B2O3.
With all of the optical glasses mentioned above, the glass may further comprises, by means of weight percentages, 0-5 percent MgO, 0-5 percent CaO, 0-5 percent SrO, 0-3 percent La2O3, 0-3 percent Y2O3, 0-3 percent Gd2O3, 0-3 percent ZrO2, not less than 0 percent but less than 1 percent AS2O3, 0-3 percent Ta2O5, 0-3 percent In2O3, 0-3 percent TeO2, 0-3 percent Bi2O3, and 0-1 percent GeO2, where the total of the above-listed components and the components described in any one of claims 1 to 14 is not less than 99 percent.
The invention still further relates to an optical article comprised of the optical glass according to the present invention; an optical glass for precision press-molding wherein the glass is one according to the present invention; a glass preform obtained by preforming the above optical glass; a glass optical article obtained by reheat press-molding the above glass preform; and an optical article obtained by press-molding the optical glass according to the present invention.


A composition useful to provide oil repellency, water repellency, and stain resistance to substrates comprising a polymer prepared by contacting a polyfluoroalkyl sulfonyl halide with a compound of Formula II, III or IV(E-(O)q)3Si—O—(Si(R2)2—O)m—[Si(R3—NHR4)(R2)O]n—Si—((O)q-E)3  Formula IIHR4N—R3—Si(R2)2—O—[Si(R2)2—O]m—[Si(R3—NHR4)(R2)O]n—Si(R2)2—R3—NHR4  Formula IIIHR4N—R3—Si(R2)2—O—[Si(R2)2—O]m—Si—((O)q-E)3  Formula IVwherein                each R2 is independently a C1 to C8 alkyl,        each R3 is independently a divalent group containing carbon, oxygen, and optionally at least one of nitrogen oxygen and sulfur,        each R4 is independently H or C1 to C8 alkyl,        each E is independently a C1 to C8 branched or linear alkyl,        each q is independently zero or 1,        m is a positive integer, and n is independently zero or a positive integer, such that n/(m+n) is zero or a positive fraction having a value up to about 0.7, and the polymer viscosity is less than or equal to 10000 mPa·s under a shear rate of 0.1 s−1 at a temperature of 20° C.

Siloxane- and fluorochemical-based compositions have been disclosed for the protection of hard substrate surfaces, e.g., mineral substrates, and for soft substrate surfaces, such as fibrous substrates. While siloxane-based treatments provide water repellency at a relatively low price per square meter and with good weathering resistance, they are marginal in oil repellency and soil repellency (for instance, see Stempf, A.; Muller, P.; Pabon, M.; Corpart, J. M. Int. J. Restoration Buildings & Monuments 1999, 5, 273-288). Fluorochemical-based treatments provide both oil and water repellency but are relatively expensive due to the necessary high fluorine content.
Atherton, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,320, disclosed compounds with perfluoroalkyl groups (Rf) attached via an oxygen and/or an alkylene group and through a sulfonamide group to an amine-substituted poly(dialkylsiloxane) as in Structure 1 below, wherein —(C6H4)—O— or —CH═CH—O— is between the Rf and the SO2 groups. Compounds of Structure 1 are relatively difficult to synthesize compared to those that do not contain and oxygen and/or alkylene group between the Rf and SO2 groups.

It is desirable to combine the advantages of siloxanes and fluorochemicals to provide improved oil, water, and stain repellency for hard and soft surfaces with compounds that are easy to synthesize. It is also desirable that such compounds have improved fluorine efficiency. The present invention provides such a composition.


An optical height detection system in a charged particle beam inspection system. The optical height detection system includes a projection unit including a modulated illumination source, a projection grating mask including a projection grating pattern, and a projection optical unit for projecting the projection grating pattern to a sample; and a detection unit including a first detection grating mask including a first detection grating pattern, a second detection grating mask including a second detection grating pattern, and a detection optical system for forming a first grating image from the projection grating pattern onto the first detection grating mask and forming a second grating image from the projection grating pattern onto the second detection grating masks. The first and second detection grating patterns at least partially overlap the first and second grating images, respectively.

A charged particle beam based microscope, such as a scanning electron microscope (SEM) or a transmission electron microscope (TEM), is capable of providing image resolution down to less than a nanometer, and thus serves as a practicable tool for inspecting samples having a feature size that is sub-100 nanometers. The charged particle beam based microscope focuses and scans a beam of charged particles on a sample and detects secondary particles reflected from the sample.
An optical system is usually included in the charged particle beam based microscope to detect sample height so as to control focusing conditions of the beam of charged particles. It is desirable for the optical system to provide precise height detection result and fast detection speed.


The semiconductor device manufacturing method includes the steps of attaching two or more solder particles on at least one electrode among a plurality of electrodes of an electronic component, arranging the electrode of the electronic component and an electrode of a circuit board so as to oppose each other, abutting the solder particles attached on a surface of the electrode of the electronic component to the electrode of the circuit board and heating the solder particles, and connecting electrically the electrode of the electronic component and the electrode of the circuit board via two or more solder joint bodies made by melting the solder particles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a semiconductor device manufacturing method.
2. Related Art of the Invention
In recent years, for the purpose of concurrently promoting densification of semiconductor elements and higher pin counts of electrode terminals, efforts have been made toward pitch reduction and area reduction in electrode terminals of semiconductor elements.
Typically, with flip-chip mounting, mounting is performed by forming a projecting electrode such as a solder bump on an electrode terminal of a semiconductor element such as an LSI, and pressure-welding and heating the semiconductor element faced downward with respect to a connecting terminal of a mounting board in order to perform bump connection.
However, since advances in pitch reduction have been significant, conventional means in which electrode terminals are peripherally arranged may result in an occurrence of a short-circuit between electrode terminals or an occurrence of a bad connection or the like due to a difference in coefficients of thermal expansion between a semiconductor element and a mounting board. In consideration thereof, a method of increasing the pitch between electrode terminals by arranging electrode terminals in an area array has been adopted. However, recent advances in pitch reduction have been significant even in area arrays.
As a method of forming a solder bump, a method has been adopted where solder is first formed on an electrode by screen printing, a method using a dispenser, or electrolytic plating, and then heated to a solder melting temperature or higher by a reflow furnace to form a projecting solder bump.
However, due to recent realizations in even narrower pitches of solder joints and smaller gaps between semiconductor elements and substrate electrodes, problems have emerged, such as a deformation of solder melted in a heating process during flip-chip mounting and a generation of a solder bridge defect where solder bumps become connected to each other due to surface tension of the solder.
A method of configuring a bump in two layers has been proposed in order to respond to such demands.
For example, there is a method of forming an insulating film containing metallic particles so as to cover a surface of a projecting electrode made of gold or copper (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-282617). According to this method, electrical continuity can be established by a force in a compression direction due to cure shrinkage of an encapsulation resin injected between a semiconductor element and a substrate without having the insulating film or the projecting electrode melt during flip-chip mounting. As a result, bridge generation can be prevented and pitch reduction can be accommodated.
However, since recent demands for pitch reduction of pitches between electrodes are very strenuous, with a connection topology where continuity is secured solely by contact without any diffusion bonding between metallic particles and metallic electrodes as is the case with Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-282617, a reduction in electrode area obviously reduces the number of conductive particles interposed between electrodes and creates a problem of higher connection resistance and greater signal transmission loss.
In consideration thereof, a method has been adopted in which a bump is configured in two layers, namely, a lower layer metal and an upper layer metal, and the upper layer metal made of solder is formed on top of the lower layer metal made of high-melting point metal (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-97791).
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view conceptually illustrating a semiconductor device according to an embodiment described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-97791.
An electrode 11a made of a high-melting point metal is formed on a semiconductor element 11, and solder 13 is formed on the electrode 11a. By positioning the electrode 11a on the semiconductor element 11 so as to oppose an electrode 12a formed on a circuit board 12, mounting the semiconductor element 11 onto the circuit board 12, and applying heat and pressure, entire surfaces of the electrode 11a on the semiconductor element 11 and the electrode 12a on the circuit board 12 are diffusion-bonded by the solder 13.
According to this method, the amount of solder can be reduced compared to a bump made of a single solder layer, the amount of solder collapse in a planar direction during flip-chip mounting can be reduced, and generation of a solder bridge can be prevented. In addition, since the solder and the board electrode are diffusion-bonded, connection resistance can be kept low and an increase in signal transmission loss can be avoided.

Semiconductor device and semiconductor device manufacturing method


A device (2) is formed on a main surface of a substrate (1). The main surface of the substrate (1) is bonded to the undersurface of the counter substrate (14) via the bonding member (11,12,13) in a hollow state. A circuit (17) and a bump structure (26) are formed on the top surface of the counter substrate (14). The bump structure (26) is positioned in a region corresponding to at least the bonding member (11,12,13), and has a higher height than that of the circuit (17).

In order to reduce the mounting area of a semiconductor device, there is proposed a structure in which a semiconductor substrate is bonded to another semiconductor substrate or a substrate of other than a semiconductor such as glass or sapphire. Further, in order to enhance reliability, there is also proposed a structure in which a sealing frame is provided between substrates to form a hollow part (refer to Patent Literature 1, for example).
As a substrate bonding method, there is a method called wafer level chip scale package (WLCSP) in which a substrate in a wafer state and a counter substrate are bonded together and separated by dicing for each device. For example, devices are formed in an array form on a substrate by a wafer process, circuits corresponding to the devices are also formed on a counter substrate, and both are joined via connection bumps. In this method, many devices can be formed at once, and the cost is lower than in the case of individually packaging.

Substrate bonding structure and substrate bonding method


An electrical connector including an insulator body, a shield, and an upper and lower rows of terminals held in the insulator body. One of the two rows of terminals is a row of low speed circuit terminals, and the other one is a row of high speed circuit terminals. The row of high speed circuit terminals includes two pairs of high speed differential signal terminals, and each of the high speed differential signal terminals has a contact portion, an insertion portion and a connection portion between the contact portion and the insertion portion. A part of the connection portion of the high speed differential signal terminal is folded away from the low speed circuit terminal to form a folding section. It increases the space between the high speed differential signal terminal and the low speed circuit terminal and effectively reduces the capacitive coupling crosstalk therebetween.

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a well-known communication standard, which has been upgraded from a known USB 2.0 standard to a current USB 3.0 standard, also known as high speed USB, wherein the transmission speed of USB has been increased from 480 Mbit/s to 5 Gbit/s. However, USB 3.0 standard has very rigorous requests on the structure design and the electrical performance of the electrical connector interface for transmitting high speed signals.
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of two rows of terminals of a known USB connector, including a row of low speed circuit terminals 210 for transmitting low speed signals and a row of high speed circuit terminals 220 for transmitting high speed signals. The row of high speed circuit terminals 220 are positioned above the row of low speed circuit terminals 210.
FIG. 1B is an exploded view of the two rows of terminals of FIG. 1A. The row of low speed circuit terminals 210 includes a power terminal Bus, a ground terminal G1, and a pair of low speed differential signal terminals S0, S0′. The row of high speed circuit terminals 220 include a ground terminal G2 and two pairs of high speed differential signal terminals S1, S1′, S2, S2′.
Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the ground terminal G2 of the row of high speed circuit terminals has a same width as any one of the high speed differential signal terminals S1, S1′, S2, S2′, therefore, there is a relative large mutual inductance generated in the high speed circuit, causing inductive coupling crosstalk between the two pairs of high speed differential signal terminals S1, S1′, S2, S2′. A connection portion 221 of each terminal of the row of high speed circuit terminals 220 extends in straight line in its whole length, and a connection portion 211 of each terminal of the row of low speed circuit terminals 210 also extends in straight line in its whole length. Accordingly, the connection portions 221 of the high speed circuit terminals 220 are parallel to and spaced from the connection portions 211 of the low speed circuit terminals 210 by a constant space.
However, in the known connector, as shown in FIG. 1A, the high speed circuit terminals 220 are spaced from the low speed circuit terminals 210 by a relative small space, causing capacitive coupling crosstalk between the high speed circuit terminals 220 and the low speed circuit terminals 210.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shield 30 for a known high speed USB connector, which is not provided any additional ground terminal on the shield 30. Therefore, it may further increase the mutual inductance generated in the high speed circuit, and further increase the inductive coupling crosstalk between the two pairs of high speed differential signal terminals S1, S1′, S2, S2′.
FIG. 2A shows a plastic insulation body of a known high speed USB connector. FIG. 2B is an exploded view of the plastic insulation body shown in FIG. 2A. The plastic insulation body of the known USB connector includes a base 10 and a rear retaining portion 60 separate from the base 10. After being assembled in the insulation body, as shown in FIG. 2B, each terminal is almost enclosed in the plastic insulation body only excluding a contact portion and a pin portion. Thereby, each of high speed differential signal terminals has a relative high dielectric constant, causing a signal transfer delay of the high speed differential signal terminal during transmitting signals.
Considering above disadvantages of the known high speed USB connector, such as the crosstalk between the high speed differential signal terminals and between the high speed differential signal terminals and the low speed differential signal terminals, and the signal transfer delay of the high speed differential signal terminals, it has been demanded to develop a new or novel high speed USB connector capable of overcoming or alleviating at least one aspect of the above mentioned disadvantages.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A circuit breaker has a magnetic trip assembly which can be adjusted to trip the breaker for low level overcurrents in the range of five to ten times rated current. The magnet trip includes for each pole of the breaker a helical torsion spring having one torsion arm which biases an armature against an adjusting bar to form a gap between the armature and a stationary magnetic structure in which magnetic flux strong enough to attract the armature and trip the breaker is induced by overcurrent. A second torsion arm of the spring has a first portion which bears against and slides along a pivot member carried by the adjusting bar to adjust the bias force applied to the armature by a given amount per unit travel of the adjusting bar over a low trip current portion of the range of travel of the adjusting bar. A second terminal portion of the second torsion arm of the spring extending at an angle from the first portion engages and slides along the pivot member on the adjusting bar to provide a greater change of bias force per unit travel of the adjusting bar at the higher trip current settings. Movement of the adjusting bar adjusts the spring bias for all poles of a multiphase circuit breaker simultaneously. The gaps between the armatures and the fixed magnetic structures of all the poles can also be adjusted by camming surfaces on the adjusting bar.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to circuit breakers with a magnetic trip assembly including an armature which is biased by a spring to form a gap with a fixed magnetic structure and which is attracted toward the fixed magnetic structure to trip the breaker by magnetic flux produced by abnormal current. In particular, the invention relates to circuit breakers having such a trip assembly which includes mechanisms for adjusting the spring bias and the gap to modify the level of current at which the breaker trips.

Circuit breaker with adjustable low magnetic trip


A device for packaging and dispensing stacked items may include,                a box including:                    a first portion, in particular a cover; and            a second portion, in particular a drawer, that is movable relative to the first portion between a retracted position and an extended position; and                        a stack of items disposed in the second portion;        the first portion including a drive member configured to press against the stack of items while the second portion is being moved toward the retracted position, and to entrain an item in contact therewith relative to a remainder of the stack in order to enable the item to be grasped by a user; and        the second portion and the drive member also being configured in such a manner as to prevent the drive member from pressing against the stack of items over at least a fraction of the stroke of the second portion from the retracted position toward the extended position.

Certain active substances for use in cosmetics, including in care products, can be presented to the user in the form of thin sheets, e.g. for being impregnated with a liquid or dissolved in a liquid.
Packaging such sheets in a conventional box with a cover that can be raised or removed, is not very satisfactory.
The sheets are very light in weight and run the risk of escaping from the box when the cover is opened.
There is also a risk that a user seeking to take hold of a sheet in the box will also touch other sheets, which can give rise to problems of hygiene.
It can also be difficult to take hold of only one sheet at a time.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,360,162 describes a dispenser of chewing gum sticks, the dispenser including a feed plate enabling sticks to be extracted one by one. The stack of sticks rests continuously on the plate, and a spring is provided on a cover to push the stack down against the plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,973,882 describes another chewing gum stick dispenser including a slider enabling the top stick on a stack to be pushed through a slot.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,666,095, 6,230,879, and 6,578,732, British patent application GB 2 358 627, and Swiss patent CH 461 025 describe dispensers that are fairly similar.
European patent application EP 0 319 046 describes a business card dispenser that operates in similar manner.
Those known dispensers are not adapted to thin sheets, and they are also relatively complex.
US application 2003/0106900 describes a dispenser of sheets of a product, comprising a top part movable relative to a bottom part containing stacked sheets. The top part comprises a deformable portion on which the user may press during the movement of the top part, to entrain a sheet toward the exit.
The deformable portion may come in contact with the stack of sheets whichever is the position of the top part relative to the bottom part.

Device for packaging and dispensing stacked items, in particular cosmetics on a medium


A safety retractable sheath covers an injection needle for protection against accidental pricking. The sheath extends from a base secured to the hub of the needle and has bellowed walls made of resilient material. It may be axially retracted toward the hub to expose the needle, and springs back to cover its entire length when released. A constricted section of the sheath beyond the tip of the needle is axially offset to prevent accidental exposure of the tip. A latching bellow segment surrounding the base allows for adjustment of the sheaths to the lengths of the needle.

The hollow-pointed stainless steel needle in combination with syringes and infusion pumps is the common tool used in the healing arts to invade the body when giving injections or withdrawing body fluids. The sharply pointed end of a needle is extremely dangerous, and accidental pricking is very common even among nurses and other trained personnel. If accidental pricking occurs after the needle has been extracted from a patient with contaminated body fluid, the patient's disease may be transmitted to the treating physician or nurse. Procedures have been established for the recapping and safe disposal of medical needles immediately after their use. But the recapping process itself can be hazardous especially when occurring in the traumatic surroundings of a first aid treatment at the site of an accident or in the context of an emergency room intervention. Various automatic recapping systems have been devised in the past of which a typical example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,996 Cree. In such case a retractable rigid tube surrounding the needle is biased by a coil spring which is collapsed when the tip of the sheath is brought into contact with the skin of the patient. The needle moves axially within the sheaths until it emerges at the distal end to penetrate the patient's tissue. This type of protective device is relatively complex and expensive to manufacture due to its multitude of components. It also does not provide a safe and automatic locking of the needle within the protective sheaths after use. Accordingly, there is a need for a simple and more effective way to automatically shield the tip of a medical needle after it has been withdrawn from the body of a patient.


A modular apparatus for active heat exchange involving continuous atomization of chilled or heated fluid droplets, droplets projection, and formation of fluid film on a large surface for reciprocal two way heat transfer with circulating air. A closed, pleated, corrugated, thin-wall, heat conductive chamber (1) provides the large surface for formation of fluid film and separation between fluid and air offering short and rapid heat conductive path between fluid and air. An axial blower (11) integrated with the heat exchanger module provides re-circulation of air where the heat exchanger module (28) is situated. The modular heat exchanger (28) or multiple of which is integrated with other components such as a refrigeration unit (37), a heating element (25), and a central fluid reservoir (23) in which fluid is pre-chilled or preheated in the application of air conditioning and heating. The fluid is conveyed by small bore tubes to individual modules by a pump (26) then returns to the central reservoir (23) for re-chill or reheat in a close loop fluid flow configuration. A stepping motor (7c) controlled valve (7B) regulated amount of fluid is processed by the heat exchanger.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for atomization of chilled or heated fluid, projection of droplets, and formation of a fluid film in a chamber with large surface area for heat exchange in the application of refrigeration, air conditioning, and heating of room, space, structure or dwelling.
Heat exchanger technology has long existed. Prior art for heat exchanger in application of refrigeration, air conditioning, commonly referred to as evaporator involves rapid expansion of compressed liquid refrigerant converting to gas inside a small diameter metal tube fitted with heat conductive fins. Heat is absorbed while ambient air is blown over this assembly by use of a motorized blower. For heating, the air is commonly heated by flame or by an electrical resistive heater. In some cases hot fluid is circulated inside a similar device as the evaporator described. Various configurations of this basic heat exchanger are exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,192,976; 6,035,927; 6,182,743; 6,178,766; 6,173,763, and 6,167,950. Disadvantages of this type of heat exchanger are many. Small diameter tubing, even long in length, does not possess large surface area for heat transfer. Narrow thin fins, approximately on the order of 2.5 to 5 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) in width and 0.25 millimeter (0.01 inch) in thickness as commonly used, attaching edgewise to the tubing, limit heat transfer capacity. Heat conduction must also travel a distance from the fins to reach the tubing. Air contact time with the evaporator heat exchanger assembly is necessarily brief due to the limited width of fins and high velocity of air travelling over the evaporator, contributing to low heat energy transfer. Air molecules in immediate direct contact with cold or hot surfaces only perform heat exchange. Air is a poor heat conductor; molecule vibration caused by heat is not easily transmitted to adjacent molecules due to large distances separating them. Such inefficiency leads to requirement of large capacity refrigeration and heating units to provide a large temperature differential between the evaporator and ambient air at a sacrifice of energy consumption.
Prior efforts to increase surface area for heat exchange, particularly, in the application of cooling fluid, between fluid and fluid employing small corrugated tubing, have been exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,119,769 and 4,995,454. However, such modified configurations are far from adequate for efficient heat exchange between fluid and air in the application of air conditioning and heating.
In a central air conditioning and heating system for a structure or dwelling, a large centrifugal blower generating air flow with high static pressure is needed to propel air through the heat exchanger or evaporator and furnace into a system of large ducts for distribution into various rooms and spaces through open grills. It has been verified by scientific studies that energy loss for a ducting system is greater than 20 percent of the total consumed by a central air conditioning and heating system. This energy deficit is primarily caused by heat gained or lost while chilled or heated air travels through the ducts even insulated according to recommended common practice. Significant air velocity is also diminished due to resistance from friction while air is in contact with large duct wall surface and confronting turns of the ducts necessary for reaching final destinations. A large centrifugal blower for a central air conditioning and heating system for an average size dwelling consumes kilowatts of electric power per hour.
One disadvantage of the above described ducting system is the requirement of multiple size ducts to balance air flow and temperature in various locations in a structure or dwelling dependent upon sizes, lengths, shapes, and turns of ducts. Proper balance of temperatures in all locations within a structure or dwelling is seldom achievable with such a method.
Baffles or shutters, preset or motorized, have been placed inside air ducts in larger or commercial buildings to regulate amount of air flow into a room or area in an effort to provide acceptable air flow and temperature regulation in air conditioning. Such efforts are energy wasting and far from satisfactory in delivering the right amount of conditioned air.
Another disadvantage of the above-described ducting system is that temperature of specific room or space within a structure or dwelling cannot be individually or incrementally controlled in an easy manner. A grill with louver adjusting mechanism located in a room or space has to be manually moved; therefore fine adjustment of temperature is not possible.
Another prior art of heating a structure or dwelling involves heating a large amount of fluid, generally water, with a large capacity water heater and conveying the heated fluid to various locations of a structure through a system of pipes. Once reaching a particular location, the pipe is arranged in a back and forth fashion and mounted under the floor, above the ceiling, or behind a wall as a heat exchanger radiating heat into a room or space. Such a heating system is commonly termed a "hydronic" heating system. One disadvantage of such a heating system is that a separate system is required for cooling. Another disadvantage is that a large amount of fluid is needed to be continuously heated thus requiring a large capacity heater with attending large energy consumption. Generally, temperature control in various locations is not available or possible. Furthermore, the structural element in which the "heat exchanger" is enclosed must first be heated before heat can radiate into a room or space. Occupants within feel the increase in temperature with significant delay. A warm building also radiates heat to cold outside environment wasting energy.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a more efficient heat exchanger and its integration into a functional system for refrigeration or air conditioning and heating purposes without all the above mentioned deficiencies.
The present invention provides a modular apparatus that continuously atomizes a small quantity of chilled or heated fluid into a large number of small droplets and projects the droplets onto a large surface area to form a fluid film for heat transfer. Atomization and projection is accomplished by centrifugal force generated by a rapidly spinning slotted and screen cylinder. Rotating cylinders with perforations and cylindrical screens have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,609,145 and 4,659,013. These various modes of atomization, primarily provided for agricultural spraying, possess shortcomings that render them unsuitable for application in this invention. They suffer the inability to uniformly generate droplets along the entire cylinder length or sustain the cylindrical shape for uniform droplet atomization under high rotating speed or centrifugal force.
Earlier attempts in generating droplets along the long axis of a rotating device by centrifugal force are also exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,022,956 and 3,168,596. Unfortunately these prior arts generate narrow bands of droplets with large separation between bands; therefore they are unsuitable in an application requiring uniform and even droplet distribution.
The surface on which the fluid film is formed is the inner surface of a closed pleated corrugated chamber composed of thin gage heat conductive material for promotion of rapid and efficient heat transfer. Ambient air, provided by a blower, circulating on the outside of this chamber, has long contact time with the chamber surface and large surface area for greater amount of heat energy transfer.
Heat exchanger modules of this invention are intended to be located in rooms or spaces where air conditioning or heating is needed. A central fluid reservoir is employed for chilling and heating fluid to be atomized by the heat exchanger. Small bore tubes are used to convey pre-chilled or preheated fluid to a heat exchanger and return for re-chill and reheat, eliminating the need for large air ducts as in conventional practice. Small tubes are also more economical as well as much easier to provide complete insulation to maintain the heat-energy-state of the fluid in transit. By providing a blower in the heat exchanger module at site where the module is installed has many advantages. One such advantage is the circulating air to be cooled or heated in the immediate vicinity of the module. There is no need for a large central blower that consumes a large amount of energy. The temperature in a given room or space can be cooled or heated quickly without the problem of heat conduction of air over a long distance in returning to the central blower to be cooled or reheated again. An added benefit of this invention is the ability to control temperature where it is needed and to what extent in individual room or space. The heat exchanger module or modules in area or areas without human occupation within a structure or dwelling can be shut off for further savings on energy use.
The present invention of heat exchange module is equipped with a motorized variable valve for changing the rate of fluid being processed. Since the large heat transfer surface is so efficient, an increase of fluid entering the exchanger increases the heat transfer rate as well. The heat exchange rate of any given moment can be calculated by input fluid temperature, rate of fluid being processed, and the outbound fluid temperature from an integrated exiting processed fluid temperature sensor. This arrangement provides the heat exchanger's unique ability to actively respond to changing heat leakage (heat load) from amount of heat transfer by increasing or decreasing fluid input to be processed by the heat exchanger. After noting the heat transfer amount information at any given moment we can program an increase heat transfer rate to utilize available evaporator cooling or heater's heating capacity optimally for purpose of energy savings. It should be noted that all traditional air conditioners are passive with heat exchange rates affected by environment conditions from moment to moment resulting in greater waste of energy. This invention is differentiated from tradition air conditioners by being able to actively change heat transfer rate based on information gleaned from temperature sensors and control of motorized variable fluid valve (fluid processed rate).
A small air conditioner of this invention with a single heat exchanger module operating with a thermostat control can be employed as an instrument to measure a room's heat leakage (heat load) which utilizes the major portion of an air conditioner's capacity to counter. By keeping a room's temperature constant, the heat absorption or distribution rate is essentially the heat leakage rate which has not been able to measure previously.

Active fluid and air heat exchanger and method


A connection method for a photonic crystal fiber for connecting the photonic crystal fiber and a fiber to be connected, the photonic crystal fiber including a cladding region having a number of microholes and a core region having a same refractive index as that of the cladding region, includes the steps of: abutting respective end faces of the photonic crystal fiber and the fiber to be connected each other; after the abutting, performing a main discharge in which an abutted portion is heated by an electric discharge under a first condition; and after the main discharge, performing an additional discharge in which the connection portion is heated by an electric discharge at least once under a second condition to increase a splice strength.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connection method and a connecting structure for connecting a photonic crystal fiber and an optical fiber of a different type or two photonic crystal fibers with low loss.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-183639, filed Jun. 22, 2004, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
A photonic crystal fiber is an optical fiber that has microholes in the cladding region thereof and is capable of exhibiting characteristics that cannot be achieved with a conventional optical fiber having a core/cladding structure. Such photonic crystal fibers have been developed as promising functional fiber of various types or transmission fiber for the future. Since a cladding region of a photonic crystal fiber has a number of microholes, the cladding region equivalently has a lower refractive index than that of the core region and totally reflects light coming from pure silica of the core region, thereby making the light propagate through the core region. By changing the design of the arrangement of microholes, it is possible to obtain various characteristics.
In order to use such photonic crystal fibers as transmission fibers or fibers employed in various optical components, it is required to connect a photonic crystal fiber and an optical fiber of a different type or two photonic crystal fibers with low loss.
Conventionally, as a method for connecting a photonic crystal fiber and an optical fiber of a different type or two photonic crystal fibers with low loss, a technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2002-243972 has been proposed.
In addition, as a method for improving the connection strength between photonic crystal fibers, a technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2004-77890 has been proposed.
A photonic crystal fiber has a core region formed from silica glass that has the same refractive index as that of a cladding region, and the cladding region has a number of microholes. When such a photonic crystal fiber and an optical fiber of a different type or two photonic crystal fibers are fusion-spliced, if a number of microholes in the cladding region collapse upon splicing, the collapsed portion becomes silica glass portion having a uniform refractive index profile in which the wave-guiding structure is destroyed, resulting in an increase in the splice loss. In order to reduce the splice loss, it is required to connect fibers while preserving the microhole structure so that the wave-guiding structure is not destroyed. For preserving the microhole structure so that the wave-guiding structure is not destroyed, the heating time and the heating temperature must be minimized. However, reducing the time and the temperature for heating a fusion-spliced portion leads to the insufficient fusion, resulting in reduced splice strength.
In the connection method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2002-243972, a fusion is performed by sealing microholes of a photonic crystal fiber. When the microholes are sealing of, the sealed portion has the same structure as that of a fiber to be connected, which helps to achieve significant reduction in the splice loss. In addition, since the mode field diameter of the connecting end portion of the photonic crystal fiber is enlarged, it is possible to reduce the splice loss by connecting the photonic crystal fiber to a fiber having a large mode field diameter. However, when this connection method is used for connection of a photonic crystal fiber that includes a core region having the same refractive index as that of a cladding region, in the portion in which microholes collapse, the core and the cladding are fused as a single body in which the wave-guiding structure is destroyed. For this reason, this connection method cannot be used for achieving a fusion splice of a photonic crystal fiber that includes a core region having the same refractive index as that of a cladding region with low loss.
In the connection method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2004-77890, in order to prevent microholes of photonic crystal fiber from being collapsed upon fusion splicing, the spacing between fiber end faces are reduced to minimize the effect of the heat to fiber end faces, thereby preventing the microholes from collapsing. It is possible to reduce the heat applied to the fiber end face using this method, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2004-77890 teaches that a strong fiber connecting structure can be obtained by pressing the fiber to a predetermined length. However, the improvement in the splice strength achievable by this connection method is insufficient.

Connection method and connecting structure for photonic crystal fiber


A horticultural light system integrating a grow lamp and lamp ballast within a single fixture. The grow lamp is enclosed by the lower exterior structure and benefits from cooling atmosphere that is forced through the lower exterior structure to regulate the grow lamp temperature. The lamp ballast is mounted to a ballast plate above the lower exterior structure. The ballast plate shields the lamp ballast from the heated atmosphere as it rises off the top of the lower exterior structure. Stand offs or other separation means keep the ballast plate at a distance from the top of the lower exterior structure to create an air gap that thermally isolates the lamp ballast from the heat generated by the grow lamp, thereby increasing the reliability and life of the lamp ballast.

1. Technical Field
The present device relates generally to horticultural and agricultural lighting systems used in developing and growing plants in controlled environments.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Indoor gardens, green houses, hydroponics systems, and isolated carbon dioxide growing chambers demand careful regulation of temperature, light, hydration, nutrients, and humidity. In these controlled environments the grower must provide adequate light intensity, which is usually accomplished using an HID grow lamp in cooperation with a remote HID lamp ballast that is located within a couple feet of the HID grow lamp.
The most common HID grow lamps are high pressure sodium and metal halide. Metal halide lamps work well to generate the "blue" spectrum, but also produce well in the "orange-red" spectrum. Metal halides are best suited as a primary light source (if little or no natural sunlight is available) and are excellent for plant growth. High pressure sodium lamps produce primarily in the "orange-red" spectrum. The high pressure sodiums are the best available lamps for secondary or supplemental lighting (used in conjunction with natural sunlight). The "orange-red" type of light promotes flowering/budding/fruiting in plants. High pressure sodium lamps are ideal for greenhouse or commercial growing applications. However, one significant drawback is the heat generated by these grow lamps. Without cooling, the lamps will prematurely fail. Due to the extreme heat, any electronics located in close proximity to the grow lamp will also prematurely fail.
Both the metal halide lamps and the high pressure sodium lamps require high voltage power to ignite the lamps and maintain lumen output. Commonly, the high voltage power supply is referred to as a lamp ballast. These lamp ballasts convert the standard 110 volt or 220 volt electrical service power to high voltage electrical power that meets the requirements of the metal halide and high pressure sodium lamps. The lamp ballasts are often housed a safe distance from the grow lamp in separate aluminum extruded cases, with a power cord connecting the grow lamp to the lamp ballast.
Lamp ballasts suffer from temperature sensitivity in that excessive temperatures cause premature failure of the electronic components, leading to decreased performance. Because of the heat generated by the grow lamp, the lamp ballast must be thermally isolated in order to prevent premature failure. Generally, the horticulture light fixture with the grow lamp is sold separately from the lamp ballast assembly and the end-user connects the two via a power cord.
Previously integrating the lamp ballast into the horticulture light fixture was not feasible due to the high temperatures generated by the grow lamp and the relatively low temperature failure rates of the ballast. If installed too close to the grow lamp, the lamp ballast will fail prematurely due to the heat produced by the lamp and absorbed by the ballast.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,662 to Wardenburg (2003) teaches a horticulture light fixture benefiting from a sealed forced air or passive cooling system. The passive or active cooling of the grow lamp prolongs the life of the lamp while isolating the growing environment from the excessive heat generated by the grow lamp. The Wardenburg horticulture light fixture requires a remote lamp ballast to ignite and power the grow lamp.
An ideal horticulture light system would be constructed and arranged having the lamp, lamp ballast, and reflector integrated as a single structure that, preferably, is thermally isolated from the growing environment. Prior attempts to integrate the lamp ballast into the horticulture light fixture have failed because excessive heat produced by the grow lamp was absorbed by the lamp ballast, causing premature failure of the lamp ballast. Lamp ballasts are sensitive to heat; and, as the operating temperature increases, performance and longevity decrease.
3. Objects and Advantages
There are several objects and advantages of the present device:                a) to provide a horticulture light system that integrates the grow lamp and lamp ballast into a single easy-to-install fixture;        b) to provide an integrated horticulture light system wherein the lamp ballast does not suffer from premature failure due to absorption of heat generated by the grow lamp;        c) to provide an integrated horticulture light system wherein the lamp ballast is thermally isolated from the grow lamp enclosure by an air gap.Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from consideration of the following description and drawings.

Horticulture light fixture having integrated lamp and ballast


An electronic device includes an imaging unit, a display unit, and a control unit. The imaging unit acquires a distinction image, visualized from setup information including a set value set by a user, with respect to a parameter for picture quality adjustment to be performed by an image forming apparatus. The control unit includes a processor, and recognizes, when the processor executes a control program, the setup information on a basis of the distinction image acquired by the imaging unit, and causes the display unit to display a first image formed by subjecting a sample image to the picture quality adjustment, according to the set value included in the setup information, and a second image formed by subjecting the sample image to the picture quality adjustment, according to a set value different from the set value included in the setup information.

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device to be used in combination with an image forming apparatus configured to adjust picture quality when outputting an image formed on a recording medium, and an image forming system including the electronic device and the image forming apparatus.
Some image forming apparatuses that output an image formed on a recording medium (sheet) are configured to adjust the picture quality of the original image (image data), to improve the appearance of the outputted image. For example, luminance and contrast are items to be adjusted through the picture quality adjustment, and when a color image is handled, for example chroma may also be adjusted. It is preferable to optimally adjust such items, with respect to the image that the user intends to output. To do so, it may be possible to actually output the image on the sheet, for the user to confirm the result, which, however, leads to waste of the sheets and time. Accordingly, it is preferable to display a preview of the content to be outputted. In this case, the user can visually confirm the preview image, before actually outputting the image formed on the sheet.
However, since the screen (display unit) provided in conventional image forming apparatuses is small, and only has low resolution, it is difficult to confirm the effect of the adjustment. Besides, a color display is unnecessary in the normal operation of the image forming apparatus, and therefore the display is often configured to display only a B/W image. In such a case, the preview display of a color image is unavailable, and consequently the effect of the adjustment of an item characteristic of the color image, such as chroma, is unable to be confirmed.
Accordingly, an image processing system, constituted of a combination of an image forming apparatus (image processing unit) and an electronic device (mobile terminal, smartphone, or the like) capable of displaying an image, has been developed. The image forming apparatus employed in such an image processing system is configured to display the detail of the adjustment on the screen, so as to allow the user to visually recognize, together with a marker (e.g., two-dimensional code) corresponding to the detail of the adjustment. On the part of the electronic device, an imaging unit is provided, so that by shooting the marker displayed on the screen of the image forming apparatus, the electronic device can recognize the detail of the adjustment. The electronic device possesses image data for confirming the effect of the picture adjustment (picture adjustment effect display data), apart from the image outputted by the image forming apparatus as above. Then the picture adjustment effect display data, reflecting the detail of the adjustment recognized as above, is displayed on the screen on the part of the electronic device, as the preview image.
Normally, the screen (display unit) incorporated in an electronic device, such as a smartphone, is configured to display color images in high resolution, and a desired portion of the displayed image can be easily enlarged. Thus, by the mentioned combination of the electronic device and the image processing unit, the user can easily recognize the effect of the picture quality adjustment, using the electronic device. In this case, further, the exchange of information between the image processing unit and the electronic device can be achieved simply by shooting the marker, which is quite easy to operate, and can be performed even when the image processing unit is not connected to a network.

Image forming apparatus and electronic device for displaying sample image subjected to picture quality adjustment, and image forming system including image forming apparatus and electronic apparatus


The present application provides a combined machine head and a ray imaging device, wherein the combined machine head comprises: a housing, having an enclosed cavity; a ray tube, arranged in the enclosed cavity; and a pump and a pipe, arranged in the enclosed cavity; wherein the pump is arranged on one side away from an anode of the ray tube, the pipe has a first end connected with an outlet of the pump and a second end extending to be near the anode of the ray tube; or the pump is arranged near the anode of the ray tube, the pipe has a first end connected to an inlet of the pump and a second end extending to one side away from the anode of the ray tube.

The combined machine head comprising a ray tube is used to generate rays. For example, the X ray tube in the X-ray combined machine head is used to generate X-rays. The combined machine head is usually assembled with an image sensor such as a CCD, a processor, and a bracket to form a complete X-ray machine product, such as C-arm X-ray devices, widely used in fluoroscopy in medical operations. The structure of an X-ray combined machine head with a fixed anode X ray tube in the prior art is shown in FIG. 1, and the housing 104 is provided with an X ray tube 101 and a high voltage generator 102 that provides high voltage for the X ray tube 101, and the housing 104 is filled with an insulating oil 103. The X ray tube 101 comprises a vacuum housing 106, and a cathode filament 107, a bunched electrode 108, an anode target 110, and a cooling fin 111 in the vacuum housing 106. During operation, the cathode filament 107 of the X ray tube is connected to the high voltage of the filament transformer, the heated electrons hit the anode target 109, thereby generating X-rays. When X-ray tube generates X-rays, only about 1% of the energy is converted into X-rays, and more than 99% of the energy will be converted into heat building up on the target surface of the anode, whereas the target surface has a limited ability of withstanding heat. If the heat cannot be transferred out in time, the anode target surface will be damaged, when the cumulative amount of heat exceeds the endurance of the anode of the X ray tube, thereby causing damage to the X-ray machine.
For this reason, the X ray tube with a fixed anode shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a cooling fin 111 at the end of the fixed anode target 110, and the cooling fin 111 extends to the exterior of the vacuum housing 106, so as to conduct the heat of the anode target 110 to the outside of the vacuum housing in time, to the insulating oil. In order to improve the heat dissipation efficiency, the surface area of the cooling fin 111 soaked in the insulation oil is often increased. Because the insulation oil in the X-ray combined machine head has a large specific heat capacity, the temperature in the X ray combined machine head can be kept within the normal working range via heat absorption by the insulating oil.

Combined machine head and ray imaging device