A tobacco filter device includes a plurality of filter units superimposedly rechargeably filled in a sleeve member, having a bowl member connected to an outer end (smoking end) of the sleeve member and a mouthpiece connected to an inner end (mouth end) of the sleeve member, whereby upon smoking of tobacco or a cigarette as loaded or inserted in the bowl portion, the filter unit or units positioned on an outer portion of the sleeve member adjacent to the smoking end, after being saturated with smoking waste including tar and nicotine, may be pushed outwardly and discarded from the outer end of the sleeve member as thrusted and urged by a fresh (new) filter unit (or units) as recharged into the inner (mouth) end of the sleeve member, thereby still keeping use of those filter units not yet saturated and loaded in the rear portion of the sleeve member, without wasting the useful filter units.

A conventional filter device may be used to insert a cigarette therein for filtering off nicotine or tar of tobacco smoke. However, the tar or smoke waste may easily clog the front portion of the filter device to influence a smooth cigarette smoking. Even the filter device may still be used since the filter material as filled in the filter device is not completely saturated, the smoker may discard the partially saturated filter device just simply because of unsmooth smoking through the partially clogged filter to thereby cause wasting of the filter device.
The present inventor has found the drawbacks of conventional cigarette filter device and invented the present filter device having a plurality of filter units superimposedly rechargeably filled therein.
The object of the present invention is to provide a tobacco filter device including a plurality of filter units superimposedly rechargeably filled in a sleeve member, having a bowl member connected to an outer end (smoking end) of the sleeve member and a mouthpiece connected to an inner end (mouth end) of the sleeve member, whereby upon smoking of tobacco or a cigarette as loaded or inserted in the bowl portion, the filter unit or units positioned on an outer portion of the sleeve member adjacent to the smoking end, after being saturated with smoking waste including tar and nicotine, may be pushed outwardly and discarded from the outer end of the sleeve member as thrusted and urged by a fresh (new) filter unit (or units) as recharged into the inner (mouth) end of the sleeve member, thereby still keeping use of those filter units not yet saturated and loaded in the rear portion of the sleeve member, without wasting the useful filter units.

Tobacco filter means superimposedly rechargeably filled with disposable filter units


A method for packaging an LED, includes steps: providing a supporting board and then dripping a gel mixed with fluorescent therein on the supporting board; scraping the gel over the supporting board with a scraper form a gelatinous fluorescent film on the supporting board, and solidifying the gelatinous fluorescent film pieces to form a solidified fluorescent film; cutting the solidified fluorescent film into individual pieces, and peeling the solid fluorescent films from the supporting board; attaching one piece of the fluorescent film on a light outputting surface of an LED die; mounting the LED die on a substrate, and electrically connecting the LED die to the circuit structure; and forming an encapsulation on the substrate to cover the LED die.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to a light emitting diode (LED) package and method for manufacturing the same, and particularly to an LED package wherein a fluorescent film directly and conformably covers an LED die and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, due to excellent light quality and high luminous efficiency, light emitting diodes (LEDs) have increasingly been used as substitutes for incandescent bulbs, compact fluorescent lamps and fluorescent tubes as light sources of illumination devices.
A common LED includes a substrate, electrodes arranged on the substrate, a reflective cup arranged on the substrate, an LED die arranged in the reflective cup and electrically connected to the electrodes, an encapsulation covering the LED die, and a fluorescent film coated on an outer surface of the encapsulation.
In packaging process of common LEDs, the fluorescent substance is firstly mixed in fluid encapsulating material, then the fluid encapsulating material is sprayed on the outer surface of the encapsulation, and finally the encapsulating material mixed with fluorescent substance is solidified. However, during the spraying process, the fluid encapsulating material cannot be completely uniformly sprayed on the encapsulation, due to an operational tolerance of the spray tool. Therefore the fluorescent film will be non-uniform in thickness. Further, the fluorescent substance suspending in the encapsulating material will deposit and undesirably cause a non-uniform distribution of the fluorescent substance in the encapsulating material. The uneven distribution of the fluorescent substance in the encapsulating material and the uneven fluorescent film cause light generated by the common LED to have an uneven color.
Therefore, what is needed is to provide an LED package and method of manufacturing the same which can overcome the above shortcomings.

Light emitting diode package having fluorescent film directly coated on light emitting diode die and method for manufacturing the same

Advanced Optoelectronics Technology, Inc.


A heat exchanger, particularly for a motor vehicle, comprises a bundle of finned tubes, with each tube having an end portion which is sealingly mounted in a hole formed in a header plate on which a casing of a water header of the heat exchanger is secured. The heat exchanger has at least one locating or immobilising member interposed between the tube bundle and the water header. This locating member has a first portion which bears on the header and a second portion which extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the tubes in the bundle, and which bears against the longitudinal edges of a group of several fins adjacent to the header plate. In this way any relative displacement of the tube bundle with respect to the header plate, in particular in a pivoting or torsional mode, is resisted.

From the specification of French published patent application No. FR2560368A, it is known to provide a heat exchanger of this type in which the ends of the tubes are sealingly fitted in holes formed in a header plate of a water header, a casing of which is secured over the collector, and in which immobilising or locating means are also provided for resisting any relative displacement of the tube bundles with respect to the header plate. Such displacement is liable to occur in particular in a pivoting or torsional mode.
In heat exchangers of the kind just mentioned, sealing between the end portions of the tubes and edges of the holes and the header plate is generally obtained by means of a gasket of rubber or similar material, which over lies the header plate and which is formed with collar portions, with each of these collar portions being engaged between an end portion of one tube and the edge of a corresponding hole in the header plate.
When such a heat exchanger is handled either before or during its fitting into a vehicle, or when it has been fitted in the vehicle, relative movements can occur, in particular in a pivoting or torsional load, of the tube bundle with respect to the header plate. These movements, which can occur in particular in those heat exchangers having only one row of aligned tubes, are detrimental to sealing between the end portions of the tubes and the edges of the holes in the header plate.
The immobilising or locating means which are provided in the arrangement described in the above mentioned French patent specification enable a rigid connection to be made between the tube bundle and the header plate, which is thus resistant to the relative displacements mentioned above. However, in that known arrangement, the immobilising means make it necessary to form slots along the longitudinal edges of the fins, or even to provide aligned openings which are formed through the latter, and this therefore calls for the use of special fins.
In addition, the immobilising means in the document mentioned above comprise lugs which are moulded integrally with the header casing or header plate, or even with fingers which are moulded integrally with the latter. This makes it necessary to manufacture specific components by moulding in plastics material.

Heat exchanger comprising a bundle of finned tubes immobilized with respect to a collector header assembly


In one embodiment, the present disclosure relates generally to a method for recovering an element from a mixture of the element with an ionic halide. In one embodiment, the method includes treating the mixture of the element and the ionic halide with an acidic solution to dissolve the ionic halide, wherein the acidic solution comprises water and an acid and has a pH of less than 1.0 and removing the element from an aqueous solution that results after the treating step.

Some processes for producing elements such as semiconductors, metals and metalloids generate mixtures of the element and an ionic halide. The element and the ionic halide in such mixtures must then be separated.
In one embodiment, the element and the ionic halide can be separated by a leaching process. However previous leaching processes have many drawbacks. For example, some of the previous leaching processes require an additional separation step between the element and a solid by-product. In addition, the by-products created from the previous leaching processes are generally difficult to dispose of or to recycle.

Method for separation of components from a reaction mixture via a concentrated acid


A method for inhibiting proliferation of Helicobacter pylori including a compound that can simply be mass-produced, can specifically inhibit the proliferation of H. pylori, which has high safety and never generates any resistant bacteria, as well as a diet of a food or beverage, and a pharmaceutical preparation containing the proliferation inhibitor of Helicobacter pylori. The proliferation inhibitor of Helicobacter pylori comprises an alpha-N-acetyl-glucosaminyl bond-containing monosaccharide derivative represented by the following chemical formula (1)GlcNAc1-alpha-O—Y   (1)(in the formula (1), Y is a straight-, branched- or cyclic-aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 27 carbon atoms or a straight-, branched- or cyclic-acyl group having 1 to 27 carbon atoms). The diet of the food, the beverage or the pharmaceutical preparation comprises the proliferation inhibitor of Helicobacter pylori.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram-negative bacterium belonging to the genus Spirillum isolated from the gastric mucous membrane of a patient suffering from chronic gastritis and cultivated (Marshall B. J., Warren J. R., Lancet, 1984, 1:1311-1315). It has already been elucidated that such H. pylori is closely related not only to the crises of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcers, but also to the crises of serious or advanced gastric disease such as gastric cancers and gastric malignant lymphoma (Peek R. M. Jr., Blaser M. J., Nature. Rev. Cancer, 2002, 2:28-37).
It has been said that the total number of the persons infected with H. pylori would reach almost a half of the total population in all of the world, but these gastric diseases are not always advanced even to serious conditions thereof in all of the infected persons. This fact clearly indicates that the gastric mucous membrane in itself would be provided with the mechanism of protecting the same from the infection of the bacterium, H. pylori.
H. pylori inhabits in the superficial mucus secreted from the surface layer of the gastric mucous, but never inhabits in the mucous and the glandular mucus secreted from the mucous deep layer. This glandular mucus inherently contains a sugar chain derived from O-glycan having an alpha-N-acetyl-glucosaminyl residue (alpha GlcNAc residue) at the terminal thereof. For this reason, the foregoing fact would suggest that the sugar chain may protect the gastric mucous from the infection with H. pylori.
An article of Kawakubo M. et al., Science, 2004, 305:1003-1006 discloses the effect of alpha GlcNAc residue on the proliferation of H. pylori. This article likewise discloses that glycoproteins which are each linked with a core binary-branched O-glycan having an alpha GlcNAc bond at the un-reduced terminal (GlcNAc alpha 1-4Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-6(GlcNAc alpha 1-4Gal beta 1-3)GalNAc-R) can substantially inhibit the proliferation and mobility of H. pylori and can likewise induce considerable changes such as the elongation of bacterial cells and the formation of asymmetric contours and the fragmentation thereof. A series of these changes are not observed at all in case of the O-glycan free of any alpha GlcNAc residue. In addition, this article also states that the glycosyl cholesterol components (CGL) which exist in the surface layer of the bacterial cells are significantly reduced, as has been deduced from the results obtained by the morphological observation of H. pylori in the presence of sugar chains each carrying the foregoing alpha GlcNAc residue.
H. pylori essentially requires CGL for the survival thereof, but it cannot synthesize the same by itself (Hirai Y. et al., J. Bacteriol., 1995, 177:5327-5333). Accordingly, it would be believed that H. pylori takes in cholesterols from the external world and adds glucose to the region in the proximity to the membrane of the bacterial cell to thus construct the cell wall. In this respect, it would thus be estimated that the foregoing sugar chain carrying the alpha GlcNAc residue has an ability to inhibit the construction of such a cell wall. However, it requires the use of multiple steps and great expense to chemically or enzymatically synthesize the foregoing core binary-branched O-glycan having an alpha GlcNAc bond at the un-reduced terminal and therefore, the chemical or enzymatic synthesis of the O-glycan is not considered to be practicable.
Moreover, Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2003-517015 discloses substances having an ability of being linked with H. pylori, which have sugar chains each including smaller Gal beta 3GlcNAc or Gal beta 3GalNAc, but a method for the preparation of these substances is quite complicated and therefore, the method never permits the mass production of the same.
On the other hand, the presently used methods for treating patients infected with H. pylori are not ones which make use of these sugar chains, but they mainly comprise the step of exterminating bacterial cells through the simultaneous use of the following three kinds of drugs: a kind of proton pump-inhibitor and two kinds of antibiotics. In the medical treatment with which the three kinds of drugs are combined, problems further arise such that this treatment may induce the generation of resistant bacteria to thus cause the recurrence of the infectious disease and that they may cause side effects.
For this reason, there has been desired for the development of a proliferation inhibitor of H. pylori comprising alpha GlcNAc residue-containing sugar chain derivative, which never exerts any adverse effect on the human body such as a side effect, can be produced in commercial quantity and can easily be prepared.

Proliferation inhibitor of helicobacter pylori including alpha-n-acetyl-glucosaminyl bond-containing monosaccharide derivatives


Multi-Element Structured Arrays (MESAs) present an effective approach to utilizing high pressure drop media that previously were cost prohibitive for use in a traditional filter element. The operational velocity is significantly slowed by the incorporation of numerous elements; thus, eliminating the Darcian flow resistances of the media. The MESAs are readily fitted with two or more replaceable “filter elements” that are able to employ commercially available media, microfibrous entrapped catalyst/sorbent media, unique multilayers and more. A model capable of estimating pressure drop for flow through a pleated filter is able to be used as a design tool to predict minimum initial pressure drop, maximum filtration area, and preferred media properties with respect to permeability versus thickness thus allowing the filtration system's dirt holding capacity, filtration efficiency and operational energy cost and filtration operational and total ownership costs such as blower energy, filter procurement and shipping, maintenance personnel, filter disposal, inventory and storage, cost of money and more to be improved.

The demand for improved indoor air quality (IAQ) has generated a need for gas phase filtration units capable of removing contaminants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), tobacco smoke, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde. Strategies to remove these harmful contaminants include employing a packed bed or an adsorbent-entrapped filtration media such as microfibrous sorbent-supported media (MSSM). Through a wet-laid process, MSSM's sinter-locked matrix of micron sized fibers is able to entrap sorbent particles with diameters as low as 30 microns leading to better chemical removal efficiency and higher sorbent utilization than a traditional packed bed. The disadvantages of adsorbent-entrapped media are a high pressure drop generated by small, entrapped sorbent particles and a low saturation capacity due to the relatively thin thickness of the media. [Harris et. al, Wet Layup and Sintering of Metal-Containing Microfibrous Composites for Chemical Processing Opportunities, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 32(8): 1117-1126 (2001)]
New tactics for building more efficient gas phase filters needs to be researched in order to maximize the usefulness of adsorbent-entrapped media. Pleated and V-bank filters are two designs that are able to improve both pressure drop performance and overall capacity for filtration units made from these materials. By understanding the pressure drop limitations within these filtration systems, additional media and adsorbent material are able to be packaged into a unit to increase the contaminant removal capacity while maintaining an acceptable resistance.
The flow resistance of a filter is a critical design and operational parameter. A large pressure drop across the filter is able to overload the air handler unit and reduce air flow. More importantly, the pressure drop is directly related to the energy consumption of the filtration system. Energy consumption is able to account for 80% of the total expenses while labor and procurement cost account for the remaining 20%. [Arnold et al., Life-cycle costing of air filtration, ASHRAE Journal 47 (11):30-32 (2005)]
Numerous filter designs are commercially available, yet pleated filters are one of the more popular styles due to their unique performance benefits. A pleated filter uses a highly folded media to increase the available filtration area and extend the filter's useful life. The extra area also bestows the additional advantage of reducing the pressure drop and energy consumption of the filter. The resistance across a pleated filter fits a second order polynomial composed of a geometric (KgV2f) and media (KmVM) term.ΔPF=KgV2f+KmVM  (1)Empirical and CFD approaches have been attempted by [Chen et al., Filter Pleating Design for Cabin Air Filtration. Annual Index/Abstracts of SAE Technical Papers, Technical Paper 960944 (1996)], [Rivers and Murphy, Air Filter Performance Under Variable Air Volume Conditions, ASHRAE Transactions 106(2): 131-144 (2000)], [Caesar and Schroth, The Influence of Pleat Geometry on the Pressure Drop in Deep-Pleated Cassette Filters, Filtration and Separation 39(9):48-54 (2002)], [Del Fabbro et al., Air Flows and Pressure Drop Modeling for Different Pleated Industrial Filters, Filtration and Separation 39(1):34-40 (2002)], and [Tronville and Sala, Minimization of Resistance in Pleat-Media Air Filter Designs: Empirical and CFD approaches, HVAC & R Research 9(1):95-106 (2003)] to determine the constants. Although each method produces accurate results, the models are only applicable to the specific filters studied and lack predictive capabilities due to the heavy reliance on empirical data. The contributions of the pleat tips and filter housing, mentioned by [Raber, Pressure Drop Optimization and Dust Capacity Estimation for a Deep-Pleated Industrial Air Filter Using Small Sample Data, Filtration and Separation 19(6):508-511 (1982)], are often neglected from the models.

Multi-element structured arrays (MESA's) for cost effective and high efficiency treatment of fluids


A recording arrangement (1) for receiving and recording a television signal (F) and for receiving an information signal (I) which contains television program information (FPI), for example, title information about future television programs. The recording arrangement (1) has a keyword detector (54) which derives at least one keyword characteristic of the fields of interest of the user from title information of a television program recorded by the recording arrangement (1). A selector (58) selects, from the title information of future television programs, which is contained in the television program information (FPI), the title information containing at least one detected keyword. Selected television programs can be displayed on a display device (3) or can be recorded automatically.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a recording arrangement having receiving means for receiving a television signal and an information signal in which television program information can be transmitted, and having recording means for recording a processed received television signal of a television program, and having selection means for selecting at least one television program whose title information contained in the television program information contains at least one given keyword.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a recording arrangement of the type defined in the opening paragraph is known from International Patent Application WO 93/05618 (PCT/DE92/00733) and is formed by a video recorder and a remote control device which cooperates with the video recorder. The known arrangement has receiving means for receiving a television signal, which can be reproduced as a television program on a television set which can be connected to the recording arrangement. After processing in signal processing means, a received television signal of a television program can be recorded as a processed received television signal with the aid of recording means of the recording arrangement.
The receiving means are further adapted to receive an information signal transmitted in blanking intervals of a television signal. The information signal conveys digital data representing an electronic program guide, this data including television program information, such as, date, starting time, ending time and title of television programs, which can be received, for example, within the next week, as a television signal from a television station via a television channel. Such an electronic program guide is known, for example, as the "Electronic Program Guide (European Telecommunication Standard ETS 300 707).
An information signal received by the known video recorder can be applied to the remote control device. The remote control device includes a television program memory in which television program information on future television programs, as derived from the information signal, can be stored. The remote control device further comprises selection means formed by a plurality of keys each corresponding to a given theme, such as, for example, "westerns", "operas", "news" or "shows". By actuating one of these keys, it is possible to select television programs stored in the television program memory and corresponding to the theme of the actuated key. Moreover, in a keyword entry mode, a letter can be assigned to each key of the remote control device, these keys allowing a user of the video recorder to enter a keyword by hand. Thus, it is possible to actuate a remote control key assigned to, for example, the theme "comedy" and, in addition, to enter the keyword "Elvis" by hand in the keyword entry mode in order to select those television programs stored in the television program memory, which should be assigned to the theme "comedy" and whose titles contain the keyword "Elvis". One or more of the selected television programs can be displayed on the television set connected to the known recording arrangement.
In this way, the television set can display a list of recording suggestions for television programs which may be of interest to the user of the known recording arrangement. Displaying a list of recording suggestions greatly facilitates the choice of a television program which is of interest to the user in order to be recorded by means of the recording arrangement. Furthermore, the list of recording suggestions greatly facilitates programming of the recording arrangement for a time-shifted recording.
However, with the known recording arrangement, it has been found that the themes assigned to the keys of the remote control device by the manufacturer of the recording arrangement hardly ever adequately represent the themes which are of interest to the user. On the one hand, the themes assigned to the keys, such as, for example, "soccer", "tennis", "combat sport" and "swimming" are hardly used by a user who is not very keen on sports, while, in the case that another theme such as "serials" has been preset, the television set will show an excessively long list of recording suggestions, which does not simplify the choice of a television program. Therefore, it is also necessary to enter a keyword by hand in order to obtain a list of recording suggestions which is adapted to the user's interests. The actuation of one of the many keys of the remote control device in order to preset a theme and the additional actuation of one of the many keys in order to preset a keyword for the user cannot be effected in a easy and reliable manner, as a result of which the operating convenience of the known recording arrangement is not very high. Moreover, the number of themes is limited by the number of keys of the remote control device, which is also a disadvantage. Moreover, the broadcasting station should assign an appropriate theme to each television program, and for each television program, a characteristic code corresponding to this theme should be transmitted in the information signal for each television program and should be decoded in the recording arrangement, which requires a substantial expense. Furthermore, it is, each time, necessary to manually enter keywords, which further reduces the operating convenience.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Recording arrangement having key word detection means


A system for mechanical operation of an aircraft wing includes a torque tube rotatable at a first rate of rotation to cause a downward rotation of a control surface relative to the aircraft wing. A gearing assembly including an output shaft is coupled to the torque tube. The torque tube is configured to rotate the output shaft, via the gearing assembly, at a second rate of rotation less than the first rate of rotation. A rotational member is coupled to the output shaft, and the output shaft is configured to drive a rotation of the rotational member. A first end of a linear actuator is coupled to the rotational member at a forward attach point, which is eccentric to a rotational center of the rotational member. The rotational member is rotatable to cause a translation of the forward attach point relative to the aircraft wing.

An aircraft wing may include several control surfaces, such as a flap, generally located at the trailing edge of the wing, as well as a spoiler, generally located adjacent to and forward of the flap on the top side of the wing. Because of their proximity to each other and their cooperative operation in some situations, a given flap and spoiler may have overlapping ranges of motion. The systems used to move these two control surfaces in unison can be complex.
What is needed is an improved way to operate the control surfaces on an aircraft wing.


A device that displays, on a touch panel display configured to receive a touch input, an interface for an electronic game, the interface including a plurality of characters each corresponding to one of a plurality of attributes; continuously modifies a display position of each of the plurality of characters on the interface; determines whether positions of a path of a touch input continuously received at the touch panel display are within a predetermined range of positions of each of a first plurality of characters displayed on the interface; associates the first plurality of characters in response to detecting that the positions of the continuously received touch input are within the predetermined ranges; and generates a predetermined effect within the electronic game based on the associated first plurality of characters upon determining that the touch input is released.

The present disclosure relates to a program, a control method, and an information processing device for processing the progress of a game.
In recent years, games have been developed which cause predetermined icons and characters to be in a non-display state in accordance with a player's input operation. A game disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. JP 2016-189805 A includes a first display displaying a puzzle game that is a first game and a second display displaying performance with which a character is associated that is a second game. In the puzzle game that is the first game, when a reservoir is removed, in the second game, performance with which a character corresponding to the removed reservoir is associated is displayed. In addition, JP 2016-189805 A describes that, in a case where a chain of removal of a reservoir is generated in the puzzle game, the game is progressed by performing linked performance in which performance associated with a character that corresponds to a removed reservoir in the chain is sequentially displayed. JP 2016-189805 A describes that the amusement of a game can be improved by employing such a configuration.
In a conventional game, for example, like a game disclosed in JP 2016-189805 A, a reservoir to be removed is displayed to stop on the screen, and accordingly, a player performing an operation for the reservoir is not allowed to have tension and excitement. In addition, there is only one operation to be performed by the player for the reservoir to be removed, and a different action is not generated by a difference in the operation or the like. This provides a monotonous game having an insufficient strategic level, whereby the amusement of the game cannot be improved.

Computer-readable recording medium, method, and electronic device that modify a display position of a plurality of characters on an interface


A data processing apparatus is provided having a hierarchy of layers comprising at least two data processing layers, each data processing layer configured to receive data and to generate processed data for passing to a next lower layer in said hierarchy, according to a protocol specific to that data processing layer. Each data processing layer is configured intermittently to add synchronization information to its processed data, the synchronization information providing semantic information required to interpret the processed data. Each data processing layer is further configured to output its synchronization information in response to a synchronization request signal received from a lower layer in said hierarchy, and at least one data processing layer is configured, when outputting its synchronization information, to issue its synchronization request signal to a higher layer in the hierarchy.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus comprising a hierarchy of layers, each layer configured to generate data according to a protocol specific to that layer for passing to a next layer. More particularly, this invention relates to the use of synchronization information between such layers.
Description of the Prior Art
In a data processing apparatus, it is known for there to be multiple layers arranged in a hierarchy, wherein at least some of those layers are configured to process data and to generate, according to a protocol associated with that layer, processed data for passing to a next layer in the hierarchy. For example, trace monitoring is the technique of collecting real time data from a data processing apparatus indicative of the activities of the data processing apparatus and generating a trace stream indicative of that activity for passing to a trace analysis apparatus. An example of this type of trace monitoring is the Embedded Trace Macrocell (ETM) architecture provided by ARM Limited. This architecture provides an ETM unit embedded on-chip to monitor the activity of a processor core. Here, the processor core and ETM unit can be considered to be a hierarchy of two layers, in which the processor core processes data and passes some processed data to the ETM unit, the format of that processed data being according to a particular protocol that will be recognized by the ETM unit, and secondly the ETM unit can be considered to be a data processing layer configured to receive the data from the processor core and to generate the trace stream according to a protocol that will be recognized by the trace analysis apparatus.
In an arrangement such as an ETM unit connected to a processor core, it is known, in order for the bandwidth of data generated by the ETM unit (its processed data) to be used as efficiently as possible, that the meaning of particular data generated by the ETM unit will vary, depending on the context. Hence, the ETM unit is configured to generate additional synchronization information which provides semantic information allowing the processed data, i.e. the trace stream, to be correctly interpreted.
Typically, in the example of a processor core and an ETM unit, the trace stream generated by the ETM unit is written to a buffer of finite size. More particularly, such a buffer is normally arranged in a circular fashion, such that the oldest data contained therein is overwritten by the newest arriving data. This has the consequence that additional synchronization information will only be temporarily available, before being overwritten in the circular buffer. Hence, depending on the size of the circular buffer, such synchronization information must be output sufficiently often to be available in the buffer before being overwritten.
Also, it is known for the transport mechanisms for such processed data to be lossy, i.e. not all the processed data that was originally sent is received at its intended destination. For example bit errors could occur, rendering some processed data unusable, or some data could overflow in an internal buffer that forms part of the transport mechanism. In such situations some important information, such as synchronization information, could be lost, requiring synchronization information to be re-issued so that correct interpretation of the processed data can be carried out.
It is also known for such operating systems as Linux to offer instrumentation tools such as LTTng and ftrace, which dump trace information indicative of processing activities to a file. Synchronization is however typically not a critical issue for such tools, as the file size is not particularly strictly limited.
In data processing apparatuses such as a processor core connected to an ETM unit, it is known therefore that the ETM unit must output its synchronization information sufficiently frequently for a limited size trace buffer to contain enough information to allow the trace information temporarily buffered therein to be interpreted. However, the use of synchronization information becomes more complex when more than one data processing layer in a hierarchy of layers generates its processed data in a fashion which requires intermittent synchronization information for its interpretation. For example, considering a processor core and a tracing unit, the communication path between the processor core and the tracing unit may be arranged as a number of distinct channels, a particular channel being allocated to a particular process executing on the processor core, such that (whilst it is allocated to that process) information received over that channel may be interpreted as having come from the associated process. The mapping of channels to processes is context dependent, i.e. will depend on what processing activities the processor core is currently performing. Hence it is necessary for the processor core to provide this information if it is to be correctly interpreted. In addition there remains the same above-discussed need for the tracing unit to output its own synchronization information.
There a various ways in which such synchronization information from the processor core could be provided. Firstly, the synchronization information could be generated when a new process is started. However, depending on the buffer size into which the trace stream will be written, this is likely to be too infrequent, for the process could continue executing beyond the time when its original synchronization information has been overwritten in the buffer. Secondly, synchronization information could be output every time a particular channel is used. However, this has the clear drawback that it could easily result in an enormous amount of synchronization data being output stealing valuable bandwidth from the processed data that is being monitored. Thirdly, the synchronization information could be output on the nth time a channel is used. The drawback of this approach is defining n, since a suitable value will depend on the buffer size and frequency with which the channel is used.
Commonly owned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/385,319, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a technique for inserting synchronization information in a trace system, wherein the addition of synchronization information to trace data is dependent on some downstream data processing behaviour, for example on how full a downstream trace buffer is.
The article "Traces Synchronization in Distributed Networks" by Eric Clement and Michel Dagenais, Journal of Computer Systems, Networks, and Communications, Vol. 2009 (2009), Article ID 190579, (available at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jcsnc/2009/190579.html) provides some background discussion to these issues.
However, when multiple data processing layers that can add synchronization information exist in a data processing apparatus, it would be desirable to provide an improved technique for providing the synchronization information associated with the processed data passed between those layers.

Synchronization in data processing layers


A waterproof cabinet includes a cabinet body, a cooling device and a waterproof device. The cabinet body includes a gate, the cooling device is slidably received in the cabinet body via the gate. The waterproof cabinet can be switched between a storage state, where the cooling device is accommodated in the cabinet body, and a working state, where the cooling device is located out of the cabinet body and the connection portions of the cooling device and the cabinet body are sealed by the waterproof device. A container data center is further disclosed.

With the development of electronic information industry, data centers, especially container data centers are widely applied. The container data center is a mini data center solution that features low cost, high integration degree, high energy efficiency, high flexibility, and fast deployment, and is gradually used by major operators. Different vendors propose different deployment or maintenance solutions to address the problem of deploying a container data center with the requirements of high density and small maintenance space.
As a part of the refrigerating system of a container data center, arrangement of an external unit of an air conditioner becomes important. The external unit of an air conditioner is generally mounted outside of a container by ledges.

Waterproof cabinet and container data center using the same

HONGFUJIN PRECISION ELECTRONICS (TIANJIN) CO., LTD.


An array of control devices having a plurality of control devices (1-3, 20-23) which are interconnected via a first data bus (4), in a means of transportation, control devices (1-3; 20-23) which are of redundant configuration with respect to a control function being provided, and in each case a data bus isolating switch (5) being assigned to the control devices (1-3; 20-23) which are of redundant configuration, the data bus isolating switch(s) connecting or disconnecting the data bus (4) as a function of an evaluation signal. In order to optimize the redundant array, each of these data bus isolating switches (5) is connected to a signal line of at least one further redundant control device (1-3; 20-23), a further redundant control device (2, 3; 21; 23) transmits an evaluation signal to the data bus isolating switch (5) which is assigned to a first redundant control device (1; 20; 22).

The invention relates to an array of control devices having a plurality of control devices which are interconnected via a first data bus, and a data bus isolating switch.
Safety-related systems in drive-by-wire vehicles—drive-by-wire meaning that each drive train function of a vehicle, including the steering, is controlled exclusively by means of electrical signals—have to be particularly protected against failure. Examples of drive-by-wire systems in vehicles are steer-by-wire systems in which there is no permanent mechanical or hydraulic connection between the steering wheel and the steerable vehicle wheels, or ESP (Electronic Stability Program) systems in which the driving behavior of the vehicle is adapted in the limiting range of vehicle movement dynamics. In order to increase the failsafeness of such drive-by-wire systems, these systems are of redundant configuration so that when, for example, one control device fails, it is possible to switch over to a control device which is of redundant configuration.
A system which is of redundant configuration is a system in which a component, for example a microprocessor, is provided multiply and the same function is carried out on these components which are provided multiply. This means in particular that the same input data is processed by the components and the same output data is produced it being possible to assign the output data to the components for evaluation purposes.
Known redundant arrays are the TRM (Triple Modular Redundancy) system and the duo-duplex system.
In the TRM system, also referred to as the two out of three system, three redundant components are coupled in such a way that a faulty component can be detected and it is prevented from having any effect on the surroundings.
In the case of the duo-duplex system, also referred to as the dual self-checking pair system, in each case two redundant components are combined to form one channel, it being possible to detect the faulty behavior of a component within a channel. If the faulty behavior of a component is detected, the corresponding channel is switched off.
European Patent document EP 0 760 973 B1 discloses a processing system in an aircraft wire remote-steering control system, in which each of a plurality of redundant, asynchronous primary flight computers generates command signals, at least one control surface of the aircraft being controlled by a plurality of actuator drives. The processing system controls the flight command signals which are transmitted to the actuator drives, and contains a plurality of selectors, each selector being connected to a primary flight computer and one or more actuator drives in order to receive the flight command signals from all the primary flight computers, and voting means for acting in accordance with a predetermined selection algorithm in order to transmit a selected flight signal.
German Patent document DE 196 31 309 A1 discloses a microprocessor array for a vehicle regulating system which has a plurality of microprocessor systems which are of redundant configuration and are connected to one another by means of bus systems. The data processing in the microprocessors is used for regulating systems such as antilock brake control and/or traction control as well as for conditioning input signals. The output results an/or intermediate results of the data processing which, are symmetrically redundant, are compared. When they differ, the respective system is switched off. In addition, the data processing operations which run in these microprocessor systems are each compared with the results of a simplified data processing operation and checked for plausibility. In the case of discrepancies, the regulating system can be maintained temporarily for functionally important data which is not "safety-critical".
Redundant system functions of transportation are generally implemented by a plurality of microprocessors accommodated on a printed circuit board. This implementation of redundant systems has the advantage of short and high-speed switching paths between the microprocessors. The disadvantage is that this implementation is the very high development costs and long development times. This is disadvantageous in particular in the field of automobiles because ever shorter development times are now being required for the generation of new models.
For this reason, systems which are of redundant configuration in the field of automobiles are composed of components which are already available on the market and only have to be adapted to a minimum degree in order to be part of a redundant system. In particular, control devices which are already available on the market are suitable as components.
The object of the present invention is to optimize a redundant array of control devices in such a way that control devices only have to be adapted to a minimum degree as part of a redundant system.
This object is achieved according to the invention by having each data bus isolating switch connected to a signal line of at least one further redundant control device. A further redundant control device transmits an evaluation signal to the data bus isolating switch which is assigned to a first redundant control device. The evaluation signal is a result of functional checking of the further redundant control device with respect to the first redundant control device. The data bus isolating switch of the first redundant control device disconnects the data bus as a function of the result of a logic circuit. At least one input signal of the logic circuit is formed by the at least one evaluation signal.
The array of control devices according to the invention has the advantage that control devices of any desired manufacturers can be used to make up a redundant array.
It is further advantage that the switching off of the control devices and the isolation from the data bus is independent of the voting process which is used in the redundant control. The voting process in the redundant control device for evaluating the further redundant control devices is independent of the selected hardware or software and can be changed individually. Only the final evaluation signal, which has to be transmitted to the data bus isolating switch of the respective evaluated redundant control device, is important.
The data bus isolating switch can be developed independently of the control device since the switch does not require any functional elements of the control device nor does the control device require any functional elements of the data bus isolating switch.
The simple design of the array of control devices and the data bus isolating switch is advantageous, ensuring high-speed and cost-effective manufacture.
Since all the output assignments of the data bus isolating switch can easily be completely tested by means of all the input assignments, the data bus switch can be manufactured with a high degree of reliability.
Since the array of control devices is based on a smallest units of two control devices which are redundant with respect to a control function, the array of control devices can be expanded with further control devices which are redundant with respect to this control function. As a result, it is possible to easily map TRM and duo-duplex arrays.
The array of control devices, which has a first and second data bus, has the advantage that when a data bus is disconnected, the disconnection can be bridged by means of a gateway circuit. This can be a rapid remedy, for example, in the event of a short-circuit of the data bus or a disconnection of the data bus cable.
A further advantage of the array of control devices with the additional data bus is that the first data bus, by which the communication is carried out with the further control devices of the means of transportation, is not loaded with additional data traffic.
There are then various possible ways of advantageously configuring and developing the teaching of the present invention.


A powdered metal electromagnetic is provided that has much less variance between units, increased frictional drag, reduced wear of itself and the brake drum disk during use and an increased resistance to moisture due to the use of a donor material that increases performance and reliability. In addition it can withstand much higher surface speeds while producing higher frictional drag.

This invention relates to an electrically actuated vehicle brake that utilizes electromagnets (EMs) to actuate vehicle brake shoes and more particularly to an improved electromagnet construction for such a brake. Such systems must be reliable and have a long life with a response that has low variability of any kind. The EM is attached to one end of a lever that is attached to a backing plate. There is a light spring force between the lever and the EM, thus putting the EM in contact with the face of the brake drum. The EM, when energized, forcibly drags against the face of a rotating brake drum and effects pivotal movement of the lever to actuate the brake shoes. The EM is mounted for limited movement relative to the lever so as to ride flat on the face of the brake drum disk during braking. When an electric current is passed through the coil, the side of the EM housing that faces the face of the brake drum disk is drawn against the rotating brake drum. The lever to which the EM is attached in turn expands the brake shoes into frictional engagement with the brake drum.
The amount of resultant braking is a function of the amount of electrical current supplied to the EM and the coefficient of friction between the EM and the brake drum disk. As the current increases, the magnetic force of the EM against the brake drum disk creates an increasing frictional drag. The brake shoe actuating arm moves arcuately (within its movement limits) against the arm springs. When the electrical current is decreased, the braking force is lessened. The brake shoe retraction springs operate to retract the brake shoes from engagement with the brake drum and also to return the brake shoe actuating arm to the brake release position. Since electric brakes rely on an electromagnet to convert the electrical energy supplied by a controller to mechanical energy, safety and reliability of the vehicle brakes depend on the low variability and the high repeatability, effectiveness, and reliability of the electromagnet.
EMs for actuating vehicle brakes have included cast, stamped, and sintered powder metal (PM) EM housings. In general, the EM housings have been cup-shaped and have provided an annular opening to receive a coil winding. Typically, after the coil is positioned within the annular opening, the housing opening is closed with a molding material and it is this visage that develops attractive and frictional drag.
Most of the currently available magnets in the industry use an epoxy-like material or an injection molding compound to encapsulate the magnet coil in the iron core of the EM and are filled flush to the active frictional face. This material comes in contact with the surface of the brake drum disk. As the material heats, it tends to change its form and can deposit residue on the brake drum. This residue, which is sometimes slippery, cohesive and/or adhesive, tends to cause the brakes to slip, then grab, then slip, and then grab. Some of the material used can also create very low friction and wear (such as in the case of nylon-like material) and can prevent the EM from readily wearing if it stands proud (i.e. prevents the metal from touching). Due to the oftentimes high thermal expansion coefficient and/or high tendency to expand with moisture, this can be a problem as desired frictional drag is uncertain and often greatly reduced. The delayed functional contact of the EM core with the opposing moving metal surface is highly undesirable and dangerous. In both cases the plastic material that is used does not keep the metal-to-metal surfaces from galling and/or does not exhibit the desired frictional drag characteristics.
Another approach that has been employed is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,668,445 to Grove. Grove uses a frictional insert that is supposed to have a lower wear rate than the PM and is supposed to supply the frictional drag of the unit by way of it standing proud. Grove's explanation is that the primary frictional drag comes not from the metal-to-metal interface but from the insert and the brake drum disk. However, Grove's insert material can carry little force due to its low modulus of elasticity. Thus, approximately 99% of the frictional drag comes from the metal-to-metal contact.
Grove U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,909 discloses grooves for the purpose or removing surface dust. With the attractive force of the EM in the 200-lb. range and considering the surface speeds, as well as the area of the brake drum disk as compared to the area of the EM, this is not viewed as a primary problem.
Pressed sintered PM housings have been widely used for electromagnets due to the low cost of manufacturing relative to other methods. Another prime advantage is that very low-carbon high-purity annealed iron can be used that has highly desirable magnetic properties such as having high magnetic saturation capabilities. The disadvantage of the current powdered metal EMs is that they degrade from moisture infiltration. Environmental moisture infiltration can readily occur in powdered metal electromagnets even as they are stored. Moisture infiltration of the powdered metal causes internal corrosion of the powdered metal causing it to have a lower level of magnetic saturation. This reduced magnetic saturation level reduces the drag force that the electromagnet can apply to a drum brake. Degradation of the powdered metal electromagnets due to moisture infiltration has been observed to cause high variability by reducing the drag force of commercially available EMs. As the powder metal corrodes, maximum magnetic saturation level is reduced. The impact can be as high as 65% reduction in the effectiveness of an EM prior to or after being installed in an electric brake. Use of copper infusion, and other like approaches, decreases the allowed magnetic saturation an impractical amount. Use of nonporous coatings cannot exist on the wearing metal-to-metal contact that is required at the EM to drum disk interface. Therefore, moisture can still enter the EM on that surface. Commercially available powdered metal electromagnets that have not yet degraded on the storage shelf can readily degrade in the field upon exposure to moisture. Typically, such EMs in use have had high variability from unit to unit in operating the brake mechanism.
The current commercially available EMs suffer from premature local magnetic saturation effects within their magnetic circuits that limit the magnetic field that can be produced. This effect is due to variable magnetic cross section in the core structures. The result is that they use more excitation current, larger copper, and more turns to get the magnetic force that is required. The cost of producing such units and the total current for operating a braking system is great. The required power to operate a system using these devices is very high. The wiring installed system excitation wiring resistance for such a system has to be lower due to the higher required operating currents, thus increasing the cost of installation by requiring heavier copper wiring. If smaller copper is used, then the sensitivity of various parts the installation becomes a greater concern in maintaining equal braking responses for the various wheels because of the variations in the excitation circuit for the various axles.
Some units that are marketed will burn out due to high energy dissipation when on the work bench. When in contact with the brake drum disk, the unit experiences a large protective heat sink; however, when in the process of braking a vehicle, the frictional drag of the EM can produce heat on the order of a thousand watts. Thus the magnetic core heat sink of the coil is at a high temperature that can be on the order of 375 degrees Fahrenheit. The coils and potting of commercial units do not prevent this problem.


A touch panel-use transparent conductive laminate film little in coloring of transmitted beam and high in transmittance. The transparent conductive laminate film (100) comprises an intermediate layer (B) laminated on a transparent substrate(A) and having an optical film thickness of 100-175 nm, and a conductive layer (C) having an optical film thickness of 10-60 nm, the refractive index of the intermediate layer being between that of the substrate and that of the conductive layer at 1.7-1.85.

A touch panel is known as a device provided on a display surface of various display apparatuses, such as a liquid crystal display and a cathode ray tube (CRT), and enables input of information by touching the screen. Typical forms of touch panels include a resistive touch panel having two electrode substrates which are arranged so that the conductive layer provided on each substrate is faced with each other.
Conventional electrode substrates for resistive touch panels include a substrate made of a glass plate, a resin plate or a thermoplastic polymer film, and a conductive layer formed on the substrate. The conductive layer contains a conductive metal oxide such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and zinc oxide.
In conventional electrode substrates, transmittance of visible light having a relatively short wavelength is decreased due to reflection and absorption on the conductive layer. The total transmittance is therefore decreased and the light transmitted through the touch panel becomes yellow or brown, making it difficult to show accurate color of the display device on the touch panel.
In order to solve the problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 6-218864 as the first prior art proposes a laminate in which a high refractive index layer having a refractive index higher than that of both the conductive layer and the substrate is formed between the conductive layer and the substrate, and a laminate in which a low refractive index layer having a refractive index lower than that of both the conductive layer and the substrate is formed between the conductive layer and the substrate. According to the first prior art laminates, the reflectance at a wavelength around 550 nm is decreased as shown in FIG. 5, while the transmittance at a wavelength around 550 nm is improved as shown in FIG. 6. Consequently, the total transmittance is improved. However, the problem of coloring of transmitted light to yellow or brown has not been solved.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-286066 as the second prior art proposes a conductive film in which a multilayer optical film is laminated between the conductive layer and the substrate.
The second prior art conductive film, however, has complicated structure and is high in production cost because it has a number of optical films.

Transparent conductive laminate film, touch panel having this transparent conductive laminate film, and production method for this transparent conductive laminate film


While scalability in database processing may be achieved gradually and at low cost, to achieve high scalability of several thousand times. This database accelerator holds on an accelerator system copies of location tables, which correspond to primary-key indices, and alternate-key location tables, which correspond to alternate-key indices, for a primary system that performs data updates. When a location table or alternate-key location table on the primary system is modified, updates are synchronized to the location table and alternate-key location tables on the accelerator system. The data itself is held only on the primary system. Major improvements in processing capabilities are achieved over serial processing by distributing processing requests among accelerator systems.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to data storage and retrieval methods and systems in the field of computers and has the particular objective of achieving high scalability (the expansion of processing capability) in data storage and retrieval. Scalability is the expansion of processing capability. The invention pertains to the improvement of database system performance in providing to a given database system with a certain level of performance processing capability of from several times to several thousand times greater performance.
2. Description of Related Art
As described in Jeffrey D. Ullman, Deetabeesu Shisutemu no Genri [Principles of Database Systems] (trans. Kunii et al, Nihon Konpyuutaa Kyokai, 25 May 1985, pp. 45-71), Samuel Leffler et al, UNIX 4.3 BSD no Sekkei to Jissou [The Design and Implementation of UNIX 4.3 BSD] (trans. Akira Nakamura et al, Maruzen K. K., 30 Jun. 1991, pp. 193-191) and Michael J. Folk et al, "Fairu Kouzou" [File Structures], bit (trans. Hiroyuki Kusumoto, Kyouritsu Shuppan K. K., 5 Jun. 1997, pp. 169-191), conventional database storage and retrieval with computers has basically employed hierarchical indices.
The inventor has invented a Data Storage and Retrieval System (Japanese Patent 3345628, U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,375 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,584,555) that achieves high performance and ease of maintenance with the introduction of the concepts of location tables and alternate-key tables instead of conventional hierarchical indices, simplification of the complex processing entailed in processing indices and the employment of binary search techniques to search the tables themselves.
In the invention of a Database Reorganization System and Database (PCT/JP03/11592) (below referred to as the Database Reorganization System), the inventor has further proposed a framework for performing reorganization of the databases of the Data Storage and Retrieval System while such a database is in operation. The inventor shows that the addition of alternate-key location tables to alternate-key tables enables efficient reorganization.
A brief description follows of the Data Storage and Retrieval System proposed by the inventor. The data storage and retrieval systems of the invention use location tables and alternate-key tables and perform binary searches on these to retrieve target records.
Data records are stored in primary blocks in the order of their primary keys. When a primary block is full and a data record is added to that primary block, an overflow block is linked to that primary block and the data record stored therein. A further overflow block may be linked to an overflow block.
Location table records (or location table entries) that contain the addresses of the primary blocks are held in a location table that occupies a contiguous region.
A location table is secured beforehand in a contiguous region. This contiguous region is one of logical order and may span separated physical regions. If so, an address conversion table may be used to treat them as logically contiguous. This applies likewise below.
A final pointer is used to indicate the end of the region used by a location table. Records are stored in storage regions of fixed length termed "blocks". Blocks are comprised of primary blocks and overflow blocks. When a record cannot be added to the final primary block, a primary block is added subsequent to it and the record stored therein.
Links do not refer to physical linkage; this terminology is used (here and below) because the state in which a primary block maintains the address of a first overflow block and the first overflow block maintains the address of a second overflow block allows the blocks to be treated as though physically connected.
Being stored in this fashion, location table entries are in the order of their primary keys. Retrieval by primary key consists of finding a block by performing a binary search between the first address in the location table and the location table entry pointed to by the final pointer and finding the target record within that block. Any overflow blocks linked to that block are also subjected to the search.
While this description addresses retrieval, record updating, addition and deletion may also be implemented with like logic.
Alternate-key records (or alternate-key entries), each made up of an alternate-key value and a primary-key value, are stored in alternate-key blocks in the order of their alternate-key values.
When an alternate-key block is full and an alternate-key entry is added to that alternate-key block, an alternate-key overflow block is linked to the alternate-key block and the alternate-key entry stored therein. A further alternate-key overflow block may be linked to an alternate-key overflow block. Alternate-key location table records (or alternate-key location table entries) that contain the addresses of the alternate-key blocks are held in alternate-key location tables that occupy contiguous regions.
Alternate-key location tables are secured beforehand in contiguous regions.
An alternate-key final pointer is used to indicate the end of the region used by an alternate-key location table.
In the addition of an alternate-key entry, an alternate-key entry having an alternate-key value greater than the alternate-key values of existing alternate-key entries is stored in the last alternate-key block, and if it cannot be stored in that alternate-key block, a new alternate-key block is created and the record stored in that alternate-key block.
A set of alternate-key location tables and alternate-key blocks is termed an alternate-key table.
Alternate keys are non-unique keys in a database, examples of which in an employee database might include name and date of birth. Some databases need not use alternate keys, and others may use multiple alternate keys.
A method retrieving a record having a given alternate key is to perform a binary search between the first entry in the alternate-key location table and the alternate-key location table entry pointed to by the alternate-key final pointer, find the target alternate-key block, search within that alternate-key block and find the alternate-key entry having the target alternate key. Any alternate-key overflow blocks linked to that alternate-key block are also subjected to the search.
Next, a binary search is performed on the location table with the primary key of that alternate-key entry to find the target block and find the target record within that block. Any overflow blocks linked to that block are also subjected to the search.
Since alternate keys are non-unique keys, multiple records that have the same alternate-key value may exist. If so and the next alternate-key record in the alternate-key block has the same alternate-key value, the above operations are repeated.
While this description addresses retrieval, record updating, addition and deletion may also be implemented with like logic.
Where multiple alternate keys exist, alternate-key tables are created and used in the same quantity as that of the alternate keys.
In the Data Storage and Retrieval System thus characterized, it is possible to maximize hardware performance and achieve considerable high performance, but it cannot achieve any greater processing performance; in other words, it lacks scalability. This is also essentially true of other, conventional methods. However, since conventional methods are premised on the use of hard disks, although it is possible to achieve acceleration to speeds greater than those achieved with hard disks by employing high-speed memory devices such as semiconductors, the performance limit of those high-speed memory devices then constitutes the upper limit on their performance and so they do not essentially achieve scalability.
One technique in the prior art for the improvement of scalability is the load balancer. This consists of deploying multiple servers that appear to be a single server. At high levels of external processing requests, processing requests first go to the load balancer and scalability is achieved with the allocation by the load balancer of processing requests among the multiple servers thus alleviating the processing load per server. However, this approach suffers from a fatal shortcoming. This is that since multiple servers are capable of processing only the logic of the processing and since a database is a singularity and each server accesses the same database, database performance has been restricted by processing performance. In other words, ever if servers are added for increases in processing requests, database performance reaches an upper limit.
One method of achieving scalability in the Data Storage and Retrieval System is conceived in the achievement of a certain degree of scalability through, in the Data Backup and Recovery System (PCT/JP01/03126) of the inventor, the provision a secondary system that is a backup and copy of the primary system actually used for updating and referencing data and use of the secondary system for referencing data, in addition to its original purpose as a backup and recovery system.
Since the volume of update transactions is generally around one-tenth that of the volume of referencing transactions, this method makes it possible to alleviate the load on the primary system by using the secondary system for referencing. However, since the secondary system may not be used for updating, the scalability that may thus be achieved is limited.
Further, since a secondary system must be of the same configuration as the primary system and the location table, data-storage files (aggregations of blocks) and (zero, one or multiple) alternate-key tables deployed on it as a set, it has been a large financial burden to deploy multiple secondary systems for the purpose of achieving scalability in addition to the purpose of backup.
Another conventional method not entailing the Data Storage and Retrieval System that is in general use to improve performance is mirroring of servers that hold data, but since a mirror database must be of the same size as the original database, this has required large storage volumes and also entailed great restrictions on updating since a mirror database may basically be used only for referencing the data. It is restricted by the inability to reflect on a mirror server the updating occasioned by the modification of data on the main server without a certain temporal delay. This entails the danger that when data is updated on a mirror server, the outcome of updating may be rendered invalid due to the time lag with updating on the main server, and this method is one that cannot be adopted for regular data processing. Thus, performance improvement using mirror servers may not be employed in regular real-time data processing.
Thus, circumstances are such that the achievement scalability for databases is a significant problem, but an adequate solution does not exist. These circumstances arise from, in addition to the need to duplicate the data itself, the complexity of index structures in conventional methods that makes duplication troublesome when indices are updated.
There has been significant demand in the field of information processing for databases capable of achieving scalability in line with increases in processing volume. The present invention meets such demand.


A metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structure and method of manufacturing thereof. A plurality of MIM capacitor patterns is formed in two or more insulating layers. The insulating layers may comprise a via layer and a metallization layer of a semiconductor device. A top portion of the top insulating layer is recessed in a region between at least two adjacent MIM capacitor patterns. When the top plate material of the MIM capacitors is deposited, the top plate material fills the recessed area of the top insulating layer between the adjacent MIM capacitor pattern, forming a connecting region that couples together the top plates of the adjacent MIM capacitors. A portion of the MIM capacitor bottom electrode may be formed in a first metallization layer of the semiconductor device.

Capacitors are elements that are used extensively in semiconductor devices for storing an electrical charge. Capacitors essentially comprise two conductive plates separated by an insulator. The capacitance, or amount of charge held by the capacitor per applied voltage, depends on a number of parameters such as the area of the plates, the distance between the plates, and the dielectric constant value for the insulator between the plates, as examples. Capacitors are used in filters, analog-to-digital converters, memory devices, control applications, and many other types of semiconductor devices.
One type of capacitor is a MIM capacitor, which is frequently used in mixed signal devices and logic devices, as examples. MIM capacitors are used to store a charge in a variety of semiconductor devices. MIM capacitors are often used as a storage node in a memory device, for example. A MIM capacitor is typically formed horizontally on a semiconductor wafer, with two metal plates sandwiching a dielectric layer parallel to the wafer surface. Often, one of the metal plates is formed in a metallization layer or metal interconnect layer of a semiconductor device.
A prior art semiconductor device 100 is shown in FIG. 1. The semiconductor device 100 includes a substrate 104 having a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) region and a logic region. A plurality of transistors 106 are formed in and over the substrate 104, wherein transistors 106 in the DRAM region comprise access transistors of the DRAM devices. A plurality of MIM capacitors 102 are formed in a second insulating layer 116 which comprises a single interconnect layer of the device 100, as shown. The MIM capacitors 102 comprise a bottom plate electrode 118, a dielectric layer 120 and a top plate electrode 122. The MIM capacitors 102 make electrical contact to underlying bitlines 108 by contacts 112 that are formed in a first insulating layer 110. A stop layer 114 may be disposed between the first insulating layer 110 and the second insulating layer 116. In the logic region, contacts 126 are formed to provide electrical contact to component regions and gates of transistors, as examples.
It is challenging to merge the manufacturing of capacitors 102 in DRAM regions with logic circuits in the logic region. For example, the topography created by the MIM capacitor 102 requires the use of a thick insulating layer 124 to successfully cover the MIM capacitor topography. The thick insulating layer 124 creates a higher aspect ratio for the electrical contacts 126 in the logic region. The aspect ratio of the contacts may be 10:1 to 25:1, as examples. These high aspect ratio contacts 126 are problematic because the contact pattern is difficult to etch through the thicknesses of the dielectric layers 124, 116, 114 and 110, and also because it is difficult to fill the narrow, deep contact patterns with a conductive material.
Another problem with the prior art MIM capacitor 102 structure shown in FIG. 1 is that there is often an insufficient overlap margin d1 between the top plate electrode and the bitline contact 128. The margin d1 may comprise 0.2 to 0.3 μm, as an example. This can lead to shorts, resulting in device failures.

MIM capacitor structure and method of manufacture

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A tent cloth canvas coated on the surface thereof with a photocatalyst, wherein (1) the adhesiveness between a photocatalyst and the tent cloth canvas is kept satisfactorily for an extended time, (2) an anti-fouling capability is kept for a long time, and (3) the photocatalyst carried on the tent cloth canvas does not promote a lowering with time of a tear strength. A tent cloth canvas coated on the surface thereof with a photocatalyst is used, wherein more than 50% in amount of a plasticizer contained in the canvas remains in comparison with that at an initial stage 1500 hours after the canvas is subjected to a sunshine carbon arc type accelerated weathering test as specified in JIS-K5400, or after 3-year outdoor exposure; and a tent clothe canvas having the above properties and structures further contains a plasticizer having a molecular weight of at least 400, and/or a plasticizer migration restricting layer is provided in the middle of the tent cloth and photocatalyst coating layer.

Titanium oxide of n-type semiconductor is known as a photocatalyst to promote various chemical reactions, such as pasteurization and decomposition of organic substances, with UV light energy. A variety of methods for carrying a photocatalyst on such a material as glass, metal, plastic or tile have been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 62-66861, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 5-309267, EP 633064 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,101). Methods have been proposed for carrying a photocatalyst on a tent cloth canvas, particularly on a canvas of tent cloth kind B or C in general use, with good adhesiveness without lowering the catalyst activity and maintaining the anti-fouling, antimicrobial and fungus resistant capabilities over a long time by utilizing the photocatalyst actions effectively (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 10-237769).

Photocatalyst-carrying tent cloth canvas and production method therefor


A reduction in a permeability of refrigerant gas is suppressed while increasing a filling factor of regenerator material particles with respect to a stage of a cold head. A cold head includes a stage including regenerator material particle groups, and a metal mesh material partitioning the regenerator material particle groups. The metal mesh material has quadrangular mesh holes each having a length of a long side of 1/10 or more and ½ or less of each of average particle sizes of the regenerator material particle groups.

In recent years, a superconducting technology has been remarkably developed, and various types of examination apparatus such as a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) apparatus and a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) apparatus have been used. In order to use the superconducting technology, a cryogenic temperature of 10 K or less, and further, 4 K or less is required to be realized. In order to realize such a cryogenic temperature, a refrigerator called as a cold head is used.
There are various types of cold head such as one of Gifford-McMahon type (GM type), one of Stirling type, and one of pulse type. In any one of the types of cold head, to achieve the cryogenic temperature, a regenerator material is filled in a regenerator container called as a stage.
Depending on a design of the cold head, the stage is sometimes formed of one stage, and is sometimes divided into a plurality of stages such as two stages. Helium gas is passed through the stage, and a specific heat per volume of the regenerator material is utilized to obtain the cryogenic temperature.
One example of a cold head for obtaining the cryogenic temperature of 4K or less has a three-layer structure including a lead regenerator material, a HoCu2 regenerator material, and a GOS regenerator material (gadolinium oxysulfide regenerator material) filled in a second stage (second-stage regenerator container).
The above-described cold head can obtain the cryogenic temperature by causing an adiabatic expansion of refrigerant gas such as helium gas. As described above, in the cold head for obtaining the cryogenic temperature, a plurality of types of regenerator materials are filled in layers in the stage.
When the plurality of types of regenerator materials are used, since a specific heat peak temperature of each of the materials is different, it is not possible to mix and use the regenerator materials. Accordingly, when the plurality of types of regenerator materials are used, the material layers are partitioned by a metal mesh material.
As the regenerator material, for example, a regenerator material particle group with aligned particle size in which a proportion of particle having a particle size of not less than 0.01 mm nor more than 3 mm is 90% or more, and a proportion of particle having an aspect ratio of 5 or less is 90% or more, is used.
When the metal mesh material is used to partition the plurality of types of regenerator material particle groups, a problem in which mesh holes of the metal mesh material are clogged with the regenerator material particles, has arisen. If the mesh holes are clogged with the regenerator material particles, a permeability of refrigerant gas is lowered.
In the regenerator operation using the regenerator material particles, the adiabatic expansion due to a specific heat per volume of the regenerator material particles is utilized, so that it is preferable to fill as many regenerator material particles as possible in the stage. For this reason, the regenerator material particle groups are filled so as to be closely contacted to the metal mesh material. In addition to that, the permeability of the refrigerant gas has to be secured.

Cold head, superconducting magnet, examination apparatus, and cryopump