A solid-state electricity meter uses a sensor to measure a current supplied to a load. In one aspect, the electricity meter housing includes a meter base, a register cover, and a meter cover. The meter base includes a plurality of meter cover lock notches disposed about a periphery of the meter base. The register cover includes a plurality of secure ramps disposed on a base portion thereof, each secure ramp having a ramped portion along one side and a land portion. The meter cover includes a plurality of locking tabs corresponding to the meter cover lock notches and further includes a plurality of meter cover locks corresponding to the secure ramps. Upon insertion of the meter cover locking tabs into the meter base lock notches and rotation of the meter cover in a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the meter cover locks engage the corresponding secure ramps, thereby biasing the meter cover locking tabs against the backside of the meter base to provide a secure connection.

The present invention relates to electricity meters, and more particularly to solid-state electricity meters.
Electric energy supplied to consumers is commonly measured using conventional electromechanical meters in accordance to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Form 2S single-phase meter. These standards cover many aspects of meter design, construction, and testing. For example, the dimensions of the base and location of the meter blades must comply with the set standards.
Electromechanical meters are commonly used. However, these meters are mechanically complex and the manufacturing process thereof is similarly complex. Further, the design of such electromechanical meters are substantially immutable and addition of additional capabilities by means of retrofits are exceedingly difficult.
Accordingly, a need exists for reducing the cost of electric meters including manufacturing cost and/or maintenance cost, for example. Such replacement meter must comply with all applicable ANSI standards. Electricity meters are usually installed outside a building to measure electricity consumption in that location. Like any outdoor fixture, electricity meters are exposed to harsh climate such as direct sun, moisture, wind and large variations in temperature. Specially designed construction is needed to protect the meter internal parts from such undesirable environmental elements.
Additionally, meters may need occasional repair or calibration and test services. Any of these activities often require access to the inside of the meter. Therefore, the construction of the meter must allow opening and securely closing of the meter without much effort and time spent by the operator. The construction of the parts that house sensor boards have to be strong enough to withstand vibration and movements caused by opening and closing the meter. Any excessive displacement of sensor boards may affect calibration of the meter and degrade accuracy and reliability of meter readings.
The present invention provides advantages by incorporating a solid-state electricity meter in an assembly that is inexpensive to manufacture, maintain, and modify.
One aspect of the invention includes a utility meter for measuring electric power consumption comprising a meter base having a front surface and a back surface. A plurality of supports project from the front surface and define a plurality of slotted through-holes disposed adjacent the supports. Each of the supports bears a plurality of resilient locking members at predetermined locations thereof and resilient locking members configured to engage a circumferential edge of a circuit board bearing at least one electrical device. A circuit board comprising a sensor for measuring a current supplied to a load. A bus bar comprises an upper bus bar portion and a lower bus bar portion, each of the upper bus bar portion and lower bus bar portion comprising two substantially planar blades configured for insertion at least partially through the slotted through-holes. A plurality of resilient bus bar locks are disposed adjacent respective slotted through-holes, the resilient bus bar locks comprising an engaging portion at least partially overlapping the adjacent slotted through-hole. A solid-state energy metering circuitry configured for generating power consumption signals from the sensor output is also provide. The bus bar is configured to retain the sensor between the upper bus bar portion and lower bus bar portion, and the engaging portion of the resilient bus bar lock is configured to be displaced from an initial position to a second position by the blades upon insertion of the blades into the slotted through-holes and to return to the initial position following complete insertion of the blade into the through-hole to engage a top surface of the blades and thereby impede withdrawal of the blades from the slotted through-hole.
Another aspect of the invention provides a utility meter housing comprising a meter base and meter cover. The meter base, having a front surface and a back surface, includes a plurality of meter cover lock notches disposed about a periphery of the meter base and a plurality of secure ramps disposed on the meter base front surface, each secure ramp having a ramped portion along one side and a land portion. A meter cover comprises a plurality of locking tabs corresponding to the plurality of meter base lock notches and a plurality of meter cover locks corresponding to the plurality of secure ramps. Upon insertion of the meter cover locking tabs into the meter base lock notches and rotation of the meter cover in one of a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the meter cover locks engage the corresponding secure ramps, thereby biasing the meter cover locking tabs against the backside of the meter base to provide a secure connection.
Still another aspect of the invention includes a utility meter housing comprising a meter base, a register cover, and a meter cover. The meter base comprises a front surface and a back surface and has a plurality of meter cover lock notches disposed about a periphery of the meter base. The register cover comprises a plurality of secure ramps disposed on a base portion thereof, each of the secure ramps having a ramped portion along one side and a land portion. The meter cover comprises a plurality of locking tabs corresponding to the plurality of meter cover lock notches and a plurality of meter cover locks corresponding to the plurality of secure ramps. Upon insertion of the meter cover locking tabs into the meter base lock notches and rotation of the meter cover in a predetermined clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the meter cover locks engage the corresponding secure ramps, thereby biasing the meter cover locking tabs against the backside of the meter base to provide a secure connection.
Additional advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description, wherein only the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention. As will be realized, the present invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

Invensys Metering Systems - North America Inc.


The invention provides a method of driving a plurality of plastic fan blades (14) integrally molded with a band (16) about and engaging a metal driving hub (12) at an interface by rotating the fan blades (14) in unison with the hub (12) up to a predetermined rotational speed at which the band (16) flows or expands radially to create a space between the band (16) and the hub (12) whereby the fan blades (14) are allowed to rotate at a slower rotational speed than the hub (12) to prevent the fan blades (14) from bursting in response to centrifugal force. The drive connection may optionally include band projections (24) and/or male projections (26) which shear before or as the separation occurs. A film may be disposed at the interface to prevent the plastic of the fan blades (14) and band (16) from bonding to the metal hub (12).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to controlling the rotational speed of an axial fan with particular application to a cooling fan of the type used in automotive vehicles to move air through a heat exchanger.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A ring fan is typical of cooling fans used in automotive environments. A ring fan includes radially extending blades which are connected at the distal ends by a ring. The ring provides added stability and rigidity to the blades and improves noise performance of the fan. The fan noise is a serious problem in automobiles, especially light trucks and sport utility vehicles.
Despite the advantages of noise reduction and cooling performance of ring fans, they have not enjoyed widespread use because the burst speed of a ring fan is generally lower than the burst speed of conventional axil fans, the burst speed being that speed at which the fan will break apart, i.e., burst, in response to centrifugal forces generated by the rotation. Naturally, automobile manufacturers use fans with very high burst speeds. Because the ring adds mass to the outside diameter of the fan, which increases centrifugal forces proportionally to the radius squared, engine driven ring fans have not met the burst speed requirements of automotive manufacturers.


A fluid control valve includes a resin valve body formed with first and second passages, a resin valve upper part connected to an upper surface of the valve body, and a resin diaphragm valve element held between the valve body and the valve upper part.

As this type of technique, heretofore, there is a fluid control valve 100 disclosed in Patent Document 1 listed below and shown in FIG. 11.
As shown in FIG. 11, the fluid control valve 100 is provided with a valve chamber 113 in which a first passage 121 and a second passage 122 are communicated with each other. Further, those first and second passages 121 and 122 are communicated respectively with tubes not shown for supplying a fluid. A valve seat 115 is formed around a valve hole through which the valve chamber 113 is connected to the first passage 121. Further, a diaphragm valve element 104 is provided to come into or out of contact with the valve seat 115. The first passage 121 includes a port communication passage 121a and a valve-hole communication passage 121b. The first passage 121 and the second passage 122 are connected with each other at a right angle in the fluid control valve 100. A connecting part between the port communication passage 121a and the valve-hole communication passage 121b includes a valve seat wall portion 125 under the valve seat 115.
A fluid flowing in the first passage 121 through the tube passes through the valve chamber 113 and then flows in the second passage 122.


A microsystem for determining clotting time of blood and a low-cost, single-use device for use therein are provided wherein the device has no moving parts or expensive optical sensors or magnets. The device includes a microfluidic channel and a microsensor at least partially in fluid communication with the channel. By analyzing changes in the sensor as a drop of blood flows down the microfluidic channel, the time at which the blood clots can be determined.

1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to Microsystems for determining clotting time of blood and low-cost, single-use devices for use therein.
2. Background Art
The following references are referred to herein:                [1] D. G. Carville et al., "Coagulation Testing Part 2: The Quest to Optimize Near-Patient Analyzers," IVD TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE, September 1998.        [2] Walter Seegers ed., "Blood Clotting Enzymology," ACADEMIC PRESS, New York, N.Y. 1967.        [3] Maxwell M. Wintrobe ed., "Blood, Pure and Eloquent," MCGRAW-HILL BOOK CO., New York, N.Y. 1980.        [4] John F. Dailey, "Blood," MEDICAL CONSULTING GROUP, Arlington, Mass., 1998.        [5] E. C. Albrittion ed., "Standard Values in Blood," W. B. SANDERS CO., Philadelphia, Pa. 1952.        [6] Gottfried Schmer and Paul E. Strandijard, eds., "Coagulation Current Research and Clinical Applications," ACADEMIC PRESS, New York, N.Y. 1973.        [7] G. W. Scott Blair, "An Introduction to Biorheology," ELSEVIER SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING CO., New York, N.Y. 1974.        [8] M. Kaibara, "Rheological Studies on Blood Coagulation and Network Formation of Fibrin," POLYMER, GEL, AND NETWORKS, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1994, pp. 1-28.        [9] E. Hrncir et al., "Surface Tension of Blood," PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Vol. 46, No. 4, August 1997, pp. 319-321.        [10] A. Bard et al., "Electrochemical Methods," JOHN WILEY AND SONS, New York, N.Y. 1980.        [11] V. F. Rusyaev, "Conductive Method of Studying Blood Coagulation," BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Vol. 21, No. 3, May-June 1987, pp. 114-118.        [12] L. E. Blake, "Principles of the Impedance Technique," IEEE ENG. IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY MAGAZINE, Vol. 8, No. 1, March 1989, pp. 11-15.        [13] R. H. Olsson III et al., "Silicon Neural Recording Arrays with On-Chip Electronics for In-Vivo Data Acquisition," IEEE-EMBS SPECIAL TOPIC CONFERENCE ON MICROTECHNOLOGIES IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY, pp. 237-240, May 2002.        [14] H. Lorenz et al., "High-Aspect Ratio, Ultrathick, Negative-Tone Near-UV Photoresist and its Applications for MEMS," SENSORS AND ACTUATORS A: PHYSICAL, Vol. 64, No. 1, January 1998, pp. 33-39.
In an effort to reduce health care costs, the medical industry has been moving away from centralized laboratories to point-of-care instrumentation and analysis. One such example is near-patient blood coagulation analyzers [1], including Technidyne Corp.'s Hemachron 8000 and Cardiovascular Dynamics Inc.'s TAS. Many different-diseases, including Hemophilia A and B, thrombocythmia, Christmas disease, and prothrombin deficiency, affect the in vivo coagulation of blood. Treatment of these diseases requires medication with either coagulants or anticoagulants like the industry standard heparin or tannin [2,3]. In order to ensure proper medication, at-home testing would be a great benefit for individuals suffering from these diseases. Near-patient blood testing during cardiac surgery is equally important because blood clotting must be monitored to ensure a successful operation. An accelerated clotting time (ACT) test is used in this situation to make sure the patient is properly heparinized [4].
Clearly there is a need for low-cost blood coagulation analyzers. Additionally, disposable, single-use devices are preferable so as to avoid autoclaving and other cleaning procedures.
Blood coagulation analysis is useful for determining proper medication for medical conditions such as hemophilia, liver disease, and cardiac surgeries and has many uses in laboratories, hospitals, and even at home.
The following is a brief list of some makers of blood coagulation analyzers, the product, name, and the detection scheme:                1. Helena Laboratories (http://www.helena.com) makes an instrument called the Actalyke. This device places a magnet in the blood and oscillates it back and forth detecting the rate of movement. The change in rate of movement detects coagulation.        2. i-STAT (http://www.istat.com) makes an instrument called the i-STAT. This device uses an indicator substance to detect hemocrit. This indicator is then sensed electrochemically.        3. Instrumentation Laboratories (http://www.ilus.com) makes an instrument called the GEM PCL. This device flows the blood past an optical window until the blood no longer passes indicating that it has clotted.        4. International Technidyne Corporation (http://www.itcmed.com) makes an instrument called the ProTime Microcoagulation System. This is intended to be an at-home test device. The coagulation is detected by pumping a precise amount of blood back and forth in a channel until it no longer flows.        5. Sienco, Inc. (http://www.uscid.org/˜sienco/) has an instrument called Sonoclot. Sonoclot works by placing a mechanical probe into the blood and mechanically resonating it back and forth. By detecting the resistance to motion changes, a determination of the blood's coagulation can be determined.
The following are prior art U.S. patents related to blood clot sensors:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,617—McDonald et al describes capillary channels in plastic devices for measuring accelerated clotting time tests. Included in this patent are chambers for mixing the reagents needed for the ACT tests and methods for including the reagents. Optical or electromechanical techniques are used for detection of coagulation times.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,521,182—Shartle et al. A channel flow to a measurement area where optical transmittance is measured. A disposable cartridge-type device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,011—Gavin et al. A channel-type device that requires pneumatic pumps to move fluid back and forth, thus recording its clotting time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,786—Moreno et al. A long elongated channel with microheaters underneath. A thermionic compound is mixed with the blood and based on how far it flows into the channel, the color is changed and the results are read by the users like a litmus paper test.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,448,024 is an update of the McDonald et al. patent. The device is used to measure both clotting time and amount of fribrinogen by mixing in different compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,369—Mintz. Blood is continuously brought together in a chamber and then separated. A fibrigen bridge is formed between the two solutions when clotting starts and this creates an electrical short between the two solutions.
Published U.S. patent application No. 0180824—Mpock. Mechanical components spin in the solution and periodically raise out of the blood. Clots form on the spinning arms and are detected optically.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,411—Biver. Handheld device which acts like a stopwatch with a built-in heater. Blood is in test tubes and the blood flows back and forth across an open window. The user visually looks for clots.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,327—Margolis. Plunger-type device that can add compounds into whatever solution one is measuring. Reaction changes are measured optically.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,069—Jochimsen. Metal stirrer or ball in the blood that creates turbidity. Clotting time is measured by measuring turbidity optically.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,728—Kloth et al. Describes similar mechanisms to U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,069.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,145—Butler et al. Uses infrared to measure composition changes in the blood as it clots.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,064—Baugh et al. Benchtop device that sends a plunger into a test-tube with blood in it. Clotting is measured by the rate of descent of the plunger.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,498—Opalsky et al., Measures chemical composition of the clots as they flow across a channel. Uses conductivity and amperometric sensors to measure composition.

Microsystem for determining clotting time of blood and low-cost, single-use device for use therein

The Regents of the University of Michigan


A re-transmission control method of downlink data to be transmitted from a radio base station to a radio terminal includes: by the radio terminal, transmitting information regarding decoding performance of the radio terminal to the radio base station; receiving the downlink data from the radio base station; transmitting a re-transmission request of the downlink data to the radio base station in a case where an error in the downlink data is detected; receiving a re-transmission configuration based on the information regarding decoding performance of the radio terminal, from the radio base station in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), after transmission of the re-transmission request; receiving the downlink data re-transmitted from the radio base station; and decoding the re-transmitted downlink data in accordance with the re-transmission configuration.

In recent years, in a radio communication system (also referred to as a mobile communication system) such as a mobile phone system (cellular system), a next generation radio communication technique for achieving higher speed and larger capacity of radio communication has been discussed. For example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) that is a standardization organization has already developed a specification for a communication standard called Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or a communication standard called LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) based on the radio communication technique of LTE, and continuously has performed work for expansion of the function thereof. For example, standardization of a fifth generation mobile communication system (also referred to as a 5G system) for realizing operation scenarios or contents of technical requirements presented by International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication sector (ITU-R) has been under discussion.
In the LTE radio communication system (LTE system), hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) using a combination of error correction (forward error correction: FEC) and re-transmission control (automatic repeat request: ARQ) is employed. In the 5G system, employing HARQ is examined as a re-transmission control method. In a radio communication system employing HARQ, in a case where an occurrence of a transmission error of an information bit is detected by a receiver, a re-transmission request is performed from the receiver, and re-transmission control is performed from a transmitter in response to the re-transmission request.
In a case of the LTE system, a block as a re-transmission unit in performing re-transmission control is a transport block, and the number of transport blocks in the re-transmission unit is determined in accordance with the number of transmission antennas. For example, in a case where the number of transmission antennas is one, the number of transport blocks is set to 1. In a case where the number of transmission antennas is two, the number of transport blocks is set to 2. A code rate is fixed at 1/3 both in re-transmission and in initial transmission.
Examples of the related art include PTL 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-219818, NPL 1: 3GPP TS 36.211 V14.2.0(2017-03), NPL 2: 3GPP TS 36.212 V14.2.0(2017-03), NPL 3: 3GPP TS 36.213 V14.2.0(2017-03), NPL 4: 3GPP TS 36.300 V14.2.0(2017-03), NPL 5: 3GPP TS 36.321 V14.2.0(2017-03), NPL 6: 3GPP TS 36.322 V14.0.0(2017-03), NPL 7: 3GPP TS 36.323 V14.2.0(2017-03), NPL 8: 3GPP TS 36.331 V14.2.0(2017-03), NPL 9: 3GPP TS 36.413 V14.2.0(2017-03), NPL 10: 3GPP TS 36.423 V14.2.0(2017-03), NPL 11: 3GPP TS 36.425 V14.0.0(2017-03), NPL 12: 3GPP TR 38.801 V14.0.0(2017-03), NPL 13: 3GPP TR 38.802 V14.0.0(2017-03), NPL 14: 3GPP TR 38.803 V14.0.0(2017-03), NPL 15: 3GPP TR 38.804 V14.0.0(2017-03), NPL 16: 3GPP TR 38.900 V14.2.0(2016-12), NPL 17: 3GPP TR 38.912 V14.0.0(2017-03), NPL 18: 3GPP TR 38.913 V14.0.0(2017-03), NPL 19: Y. Saito, Y. Kishiyama, A. Benjebbour, T. Nakamura, A. Li, and K. Higuchi, "Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) for future radio access," Proc. IEEE VTC2013-Spring, pp. 1-5, Dresden, Germany, June 2013

Re-transmission control method, radio terminal, and radio base station


A method of fabricating an integrated circuit including bipolar transistors that reduces the effects of transistor performance degradation and transistor mismatch caused by charging during plasma etch, and the integrated circuit so formed. A fluorine implant is performed at those locations at which isolation dielectric structures between base and emitter are to be formed, prior to formation of the isolation dielectric. The isolation dielectric structures may be formed by either shallow trench isolation, in which the fluorine implant is performed after trench etch, or LOCOS oxidation, in which the fluorine implant is performed prior to thermal oxidation. The fluorine implant may be normal to the device surface or at an angle from the normal. Completion of the integrated circuit is then carried out, including the use of relatively thick copper metallization requiring plasma etch.

This invention is in the field of the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits. Embodiments of this invention are more specifically directed to the fabrication of isolation structures at the locations of bipolar transistors in semiconductor integrated circuits.
As fundamental in the art, an important parameter related to the performance of bipolar junction transistors is the common-emitter current gain, or forward-active current gain. This parameter is commonly symbolized as β or βF, according to the Ebers-Moll model terminology; in the h-parameter model terminology, the bipolar transistor current gain is referred to as hFE. This current gain hFE is calculated as the ratio of the collector current (IC) to the base current (IB) of the transistor when biased in the forward-active region (i.e., base-emitter junction forward biased, and collector-base junction strongly reverse-biased). This gain parameter thus essentially reflects the amplification effect of the transistor—a small change in the base current causes a proportionally larger change in the collector current, with hFE as the proportionality constant. Larger values of hFE are thus generally desirable for high performance circuits.
Another important measure relevant to bipolar transistor circuit behavior is the base-emitter voltage (VBE) of the transistor at a given collector current, in forward-active operation. Certain circuit arrangements, such as current mirrors and differential amplifiers, rely on matched performance of transistors relative to one another. A difference in VBE between paired transistors can establish an undesired offset voltage; in the context of a current mirror, the VBE offset appears as non-ideal matching of the collector currents of the mirror transistors (their bases being connected together).
As known in the art, bipolar transistor parameters, including forward-active current gain hFE and base-emitter voltage VBE, are affected by a number of design and manufacturing factors. Design factors include the desired dopant concentration in the emitter, base, and collector regions of the transistor, the desired physical dimensions of these regions, and the like. Physical factors also affect the variance of the transistor structure, as manufactured, from the transistor as designed, which is reflected in the transistor electrical parameters, including in the hFE and VBE values.
In many cases, the variance of the performance of a transistor as manufactured, from that expected of the transistor as designed, can be causally attributed to particular manufacturing processes. For example, variation in the implant dose and energy generally results in a predictable change in the dopant concentration and profile of the implanted region. However, the causal relationship between a manufacturing process and the resulting transistor performance parameter is not readily apparent in some cases. In some cases, the causal relationship between a process change and a widespread degradation in transistor performance can be quite puzzling.
It has been observed, in connection with this invention, that the hFE values of bipolar transistors in which one or more conductor levels overlying the bipolar transistors are formed of copper is significantly degraded, as compared with the hFE values of similar transistors for which aluminum is the metallization. It has also been observed, in connection with this invention, that the standard deviation of the hFE and VBE values of a population of bipolar transistors with copper metallization is significantly greater than the corresponding standard deviation of those values for transistors with aluminum metallization, indicating increased variation among transistors with copper metallization.
Degradation of transistor performance and increased variation in operating parameters are, of course, undesirable. However, some circuits are especially vulnerable to mismatch in device parameters among transistors within the same integrated circuit. As mentioned above, circuit mirrors and differential amplifiers are examples of circuits that rely on good matching of bipolar transistors with one another for optimum operation. A common measure of transistor mismatch is the standard deviation of the difference in a given parameter between pairs of transistors. For example, the standard deviation of the offset voltage (|VBE1−VBE2|) between two current mirror transistors in a population of current mirrors is a measure of the degree of device mismatch in that population, with smaller standard deviation desirable for stable and accurate circuit performance. It has been observed that the implementation of copper metallization not only degrades the circuit performance of bipolar transistors due to reduced transistor gain as mentioned above, but also increases transistor mismatch (in both the hFE and VBE values) among bipolar transistors in the same circuit.
By way of further background, the ion implantation of fluorine into the active regions of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors is known. Lin et al., "The Effect of Fluorine on MOSFET Channel Length", Elec. Device Letters, Vol. 14, No. 10 (IEEE, October 1993), pp. 469-71, incorporated herein by reference, describes the implantation of fluorine into the source and drain regions of MOS transistors (i.e., specifically into the "lightly-doped drain" implanted regions) after formation of the polysilicon gate electrode; this paper reports that the fluorine results in a smaller channel length reduction, by retarding phosphorous lateral diffusion. Goto et al., "A Triple Gate Oxide CMOS Technology Using Fluorine Implant for System-on-a-Chip", Digest of Technical Papers: 2000 Symposium on VLSI Technology, Paper 15.3 (IEEE, 2000), pp. 148-49, describes the implantation of fluorine into the low power CMOS active region, prior to formation of the gate oxide and gate electrode, to reduce gate leakage current.

Fluorine implant under isolation dielectric structures to improve bipolar transistor performance and matching


A station for inspecting the painting of motor vehicle bodywork parts, the station including an optical measuring apparatus and means for attenuating vibration of the moving parts.

It is known that those bodywork parts which are painted off the main vehicle assembly line must be painted in compliance with very precise criteria for color and surface state so that such parts have the same appearance as the remainder of the bodywork which is painted as a body.
It is also known that the settings of a painting line can drift as a function of various factors, such as, for example: humidity, ambient temperature, and atmospheric pressure; and that it is essential to monitor parts as they leave the painting line, at least for quality control purposes, and possibly also for making consequential adjustments to the settings of the line.
For this purpose, it is known to use an optical measuring apparatus such as that sold under the reference CARFLASH by the US supplier X-RITE.
That apparatus is disposed at the end of the painting line on a "stop-and-go" station, i.e. a station at which parts being inspected make a pause during which the measurement is performed, after which they continue with their progress along the line.
Until now, stations for inspecting the painting of motor vehicle parts have always been of the stop-and-go type, since the measuring apparatus is known to be highly sensitive to vibration, and any displacement of the parts along the line inevitably leads to considerable amounts of vibration in the parts.
Indeed, that is the method of using the measuring apparatus that is recommended by its manufacturer.

Station for inspecting the painting of motor vehicle parts


A dental implant device for mounting a prosthesis and minimizing the lodging of extraneous substances in interstitial spaces. A root form implant fixture is permanently implanted in a user's jaw bone. The fixture includes anchorage and engagement sections. The engagement section includes a cylindrical portion adjacent to the anchorage section, a beveled portion that is adjacent to and coaxially disposed with respect to the cylindrical portion and a hexagonal portion adjacent to and coaxially disposed with respect to the beveled portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dental implants.
2. Description of the Related Art
Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to the implants sold by Stryker Dental Implants, Kalamazoo, Mich. 49001 and particularly, Stryker Fin Implant model nos. 260-135-008 and equivalents. However, the devices published and sold by this manufacturer differ from the present invention because they fail to provide a termination having a multi-sided body (hexagonal portion) and a beveled portion adjacent thereto with the consequent compatible interface surface for engaging a prosthetic abutment free from debris traps. Also, the prior fails to teach an anti-rotational mechanism for the abutment further, the prior does not disclose a cylinder root form implant fixture with helical grooves or a screw type root form.


The present invention relates to a method and system for testing programs. In the method, authorization to use is determined for a program. In the method, a grant message of authorization is produced to grant temporally restricted authorization to use for the program, it is verified that the grant message of authorization is suitable to be utilized only in the device and the verified grant message of authorization is transmitted to the device. In the device the verification is checked, the authorization to use transmitted in the grant message of authorization is determined, and authorization to use according to the grant message of authorization are given for the program to be tested, if the checking shows that the grant message of authorization is intended for the device. The invention also relates to a device in which the method is applied.

As electronic devices are becoming more versatile, a need has arisen to protect certain functions of the electronic devices in such a manner that access to the functions can be attained only through authorized programs. For example mobile phones have been developed into communication devices suitable for versatile data processing, in which it is also possible to execute programs other than those necessary for implementing phone calls. It is also possible to install new programs in such devices and already installed programs can be updated into newer versions. However, for example mobile phone functions require a certain securing that any given program is not capable of for example determining information stored in the SIM card or making phone calls to the mobile communication network with inaccurate identification data so that another mobile subscriber is charged for the calls. In a corresponding manner devices containing for example functions relating to monetary transactions, such as using the device as a means of payment, it must be ensured than an erroneous or inappropriate program is not allowed to affect the monetary transactions or to change for example the data on the amount of money stored in the device. For the situations of the above kind the software of the device is provided with a protected part in which the necessary trust checkings and functions relating to encoding and decoding are performed. Furthermore, such devices typically contain an operating system that is used e.g. for controlling the functional blocks of the device and for transmission of data between different blocks. Between the operating system and the protected part an interface is implemented, and information is transmitted via said interface between the operating system and the protected part. For example an encrypted message received in the device is transmitted to the protected part, in which decryption is performed, whereafter the decrypted message can be transmitted to the operating system for further processing.
The programs executed in the device can be divided into various levels of authorization to use. The programs can be divided for example into such programs that do not have any authorization to use functions requiring trust, and into such programs that have the possibility to process at least some of the functions requiring trust. Thus, when the program is started the operating system or protected part checks the authorization to use of the programs and prevents or allows the access of the program to certain functions. The act of determining the authorization to use may be based for example to the origin of the program, wherein it is possible to provide for example a program produced by the manufacturer of the device with wider authorization to use than a program produced by a third party. On the other hand, for example the manufacturer of the device can provide a particular program vendor with wider authorizations (greater trust) than others, wherein it is possible to provide programs of more trustworthy program vendors with wider authorization to use than programs having a lower or undetermined vendor trust level.
One problem in the devices of the above kind is that when new programs are developed or already existing programs are developed further, it should be possible to test the programs in an environment as authentic as possible. If such a program is given the authorization to use functions requiring trust, there is a danger that the program to be developed is not safe, but it contains an error that has a harmful effect on the aforementioned functions which require trust. Denying of authorization to use on the other hand prevents an extensive testing of such a program in an authentic device. The use of a test device in the testing does not necessarily reveal all the flaws and defects of the program, wherein the final program version may still be defective or flawed, in spite of the testing.
In some solutions of prior art the trust level of the entire device has been lowered for the duration of the testing. Thus there is a risk that the tester or a third party manages to start such a program in the device that obtains confidential information relating to the security functions of the device or utilizes the device in a data network to obtain secret or confidential information.

Method and system for testing a program, and a device


A radio base station apparatus includes first and second shelves having a similar structure, each shelf includes a shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit, a shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuit and a shelf radio transmitting section. The shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuits generate a inter-shelf signal from a shelf current use system baseband signal, and generate a shelf current use system spread signal from the shelf current use system baseband signal and another inter-shelf signal. The shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuits generate a inter-shelf signal from a shelf standby system baseband signal, and generate a shelf standby system spread signal from the shelf standby system baseband signal and another inter-shelf signal. The shelf radio transmitting sections generate a shelf radio signal from the shelf current use system spread signal and the shelf standby system spread signal to transmit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio base station apparatus for a mobile communication, in which communication is carried out on the basis of a code division multiple access (CDMA) method using spectrum spreading technique for a radio transmission.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a conventional radio base station apparatus in such a CDMA method. A radio base station apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is composed of a call process and monitor controlling circuit 4 and shelves 2 and 3. The shelf is a unit in which the processes such as generation, spreading, and transmission of a transmission signal are controlled within the radio base station apparatus.
The call process and monitor controlling circuit 4 carries out the monitor and control of a state within the radio base station apparatus, resource management of a channel, and connection of a control call with respect to the control of origination and arrival.
The shelves 2 and 3 have the same configuration. Hereinafter, the shelf 2 will be described. Each of channel coding process circuits 6a and 6b receives a coding process data from the call process and monitor controlling circuit 4, and generates a transmission baseband signal. The coding process data is the data such as control data, user data of voice and packets, and data indicative of a kind of channel for carrying these data. Each of the channel coding process circuits 6a and 6b has units whose number corresponds to the number of channels. Each of merging circuits 7a and 7b merges the transmission baseband signals outputted from the channel coding process circuits 6a and 6b. Transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b spread and modulate the transmission baseband signals outputted from the merging circuits 7a and 7b, respectively. A radio transmission processing circuit 8a synthesizes and adds transmission spreading signals outputted from the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b, and carries out orthogonal modulation, radio frequency conversion and amplification, and outputs a radio transmission signal from an antenna 9a. The radio transmission processing circuits 8a and 8b up-converts the transmission spreading signals to have radio transmission frequencies different from each other.
The shelf 2 receives and outputs a control signal as well as a data to be sent. The channel coding process circuits 6a and 6b and the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b receive and output data such as coding process data, spreading process data, control data, and status data through a control bus from and to the call process and monitor controlling circuit 4. The spreading process data is a spreading code used when the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b carry out the spreading modulation. Also, the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b mutually receive and output an alarm signal when a fault has occurred.
The configuration and operation of the shelf 3 are similar to those of the shelf 2.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a conventional configuration example of the transmission signal processing circuit 5a to 5d in the radio base station apparatus shown in FIG. 1. The respective transmission signal processing circuits have the same configuration. Here, only the transmission signal processing circuit 5a will be described. In FIG. 2, channel data separating circuit 11 separates individual channels from a transmission baseband signal, in which time divisional multiplexing is carried out to data for a plurality of channels received from the merging circuit 7a, in accordance with a channel data received from a CPU 20, and converts into a user data corresponding to a data rate for each user, and then outputs to an intra shelf transmission spreading process circuit 12. As described later, the intra shelf transmission spreading process circuit 12 has a current use system spreading circuit and a standby system spreading circuit. The channel data is the data to determine whether each user data should be processed by the current use system spreading circuit or the standby system spreading circuit. The intra shelf transmission spreading process circuit 12 carries out the spreading modulation to a plurality of user data whose data rates are different from each other, in accordance with a spreading process data (spreading code) received from the CPU 20, and outputs a spread signal for each user to an addition synthesizer 15d.
The addition synthesizer 15d adds all the spread signals for the respective users to output to a format converter 17c. A synchronous pattern generating circuit 18c generates a synchronous pattern to output to the format converter 17c. The format converter 17c carries out an insertion of the synchronous pattern into the spread signal, and converts the spread signal to have a format adaptive for the transmission to the radio transmission processing circuit 8a. The format converter 17c outputs the spread signal on which the format conversion is carried out, as a transmission spread signal, through an output stopping circuit 19c to the radio transmission processing circuit 8a.
When a fault has occurred in the transmission signal processing circuit 5a, an alarm detecting circuit 21 detects the fault. The alarm detecting circuit 21 outputs an alarm signal to the output stopping circuit 19c, the CPU 20 and the intra shelf transmission spreading process circuit 12 of the other transmission signal processing circuit 5b in the intra shelf (shelf 2). The intra shelf transmission spreading process circuit 12 in the transmission signal processing circuit 5a receives an alarm signal from the alarm detecting circuit 21 in the transmission signal processing circuit 5b when the fault has occurred in the transmission signal processing circuit 5b.
When receiving the alarm signal from the alarm detecting circuit 21, the output stopping circuit 19c sets an output bus to a high impedance state, and stops the data output.
The intra shelf transmission spreading process circuit 12 has the current use system spreading circuit and the standby system spreading circuit. The current use system spreading circuit carries out a spreading process to the user data in the current use system received from the channel data separating circuit 11. The standby system spreading circuit carries out the spreading process to the user data in the standby system. Usually, the intra shelf transmission spreading process circuit 12 fixes the amplitude of a signal processed by the standby system spreading circuit to 0. However, the intra shelf transmission spreading process circuit 12 cancels the 0-fixation of the amplitude of the signal processed by the standby system spreading circuit, when receiving the alarm signal from the transmission signal processing circuit 5b (namely, when a fault has occurred in the other transmission signal processing circuits within the intra shelf).
The CPU 20 notifies the status data of the transmission signal processing circuit 5a to the call process and monitor controlling circuit 4 through the control bus, and receives the control data from the call process and monitor controlling circuit 4.
The configurations and operations of the transmission signal processing circuits 5b to 5d are similar to those of the transmission signal processing circuit 5a.
In the radio base station apparatus shown in FIG. 1, any channel data separating circuit 11 of the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b receives the transmission baseband signals outputted by the channel coding process circuits 6a and 6b. Then, in accordance with the channel data, the channel data separating circuit 11 of the transmission signal processing circuit 5a determines the user data to be outputted from the transmission signal processing circuit 5a, as a data corresponding to the current use system, and determines the user data to be outputted from another transmission signal processing circuit 5b within the intra shelf, as a data corresponding to the standby system. Also, the channel data separating circuit 11 of the transmission signal processing circuit 5b similarly determines the respective user data for the current use system and the standby system.
In the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b, the output signals from the channel coding process circuits 6a and 6b are spread in the normal state by the current and standby system spreading circuits in the respective intra shelf transmission spreading process circuits 12. However, the amplitude of the signal processed by the standby system spreading circuit is fixed to 0. If a fault has occurred in the transmission signal processing circuit 5a, the output stopping circuit 19c of the transmission signal processing circuit 5a receives the alarm signal, and stops the data output. Also, the intra shelf transmission spreading process circuit 12 of the transmission signal processing circuit 5b receives the alarm signal, and cancels the 0-fixation of the amplitude of the signal processed by the standby system spreading circuit, and then outputs the spread signal which is processed by the standby system spreading circuit and should be originally outputted from the transmission signal processing circuit 5a.
As mentioned above, in the radio base station apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the spreading process is carried out in the normal state by both the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b. If any fault has occurred in one of the circuits 5a and 5b, the spreading processes to be carried out by the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b are carried out only by one of the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b in the normal state. The configuration in which the duplicated two transmission spreading processes (the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b) as mentioned above are carried out in the normal state, and when the fault has occurred in one of the circuits 5a and 5b, only the circuit in the normal state carries out all the transmission spreading processes carried out by the two transmission spreading processes is referred to as a 0/1 configuration. Also, among them, one system is referred to as a 0-system, and the other system is referred to as a 1-system. In the 0/1 configuration, if a fault has occurred in one of the 0-system and the 1-system in the duplex structure, the normal system needs to have a function of compensating the spreading process. In the radio base station apparatus shown in FIG. 1, if the fault has occurred in the 0-system, the standby system spreading circuit within the 1-system compensates the 0-system. If the fault has occurred in the 1-system, the standby system spreading circuit within the 0-system compensates the 1-system.
Three methods including the configuration shown in FIG. 1 may be considered as the typical duplex configuration. FIG. 3 shows the configuration in the first method. In the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the spreading process in each of the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b is not divided into the current use system and the standby system. One of the duplex transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b serves as the current use system to carry out the spreading process. The other is in a wait state as the standby system, and does not contribute to the transmission spreading process. If any fault has occurred in the current use system, the switching is carried out between the standby system and the current use system. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the transmission baseband signals outputted from the channel coding process circuits 6a and 6b are not merged, and are supplied to the transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b.
In such a method, it is necessary to design a hardware configuration in which the transmission signal processing circuit serving as the standby system stands by while carrying out the perfectly same process as the transmission signal processing circuit in the current use system. Thus, if the number of units in the channel coding process circuits 6a and 6b is increased in conjunction with the increase in the number of channels, the number of input signal lines to the channel data separating circuit in each transmission signal processing circuit is increased, which makes the circuit configuration of the channel data separating circuit complex and large, and makes it expensive.
The second method is the method using the 0/1 configuration described in FIG. 1. The second method is designed as follows. That is, the plurality of units of the channel coding process circuit are divided into two sections, which are set to the transmission signal processing circuits of the 0-system and the 1-system. Thus, the number of input signal lines supplied to the channel data separating circuit in each transmission signal processing circuit can be half the number of the first method. Also, in order that if any fault has occurred in one of the systems, the other system in the normal state carries out the process of the system, the outputs of the halved channel coding process circuits is multiplexed, and a transmission rate of a data are multiplexed. Hence, the data having the same amount as the first method is supplied to each channel data separating circuit.
The third method has the configuration similar to that of the second method. In the third method, one of the duplex transmission signal processing circuits 5a and 5b serves as the current use system and carries out the spreading process. If any fault has occurred in the transmission signal processing circuits carrying out the spreading process as the current use system, the switching is carried out between the standby system and the current use system. The third method requires the switching to the standby system when the fault has occurred in the channel coding process circuit physically connected to the transmission signal processing circuits in the current use system. For this reason, the third method has a defect that the switching sequence at this time becomes complex. Also, it is necessary that a merging circuit for merging a signal outputted from the channel coding process circuit corresponding to the other system is connected to each transmission signal processing circuits. Thus, various restrictions are put on a time of installation, a time of the fault occurrence, a time of maintenance and the like. Therefore, this implies the lack of flexibility of an apparatus. Even if an integral circuit of the channel coding process circuit and the merging circuit is used, this circuit must be connected to each transmission signal processing circuits.
As mentioned above, the second method shown in FIG. 1 has the following problems although it is superior to the first and third methods. The first problem is that the resources such as the channel coding process circuit, the spreading process circuit and the radio transmission processing circuit, which can be flexibly used, are limited to the internal portion of the shelf. The above resource implies the number of users that can be simultaneously processed by the respective circuits. In the second method, even if the number of users is increased in one shelf so that it becomes close to a limit value, the user data cannot be distributed to the other shelf.
The second problem is as follows. That is, when the control is carried out over the shelves, it is necessary to carry out a software process through the CPUs 20 in the transmission signal processing circuits 5a to 5d and the call process and monitor controlling circuit 4. Thus, the processing times in the switching control becomes longer.
In conjunction with the above description, a radio base station transceiver control system is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 3-120917). In this reference, a radio base station is composed of a plurality of transceivers, each of which includes a transmitter for a radio control channel and a receiver corresponding to the transmitter. Each of the transmitter and the receiver has a switching function between a current use mode and a standby mode independently.
Also, a time divisional multiple access radio communication system is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 5-31968). In this reference, there are two transceivers for the system has a current use system and a standby system. When alarm signals indicative of faults are generated at a same time from the current use system and the standby system, a system is switched between the current use system and the standby system for every time interval. At this time, a transceiver in which a fault has occurred is detected based on the alarm signal and the other transceiver is automatically set to the current use system.
Also, a duplex apparatus of a radio communication system is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 10-65579). In this reference, the duplex apparatus is composed of a main signal distributor 11 which has an interface 15 for one direction communication and an interface 16 for bi-direction communication, base stations 17 to 19, communication lines 107, 110 for connecting between the main signal distributor 11 and the radio base station 17 and between the main signal distributor 11 and the n-th (n is an integer equal to or more than 2) radio base station 19, and communication lines 108, 109 between the radio base stations 17 and 18 and 18 and 19. When there is a fault on the communication line between the radio base stations 17 and 18, the main signal distributor 11 sends out a signal of the same content to the interfaces 15, 16, after instructing the communication direction of the communication line to the n-th radio base station 19 and the second radio base station 18 from the interface 16.
Also, a transmission system for a base station is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 11-313012). In this reference, when a fault has occurred in a synchronization compensation section 8 (SYS4) while a standby synchronization compensation section 10 carries out a synchronization compensation processing for the SYS3 system in place of a synchronization compensation section 7 (SYS3) because a fault has occurred in the synchronization compensation section 7, data of SYS4 is taken in by the other system decoder section of the standby synchronization compensation section 10. An output connection control unit of the standby synchronization compensation section 10 is set to be connected with one output to the output of a transmission apparatus 13 of SYS3, and the other output to the output of the transmission apparatus 14 of SYS4.
Also, a radio base station control system is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 11-341547). In the reference, a first radio apparatus is composed of a first operation channel radio section for carrying out radio transmission and reception on a current use channel, a first current use channel radio control section for carrying out operation control at the first operation channel radio section, a first maintenance channel radio section for carrying out radio transmission and reception on a maintenance channel, a first maintenance channel radio control section for carrying out operation control at the first maintenance channel radio section, and a first radio base station control unit for controlling the first maintenance channel radio control section of the first current use channel radio control section. A second radio apparatus is composed of a second current use channel radio section for carrying out radio transmission and reception on a current use channel, a second current use channel radio control section for carrying out operation control at the second operation channel radio section, a second maintenance channel radio section for carrying out radio transmission and reception on a maintenance channel, a second maintenance channel radio control section for carrying out operation control at the second maintenance channel radio section, and a second radio base station control unit for controlling the second maintenance channel radio control section of the second current use channel radio control section. The radio base station control apparatus is composed of the first radio apparatus, the second radio apparatus, a first power supply section for supplying said first radio apparatus with power, a second power supply section for supplying the second radio apparatus with power, and a control board for the base station having the function to selectively connect with the first and second radio base station control units and to carry out and monitor the operation control of the first and second radio apparatuses. The first and second radio base station control unit detect the existence or non-existence of the fault in the first and second radio apparatuses by self monitor and mutual monitor of said and 2nd radio apparatus and set one to a current use system, and the other to standby system.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a radio base station apparatus which carries out the control over the shelves in a short time.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a radio base station apparatus which has a redundant configuration.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a radio base station apparatus which effectively controls the resources such as channel coding process circuits, spreading process circuits, and a radio transmission processing circuit.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide a radio base station apparatus which uses inter-shelf communication.
In an aspect of the present invention, a radio base station apparatus includes first and second shelves. The first shelf includes a first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit, a first shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuit and a first shelf radio transmitting section. The first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit generates a first inter-shelf signal from a first shelf current use system baseband signal, and generates a first shelf current use system spread signal from the first shelf current use system baseband signal and a second inter-shelf signal. The first shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuit generates a third inter-shelf signal from a first shelf standby system baseband signal, and generates a first shelf standby system spread signal from the first shelf standby system baseband signal and a fourth inter-shelf signal. The first shelf radio transmitting section has a first shelf antenna and generates a first shelf radio signal from the first shelf current use system spread signal and the first shelf standby system spread signal to transmits from the first shelf antenna. The second shelf includes a second shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit, a second shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuit and a second shelf radio transmitting section. The second shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit generates the second inter-shelf signal from a second shelf current use system baseband signal, and generates a second shelf current use system spread signal from the second shelf current use system baseband signal and the first inter-shelf signal. The second shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuit generates the fourth inter-shelf signal from a second shelf standby system baseband signal, and generates a second shelf standby system spread signal from the second shelf standby system baseband signal and the third inter-shelf signal. The second shelf radio transmitting section has a second shelf antenna and generates a second shelf radio signal from the second shelf current use system spread signal and the second shelf standby system spread signal to transmits from the second shelf antenna.
The first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit includes a first output control circuit, a detecting circuit and a control circuit. The first output control circuit stops output of the first shelf current use system spread signal in response to an output stop control signal. The detecting circuit detects a fault in the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit to generate an intra alarm signal. The control circuit outputs the output stop control signal to the first output control circuit in response to the intra alarm signal.
In this case, the transmission signal processing circuit may further include a second output control circuit which stops output of the first inter-shelf signal in response to the output stop control signal.
Also, the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit may further include a first amplitude control circuit which controls a spread signal corresponding to the first shelf current use system spread signal in response to a second shelf current use system fault signal such that amplitude of the spread signal is 0. The control circuit outputs the second shelf current use system fault signal to the first amplitude control circuit when the intra alarm signal or an alarm signal indicating a fault of the second shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit is present and a switching signal from the first shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuit and an alarm signal indicating a fault of the second shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuit are not present.
In this case, the transmission signal processing circuit may further include a second output control circuit which stops output of the first inter-shelf signal in response to the output stop control signal.
Also, the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit may further include a second amplitude control circuit which controls a spread signal corresponding to the first inter-shelf signal in response to the second shelf current use system fault signal such that amplitude of the spread signal is 0.
Also, the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit may further include an alarm detecting circuit which generates the alarm signal indicating the fault of the second shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit based on no reception of the second inter-shelf signal from the second shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit. Alternatively, the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit may include an alarm detecting circuit which generates the alarm signal indicating the fault of the second shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit based on an intra alarm signal generated in the second shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit.
Also, the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit may include a channel separating circuit, a first processing circuit and a second processing circuit. The channel separating circuit separates the first shelf current use system baseband signal into first and second channel signals. The first processing circuit spreads and synthesizes the first channel signals into a first spread signal. The second processing circuit spreads and synthesizes the second channel signals into a second spread signal to output as the first inter-shelf signal.
Here, each of the first and second processing circuits may include a current use system spreading circuit and a standby system spreading circuit. In this case, each of the first and second processing circuits may set to 0, amplitude of each of spread signals spread by a corresponding one of the standby system spreading circuits when the intra alarm signal of the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit is not present and a switching request signal from the first shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuit is not present, and synthesize the spread signals spread signals spread by the corresponding standby system spreading circuit without setting the amplitudes to 0, when the intra alarm signal of the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit or the switching request signal from the first shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuit is present.
Alternatively, the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit may further include a synthesizing circuit which synthesizes the first spread signal and an other spread signal as the second inter-shelf signal into a spread signal corresponding to the first shelf current use system spread signal.
Also, the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit may include a channel separating circuit, a first processing circuit and a second processing circuit. The channel separating circuit separates the first shelf current use system baseband signal into first and second channel signals. The first processing circuit spreads and synthesizes the first channel signals into a first spread signal. The second processing circuit converts the second channel signals into a baseband signal as the first inter-shelf signal.
Here, the first processing circuit may include a current use system spreading circuit and a standby system spreading circuit. In this case, the first processing circuit may set to 0, amplitude of each of spread signals spread by the standby system spreading circuit when the intra alarm signal of the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit is not present and a switching request signal from the first shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuit is not present, and synthesize the spread signals spread signals spread by the standby system spreading circuit without setting the amplitudes to 0, when the intra alarm signal of the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit or the switching request signal from the first shelf standby system transmission signal processing circuit is present.
Also, the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit may further include a synthesizing circuit which synthesizes the first spread signal and an other spread signal obtained from the second inter-shelf signal into a spread signal corresponding to the first shelf current use system spread signal.
Also, the first shelf current use system transmission signal processing circuit may further include a second processing circuit which separates the second inter-self signal into third channel signals, and spreads and synthesizes the third channel signals into the other shelf spread signal.

Radio base station apparatus with inter-shelf communication


A new garment decoration and a process for its manufacture, which encompasses both classical and modern elements of decoration. An image is manufactured directly on a garment, such as by silk-screening. Chenille is sewn about the border of the image, thereby creating a shape with a chenille outline and an interior image. The decorative shapes can be letters, numbers, mascots, characters or symbols.

Garment decoration and personalization is a large, well established industry. Many traditional means for decorating and personalizing various types of garments have existed independently for quite some time.
Letters are a classical object of decoration found on school "letter jackets". The letter decoration is manufactured by weaving colored yarn (chenille) upon a base of felt in the solid area of the letter. The letter shape is then cut from the base fabric. This decoration is then sewn onto the garment. The resulting effect is the appearance of a colored letter upon the garment with an outline of felt around the letter.
Numbers are a common decoration on athletic uniforms, such as baseball and football jerseys. Shapes of school mascots or school symbols are also commonly found on jackets and jerseys.
Another common modern object of decoration involves placing images upon a garment, such as a tee shirt. Silk-screening is a popular manufacturing process used to create this type of decoration.
Heat sealing is another popular process used to create garment image decorations.
Machinery is now available which can produce chenille directly on a garment. These machines have been used to print manufacturers' names on garments.

Garment decoration with a process for its manufacture


A device for feeding blanks to a user machine, whereby the end blank of a stack of blanks housed inside a feedbox is detached from the adjacent blanks in the stack by a separating roller, which feeds the blank, transversely in relation to the axis of the stack, to a withdrawal station where it is engaged by the periphery of a rotary suction member for withdrawing and feeding the blank to a user station.

The present invention relates to a device for feeding blanks to a user machine.
For feeding blanks to a user machine, e.g. a packing machine for folding the blanks about respective products, a device is used comprising a feedbox, from one end of which the stacked blanks are withdrawn successively by a withdrawal device cooperating with a conveyor device by which the blanks are fed to a user station.
On known feed devices of the aforementioned type, the withdrawal device normally consists of a carriage moved linearly back and forth along a path substantially perpendicular to the axis of the stack, and supporting a suction sector. The sector is connected angularly to a gear in turn connected to a fixed rack, and is substantially tangent to the output end of the feedbox, so as to adhere by suction to the end blank in the stack and withdraw it from the feedbox by rotating about its axis as the carriage is moved linearly along said path.
At the end of the carriage stroke, the blank is fed to follow-up conveyor means, e.g. rollers, by which it is transferred to the user station.
Though efficient, the above known device presents a major drawback in terms of reliability, due to the relatively severe acceleration and deceleration to which the carriage supporting the suction sector is subjected when applied to user machines operated over and above a given speed in terms of blank throughput.

Device for feeding blanks to a user machine


A method and apparatus for preparing a composite, in which the angle between the apparatus base and the apparatus body is adjusted by the elevator device, the solid raw material is loaded into the reactor by the solid feeding device, the main reaction gas, the auxiliary gas and the carrier gas are introduced from the front gas intake unit into the main reaction zone at a preset ratio, followed by the active material deposited on solid particles, the post-processing reaction gas is introduced from the middle gas intake unit to the post-processing reaction zone to form a functional layer on the active material, the prepared composite powder is separated and collected from the gas-solid mixture in the collection device. The exhaust gas is released from the exhaust manifold into an exhaust gas treatment system after minority powder filtered by the filter.

Generally, a composite preparation process is an important material production technology, which is of great significance to heterostructure materials with special functions and is also an important way to break the bottleneck in the application of silicon-based anode materials. However, the existing processes still have many defects, such as poor structural control, low production efficiency, and high production costs.
Silicon-based composites are usually prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with silane precursor. However, there are many problems in continuous large-scale production for the CVD process: (1) silane is one kind of hazardous chemicals and has extremely high safety risks when used in large-scale production; (2) silane is expensive, and it is difficult to control production costs; (3) the CVD process includes various steps, and has poor continuity, low production efficiency and high operating costs. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a safe, efficient, and inexpensive method and apparatus for the preparation of silicon-based composites.

Method and apparatus for preparing composite


An apparatus for emitting electrons is provided. The apparatus includes a subsurface emitter having a sharp tip, a substrate including a base, and electrical continuity between the tip, the base, and an external circuit. This emitter structure may be used to form individual emitters or arrays of emitters. Also provided is a method of making electron emitters which is comprised of implanting energetic ions into a diamond lattice to form cones or other continuous regions of damaged diamond. These regions are more electrically conducting than the surrounding diamond lattice, and have locally sharp tips at or near the point of entry of the ion into the diamond. The tips may then also be additionally coated with a layer of a wide band-gap semiconductor. An electrically conducting material may also be placed in proximity to the tips to generate an electric field sufficient to extract electrons from the conducting tips into either the region above the surface, or into the wide band-gap semiconductor layer in contact with the tips. Electrical contact is made to the electrically conducting damage tracks and the electrical circuit may be completed with an electrically conducting material on the surface of the wide band-gap semiconductor or diamond, or in the ambient above the surface of the emitter. The surface of the wideband gap semiconductor or diamond may be chemically modified to enhance the emission of electrons from the surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of electron emitters and more particularly, relates to a method for making stable, electron emitters and devices therefrom in diamond using an ion implantation technique.
2. Background of the Invention
There has been a great deal of research with respect to the physics of, and improved methods for fabricating, stable, modulatable electron (field) emitters (a type of cathode) having high current densities. Electron emitters are commonly used in such devices as power switches, microwave amplifiers, traveling wave tubes and the like.
Electron emitters emit electrons from structures at their ends, commonly referred to as xe2x80x9ctips.xe2x80x9d The xe2x80x9ctipsxe2x80x9d of emitters have a very small radius of curvature i.e. the tips are very pointed. The application of relatively small voltages in close proximity to an emitter extracts disproportionately large electron flows from its tip because the small radius of curvature of a tip concentrates the electric field.
The electric field extracts electrons from the conduction band and/or the valence band and/or Fermi level of the emitter material.
Devices of this type using tips and gates are commonly referred to as Spindt cathodes. A Spindt cathode is usually comprised of a micron-size cone or other structure with a sharp tip at the apex that is centered in a small-diameter hole. The size of the cone or other structure can vary. Furthermore, the shape of the cone can vary, as long as the structure contains a sharp tip. The cone is usually electrically conducting. Typically there is an electrically conducting film at or near the top of the cathode, usually in the shape of an annulus centered around the tip. The electrically conducting film may be used to apply an electrical potential near the tip of the cone and is called a xe2x80x9cgatexe2x80x9d. The tip of the cone typically lies in or below the plane of the xe2x80x9cgatexe2x80x9d and is centered in a hole in the gate. When the cone has a sharp tip, an applied voltage between the cone and the gate causes electrons to emit from the cone tip into the surrounding media (typically a vacuum) and to be collected by a third electrical conductor, the anode. The design of the Spindt cathode allows a small applied voltage between the gate and the tip over a sub-micron distance to extract a comparatively large amount of electrons. Spindt cathodes are typically fabricated in large arrays. Spindt cathodes are typically treated with a material having a low work function such as Cs. This treatment of the cathodes lowers the work function of the cathodes, thereby facilitating emission of the electrons.
Spindt cathodes often suffer tip instabilities. These instabilities are brought about by processes such as heating of the cathode, electromigration and ion sputtering from the gas phase. Ion sputtering occurs as the electrons ejected from the tip ionize background gas molecules near the tip. The ionized gas molecules are accelerated back towards the substrate containing the tip by the same electric field used to extract the electrons from the tip. The momentum damage from the ion colliding with the tip sputters and blunts the tip of each electron emitter. As the tip is blunted, the radius of curvature of the tip increases. This lowers the enhancement of the electric field at the tip. Furthermore, such processes change the surface composition of the tip by furthering undesirable processes at the tip such as oxidation. This can increase the work function of the tip and lower the electron emission for a given applied voltage.
Another problem inhibiting development of arrays of these devices is making uniform the voltage applied to, and current extracted from, the individual tips. These non-uniformity problems often occur because of variations in the morphology, form and structure of individual tips. These problems can also occur because of differences in the distance between the individual tips and their gates, and because of variations of the effective work function of the individual tips due to differences in surface chemistry. The results of this lack of uniformity among the individual tips within the array are most commonly: poor overall emission from the array, or emission of most of the current from only a small number of tips in the array. Emission from a small number of tips leaves the tips which are emitting most of the current prone to overheating and to catastrophic failure.
To address these problems, diamond has received much attention as an emitter surface because under some conditions diamond has negative electron affinity. Because of this negative electron affinity, the vacuum level falls below the conduction band minimum, and an electron in the conduction band encounters little or no energetic barrier to emission into the vacuum. However, for diamond to work here, the electrons must be transmitted thru the diamond. Further, in some applications the electrons must be able to move through the diamond lattice from the point of injection to the front surface of the lattice, and then cross the front surface/vacuum interface and exit the interface into the vacuum or be collected by a conducting film on the surface.
Because of these electron transport problems, it would be beneficial to minimize the thickness of the lattice through which the electrons move and to create a lattice (or material) which causes minimal or no energy loss to the electrons as they move through the lattice. Further, it is desirable to minimize the work function of the emitting surface, and to minimize any energy losses that occur at the surface during emission.
There have been attempts in the prior art to address some of the issues discussed above. Prior art patents of interest includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,604 to Geis et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,778 to Jaskie; U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,882 to Pam et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,344 to Miyata et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,788 to Geis; U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,685 to Jaskie et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,571 to Hirabayashi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,460 to Jaskie et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,850 to Kane et al.
The Geis et al. (""604) patent discloses a field emitter of wide-bandgap materials composed of a doped diamond film emitter formed by chemical vapor deposition combined with a metal compound through annealing, eching or ion bombardment. The Jaskie (""778) patent discloses an enhanced electron emitter composed of a diamond bond structure with an electrically active defect at the emission site which is said to act like a very thin election emitter with a very low work function and improved current characteristics. The Pam et al. patent discloses a method for the processing of materials for uniform field emission. The field emitters are composed of a polycrystalline film on a substrate formed by carbon ion implantation, annealing and then conditioning by scanning with an electrode. The Miyata et al. patent discloses a cold cathode emitter element composed of a diamond film emitter and a diamond insulating film. The Geis (""788) patent discloses a diamond cold cathode composed of a carbon ion implanted n-type conductivity diamond region and a doped homoepitaxial p-type conductivity diamond region with a junction between. The Jaskie et al. (""685) patent discloses a field emission electron source employing a diamond coating grown from carbon nucleation sites selectively disposed on a selectively shaped substrate. The Hirabayashi et al. patent discloses an electron emitting device with a diamond emitter layer formed on a semiconductor substrate. The Jaskie et al. (""460) patent discloses a method of making a field emission electron source employing a diamond coating. The diamond coated emitter is formed by ion implantation creating nucleation sites for diamond formation. The Kane et al. patent also discloses a method of making field emitters with a diamond coating disposed on a conductive or semiconductive material, wherein the field emitters are formed by ion implantation of carbon into a selectively shaped substrate to facilitate diamond formation, depositing the conductive layer, and then removing the substrate.
In accordance with the invention, a method for fabricating an electron emitter is provided. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of: implanting one or more ions into the surface of a diamond substrate including a diamond lattice including sp3 bonded carbon so as to damage the diamond lattice and to change at least a portion of the sp3 bonded carbon in the diamond lattice to a mixture of sp3 bonded carbon and sp2 bonded carbon, the damage to the diamond lattice material forming one or more emitter tips at or near the surface of the diamond lattice material tapering to a corresponding number of wider bases within the diamond lattice material; providing electrical contact to the base of the emitter tips; possibly growing one or more additional advantageous layers on the diamond substrate; and providing at least one gate on or under the surface of the diamond lattice or other additional advantageous layers.
Preferably, at least one gate is deposited or otherwise created on or below the surface of the protective layer.
Advantageously, at least one gate is deposited or otherwise created on or below the surface of the diamond substrate material before the protective layer is grown, or the gate can be subsurface.
Preferably, a mask having one or more holes therein is placed or formed over the surface of the diamond lattice material prior to implantation; and the mask may be removed after implantation.
Advantageously, the surface of the diamond substrate is terminated so as to lower the work function of the surface. Preferably, the surface is chemically modified with moieties containing one or more of the following: hydrogen, cesium, oxygen, fluorine, potassium, rubidium, lithium or any other alkali metal.
Preferably, at least a portion of carbon from the damaged area resulting from the implantation is electro chemically or otherwise etched out so as to leave a hollow mold formed from etched out portions of the damaged area, and the mold so formed is filled with a conductive filler material. Prior patents of interest include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,890 to Marchywka; U.S. Pat. No. 5,587,210 to Marchywka et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,586 to Pehrsson et al.
Advantageously, the filler material comprises a metal, amorphous carbon, or silicon.
Preferably, the protective layer comprises a thin homoepitaxial layer.
In another embodiment, a conductive material is deposited or otherwise created on or under the thin protective layer so as to provide a gate structure. Advantageously, the conductive material is amorphous carbon.
In yet another embodiment, the method comprises the steps of: implanting one or more ions into the surface of a doped diamond substrate including a diamond lattice including sp3 bonded carbon, so as to damage the diamond lattice and to change at least a portion of the sp3 bonded carbon in the diamond lattice to a mixture of sp3 bonded carbon and sp2 bonded carbon, the damage to the diamond lattice material forming one or more tips at or near the surface of the diamond lattice material tapering outwardly to a continuous, electrically conducting base within the diamond lattice material; providing an electrical contact to the implanted region; and if necessary, providing a diamond layer or layers on the diamond substrate; and providing at least one gate.
Preferably, the diamond substrate is doped with nitrogen.
Advantageously, the upper protective layer can be doped with boron.
Advantageously, the thin protective layer or layers are comprised of one or more homoepitaxial diamond layers, either doped or undoped.
In a further embodiment, the method comprises the steps of: implanting one or more ions into the surface of a diamond substrate including a diamond lattice including sp3 carbon, so as to damage the diamond lattice and to change at least a portion the sp3 bonded carbon in the diamond lattice to a mixture of sp3 bonded carbon and sp2 bonded carbon, the damage to the diamond lattice material forming one or more implantation areas at or near the surface of the diamond lattice material tapering outwardly to a single base within the diamond lattice material; providing an electrical contact to the implanted regions; possibly providing an additional diamond layer or layers on the diamond substrate; implanting one or more ions into the surface of the diamond layer including a diamond lattice including sp3 bonded carbon so as to damage the diamond lattice and to change at least a portion of the sp3 bonded carbon in the diamond lattice to a mixture of sp3 bonded carbon and sp2 bonded carbon, the damage to the diamond lattice material forming one or more tips at or near the surface of the diamond lattice material tapering to a corresponding plurality of wider bases within the diamond lattice material, wherein the plurality of wider bases are in conductive contact with the continuous, electrically conducting base within the diamond substrate; possibly growing a thin protective layer on the diamond layer; providing at least one gate; and providing at least one electrical contact to the implanted regions, and extending from the conductive base layer.
Advantageously, a mask is used over at least a portion of the surface of the diamond layer before implantation.
The arrays of electron emitters fabricated from the method of the invention are stable, modulatable, and have a high current density. The devices can operate in either a continuous (DC) or a pulsed mode. Further, the field emitting arrays can be fabricated using a group of standard techniques such as lithography, implantation, patterning and etching.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in, or will be apparent from, the detailed description of preferred embodiments which follows.
Advantageously, conductive or metallic material is deposited or otherwise created on or under the surface of the diamond or any of its protective layers. The resulting structure acts as an anode for the capture of electrons emitted from the tips. Its performance in this regard may be enhanced by applying a positive voltage with respect to the tip(s) or gate(s).

Apparatus for emitting electrons comprising a subsurface emitter structure

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