A safety lighter includes a lighter body comprising a casing defining a liquefied gas chamber for containing a predetermined volume of liquefied gas therein, a supporting frame having an outer sealing surface engaged with an inner surface of the casing, a gas emitting nozzle mounted on the supporting frame to communicate with the liquefied gas chamber, and an ignition device supported by the supporting frame for ignition. A sealing arrangement includes upper and lower sealing rims spacedly and integrally provided along an opening portion of the inner surface of the casing in a step-shouldering manner wherein the upper and lower sealing rims are sealed with the outer sealing surface of the supporting frame to form two sealing lines along the upper and lower sealing rims respectively to sealedly mount the supporting frame on the lighter body for sealedly retaining the liquefied gas within the liquefied gas chamber.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a lighter, and more particularly to a safety lighter, which comprises a safety arrangement to sealedly mount the supporting frame to the casing for sealedly retaining the liquefied gas therein so as to prevent not only the leakage of the liquefied gas but also the explosive damages of the lighter due to the temperature and the external pressure.
2. Description of Related Arts
Modern butane lighters, such as flint-type lighters or piezoelectric lighters, have become very popular since the lighters are economy, cheap, and easy operation. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional butane lighter comprises a casing having a liquefied gas chamber, a supporting frame sealedly supported on the casing, a gas emitting nozzle sealedly mounted on the supporting frame to communicate with the liquefied gas chamber, and an ignition device mounted on the supporting frame to generate a spark for ignition. However, such conventional butane lighter has several drawbacks.
In order to seal the supporting frame on the casing, the supporting frame has a sealing edge to seal with an inner surface of the casing to form a sealing line L so as to retain the liquefied gas within the liquefied gas chamber. However, the sealing line L may be broken since the liquefied gas within the casing is sensitive to the temperature, external pressure, and impact. In other words, when any portion of the sealing line L is broken, the liquefied gas may leak or even be vaporized and exploded. For example, when the butane lighter is placed on the dashboard of the vehicle which is parked outdoors, the sunlight will heat up the liquefied gas to vaporize that largely increases the gas pressure in the gas chamber. Generally, the casing is made to withstand the temperature of the liquefied gas below 55°.
In addition, when the liquefied gas is released to the gas emitting nozzle, the impulsive pressure by the phase change of the liquefied gas from liquid to gas is substantially applied to the supporting frame. The impulsive pressure of the liquefied gas substantially pushes the supporting frame upwardly so as to break the sealing line L between the supporting frame and the casing.
Furthermore, the butane lighter further comprises a sealing ring R mounted around the gas emitting nozzle to sealedly mount the gas emitting nozzle on the supporting frame so as to prevent the liquefied gas from leaking through the gap between the gas emitting nozzle and the supporting frame. However, in order to keep the butane lighter in low cost, a common the sealing ring R may be used that the liquefied gas may start leaking after using a period of time. Of course, a very good quality and expensive sealing ring R can be used to extend the service life of the butane lighter but the cost and precise installation of the sealing ring R will largely increase the manufacturing cost of the butane lighter.


A semiconductor device assembly can include a first die package comprising a bottom side; a top side; and lateral sides extending between the top and bottom sides. The assembly can include an encapsulant material encapsulating the first die package. In some embodiments, the assembly includes a cooling cavity in the encapsulant material. The cooling cavity can have a first opening; a second opening; and an elongate channel extending from the first opening to the second opening. In some embodiments, the elongate channel surrounds at least two of the lateral sides of the first die package. In some embodiments, the elongate channel is configured to accommodate a cooling fluid.

Packaged semiconductor dies, including memory chips, microprocessor chips, imager chips, and central processing units, typically include a semiconductor die mounted on a substrate and encased in a plastic protective covering. The die includes functional features, such as memory cells, processor circuits, and imager devices, as well as bond pads electrically connected to the functional features. The bond pads can be electrically connected to terminals outside the protective covering to allow the die to be connected to higher level circuitry.
Semiconductor manufacturers continually reduce the size of die packages and other semiconductor components to fit within the space constraints of electronic devices, while also increasing the functional capacity of each package to meet operating parameters. One approach for increasing the processing power of a semiconductor package without substantially increasing the surface area covered by the package (i.e., the package's "footprint") is to vertically stack multiple semiconductor dies on top of one another in a single package. The dies in such vertically-stacked packages can be interconnected by electrically coupling the bond pads of the individual dies with the bond pads of adjacent dies using through-silicon vias (TSVs). In vertically stacked packages, the heat generated is difficult to dissipate, which increases the operating temperatures of the individual dies, the junctions therebetween, and the package as a whole. Another approach for increasing processor power while decreasing overall assembly size is to move die packages and other semiconductor devices closer to each other. In such applications, heat from adjacent packages can increase the overall operating temperature of each die package. These size-reduction efforts can cause the die packages to reach temperatures above their maximum operating temperatures in many types of device.


A protective pipe cover and support apparatus is disclosed that provides for secure attachment to an underlying surface, such as a concrete, tarmac or stone surface, for example, and which provides for secure retention and support of multiple pipes or other conduits within the pipe cover and protection of the pipes against loads, impacts and/or other forces applied to the pipe cover. The protective pipe cover includes a load bearing cover element with lateral load bearing supports which bear against an underlying surface, a curved outer web extending between the lateral supports, and a central load bearing support extending between the outer web and an underlying surface, and including an anchor for attachment to the surface. The pipe cover also includes a pipe support with multiple pipe retainer clips for resiliently retaining multiple pipes situated between the outer web of the load bearing cover element, and the underlying surface.

Over the years, the installation of pipes or other substantially linear conduits such as electrical cables, hoses, etc., extending across surfaces such as roadways, walkways, parking areas, and floors or walls of buildings or parking garages has become commonplace, particularly in applications where existing buildings and other structures are being upgraded or retrofitted, necessitating the installation of such pipes over existing surfaces. In particular, the installation of pipes or other conduits extending over existing surfaces such as roadways, walkways, parking areas and building or garage floors and walls may result in the exposure of such pipes to vehicular, pedestrian, or other traffic in the area of pipe installation that may pass over, impact against, or otherwise contact installed pipes, leading to potential damage. In particular, many types of pipes or other conduits may be susceptible to damage from forces exerted by vehicles or other loads passing over or resting on pipes which extend along a floor or horizontal surface for example, or from impacts by a vehicle or other object hitting or pressing against pipes which extend along a wall or other substantially vertical surface, for example. Accordingly, various types of pipe, cable or conduit covers and protectors have been developed and are known in the prior art to attempt to cover and provide protection from damage for pipes or other conduits which extend across a surface.
Conventional pipe or conduit covers and protectors known in the art may typically include one or more channels extending through the length of the protector in which one or more pipes and/or other conduits may be laid, and may also typically include one or more ramp or other inclined surfaces on either side of the channels to provide for vehicles or other loads to pass over the cover without directly loading or impacting the pipe or other conduit. However, many such conventional pipe or conduit covers and protectors are designed to be portable, such as for temporary use or for frequent relocation, and accordingly are not adapted to be securely or permanently attached to an underlying surface. Additionally, many such conventional pipe or conduit covers also may not provide for secure retention of pipes or conduits, which may simply be laid or draped in channels extending through the pipe or conduit protector.
In applications where pipes or conduits are desired to be installed permanently or semi-permanently as part of the construction, upgrade or retrofit of a building or other structure, it may be desired to be able to securely attach a pipe or conduit protector to an underlying existing surface, while still providing for the protection of the pipes or conduits from loads or impacts. Further in some applications where multiple pipes or other conduits are to be installed and protected from loads and impacts, or it may be desired to be able to keep individual pipes or conduits from contact with each other. Additionally, in some such applications, or applications where pipes or other conduits may be fragile or susceptible to shock, or for improved support of the pipes or other conduits, it may be desired to be able to securely retain the pipes or other conduits within the pipe cover, to prevent movement or damage from occurring inside the pipe cover. Accordingly, there remains a need for a pipe or other conduit cover and protector apparatus which addresses the shortcomings of the protectors known in the prior art.

Protective pipe cover and support apparatus


A hybrid chain belt which includes a toothed rubber belt and a pair of chains comprising a plurality of interleaved or laced sets of inner chain links and a plurality of interleaved outer or external links immediately adjacent the inner links mounted to the sides of the toothed belt. Each of the inner links and outer links has a pair of spaced apertures for receiving at least one pin which passes through the apertures of the links. The pins extend through the teeth of the rubber belt. Alternatively, the pair of chains may be replaced with outer links with either two apertures or a single aperture.

Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of timing belts and chains. More particularly, the invention pertains to a combined timing belt and timing chain.
Description of Related Art
A timing belt or chain synchronizes the rotation of the crankshaft and the camshaft in an internal combustion engine so that the engine's valves open and close at the proper times during each cylinder's intake and exhaust strokes.
Timing belts are generally thought to have a quiet and efficient operation.
Additionally, they are not known to be sensitive to contaminated oil. In a typical belt system there is a tensioning system which utilizes pulleys and bearings to guide the path of the belt and provide tension. These components do an adequate job, but they have the disadvantage of being heavy, high cost, and add parasitic loss to the system. The disadvantages to belts are their width, which required additional package space and their very abrupt failure mode which involves the belt breaking.
Timing chains are known for their high strength and long durability but some timing chains generate mechanical noise which is adverse to users. The tensioning system typically used on modern automotive chain timing systems involves the use of lightweight plastic arm and guides in which the chain moves across the surface of the plastic on an oil film resulting in a very low friction interface with corresponding very low parasitic losses. Additionally, with recent engine technology such as direct fuel injection and turbocharging, the engine oil has become more aggressive towards the chain due to contamination. This has raised questions with regards to chain wear durability.
Historically, a timing belt was not able to use a timing chain tensioning system as the materials used in belt construction were not compatible with motor oil. Recent technology advances in belt material technology have allowed a belt to be run in an environment of motor oil just like engine timing chains. Attempts were made to run a flat back belt on the surface of arms and guides used for a chain which resulted in excessive parasitic losses due to the high surface area of the belt.
There have been some chains and belts that attempt to use a combination of a chain and a belt. For example, British patent application GB 196294, which discloses a belt with outer link plates, inner link plates, sleeves and leather or belt strips. The inner link plates are connected to one another by a hard sleeve that surrounds the belt strips. The leather strips are higher than the outer link plates and the inner link plates so that the pulley is only engaged by the leather strip. The outer link plates are connected to each other by rivets, with the sleeves and the rivets forming the links of the chain. The sleeves and the rivets take both the pulling and bending strains.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,645,132 discloses a V-belt with wire chain links on either side of the upper portion of the V-belt, with connecting bars of the wire chain links passing through holes in the upper portion of the V-belt.
German patent DE 33 47 957 C2 discloses a double stranded belt with rigid teeth connected by pins. Pins and lugs pass through the centers of the double stranded belt.
Most of the other combinations present the chain within an interior of a belt. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,113,790 discloses a chain that has two flexible drive belts present on the outside of the chain. U.S. Pat. No. 2,555,190 discloses a V-belt with a wire chain within the belt to reinforce the V-belt. U.S. Pat. No. 2,224,068 discloses a chain surrounded by V-belts on either side. Swedish application SE 113793 discloses a belt with a rubber body with a core of a roller chain.


A lossless coding technique for near-logarithmic companded PCM that achieves high compression performance is provided. In coding, the coding method that produces the smaller code amount is selected between the prediction coding method, which performs linear prediction of samples in a frame and codes the amplitude of the prediction error, and the normalization coding method, which normalizes the amplitude of the samples in the frame and codes the normalized amplitude, and a selection code that indicates the selection result is output. The samples in the frame are coded according to the selected coding method to produce a compression code. In decoding, the compression code is decoded according to a decoding process corresponding to the coding method specified by the selection code.

A lossless reversible coding method is a known method of compressing audio, visual or other information. In applications where a waveform is directly recorded as a linear PCM signal, various compression coding methods have been proposed (see Non-patent literature 1, for example). For example, a prediction coding method, such as MPEG-4 ALS, is known (see Non-patent literature 2, for example). The prediction coding method is to code a prediction error reduced in amplitude by linear prediction and a linear prediction coefficient.
In long-distance telephone transmission or audio transmission for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), the near-logarithmic companded PCM standardized under ITU-T G.711, which uses 8 bits for each sample, is used instead of the linear PCM, which directly uses the numerical values of the amplitude. If the VoIP system becomes more popular than the ordinary telephone system, the required transmission capacity will increase, so that the demand for a lossless compression coding method based on the near-logarithmic companded PCM will also increase. In the VoIP system, the length of a frame, which is a unit of compression, is short in order to reduce the delay time, and each frame may be composed of 40 samples.

Coding method, coding apparatus, coding program, and recording medium therefor

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


An active illumination range camera that acquires a range and a picture image of a scene and provides a reflectance for a feature in the scene responsive to a distance for the feature provided by the range image, a registered irradiance for the feature provided by the picture image and registered irradiance for a region of a calibration surface corresponding to the feature provided by an image of the calibration surface acquired by the range camera.

A range camera acquires distances to features in a scene that the range camera images and provides the distances in a range image. Typically, the range camera is an active lighting range camera and comprises a light source that the camera controls to transmit light to illuminate the scene. The range camera images light that the features reflect from the transmitted light back to the camera on pixels of a photosensor that the camera comprises to provide data which may be processed to determine the distances and generate the range image. In a time of flight range camera the camera provides the range image by determining how long it takes the transmitted light that is reflected and imaged on the pixels to make a round trip from the camera to the features and back to the camera. The camera uses the round trip times and the speed of light to determine the distances. In a stereo range camera, the camera provides the range image by determining binocular disparity for features in the scene responsive to the transmitted light that is reflected and imaged on the pixels. The camera triangulates the features responsive to their disparity to determine the distances. Usually, the transmitted light is infrared light (IR). In addition to a range image of a scene, a range camera may also provide a contrast image, a "picture image", of the scene responsive to intensity of the transmitted light that is reflected by the features of the scene and reaches the camera. The picture image provides recognizable images of features in the scene and is advantageous for identifying the features for which the range image provides distances. The picture image and range image of a scene may be acquired by imaging the scene on a same photosensor or on different photosensors registered to each other.


The present invention provides a wrench which includes a movable jaw, a fixed jaw and a slidable member formed at the bottom portion of the movable jaw and slidably mounted to the main body. In the present invention, a toggle member can be driven to rotate through rotating a handle of the wrench, and the toggle member can smoothly move to and fro between a driving space and an evading space of the slidable member. Whereby, the present invention is simple in structure, has characteristics of smoothly engagedly-cooperative movements between parts of the wrench, so that it can make full use of the force applied by the user and has excellent effects of use.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wrench.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional wrench is subjected to be used through the cooperative engagement of a cam portion disposed at the bottom of a movable jaw and another cam portion disposed at the top of a handle. However, under a required huge torque, such an engagement between the cam portions can easily lead to the collapse of the cam portions and the abrasion of the cam portions after a prolonged use of the cam portions.
In this regard, a wrench disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,434,754 is provided to improve the above problem, in which a spring is disposed in a slot, and rivets are secured to plates and located in the slot. However, since the cooperating projections are located below the slot, and so is the cam shaped projection, the force applied to the movable jaw by the cam shaped projection concentrates mostly at the cooperating projections, the cam shaped projection slantedly and downwardly push the cooperating projections, and only about half the force is used to drive the cooperating projections moving horizontally. In other words, when the wrench which is provided without the use of the engagement of the cam portions is used, it is difficult to operate because only a small part of the force is delivered to the movable jaw and the fixed jaw.
In addition, since the movable jaw and the fixed jaw are secured between two plates, two slots are required, and two rivets are secured to the movable jaw and the fixed jaw and are located in the slot, respectively, to complete the assembly of the wrench. The structure of the wrench is quite complex, thus increasing the manufacturing costs and assembly difficulty.
The present invention is, therefore, arisen to obviate or at least mitigate the above mentioned disadvantages.


The present disclosed are a high exchange-capacity anion exchange resin with dual functional-groups and method of synthesis thereof. The invention relates to the field of environmental function material synthesis and application. The resin is based on chloromethylated polystyrene-divinylbenzene polymer as matrix, and by primary amination and quaternization, yields an anion exchange resin with dual functional-groups having both a weak base anionic group and a strong base anionic group. The anion exchange resin not only has high adsorption capacity for water-born nitrate ions, but also can effectively squelch natural organic acids such as phytic acid in water, thus simultaneously removing nitrate ions and phytic acid organic matter from water. Therefore, the resin has a broad application potential in the fields of drinking water treatment, groundwater remediation, and advanced urban sewage treatment.

In recent years, water resources, especially groundwater resources have experienced serious pollution, resulting in various direct or latent harm and threats to ecological systems and humans. Among these harm and threats, the heavy use of nitrogen fertilizer in agriculture and the discharge of nitrogen-containing have led to increased concentration of nitrate ion that well exceeded the threshold of waterbody self-purification. Excessive intake of nitrate ions by humans may cause serious health problems, such as birth defects, diarrhea, abdominal pain, diabetes, high blood pressure. Removing nitrate ions from water is of significant benefits. Commonly used methods for removing nitrate ions from water includes mainly biochemical method, chemical reduction method, electro-osmosis method, and adsorption method. The biochemical method has a relatively long processing cycle, and its outcome is heavily seasonally dependent. The chemical reduction method requires finicky conditions, making it difficult for large-scale application. The electro-osmosis method comes with a high processing cost that render it unfit for long-term use. The ion exchange and absorption method is considered the ideal solution because of the advantages of being simple, fast and efficient, low cost, and renewable. Guoming Cao and others have achieved relatively good result using a strong base anion exchange resin in treatment of nitrate contamination of groundwater, (Guoming cao, Mei Sheng, YuLei Fei, Kerwei, Weiwei Shi, and Yifeng Yu, ion exchange method by continuous flow process in treatment of nitrate contaminated groundwater, Water Purification Technology, 2011, 30 (5): 90-94). On the other hand, organic matter in urban sewage, wastewater, biochemical tail water, or natural waterbodies, are mainly of plant type, which produce undesirable odor and smell, degrade water quality, and generate disinfection byproducts harmful to human health during water disinfection treatment process. The prevailing effective adsorbent material for removing this type of natural organic matter is weak base anion exchange resin.
Typically, the functional group in an anion exchange resin is amino group or quaternary ammonium group, the adsorption capacity for nitrate ions is controlled by the number of functional groups in resin surface. Traditionally, in chloromethylated polystyrene-divinylbenzene polymer, when undergoing quaternization, each chloromethyl within the polymer can produce only one quaternary ammonium group. The chloromethyl content within chloromethylated polystyrene-divinylbenzene polymer is fixed (16-20% by mass) and resistant to enhancement. This results in the number of quaternary ammonium salt group in the resin surface being impervious to enhancement since it is limited by the number of chloromethyl. Therefore, it remains a difficult challenge to increase the number of the quaternary ammonium salt groups deriving from the chloromethyl on the chloromethylated polystyrene-divinylbenzene polymer.

High exchange-capacity anion exchange resin with dual functional-groups and method of synthesis thereof

NANJING UNIVERSITY YANCHENG ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A water turbine runner has a plurality of vanes, each made of a rolled steel plates which contains, by weight, 0.01 to 0.10% of C, 0.10 to 1.0% of Si, 0.10 to 2% of Mn, 2 to 7% of Ni, 10 to 15% of Cr and 0.10 to 4% of Mo, 71.9 to 87.7% of Fe, and which has a metallic structure mixture containing, by volume, martensite and 10 to 35% of residual austenite. Each of the vanes is made of a plurality of plate pieces, cut out from the rolled steel plate, press-formed in a shape of a part of the vane and joined by welding into the complete vane.

The present invention relates to a water-turbine runner having a welded structure using a high strength and tough steel plate, and to a process for manufacturing the water-turbine runner.
In order to improve power generating efficiency in recent years, hydro-electric power generation has tended to have a higher and higher lift or head. This tendency requires a water-turbine runner of accordingly higher strength and toughness.
In the prior art, the water-turbine runner has been made of 13Cr steel, i.e., martensite stainless steel which is excellent in cavitation resisting characteristics. This 13Cr steel does not contain Ni. In accordance with the requirement for the output rise and the efficiency improvement of a single water-turbine runner, however, there has been developed 13Cr steel which contains Ni and has an excellent toughness. There has been proposed a water-turbine runner which is one piece cast or plural pieces separately cast of the 13Cr steel as is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-53737.
However, the prior art described above has the following problems:
a) A sufficient toughness cannot be achieved because of defects intrinsic to the casting such as a shrinkage cavity and segregation. PA1 b) For detecting the defects, a non-destructive inspection is used such as the ultrasonic flaw detection or the radiation inspection, but this requires a number or steps for inspecting the whole structure of the three-dimensional water-turbine runner with high precision. PA1 c) The casting defects detected by the non-destructive inspection are remedied by arc welding with covered electrodes, in which the 13Cr steel is liable to incur a weld crack. In order to avoid this weld crack, pre-and post-heating steps are required which undesirably increases the number of steps in the remedial operations. PA1 d) The finishing of the cast surface of the water turbine runner requires a great number of steps.

Water-turbine runner and process for manufacturing the same


Primary intermediates for hair coloring compositions for oxidative dyeing of hair are compounds of the formula (1):

This invention relates to new 4-amino-2-(2 or 3-amino or substituted amino-ethyl or propyl)-phenol compounds and compositions containing these new compounds, as primary intermediates for oxidative coloring of hair fibers.
Coloration of hair is a procedure practiced from antiquity employing a variety of means. In modern times, the method most extensively to color hair is an oxidative dyeing process utilizing one or more oxidative hair coloring agents in combination with one or more oxidizing agents.
Most commonly a peroxy oxidizing agent is used in combination with one or more oxidative hair coloring agents, generally small molecules capable of diffusing into hair and comprising one or more primary intermediates and one or more couplers. In this procedure, a peroxide material, such as hydrogen peroxide, is employed to activate the small molecules of primary intermediates so that they react with couplers to form larger sized compounds in the hair shaft to color the hair in a variety of shades and colors.
A wide variety of primary intermediates and couplers have been employed in such oxidative hair coloring systems and compositions. Among the primary intermediates employed there may be mentioned p-phenylenediamine, p-toluenediamine, p-aminophenol, 4-amino-3-methylphenol, N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-p-phenylene diamine, 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4,5-diaminopyrazole and as couplers there may be mentioned resorcinol, 2-methylresorcinol, 3-aminophenol, 2,4-diaminophenoxyethanol, and 5-amino-2-methylphenol.
There are numerous additional requirements for oxidation dye compounds that are used to dye human hair besides the color or the desired intensity. Thus, the dye compounds must be unobjectionable in regard to toxicological and dermatological properties and must provide the desired hair color with a good light fastness, fastness to a permanent wave treatment, acid fastness and fastness to rubbing. The color of the hair dyed with the dye compounds in each case must be stable for at least 4 to 6 weeks to light, rubbing and chemical agents. Furthermore, an additional requirement is the production of a broad palette of different color shades using different developer and coupler substances. Many of the desired shades have been produced with dyes based on p-aminophenol. However, as indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,451, the use of p-aminophenol is being questioned, for possible toxicological reasons. The proposed replacements for p-aminophenol have not proved entirely satisfactory. There is therefore a need for new primary intermediate compounds to meet one or more of the desired properties but not possessing the possible toxicological drawbacks possessed by p-aminophenol.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide new primary intermediate compounds useful in place of p-aminophenol to provide a wide range of different color shades with various combinations of primary intermediates and couplers, but which avoids the drawback of p-aminophenol.
It has been discovered that the new 4-amino-2-(2 or 3-amino or substituted amino-ethyl or propyl)-phenol compounds are suitable primary intermediates for hair coloring compositions and systems for providing good oxidative coloration of hair and for providing acceptable light fastness, fastness to shampooing, good selectivity, fastness to perspiration and permanent wave treatment, and suitable for providing a wide variety of different color shades with various primary intermediate and coupler compounds.
The invention provides new 4-amino-2-(2 or 3-amino or substituted amino-ethyl or propyl)-phenol compounds of formula (1):
wherein R1 and R2 are each independently selected from hydrogen atoms, a C1 to C5 alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group, or R1 and R2 together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached form a 5 or 6 member cyclic ring optionally containing one or more additional atoms selected from O, N or S atoms, such as a piperazine, piperidine, imidazole, or morpholine, and n is equal to 1 or 2, with the proviso that when n is equal to 2 only one of R1 and R2 may be hydrogen.
These novel primary intermediates are used to provide coloration to hair in which there is good dye uptake by the hair and provides shades or colors which are stable over a relatively long period of time. The novel primary intermediates provide for dyeing of hair to impart color or shades that possess good wash fastness and do not undergo significant changes on exposure to light or shampooing.
The new 4-amino-2-(2 or 3-amino or substituted amino-ethyl or propyl)-phenol compounds of formula (1) of this invention can be prepared according to the following reaction sequence, where R1 and R2 are as defined hereinbefore:
In this synthesis procedure nitration of 2-coumaranone or dihydrocoumarin of formula (2) with nitric acid/sulfuric acid produces a compound of formula (3). Reaction of the compound of formula (3) with a reagent of the formula R1R2NH provides a compound of formula (4). Reduction of the compound of formula (4) with borane-THF complex produces a compound of formula (5). Catalytic hydrogenation of the compound of formula (5) with Pd/C under hydrogen produces a compound of formula (1).

Primary intermediates for oxidative coloration of hair

Abstract: wherein R1 and R2 are each independently selected from hydrogen atoms, a C1 to C5 alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group, or R1 and R2 together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached form a 5 or 6 member cyclic ring optionally containing one or more additional atoms selected from O, N or S atoms, and n is equal to 1 or 2, with the proviso that when n is equal to 2 only one of R1 and R2 may be hydrogen.


Methods for upscaling digital rock modeling data are described. Core-plug samples for pore-scale modeling are chosen using whole-core mini-permeability grids and conventional CT scans. Pore models or pore-network models are used for flow modeling. Borehole-scale models use MPS (Multi-Point Statistics) to combine mini-permeability grids and conventional CTscans of whole core with electrical borehole images to create 3D numerical pseudocores for each RRT (Reservoir Rock Type). Effective SCAL properties computed from various MPS borehole-scale realizations or models are used to populate interwell-scale models for each RRT. Effective properties computed from flow simulations for interwell volumes are used to populate full-field scale models. At the full-field scale, outcrop analogs, sequence stratigraphy, forward stratigraphic models, diagenetic models, and basin-scale models are combined using MPS to improve flow simulations. At every stage, REVs (representative element volumes) are computed to be certain rock heterogeneities have been captured.

Reservoir modeling is the process of building a digital representation of a reservoir that incorporates all characteristics pertaining to its ability to store and produce hydrocarbons. Reservoir models are subdivided into static and dynamic components. Static models are fine-scale simulations of rock properties such as porosity, permeability, capillary pressure, fractures, faults, seismic attributes, and parameters that do not change significantly with time. Dynamic models are coarser simulations that incorporate fluid properties that change with time, such as pressure and flow rates of oil, gas, and water.
Reservoir modeling covers at least 12 orders of magnitude, ranging from pore (nm to micron) to borehole (mm to m) to interwell (10's to 100's of m) to full-field scale (10's of km). Reservoir rocks are complex and heterogeneous at all scales. Multiscale simulation is a major goal of the petroleum industry, and many upscaling approaches have been proposed. See, e.g. Christie, M. A., 1996, Upscaling for reservoir simulation: JPT, v. 48, No. 11, p. 1004-1010 (hereinafter "Christie 1996"); and Durlofsky, L. J., 2003, Upscaling of geocellular models for reservoir flow simulation: A review of recent progress: 7th International Forum on Reservoir Simulation, Buhl/Baden-Baden, Germany, June 23-27, p. 58 (hereinafter "Durlofsky 2003"). Most of these conventional upscaling approaches start with fine-scale reservoir models that are coarsened to a model that typical fluid flow simulators can handle. The biggest challenge in this type of upscaling occurs because it is commonly difficult to preserve essential geologic heterogeneities in the resulting coarse models.
Heterogeneity can be defined as the variation in rock properties as a function of location within a reservoir or formation. Many reservoirs are heterogeneous because mineralogy, grain type and size, depositional environment, porosity, permeability, natural fractures, faults, channels, and other attributes vary from place to place. Heterogeneity causes problems in formation evaluation and reservoir simulation because reservoirs occupy enormous volumes, but there is limited core and log control. For example, a typical grid block used in a reservoir simulator is 250 m×250 m×1 m, borehole-scale numerical pseudocores represent rock volumes on the cubic-meter scale, and core plugs and microCTscans or confocal scans represent even smaller volumes.
A geocellular model is a layered, gridded 3D model. Layers can have zero thickness, as in the case of bed pinch outs or truncations. Layers can be as thin as the spacing of log measurements, or they can be thicker, to reflect the known thickness of rock layers. Geocellular models capture geologic-scale heterogeneities, and commonly have millions of cells.
Upscaling is the process of converting rock properties from fine scales to coarser scales. Upscaling algorithms assign suitable values of porosity, permeability, and other flow functions to each coarser grid block. See, Lasseter, T. J., Waggoner, J. R., and Lake, L. W., 1986, Reservoir heterogeneities and their influence on ultimate recovery, in Lake, L. W., and Carroll, H. B., Jr., eds., Reservoir Characterization: Academic Press, Orlando, Fla., p. 545-559 (hereinafter "Lasseter 1986"); Christie 1996; and Durlofsky 2003. Upscaling is necessary because reservoir simulators cannot handle the large number of cells in typical geocellular models.
There have been many upscaling attempts in reservoir simulation. Common approaches are summarized in: Lasseter 1986, Christie 1996, and Durlofsky 2003. A number of authors have used multi-point statistics (MPS) and representative element volume (REV) concepts in digital rock modeling. Okabe and Blunt (2004, 2005, 2007) used MPS to generate 3D pore systems from 2D thin sections. See, Okabe, H., and Blunt, M. J., 2004, Prediction of permeability for porous media reconstructed using multiple-point statistics: Physical Review E, v. 70, 10 p; Okabe, H., and Blunt, M. J., 2005, Pore space reconstruction using multiple-point statistics: Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, v. 46, p. 121-137; and Okabe, H., and Blunt, M. J., 2007, Pore space reconstruction of vuggy carbonates using microtomography and multiple-point statistics: Water Resources Research, v. 43. These authors assume that the 2D horizontal view was the same as the 2D vertical view, and proceeded to generate their model. Because of this assumption, their model does not capture rock heterogeneity, and does not depict true 3D pore geometry. MPS has been used to model carbonate facies tracts. See, Harris, P. M., 2009, Delineating and quantifying depositional facies patterns in carbonate reservoirs: Insight from modern analogs: AAPG Bulletin, v. 94, p. 61-86. MPS has been used to generate borehole-scale numerical rock models. See, Zhang, T., Hurley, N. F., and Zhao, W., 2009, Numerical modeling of heterogeneous carbonates and multi-scale dynamics: Presented at the SPWLA 50th Annual Logging Symposium, The Woodlands, Tex., June 21-24 (hereinafter "Zhang 2009"). Concepts of representative element volume (REV) and area (REA) have been applied to an outcrop photo of heterolithic sediments. See, Norris, R. J., and Lewis, J. J. M., 1991, The geological modeling of effective permeability in complex heterolithic facies: SPE Preprint 22692, Presented at the 66th Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, Tex., October 6-9, p. 359-374. REV has been discussed in relation to work with permeabilities in outcrop blocks of heterolithic sediments. See, Jackson, M. D., Muggeridge, A. H., Yoshida, S., and Johnson, H. D., 2003, Upscaling permeability measurements within complex heterolithic tidal sandstones: Mathematical Geology, v. 35, p. 499-520; and Jackson, M. D., Yoshida, S., Muggeridge, A. H., and Johnson, H. D., 2005, Three-dimensional reservoir characterization and flow simulation of heterolithic tidal sandstones: AAPG Bulletin, v. 89, p. 507-528. The concept of REV has been used in pore-scale digital rock models. However, because they used overlapping sub-volumes, they obtained questionable results. See, Zhang, D., Zhang, R., Chen, S., Soll, W. E., 2000, Pore scale study of flow in porous media: Scale dependency, REV, and statistical REV: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 27, No. 8, p. 1195-1198; and Okabe, H., and Oseto, K., 2006, Pore-scale heterogeneity assessed by the lattice-Boltzmann method: International Symposium of the Soc. of Core Analysts, Trondheim, Norway, September 12-16, Paper SCA2006-44, 7 p. The minimized variance concept of REV has been used to coarsen (upscale) reservoir simulations. See, Qi, D., 2009, Upscaling theory and application techniques for reservoir simulation: Lambert Academic Publishing, Saarbrücken, Germany, 230 p. (hereinafter "Qi 2009").
3D pore-scale models have been built using 2D thin sections, using an approach known as Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation. See, Wu, K., Van Dijke, M. I. J., Couples, G. D., Jiang, Z., Ma, J., Sorbie, K. S., Crawford, J., Young, I., and Zhang, X., 2006, 3D stochastic modelling of heterogeneous porous media—Applications to reservoir rocks: Transport in Porous Media, v. 65, p. 443-467. Upscaling questions have been addressed by building composite pore models using thin section scans of different resolution. See, Wu, K., Ryazanov, A., van Dijke, M. I. J., Jiang, Z., Ma, J., Couples, G. D., and Sorbie, K. S., 2008, Validation of methods for multi-scale pore space reconstruction and their use in prediction of flow properties of carbonate: Paper SCA2008-34, International Symposium of the Society of Core Analysts, Abu Dhabi, October 29-November 2, 12 p., which states: "One possible approach is to refine the coarser scale 3D image to equivalent resolution as the finer scale and then combine these two structures with the same volume into a single model." The finer scale image is "superimposed" on the coarser scale image to form an integrated structure. See, id.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,520 describes a method to upscale permeability using a Voronoi computational grid. U.S. Pat. No. 7,224,162 describes a method to estimate properties of a geologic formation, using well log data such as nuclear magnetic resonance, resistivity, and other logs. The method acquires directional formation property values and generates a directional property log. U.S. Pat. No. 7,783,462 describes a method to populate a three dimensional reservoir framework having a plurality of cells with one or more constant reservoir property values. U.S. Pat. No. 7,765,091 describes a multi-scale method for reservoir simulation using a finite-volume method.
U.S. Patent Application Publ. No. 2011-0004448 describes a method to build 3D digital models of porous media using reflected white-light and laser scanning confocal profilometry and multi-point statistics. U.S. Patent Application Publ. No. 2011-0004447 describes a method to build 3D digital models of porous media using transmitted laser scanning confocal microscopy and multi-point statistics. The pore-scale REV concept is also discussed. U.S. Patent Application Publ. No. 2009-0262603 describes a method to generate fullbore images from borehole images. U.S. Patent Application Publ. No. 2009-0259446 describes a method to generate numerical pseudocores from conventional CTscans and fullbore images using multi-point statistics.

Multiscale digital rock modeling for reservoir simulation


A material defect detection device that detects a material defect in a predetermined region of metallic equipment using a magnetic field distribution in the predetermined region measured by a magnetic sensor array including a plurality of magnetic sensors, the material defect detection device including: a processor that calculates a density distribution of magnetic dipoles in the predetermined region based on the magnetic field distribution and calculates a depth distribution of material defect in the predetermined region based on the density distribution of the magnetic dipoles.

In equipment made of a metal (hereinafter referred to as "metallic facilities") used in petroleum and petrochemical plants and the like, a material defect phenomenon in which a thickness is reduced due to local corrosion and the like may occur. When such a material defect progresses, there is a risk of generation of holes in metallic equipment. Accordingly, it is necessary to detect material defects generated due to local corrosion and the like in metallic equipment distributed throughout a plant at an early stage.
In Patent Literature 1, the presence of a material defect can be detected according to pattern matching between a magnetic field strength pattern when a material defect has occurred (hereinafter referred to as a "material defect pattern") and a magnetic field strength pattern detected through a magnetic sensor using the fact that a static magnetic field decreases at a portion at which a material defect has occurred.
[Patent Literature 1]
PCT International Publication WO 2015/179237
However, in the system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, shape information such as a planar shape and depth of a material defect may not be able to be estimated even if the presence of a material defect in metallic equipment that is an inspection target can be detected. This is because a material defect pattern varies according to shape information such as a planar shape and depth of a material defect and a distance between a magnetic sensor and the material defect (hereinafter referred to as "standoff"). Accordingly, it is necessary to prepare material defect patterns for various material defect shapes and standoffs. However, since there is a large variety of material defect shapes, a great number of material defect patterns are required, which is not practical.

Material defect detection device, material defect detection system, material defect detection method, and non-transitory computer readable storage medium


A cross member is arranged so as to extend in a width direction of a vehicle body. The cross member has both ends fixed to side framework structures of the vehicle body. The cross member includes a base frame extending in the width direction and reinforcing frame parts formed in integral with the base frame to cover the circumference of the base frame within its limited ranges in the width direction of the vehicle body. The base frame and the reinforcing frame parts are made from the same resinous material or plural resinous materials belonging to engineering plastic system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cross member arranged as a framework structure in the width direction of a vehicle and a manufacturing method for the cross member.
2. Description of Related Art
A cross member, which is arranged on the backside of an instrument panel so as to extend in the width direction of the vehicle, has both ends fixed to side framework structures of the vehicle. The cross member performs a role as a framework structure in the width direction of the vehicle and another role as a supporting member for various components, for example, instrument panel, column shaft, air bag, etc. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (heisei) No. 8-282333 discloses this kind of cross member which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
In FIGS. 1 and 2, the cross member 50 includes a main frame 51 extending in the width direction of the vehicle and a pair of brackets 52 fixed to appropriate parts (e.g. both ends) of the main frame 51, in one body. The main frame 51 is made of fiber reinforced thermosetting resin, while the brackets 52 are made of fiber reinforced thermoplastic resin. The main frame 51 includes a frame body 51a having a hollow part 53 defined therein, an inner layer 51b arranged inside of the body 51 and an outer layer 51c arranged outside of the body 51. The frame body 51a is made of fiber reinforced thermosetting resin. The inside and outside layers 51b, 51c are made of fiber reinforced thermoplastic resin, which is similar to that of the bracket 52. That is, in the prior art, since the cross member 50 is made from resinous material and the hollow part 53 of the main frame 51 is used as air-conditioning duct, there have been accomplished weight saving, reduction in number of components, cost saving, reduction in number of assembling steps, space saving, etc.
In the above-mentioned cross member 50, however, it cannot afford sufficient strength to the member's part that is required to have high strength in comparison with the other parts. For example, in case of the cross member 50 arranged on the backside of an instrument panel, the member's part supporting a column shaft is required to have high strength particularly.
Additionally, since the main frame 51 and the brackets 52 are formed by different kinds of resinous materials, a problem of deteriorated recycling efficiency arises.
Meanwhile, the conventional cross member has been provided by injecting molten resin to the circumference of a main frame (see publications of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-220598 and Japanese Patent No. 3219407). However, it is noted that the cross member made by these molding methods does not always exhibit high strength. Additionally, there is the possibility of torsion and flexure in the cross member.

Cross member and manufacturing method thereof


A method for coating a filter medium (110) of a sand control screen assembly (100). The method includes providing a sand control screen assembly (100) having a filter medium (110), the filter medium (110) having pores therein, flowing a slurry containing particles through the filter medium (110) of the sand control screen assembly (100) and bridging the particle across the pores to form a particle coating (116) on the filter medium (110), thereby protecting of the filter medium (110) during installation, enabling transportation of reactive materials to a desired wellbore location and enabling circulation of fluid through the sand control screen assembly (100).

Without limiting the scope of the present invention, its background will be described in relation to sand control screen assemblies operating in a wellbore that traverses a subterranean hydrocarbon bearing formation, as an example.
During drilling and construction of wellbores that transverse hydrocarbon bearing formations, it is oftentimes desirable to form a filter cake on the face of the formation to minimize damage to the permeability thereof. The filter cake often comprises an acid-soluble component (e.g., a calcium carbonate bridging agent) and a polymeric component (e.g., starch and xanthan). Before desirable fluids, such as hydrocarbons, may be produced from the formation, the filter cake generally is removed.
In one method of removal, a treatment fluid such as an acid or a fluid operable to react with an acid generating compound may be pumped downhole to remove the filter cake. It has been found, however, that this type of procedures may involve expensive additional trips in and out of the wellbore. For example, in completions including sand control screens, it may be necessary to trip a service tool assembly in and out of the well to perform the treatment operation. In such installations, the service tool assembly may permit fluid to be circulated through the sand control screens, potentially plugging or clogging the sand control screens. Alternatively, the service tool assembly may include a washpipe that is run inside and to the end of the sand control screens so that most of the fluid is circulated around the sand control screens. In these installations, however, the cost and time required to run the washpipe is undesirable.
In addition, during the installation of sand control screens, the filter media may be exposed to intense and adverse conditions that may degrade the mechanical integrity of the filter media. For example, fluid circulation through the filter media caused by the movement of the sand control screens downhole as well as contact between the sand control screens and the wellbore in long horizontal or deviated open hole completions may damage or plug the sand control screens as they are run downhole.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for a sand control screen that is operable to allow circulation of fluid therethrough without the need for additional trips into the well. A need has also arisen for such a sand control screen that is not susceptible to damage during installation. Further, a need has arisen for such a sand control screen that is operable to transport a treatment component to a desired location downhole.

Method for coating a filter medium of a sand control screen assembly


A shoe, especially a sport, leisure or rehabilitation shoe, with an upper that is at least partially formed of an elastically flexible material, a central closure attached on an instep cover in an area of the wearer's instep, and with a wire-like tightening element that is coupled with the central closure and runs from the central closure down toward a toe end of the upper and then back up to the central closure, the tightening element passing back and forth between guide elements on the instep cover and on side parts of the upper at each of opposite sides of the throat area. In accordance with preferred embodiments, a projecting sheet-shaped tab is molded to the instep cover, the tab being securely connected at an instep area of the shoe, and the instep cover being folded around a hinge-like connection of the tab on the instep area to be covered. As a result, the instep cover is movably attached to the shoe upper in a simple way. Furthermore, this instep cover is suitable, especially, for shoes with a supporting strap and tensioning strip attached on a shoe upper part which is formed entirely or partially of a volume-compressible, preferably of closed-pore, foam.

This invention relates to a shoe, especially a sport, leisure or rehabilitation shoe, with an upper that is at least partially formed of an elastically flexible material, a central closure attached on an instep cover in an area of the wearer's instep, and with a wire-like tightening element that is coupled with the central closure and runs from the central closure down toward a toe end of the upper and then back up to the central closure, the tightening element passing back and forth between guide elements on the instep cover and on side parts of the upper at each of opposite sides of the throat area.
Such a shoe is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,882. In this shoe, tensioning strips, designed as individual elements, are each attached to the side part of the shoe upper material. On their upper ends, the supporting straps have locking elements, which lock with counterlocking elements when their ends are inserted into a slot-like opening of the tensioning strips. This arrangement and configuration of the instep supports and straps has proven itself well in shoes with a central closure attached in the instep area.


In a magnetic recording medium, a plurality of non-magnetic metallic intermediate layers is laminated between an under-layer and a magnetic layer. One of the intermediate layers is composed of at least an element selected from the group consisting of Ru, Re and Os and contains oxygen, and another is composed of a CoCr alloy containing at least an element selected from the group consisting of Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ta, W, Re Os, Ir and Pt. The resulting magnetic recording medium provides reduced costs and improved recording characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording medium for use in magnetic recording devices. The invention further relates to a method for manufacturing and a device employing a magnetic recording medium according to the present invention.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various compositions and structures have been proposed for magnetic layers and non-magnetic under-layers in high-recording-density and low-noise magnetic recording mediums. In particular, a magnetic layer called a granular magnetic layer, has been proposed having a structure in which ferromagnetic grain are surrounded by a non-magnetic non-metallic substance.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 08-255342, discloses attaining low noise by forming a granular recording layer in which ferromagnetic grains are dispersed in a non-magnetic film, by a method including steps of sequentially depositing a non-magnetic film, a ferromagnetic film and a non-magnetic film on a non-magnetic substrate, and heat treating the laminate. In this specific non-magnetic film, oxides or nitrides of silicon are used.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,473 discloses a granular recording film in which each magnetic grain is surrounded and separated by a non-magnetic oxide by means of RF sputtering using a CoNiPt target including an oxide, such as SiO2. A granular recording film with high coercive force and low noise is achieved by this patent. Further, since the granular magnetic layer facilitates separation of magnetic grains even by lamination without heating, an inexpensive non-magnetic substrate such as injection-molded plastic maybe used. Consequently, the granular magnetic layer provides partial cost reduction during manufacture.
An alloy with hexagonal closest packed (hcp) lattice structure composed mainly of cobalt is commonly used for magnetic layers in magnetic recording medium. It is necessary to orient the C-axis of the hcp structure to the film surface in order to obtain excellent characteristics. This orientation is accomplished in a conventional magnetic recording medium by controlling crystal orientation of an under-layer and making the magnetic layer epitaxially grow on such an under-layer. Unfortunately, in a magnetic recording mediums having a granular magnetic layer, controlling crystal orientation of the magnetic layer has been considered to be difficult because the epitaxial growth is hindered by the existence of oxides or nitrides.
Recently, it has been shown that crystal orientation control of the magnetic layer is still possible, in magnetic recording mediums having granular magnetic layers, by controlling the structure of the under-layer.
A report from the abstract of the 22nd Conference of the Magnetics Society of Japan, P. 469 (1998), entitled xe2x80x9cEffect of Crxe2x80x94Mo under-layer in a CoPtxe2x80x94SiO2 mediumxe2x80x9d discloses that low noise was attained by provision of an under-layer of CrMo alloy for the granular magnetic layer and controlling the lattice constants of the under-layer with varied amount of molybdenum. Another document from the abstract of the 24th Conference of the Magnetics Society of Japan, p.21 (2000), entitled xe2x80x9cA high coercive force medium that need not heating in lamination processxe2x80x9d discloses that low noise was also attained by forming a ruthenium layer beneath the granular layer.
Unfortunately, while information in the processing field shows rapid development in recent years, this development demands much more extensive improvement over presently achieved levels for noise reduction.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic recording medium, a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium, and a magnetic recording device which overcome the drawbacks of the related art noted above.
It is another object of the present invention to achieve further noise reduction in a magnetic recording medium by more precise control of structure of magnetic grains.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a magnetic recording medium achieving more reduction of noise by forming a plurality of intermediate layers on an under-layer before laminating the magnetic layer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing such a medium and to provide a magnetic recording device comprising such a medium.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a magnetic recording medium and a method of manufacturing the same which provides manufacturing cost savings while maintaining or increasing recording quality.
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording medium, method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium and magnetic recording devices wherein a plurality of non-magnetic metallic intermediate layers is laminated between an under-layer and a magnetic layer. One of the intermediate layers is composed of at least an element selected from the group consisting of Ru, Re and Os and contains oxygen, and another is composed of a CoCr alloy containing at least an element selected from the group consisting of Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ta, W, Re Os, Ir and Pt. The resulting magnetic recording medium provides reduced costs and improved recording characteristics.
According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a magnetic recording medium comprising: a non-magnetic substrate, at least a non-magnetic under-layer on the non-magnetic substrate, at least a first non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer on the non-magnetic under-layer, at least a second non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer on the first non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer, at least a magnetic layer on the second non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer, at least a protective film and a liquid lubricant layer sequentially laminated on the magnetic layer, the magnetic layer being a plurality of ferromagnetic grains and non-magnetic grain boundaries, the plurality of ferromagnetic grains containing at least cobalt and platinum, the non-magnetic grain boundaries including at least an oxide substantially surrounding the plurality of ferromagnetic grains, the first intermediate layer containing oxygen and being composed of at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ru, Re and Os, and the second intermediate layer being at least a CoCr alloy including at least one element selected from the group consisting of Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir and Pt.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a magnetic recording medium, wherein: the non-magnetic substrate is at least a first plastic, the first plastic being at least one of a polycarbonate and a polyolefin.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a magnetic recording medium, wherein: a crystal structure of the second intermediate layer is hexagonal close packed, a crystal structure of the plurality of ferromagnetic grains in the magnetic layer is hexagonal close packed, and a misfit between lattice constants of unit cells of the second intermediate layer and unit cells of the plurality of ferromagnetic grains is within xc2x13%.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a magnetic recording medium, wherein: the under-layer is at least one of chromium and a chromium alloy, and at least one of a (200) lattice plane and a (211) lattice plane in the under-layer is preferentially oriented in parallel with a film surface of the under-layer.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium comprising the steps of: laminating at least a non-magnetic under-layer on a non-magnetic substrate, laminating at least a first non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer on the non-magnetic under-layer, laminating at least a second non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer on the first non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer, laminating at least a magnetic layer on the second non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer, laminating a protective film on the magnetic layer, laminating a liquid lubricant layer on the protective film, the step of laminating the magnetic layer including laminating to form at least ferromagnetic grains and non-magnetic grain boundaries surrounding the grains, the grains being at least one of cobalt and platinum and the grain boundaries being at least an oxide, the step of laminating the first intermediate layer including laminating to form the first intermediate layer from oxygen and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ru, Re, and Os, and the step of laminating the second intermediate layer including laminating to form the second intermediate layer from a CoCr alloy containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir and Pt.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium, wherein: the non-magnetic substrate is at least a first plastic, and the first plastic being at least one of a polycarbonate and a polyolefin.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium, wherein: the step of laminating the second intermediate layer including laminating to form a crystal structure of the second intermediate layer as hexagonal close packed, the step of laminating the magnetic layer including laminating to form a crystal structure of the ferromagnetic grains in the magnetic layer as hexagonal close packed, and the steps of laminating the second intermediate layer and the magnetic layer including laminating to form a misfit between lattice constants of unit cells of the second intermediate layer and unit cells of the ferromagnetic grains of within xc2x13%.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium, wherein: the step of laminating the under-layer including laminating to form the under-layer from at least one of chromium and a chromium alloy, and the step of laminating the under-layer including laminating to form at least one of a (200) lattice plane and a (211) lattice plane in the under-layer as preferentially oriented in parallel with a film surface of the under-layer.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a magnetic recording device comprising: a magnetic recording medium as defined above.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided, a magnetic recording medium comprising: a non-magnetic substrate, at least a non-magnetic under-layer on the non-magnetic substrate, at least a first non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer on the non-magnetic under-layer, at least a second non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer on the first non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer, at least a magnetic layer on the second non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer, at least a protective film and a liquid lubricant layer sequentially laminated on the magnetic layer, the magnetic layer being a plurality of ferromagnetic grains and non-magnetic grain boundaries, the plurality of ferromagnetic grains containing at least cobalt and platinum, the non-magnetic grain boundaries including at least an oxide substantially surrounding the plurality of ferromagnetic grains, the first intermediate layer being at least a CoCr alloy including at least one element selected from the group consisting of Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir and Pt, and the second intermediate layer containing oxygen and being composed of at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ru, Re and Os.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided, a magnetic recording medium, wherein: the non-magnetic substrate is at least a first plastic, the first plastic being at least one of a polycarbonate or polyolefin.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided, a magnetic recording medium, wherein: a crystal structure of the first intermediate layer is hexagonal close packed, a crystal structure of the second intermediate layer is hexagonal close packed, and a misfit between lattice constants of unit cells of the first intermediate layer and unit cells of the second intermediate layer is within xc2x13%.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided, a magnetic recording medium, wherein: the under-layer is at least one of chromium and a chromium alloy, and at least one of a (200) lattice plane and a (211) lattice plane in the under layer is preferentially oriented in parallel with a film surface of the under-layer.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided, a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium comprising the steps of: laminating at least a non-magnetic under-layer on a non-magnetic substrate, laminating at least a first non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer on the non-magnetic under-layer, laminating at least a second non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer on the first non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer, laminating at least a magnetic layer on the second non-magnetic metallic intermediate layer, laminating a protective film on the magnetic layer, laminating a liquid lubricant layer on the protective film, the step of laminating the magnetic layer including laminating to form at least ferromagnetic grains and non-magnetic grain boundaries surrounding the grains, the grains being at least one of cobalt and platinum and the grain boundaries being at least an oxide, the step of laminating the first intermediate layer including laminating to form the first intermediate layer from a CoCr alloy containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir and Pt, and the step of laminating the second intermediate layer including laminating to form the second intermediate layer from oxygen and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ru, Re, and Os.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided, a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium, wherein: the non-magnetic substrate is at least a first plastic, and the first plastic is at least one of a polycarbonate and a polyolefin.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided, a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium, wherein: the step of laminating the first intermediate layer including laminating to firm a crystal structure of the first intermediate layer as hexagonal close packed, the step of laminating the second intermediate layer including laminating to form a crystal structure of the second intermediate layer as hexagonal close packed, and a misfit between lattice constants of unit cells of the first intermediate layer and unit cells of the second intermediate layer is within xc2x13%.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided, a method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium, wherein: the step of laminating the under-layer including laminating to form the under-layer from at least one of chromium and a chromium alloy, and the step of laminating the under-layer including laminating to form at least one of a (200) lattice plane and a (211) lattice plane in the under-layer as preferentially oriented in parallel with a film surface of the under-layer.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a magnetic recording device comprising: a magnetic recording medium as defined by the above eight paragraphs.
The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate the same elements.

Magnetic recording medium, method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium and magnetic recording device


A semiconductor device including a well divided into a plurality of parts by a trench, to effect a reduction in layout area, and a manufacturing method thereof. In the semiconductor device, an element isolation film is formed such as to have to a depth from the main surface of a semiconductor substrate, and the area from the main surface of the substrate to the depth is divided into a plurality of first regions. A first well is formed in each of the first regions. A second well is formed in a second region deeper than the first well in the substrate, and the second well is in contact with some of the first wells.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device in which a well is divided into a plurality of parts by a trench, and a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Background Art
Semiconductor devices are usually formed by using a p-type semiconductor substrate (e.g., silicon substrate). As shown in FIG. 29, a p-channel transistor pT (source drain regions RN are of n-type) may be formed on a p-type semiconductor substrate 900, whereas in forming an n-channel transistor nT (source drain regions RP are of p-type), it is necessary to form a local n-type layer NW. The layer NW is called xe2x80x9cwell.xe2x80x9d
Wells are generally classified as thermal diffusion well and retro-grade well. In forming a thermal diffusion well NW, impurity N is implanted into a shallow position in a semiconductor substrate 900 (see FIG. 30), and the structure of FIG. 30 is subjected to heat treatment at high temperature for a prolonged time, so that the impurity N is diffused into the semiconductor substrate 900 (see FIG. 31), resulting in the thermal diffusion well NW. A retro-grade well MW is formed by implanting impurity N into a deep position in a semiconductor substrate 900, as shown in FIG. 32.
FIG. 33 shows the impurity concentration profile on the line Axe2x80x94A of FIG. 32. Since the retro-grade well is formed by implanting the impurity N, the impurity concentration profile can be set arbitrarily. In FIG. 33 it is controlled such that the impurity concentration has a maximum at a deep position P1 in the semiconductor substrate 900, and the impurity concentration at a shallow position P2 in the substrate 900 is higher than that of the substrate 900 and sufficiently lower than that of the channel. This offers the merit that the transistor nT in the well NW is protected against the influence of the potential outside of the well NW.
In recent years, the decreased size of a transistor nT has created the need for increasing the impurity concentration of the well NW in order to suppress punch through. In some elements, therefore, a well NW is intentionally distributed so as to reach the main surface of a semiconductor substrate 900 for adjustment of the impurity concentration of the well NW.
Adjustment of impurity concentration is required to not only an n-channel transistor nT but also a p-channel transistor pT in some cases. In this case, a p-type well PW is formed (see FIG. 34).
Further, if it is desired to arbitrarily set the substrate potential of the p-channel transistor pT (i.e., the potential of a back gate), the well PW is electrically isolated from other regions by an n-type bottom well BNW and a well NW, as shown in FIG. 35.
When a well NW and a well PW are in contact with each other (see FIG. 36), both wells can be electrically isolated by a depletion layer DR to be generated at the interface therebetween. This merit is to permit an easy electrical isolation between the well NW and the well PW. The depletion layer DR, however, has a tendency to extend and thus it might extend throughout a zone EUR. This causes the demerit that it is impossible to form a transistor in the zone EUR. An element isolation film Ta is formed in the zone EUR in which no transistor is formed (see FIG. 37).
To overcome the above demerit, a trench is formed at the boundary between the well NW and the well PW, and an element isolation film Tb is buried in the trench (see FIG. 38). Thereby, no depletion layer occurs at a well boundary between the well NW and the well PW (i.e., in the vicinity of the element isolation film Tb). This offers the merit that a transistor can be formed in the zone EUR by reducing the margin from the well boundary to a transistor. Unfortunately, the step of employing a trench is complicated and expensive which are the drawbacks of this step.
Two methods of well isolation using a trench are presently proposed. One comprises a first step of forming an element isolation film and a second step of forming n-type and p-type wells. FIG. 39 shows a structure formed by this method. With this method, no disadvantages are caused by reducing the margin from a well boundary to an element, however, the well isolation process using a trench involves the above two steps. Accordingly, this method is time-consuming and increases the manufacturing cost.
The other is to conduct the above first and second steps at the same time. FIG. 40 shows a structure formed by this method. The structure of FIG. 40 is realized by forming a deep element isolation film Th such as to correspond to the depth of wells NW and PW (see FIG. 41), or forming shallow wells NW and PW such as to correspond to the thickness of an element isolation film Th (see FIG. 42), alternatively, in a combination of these. In any event, the depth of the element isolation films Tb is evened and each of the wells NW and PW is divided into a plurality of parts by the element isolation film Tb.
It is, however, necessary to open a contact 201 per active region, namely, per well (see FIG. 43), in order to apply the desired potential to each of the isolated wells NW and PW. Thus it is necessary to increase the area of a well by the amount of a region CR for providing the contact 201. That is, as a whole, it fails to take full advantage of the merit in terms of area that is obtained by the trench as stated earlier with respect to FIG. 38. Also, there is a problem that layout area is increased by the amount of the region CR to be provided per well.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device in which a well is divided into a plurality of parts by a trench, to effect a reduction in layout area, as well as a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor device comprises: a semiconductor substrate; an element isolation film formed such as to have to a predetermined depth from a main surface of the semiconductor substrate, the element isolation film dividing the area from the main surface to the depth into a plurality of first regions; first wells formed in the first regions, respectively; and a second well formed in a second region deeper than the first wells in the semiconductor substrate, the second well being in contact with some of the first wells.
According to a second aspect, the semiconductor device according to the first aspect is characterized in that the first and second wells of the first and second regions on one side with reference to a predetermined boundary are of a first conductivity type, and the first and second wells on the other side are of a second conductivity type.
According to a third aspect, the semiconductor device according to the second aspect is characterized in that the second well of the first conductivity type and the second well of the second conductivity type are not in contact with each other.
According to a fourth aspect, the semiconductor device according to the first aspect is characterized in that the second well is formed on only one side of the second region with reference to a predetermined boundary.
According to a fifth aspect, the semiconductor device according to the fourth aspect is characterized in that the second well is formed in a memory cell part in the second region.
According to a sixth aspect, the semiconductor device according to the first aspect is characterized in that the second well is formed only in the vicinity of the bottom of the element isolation film in the second region.
According to a seventh aspect, the semiconductor device according to the first aspect is characterized in that each impurity concentration of the first and second wells is higher as being closer to a boundary part between the first and second regions.
According to an eighth aspect, the semiconductor device according to the first aspect further comprises a third well formed in a third region deeper than the second region in the semiconductor substrate.
According to a ninth aspect, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprises the steps of: (a) forming an element isolation film such as to have a predetermined depth from a main surface of a semiconductor substrate, to divide the area from the main surface to the depth into a plurality of first regions; and (b) forming first wells in the first regions, respectively, and forming a second well making contact with some of the first wells, in a second region deeper than the first wells in the semiconductor substrate.
According to a tenth aspect, the method according to the ninth aspect is characterized in that the step (b) comprises the steps of (b-1) covering, with a first resist, one side region of the main surface with reference to a predetermined boundary in the semiconductor substrate; (b-2) implanting impurity of a first conductivity type into the first region by using the first resist as a mask; (b-3) implanting impurity of the first conductivity type into the second region by using the first resist as a mask; (b-4) removing the first resist; (b-5) covering, with a second resist, the other side region of the main surface with reference to the boundary in the semiconductor substrate; (b-6) implanting impurity of a second conductivity type into the first region by using the second resist as a mask; (b-7) implanting impurity of the second conductivity type into the second region by using the second resist as a mask; and (b-8) removing the second resist.
According to an eleventh aspect, the method according to the ninth aspect is characterized in that the step (b) comprises the steps of: (b-1) covering, with a first resist, one side region of the main surface with reference to a predetermined boundary in the semiconductor substrate; (b-2) implanting impurity of a first conductivity type into the first region by using the first resist as a mask; (b-3) reforming the first resist such as to be thicker, as a second resist; (b-4) implanting impurity of the first conductivity type into the second region by using the second resist as a mask; (b-5) removing the second resist; (b-6) covering, with a third resist, the other side region of the main surface with reference to the boundary in the semiconductor substrate; (b-7) implanting impurity of a second conductivity type into the first region by using the third resist as a mask; (b-8) reforming the third resist such as to be thicker, as a fourth resist; (b-9) implanting impurity of the second conductivity type into the second region by using the fourth resist as a mask; and (b-10) removing the fourth resist.
According to a twelfth aspect, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprises the steps of: (a) forming a trench such as to have a predetermined depth from a main surface of a semiconductor substrate, to divide the area from the main surface to the depth into a plurality of regions in the semiconductor substrate; (b) implanting a first impurity from above the main surface into the trench; and (c) implanting a second impurity from above the main surface into the regions.
The first aspect enables that some of the first wells are electrically connected one another through the second well. It is therefore possible to apply a potential to all the first wells by placing a contact in at least one of the first wells. This leads to a reduction in layout area.
The second aspect allows the electrical connection between the first and second wells to be performed each conductivity type separately.
The third aspect has no chance that a depletion layer extends from the third region in the second region to the first well because the second well of the first conductivity type and the second well of the second conductivity type are not in contact with each other.
The fourth aspect enables to simplify the process and reduce the manufacturing cost, as compared with a semiconductor device of the second aspect.
The fifth aspect is extremely effective when applied to the memory cell part alone, in terms of simplification in process, manufacturing cost reduction and layout area reduction.
The sixth aspect enables to form the second well by utilizing a trench, for example.
The seventh aspect enables to prevent a depletion layer from extending to the first well even if the depletion layer occurs in the second well, by setting the impurity concentration of the first and second wells at the boundary between the first and second regions, to a sufficiently large value.
The eighth aspect allows the potential of the first and second wells to be set independently of the potential at a position lower than the third well.
The ninth aspect enables to manufacture a semiconductor device of the first aspect, and simplify the step of providing a contact and the step of providing wiring connected to the contact because the contact may be provided at least one of the first wells.
The tenth aspect enables to manufacture a semiconductor device of the second aspect, and simplify the manufacturing steps because a single resist is used in impurity implantation into both first and second regions.
The eleventh aspect enables to manufacture a semiconductor device of the third aspect, and easily obtain the structure in which the second well of the first conductivity type and the second well of the second conductivity type are not in contact with each other, by utilizing the feature that the taper of a resist becomes significant when the resist is thickened. In addition, even if impurity lift phenomenon occurs due to a marked taper of the second and fourth resists, the impurity related to the lift phenomenon is to be contained in the first well, thereby suppressing a noticeable change in impurity concentration profile.
The twelfth aspect enables to manufacture a semiconductor device of the sixth aspect, and form the second well by utilizing a trench.
These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Semiconductor device including a well divided into a plurality of parts by a trench


A winglet comprising a root connected to a distal end of a wing; an upwardly angled section; a tip; and a transition between the upwardly angled section and the tip at which an outboard cant angle of the winglet decreases relative to a reference plane of the wing. In one embodiment the winglet is continuously curved and includes a point of inflection at which the span-wise curvature of the winglet changes sign. In another embodiment the upwardly angled section is planar. The winglet generates a tip vortex when in flight. The tip vortex is displaced outboard from the winglet due to the decrease in outboard cant angle at the transition.

Increasing the wing span of an aircraft is a well known way to reduce induced drag (that is, drag produced due to the production of lift). However, civil aircraft wing spans are constrained by International Civil Aviation Authority rules which currently limit the wing span of a single aisle aircraft to 36 m.
Once the limit has been reached in the span-wise (y) direction then the curvilinear span of the wing can be increased by adding a vertical (z) component in the form of a winglet attached to the distal end of the wing.
A conventional winglet 1 is illustrated in FIG. 1. The winglet extends upwardly from a distal end of a wing 2. The winglet is planar and a reference plane 3 of the winglet lies at a constant cant angle. Note that the term "cant angle" is commonly defined in the literature as the angle between the winglet and a vertical line z, although in some cases (for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,968) it is defined as the angle between the winglet and a reference plane of the wing. In this specification we use the latter definition—that is, we define the cant angle as the angle between the winglet and a reference plane of the wing when viewed perpendicular to a span-wise direction (y) of the winglet. We also define the terms "inboard cant angle" as the cant angle on the inboard side of the winglet and "outboard cant angle" as the cant angle on its outboard side. Thus the winglet 1 has an outboard cant angle φ and an inboard cant angle θ.
The winglet 1 generates a tip vortex 5 when in flight. The tip vortex 5 interacts with a region 6 of the upper surface of the winglet. This interaction degrades the performance of the wing.
Another conventional winglet is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,968. In this case the winglet follows an elliptical curve so that its outboard cant angle gradually increases towards the tip of the winglet.
A spiroid-tipped wing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,068. A spiroid tip device is connected to the wing and the ends of the spiroid are attached to the wing tip. Thus the outboard cant angle of the wing tip continuously increases.


A method of treating a component adapted for use in a gas turbine engine is described herein. The component may comprise ceramic matrix composite materials. The treatment to the ceramic matrix composite component may reduce or eliminate the wear or damage of crack propagation in the ceramic matrix composite component.

Gas turbine engines are used to power aircraft, watercraft, power generators, and the like. Gas turbine engines typically include a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine. The compressor compresses air drawn into the engine and delivers high pressure air to the combustor. In the combustor, fuel is mixed with the high pressure air and is ignited. Products of the combustion reaction in the combustor are directed into the turbine where work is extracted to drive the compressor and, sometimes, an output shaft. Left-over products of the combustion are exhausted out of the turbine and may provide thrust in some applications.
Products of the combustion reaction directed into the turbine are directed toward airfoils included in stationary vanes and rotating blades of the turbine. Shrouds are arranged around the rotating blades to direct the gases through the engine. Components gas turbine engines are often made from high-temperature resistant materials and/or are actively cooled by supplying relatively cool air to the components due to the high temperatures of the combustion products. To this end, some components are incorporating composite materials adapted to withstand very high temperatures. Design and manufacture of components made from composite materials presents challenges because of the geometry and strength desired for the components.

Gas turbine engine with pre-conditioned ceramic matrix composite components

Rolls-Royce High Temperature Composites Inc.


A solid reinforced concrete column and a method of constructing the same are disclosed. The solid reinforced concrete column includes outer main reinforcing bars, inner reinforcing bars, inner transverse reinforcing bars, outer transverse reinforcing bars, and concrete. The outer main reinforcing bars are arranged in an axial direction. The inner reinforcing bars are each arranged to be placed between two or three of the outer main reinforcing bars inside the two or three outer main reinforcing bars in the axial direction. The inner transverse reinforcing bars are each arranged to connect the two or three outer main reinforcing bars and the inner reinforcing bar in a transverse direction. The outer transverse reinforcing bars are arranged to surround the outer main reinforcing bars outside the outer main reinforcing bars in the transverse direction. The concrete is placed to bury the reinforcing bars.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a solid reinforced concrete column having a new reinforcing bar arrangement structure and a method of constructing the same, which are capable of omitting or reducing cross tie reinforcing bars that traverse the sections of the solid reinforced concrete column that is completely filed with concrete.
2. Description of the Related Art
Architectural and civil engineering structures, such as bridges, etc., generally employ a reinforced concrete structure. A solid reinforced concrete column is a reinforced concrete column completely filled with concrete, and is distinguished from a hollow reinforced concrete column in which an empty space is formed.
Meanwhile, with the imposition of strict earthquake-resistant design, columns are often designed to have a structure that receives a downward load as axial force and then transfers the received load to the ground and that also chiefly resists a lateral load, such as an earthquake. In the design of the structure of a square column, when confinement reinforcing bars, such as cross tie reinforcing bars 13, strip reinforcing bars 14, etc, are arranged in the transverse direction of the column, as shown in FIG. 1, an actuation moment reaches the maximum resistive moment of the section of the column in the case of the occurrence of an earthquake, and then a plastic hinge occurs, thereby exhibiting plastic behavior. The design that is contrived to produce plastic behavior is referred to as plastic design. The plastic design can generally obtain economic design results compared to elastic design. In practice, the design of a solid reinforced concrete column, such as that of FIG. 1, is being applied to buildings and civil engineering structures for economic and structural reasons. Actually, bridge design specifications and concrete structure specifications regarding confinement transverse reinforcing bar details have been made and widely applied.
Meanwhile, the design of a column, such as that of FIG. 1, has a disadvantage in that the efficiency of construction is decreased due to cross tie reinforcing bars 13. In other words, the cross tie reinforcing bars 13 need to be arranged to traverse the sections of a column at a construction site. This arrangement task is considerably cumbersome, and also requires a long task time. Furthermore, in some cases, the arrangement needs to be performed in the state of holding main reinforcing bars 11 using a crane in order to prevent the main reinforcing bars 11 from collapsing, and thus the efficiency of use of the crane is decreased. Furthermore, the cross tie reinforcing bars 13 make the placement of concrete difficult due interference with concrete aggregates.

Solid reinforced concrete column based on arrangement of triangular reinforcing bar networks and method of constructing the same


An analog to digital converter with second order error correction provides a more accurate digital output code for a high frequency input analog signal. A slope of the input signal is determined from the digital output code of a quantizer, and the slope is used to provide a correction value that is a function of the slope. The correction value may also be a function of a level range of the quantizer. The correction value is added to the digital output code to produce a corrected digital output code.

The present invention relates to analog to digital converters, and more particularly to an analog to digital converter with second order error correction to provide consistent high frequency accuracy.
It is common for analog to digital converter accuracy to degrade at high frequencies. Referring to FIG. 1 consider the typical flash analog to digital comparator cell input. Ideally the comparator senses when the input voltage Vin at terminal V1 matches a reference voltage Vref at terminal V2 of a differential amplifier. However practically the finite emitter current I and circuit capacitances C introduce an input slope, i.e., slew rate, dependent term in the comparator sense points that is a function of the frequency of the input voltage Vin. At high frequencies this results in the noted accuracy degradation. As shown in FIG. 2 for a representative ten-bit ADC at two megahertz the effective number of bits for the ADC is reduced to nine bits, at 20 MHz it is further reduced to eight bits, and at 80 MHz it is reduced even further to five bits.
Therefore what is desired is an analog to digital converter with second order error correction to compensate for the frequency dependent input slope.

Analog to digital converter with second order error correction