The invention relates to a tuner with at least a first and a second frequency band and with means for effecting a switch-over between the frequency bands, which tuner comprises a signal input terminal for the supply of a frequency information signal.

The invention relates to a tuner with at least a first and a second frequency band and with a signal input terminal for the supply of a frequency information signal.
The invention further relates to an integrated circuit with a PLL circuit for controlling a tuner which comprises at least a first and a second frequency band.
Such a tuner and such an integrated circuit are known, for example, from the tuner UV 316 of the Philips company. This known tuner is manufactured in accordance with the WSP (World Standard Pinning) standard. The WSP standard lays down the mechanical dimensions, the functions of the individual connection terminals of the tuner, as well as the antenna height. Terrestrial tuners usually comprise two or three frequency bands, each comprising a tunable input filter, a controllable amplifier, a tunable band-pass filter, and a mixer circuit. Three pins are available for the supply of one control signal each for the control and selection of the frequency bands in the WSP. The control of the tuner takes place by means of the microprocessor of the TV set which is coupled to the tuner, for example, by means of a I2C bus. A table is stored in known TV sets for the selection of the frequency band, by means of which table the frequencies of the TV signal which can be selected are associated with the respective frequency band of the tuner. When the user of the TV set selects a TV signal frequency, for example by means of a remote control unit, the microprocessor of the TV set selects the associated frequency band of the tuner from the table and transmits the control signals defining the band selection to the tuner.
The selection of the frequency bands of the tuner by means of the microprocessor of the TV set has the disadvantage that only tuners can be used for the TV set whose frequency bands correspond to the values stored in the table of the TV set. A subsequent change in the tuner as regards the characteristics of the frequency bands, or the use of a different tuner is no longer possible.
It is an object of the invention to provide a tuner as well as an integrated circuit of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraphs which are universally applicable.
According to the invention, this object is achieved with regard to the tuner in that the tuner comprises a band selection circuit which is provided for the selection and control of one frequency band at a time, and in that the tuner comprises a frequency search function for tuning to a frequency, which function in a first step is designed to test the tuning possibility of the frequency in the first frequency band and, if tuning in the first frequency band is not possible, in a second step is designed for testing the tuning possibility of the frequency in the second frequency band.
The tuner according to the invention thus evaluates the frequency information signal supplied to it by the microprocessor of the TV set and independently selects the frequency band in dependence on this frequency information signal. To render it possible for the tuner to select the frequency band independently, this tuner comprises a frequency search function. This frequency search function is designed such that it is consecutively tested in at least two different frequency bands whether a desired frequency can be tuned in the relevant frequency band.
Each frequency band has a mixer circuit with an oscillator for driving the mixer. The oscillator preferably comprises an oscillation circuit with a controllable capacitance. The controllable capacitance is preferably implemented as a reverse-biased varicap diode whose capacitance depends on the bias voltage applied. The oscillator frequency of the oscillation circuit can be controlled through a change in the bias voltage and the resulting change in the capacitance. Terrestrial tuners are usually designed for the conversion of input frequencies in a range from 45 MHz to 863 MHz. Since the controllable or adjustable capacitance range of the varicap diodes is limited, the tuners preferably comprise three frequency bands, each with its own oscillation circuit and with its own varicap diode designed for tuning the oscillation circuit. Testing of the tuning possibility accordingly means that it is tested whether the oscillator of the relevant frequency band can be tuned to the desired frequency which is necessary for mixing to the intermediate frequency of the tuner. The oscillation circuits are preferably coupled to a quartz oscillator by means of a programmable divider circuit. To synchronize the oscillation circuit with the quartz oscillator, a phase-locked loop (PLL) is preferably provided. The test as to whether a desired frequency can be tuned in one of the frequency bands may take place by means of a latching detector which detects whether the phase control circuit latches or locks itself, i.e. whether the desired oscillator frequency of the oscillation circuit can be synchronized with the reference frequency of the quartz oscillator, a programmable divider circuit being provided between the oscillation circuit and the quartz oscillator.
The individual frequency bands usually each comprise a band-pass filter which is formed by a coil and a varicap (variable-capacitance) diode connected in parallel thereto. The barrier layer capacitance of the varicap diode is dependent on the applied bias voltage and can thus be controlled through a change in the applied bias voltage. The varicap diodes of the band-pass filter and the varicap diodes of the oscillation circuits are preferably controlled in parallel during the tuning.
When a frequency information signal with a desired frequency is supplied to the tuner, the oscillation frequency of the oscillator of the first frequency band is scanned from the lowest band frequency to the highest band frequency in a first step. It is tested during this whether the desired frequency is tunable in the first frequency band. If the desired frequency could not be tuned in the first frequency band, a switch-over to the second frequency band takes place automatically, where the respective oscillator again is scanned continuously from the lower band limit to the upper band limit for tuning to the desired frequency.
This principle may also be applied in tuners having three or more frequency bands, for example, in the case of three frequency bands, the tuning is attempted first in the first, then in the second, and finally in the third frequency band.
The independent band selection of the tuner by means of the band selection circuit and the frequency search function has the advantage that a tuner of this construction can be used in any TV set whatsoever. Neither the software of the microprocessor of the TV set nor the software of the tuner need be changed for this purpose. Such a tuner can thus be manufactured efficiently and inexpensively in very large quantities. It is in addition possible to change the physical parameters of the individual frequency bands without a change in the software of the tuner being necessary. For example, the band boundaries of the frequency bands can be shifted through the use of different varicap diodes or other inductances for the respective band-pass filters and oscillation circuits. No change in the tuner software is necessary in such a case, because the tuner changes the switch-over points between the individual frequency bands automatically.
An example embodiment of the invention renders it possible to avoid an unnecessary switching-over between the frequency bands. The band selection circuit determines a tuning mode in accordance with the frequency difference between the old and the new frequency information signal as determined by the frequency difference detection circuit, which signal is supplied to the tuner, for example, by the microprocessor of the TV set. This tuning mode influences the further band selection, i.e. it determines whether and under what conditions a band switch-over between the frequency bands will take place.
According to an example embodiment, tuning modes which can be distinguished by the frequency difference detection circuit are, for example, a refresh mode, and/or an automatic frequency control mode, and/or a search mode, and/or a new-channel selection mode. It is detected in the refresh mode that the microprocessor of the TV set has once more sent the same frequency information signal to the tuner. In such a case, a band switch is not desirable, and accordingly no band switch is provided for in the refresh mode. In the automatic frequency control mode, the frequency difference detection circuit recognizes that the frequency information signal supplied to the tuner differs only very little from the old frequency information signal. This is characteristic of the automatic frequency control mode of a TV set. In such an automatic frequency control mode, the intermediate frequency demodulator sends a control signal for frequency fine tuning, which is supplied to the microprocessor of the TV set. The microprocessor of the TV set then supplies an only very slightly changed frequency information signal to the tuner. Such a case can be detected by the frequency difference detection circuit, and an unnecessary band switch can be avoided. Advantageously, a further tuning mode which can be recognized by the frequency difference detection circuit is a search mode. TV sets comprise such a search mode for systematically scanning through the individual frequency bands in search of TV channels which can be received. In such a case, the microprocessor of the TV set continuously changes the frequency information signal supplied to the tuner in programmable frequency steps. When a receivable channel is detected, the frequency data of this channel can be stored in a memory automatically or manually. When the microprocessor of the TV set carries out such a search mode operation, a frequency band switch is only desired when the end of the present frequency band has been reached. A frequency band switch is accordingly provided only upon reaching of the end of a frequency band in the search mode of the tuner. Furthermore, the frequency difference detection circuit advantageously is capable of distinguishing a new-channel selection mode. In this new-channel selection mode, the band selection circuit recognizes that a frequency information signal corresponding to a new channel is supplied to the tuner. This is recognized from the fact that the frequency difference between the old and the new frequency information signal exceeds a programmable minimum value. The frequency band setting in the new-channel selection mode takes place by means of the frequency search function, which first tests whether the frequency belonging to the desired channel can be tuned in the first frequency band. If this is not possible, a tuning is attempted in the second frequency band in a second step. The band switch between the first and the second frequency band takes place automatically upon reaching of the band end. The frequency difference characteristic of the search mode lies above the frequency difference of the automatic frequency control mode and below the frequency difference of the new-channel selection mode.
According to an example embodiment, the band selection circuit comprises a band preselection circuit for the adjustment of a new channel, i.e. in the new-channel selection mode. This band preselection circuit subdivides the frequency information signals supplied to the tuner into unequivocal and equivocal frequency information signals. In the case of unequivocal frequency information signals, the band preselection circuit makes an unequivocal and final decision on the frequency band to be assigned to the frequency information signal. In the case of equivocal frequency information signals, it is tested in a first step by means of the frequency search function whether the frequency belonging to the desired channel can be tuned in the first frequency band. If the desired channel cannot be tuned in the first frequency band, the tuner switches automatically to the second frequency band and tests whether the desired channel can be tuned in the second frequency band.
In an example embodiment of the band preselection circuit, the band preselection circuit classifies the frequency information signals of the at least two frequency bands into at least two groups. The first group comprises those frequency information signals which can be unequivocally associated with the first frequency band as well as those frequency information signals whose accompanying reception signal could lie both in the first and in the second frequency band. The second group comprises those frequency information signals whose accompanying reception signal must unequivocally lie in the second frequency band. This means that a frequency band switch-over can only be necessary within the first group, if at all. If the band preselection circuit determines that a frequency information signal belongs to the first group, it is first tested whether the frequency can be tuned in the first frequency band. If the desired frequency cannot be tuned in the first frequency band, the tuner switches automatically to the second frequency band and attempts the tuning in the second frequency band. In the second group of frequency information signals, a switch is immediately made to the second frequency band, and no automatic band switch-over is provided.
An alternative subdivision of the frequency information signals into three groups is provided in an example embodiment. Here the first group comprises those frequency information signals which can be unequivocally assigned to the first frequency band, and the third group comprises those frequency information signals which can be unequivocally assigned to the second frequency band. A second group of frequency information signals is provided between the former two, where the relevant frequency signals may lie either in the first or in the second frequency band of the tuner. This means that no automatic band switch-over by means of the frequency search function is available in the first and the third group. In the middle, second group, however, it is first tested in the first frequency band whether a frequency signal belonging to the frequency information signal can be tuned and, if unsuccessful in the first frequency band, an automatic switch is made to the second frequency band.
In an example embodiment, the bias voltage (or tuning voltage) applied to the varicap diodes of the respective band-pass filters and the respective oscillation circuits is evaluated by a band end detector. This band end detector compares the tuning voltage with a programmable threshold value and supplies a control signal when this threshold value is exceeded. The tuner then switches automatically to the next frequency band and tries to tune the desired frequency in the next frequency band.
Switching-over between the individual frequency bands may advantageously be carried out by means of an example embodiment. In this embodiment, the band selection circuit comprises a cyclical shift register with n elements, n corresponding to the number of frequency bands of the tuner. Thus, for example, a shift register with three elements is provided for a tuner with three frequency bands. Each of these three elements contains a control information, preferably of one bit each, which is provided for controlling a respective one of the three frequency bands. Two of the three elements contain, for example, the control information xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d, which means that the frequency band belonging to this element should not be switched on. One of the three elements contains the control information xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d at any time, which means that the frequency band belonging to this element is switched on and that a tuning to the desired frequency is to be carried out in this frequency band. It is safeguarded thereby that only one of the three frequency bands is switched on at any time and that the tuning process is carried out in only one of the three frequency bands. When the band end detector detects the end of the respective frequency band, it supplies a control signal to the cyclical shift register, with the result that the control data are passed on to the respective adjoining control element. This means that the frequency band switched on until now takes over the control information xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d from the previous control element and is switched off. The control information xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d is passed on to the next control element, so that the frequency band belonging to the next control element is switched on, and the tuning to the desired frequency is attempted in this frequency band.
Such an organization of the frequency band switching by means of a shift register can be realized in a simple manner and is very reliable.
The first frequency band, which is scanned first during setting of a new channel, preferably lies below the second frequency band according to an example embodiment. This is particularly advantageous in tuners with three frequency bands in which the band switch-over is realized by means of a shift register, because it renders possible a simple shifting of the control information at the band end.
The tuners according to the invention are preferably constructed such that an overlap is provided in the boundary region between two frequency bands, so that in this overlap region a frequency can be tuned both in the first frequency band and in the second frequency band. In the overlap region, the noise is lower in the lower frequency band than in the higher frequency band, and the gain is higher in the lower frequency band than in the higher frequency band. It is accordingly advantageous in the case of equivocal frequency information signals to start the tuning process in the lower frequency band and, if no result is obtained in the lower frequency band, to switch over to the next higher frequency band.
The tuners according to the invention are preferably utilized in TV appliances.
The object of the invention as regards the integrated circuit according to the invention is achieved in that the integrated circuit comprises a band selection circuit which is designed for supplying control signals for the selection of a frequency band in dependence on the frequency information signal, and in that said band selection circuit comprises a frequency search function for tuning to a frequency, which function in a first step is designed for testing the tuning possibility of the frequency in the first frequency band and, if tuning in the first frequency band is not possible, in a second step is designed for testing the tuning possibility of the frequency in the second frequency band.
Such an integrated circuit may be used for tuners with various frequency band subdivisions, without any change in the software being required. Such an integrated circuit may accordingly be manufactured in very large quantities.

Tuner with at least a first and a second frequency band

Abstract: The invention is characterized in that the tuner comprises a band selection circuit which is provided for the selection and control of one frequency band at a time, and in that the tuner comprises a frequency search function for tuning to a frequency, which function in a first step is designed to test the tuning possibility of the frequency in the first frequency band and, if tuning in the first frequency band is not possible, in a second step is designed for testing the tuning possibility of the frequency in the second frequency band.


A method for manufacturing a solar cell, including the steps of: forming unevenness on both of main surfaces of a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type; forming a base layer on a first main surface of the semiconductor substrate; forming a diffusion mask on the base layer; removing the diffusion mask in a pattern; forming an emitter layer on the portion of the first main surface where the diffusion mask have been removed; removing the remaining diffusion mask; forming a dielectric film on the first main surface; forming a base electrode on the base layer; and forming an emitter electrode on the emitter layer. This provides a method for manufacturing a solar cell that can bring high photoelectric conversion efficiency while decreasing the number of steps.

Solar cell structures with relatively high photoelectric conversion efficiency which use single crystal or polycrystalline semiconductor substrates include a back-surface-electrode-type solar cell, in which all of the positive and negative electrodes are provided on the non-light-receiving surface (the back surface). The schematic view of the back surface of the back-surface-electrode-type solar cell 1000 is shown in FIG. 10. On the back surface of the substrate 1010, the emitter layer 1012 and the base layer 1013 are disposed alternately. On each of the layers, electrodes (collecting electrodes) (the emitter electrode 1022, the base electrode 1023) are provided along the corresponding layer. The back surface is also provided with bus bar electrodes (the emitter bus bar electrode 1032, the base bus bar electrode 1033) to further collect currents obtained from the foregoing electrodes. The bus bar electrodes are at right angles to the collecting electrodes in many cases from the viewpoint of the function. The emitter layer 1012 has a width of several millimeters to hundreds of micrometers, and the base layer 1013 has a width of hundreds of micrometers to several tens of micrometers. Each of the collecting electrodes (the emitter electrode 1022, the base electrode 1023) generally has a width of several hundreds of micrometers to several tens of micrometers, and is often referred to as finger electrode.
The cross sectional structure of the back-surface-electrode-type solar cell 1000 is schematically shown in FIG. 11. The back surface of the substrate is provided with the emitter layer 1012 and the base layer 1013 formed near the outmost surface thereof. Each film thickness of the emitter layer 1012 and the base layer 1013 is about 1 μm at most. On each layer, the finger electrode 1022 or 1023 is provided. The surface of each non-electrode region (the region where the electrode is not formed) is covered with a dielectric film (the back surface protective film 1044) such as a silicon nitride film and a silicon oxide film. The solar cell 1000 is provided with the antireflection coating 1045 on the light-receiving surface to decrease the reflection loss.
Such a structure is known in Patent Document 1, which discloses an example of a method for producing the solar cell having the structure. The outline of the process flow is shown in FIG. 9(b). According to this process flow, on an N-type substrate, the slice damage of which have been removed, a texture mask is formed only onto the back surface first, and texture is formed only onto one side (light-receiving surface). After removing the mask, a diffusion mask is formed on the back surface and is opened in a pattern shape. The opening is subjected to diffusion of a P-type dopant such as boron, followed by removing the mask and glass formed in the diffusion with HF or the like. Subsequently, a diffusion mask is formed again and is opened, and the opening is subjected to diffusion of an N-type dopant such as phosphorus, followed by removing the mask and glass. Through the series of these steps, a base layer and an emitter layer are formed on the back surface. After that, forming of a protective layer, opening, and forming of collecting electrodes and bus bar electrodes are performed.
Patent Document 2 discloses another example of the production method. The outline of the process flow is shown in FIG. 9(c). In Patent Document 2, an N-type substrate, the slice damage of which have been removed, is subjected to forming of an emitter layer and a mask, opening of the mask, etching, forming of a base layer and a mask, opening of the light-receiving surface mask, forming of texture, forming of a protective film, opening of the protective film, and forming of collecting electrodes and bus bar electrodes. As described above, the method of Patent Document 2 also needs to perform the mask formation and opening step at least two times.

Solar cell with high photoelectric conversion efficiency and method for manufacturing solar cell with high photoelectric conversion efficiency


An input device for capacitive, touch-sensitive displays, wherein the device is a simple pen, wherein the simple pen can be sharpened, wherein the device is present as a core, or wherein the device is present as a core with a coating, or wherein the device is present as core with a casing, or wherein the device includes a core, a casing and a coating, and wherein the core, the casing and/or the coating are configured so as to be electrically conductive.

The invention relates to an input device for so-called capacitive touch-sensitive displays, and to the use thereof.
Input devices for displays of this kind are known in principle.
For example, input styluses are known, which consist of an electrically conductive shaft, wherein a soft, conductive, elastically formed contact plug for the display/display surface is formed at one end thereof.
With such input pens it is disadvantageous that they are too expensive for use as purely an input pen and moreover, do not have a writing or application function.
Further, input pens are known, which at one end comprise a writing utensil or applicator and at the other end, an electrically conductive arrangement in the form of a contact plug, which when the capacitive display is touched permits or triggers an input function.
The known input pens mentioned above, however, have a number of disadvantages.
For example, the manufacture of such pens is expensive. Almost all of these input pens according to the state of the art are present as ball point pens, which means that the user has not much to choose from.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Input device for touch-sensitive capacitive displays


A diffractive multi-focal lens having a diffractive structure comprising a plurality of concentric circular zones, wherein: at least a portion of the diffractive structure is provided with an overlapping region in which at least two zone profiles overlap in the same region; in the overlapping region, at least a portion of a first zone profile has a zone pitch represented by a prescribed equation, and at least a portion of a second zone profile has a zone pitch represented by another prescribed equation; and an addition power P1 given by the first zone profile and an addition power P2 given by the second zone profile are determined by a prescribed relational expression, in which a and b are mutually different real numbers, and a value of a/b cannot be expressed by a natural number X or by 1/X.

Multi-focal type optical lenses having a plurality of focal points are known from the past, and have been applied to various optical systems such as the human eye optical system, camera optical systems, or the like. For example, with contact lenses used as corrective optical elements for refractive error, alternative optical elements after lens extraction or the like with the optical system of the human eye, or with intraocular lenses used for insertion in the human eye, by applying multi-focal lenses, it is possible to compensate for the decrease or loss of accommodation function of eye in the human body.
Particularly in recent years, there is an increase in people continuing to use contact lenses even when they reach the age of having presbyopia. People with presbyopia have a decrease in focus accommodation function, so a symptom appears of having difficulty focusing on nearby items. Thus, multi-focal contact lenses which can also focus on nearby items become necessary for presbyopia patients. Also, for patients who have undergone cataract surgery, the lens which is in charge of the adjustment function is removed, so even if an intraocular lens is inserted as a replacement, the symptom of difficulty seeing close up remains. A multi-focal function that offers a plurality of focal points is necessary for that intraocular lens as well. Thus, there is a great increase in the need for multi-focal lenses reflecting the aging society of recent years.
However, as a method for realizing this multi-focal lens, examples are known of a refraction type multi-focal lens for which a plurality of focal points are formed based on the principle of refraction, and of a diffractive type multi-focal lens for which a plurality of focal points are formed based on the principle of diffraction. With the latter diffractive type multi-focal lens, equipped are a plurality of diffractive structures formed in concentric circle formed on the optical part of the lens, and a plurality of focal points are given by the mutual interference effect of light waves that passed through the plurality of diffractive structures (zones). Thus, compared to the refraction type lens with which a focal point is given by the refraction effect of light waves at a refracting surface comprising boundary surfaces with different refractive indexes, with the diffractive type multi-focal lens, there are advantages such as being able to set a high lens power while inhibiting an increase in lens thickness.
Typically, the diffractive type multi-focal lens has a diffractive structure by which the diffractive zone pitch gradually becomes smaller as it goes from the lens center toward the periphery according to a rule called the Fresnel zone, and this has multiple focal points by using different orders of diffracted light generated from that structure. When using a diffractive multi-focal lens as a contact lens or an intraocular lens, normally, 0th order diffracted light is the focal point for far vision, and +1 order diffracted light is the focal point for near vision. By distribution of this diffracted light, it is possible to make a bifocal lens having focal points for far and near vision. The general Fresnel zone constitution is basically the zone pitches having the zone outer diameter radius determined by Equation 1 below. This Equation 1 is hereafter called a Fresnel zone setting equation.
                              r          n                =                              nK            P                                              [                  Equation                                                              1                ]
rn is the outer diameter radius of the nth zone obtained from Equation 1. K is a constant. P is addition power for setting the focus point of first order diffracted light with the focus point of 0th order diffracted light as a reference, and by varying this, it is possible to change the focal point position of the first order diffracted light.
For example when the focal point by 0th order diffracted light is a focal point for far vision, and first order diffracted light is set as the focal point for near vision, when P (the addition power noted above) is made larger, the focal point position for near vision moves closer to the lens. Specifically, when using that lens for the human eye, items that are closer become visible. Conversely, when P is made smaller, the focal position for near vision recedes away from the lens. In this case, when the lens is used in the human eye, the near points that are visible recede away.
For patients with advanced presbyopia, or patients who have an intraocular lens inserted, power of accommodation of the crystalline lens decreases or is lost, so it is preferable to use a lens for which the focal point is matched in the nearer direction as with the former example. In other words, an item is needed for which the addition power is set to be large. On the other hand, for patients for which the power of accommodation has not decreased that much, even if the near focal point position is not made that near, it is possible to see near objects by joint use with one's own residual power of accommodation, so there are cases when large addition power does not need to be set. Taking into consideration the status of the eyes of these patients, it is possible to obtain bifocal lenses that can be suitably used at different required powers for each patient by setting P.
However, with this bifocal type lens, we found that the problems to be resolved noted below remain.
With bifocal lenses, there are two focal points existing together, the far focal point and near focal point, and between these points, there is a blank region in which no focal point exists. The larger the addition power is made, the more this blank region expands. For patients with decreased power of accommodation, a diffractive multi-focal lens having large addition power is suitable, but when using that lens, there is the problem that though both far and near objects are visible, when objects between those focal points are viewed, they cannot be seen clearly.
Power of accommodation decreases as age increases. The power of accommodation is typically defined using numerical values expressed in diopter units in the opthalmological field, and the larger the numerical value, the greater the power of accommodation. The residual power of accommodation differs for each person, but a typical trend is said to be for the residual power of accommodation to decrease to approximately 2 to 3 diopters in the mid forties, approximately 1.5 diopters in the fifties, and less than 1 diopter in the sixties. Hereafter, diopters are noted as D as the refractive power unit.
Normally, when viewing an object 30 cm in front of oneself, the power of accommodation of the human eye that is required is approximately 3.3 D, and for example when a person in his fifties views an object at that point, the power of accommodation is insufficient by approximately 1.8 to 2 D. When such a patient uses bifocal lenses, addition power of approximately 1.8 to 2 D is needed. Also, for patients with an intraocular lens inserted, the crystalline lens as been removed, so there is almost no residual power of accommodation. With such patients, addition power of 3 to 3.5 D is necessary. When setting the addition power for the lens with an intraocular lens as a multi-focal lens, it is necessary to further change the addition power given to the lens by the set position of the intraocular lens within the eye, and for eyes with an intraocular lens inserted, to give the addition power of 3 to 3.5 D noted above, it is necessary to give addition power of 3.5 to 4 D to the lens itself.
When a patient with advanced presbyopia or a patient with an intraocular lens inserted uses a bifocal lens set so as to have this addition power, there is a new problem of having it be difficult to see the intermediate region between the far and near range. A multi-focal lens is needed that is capable of generating a focal point in this blank region as well.
Considering these problems, even with the conventional diffractive multi-focal lens, items with a further increase in the number of focal points have been proposed. As specific examples, proposed previously by this patent applicant, there are Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. JP-A-2010-158315 (Patent Document 1) and PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. JP-A-2013-517822 (Patent Document 2) showing the subordinate concepts thereof.

Diffractive multi-focal lens and method for manufacturing diffractive multi-focal lens


Methods and systems for contingency communication are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for providing emergency services may be performed by a base station operating in a communication system in an embodiment, the method for providing emergency services includes transmitting a beacon signal to indicate an emergency status to enable portable devices to operate in a stress mode. A distress signal may be transmitted by a mobile device in response to the beacon signal to the base station, wherein the distress signal carries information at least comprising user identity associated with the mobile device, geolocation of the mobile device, or biometrics of a user of the mobile device.

In a natural or man-made disaster (e.g., earthquake), victims can be buried or stranded under or beneath collapsed buildings. In many cases, emergency workers encounter difficulties locating victims and rescuing them in a timely manner. What is needed is a system that enables emergency workers to quickly locate victims during search-and-rescue efforts during such disaster scenarios.

Methods and apparatus for contingency communications


A micropump includes: a pumping chamber, between a first semiconductor substrate and a second semiconductor substrate bonded to each other; an inlet valve, having an inlet shutter element between an inlet passage and the pumping chamber; an outlet valve, having an outlet shutter element between the pumping chamber and an outlet passage; a first recess for housing the inlet shutter element when the inlet valve is in the open configuration, the first recess and the pumping chamber being fluidly coupled; a second recess for housing the outlet shutter element when the outlet valve is in the open configuration, the second recess and the pumping chamber being fluidly decoupled.

As is known, manufacturing techniques for semiconductor devices have been successfully exploited also outside the field closely related to microelectronics and for instance they have been used to develop microelectromechanical and microfluidic systems for a number of applications.
The field of fluidics, in particular, has benefited from the possibility of manufacturing miniaturized components, such as micropumps and valves, which allow volumes of liquids in the order of microlitres or smaller to be processed with a very high degree of precision. Thus, devices for ink-jet printing, biomedical devices (for example, insulin pumps), and devices for biochemical analyses (for example, microreactors for amplification and detection of nucleic acids), among others, have been improved.
However, the basic components and microfluidic devices available (micropumps and valves) are still relatively complex and their structure is a limitation to miniaturization, besides entailing non-negligible manufacturing costs. For example, micropumps and valves must be equipped with movable members and electromechanical actuators which, by acting on the movable members, control the movement of the fluids in accordance with the required functions. Generally, the integration of the actuators is rather difficult and complicates the manufacturing processes. In fact, the actuators normally require dedicated structures, which must often be made from specially designated structural layers. Furthermore, the actuators employ special materials, such as piezoelectric or magnetic materials, which require changes to the most common manufacturing processes and additional processing steps (for example, deposition, masking, and photolithographic definition of layers of special materials).
It must also be considered that in many cases the tightness of the valves, especially when integrated into membrane micropumps, is not optimal and can be the cause of leakage and backflow, which affect the working of the device.


Disclosed is a sensor device with pixels that in addition to sensing an image, performs captured image or scene analysis. The device saves further image processing downstream, is characterized by minimal charge movements and reduces a large fraction (about 90%) of the consumed electric energy as compared to the existing devices.

Sensors and sensor networks are extensively used in different applications and in particular in applications of image or scene interpretation. In these applications a first objective is identifying temporal changes to the illumination level at any point in the image. In a regular camera sensor such as a CMOS or a CCD sensor, photons that impinge on the active pixel area are transformed into electrons that are retained in the pixel by its design. Subsequently, the captured electrons are moved out of the pixel area, their movement or electric current are transformed from analog to digital values, and the digital values are output to a receiving module for further processing. Movement of electric charges is by definition consumption of electrical energy. In existing cameras, the sensor alone consumes at least 30 mW of electric power. Subsequent processing by a processor requires substantially more power.
In some applications such as vehicle collision prevention, machining or semiconductor processing equipment, visual sensors can be mounted on the equipment itself to monitor operation of the equipment. In such applications sensors receive sufficient electric power supply from the adjacent equipment enabling their operation. Other applications such as surveillance, people tracking and access control require event monitoring across large areas over long periods. In such applications a number of sensors are distributed across the surveilled area, power being supplied by expensive infrastructure. In addition to power supply, communication means are required for transmission of captured images or image analysis results. In most of these applications, the time between events of interest (EOI, or alerts) is large with respect to the duration of the event itself, resulting in a very small operating duty-cycle. This means that a standard camera-processor setup must work continuously, capturing images, sending them to the visual processor, which processes them and most of the times discovers that there is no alert to send or decision to take. Nevertheless, continuous scene monitoring consumes significant electric power, and requires expensive and complex infrastructure, limiting its efficacy and applicability.
Electrical power supply as well as communications channel to a distributed sensor network over a large area is complex and expensive. Current sensors are often bulky, expensive, and sometimes limited to image recording or capture. Surveillance and similar tasks execution requires continuous sensors and in particular visual sensors operation. Such operation consumes hundreds or thousands of milliwatts and accordingly the sensors depend heavily on external power supply, limiting their usage. Sensors being capable of interpreting the visual world while consuming only a few milliwatts could be densely deployed to be employed in applications such as smart buildings, assisted living, safe cities, long perimeters and many more.

Pixel design with temporal analysis capabilities for scene interpretation


A rotating arc circuit breaker comprising a pair of separable arcing contacts, a coil to set the arc in rotation, and an annular migration electrode. Guiding fins are arranged in the extinguishing chamber to slow down the rotation of the gas in a first peripheral zone, so as to generate a differential speed between the arc and the gas favoring the heat exchange in the second zone close to the breaking gap.

The invention relates to a rotating arc circuit breaker having a sealed enclosure filled with a high dielectric strength gas, notably sulphur hexafluoride, and housing one or more pole-units, each pole-unit comprising:
an extinguishing chamber having a pair of arcing contacts capable of defining a breaking gap when they separate,
magnetic blow-out means, notably a coil, or a permanent magnet designed to create a magnetic arc rotation field, causing the gas to be driven by a centrifugal effect towards the periphery of the chamber,
an annular arc migration electrode,
guiding fins located in the extinguishing chamber to slow down the rotation movement of the extinguishing gas.
In a rotating arc circuit breaker the centrifugal effect driving the gas towards the periphery of the chamber is capable of creating a depression in the vicinity of the breaking gap. This depression gives rise to a decrease of the gas density which weakens the dielectric withstand in this region. The speed of rotation of the arc is moreover close to the gas driving speed, which prevents any efficient heat exchange between the arc and the gas. This results in an insufficiency of the arc recovery voltage which may prevent the arc from being extinguished when short-circuit currents are broken.
The document FR 2,554,274 describes a rotating arc self-extinguishing expansion circuit breaker having guiding fins located in the extinguishing chamber to slow down the rotation movement of the extinguishing gas heated by the arc to the outflow zone. The fins are fixed on an insulating ring covering the arc migration electrode, i.e. in a region close to the breaking gap. A mixture of hot and cold gases takes place in a zone located away from the breaking gap. Arranging the fins in this way is liable to decrease the performances of the circuit breaker.
The object of the invention consists in improving the dielectric withstand, and the arc recovery voltage in a rotating arc circuit breaker.

Rotating arc circuit breaker with centrifugal extinguishing gas effect


An automatic magazine ejection system is disclosed. The automatic magazine ejection system comprises a modified bolt catch, a release switch, and a pivotable magazine catch. The modified bolt catch pivots from a first position to a second position. When in the second position the bottom of an external part of the modified bolt catch moves toward the firearm. The release switch is connected to the modified bolt catch. The bottom of the release switch engages the end of the pivotable magazine catch to pivot the end of the magazine catch out of the magazine well and permit the automatic removal of the magazine. If the release switch is slid to an “off” position then the bottom of the release switch does not engage the pivotable magazine catch when it moves and the magazine is not removed from the magazine well.

Followers are known in the art. A follower is a component situated within a magazine between a lower spring and the ammunition rounds in the magazine. As the rounds are fired from the firearm, the spring pushes the follower up along the body of the magazine, pushing the rounds into the firing chamber for continued firing.
A standard OEM semi-automatic rifle contains a magazine catch assembly. A standard magazine catch assembly is comprised of a magazine catch, a spring, and magazine release button. The magazine catch consists of two ends which occur at a substantially right angle. One end is a threaded screw. The other end is a substantially flat member. When installed in a semi-automatic rifle, the spring is placed over the threaded screw end of the magazine catch. The screw is then inserted through the lower receiver and threaded through the magazine catch button on the opposite side of the lower receiver. The opposite end of the magazine catch rests within a recess in the magazine well receiver. When a magazine is placed in the magazine well the magazine catch slides into a recess in the magazine. The catch holds the magazine in place while the firearm is in use. To release the magazine, a user pushes the magazine release button. When the magazine release button is depressed the magazine catch is lifted from the recess in the magazine and the magazine freely slides out of the magazine well.
When a magazine is empty the user does not know until the user has fired all of the rounds from magazine, including those from the magazine which are in the chamber. So currently when a magazine is empty it is still attached to the lower receiver of the firearm. The user does not become aware that the magazine is empty until the user pulls the trigger and the firearm does not fire. At this point in time then the user pushes the magazine release button. The magazine release button is attached to the magazine catch bar. The magazine catch bar resides in a catch recess in the magazine which prevents the magazine from being removed. Once the magazine catch bar is disengaged then the user removes the empty magazine and replaces it with a full magazine to continue firing.
This process is inefficient. A user is unable to fire the firearm while removing the magazine and attaching a new magazine. What is needed is a device and method whereby the magazine is automatically ejected from the firearm after the last round has left the magazine. This would increase the efficiency of use because the user does not have to remove the empty magazine but instead can simply insert the new magazine and continue firing.


A system and method for collecting production information from punch machines (11) at shop floors and for monitoring production performed by the punch machines. The system comprises information collectors (12), a monitoring computer (14) and a database (16). Each information collector is attached to a corresponding punch machine, and obtains real-time production information. The monitoring computer is located remotely from the shop floors, and is respectively connected with the information collectors and the database via first and second communication links (13, 18). The monitoring computer is used for obtaining the information obtained by the information collectors according to pre-installed information obtaining instructions, and for storing the obtained information in the database. The database also stores fundamental data set by users. Therefore, users can know and control real-time production status of all shop floors at personal computers (17) connected to the database via the second communication link.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for collecting information and monitoring production, and more particularly to a system and method for collecting punch information from shop floors and monitoring production on a real-time basis.
2. Description of Related Art
With economic globalization and intense business competition, many enterprises are facing more difficulties and challenges than ever before. Suppliers of goods have to strive to meet more stringent demands from customers, such as shorter delivery times, more customized products, higher quality and lower price. Manufacturers need to collect production information in real time to improve management of shop floors in factories. Traditionally, production information at shop floors is collected by hand. For example, by dictation and recording with a pen, or by manually inputting data into a computer terminal. It takes a long time to collect the original information, let alone effectively organize and analyze the collected information and finally respond to it. It is imperative for many enterprises to establish a system for instantly monitoring production information and quickly responding to problems identified at the shop floor. Such system can greatly improve efficiency and effectiveness of production.
With the recent development and widespread application of information technology, production information is now collected automatically at many facilities. Barcode technology is a typical means used for automated collection. To apply barcode technology, a manufacturer has to first label all the products, devices and apparatuses with barcodes. Operators at shop floors scan the barcodes with barcode readers, and the obtained production information is automatically stored into a monitoring computer. Barcode technology simplifies the collection of production information to a certain degree. However, it is costly, and the collection of information is only partly automated. In addition, information-collecting sensors attached to machines on the shop floor are usually not fully utilized.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method that completely automates collection of production information and that fully utilizes information-collecting sensors.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a system and method for collecting production information from shop floors and for monitoring production, whereby a user at a remote location can obtain real-time information on machines used in the production.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method for collecting production information from shop floors and for monitoring production, whereby a user can obtain real-time information of all machines located at different shop floors.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for collecting production information from shop floors and for monitoring production, whereby a user can know in real time of any current abnormality in production, and can quickly respond to thereby maintain production.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for collecting production information and for monitoring production, wherein all production information including production abnormalities is stored in a database for future reference.
To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a system and method for collecting production information from punch machines at shop floors and for monitoring production performed by the punch machines. The system comprises information collectors respectively connected to the punch machines, the information collectors obtaining machine-related real-time information and converting such information into computer-readable information; a monitoring computer located remotely from the shop floors and connected with the information collectors via a first communication link, the monitoring computer obtaining the computer-readable information from the information collectors according to pre-installed information obtaining instructions; and a database that stores information obtained by the monitoring computer and information set by users. Users can inquire of all information stored in the database at personal computers that are connected to the database via a second communication link. Each punch machine is assigned with a particular network ID representing its identification in the whole system. Therefore a user can readily identify information on a specific machine and control that machine""s production.

System and method for collecting information and monitoring production


A device for converting a term comprising a product of a first operand and a second operand into a representation having an integer quotient regarding a modulus and a remainder, the integer quotient being defined by T/N, T being the term and N being the modulus, and the remainder being defined by T mod N, N being the modulus. The device modularly reduces the term using the modulus on the one hand and modularly reduces the term using an auxiliary modulus, which is greater than the modulus, on the other hand to obtain the remainder on the one hand and the auxiliary remainder on the other hand. Both the remainder and the auxiliary remainder are combined to obtain the integer quotient. The inventive device makes it possible to calculate even the integer quotient, that is the result of the divide (DIV) operation, by performing a command for a modular multiplication existing on conventional cryptoprocessors two times.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to calculating algorithms and, in particular, to calculating algorithms required for cryptographic applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
In particular in public key cryptography but also in other fields of cryptography, key lengths keep increasing. The reason for this is that the security requirements for such cryptographic algorithms keep increasing, too. With the RSA method as an example of an asymmetric cryptography concept, that is a public key method, the security against so-called brute force attacks increases with the key length used. Brute force attacks are attacks on a cryptographic algorithm, in which the key is to be derived by trying out all the possibilities. It is directly understandable that the time theoretically required for a brute force attack in order to try out all the possibilities strongly increases with an increasing key length.
It is to be mentioned in this context that RSA applications with key lengths of 512 bits used to be considered to be sufficient. Due to a technological and mathematical progress of the "opponent", the key lengths for typical RSA applications have been increased to 1024 bits. In the meantime, some people even think that even this key length is not sufficient so that RSA key lengths of 2048 bits are aimed at.
When, on the other hand, existing cryptographic coprocessors, such as, for example, SmartCards, are considered, it can be seen that there is, of course, the desire to run RSA applications with key lengths of, for example, 2048 bits on cryptographic circuits which originally have only been developed for key lengths of, for example, 1024 bits. It is a characteristic of arithmetic coprocessors for existing SmartCard applications that they have been developed for fixed bit lengths which are not suitable for the latest security requirements, that is they are too small. This has the consequence that a 2048 bits RSA algorithm, for example, cannot be handled efficiently on 1024 bits coprocessors. For RSA applications, for example, the Chinese remainder theorem (CRT) is known, in which a modular exponentiation having a large key length is divided into two modular exponentiations having half the key length, according to which the results of the two modular exponentiations having half the length are summarized correspondingly.
It has been found out in recent times that the Chinese remainder theorem is especially susceptible to DFA attacks (DFA=differential fault analysis).
Thus, a problem in many methods is the "doubling" of the so-called modular multiplication, which is a central operation in cryptographic calculations. Thus a modular exponentiation can be divided into many modular multiplications, i.e., in an operation, in which a product of a first operand A and a second operand B is calculated in a remainder class regarding a modulus N. When the operands A and B each have 2 n bits, typical calculating units having a length of 2 n bits are used. These calculating units, due to their high length, are referred to as long number calculating units, which is, for example, in contrast to classic 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits architectures, which are, for example, employed for PC or workstation processors.
It is desired to execute a modular multiplication A*B mod N with numbers A, B and N of the bit length 2 n on an n bit calculating unit. This is very time-consuming since the numbers A, B, N, . . . can only be loaded in fragments, which is why conventional methods, provided they do not fail completely, are extensive from an organizational point of view and error-prone. In technology, there are several methods with which these problems have been solved so far. These methods are known under the key words Montgomery multiplication, normal multiplication, such as with a Karatsuba-Ofman and a later reduction, such as a Barret reduction.
A further concept in which a Montgomery calculation in a "CRT window" is used is illustrated in P. Pailler, "Low-cost double size modular exponentiation or how to stretch your cryptocoprocessor."
All such concepts are extensive regarding the calculating time and the data organization and thus not always efficient.
In the German patent application, filed on the same day, (German Patent Application No. 102 19 158.1-53, filed Apr. 29, 2002) having the title "Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Berechnen eines Ergebnisses einer modularen Multiplikation" (device and method for calculating a result of a modular multiplication), a concept in which a modular multiplication for operands of 2 n bits is transformed into several so-called MMD operations, for which operands having half the length, that is having n bits, are sufficient, is described. An MMD operation, apart from the remainder resulting from A×B mod N, also provides the result of the integer division, that is of the DIV operation, wherein this result is also referred to as the integer quotient Q.
In general the operation T mod N results in a remainder R when a term T regarding a modulus N is reduced. The operation T div N, however, provides the integer quotient regarding the modulus N so that the term T can be reconstructed from Q×N+R. The MMD operation (MMD=MultModDiv) thus serves to convert any term T into an integer quotient T and a remainder R regarding a modulus N.
In conventional modular arithmetics used for cryptography techniques, the result of the DIV operation, that is the integer quotient, is normally neither required nor calculated. The concept described above is, however, based on utilizing the DIV information, that is the integer quotient. In this way other applications in which not only the result of the MOD operation, that is the remainder, is required, but in which the integer quotient, that is the result of the DIV operation, is required as well can also exist in technology.


A process for producing a substrate for a liquid ejection head, including a step of forming a liquid supply port passing through a silicon substrate by dry etching, the step being a step of sequentially repeating the steps of (1) forming an etching protection film on the silicon substrate, (2) removing a bottom portion of the etching protection film, and (3) etching the silicon substrate, wherein a sheath formed in the step (2) is thicker than a sheath formed in the step (3).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing a substrate for a liquid ejection head.
2. Description of the Related Art
As methods for forming a liquid supply port in a substrate for a liquid ejection head, a method of using drilling, laser beam machining or sand blasting, a method of forming a liquid supply port by anisotropic etching and a method of forming a liquid supply port by dry etching have been proposed. Among these methods, the method of forming the liquid supply port by the dry etching using an etching gas can form a liquid supply port of an almost vertical form, so that a chip size can be made smaller than the method of forming the liquid supply port by the anisotropic etching. Regarding the method of forming the liquid supply port by the dry etching, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-137155 discloses a process in which a common liquid supply port is formed from the side of a back surface of a substrate, and an independent liquid supply port is then formed in a bottom thereof by dry etching.

Processes for producing substrate for liquid ejection head


An improved structure and process of fabricating an electrically erasable programmable read only memory device (EEPROM's) wherein a thick oxide region is formed on the surface of a semiconductor substrate. The thick oxide is removed forming a depression in the surface. Impurity ions are implanted in the depression forming a highly doped tunneling region. A tunnel oxide layer is formed on the substrate surface fully covering the tunneling region. Next, the floating gate layer is formed on the tunnel oxide layer. The gate isolation layer and control gate layer are formed over the floating gate layer. Subsequently, the spaced source and drain regions are formed in the substrate on opposite sides of the gate structure. A dielectric layer is formed over the control gate region and substrate. Contact openings are formed. Electrical contacts and metallurgy lines with appropriate passivation are formed that connect the source, drain and gate elements to form an electrically erasable programmable read only memory device.

1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to semiconductor devices and more particularly to an improved structure and method for producing electrically programmable read only memory devices (EPROM's) and electrically erasable programmable read only memory devices (EEPROM's).
2) Description of the Prior Art
Computer memories represent one of the fastest growing markets in the world today. Also, computer memory technology is rapidly changing to meet marketplace demands. One of the most important types of computer memory, called an electrically alterable/erasable read only memory (EAROM/EEROM), has a permanent but reprogrammable memory.
Market demands that memories must be faster, smaller and easier to manufacture. In particular there is a challenge to develop stacked gate flash electrically erasable programmable read only memories (EEPROM's or E.sup.2 ROM's) with faster erasure speeds without decreasing the device manufacturing yield.
A conventional EEPROM device works as follows. FIG. 1 shows the conventional stacked gate EEPROM programmed transistor. The stacked EEPROM transistor has an additional polysilicon layer added to the conventional complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistor. This additional polysilicon layer is called a floating gate 16. A control gate 20 is placed above the floating gate 16. The floating gate 16 gets its name because it is not attached to a line but "floats" and is controlled by the control gate 20, source 14 and drain 16 voltages. A thin oxide, called the tunnel oxide 22, separates the floating gate 16 from the source 14, and drain 12 voltages. Another thin insulating layer 18 separates the control gate 20 from the floating gate 16. By controlling the control gate, source and drain voltages, the thin tunnel oxide 22 is used to allow electrons to "tunnel" to or from the floating gate 16 to turn the cell off or on respectively. This tunneling mechanism is called Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. Also, by setting the appropriate voltages on the terminals, "hot electrons" can be induced to charge the floating gate 16, thereby programming the transistor.
Still referring to FIG. 1, a memory cell can be programmed by causing hot electrons to be injected from the drain 12 through gate oxide layer 22 onto the floating gate 16. This injection of electrons occurs under the influence of a relatively strong electrical field. Once the strong electrical field has been removed, these electrons are trapped on floating gate 16 causing the memory cell to be programmed. Accordingly, the memory cell may be programmed by placing a memory cell transistor source 14, such as one of bit lines, at a zero volt potential while placing control gate 20 at a relative high positive voltage potential and pulsing a memory cell transistor drain 12, such as bit line with a relatively high voltage. This process causes the floating gate 16 to become charged or programmed.
A memory cell may be read by placing a memory cell transistor source 14 at a zero volt potential, a memory cell transistor drain 12 at a relatively low positive voltage. If the memory cell has not been previously programmed, then the memory cell conducts current. However, if the memory cell has been previously programmed, floating gate 16 will prevent the memory cell from conducting.
In the conventional floating gate cell structure, the erase operation speed is limited by the electric field strength between source and the floating gate which is limited by the tunnel oxide thickness. The thinner the tunnel oxide thickness the faster the electrons can "tunnel" thorough it. This is because the thinner the tunnel oxide the stronger the electric field between the floating gate and the source or drain. However, as the tunnel oxide is thinned, oxide pin holes cause reliability problems. In practice, the tunnel oxide thickness is formed at the lowest thickness to ensure acceptable reliability and manufacturing yields. This tradeoff between tunnel oxide thickness and erase speed limits the overall speed of conventional EEPROM devices.
A method for fabricating a MOS field effect transistor with a recessed gate with self-aligning source and drain regions is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,937. The erasure rate for this device is still limited by the tunnel oxide thickness.
A new erasing method for a simple stacked gate flash EEPROM is describe in Yamada et all, "A Self-Convergence Erasing Scheme For a Simple Stacked Gate Flash EEPROM" IEDM 91 pp. 307-310. This publication explains a technique to improve cell erasure. Standard cell erasure is achieved by electron tunneling (Fowler-Nordheim or F-N tunneling) between the floating gate and the drain. Yamada's technique makes use of avalanche hot carrier injection after cell erasure by Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling. A steady state is caused by a balance between the avalanche hot electron injection into the floating gate and the avalanche hot hole injection into the floating gate. This steady state can be controlled by the channel doping level. This new technique results in a tighter distribution of erase threshold voltages. It also allows pre-programming and iteration of the erase and verify sequence to be eliminated. However, the erase step speed is still limited by the tunnel oxide thickness and the electric field strength between the floating gate and the source.

Method of making an electrically erasable programmable memory device with improved erase and write operation


A hydraulic pressure amplifier arrangement (1) comprising a supply port (IN), a return port (R), a high pressure port (H1), and a pressure amplifier unit (2) having a low pressure inlet (3) connected to the supply port (IN) and a high pressure outlet (4) connected to the high pressure port (H1) is described, wherein the pressure amplifier unit (2) comprises an amplification factor. In such a hydraulic pressure amplifier arrangement it should be possible to allow simply releasing off pressure at the high pressure port while keeping small unnecessary energy consumption. To this end a control valve (8) is arranged in a connection between the high pressure port (H1) and the return port (R).

Such a hydraulic pressure amplifier arrangement is known, for example, from DE 102 49 523 B4. The pressure amplifier unit comprises a differential piston having a low pressure piston movable in a low pressure cylinder and a high pressure piston movable in a high pressure cylinder. The low pressure piston and the high pressure piston are movable together. The amplification factor corresponds to the ratio of the pressure area of the low pressure piston to the pressure area of the high pressure piston.
Such a hydraulic pressure amplifier arrangement is used to deliver hydraulic fluid to a consumer with a pressure which is larger than the pressure supplied to the hydraulic pressure amplifier arrangement. In this way a pressure source delivering the hydraulic fluid under the lower pressure can be kept small, while the consumer can be supplied with a higher pressure. One field of application of such a hydraulic pressure amplifier arrangement is a clamping arrangement in a machine tool which is hydraulically operated. Using the hydraulic pressure amplifier arrangement allows to produce high clamping forces without the need to have a pressure source producing high pressures.
However, when the high pressure has been supplied to the high pressure port, it is in some cases necessary to lower the pressure at the high pressure port, for example to untighten the clamping means.

Hydraulic pressure amplifier arrangement


Novel phosphonium salts of benzotraizoles, which are highly reactive coupling agents, and are particularly useful in peptide synthesis, are disclosed. Further disclosed is a process of preparing the novel phosphonium salts and methods utilizing same for preparing peptides.

The present invention relates to the field of chemical synthesis and, more particularly, to novel coupling agents that can be beneficially utilized in the syntheses of various substances and particularly in peptide synthesis.
All known life forms and life processes are based on proteins which are essential to all biological functions. Consequently, all the illnesses and disorders associated with life involve proteins. Among many other functions, proteins play a key role in signaling pathways of immunological and/or neurological processes and thus they are major players in many congenital, chronic and infectious diseases and disorders.
As such, proteins exhibit highly potent therapeutic efficacy and therefore attract a great pharmaceutically-focused attention, especially in the post-genomic and proteomic era, where important advances in molecular biology and gene technology are bringing significant changes in biomedical sciences. The elucidation of the human genome, followed by advancements in functional genomics and proteomics, revolutionized the understanding of the detailed molecular mechanisms, underlying a broad spectrum of peptide and protein related diseases and disorders. As a result, novel therapeutic targets have been identified and novel mechanism-based therapeutic paradigms have been suggested, whereby peptides play a key role in all of these transitions.
Consequently there has been a notable increase in researches, both academic and industrial, which are aimed at developing novel peptide-based drugs. From a pharmaceutical market point of view, peptides are presently considered as active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) that can be used in a variety of therapeutic applications and particularly as, for example, antibiotics, hormones, immunomodulators, anti-angiogenesis agents, therapeutic agents for treating CNS and other neurological disorders, analgesics, anti-obesity drugs, and as therapeutic agents for treating immune disorders such as allergy, asthma, hemophilia, anemia and autoimmune diseases [Loffet, A. 2002, J Peptide Sci. 8, 1].
However, although peptides have enormous therapeutic potential, their widespread use has been limited by several restrictive technical factors. Today, manufacturing companies face the unprecedented challenge of producing hundred kilograms to tons quantities of complex peptides. Such a massive production typically uses expensive and complex modern technologies, rendering peptide manufacture difficult and cost-inefficient as compared with other pharmaceuticals. Large-scale manufacturing and purification of peptides in a bioactive form can therefore be a limiting step in the commercialization of peptide-based drugs.
A key step in the peptide production process is the formation of the peptide bond (an amide bond formed between the carboxylic acid group of one amino acid and the amine group of another amino acid). In peptide syntheses, formation of a peptide bond typically requires the activation of the carboxylic acid, which usually involves the use of a peptide coupling agent [for a comprehensive review on peptide coupling agents see, F. Albericio, S. A. Kates, Solid-Phase Synthesis: A Practical Guide, S. A. Kates, F. Albericio Eds; Marcel Dekker, New York, N.Y., 2000, pp. 273-328 and F. Albericio, R. Chinchilla, D. J. Dodsworth, C. Najera, 2001, Org Prep. Proc. Int., 33, 202].
Although the synthesis of medium-large peptides for basic research is a well established procedure, the combination of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids and a growing number of unnatural amino acids makes each peptide synthesis unique at the industrial level, oftentimes requiring closer attention to each amino acid coupling. Some of the rules for coupling agents validated in the research scale can be applied at industrial level, but the results are still hardly predictable.
Thus use of peptide coupling agents in the industry has started as early as 1955 with the introduction of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) [Sheehan, J. C. and Hess, G. P., 1955, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 77, 1067], which at that time was already known and well studied as a reagent for formation of amide bond [Khorana, H. G., 1952, J. Chem. Soc., 2081]. The chemical structures of DCC, as well as of 1-ethyl-3-(3′dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) and N,N′-diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIC), other coupling agents of the carboiimide family, are presented in FIG. 1.
Carbodiimides are indeed the most available and low-cost coupling agents amongst the presently known reagents. The primary reactive species, O-acylisourea, is one of the most reactive species for peptide coupling. Shortcomings associated with the use of carbodiimides as coupling agents therefore mostly stem from the high and relatively incontrollable reactivity thereof and include, for example, racemization, side reactions and low yields due to the formation of the poorly active N-acyl urea. Furthermore, while low dielectric constant solvents such as CHCl3 or CH2Cl2 are optimal for carbodiimides, the use of these solvents precludes the use of automatic solid-phase synthesis machines, and thus, carboiimides coupling agents can be used, at most, in manual or semi-automatic modes. Carbodiimides are also incompatible with Fmoc/t-Bu solid-phase chemistry, because the urea derivative formed in such syntheses is typically not soluble in common solvents. Such urea derivatives are also difficult to remove in solution chemistry.
At the beginning of the 70's, 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt) [König, W., Geiger, R., 1970, Chem. Ber. 103, 788 and 2034] was proposed as an additive to DCC. The addition of HOBt was aimed at reducing the racemization associated with DCC coupling. The relative success of this additive signaled the beginning of a period during which other benzotriazole derivatives such as 1-hydroxy-56-chlorobenzotriazole (Cl-HOBt) [Ueki, M. and Yanagihira, T., Peptides 1998, Proceedings of the 25th European Peptide Symposium, S. Bajusz, F. Hudecz Eds, Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, p. 252] and 1-hydroxy-7-azabenzotriazole (HOAt) [Carpino, L. A., 1993, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 115, 4397] have been developed and successfully used (see, FIG. 2). During the past years the addition of benzotriazole derivatives as additives to DCC and other carbodiimides became almost mandatory to preserve the peptide bond formation by carbodiimide activation of low yields and undesired side reactions and loss of chirality.
In the last decade, the use of phosphonium and aminium/uronium salts, referred to herein in short as "onium salts", of hydroxybenzotriazole derivatives as peptide coupling agents, has been introduced. Although these reagents have been rapidly adapted for research purposes, only a few of them have been found compatible with current industrial requirements and synthetic strategies and were adopted by the industry.
The species that reacts with onium salts is the carboxylate of the amino/organic acid. Therefore, performing the coupling reaction in the presence of at least one equivalent of a base is essential while using these reagents. The mechanism by which these "onium" salts acts as coupling agents is schematically illustrated in FIG. 3.
The presently most reactive aminium salt coupling agent is 2-(7-aza-1H-benzotriazole-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (HATU) [Carpino, L. A., 1993, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 115, 4397]. The chemical structures of HATU and analogs thereof are presented in Scheme 1 below.
SCHEME 1 XYZHATUHNPF6HBTUHCHPF6TBTUHCHBF4HCTUClCHPF6TCTUClCHBF4
However, the use of the aminium salts as peptide coupling agents was found to be limited in various aspects. First, during the activation of hindered carboxylic components, such as those involved in cyclization reactions of hindered amino acids, the aminium salts can react with a more available amino component, leading to a guanidine derivative, a process that terminates the peptide chain. Furthermore, it has been discovered that aminium salts can contain traces of dimethylamine, which can also react with the carboxylic component to give the corresponding dimethylamide. Finally, HATU as well as its less reactive analogues (see, Scheme 1 above) are prohibitively expensive, rendering their industrial use impractical.
The most prevalent phosphonium salts of benzotriazoles that are presently used as peptide coupling agents are benzotriazol-1-yl-N-oxy-tris(pyrrolidino)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (PyBOP) [Coste, J. et al., 1975, Tetrahedron Lett., 31, 205] and the later uncovered 7-azabenzotriazol-1-yl-N-oxy-tris(pyrrolidino)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (PyAOP) [Albericio, F. et al., 1997, Tetrahedron Lett., 38, 4853], which is derived from HOAt and is presently considered as the most reactive phosphonium salt (see, FIG. 4). PyBOP and PyAOP, are specifically useful as coupling agent in cyclization steps or for the activation of hindered amino acids, where the use of aminium salts can lead to the formation of guanidine derivatives. Since it was found that PyBOP and PyAOP do not terminate the peptide chain, these coupling agents can be used in excess and be added during the coupling step, while circumventing the risk of chain termination.
Thus, the presently known peptide coupling agents are typically limited by their low desired reactivity, side products formed thereby and/or high cost.
Due to the ongoing developments of peptide-based drugs and the limitations associated with the presently known peptide coupling agents, there is a widely recognized need, and it would be highly advantageous to have novel, efficient peptide coupling agent devoid of the above limitations.
It is noteworthy that coupling agents that are useful in peptide synthesis can also be used in other organic syntheses that require activation of a carboxylic moiety. Such syntheses can be used to produce organic compounds of biological interest such as, for example, peptoids, oligocarbamates, oligoamides, β-lactams, esters, polyenamides, benzodiazepines, diketopiperazines, and hydantoins.

Benzotriazole-1-yl-N-oxy phosphonium coupling agent


A computer enclosure includes a front bezel (10) and a front plate (40). A pair of symmetrically opposing pivots (24) is formed on the front bezel. A pair of L-shaped bearings (48) is forwardly formed from a bottom portion of the front plate. When the front bezel is attached to the front plate, the pivots of the front bezel are pivotably received in the bearings of the front plate. The front bezel is rotated toward the front plate about the pivots. Clasps (11) of the front bezel are inserted into slots (42) defined in the front plate, and hooks (44) of the front plate snappingly engage in engaging apertures (12) defined in the clasps. Thus the front bezel fully abuts the front plate, and is securely attached thereon.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer enclosures, and particularly to computer enclosures having front panels pivotally attached thereto.
2. Description of Related Art
In a typical personal computer, a front bezel is attached to a front plate of an enclosure to make the computer more aesthetically pleasing. Conventionally, the front bezel is attached to the front plate with a plurality of screws. Fastening the screws is tedious and time-consuming, and a special tool is required.
To overcome this problem, an alternative computer enclosure has been developed. A plurality of spaced clasps is arranged on the bezel, and a plurality of corresponding holes is defined in the front plate. The clasps are extended into and engaged in the holes, thereby securing the front bezel to the front plate. However, it is difficult to simultaneously align all the clasps with all the holes. In addition, the clasps are prone to break during this assembly process.
Therefore, an improved computer enclosure that overcomes the above-mentioned problems is desired.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a computer enclosure which quickly and conveniently secures a front bezel to a front plate thereof.
In order to achieve the object set out above, a computer enclosure in accordance with the present invention includes a front bezel and a front plate. A pair of symmetrically opposing pivots is formed on the front bezel. A pair of L-shaped bearings is forwardly formed from a bottom portion of the front plate. When the front bezel is attached to the front plate, the pivots of the front bezel are pivotably received in the bearings of the front plate. The front bezel is rotated toward the front plate about the pivots. Clasps of the front bezel are inserted into slots defined in the front plate, and hooks of the front plate snappingly engage in engaging apertures defined in the clasps. Thus the front bezel fully abuts the front plate, and is securely attached thereon.

Computer enclosure with pivoting front panel


Sensors coupled to a vehicle are calibrated using a dynamic scene with sensor targets around a motorized turntable that rotates the vehicle to different orientations. The sensors capture data at each orientation along the rotation. The vehicle's computer identifies representations of the sensor targets within the data captured by the sensors, and calibrates the sensor based on these representations. The motorized turntable may confirm that rotation has stopped to the vehicle to trigger sensor capture, and the vehicle may communicate completion of sensor capture at an orientation to the motorized turntable to trigger further rotation.

An autonomous vehicle is a motorized vehicle that can navigate without a human driver. An exemplary autonomous vehicle includes a plurality of sensor systems, such as, but not limited to, a camera sensor system, a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor system, or a radio detection and ranging (RADAR) sensor system, amongst others, wherein the autonomous vehicle operates based upon sensor signals output by the sensor systems. Specifically, the sensor signals are provided to an internal computing system in communication with the plurality of sensor systems, wherein a processor executes instructions based upon the sensor signals to control a mechanical system of the autonomous vehicle, such as a vehicle propulsion system, a braking system, or a steering system. Such sensors may also be mounted on other vehicles, such as vehicles that are used to generate or update street maps as they drive.
A wide range of manufacturing defects or discrepancies can exist in vehicles, sensors, and mounting hardware that affixes the sensors to the vehicles. Because of these discrepancies, different sensors mounted to different vehicles may capture slightly different data, even when those vehicles are at the exact same position, and even when the vehicles are brand new. For example, a lens of one camera may be warped slightly (or include some other imperfection) compared to a lens of another camera, one vehicle may include a newer hardware revision or version of a particular sensor than another, one vehicle's roof may be a few millimeters higher or lower than another vehicle's roof, or a skewed screw used in a mounting structure for a sensor on one vehicle may tilt the mounting structure slightly. Such imperfections and variations in manufacturing can impact sensor readings and mean that there no two vehicles capture sensor readings in quite the same way, and thus no two vehicles interpret their surroundings via sensor readings in quite the same way. With use, vehicles can drift even further apart in their sensor readings due to exposure to the elements, for example through exposure to heat, rain, dust, frost, rocks, pollution, vehicular collisions, all of which can further damage or otherwise impact a vehicle or its sensor.
Sensors typically capture data and provide results in a standardized manner that does not, by itself, test or account for intrinsic properties of each sensor, such as the position and angle of the sensor or properties of a lens, or for extrinsic relationships between sensors that capture data from similar areas. Because of this, it can be unclear whether a discrepancy in measurements between two vehicles can be attributed to an actual difference in environment or simply different properties of vehicle sensors. Because autonomous vehicles are trusted with human lives, it is imperative that autonomous vehicles have as robust an understanding of their environments as possible, otherwise a vehicle might perform an action that it should not perform, or fail to perform an action that it should perform, either of which can result in a vehicular accident and put human lives at risk. Other sensor-laden vehicles, such as those that collect data for maps or street-level imagery, can produce unreliable maps or images if they cannot account for the properties of their sensors, which can then in turn confuse both human vehicles and autonomous vehicles that rely on those maps, again risking human life.

Control of dynamic scene motion by vehicle based on vehicle sensor capture


Sequences of hierarchical records are aggregated and summarized. A capture log that includes a plurality of operations of a workload is received. A first data structure that models transaction types as sequences of nodes is created. The nodes identify operations in the workload. A present operation and a transaction identifier are read from the capture log. The transaction identifier is dissociated from a first node that identifies a prior operation. The transaction identifier is associated with a second node that identifies the present operation. In a second data structure that associates nodes with transaction identifiers, the first node is dissociated from the transaction identifier and the second node is associated with the transaction identifier. A summary of the workload is generated based, at least in part, on the first and second data structures. The summary includes signatures of transaction types and counts of instances of the transaction types.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of computer databases, and more particularly to aggregating and summarizing sequences of hierarchical records.
In general, programs that generate database workload reports receive as an input a workload including a stream of structured query language operations (SQLs). The stream of SQLs includes SQLs associated with one or more transactions, which are sequences of SQLs. Transactions vary in length (i.e., the number of SQLs in the sequence). Some transactions include millions of SQLs. Consequently, a workload can include billions of SQLs. A workload may include hundreds or thousands of transactions, each of which may or may not be repeated in the stream of SQLs. In addition, the SQLs that are associated with each transaction can be distributed in the stream of SQLs (i.e., the SQLs of a transaction are generally non-consecutive).

Aggregating and summarizing sequences of hierarchical records

International Business Machines Corporation