A synchronization that includes a pattern sequence. In the synchronization, symbols of a first pattern sequence are usually correlated, the symbols commonly including amplitude and/or phase information, thereby routinely obtaining a first differential phase information sequence, symbols of a second pattern sequence are correlated, the symbols generally including amplitude and/or phase information, thereby typically obtaining a second differential phase information sequence, and then the first and second differential phase information sequences are usually correlated, thereby obtaining a correlation result. Then, a synchronization between the first and second pattern sequences is often determined on the basis of the obtained correlation result.

1. Field of the Invention
The present specification relates generally to a method and an apparatus for pattern sequence synchronization between a first and a second pattern sequence. Certain embodiments discussed in the present specification relate to a synchronization between a received pattern sequence which may, for example, be generated at a transmitting device and a reference pattern sequence of a receiving device. Certain embodiments are applicable in single carrier transceivers with frame synchronization for pilot detection, in single carrier quadrature direct conversion transceivers for single carrier detection, and/or in OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) systems for finding training sequences.
2. Description of the Related Art
Frame synchronization is often used to enable further blocks and/or error correction loops in a receiver chain. The reference pattern sequence, usually known at the receiver and typically synchronized by a pilot detection and synchronization scheme, generally gives necessary information to receiver data aided error detector loops, normally for improving the receiver performance.
In continuous transmission based systems, it is often necessary to have an extremely signal distortion tolerant architecture. One of the major errors is the transmitter/receiver carrier-frequency mismatch.
Synchronization of a reference pilot symbol sequence with a pilot symbol sequence in received data is generally done, according to the related art, by correlation of IQ symbols of the received pattern sequence with the reference pattern sequence of pilot symbols. Such a procedure is also typically called a Pilot Vector (PV) correlation procedure.
In the following description of the conventional PV correlation procedure, it is generally assumed that there is no frequency mismatch between the transmitter and the receiver.
The correlation is usually running permanently on the received pilot symbols. For each received pilot symbol s(n), the correlation is commonly done on the last "Z" received symbols (s(n) . . . s(n−Z)), normally with reference pilot symbols (r(1) . . . r(Z)).
                    s                          (          n          )                    =                                                  s              I                                                  (              n              )                                +                                    js              Q                                                  (              n              )                                      =                                                        s                                            (                n                )                                                          ·                      ⅇ                                          jφ                s                                                          (                n                )                                                          ;                  r                          (          k          )                    =                                                  r              I                                                  (              k              )                                +                                    jr              Q                                                  (              k              )                                      =                                                        r                                            (                k                )                                                          ·                      ⅇ                                          jφ                r                                                          (                k                )                                                          ;                                                  corr          PV                                  (          n          )                    =                        ∑                      k            =            1                    Z                                                                                s                                            (                                  n                  -                  k                                )                                      ·            r                    *                      (                          Z              -              k                        )                                                                              corr          PV                                  (          n          )                    =                        ∑                      k            =            1                    Z                                                                                                          s                                            (                                  n                  -                  k                                )                                                          ·                                                r                                            (                                  Z                  -                  k                                )                                                          ·                      ⅇ                          j                                            (                                                                            φ                      s                                                                                (                                              n                        -                        k                                            )                                                        -                                                            φ                      r                                                                                (                                              Z                        -                        k                                            )                                                                      )                                                                                Z:                                            Search                                      Sequence                                      Length
Assuming no imperfections, if the reference pattern sequence matches with the received pattern sequence of pilot symbols and "|s(n)|=|r(k)|=a", the correlation output corrPV normally results to:
            corr      PV                  (      n      )        =                        ∑                  k          =          1                Z                          a        ·        a        ·                  ⅇ                      j                                      (              0              )                                            =          Z      ·              a        2
The analog stages of a transceiver system typically introduce unwanted imperfections such as, but not limited to, transmitter/receiver carrier-frequency and/or phase mismatch. Normally, the higher the carrier-frequency, the higher the impact to transmitter and/or receiver carrier-frequency mismatch will be. For example, during the system start-up process, an extended mismatch is usually expected. The receiver commonly has to be able to detect and/or correct these effects in the widest range possible. The carrier-frequency mismatch is typically seen as an incremental phase shift (nΔθ) on received IQ symbols s(n).s(n)=|s(n)|·ejφs (n)·ej·n·Δθ
The conventional method according to the related art is usually to correlate the received IQ symbol pattern sequence with a reference pattern sequence of pilot symbols. This approach is normally rather sensitive to carrier-frequency mismatch because each correlation product is generally infected by the mismatch seen as IQ symbol rotation (0 . . . nΔθ). The correlation products commonly calculated over the complete pattern sequence length are normally summed up. Finally, the impact of the carrier frequency mismatch usually distorts the correlation result significantly.
As mentioned above, a carrier mismatch typically has a significant effect to the above-described pattern sequence correlation. In case the carrier mismatch exceeds a certain range the correlation normally does not deliver the necessary periodic maximum peaks. Consequently, the exact position of the pilot sequence and/or the framing will generally not be found. Furthermore, frame-dependent working blocks, as well as detection blocks, which usually work on reference and/or received pilot symbols, will commonly not get the necessary inputs. Even further, the receiver often does not get into the "lock" status, as the pilot sequence is generally not found.
In other words, if the conventional frame synchronization method is used, the digital receiver is commonly unable to start-up above a threshold of mismatch. The related art correlation-based frame synchronization techniques typically tolerate this carrier-frequency offset only up to a certain limit, since the impact of the carrier frequency mismatch normally distorts the correlation result significantly.


An automated system has a monitor computer, which is for remote monitoring and/or analysis of control information of an input/output control device connected to a production facility, a control computer for controlling the processes of operation of the production facility via the input/output control device, and a dual-port memory as an information transmission unit capable of transmitting the control information between the monitor computer and the control computer at a timing that is independent of control of the processes of operation, which is capable of real-time reading/writing to/from all or a part of a memory of the control computer and is written, workpiece-related data, such as status of operation, results of measurement and flags representing the sequence flow information on a per-workpiece basis or per-process basis.

This invention relates to an automated system for monitoring and controlling a production facility.
In an automated system which controls a production facility for such operations as inspection, machining and assembly, the system is equipped with means by which the facility per se discloses information when it is required that information relating to the facility be collected and the information be utilized to analyze the status of the facility. According to this method, which has recently been put into use, the information relating to the production facility is subjected to management processing during the operation of the facility. Further, a system for monitoring the facility information has been put into use and operates separately of the automated system that controls the production facility. These systems collect information via a communication or other interface and make it possible to remotely monitor the production facility and its information.
FIG. 66 is a block diagram showing an overview of the architecture of an automated system according to the prior art.
As shown in FIG. 66, the system includes a monitor controller 6604 for monitoring and analyzing a production facility. The monitor controller 6604 includes a floppy disk device 6601, a printer 6602, an external storage device 6603 for storing a large quantity of data, a communication interface 6605, a keyboard 6606 and a color display 6607.
A control computer 6609, which controls the production facility, effects such control by actuating a number of actuators 6610 based upon information acquired from a group of sensors 6611. The information acquired by the control computer 6609 is sent to the side of the monitor controller 6604 via a communication interface 6608 and a communication line 6612 so that the information is outputted as processed results by being displayed on the color display 6607 or printed out by the printer 6602.
However, the automated system according to the prior art described above has a number of shortcomings, which will now be set forth.
(1) It is required that information needed by the user be communicated to the controlled production facility in the form of a data request. Depending upon the particular information required, the original sequence of line control may change or actual line (process) control of the production facility may develop an operating loss, the latter occurring during the time that the apparatus controlling the line occupies the CPU in order to process the response to the request for facility information.
Furthermore, since the program for data communication between the monitor computer and control computer is necessary during the apparatus drive sequence, a data delivery instruction for displaying data on the monitor computer must also be described in the control computer sequence. If the monitor computer becomes unnecessary or if it should happen to fail for some reason, it will be necessary to alter the program of the control computer or to leave the unnecessary monitor computer connected. Altering the program is complicated and leaving the monitor computer connected is wasteful.
(2) The assignment of functions to the monitor computer serving as a monitoring apparatus and to the control computer serving as a control apparatus is ambiguous. Owing to the relationship to the control operation performed by the control computer, a limitation is imposed upon the data collection and data analysis by the monitor computer.
More specifically, though it is possible to assemble an article automatically and to put together parts automatically, the state of the art is such that no accommodations are made for dealing with the adjustment of parts, especially while measurements are being taken, the process whereof is more difficult than the process through which parts are put together. In particular, when analysis of data is performed in real-time in parallel with control of the production facility, analysis is simply the counting of acceptable parts or defective parts. Consequently, analysis of the type of defect or analysis of such particulars as deviation from a standard value is inevitably performed by batch processing after the raw data is acquired in lot units. In addition, since the adjustment process is carried out manually regardless of the fact that the assembly process has been automated, a problem arises in terms of improving production efficiency.
(3) In a case where an item of equipment in the production facility ceases operating for some reason, it is required that the cause be investigated. In order to determine the particular process through which the equipment halted operation, it is necessary for the operator to monitor the equipment, take video of the equipment, etc. In such case the operator must perform monitoring constantly for problems which can occur at any time and is required to continue shooting video. This is time-consuming and costly.
Further, monitoring performed by an operator is prone to human error, such as the overlooking of problems. In a case where reliance is placed upon video photography, it is difficult to discover phenomena which occur at locations not under surveillance (i.e., at locations where the video camera is not pointed).
(4) In a case where the control software of the control computer is adjusted and revised on-site before the sequence operation of the production line is established, a problem arises in terms of operability. Specifically, in a case where use is made of software having different functions such as control program development, control program debugging or data analysis, it is required that the software currently being run stop being executed and that other software be started up anew each time. This means that operation is complicated in a case where, say, a data analyzing function is utilized in the debugging of the control program.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an automated system for monitoring and controlling a production facility in which a monitor computer for monitoring and a control program for control are made functionally independent of each other and facility information used is acquired and analyzed in real-time in the monitor computer, and the analyzed facility information is transmitted to the control computer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automated system in which the operating status of a production facility can be identified with ease even when the production facility has developed a problem.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an automated system having an environment that enables such operations as creation of the control program and the analysis of data to be performed with ease.

Automated system for production facility


The mole trap includes a base assembly and an upper movable frame. Two vertical guide rods are attached to the base assembly and pass through the bores through the upper movable frame. Springs urge the movable frame away from the base. Two U-shaped rods are attached to the movable frame and extend under the base. An upper horizontal pin is fixed to the movable frame. A lower horizontal pin is fixed to the base. A tension link connected to the upper pin. A recess in the link receives the lower pin and holds both springs in loaded condition. A bracket with a tension link recess is pivotally mounted on the lower pin. A tension link release surface on the bracket releases the tension link when a mole sensor pivots the bracket.

Moles make burrows just under the surface of the ground and throw up excavated soil. They live in the burrows and consume insects and other food found in the soil. The burrows tend to kill grass and other vegetation growing above the burrows. The mounds of soil they throw up are unsightly. They multiply and extend their burrows any place where they may find food.
Mole traps have been designed and made over the years to kill moles. These traps have generally had limited success. When making burrow, the moles run into rocks, and man made obstructions. Moles have learned to indentify such objects and burrow around or under them. They avoid detection by the triggering devices on traps frequently thereby avoiding activation of the triggering device and death. Moles apparently avoid activation of traps by not exerting force against metal and other hard objects found in the ground.
Traps that are activated by soil that is pushed upward by moles have some success. Such traps may release spring biased spikes or force moles upward into stationary spikes and death. Moles often avoid releasing the traps by avoiding the application of sufficient force to release a spring or springs. The traps that are available or have been available in the past apply some spring force directly to the spring force release link or links. Moles conserve energy to survive by limiting the force they apply to soil and other materials. The limited force applied by a mole is often insufficient to release the spring force exerted by mole traps on the release linkage or linkages.


A photoelectric cell includes at least one photoelectric conversion module. The at least one photoelectric conversion module includes a first photoelectric conversion element and a second photoelectric conversion element. The first photoelectric conversion element includes a first absorbing part and a first non-absorbing part. An angle between the first absorbing part and the first non-absorbing part is less than 90 degrees. The second photoelectric conversion element includes a second non-absorbing part and a second absorbing part electrically connected with the second absorbing part. An angle between the second absorbing part and the second non-absorbing part is less than 90 degrees. The first absorbing part is electrically connected with the second absorbing part.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to photoelectric cells.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical energy is essential for human development in today's society. Light energy, especially solar energy, is widely used to generate electricity because the raw material is abundant and environmentally friendly.
Solar cell is one type of device for converting light energy to electricity. A solar cell (also referred to as a photovoltaic cell) may be provided using a semiconductor material such as Si, GaAs, AlGaAs, GaInP, and/or AlInP. When light (such as solar radiation) passes through the semiconductor material of a solar cell, an electrical current and/or voltage is generated. However, an area for capturing solar energy may require an equal area of exposed electronic grade semiconductor material, such as single crystal silicon, which may be relatively expensive to manufacture. As such, the solar cell is expensive which may limit the application of the solar cell.
What is needed, therefore, is a photoelectric cell based on carbon nanotubes that can overcome the above-described shortcomings.


A semiconductor manufacturing system for performing a predetermined process in accordance with a job file having a process content set therein. The manufacturing system includes a storage device for memorizing a job file, an accepting device for accepting a job file, a correction device for correcting, on the basis of a process content of a job file already memorized, a process content set in a job file as newly accepted, and a predicting device for predicting a time for completion of the process, on the basis of the job file as already memorized and the job file having its process content corrected by the correction device.

This invention relates generally to a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a host system for controlling and operating a production machine or machines used in the manufacture of semiconductor device products, and a production machine and a device manufacturing method adapted to process a process request form such a host system in an optimized manner.
The price of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for use in the manufacture of semiconductor device products is increasing, due to recent enlargement of LSI integration density or enlargement of silicon wafer diameter to 300 mm, for example. Reduction of manufacturing cost is, therefore, strongly desired.
In the production field, many attempts have been made to unify the monitoring and control over production machines to improve the machine operation efficiency and to thereby reduce the cost.
A typical arrangement for monitoring and controlling production machines is an on line work system which is based on a superior host system, called a master controller. This is achieved by simple communications such as start and end, for example, made between a host system and production machines, and mainly it accomplishes the confirmation of an operation state of the production machines and the production machine control over sequential operations as programmed beforehand.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system structure including a host system and production machines. Denoted in the drawing at 11 is a host system for monitoring and controlling semiconductor production machines 13, 14 and 15. Denoted at 12 is a job database for storing and controlling a file group, called job files, including process procedures corresponding to the processes to be performed. Denoted at 16 is a process request to be applied from the host system 11 to the production machine 14, in this example. Denoted at 17 is a signal (notification) of process end, to be applied to the host system 11 from the production machine 14. In the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the host system 11 picks up a file for the process to be performed, out of the job files stored in the job database 12, and selects a particular one of the production machines 13-15. The host system then transfers the job file to the machine upon receipt of on-line instructions, to apply a process request 16 to the machine. The production machine then performs a production process in accordance with the setting in the job file. When the process is completed, it applies a process end notification 17 to the host system 11. Thus, the process procedure in the unit of a job, is completed.
For efficient production machine operation, it is important to predict the processing time of the production machine. However, in the semiconductor manufacture, even in a particular production machine, there is a possibility of changing the procedure in detail in accordance with the process for the product to be produced. As a result, the processing time may be different with different lots, prepared for respective processes. Therefore, it is very difficult to predict the processing time exactly. Conventionally, the prediction of processing time has to rely on experiences of operators.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application, Laid-Open No. 45929/1996, discloses processing time prediction wherein the processing time is predicted and displayed, prior to the production process, in accordance with the setting which differs with processes.
In this method of calculating the processing time in accordance with the content of the process, the processing time is predicted on the basis of setting items corresponding to the process to be performed. However, for example, there is a possibility that an automatic maintenance operation or correction operation is performed in accordance with the situation or condition inside a production machine. The predicted processing time may therefore differ from the actual processing time. Further, generally, the process items prepared by a user are set in relation to a production process to be performed, and optimization of the operation may be insufficient. For, as an example, a process which may operate well if executed periodically may be requested successively.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor manufacturing system, a data processing system and/or a device manufacturing method, by which the state of operation of a production machine can be correctly predicted and monitored for on-line control of the same, to thereby improve the efficiency of operation of the production machine in a semiconductor manufacturing process and to thereby increase the productivity of a production factory.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor device manufacturing system, comprising: a production machine operable, in a predetermined process step and in response to acceptance of a process request applied on-line, to perform a process in accordance with the process request; process accepting means operable to accept process requests successively; and calculating means for predicting, by calculation, a required time necessary for completion of a process corresponding to a process request accepted by said process accepting means, said calculating means further being operable to predict, by calculation, a required time necessary for completion of a process corresponding to a second process request, prior to acceptance of the second process request by said process accepting means.
With this arrangement, the operation of the production machine can be monitored and controlled efficiently.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing system connected, on-line, to a plurality of semiconductor device production machines, comprising: file transmitting means operable to transmit a setting file to each of the production machines; request transmitting means operable to transmit a prediction calculation request to each of the production machines; selecting means for selecting, out of the production machines, a production machine which may be optimum in consideration of the results of a prediction, applied from the production machines, in regard to a required time necessary for completion of a predetermined process; and request applying means for applying a process request to the selected machine, and also for applying a request to each of the remaining production machines to delete the setting files already transmitted to them.
With this arrangement, the operations of the production machines can be monitored and controlled efficiently.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device manufacturing method for use with a plurality of semiconductor device production machines connected, on-line, to an information processing system, wherein each of the production machines is operable, in a predetermined process step and in response to a process request applied thereto on-line, to perform a process corresponding to the process request, said method comprising the steps of: accepting process requests successively; and predicting, by calculation, a required time necessary for completion of a process corresponding to a second process request, prior to acceptance of the second process request.
With this arrangement, the operations of the production machines can be monitored and controlled efficiently, for production of semiconductor devices.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus and information processing system therefor


Graphical user interfaces for searching music. A computer provides a window of a first webpage providing a user interface to search music, comprising search tools including filter tools and a keyword search tool. In response to a user search request for music via the filter tools and/or the keyword search tool, the computer provides, within the window, music search results. When a search result is selected by the user, the selected search result expands within the window. The expanded search result includes one or more of: a grab button, a download button, a share button, a license button, an audio player showing an audio waveform of the selected music search result, a description of the selected music search result, artwork associated with the search result, and an explore-more button, that when selected provides additional music related to the selected music based on acoustic similarity.

There are media applications configured to organize, play, download, save digital music and video files on various computing devices, such as desktop computers, notebook computers, tablet computers, personal media players, mobile phones, etc. Media, such as music, can be purchased and/or downloaded to a media player (e.g., an iPod) using a computer (e.g., via iTunes®). Some of the media applications allow a user to enter one or more keywords to search for relevant songs from an online marketplace and select and purchase a song, and download the purchased song on to a personal computing device for subsequent personal use.
Some web-based services allow a user to submit one or more keywords to search for songs of interest. Search results are typically presented in a list; and the user may select a song from the list for streaming to a media player embedded in the web browser for playing while the web browser displays the search result page.
Some applications, such as Moodagent™, create music profiles for songs and use the music profiles to recommend music from the web, create playlists from desktop library, and/or explore collection of music based on mood profile.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods to facilitate media search


An inspection apparatus for inspecting an inspection object. The inspection object includes a base body and wiring passing through the base body. The inspection apparatus includes an insulating substrate, a first electrode in the substrate with a portion of the first electrode exposed from a surface of the substrate to form a connection portion which may be electrically connected with the wiring, and a second electrode in the substrate. The first electrode and the second electrode are spaced apart, have mutually parallel portions, and are electrically insulated from each other.

The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus and an inspection method.
In an inspection method for inspecting a wiring substrate configured by arranging wiring on a substrate, there is a method to perform a test by a so-called continuity check, that is, by supplying a current through a test probe or the like to positions where wiring is disposed and determining whether the current is received from other positions.
However, in the inspection method by the continuity check, in a case where a wiring substrate includes a plurality of independent wiring patterns and a short circuit is detected therebetween, it is necessary to fix one end of the probe to one arbitrary wiring pattern and electrically connect the other end of the probe to all other wiring. Furthermore, such an operation needs to be performed on all independent wiring patterns, and the inspection method is very complicated.
Therefore, in the inspection of the wiring substrate, an inspection method has been reviewed which inspects a continuity or the like of a wiring by measuring an electric capacitance between a wiring and an electrode such as a ground (GND) and comparing a magnitude of the obtained electric capacitance with an expected value (see, for example, Japanese patent publications S53-10863 and 2008-218443).
However, in the related art inspection method for inspecting the wiring substrate by measuring the electric capacitance, in a case where the electric capacitance between the wiring and the electrode such as GND is very small, even when a wiring is disconnected in the middle, it is difficult to detect the disconnection.
For example, recently, a through wiring substrate technology, such as a Through Silicon Via (TSV) technology or a Through Glass Via (TGV) technology, has attracted attention in the fields of wiring substrates.
For example, the TSV technology is one of semiconductor packaging technologies and uses a through silicon via (TSV) that vertically passes through the inside of a semiconductor chip made of silicon or the like. Similarly, the TGV technology uses a through glass via (TGV).
In the past, in a case where a plurality of semiconductor chips is overlapped and accommodated in one package, electrical connection between the stacked semiconductor chips is achieved by using a wire bonding technology. In contrast, for example, the TSV technology performs electrical connection between the stacked semiconductor chips by a TSV. The use of the TSV technology can eliminate the necessity of a wiring space for wire bonding. Therefore, in a case where the TSV technology is used, a semiconductor package with three-dimensionally mounted chips can be made smaller and thinner as compared with the related art.
In the semiconductor packaging technology using such TSV technology, it is important that a TSV vertically passing through a semiconductor chip being a base body is formed to have a desired characteristic. Therefore, in the semiconductor chip or the like in which the TSV is formed, an inspection for detecting the existence or non-existence of disconnection of the TSV is required.
In a silicon chip with a TSV, the TSV can be regarded as a plurality of mutually independent wiring. The silicon chip in which the TSV is formed can be regarded as a wiring substrate including a plurality of mutually independent wiring. Therefore, in the inspection in which the silicon chip with the TSV is an inspection object, as described above, it is desirable to apply the inspection method for inspecting the wiring substrate by measuring the electric capacitance.
However, in the case of the silicon chip with the TSV, since the substrate being the base body is thin and a conductive material such as a metal for configuring the TSV is little, the electric capacitance formed between the TSV and other electrode is small. Therefore, in the inspection by the measurement of the electric capacitance, even when the TSV being the wiring is disconnected in the middle, it is difficult to detect the disconnection.
Therefore, there is a need for a technology that can inspect a disconnection or the like of a wiring by measuring an electric capacitance of an inspection object such as a silicon chip with a TSV. That is, for an inspection object including a base body made of silicon or glass and a wiring passing through the base body, there is a need for a technology that can inspect the disconnection or the like of the wiring by measuring the electric capacitance even in the case where, since the base body is small, the wiring passing through the base body is also small and the electric capacitance of the wiring to be inspected is small.
The present invention has been contrived in consideration of such problems.
That is, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an inspection apparatus that can inspect an inspection object by measuring an electric capacitance even in a case where an electric capacitance of a wiring of the inspection object is small.
Further, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an inspection method that can inspect an inspection object by measuring an electric capacitance even in a case where an electric capacitance of a wiring of the inspection object is small.
The other objects and advantages of the present invention become clear in the following description.

Inspection apparatus and inspection method


The present disclosure relates to a microvalve using surface tension, a microfluidic chip including same and a method for manufacturing same. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a microvalve using surface tension, a microfluidic chip including same and a method for manufacturing same, wherein the microvalve can be manufactured through a simple process and the microvalve and a coaxial sample channel are not separated, and thus the microvalve may be easily installed not only in an existing quadrangular channel but also in the coaxial channel so as to control the flow and amount of a microfluid (sample).

Microfluidic chips including microchannels contribute a lot to developments in the fields of cell biology, chemical engineering and medical engineering by enabling small-scale experiments. Many parts of microfluidic chips are being developed, including mixers, valves and sorters. Among them, the valve is studied a lot since it allows free flow of a fluid in the chip and control of the sample amount.
A few schemes have been presented thus far. The most commonly employed method is to attach a thin elastic polymer membrane between two chips and blocking the channel of the upper or lower chip using external pressure. However, to insert the membrane, the upper and lower chips have to be separated completely and this process is complicated in control of the thin membrane.
There is another method that uses a hydrogel. In this method, fluid flow is controlled by controlling the motion of the material which is sensitive to electric field or pH in the channel. However, this method is very difficult to realize and is inapplicable to long-term use for a sensitive sample since it can be affected by the electric field or pH.

Microvalve using surface tension, microfluidic chip comprising same, and method for manufacturing same

KOREA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND BUSINESS FOUNDATION


The present method and apparatus provides a thin layer of oxynitride over a device including a patterned metal layer, application of a planarizing SOG layer over the thin oxynitride layer, removal of thin portions of the SOG layer by etching to expose portions of the thin oxynitride layer, and application of a thick oxynitride layer to form a strong bond with the thin oxynitride layer. A thin nitride layer, transparent to UV light, may then be applied to the resulting structure prior to application of plastic packaging material.

A typical erasable semiconductor memory cell is erasable by application of ultraviolet (UV) light thereto. In furtherance thereof, the cell is covered by a topside structure which is transparent to UV light. Such a topside structure of a prior art device is shown in FIG. 1.
A silicon substrate 10 is provided which incorporates typical memory cell structure (not shown) which may be erased by application of UV light thereto. The substrate has provided thereover field oxide (SiO.sub.2) 12 and a layer of BPSG or BPTEOS glass 14. An aluminum layer 16 is patterned over the resulting structure. A relatively thin silicon oxynitride [SiO.sub.x N.sub.y (H.sub.z)] layer 18 is provided over the metal layer 16 in conformance therewith, so that the oxynitride layer 18 is in contact with the metal layer 16, and the glass layer 14, and also, at the edge of the die, the substrate 10. In order to planarize the device, spin-on-glass (SOG) 20 is provided over the resulting structure, substantially filling in the recesses of the structure. The thin oxynitride layer 18 is included to keep the SOG 20 from attacking and reacting with the aluminum, thereby acting as a barrier therebetween. During the planarization step, a very thin layer of SOG 20A, approximately 100 .ANG. thick, is applied to and remains over portions of the thin oxynitride layer 18.
Then, a relatively thick oxynitride layer 22, approximately 12000 .ANG. thick, is provided over the resulting structure, and plastic packaging material 24 is provided over the oxynitride layer.
Although this structure achieves relatively smooth topology, a crack may occur in the SOG layer for example at 26 near the edge of the die and may spread through and along the thin SOG layer 20A. Since the thermal expansion coefficient of the plastic material 24 is much greater than that of the material below it, the plastic material 24 expands and contracts much more than the lower structure for a given change in temperature. The adhesion between the thin SOG 20A and the oxynitride layer 22 is relatively weak, while the adhesion between that oxynitride layer 22 and the plastic packaging material 24 is relatively strong. Thus, under change in temperature, cracking can readily occur as described above in and along the thin SOG 20A. Such a crack can extend through the thick oxynitride layer 22 as at 28 because of its relatively poor physical strength. Thus, a device as thus far described may be readily prone to failure.

Method of fabricating topside structure of a semiconductor device


A filling device for discharging bulk material into a container, includes a tube defined by an axis and disposed in sealing engagement with an upper part of a subjacent container. The tube has an inlet receiving bulk material flowing by means of gravity in direction of the axis and an outlet for allowing discharge of bulk material into the container. A gas supply system cooperates with the tube for so feeding gas under pressure into the tube as to change a flow direction of bulk material from a substantially vertical disposition into a substantially horizontal direction when exiting the tube through the outlet.

The present invention refers to a device for filling a container with free-flowing bulk material, and more specifically to a container filling device for discharging bulk material stored in a silo and moved over a downward path solely by the force of gravity.
Container filling systems on the basis of gravitational forces to move bulk material stored in silos along a downward path into a subjacent container typically include a shut-off valve for regulating a flow of bulk material and a cylindrical pipe or downspout which is formed with an inlet for receiving bulk material from the silo via the valve and an outlet that opens into the container. When gravity is the only force used to move the bulk material from the silo to the top of the container, problems arise in connection with effecting a high filling degree of the container as the bulk material will form an inverted cone within the container as it begins to fill. When the apex of the cone covers the end of the downspout, the filling process is concluded as further bulk material is prevented from flowing through the outlet. Thus, the container exhibits empty spaces in an area around the cone, thereby decreasing the filling degree of the container.

Device for filling a container with free-flowing bulk material


In one embodiment, a system and method for controlling program download pertain to determining the configuration of an existing program that executes on the computing device, determining the configuration of a new program that is to be installed on the computing device to replace the existing program, determining whether installation of the new program is authorized, and preventing installation of the new program if installation is not authorized.

Most computing devices comprise some form of operating system that controls the execution of other programs and manages scheduling, input-output, files and data, and memory usage. From time to time, users may wish to replace those operating systems. For example, replacement may be appropriate when the operating system becomes corrupted or when the system developer creates a software patch that is intended to remedy one or more glitches of the system. In other cases, the developer may create a new version of the operating system that users may wish to install.
In some cases, a device owner may be entitled to install a new operating system image to replace an existing operating system for little or no charge. One example of such a case relates to terminal computers that comprise an embedded version of an operating system stored in re-writable, solid-state memory of the computer. When a user purchases such a device, the user becomes licensed to use the embedded operating system stored in the device and may be entitled to download that same operating system from the Internet for recovery purposes or even download a new version of the operating system for free or for a nominal charge.
One problem with the scenario described above is that device users that purchased a computing device (e.g., terminal computer) that comprises a given type of operating system may attempt to download and install a different type of operating system for which the user is not licensed. For example, if the user purchased a computer that comprises Microsoft Windows CE™, that user may not be entitled to install Microsoft Windows XP™. Therefore, needed is a system and method to control what programs, including operating systems, can be installed on a computing device.

Systems and methods for controlling program installation on a computing device

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A power control system includes a switching power converter and a power factor correction (PFC) and output voltage controller. The switching power converter utilizes a nonlinear energy transfer process to provide power to a load. The PFC and output voltage controller generates a control signal to control power factor correction and voltage regulation of the switching power converter. The PFC and output voltage controller includes a nonlinear delta-sigma modulator that models the nonlinear energy transfer process of the switching power converter. The nonlinear delta-sigma modulator generates an output signal used to determine the control signal. By using the nonlinear delta-sigma modulator in a control signal generation process, the PFC and output voltage controller generates a spectrally noise shaped control signal. In at least one embodiment, noise shaping of the control signal improves power factor correction and output voltage regulation relative to conventional systems.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of signal processing, and, more specifically, to a power control system that includes a nonlinear delta-sigma modulator with nonlinear power conversion process modeling.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many electronic systems utilize nonlinear processes to generate output signals. For example, plant systems, such as servo control systems and power conversion systems, often utilize nonlinear processes. Power control systems often utilize a switching power converter to convert alternating current (AC) voltages to direct current (DC) voltages or DC-to-DC. Switching power converters often includes a nonlinear energy transfer process to provide power factor corrected energy to a load. Power control systems provide power factor corrected and regulated output voltages to many devices that utilize a regulated output voltage.
FIG. 1 represents a power control system 100, which includes a switching power converter 102. Voltage source 101 supplies an alternating current (AC) input voltage Vin(t) to a full, diode bridge rectifier 103. The voltage source 101 is, for example, a public utility, and the AC voltage Vin(t) is, for example, a 60 Hz/110 V line voltage in the United States of America or a 50 Hz/220 V line voltage in Europe. The rectifier 103 rectifies the input voltage Vin(t) and supplies a rectified, time-varying, line input voltage Vx(t) to the switching power converter.
The switching power converter 102 includes power factor correction (PFC) stage 124 and driver stage 126. The PFC stage 124 is controlled by switch 108 and provides power factor correction. The driver stage 126 is also controlled by switch 108 and regulates the transfer of energy from the line input voltage Vx(t) through inductor 110 to capacitor 106. The inductor current iL ramps 'up' when the switch 108 conducts, i.e. is "ON". The inductor current iL ramps down when switch 108 is nonconductive, i.e. is "OFF", and supplies current iL to recharge capacitor 106. The time period during which inductor current iL ramps down is commonly referred to as the "inductor flyback time". Diode 111 prevents reverse current flow into inductor 110. In at least one embodiment, the switching power converter 102 operates in discontinuous current mode, i.e. the inductor current iL ramp up time plus the inductor flyback time is less than the period of switch 108.
Input current iL is proportionate to the 'on-time' of switch 108, and the energy transferred to inductor 110 is proportionate to the 'on-time' squared. Thus, the energy transfer process is one embodiment of a nonlinear process. In at least one embodiment, control signal CS0 is a pulse width modulated signal, and the switch 108 is an n-channel field effect transistor that conducts when the pulse width of CS0 is high. Thus, the 'on-time' of switch 108 is determined by the pulse width of control signal CS0. Accordingly, the energy transferred to inductor 110 is proportionate to a square of the pulse width of control signal CS0.
Capacitor 106 supplies stored energy to load 112. The capacitor 106 is sufficiently large so as to maintain a substantially constant output voltage Vx(t), as established by a power factor correction (PFC) and output voltage controller 114 (as discussed in more detail below). The output voltage Vx(t) remains substantially constant during constant load conditions. However, as load conditions change, the output voltage Vx(t) changes. The PFC and output voltage controller 114 responds to the changes in Vx(t) and adjusts the control signal CS0 to resume a substantially constant output voltage as quickly as possible. The output voltage controller 114 includes a small capacitor 115 to filter any high frequency signals from the line input voltage Vx(t).
The power control system 100 also includes a PFC and output voltage controller 114. PFC and output voltage controller 114 controls switch 108 and, thus, controls power factor correction and regulates output power of the switching power converter 102. The goal of power factor correction technology is to make the switching power converter 102 appear resistive to the voltage source 101. Thus, the PFC and output voltage controller 114 attempts to control the inductor current iL so that the average inductor current iL is linearly and directly related to the line input voltage Vx(t). Prodić, Compensator Design and Stability Assessment for Fast Voltage Loops of Power Factor Correction Rectifiers, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Vol. 22, No. 5, September 2007, pp. 1719-1729 (referred to herein as "Prodić"), describes an example of PFC and output voltage controller 114. The PFC and output voltage controller 114 supplies a pulse width modulated (PWM) control signal CS0 to control the conductivity of switch 108. In at least one embodiment, switch 108 is a field effect transistor (FET), and control signal CS0 is the gate voltage of switch 108. The values of the pulse width and duty cycle of control signal CS0 depend on two feedback signals, namely, the line input voltage Vx(t) and the capacitor voltage/output voltage Vc(t).
PFC and output controller 114 receives two feedback signals, the line input voltage Vx(t) and the output voltage Vc(t), via a wide bandwidth current loop 116 and a slower voltage loop 118. The line input voltage Vx(t) is sensed from node 120 between the diode rectifier 103 and inductor 110. The output voltage Vc(t) is sensed from node 122 between diode 111 and load 112. The current loop 116 operates at a frequency fc that is sufficient to allow the PFC and output controller 114 to respond to changes in the line input voltage Vx(t) and cause the inductor current iL to track the line input voltage to provide power factor correction. The current loop frequency is generally set to a value between 20 kHz and 100 kHz. The voltage loop 118 operates at a much slower frequency fv, typically 10-20 Hz. By operating at 10-20 Hz, the voltage loop 118 functions as a low pass filter to filter an alternating current (AC) ripple component of the output voltage Vc(t).
The PFC and output voltage controller 114 controls the pulse width (PW) and period (TT) of control signal CS0. Thus, PFC and output voltage controller 114 controls the nonlinear process of switching power converter 102 so that a desired amount of energy is transferred to capacitor 106. The desired amount of energy depends upon the voltage and current requirements of load 112. To regulate the amount of energy transferred and maintain a power factor correction close to one, PFC and output voltage controller 114 varies the period of control signal CS0 so that the input current iL tracks the changes in input voltage Vx(t) and holds the output voltage VC(t) constant. Thus, as the input voltage Vx(t) increases, PFC and output voltage controller 114 increases the period T of control signal CS0, and as the input voltage Vx(t) decreases, PFC and output voltage controller 114 decreases the period of control signal CS0. At the same time, the pulse width PW of control signal CS0 is adjusted to maintain a constant duty cycle (D) of controls signal CS0, and, thus, hold the output voltage VC(t) constant. In at least one embodiment, the PFC and output voltage controller 114 updates the control signal CS0 at a frequency much greater than the frequency of input voltage Vx(t). The frequency of input voltage Vx(t) is generally 50-60 Hz. The frequency 1/TT of control signal CS0 is, for example, between 25 kHz and 100 kHz. Frequencies at or above 25 kHz avoid audio frequencies and frequencies at or below 100 kHz avoids significant switching inefficiencies while still maintaining good power factor correction, e.g. between 0.9 and 1, and an approximately constant output voltage VC(t).
FIG. 2 depicts a generalized representation of a power control system 200 described in Prodić. The PFC and output voltage controller 202 of Prodić includes an error generator 204 to determine an error signal ed(t). The error signal ed(t) represents a difference between the output voltage Vx(t) and a reference voltage VREF. The reference voltage VREF is set to the desired value of output voltage Vc(t). A comb filter 206 filters the error signal ed(t). The comb filter 206 has significant attenuation at equally spaced frequencies (referred to as "notches") and has unity gain at other frequencies. The comb filter 206 automatically tunes the notches to match twice the line frequency fL and harmonics of the line frequency. The line frequency fL is the frequency of input voltage Vin(t). According to Prodić, the comb filter 206 generates a "ripple free" error signal evf(t). Compensator 208 processes the filtered error signal, and input voltage feedback signal Vx(t) generates a compensator output signal. The pulse width modulator (PWM) 210 processes the compensator output signal to generate control signal CS0.

Power control system using a nonlinear delta-sigma modulator with nonlinear power conversion process modeling


A solenoid valve is for controlling an injection valve of an internal combustion engine, including a housing part, an electromagnet having a magnetic coil and a magnetic core, an armature acted upon by a valve spring and axially movable between the electromagnet and a valve seat, and a control valve member moved by the armature and cooperating with the valve seat for opening and closing a fuel passage, in which the armature is situated in the housing part movable in the radial direction free from mechanical guiding means. A further development provides that, when a current is applied to the electromagnet,the armature may be aligned in the radial direction, by magnetic reluctance forces then acting upon the armature, into a centrical position with reference to the centerline of the electromagnet.

The present invention relates to a solenoid valve for controlling an injection valve of an internal combustion engine.
German Published Patent No. 196 50 865 discusses a solenoid valve used for controlling the fuel pressure in the control pressure chamber of an injection valve, such as an injector of a common rail injection system. In such injection valves, the fuel pressure in the control pressure chamber controls the movement of a valve plunger with which the injection opening of the injection valve is opened or closed. The known solenoid valve has an electromagnet situated in a housing part, an axially movable armature guided in a sliding piece and acted upon by a closing spring, and a control valve member moved by the armature which cooperates with the valve seat of the solenoid valve and thereby controls the fuel discharge from the control pressure chamber. The armature has an armature plate, and an armature bolt which is supported in a slidingly movable manner in the mechanical guideway formed as a bore in the sliding piece.
In the known solenoid valves the sliding piece has to be manufactured with great precision in order to guarantee optimal functionality of the solenoid valve. The mechanical armature guideway through the sliding piece gives rise to frictional losses, which have to be considered when designing the overall system. In addition to that, fitting the sliding piece into the housing part of the solenoid valve requires a mechanically costly overall construction.
The advantages of the present invention arise by saving the sliding piece which has been used up to the present time, and discontinuing of the production and work steps connected with the sliding piece. Because of the discontinuation of the sliding piece guiding the armature, frictional losses caused by the mechanical armature guideway during opening and closing the solenoid valve are avoided. Because of the discontinuation of the sliding piece, the construction of the armature can advantageously be greatly simplified and optimized from a functional point of view. On account of the simplified construction, the deviation of the dynamic behavior of the solenoid valve is further advantageously reduced, so that the reliability of the overall system is increased. Beyond that, a substantial advantage comes about from the considerable cost reduction during production of the solenoid valve. Thus, not only is the sliding piece omitted, but the armature can also be designed to be less costly, and can be made, for example, as a simple stamped part.
A particularly flat construction method of the armature is achieved by designing the armature as a disk-shaped armature plate, which acts directly upon the control valve member with its side facing away from the electromagnet. Advantageously, in the closed position of the solenoid valve, tilting moments transmitted by the closing spring to the armature are greatly reduced.
Advantageously, armature plate and control valve member are produced as separate components, so that the radially movable armature plate can shift relatively to the control valve member, without the control valve member necessarily being shifted from its centrical position relative to the valve seat. A lateral impact of the control valve member next to the valve seat and a sliding into the valve seat connected with frictional losses are hereby largely avoided.
Especially advantageous is an exemplary embodiment in which, when a current is applied to the electromagnet, the armature may be aligned in the radial direction, by magnetic reluctance forces acting upon the armature, into a centrical position with reference to the centerline of the electromagnet. This can advantageously be achieved if the armature and the magnetic core have geometrical structures situated concentrically about their respective centerline at their mutually facing pole faces, which structures cooperate, when current is applied to the electromagnet, in such a way that the armature is aligned in the centrical position.
Because in the centrical position of the armature its center axis is situated concentrically with the fuel passage, tilting moments acting upon the armature may be further reduced. During the closing of the solenoid valve, the armature meets the control valve member centrically from its centrical position, so that in the closed state of the solenoid valve the control valve member lies centrically on the valve seat for fuel passage, and tilting moments are reduced.

Solenoid valve for controlling an injection valve of an internal combustion engine


A valve timing control system for an internal combustion engine is provided. This system comprises a sprocket assembly connected to a crankshaft of the engine, a camshaft assembly connected to the sprocket assembly for driving intake and/or exhaust valves of the engine, a ring gear assembly disposed between the sprocket assembly and the camshaft assembly, and a fluid power source for providing fluid pressure to a pressure chamber to axially displace the ring gear assembly to vary a phase angle relation over a range of first to second phase angles. A fluid pressure supply and drain lines are defined in the system which communicates between the fluid power source and the pressure chamber and between the pressure chamber and a drain port of the system respectively. The system further includes a solenoid operated directional control valve which is responsive to a control signal from a controller to selectively block the fluid pressure supply or drain lines according to variation in engine operating conditions for varying the valve timing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an intake and/or exhaust valve timing control system for an internal combustion engine. More particularly, the invention is directed to an intake and/or exhaust valve timing control system which is operable to modify the intake and/or exhaust valve timing quickly, with reduced consumption of working fluid, in response to variation in engine operating conditions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,731 assigned to Alfa Romeo Auto S.p.A. discloses a conventional valve timing control system for an internal combustion engine. In this valve timing control system, a camshaft disposing cams thereon for controlling intake and exhaust valve operations has outer teeth in its end peripheral surface. A timing pulley which is mechanically connected to a crankshaft of the engine through a timing belt has inner teeth in its inside surface. An intermediate cylindrical member or sleeve which includes a hollow portion having inner helical teeth and outer straight teeth is arranged to engage the outer teeth of the camshaft and the inner teeth of the timing pulley. A pressure chamber is defined between the timing pulley and the camshaft to be oriented to the sleeve so that internal pressure thereof acts on a front end surface of the sleeve. The sleeve is always urged toward the pressure chamber by a coil spring. A driving mechanism is provided which includes a hydraulic supply line for directing hydraulic pressure generated by an oil pump to the pressure chamber and a hydraulic drain line for discharging both the hydraulic pressures in the pressure chamber and the hydraulic supply line from a drain port through a relief valve. With this arrangement, a control unit provides a control signal according to engine operating conditions to activate the relief valve to modify a pressure level in the pressure chamber. This modified pressure then acts on the sleeve to be displaced in an axial direction according to a balance between the pressure level of the pressure chamber and a spring force of the coil spring, thereby regulating a phase angle between the timing pulley and the camshaft to advance or retard the valve timing of the intake valves.
However, in the above prior art valve timing control system, a phase angle between the timing pulley and the camshaft is, as mentioned above, changed by the activity of the relief valve arranged in the hydraulic drain line. Therefore, when the relief valve is opened, a large amount of pressurized working fluid supplied from the oil pump is simply discharged to an oil pan of the engine. In other words, a large amount of working fluid (i.e., a lubricating oil stored in the oil pan) circulates between the system and the oil pan. Thus, a supply of lubricating oil for sliding parts of the engine becomes insufficient.
In order to avoid such a drawback, a fixed orifice may be arranged in the hydraulic supply line for restricting an amount of working fluid directed to the pressure chamber. This arrangement, however, also encounters a drawback in that, when it becomes necessary to supply high pressure of working fluid to the pressure chamber, as engine load is increased by acceleration operation by a driver for example, pressure elevation in the pressure chamber is undesirably delayed due to the orifice. Thus, the internal pressure in the pressure chamber required for displacing the sleeve is reduced momentarily, resulting in a response rate for varying the valve timing being delayed.

Valve timing control system for internal combustion engine


Techniques for control word prediction and speculative execution. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a control word predictor, execution resources, and a comparison module. The control word predictor of this embodiment predicts a predicted control word for execution of operations in response to a control word changing operation. The execution resources of this embodiment speculatively execute the plurality of operations utilizing the predicted control word, and the comparison module determines if the predicted control word matches an actual control word set by the control word changing operation or a plurality of other control words, and to cause re-execution of said plurality of operations if said actual control word matches any of the plurality of other control words.

1. Field
The present disclosure pertains to the field of processing apparatuses and systems that process sequences of instructions, operations, or the like. Various embodiments relate to prediction techniques that may be used for control registers in such a processing apparatus or system.
2. Description of Related Art
Information processing devices that process sequences of instructions or operations are often slowed by various dependencies. A dependency is simply when one operation depends on a result or an effect of a prior operation, thereby forcing a degree of ordering to obtain correct execution. Techniques which expedite processing of sequences of instructions with dependencies may advantageously improve overall processing rates, and therefore be desirable.
One type of dependency is a data dependency. For example, an arithmetic operation may use the result of a prior arithmetic operation. One technique commonly used to address this situation is register renaming. Register renaming allows different physical registers to represent a single logical register at different points in time. Therefore, multiple operations that use a single register need not completely stall while waiting for that register to be available. At some point, the register value from the prior operation needs to be forwarded to the subsequent operation. However, in a pipelined machine, allowing the subsequent operation to proceed through various pipeline stages using a renamed register can substantially expedite processing over the alternative of waiting for the actual register to be available.
Another type of dependency is a control dependency. Many processing devices include various control words or control registers. When a value is loaded into such control words, the processing device may perform operations in a different manner. For example, a control word may control privilege level, whether various functions are enabled, how rounding is performed, what level of precision to use, etc.
One prior art reference discusses the use of renaming for control words (e.g., patent application Ser. No. 09/676,550, entitled "Floating Point Control Word Register Renaming", assigned to the assignee of the present application). A processor using such control word renaming decodes a FLDCW instruction into a sequence of operations. In particular, when a FLDCW instruction is encountered, it is predicted that the control word will flip between two values, and instructions subsequent to the prediction may be colored or tagged differently so their speculative execution can be flushed in the event of a misprediction. In such a processor, a test microoperation (uOP) is generated in response to the load floating point control word instruction to test this prediction. If a match occurs to the predicted value, then the flow concludes. If a mismatch to the predicted value occurs, then a serialization flow is needed. Further techniques to expedite control word changing operations may be desirable.

Control word prediction and varying recovery upon comparing actual to set of stored words


A clamp to retain thighs in eviscerated poultry from which the legs and feet have been removed in trussed condition is formed of wire having a central, U-shaped portion. On either side of the U-shaped portion, the wire is symmetric and extends in a backward stretch at about a 90.degree. angle and then bends in an outward stretch into a plane at an angle to both the backward stretch and the U-shaped portion. In the aforesaid plane, the wire extends in an outward-downward stretch, a convex stretch and then a concave stretch. Below the concave stretch is a straight stretch which terminates in a hook stretch at about a 90.degree. angle to the straight stretch. In use, the hook stretches are inserted inside the poultry carcass and their ends fit into the kidney cavities of the carcass. The straight stretches extend out of the tail opening of the carcass. The concave stretches fit alongside the inside of the thighs when they are brought into trussed position, the convex stretches fit alongside the outsides of the thighs and the rearward stretches fit into the creases in the knuckles of the thighs. For shipping and handling, a V-shaped cartridge is used. The central portion of the claim rests in the vertex of the cartridge, the convex stretches extend over the side edges of the cartridge and the concave stretches around the undersides of the sides of the cartridge.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new and improved clamp for poultry thighs and to the cartridge for shipping and handling the same. More particularly, the invention relates to a wire clamp used in poultry processing to secure the thighs in folded relationship against the carcass and further to a cartridge of cardboard or the like for a quantity of clamps to facilitate retaining the clamps in juxtaposed position during transportation and storage and to facilitate processors removing each clamp as it is being used.
2. Description of Related Art
Wire clamps bent to engage the hocks of poultry have been widely used in the poultry processing industry. Typical clamps of this nature are shown in Volk U.S. Pat. No. 3,112,515 and Volk et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,977. The present invention comprises an improvement in such clamps by forming in each leg thereof a concave bend immediately below the convex bend thereof. The convex stretch fits alongside the outside of the thigh in trussed position while the concave stretch fits along the inside of the thigh, the two curved stretches more securely engaging the thigh so it is not displaced from position during processing and transportation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,083 shows a cartridge or rack for storing multiple clamps in nested relationship formed of a sheet of cardboard or similar material bent into at least three longitudinal folds or bends to define at least four sheet sections. The present invention is used with a cartridge of V-shape having only two sides. Each clamp of the present invention fits alongside a juxtaposed clamp in nested relationship with the central portion of the clamp in the vertex of the V-shaped cartridge, the convex curved portion of the leg extending from the inside of each side of the cartridge over the side edge thereof and the concave wire sections extend along the underside of the cartridge side. The clamps are secured in position by means of a simpler cartridge and are more easily removed, one at a time, by the poultry processor.

Clamp for poultry thighs and cartridge for same

c/o Volk Enterprises, Inc., 1232 South Ave.


The invention relates to a method for method for formation of expanded austenite and/or expanded martensite by solution hardening of a cold deformed workpiece of a passive alloy, which method comprises a first step of dissolving at least nitrogen in the workpiece at a temperature T1, which is higher than the solubility temperature for carbide and/or nitride and lower than the melting point of the passive alloy, and a subsequent second step of dissolving nitrogen and/or carbon in the work piece at a temperature T2, which is lower than the temperature at which carbides and/or nitrides form in the passive alloy. The invention further relates to a member, such as a lock washer for securing bolts or nuts prepared using the method.

Stainless steel and other passive alloys are typically materials with good corrosion resistance, but with relatively poor tribological characteristics, e.g. adhesive wear characteristics. To solve this problem stainless steel and comparable alloys can be surface hardened at low temperature (below 450-550° C.) by dissolution of nitrogen and/or carbon, by which is obtained a zone of so-called expanded austenite or alternatively expanded martensite. This zone is a supersaturated solution of carbon and/or nitrogen in austenite or martensite and is metastable with respect to carbide/nitride formation. Such low temperature processes can be based on gas, plasma or molten salt; gas processes require use of special activation techniques, whereas for plasma and salt bath activation is immediately achieved and no special treatment is necessary. Thereby a surface zone is obtained in the material, which surface zone contains large amounts of nitrogen and/or carbon; this is due to the relatively low process temperature. The material thereby becomes surface hardened and retains its corrosion resistance. Most passive alloys, such as stainless steel, however cannot immediately be solution hardened with nitrogen and/or carbon, since these passive alloys have an impermeable oxide layer, also called the passive layer, which is the reason for the good corrosion characteristics, but which prevents solution of e.g. nitrogen and carbon. Special techniques for removal of this passive layer are therefore required. These techniques are known to the skilled person.
Most employed technological components are used in a machined condition, which means that the material is inhomogeneously cold deformed (plastically deformed). In many applications such cold deformation is desirable from a component-strength-consideration; the component would not work if it did not have the strength increase from the work hardening induced by cold deformation. This creates a big problem if such cold machined components are surface hardened in a low temperature process, so that the surface is changed to expanded austenite or martensite under uptake of nitrogen and/or carbon. The presence of plastic deformation (defects in the microstructure) in the material implies that nitrides and carbides develop easier by reaction of nitrogen and carbon with e.g. chromium (Cr), which is an alloying element in stainless steel. Consequently an amount of Cr is removed from solid solution and bound as chromium nitride/chromium carbide. This implies that the corrosion characteristics are deteriorated because less chromium is available for maintenance of the passive layer. In local areas such Cr-depletion can be pronounced and result in loss of corrosion protection at the surface of the area. The precipitation of nitrides/carbides is called sensitisation. In particular on dissolution of nitrogen this phenomenon is very pronounced, because chromium nitrides are more stable than chromium carbides and can be formed at lower temperature. This means that the temperature at the low-temperature process must be lowered (further) to avoid sensitisation, which is undesirable since the process thereby proceeds more slowly. For extreme degrees of deformation in stainless steel there is perhaps not even a lower limit to sensitisation.
At low-temperature hardening of cold deformed stainless steel workpieces sensitisation will occur in connection with the low-temperature dissolution of nitrogen and/or carbon, which takes place at temperatures below 550° C. To solve the problem with sensitisation in cold deformed materials upon low-temperature surface hardening a full annealing of the components has—where possible—been made by a so-called austenitisation in vacuum or hydrogen atmosphere. Full annealing is a process, which is carried out at temperatures above 1020° C., typically in the range 1020-1120° C. Thereby the cold deformation in the material is annihilated and the low-temperature dissolution can be carried out without the risk of sensitisation. However, the process provides the problem that the strength of the cold-worked metal is reduced—this is referred to as a so-called egg shell effect in the material, i.e. the material becomes soft with a hard thin surface, when the workpiece is subsequently low-temperature hardened. By carrying out an austenitisation the core strength of the material is reduced to that of annealed material, and this process requires that the core strength of the treated component is a design parameter of less importance.
Another possibility is to employ a carburising process where only carbon is dissolved in the material at low temperature, i.e. formation of carbon expanded austenite. Sensitisation is not as critical for carbon dissolution as it is for nitrogen dissolution (nitriding and nitrocarburising) and hence leads to less influence on the corrosion resistance. However, for components with a strong degree of cold deformation even this is considered detrimental. Another disadvantage by only employing carbon dissolution is that a lower surface hardness is obtained than for nitrogen dissolution and that the composition profile (hardness) cannot be adjusted in the same way (see e.g. EP 1095170 B1 and WO 2006/136166 A1).
In e.g. Georgiev et al, Journal of Materials Science and Technology, Vol. 4, 1996, No. 4, pp. 28 and Bashchenko et al, Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR. Metally, no 4, 1985, pp. 173-178, it is shown that nitrogen and/or carbon can be dissolved in stainless steel at high temperature (above about 1050° C.) under equilibrium conditions. It is shown that by employing high temperatures the problem with permeation of the passive layer of stainless steel can be bypassed, since this becomes unstable at these high temperatures. It is also described that the solubility temperature for chromium carbide and chromium nitride lies below this temperature. Consequently, carbides and/or nitrides are not formed at these high temperatures. The solubility of nitrogen/carbon is however relatively limited and for austenitic stainless steels no actual surface hardening occurs; this applies in particular for carbon. To avoid precipitation of carbides/nitrides during cooling a fast cooling rate is required. For martensitic stainless steel types a significant hardening of the surface can take place by fast cooling; however, the hardening effect is at a significantly lower level than obtained by processes for formation of expanded austenite.
WO 2008/124239 suggests a hybrid carburisation process with intermediate rapid quench, according to which a carbon hardened surface in a metal workpiece can be formed without forming carbide precipitates by subjecting the workpiece to both high temperature carburisation and low temperature carburisation, wherein immediately after high-temperature carburisation, the workpiece is rapidly quenched to a temperature below which carbide precipitates form. The rapid quenching may be accomplished using e.g. immersion of the workpiece in water, oil or other cooling medium such as a gas or molten salt. WO 2008/124239 fails to recognize the issues of cold-deformation and formation of carbides and/or nitrides during a subsequent low-temperature hardening.
There is a need for a method which allows low temperature dissolution of nitrogen and/or carbon for hardening of passive alloys such as stainless steel, where the problems with sensitisation and/or adjusting the composition profile are solved.
To overcome the problem with sensitisation in connection with low temperature nitriding and/or carburising of cold deformed workpieces the prior art suggests to anneal the material first, so that partial or full re-crystallisation is obtained; alternatively only a recovery of the material. Thereby the cold deformation in the material, and the strengthening obtained from the cold deformation, is annihilated, but on the other hand the low temperature dissolution can be carried out without problems with sensitisation. However, this solution fails to provide components having high core strength.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a method, which allows the formation of expanded austenite or expanded martensite by low temperature nitriding and/or carburising of products shaped through cold deformation and prepared from passive alloys, in particular stainless steel, without sensitisation occurring in the workpiece and where the strengthening effect obtained is comparable to or possibly even larger than the strengthening effect obtained by cold deformation.

Method for solution hardening of a cold deformed workpiece of a passive alloy, and a member solution hardened by the method


An improved circuit for compensating a pattern recognition type edge for a video signal processor which is capable of preventing a undershooting and an overshooting by recognizing a pattern of a luminance signal which is converted into a digital form when compensating an edge of a luminance signal, by substituting a sample value at incline start or end portions and at decline start or end portions of a pattern with the previous sample value or the next sample value, by generating a plurality of luminance signals having a different delay time by sequentially delaying a luminance signal which is converted into a digital form as many as the number of samples, by subtracting a luminance signal which is delayed by the previous process from the luminance signal which is delayed by each process, by recognizing a pattern of an edge of luminance signal by logically operating a difference signal and a reference signal after computing a plurality of difference signals, and by selecting a signal among luminance signals having a different delay time in accordance with the recognized pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit for compensating an edge of a luminance signal of a video signal processor such as a television set or a video cassette tape recorder (VCR), and particularly to an improved pattern recognition type edge compensation circuit capable of more effectively compensating an edge of a luminance signal without deterioration of a picture quality by recognizing the pattern of an edge of a luminance signal which is sampled and converted from an analog signal into a digital signal and by properly selecting a sampled signal in accordance with a pattern of the recognized edge.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an edge compensation circuit for a conventional video signal processor, which includes a first differential unit 100 for first-differentiating a luminance signal Y of an analog with respect to time, inputted thereto from an input terminal Yin, a second differential unit 101 for second-differentiating a signal differentiated by the first differential unit 100 with respect to time, a delay unit 102 for compensating a delay time between a luminance signal Y of an analog signal which is not applied to the first and second differential units 100 and 101 and a luminance signal Y of an analog which is applied to the first and second differential units 100 and 101, and a subtraction unit 103 for subtracting the luminance signal second-differentiated by the second differential unit 101 from the luminance signal delayed for a predetermined time by the delay unit 102.
The operation of the edge compensation circuit for a conventional video signal processor will now be explained.
To begin with, a luminance signal of an analog as shown in FIG. 2A is respectively inputted to the first differential unit 100 and the delay unit 102 through an input terminal Yin, the first differential unit 100 first-differentiates a luminance signal with respect to time and outputs a predetermined signal having a wave form as shown in FIG. 2B. Thereafter, the second differential unit 101 second-differentiates the luminance signal first-differentiated by the first differential unit 100 with respect to time and outputs a signal having a wave form as shown in FIG. 2C to the subtraction unit 103. Meanwhile, the delay unit 102 delays a luminance signal Y for a time "t" as shown in FIG. 2D so as to compensate a delay time caused by the first and second differential units 100 and 101 and outputs the delayed luminance signal to the subtraction unit 103. The subtraction unit 103 subtracts an output signal of the second differential unit 101 from the luminance signal as shown in FIG. 2D delayed for a predetermined time by the delay unit 102. Thus, a luminance signal Y' of which edge is compensated as shown in FIG. 2D is obtained.
However, the conventional edge compensation circuit has disadvantages in that under-shooting and over-shooting occur in a luminance signal Y' of which edge is compensated as shown in FIG. 2D, so that a picture quality of a luminance signal of which edge is compensated is deteriorated by the above-mentioned under-shooting and over-shooting.

Circuit for compensating pattern recognition type edge of video signal processor


A peripheral comprises a flatbed scanning device, a sheet-fed scanning device and a multi-stage input tray. The flatbed scanning device comprises a rotatable upper cover covering a first document, on which a flatbed scan is performed. The sheet-fed scanning device abuts upon the upper cover and performs a sheet-fed scan on a second document. The multi-stage input tray comprises a first tray and a second tray. The first tray is disposed on the upper cover and has a supporting surface for supporting the second document. The second tray, pivotally connected to the first tray, assists in supporting the second document in a deployed mode, and forms an inverse-V-shaped structure with the supporting surface in a retracted mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a peripheral, and more particularly to a peripheral with independent flatbed and sheet-fed scanning devices.
2. Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a conventional copier 200. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional copier 200 usually comprises a scanning device 230 and a printing device 240. The scanning device 230 comprises a flatbed scanning unit 220 and a sheet-fed scanning unit 210 so that the user can perform a flatbed scan operation and a sheet-fed scan operation. The flatbed scanning unit 220 can utilize a movable scanning module 224 to scan a bound book, and the sheet-fed scanning unit 210 can scan a plurality of documents D at one time. However, the sheet-fed scanning unit 210 is disposed on an upper cover 222 of the flatbed scanning unit 220, wherein the upper cover 222 also functions as a document storage tray for storing the documents D scanned by the sheet-fed scanning unit 210. The drawback of such the design resides in that the user still has to exert a considerable force to lift up the bulky sheet-fed scanning unit 210 when the flatbed scan is performed. More particularly, when the scanning device 230 is designed to scan the A3-sized document, the sheet-fed scanning unit 210 becomes bulkier. In addition, a sensor 212 in the sheet-fed scanning unit 210 is not suitable for the environment with the frequent shaking. In order to disable the sensor 212 from displacement upon the lifting operation of the upper cover 222, and further to strengthen the structure design, the manufacturing cost and weight are increased.

Peripheral with independent flatbed and sheet-fed scanning devices


A programmable arbitrary sequence direct memory access (DMA) controller accesses sequentially addressed memory locations (source or destination) using address pointer registers. Each sequentially addressed memory location containing an indirect memory address is stored in an address latch and used to access the actual non-sequential memory location to be accessed by the DMA transfer.

A core independent peripheral is considered to be a peripheral that does not need to be controlled by the CPU to perform its function. For example, a conventional analog-to-digital converter must be controlled by the CPU to sample each value and the CPU must store the result once it is obtained. A core independent version of such an analog-to-digital converter may be still configured by the CPU but once it has been configured, it may operate independently from the CPU and for example may be independently triggered and store results in specific locations. Other core independent peripherals may be implemented which allows to free the CPU from control tasks and, thus, enhance processing power of a microcontroller. One of the main advantages to core independent peripherals (CIPs) is that they can be reconfigured on-the-fly to change the performance or operation of the CIP, a pseudo peripheral. Unfortunately, the CIP configuration registers may be scattered across multiple memory mapped special function register (SFR) address banks. Using program firmware to do a CIP reconfiguration is also relatively slow and incurs a latency time in response to an external signal.
One method that can be used is configuring together two DMA peripherals, one which accesses the SFR address list from memory, and then programs the second DMA peripheral with these SFR addresses which then makes the actual CIP reconfiguration data transfers to the CIP SFRs. This is very inefficient in that multiple registers are duplicated, and the writing speed is slower. It also requires the two DMA peripherals be cross-connected in such a way as to trigger each other. If either DMA peripheral hits an error or a fault the DMA operation fails.

Programmable arbitrary sequence direct memory access controller for configuring multiple core independent peripherals