It is one objective of the present invention to obtain reproducible representations of expressed mRNA molecules by exploiting a novel technique that relies on short, single stranded polynucleotide tags. In one preferred embodiment, only one polynucleotide tag is obtained from each mRNA molecule, and relatively simple counting statistics can thus be applied after identification and sampling of the different tags, or a subset of tags being present in the population of representative tags. The tags according to the present invention are preferably single stranded polynucleotide tags obtained by subjecting genetic material derived from a biological sample to at least one site-specific nicking endonuclease capable of i) recognizing a predetermined nucleotide motif comprising complementary nucleotide strands and ii) cleaving only one of said complementary strands in the process of generating the at least one single stranded polynucleotide tag. Accordingly, the present invention demonstrates that nicking endonucleases may advantageously be used for obtaining and isolating ssDNA tags. This novel approach in one embodiment eliminates the occurrence of any linker sequence in the ssDNA tag, and it eliminates the presence of a complementary strand in the isolated polynucleotide tag. The lack of linker sequence in the tag and the lack of any complementary strand serves to reduce the huge complexities associated with the analysis of expressed molecules in a biological sample.

Analysis of complex nucleic acid populations is a common problem in many areas of molecular biology, nowhere more so than in the analysis of patterns of gene expression. Various methods have been developed to allow simultaneous analysis of entire mRNA populations, or their corresponding cDNA populations, in order to understand the observed patterns of gene expression.
The method of "subtractive cloning" (Lee et al, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 2825-2829) allows identification of mRNAs, or rather, their corresponding cDNAs, that are differentially expressed in two related cell types. One can selectively eliminate cDNAs common to two related cell types by hybridizing cDNAs from a library derived from one cell type to a large excess of mRNA from a related, but distinct cell type. mRNAs in the second cell type complementary to cDNAs from the first type will form double-stranded hybrids. Various enzymes exist which degrade such double-stranded hybrids allowing these to be eliminated thus enriching the remaining population in cDNAs unique to the first cell type. This method allows highly specific comparative information about differences in gene expression between related cell types to be derived and has had moderate success in isolating rare cDNAs.
The methods of "differential display" (Science 257, 967-971, 1992) sorts mRNAs using PCR primers to selectively amplify specific subsets of an mRNA population. An mRNA population is primed with a general oligo(dT) primer to amplify one strand and a specific primer, of perhaps 10 nucleotides or so to amplify the reverse strand with greater specificity. In this way only mRNAs bearing the second primer sequence are amplified; the longer the second primer the smaller a proportion of the total cDNA population is amplified or any given sequence of that length used. The resultant amplified sub-population can then be cloned for screening or sequencing or the fragments can simply be separated on a sequencing gel. Low copy number mRNAs are less likely to get lost in this sort of scheme in comparison with subtractive cloning, and it is probably more reproducible. Whilst this method is more general than subtractive cloning, time-consuming analysis is required.
The method of "molecular indexing" (PCT/GB93/01452) uses populations of adapter molecules to hybridize to the ambiguous sticky-ends generated by cleavage of a nucleic acid with a type IIs restriction endonuclease to categorize the cleavage fragments. Using specifically engineered adapters one can specifically immobilize or amplify or clone specific subsets of fragments in a manner similar to differential display but achieving a greater degree of control. Again, time-consuming analysis is required.
The method of Kato (Nucleic Acids Research 12, 3685-3690, 1995) exemplifies the above molecular indexing approach and effects cDNA population analysis by sorting terminal cDNA fragments into sub-populations followed by selective amplification of specific subsets of cDNA fragments. Sorting is effected by using type IIs restriction endonucleases and adapters. The adapters also carry primer sites, which in conjunction with general oligo(dT) primers allows selective amplification of terminal cDNA fragments as in differential display. It is possibly more precise than differential display in that it effects greater sorting: only about 100 cDNAs will be present in a given subset and sorting can be related to specific sequence features rather than using primers chosen by trial and error.
The method of "Serial Analysis of Gene Expression" or "SAGE" (Science 270, 484-487, 1995) allows identification of mRNAs, or rather, their corresponding cDNAs, that are expressed in a given cell type. The method involved a process for isolating a "tag" from every cDNA in a population using adapters and type IIs restriction endonucleases. A tag is a sample of a cDNA sequence of a fixed number of nucleotides sufficient to identify uniquely that cDNA in the population. Tags are then ligated together to create so-called di-tags consisting of two decamers from the pool of cDNA molecules under investigation ligated head-to-head and flanked by two linkers. These di-tags are then amplified using PCR, concaternerized into longer fragments, cloned and sequenced. The method gives quantitative data on gene expression and will readily identify novel cDNAs. This method was invented in 1995, but trials have since then showed that the amplification efficiency of different di-tags depends very much upon the sequence of the individual di-tags. In one trial a seven fold difference between two di-tag sequences after 20 cycles of PCR was detected even though there was no difference in abundance between these two di-tags in the starting material (NAR 27(18), e22, 1999). This makes SAGE a very bad choice if reliable quantitative data are required. The method is also extremely time-consuming in view of the large amount of sequencing required.
The method of "Tandem Arrayed Ligation of Expressed Sequence Tags" or "TAL-EST" (NAR 27(18), e22, 1999) is a modification of SAGE, where the PCR amplification step gives way to a cloning step. Each analysis then involves two cloning steps. The method is very quantitative and reproducible (P=0.99), but on the other hand approx. 15% of all genes are invisible in this assay. This means that the expression of 15% of all genes is not detected regardless how abundant their mRNA is. Thus TALEST is a very labor and time intensive technique to work with and the coverage is only 85% of all genes.
The method of "Total Gene Expression Analysis" or "TOGA" (PNAS 97(5), p. 1976-1981, 2000) makes use of a technique where the poly(T) tail of the cDNA along with the sequence 5′ of the poly(T) tail is ligated into an RNA expression vector. This vector is then linarized and RNA in vitro synthesized. Then gene specific sequences are detected and quantified in approximately the same manner as with AFLP. Thus in TOGA, PCR is also used to amplify the products that are analyzed. As for SAGE, the use of PCR before the analysis step jeopardizes the quantitative aspect of the method.
The method of "Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing" or "MPSS" (Nature Biotech. 18, 630-634, 2000) uses a FACS sorting device in the data acquisition process. Like many of the other techniques MPSS depends heavily upon PCR for amplification of the tags, and hence MPSS is inflicted with all the problems that comes from using PCR.
Methods involving hybridization grids, chips and arrays are advantageous in that they avoid gel methods for sequencing and are relatively quantitative. They can be performed entirely in solution, and are thus readily automatable. These methods come in two forms.
The first involves immobilization of target nucleic aids to an array of oligonucleotides complementary to the terminal sequences of the target nucleic acid. Immobilization is followed by partial sequencing of those fragments by a single base method, e.g. using type IIs restriction endonucleases and adapters. This particular approach is advocated by Brenner in PCT/US95/12678.
The second form involves arrays of oligonucleotides. Nucleic acids are hybridized as single strands to the array. Detection of hybridization is achieved by fluorescently labeling each nucleic acid and determining from where on the grid the fluorescence arises, which determines the oligonucleotide to which the nucleic acid has bound. The fluorescent labels also give quantitative information about how much nucleic acid has hybridized to a given oligonucleotide. This information and knowledge of the relative quantities of individual nucleic acids should be sufficient to reconstruct the sequences and quantities of the hybridizing population. This approach is advocated by Lehrach in numerous papers and Nucleic Acids Research 22, 3423 contains a recent discussion. A disadvantage of this approach is that the construction of large arrays of oligonucleotides is extremely technically demanding and expensive. It is also still a very big technological challenge to hybridize between 10.000 and 20.000 different cDNA products quantitatively to a gene-chip containing between 25.000 and 100.000 different cDNA probes without getting a significant amount of mismatch hybridization. Another drawback with DNA array technology is that high quality sequence information is necessary for all the genes used on the array. Still the technology is relatively easy to use once the arrays have been designed and manifactured.
Additional methods for analyzing and demonstrating differential gene expression have been disclosed in e.g. WO 94/01582; WO 97/10363; WO 97/13877; WO 98/10095; WO 98/15652; WO 98/31380; WO 98/44152; WO 98/48047; WO 99/02725; WO 99/02726; WO 99/02727; WO 99/02728; WO 99/39001; WO 00/53806; U.S. Pat. No. 5,508,169; U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,736; U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,553; and EP 735 144 A1. Reference is also made to Cowan et al. (J. Theor. Biol., 1987, vol. 127, p. 229-245), who disclose breakage of double-standed DNA due to single-stranded nicking. The nicking activity is not site-specific. Morgan et al. (Biol. Chem., 2000, vol. 361, p. 1123-1125) disclose a characterization of the specific DNA nicking activity of restriction endonuclease N.BstNBI.
None of the above methods are related to a method for obtaining—and optionally analyzing the sequence of—at least one single stranded polynucleotide tag originating at least partly from a biological sample and comprising a consecutive sequence of bases, wherein—prior to sequence analysis or other characterization—no part of the single stranded polynucleotide tag comprises a complementary polynucleotide strand, and wherein preferably all of the bases originate from the biological sample, such as more than 95% of the bases, for example more than 90% of the bases, such as more than 85% of the bases, for example more than 80% of the bases, such as more than 75% of the bases originating from the biological sample.
Furthermore, none the above methods exploit a cleavage agent, preferably in the form of a site-specific nicking endonuclease capable of i) recognizing a predetermined nucleotide motif comprising complementary nucleotide strands and ii) cleaving only one of said complementary strands in the process of generating at least one single stranded polynucleotide tag.


A communication system for communicating CDMA and GSM transmit and receive RF information signals through one or more antennas is disclosed. The communication system is comprised of a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, and at least one antenna. The transmitting unit modulates and upconverts a transmit baseband information signal to generate a CDMA transmit RF information signal and a GSM transmit RF information signal. The receiving unit downconverts and demodulates a CDMA receive RF information signal and a GSM receive RF information signal to generate a receive baseband information signal. One or more antennas are coupled to the transmitting unit and receiving unit for transmitting the CDMA transmit RF information signal and the GSM transmit RF information signal, and receiving the CDMA receive RF information signal and the GSM receive RF information signal. The transmitting unit comprises a modulator for modulating a transmit IF LO frequency with the transmit baseband information signal to generate a transmit IF information signal. It also includes a plurality of upconverters for upconverting the transmit IF information signal with a GSM transmit RF LO frequency to generate a GSM transmit RF information signal, and for upconverting the transmit IF information signal with a CDMA transmit RF LO frequency to generate at least one CDMA transmit RF information signal. The receiving unit comprises a downconverter for downconverting a CDMA receive RF information signal with a receive RF LO frequency to generate a receive IF information signal, and for downconverting at least one GSM receive RF information signal with the receive RF LO frequency to generate a receive IF information signal. It also includes a demodulator for demodulating the receive IF information signal with a receive IF LO frequency to generate a receive baseband information signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to communication systems and processes which use radio frequency (RF) transmitters and receivers (transceivers), and, in particular embodiments, to systems and processes for multi-mode, multi-band Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication transceivers that share functional blocks to minimize size, weight, complexity, power consumption, and cost.
2. Description of Related Art
It has become increasingly important to minimize the size, weight, complexity, power consumption, and cost of various electronic devices, especially personal communication devices such as cellular telephones, personal pagers, cordless telephones, and the like. One way to minimize such characteristics is to minimize the number of components and functions required in the electronic device, or to perform multiple functions using the same components. However, personal communication devices such as cellular telephones often require complex circuitry with a number of power-inefficient components for performing particular functions. This is especially true in modern cellular communications, where several different communication standards are employed worldwide, and cellular telephones with the flexibility to operate under multiple communications standards are highly desirable from a consumer and manufacturing perspective.
For example, the GSM communication standard is a world-wide mode of digital cellular communication operating over three different frequency bands. GSM-900 operates in the 900 MHz frequency band and is currently used in Europe and Asia. DCS is another digital cellular standard based on GSM technology, operating in the 1800 MHz frequency band and also currently used in Europe and Asia. The United States uses PCS, a third digital cellular standard similar to DCS, but operating in the 1900 MHz band. GSM is currently used in approximately 154 countries, including the geographic areas of North Africa, India, China, Europe, the Middle East, and Taiwan.
However, GSM is not the only mode of cellular communication. CDMA is another mode of digital cellular communication operating in either the 900 or 1900 MHz band. CDMA is one of the most widely used modes of cellular communication in the United States, and is the most widely used mode of cellular communication in Korea. CDMA is also being used in China, India, and Taiwan.
With improved voice and data communications and political climates continuing to expand the world market, a xe2x80x9cworld telephonexe2x80x9d capable of operating in many different countries would be of interest to international business travelers. Multi-mode, multi-band cellular telephones with shared functionality and an optimized architecture capable of operating under all of these standards afford consumers widespread applicability and allow manufacturers to benefit from the cost-efficiency of a common design.
However, multi-mode, multi-band cellular telephones such as combined CDMA/GSM telephones present a number of design challenges. Conventional single-band transmitters typically require two separate frequencies, a fixed intermediate frequency (IF) for modulation and a tunable RF for upconversion. Conventional single-band receivers also typically require two separate frequencies, a tunable RF for downconversion and a fixed IF for demodulation. Thus, a single-band cellular telephone may require as many as four different frequency sources. CDMA/GSM multi-band and multi-mode cellular telephones exacerbate the problem because the modulation, upconversion, downconversion, and demodulation processes for each band and mode may operate at different frequencies and amplitudes. Furthermore, the frequencies and amplitudes employed by each band and mode may require different filters and amplifiers for the transmit and receive function of each band. The design challenge of producing cellular telephones of minimal size, weight, complexity, power consumption, and cost is thus compounded by multi-mode, multi-band cellular telephones.
Therefore, it is an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide a system and process for a multi-mode, multi-band CDMA and GSM communication transceiver that shares functional blocks to minimize size, weight, complexity, power consumption, and cost.
These and other objects are accomplished according to a communication system for communicating CDMA and GSM transmit and receive RF information signals through one or more antennas. The communication system is comprised of a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, and at least one antenna. The transmitting unit modulates and upconverts a transmit baseband information signal to generate a CDMA transmit RF information signal and a GSM transmit RF information signal. The receiving unit downconverts and demodulates a CDMA receive RF information signal and a GSM receive RF information signal to generate a receive baseband information signal. One or more antennas are coupled to the transmitting unit and receiving unit for transmitting the CDMA transmit RF information signal and the GSM transmit RF information signal, and receiving the CDMA receive RF information signal and the GSM receive RF information signal.
The transmitting unit comprises a modulator for modulating a transmit IF local oscillator frequency (LO) with the transmit baseband information signal to generate a transmit IF information signal. It also includes a plurality of upconverters for upconverting the transmit IF information signal with a GSM transmit RF LO to generate the GSM transmit RF information signal, and for upconverting the transmit IF information signal with a CDMA transmit RF LO to generate the CDMA transmit RF information signal.
The receiving unit comprises a downconverter for downconverting the CDMA receive RF information signal with a receive RF LO to generate a receive IF information signal, and for downconverting the GSM receive RF information signal with the receive RF LO to generate a receive IF information signal. It also includes a demodulator for demodulating the receive IF information signal with a receive IF LO to generate the receive baseband information signal.
A transmit IF variable gain amplifier is coupled between the modulator and the plurality of upconverters for amplifying the transmit IF information signal. The plurality of upconverters includes a translation loop for upconverting the transmit IF information signal with the GSM transmit RF LO, and an upconverter mixer for upconverting the transmit IF information signal with the CDMA transmit RF LO.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of embodiments of the to invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, when read with the drawings and appended claims.

System and process for shared functional block CDMA and GSM communication transceivers


An image sensing apparatus includes a pixel array including a light-shielded area where light-shielded pixels are arranged, and an effective area where non-light-shielded pixels are arranged. Each of the light-shielded pixels includes a first photoelectric conversion unit, a first charge-voltage converter which converts charges generated in the first photoelectric conversion unit into a voltage, and a first amplification transistor functioning as a MOS transistor which receives, at the gate, the voltage converted by the first charge-voltage converter. Each of the non-light-shielded pixels includes a second photoelectric conversion unit, a second charge-voltage converter which converts charges generated in the second photoelectric conversion unit into a voltage, and a second amplification transistor functioning as a MOS transistor which receives, at the gate, the voltage converted by the second charge-voltage converter. The gate capacitance of the first amplification transistor is larger than that of the second amplification transistor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image sensing apparatus and imaging system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image sensing apparatuses typified by a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor have a pixel array where pixels are arrayed in the row and column directions. Some image sensing apparatuses use a pixel array including a light-shielded area (optical black area) where light-shielded pixels are arranged, and an effective area where unshielded pixels are arranged.
According to techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 10-126697 and 2006-025146, a black-level reference signal is read out from the light-shielded area, and the black level of a signal read out from the effective area is corrected using the readout black-level reference signal.
Recently, as the number of pixels increases and the semiconductor micropatterning technique advances, the unit pixel tends to be shrinked. Along with this, each element included in the unit pixel is also shrinked.
For example, an amplification transistor serving as a MOS transistor for amplifying a signal corresponding to charges generated in a photoelectric conversion unit in a unit pixel can be shrinked.
Letting W be the gate width of the amplification transistor, L be the gate length, and Cox be the gate insulating film capacitance per unit area, it is known that noise generated in the amplification transistor is inversely proportional to the square root of (W×L×Cox). That is, as the amplification transistor is shrinked to decrease the gate width or gate length, noise generated in the amplification transistor increases.
If the unit pixel is shrinked by the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 10-126697 and 2006-025146, noise generated in the amplification transistor increases in the effective area and light-shielded area, as described above. Particularly when noise generated in the amplification transistor in the light-shielded area increases, the amount of noise included in a black-level reference signal read out from the light-shielded area increases. This may decrease the precision of processing for correcting the black level of a signal read out from the effective area by using the readout black-level reference signal.

Image sensing apparatus and imaging system


A semiconductor device is provided comprising a semiconductor element, a case portion housing the semiconductor element and having an opening end on at least some of wall portion, a lid portion covering the opening end of the case portion, and a sealing material sealing the semiconductor element inside the case portion, where a projection portion or a dent portion is provided on a surface of the wall portion close to the sealing material between the opening end and the sealing material. The Purpose is to prevent an oil leakage from a semiconductor device. Also, instead of the projection portion or the dent portion, a semiconductor device is provided with a liquid receiving portion that receives a liquid dripping from the opening end on a surface facing away from the sealing material.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and an electrical device.
2. Related Art
A sealing material such as resin or silicone gel is enclosed inside a semiconductor device for the purpose of insulation between circuits provided inside the semiconductor device (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H11-17069

Semiconductor device and electrical device


A seatbelt apparatus is provided which can constrain a passenger by ensuring removal of a slack of a lap belt when two pretensioners are activated under two different time frames. A pretensioner of a seatbelt retractor is activated first, and a shoulder belt and a lap belt are pulled in a direction toward the seatbelt retractor. Subsequently, a pretensioner of a belt anchor portion is activated and pulls a seatbelt toward the belt anchor portion, and hence a one-way tongue catches and locks the seatbelt. Accordingly, the shoulder belt is prevented from moving toward the lap belt through the tongue. Therefore, removal of the slack of the lap belt is ensured, and hence a lumber of the passenger is firmly fixed.

The present invention relates to a seatbelt apparatus mounted on a vehicle such as an automotive vehicle for constraining and protecting a passenger by a seatbelt and to a seatbelt apparatus provided with two pretensioners.
A seatbelt apparatus provided on a vehicle seat of the automotive vehicle or the like prevents the passenger from jumping out from the seat of the passenger by constraining the passenger with the seatbelt in case of emergency such as vehicle collision where a significant deceleration is applied to the vehicle, thereby protecting the passenger.
In the related art, as one of the seatbelt apparatus in the related art, for example, there is a three-point type seatbelt apparatus as shown in FIG. 9. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 designates a seatbelt apparatus provided on a vehicle seat 2, reference numeral 3 designates a seatbelt retractor fixed to a vehicle body near the vehicle seat 2 for constantly urging a seatbelt 4 so as to be withdrawably retracted, and locking the seatbelt 4 from being withdrawn in case of emergency, reference numeral 5 designates a tongue slidably supported by the seatbelt 4, reference numeral 6 designates a buckle located on the side of the vehicle seat 2 and fixed to the vehicle seat 2 or the vehicle body for being engaged by the tongue 5, and reference numeral 7 designates a belt guide mounted to an upper side of a vehicle side portion such as a center pillar 8 for guiding the seatbelt 4 withdrawn from the seatbelt retractor 3. A belt anchor portion 4a at a distal end of the seatbelt 4 withdrawn from the seatbelt retractor 3 is fixed to the vehicle seat 2 or the vehicle body.
With the seatbelt apparatus 1 configured as described above, when the passenger attaches the seatbelt 4, the passenger sits on the vehicle seat 2, withdraws the seatbelt 4 from the seatbelt retractor 3, engages the tongue 5 with the buckle 6, and then releases his/her hand from the tongue 5, whereby the part of the seatbelt 4 excessively withdrawn is retracted by the seatbelt retractor 3 and hence a slack of the seatbelt is removed, and the seatbelt 4 is attached to the passenger. In this case, the seatbelt 4 between the belt guide 7 and the tongue 5 functions as a shoulder belt 4b for constraining the shoulder and the chest of the passenger, and the seatbelt 4 between the belt anchor portion 4a fixed to the vehicle body and the tongue 5 functions as a lap belt 4c for constraining a lap ("lumber") of the passenger.
Then, in case of emergency such as the vehicle collision of where a significantly large deceleration is applied to the vehicle, an emergency locking mechanism of the seatbelt retractor 3 is activated to lock the seatbelt 4 from being withdrawn and prevent the forward movement of the passenger by a force of inertia, whereby the passenger is constrained and protected. In particular, in the recent years, the pretensioner is provided in the seatbelt retractor 3, the belt anchor portion 4a, or the buckle or the like so that the pretensioner is activated in case of occurrence of emergency and pulls the seatbelt 4 to remove the slack of the seatbelt 4 quickly so that the forward movement of the passenger is kept as little as possible, whereby the effects of constraining and protecting the passenger are improved.
In the seatbelt apparatus provided with the pretensioner as described above, there is a seatbelt apparatus in which the pretensioners are provided in the seatbelt retractor and the belt anchor portion respectively, so that the pretensioner in the seatbelt retractor is activated first in case of emergency to retract the seatbelt by the seatbelt retractor, and then the pretensioner of the belt anchor portion is activated to pull the seatbelt and remove the slack of the seatbelt quickly for constraining the passenger (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-287622).
In the seatbelt apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No: 2001-287622, since the two pretensioners are activated under two time frames, even when the slack of the seatbelt cannot be sufficiently removed by the first pretensioner, the slack of the seatbelt can be removed by the second pretensioner, whereby constraint of the passenger is ensured.
However, in the seatbelt apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-287622, when a first pretensioner 9 of the seatbelt retractor 3 is activated and the seatbelt 4 is retracted by the seatbelt retractor 3 as shown in FIG. 10(a), both of the shoulder belt 4b and the lap belt 4c are pulled toward the seatbelt retractor 3 as indicated by an arrow A.
Subsequently, a second pretensioner 10 of the belt anchor portion 4a is activated and hence the seatbelt 4 is pulled toward the belt anchor portion 4a as shown in FIG. 10(b), both of the lap belt 4c and the shoulder belt 4b are pulled toward the belt anchor portion 4a as indicated by an arrow B. Therefore, even though the lap belt 4c is pulled by the first pretensioner 9 and a slack of the lap belt 4c is removed, the shoulder belt 4b is pulled with the lap belt 4c in the opposite direction by the second pretensioner 10, and hence the lap belt 4c is loosened. Therefore, since the lap belt 4c which functions for constraining the passenger most is loosened, the effect of constraining the passenger cannot be sufficiently achieved.
Therefore, there remains a need to provide a seatbelt apparatus in which removal of the slack of the lap belt is ensured even though the two pretensioners are activated under two time frames, whereby the effects of constraining the passenger are satisfactorily achieved.


The present invention relates to cultivated cucumber plants comprising a yield QTL on chromosome 3 of their genome, and to methods for generating such plants, and their use.

Cultivated cucumber (Cucumis sativus var. sativus L.) is an important vegetable crop worldwide. It belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. It is thought to originate from South East Asia from wild ancestors with small, bitter fruits, such as Cucumis sativus var. hardwickii.
The cultivated cucumber genome has seven pairs of chromosomes (n=7) and a haploid genome size of about 367 Mb (Megabases) with an estimated total of about 26,682 genes. The cucumber genome was the first vegetable genome to be sequenced (Huang et al. 2009, Nature Genetics, Volume 41, Number 12, p 1275-1283 and http://www.icugi.org/cgi-bin/gb2/gbrowse/cucumber_v2/).
Yield of cultivated cucumber has not increased much over the last decades. Shetty and Wehner 2002 (CropSci. 42: 2174-2183) screened the USDA cucumber germplasm collection for fruit quality and fruit yield under field conditions in North Carolina (USA) and suggest that high yielding cultigens identified in their study can be used to develop high yielding cultivars.
WO2009/082222 used on of the accessions identified by Shetty and Wehner in 2002 (supra), the Turkish Beit-Alpha landrace PI 169383 to identify QTLs for fruit weight of harvest stage cucumbers on linkage group 3 and/or 4 of PI 69383 and seeds were deposited of this accession under accession number NCIMB41532. This donor is a Turkish Beit Alpha landrace of cucumber (which is not a wild relative of cucumber) and does not contain the SNP markers of the instant invention. Further, the patent application describes cucumber plants comprising a whole chromosome 3 substitution, i.e. the whole chromosome 3 is from the donor PI169383.
Wei et al. 2014 (BMC Genomics 15: 1158, p 1-10) disclose mapping of immature and mature fruit length and immature fruit weight in a population derived from a cross between a Chinese cucumber inbred line (CC3) and NC76. NC76 was developed from a landrace of Cucumis sativus var. sativus from Afghanistan (P1246930) (which is not a wild relative of cucumber) and has short fruits (7˜10 cm). By crossing the short fruited NC76 with the long fruited CC3, they mapped QTLs in a segregating F2 population for (immature and mature) fruit length and immature fruit weight, as presented in additional file 6. They found two QTLs for immature fruit length (fl3.1 and fl3.2), two QTLs for immature fruit weight (fw3.1 and fw3.2) and one QTL for mature fruit length (mfl3.1) on Linkage Group 3 (LG3), in addition to another QTL for immature fruit length on LG 1 (fl1.1) and LG6 (fl6.1), but they do not disclose any information on total fruit yield.
Fazio et al. 2003 (Theor Appl Genet 107: 864-874) genetically mapped a number of traits, including cumulative fruits per plants over three harvests and morphological traits such as little leaf (11′). Their linkage group 6 appears to correspond to the physical chromosome 3. They mapped one QTL called fp16.1 which had a positive effect on cumulative fruit number per plant over three harvests (fruit number per plant was measured at three harvest points) to marker OP-AG1-2 at position 40.8 cM. It was only detected at one location. They also mapped another QTL called nfp6.2 which had a positive effect on number of fruits per plant to marker AK5-SCAR at position 38.6 cM. This QTL was detected at one location and was detected in all three harvests at that location. These QTLs are physically located on the lower half of chromosome 3 (around 3.0 Mb), while the QTL of the present invention is located on the upper half of chromosome 3, between 21.50 Mb and 27.23 Mb of chromosome 3.
Still, there remains a need for identifying QTLs for fruit yield in cucumber to be able to increase fruit yield of modern cucumber varieties.


Provided is a control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle, a clutch being provided in a power transmission path leading from an engine to drive wheels, the clutch transmitting torque between the engine and the drive wheels when engaged, the clutch interrupting the transmission of torque between the engine and the drive wheels, the control apparatus including an ECU configured to execute drive control for consuming electric power of a storage device by driving a first motor, when the clutch is kept in a released state and the clutch cannot be engaged and an amount of electrical charge of the storage device is higher than a prescribed first threshold value.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a control apparatus and a control method for a hybrid vehicle in which an engine and a motor are installed as motive power sources.
2. Description of Related Art
In the related art, there are hybrid vehicles called as one-motor or two-motor vehicle depending on the number of motors functioning as motive power sources installed in the vehicle, and it is a common technique to configure the motor to exercise an electricity generating function. As one example of a one-motor vehicle, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-179263 (JP 2008-179263 A) discloses a vehicle provided with an engine, a motor having an electricity generating function, and an electric generator which generates electricity by motive power output by the engine, wherein electricity is generated by the electric generator by motive power output from the engine, and this electric power is supplied to the motor, whereby a motor torque is output from the motor and transmitted to drive wheels as a drive torque. Moreover, J P 2008-179263 A discloses generating electricity by the motor through regeneration control of the motor, if an abnormality has occurred in the electric generator.
Furthermore, examples of the configuration of a two-motor vehicle are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-279886 (JP 2008-279886 A) and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 08-295140 (JP 08-295140 A). JP 2008-279886 A and JP 08-295140 A disclose configurations provided with an engine, two motors that are sources of motive power, and a power split mechanism formed from a planetary gear mechanism in which three rotating elements move differentially, wherein, in the power split mechanism, any one of the rotating elements is coupled to the engine, a further rotating element is coupled to the first motor, and yet a further rotating element is coupled to drive wheels and the second motor. In other words, the motive power output by the engine is divided and transmitted to the first motor side having an electricity generating function and an output member side coupled to drive wheels, by a power split mechanism. Furthermore, due to a reactive force generated by the first motor, it is possible to control the number of revolutions of the engine, as appropriate, in accordance with the number of revolutions of the first motor.
In particular, in the configuration disclosed in JP 08-295140 A, the engine torque is inputted to a carrier of the power split mechanism via an output shaft, and a clutch for mechanically disengaging the output shaft and the engine, and a one-way clutch which stops rotation of the carrier by fixing the output shaft, are provided, in such a manner that the reactive force of the torque produced by the first motor is received by a torque produced by the one-way clutch. Moreover, JP 08-295140 A also indicates that, when the vehicle is travelling by the motive power of the first motor and the second motor, the clutch is released and therefore the engine does not need to be stopped.

Control apparatus and control method for hybrid vehicle


A polarizer includes a base; a grid formed on the base; and low-reflective members formed on surfaces of the grid. The low-reflective members face an incident direction of an external light, so that a bright room contrast and a visibility can be improved.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a polarizer and a flat panel display apparatus including the polarizer. More particularly, aspects of the present invention relate to a polarizer that improves the bright room contrast and visibility of a flat panel display apparatus and a flat panel display apparatus that includes the polarizer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, flat panel display apparatuses have been developed that can be portable. Among the flat panel display apparatuses, field emission display apparatuses are self-emissive display apparatuses that have a wide viewing angle, a superior contrast, and a fast response speed, and thus, are considered as next generation display apparatuses. On the other hand, organic light emitting display apparatuses, which have a light emitting layer formed of an organic material, have advantages in terms of brightness, driving voltage, and response speed and can emit multi-colors.
Flat panel display apparatuses are fabricated to be thin and lightweight in order to be portable and to be usable outdoors. However, when a user watches a display apparatus outdoors, sunlight may be reflected by the screen, and thus, the bright room contrast and visibility may be degraded. In particular, organic light emitting display apparatuses may be prone to having problems due to reflection since these apparatuses include a metal reflective layer.
In order to solve the above problem, a circular polarizing plate may be disposed on a surface of the organic light emitting display apparatus. The circular polarizing plate is a linear polarizing plate that is formed as a wire grid shape by forming a linear pattern using a thin metal material. However, a grid formed of a material including metal reflects external light or reflects the light emitted from the flat panel display apparatus, and thus, the contrast is degraded and the brightness of the flat panel display apparatus is lowered.

Polarizer and flat panel display apparatus including the same


A tire having a tread composed of two non-conductive layers, each layer containing a circumferential insert of conductive mix, the inserts having a wider interface at the interface of the two layers. An apparatus for extruding a layer, provided with a conductive insert, including a main extruder for extruding a non-vulcanized, non-conductive layer, and a micro-extruder having an extrusion head, provided at its end with a nozzle, for extruding a conductive insert in the layer.

The subject of the present invention is a tire composed of a plurality of mixes comprising as majority filler a non-conductive filler such as silica, or mixes having a low content of black filler, at least one of these mixes being the tread. It relates more particularly to a tire which may exhibit not insignificant internal temperature increases during travel, such as a tire intended, for example, to bear heavy loads. It also relates to a process for making such a tire, and an apparatus for carrying out such a process.
Since environmental problems are becoming ever more crucial, and savings in terms of fuel and the fight against the pollution produced by motor vehicles have become a priority, one of the aims of tire manufacturers is to produce a tire having all of the following: very low rolling resistance, excellent adhesion both on dry ground and on wet or snow-covered or icy ground, very good wear resistance, and finally reduced running noise.
To achieve this aim, a tire having a tread comprising silica as main reinforcing filler was proposed in European Patent Application No. EP A 501 227. Although this solution makes it possible to obtain the best compromise between all the very contradictory properties mentioned above, it has however proved that, depending on the vehicles, tires using a tread comprising silica as main reinforcing filler have the disadvantage of accumulating static electricity to a greater or lesser extent, this being formed by friction of the tire on the road during travel of the vehicle due to the lack of electrical conductivity of the silica.
The static electricity thus built up in a tire, when certain specific conditions are combined, is capable of giving the occupant of a vehicle an unpleasant electric shock when he has cause to touch the body of the vehicle. It is furthermore capable of accelerating ageing of the tire due to the ozone generated by the electrical discharge. It may also be the cause, depending on the type of ground and the vehicle, of poor operation of the onboard radio owing to the interference which it produces.
This problem of buildup of static electricity in a tire and of the majority of the disadvantages linked thereto is a very old one, and occurred even in the days when the reinforcing filler used was carbon black.
Application No. EP 0 658 452 A1 describes the adaptation of principles which have been known for a long time to a so-called "modern" tire, which adaptation makes it possible to solve the main problems pertaining to the solutions proposed in various older documents and, in particular, the harmful heterogeneity introduced into tire structures. The solution proposed consists in inserting a strip of conductive rubber mix or insert, extending preferably over the entire circumference of the tire and connecting the surface of the tread either to one of the crown plies, or to the carcass reinforcement, or to any other part of the tire which is sufficiently electrically conductive, the necessary electrical conductivity being imparted by the presence of a suitable carbon black.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,118 describes a co-extrusion apparatus comprising a single extruder which has a plurality of flow channels which open respectively on to an orifice formed by extrusion blades. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 of the document, the insert 120 parallel to the mixes 114, 118 and 122 arrives via a flow channel in the orifice 94 formed by the blades 106 and 98 on the surface 116 of the roller.
Although such a solution is perfectly viable for a tire comprising a tread formed of a single non-conductive mix, for example, a tread for a passenger vehicle, the same does not apply in the case of a tire comprising a plurality of layers of rubber mixes above the crown reinforcement and layers of rubber between the crown reinforcement and the carcass reinforcement, as is the case for any tire liable to travel at a high stabilized operating temperature, such as heavy vehicles or high-speed vehicles.
In fact, if for any reason one has cause to provide such a tire with a non-conductive layer, or inner part of the tread (part not in contact with the ground), between the crown reinforcement and the outer part (part in contact with the ground) of the tread which has been rendered conductive by the presence of a circumferential insert or striping, said inner part will have to be rendered conductive. Likewise, a layer between the carcass reinforcement and the crown reinforcement, having manifest oversize in the regions of the edges of crown plies, will also have to be rendered conductive if it is not initially so.
A first solution for obtaining a conductive tread consists in coextruding the inner and outer parts of the tread, and providing the assembly thus formed with a conductive circumferential insert. Said solution is not satisfactory for several reasons; two of these may be mentioned: in the type of tire in question, the total thickness of the tread is too great; furthermore, it may be advantageous for the conductive inserts, of the inner and outer layers of the tread respectively, not to be made with the same quality of rubber mix.
Another solution, as described in French Application No. FR 97/02276 by the Applicant, consists in providing the electrical connection between two layers which are or have been rendered conductive, separated by a non-conductive layer, by at least one strip of rubber mix of low thickness, width and length, laid between the two faces of the weld of the non-conductive layer and in contact with the means which render conductive the two layers connected by the connection. Although industrially satisfactory, said method requires additional laying of product and involves additional production costs.
A third solution consists in providing each non-conductive part with a circumferential insert having a circular rectilinear trace or circular striping after extrusion of said part by conventional extrusion means, and then joining the two products together before laying them on the crown reinforcement. To the extent that the striping is generally very fine in order not to upset the physical properties of the compositions constituting the two parts of the tread, the thickness of these inserts, on the tire viewed in cross-section, being of the order of 0.01 to 2.0 mm, such a solution requires the trace of the striping of the outer part of the tread on the contact wall between the two parts to be perfectly aligned with or centered on the trace on said wall of the striping of the inner part of the same tread.
Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the rubber compositions before vulcanizations are very poor, and the uncured rubber mix may be in the form of an extremely soft paste, or conversely an extremely hard agglomerate. Whatever the manner of working such mixes, it is difficult perfectly to control the geometry of the semi-finished product, the assembly of the two non-vulcanized parts of the tread: the concordance and alignment between the respective traces of the two sets of striping on the contact wall between the two parts cause great development difficulties, the solution of two sets of circular striping being unable to be considered as structurally optimized and industrially viable, both from the point of view of cost and of the performance obtained.
Thus although one of the aims of the invention is, in a tire having a plurality of non-electrically conductive mixes, to dissipate the electrostatic charges induced by the travel of the tire, without significantly affecting the level of the properties of the tire, the other aim is to be able to obtain a tire as simply as possible and at lower cost, be these material costs and/or manufacturing costs.

Electrically conductive tire and apparatus and process for extruding elements which have been made conductive

Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin-Michelin & CIE


A display device with reduced power consumption has pixels coupled with data lines and arranged in a matrix, a signal controller processing input image signals and outputting output image signals, and a data driver applying data voltages, corresponding to output image signals, to the data lines. When all the input image signals have either a first or second value, the output image signals have the first value. The signal controller generates a polarity signal for determining data voltage polarity, and when all the input image signals have either a first or second value, data voltages corresponding to the input image signals have a polarity equivalent to a polarity of previously applied data voltages. The signal controller generates a control signal for controlling the data driver's clock synchronization circuit, and the control signal halts the clock synchronization circuit when an operating frequency is lower than a predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to an active matrix display device with reduced power consumption.
2. Discussion of the Background
Flat panel displays such as plasma display panels (PDP), liquid crystal displays (LCD), and organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays have recently been used as a substitute for traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) displays.
Of the various types of flat panel displays, an active matrix display device, such as an LCD or an OLED display, may include a panel having a plurality of pixels. The panel may also include switching elements, such as thin film transistors (TFTs), and a plurality of signal lines, such as gate lines and data lines, connected to the switching elements. The active matrix display device may also include a gate driver that applies gate signals to the gate lines for turning the switching elements on and off, a data driver that converts image data into data signals and applies the data signals to the data lines, and a signal controller that supplies the image data to the data driver and controls the gate driver and the data driver.
Recently, the image data supplied from the signal controller to the data driver has been transmitted in a current representation scheme rather than a voltage representation scheme. The current representation scheme may use "0" in a bit of digital image data to represent a first current value I and "1" in a bit of digital image data to represent a second current value 3I, which may be equal to three times the first current value.
In addition, a point-to-point cascading interface, which is often referred to as a wise bus, between the signal controller and the data driver may be incorporated to reduce power consumption.
However, in a portable display device, such as a notebook computer, there may be a need to further reduced power consumption.


Fluorovinyl ether polymers consisting essentially of 60 to 99.9 mole percent of monomeric units --CF.sub.2 CFY-- and 0.1 to 40 mole percent of the structural units ##STR1## wherein Y is F, H, Cl, Br, R.sub.f or OR.sub.f, R.sub.f is perfluoroalkyl, R is alkyl, Q is F or OR, and m is 0 or 1, are prepared by contacting a fluoropolymer of the formula (CF.sub.2 CFY).sub.x wherein at least 1% of the Y's are reactive sites selected from the group consisting of H, Cl and Br, with an alkali or alkaline earth metal alkoxide.. Electrolytic cell diaphragms are prepared by forming the above fluorovinyl ether polymer and fibrous material into a diaphragm, heating the diaphragm thereby converting alkyl ether groups to carbonyl groups, and treating with an alkali metal hydroxide thereby converting carbonyl groups to carboxylate ion groups.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,720 to Korach et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,721 to Darlington disclose copolymers having the general formula ##STR2## wherein R is selected from a group which includes ##STR3## where p is 1-3, Y is --F or a perfluoroalkyl group of 1-10 carbon atoms, .phi. is aryl, and A is a group bearing acid functionality selected from: --SO.sub.3 H, --CF.sub.2 SO.sub.3 H, --CCl.sub.2 SO.sub.3 H, --.phi.'SO.sub.3 H, --PO.sub.3 H.sub.2, --PO.sub.2 H.sub.2, --COOH and .phi.'OH. The copolymers are used as components of fluorocarbon resin-containing asbestos diaphragms for chlor-alkali electrolysis cells.
In Jour. Am. Chem. Soc., 79, p. 1741-1744 (1957) Koshar et al. disclose the preparation of unsaturated, nonpolymeric fluoroethers by base-catalyzed addition of alkanols to fluorinated olefins, e.g., ##STR4##
In Jour. Am. Chem. Soc., 78, p. 1685-1686 (1956) Park et al. disclose the preparation of unsaturated, nonpolymeric haloethers by base-catalyzed addition of alkanols to perhalogenated olefins, e.g., ##STR5## where X is F or Cl.
In Org. Synthesis, 34, pp. 16-18 (1954) Englund discloses that the treatment of non-polymeric halogenated olefins with alcoholic bases leads to saturated ethers, e.g., ##STR6##
In Jour. Am. Chem. Soc., 72, pp. 1860-1861 (1950) Young et al. disclose that saturated ethers can be prepared by reaction of chlorotetrafluoroethane with sodium ethoxide, ##STR7##


A multi-rotor compressor and method of manufacturing is provided. The compressor includes a housing with a plurality of identical planet rotors. The planet rotors are equally spaced apart at a fixed distance from a centerline. A single sun rotor is provided that is disposed to cooperate with the plurality of identical planet rotors in the compression of gas. The number and radial spacing of the plurality of identical planet rotors about said single sun rotor may be arranged in different configurations to change an output capacity parameter for said compressor.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a multi-rotor helical compressor. In particular, the subject matter disclosed herein relates to a multi-rotor compressor that is configurable to receive interchangeable planet rotors to provide manufacturing flexibility in assembling compressors having different capacities.
Screw type compressors are a type of compressor used for the compression of gases such as air or refrigerant. In general, the screw compressor rotates one or more rotors having a helical shape within a cavity. As the gas enters the inlet of the cavity, the gas is drawn by the rotating helical shape and compressed by the reduction in the cavity volume. The compressed gas is then discharged through the outlet of the compressor.
One type of compressor, typically referred to as a twin-screw compressor comprises a pair parallel interacting rotors. The rotors are connected by a gear arrangement coupled to a driving motor. The rotors are comprised of helical lobes affixed to a front and rear shaft. One rotor is called the male rotor and the other rotor is the female rotor. The male rotor has bulbous lobes that interact with valleys formed in the female rotor. The valleys are sized to match the curvature of the male lobes. In a typical twin screw compressor, the female rotor will have five valleys and the male rotor has three lobes. With this combination, the male rotor turns 1.66 times to every one time of the female rotor. It should be appreciated that the number of lobes on the male and female rotor will vary from one compressor manufacturer to another. However, the female rotor will typically have numerically more valleys than the male rotor has lobes.
Another type of multi-rotor compressor utilizes a center or "sun" rotor that interacts with two or more parallel "planet" rotors. As with the twin screw compressor, the multi-rotor compressor has both male and female rotors. Systems have been proposed with the sun rotor being either the male or the female rotor. Where the sun rotor is the male rotor, the corresponding planet rotors have a female profile and vise versa. During operation, the compressor motor only drives the sun rotor. The planet rotors are driven by the rotation of the sun rotor through the working fluid or gas being compressed.
Both the sun rotor and the planet rotors are enclosed within a housing. The housing typically includes bores that are formed in a casing to receive the shafts for the sun rotor and planet rotor. The bores provide an axis of rotation for the rotors. While this arrangement works suitably, each compressor size, in terms of output, requires a new design with a different configuration or rotors, rotor lobes, rotor valleys and the like.
While existing multi-rotor compressors are suitable for their intended purposes, there still remains a need for improvements particularly regarding the scalability of the compressor while improving manufacturability of the multi-rotor compressors to minimize manufacturing and assembly costs.

Modular multi-rotor compressor and method of manufacture


A high speed, low power clocked driver circuit is provided. DC paths from voltage V.sub.DD to ground is eliminated by carefully clocking field effect transistors within the driver circuit. By using bootstrapping techniques, the output of the circuit approaches V.sub.DD. Two of the high speed, low power driver circuits are combined to drive a ratioless output circuit in order to provide an output buffer circuit having a TTL compatible output.

This application relates, in general, to buffer circuits and, more particularly, to low power, high speed buffer circuits for use, for example, in integrated circuit logic devices.
As the technology for producing large scale integration devices advances, logic designers who design devices such as microprocessors and microcomputers, have the capability of producing integrated circuit chips having ever increasing numbers of active devices such as MOS field effect transistors on a single piece of silicon. The increased number of devices on a chip is accomplished in part by reduction of device geometries so that the devices themselves are smaller. Large scale logic circuits must operate at relatively high speed to be economic and useful. High speed may be obtained by a number of methods, and having smaller device geometries contributes to high speed operation. High speed operation usually also implies, however, relatively high power consumption.
As more and more devices are fabricated on a single integrated circuit chip operating at high speed, power consumption requirements and power dissipation requirements become extremely important.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a buffer circuit used with microprocessors which is capable of fast response and high speed operation but yet dissipates substantially less power than previously used devices.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a clocked driver circuit which is high speed and consumes a low amount of power and is useful in a buffer circuit.

Driver circuit for use in an output buffer


An assembly includes a carrier including a glass material, including at least one recess, wherein at least one optoelectronic semiconductor component is arranged in the at least one recess of the carrier, and at least one surface of the semiconductor component connects to the carrier via a melted surface including glass.

DE 10 2014 100 584 A1 discloses a method of producing optoelectronic semiconductor components and an optoelectronic semiconductor component, wherein the optoelectronic semiconductor component is arranged on a glass carrier or in a recess of the glass carrier. The semiconductor component mechanically connects to the glass carrier via a filling medium comprising silicone, for example.
There is nonetheless a need for an improved assembly comprising a carrier comprising a glass material and an optoelectronic semiconductor component connected to the carrier and an improved method of producing an assembly comprising a carrier comprising a glass material and an optoelectronic semiconductor component.

Assembly including a carrier having a glass material and an optoelectronic semiconductor component


In a word processor for processing a Chinese character, a control symbol is generated for a Kanji conversion result of each Kanji conversion string, and the Kanji conversion string and its control symbol are displayed on a display device in a pair. When an amendment is required, a user enters a control symbol corresponding to a Kanji conversion string to be amended and a function key indicating the type of amendment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Kanji conversion result amending system (where Kanji is a Chinese character) for use in a word-processor capable of processing Kanji, and more specifically to a Kanji conversion result amending system for efficiently inputting through keys characters in a multiple-word conversion method. The characters can be efficiently input by reducing the number of key presses required for a correct sentence.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, information processing devices for processing 2-byte characters in Japanese, Chinese, etc. have become popular and brought remarkable progress to information processing industries. Based on this background, is required a method of efficiently producing words containing 2-byte characters such as Kanji.
In conventional Japanese word-processors, phonetic characters are input to be converted into Kanji. That is, "*1" (kanji) is input followed by a conversion key for converting the input phonetic characters into corresponding Kanji. Hereinafter, the characters enclosed by a pair of parentheses indicate the pronunciation of the preceded Japanese word(s). Then, candidate Kanji such as "" (kanji) and "" (kanji) corresponding to the input phonetic characters are displayed on the screen. A desired Kanji is selected from among displayed Kanji group which are identically pronounced but have different meanings such as "" (kanji) and "" (kanji) by pressing the conversion key once or repeatedly to display the next candidate group or select one of a plurality of candidates.
On the other hand, there are some Kanji conversion methods such as a 1-word conversion method for converting input characters in word units, for example, "z,4 " (gijutsu) into "" (gijutsu); a two-word conversion method for converting input characters in two-word units, for example, "" (gijutsu wo) into "" (gijutsu wo); and a multiple-word conversion method for converting input characters in multiple-word units, for example, "" (gijutsu wo setsumei suru) into "" (gijutsu wo setsumei suru). Among these method, the multiple-word conversion method is the most popular at present.
Converted words need amendments frequently while being input through keys. Described below is a conventional amending operation performed during a multiple-word conversion process.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional Kanji conversion result amending method.
For example, a user first enters "" (jurainogijutsusetsumei) in phonetic characters and they are converted in a multiple-word unit. Then, the user inputs "" (no) between "" (gijutsu) and "" (setsumei). In FIG. 1, ".sub.-- " indicates the position of the cursor.
As shown in a) of FIG. 1, the user enters the phonetic characters "" (jurainogijutsusetsumei) followed by the conversion key. As a result, "" (juraino gijutsu setsumei) is obtained in a mixed form of Kanji and phonetic characters as shown in b) of FIG. 1. At this time, the cursor is preceded by "" (juraino gijutsu setsumei).
If the user wants to input "" (no) between "" (gijutsu) and "" (setsumei), he or she first presses the cancel key to return the cursor back to its initial position shown in c) of FIG. 1. Then, the user presses the tab key to position the cursor at the next word shown in d) of FIG. 1. Thus, "" (juraino) can be amended. Then the user presses the tab key again to position the cursor at the next word shown in e) of FIG. 1. Now, "" (gijutsu) can be amended.
Next, the user presses the cancel key to display the phonetic characters "" (gijutsu) shown in f) of FIG. 1. The cursor is positioned at "" (gi). Then, the user presses the cursor key to position the cursor at "" (setsu), presses the insert key to input "" (no) shown in g) of FIG. 1, presses the convert key to convert "" (gijutsuno) into Kanji shown in h) of FIG. 1, positions the cursor at the end of the processed words using the tab key shown in i) of FIG. 1 to end the amendment to the words.
In the above described conventional method, the delete, tab, cursor, and insert keys are pressed 9 times totally to insert "" (no) between "" (jurai) and "" (gijutsusetsumei) as shown in c) through i) in FIG. 1. Among the nine times of the key presses, four presses are required to specify amendment objects.
On the other hand, if "" (gijutsu) in "" (jurai no gijutsu setsumei) should be changed to "" (naiyo), then the insert key and the cursor key do not have to be pressed because "" (gijutsu) and "" (naiyo) are the same in the number of characters. Accordingly, there is no need to press the insert key and the cursor key, thereby reducing the total number of function key presses to seven. However, this is a case where a required amendment is very simple. Therefore, if the number of original pronunciation characters is different from that of the correction, then some function keys should be used a few more times.
However, in the conventional method, function keys and cursor positioning keys should be pressed many times to amend a Kanji conversion result, thereby increasing the number of key presses and taking a longer time for inputting data.
That is, when words are amended after they are converted into Kanji, function keys must be pressed a plurality of times to specify an amendment object. Then, the function keys and the cursor positioning key must be pressed a few times to enter amendments. Furthermore, the function keys should be pressed for a few more times to position the cursor at the next input position. Therefore, such a large number of key presses slows down the entire input process.

Kanji conversation result amending system


The chirp rate in a chirp Z-transform sonar beam former is varied as a function of range to form beams in the near field. The chirp rate may be varied with each range cell under examination or with each group of range cells.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention in general relates to the formation of sonar beams, and particularly to an arrangement utilizing CCD's and a SAW device for forming multiple beams in the near field for focusing purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The chirp Z-transform is a Fourier transform technique utilized in the sonar field for forming multiple beams in the far field. The technique is used in conjunction with an elongated multi-element transducer array wherein the output signals from the elements are provided to a charge coupled device (CCD). The CCD is read out at a certain rate and is mixed with a frequency chirp signal, that is, a signal whose frequency varies linearly with time. The resultant signal is then "de-chirped" in a convolver consisting of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) device, the output signal of which is detected, the detected signal constituting the multiple beam signals.
The apparatus is utilized for forming multiple beams in the far field. For many applications, however, it would be desirable to use such apparatus to focus in the near field for high resolution work. The present invention accomplishes this objective.

Sonar beam forming utilizing the chirp Z-transform


A stepping motor valve is provided for a refrigerator. The stepping motor valve includes a catching part and a valve body provided at an outer rim portion and a central portion of a bottom surface of a rotator of a stepping motor, respectively. A valve housing and a port support are installed below the stepping motor, and a protrusion is provided on a top surface of the port support. An input port and first and second output ports are provided penetrating through the port support and the protrusion, respectively. Meanwhile, a wire, which protrudes from the interior of the port support and is wrapped around the side surface of the protrusion, is bent at one end thereof in the form of a hook to form a stopper. The stopper formed out of the wire is prevented from being worn, thereby ensuring the operational reliability of the product.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stepping motor valve for a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a stopper structure of a stepping motor constituting a stepping motor valve.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, refrigerating apparatuses, such as refrigerators, air conditioners and kimchi refrigerators, control temperature therein by using refrigerants of high temperature and pressure that circulate in refrigerating cycles. Among the refrigerating apparatuses, a refrigerator will be described herein by way of example.
FIG. 1 shows a refrigerating cycle of a conventional refrigerator.
As shown in the figure, the refrigerating cycle comprises a compressor 11 for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser 13 for radiating heat contained in the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 11, and a dryer 15 installed at a rear end of the condenser 13 to remove moisture remaining in the refrigerant.
Further, refrigerant lines are provided between an outlet of the dryer 15 and inlets of a plurality of expansion valves 21 and 23 connected to the outlet. A three-way stepping motor valve 17 is also installed to connect a refrigerant line 19c on the side of the outlet of the dryer 15 to refrigerant lines 19a and 19b on the sides of the inlets of the expansion valves 21 and 23.
The stepping motor valve 17 is constructed to selectively open or close the refrigerant lines 19a and 19b connected to the expansion valves 21 and 23 under control of a microcomputer (not shown). That is, with the stepping motor valve 17, it is possible to open or close the refrigerant line 19a connected to the expansion valve 21, the refrigerant line 19b connected to the expansion valve 23, or both the refrigerant lines 19a and 19b, by selectively opening or closing the refrigerant lines 19a and 19b connected to the expansion valves 21 and 23, respectively, with respect to the inlets thereof connected to the dryer 15.
Evaporators 25 and 27 are connected to rear ends of the expansion devices 21 and 23, respectively. The evaporators 25 and 27 generate cold air for cooling foodstuffs stored in the refrigerator. Refrigerant lines connected to the rear ends of the evaporators 25 and 27 are connected to the compressor 11, so that the refrigerating cycle, which is composed of compressor 11→condenser 13→dryer 15→stepping motor valve 17→expansion devices 21 and 23→evaporators 25 and 27→compressor 11, is formed.
Therefore, in the case where there are the plurality of evaporators 25 and 27, it is possible to control supply of cold air according to the storage space of the refrigerator. That is, according to the operation for opening the stepping motor valve 17, it is possible to construct a refrigerating cycle composed of compressor 11→condenser 13→dryer 15→stepping motor valve 17→expansion device 21→evaporator 25→compressor 11, a refrigerating cycle composed of compressor 11→condenser 13→dryer 15→stepping motor valve 17→expansion device 23→evaporator 27→compressor 11, or a refrigerating cycle composed of compressor 11→condenser 13→dryer 15→stepping motor valve 17→expansion devices 21 and 23→evaporators 25 and 27→compressor 11.
In other words, the refrigerant line 19a connected to the stepping motor valve 17, the expansion valve 21 and the evaporator 25 are components for controlling cold air in a first storage space. The refrigerant line 19b connected to the stepping motor valve 17, the expansion valve 23 and the evaporator 27 are described as components for controlling cold air in a second storage space.
Meanwhile, FIG. 2 shows the structure of the stepping motor valve shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 shows a cross section taken along line A-A′ of FIG. 2.
As shown in these figures, the three-way stepping motor valve 17 has a stepping motor 30 comprising a stator 31 and a rotator 33. A portion of a rim of a bottom surface of the rotator 33 protrudes downward to form a catching part 34, and a valve body 35 is provided at a central portion of the bottom surface of the rotator 33.
An opening area 36 is formed at a portion of a bottom surface of the valve body and a closing area 37 is formed at the remaining portion thereof. The opening area 36 functions to open first and second output ports 47 and 49 to be described later, and the closing area 37 functions to close the first and second output ports 47 and 49.
Further, a valve housing 39 is provided below the stepping motor 30, and a port support 41 is installed within the valve housing 39. A top surface of the port support 41 is provided with a protrusion 43 of which a top surface comes into close contact with the bottom surface of the valve body 35, and an input port 45 is provided to penetrate the top surface of the port support 41. The first and second output ports 47 and 49 are provided to penetrate a portion of the top surface of the protrusion 43.
The input port 45 functions to supply the refrigerant into the valve housing 39, and the first and second output ports 47 and 49 function to discharge the refrigerant that has been supplied through the input port 45 into the valve housing 39. At this time, for example, the first and second output ports 47 and 49 can communicate with the refrigerant lines 19a and 19b shown in FIG. 1, respectively.
Meanwhile, a stopper 51 is formed at a portion of the top surface of the port support 41, which corresponds to the outside of the protrusion 43. The stopper 51 is made of a rubber material and functions to cause the microcomputer to sense the position of the rotator 33 at an initial control stage. That is, if a refrigerator is first operated after coming onto the market, the stepping motor valve 30 is controlled with respect to a position where one side of the catching part 34 comes into contact with one side of the stopper 51 as the rotator 33 rotates in one direction.
Reference numeral A1 that has not yet been described is a rotation axis about which the rotator 31 rotates.
However, the conventional stepping motor valve constructed as above has the following problem.
As described above, the stopper 51 is made of the rubber material, and the catching part 34 that comes into contact with the stopper 51 for the purpose of the initial control of the stepping motor valve 30 is formed integrally with the rotator 33 made of a relatively rigid material such as a magnet. Thus, if the catching part 34 collides against the stopper 51 many times due to frequent initial control operations of the stepping motor 30 or deviations in its operation, the stopper 51 may be worn, resulting in malfunction of the stepping motor 30.


A power switch device includes a switch which is configured to switch a load signal between an on state and an off state. A first terminal and a second terminal of the power switch device are configured to provide a supply voltage to the power switch device. The second terminal is further configured to provide a control signal to the power switch device. The control signal is generated by disconnecting the second terminal from an external voltage source. A storage circuit of the power switch device is configured to capacitively store a status of the supply voltage. A control circuit of the power switch device is configured to control operation of the power switch device depending on the stored status of the supply voltage.

For various kinds of applications, it is known to utilize power switch devices. For example in the automotive field, power switch devices may be utilized for switching signals with large value of electric current, e.g., in the range of 1 A or more.
For various reasons, it is desirable to build such power devices as a semiconductor device package with a low pin count. A low pin count may help to achieve good thermal and electrical performance while maintaining low production costs. One way to limit the pin count is to omit a dedicated ground pin and implement the power switch device as a current controlled device. In such current controlled device, switching to an on state, where a load current can pass through the power switch device, is achieved by externally connecting a control input pin of the power switch device to ground. In this state, the control input pin also acts as a ground connection of the power switch device. Switching to an off state, where the load current cannot pass through the power switch device, is achieved by disconnecting the control input pin from ground, which at the same time leaves the power switch device without supply voltage.
However, the above way of using a current controlled implementation without a dedicated ground pin may have the effect that the power switch device might not be able to distinguish between intentional switching to the off state and sudden drops of the supply voltage, for example due to short-circuiting of a load connected to the power switch device. This may limit operability and functionality of the power switch device.
Accordingly there is a need for techniques which allow for efficiently operating a power switch device without requiring excessive amounts of terminals on the power switch device.

Power switch control by supply voltage terminal


The present invention relates to a wind turbine comprising a nacelle (1) installed on a tower (2) supported by a floating support. The nacelle is articulated with respect to the tower in a vertical plane, and it comprises means (12, 16) for correcting the nacelle tilt, means for automatically adjusting the correction means in accordance with sensors detecting the correction values, the adjustment means being synchronous with the movements of the floating support.

In the case of a standard wind turbine, the nacelle can carry three blades (approximately 60 m in length for example) fastened to a rotor that drives, through the agency of a gear reducer, an electric generator and accessories such as the blade orientation system, electric transformers, a hydraulic system, the ventilation. The structure of the nacelle rests on a slewing ring itself supported by the tower.
The nacelle is permanently oriented on the azimuth axis so that the rotation plane of the blades faces the wind. The nacelle is therefore mobile in rotation with respect to the axis of the tower, by means of one (or more) motor-driven gears cooperating with a ring gear. The overall weight of a nacelle can be of the order of 200 to 300 tons.
The tower supporting the nacelle, approximately 100 m in height, rests on a floating support held in position and substantially stabilized by tendons in case of water depths greater than 100 m.
The nacelle of the wind turbine undergoes many forces and stresses related to the wind speed, which results in a thrust on the blades supported by a thrust bearing whose mobile part is secured to the rotor shaft.
The value of this thrust power, or axial force, oriented in the wind direction, depends on the angle (pitch) of each blade with respect to the wind direction.
In the case of a wind turbine on a floating support, the floating support undergoes various forces due to the combined effects of the wind, the waves, the ocean currents, the tendons, the effects of the tower on the floating support, its tilt and flexion by the applied forces due to the wind and the nacelle.
The "wind turbine on floating support" system undergoes a set of complex forces acting in different directions, having different values, static, periodic, aperiodic. These forces, linked and interdependent, result from the effects of the wind on the blades and the nacelle, the tower, the floating support, the tendons and from the effects of the wind, the waves and the currents on this floating support.
It is the wind direction that imposes the direction of the axial force applied onto the rotor since the rotation plane of the blades must be permanently oriented perpendicular to the wind direction in order to obtain maximum wind energy absorption for a higher efficiency.
The wind direction in space can be defined by two angles:—the tilt angle of the wind direction with respect to the horizontal plane taken as the reference and—the azimuth angle formed, in the same horizontal plane, by the wind direction with the direction of the Earth's magnetic field taken as the reference.
The conventional wind turbines currently used onshore or offshore on a fixed or floating support comprise a nacelle rotationally mobile about the tower axis that can be oriented on the azimuth axis. However, no wind turbine comprises active means for controlling the nacelle tilt with respect to the horizontal reference depending on the periodic displacements due to the buoyancy of the support, or on the wind direction variations.

Floating offshore wind turbine comprising an active nacelle tilt stabilization system

Abstract: Figure 4 to be published.


An autonomous driving device including: vehicle side surroundings information detecting sensors; a left-right pair of extensions provided to a towing device, the extensions extending further to a vehicle width direction outside than a vehicle width direction outside end portion of the towed vehicle; a left-right pair of device side surroundings information detecting sensors, the device side surroundings information detecting sensors being respectively provided to the left-right pair of extensions and detecting surroundings information; and a control device controlling travelling of the autonomous vehicle based on detection results of the vehicle side surroundings information detecting sensors, and, in cases in which the device side surroundings information detecting sensors are electrically connected to the control device, controlling travelling of the autonomous vehicle based on the surroundings information detected by the device side surroundings information detecting sensors in addition to surroundings information detected by the vehicle side surroundings information detecting sensors.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to an autonomous driving device.
Related Art
US2010/0020306 describes technology related to a high definition LiDAR system that monitors in all directions, provided on a roof panel of a vehicle.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2002-331970 describes technology related to a towing device including a left-right pair of fixing members having a separation that corresponds to the width of left-right fixing members of a towing vehicle, a cross member that spans across the left-right pair of fixing members, and a hitching member to which a coupling member stretching forward from the trailer is swingably coupled. This related technology configures an attachment section for the cross member, the hitching member, and a base integrally formed to a connector that detachably couples together an electric cable at the towing vehicle side and an electric cable at the trailer side, and the base is attached to the cross member by a fixing device.
Here, in cases in which a towed vehicle is towed by a travelling autonomous vehicle whose travel is controlled based on surroundings information detected by a surroundings information detecting sensor, it is sometimes necessary to suspend the autonomous driving functionality entirely, or in part, due to the amount of surroundings information being insufficient.
For example, the amount of surroundings information regarding the vehicle rear side is insufficient when part of the detection range at the vehicle rear side of the surroundings information detecting sensor is obstructed by the towed vehicle. It is therefore necessary to suspend the autonomous driving functionality entirely, or in part, when towing.


A networking system may include a traffic generator. The traffic generator may include a scripting module configured to create a script. The traffic generator may execute the script to send and/or receive network messages within the networking system, which may help test one or more components of the networking system. The script may include one or more entries. An entry may be configured to instruct the traffic generator to send one or more network messages.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to generating network messages and in particular to customizing protocol handshaking.
2. Background Technology
Transferring data is a common function performed by computers and between computers in a network. To achieve the transfer of data, the communicating computers or devices typically follow some type of protocol. One of the protocols used in computers today is Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA). SATA is a serial protocol that enables the rapid transfer of data using thinner cables. SATA is often frequently used, for example, to transfer data to a disk drive and/or from a disk drive.
In order for devices to communicate using a protocol, it is desirable to ensure that the devices comply with most the requirements of the protocol. In fact, when a host is communicating with a device, successful communication typically only occurs when both the host and the device comply with the requirements of the protocol. There are many situations where is it useful to examine how a device responds to a protocol or to monitor a bus to determine what is being transmitted as the host and device communicate using the protocol. In other words, it is often useful to test the protocol itself as well as how the host and/or device respond to the protocol.
One device used to perform such testing is a traffic generator. Traffic generators may be configured to perform different scenarios, typically emulating a host or a device. For example, the traffic generator may be configured to generate traffic (such as, packets, primitives or other network messages), insert the traffic into a data stream, and monitor how the recipient responds to the generated traffic.
In performing these different scenarios, it may be desirable for the traffic generator to comply with a particular protocol in some instances and not comply with the protocol in other instances. For example, it may be desirable for the traffic generator to comply with a particular protocol when testing how well a recipient responds to protocol-compliant traffic. Also, for example, it may be desirable for the traffic generator not to comply with a particular protocol to discover how a recipient responds to non-compliant traffic.
However, ensuring that the traffic generator complies with a protocol, when desired, may be difficult. In particular, traffic generators may use scripts to perform different scenarios, and the time required to process such scripts may make it difficult to comply with the protocol. For example, the traffic generator may not be able to process the script fast enough to comply with the protocol. In addition, creating the scripts may be a time consuming process for a user of the traffic generator.

Systems and methods for generating network messages


A perpendicular magnetic recording medium 10 adapted to be mounted in a perpendicular magnetic recording type hard disk drive and including a disk-shaped disk base 12, a soft magnetic layer 14 formed on the disk base 12, and a perpendicular magnetic recording layer 16 formed on the soft magnetic layer 14, wherein, at respective portions of the soft magnetic layer 14, directional distribution of easy magnetization axes of magnetic particles included In each of the respective portions is isotropic with respect to respective directions in the main surface of the soft magnetic layer 14.

This invention relates to a perpendicular magnetic recording medium adapted to be mounted in a perpendicular magnetic recording type hard disk drive.
The information-oriented society in recent years has continued the rapid advance and the information recording capacity exceeding 80 Gbytes has been required per 2.5-inch magnetic disk in magnetic recording apparatuses represented by HDDs (hard disk drives). In order to satisfy such a requirement in the magnetic disk, it is necessary to realize an information recording density exceeding 133 Gbits per inch2 (133 Gbits/inch2).
Since high recording resolution can be obtained, the perpendicular magnetic recording system composed of a perpendicular two-layer medium having a soft magnetic layer and a single-pole head has been studied and developed as a next-generation high-density recording system.
In such a perpendicular magnetic recording system, it has been an aim to reduce noise caused by the soft magnetic layer. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. S61-5428 (Patent Document 1), determining that noise is mainly caused by a soft magnetic layer, the directions of domain walls and easy magnetization axes of the soft magnetic layer are aligned with the recording track direction, thereby improving S/N, Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2003-187413 (Patent Document 2) describes that domain walls are formed due to the thickness of a soft magnetic backing layer and spike noise caused by reading, with a head, leakage magnetic flux from the domain walls is a problem to be solved. This Patent Document 2 discloses a perpendicular magnetic recording medium that can easily orient easy magnetization axes of the soft magnetic layer (soft magnetic backing layer) in a certain direction, which has conventionally been carried out, so as to eliminate the domain walls that cause the spike noise. That is, a ferromagnetic layer is formed on a substrate using a material in which easy magnetization axes are oriented in the radial or circumferential direction and, further, an antiferromagnetic layer is formed between the ferromagnetic layer and the soft magnetic layer. It is described that this makes it possible to give a radial magnetic anisotropy to the soft magnetic backing layer without applying thereto a heat treatment in a magnetic field or a treatment during magnetization.
Not only in the techniques of the foregoing Patent Documents 1 and 2, but in magnetic recording media having a soft magnetic layer, it has been the aim to reduce noise caused by the soft magnetic layer and it has been an established theory (common sense) that, in order to achieve the aim, easy magnetization axes of the soft magnetic layer should be aligned in a fixed direction. Particularly, in the case of a substrate like a magnetic disk, it has been believed that aligning easy magnetization axes of a soft magnetic layer radially in radial directions from the center of the substrate is the most desirable state for preventing generation of spike noise caused by domain walls of the soft magnetic layer. This is because if a domain wall, i.e. a region where magnetization is inverted, exists in the circumferential direction, a reproducing head detects this inversion of magnetization upon passing through this region, which becomes spike noise. On the other hand, even if a region, where magnetization is inverted, exists in the radial direction, since this differs from the detection direction of the reproducing head by 90 degrees, the head cannot detect it and thus no noise is caused. Therefore, it has been considered best to align the easy magnetization axes of the soft magnetic layer radially in the radial directions from the center of the substrate.
As described above, in the magnetic disk, the magnetic anisotropy is provided radially in order to reduce noise such as spike noise caused by the soft magnetic layer. In order to provide such a magnetic anisotropy, a process is provided wherein, in the state where the substrate is heated after the formation of the soft magnetic layer, the directions of easy magnetization axes are aligned in the radial directions while applying external magnetization in point symmetry with respect to the center of the substrate, a complicated process such as a heat treatment or application of a bias is carried out, or additional layers are formed for aligning the directions of easy magnetization axes like in the technique described in Patent Document 2. Therefore, since process chambers and mechanisms should be prepared for heating the substrate and applying the particular magnetic field and a lot of time is required, there arise problems such as a reduction in productivity/an increase in cost. Particularly, when soft magnetic layers are simultaneously formed with respect to a plurality of small-diameter substrates (disk bases), control of the magnetic field becomes complicated and hence the problems of reduction in productivity/increase in cost are made greater.

Magnetic recording medium having soft magnetic layer and perpendicular magnetic recording layer


A gettering treatment process comprises the step of irradiating an ultraviolet light onto an insulating layer (a silicon oxide thin layer formed by thermally oxidizing silicon), in a chlorine-containing gas atmosphere. The ultraviolet light excites and dissociates the chlorine-containing gas thereby to generate chlorine radicals which uniformly penetrate the insulating layer, and serve to trap metal impurities within the silicon oxide thin layer.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gettering treatment process for an insulating layer (e.g., a silicon oxide thin layer) of a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a gettering process for removing harmful impurities, such as mobile ions and heavy metals, by trapping (capturing) these impurities in a silicon oxide layer (e.g., gate oxide layer) formed by thermally oxidizing silicon (e.g., a silicon substrate).


A diagnostic tool sends a request format designating a virtual address, which is different from a real address for an EEPROM. When a microcomputer determines that an address designated by the received request format is a virtual address assigned to the EEPROM, the microcomputer executes a process, which is designated by the received request format, with respect to the virtual address assigned to the EEPROM.

[Patent document 1]: JP-2009-519171 A (US 2009/0030570 A1)
[Nonpatent document 1]: ISO 14229-1 (UDS)
There is conventionally proposed a method for connecting a diagnostic tool to a computer which controls movement of a vehicle, and diagnosing an operation failure (for example, refer to Patent document 1).
Further, there is an apparatus which connects the diagnostic tool to the computer that controls movement of the vehicle and diagnoses an operation failure. Such an apparatus is compliant with a predetermined telecommunications standard like Nonpatent document 1 and achieves communication between the diagnostic tool and the computer that controls movement of the vehicle. Furthermore, the apparatus follows a request format stipulated in the predetermined telecommunications standard to be able to perform read-out or writing of data from the diagnostic tool to a storage media (for example, a built-in storage media such as RAM and ROM, also referred to a stipulated storage media) of the computer that controls movement of the vehicle.
In this apparatus, an address area of the stipulated storage media is naturally assigned with real addresses; thereby, the read-out of data from or the writing of data to the stipulated storage media can be enabled by using the request format that is stipulated in the predetermined telecommunications standard while designating a real address of a stipulated storage media. In contrast, there is a storage media whose address area has a real address that is not defined as being enabled to accept read-out or the writing of data using a request format that is stipulated in the predetermined telecommunications standard. In other words, such a storage media (also referred to as a non-stipulated storage media) has naturally a real address; however, the real address of the non-stipulated storage media is not defined or stipulated in the predetermined telecommunications standard. Thus, the read-out of data and the writing of data with respect to that non-stipulated storage media cannot be executed.
For instance, much information useful for failure diagnoses is stored in non-stipulated storage media such as an EEPROM or flash memory connected to a microcomputer, and a memory device mounted in another ECU. However, the real addresses of these non-stipulated storage media are not defined or stipulated as a real address that can be designated by the request format stipulated in the predetermined telecommunications standard; thus, the read-out of data and the writing of data to those non-stipulated storage media other than the above stipulated storage media cannot be achieved under the predetermined telecommunications standard.
To that end, an interface device may be separately needed for accessing the non-stipulated storage media; further, another diagnostic tool may be needed to be connected to this interface to achieve the writing or read-out of the data with respect to the non-stipulated storage media.

Electronic apparatus with storage media having real address designated by stimulated request format and storage media having real address not designated by stimulated request format