An adhesive tape cutting device includes a body, a roll mounting shaft, a roller, and a tape-pressing member. The body has a small side wall and a large side wall. The roll mounting shaft is attached to the large side wall so that an adhesive tape roll can be sleeved on the shaft. The tape-pressing member is biased to press a free end portion of a tape on the tape roll against the roller, and is attached to a retaining plate, which is hinged to the large side wall and which is locked on the small side wall so as to confine the tape roll between the retaining plate and the large side wall. The retaining plate can be unlocked from the small side wall so as to move to an open position, where the tape roll can be removed from the roll mounting shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an adhesive tape cutting device, more particularly to an adhesive tape cutting device, which includes a retaining plate that is pivotable on a body between a closed position, where the retaining plate can be locked on the body so as to retain an adhesive tape roll on the body, and an open position, where the tape roll can be removed from the body.
2. Description of the Related Art
The improvement of this invention is directed to a conventional adhesive tape cutting device, which includes a body, a roll mounting shaft, a cutting blade, a roller, and a spring-loaded tape-pressing plate. The body has a large side wall, a small side wall that is parallel to the large side wall, and a connecting wall that interconnects the large and small side walls. The roll mounting shaft is attached to the large side wall so that an adhesive tape roll can be sleeved on the shaft. The cutting blade is fixed to the connecting wall. The roller is disposed rotatably between the large and small side walls. The tape-pressing plate is biased to press a free end portion of a tape on the tape roll against the roller, thereby facilitating applying and cutting of the tape. The aforesaid conventional adhesive tape cutting device has the following disadvantages:
(1) The adhesive tape roll is not retained on the shaft, thereby resulting in unintentional removal of the former from the latter.
(2) Because the tape-pressing plate always presses against the roller, it is difficult to insert the free end portion of the tape between the roller and the tape-pressing plate.
An object of this invention is to provide an adhesive tape cutting device with a retaining plate that can retain an adhesive tape roll on a body of the device.
Another object of this invention is to provide an adhesive tape cutting device with a tape-pressing member that can be removed from a roller so as to permit insertion of a free end portion of an adhesive tape between the roller and the tape-pressing member.
According to this invention, an adhesive tape cutting device includes a body, a roll mounting shaft, a roller, and a tape-pressing member. The body has a small side wall and a large side wall. The roll mounting shaft is attached to the large side wall so that an adhesive tape roll is sleeved on the roll mounting shaft. The tape-pressing member is biased to press a free end portion of a tape on the tape roll against the roller, and is attached to a retaining plate, which is hinged to the large side wall and which is locked on the small side wall so as to confine the tape roll between the retaining plate and the large side wall. The retaining plate can be unlocked from the small side wall so as to move to an open position, where the tape roll can be removed from the roll mounting shaft. As such, when the retaining plate is disposed at the open position, the tape-pressing member is spaced apart from the roller, thereby permitting insertion of the free end portion of the tape between the roller and the tape-pressing member.

Adhesive tape cutting device with a pivotable retaining plate for retaining a tape roll


The present invention relates to a process for preparing a cyclic ketone having from 7 to 16 carbon atoms, which comprises at least the steps                (a) oxidation of a composition (I) comprising at least one cyclic alkene which has from 7 to 16 carbon atoms and at least one C—C double bond by means of dinitrogen monoxide to give a composition (A),        (b) treatment of the composition (A) with at least one base to give a composition (B),        (c) hydrogenation of the composition (B) in the presence of at least one catalyst to give a composition (C),        (d) purification of the composition (C), comprising at least the steps                    (di) thermal treatment of the composition (C) with at least one acid or at least one catalyst comprising at least one transition metal,            (dii) further purification by a method selected from the group consisting of distillation, extraction and crystallization.

The present invention relates to a process for preparing a cyclic ketone having from 7 to 16 carbon atoms, which comprises at least the oxidation of a composition (I) comprising at least one cyclic alkene which has from 7 to 16 carbon atoms and at least one C—C double bond by means of dinitrogen monoxide to give a composition (A), treatment of the composition (A) with at least one base to give a composition (B), hydrogenation of the composition (B) in the presence of at least one catalyst to give a composition (C) and purification of the composition (C), comprising at least a thermal treatment of the composition (C) with at least one acid or at least one catalyst comprising at least one transition metal, and further purification by a method selected from the group consisting of distillation, extraction and crystallization.
The oxidation of an olefinic compound by means of dinitrogen monoxide to form an aldehyde or a ketone is described, for example, in GB 649,680 or the equivalent U.S. Pat. No. 2,636,898. In both documents, it is disclosed in general terms that the oxidation can in principle be carried out in the presence of a suitable oxidation catalyst. The more recent scientific articles by G. I. Panov et al., "Non-Catalytic Liquid Phase Oxidation of Olefines with Nitrous Oxide. 1. Oxidation of Cyclohexene to Cyclohexanone", React. Kinet. Catal. Left. Vol. 76, No. 2 (2002) pp. 401-405, and K. A. Dubkov et al., "Non-Catalytic Liquid Phase Oxidation of Olefines with Nitrous Oxide. 2. Oxidation of Cyclopentene to Cyclopentanone", React. Kinet. Catal. Left. Vol. 77, No. 1 (2002) pp. 197-205, likewise describe oxidations of olefinic compounds by means of dinitrogen monoxide. A scientific article "Liquid Phase Oxidation of Olefines with Nitrous Oxide to Carbonyl Compounds" by E. V. Starokon et al. in Adv. Synth. Catal. 2004, 346, 268-274, also reports a mechanistic study of the oxidation of olefins by means of dinitrogen monoxide in the liquid phase.
The synthesis of carbonyl compounds from olefins using dinitrogen monoxide is also described in various international patent applications. Thus, WO 03/078370 discloses a process for preparing carbonyl compounds from aliphatic olefins using dinitrogen monoxide. The reaction is carried out at temperatures in the range from 20 to 350° C. and pressures of from 0.01 to 100 atm. WO 03/078374 discloses a corresponding process for preparing cyclohexanone. According to WO 03/078372, cyclic ketones having from 4 to 5 carbon atoms are prepared. According to WO 03/078375, cyclic ketones are prepared from cyclic olefins having from 7 to 20 carbon atoms under these process conditions. WO 03/078371 discloses a process for preparing substituted ketones from substituted olefins. WO 04/000777 discloses a process for reacting diolefins and polyolefins with dinitrogen monoxide to form the corresponding carbonyl compounds.
WO 2005/030690 and WO 2005/030689 describe processes for preparing cyclododecanone, in which an oxidation by means of dinitrogen monoxide is carried out in one process step. WO 2005/030690 describes a process for preparing cyclododecanone by oxidation of 1,5,9-cyclododecatriene (CDT) by means of N2O to form cyclododeca-4,8-dienone and subsequent hydrogenation of cyclododeca-4,8-dienone to give cyclododecanone.
As an alternative, cyclododecanone, for example, is prepared, for example, by air oxidation of cyclododecane in the presence of boric acid to form cyclododecyl borate, hydrolysis of the borate to cyclododecanol and subsequent dehydrogenation of the cyclododecanol. Cyclododecane itself is obtained by complete hydrogenation of cyclododecatriene. A description of this industrial process for the synthesis of cyclododecanone may be found, inter alia, in T. Schiffer, G. Oenbrink, "Cyclododecanol, Cyclododecanon and Laurolactam" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 6th Edition, 2000, Electronic Release, Wiley VCH.
A further process starts out from the epoxidation of cyclododecatriene, with cyclododecanone being obtained from the epoxide after hydrogenation and rearrangement. Such a process is described, for example, in EP 1 018 498 A2.
DE 103 44 595 A and DE 103 44 594 A describe processes for preparing cyclododecanone, in which an oxidation by means of dinitrogen monoxide is carried out in one process step.
In all processes, the purity of the crude products without additional purification is not sufficient for some applications. Organic compounds having oxygen-comprising groups, in particular, are frequently still comprised in the products obtained in excessively large amounts.
In the oxidation of olefins by means of dinitrogen monoxide, it is possible for, for example, aidehydes to be formed as by-products, as described, for example, in Panov et al., Adv. Synth. Catal. (2004) 346, 268-274.
This is problematical insofar as cyclic ketones are required in high purity for various applications. Thus, for example, cyclododecanone is an important intermediate in the preparation of, for example, laurolactam, dodecanedicarboxylic acid and polyamides derived therefrom, for example Nylon 12 or Nylon 6.12. The impurities such as aidehydes comprised in the cyclic ketones can be removed only with difficulty by conventional purification methods such as distillation, extraction or recrystallization, since the functional groups and the number of carbon atoms are similar. For this reason, a very complicated purification, for example by multistage distillation or crystallization, is necessary in these cases. These purification methods are therefore complicated and costly.

Method for the production of cyclic ketones


A liquid filtration system according to the present invention comprises a bioreactor; a filter configured to filter liquid passing therethrough; a perfusion pump configured to move liquid between the bioreactor and the filter; a liquid line providing fluidic communication between the bioreactor, perfusion pump and filter; and a bleed outlet provided on the liquid line, the bleed outlet configured to provide means to remove liquid selectively from the system under the action of the perfusion pump. With the liquid filtration system according to the present invention, both the filtering and bleed functions may be performed under the action of a single pump, thereby significantly reducing the complexity and cost of the components required.

Systems for filtering liquids are well known in the art where they take many different forms with the typical function of separating, concentrating or removing constituent elements of a liquid, mixture or suspension. Such systems are employed in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to extract certain biological products such as proteins produced using cell cultures within a bioreactor.
In traditional fed-batch bioreactor systems, cells are cultured in batches whereby cells are inoculated into a fresh medium and the cells rapidly enter a growth phase during which they consume the medium nutrients and waste products accumulate in the culture in addition to the secreted protein of interest. After a certain period of time, the cells transition into a stationary phase followed by a decay phase as the cell culture is depleted. At the end of the run the protein is separated from the cell culture as a batch. An issue with such systems, particularly in the case of animal cell cultures, which typically have lower production rates, is the limited yields of the biological product of interest which may be achieved.
Perfusion bioreactors are a known alternative system in which the cells are kept in culture whilst replenishing the culture media, thereby allowing the maintenance of a high cell concentration over a longer period of time, providing a greater yield of the desired biological product. In order to maintain stable cell culture conditions, filtration is required for clarification, selective removal and concentration of certain constituents of the cell media such that the cell culture may be replenished with fresh media and spent media may be removed.
Typical filtration systems employed in perfusion bioreactors utilise a pump which moves cell culture liquid from a bioreactor through a filter wherein the filtrate, including waste or target products, is removed from the system and the retentate, including live cells, is returned to the bioreactor. Culture media nutrients may then be replenished by a separate system to maintain the cell culture in a steady, equilibrium state. Such prior art devices often employ tangential flow filtration, wherein the majority of the feed flow travels tangentially across the surface of the filter. This system provides a gentle filtration method which does not subject the delicate animal cells to significant forces which might damage the cells. Furthermore the tangential flow of liquid across the filter ensures that deposits in the filter, which might cause a blockage, are washed away during the filtration process, increasing the length of time over which the filtration system may be continually run. Such systems may be arranged such that flow of the liquid is in one direction around a loop, circulating from the bioreactor through the filter and returning to the bioreactor (which will be referred to under the general term "tangential flow filtration" or TFF). Alternatively an arrangement may be used in which only a single connection between the bioreactor and filter is used with the direction of flow alternating such that liquid travel from the bioreactor to the filter and returns to the bioreactor along the same line (referred to as "alternating tangential flow filtration" or ATF).
In such perfusion systems, once the desired cell density has been achieved in the bioreactor vessel, it may be desirable to prevent it rising any higher. In order to provide this function, prior art systems often employ means to reduce the cell density by bleeding cell culture out of the system periodically or at a defined flow rate. A flow rate can be chosen based on the growth rate to limit the cell density to a desired value. Bleeding is typically achieved using a dip tube through which cell culture is removed from the bioreactor under the action of a separate pump such as a peristaltic pump utilised solely for this purpose.
There are several drawbacks to this known bleed pump arrangement. In particular, the addition of a second pump to provide the bleed function increases the cost and complexity of the system. It also increases the degree of manual control required or the level and complexity of automation required to control the bleed function in addition to the usual filtering process. Furthermore, this arrangement requires an additional port in the bioreactor which increases the risk of contamination of the cell culture and increases the number of components which must be sterilised between uses.
There accordingly exists a need for a perfusion filtration system providing means to selectively remove cell culture in order to maintain a desired cell density which is inexpensive and straightforward to implement. It is further desirable for the system to reduce the possibility of contamination present in prior art systems and to reduce the complexity of automation and/or the required degree of manual intervention. It is also desirable to provide a simple bleed system which may be integrated in automated systems and may furthermore be employed in both ATF and TFF modes of operation with little or no adaption of the system.

Liquid filtration system with integrated bleed function

The Automation Partnership (Cambridge) Limited


An improved method for controlling a power relay of a microwave oven which is capable of reducing the generation of sparking which occurs when the contact points of the power relay are separated, by turning off the power relay at a time (2n-1) .pi.+3/4.pi.during the "+" cycle and at a time 2n.pi.+3/4.pi. during the "-" cycle in the voltage phase or the current phase, for separating the contact points when the flow of the current is decreased, thus extending the life span of the relay. The method includes judging whether the power relay was previously turned off during the "+" cycle of the power voltage or during the "-" cycle of the power voltage when a clock signal of 50 Hz/60 Hz is inputted, and turning off the power relay after an apex of the "+" or "-" cycle of the power voltage after delaying the output time of a relay driving signal for a predetermined time in accordance with the judgement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for controlling a power relay of a microwave oven, and particularly to an improved method for controlling a power relay of a microwave oven which is capable of preventing damage of a power relay contact point and extending the life span of the relay.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional power relay On/Off control apparatus for a microwave oven, which includes a power unit 10 for supplying power to connected elements, a microcomputer 1 for controlling the operation of the microwave oven in accordance with control signals inputted thereto, a reset unit 2 for initializing the microwave oven upon the initial application of power, a 50 Hz/60 Hz clock input unit 3 for supplying a clock signal having a frequency of 50 Hz/60 Hz to the microcomputer 1, a buzzer controller 4 for generating an alarm signal by outputting a control signal to the microcomputer 1 when the microwave oven is not operational, a door detector 5 for detecting whether the door of the microwave oven is open or closed, a power relay controller 6 for switching the power to a high voltage transformer in accordance with the control of the microwave oven 1 and for adjusting the output of a magnetos, a display controller 7 for displaying the operation state of the microwave oven in accordance with the control of the microcomputer 1, a key input detector 8 for detecting the state of a selection key which a user presses for selecting one among various kinds of cooking modes, and a main relay controller 9 for driving a load in accordance with the control of the microcomputer 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, the microcomputer 1 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11 for performing various control operations in accordance with input signals inputted thereto, a 50 Hz/60 Hz clock input detector 12 for detecting the clock signal of 50 Hz/60 Hz, which is inputted thereto from the clock input unit 3, in accordance with the control of the CPU 11 and for outputting a detection signal, a power relay On/Off controller 18 for outputting a relay driving signal to the power relay controller 6 in accordance with the detection state of the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock input detector 12 and for deciding whether or not to open or close the contact point of the power relay of the power relay controller 6 during the "+" cycle or the "-" cycle of the power voltage, a relay on/off signal generator 14 for generating a relay on/off signal in accordance with the control signal outputted from the CPU 11, a common controller 13 for controlling the operation of the relay on/off signal generator 14 in accordance with the output signals of the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock input detector 12 and the CPU(11), an inner register 15 for storing data outputted from the CPU 11, a random access memory (RAM) 16, and a read only memory (ROM) 17.
The power relay on/off controller 18, as shown in FIG. 3, includes a 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator 18a for generating a clock signal having a frequency of 50 Hz/60 Hz in accordance with the control of the CPU 11, an inverter I1 for inverting the output signal from the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator 18a, an inverter I2 for inverting the output signal from the relay on/off signal generator 14 of the microcomputer 1, an AND-gate A1 for ANDing the output signals of the inverter I1 and the inverter I2, a pulse generator 18b for generating a pulse signal in accordance with the output signal of the relay on/off signal generator 14 of the microcomputer 1, an AND-gate A2 for ANDing the output signal of the pulse generator 18b and the output signal of the inverter I1, an AND-gate A3 for ANDing the output signals of the pulse generator 18b and the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator 18a, an AND-gate A4 for ANDing the output signals of the inverter I1 and the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator 18a, a pulse generator 18c for generating a pulse signal in accordance with the output signal of the AND-gate A1, a flip-flop 18d for controlling opening/closing of the contact point of the relay during the "+" or "-" cycle of the power voltage, an AND-gate A5 for ANDing the output signal of the /Q output terminal of the flip-flop 18d and the output signal of the pulse generator 18c, an AND-gate A6 for ANDing the output signal of the /Q output terminal of the flip-flop 18d and the output signal of the AND-gate A2 and for applying the ANDed signal to the clock input of the flip-flop 18d, an AND-gate A7 for ANDing the signal of the Q output terminal of the flip-flop 18d and the output signal of the AND-gate A3, a pulse generator 18e for generating a pulse signal in accordance with the output signal of the AND-gate A4, an AND-gate A8 for ANDing the output signal of the pulse generator 18e and the signal of the Q output terminal of the flip-flop 18d, a relay off controller 18f for outputting a clock signal R in accordance with the output signals of the AND-gates A5 and A8, a relay On controller 18g for outputting a clock signal S in accordance with the output signals of the AND-gates A6 and A7, and a relay driving apparatus for receiving the output signals R and S from the relay On controller 18g and the relay Off controller 18f and for outputting the relay driving signal to the power relay controller 6.
The operation of the power relay of/off controller for a conventional microwave oven will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The clock signal of 50 Hz/60 Hz outputted from the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock input unit 3 is inputted into the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock input detector 12 of the microcomputer 1, and the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock input detector 12 detects the state of the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock in accordance with the control of the CPU 11, and applies the detected signal to the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator 18a of the power relay on/off controller 18.
In step ST1, the CPU 11 of the microcomputer 1 judges whether the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock signal is outputted from the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator 18a during the "+" or "-" cycle of the power voltage, and in step ST2, when the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock signal is outputted during the "+" cycle, it is judged whether a relay on flag stored in the RAM 16 is set. Here, the relay on flag is a predetermined data indicating whether the power relay is turned on or off.
As a result of the judgement, if the relay on flag is set, the CPU 11 judges whether the "+" cycle on flag is set in step ST3, and if the "+" cycle on flag is set, step ST4 is performed. Here, the "+" cycle on flag is stored in the RAM 16, and refers to the data indicating whether the power relay is on during the "+" or "-" cycle of the power voltage.
Namely, in step ST4, the relay on/off signal generator 14 outputs a high level signal in accordance with the control of the CPU 11, and controls the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator 18a to output a high level signal.
When the output of the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator is a high level, the AND-gates A1, A2, A5 and A6 output a low level signal, and the AND-gates A3 and A7 output a high level signal.
Therefore, the relay off/on control apparatuses 18f and 18g output control signals, respectively, and the relay driving apparatus 18h applies the relay driving signal to the power relay controller 6, and turns on the power relay.
The CPU 11 resets the "+" cycle on flag, and finishes the control process.
Meanwhile, if it is judged that the relay on flag is not set in step ST2, the CPU 11 judges whether the "+" cycle on flag is set in step ST5. As a result, if it is set, step ST6 is performed.
Namely, in step ST6, the relay on/off signal generator 14 outputs a low/high level signal in accordance with the control of the CPU 11. When the clock signal outputted from the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator 18a is a high level, the AND-gate A4 outputs a high level signal to the clock generator 18e, and the pulse generator 18e outputs a high level signal to the AND-gate A8.
The relay off/on controllers 18f and 18g output the control signals, respectively, and the relay driving apparatus 18h applies the relay driving signal to the power relay controller 6, and turns off the power relay.
Meanwhile, if the output signal from the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator 18a is a low level in step ST1, in step ST7, the CPU 11 judges whether the relay on flag is set. When the relay on flag is set, the CPU 11 performs step ST8.
Namely, in step ST8, it is judged whether the "+" cycle on flag is set. If it is set, the control process is finished. If it is not set, the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator 18a is enabled to output a low level signal. At this time, the on/off signal generator 14 outputs a high level signal.
In case that the output signal from the 50 Hz/60 Hz clock generator 18a is a low level, the AND-gates A3, A4, A7, and A8 output a low level signal, respectively, and the AND-gates A1, A2, and A6 output a high level signal, respectively.
Thereafter, as was described for step ST1, the power relay is turned on, and the CPU 11 sets the "+" cycle on flag.
If it is judged in step ST7 that the relay on flag is not set, the CPU (11) judges whether the "+" cycle on flag is set in step ST9. As a result, it is set, the control process is finished. If the "+" cycle on flag is not set, the relay on/off signal generator 14 outputs a low level signal in accordance with the control of the CPU 11, and a pulse signal is applied to the input of the AND-gate A5.
At this time, when the signal outputted through the Q output terminal Q of the flip-flop 18d is a high level, the relay off controller 18f is operated, and the power relay is turned off in accordance with the process of step ST6.
However, in the above-described conventional art, when the relay contact point of the power relay is opened at a predetermined point "A" (or "A'"), a spark is generated during the time from the point "A" (or "A'") to the point "C" (or "C'") even when the relay point is opened at the point "A" (or "A'"), and the current flows therethrough.
Since the spark generation time is lengthy, and a lot of current flows therein, the relay contact point may be damaged, and the life span of the relay is shortened.

Method for controlling power relay of microwave oven


A fuel supply system of an outboard motor for supplying a fuel stored in a fuel tank to an intake port of an engine includes: a vapor separator which is disposed on one of left and right sides of the engine in terms of a traveling direction of a hull and to whose upper portion a vapor vent pipe having a tip open to an atmosphere is connected; and an in-line high-pressure fuel pump which is connected to the vapor separator via a fuel pipe and to whose upper portion an air vent pipe passing a position higher than the fuel pipe is connected, wherein the vapor vent pipe includes a folded portion formed so as to extend toward the other side out of the left and right sides of the engine and thereafter return to the one side.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel supply system of an outboard motor for supplying a fuel stored in a fuel tank to an intake port of an engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
An outboard motor often used in a small craft is generally provided with a fuel supply system for supplying an intake port of an engine of the outboard motor with a fuel stored in a fuel tank provided on a hull side.
In this fuel supply system, a vapor separator for separating the fuel such as gasoline sucked up from the fuel tank by a low-pressure fuel pump into gas and liquid to release fuel vapor into the atmosphere, a fuel cooler for cooling the fuel having passed through the vapor separator by cooling water (seawater), a high-pressure fuel pump for pumping the fuel having passed through the fuel cooler, a pressure regulator for adjusting pressure of the fuel, an injector for injecting the fuel whose pressure has been adjusted by the pressure regulator to the intake port of the engine, and so on are generally provided.
As a conventional fuel supply system of this type, for example, one in which a high-pressure fuel pump and a pressure regulator are integrally provided in a case of a vapor separator and a water jacket (fuel cooler) for cooling the fuel is also provided in the case of the vapor separator, whereby a fuel system is simplified (for example, refer to Patent Document 1), and the like are publicly known.
However, in this fuel supply system, since the vapor separator and the high-pressure fuel pump are integrally provided, the size of the vapor separator becomes large for an outboard motor, which has a problem of difficulty in making the outboard motor compact.
Therefore, conventionally, a fuel supply system provided with what is called an in-line high-pressure fuel pump connected in the middle of a fuel pipe and also is provided with a vapor separator having an atmosphere open valve for vapor vent (for example, refer to Patent Document 2) and the like have been publicly known.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-218089
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-235627
However, generally adopting a structure in which an air vent pipe of the high-pressure fuel pump is returned to the vapor separator, the above-described conventional fuel supply system using the in-line high-pressure fuel pump has a problem that during the operation, the high-pressure fuel pump sucks the fuel inside the vapor separator through the air vent pipe, which is liable to disable the discharge of the air inside the high-pressure fuel pump.
Another problem is that the outboard motor, when detached from a stern board for maintenance or the like, is usually placed on a floor in a lying posture with its vapor separator side down, and at this time, the fuel is liable to leak from the vapor vent pipe or the like of the vapor separator.


A wrap-around style or end-loaded carton for enclosing articles such as cans in multiple rows is formed from a single blank of sheet material, and includes a three-ply top wall and an integrated composite handle that is centrally located so as to balance the load in the carton when the handle is raised to an upright position. The top wall includes an outer panel, and intermediate panel, and an inner top panel, each hingedly connected to another. The composite handle is struck from the outer panel and the intermediate panel and is liberated or partially detachable therefrom so as to be hingedly connected to the top wall, and rotatable to an upright position. When the handle is raised, at least a portion of each edge of the top wall is reinforced by at least one additional layer of carton material, and thus, is at least two plies thick.

It is common for the weight of articles enclosed in a typical carton to exceed the strength of the handle provided for carrying the cartons. This is particularly so when the handle is integral to the top wall of the carton and when the burst strength of the material comprising that top wall is insufficient to avoid failure of the handle and the top wall itself. One approach to resolving this quandary is to construct the carton from a stronger material or from a sheet of material that is relatively thicker. As cartons typically have six walls (top, sides, bottom, and ends) that are formed from a single sheet of material, and cost tends to increase according to the strength and thickness of material used to construct the carton walls, this approach is an expensive one because it effectively amounts to reinforcing all of the walls of the carton irrespective of the relative magnitude of the forces borne by each wall.
According to another approach, additional material is applied to or around the handle as needed to reinforce its connection to the top wall. For instance, a racetrack style handle aperture may be reinforced by outlining its edges with an additional layer of sheet material. However, it is preferable to eliminate the need for additional assembly by forming a carton from a single sheet of material rather than attaching additional components to the carton blank.
What is needed is a carton that is formed from a single blank, and which provides a reinforced top wall with an integrated handle, where the carton walls are efficiently constructed without wasting expensive material in carton walls that are less likely to fail.

Carton with upright handle and multi-ply reinforced top wall


A multiplex conversion unit is configured with the functions required for a specific network to which it is applicable more economically. Each OC-12IF circuit pack includes a switch for performing time slot assignment (TSA) between a plurality of high-speed transmission lines accommodated in the OC-12IF circuit pack and at least a low-speed transmission line accommodated in at least a DS3IF circuit pack. An ADM circuit pack includes a switch for performing time slot interchange (TSI) between the high-speed transmission lines and the low-speed transmission line. In an application to a network requiring the TSI function, the switch of the OC-12IF circuit pack performs only the add/drop multiplex (ADM) operation between the signals input/output by the high-speed transmission lines and the ADM circuit pack, and the switch on the ADM circuit pack performs the TSI operation. In an application not requiring the TSI, on the other hand, the TSA operation is performed by the switch of the OC-12IF circuit pack using a THRU circuit pack having a wiring connecting the OC-12IF circuit pack and a DS3IF circuit pack in place of the ADM circuit pack.

The present invention relates to a multiplex conversion unit for multiplexing and demultiplexing digital signals between a plurality of low-speed transmission paths and a plurality of high-speed transmission paths in a digital communication network.
The technique described in "Design of Digital Network Transmission Facilities" by Teranishi and Kitamura, The Denki Tsusin Kyokai, Aug. 10, 1984, is known as a conventional multiplex conversion unit for multiplexing and demultiplexing digital signals between a plurality of low-speed transmission paths and a plurality of high-speed transmission paths in a digital communication network.
FIG. 10 shows a configuration of a typical multiplex conversion unit.
As shown in FIG. 10, a multiplex conversion unit 40 comprises a plurality of low-speed interface sections 43 for interfacing with a plurality of low speed transmission paths 41, a high-speed interface section 45 for interfacing with a high-speed transmission path 42, and an add/drop multiplex (ADM) section 44 for multiplexing and demultiplexing between low-speed signals input/output by the low-speed interface sections 43 and the high-speed signals input/output by the high-speed interface section 45.
In recent years, various types of networks have been suggested including the point-to-point (or terminal MUX, hereinafter referred to as "TM"), add/drop chain (or linear ADM, hereinafter referred to as "LADM") and the "ring" using a plurality of multiplex conversion units.
In the case where a multiplex conversion unit of the same configuration is used for all types of networks, however, component parts (such as a switch) having functions not necessary for a given type of network may be incorporated in a multiplex conversion unit for an increased cost of the multiplex conversion unit.

Configuration method of multiplex conversion unit and multiplex conversion unit


An ultraviolet light absorber containing, as an active ingredient, a zinc oxide type solid solution which is represented by the formula (1),

The present invention relates to a novel ultraviolet light absorber, an ultraviolet light resistant resin composition containing the above ultraviolet light absorber and a sun block cosmetic material containing the above ultraviolet light absorber.
Organic high molecular weight compounds (to be sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9cresinxe2x80x9d hereinafter) such as plastics, lubbers and fibers are used in large quantity. When these organic high molecular weight compounds are exposed to a light, they are deteriorated in physical properties by ultraviolet light. Therefore, an ultraviolet light absorber is incorporated therein to impart ultraviolet light resistance. Further, a human skin also undergoes sunburn, pigmentation or cytoclasis by ultraviolet light, which induces light-irritable dermatitis or malignancy. Further, the occurrence of geroderma is also advanced. As a preventer for the above problems, a sun block cosmetic material containing an ultraviolet light absorber is commercially available.
The ultraviolet light absorber includes an organic compound-containing ultraviolet light absorber such as a benzotriazole-containing ultraviolet light absorber or a benzophenone-containing ultraviolet light absorber, and an inorganic compound-containing ultraviolet light absorber such as titanium oxide or zinc oxide. The organic compound-containing ultraviolet light absorber is excellent in transparency and also excellent in ultraviolet light absorption. The above type ultraviolet light absorber is therefore used as an ultraviolet light absorber in most cases and the usage thereof is large. In contrast, the inorganic compound-containing ultraviolet light absorber is poor in transparency and it is inferior to the organic compound-containing ultraviolet light absorber in terms of ultraviolet light absorption. The inorganic compound-containing ultraviolet light absorber has been unusually used as an ultraviolet light absorber. However, the inorganic compound-containing ultraviolet light absorber has high safety and it has attracted attention in recent years. Therefore, zinc oxide or titanium oxide having ultrafine particles is developed and transparency or ultraviolet light absorption is improved. As a result, the above zinc oxide or titanium oxide has come to be used mainly in a sun block cosmetic material in place of the organic compound-containing ultraviolet light absorber. Furthermore, recently, a zinc oxide type solid solution has been proposed as a novel ultraviolet light absorber.
In recent years, the standard of living and the average life expectancy are increased so that requirements for the safety of a product have been more and more increased. In other words, the term xe2x80x9csafetyxe2x80x9d refers to non-toxicity or low toxicity and no correspondence to environmental hormones. The safety of the ultraviolet light absorber is also required. It is pointed out that the above-described organic compound-containing ultraviolet light absorber has problems concerning toxicity or environmental hormones. On the other hand, the inorganic compound-containing ultraviolet light absorber is poor in transparency and has a problem of dispersibility in a resin while it is safe. Therefore, it is difficult to use the inorganic compound-containing ultraviolet light absorber in a resin.
A solar spectrum can be divided into the ultraviolet region (290-400 nm), the visible region (400-760 nm) and the near-infrared region ( greater than 760 nm). The ultraviolet region can be further divided into the UVA region, the UVB region and the UVC region. The UVB region is 290-320 nm and the UVB region is a region where the largest effect with regard to the sunburn of a skin is produced. The UVC region is 200-290. The ozone layer absorbs an ultraviolet light in the UVC region and no ultraviolet light in the UVC region reaches the earth""s surface. The UVA region is 320-400 nm. While the UVA region causes sunburn, its sunburn power is smaller than that of the UVB region. For example, the erythema causability of the UVA region is small so that no acute inflammation is caused. Conventionally, there has been therefore used a sun block agent intercepting an ultraviolet light in the UVB region. The use of such a sun block agent delays the occurrence of sunburn recognizable by visual observation, which results in exposure to the sunlight for a long time in many cases. Recently, it is come to be known that an ultraviolet light in the UVA region penetrates a skin and impairs the skin. That is, it is said that an ultraviolet light in the UVA region is the main cause of 30 to 40% of skin cancer. Further, it is also said that an ultraviolet light in the UVA region accelerates skin cancer by inhibiting an enzyme which cures cells impaired by a UVB radiation. Furthermore, it is also reported that an ultraviolet light in the UVA region penetrates a skin deeper than an ultraviolet light in the UVB region, causes a change in a blood vessel, causes an early aging of a skin and adds an additional deleterious effect to the deleterious effect of an ultraviolet light in the UVB region.
In recent years, there are developed fine particles of zinc oxide and titanium oxide and these fine particles of zinc oxide and titanium oxide are used in a sun block cosmetic material. However, the formation of fine particles intensifies cohesion and deteriorates dispersibility and in addition it causes poor extension and deteriorates usability. Further, light resistance is deteriorated by a photocatalyst activity. The formation of fine particles involves these new problems. Further, titanium oxide having ultrafine particles is still poor in transparency and additionally poor in the absorption in the UVA region. Zinc oxide having ultrafine particles has good transparency but it has a problem that the absorption in the UVB region is poor.
JP-A-8-337768 discloses a zinc oxide type solid solution which is represented by the formula (2),
(ZnyM2+z)1xe2x88x92xM3+xO1+x/2 xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
wherein M2+ is at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ca, Ni and Cu, M3+ is Al and/or Fe, and each of x, y and z respectively satisfies 0.2 less than xxe2x89xa60.4, (y+z)=1, and 0xe2x89xa6z less than =0.75,
and which has an aspect ratio of from 2 to 200 and an average secondary particle diameter of 5 xcexcm.
This solid solution has good transparency but it has poor absorption of an ultraviolet light, in particular an ultraviolet light in the UVA region.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultraviolet light absorber containing a zinc oxide type solid solution which ultraviolet light absorber absorbs ultraviolet lights in both the UVA region and the UVB region well, and is excellent in hydration resistance and an ultraviolet light resistant resin composition containing the above ultraviolet light absorber.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an ultraviolet light resistant resin composition suitable for providing a resin-containing packaging material for food or the like which packaging material can prevent deterioration of food or the like by ultraviolet light.
According to the present invention, there is provided an ultraviolet light absorber containing, as an active ingredient, a zinc oxide type solid solution which is represented by the formula (1),
(Zn)1xe2x88x92xM3+xxe2x88x92xcex4O xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
wherein M3+ is a trivalent metal such as Al, Fe, Ce or Ti, x is a number in the range of 0 less than xxe2x89xa60.2, preferably 0.05 less than x less than 0.2, particularly preferably 0.06xe2x89xa6xxe2x89xa60.18, and xcex4 is a cationic lattice defect,
and has an average secondary particle diameter of from 0.1 to 1.5 xcexcm, preferably 0.4 to 1.0 xcexcm, in a plate form and a BET specific surface area of from 5 to less than 20 m2/g or a BET specific surface area of at least 20 m2/g.
According to the present invention, there is further provided an ultraviolet light absorber according to the above, wherein the surface of the solid solution of the formula (1) is coated with at least one oxide selected from oxides of Fe, Ce and Ti.
According to the present invention, there is further provided an ultraviolet light resistant resin composition containing 100 parts by weight of a resin and 0.01 to 10 parts by weight of the zinc oxide type solid solution which is represented by the formula (1) and has an average secondary particle diameter of from 0.1 to 1.5 xcexcm, preferably from 0.4 to 1.0 xcexcm, in a plate form and a BET specific surface area of from 5 to less than 20 m2/g or a BET specific surface area of at least 20 m2/g.
According to the present invention, there is further provided a sun block cosmetic material containing, as an active ingredient, the above zinc oxide type solid solution which is represented by the formula (1) and has an average secondary particle diameter of from 0.1 to 1.5 xcexcm, preferably from 0.4 to 1.0 xcexcm, in a plate form and a BET specific surface area of from 5 to less than 20 m2/g or a BET specific surface area of at least 20 m2/g.

Abstract: wherein M3+ is a trivalent metal such as Al, Fe, Ce or Ti, x is a number in the range of 0 less than x less than =0.2, and xcex4 is a cationic lattice defect,

Abstract: and has an average secondary particle diameter of from 0.1 to 1.5 xcexcm in a plate form and a BET specific surface area of at least 5 m2/g,

Abstract: an ultraviolet light resistant resin composition containing a resin and the above zinc oxide type solid solution and a sun block cosmetic material containing the above zinc oxide type solid solution.


A device architecture with embedded planar conductive ground and power planes in the device architecture. The apparatus includes a first conductive plane, a second conductive plane, a signal plane disposed between the first and second conductive planes, and a logic level disposed adjacent the first conductive plane and connected to the signal plane through at least one via in the conductive plane. The apparatus also includes a built-in alignment scheme. The invention includes a method for making the device and alignment architectures.

Many circuits are designed with transistors, especially in the microprocessor and computer industry. Historically, the dominant performance design characteristics associated with transistor circuits were transistor switching speed and current drive. Now, however, performance design characteristics of transistor circuits focus on clean signal transmission over long distances and thereby on capacitance and resistance of wiring levels because circuit density is increasing in the logic chip.
As the circuit density in a chip increases, circuit wiring lines become closer and closer over the semiconductor (e.g., silicon) substrate. This may increase the capacitance and resistance between signal lines. Thus, noise may increase. One noise source is, for example, the instability of the ground plane relative to the power plane caused by switching. Another noise source is the interference between two signals caused by the impedance of neighboring wires. In addition, an increase in capacitance and resistance may cause some signal lines to mirror other signal lines. As a result, the performance of the logic chip is driven more and more by the signal loss associated with noise sources. Historically, noise containment and power and ground plane stabilization had been achieved for multilevel ceramic substrates whereby semiconductor devices placed on the ceramic substrate communicate with one another via interconnections provided on the ceramic substrates. With increasing circuit density, however, functions of many discrete devices are being integrated into a single semiconductor (e.g., silicon) substrate requiring improvements to contain circuit noise within a highly integrated semiconductor device.
To stabilize the power plane and the ground plane from noise induced by switching, the power plane and ground plane may be placed across the plates of a capacitor. This is commonly done when using a semiconductor substrate by placing the substrate at ground and the n-well of a transistor at a voltage level. In addition, decoupling capacitors are increasingly being added to designs to further stabilize power planes. A decoupling capacitor on a silicon substrate is usually made of a thin oxide insulator with a polysilicon plate to maximize the amount of capacitance per unit area. These structures detract, however, from the overall density of the chip. In addition, these structures are prone to defects and cause pattern density problems in the process.
As shown in FIG. 1, in some logic designs metal contacts 30 (of tungsten, for example), metal contacts 32 (a tungsten stud, for example), and metal levels 34 and 40 and via 41 are used locally for wiring circuits. A basic transistor circuit C1 includes "p" regions 20, "n" regions 22, gates 28, an n-well 26, and isolation regions 24. The transistor circuit C1 shown in FIG. 1 is merely an exemplary circuit. Other circuits are feasible which incorporate the present invention, discussed below. Metal levels 30 and 34 locally connect transistors within a circuit. Metal level 40 and metal level 50 (shown in FIG. 2a) are used to transport signals from one circuit to the next with metal level 40 running perpendicular to metal level 50 to maximize wirability. Insulators 80, 82, 84, and 86 are used to ensure only appropriate contact is made between conductive elements.
Although it is known that electromagnetic signal lines could be shielded with the incorporation of a conductor plane, the prior art fails to disclose a scheme to incorporate this idea in a semiconductor substrate. Such a scheme is described in detail in the current invention

Embedded power and ground plane structure

International Business Machines Corporation


A circuit arrangement includes a number of light emitting diodes emitting light of different colors arranged adjacent to each other for additive color mixing to provide a desired color. A temperature sensing circuit is configured to provide a temperature signal representing temperature(s) of the light emitting diodes. Current sources are configured to provide the light emitting diodes with respective load currents in accordance with corresponding control signals received by the current sources. First and second modulator units are configured to generate the control signals which are modulated such that a time average value of each control signal corresponds to the value of a corresponding input signal of the respective sigma-delta modulator. A calibration circuit is configured to provide the input signals dependent on a color signal defining the desired color and dependent on the temperature signal.

The brightness of light emitting diodes (LEDs) is directly dependent on the load current flowing through the diode. To vary the brightness of a LED it is known to use a controllable current source that is set to a current representing a desired brightness. In digitally controlled applications a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) may be used to set the current of the controllable current source.
Since the human eye cannot resolve high frequency brightness fluctuations of approximately 100 hertz or higher, it is known to supply the LED with a pulse width modulated (PWM) current of sufficient frequency. In this case the human eye low-pass filters the resulting pulse width modulated brightness of the LED, i.e., the eye can only sense a mean brightness that depends on the mean LED current which is proportional to the duty cycle of the pulse width modulation. Consequently only the mean current through a LED is relevant to the brightness perceived by the human eye.
It is known to combine light of different colors (e.g., red, green and blue) each having variable brightness to generate nearly any color sensation in the visible spectrum of light. In modern illumination systems or displays a combination of at least three LEDs of different colors are used to provide a multi-color illumination. The LED-triples may be arranged in a matrix-like structure thus forming a display where each "pixel" of the display is represented by a LED-triple typically comprising a red, a green and a blue LED. To vary the color of a pixel, the brightness of the different LEDs has to be individually adjustable. Each of the three LEDs may therefore be driven by a pulse-width modulated current signal of a sufficient high frequency, for example 400 hertz.
However, the resolution requirements are quite high for modern illumination systems or displays. That is, the brightness of a single LED should be adjustable to at least 4,096 different brightness values which corresponds to a brightness resolution of 12 Bit. When using pulse width modulation for controlling the brightness, a time resolution of approximately 600 nanoseconds has to be provided in order to be able to resolve a PWM period of, for example, 2.5 milliseconds (corresponds to 400 hertz) with 12 bits. This entails the need for very fast switching currents with all the known problems coming therewith. Particularly, the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is low when switching currents with rise and fall times in the sub-microsecond range.
Further, the brightness of each individual LED is subject to a thermal drift which leads to a respective color drift in a multi-color application. Varying the current in response to a temperature variation to compensate for the effects of the temperature drift is not satisfying since the wavelength of the color of a single LED may vary in response to a changing LED current. Thus, a very complex brightness control would be necessary in multi-color LED systems since the color has to be corrected when changing the brightness of a three LED pixel.
Generally, there is a need for an alternative concept for driving LEDs and multi-color LED-arrangements, particularly for LED drivers that provide an improved color stability over a wide temperature rage.

LED driver with compensation of thermally induced color drift


A method, system and computer program product for providing scoping editing operations in a document using a document editing computer application. The method, program system, and computer product may include tagging each incidence of editing with the identity of the author responsible for the applicable incidence, the date, the date and time, document phase, author role, or any combination thereof. The method, program system, and computer product may further include presenting a mechanism for designating a scope of tagged content by author, date, date and time of day, document phase, author role, or a combination thereof, and locating a selection of at least some of the tagged content according to the designated scope of the tagged content.

Aspects of the present invention relate to document creation and editing applications or software programs operable on a computer system, and more particularly to a method, system and computer program product for scoping of operations in a document editing context.
Computer applications or software for use in creating and editing text documents are ubiquitous, and frequently include find and replace functionality in which a search for a string of characters is performed. When found, that string is replaced with another string of characters. Such traditional editing applications include Microsoft Word, Lotus Symphony, and OpenOffice. Microsoft and Word are trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries or both. Lotus Symphony is a trademark of the IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries or both. OpenOffice is a trademark of the Apache Software Foundation in the United States, other countries, or both.
Applications or software that permit concurrent or independent access and editing by more than one user, which may be referred to as collaborative or simultaneous editing, are becoming increasingly prevalent. IBM Docs and Google Docs are examples of collaborative editing software applications. IBM and IBM Docs are trademarks of the IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries or both. Google and Google Docs are trademarks of Google Inc in the United States, other countries or both. Such collaborative editing applications present an advantage generally unavailable in traditional document editing applications, in which multiple versions of documents may, by necessity, be created between users—there need only be one document to be edited in a collaborative editing application.
Accordingly, multiple authors can collaborate on a document in at least two ways: (1) by alternating editing sessions consisting of a single author, or (2) simultaneous editing by multiple authors within a single editing session. "Find" and "find and replace" functionality behaves in conventional collaborative editing as previously established in traditional editors. In neither type of editor is there a feature or method providing a more discretionary find or find and replace operation, specifically, one that is selective as to target content based on which user created the content or other criteria associated with edited content.

Replacing a designated character string, or styling within the designated scope of tagged edited content in a document

International Business Machines Corporation


Performance of a heterogeneous multiprocessor is reduced as much as possible within a short time without any awareness of parallelization matched with a configuration of the heterogeneous multiprocessor. In a heterogeneous multiprocessor system, tasks having parallelism are automatically extracted by a compiler, a portion to be efficiently processed by a dedicated processor is extracted from an input program being a processing target, and processing time is estimated. Thus, by arranging the tasks according to PU characteristics, scheduling for efficiently operating a plurality of PU's in parallel is carried out.

This invention relates to a compilation method and a compiler for generating an execution program which enables efficient operations of a plurality of processor units in a multiprocessor system constituted of a plurality of heterogeneous processor units.
Device miniaturization by the advancement of a semiconductor manufacturing technology now enables integration of the huge number of transistors. Simultaneously processor operation frequencies have become higher and higher. However, with an increase of operation power and an increase of standby power caused by a leakage current, the limit has begun to be seen in performance improvement which has been achieved by an increase in operation frequency and improvement of a logical system in the conventional processor. Meanwhile, digital consumer devices including an automobile navigation system, a mobile phone, and a digital television, which simultaneously process a variety of data such as images, voices, and database information, have emerged, and a huge volume of data having different characteristics must be processed with lower power within a short time.
Thus, at present, as means for realizing performance improvement and lower power, a multiprocessor system is promising in that high calculation performance can be obtained by integrating a plurality of general-purpose processors (CPU) conventionally provided in a single chip on a single chip and executing processing in parallel without increasing an operation frequency. In the future, it is expected that further advancement of miniaturization will enable mounting of 100 to 1000 PU's on a chip. Especially, in a system for built-in devices, routine processing of digital signals such as wireless, images, and voices is frequently performed and, as means for achieving both performance improvement and lower power, in addition to a homogeneous multiprocessor system which integrates a plurality of identical general-purpose processors (CPU), i.e., general-purpose processors identical in configuration and calculation performance using identical instruction sets, a heterogeneous multiprocessor (HCMP) system which includes various types of PU's of different instruction sets such as dedicated processors or accelerators capable of executing specific processing highly efficiently (at high speed with lower power) on a single chip in addition to a plurality of CPU's, targets specific applications, and aims at high calculation efficiency has been proposed. An example of a dedicated processor is a dynamically configurable processor (DRP) disclosed in Tsunoda et al., "Outline of Digital Media Reconfiguration Type Processor FE-GA", Technical Report of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, RECONF-65 (Non-patent Document 1).
In such a multiprocessor system, to obtain calculation performance proportional to the number of PU's, the mounted PU's must be simultaneously operated to process a program. However, as normal input programs are time-sequentially written for processing, it is difficult to obtain expected calculation performance proportional to the number of PUs mounted. As a method for solving the problem, a programmer himself must take parallelism of programs into account, and rewrites original programs by adding parallelization codes to execute the programs by the plurality of PU's based on a configuration of the multiprocessor system for executing the programs. However, while it is effective in the system which includes the plurality of PU's, this method is impractical in development time and effective performance, in a future system which includes several tens to thousands of PU's mounted therein especially a system employing a case of an HCMP constituted of different type of PU's.
(Known Example: Multigrain Parallelization Compiler)
Thus, in the homogeneous multiprocessor system, there has been proposed an automatic parallelization compiler which automatically extracts parallelism of programs, and distributes processing to a plurality of PU's to improve processing performance. That is, studies have been conducted on an automatic parallelization compiler which analyzes input programs, extracts portions operable in parallel from the programs, and allocates the portions to the plurality of PU's to enable simultaneous execution thereof. For example, JP 2004-252728 A discloses a compilation system which analyzes an input source program, divides the program into blocks (tasks) of various particle sizes such as subroutines or loops, analyzes parallelism among the plurality of tasks, divides the tasks and data to be accessed by the tasks into sizes suited to a cache or a local memory, and generates an object program for efficiently operating the multiprocessor system by optimally allocating the tasks to the PU's. Additionally, JP 2001-175619 A discloses an architecture of chip multiprocessor which supports a function of multigrain parallel processing.
(Known Example: Asymmetrical Multiprocessor, Power Scheduling)
Regarding the heterogeneous multiprocessor (HCMP), JP 2004-252900 A discloses, as task allocation means for educing performance of a group of processors different from one another in configuration, a method for dynamically allocating a series of processing to the processors based on information by combining a plurality of processors of different types such as CPU's or DSP's according to processing characteristics in an application in which a processing procedure such as image processing has been determined, and measuring and supplying processing time or power consumption information in the processors beforehand.
(Known Example: Automatic Vector Compiler)
In the HCMP, dedicated execution codes must be generated before types of processors are determined. As generation means, Tanaka and Iwasawa "Compilation Technique for Vector Computer", Information Processing, Vol. 31, 6th edition, Jun. 5, 1990, (Non-patent Document 2) and Kuck, D. J., et al., "Dependence Graphs and Compiler Optimization", Proc. 8th Annual ACM Symposium on Principles of Programming Languages, pp. 177-189 (1981) (Non-patent Document 3) disclose an automatic vector compiler which extracts a vector-calculable portion (loop) from a program through data dependence analysis to generate a vector calculation instruction, for example, when a dedicated processor is a vector calculator.

Global compiler for controlling heterogeneous multiprocessor


A system and method for connecting to a peripheral device utilizes a near field communication (“NFC”) enabled remote control to acquire a rotating access pin that is transmitted to an NFC enabled computing device in order to establish a connection between the computing device and the peripheral device.

Some conventional peripheral devices utilize rotating access pins for security purposes. As understood in the art, a rotating access pin is a dynamic pin that randomly changes at some time interval or for a new communications session. For example, in addition to the credentials needed to connect to a wireless projector, a rotating access pin may be utilized to ensure that those attempting to connect with the projector are indeed present within the room. In such cases, the current access pin being utilized by the projector is visually displayed so that those within the room can enter the pin into their compute devices, thus allowing the establishment of the connection with the projector.
However, a problem arises when an NFC enabled remote control is used to connect a compute device with a peripheral that utilizes a rotating access pin. Since the pin dynamically changes over time, it cannot be stored within the remote control's static NFC tag. Therefore, much of the convenience provided by the NFC enabled remote is rendered useless.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a system that provides a solution to this problem, thus allowing the convenience of an NFC enabled remote and the security of a rotating access pin to be fully realized.

System and method for connecting to a peripheral device with access credentials and rotating pin using an NFC remote control


A method for forming an anti-reflective-coating(ARC) layer is described. This ARC layer performs not only in its capacity to reduce reflections from its subjacent metal layer during the metal patterning photoresist exposure, but also serves as an effective etch inhibitor during subsequent via etching. Of particular importance is the ability provided by this ARC layer to sustain its etch resistance during considerable over etching such as is required when vias of different depths are to be opened. The ARC layer differs from the conventional titanium nitride ARC layer in that it has a base layer of titanium below the titanium nitride portion. It is this titanium layer and an optional intermediate Ti rich layer that sustains the over etch. Additionally, the titanium forms an improved bonding with the metal beneath providing reduced via contact resistance and greater via stability and consistency.

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to processes for the manufacture of semiconductor devices and more particularly to processes for forming vias.
(2) Description of Prior Art
The fabrication of integrated circuit chips comprises the formation of semiconductor devices within the surface of a single crystalline silicon wafer, covering these devices with an insulative layer and forming contacts to the devices through openings in the insulative layer. These contacts are then further connected by a layer of patterned metallization which forms the wiring of basic circuits. Alternate levels of insulators and metallization connect the basic circuits to form a hierarchy of integrated circuit wiring which is finally brought to the external terminations of the chip.
A common practice is the use of conductive tungsten studs within the first insulating layer defining the contacts. These studs are connected to a first metallization level of an aluminum-copper(Al/Cu) alloy. An insulating layer is then formed over the patterned metallization, and openings are etched to allow the wiring pattern of a second metallization layer, also comprising an Al/Cu alloy, to connect to the wiring of the first. The second metal layer is deposited over the insulating layer and into the openings. Patterning and etching of the second metal layer completes the construction of the two interconnected wiring layers. The connections made by the second metal to the first metal through the openings in the insulator are generally referred to as vias.
Patterning of layers of all kinds is accomplished by etching away portions of a deposited layer leaving the desired wiring pattern in place. This selective removal always results in a non-planar surface. If steps were not taken to remove this non-planarity, the cumulative effect of patterning would quickly result in an unacceptable topography for proper metal coverage. Since the metal layers are deposited by non-conformal physical-vapor-deposition(PVD) techniques such as vacuum evaporation or sputtering, the general procedure is to planarize the insulator surface, at least locally, prior to the deposition of the next metal layer.
The configuration addressed by this invention is illustrated by FIG. 1. Shown here is a silicon wafer substrate 10 with semiconductor devices formed within its surface. The layer 14 represents a plurality of structural components layered beneath a metal layer 16. These comprise polysilicon levels which form components of MOS field-effect-transistors and their local interconnects. The figure illustrates two regions of interest on the wafer. In the left hand portion, the metal 16 lies over a region containing field oxide(FOX) 12 while in the right hand portion, the FOX layer is absent. The spaces 30 represents the patterning of the metal layer. Atop the metal layer 16 is a layer of titanium nitride 18 which is applied to provide an anti-reflective-coating(ARC) over the metal layer 16. This coating serves to eliminate reflections from the metal surface during exposure of the patterning photoresist.
An insulative layer 20 is deposited over the patterned metal layer 16. This layer, referred to as an inter-metal dielectric(IMD) layer, is deposited thicker than required and is subsequently planarized by any of several commonly known techniques. For this illustration, chemical-mechanical-polishing(CMP) may be used. This method provides a global planarization of the wafer surface. After planarization, the IMD is thinner over the section which lies over the field oxide 12.
Photoresist 22 is applied and patterned to define vias 32 and 34 for the connections to the next metal level. The vias are etched by reactive-ion-etching(RIE) exposing the TiN ARC layer.
The ARC layer 18 could provide an effective etch stop providing the etch-rate selectivity for the silicon oxide IMD dielectric 20 over the TiN were great enough. However, this is not the case. Consequently, in order to complete the opening of the deep via 34, the shallow via 32 must be over etched to such an extent that the ARC layer is penetrated and a portion of the Al/Cu metal layer is lost.
Since a greater selectivity cannot be obtained, one approach to this problem would be to make the TiN layer 18 thicker so that the over-etch of the shallow via 32 required to open the deep via 34 terminates within the TiN layer. However, since the resistivity of TiN is over an order of magnitude greater than that of the AlCu alloy, the R.sub.c of the via would be adversely affected.
An additional consequence of Al/Cu penetration in the shallow via 32 is a deterioration of metal edge coverage by the deposited via metal. However, this shortcoming is also experienced in the deep via 34.
Sandhu et.al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,096 describe the usage of etch stop layers for forming contacts and vias of varying depths. They mention the use of several materials including doped polysilicon, Ti, and TiN. In their invention they use a doped polysilicon layer which is deposited solely to be locally formed into etch stops for contact access openings in a DRAM array structure and its periphery. Their process requires a separate deposition step to form the doped polysilicon layer which makes direct contact to the device active regions. The modification ARC layers to be used as etch stops is not suggested.
Chen U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,895 forms a layer of varying composition, beginning as a Ti enriched layer of TiN which is continuously blended into a stoichiometric TiN layer. A continuous chemical-vapor-deposition(CVD) process is used for the deposition. This layer performs as an adhesive layer between a silicon contact and a tungsten plug. The Ti rich portion forms a TiSi.sub.x bond with the silicon in the contact. The layer is not called upon to block a subsequent etch.

ARC layer enhancement for reducing metal loss during via etch

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A multiple party system for distributing content. In one embodiment, four parties are involved in the system: a consumer, a service provider, an authenticator, and a content provider. The distribution of content from the content provider to the consumer is carried out using a predefined protocol, mutating IDs, watermarks, and licenses. The authenticator controls the distribution of mutating IDs, verifies the identity of one or more participating parties, and provides tracking information for mapping service providers and consumers to particular, possibly watermarked, content items.

Embodiments of the invention relate to the distribution of content (such as text, audio, video, multi-media materials, and the like). More particularly, the invention relates to the distribution of such content in a manner that ensures that the copyrights and other similar legal rights of the content owner are respected.
More and more content is being delivered in digital form, and more and more digital content is being delivered over private and public networks, such as Intranets, the Internet, cable TV networks, and the like. For consumers of such content, digital versions (as opposed to analog, paper copy, and other forms) provide various advantages such as enhanced fidelity, improved and greater playback options, interactivity, and others. Online or network delivery generally offers greater convenience and timeliness. Online delivery is also cheaper than other delivery methods, and this benefits content publishers.
Most current and potential digitally distributed content is, like most books, distributed in a manner such that the publisher or owner generally gives or sells the content to a consumer, but continues to restrict rights to use the content even after the content is under the sole physical control of the consumer. For instance, a content owner typically retains copyright to the content so that the consumer cannot legally reproduce or publish the content without permission. Digital content, as opposed to older forms of media, allows a content owner to adjust pricing according to whether the consumer is allowed to make a persistent copy, or is just allowed to view the content as it is delivered.
Despite the worthwhile attributes of digital and network distribution, content owners are still generally reluctant to distribute content, particularly high-value content, via networks because unauthorized duplication, piracy, and distribution of digital content (e.g., as was done by users of Napster) is very easy. Unlike analog recorders, photocopiers, and other older devices, current technology permits unlimited, pristine copies of digital content to be made. And, in most instances, copies of the digital content can be made very quickly or nearly instantaneously. Furthermore, even current protective measures such as public key encryption and the content scrambling system ("CSS"), which is used for digital versatile discs, have been defeated.
Furthermore, once a key is gained or discovered, either legally or illegally, that unlocks the encrypted content, that piece of content is forever compromised. This free access to the content allows the possessor of the key to make and distribute endless copies of the decrypted content. In the event that a key is used to circulate illegal copies of a content item, it is generally impractical to track the illegally distributed content back to the individual who initially owned the key.

Secure communication and real-time watermarking using mutating identifiers


Disclosed is an electric motor system with reduced torque ripple comprising a sinusoidally magnetized permanent magnet, a sinusoidal inverter, a higher resolution position sensor, a composite iron stator yoke, a composite reinforced plastic rotor core and shaft; and a high gear ratio gear reduction box. The novel combination of magnet, inverter, sensor, plastic rotor core and shaft and high gear ratio gear box substantially reduces the torque ripple on the shaft of said motor system.

The invention is directed to electric power steering systems, particularly towards a torque ripple free system for electric power steering.
Electric power steering (EPS) has been the subject of development by auto manufacturers and suppliers for over a decade because of its fuel economy and ease-of-control advantages compared with traditional hydraulic power steering. However, commercialization of EPS systems has been slow and is presently limited to small and midget-class cars due to cost and performance challenges. Among the most challenging technical issues is the annoying pulsating feel at the steering wheel and the audible noise associated with the type of high performance electric drives needed to meet the steering requirements.
The so-called xe2x80x9cTorque-Ripple Freexe2x80x9d (TRF) system is an advanced electric drive concept, which was devised with the specific objectives of reducing the motor torque pulsation and audible noise in electric power steering systems to ultra-low levels comparable to those experienced in cars equipped with hydraulic power steering systems. In theory, and under ideal conditions, the new concept should produce no torque ripple at all, and hence the name. However, due to practical limitations discussed below, some low levels of torque ripple unavoidably remain.
The key elements of the TRF electric drive concept include:
(a) A sinusoidal drive to reduce commutation torque ripple to ultra-low levels. This is accomplished by:
(1) A sinusoidal inverter/controller to switch currents into the three-phases to be in synchronism with the rotor at all times. The currents are controlled to have sinusoidal waveforms
(2); Permanent magnets designed to produce a sinusoidal magnetic field distribution in the windings region of the machine, thus inducing voltages in the machine windings of sinusoidal waveforms, and
A low cost, higher resolution position sensor to provide the controller with accurate rotor position information, necessary to control the current waveform to the desired sinusoidal shape.
(b) An electrical machine with slotless winding to eliminate both cogging torque and pulsating radial forces. FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic of the TRF motor cross-section for illustration.
(c) A composite iron stator yoke to replace laminated yoke and eliminate its associated whining noise. It simultaneously functions also as a housing for the stator, thus reducing the stator manufacturing cost and defraying some of the added cost of the more expensive magnet and position sensor required for this concept.
(d) A composite reinforced plastic rotor core and shaft, which is another cost saver because it can be molded to shape instead of machined. In addition it will help with lowering the rotor inertia due to its lower density compared with steel, thus compensating for the increased inertia due to a needed larger magnet. While using a plastic rotor core tends to reduce its torsional stiffness, it is found to yield acceptable angular strain.
(e) A gear reduction box with a high gear ratio to reduce the motor size and cost.

Torque ripple free electric power steering