A temperature varying low-temperature comparative calibration including a vacuum jacket, a comparative calibration block in the vacuum jacket which is formed of a material of a high heat conductivity and which is maintained at a fixed temperature by a refrigerator or a heater, a reference thermometer housing portion in the comparative calibration block in which a reference thermometer is mounted, and an insertion hole in the comparative calibration block through which a calibration target thermometer is inserted from outside the vacuum jacket via an introduction pipe. The introduction pipe is filled with heat exchange gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus that calibrates thermometers measuring low temperatures and, particularly, relates to a temperature variable low-temperature calibrating apparatus for thermometers capable of carrying out calibration within the temperature range of 90 K to 170 K, or as low as 77 K.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sheath-type thermometers have a temperature sensor at a tip thereof and are several tens of centimeters in length. Calibration of the sheath-like thermometer for low temperatures is performed as follows. Platinum resistance thermometers that meet conditions for the International Temperature Scale (the current temperature standard is the International Temperature Scale of 1990, documented in 1990) are calibrated on the basis of realized temperature fixed points for the International Temperature Scale, such as the water triple point of 273.16 K, the mercury triple point of 234.3156 K, and the argon triple point of 83.8058 K. For any temperature between these temperature fixed points, temperature scale of the platinum resistance thermometers is obtained by interpolation performed using calibrated values based on the temperature fixed points, in accordance with a method specified for the International Temperature Scale.
However, some thermometers, such as industrial sheath-like thermometers, cannot be calibrated using the temperature fixed points of the International Temperature Scale. Thus, for these thermometers, calibration is made by comparing a calibration target thermometer 210 with a thermometer 200 that meets the conditions for the International Temperature Scale and has been calibrated in accordance with the method specified for the International Temperature Scale hereinafter referred to as a "reference thermometer") by immersing the thermometers 200, 210 in a cold bath 220A maintained at a temperature (the calibration based on comparison is hereinafter referred to as "comparative calibration").
For example, in the related art comparative calibration shown in FIG. 3A, calibration for any temperature is performed in a cold bath 220A using a cooling liquid such as alcohol or silicone oil. However, the cooling liquid 220A has its viscosity increased or is solidified at low temperatures, which limits the lower limit on available temperatures. For currently commercially available comparative calibration apparatuses, this lower limit is about 170 K.
Accordingly, in order to perform calibration for temperatures lower than 170 K, a cold bath is employed which uses liquefied gas as a freezing medium 220B, as shown in FIG. 3B. However, for open air cold baths using, for example, liquefied oxygen or nitrogen, the calibration temperature is limited by the properties of the freezing medium, for example, the boiling point of oxygen (90.197 K) or nitrogen (77.352 K). Calibration apparatuses that vary temperature depending on the pressure of liquefied gas (for example, measured by a pressure gauge 230) have also been proposed. However, for these apparatuses, the range of temperature variations is limited by the physical properties of the freezing medium. Further, the pressure of the liquefied gas needs to be increased to raise the temperature, which is disadvantageous in terms of safety.
Consequently, would be desirable to provide an apparatus for calibration for the temperature range of 90 K to 170 K, or even as low as 77 K, that does not use any cooling liquid or liquid freezing medium and which is thus easy to operate.
Further, the related art calibration apparatuses require the reference thermometer 200 to be removed from the apparatus before and after comparative calibration and to be mounted in an apparatus that provides temperature fixed points for the International Temperature Scale in order to check the thermometer for stability. However, vibration that may occur during the mounting or removal is a major cause of serious adverse effects on the performance of the reference thermometer. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a calibration apparatus that allows the reference thermometer's performance to be checked for its performance during calibration without the need to remove the reference thermometer from the calibration apparatus.
Some related art calibration apparatuses are described in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3465402; Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-317193; Japanese Patent No. 2990276; P. Bloembergen, G. Bonnier and H. Ronsin, "An International Intercomparison of Argon Triple Point Calibration Facilities, Accommodating Long-stem Thermometers" Metrologia 27 (1990) pp. 101-106; G. Furukawa, "Argon triple point apparatus with multiple thermometer wells" in Temperature: Its Measurement and Control in Science and Industry, Vol. 6, Part 1, American Institute of Physics, (1992) pp. 265-299; and S. L. Pond, "Argon Triple-Point Apparatus for SPRT Calibration", in Temperature: Its Measurement and Control in Science and Industry, Vol. 7, Part 1, American Institute of Physics, (2002) pp. 203-208.
As described above, the related art apparatuses for comparative calibration of a sheath-like thermometer use a cooling liquid such as alcohol or silicone oil and a low-temperature freezing medium such as liquefied nitrogen. However, this technique disadvantageously limits the calibration temperature to the one determined by the properties of the freezing medium used.
Further, the related art comparative calibration apparatuses require the reference thermometer to be removed from the apparatus before and after comparative calibration and then mounted in an apparatus for realizing temperature fixed points for the International Temperature Scale in order to check the thermometer for stability. Vibration may occur during the mounting or removal, which is a major cause of serious adverse effects on the performance of the reference thermometer.

Low-temperature comparison calibrator for thermometers

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology


An antenna system for a vehicle including a front windshield glass and a rear windshield is disclosed. The antenna system comprises an antenna unit including a radiating element electromagnetically coupled to an excitation element. The radiating element is coupled to the front windshield glass, and the excitation element is positioned on a passenger compartment interior surface of the front windshield glass. The antenna system also comprises a high-gain antenna unit including first radiating elements, a second radiating element, a 90-degree phase shift circuit, and a low noise amplifier that is coupled to the phase shift circuit. The first radiating elements receive signals through the rear windshield glass. The antenna unit and the high-gain antenna unit may function in a diversity antenna configuration.

It is known in the art that automotive vehicles are commonly equipped with audio radios that receive and process signals relating to amplitude modulation/frequency modulation (AM/FM) antennas, satellite digital audio radio systems (SDARS) antennas, global positioning system (GPS) antennas, digital audio broadcast (DAB) antennas, dual-band personal communication systems digital/analog mobile phone service (PCS/AMPS) antennas, Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) antennas, Tire Pressure Monitoring System antennas, and other wireless systems.
Currently, patch antennas are employed for reception and transmission of GPS [i.e. right-hand-circular-polarization (RHCP) waves] and SDARS [i.e. left-hand-circular-polarization (LHCP) waves]. Patch antennas may be considered to be a 'single element' antenna that incorporates performance characteristics of 'dual element' antennas that essentially receives terrestrial and satellite signals. SDARS, for example, offer digital radio service covering a large geographic area, such as North America. Satellite-based digital audio radio services generally employ either geo-stationary orbit satellites or highly elliptical orbit satellites that receive uplinked programming, which, in turn, is re-broadcasted directly to digital radios in vehicles on the ground that subscribe to the service. SDARS also use terrestrial repeater networks via ground-based towers using different modulation and transmission techniques in urban areas to supplement the availability of satellite broadcasting service by terrestrially broadcasting the same information. The reception of signals from ground-based broadcast stations is termed as terrestrial coverage. Hence, an SDARS antenna is required to have satellite and terrestrial coverage with reception quality determined by the service providers, and each vehicle subscribing to the digital service generally includes a digital radio having a receiver and one or more antennas for receiving the digital broadcast. GPS antennas, on the other hand, have a broad hemispherical coverage with a maximum antenna gain at the zenith (i.e. hemispherical coverage includes signals from 0° elevation at the earth's surface to signals from 90° elevation up at the sky). Emergency systems that utilize GPS, such as OnStar™, tend to have more stringent antenna specifications.
Unlike GPS antennas which track multiple satellites at a given time, SDARS patch antennas are operated at higher frequency bands and presently track only two satellites at a time. Thus, the mounting location for SDARS patch antennas makes antenna reception a sensitive issue with respect to the position of the antenna on a vehicle. As a result, SDARS patch antennas are typically mounted exterior to the vehicle, usually on the roof, or alternatively, inside the vehicle in a hidden location, for example, within an instrument panel. In some instances, such as cellular telephone mast antennas, antennas have been located on the exterior surface of automotive glass and the received signals are electromagnetically coupled through the glass to the vehicle's receiver. Electromagnetically coupling such antennas in an SDARS application, without an external amplifier, is very difficult due to inherent loss and distorted radiation patterns associated with front windshield glass composition, which includes an intermediate plastic layer sandwiched between inner and outer glass layers. Additionally, external antennas are highly visible, prone to being damaged, and not aesthetically pleasing.

Vehicular glass-mount antenna and system


A system and method for the modulation of light propagating along an optical path, for example the optical path in a projection display system. As light in the optical path travels from a light source to a display screen, it is shaped and modulated by the various components of the optical path so that the intended visual image appears on the display screen. In accordance with the present invention, a mirror disposed proximate the optical path is operable to be selectively inserted and removed from the optical path to alternately direct the light from one portion of the optical path to another, or to a light dump where it can be absorbed such that the associated heat energy may be properly dissipated. In a preferred embodiment, the mirror is a fold mirror mounted at a stop of the system to fold the light beam approximately 90 degrees when the mirror is inserted in the optical path.

Projection displays are used for a wide variety of applications, such as producing the pictures viewed on television screens. A typical projection display system includes a number of components, including the screen, a light source, and an optical path between them. To create the pictures, one or more light sources are provided to emit light when it is needed. The light they produce is then manipulated by a series of optical devices in order to create the visual image. The visual image created along the optical path is then displayed on the visual-image display screen, the television screen for example, or another visual display. In most cases, the goal is to produce the best picture possible. The key to producing a desirable visual display, of course, is the configuration of the various optical devices along the optical path. The selection, operation, and configuration of these devices also contributes to unseen characteristics of the system, such as cost and efficient use of system resources.
Several types of projection displays have recently been developed. These new display systems are now becoming much more common, serving as a replacement for the widely-used CRT (cathode ray tube) display, which produces a visual image by producing and directing a stream of electrons at a treated display surface. The stream could only be directed to one point at any given time, but can be systematically swept across the display with such speed as to create the visual impression of a single image. This technology is fairly well-developed, but has reached the point where perceptible increases in quality are difficult to achieve. A CRT also takes up a relatively-large amount of space because the components used for generating the electron stream must be placed at a certain distance from the display screen. Many recently-developed projection display systems, in contrast, feature a much slimmer profile. In addition, projection display systems often produce much cleaner visual images. The combination of these advantages has made such systems immensely popular.
One such projection-display system is commercially available from Texas Instruments of Dallas, Texas under the trademark DLP® (or Digital Light Processing®). DLP® projection-display systems utilize a digital micromirror device (DMD) in their optical path. The DMD typically includes an array of thousands of tiny mirrors that are use to manipulate light originating at an internal light source. Other components in the optical path adjust the light for use by the DMD, or convey the image it generates. FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram illustrating an exemplary DMD-type projection display system 10.
In the display system 10 of FIG. 1, light source 11, which may be, for example, an arc lamp or an LED, emits light that first passes through a first condenser lens 12. Some light sources tend to produce a Lambertian emission and condenser lens 12 helps to produce a more focused (and more useful) beam of light, which then proceeds downstream to color wheel 13. (Note that the light-travel direction will for convenience sometimes be referred to simply as downstream). In FIG. 1, color wheel 13 has three sections; red, green, and blue, through which the light beam passes as the wheel rotates. Color wheel 13 may, for example, rotate once per frame of displayed image so that the light (when the light source is on) passes through each of the different sections in turn. Currently, a typical color wheel (not shown) may have as many as six to eight color segments and make two to three revolutions per frame.
After passing through the color wheel 13, the light passes through a second condenser lens 14 and then falls onto DMD chip 15. As mentioned above, DMD chip 15 includes thousands of micromirrors (as many as a million or more), mounted, for example, on a semiconductor chip. Note that for convenience herein, both the DMD and the chip-mounted device will be referred to simply as a DMD. Each micromirror is associated with a digital memory cell (not shown) and is mounted such that it can be individually adjusted so that light striking it can be selectively directed as necessary to create the visual image. This image is formed according to input from a source 16. Source 16 is shown as a single block that represents a variety of possible sources, for example a broadcast television station, a DVD, or a game playing device. While the source 16 provides indications of the image desired, control 17 generates the input for storage in the digital memory cells that will ultimately determine the position of each micromirror at any given instant. Light selectively reflected from DMD 15 for the image then passes from each of the selected mirrors then passes through a projection lens 18 so as to create the visual image on screen 19.
The visual image created on screen 19, of course, is a function of the position if each of the DMD micromirrors are selected at any given time. It is also a function of the quality of light that reaches the DMD 15. The use of color wheel has already been mentioned. In addition, the light may be intermittently blocked, altering the quality of light available for reflection by the DMD micromirrors. Current methods for blocking the light path, however, generally require the absorption of light by elements that form part of the optical path itself. Frequently, this produces problems related to the undesirable buildup of excess heat energy. Needed then, is a way to direct light in a projection display system so that is may be properly modulated while at the same time permitting discharge of unneeded light energy without excess heat buildup or the need for additional cooling measures. The present invention provides just such a solution.

Illumination system with integral modulation technique


In a sense amplifier circuit, an output potential is set in a data output state when an operation of the sense amplifier is a worst pass before the start of read access. In a memory read mode, when data corresponding to the worst-pass operation of the sense amplifier circuit is read out, the circuit is previously set in a corresponding data output state. A time delay (gate delay) by a gate does not occur. In contrast, when data corresponding to the best-pass operation of the sense amplifier circuit is read out, the gate delay occurs by this operation. The gate delay, however, is shorter than that of the worst pass. As a result, only the best pass is present as the operation mode of the sense amplifier circuit. Therefore, a high operation speed is achieved, so that a high read speed of the entire memory is achieved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sense amplifier for a semiconductor memory such as, e.g., an SRAM (static random access memory).
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional sense amplifier circuit for reading out bit-line data in a semiconductor memory, for example, a two-stage inverting sense amplifier circuit shown in FIG. 1 is used. More specifically, reference symbols BL and BL respectively denote a pair of bit lines of each column of memory cell array; SA1 and SA2, first and second sense amplifiers serving as a first stage for sensing and amplifying a potential difference between the pair of bit lines (BL and BL); and SA3, a third sense amplifier serving as a second stage for sensing and amplifying a potential difference between outputs from the first and second sense amplifiers. These first to third sense amplifiers are respectively constituted by n-channel input type CMOS differential sense amplifiers each having a p-channel current mirror load.
The first sense amplifier SA1 is constituted by n-channel input transistors (N11 and N12), the gates of which are respectively connected to the bit lines (BL and BL), and the sources of which are commonly connected to a ground potential V.sub.SS, and p-channel load transistors (P11 and P12), the sources of which are commonly connected to a power supply potential V.sub.CC, the gates of which are connected to each other, and the drains of which are respectively connected to the drains of the n-channel transistors (N11 and N12). The gate and the drain of the p-channel transistor P11 are connected to each other, and an output is extracted from the drain of the n-channel transistor N12. With this arrangement, a signal of high level "H" is output when a potential of the bit line BL is lower than a potential of the bit line BL, and a signal of low level "L" is output when the potential of the bit line BL is lower than the potential of the bit line BL. That is, the first sense amplifier SA1 is an amplifier for outputting a non-inverted BL signal.
The second sense amplifier SA2 is constituted by n-channel input transistors (N21 and N22), the gates of which are respectively connected to the bit lines (BL and BL), and the sources of which are commonly connected to the ground potential V.sub.SS, and p-channel load transistors (P21 and P22), the sources of which are commonly connected to the power supply potential V.sub.CC, the gates of which are connected to each other, and the drains of which are respectively connected to the drains of the n-channel transistors (N21 and N22). The gate and the drain of the p-channel transistor P22 are connected to each other, and an output is extracted from the drain of the n-channel transistor N22. With this arrangement, a signal of level "H" is output when a potential of the bit line BL is lower than a potential of the bit line BL. That is, the second sense amplifier SA2 is an amplifier for outputting a non-inverted BL signal.
The third sense amplifier SA3 is constituted by n-channel input transistors (N31 and N32), the gates of which are respectively connected to an output node 41 of the first sense amplifier SA1 and an output node 42 of the second sense amplifier SA2, and the sources of which are commonly connected to the ground potential V.sub.SS, and p-channel load transistors (P31 and P32), the sources of which are commonly connected to the power supply potential V.sub.CC, the gates of which are connected to each other, and the drains of which are respectively connected to the drains of the n-channel transistors (N31 and N32). The gate and drain of the p-channel transistor P32 are connected to each other, and an output is extracted from the drain of the n-channel transistor N31 (output node 43). That is, the third sense amplifier SA3 is an amplifier for outputting inverted data of data from the first sense amplifier SA1. With this arrangement, a signal of "L" level is output when the output potential from the second sense amplifier SA2 is lower than that from the first sense amplifier SA1, and a signal of "H" level is output when the output potential from the first sense amplifier SA1 is lower than that from the second sense amplifier SA2.
An operation of the two-stage inverting sense amplifier circuit will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. In read access of a memory, it is assumed that the bit lines (BL and BL) are precharged at "H" level during a precharging period. It is the assumed that "H" data is read out from a memory cell in a read mode. In this case, the potential of the bit line BL is pulled down to the V.sub.SS potential side so that a very small potential difference is generated between the bit lines BL and BL (which is kept at "H" level). As a result, the first sense amplifier SA1 outputs a signal of "H" level, and the second sense amplifier SA2 outputs a signal of "L" level, so that the third sense amplifier SA3 outputs a signal of "L" level.
In this case, taking an operation time of the first sense amplifier SA1 into consideration, a one-stage time delay occurs in an operation until the output level from the first sense amplifier SA1 is determined. More specifically, since the potential of the bit line BL at "H" level is supplied to the gate of the n-channel transistor N11 even during the precharging period, the n-channel transistor N11 is kept in an ON state. As a result, the p-channel load transistors (P11 and P12), the gates of which are connected to the drain of the n-channel transistor N11, are kept in the ON state. In contrast, the n-channel transistor N12 is turned off upon a decrease in gate potential of the n-channel transistor N12 (potential of the bit line BL). Therefore, a one-stage gate time delay occurs because of this transition to the OFF state.
Taking an operation time of the second sense amplifier SA2 into consideration, a two-stage time delay occurs in an operation until the output level from the second sense amplifier SA2 is determined. More specifically, since the potential of the bit line BL at "H" level is supplied to the gate of the n-channel transistor N21 even during the precharging period, the n-channel transistor N21 is kept in the ON state. Meanwhile, since the n-channel transistor N22 is turned off upon a decrease in gate potential of the n-channel transistor N22 (potential of the bit line BL), a one-stage time delay occurs. In addition, the n-channel transistor N22 is turned off so that the potential of the drain of the n-channel transistor N22 becomes the "H" level, and the p-channel load transistors (P21 and P22), the gates of which are connected to the drain of the n-channel transistor N22, are turned off. A one-stage time delay occurs because of this transition to the OFF state.
Taking an operation time of the third sense amplifier SA3 into consideration, a two-stage time delay occurs from an operation timing for receiving an "H" level output from the first sense amplifier SA1 and an "L" level output from the second sense amplifier SA2 to an operation timing for determining an output from the third sense amplifier SA3 as "L" level. More specifically, the n-channel transistor N31 is turned on by an "H" level input from the first sense amplifier SA1. An "L" level output is supplied from the second sense amplifier SA2. As a result, basically in the same manner as the second sense amplifier SA2, the n-channel transistor N32 and the p-channel transistors (P31 and P32) are sequentially turned off. A two-stage time delay occurs because of this transition to the OFF states of these transistors.
As a result, when "H" data is read out from a memory cell, in the operation until the two-stage inverting sense amplifier circuit outputs a signal of "L" level, the sum of the two-stage time delay by the second sense amplifier SA2 and the two-stage time delay by the third sense amplifier SA3, i.e., a total of four-stage time delay occurs.
In contrast, when "L" data is read out from a memory cell, in an operation until the two-stage sense amplifier circuit outputs a signal of "H" level, a three-stage time delay occurs. That is, when the potential of the bit line BL is pulled down to the V.sub.SS potential side to generate a very small potential difference between the bit line BL and the bit line BL (kept at "H" level), the first sense amplifier SA1 outputs a signal of "L" level. Subsequently, the second sense amplifier SA2 outputs a signal of "H" level, and the third sense amplifier SA3 outputs a signal of "H" level. In this case, taking the operation time of the first sense amplifier SA1 into consideration, the n-channel transistor N11 is turned off upon a decrease in potential of the bit line BL. A one-stage time delay occurs because of this transition. As a result, the n-channel transistor N11 is turned off, the potential of the drain becomes "H" level, and the p-channel load transistors (P11 and P12), the gates of which are connected to the drain of the n-channel transistor N11, are turned off. A one-stage time delay occurs because of this transition so that a total of two-stage time delay is occurs.
Taking the operation of the second sense amplifier SA2 into consideration, the n-channel transistor N21 is turned off upon a decrease in potential of the bit line BL. A one-stage time delay occurs because of this transition.
In the third sense amplifier SA3, the n-channel transistor N32 and the p-channel transistors (P31 and P32) are sequentially turned on by receiving the output of "H" level from the second sense amplifier SA2, and the n-channel transistor N31 is turned off by receiving the output of "L" level from the first sense amplifier SA1. As a result, a signal of "H" level is output. In this case, assuming that the above one-stage time delays are almost equal to each other, the time delay of the output of "H" level from the second sense amplifier SA2 is smaller than that of the output of "L" level from the first sense amplifier SA1 by one stage. As a result, in the third sense amplifier SA3, the turn-ON timings of the p-channel transistors (P31 and P32) and the turn-OFF timing of the n-channel transistor N31 are almost equal to each other. The apparent time delay of the operation is, therefore, one stage.
As a result, in the operation until the two-stage inverting sense amplifier circuit outputs the signal of "H" level when "L" data is read out from the memory cell the sum of the two-stage time delay by the first sense amplifier SA1 and the one-stage time delay by the third sense amplifier SA3, i.e., a total of three-stage time delay occurs.
In a two-stage inverting sense amplifier circuit as described above, in an operation, a three-stage time delay (in case of a best pass) or a four-stage time delay (in case of a worst pass) occurs. An operation speed of the sense amplifier circuit is limited by a worst-pass operation, thereby limiting a read speed of the entire memory.
The best and worst passes described above are also present in a one-stage sense amplifier circuit and a non-inverting sense amplifier circuit as well as a two-stage inverting sense amplifier circuit.
As described above, the operation speed of the conventional sense amplifier circuit is limited by the operation speed of the worst pass. Therefore, the read speed of the entire memory is limited, resulting in inconvenience.


A high intensity discharge lamp, the lamp including a light emitting vessel having a wall made of ceramic material that defines an inner space with a first end portion having a respective first opening formed therein and a second end portion having a respective second opening formed therein, two discharge electrodes, with a first electrode extending therethrough the first opening of the first end portion of the vessel and a second electrode extending therethrough the second opening of the second end portion of the vessel, together forming a gap between ends of the discharge electrodes positioned within the vessel, wherein the light emitting vessel defines an inner space characterized by an inner diameter ranging from and including 1 millimeters to 3 millimeters and an inner length between and including 5 millimeters to 10 millimeters, wherein the wall of the vessel has a thickness ranging between and including 0.3 millimeters to 0.8 millimeters, wherein each tip of the electrodes within the vessel have a shank diameter ranging between and including 0.2 millimeters to 0.55 millimeters, and wherein the gap between the ends of the electrodes positioned within the vessel is smaller than 4 millimeters.

Within the automotive industry, High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps are beginning to replace conventional incandescent halogen lights as lights for headlamps. In an HID lamp, light is generated by means of an electric discharge that takes place between two metal electrodes enclosed within a quartz envelope sealed at both ends. The main advantages of HID lamps are high lumen output, better efficacy and longer life. The HID headlamps available currently are Quartz Metal Halide lamps that are also used for general lighting.
The discharge medium in Quartz Metal Halide lamps consist of a mixture of xenon, mercury, sodium iodide (NaI) and/or scandium iodide (ScI3), wherein the surrounding envelope, or arc-tube, is made of quartz with tungsten electrodes protruding within the envelope. In operation, the lamp size is kept small enough for optical coupling purposes. Further, the lamps are required to meet the automotive industry standard of starting fast by delivering at least eighty percent of their steady state lumens no later than four seconds from the point at which they are turned on. The small lamp size and fast start requirements result in higher wall thermal loading, which in turn poses some limits on the quartz envelope material, and significant thermal stresses in the arc-tube, especially near the electrode roots. These limitations result in shortening the lamp life and also decreasing reliability of the lamp.
Because of improved reliability and performance, quartz in HID lamps is being replaced with ceramic material, such as polycrystalline alumina (PCA) and yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG). Ceramic arc-tubes can withstand higher temperatures and the cold spot temperature in ceramic lamps can be driven to a high enough value to evaporate the metal halide dose and produce enough vapor pressure for both the light emitting elements and the buffer gas. However, changing to ceramic material requires a change in the design of HID lamps to best optimize the thermal and structural integrity of the lamps.

Ceramic automotive high intensity discharge lamp


Disclosed are a connector for measurement of electric resistance, by which necessary electrical connection is surely achieved even when a circuit board to be inspected is large in area and has a great number of small-sized electrodes to be inspected, and measurement is surely performed with high precision, and which can be produced at a low cost, and an electric resistance-measuring apparatus and an electric resistance-measuring method for circuit boards, which make use of this connector. The connector for measurement of electric resistance has a first electrode sheet, an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet arranged on a back surface of the first electrode sheet and having through-holes formed corresponding to the electrodes to be inspected, and a second electrode sheet arranged on a back surface of the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet. The first electrode sheet has an insulating sheet having through-holes formed corresponding to the electrodes to be inspected, a plurality of ring-like electrodes each formed on a front surface of the insulating sheet so as to surround the through-hole, and junction electrodes formed on a back surface of the insulating sheet, and the second electrode sheet has a plurality of core electrodes for inspection arranged corresponding to the electrodes to be inspected, and a plurality of core electrodes for connection arranged corresponding to the junction electrodes.

In recent years, with the request for speeding-up of signal transmission in electronic parts and electronic equipments containing such a part therein, there has been a demand for development of those low in electric resistance of wiring between electrodes as circuit boards for fabricating LSI packages such as BGA and CSP or circuit boards, on which these semiconductor devices are mounted. Therefore, it is extremely important to measure the electric resistance of wiring between electrodes of such a circuit board with high precision in electrical inspection of the circuit board.
In the measurement of an electric resistance of a circuit board, there has heretofore been adopted, for example, the four probe method, in which probes PA and PD for current supply and probes PB and PC for voltage measurement are pressed against and brought into respective contact with 2 electrodes 91 and 92 to be inspected, which have been electrically connected to each other in a circuit board 90 to be inspected, as illustrated in FIG. 30, a current is supplied between the probes PA and PD for current supply from a power supply device 93 in this state, and a voltage signal detected by the probes PB and PC for voltage measurement at this time is processed in an electric signal processor 94, thereby finding an electric resistance value between the electrodes 91 and 92 to be inspected.
In the method described above, however, the surfaces of the electrodes 91 and 92 to be inspected may be damaged by pressing the probes PA and PD for current supply and the probes PB and PC for voltage measurement against them because it is necessary to bring the probes into respective contact with the electrodes 91 and 92 to be inspected by considerably high pressing force, the probes are made of a metal, and the tips thereof are pointed. It is therefore impossible to use such a circuit board. Under such circumstances, the measurement of the electric resistance cannot be performed on all circuit boards to be provided as products, and so the method cannot but adopt the so-called sampling inspection. After all, the yield of the products cannot be increased.
In order to solve such a problem, there have heretofore been proposed electric resistance-measuring apparatus, in which connecting members coming into contact with electrodes to be inspected are made up of a conductive elastomer.
For example, (i) Patent Art. 1 discloses an electric resistance-measuring apparatus, in which elastic connecting members formed of conductive rubber obtained by binding conductive particles with an elastomer are arranged at electrodes for current supply and electrodes for voltage measurement, respectively, (ii) Patent Art. 2 discloses an electric resistance-measuring apparatus having a common elastic connecting member provided so as to come into contact with surfaces of both electrode for current supply and electrode for voltage measurement electrically connected to the same electrode to be inspected and formed of an anisotropically conductive elastomer, and (iii) Patent Art. 3 discloses an electric resistance-measuring apparatus comprising a circuit board for inspection, on the surface of which a plurality of inspection electrodes have been formed, and an elastic connecting member provided on the surface of the circuit board for inspection and formed of a conductive elastomer, wherein two electrodes among the inspection electrodes are selected in a state that electrodes to be inspected have been electrically connected to the plurality of inspection electrodes through the connecting member, one of both electrodes is used as an electrode for current supply, and the other is used as an electrode for voltage measurement to measure an electric resistance.
According to such electric resistance-measuring apparatus, the electrodes for current supply and the electrodes for voltage measurement are brought into contact with electrodes to be inspected of a circuit board to be inspected through the elastic connecting member, whereby electrical connection is achieved, so that the measurement of the electric resistance can be conducted without damaging the electrodes to be inspected.
However, the measurement of an electric resistance between electrodes by the electric resistance-measuring apparatus of the constructions (i) and (ii) involve the following problems.
In recent years, the size and pitch of electrodes or an interelectrode distance in a circuit board have tended to become small for the purpose of achieving a high degree of integration. In the electric resistance-measuring apparatus of the constructions (i) and (ii), however, it is necessary to electrically connect both electrodes for current supply and electrodes for voltage measurement at the same time to electrodes to be inspected in a circuit board to be inspected, the electric resistance of which should be measured, through the elastic connecting member, respectively. In the electric resistance-measurement apparatus for measuring an electric resistance as to a circuit board to be inspected, on which small-sized electrodes to be inspected have been arranged at a high density, it is thus necessary to form an electrode for current supply and an electrode for voltage measurement corresponding to each of the small-sized electrodes to be inspected in a state separated from each other in a region of an area equal to or smaller than a region occupied by the electrode to be inspected, i.e., to form an electrode for current supply and an electrode for voltage measurement, which are smaller in size than the electrode to be inspected, in a state separated from each other at an extremely short distance.
On the other hand, in order to improve productivity, it is adopted as a production process of circuit boards to produce a combined circuit board composed of a plurality of circuit boards linked with each other by a board material, collectively conduct electrical inspection as to the respective circuit boards in the combined circuit board in this state and then cut the combined circuit board, thereby producing a plurality of circuit board separated from each other.
However, the area of the combined circuit board, which is an object of inspection, is considerably large, and the number of electrodes to be inspected is also extremely great. When multi-layer circuit boards are produced in particular, the number of steps in the production process thereof increases, and the number of times subjected to thermal hysteresis by a heat treatment increases, so that electrodes to be inspected are often formed in a state misregistered from the prescribed arrangement positions. When measurement of an electric resistance between electrodes is performed as to the circuit board to be inspected, which is large in area and has a great number of electrodes to be inspected formed in a state misregistered from the prescribed arrangement positions as described above, by the electric resistance-measuring apparatus of the constructions (i) and (ii), it is extremely difficult to electrically connect both electrode for current supply and electrode for voltage measurement at the same time to each of the electrodes to be inspected.
Description is given by a specific example. When an electric resistance as to an electrode T to be inspected having a diameter L of 300 μm is measured as shown in FIG. 31, a clearance D between an electrode A for current supply and an electrode V for voltage measurement to be electrically connected to the electrode T to be inspected is about 150 μm. When the position of the electrode T to be inspected to the electrode A for current supply and the electrode V for voltage measurement deviates from the prescribed position shown in FIG. 31 by 75 μm in a direction arranging the electrode A for current supply and the electrode V for voltage measurement in alignment of a circuit board to be inspected as shown in FIGS. 32(a) and 32(b), electrical connection between any one of the electrode A for current supply and the electrode V for voltage measurement and the electrode T to be inspected is not achieved, and so necessary measurement of the electric resistance cannot be conducted.
It is considered as a means for solving such a problem to lessen the clearance D between the electrode A for current supply and the electrode V for voltage measurement to, for example, at most 100 μm. However, it is extremely difficult in fact to produce such an electric resistance-measuring apparatus.
On the other hand, according to the electric resistance-measuring apparatus of the construction (iii), there is no need to form an electrode for current supply and an electrode for voltage measurement corresponding to each of electrodes to be inspected, so that tolerance for positional deviation to a circuit board to be inspected, the electric resistance of which should be measured, becomes high even when the circuit board to be inspected is large in area and has a great number of electrodes to be inspected, and the electrodes to be inspected are small in size and arranged at a high density. In addition, such an electric resistance-measuring apparatus is easily produced.
Since such an electric resistance-measuring apparatus is a measuring apparatus according to the so-called pseudo-four-probe method, however, a measurement error range is great, and it is thus difficult to perform measurement of an electric resistance as to a circuit board low in electric resistance between electrodes with high precision.
In order to solve such a problem, there has been proposed a connector for measurement of electric resistance, which comprises an insulating substrate, and plural pairs of connecting electrodes formed on a front surface of the insulating substrate and each composed of a core electrode and a ring-like electrode arranged so as to surround the core electrode (see Patent Art. 4).
According to such a connector for measurement of electric resistance, at least a part of the ring-like electrode is located on an electrode to be inspected in a circuit board, the electric resistance of which should be measured, so far as alignment is made in such a manner that at least a part of the core electrode is located on the electrode to be inspected. Accordingly, electrical connection of both core electrode and ring-like electrode to the electrode to be inspected is surely achieved even when the circuit board is large in area and has a great number of small-sized electrodes to be inspected, so that measurement of an electric resistance as to the circuit board can be surely performed with high precision by using any one of the core electrode and the ring-like electrode as an electrode for current supply and the other as an electrode for voltage measurement.
However, the above-described connector for measurement of electric resistance involves a problem that the whole structure thereof is complicated to encounter difficulties in producing it at a high yield.    Patent Art. 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 26446/1997    Patent Art. 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-74965    Patent Art. 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-241485    Patent Art. 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-322665

Connector for measuring electrical resistance, and apparatus and method for measuring electrical resistance of circuit board


The present invention is related to a curl type sandwich cutting device which is comprised of a lift means, a cutting means, a feeding means and a rotation means; a chassis which may be controlled to rise and descend is installed on the body frame. The right and left flat surfaces are on the two ends of said body frame and are higher than the body frame, the lead device of a jig saw means is located across the flat surfaces, by the rotation of a motor and the swing of a jib arm of an eccentric arm, the jig saw may move left and right continuously. A rotation means is installed on the adjacent side, by chain wheel and other components to drive the axle rod of said cutting means, the jig saw may revert 180 degrees. The bottom of said chassis has installed a guiding screw and a nut which are controlled by a motor so as to move forward. A feeding device is installed on the chassis, and the feed device has a lead bar to control the bread box to rotate 360 degrees. Therefore, by the cutting action of the jig saw, the rising and descending of said lift means and the rotation of the bread box, the curl sandwich may be made from sliced bread.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the design of a curl type sandwich automatic cutting device, especially to a device which may be used to cut a bread to form a material for a curl type sandwich.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The conventional sandwich is made with bread slices, the outer crusts of which have been cut off, and then meat, butter, and vegetable salad are placed within a plurality of said bread slices, further, they are pressed together to form a sandwich.
However, in this kind of sandwich, in which the materials are placed between a plurality of bread slices, when bitten by the eater, the materials may possibly extend outward and drop out, thus dirtying the clothes of the eater, and meanwhile eater's mouth may be dirtied, the design of the conventional sandwich is not a proper design. By use of the new method and the curl type sandwich automatic cutting device of the present invention, these defects may be improved vastly.

Curl type sandwich automatic cutting device


The invention relates to an imaging apparatus (31) for imaging an object. A reconstruction unit (12) determines component projection data values, which correspond to, for example, a base material of the object, and reconstructs an image of the object based on the determined component projection data values. A component projection data value, which corresponds to a ray, is determined as a combination of weighted base functions, which depend on energy projection data values of the same ray and the orientation of the same ray. This allows considering a possible dependency of the corresponding decomposition on the orientation of the ray, thereby allowing the imaging apparatus to improve the quality of decomposing the provided energy projection data values into the component projection data values and thus of a finally reconstructed image of the object, which is reconstructed based on the component projection data values.

The article "Empirical dual energy calibration (EDEC) for cone-beam computed tomography" by Philip Stenner et al., Medical Physics, Vol. 34, No. 9, p. 3630-3641 (September 2007) discloses a dual-energy computed tomography system, which generates energy projection data values corresponding to rays after having traversed an object to be imaged, wherein for each ray energy projection data values for two different energies are generated. A decomposition function, which depends on the generated energy projection data values, is used for decomposing the generated energy projection data values into base material projection data values such that for each ray two base material projection data values are determined, which correspond to two different base materials of the object to be imaged. The decomposed base material projection data values are then used for reconstructing a first base material image, which corresponds to a first base material of the object, and a second base material image, which corresponds to a second base material of the object. The decomposition function is a polynomial function, wherein the polynomial's coefficients are determined using a least squares fit based on thresholded images of a calibration phantom.
The decomposition of the initially generated energy projection data values into the base material projection data values can produce artifacts in the determined base material projection data values and, thus, in the finally reconstructed base material images. The quality of the finally reconstructed base material images can therefore be reduced.


A high electron mobility transistor is disclosed which has a main semiconductor region formed on a silicon substrate. The main semiconductor region is a lamination of a buffer layer on the substrate, an electron transit layer on the buffer layer, and an electron supply layer on the electron transit layer. A source, drain, and gate overlie the electron supply layer. Also formed on the electron supply layer is a surface-stabilizing organic semiconductor overlay which is of p conductivity type in contrast to the n type of the electron supply layer.

This invention relates to semiconductor devices such as field-effect transistors (FETs), Schottky-barrier diodes (SBDs), and pn-junction diodes. More particularly, the invention deals with the surface stabilization of such semiconductor devices.
Crystalline semiconductor regions of semiconductor devices have unique interface states at their surfaces. The semiconductor surface will become electrically unstable, and current leakage will occur between the electrodes, if charge carriers (e.g., electrons) are captured there. Current leakage should be reduced to a minimum by any means. It is customary in the semiconductor industry to assess the voltage-withstanding capability of a semiconductor device in terms of current leakage. The more prone a semiconductor device is to current leakage, the lower will be the assessment of its voltage-withstanding capability.
Conventional approaches to surface stabilization of crystalline semiconductor regions, as far as the applicant is aware, are: (a) surface cleaning; (b) treatment of what are known as "dangling bonds," unsaturated (broken) interatomic bonds at the semiconductor surface, which disrupt the flow of electrons; and (c) surface passivation. All these conventional methods have their own strengths, but weaknesses do appear particularly when they are applied to nitride or like compound semiconductors because, unlike silicon semiconductors, compound semiconductors have many crystal defects and interface states.
Another problem that manifests itself in relation to the electrification of the semiconductor surface is the so-called current collapse which takes place in a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT). The HEMT by itself is of the familiar make comprising an electron transit layer of, say, undoped gallium nitride and an electron supply layer of, say, either n-type or undoped aluminum gallium nitride. Overlying the electron supply layer are source and drain electrodes with a Schottky gate electrode therebetween. The resistance of the electron supply layer is so low in its thickness direction, and so high in its transverse direction, that the current flows between the drain and source electrodes through the two-dimensional electron gas layer in the electron transit layer. The two-dimensional electron gas layer appears because of piezo and/or spontaneous depolarization of the heterojunction between electron transit layer and electron supply layer.
In use of the HEMT in alternating current circuitry, negative charge carriers (electrons) are arrested at the interface state of the surface of the electron supply layer, as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-214471. The electron density of the two-dimensional electron gas layer lessens due to the arrested negative charge carriers, resulting in current collapse in which the maximum drain current during alternating current operation grows less than that during direct current operation. The lessening of the maximum drain current is ascribed to the decrease of electron density in the two-dimensional electron gas layer by reason of the collection of negative charge carriers in the interface state surface of the electron supply layer.
The unexamined Japanese patent application cited above proposes a silicon nitride overlay on the electron supply layer for prevention of current collapse. This solution proved unsatisfactory as it reduced the gate-drain voltage strength of the HEMT. Moreover, the silicon nitride overlay was not nearly so effective as might be desired for prevention of current collapse as it served only for reduction of the carriers captured by the interface state, not for annihilation of the captured carriers.
The same unexamined Japanese patent application also suggests a silicon dioxide overlay on the silicon nitride overlay, and a field control electrode on the silicon dioxide overlay, in order to enhance the voltage strength. A field plate, instead of the field control electrode, is provided on the silicon nitride overlay via the silicon dioxide overlay for the same purpose according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-200248. The field control electrode and field plate are both objectionable because they incur additional costs for the manufacture of the HEMTs.


Successive approximation ADC includes a digital-to-analog converter, a comparator, a comparison unit, a timing unit and a control logic circuit. The digital-to-analog converter converts a digital signal to a reference analog signal. The comparator compares an analog input signal with a reference analog voltage and generates a comparing signal. The comparison unit generates a comparison result signal according to the comparing signal. The timing unit generates a clock signal, and sequentially enables N supplementary clock signals corresponding to N bits when the comparison result signal is enabled. The control logic circuit updates the digital signal according to the comparing signal, and generates N bits of digital value sequentially from the most significant bit to the least significant bit, and then determines whether the digital value is valid according to whether the Nth supplementary clock signal corresponding to the least significant bit is enabled.

The current successive approximation analog-to-digital converter (ADC) converts an analog signal into an N-bit digital signal using a binary search. The successive approximation ADC includes a comparator. In order to convert an analog signal into an N-bit digital signal, the comparator will execute N times of comparison, and each time of comparison will generate one bit of the digital signal. After N times of comparison are completed, the N bits of the digital signal will be generated sequentially from the most significant bit to the least significant bit. However, when the comparison of one particular bit is very close, a longer time will be required to interpret the comparison result, and then a metastability state may occur. Since the successive approximation ADC in the metastability state may have inaccurate interpretation of the bit or may not have sufficient time to interpret the following bits, the N-bit digital signal converted by the successive approximation ADC may have remarkable error. Therefore, it has become a prominent task for the industries to provide a method for determining the validity of the N-bit digital signal and avoiding the occurrence of metastability state which may cause errors.

Successive approximation ADC and control method thereof


The present invention relates to an electrical resistance element of the molybdenum silicide type that includes two terminals (1, 2) for the supply of electric current and at least one leg (3) which extends between the terminals and which includes a glow zone. The invention is characterized in that the glow zone has different diameters along different sections (6-11, 14-17) of the leg (3; 4, 5).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical resistance element of the molybdenum silicide type.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such elements have long been known in different forms with regard to their different alloy contents. Kanthal AB of Sweden are manufacturers of such elements. These types of elements are referred to as molybdenum silicide-type elements, which have long been used to heat ovens and different kinds of surfaces, such as a radiating surface that radiates onto an object, or cooker plates, or other surfaces.
Molybdenum silicide elements are produced in different forms. A typical form is a so-called leg element, which comprises two legs that extend between two electrical conductors or terminals at one of their ends. The legs are joined with an arcuate or curved part at their other ends. The leg elements can consist of one, two, or more legs. Two-legged elements, or multi-leg elements, include one or more curved parts that extend between the conductors. The leg constitutes a glow zone, i.e., that part of the element that glows when supplied with electric current, and therewith delivers heat to an object.
One problem experienced with industrial furnaces, ovens, and the like resides in the difficulty at times of maintaining a sufficiently uniform temperature distribution in a furnace space, or in achieving sufficiently uniform thermal radiation from a radiating surface. An uneven temperature distribution or uneven radiation will mean that the space or the object to be heated will not be heated uniformly, which can be highly problematic.
A concrete example is when liquid-metal ladles are to be pre-heated. Uneven heating of a ladle presents a problem when using resistance elements, as the bottom of the ladle will not be as hot as the inner walls of the ladle.
The known method of attempting to resolve this problem involves the installation of a number of elements or groups of elements that can be controlled individually, so that different elements have delivered power of different high magnitudes.
The present invention solves the problem caused by uneven heating.


A constant velocity joint for downhole power transmission has a first insert mounted in a radially extending drive shaft arm. The first insert engages a second insert mounted along a slot formed in a tubular housing disposed to receive the arm. The material for the two inserts may be different, having different galling properties. An insert may be shaped to have at least a flat surface, a cylindrical surface intersecting the flat surface, and a conical surface intersecting the cylindrical surface. The inserts may extend beyond the cavities in which they are mounted. Opposing cavity walls adjacent the cavity opening may be angled away from one another to permit the insert to flex under a load. The back wall of a cavity and back surface of an insert may be arcuate to permit rotational movement of the insert under a load.

The disclosure relates in general to transmission of torque between rotating components in downhole tools. More particularly, the disclosure relates to high torque constant velocity joints for drive shafts associated with downhole motors used in the oil and gas industry.
In oil and gas drilling, it is important to provide rotational energy to a drill bit connected to a drill string in order to advance the drill bit to create a desired wellbore. Traditionally, the drill bit has been rotated by rotation of the drill string utilizing the "rotary table" or "top drive" of a drilling rig located at the surface of a formation. However, with the prevalence of horizontal or other non-vertical wellbores, i.e., deviated wellbores, transmission of rotation power from the surface to the drill bit via a rotating drill string has become more difficult, and as such, has given rise to downhole power systems. Downhole power systems typically utilize drilling mud pumped from the surface to drive a motor, called a downhole motor or mud motor, carried at the end of a drill string as part of the bottom hole assembly adjacent the drill bit. Commonly, a mud motor will consist of a power section connected to a drive shaft which is in turn connected to the drill bit. Drilling mud is pumped through a rotor and stator of the power section in order to rotate the rotor, which in turn, rotates the drive shaft. Various types of mud driven rotor-stator arrangements exist, including positive displacement systems referred to as PD Motors and turbine-type arrangements. Regardless of the type of downhole motor, a universal joint assembly may be utilized at the joint between the power section and drive shaft and also at the joint between the drive shaft and drill bit in order to transfer torque and thrust from one component to another component.
Traditional prior art universal joints utilize ball bearings as drive elements for the transfer of forces between the rotor and drive shaft. More specifically, balls carried by the drive shaft engage recesses or slots formed in the female socket section comprising the rotor so as to provide a point contact between surfaces. Another type of universal joint utilizes meshing gear elements to transfer forces via line contact between the gear elements. More recently, one or more axially extending shoulders have been formed in the convexly spherical shaped bearing surface of a drive shaft, each shoulder having a surface disposed to engage a corresponding shoulder surface formed in the concavely spherical bearing surface of a female socket section of a rotor so as to transfer torque via the engaged shoulder surfaces. To facilitate this surface contact, an insert or "key" may be provided at a shoulder surface of a spherically shaped drive shaft end to minimize wear and galling of the shoulder surfaces. However, it has been found that these surface contact universal joints of the prior art, and in particular, the inserts, continue to exhibit damage from galling, shear and compressive forces.

High torque constant velocity joint for downhole drilling power transmission


The improved snorkel dry top has a fulcrum to which a float member and a diaphragm yoke are attached. The fulcrum has a blocking tab that rests in an aperture in the float member attaching hook when the snorkel is above the surface of the surrounding water. The diaphragm yoke cannot rotate the diaphragm when the blocking tab is in the hook aperture. Therefore, even when tilted, the snorkel remains open allowing free flow of air into the snorkel tube. Another significant improvement is the connection of the float member, diaphragm and yoke to the snorkel top's splashguard mask. This improvement assures that the delicate structures of these components are not exposed to potentially destructive impact forces in the event that the splashguard mask is removed from the snorkel tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of snorkels and more specifically to an improved dry top for snorkels.
2. Background Art
This invention is an improvement of the snorkel dry top disclosed in issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,085 to Chih-Cheng Shiue and assigned to the assignee hereof. Snorkel dry tops comprise devices configured to prevent water from entering the open top of a snorkel tube. Typically they include a rubber-like diaphragm and a float or buoyant device. The diaphragm is positioned in proximity to the top opening for relative movement thereto for opening and closing the opening. Movement of the diaphragm is controlled by the float and its response to whether the water level is sufficiently high on the snorkel to make the float buoyant. When the float is immersed, its buoyancy forces it toward the top opening thereby forcing the diaphragm to close the opening and prevent the entry of water into the snorkel tube. When the float is above the water, gravity forces the float away from the opening, pulling the diaphragm from the opening as well and thereby allowing air to pass freely into and out of the snorkel tube. Some such snorkel dry tops also provide splashguards to resist entry of water droplets while the snorkel top is above the water surface and the diaphragm is pulled away from the opening. Such droplets of water come from splashing waves and the like and can otherwise enter the open top even while the top of the snorkel is above the water surface. One such snorkel dry top is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,085 and includes both a diaphragm and float assembly as well as a splashguard referred to therein as a mask. Other such dry tops are disclosed in issued U.S. Patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,791 to Winefordner et al and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,904,910 and 7,077,127 to Christianson.
An inherent problem associated with snorkel dry tops that depend on a combination of buoyancy and gravity is that they're subject to inappropriate operation when they're tilted above the surface. When they're above the surface, gravity should keep the tube top open so that air can pass freely into and out of the snorkel. However, if the top is tilted, the effect of gravity can inadvertently close the opening by forcing the diaphragm against the opening, thereby preventing the free-flow of air into and out of the snorkel tube. Even a rather modest tilting of the snorkel combined with a suction effect of air rushing into the opening while the snorkeler is breathing in, can inadvertently close the opening at an inappropriate time and thereby interfere with normal operation of the snorkel.
Therefore, there is a need to improve such dry top snorkels by configuring them so that they are more likely to stay open while they're above the water surface even when they are tilted.

Dry top snorkel having a locking device to prevent inadvertant closure


A breathable air safety system and method having at least one fill site is disclosed. In one aspect, a method of safety of a tunnel structure is disclosed. A prescribed pressure of an emergency support system is ensured to be within a threshold range of the prescribed pressure by including a valve of the emergency support system to prevent leakage of breathable air from the emergency support system. The prescribed pressure of the emergency support system is designated based on an authority agency that specifies a pressure rating of the breathable air apparatus. An air extraction process is expedited from the emergency support system by including a RIC (rapid interventions company/crew)/UAC (universal air connection) fitting to a fill panel to fill a breathable air apparatus.

A tunnel may be an artificial underground passage, (e.g. one built through a hill or under a tunnel, road, and/or river, etc.). The tunnel may be substantially horizontal and have a ratio of the length of the passage to the width of at least 2 to 1. In addition, the tunnel may be completely enclosed on all sides, and the openings may be saved for the length of the covered area causing limited accessibility to the tunnel. In a case of an emergency situation of a tunnel, emergency personnel may be deployed on-site of the structure to alleviate the emergency situation through mitigating a source of hazard as well as rescuing stranded civilians from the tunnel. The emergency situation may include events such as a fire, a chemical attack, terror attack, subway accident, tunnel collapse, and/or a biological agent attack.
In such situations, breathing air inside the tunnel may be hazardously affected (e.g., depleted, absorbed, and/or contaminated). In addition, flow of fresh air into the tunnel may be significantly hindered due to the tunnel having enclosed regions, lack of windows, and/or high concentration of contaminants. As a result, inhaling air in the tunnel may be extremely detrimental and may further result in death (e.g., within minutes). Furthermore, emergency work may often need to be performed from within the tunnel (e.g., due to a limitation of emergency equipment able to be transported on a ground level).
The emergency personnel's ability to alleviate the emergency in an efficient manner may be adversely affected by the lack of breathing air and/or the abundance of contaminated air. A survival rate of stranded civilians in the tunnel may be substantially decreased due to a propagation of contaminated air throughout the tunnel placing a large number of innocent lives at significant risk.
As such, the emergency personnel may utilize a portable breathing air apparatus (e.g., self-contained breathing apparatus) as a source of breathing air during a rescue mission. However, the portable breathing air apparatus may be heavy (e.g., 20-30 pounds) and may only provide breathing air for a short while (e.g., approximately 15-30 minutes). In the emergency situation, the emergency personnel may need to walk and/or climb to a particular location within the structure to perform rescuing work due to inoperable transport systems (e.g., obstructed walkway, elevators, moving sidewalks, and/or escalators, etc.). As such, by the time the emergency personnel reaches the particular location, his/her portable breathing air apparatus may have already depleted and may require running back to the ground floor for a new portable breathing air apparatus. As a result, precious lives may be lost due to precious time being lost.
An extra supply of portable breathing air apparatuses may be stored throughout the tunnel so that emergency personnel can replace their portable breathing air apparatuses within the tunnel. However, supplying structures with spare portable breathing air apparatuses may be expensive and take up space in the structure severely handicapping the ability of emergency personnel to perform rescue tasks. Furthermore, the tunnel may not regularly inspect the spare portable breathing air apparatuses. With time, the spare portable breathing air apparatuses may experience pressure loss placing the emergency personnel at significant risk when it is utilized in the emergency situation. The spare portable breathing air apparatuses may also be tampered with during storage. Contaminants may be introduced into the spare portable breathing air apparatuses that are detrimental to the emergency personnel.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Safety system and method of a tunnel structure


A work vehicle includes: a chassis; a first axle carried by the chassis; a pair of first wheels rotatably coupled to the first axle; a first weight sensor associated with the first axle and configured to output a first weight signal; a second axle carried by the chassis; a pair of second wheels rotatably coupled to the second axle; a second weight sensor associated with the second axle and configured to output a second weight signal; and a controller operatively coupled to the first and second weight sensors. The controller is configured to: receive the first and second weight signals; determine a weight distribution of the work vehicle based on the received first and second weight signals; analyze the determined weight distribution to determine at least one recommended operating parameter; and output a recommendation signal based on the at least one recommended operating parameter.

The present invention relates to work vehicles, and, more particularly, to work vehicles that make use of ballasts for weight distribution.
Work vehicles, such as agricultural tractors, are often used to pull various agricultural implements that are necessary for tilling, seedbed preparation, planting, mowing, raking, harvesting, baling, spraying, and fertilizing. Such work vehicles include an engine that rotates an axle (generally a rear axle) via a transmission to provide tractive force for the vehicle. Some work vehicles include a pair of wheels rotatably coupled to the axle, with each wheel including a tire that is filled with pressurized fluid, such as compressed air. The work vehicle may also include an additional axle, such as a front axle, with a pair of wheels rotatably coupled to the axle, although the front axle may not be driven by the engine.
The wheels of the work vehicle provide traction for the work vehicle to move by frictionally engaging the ground. As is known, the traction of the work vehicle is generally controlled by the weight distribution of the work vehicle. If the wheels do not properly engage the ground, the work vehicle will not have the proper traction to travel and accomplish a desired mission.
What is needed in the art is a work vehicle that can assist an operator in managing the traction of the wheels.

Ballast weight management system for a work vehicle


In the assembly of vibration body, the first width in the lateral direction (X axis direction) is greater than the second width in the longitudinal direction (Y axis direction) in the cross sectional form perpendicular to Z axis of the first portion on the tip side from the closest node position, thereby, the rigidity of a vibration body main part in the X axis direction can be enhanced, and lateral bending vibrations on fixing portion can be restrained.

The present invention relates to a vibration body for cutting and a processing device used favorably in the case of forming a molding die for an optical element and others, and a molding die and an optical element produced by using the aforesaid items.
There is available a technology to cut materials such as carbide and glass which are hard-to-cut materials by vibrating a tip of a cutting tool such as a diamond tool, which is called vibration cutting. In this technology, minute cutting-in is conducted at high speed by a cutting edge of a cutting tool through vibration, and chips generated in this time are scraped out by the cutting edge through vibration, resulting in realization of cutting processes which cause less stress for a cutting tool and a material to be cut (for example, see Patent Documents 1, 2, 3 and 4). Owing to this process of vibration cutting, a critical depth of cut needed for an ordinary cutting of ductile mode is improved to be several times as large as its normal depth, thus, the hard-to-cut materials can be subjected to cutting process at high efficiency.
In such process of vibration cutting of this kind, high speed vibration of 20 kHz or more is usually used, because for improving the efficiency of processing, when a vibration frequency is enhanced, the aforesaid effects are increased and a feed rate for the tool is also enhanced in proportion substantially to the frequency. There is also an advantage that an oscillator or a vibration body excited by the oscillator does not cause an offensive noise, because the aforesaid frequency is beyond a human audible range.
As a method to generate high speed vibration on a cutting edge of a cutting tool, a method has been put to practical use wherein a holding member that holds a tool is excited with a piezoelectric element or a super-magnetostrictor, to vibrate stably as a standing wave, by resonating this holding member with bending vibration and axial vibration (axial direction vibration). In this method, the vibration body that holds the cutting tool usually has a columnar outer form having a circular cross section, and its tip portion is tapered off.
However, in the case of using the columnar vibration body such as one mentioned above, when processing an optical surface having a large facing angle, a form error on the surface processed arrives at several microns, and improvement of processing accuracy is not easy, though an optical surface having a small facing angle can be processed relatively accurately. Incidentally, a facing angle means an angle of inclination of a normal line on the optical surface relative to an axis of the vibration body or to the optical axis.
The reason why an improvement of processing accuracy is not easy is considered that control of the state of vibration concerning to bending vibration is not easy because of a circular cross section of the vibration body, and great bending vibration is also generated in the direction perpendicular to the direction of aimed bending vibration. Further, it is also considered that bending rigidity in the direction perpendicular to the direction of aimed bending vibration, because of a circular cross section of the vibration body, and when the reactive force resulting from cutting is applied in the aforesaid direction, a tip portion of the vibration body is displaced relatively simply, thus, a depth of cut of a cutting edge of a tool is changed, and processing accuracy is declined.
(Patent Document 1) Unexampled Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-52101
(Patent Document 2) Unexampled Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-218401
(Patent Document 3) Unexampled Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei-9-309001
(Patent Document 4) Unexampled Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-126901

Vibration body for cutting, processing device, molding die and optical element

Abstract: Consequently, an object can be processed highly accurately by the assembly of vibration body that is controlled with a high precision.


A method of providing photofinishing services, includes the steps of: supplying a memory device for a digital camera and a commitment by a service provider to provide goods and/or services with respect to digital images stored on the memory device to a user of the memory device; taking and storing a plurality of digital images on the memory device; delivering the memory device containing the digital images to the service provider; the service provider providing the goods and/or services to the user; and the service provider returning the memory device to the user.

Photographic film has a long history of providing a means of capturing images. The light sensitive nature of photographic film has provided consumers with a good means of image capture at a reasonable cost. The nature of image capture on film is inherently one time use. The exposed film must be chemically processed to provide images to the consumer, and the film loses its light capturing ability in the processing step.
One time use cameras (OTUCs) are a popular means of enjoying photography. Single use cameras provide ready availability and good image reproduction at a low cost for a photographic system. Film-based OTUC systems have been available for many years, and have provided consumers with an easy way to capture images and receive prints.
Digital cameras use electronic sensors to capture images. The signals captured are digitized and stored as digital data, usually in removable non-volatile memory cards. Due to the cost of the memory cards and reusable capacity, they are not typically used for long term storage. Usually data from the memory card is saved to another data storage means such as a PC hard drive or a CD. At any time, the memory card can be cleared of stored data and reused for additional image capture. This is a primary advantage of digital capture. The disadvantage of digital capture is that if prints are desired, the mechanisms for printing are tedious and confusing for the average consumer. In addition, many of the home printing solutions lack the image permanence consumers have grown accustomed to from photographic printing technology.
Local printing at a home PC is fraught with difficulties since a many step process is usually necessary. Additionally, the process is time consuming and can be expensive when the cost of materials is considered. Online printing presents another set of difficulties. Image uploads are often time consuming and confusing. In addition, the volatile nature of the on-line image storage industry has left many consumers with no access to their on-line image account when the company has ceased operations.
Images from memory cards can be printed at retail establishments. This is not often preferred because of the time necessary to go to a retail establishment and download images from the card, and also for the selection process of choosing the images that are desired for printing and choosing from a variety of print formats and image products. In addition, if a photo kiosk such as the "Kodak Picture Maker", sold by the Eastman Kodak Company, is used, queuing and the lack of privacy may present obstacles to the user. The card can be dropped off at a retail establishment for later printing, but the cost of the card is high enough that many consumers are reluctant to purchase a second card to use while the other one is at the printer, preventing use of the digital camera until the printer has finished using the card, or to risk losing the card at the printer.
Recently, fully digital one time use cameras (DOTUCs) have appeared on the market; see for example EP 1212910A1, Hirata et al., published Jun. 12, 2002, and WO 03/024083A2, Braunstein, et al., published Mar. 20, 2003. These are DOTUCs that provide the one time use benefits previously provided by film systems. These systems capture images with an electronic sensor and store the digital image files in digital memory. Because of the high value of the camera and memory, these systems force the consumer to return the camera to the retailer before the images can be accessed. Often the images are in encrypted form and are completely inaccessible to the consumer until the camera is returned. In addition, no means is provided to review the images with the camera since due to manufacturing cost, unlike most digital cameras, no image display is provided. Furthermore, the DOTUCs are designed to take a fixed number of images, such as 25, and no contingency is provided to add more memory, such as by adding a new memory card, or extracting the digital image files from the camera by anyone other than the retailer.
What is needed is a system that allows for the ease of use and ready availability of the film system for obtaining prints while maintaining the flexibility of the digital system for viewing and sharing images.

Method of providing photofinishing services


The present invention discloses a method of forming CMOS transistors with planar shallow trench isolations. Before a twin well being formed, a pad oxide film and a nitride film are sequentially deposited on a silicon substrate. When a photoresist film is patterned to define active regions, the silicon substrate is recessed by using the patterned photoresist film as a mask. A liquid-phase-deposition oxide (LPD) film is then grown on the recess structure for shallow trench isolations. Next, a high temperature annealing procedure is performed to densify the LPD oxide film. Finally, when the pad oxide and the nitride films are removed, processes for fabricating CMOS transistors can be continued on the silicon substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of fabricating CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) transistors, and more particularly, to a method of fabricating CMOS transistors with planar shallow trench isolations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the present days, shallow trench isolation (STI) structures are recognized as an important configuration to fabricate CMOS transistors because the STI technologies offer lots of advantages. For example, a bird's beak is entirely eliminated and channel-stop dopant redistribution is reduced, and the structure is fully recessed to offer the potential of a completely planar surface when compared with the local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) technology. In addition, the problem of field-oxide thinning in narrow isolation spaces does not occur. Furthermore, the threshold voltage is constant as a function of channel width because the narrow-channel effect found in LOCOS is also eliminated.
Because the STI structures have attractive advantages, there are amounts of processes continuously disclosed. Perera et al proposed an isolation method using oxide filled shallow trenches focus primarily at isolating CMOS devices and which has been developed for 0.25 .mu.m SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) fabrication (refer to "Trench Isolation for 0.45 .mu.m Active Pitch and Below" in IEDM Tech. Dig. P.679, 1995.) Fazan et al proposed an STI process that a vertical B field implant and forming of disposable spacers are combined to avoid devices reverse narrow width effects (refer to "A Highly Manufacturable Trench Isolation Process for Deep Submicron DRAMs" in IEDM Tech. Dig., p. 57, 1993.) Nag et al show an ICP (Inductive Coupled) HDP--(High Density Plasma) CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) process to obtain a low budget and high throughput approach as well as provide good gap-fill, low moisture uptake at 0.3 .mu.m spacing (refer to "Comparative Evaluation of Gap-Fill Dielectrics in Shallow Trench Isolation for Sub-0.25 .mu.m Technologies" in IEDM Tech. Dig., p841, 1996.)
Typically, a relative shallow trench isolation is first etched to form a recess structure in the silicon substrate, and then refilled with an insulator material. The surface is planarized after refill to complete the isolation structure. However, the STI process is hard to form a planar trench isolation (refer to "A Novel Planarization of Oxide-Filled Shallow-Trench Isolation" in J. Electrochem. Soc., vol., 144, p 315, 1997 disclosed by Cheng et al.), and usually, the STI technology requires a complicated planarization procedure. Conventionally, a combination of dry etch and CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) with an extra mask to prevent dishing in wide field regions has been proposed to planarize a device surface. Another traditional approach applying only dry etch planarization requires a LOCOS isolation in wide field areas that will significantly increase the process complexity. A requirement has been arisen to disclose an STI process that forms CMOS transistors with planar surface and lower budgets.

Method of fabricating CMOS transistors with a planar shallow trench isolation


A hot dip coating pot for containing a coating material in a liquid state. The coating pot comprises a substantially horizontal bottom and substantially vertical side walls. The bottom and the side walls define a first interior volume for containing the coating material. The bottom wall and a lower portion of each of the side walls defines a bottom portion which is separable from an upper portion of the side walls. The bottom portion has a predetermined interior volume less than the first interior volume.

In coating of ferrous metals, such as in galvanizing, parts to be coated are immersed into a bath coating material after having been chemically pretreated and cleaned. The amount of time the parts stay immersed depends upon the material of the parts, their shapes, the bath temperature, the coating composition, and the desired coating thickness.
Coating is frequently used to coat continuous strips of ferrous base metal to produce iron or steel strip stock having a thin coating of zinc, aluminum, or the like. In continuous-strip coating, the strip to be coated is first cleaned and pretreated, passed through a bath of molten coating material, and then withdrawn from the bath in a generally upward direction. The coating material adhering to the withdrawn strip is finished by coating rolls, air knives, or the like, and is subsequently solidified.
The molten coating material, usually a molten metal such as zinc, for example, is contained in an externally-heated iron or steel pot. Metal coating pots have several disadvantages, however. They have a relatively short life. This is due to several factors, including rapid build-up of dross at the bottom of the pot.
In normal operation, the coating pot is kept full with molten metal supplied via a launder from a premelter. Where a bottom dross generating alloy, such as a zinc alloy, is used, it becomes necessary to periodically empty the pot completely, and allow it to cool, to remove the dross which has collected at the bottom of the pot. To avoid this, it has been proposed to remove dross by using a circulating pump to continuously pump molten metal through a filter, to remove the dross, and return it to the coating pot. Zinc filtration is not yet a proven technology, however, and there is a need to provide an effective yet simple method of dross removal. The present invention fills that need.

Pot for coating continuous metallic strip


A single housing is utilized to mount both an internal fan, and an external alternate flow passage closed by a check valve. The alternate flow passage is defined between an inner and outer wall of the single housing, while the fan is mounted within the inner wall.

This application relates to a housing for a fan, which has alternate flow passages closed by check valves integrated into the housing.
Aircraft are being provided with more and more sophisticated electronic components. Cooling schemes are necessary for cooling these components.
One known cooling scheme is to move cooling air over a liquid which in turn cools the electronics. The cooling air may be taken from an area outside of the aircraft, and returned to the outside of the aircraft after cooling.
The prior art has typically moved this air by an alternative flow arrangement wherein a fan is provided to pull air from outside of the aircraft, and over the fluid to be cooled, through a first conduit. A second wholly separate and branched conduit is also provided, and has a check valve closure.
When the aircraft is on the ground, the fan must be utilized to move the air. However, when the aircraft is in flight, the movement of the aircraft will drive the air and the fan may be stopped. The air then flows through the check valve. In the prior art, this alternative flow line has been provided by a completely separate conduit with a check valve in its own housing. The result has been somewhat cumbersome and unduly large.

Integrated housing for fan and alternate flow check valve


Methods, system and devices are provided that generate a sequence of sub-keys for cryptographic operations from a main key. The main key is operated on only once to generate the sub-keys of the sequence, with a transformation comprising one or more one-way functions. The respective bit values of the sub-keys of the sequence are set using respective bit values of the one or more one-way functions. Advantageously, deriving sub-key bits from respective output bits of one or more one-way functions removes or at least reduces correlations between the main key and the sub-keys, as well as between sub-keys, making it harder or even impossible to recover the main key or other sub-keys from a single sub-key, for example as found using a side-channel attack. At the same time, by using the main key only once (rather than using the main key each time a sub-key is generated), the vulnerability of the main key to a side-channel attack is reduced, because the opportunities for recovering physical information that could lead to the discovery of the main key are reduced. Specific embodiments use parallel or chained execution of sub-functions to generate respective sub-keys. Other specific embodiments generate all sub-keys from a single one-way function in one go.

The present disclosure relates to the generation from a main key of a sequence of sub-keys for cryptographic operations. More specifically, although not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to a block cipher having a key schedule in accordance with the sequence and use of the block cipher for encryption and decryption of a message.
Cryptographic block ciphers, such as DES or AES, whether implemented in hardware or in software, can be the target of physical attacks. In such attacks, an attacker gathers information of various types during the operation of the block cipher. Types of information used in such attacks include:                side-channel information that leaks from the execution of the block cipher, such as power consumption, timing information or magnetic radiation;        information from differential or collision fault analysis;        both of the above.
This information can be used by the attacker to uncover the secret key used during the execution of the block cipher.
Block ciphers operate on round keys, which are sub-keys that are derived from the secret or main key according to a key schedule, by an algorithm typically referred to as the key schedule. In general, side-channel or fault attacks lead to the recovery of a round key. Due to correlations between the main key and round keys inherent in the key schedule of block ciphers such as AES or DES, it is relatively easy to derive the secret key from a recovered round key.
An attacker can target the execution of the key schedule (in which case the attack is likely to be a template attack that models the signal obtained from the side-channel and its noise), the application of the block cipher in encryption or decryption, or both the key schedule and block cipher execution. In the current state of the art, the main key can be recovered from either operation using a single side channel attack or other attacks on a single sub-key. Examples of possible attacks include side channel analysis (CPA—Correlation Power Analysis, DPA—Differential Power Analysis), or DFA-Differential Fault Analysis of the encryption/decryption operation. For the key schedule algorithm, a template side-channel attack is an example of a feasible attack.
In one approach proposed in the literature (P. Junod and S. Vaudenay. FOX: a new family of block ciphers. Selected Areas in Cryptography 2004: Waterloo, Canada, Aug. 9-10, 2004. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Springer-Verlag), the key schedule has been designed such that each round key is generated by applying a cryptographic, collision resistant and one-way function to the secret main key. In this way, correlations between round keys and between the round keys and the secret key are reduced or eliminated, so that an attack based on recovering a single round key using side-channel or fault analysis information is unlikely to succeed. While the use of a one-way function in this way to reduce correlations between keys is a step forward, further improvements in resilience to attacks, specifically side-channel or other physical attacks would be desirable.

Key sequence generation for cryptographic operations


A panel mount electrical connector has a flange (24) and a locking ramp (40) forward of the flange. The flange and the locking ramp are arranged to be disposed on opposite sides of a mounting panel when the connector is disposed in a cutout of the panel. The locking ramp is inclined with respect to the flange such that the panel will become captured between the locking ramp and the flange when the connector is twisted in the cutout.

An electrical connector which can be installed in a cutout of a mounting panel typically has latch arms which are engageable with the mounting panel to secure the connector in the cutout. The latch arms are formed as cantilever beams which can be resiliently deflected to release the connector from the panel. A problem with these latch arms is that they do not readily accommodate panels of different thickness. If the panel is relatively thin the connector will be loose in the panel, while if the panel is relatively thick the latch arms may not be able to grip the panel. There is a need for a panel mount connector which is better able to accommodate panels of different thickness.
Another problem relates to sealing the connector to the panel. It is common to seal the connector by using an elastomeric material in the form of a gasket between the panel and the connector. This gasket may not provide a satisfactory seal it the panel is too thick or too thin. Further, the gasket is a separate member which can be easily lost or misplaced. There is a need to seal between a connector and its mounting panel without the use of a separate seal member.