A method for fabricating a boron-contained silicate glass layers, such as borosilicate and borophosphosilicate glass films at low temperature using High Density Plasma CVD with silane derivatives as a source of silicon, boron and phosphorus compounds as a doping compounds, oxygen is described. RF plasma with certain plasma density is maintained throughout the entire deposition step in reactor chamber. Key feature of the invention""s process is a flow capability of boron-contained silicate glass materials which provide a film with good film integrity and void-free gap-fill within the steps of device structures after low temperature thermal budget anneal conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fabrication of semiconductor devices and more particularly to the fabrication of flowable boron-contained silicon glass films by using a High Density Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition (HDP-CVD) technique with gas mixtures containing silane or its derivatives, necessary doping precursors, and oxygen.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the fabrication of devices such as semiconductor devices, a variety of material layers are sequentially formed and processed on the substrate. For the purpose of this disclosure, the substrate includes a bulk material such as semiconductor, e.g., silicon, body, and if present, various regions of materials such as dielectric materials, conducting materials, metallic materials, and/or semiconductor materials. One of the material regions utilized in this fabrication procedure includes silicon oxide based materials, i.e., materials generally represented by the common formula SiOn, where n=xcx9c2, including doped silicon oxide films, containing an additional doping element such as boron, phosphorus, and their mixtures, as well as fluorine, with total dopant content depending on the purpose of film application in the device. Below the common term xe2x80x9csilicate glass filmxe2x80x9d is used to characterize silicate glass films.
In ULSI device technology, thin films, including silicon dioxide based films, are created on the substrates using a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) technique that assumes a deposition of the solid state material (glass) on the hot substrate from the gas mixture of precursors and oxidizer. It is realized at different conditions, basically at atmospheric pressure (APCVD), low pressure (LPCVD), subatmospheric pressure (SACVD) reduced pressure, and with plasma excitation of gas mixtures (PECVD). A variety of silicon compounds and doping precursors have been used for film deposition. However, most common compounds are hydrides such as silane, fluorinated silane derivatives, phosphine, diborane, tetraethylortosilicate (TEOS), organic ethers of boric and phosphoric acids such as methylphosphates, ethylborates, etc. Oxygen has been commonly used as an oxidizer until recently when its mixture with ozone has been found to improve deposition process characteristics. Normally, film deposition during this process takes place with a constant deposition rate in the range of 0.1-10 Kxc3x85 per minute depending on the method used and its particular conditions.
A silicate glass film is often deposited on a substrate 101 (FIG. 1) having a plurality of steps, e.g., conducting steps. A feature of CVD processes is a non-conformal step coverage of growing film 103 on the step 102 on the device substrate 101 that schematically shown in FIG. 1, namely the film thickness on the top of structure is always higher as compared to the bottom and side wall thickness. Step coverage is normally expressed as a ratio of film thickness on the structure side wall xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d to the thickness on the structure top xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d, as shown in FIG. 1. This ratio is different for different deposition processes as well as for current structures and is in the range of 15-90%.
Among other techniques used in semiconductor processing, silicon oxide based films (including fluorosilicate and phosphosilicate glass films) have been deposited during the last few years using a modified Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) called a High Density Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition (HDP-CVD) technique. This technique assumes simultaneous deposition and sputtering of depositing films in order to improve gap-fill capability, as shown schematically in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows steps 102 formed on a semiconductor substrate 101. The silicon oxide or silicon glass film 103 is deposited over the steps 102. Material species are shown 104 on the surface of the film. Ionized Ar molecules 105 bombard the surface of the film resulting in sputtered and redeposited material 106 and vaporized material species 107. The method of chemical vapor deposition of silicon oxide and doped silicon glass films at High Density Plasma conditions (HDP-CVD) with silane-oxygen based gas mixtures is used in semiconductor manufacturing mostly for sub-quarter micron Ultra Large Scale Integrated (ULSI) circuit device applications. This method is used for deposition of silicon oxide, or frequently known as undoped silicon glass (USG), phosphosilicate glass (PSG), fluorosilicate glass (FSG), i.e. films which typically should not be subjected to thermal treatment at elevated temperatures. In the case of doped films, the dopant precursor, such as phosphine PH3, for example, is added to the silane-oxygen mixture. Also, organic/inorganic silane derivatives, such as tetrafluorosilane SiF4 or difluorosilane SiH2F2 are used either alone or in a mixture with silane.
Silicate glass regions are utilized as insulating/passivating layers, as an electrical insulation between conducting layers, e.g., polysilicon or metal layers. Films of undoped silicon oxide are used also as a liner or as a cap layer either under or on the doped silicon oxide layers, respectively, to limit unacceptable dopant migration during subsequent processing. Tightening of device design rules leads to more complicated device structures with small gaps 201 (FIG. 3A) between neighboring elements. As a result of CVD non-conformal film growth on the top, side walls and bottom of such device structures that are shown schematically as a thinner film on the structure side wall 202 as compared to that thickness on the top of structure (this is due to the deposition kinetic features and diffusion limitation in small gaps), voids 203 (FIG. 3B) form inside structure elements. These voids have normally a keyhole shape that is valid for CVD methods for all current types of films. The voids are more or less pronounced depending on particular deposition conditions.
The reason for void formation is a common non-conformal glass film growth during film deposition that is shown schematically in FIG. 4A-C for different deposition techniques currently used in device manufacturing, such as LPCVD (FIG. 4A), APCVD (FIG. 4B), and PECVD (FIG. 4C). As can be seen in FIG. 4A, reduced pressure provides normally better step coverage, however, it normally means a lower deposition rate. Atmospheric pressure at certain conditions can cause even imperfection of film integrity in the bottom corners of structures 205, as shown in FIG. 4B. The last technique, being a part of HDP-CVD technique, provides the worst known case of step coverage, mostly below 50% even for single device steps, as well as imperfection of film integrity in the bottom corners 205 and the very specific xe2x80x9cbread-loafxe2x80x9d shape of the growing film 206, as shown in FIG. 4C.
Among the CVD.process features, void size is strongly dependent on the structure parameters, such as structure shape, size of gaps between device elements (G) and structure height (H) which are normally combined to express structure complexity as an aspect ratio (AR=H/G)), as shown as an example in FIG. 4A. To characterize an ability of film to fill narrow gaps between device elements, a term xe2x80x9cgap-fill capabilityxe2x80x9d is normally used and structures without any imperfection between device elements seen in cross-section of real structures using scanning electron microscopy techniques, are normally called xe2x80x9cvoid-freexe2x80x9d. The void problem is significantly affected by structure shape being much more pronounced for structures with re-entrant gap shape, as shown schematically in terms of step coverage in FIG. 5 followed by the structure with vertical side walls. The best void-free gap-fill is normally achieved with structure tapering, however this approach is not applicable for all devices. FIG. 5 shows a re-entrant gap shape 120, a vertical gap shape 122, and a tapered gap shape 124.
The problem of film integrity and void formation at HDP-CVD processes (below the common term xe2x80x9cvoidsxe2x80x9d is used for both types of film structure imperfection) in different types of as-deposited HDP-CVD films have been found and analyzed recently, see for instance: [Ref.1]: R. Conti, L. Economikos, G. D. Parasouliotis, et al. xe2x80x9cProcessing Methods to Fill High Aspect Ratio Gaps Without Premature Construction,xe2x80x9d Proceedings of Fifth Dielectrics for ULSI Multilevel Int.Conf. (DUMIC), (1999), p. 201 and [Ref.2]: J. Yota, A. Joshi, C. Nguyen et al. xe2x80x9cExtendibility of ICP High-Density Plasma CVD for Use as Intermetal dielectric and Passivation Layers for 0.18 um Technology,xe2x80x9d Proceedings of Fifth Dielectrics for ULSI Multilevel Int.Conf. (DUMIC), (1999), p.71.
The reason for void formation under HDP-CVD conditions is normally explained as a result of redeposition of the film on the nearest surfaces caused by etch/sputtering of the film with argon bombardment from the top edges of structure steps, as shown in FIG. 2. This effect is shown in progress in FIG. 6. Continuous deposition with etch/sputtering causes the formation of film 103 on the steps 102 (shown in FIG. 6A), followed by void nucleation and formation 207 at the smallest spacings, as shown in FIG. 6B and FIG. 6C, followed by thin seam formation at the certain critical spacing (Gcritical) and critical aspect ratios (ARcritical) 208. At the same time, a void-free film forms at a certain gap spacing, which is larger than critical, and aspect ratio, which is less than critical, as shown in FIG. 2B, 209, that eventually leads to the void-free gap-fill when the full film thickness is achieved, as shown in FIG. 6C.
Detailed analysis of HDP-CVD gap-fill capability for an example of structures with vertical side wall steps, mostly desired for ULSI applications, has been performed in [Ref.3]: V. Vassillev, C. Lin, D. Fung et al. xe2x80x9cProperties and Gap fill Capability of HDP-PSG Films for 0.18 um Device Applications and Beyond,xe2x80x9d Proceedings of Fifth Dielectrics for ULSI Multilevel Int.Conf. (DUMIC), (1999), p.235, for he above mentioned film types and two main ranges of the HDP-CVD deposition temperature, namely, less than about 400xc2x0 C and higher than about 500xc2x0 C. Eventually, HDP-CVD gap-fill capability limitations for the commonly used deposition conditions can be quantitatively described by a simple equation (1):
ARcriticalxe2x89xa6kxc3x97Gcritical,xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
where the values of coefficient k have been found to be about 13.3 xcexcmxe2x88x921 and 20.1 xcexcmxe2x88x921 for high and low temperature processes, respectively. To reduce void formation effects in HDP-CVD, e.g. to enhance gap-fill capability of the HDP-CVD technique, the following approaches have been considered recently:
a) a decrease of the etch (sputtering) component to deposition ratio (below xe2x80x9cE/D ratioxe2x80x9d) and decrease of process pressure. This helps to reduce an impact of film sputtering and, therefore, re-deposition. However, these measures cause an undesirable decrease of HDP-CVD process productivity as well as a necessity to enhance pump productivity.
b) structure rounding, as described in [Ref. 3]. In fact, such rounding allows much better HDP-CVD gap-fill capability using the same process conditions, including pressure, power, and etch to deposition ratio. However, this approach is not applicable for all ULSI device structure elements.
Thus, for device structures with vertical side walls the following common numbers of void-free as-deposited film gap-fill capability with different deposition techniques have been found, as shown in the Table 1, together with typical gap-fill requirements of sub-quarter micron ULSI logic device application. It is clear that all currently used methods do not allow achievement of void-free structures with tight parameters, which is known to be getting even tighter with further device development.
One of the major intrinsic properties of glasses, including silicon-based glasses, is an ability to soften, or to flow at enhanced temperatures. Applying this phenomenon to ULSI device application, it allows a planarization of a non-planar device surface (see FIG. 7A) using a thermal treatment of a non-planar as-deposited glass film which is able to soften at elevated temperatures above the temperature of its softening to form a planar film surface, as shown schematically in FIG. 7B. In semiconductor manufacturing, mostly in ULSI device technology, just a few options of silicate glasses have been used, mostly phosphosilicate and borophosphosilicate glasses (PSG and BPSG). Along with the surface planarization at elevated temperatures, film softening at elevated temperatures allows elimination of voids. Most effective for void elimination are high temperatures providing significant lowering of glass viscosity. Shape of gaps is also very important for the gap-fill after thermal treatment: the best gap-fill can be achieved with tapered device structures that generally shows a trend that better as-deposited gap-fill leads to the best gap-fill after any comparable thermal treatment.
Thermal anneal conditions are very important for ULSI technology. Development of silicide-based gates in the latest ULSI devices with sub-quarter micron design rules has enhanced a necessity to lower the post silicide thermal budget to lower than about 800xc2x0 C. Such a low temperature is not sufficient enough to provide required glass softening and as a result of this, low thermal budget anneal conditions, such as low isothermal furnace anneal, or rapid thermal anneal at temperatures less than 800xc2x0 C., does not provide sufficient film flow. Thus, a problem of voids 301 in thermally treated silicate glass films, as shown in FIG. 7B, in device structures has arisen in device generations with design rules less than about 0.25 xcexcm, and, especially, in devices with less than 0.18 xcexcm design rules. Voids are undesirable because etching and dielectric properties will be non-uniform.
Phosphorus-contained films with very high phosphorus concentrations of about 10 wt. % are capable of flowing at temperatures above 1000xc2x0 C., but that temperature is not acceptable for modern device applications and beyond. Thus, the latest HDP-CVD PSG films are supposed to not flow at the low thermal budget conditions. Due to the low thermal budget requirements, boron-contained films, such as BPSG films, are considered to be more preferable for ULSI technology that is due to the effective decrease of softening temperature with the boron doping as compared to that of phosphorus. However, boron-contained BPSG films deposited at current APCVD, RPCVD and PECVD conditions do not allow sufficient enough as-deposited film gap-fill capability and, therefore, post thermal treatment gap-fill capability at low thermal budget conditions.
Thus, voids in device structures are not acceptable because of a worsening of device reliability. Therefore, it is very desirable to produce a good HDP-CVD film integrity and gap-fill capability. The prior art processes do not provide a silicon oxide layer that can satisfactorily fill gaps between the increasingly tight step features of new ULSI semiconductor devices without forming voids in between the conductor lines. Therefore, it is very desirable to produce glass films without any imperfection, such as voids inside dielectric material.
The importance of overcoming the various deficiencies noted above is evidenced by the extensive technological development directed to the subject, as documented by the relevant patent and technical literature. The closest and apparently more relevant technical developments in the patent literature can be gleaned by considering the following.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,736 to Weigand et al teaches a phosphorus-doped HDP-CVD oxide film. U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,993 to Ravi et al teaches HDP-CVD silicon dioxide with reduced stress using biasing during deposition. U.S Pat. No. 5,776,834 to Avanzino et al teaches HDP-CVD silicon dioxide over a conformal TEOS layer where a void is purposefully created within the silicon dioxide layer in small gaps.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for fabrication of flowable boron-contained silicon class films by using a High Density Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition (HDP-CVD) technique with gas mixtures containing silane or its derivatives, necessary doping precursors, and oxygen.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for fabricating a flowable boron-contained silicon class layer over a stepped substrate surface using HDP-CVD process that produces good integrity of film along the device steps and void-free structures. The invention""s xe2x80x9cboron-contained HDP-CVD glass filmxe2x80x9d process and preferred Invention""s process conditions are shown below n Table 2. The most critical parameters in the invention are dopants to silicon source mole ratio, sputtering to deposition ratio, and total pressure.
The invention has the following advantages: much better as compared to other deposition techniques: as deposited gap-fill capability at commonly used deposition conditions, such as process pressure, etch to deposition ratio, relatively high deposition rate and process productivity, good film quality, and very good film gap-fill after film thermal treatment at elevated temperatures. Besides, it is simply realized and there is no need to change chamber design.
The present invention achieves these benefits in the context of known process technology. However, a further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by the reference to the latter portions of the specification and attached drawings.

Method of high-density plasma boron-containing silicate glass film deposition

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.


A guard for protecting a cook or chef from burn injury from accidentally touching a hot oven rack comprising a sleeve of material mounted on the front rail of a metal oven rack. The sleeve is formed of a material having a thermal conductivity that is lower than than the thermal conductivity of the metal oven rack, so that when the guard is accidentally touched, insufficient thermal energy is transferred to an oven user to cause a burn, allowing the oven user to withdraw from the sleeve before injury can result. Preferably, the material forming the sleeve is heat resistant and has a lower thermal mass and thermal conductivity than the metal oven rack.

Baking and roasting are common and popular cooking practices that require the use of an oven to perform the cooking process. For roasting meats, temperatures of 325 to 375 degrees F. are commonly used, while temperatures are often set much higher for baking, commonly to 400 to 450 degrees F. As might be expected, the oven interior including the oven racks reaches this temperature quickly and maintains these temperatures until the oven again cools down after use.
Ovens typically contain at least two wire racks used to hold bake ware and roasting pans. When the cook reaches into the oven to check on the cooking process or to remove cooked foods, it is not uncommon for him/her to accidentally brush an arm or hand against the upper rack. At the high temperatures typically used to cook/bake the food, a burn—often serious—may result.
The burn occurs almost instantly after contact with the hot metal rack, and is the result of two inherent physical properties of the metal rack: large thermal mass and high thermal conductivity. Roughly stated, thermal mass is the amount of heat contained in a given quantity of a material. Metal has a relatively high thermal mass, which means that there is a great deal of energy in the form of heat contained in the metal oven rack. Thermal conductivity is the speed at which heat transfers via conduction from one material to another. Metal has a very high thermal conductivity, making it an excellent conductor of heat. The result of this combination of a large thermal mass with a high thermal conductivity means that heat energy can be very quickly transferred from the metal oven rack to the skin, causing a burn to occur.


A spring clip includes a first beam and a second beam connected to the first beam and resiliently deflectable toward the first beam from a relaxed position distal from the first beam to a compressed position proximal to the first beam. The second beam has a spring latch extending toward the first beam. The spring latch engages the first beam to secure the second beam in the compressed position. The clip may be positioned in a housing having a rotatable cover formed to compress the clip against a conductor when moved to a closed position.

Flat flexible cables (FFCs) or flat flexible circuits are electrical components consisting of at least one conductor (e.g., a metallic foil conductor) embedded within a thin, flexible strip of insulation. Flat flexible cables are gaining popularity across many industries due to advantages offered over their traditional "round wire" counter parts. Specifically, in addition to having a lower profile and lighter weight, FFCs enable the implementation of large circuit pathways with significantly greater ease compared to round wire-based architectures. As a result, FFCs are being considered for many complex and/or high-volume applications, including wiring harnesses, such as those used in automotive manufacturing.
The implementation or integration of FFCs into existing wiring environments is not without significant challenges. In an automotive application, by way of example only, an FFC-based wiring harness would be required to mate with perhaps hundreds of existing components, including sub-harnesses and various electronic devices (e.g., lights, sensors, etc.), each having established, and in some cases standardized, connector or interface types. Accordingly, a critical obstacle preventing the implementation of FFCs into these applications includes the need to develop quick, robust, and low resistance termination techniques which enable an FFC to be connectorized for mating with these existing connections.
Current FFC terminals include piercing-style crimp terminals, wherein sharpened tines of a terminal are used to pierce the insulation of the FFC in order to attempt to establish a secure electrical connection with the embedded conductor. In harsh environmental conditions, however, such a connection suffers from plastic creep and stress relaxation over time, failing to reliably maintain the electrical connection between the terminal and the conductor.

Spring clip and connector for a flat flexible cable


A method and system for remotely testing an integrated circuit installed in an integrated circuit system is presented. The integrated circuit is equipped with test structures for testing functional blocks within the integrated circuit, and a test access mechanism configured to receive test vectors for controlling the test structures. Test vectors are applied, via the parallel port of a remote computer and parallel cable, to pins of the parallel port of the integrated circuit system, which are connected to the signal ports of the test access mechanism implemented in the integrated circuit of interest, thereby allowing remote testing of the integrated circuit while the integrated circuit is installed in its native system.

Integrated circuit testing is critical at both the design level to confirm proper operation of a given design and at the manufacturing level for ensuring a given integrated circuit (IC) meets all manufacturing specifications prior to shipment. In response to increasing complexity of ICs and consumer demand for high quality and low failure rate, the integrated circuit manufacturing industry has developed large, complex, and expensive testers for integrated circuits, integrated circuit assemblies, and printed circuit board assemblies for performing these tests. These sophisticated testers require knowledgeable engineers to develop thorough suites of tests that test many aspects of the IC, including continuity testing, functional testing, current testing, etc. As a result, integrated circuit manufacturers typically employ dedicated test engineers to develop these test suites. As a further result, there is typically a high degree of reliability of integrated circuits that pass the tests.
However, once the IC is assembled into a larger system and installed at a customer's site, diagnostic testing of the IC in the face of failures of the larger system can be difficult. For starters, access to the sophisticated testers that can determine whether or not the IC is defective and/or whether and what repairs might be performed to overcome the identified problems is not available without physically removing the IC from the system and sent to a remote test site, for example the manufacturer, for diagnostics. However, even when the IC is tested using a sophisticated tester and using tests designed by the test engineers for manufacturing test of the IC, certain defects may not be recognizable because the circumstances which lead to the defective operation of the system may not be regenerated by the manufacturing tests—in other words, the defective operation of the IC may only be regenerated by operation within the system that the IC is installed in. Furthermore, even when the IC is easily removable, removal of the IC from the system debilitates the system it was removed from for days, which in some circumstances can be quite costly to the customer. Depending on various business-related factors, companies responsible for proper operability of the IC within the system may send field engineers to the customer site for diagnostics, and/or may replace the IC within the customer's system. Both of these solutions can be very costly to one or both of the responsible company and customer in terms of travel costs, engineering time, cost of replacement of the IC, and system down-time. Furthermore, simple replacement of the IC may not provide a solution to the problem if the cause of the problem is a result of a system state that is outside of the IC specifications.
Within the manufacturing test industry, present trends in improving manufacturing testability of integrated circuits include Design for Test (DFT) and Concurrent Test (CCT) techniques. DFT techniques are general design procedures, practices and rules that fit or link circuit testability to the development of manufacturing environments. DFT requires the addition of specialized test hardware on the integrated circuit itself that is independent of the circuitry implementing the intended functionality of the integrated circuit. Traditional DFT techniques include Scan Techniques (for example, using the IEEE 1149.1 Boundary Scan and Joint Test Access Standard (JTAG) protocols), Built In Self Test (BIST), and IDDQ tests.
During testing, the integrated circuit is placed into a test mode that is different from its normal operating mode. When in test mode, test data is routed to the functional blocks under the control of the DFT specialized test hardware rather than from external integrated circuit pads (i.e., the DFT hardware replaces the I/O pins for data/address/control I/O signals). The DFT hardware applies test data to the block under test, and receives return results. Analysis of the result data may be performed by the DFT hardware, or may be output to an external tester device for off-line analysis.
DFT hardware is typically designed to reduce the number of full functional test channels (and therefore physical test probes) required for test access. This is achieved using various techniques. In Scan testing, a scan storage cell is implemented for each input and output of interest of the functional circuit block under test. The scan storage cells are connected together in a serial chain, which is connected at an input to a scan-in port of the integrated circuit and connected at an output a scan-out port of the integrated circuit.
DFT designs typically feature centralized or decentralized Test Access Mechanisms (TAM) through which data passes. In a traditional DFT test, these TAMs receive test data from integrated circuit pins or pads connected directly to tester resources. Test data is loaded into the scan chains via a serial scan load operation, for example using the IEEE 1149.1 Boundary Scan and JTAG protocols, incorporated herein by reference for all that it teaches. The scan storage cells are multiplexed with the data path coming from another functional circuit block or from the integrated circuit I/O pads used during normal operation of the integrated circuit. In this regard, when the integrated circuit is placed in a test mode, data is applied to the inputs and outputs of interest of the functional circuit block under test from respective scan storage cells, and when the integrated circuit is placed in a normal operating mode, data is applied to the inputs and outputs of the functional circuit block under test via the normal data path (typically from an I/O pin or an I/O signal from another functional block on the integrated circuit). In the standard JTAG protocol, data is loaded into the scan chains via a Test Data In (TDI) serial input port, and data is output from the scan chains via a Test Data Out (TDO) serial output port. Accordingly, access to any number of I/O ports within the integrated circuit is made available via only five pads of the integrated circuit. These pads include pads designated for Test Mode Select (TMS) for setting the control operation of the JTAG circuitry, Test Data In (TDI) for inputting data to the scan chains, Test Data Out (TDO) for receiving data output from the scan chains, Test Clock (TCK) for clocking JTAG state machine and the transfer of data within the scan chains, and Test Reset (TRST) for initializing the JTAG state machine and scan chain data to an initial known state.
In the IEEE 1149.1 Boundary Scan and JTAG protocols, data is applied serially to the integrated circuit, and therefore requires more time to execute tests. Accordingly, concurrent testing (CCT) and compression techniques may be implemented to assist in reducing test time. CCT techniques allow independent and concurrent testing (i.e., testing in parallel) of independent functional blocks on the integrated circuit. CCT techniques rely on partitioning the functionality of the overall intended integrated circuit functionality into independently testable functional blocks during the design phase.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to overcome the problems of the prior art described above, by providing an integrated circuit testing technique that reduces the required integrated circuit test pin/pad count, decreases test time, and is economical.

Remote integrated circuit testing method and apparatus

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


A method and apparatus for reducing the emissions and improving the performance of an internal combustion engine (40). An input air stream is separated into an oxygen-enriched air stream and a nitrogen-enriched air stream. The nitrogen-enriched air stream is received by a holding chamber (35). The oxygen-enriched air and a combustible fuel are provided to a combustion chamber (45) of the internal combustion engine (40) and a combustion process is initiated. After a predefined time delay, a volume of nitrogen-enriched air is provided from the holding chamber (35) to the combustion chamber (45) to be used during the rest of the combustion process.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and system for reducing emissions and improving performance of an internal combustion engine by providing oxygen-enriched air and nitrogen-enriched air to a combustion chamber.
2. Description of Related Art
The purpose of an internal combustion engine is to convert the chemical energy of fuel into the mechanical energy of motion using a process of combustion. As is known, internal combustion engines are used extensively in a variety of machines including mobile vehicles, or for other purposes, such as power generation. However, internal combustion engines produce emissions from the combustion process which include a number of pollutants whose presence are undesirable in the environment. As a result, numerous regulations have been implemented by various government bodies requiring reductions in these pollutants. The primary pollutants produced by internal combustion engines during the combustion process include oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), and hydrocarbons (HC). Nitrogen oxides (NOx), such as nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide, are formed during the combustion process when air combines with oxygen under the high temperature conditions of the engine's combustion chamber. Nitrogen oxides contribute to the formation of ozone, smog, and acid-rain. Carbon monoxide is formed during the combustion process from the incomplete combustion of the air-fuel mixture. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and toxic gas, and is one of the most dangerous of the combustion process pollutants. Particulate matter is also formed during incomplete combustion and consists of a mixture of solid and liquid matter whose main constituent is carbon. Particulate matter is a major source of visible urban air pollution such as soot and haze. Hydrocarbons are formed from the combustible fuel and lubrication oils and additives used within the engine. Both particulate matter and hydrocarbons are suspected carcinogens. In comparison to gasoline engines, diesel engines have particularly high concentrations of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter contained in their emissions.
It has been known in the past that the introduction of oxygen-enriched air into the combustion chamber during the combustion process allows for more complete combustion and results in a reduction in the formation of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons. An increase in fuel efficiency, as well as engine power, can also be achieved through oxygen-enrichment. However, oxygen-enrichment of the combustion process results in an undesirable change in NOx production, as well as an increase in combustion temperatures, which can cause engine overheating. An example of an oxygen-enrichment of intake air is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,619. The method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,619 requires the use of a suitable NOx after-treatment device in the exhaust stream to attempt to reduce the higher level of NOx generated by the oxygen-enrichment. However, U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,619 does not offer a solution to the problem of engine overheating caused by oxygen-enrichment of intake air.
The introduction of nitrogen-enriched air into the exhaust stream of an internal combustion engine has also been known in the past to reduce NOx present in the exhaust gases. U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,845 describes a NOx reduction method which includes the injection of atomic nitrogen into the exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine. However, U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,845 also does not offer a solution to the problem of engine overheating caused by oxygen-enrichment of intake air.
The present invention provides for a reduction in emission pollutants, as well as increased fuel efficiency and engine power, while reducing or eliminating the disadvantages of prior methods. The introduction of nitrogen-enriched air into the combustion chamber after the start of combustion provides for a reduction in the formation of NOx, while reducing or eliminating the problem of engine overheating caused by oxygen-enrichment of intake air.

Method and apparatus for membrane separation of air into nitrogen and oxygen elements for use in internal combustion engines


In an image pickup apparatus and method, and an image-pickup control computer program, a photographing optical system is driven, when a plurality of objects are present at different distances in a same detection field of view for identifying an object to be focused, so as to be focused on each of the plurality of objects, and a photographing operation is performed at each position of the photographing optical system driven so as to be focused on each of the plurality of objects.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, such as an electronic still-image camera having a focus adjusting function, or the like, an image pickup method, and an image-pickup control computer program.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in electronic still-image cameras, video cameras and the like, methods have been used in which a lens position where a high-frequency component of a luminance signal obtained from an image pickup device, such as a CCD (charge-coupled device) or the like, is maximized is made an in-focus position. Among such methods, a mountaineering method in which a lens is moved in a direction to increase a high-frequency component of a luminance signal (hereinafter termed a "focus evaluation value") obtained from an image pickup device, and a position where the focus evaluation value is maximized is made an in-focus position, and a scanning method in which focus evaluation values are stored by moving a lens over the entire range region, and a lens position corresponding to the maximum value of the stored values is made an in-focus position have been known.
Usually, in these methods, as shown in FIG. 15, a central portion of a photographing picture frame is used as a range frame, and a lens position having a maximum focus evaluation value for an object within the range frame is made an in-focus position. A method has been known in which, as shown in FIG. 16, a plurality of range frames are set, and after storing focus evaluation values for the respective range frames, a lens position corresponding to the maximum value of the focus evaluation values for each of the range frames is obtained, and a position where a lens is to be finally moved is determined from among these lens positions. The relationship between the lens position and the focus evaluation value obtained in the above-described manner has the shape of a mountain as shown in FIG. 17.
When objects at different distances are absent within the range frame as shown in FIG. 15 or FIG. 16, the relationship shown in FIG. 17 is obtained. However, when objects at different distances are present within the range frame, the relationship between the lens position and the focus evaluation value is as shown in FIG. 18. That is, a peak of focus evaluation values is present for each of the objects at the different distances. Accordingly, when objects at different distances are present within a range frame, peaks appear at two different lens positions, as shown in FIG. 18.
In such a case, since it is impossible for a camera to determine on which object the photographer intends to focus, the lens is in most cases moved by selecting a position corresponding to the closest distance from among a plurality of peak positions. In such an approach, however, for example, when photographing an image across a wire netting, the wire netting is focused instead of an object intended by the photographer to be focused. Even if the camera is not focused on the closest position, it is impossible for the camera to determine to be focused on a position intended by the photographer.

Apparatus, method and control computer program for imaging a plurality of objects at different distances


A method and apparatus for communicating synchronous and asynchronous data among multiple devices which are connected by a common network or a set of connected networks using a network communications protocol which provides deterministic, bounded latency. Transmitting and receiving devices communicate asynchronous data signals using data packets in accordance with the communications protocol in use by the system. If synchronous data signals must be communicated between two devices the transmitting device sends asynchronous data signals to the receiving device(s) to indicate that synchronous data will follow, and to inform the receiving device(s) of the transmitting device's address. The receiving device sets up a message filter which looks for and accepts data packets bearing a destination address field value equal to the address of the transmitting device. The transmitting device converts the synchronous data into one or more data packets bearing a destination address field value equal to the transmitting device's own address, and transmits the data packets over the network. The receiving device receives the data packets and reassembles them back into a synchronous data signal. Optionally, the transmitting and receiving devices may bypass normal error checking routines when communicating synchronous data. If multiple receiving devices are to receive the same synchronous data signal, they can each configure a filter to receive the synchronous data packets bearing the transmitting device's address in the destination address field. Thus, the transmitting device needs to send the data packets only one time, rather than sending duplicate data packets to several receiving devices.

The present invention relates, generally to systems for communicating data among remote devices, and in particular to a method and apparatus for communicating synchronous and asynchronous data between devices connected to a network or a group of interconnected networks.
Computer networks provide a way to exchange data between connected devices. The connected devices can be high speed digital computers, microprocessor based computers, simple recording devices, or a variety of other devices. Connecting multiple devices by a network and allowing the devices to exchange data eliminates the need for duplicate data storage, reduces costs, and increases productivity.
Many such network systems have been developed. They use different connection architectures, have different communications protocols, and can use either twisted pair wires, coaxial cables, optical fibers, or other physical transmission medium. Examples of common network systems are so called "local area network" systems which commonly interconnect plural "personal" computers.
In a network system, comprising plural end-user devices interconnected by a transmission medium, communications are frequently in the form of bit-serial data packets of a predetermined format. Each data packet usually contains a source address, a destination address, various supervisory or administrative data and, up to a predetermined amount of message data. An end-user device desiring to send a message to another end-user device typically accesses the transmission medium through interface units and causes the message to be communicated on the transmission medium where it is available to be received by the other end-user devices connected to the transmission medium. Because the length of a "message" may exceed the length available in a packet, the "message" may be broken into plural serial signals each of which are transmitted in one of the data packets. To transmit data the end user device passes the data packets to the interface unit, which in turn transmits the data along the transmission path after it has determined that the transmission path is not in use. An end-user device desiring to receive the data accesses the transmission medium through interface units and obtains the desired data packets therefrom. Typically, the end-user device must re-assemble message data from plural packets to reconstruct the original message.
In any data communication, and especially in data communications networks, it is common for the transmitting device and the receiving device to engage in a protocol which controls the communications process. Typically the transmission medium interface stage does not attempt to decode or sort the data packets in order to ensure message validity but utilizes network applied check words to determine data packet integrity. If the receiving device receives a message which is correct in format, and passes the network check word tests, the receiving device may send a message to the transmitting device acknowledging receipt of a valid data packet. Likewise, if the data fails to conform to the required format, or fails a check word test, the receiving device may send a non-acknowledgment message, or send no acknowledgement back to the transmitting device. If the transmitting device fails to receive acknowledgment that a valid data packet was received, it will re-transmit the packet.
The capability of such known communications systems is necessarily limited by the bandwidth of the transmission medium. When the number of devices communicating on the transmission medium exhausts the bandwidth capability of the system, no additional devices can be connected to the system, nor can the existing devices increase their message rates.
Since only one device at a time can transmit over the transmission path, if one device takes control of the network and sends a large amount of data, all the other devices must wait. Likewise, if many devices are all attempting to send data at the same time, each connected device must wait its turn. This can lead to unacceptable transmission delays unless some scheme exists to allocate use of the transmission medium.
There are many known methods of allocating access to the transmission medium. The network protocol can be such that the connected devices take turns transmitting. In such a system only one device at a time will have the privilege of transmitting, while all other devices can only receive. The privilege is passed from one device to another in a predefined order until each connected device has had an opportunity to transmit. Once the privilege has been passed to all devices on the network the cycle begins all over again. When a device gets the privilege it can transmit data if it needs to, or just pass the privilege on to the next device.
Another method is to set a maximum transmit time period. When a device takes control of the transmission medium it can only transmit for a certain period of time, after which it must relinquish control of the network.
The amount of time for a data packet to be communicated between two devices is known as the latency. If the two methods described above are combined, the maximum amount of time it takes to get the opportunity to transmit a data packet is the time it takes for the transmit privilege to complete a cycle around the network. Since the privilege may travel in a defined cycle, and since each device may have only a set amount of time to transmit, the latency is deterministic. Since not every device will necessarily want to transmit during a given cycle of the transmit privilege, the latency will vary from cycle to cycle, but will always be less than a known maximum value.
If many devices are connected to the network the maximum transmit time can be shortened to maintain a certain latency value. If fewer devices are connected to the network the maximum transmit time can be increased and the latency value will remain the same.
While the allocation scheme described above is one way to achieve a bounded, deterministic latency, other schemes also exist.
In most networks, each connected device has its own address. There are two main schemes used by network systems to ensure that transmitted data packets arrive at the right receiving device. In the first, each data packet is addressed to a particular receiving device. In the second, group addresses are used.
In the first scheme each data packet has a destination address field. The transmitting device puts a value equal to the receiving device's address into the destination address field of a data packet, then transmits the packet. The receiving device constantly scans the data packets passing over the network and receives only data packets with its own address. If the transmitting device must send a particular message to several receiving devices, this addressing scheme is inefficient since the same data packets must be sent multiple times to each receiving device. This wastes network bandwidth and slows down all devices on the network.
This approach normally uses robust transport and network protocols such as Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) or an International Organization for Standardized (ISO) Open System Interconnection (OSI) Compliant Network and Transport Protocol to provide error handling and packet sequencing in the presence of noise and other data traffic.
The operation of this protocol may also require that a flow control mechanism such as that described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 452,429, filed Dec. 19, 1989, and assigned to the same entity as the assignee hereof, which is incorporated herein by reference. This patent application describes a dispersed end entity flow control technique for computer networks which can be implemented to manage data flow when the receiving device cannot accept additional data due to excessive demands on its resources.
In a group addressing system there are predefined address values corresponding to different types of data. A transmitting device will decide what type of data it is transmitting, and will put the appropriate group address in a data packet's destination address field. A receiving device looking for a particular type of data scans the destination address field of all the data packets traversing the network and selects only those with the correct group address. Since multiple receiving devices can each receive a single transmission of data packets based on the group address, duplicate transmission of data packets is not necessary. However, group addressing imposes a rigid communications structure on connected devices. The data types must be known to all connected devices, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to change the group addresses. Similarly, it may not be possible to dynamically vary groups from message to message.
In many environments it is desirable to communicate both synchronous and asynchronous signals over the same network medium. Continuous, synchronous signals such as audio and video data must be broken down into data packets at the transmitting end, transmitted across the network, then reassembled into a synchronous signal at the receiving end. In order ensure that synchronous signals appear whole to the user at the receiving end the packets must traverse the network fast enough to be inserted back into the correct position in the outgoing synchronous data stream. In practical terms this means the delay in passing a data packet from one device to another, the latency, must be bounded and deterministic. Many network standards provide this type of environment, but a low latency is essential to proper transmission of synchronous data.
Often a synchronous signal must be sent to more than one receiving device. It is also common for the intended receiving devices to vary from message to message. If the transmitting device uses the addressing method of addressing each data packet to an individual receiving device, it allows the transmitting device to select exactly who will receive the transmission. Unfortunately, precious transmission time is wasted in sending duplicate data packets to multiple devices.
If the group addressing scheme is used the transmitting device loses control over who will receive the message, and the transmitting device is unable to tell individual receiving devices to tune into a certain message. It is impossible to dynamically vary the groups on a message by message basis.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a novel method and system for transmitting synchronous data between dynamically variable groups over a standard network having deterministic bounded latency.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel method and system for more efficiently using the available bandwidth of a standard network having deterministic, bounded latency during synchronous communications between dynamically variable receiving groups.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the claims and from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawings.

Network synchronous data distribution system


A movement detector of the feeder of wire solder directly touches the wire solder, and the movement detector includes (a) a rotating body which revolves when the wire solder moves along a feeding direction and (b) a rotation detector which produces a rotation detecting signal by detecting a rotation of the rotating body. An abnormal halt detector of the feeder of the wire solder compares a rotation detecting signal from a rotation detector with a rotation instructing signal sent to a motor which feeds the wire solder, and calculates the comparison result, thereby judges an abnormal halt of the wire solder. When the abnormal halt is detected, a feeding roller for the wire solder is stopped, whereby the wire solder is prevented from being bent and deformed.

A light beam heating apparatus which heats up a local spot without touching thereat is widely used for soldering a small size electronic part. Wire solder or cream solder is used in general when the light beam heating apparatus is employed. A conventional feeder of wire solder employed in a soldering machine is described hereinafter by referring to FIG. 3.
In FIG. 3, a solder detector 2 monitors whether wire solder 1 is guided normally to a feeding roller 3 without interruption. Two feeding rollers 3 are driven by a motor 5. A feeding controller 6 controls a rotation of the motor 5. A distance between the feeding rollers 3 is adjusted responsive to a diameter of the wire solder. An abnormal halt detector 4 of the wire solder detects an abnormal halt of the wire solder at a downward place from the abnormal halt detector 4 due to e.g., a clogging in a feeding tube 7. When the abnormal halt detector 4 detects the halt of feeding the wire solder 1, the feeding controller 6 stops the motor 5 and prevents the wire solder 1 from being bent or deformed.
The feeding tube 7 has a dual structure, i.e., it comprises an outer tube and an inner tube. The wire solder 1 goes through the inner tube. The interior of the inner tube employs a material of a small slide resistance. A feeding direction fine adjuster 8 disposed at the tip of the feeding tube 7 can fine adjust a feeding direction of the wire solder 1.
In this feeder, the wire solder 1 has been guided to the feeding roller 3 via the solder detector 2. The two feeding rollers 3 feed the wire solder 1 to an objective spot by passing through the abnormal halt detector 4, the feeding tube 7, and being directed by the feeding direction fine adjuster 8.
The structure of the abnormal halt detector 4 is described by referring to FIG. 4. A guide tube 9 transfers the wire solder 1 into the abnormal halt detector 4 in which a spring 10 is incorporated. A dog 11 triggers a micro-switch 11.
When the wire solder 1 is blocked e.g. by a clog in the feeding tube 7, which is placed downward from the abnormal halt detector 4, feeding force from the feeding rollers 2 generates compression stress to the wire solder 1. When this compression stress excesses the stress which can compress and deform a spring 10, the dog 11 moves along the feeding direction of the wire solder 1 and touches an actuator 12b of a micro-switch 12 to actuate the micro-switch 12. When the micro-switch 12 is actuated, the feeding controller 6 stops the motor 5, and the feeding of the wire solder 1 by the feeding rollers 3 is halted, whereby the wire solder 1 is prevented from being bent and deformed. In other words, the abnormal halt detector 4 functions as a force sensor which senses a compression stress from the compressed and deformed spring 10. The compression stress is generated by the abnormal halt of the wire solder 1 and applied to the wire solder.
However, when the wire solder 1 has a so small diameter that stiffness of the wire is not enough, the compression stress applied to the wire solder 1 sometimes bends and deforms the wire solder 1 before compressing and deforming the spring 10. In other words, when the wire solder 1 having a small diameter and insufficient stiffness is employed, the wire solder 1 is not always prevented from being bent and deformed.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A wheel slip correction system for an electric traction motor propelled vehicle having a plurality of DC electric traction motors with series connected armature and field windings incorporates an apparatus connected in circuit with each motor for reducing motor armature current in response to a motor speed increase caused by wheel slip. The apparatus is arranged to be non-power dissipative during non-wheel slip conditions.

Wheel slip correction systems commonly used in locomotive applications in DC electric traction motors are coupled in driving relationship to wheel/axle assemblies of the locomotive. Because the locomotive wheels are steel running on steel rails there is a high likelihood of one or more wheels slipping either from effects of load or rail conditions. Various methods have been used to overcome wheel slip and improve traction including mechanical methods, such as applying sand to a rail, and electrical methods such as by removing or decreasing electrical power to a motor driving the slipping wheel.
One method of electrically correcting for wheel slip is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,303. In this patent, a plurality of DC electric motors connected for driving respective wheels of a locomotive have their field windings shunted by a resistance so that at least some armature current bypasses the field winding so that the motors are normally operated in a field weakened mode. Upon detection of a wheel slip, a switch that is connected in series circuit with the resistance is opened so that full armature current is forced through the field winding of the motor associated with the slipping wheel. The increase in field current increases motor flux which in turn increase motor back EMF to thereby reduce the effective voltage at the motor armature causing a drop in motor current and a concomitant reduction in motor torque. Reduced torque allows the wheel to slow thereby correcting for the wheel slip. An obvious disadvantage of this system is the power loss in all the resistive loads connected in parallel with the field windings of each of the motors during normal operation, particularly since wheel slipping is a random, short-term event.


A radio receiver, in particular for vehicles, is proposed that is equipped with a decoder for decoding digitally encoded traffic news received, in particular in accordance with the RDS system. A station memory is also provided, in which all the receiver radio stations are stored in memory at regular intervals. This table is compared with a table stored in a memory of the receiver, in which the radio stations are assigned to certain regions. If a predominant match between the received radio stations and the stored radio stations is ascertained, then the associated region is output, and only traffic news associated with the applicable region is output.

German Patent Disclosure Document DE-OS 35 36 820 Bragas and Busch/BOS a traffic broadcast decoder that is arranged to process digital signals. These digital signals are for instance superimposed on an auxiliary carrier that is broadcast by radio stations, or transmitters, together with the FM radio program. As a result, the information present in these digital signals can be transmitted unimpeded, parallel with the actual radio program. This applies particularly to traffic news, which can be decoded by demodulation of the aforementioned auxiliary carrier. Besides signal transmission by means of auxiliary carriers, however, it is also possible for these digital signals to be supplied to a digital radio transmitter, for instance interlaced with the digital radio information.
If the traffic news transmitted as digital signals is formatted on the same principle as traffic news broadcast in the clear, then instead of the complete information, it is also possible to transmit memory addresses, which invoke standardized texts stored in memories in the receivers. This makes a substantially smaller data capacity adequate for transmission. As a consequence, substantially more traffic news on individual events can be provided than was the case previously.
While keeping the same selection criteria as before for the traffic news, which depends essentially on the number of drivers affected, traffic news relating to a larger, supraregional geographical area, e.g. the region of the Federal Republic of Germany and possibly the neighboring countries, could also be transmitted over all the chains of FM stations. Another possibility is to restrict the region into which the traffic news relates to approximately the region supplied by the station or chain of stations, but in return to expand the selection of traffic news to events that affect even only a few drivers.
Whatever selection is made for the traffic news transmitted, the great number of reports would be excessively demanding of the driver's attention if he received them all in a visual or acoustic form.
It has already been proposed that a selection from among the traffic news be made to decide what will be displayed or reproduced. This can be done for instance in terms of the intended trip route, which the driver has input via an input device in the form of data on the section of highway to be traveled. It is then assured that only the traffic news that applies to that trip route will appear on the output device.
Still, making a limitation to the trip route selected may be too narrow, if the driver should become interested in the traffic situation elsewhere or in relatively persistent bottlenecks in other places, because he might wish to drive to those places soon.
In German Patent Application P 39 14 104.7 and corresponding PCT/DE 90/00250, the publishing dates which do not precede the international filing date of the present application, it has already been proposed that a selector be provided in the radio receiver, by means of which the radio receiver user can individually specify a region for which he wishes to have information on the traffic situation. Based on this specification, a station is then sought that essentially transmits information on this region. It is also possible as a result to incorporate filters that filter out traffic news beyond the local region that is for instance also broadcast by the same station, so that only the information that actually refers to the selected region is output.
Manually inputting a certain region makes input means such as keyboards a prerequisite, and it is also somewhat inconvenient for the user, because if he wishes to obtain the regional traffic news he has to input the applicable region first. Often, therefore, he does not bother, and so the danger still exists that the radio user will either be overwhelmed by unnecessary information or, having tuned to a station from a different region, will either not receive the desired traffic news, or will not receive all of it.

RDS receiver with automatic region recognition


An apparatus and processes for producing compound cigarette filters by horizontally assembling multiple filter segments onto the horizontally oriented transverse flutes of a continuous belt. Spaced apart hoppers are serially arranged above the belt, and each hopper contains at least one of the multiple segments of the compound filter being assembled. A transfer structure between each hopper and the belt serially delivers the filter segments to the flutes on the belt, and after such assembly the various filter segments are removed as a group from each flute of the continuous belt. The filter segments are then combined as a group with wrapped tobacco rods to thereby produce filtered cigarettes.

The present invention relates to the production of compound filters, and more particularly to horizontal assembly of multiple filter components of compound cigarette filters.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,517,480 and 3,603,058 illustrate and describe machines for the production of composite cigarette filters by directly flowing granular filter material from a storage hopper into a vertically oriented filter tube made of paper. Similarly, US Patent Application Publication 2002/0119874A1 describes another vertical filling machine for producing compound cigarette filters that includes a series of rotating plates with cavities therein into which the granular filter material is deposited. The cavities ultimately are aligned with a vertically oriented open ended filter tube of paper to facilitate deposit of the granular material into the tube. These machines have the disadvantage of often destroying the integrity of the paper filter tubes into which filter materials are deposited. They also deposit imprecise amounts of granular material and produce undesired amounts of fine dust and the like.
Co-pending and commonly assigned application Ser. No. 11/268,291, filed Nov. 4, 2005, also relates to machinery and processes for producing compound cigarette filters utilizing vertical filling techniques that avoid the disadvantages of the above-described disclosures. However, the invention of this application also relies on vertical procedures for compound filter assembly.

Compound horizontal filter assembly machine and process


The invention pertains to new composition and a method for increasing the solubility of various agricultural compounds in water at a low pH. The compounds included in this patent are typically not soluble at pH ranges less than 7 to produce commercially viable liquid concentrates. This method requires the use of tallowamine ethoxylates and phosphate esters to lower the pH of various compounds and also keep them soluble in water.

Many agricultural formulations contain water soluble salts. These salts, often alkylamine salts, are generally not as active as their acid equivalents. For example, 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D acid) is known to be more herbicidally active than the dimethylamine salt of 2, 4-D. However, the 2, 4-D acid is not soluble in water. Solvents used to formulate, 2,4-D acid are known to be phytotoxic to plants and enhance herbicide volatility and subsequent drift to non-target areas. In another example, boron is known to be available to plants only in the boric acid form. However, boric acid is only soluble at relatively low concentrations in water, while the monoethanolamine salt of boric acid is known to be much more soluble.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,609 issued to Ott, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, discusses the means of producing just such a water soluble concentrate of boric acid and monothanolamine. The disadvantage is that the plants must convert this boric acid monoethanolamine complex to boric acid in order to use it. Furthermore, boron is often applied in conjunction with a variety of agricultural pesticides which are subject to degradation at high pH ranges. The boric acid monothanolamine salt produces high pH solutions and therefore is detrimental to many pesticides.
Fattyamine ethoxylates have been known to be used in agricultural formulations in the past. Specifically, tallowamine ethoxylate surfactant is known to enhance glyphosate activity and translocation.
Phosphate esters of alkylphenolethoxylate and alcohol ethoxylates have been used in agriculture traditionally as buffering agents and compatibility agents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,694 assigned to Kao Corp., which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes the use of phosphate esters to suspend a water insoluble biocide. However, Kao does not discuss the pH as a relevant factor in solubility, and further does not address water soluble compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,562 assigned to Monsanto Company, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes the use of phosphate esters to couple the isopropylamine salt of glyphosate into the water insoluble 2-haloacetanilide herbicide. Again, pH is not a relevant factor and this patent does not address the use of other pesticides than glyphosate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,598 assigned to Monsanto Company, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes a storage stable aqueous composition containing
(a) water-soluble pesticide or plant growth modifying agent, PA1 (b) an alkylamine surfactant, PA1 (c) a C.sub.6 -C.sub.22 saturated or unsaturated alkyl monocarboxylic or dicarboxylic acid PA1 (d) and water.
The third ingredient (c) C.sub.6 -C.sub.22 saturated or unsaturated alkyl monocarboxylic or dicarboxylic acid is essential and must be present in a ratio alkoxylated alkylamine surfactant to C.sub.6 -C.sub.22 saturated alkyl mono or dicarboxylic acid from at least about 2:1. Our invention works with none, essentially none or even a low ratio less than 2:1 such as 1:1 or less of amine to mono-or dicarboxlic acid. Preferably, there is essentially none or even no C.sub.6 -C.sub.22 saturated alkyl mono or dicarboxylic acid present. Furthermore, this patent requires the use of acetylenic diol surfactants which are not required by this invention. In fact, this invention works without any acetylenic diol surfactants being present or essentially no acetylenic diol surfactants being present.


A method for preparing resin-impregnated graphite articles, including providing a sheet of compressed particles of exfoliated graphite having two major surfaces; impregnating the sheet with a first resin system to form a resin-impregnated sheet; surface treating the resin-impregnated sheet to form at least one structure on at least one of the major surfaces of the sheet to form a surface treated sheet; and treating the sheet with a second resin system.

The electronics industry is entering into a heat constrained period of growth. The heat flux of electronic components is increasing and air cooling will no longer remove enough heat to maintain the desired operating temperatures of the microprocessors and other electronic components.
The maximum heat flux which is generally considered to be manageable by conventional air cooling is about 50 W/cm2. As microprocessors and other electronic devices are developed which create a heat flux in excess of about 50 W/cm2 the electronics industry is moving to liquid cooled heat sinks. One approach to such liquid cooled heat sinks is what is referred to as a microchannel heat sink. A microchannel heat sink has extremely small grooves formed in the material from which the heat sink is constructed so as to provide very thin fins separated by very thin microchannels. This provides a much larger surface area for the dissipation of heat. Combined with a forced liquid circulation system microchannel heat sinks provide one of the most promising solutions to the electronics industry's appetite for increased cooling capacity.
To date, microchannel heat sinks have been constructed from materials such as silicon, diamond, aluminum and copper, copper-tungsten composites, and ceramics such as beryllium oxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,311 to Bonde et al., the details of which are incorporated herein by reference, discloses a typical construction for a silicon microchannel heat sink including systems for delivery of coolant to the microchannels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,910 to Walpole et al., the details of which are incorporated herein by reference, discloses a microchannel heat sink having U-shaped microchannels so that the direction of fluid flow alternates in adjacent microchannels so as to provide a more uniform temperature and thermal resistance on the surface of the heat sink. The Walpole et al. heat sinks are manufactured from silicon, a copper-tungsten composite such as Thermcon® or a ceramic such as beryllium oxide.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,457,515 and 6,675,875 to Vafai et al., the details of which are incorporated herein by reference, disclose multi-layer microchannel heat sinks having fluid flow in opposite directions in adjacent layers, so as to eliminate the temperature gradient in the direction of fluid flow across the heat sink.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,874,775 to Shiomi et al., the details of which are incorporated herein by reference, discloses a diamond heat sink.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0062149 to Goodson et al., the details of which are incorporated herein by reference, describes an electroosmotic microchannel cooling system.
There is a continuing need for improved materials for use in microchannel heat sinks to avoid some of the problems encountered with previously used materials. As will be recognized, the material from which the heat sink is formed (i.e., the substrate material) must be dimensionally stable so as to maintain its shape, yet it must also be leak-free, so the liquid coolant, under pressure, does not leak.
A dimensionally stable, leak-free graphite substrate can also be used in the formation of components for other applications, such as the flow field plates of electrochemical fuel cells. An electrochemical fuel cell such as an ion exchange membrane fuel cell, more specifically a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, produces electricity through the chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen in the air. Within the fuel cell, electrodes, denoted as anode and cathode, surround a polymer electrolyte to form what is generally referred to as a membrane electrode assembly, or MEA. A catalyst material stimulates hydrogen molecules to split into hydrogen atoms and then, at the membrane, the atoms each split into a proton and an electron. The electrons are utilized as electrical energy. The protons migrate through the electrolyte and combine with oxygen and electrons to form water.
The MEA of a PEM fuel cell is sandwiched between two flow field plates. In operation, hydrogen flows through channels in one of the flow field plates to the anode, where the catalyst promotes its separation into hydrogen atoms and thereafter into protons that pass through the membrane and electrons that flow through an external load. Air flows through the channels in the other flow field plate to the cathode, where the oxygen in the air is separated into oxygen atoms, which join with the protons through the proton exchange membrane and the electrons through the circuit, and combine to form water. Since the membrane is an insulator, the electrons travel through an external circuit in which the electricity is utilized, and join with protons at the cathode.
The flow field plates are generally part of the structural support for the fuel cell, and thus have to be dimensionally stable. Also, since fluids like hydrogen, air and water flow about the channels formed along the surfaces of the plates, the plates need to be leak-free to avoid contamination or loss of reactants. Indeed, in some configurations, a cooling fluid flows between adjacent flow field plates, in which case having the plates leak-free is especially important.
Resin systems have been developed for the formation of dimensionally stable graphite sheets; resin systems have also been developed for the formation of leak-free graphite sheets. However, to date the production of graphite sheets, especially on which a pattern has been formed, which are both dimensionally stable and leak-free has not been possible. The formation of dimensionally stable sheets have led the formation of leak-paths through the sheets, while leak-free sheets have tended to be brittle and are therefore not dimensionally stable.
Graphites are made up of layer planes of hexagonal arrays or networks of carbon atoms. These layer planes of hexagonally arranged carbon atoms are substantially flat and are oriented or ordered so as to be substantially parallel and equidistant to one another. The substantially flat, parallel equidistant sheets or layers of carbon atoms, usually referred to as graphene layers or basal planes, are linked or bonded together and groups thereof are arranged in crystallites. Highly ordered graphites consist of crystallites of considerable size, the crystallites being highly aligned or oriented with respect to each other and having well ordered carbon layers. In other words, highly ordered graphites have a high degree of preferred crystallite orientation. It should be noted that graphites possess anisotropic structures and thus exhibit or possess many properties that are highly directional such as thermal and electrical conductivity.
Briefly, graphites may be characterized as laminated structures of carbon, that is, structures consisting of superposed layers or laminae of carbon atoms joined together by weak van der Waals forces. In considering the graphite structure, two axes or directions are usually noted, to wit, the "c" axis or direction and the "a" axes or directions. For simplicity, the "c" axis or direction may be considered as the direction perpendicular to the carbon layers. The "a" axes or directions may be considered as the directions parallel to the carbon layers or the directions perpendicular to the "c" direction. The graphites suitable for manufacturing flexible graphite sheets possess a very high degree of orientation.
As noted above, the bonding forces holding the parallel layers of carbon atoms together are only weak van der Waals forces. Natural graphites can be treated so that the spacing between the superposed carbon layers or laminae can be appreciably opened up so as to provide a marked expansion in the direction perpendicular to the layers, that is, in the "c" direction, and thus form an expanded or intumesced graphite structure in which the laminar character of the carbon layers is substantially retained.
Graphite flake which has been greatly expanded and more particularly expanded so as to have a final thickness or "c" direction dimension which is as much as about 80 or more times the original "c" direction dimension can be formed without the use of a binder into cohesive or integrated sheets of expanded graphite, e.g. webs, papers, strips, tapes, foils, mats or the like (typically referred to as "flexible graphite"). The formation of graphite particles which have been expanded to have a final thickness or "c" dimension which is as much as about 80 times or more the original "c" direction dimension into integrated flexible sheets by compression, without the use of any binding material, is believed to be possible due to the mechanical interlocking, or cohesion, which is achieved between the voluminously expanded graphite particles.
In addition to flexibility, the sheet material, as noted above, has also been found to possess a high degree of anisotropy with respect to thermal conductivity due to orientation of the expanded graphite particles and graphite layers substantially parallel to the opposed faces of the sheet resulting from high compression, making it especially useful in heat spreading applications. Sheet material thus produced has excellent flexibility, good strength and a high degree of orientation.
Briefly, the process of producing flexible, binderless anisotropic graphite sheet material, e.g. web, paper, strip, tape, foil, mat, or the like, comprises compressing or compacting under a predetermined load and in the absence of a binder, expanded graphite particles which have a "c" direction dimension which is as much as about 80 or more times that of the original particles so as to form a substantially flat, flexible, integrated graphite sheet. The expanded graphite particles that generally are worm-like or vermiform in appearance, once compressed, will maintain the compression set and alignment with the opposed major surfaces of the sheet. The density and thickness of the sheet material can be varied by controlling the degree of compression. The density of the sheet material can be within the range of from about 0.04 g/cc to about 2.0 g/cc.
The flexible graphite sheet material exhibits an appreciable degree of anisotropy due to the alignment of graphite particles parallel to the major opposed, parallel surfaces of the sheet, with the degree of anisotropy increasing upon compression of the sheet material to increase orientation. In compressed anisotropic sheet material, the thickness, i.e. the direction perpendicular to the opposed, parallel sheet surfaces comprises the "c" direction and the directions ranging along the length and width, i.e. along or parallel to the opposed, major surfaces comprises the "a" directions and the thermal and electrical properties of the sheet are very different, by orders of magnitude, for the "c" and "a" directions.
Accordingly, what is desired is a substrate for the formation of electronic thermal management articles, components of electrochemical fuel cells, or the like, where the substrate is formed of one or more sheets of compressed particles of exfoliated graphite, and which is both leak-free and dimensionally stable and yet is capable of having a pattern or structure formed thereon.

Dimensionally stable, leak-free graphite substrate


A slider includes a slider body part that includes an upper wing plate and a lower wing plate, a stop tab body, a tab elastic member that biases the stop tab body, a base part integrally formed with the upper wing plate, and an operation cover part rotatably attached to the base part. The operation cover part includes a pressing projecting part that projects from an inner surface of a top plate part, and the pressing projecting part has a configuration in which by rotating the operation cover part, a locked state and an unlocked state can be switched therebetween. Accordingly, since a stop mechanism by the rotation of the operation cover part can be provided in the slider with a relatively simple configuration, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the productivity can be improved.

A slider used for a slide fastener can couple or separate element rows by sliding along right and left element rows provided on a fastener tape. Such a slider generally includes a slider body and a tab rotatably held with respect to the slider body, and a substantially Y-shaped element guide path that guides the right and left element rows is formed between upper and lower wing plates of the slider body.
As one of the sliders, an automatic stop mechanism is known, which can hold a stopped state of the slider (in other words, hold the slider at a stop position of the element row) by automatically projecting a part of a stop tab body into the element guide path of the slider body to engage the stop tab body with fastener elements of the element row when the slider is stopped at an arbitrary position on the element row.
Instead of the tab as described above, a slider including a rotation body that is rotatably provided with respect to the slider body is described in a specification of Japanese Utility Model No. H7-28369 A (Patent Document 1) and a specification of Chinese Patent No. 105231602 (Patent Document 2). The slider including the rotation body described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is formed to be capable of switching a locked state in which a part of a stop tab or a stop tab body is projected into an element guide path of a slider body to hold a stopped state of the slider, and an unlocked state (lock release state) in which a part of the stop tab or the stop tab body is retreated from the element guide path to release the locked state by rotating a rotation body with respect to the slider body.
Here, when the slider is switched to the locked state, a part of the stop tab or the stop tab body is projected to one of the right and left element rows and a part of the stop tab or the stop tab body is inserted into a gap between the fastener elements adjacent to each other of the corresponding element row (gap between coupling heads of the fastener element). Accordingly, a part of the stop tab or the stop tab body is engaged with the fastener elements and the slider can be held so as not to move at a stop position of the element row.


Disclosed are compositions for solubilizing and/or removing a hair styling aid composition from hair. The compositions comprise at least one active solvent, wherein the active solvent is a glycol or an ester; and a carrier composition comprising a liquid vehicle. Also disclosed are methods for solubilizing and/or removing hair styling aids from hair.

Among a wide variety of hair styling techniques used today, hair weaves are often chosen as a popular hair supplement for a particular styling regime. These weaves are typically either sown in by a stylist, "glued" in with resins, or, more often, attached to the existing hair and surrounding scalp with a latex rubber bonding agent. Subsequent removal of these weaves from hair is challenging as it causes painful hair pulling, hair damage, and even subsequent hair loss.
Commercially available hair bonding agent removers are generally limited to shampoos containing harsh detergent-type surfactants and/or irritating chemicals such as mineral spirits and kerosene. These shampoo products are marginally effective at softening the bonding material because the acceptable amount of the active chemical, i.e., the mineral spirits and/or kerosene, must be kept low in order to prevent excessive scalp irritation. Further, the surfactant/degreaser combination often dries out the hair, and even irritates the scalp. Oily materials such as mineral oil and various natural oils have also been used to remove bonding agents. However, these products must be left on the hair for long periods of time in order to obtain any noticeable effect on the bonding material. As such, neither of these current approaches yields satisfactory results as painful hair pulling, hair damage, hair loss, and scalp dryness and irritation are often associated with the use of these formulations.
In addition to hair weave bonding agents, a variety of hair styling aids containing resinous fixatives, such as gels, sprays, spritzes, and mousses, are also frequently used to maintain styled hair in a particular curl or configuration. The removal of resinous build up from the hair has also presented a challenge to the industry. In particular, the removal of the resinous styling product buildup from the hair is currently accomplished in one of two ways. One option is to utilize multiple applications of a "stripping" shampoo during which vigorous manipulation of the hair is used to forcibly break the adhesion between hair fibers and loosen the styling residue on individual hairs. Alternatively, a comb or brush is used to break the adhesions between hair fibers followed by multiple applications of a stripping shampoo and vigorous manipulation of the hair to loosen styling residues from individual hairs.
These so-called stripping shampoo products of the current art contain high loadings of harsh surfactants designed to act as detergents on the hair. Stripping shampoos are also formulated to have an alkaline pH (pH 8.0 to pH 10) to enhance their "detergency". The combination of alkaline pH and high surfactant loading can: 1) cause hair to swell which in turn causes lifting of the protective cuticle layer; 2) remove hairs natural protective/lubricating oils and moisturizing agents from the hair and the scalp; and 3) enhance the tangling effect created by the vigorous manipulation of the hair. The end results of the use of the stripping shampoos of the current art are that the hair is left in a swollen state with lifted cuticle edges, little or no remaining natural lubrication or moisturization, and severely tangled from the vigorous manipulation. Accordingly, both methods of removing resinous styling residues from the hair can create severe hair damage and can result in undesirable side-effects for the consumer.
Further, these stripping shampoos are not always effective at completely removing heavy styling aide build-up on the hair. The failure to completely and adequately remove the styling residue can 1) create increased drag during any subsequent combing caused by lifted prills of resin; 2) make the hair look as though there is residual dirt or debris on it; and 3) contribute to the consumer perception of "dandruff" because the loosened material subsequently falls from the hair onto the scalp and shoulders over time. The perception of dandruff then causes the consumer to use further harsh shampoo treatments in an attempt to eliminate the dandruff problem.
Even more damaging to the hair and scalp is the process whereby the consumer or salon professional attempts to "comb-out" the styling residues before shampooing. This method is recognized as a leading cause of hair breakage and scalp irritation/damage by both consumers and salon professionals alike but is often perceived as the only effective way to remove excessive styling residues from the hair.
Unfortunately, the current art limits the options available to persons seeking to apply subsequent treatments to hair that has been previously treated with a resinous fixative styling aid. For instance, persons who wish to use chemical treatments such as hair straighteners or curly perms are at a disadvantage when using the products available in the current art. Shampooing the hair and scalp to remove styling residues prior to applying hair straighteners or curly perms can cause these products to irritate or burn the scalp. This is especially true when the stripping shampoos of the current art are used. The manufacturers of hair straightening and curling products usually include a warning statement requiring the consumer to wait at least 24 to 48 hours after shampooing before subsequently applying the straightening or curling products. The consumer must either: (1) shampoo and wait, (2) shampoo and risk irritation by immediately using the straightener, or (3) not shampoo and attempt to brush the styling residues from the hair. Each of these options involves unnecessary risk to the health of the consumer's hair and scalp.
The current art also does not provide for a suitable means by which a consumer can efficiently re-arrange his or her hair from one style to another without having to remove a prior application of a styling aid. In particular, the current art does not offer an option of loosening a previous curl pattern, re-arranging the hair to another style, and locking the hair into place with additional fixative.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for compositions that can, in one aspect, be used to remove hair bonding agents from hair and scalp without resulting in painful hair pulling, significant hair damage, significant hair loss, and scalp dryness and irritation. Additionally, there also is a need in the art for compositions that can solubilize resinous hair styling aids such that, in one aspect, the hair styling aid can be removed or, in another aspect, the styled hair can be restyled to a different curl configuration without requiring the removal of a prior application of a styling aid.

Compositions and methods for removing hair styling aids


Patient-specific instruments for preparing bones for receipt of orthopedic prostheses, such as the distal tibia and the talus in a total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) procedure. A tibial guide and a talar guide are manufactured based on patient-specific anatomical data obtained using imaging technology, and each guide includes a surface conforming to selected anatomical surfaces or regions of the tibia or talus, respectively. Each guide includes at least one cut referencing surface, such as a cut slot, to guide a resection, and may also include a guide aperture sized to guide a reaming tool for reaming the distal tibia or talus. The guides may also include pin holes positioned within a periphery defined by the cut referencing surfaces such that, when the resections are made and the resected tibial bone portion or talus bone portion is removed, the guide and its associated pins are removed along with the resected bone portion.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to instruments for performing a total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) procedure. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to patient-specific instruments for use in a total ankle arthroplasty procedure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) procedure may be performed to repair the diseased or damaged bone and/or cartilage of an ankle joint. In the procedure, a surgeon may use standard instruments to prepare the damaged joint for receiving an orthopedic prosthesis set.
For example, during a total ankle arthroplasty procedure, the surgeon may resect and/or ream the distal tibia to prepare the distal tibia for receiving a distal tibial prosthesis, and may also resect and/or ream the talus to prepare the talus for receiving a talar prosthesis. The distal tibial prosthesis typically includes an articulating surface that may be designed to articulate with respect to the talar prosthesis.
Known TAA procedures have required relatively complex instrumentation, including an alignment foot brace. Use of such a foot brace requires a bore to be drilled through the base of the heel bone, which extends completely through the heel and the talus and into the distal tibia. This bore is used to locate a referencing rod to which an instrument set is keyed, with the instrument set including a relatively large number of components, such as alignment guides and cut guides which interface with the referencing rod and/or the foot brace.

Patient-specific instruments for total ankle arthroplasty


A molding system for hydraulic blow molding of a container from a preform. The molding includes a pressurization unit that is configured to receive liquid molding medium from a source; a fill head unit coupled to the pressurization unit to receive the liquid molding medium therefrom; a mold assembly defining a mold cavity in the shape of the container. During forming of the container, a nozzle piston is moved from a retracted position to an extending position where the nozzle piston is engaged to inject the molding medium into the preform, thereby forming and filling the container. The fill head unit defines a receiving chamber for the liquid molding medium that maintains a constant volume during movement of the nozzle piston between the retracted and extended positions.

The present invention generally relates to the molding of plastic containers from preforms. More particularly, the invention relates to a nozzle piston used in a hydraulic blow molding process to form plastic containers.
Plastic containers are commonly used for packaging of products, particularly liquid products (including viscous products). One common plastic container is the blow molded plastic container, which is often formed of a polyester material, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Blow molded plastic containers are typically formed by placing a heated preform into a blow mold and blowing air into the preform to inflate the preform until it contacts the interior surfaces of a cavity mold, which define the final shape of the desired container. The inflated preform is held against the interior surfaces by the air for a length of time that is sufficient to "freeze" the plastic and allow the blow molded container to be removed from the mold.
The blow molded containers are then filled with the final product. This step may include packaging and shipping the containers to a remote, off-site location or may involve the transfer of the containers to another location within the same facility where these final steps are performed. Finally, the container is capped, labeled and shipped to a retailer or end-user.
With the above method, blow molding and filling are distinct and separate steps in the process of producing a product filled container. A more recent process uses a liquid to mold the container. Instead of utilizing air as a blowing medium, this new process utilizes the liquid product that is to be packaged in the container as the container's molding medium. This type of molding is referred to herein as hydraulic blow molding.
During hydraulic blow molding, liquid molding medium continuously resides within the fill head unit, both partly surrounding the nozzle assembly and filling a central cavity within the nozzle piston of the nozzle assembly. Prior to injection of the liquid molding medium, an inlet valve of a pressurization mechanism is closed to constrain the molding medium within the system. Next, the nozzle assembly is lowered to sealing engage the preform and/or the mold assembly, within which the body of the preform is suspended. As the nozzle assembly is opened, the molding medium is pressurized by the pressurization mechanism to rapidly increase the pressure within the system and inject the liquid molding medium from the outlet of the nozzle piston into the preform. The discharging of the liquid molding medium into the preform rapidly expands the preform into conformity with the inner surfaces of the mold defining the shape of cavity and simultaneously fills the resultant container with the desired product.
In forming containers with a liquid molding medium, gas entrained with the molding medium can impact the quality of the resulting container by not sufficiently impressing the plastic of the expanded preform against the cavity surfaces of the mold.

Nozzle piston and method of operating said nozzle piston