The elongate rocker is forked at its first end and includes two fork tines. These are designed symmetrically relative to the longitudinal plane of symmetry of the rocker. A control rod with a longitudinal center axis is pivotally mounted at its bottom end to the second end of the rocker. A spiral pressing spring with a longitudinal center axis acts onto the rocker. The upper feeding roller is designed symmetrically to a plane extending perpendicularly relative to its longitudinal center axis. The longitudinal center axis of the control rod defines together with the longitudinal center axis of the pressing spring a geometrical plane. This plane coincides with the longitudinal plane of symmetry of the rocker, which in turn coincides with the geometrical plane which extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal center axis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for a intermittent feeding of a strip shaped blank to a press equipped with tools for a intermittent working of the strip shaped blank, said feeding apparatus having a housing, a first feeding roller and a second feeding roller, which feeding rollers are adapted to accommodate the strip shaped blank arranged between same to be fed, and having a first intermittently operating electric servomotor which is drivingly connected to at least said first feeding roller, which first feeding roller includes a longitudinal axis and is designed symmetrically relative to a plane of symmetry extending perpendicularly to said longitudinal center axis; and having further a elongate rocker which includes a first and a second end which second end is located opposite said first end; which first feeding roller is supported for rotation in said rocker; which second feeding roller is arranged on a roller shaft and is rigidly connected thereto; which rocker is arranged at its first end on a first end area of a rocker shaft and is rigidly connected thereto; which rocker shaft is mounted for rotation at a second end area opposite the first end area in said housing, so that said rocker is supported in a overhung state; further having a means for a lifting off of a feeding roller, which means includes a control rod which is pivotally mounted to said second end of said rocker, which control rod includes a longitudinal center axis; further having a feeding roller pressing on device which includes a spiral spring which rests at one of its ends on said rocker; which spiral pressing spring includes a further longitudinal center axis.
The invention relates also to a method of operating the feeding apparatus as set forth above, said feeding apparatus having a housing and a threaded spindle housing arranged on said housing; having a adjusting motor with a threaded spindle and a control apparatus, a adjusting nut arranged on said threaded spindle and displaceable along same by a rotating of said threaded spindle; having further a eccenter disk driven by a electromotor, on which eccenter disk a connecting rod is supported which at its end remote from said eccenter disk includes a oblong hole extending at least approximately parallel to said threaded spindle; having further a double arm lever device supported on said adjusting nut, and a second double arm lever device supported on a shaft which is supported in said threaded spindle housing; which first double arm lever device has a first arm which engages said connecting rod and a second arm which is pivotally mounted to a fishplate, which in turn is pivotally mounted to a first arm of said double arm lever device, onto a second arm of which a connecting rod unit is pivotally mounted which in turn is pivotally mounted to said rocker; having further a pressure spring located between said rocker and said threaded spindle housing and is adapted to press said rocker with a upper roller shaft supported therein and with the first, upper feeding roller against said lower feeding roller shaft with the second, lower feeding roller; said feeding apparatus having a control device and cooperates with a press having a moveable upper tool and a stationary lower tool, which upper tool is mounted to a punch which is moveable between a upper dead center position and a bottom dead center position; and having a press control device which cooperates with said control feeding apparatus; and in which the oblong hole of the connecting rod which is moveable between a upper dead center position and a bottom dead center position has a upper and a lower end; and in which the first arm of said double arm lever device engages said connecting rod through a bolt which extends through said oblong hole, wherein in order to insert a new strip shaped blank between said upper feeding roller and said lower feeding roller, the upper feeding roller is moved into a high lift position in order to set in this position a predetermined distance between the upper feeding roller and the lower feeding roller.
The invention relates further to a method of operating the feeding apparatus of the kind set forth above, said feeding apparatus having a housing and a threaded spindle housing arranged on said housing; having a adjusting motor with a threaded spindle and a control apparatus, a adjusting nut arranged on said threaded spindle and displaceable along same by a rotating of said threaded spindle; having further a eccenter disk driven by a electromotor on which eccenter disk a connecting rod is supported which at its end remote from said eccenter disk includes a oblong hole extending at least approximately parallel to said threaded spindle; having further a double arm lever device supported on said adjusting nut, and a second double arm lever device supported on a shaft which is supported in said threaded spindle housing; which first double arm lever device has a first arm which engages said connecting rod and a second arm which is pivotally mounted to a fishplate, which in turn is pivotally mounted to a first arm of said double arm lever device, onto a second arm of which a connecting rod unit is pivotally mounted to said rocker; having further a pressure spring located between said rocker and said threaded spindle housing and is adapted to press said rocker with a upper roller shaft supported therein and with its first, upper feeding roller supported therein against said lower roller shaft with the second, lower feeding roller; said feeding apparatus having a control device and cooperates with a press having a moveable upper tool and a stationary lower tool, which upper tool is mounted to a punch which is moveable between a upper dead center position and a bottom dead center position; and having a press control device which cooperates with said control device of the feeding apparatus; and in which the oblong hole of the connecting rod which is moveable between a upper dead center position and a bottom dead center position has a upper and a lower end; and in which the first arm of said first double arm lever device engages said connecting rod through a bolt which extends through said oblong hole.
The invention relates also to method of operating the feeding apparatus as set forth above, said feeding apparatus having a housing and a threaded spindle housing arranged on said housing; having a adjusting motor with a threaded spindle and a control apparatus, a adjusting nut arranged on said threaded spindle and displaceable along same by a rotating of said threaded spindle; having further a eccenter disk driven by a electromotor, on which eccenter disk a connecting rod is supported which at its end remote from said eccenter disk includes a oblong hole extending at least approximately parallel to said threaded spindle; having further a double arm lever device supported on said adjusting nut, and a second double arm lever device supported on a shaft which is supported in said threaded spindle housing; which first double arm lever device has a first arm which engages said connecting rod and a second arm which is pivotally mounted to a fishplate, which in turn is pivotally mounted to a first arm of said double arm lever device, onto a second arm of which a connecting rod unit is pivotally mounted to said rocker; having further a pressure spring located between said rocker and said threaded spindle housing and is adapted to press said rocker with a upper roller shaft supported therein and with the first, upper feeding roller supported therein against said lower roller shaft with the second, lower feeding roller; said feeding apparatus having a control device and cooperates with a press having a moveable upper tool and a stationary lower tool, which upper tool is mounted to a punch which is moveable between a upper dead center position and a bottom dead center position; and having a press control device which cooperates with said control device of the feeding apparatus; and in which the oblong hole of the connecting rod which is moveable between a upper dead center position and a bottom dead center position has a upper and a lower end; and in which the first arm of said first double arm lever device engages said connecting rod through a bolt which extends through said oblong hole, which punch is driven by a rotating drive and the eccenter disk of the connecting rod is driven by a electromotor; which upper tool includes positioning pins adapted to precisely position said strip shaped blank in the press during any working procedure step performed on the strip; which positioning pins are moved into prepunched holes in said strip shaped blank, and which positioning pins include conical head portions, and said first, upper feeding roller is moved away from said second, lower feeding roller into a intermediate lifted position as soon as said conical head portions have been moved partly into the positioning holes, and thereafter moved again back to again rest on the strip shaped blank as soon as the conical head portions have been lifted partly out of the positioning holes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The presses which herein are referred to are specifically high speed punch presses with a number of strokes up to 2000 strokes per minute. These presses are equipped with tools for a working or processing resp. of a (or several) strip shaped blank(s) fed to the press, whereby punching operations, embossing operations, bending operations, a riveting, a producing of threads are performed.
The movement of the strip shaped blank which is worked upon in the press proceeds, thereby, intermittently, i.e. step-wise. During a given working step, e.g. a punching, quite obviously no feeding movement of the strip-shaped blank occurs. It is often precisely positioned, that is arrested by positioning pins arranged in the tools. After the termination of such a given working step, for instance after a punching tool has been moved out of the punched hole, the strip-shaped blank is advanced, i.e. fed by a predetermined distance and again stopped, so that the next following working step can be performed.
The feeding or forwarding, resp. movement of the strip shaped blank proceeds by a (or several, located at the entry and of the exit of the press) feeding or forwarding, resp. apparatus(es) in order to draw the strip shaped blank intermittently off a storage roll and to feed it intermittently to the press.
The feeding apparatuses include typically feeding members in order to advance the strip shaped blank. It is, thereby, clamped and advanced by these feeding members. When the feeding members return again into their initial position, the clamping state is released. Additionally, the clamping is released for a short time during the time span within which the tools perform a working step on the strip shaped blank, specifically in the case of positioning pins.
The design of these feeding devices must meet basically 3 main functions, namely the high lifting (strip is being inserted), the setting based on the thickness of the strip (the upper feeding roller rests on the strip, play in the oblong hole of the connecting rod), and intermediate lifting (giving the strip free prior to each working step).
Designs of such feeding devices have become known in which the clamping members are designed as linearly moving clamping tongues. Other designs include oscillating segment rollers which perform rotary movements.
Furthermore, feeding apparatuses with electrical servomotors have become known. Thereby, a first servomotor is allocated to the feeding drive of the clamping members and a further, second servomotor is allocated to the intermittent lifting of a clamping member off the strip shaped blank. Such servomotors are made and sold by several companies. The operation of these servomotors is electronically controlled. These new feeding devices comprise as feeding members completely cylinder shaped feeding rollers arranged on shafts which rotate intermittently always in the same sense of rotation. Of these feeding rollers one is supported in a structure which is drivingly connected to a further servomotor, and due to the operation of this structure this feeding roller is moved towards the strip shaped blank for a clamping of same and away from the strip shaped blank in order to release same.
Due to the present high number of strokes, the masses of the moving parts of a feeding apparatus play a large role due to their forces of inertia and their moments of inertia, and have, furthermore, a large influence regarding the precision of the fabricated product. Furthermore, the arrangement and the design of these moving parts must be, due to the time spans for the acceleration and deceleration of movements, such that a operation with a high number of strokes can be performed safely.
Furthermore, it is possible that torsional moments due to influences of forces are generated in individual structural members which can lead to a slanted position of the feeding roller, so that further negative influences leading to a decrease of the precision of the finished product are produced.

Apparatus for and a method of an intermittent feeding of a strip shaped blank to a press


A honeycomb body, in particular a catalyst carrier body, includes a multiplicity of channels through which a fluid can flow. A first group of channels has a higher flow resistance than a second group of channels and the honeycomb body has at least one cross-sectionally asymmetrical accumulation or collection of channels of higher flow resistance covering only part of the cross-sectional area of the honeycomb body in the circumferential direction. The channels of higher flow resistance in particular have smaller hydraulic diameters than the other channels or are provided at inlet and/or the outlet ends and/or in their interiors with additional structures for hindering flow. Honeycomb bodies can thus be produced in which distributions of flow resistances over the cross-sectional area can be defined and matched to flow conditions, which can be particularly advantageous when such a honeycomb is disposed downstream of electrically heatable honeycomb bodies with slits.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a honeycomb body, in particular a catalyst carrier body, for catalytic conversion of exhaust gases in an exhaust system. Such honeycomb bodies are preferentially used in motor vehicles having Diesel or Otto engines. The present invention also relates to an apparatus having the honeycomb body for cleaning exhaust gas.
Honeycomb bodies of the type referred to above are known in a great number of different versions. They may be made and in particularly extruded, from ceramic material. Another type of honeycomb body includes wound, stacked and/or intertwined layers of sheet metal, at least some of which are structured. The flow resistance of a channel in such a honeycomb body depends on its shape and the structure of its walls. Its shape and size determine a hydraulic diameter, while structures and/or obstacles at the ends and/or in the interior of the channel can further increase the flow resistance.
In pipe systems, flows generally have an approximately parabolic velocity profile, at which the flow velocity is highest in the middle and zero at the edge. It is also already known to construct honeycomb bodies in such a way that the flow resistance in a central region is greater than in outer regions. Such honeycomb bodies are described in Published European Patent Application 0 336 106 B1 and Published European Patent Application 0 542 805 B1, corresponding to International Patent Application WO 92/02717, for instance. The prior art generally assumes that the flows are approximately rotationally symmetrical, and therefore honeycomb bodies with different channel cross sections always have an approximately symmetrical, generally concentric configuration of channels of different cross sections. In honeycomb bodies of oval or elliptical cross section, corresponding configurations with two axes of symmetry at right angles to one another are the goal.
It is also known from International Patent Applications WO 90/08249, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,010, WO 91/01178 and WO 91/01807 to provide structures in the interior of channels of a honeycomb body that increase the flow resistance. In the case of the present invention, reference is expressly made to the honeycomb bodies and production processes described in those disclosures.
In Published European Patent Application 0 542 775 B1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,774, a honeycomb body is also described which has an increasing number of channels in the flow direction per unit of cross-sectional area, even though it is monolithic in structure. Those structural forms are likewise significant to the present invention, and therefore that disclosure is also expressly incorporated by reference. It has been found that in some exhaust systems, symmetrical flow conditions do not prevail, especially in the area near the engine. Due to installation conditions, honeycomb bodies that are used in catalytic converters, especially in the area near the engine, experience an eccentric and/or asymmetrical oncoming flow, so that at certain points, especially heavy loads on the end surface of the honeycomb bodies with consequent damage and shortened service lives are the result.
When electrically heatable honeycomb bodies are used as well, there is an uneven oncoming flow to a downstream honeycomb body, since for purposes of electrical subdivision electrically heatable honeycomb bodies can have air gaps, which have a lesser flow resistance than the channels of the electrically heatable honeycomb body.
An apparatus for catalytic conversion of exhaust gases in an exhaust system, which is known from International Patent Application WO 92/13636, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,774, has at least two spaced-apart honeycomb bodies, disposed one after the other in terms of the flow direction of an exhaust gas. Each honeycomb body has channels through which a fluid can flow. Near the flow axis, support elements are provided, by which the honeycomb bodies are joined together and braced against one another. The honeycomb body which is first in terms of the flow direction is electrically heatable. The electrically heatable honeycomb body is electrically subdivided over its cross-sectional area by ceramic insulating layers, causing an electric current to flow along a path defined by the subdivision. The electrically heatable honeycomb body has the task of minimizing pollutant emissions during a cold-starting phase of an internal combustion engine.
It is also known to provide the electrical insulation of the electrically conductive path through a heatable honeycomb body, relative to adjacent portions, by using an air gap. Such a configuration is described in an article by P. F. Kuper et al entitled "Ultra-Low Power Electrically-Heated Catalyst System", in SAE Technical Papers Series 940465. The air gap brings about an uneven flow through the honeycomb bodies, since some of the fluid to be converted flows through the air gap as a function of the structure of the individual honeycomb bodies. That would occur in particular if the size of the channels in the first honeycomb body were made similar to or smaller than the gap width, which has therefore been avoided until now. Due to that fact, some of the fluid in the cold-starting phase is unconverted or only inadequately converted, or else a portion of the downstream honeycomb body is more heavily loaded.

Honeycomb body having channels of different flow resistance through which a fluid can flow and apparatus having the honeycomb body for cleaning exhaust gas

Emitec Gesellschaft fuer Emissionstechnologie mbH


A pinion bearing arrangement of a gearbox for a vehicle or aircraft, providing at least one roller bearing. At least one of the roller bearings is a ball bearing, having an inner ring and an outer ring, wherein both rings have raceways for balls being located between the rings. To ensure a sufficient lifetime of the roller bearings the invention includes that at least one of the rings is made from a ball bearing steel produced by a powder metallurgical process using a powder metallurgy component including 0.5 to 2.0 weight-% C, a maximum of 0.035 weight-% S, 3.0 to 5.0 weight-% Cr, 1.0 to 4.0 weight-% V, 1.0 to 12.0 weight-% W and 2.0 to 12.0 weight-% Mo, wherein at least one raceway has a radius (rI/O) and the balls have a diameter (DB) which fulfill the equation: rI/O/DB>0.53.

Such a pinion bearing arrangement is usually employed for supporting a pinion shaft in a gearbox of a vehicle. For usual applications in cars existing bearing arrangements are well developed to support the pinion precisely for a sufficient time of operation.
This is not necessarily the case with regard to pinion bearing arrangements which are operated under extreme loads, like e.g. the pinion bearings in a racing car, specifically in a Formula 1 racing car. Also here, a certain time of operation must be guaranteed. Due to the nature of such an application it is an important additional aspect to minimize the friction in the bearing during operation.
It is an object of the invention to propose a pinion bearing arrangement which guarantees a desired life time but reduces the friction in the bearing significantly.


The crosslinking agents and condensing agents that have been employed in biological adhesives and in treating medical devices such as cardiac valves are non-natural compounds synthesized artificially. Thus, they are not metabolized in vivo and exhibit toxicity to living bodies. These compounds are thus used only in a restricted amount and for limited purposes in the clinical sites. The present invention provides a biological low-molecular-weight derivative obtained by modifying carboxyl groups of a biological low-molecular-weight compound with N-hydroxysuccinimide, N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide, or a derivative thereof and a crosslinked high-molecular-weight product obtained by crosslinking various high-molecular-weight compounds with this derivative.

In biological adhesives and in treating medical devices that are derived from biological compounds, such as porcine cardiac valves, crosslinking agents containing artificially and chemically synthesized aldehydes such as glutaraldehyde or condensing agents such as 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide have been used (for example, refer to patent documents 1 to 6, and non-patent document 1).    Patent document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-163650    Patent document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-249751    Patent document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-71199    Patent document 4: PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2000-502380    Patent document 5: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-53548    Patent document 6: PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 8-502082    Non-patent document 1: Biomaterials, vol. 17, p. 765 (1996)

National Institute for Materials Science


It is intended to provide an AD converter capable of increasing its conversion accuracy. An AD converter is equipped with a clock generator which generates a first clock using a second clock and a comparator which includes a comparison circuit for comparing an input signal with a prescribed value in a first period of the first clock and a precharging circuit for precharging, in a second period of the first clock, an internal voltage to a prescribed value for the next comparison operation. The clock generator includes a replica circuit of the precharging circuit of the comparator. In the replica circuit of the precharging circuit, a precharging period from the start to the end of precharging is set as the second period of the first clock.

In recent years, the operation rate of AD converters (analog-to-digital converters, ADCs) has increased and even operation rates higher than 1 GHz are not rare. However, in high-speed operations, it is difficult for comparators to perform a comparison operation. To enable operation of comparators at high frequencies, it is effective to elongate their operation period by controlling the duty ratio of a clock. Necessary conversion accuracy of AD converters can be maintained in this manner.
For example, an AD converter is known which has a comparator that performs a comparison operation during high periods of a clock (refer to Patent document 1, for example). This AD converter is equipped with a replica circuit of a comparator and a clock synthesis circuit which sets, as a high period of a clock, a period that is for a comparison operation of the replica circuit and sets the remaining period as a low period of the clock.


A method for bonding a chip part, having solder bumps on the underside thereof, to a base material. The method includes the steps of placing the chip part at a specific position on the base material, placing a weight on the chip part, the weight being based on the number of solder bumps mounted on the chip part and a surface tension of the solder bumps at melting, and irradiating, with an electromagnetic wave, an upper surface of the weight to transfer heat to the solder bumps through the weight and the chip, thereby melting the solder bumps and bonding the chip part to the base material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of bonding chip parts whereby a chip part having solder bumps on the underside is bonded to a base material and an apparatus of the same, particularly to the method of bonding chip parts suitable for use in replacing bare chips (flip chips) on an MCM (Multi Chip Module) board, etc. where bare chips are mounted, and an apparatus for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the MCM (Multi Chip Module) has been used as a CPU in small-sized personal equipment and the like. On a board of the MCM, plural bare chips (chip parts) of LSIs and the like are mounted. On the underside of a bare chip, multiple solder bumps are provided in advance, at which input and output terminals of the bare chip are electrically connected to patterns on the board (base material), and at the same time, the bare chip is bonded onto the board. In manufacturing an MCM, plural bare chips are disposed at specific positions on a board. Heating, so as to melt the solder bumps, bonds the bare chips on the board at the same time.
After manufacturing the MCM, when the inspection result confirms a defective bare chip, only the defective bare chip is removed to be replaced with a new one. With such a replacement of a bare chip, in order to bond a new bare chip on a board, the impulse heating system and the hot air heating system have been applied as a technique to melt solder bumps on the underside of the bare chip.
FIG. 7 shows an example of an apparatus in which the impulse heating system is applied. This apparatus shown in FIG. 7 comprises a preheating plate 10, reflow tool 11, driving mechanism 12, and impulse controller 13.
The preheating plate 10, on which a work [board (base material) 1 and bare chip (silicon wafer) 2] to be replaced is mounted to be preheated, is incorporated with a heating coil (not illustrated) etc.
The reflow tool (heating tool) 11 comes into contact with the upper surface of a bare chip 2 and heats solder bumps 3 on the lower surface of the bare chip 2.
The driving mechanism 12 drives the reflow tool 11 vertically, which is built up with a mechanism such as a ball screw and a motor combined. This driving mechanism 12 is designed to be controlled through a feedback control loop by a controller (not illustrated) in accordance with a load detected by a load cell (not illustrated).
The impulse controller 13 applies a voltage to the reflow tool 11 to run a specific impulse current (for example, 60 A), and heats the reflow tool 11 through the resistance thereof. The impulse controller 13 maintains the reflow tool 11 at a constant stabilized temperature in accordance with a temperature of the reflow tool 11 detected by a thermocouple not illustrated.
In the foregoing apparatus in which the impulse heating system is applied, the board (base material) 1 is mounted on the preheating plate 10, and the bare chip 2 provided with multiple solder bumps 3 on the underside is mounted at a specific position on the board 1.
Thereafter, while the preheating plate 10 preheats the board 1, bare chip 2, and solder bumps 3, the driving mechanism 12 shifts down the reflow tool 11 to bring the reflow tool 11 into contact softly with the upper surface of the bare chip 2, then detects the height of the bare chip 2, and shifts up the reflow tool 11 to a height in which the thermal expansion of the board (for example, a base material of molybdenum) 1, the reflow tool 11, and the like is taken into consideration, thus positioning the reflow tool 11.
And the impulse heating controlled by the impulse controller 13 is applied to the reflow tool 11 to heat up to a specific temperature, and the solder bumps 3 on the underside of the bare chip 2 are melted by the heat. At that moment, since the board 1 and the reflow tool 11 expand by the heat of the reflow tool 11, the space between the board 1 and the reflow tool 11 shrinks; consequently, the bare chip 2 is pressed toward the board 1 through the melted solder bumps 3 to be bonded to the board 1.
On the other hand, in the apparatus not illustrated in which the hot air heating system is applied, while a bare chip is disposed at a specific position on a board, blown hot air melts the solder bumps, thus bonding the bare chip onto the board through the solder bumps.
However, in the aforementioned impulse heating system in FIG. 7, the reflow tool 11 directly comes into contact with the bare chip 2 to apply a pressure. Therefore, the following problems will occur unless the reflow tool 11 is positioned at an optimum height with the thermal expansion taken into consideration.
When the reflow tool 11 is positioned at a height much lower than the optimum, an excessive pressure is applied to the bare chip 2, so that the solder bumps 3 can be crushed to make a short-circuit or the bare chip 2 can be crushed. On the contrary, when the reflow tool 11 is positioned at a height much higher than the optimum, a sufficient pressure is not applied to the bare chip 2. Therefore, it is not possible to sink the bare chip 2 into the solder bumps 3, and not possible to reliably bond the bare chip 2 to the board 1. Thus, the accuracy of the reflow tool 11 and the like and the positioning accuracy influence the quality of the work (the board 1 of the MCM, etc. where the bare chip 2 is replaced).
On the other hand, in the hot air heating system, since hot air blows out so as to surround the work to be bonded, the other parts can be influenced by the heat. In addition, it is impossible to press a bare chip toward a board by applying an appropriate load, and adjusting a sinkage of the bare chip 2 is impossible.

Method of bonding a chip part to a substrate using solder bumps


The battery includes an electrolyte activating one or more cathodes and one or more anodes. The electrolyte includes one or more mono[bidentate]borate salts in a solvent. The solvent includes a silane or a siloxane. The mono[bidentate]borate salt can include a lithium dihalo mono[bidentate]borate such as lithium difluoro oxalatoborate (LiDfOB).

The increased demand for lithium batteries has resulted in research and development to improve the safety and performance of these batteries. The organic carbonate solvents employed in the electrolytes of many batteries are associated with high degrees of volatility, flammability, and chemical reactivity. A variety of electrolytes that include polysiloxane solvents have been developed to address these issues.
Electrolytes having polysiloxane solvents typically have a low ionic conductivity that limits their use to applications that do not require high rate performance. Additionally, batteries that include polysiloxane solvents have shown poor cycling performance when used in secondary batteries. As a result, lithium bis-oxalato borate (LiBOB) has been used as the salt in these electrolytes. However, LiBOB is unstable in the presence of moisture. The amount of moisture in battery electrolytes and/or electrodes can be on the order of several hundred ppm. The presence of this moisture can cause LiBOB to decompose into lithium oxalate (LiHC2O4.H2O) and form a precipitate in the electrolyte. This precipitate can increase the internal resistance of electrical devices such as batteries.

Battery having electrolyte including organoborate salt


A fan frame accommodates a fan for blowing air or cooling and has a hole into which a tapping screw is fixed. The hole has a first hole portion opened in an attachment surface onto which a supporting member fixed by the tapping screw is attached and a second hole portion extending from the first hole portion and having a predetermined inner diameter. The first hole portion of the hole is formed to have a diameter larger than that of the second hole portion.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a fan frame in which a fan for blowing air or cooling is accommodated.
2. Description of Related Arts
In the prior art, there has been widely adopted a configuration in which a fan frame in which a fan with a plurality of blades is accommodated is attached to a supporting member provided in a personal computer, and the fan is rotated to dissipate heat generated from a heat generator like CPU (Central Processing Unit). The fan frame includes, for example, a housing having an opening, a motor base located in the housing, and a plurality of ribs supporting the motor base between a peripheral edge of the opening and the motor base (see, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-017117).
A fan frame is attached to a supporting member on the personal computer side with a tapping screw. At this time, if a hole of the fan frame is damaged when the tapping screw is inserted through the hole, the fan frame is not satisfactorily fixed to the supporting member, and this causes vibration and noise. If the hole of the fan frame is deteriorated over the ages while being partially damaged in the attachment of the tapping screw and the hole is fractured, this causes dropping-out of the fan frame from the supporting member. However, in a conventional fan frame, there has been no configuration in which the hole into which the tapping screw is fixed is prevented from being damaged by the tapping screw.
That is, in the conventional fan frame, when the tapping screw is fixed into the hole of the fan frame, cracking may occur around the hole. The tapping screw is a screw to be fixed into the hole of the fan frame molded with, for example, a resin while forming a screw groove in an inner circumferential surface of the hole. In the conventional fan frame, the hole has a straight shape, and an entrance portion of the hole through which the tapping screw is inserted is formed into a right angle, and thus a very large load is applied to the entrance portion of the hole.
Especially, when the tapping screw inclining in the axial direction of the hole of the conventional fan frame is fixed into the hole, an excessive load is applied to the entrance portion of the hole, and cracking or the like is often formed around the hole. Manufacturing errors may occur in the diameter of the hole of the fan frame, and the tapping screw to be fixed into the hole has various specifications. Accordingly, even if the tapping screw is fixed into the hole of the conventional fan frame to be vertical in the axis direction of the hole, an excessive load is applied to the entrance portion of the hole, whereby cracking and so on may occur.
Thus, in the conventional fan frame, the insertion of the tapping screw into the hole of the fan frame is required to be visually confirmed at one place thereof to prevent the inclination of the tapping screw. Since the tapping screw is vertically inserted into the hole of the fan frame, a jig which corrects the inclination of the tapping screw is required to be used. Accordingly, there has been a problem that a process for assembling the fan frame becomes complex.


A microcomputer is not stopped to be monitored even in a state in which a wrong standby signal is detected. A watchdog circuit 34 outputs a starting signal to a microcomputer 30. An output signal Q of a determination circuit 36 is reset by this starting signal. If the determination circuit does not detect a standby signal st when a clock signal CK is input from the started microcomputer, the output signal Q is set. However, if the determination circuit detects the standby signal st, the output signal is held in a reset state. Even if the standby signal st is input, because an AND circuit 38 does not output a standby signal ST due to the reset of the output signal Q, the watchdog circuit is prevented from entering a standby mode by the standby signal st.

The present invention relates to a computer monitoring device which monitors whether a computer provided at a power window system of a vehicle or the like operates normally.
Conventionally, in a system using a microcomputer in which a battery is a power supply, when the microcomputer is not used, the microcomputer enters a standby mode and the execution of a program is stopped in order to reduce electricity consumption of the battery. Further, a microcomputer monitoring circuit (watchdog circuit) is provided in the system using the microcomputer. The microcomputer monitoring circuit monitors a state of the microcomputer by the output of a predetermined signal (e.g., a signal which is generated on the basis of a clock signal and will be hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cclock signalxe2x80x9d) from the microcomputer. When the clock signal is not detected, the microcomputer monitoring circuit determines that the state of the microcomputer is not normal and outputs a signal which restarts the microcomputer (hereinafter, xe2x80x9crestarting signalxe2x80x9d).
On the other hand, because the microcomputer stops the output of the above-described clock signal by entering the standby mode, the microcomputer monitoring circuit outputs the restarting signal. As a result, the microcomputer which is supposed to enter the standby mode is restarted.
In order to prevent the restarting of the microcomputer which is supposed to enter the standby mode, when the microcomputer monitoring circuit detects a signal which is output when the microcomputer enters the standby mode (hereinafter, xe2x80x9cstandby signalxe2x80x9d), the microcomputer monitoring circuit also enters the standby mode. Namely, when the standby signal is detected, the microcomputer monitoring circuit enters the standby mode and stops the monitoring function of the microcomputer.
An example of a system which includes the microcomputer and the microcomputer monitoring circuit is a power window system of a vehicle. In this power window system, a microcomputer controls a relay or the like and operates a motor for raising and lowering a door glass in accordance with a switch operation. At this time, a microcomputer monitoring circuit monitors an operating state of the microcomputer in order to prevent the control of the motor from being disabled due to runaway or the like of the microcomputer. When it is determined that the microcomputer does not operate normally, a restarting signal is output to the microcomputer.
On the other hand, the power window system includes a microcomputer control system and an SW control system (direct control by a switch) so as to control the motor in accordance with the switch operation. The motor is usually controlled by the microcomputer control system. When the microcomputer enters the standby mode or it is determined by the operating state of the microcomputer monitoring circuit that the operation of the microcomputer fails, the motor is controlled by the SW control system. In this way, the motor can be controlled even if the microcomputer does not operate normally.
By the way, when a microcomputer port or an input terminal of the microcomputer monitoring circuit fails, the standby signal may be input to the microcomputer monitoring circuit by mistake. In this case, even when the microcomputer becomes abnormal and the restarting signal is output, since the microcomputer monitoring circuit detects the standby signal, the microcomputer monitoring circuit enters the standby mode and stops monitoring of the microcomputer which is a fundamental function.
In order to prevent this, a microcomputer monitoring circuit has been proposed which, when a restarting signal is output, does not enter a standby mode even if a standby signal is detected. This microcomputer monitoring circuit enters the standby mode when the microcomputer monitoring circuit detects the signal entering the standby mode from the time in which a predetermined signal output from the microcomputer is not detected to the time in which a signal restarting the microcomputer is output. As a result, when the microcomputer becomes abnormal and the predetermined signal is not detected, even if the signal entering the standby mode is detected, the microcomputer monitoring circuit can output the signal which urges the restarting of the microcomputer without stopping the monitoring function.
However, in this computer monitoring device (microcomputer monitoring circuit), when the microcomputer is restarted or the like in a state in which a wrong standby signal is detected and the device detects a predetermined signal which is output from the microcomputer at the time of normal operation thereof, it is determined that the microcomputer operates normally. At this time, the computer monitoring device enters the standby mode since the standby signal is detected. Thus, there is a drawback in that the monitoring of the microcomputer is stopped.
The present invention was developed in light of the above circumstances, and the object thereof is to provide a computer monitoring device which does not enter a standby mode even if a standby signal is input by mistake.
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention comprising: starting means which outputs a starting signal before starting a computer, the starting means outputting a starting signal to the computer when a first signal, which is output from the started computer in a predetermined cycle, is stopped for a predetermined period of time; start stopping means which stops an operation of the starting means when a second signal, which is output from the computer with a predetermined timing, is input; start operation determination means which outputs a third signal, which urges stopping of an operation of the start stopping means, due to inputting of the starting signal, the start operation determination means stopping outputting of the third signal by the first signal which is output from the computer only when the second signal is not detected; and operation monitoring means which stops outputting of the input second signal to the start stopping means when the start operation determination means outputs the third signal.
In accordance with the present invention, the starting means outputs the starting signal after a predetermined period of time has passed since the first signal, which is output from the computer in a predetermined cycle, is not input. When the second signal, which is output from the computer at the time of entering the standby mode, is detected, the start stopping means stops the operation of the starting means. As a result, since the computer outputs the second signal when entering the standby mode, even if the computer which enters the standby mode stops the output of the first signal, the computer is not started by the starting signal.
On the other hand, the start operation determination means outputs the third signal due to the input of the starting signal and stops the output of the third signal when the first signal is detected before the second signal is detected. Further, the operation monitoring means outputs the second signal to the start stopping means due to the detection of the second signal and, when the third signal is detected, the output of the second signal to the start stopping means is stopped.
In this way, the starting means can be operated on the basis of the first signal and outputs the starting signal if the computer stops the output of the first signal. Accordingly, when the computer is started and the second signal is input by mistake, the computer can be monitored due to the output of the third signal. When the first signal is not input, the starting signal for operating the computer normally can be output.
Further, in the present invention, when the start operation determination means detects the first signal in a state in which the second signal is not detected, the output of the third signal is stopped. Consequently, the state in which the microcomputer operates or not can be monitored by the output of the start operation determination means and the operation monitoring means.
Namely, when the computer operates normally, it can be determined that the second and the third signals are not detected. Further, when only the second signal output from the operation monitoring means is detected, it can be determined that the computer enters the standby mode. When the third signal output from the start operation determination means is detected, it can be determined that the computer is restarted.
Therefore, when the present invention is applied, for example, to monitor the computer of the power window system, only when the second signal or the third signal is not detected, it can be determined that the computer operates normally. Thus, switching between the microcomputer control system and the SW control system may be effected on the basis of this result of determination.


A peripheral vision reducing apparatus for simulating a visual effect of intoxication is disclosed. The apparatus has at least one aperture configured to be disposed in the middle of a wearer's visual field. The aperture is also configured to permit a first amount of light to pass therethrough. The apparatus further comprises at least one filter surrounding the at least one aperture. The at least one filter is configured to be disposed at the periphery of a wearer's visual field. The at least one filter is also configured to permit a second amount of light to pass therethrough, and the second amount of light is less than the first amount of light.

The present invention relates to a viewing device that impairs a wearer's visual faculties thereby simulating the impairing effect of an intoxicant. In particular, the invention, which is compatible with existing viewing devices that simulate impairment, subtly restricts the wearer's peripheral vision. The invention also simulates reduced peripheral vision associated with other conditions and situations such as drowsiness and excessive driving speed.
Substantial effort is undertaken by educators, law enforcement personnel, safety promoting organizations, and the like to convince people, particularly young people, of the hazards associated with being under the influence of intoxicants such as alcohol, legal, and illegal drugs. Impairment has particular ramifications in many situations, including simple tasks such as walking to more complex tasks such as operating a motor vehicle. It is particularly challenging to provide a meaningful firsthand experience of the impairing effects of an intoxicant, insofar as one typically cannot induce impairment in a subject with the intoxicant and, even if one could, it would be improper to then ask the subject to operate a motor vehicle while impaired.
Therefore devices that simulate the effects of impairment on a subject under the influence of an intoxicant are frequently employed in safety education programs and in other settings. FATAL VISION goggles (Innocorp, Ltd., Verona, Wis.) include one or more vision-distorting Fresnel lenses in the wearer's field of view. Inncorp, Ltd. has developed and marketed various models of such goggles which simulate various levels of impairment (i.e., blood alcohol concentration) and various conditions (e.g., day or night), for use in safety education programs.
Law enforcement officials understand that when blood alcohol concentration is very high, intoxicated individuals exhibit markedly reduced peripheral vision. This phenomenon, commonly referred to as tunnel vision, may go unappreciated by the intoxicated individual. What is therefore desired in the art is a viewing device that simulates reduced peripheral vision of a subject under the influence of an intoxicant or having another peripheral vision-reducing condition that can readily be employed in a controlled setting so as to not put the subject at risk. It is also desirable to provide a viewing device that can be used with other devices to effectively simulate other effects of intoxication, such as distorted vision.

Viewing device for simulating impairment and reducing peripheral vision


An object of the present invention is to provide a simple method for improving and stabilizing the physical properties (for example, liquid permeability) of a water absorbent resin, without requiring investment in expensive facilities or modification of raw materials. In particular, the object is to provide a method which is useful in the large-scale production of a water absorbent resin. The method for producing polyacrylic acid (salt)-based water absorbent resin of the present invention includes, in order, a step in which an acrylic acid (salt)-based monomer aqueous solution is polymerized, a step in which the water-containing gel-like crosslinked polymer obtained in the polymerization step is dried, a step in which the dried polymer obtained in the drying step is pulverized, and a classification step which takes place after the drying step or after the pulverizing step, wherein, at the time of providing the dried polymer to the roll mill used in the pulverizing step, the dried polymer is provided in a dispersed state in the axial direction of the roll of the roll mill.

A water absorbent resin is recently developed as a substance having high water absorbent property, and is widely used mainly for a disposable purpose, for example, as an absorbent body of hygiene product such as a disposable diaper and a sanitary napkin, an agriculture/horticulture water retaining agent, an industrial waterproofing agent, and the like. Various kinds of water absorbent resin exist, and a large number of monomers and hydrophilic polymers exist as raw materials for such water absorbent resins. Among them, a polyacrylic acid (salt)-based water absorbent resin using acrylic acid and/or salt thereof as a monomer is most abundantly manufactured in the industry due to its high water absorption performance.
The water absorbent resin is produced through many steps such as polymerization step, drying step, pulverizing step, classification step, and surface cross-linking step (Patent Literatures 1 to 3 and Non-Patent Literature 1). In accordance with having high water absorption performance of a disposable diaper as a main use, the water absorbent resin is also required to have various functions. Specifically, without being limited simply to the quantity of water absorption capacity, the water absorbent resin is required to have various physical properties including gel strength, water soluble components (Patent Literature 4), water absorbent speed, water absorption capacity under load (Patent Literature 5), liquid permeability, particle size distribution, urine resistance, microbial resistance, impact resistance, powder fluidity, deodorizing property, color resistance, low dust, or the like. For such reasons, various suggestions relating to a surface cross-linking technique, additives, modifications of a step for production, or the like have been made in addition to Patent Literatures 1 to 23 and Non-Patent Literature 1. Recently, in accordance with an increased use amount of the water absorbent resin in a disposable diaper (for example, 50% by weight or more), the liquid permeability is found to be a more important factor. In addition, there have been many methods or techniques suggested for improving liquid permeability under load or liquid permeability without load like SFC (Saline Flow Conductivity/Patent Literature 6) and GBP (Gel Bed Permeability/Patent Literatures 7 to 9).
Further, regarding the aforementioned physical properties, many combinations of plural parameters including liquid permeability have been suggested, and a technique for defining impact resistance (FI) (Patent Literature 10), a technique for defining water absorbent speed (FSR/Vortex) (Patent Literature 11), a technique for defining a product of liquid diffusion property (SFC) and a core absorption amount after 60 minutes (DA60) (Patent Literature 12) are known.
Further, as a method for improving liquid permeability like SFC and GBP, a technique for adding gypsum either before or during polymerization (Patent Literature 13), a technique for adding a spacer (Patent Literature 14), a technique for using 5 to 17 [mol/kg] of a nitrogen-containing polymer which has a protonizable nitrogen atom (Patent Literature 15), a technique for using polyamine and polyvalent metal ions or polyvalent anions (Patent Literature 16), a technique for coating a water absorbent resin at pH of lower than 6 with polyamine (Patent Literature 17), and a technique for using polyammonium carbonate (Patent Literature 18) are known. Furthermore, a technique for using polyamine at soluble components of 3% by weight or more and a technique for defining withdrawing index (WI) or gel strength are known (Patent Literatures 19 to 21). Furthermore, a technique for using polyvalent metal salts with controlling methoxyphenol as a polymerization inhibitor in polymerization for improving coloration and liquid permeability is known (Patent Literatures 22 and 23).
Furthermore, a technique for controlling holding time between a drying step and a pulverizing step (Patent Literature 24), a technique for controlling the ratio of returning a pulverized product to a pulverizing step as a technique focusing on a pulverizing step (Patent Literature 25), a technique for eliminating electric charges as a technique focusing on a classification step (Patent Literature 26), a technique for using a tapping material (Patent Literature 27), and a technique for controlling tension of a screen mesh (Patent Literature 28) are also techniques for improving liquid permeability.
It is also known that the liquid permeability tends to decrease as the particle diameter of a water absorbent resin decreases. For example, as the content of particle having a particle diameter of less than 150 μm (fine powder) increases, the liquid permeability is known to decrease (Patent Literature 29). Accordingly, various techniques for controlling particle diameter have been suggested until now.
For example, a technique for controlling particle diameter during a polymerization step like reverse phase suspension polymerization (Patent Literatures 30 and 31), a technique for controlling particle diameter during a step of micronizing water-containing gel-like crosslinked polymer (gel-crushing step) (Patent Literatures 32 to 34), a technique for controlling particle diameter or the like during a classification step (Patent Literatures 26 to 28 and 35 to 40), a techniques for granulation during a surface cross-linking step (preparing large particles by adhering fine powders or fine powders and target particles) (Patent Literatures 41 and 42), and a technique for removing fine powders with air flow during a cooling step after surface cross-linking (Patent Literature 43) have been also suggested.
Furthermore, as techniques focusing on a pulverizing step, a technique for performing pulverization after cooling a dried polymer (Patent Literature 44), a technique for performing pulverization after heating or warming a pulverizer (Patent Literature 45), a technique for reducing the ratio of particles other than target product in a pulverization product by pulverizing a dried polymer having high moisture content (Patent Literature 46 (in particular, FIGS. 1 to 4)), a technique for using a three-stage roll mill (Patent Literature 47), a technique for controlling holding time between a drying step and a pulverizing step (Patent Literature 48), and a technique for controlling the returning ratio of a pulverized product to a pulverizing step (Patent Literatures 25 and 49) have been also suggested. Furthermore, a method having different roll revolution speed for two rolls for pulverization by a roll mill is also known (Non-Patent Literature 1 (in particular, FIG. 3.8)).
Furthermore, as a technique relating to pulverization, a technique for removing non-dried products in a dried polymer before pulverization (Patent Literatures 50 to 52) and a technique for installing a magnetic separator between a top part and a bottom part of a roll mill (Patent Literature 53) have been also suggested.

Method for producing polyacrylic acid (salt)-based water absorbent resin


It is an object of the present invention to realize a circuit diagram creating method and circuit diagram creating apparatus capable of efficiently acquiring information on a lower layer, and a circuit diagram creating method for creating a layered electric circuit diagram from data indicating an electric circuit that includes the steps of determining an outline area to be displayed from wiring information and graphics information which are data indicating the electric circuit for symbol graphics of a lower layer and displaying information on the circuit diagram so as not to go beyond the outline area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit diagram creating method and circuit diagram creating apparatus for a CAD apparatus for creating a layered electric circuit diagram.
2. Description of the Related Art
For a CAD apparatus for creating a circuit diagram, it is a common practice to describe a circuit diagram with layers taking into account logical consistency and repeatability, etc. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, lower-layer drawings are normally schematized as rectangular boxes and arranged in a higher layer (in the following explanations, a lower-layer drawing schematized as a rectangular box will be called a "symbol"). In the example shown in FIG. 1, symbols with instance names NANDOR1 and NANDOR2 are described together with a cell name NANDOR. Thus, lower layers are expressed as black boxes and it is only possible to see higher-layer drawings and not possible to know the contents of the lower layers.
As a method for solving the problem that it is not possible to see the contents of a lower layer from a higher-layer drawing, there is a proposal for a method of displaying the contents of a lower layer in a symbol as shown in FIG. 2. However, since this method adopts a structure in which a circuit diagram is miniaturized and pasted so as to describe all information on the lower layer in the symbol, the circuit diagram is too small, has insufficient readability and cannot be actually used.
The invention described in Japanese Patent No. 2657028 is one that is capable of displaying how the circuits are related to each other among electric circuits of different blocks which are hierarchically expressed in an easily understandable way. This invention determines whether blocks are shown in a symbol form or schematic form according to a ratio of the block size shown on a display screen to the size of the display screen.
Of the above described conventional technologies, the one shown in FIG. 2 in which the circuit diagram is miniaturized and pasted so as to describe all information on the lower layer in the symbol, has a problem that it has insufficient readability.
The technology described in Japanese Patent No. 2657028 differentiates the display contents of the block according to the ratio of the block size shown on the display screen to the size of the display screen, and can thereby improve readability, whereas it does not always display necessary contents and has a problem that it is difficult to understand connection relations among electric circuits.

Apparatus and method for creating circuit diagram, program therefor and recording medium storing the program


A solenoid comprising a first coil positioned within a frame from which a magnetizable armature, having a coil end and a free end, extends, the coil end of the armature having a section of non-magnetizable material secured to it, and a second coil, which coil is energizable in a manner independent from that of the first coil, the second coil being secured to the other end of the non-magnetizable material so as to move with the armature from a position adjacent the first coil when the armature is in extended position to a position spaced therefrom when the armature is in retracted position, whereby when the first coil is energized to move the armature along its throw into retracted position, the second coil is simultaneously energized so as produce a repulsive magnetic force with respect to that of the first coil. Magnetizable bridge devices are secured to the frame and automatically movable, upon energization of the coil and movement of the armature along its throw to retracted position, to become seatably positioned within the space between the coils over an end of the first coil in contact with the armature to provide across the coil end of the armature a magnetically conductive path for the magnetic field which will hold the armature firmly in retracted position, and, upon de-energization of the coils and return of the armature to its extended position, to become automatically moved from its seated position to a position and become clear of the space between the first and second coils.

The present invention relates to an improved solenoid. Conventional solenoids have an electrically energizable coil consisting of one or more layers of windings about a non-magnetic form producing an electromagnet when the coil is energized. A magnetic armature extends from this form and moves within it. In one construction of solenoid this armature moves to a retracted position when the coil is energized and to an extended position under urging from a biasing means when the coil is de-energized. The distance between these positions is known as the "throw" of the solenoid.
Such solenoid device is widely used for operating circuit breakers, track switches, valves and many other electro-mechanical devices. They may be used to operate door locks on cars, in automatic nailer and stapler machines, as electrical motor starters, as contactors on starting equipment, and on fuel racks for diesel engines and the like.
Problems with such conventional solenoids however have limited their applications and usage. For example, with the armature in extended position, because the inner end of the armature is at its position most remote from the corresponding magnetic pole, there is relatively little starting power available to attract the armature into the coil when the coil is energized. As well, the throw is limited by the amount of magnetic strength available when the coil is energized. In practical terms the throw may for instance only be about an inch. In order to overcome these limitations, the current to windings may be increased. Increased current however results in increased heat being generated when the coil is energized, which heat reduces the ability of the coil to function as an electromagnet and reduces the life of the device and components which may surround it.
In our invention as described in our co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/890,820 filed Jun. 1, 1992, an improved solenoid construction was described and illustrated which overcame these problems. In particular, the coil end of the armature has secured to it a pre-determined length of rigid non-magnetizable material. A second, electrically energizable coil is energizable in a manner opposite to that of the first coil, and is secured to the other end of the length of non-magnetizable material so as to move with the armature. When this second coil is energized, it moves from a position adjacent the first coil (with the armature in extended position), to one spaced therefrom with the armature in retracted position. The energization of the two coils provides magnetic repulsion between adjacent, like magnetic poles of the two coils to produce excellent starting power for the armature. This improved solenoid construction also permits an increased throw compared to conventional solenoids.
One problem with such a construction of solenoid, for particular applications which require a solenoid in which the armature is very strongly held in retracted (coil-activated) position is that the armature is not locked in this position as strongly as would be the case with a conventional solenoid. This is because, when the armature is in this retracted position with the coils energized, the locking of the (heavier) armature in this retracted position is still achieved mainly through the effects on the inner end of the armature by the magnetic field created by the first coil.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved construction of such a solenoid which will have significantly increased power in holding the armature firmly in retracted, locked position.


A table based abstraction layer is interposed between applications and the packet forwarding hardware driver layer. All behavior and configuration of packet forwarding to be implemented in the hardware layer is articulated as fields in tables of the table based abstraction layer, and the higher level application software interacts with the hardware through the creation of and insertion and deletion of elements in these tables. The structure of the tables in the abstraction layer has no direct functional meaning to the hardware, but rather the tables of the table based abstraction layer simply exist to receive data to be inserted by the applications into the forwarding hardware. Information from the tables is extracted by the packet forwarding hardware driver layer and used to populate physical offset tables that may then be installed into the registers and physical tables utilized by the hardware to perform packet forwarding operations.

1. Field
This application relates to network elements and, more particularly, to a method for abstracting datapath hardware elements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data communication networks may include various switches, nodes, routers, and other devices coupled to and configured to pass data to one another. These devices will be referred to herein as "network elements". Data is communicated through the data communication network by passing protocol data units, such as frames, packets, cells, or segments, between the network elements by utilizing one or more communication links. A particular protocol data unit may be handled by multiple network elements and cross multiple communication links as it travels between its source and its destination over the network.
Network elements are designed to handle packets of data efficiently, to minimize the amount of delay associated with transmission of the data on the network. Conventionally, this is implemented by using hardware in a data plane of the network element to forward packets of data, while using software in a control plane of the network element to configure the network element to cooperate with other network elements on the network.
The applications running in the control plane make decisions about how particular types of traffic should be handled by the network element to allow packets of data to be properly forwarded on the network. For example, a network element may include a routing process, which runs in the control plane, that enables the network element to have a synchronized view of the network topology. Forwarding state, computed using this network topology is then programmed into the data plane to enable the network element to forward packets of data across the network. Multiple processes may be running in the control plane to enable the network element to interact with other network elements on the network and forward data packets on the network.
As the control applications make decisions, the control plane programs the hardware in the dataplane to enable the dataplane to be adjusted to properly handle traffic. The data plane includes ASICs, FPGAs, and other hardware elements designed to receive packets of data, perform lookup operations on specified fields of packet headers, and make forwarding decisions as to how the packet should be transmitted on the network. Lookup operations are typically implemented using tables and registers containing entries populated by the control plane.
Drivers are used to abstract the data plane hardware elements from the control plane applications and provide a set of functions which the applications may use to program the hardware implementing the dataplane. Example driver calls may include "add route", "delete route", and hundreds of other instructions which enable the applications to instruct the driver to adjust the hardware to cause the network element to exhibit desired behavior on the network.
The driver takes the instructions received from the control plane and implements the instructions by setting values in data registers and physical tables that are used by the hardware to control operation of the hardware. Since the driver code is specifically created to translate instructions from the applications to updates to the hardware, any changes to the hardware requires that the driver code be updated. Further, changes to the hardware may also require changes to the application code. For example, adding functionality to the hardware may require the application to be adjusted to allow the application to output instructions to the driver layer to take advantage of the new functionality. Likewise, the driver may need to be adjusted to implement the new instructions from the application to enable the new functionality to be accessed. Implementing changes to the driver code and/or to the application code increases development cost, since any time this code is changed it needs to be debugged to check for problems. This not only costs money, but also increases the amount of time required to bring the newly configured product to market.

Method for abstracting datapath hardware elements


The present invention features methods and apparatuses for sealing tiled, flat-panel displays (FPDs). Tile edges corresponding with the display's perimeter edges are designed with a wide seal. Interior edges, however, have narrow seals in order to maintain the desired, constant, pixel pitch across tile boundaries. In some cases, this invention applies specifically to arrays of tiles 2.times.2 or less, and, in other cases, to N.times.M arrays, where N and M are any integer numbers. The tiles are enclosed with top and bottom glass plates, which are sealed with an adhesive bond to the tiles on the outside perimeter of the tiled display. Vertical seams (where tiles meet at the perimeter of the FPD) are sealed with a small amount of polymer. The seal may be constructed between a cover plate and a back plate, sandwiching the tiles. The AMLCD edges may be coated with either a non-permeable material or a polymer having an extremely low permeability (for example, Parylene.TM.). Alternatively, the edge sealing of individual tiles can be achieved by using a metallized film adhesive that is bonded to the tile edges. A low-temperature, sintered Solgel can be used to achieve extremely narrow, yet mechanically strong, seals for individual tiles. Still another enhancement employs a metallurgical seal outside a narrow, polymer seal.

Monolithic displays are used predominantly in laptop and portable computers of diagonal sizes of up to 12 inches. They have recently been introduced in desktop personal computers, as well as small televisions. In these applications, a frame surrounds the edge of the glass panels containing the active display elements, i.e., active-matrix liquid-crystal displays (AMLCDs).
Seals for liquid-crystal displays are located at the perimeter thereof and are covered by the frame and housing. Such seals provide a mechanical joint between the top and bottom glass plates of the FPD, as well as contain the liquid-crystal material between the plates. Although the seals are usually polymeric adhesives, a small quantity of glass (or alternative material) spacers contained therein maintains a desired separation distance between the top and bottom plates. Characteristically, this distance between plates ranges from a few microns to 15 microns or more. Typical widths of the seals themselves are customarily a few millimeters.
The polymeric adhesives are usually epoxy-based, thus having a solubility for water and a diffusivity that is appreciable enough to permit water permeation over extended periods of time (days to months). The desired size of seals for individual AMLCD tiles may be an order of magnitude narrower than 1 millimeter; however, the seals for AMLCD FPDs have been proven to be reliable only for widths of 1 millimeter or wider. The rate of diffusion increases exponentially with the reciprocal of the width of the seal, as well as in proportion to the seal thickness and the diffusivity constant for the seal material.
The seals perform several functions, as aforementioned. They mechanically hold the top plate and the bottom plate of the AMLCD in register (both vertically and horizontally), while also providing robustness to the optical stack. In fact, along with the glass plates, the adhesive forms the walls of a reservoir to hold the liquid-crystal material, protecting it from the ambient humidity which may degrade or change its optical properties.
Because the glass plates are not uniformly flat, the adhesive seal, along with spacers, provides a sustaining force to maintain the glass plates essentially parallel to each other and uniformly spaced with respect to one another. This spacing is important for uniform electro-optical response, which is determined by a liquid crystal's electric field that is generated by two respective plates, an anode and a cathode, one on each glass plate.
In order to environmentally protect the liquid-crystals, AMLCDs that are made up of a plurality of individual tiles may need unique sealing designs. Seal width is a major contributor to seam width, since there are two seals in a seam width, i.e, one on each tile perimeter. The more narrow the seam, the more efficient the light transmission is for viewing, and the easier it is to mask and modify the optical properties of the seam. In fact, narrow seals and seams in tiled displays allow for conventionally smaller pixel pitch, hence resulting in displays of greater resolution.
However, using narrow, conventional, epoxy seals may degrade both their mechanical and permeation performances. Therefore, tiled displays may need special attention to mechanical design, for the reliability of the individual tiles must be ensured, so as to prevent any effects from humid environments and provide forces maintaining the registration of the top and bottom plates of the AMLCD.
At the intersection of the tiles, the edge dimensions thereof are preferably maintained so that the interpixel spacing remains uniformly periodic throughout the tiles and across the seams, and the pitch minimized from tile to tile, as well as within each tile. Nevertheless, sealing integrity and reliability must be maintained for all of the display's tile edges. The tile perimeter design elements incorporated into the dark, interpixel space include:
a) the two seals on neighboring tiles; PA1 b) the contact pads for the electrical connections, if they are located outside the seal; PA1 c) the electrical connection thickness between the walls of the two tiles; PA1 d) spacing between the tiles to allow for extraction of a tile for reworking, if so desired, without touching its neighboring tile(s); PA1 e) glass-cutting tolerances; and PA1 f) location tolerances.
All of the above-cited components and spaces are within a dark space between tiles, and will set the width of the intertile spacing and the pixel pitch.
The liquid-crystal material in tiled, flat-panel displays has the same susceptibility to moisture as do monolithic, liquid-crystal displays, but the design and manufacturing problems become more thorny. The need for invisible seams between any one tile and its adjacent tiles results in the need to keep all dimensions in this area, including the width of the adhesive seal, extremely small (approximately a few tenths of a millimeter, at most).
Electrical connection to the display is usually achieved by utilizing flexible connections, either from a printed circuit board containing drive and addressing electronics, or with an integrated-function chip carrier/flexible cable design. In either case, such electrical connection decreases the space available for sealing for a given pixel pitch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,569, described the advantage of positioning row and column drivers at a common edge of a tile and to deliver row and column signals to the tile from the common edge. This may eliminate the need for electrical connections at narrow ledges of interior tiles in a FPD of tiles 2.times.N, where N>2. This in turn may improve optical performance of the display.
It is advantageous to provide a reliable, semi-hermetic or hermetic seal without sacrificing the other functional requirements of tiled, flat-panel displays.
It is also advantageous to furnish fabrication techniques that improve the symmetry of the location of impurities in the liquid-crystal material, particularly in filling the space between the top and lower plates of the display or tile.
It is further advantageous to provide a seal that facilitates the electrical interconnection of tiles.
It is further advantageous to provide fabrication techniques that allow testing of tiles to assure quality before committing tiles to further assembly.

Construction and sealing of tiled, flat-panel displays


The semiconductor device of the present invention includes a first conductive type semiconductor layer; a second conductive type source region formed in a surface layer portion of the semiconductor layer; a groove formed by digging in the source region from a surface thereof; an insulating film laminated on the semiconductor layer to cover a surface of the semiconductor layer; a contact hole penetrating through the insulating film in a layer thickness direction at least at a position facing the groove; a wiring formed on the insulating film; and a contact plug embedded in the contact hole so that a bottom portion thereof enters the groove to electrically connect the wiring and the source.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device that includes field-effect transistors.
2. Description of Related Art
For example, a trench-gate type VDMOSFET (Vertical Double diffused Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) is known as a power MOSFET that has low on-resistance properties.
FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view of a semiconductor device that includes conventional trench-gate type VDMOSFETs.
The semiconductor device 101 has an N+type substrate 102. An epitaxial layer 103 is laminated on the substrate 102. A base layer portion of the epitaxial layer 103 serves as an N−type low-concentrated drain region 104. A surface layer portion of the epitaxial layer 103 is formed as a P type body region 105 contiguous to the low-concentrated drain region 104.
The epitaxial layer 103 has a plurality of gate trenches 106 formed by digging in from the surface of the epitaxial layer 103. The gate trenches 106 are spaced at predetermined gaps, and are extended in the same direction in parallel with each other. The gate trenches 106 penetrate the body region 105, so that deepest portions thereof reache the low-concentrated drain region 104. A gate electrode 108 made of polysilicon doped with highly-concentrated N type impurities is embedded in each gate trench 106 with a gate insulating film 107 between the gate electrode 108 and the epitaxial layer 103.
N+type source regions 109 are formed on the surface layer portion of the body region 105. Furthermore, P+type body contact regions 110 penetrate the source regions 109 in a layer thickness direction, and are formed at a gap from the gate trenches 106 at the surface layer portion of the body region 105.
An interlayer insulating film 111 is laminated on the epitaxial layer 103. Contact holes 112 are formed in the interlayer insulating film 111 at positions that face respective body contact regions 110 and parts of the source region 109 surrounding the same. A source wiring 113 is formed on the interlayer insulating film 111. Parts of the source wiring 113 enter the contact holes 112. As a result, a contact plug 114 is formed in the contact hole 112. The contact plug 114 is brought into contact (butting contact) with the source region 109 and with the body contact region 110 while stretching between the surface of the source region 109 and the surface of the body contact region 110.
A drain electrode 115 is formed on a back surface of the substrate 102.
The source wiring 113 is grounded, and the electric potential (gate voltage) of the gate electrode 108 is controlled while applying an appropriate amount of positive voltage to the drain electrode 115. Therefore, channels are formed near interfaces with the gate insulating films 107 in the body region 105, and electric current flow between the source regions 109 and the drain electrode 115.
In the trench-gate type VDMOSFET, the on-resistance can be further reduced by cell shrinkage in which the unit cell area is reduced.
However, with the progress of the cell shrinkage, the distance between the gate trench 106 and the body contact region 110 becomes smaller. Accordingly, the area of a portion facing the contact hole 112 in the source region 109 becomes small, and hence the contact area between the source region 109 and the contact plug 114 becomes small. As a result, the contact resistance between the source region 109 and the contact plug 114 is increased. The increase in the contact resistance is obstructive to a decrease in the on-resistance.
Additionally, with the progress of the cell shrinkage, the area of the body contact region 110 also becomes smaller. If the area of the body contact region 110 is small, a slight deviation of the formation position of the contact hole 112 from its normal position will disenable the contact hole 112 to face the body contact region 110, and hence there is a fear that the body contact region 110 and the contact plug 114 cannot be brought into contact with each other. Therefore, with the progress of the cell shrinkage, a permissible range with respect to a deviation of the formation position of the contact hole 112 becomes smaller, and hence the contact hole 112 is required to be formed with high accuracy.
In field-effect transistors other than the trench-gate type VDMOSFET without being limited to the trench-gate type VDMOSFET, the problem of the increase in the contact resistance (the problem of the decrease in the contact area) arises as a result of the cell shrinkage.


Methods are disclosed for forming dual stressed layers in such a way that both undercutting and an undesirable residual spacer of the first-deposited stressed layer are prevented. In one embodiment, a method includes forming a first stressed silicon nitride layer over the NFET and the PFET, forming a sacrificial layer over the first stressed silicon nitride layer such that the sacrificial layer is thinner over substantially vertical surfaces than over substantially horizontal surfaces, forming a mask over a first one of the NFET and the PFET, removing the first stressed silicon nitride layer over a second one of the NFET and the PFET, and forming a second stressed silicon nitride layer over the second one of the NFET and the PFET. The sacrificial layer prevents undercutting and forming of an undesirable residual spacer during removal of the first-deposited stressed layer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor fabrication, and more particularly to preventing undercutting of a stressed layer during formation of a dual stressed layer for performance enhancement of semiconductor devices.
2. Related Art
The application of stresses to field effect transistors (FETs) is known to improve their performance. When applied in a longitudinal direction (i.e., in the direction of current flow), tensile stress is known to enhance electron mobility (or n-channel FET (NFET) drive currents) while compressive stress is known to enhance hole mobility (or p-channel FET (PFET) drive currents). One way to apply such stresses to a FET is the use of intrinsically-stressed barrier silicon nitride layers. For example, a tensile-stressed silicon nitride layer may be used to cause tension in an NFET channel while a compressively-stressed silicon nitride layer may be used to cause compression in a PFET channel. Accordingly, a dual stressed barrier layer is necessary to induce the desired stresses in an adjacent NFET and PFET.
In the formation of a dual barrier silicon nitride layers for stress enhancement of NFET/PFET devices, the first deposited layer is deposited and then is removed over the appropriate FET region by patterning and etching. The second layer is then deposited and then removed over the other of the two FET regions by patterning and etching. One challenge relative to this process is undercutting of the first-deposited stressed layer due to isotropical etch of the first-deposited stressed layer. In particular, the undercut is difficult to refill when the second-deposited stressed layer is deposited. As a result, voids are often formed, which can cause shorting in devices during metal contact formation, thus reducing yield of chips per wafer. One way to address this situation is to use an anisotropical etch to etch the first-deposited stressed layer without undercut. However, undesirable additional spacers remain in the areas (e.g., on the spacer side wall of the FET having the second-deposited stressed layer) where the second layer is deposited, which can degrade device performance of the FET having the second-deposited stressed layer. This situation can also cause gap filling among devices and make it difficult to etch via contacts.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for a solution to prevent undercutting during formation of dual stressed layers.

Undercut and residual spacer prevention for dual stressed layers

International Business Machines Corporation


A printing device includes an image receptor adapted to have formed thereon an inked image layer, a transfer roller, and a transfer roller biasing system. The biasing system is structured to displace the transfer roller toward the image receptor upon actuation of a motor, exerting a backing pressure.

Printing devices, such as inkjet printers, can produce an image on a recording medium (e.g., paper) by forming an image layer on an image receptor, transferring the image layer to the recording medium, and fusing the transferred image to the recording medium. In some processes, the transfer and fusion steps are contemporaneously performed (hereinafter referred to as "transfusing" or "transfixing"). The locus of contact is commonly referred to as the nip.
Using solid-ink compositions currently available in the industry, transfer of the image layer from the image receptor (in the form of a belt or drum) to the recording medium is generally accomplished by contacting the image layer with the recording medium under pressure and, if desired, heat. Transfixing pressure is typically provided in the nip by a roller selectively biased against the recording medium. High-speed printers generally require controlled high pressures, generally in the range of about 550 pounds per square inch (approximately 250 kg/in2) to more than 2000 psi (approx. 900 kg/in2) depending on the particular solid ink compositions employed, the size of the recording medium, desired print quality (e.g., draft, final), applied heat, and the like.
Transfix roller load heretofore has been controlled by one or more pre-tensioned springs. A motor or other retracting means is utilized to retract the roller from the nip or to extend the roller into the nip, against the tension of the spring(s). The spring tension may be created by either of compression or extension of the spring from its resting state.
Springs generally deliver a slightly fluctuating roller load depending on variations in paper, device component run-out and the like. To provide effective pressure delivery, printing device manufacturers have produced devices having precise and minimal run-out of the transfixing roller and the image receptor drum, employed innovative ink compositions to control image layer thickness, viscosity and transfer properties, and urged use of consistent recording media.
As well, printing devices with tensioned springs generally require more complicated manufacturing processes and add bulk to the finished product. Highly tensioned spring elements within a printing device chassis may potentially be dangerous to assembly and/or repair personnel.
It would be desirable to provide transfix roller load without use of tensioned, high-strength springs. Further desirable is the capacity to vary the load force based on image content and print mode. If text only prints could run at reduced load, for example, roller life would increase and power consumption would decrease.

Transfix roller load controlled by motor current