A direction of a first control is determined based on a component in the first axial direction of a difference between a first region reference coordinate point and a coordinate point of a coordinate input performed in the first region. A direction of a second control is determined based on a component in a second axial direction of a difference between a second region reference coordinate point and a coordinate point of the coordinate input performed in the second region. When the coordinate input is started in the second region, and thereafter the coordinate input indicates a coordinate point in the first region, the reference coordinate point is set in the first or the second region, and the direction of the first control is determined based on a component in the first axial direction of a difference between the reference coordinate point and the coordinate point in the first region.

There are conventionally handheld terminals that perform information processing based on a touch operation. In some such handheld terminals, when the handheld terminal is in portrait position, the handheld terminal is in a mode in which the handheld terminal is automatically controlled, and when the handheld terminal is in landscape position, a character is moved by an operation performed by the user's left hand, and a viewing direction is changed by an operation performed by the user's right hand.
However, in a process performed in the above handheld terminal, an operation object that is being changed may be changed to another operation object during a touch operation, resulting in confusion occurring in an operation result.
With this in mind, it is an object of this non-limiting example to provide a storage medium storing an information processing program, information processing apparatus, information processing system, and information processing method that can provide improved operability in a touch operation.
To achieve the above, this non-limiting example has the following features, for example.
A non-limiting example configuration of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing an information processing program of this non-limiting example is carried out by a computer of an information processing apparatus that controls a game using a coordinate input detected by a touch input device having a touch region. The information processing program causes a computer to at least: set a first and a second region in the touch region, wherein the first and second regions are arranged side by side in a first axial direction without overlapping each other; set a first region reference coordinate point as a reference coordinate point in the first region based on the coordinate input performed in the first region, and setting a second region reference coordinate point as a reference coordinate point in the second region based on the coordinate input performed in the second region; determine a direction of the first control based on a component in the first axial direction of a difference between the first region reference coordinate point and a coordinate point of the coordinate input performed in the first region after the setting of the first region reference coordinate point; and determine a direction of the second control based on a component in a second axial direction of a difference between the second region reference coordinate point and a coordinate point of the coordinate input performed in the second region after the setting of the second region reference coordinate point, the second axial direction being different from the first axial direction. When the coordinate input is started in the second region, and thereafter, the coordinate input is continued, so that the coordinate input indicates a coordinate point in the first region, the reference coordinate point is set in the first region or the second region, based on the coordinate point of the coordinate input, and the direction of the first control is determined based on a component in the first axial direction of a difference between the reference coordinate point and the coordinate point in the first region.
With the above configuration, even when a touch operation is started from the second region which is not intended by the user, control is not performed by a touch operation performed in the second region, and is changed to a control that is performed by an operation using the first region intended by the user. Therefore, an operation object that is being changed is not changed to another operation object during the touch operation, resulting in an improvement in operability in a touch operation.
The reference coordinate point may be moved to approach the coordinate point of the coordinate input according to the distance between the coordinate point of the coordinate input and the reference coordinate point.
With the above configuration, the reference coordinate point follows the coordinate input. Therefore, a most recent operation direction intended by the user can be used in control.
When the coordinate input is started in the second region, and thereafter, the coordinate input is continued, so that the coordinate input indicates a coordinate point in the first region, a coordinate point at which the coordinate input has entered the first region may be set as the reference coordinate point.
With the above configuration, a position at which the coordinate input has entered an operation region intended by the user is set as the reference coordinate point. Therefore, an operation input intended by the user can be performed using the operation region.
The direction of the second control may not be determined by the component in the second axial direction of the difference between the first region reference coordinate point and the coordinate point of the coordinate input performed in the first region after the setting of the first region reference coordinate point.
With the above configuration, when a touch operation for the first control is being performed, the second control can be prevented from being undeliberately performed due to detection of the component in the second axial direction of the touch operation although the second control is not intended by the user. Thus, such an incorrect operation can be prevented.
The direction of the first control may not be determined by the component in the first axial direction of the difference between the second region reference coordinate point and the coordinate point of the coordinate input performed in the second region after the setting of the second region reference coordinate point.
With the above configuration, when a touch operation for the second control is being performed, the first control can be prevented from being undeliberately performed due to detection of the component in the first axial direction of the touch operation although the first control is not intended by the user. Thus, such an incorrect operation can be prevented.
Even when the first control based on the coordinate input performed in the first region after the setting of the first region reference coordinate point is being performed, the second control based on the coordinate input in the second region may be performed.
With the above configuration, the first control and the second control can be performed simultaneously or in parallel.
The touch input device may have a rectangular touch region having a first and a second side, the first side being longer than the second side.
With the above configuration, operability in a touch operation using a rectangular touch region can be improved.
The first axial direction may be parallel to the first side.
With the above configuration, operability in a touch input performed in the longer-axis direction of a touch region can be improved.
One half region in the first axial direction of the touch region may be set as the first region, and the other half region in the first axial direction of the touch region may be set as the second region.
With the above configuration, the same operability can be ensured in a touch operation using the first region and a touch operation using the second region.
The first control may move a character object disposed in the virtual space.
With the above configuration, the operability of moving a character object can be improved.
The second control may move another object from a character object disposed in the virtual space.
With the above configuration, the operability of moving another object from a character object can be improved.
This non-limiting example may be carried out in the form of an information processing apparatus, information processing system, and information processing method.
According to this non-limiting example, operability in touch operations using a plurality of operation regions can be improved.
These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present exemplary embodiment will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present exemplary embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Systems and method of controlling game operations based on touch input


A motor drive control device includes: a deceleration start position calculating unit that calculates a deceleration start position indicating an address at which a pulse period is stored, the pulse period being equal to or larger than a pulse period at the time of forced stopping and closest to the pulse period at the time of forced stopping among the pulse periods included in a driving information; a stop pulse number calculating unit that calculates the number of pulses required for stopping the motor at an exciting position; and a driving control unit that outputs a total number of pulses of a counted number of pulses and the number of pulses from the deceleration start position until the motor is stopped in forcibly stopping the motor, and outputs a shortage of the number of pulses required for stopping the motor calculated by the stop pulse number calculating unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor drive control device, a motor drive control method, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, a stepping motor has been used for conveying a document or controlling movement of a reading optical system in a multifunction peripheral. Basically, to control driving of the stepping motor, a motor is started to be driven at a drive frequency not to cause a loss of synchronization, accelerated to a target speed, decelerated again within a range in which a loss of synchronization is not caused, and stopped. A loss of synchronization of the motor is likely to be caused as a difference between a current pulse period and the next pulse period increases, so that a value set in an acceleration/deceleration table needs to be set within a range in which a loss of synchronization is not caused. When the target speed is a speed that does not cause a loss of synchronization, acceleration and deceleration are not required.
A period setting in an acceleration/deceleration region for preventing a loss of synchronization is stored as a table in a region such as a static RAM (SRAM), and a total number of pulses thereof is set as the number of pulses corresponding to an exciting mode (the number is uniquely determined such as a multiple of 8 in a case of a W1-2-phase). Due to this, known is a technique for reducing a CPU load in driving the motor and stopping the motor at an exciting position corresponding to the exciting mode by successively reading values without a central processing unit (CPU).
For example, disclosed is a technique for setting the acceleration/deceleration table in the SRAM and the like in advance, and controlling acceleration and deceleration of motor driving while the CPU checks free space of an image accumulating memory (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-220108).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-296095 discloses a technique for calculating acceleration from read acceleration data, and sequentially reading out deceleration data to stop a motor operation in the case that an anomaly occurs in acceleration, for the purpose of forcibly stopping motor driving when an anomaly occurs in the acceleration data.
However, in the motor driving control in the related art described above, to forcibly stop the motor during acceleration for some reasons, transition needs to be made to deceleration control after acceleration control is completed for preventing a loss of synchronization. Due to this control, the motor driving cannot be stopped at a forced stop position, and a minimum number of drive pulses becomes constant from the time when the motor is started to be driven until the motor is stopped.
When the motor driving is stopped at the forced stop position without performing a deceleration operation, the motor is stopped irrespective of the exciting position thereof although a loss of synchronization is not caused, so that a driving torque is not enough in re-driving and a load on the motor itself due to quick stop is heavy.
According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-220108, when a stop command is received during acceleration, a loss of synchronization of the motor is caused in transition from an acceleration state to a deceleration state depending on timing of receiving the stop command. According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-296095, the motor cannot stop at the exciting position when the motor is stopped.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a motor drive control device, a motor drive control method, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium capable of stopping motor driving at the exciting position without causing a loss of synchronization, and stopping the motor driving at a minimum number of pulses from the forced stop position in stopping the motor driving during acceleration.

Motor drive control device, motor drive control method, and non-transitory computer-readable medium


A data storage medium that includes several stacked layers. The stacked layers can be conducting, insulating, resistive, or capable of changing between two or more states or phases. Also, a data storage device that includes the data storage medium and an energy source that can form nanometer-scaled data bits in regions of the data storage medium. The data bits can include holes through some of the stacked layers or phase-changes in portions of the layers capable of changing between two or more states. Further, a method of using such a storage medium to store nanometer-scaled data bits.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a storage medium for an ultra-high density data storage device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, scientists have been developing alternative ultra-high-density data storage devices and techniques useful for operating ultra-high-density data storage devices. These devices and techniques store data bits within storage regions sized on the nanometer scale and possess advantages over conventional data storage devices. Among these advantages are quicker access to the data bits, a lower cost per bit and enablement of the manufacturing of smaller electronic devices.
FIG. 1 illustrates an ultra-high-density data storage device configuration according to the related art. This configuration includes a storage medium 1 that is separated into many storage regions. These storage regions are illustrated as squares on the storage medium 1 and are each capable of storing one data bit.
Two types of storage regions are illustrated in FIG. 1. One type includes unmodified regions 2 that typically store data bits representing the value "0". The other type includes modified regions 3 that typically store data bits representing the value "1". Typical periodicities between any two storage regions range between 1 and 100 nanometers
FIG. 1 also illustrates, conceptually, emitters 4, positioned above the storage medium 1, and a gap between the emitters 4 and the storage medium 1. The emitters 4 are capable of emitting electron beams and are arranged on a movable emitter array support 5 (also known as a "micromover") that can hold hundreds or even thousands of emitters 4 in a parallel configuration. The emitter array support 5 provides electrical connections to each emitter 4, as illustrated conceptually by the wires on the top surface of emitter array support 5.
The emitter array support 5 can move the emitters 4 with respect to the storage medium 1, thereby allowing each emitter 4 to scan across many storage regions on the storage medium 1. Alternatively, the storage medium 1 can be placed on a platform that moves the storage medium 1 relative to the emitter array support 5. Movement of the platform can be actuated electrostatically, magnetically or by the use of piezoelectrics. However, regardless of whether the support 5 or the storage medium 1 moves, the range of motion of the emitter array support 5 relative to the storage medium 1 can be large enough to allow each emitter 4 to travel across and to have access to data bits in tens of thousands or even millions of data storage regions.
As an emitter 4 moves relative to the storage medium 1, the emitter 4 can bombard a nanometer-scaled storage region on the surface of the storage medium 1 with either a high-power-density or a low-power-density electron beam. When a high-power-density beam is emitted, the beam can locally alter the material characteristics of the bombarded region. For example, the high-power-density beam can create defects in the bombarded region or can locally heat up a crystalline region such that the region later cools into an amorphous state of the same material. By these and other processes, the phase of the bombarded region can be changed and the emitter 4 can write "1" data bits to the storage medium 1.
When a low-power-density electron beam is emitted, the beam no longer has enough power to alter the material characteristics or state of the bombarded region. Hence, a writing operation does not take place. Instead, a reading operation can take place by monitoring the path of the electrons in the beam or the effect of the electrons in the beam on the bombarded region. As will be discussed below, monitoring the path of the electrons and/or the interactions of the electrons with the bombarded region allows for a determination to be made as to whether or not the low-power-density beam is bombarding a region of the storage medium 1 that has previously been "written to" and now contains a "1" data bit.
Specifically, in order to determine whether a "1" data bit or a "0" data bit is being bombarded, several options exist. One of these options, which proves useful when "1" data bits include an amorphous material and "0" data bits include the same material in a crystalline phase, involves monitoring the number of beam electrons that are backscattered from the bombarded region over time.
Since amorphous and crystalline phases of the same materials have different backscattered electron coefficients (BECs), different numbers of electrons are backscattered by "1" and "0" data bits in the storage medium 1 when the same low-power-density beam bombards each data bit. Hence, by monitoring the number of electrons backscattered from a given region as it is being bombarded by a low-power-density electron beam, it is possible to determine whether the region contains a "0" data bit or a "1" data bit.
Some specific embodiments of the ultra-high-density data storage device discussed above are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,596 to Gibson et al. (Gibson '596), the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. In addition to discussing the backscattered electron reading technique and the technique that involves writing amorphous data bits in a crystalline storage medium 1, the Gibson '596 patent also discusses a variety of other writing and reading methods.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A semiconductor package uses no thermosetting adhesive for mounting a heat slug thereon, which adhesive requires a strict control during the storage and the production thereof. A semiconductor package comprises a circuit board having respective surfaces and an opening; a conductive layer formed on one of the surfaces of the circuit board so that the conductive layers are retracted from a peripheral edge of the opening by a certain distance; a heat slug attached to the one surface of the circuit board by means of solder so that the opening is closed at the one surface and opened at the other surface to form a cavity within which a semiconductor element mounting area is defined; and the heat slug is provided with a groove along a periphery of the semiconductor element mounting area and adjacent the peripheral edge of the opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor package, particularly to such a semiconductor package provided with a heat slug, a heat sink or a heat spreader, hereinafter referred to as a "heat slug", made of metal on a bottom surface of a cavity for mounting a semiconductor element.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventionally known semiconductor package such as PPGA (Plastic Pin Grid Array), PBGA (Plastic Ball Grid Array) or PLGA (Plastic Land Grid Array) is constructed by overlaying a plurality of resin boards, each composed of an electro-insulating substrate made of glass-epoxy resin, glass-polyimid resin, BT resin or others, on which an electro-conductive layer such as a copper foil is layered, with each other, as shown in FIG. 11.
A structure of the conventionally known semiconductor package 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13. An opening 14 is formed in the overlaid respective resin boards 12 so that a cavity 16 is formed for accommodating a semiconductor element. Circuit boards 20a, 20b carrying circuit patterns 18 on both surfaces thereof are formed by etching the copper foil of the respective resin board.
Bonding portions of the circuit pattern 18 are formed in the vicinity of the periphery of the opening 14, for the connection of the circuit pattern to the semiconductor element by a wire bonding method. A size of the opening 14 in the respective circuit board 20a is selected so that when a laminate is formed by overlaying the circuit boards 20a with each other, the bonding portions are exposed outside in every circuit board 20a. Thus, the size of the opening 14 becomes larger as the position of the circuit board 20a, 20b is higher in the cavity 16 of the lamination of the circuit boards.
The circuit board 20a, 20b is adhered to the other circuit board via a adhesive sheet 22 (prepreg). Also, a resist (not shown) is coated on a surface of the circuit board 20a to smooth the surface and enhance the adhesivity between the circuit boards by the adhesive sheet 22. In this regard, if the characteristics of the adhesive sheet allow, the resist may be eliminated.
On the outer surface of the circuit board 20b, there are formed as a part of the circuit pattern 18 a land 26a for connecting an external terminal 24 (a bump in this case), a conductor 26b for connecting a circuit element such as a capacitor or a resistor, or a conductor 26c for mounting a heat slug made of a metallic plate. A protective coating 28 such as a solder resist is provided on the outer surface of the circuit board 20b, while taking a care that the land 26a and the conductors 26b, 26c are solely exposed.
The external terminal 24, the circuit element and the heat slug 30 are mounted to the land 26a and the conductors 26b, 26c, respectively.
Next, a method for mounting the heat slug 30 to the conductor 26c will be described. First, a thermosetting adhesive 32 is coated on the conductor 26c, and the heat slug 30 is placed on the circuit board 20b while taking a care so that a center of the heat slug 30 coincides with a center of the cavity 16 by using a positioning mechanism. Thereafter, the circuit boards 20a, 20b and the heat slug 30 are pressed together under heat, and the thermosetting adhesive is hardened to bond the heat slug 30 onto the conductor 26c of the circuit board 20b.
However, there is a problem in the prior art semiconductor package mentioned above, which is as follows:
A semiconductor element 34 such as a computer chip is mounted to an attachment area A of the heat slug corresponding to the inner bottom surface of the cavity 16 of the semiconductor package.
Generally speaking, the size of the opening 14 provided in the circuit board 20b having the conductor 26c is selected so that a gap B between the semiconductor element 34 and the peripheral edge of the opening 14 of the circuit board 20b is as small as possible to minimize the contour of the semiconductor package 10 as a whole, while taking account of the size of the attachment area A (in other words, the size of the semiconductor element 34), a positioning accuracy of the positioning mechanism, or a displacement for the scrubbing operation when the semiconductor element 34 is mounted to the attachment area A via an adhesive 36 (scrubbing is an operation for removing air bubbles from the adhesive by pressing and moving the semiconductor element on the heat slug 30).
For this purpose, an amount of adhesive 32, a pressing force and a heating temperature used for bonding the heat slug 30 with the circuit board 20b should be strictly controlled. Otherwise, the adhesive 32 positioned between the heat slug 30 and the conductor 26c is liable to squeeze out from the peripheral edge of the opening of the circuit board 20b along the heat slug 30 toward the attachment area A as shown in FIG. 12, whereby an area for mounting the semiconductor element 34 could not be ensured on the heat slug 30. Contrarily, as shown in FIG. 13, when an end of the adhesive 32 closer to the attachment area A does not reach the peripheral edge of the opening 14, there is a gap 38 between the upper surface of the heat slug 30 and the lower surface of the conductor 26c, which might cause trouble in that, when the semiconductor element 34 is sealed in the cavity 16 with a resin after mounted thereto and wire-bonded to the circuit patterns, an air bubble in the gap 34 might form a pit-like air opening on the surface of the sealing resin to disturb the stamping of product number, or if the air bubble remains within the sealing resin, a crack might be generated in that portion later.
However, the adhesive 32 may vary in hardening property in accordance with the difference between lots or storage conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly control the adhesive not only during the bonding operation for factors such as an amount thereof or a pressure and a temperature but also during the storage thereof, which is very troublesome. Even if well controlled, there may be cases, in accordance with the difference between lots, wherein an end of the adhesive closer to the attachment area A exceeds the peripheral edge of the opening 14 of the circuit board 20b (as shown in FIG. 12) or does not reach the same (as shown in FIG. 13). Therefore, it is very difficult to locate the end of the adhesive 32 within a predetermined allowable limit C relative to the peripheral edge of the opening 14 as shown by dotted lines in FIG. 13.

Semiconductor package having a heat slug


A thin film transistor array panel includes a substrate, a gate electrode on the substrate, a gate insulating layer on the gate electrode, a semiconductor layer on the gate insulating layer, a source electrode and a drain electrode on the semiconductor layer and facing each other, a floating metal layer between the source electrode and the drain electrode, and a passivation layer covering the source electrode, the drain electrode, and the floating metal layer. The floating metal layer is electrically floating.

(a) Field
The invention relates to a thin film transistor array panel and a method of manufacturing the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display ("LCD"), an organic light emitting diode display ("OLED" display), an electrophoretic display and a plasma display includes plural pairs of field generating electrodes, and an electro-optical active layer interposed therebetween. The LCD includes a liquid crystal layer as the electro-optical active layer, and the OLED display includes an organic emission layer as the electro-optical active layer. One of the field generating electrodes in a pair is generally connected to a switching element to receive an electric signal, and the electro-optical active layer displays an image by converting the electric signal to an optical signal.
The flat panel display may include a display panel on which a thin film transistor, as a switching element, is disposed. The display panel including the thin film transistor may be referred to a thin film transistor array panel. Various layers of electrodes, semiconductors and the like are patterned on the thin film transistor array panel, and a mask is generally used in a patterning process.
The semiconductor is an important factor determining a characteristic of the thin film transistor. Amorphous silicon is frequently used as the semiconductor, but since charge mobility thereof is low, manufacturing a high performance thin film transistor may be limited. Further, where polysilicon is used as the semiconductor, a high performance thin film transistor may be more easily manuafctured because charge mobility of the polysilicon is high, but a relatively large thin film transistor array panel using the polysilicon may be difficult to manufacture because cost of the polysilicon is high and uniformity is low.
Accordingly, a thin film transistor adopting an oxide semiconductor having electron mobility that is higher than that of amorphous silicon, a high ON/OFF ratio of electrical current, a lower cost and a higher uniformity than that of polysilicon has been studied.
If a length of a channel in the thin film transistor is shortened owing to the adopted oxide semiconductor, charge mobility may be undesirably deteriorated due to an effect of a fringe field by a high drain bias. Further, in an etching process used in forming source and drain electrodes of the thin film transistor, since a surface of a back channel portion is damaged, reliability of the thin film transistor array panel employing the source and drain electrodes may be undesirably reduced. Therefore, there exists a need for an improved display panel and method of forming the same, which maintains a high charge mobility and reliability thereof.

Thin film transistor array panel and method of manufacturing the same

KOOKMIN UNIVERSITY INDUSTRY ACADEMY COOPERATION FOUNDATION


A method for determining if an undesirable feature on a photomask will adversely affect the performance of the semiconductor integrated circuit device that the mask is being used to create. The method includes inspecting the photomask for undesirable features and analyzing the designed features close to the defects. This analysis is performed on lithographic images that represent the image that is transferred onto the semiconductor wafer by the lithography process. This analysis takes into account the effect of variations that are present in the lithography process. Through knowledge of the effects of variations in mask critical dimension of a feature on the lithographic image of that feature, the analysis results in the assignment of an equivalent critical dimension error to the defect. This equivalent critical dimension error is then compared to the mask critical dimension error specification to determine whether or not the defect will adversely affect the device.

In a typical mask making process, all defects that are found on the photomask during the inspection process must be repaired. Most criteria classify defects based on size. Accordingly, inspection tools are tuned to only finding defects that are larger than a specified minimum defect size. It is known in the art that not all defects cause problems during the lithography process. A defect on a photomask is deemed harmful only if the image of the defect is transferred to the wafer during the lithographic printing process. If the defect is not imaged onto the wafer, then the mask maker may not be required to repair the defect altogether, thereby saving time and money. Moreover, if the defect is imaged onto the wafer in a way that it does not adversely affect the performance of the wafer, then this defect is preferably left untouched.
The difficulty in classifying defects as described is that the mask maker is not typically provided with a good methodology for determining what defects will adversely affect the wafer. Defects that are close to a critical feature may have an impact on the feature depending on several factors that include: feature type, proximity of the defect to the feature and the size, shape, phase and transmission of the defect. These effects are further complicated when enhancement techniques, such as phase-shifting masks and optical proximity correction, are utilized. Since defects are traditionally classified by type (e.g., a hole in the chrome) as well as by their size (relative to the critical feature size on the mask), current defect specifications are becoming increasingly difficult to be met, as the size of the critical features on the mask continues to shrink to below 1.0 .mu.m. This difficulty will likely drive the need for new and more expensive inspection and repair tools, and will lower the achievable yields on advanced photomasks. The end result of the upgrade in tooling translates into an increased cost per mask.
Since photomask inspection tools typically use an optical system that is significantly different than the lithography exposure system, the inspection tool cannot in general predict the effect of the defect on the image transferred to the wafer. It is believed, however, that the inspection systems can find most defects that negatively impact the wafer performance along with those that do not. Since repairs are expensive, certain categories of defects cannot be repaired and some repairs may end up making the defect worse, it is desirable to concentrate on those defects that ultimately will cause problems on the wafer.
To understand the methodology of the invention, one must first have a basic understanding of the "process window" for lithographically printing a feature. The process window for a given feature is the amount of variation in the process that can be tolerated while still maintaining critical aspects of that feature within accepted tolerances from their desired values. In lithography, the process window is normally stated by the amount of focus and exposure dose variation that can be tolerated while maintaining feature sizes and critical dimensions (CD) within a given tolerance of their nominal values.
Process windows are typically found by either taking CD measurements on wafers that have been exposed at various focus and exposure conditions, a focus-exposure matrix (FEM), or by computing the CD from through-focus intensity profiles. In the latter case, the exposure dose can effectively be varied by changing the intensity value at which the CD is measured. These intensity profiles are typically generated either by simulation or by recording through an aerial image measurement system (AIMS) that emulates the lithography exposure conditions. The AIMS typically consists of a microscope that has a numerical aperture and illumination conditions that emulate the lithography exposure conditions. This system records the aerial image, or the image of the photomask that is projected onto the photoresist by the lithography exposure tool.
FIG. 1a shows the intensity profile through a bright-field isolated line taken at five focus conditions. From this figure, the dimension of the line that prints in the photoresist can be found by drawing a line across the intensity plots at a constant intensity level, (e.g., line 101). Assuming that the photoresist has a threshold response to the light intensity impinging upon it, the printed dimension can be determined by finding the intersections of the intensity curve for a given focus and the constant intensity line, such as points 102 and 103 for the 0.0 .mu.m defocus line, and points 104 and 105 for the 0.5 .mu.m defocus line.
In all the regions where the intensity level exceeds the threshold level, for a positive tone photoresist, the photoresist undergoes a photochemical reaction that allows it to be removed with a developer solution. All the regions having intensities below the threshold level are resistant to the developer solution and remain intact on the wafer after the development process. In FIG. 1a, the intensity of the light reaching the photoresist has been normalized by the intensity of light in a large clear area, I0. In a threshold resist model, if the dose-to-clear (DTC) is defined as the dose required to just develop away a large clear area, then the dose needed to print at a given threshold level is determined by the inverse of the normalized intensity at that threshold multiplied by the DTC. For example, if the exposure dose is given by 4.0*DTC, the normalized intensity at the threshold level is 1/4.0=0.25. It is understood that not all photoresists have a threshold response to the incident light intensity. Nonetheless, most photoresists can be analyzed using a similar method.
Practitioners in the art will fully realize that for an exposure dose set at 4.0*DTC , the threshold for exposure will be 0.25, which approximates the threshold drawn by line 101. For this exposure dose, the size of the line printed in photoresist will be determined by the separation between points 103 and 102, or about 0.25 .mu.m, for the 0.0 .mu.m defocus condition, and by the separation between points 105 and 104, or about 0.17 .mu.m for the 0.5 .mu.m defocus condition. Likewise, for a lower exposure dose set at 2.0*DTC, the exposure threshold will be given by an intensity value of 0.5, which in FIG. 1a corresponds to line 106. Therein, the printed dimension remains basically constant for defocus positions between 0.0 and 0.5 .mu.m. This dimension, approximately 0.35 .mu.m, is defined by the separation between points 108 and 107.
From the CD measurements, one can find functional dependencies of feature size versus focus and exposure dose. FIG. 1b depicts a plot of the line width versus focus at various doses for the isolated line. On this plot, point 111 corresponds to the line width for an exposure dose of 4.0*DTC and a defocus of 0.0 .mu.m, which is equivalent to the separation between points 103 and 102 (FIG. 1a). Likewise, point 112 is the line width for the same dose and defocus of 0.5 .mu.m, which is the separation between points 105 and 104 (FIG. 1a). Points 113 and 114 are the line widths found for a dose of 2.0*DTC at defocus values of 0.0 and 0.5 .mu.m, respectively.
The line width versus focus and dose functions can now be used to determine the amount of focus and dose variation that can be tolerated by the lithography system while maintaining the feature size within the desired tolerance from its nominal size. This is one representation of the process window of the feature. An illustration applicable to an isolated line is depicted in FIG. 1c. Shown therein is the focus value plotted on the vertical axis against the logarithm of the dose on the horizontal axis. Curve 121 represents focus and dose conditions wherein the dimension of the line printed in the photoresist equals the target dimension, 0.25 .mu.m, to which the tolerance is added, e.g., 10% of 0.25 .mu.m or 0.025 .mu.m. In this case, curve 121 represents the conditions where the line prints at 0.25+0.025=0.275 .mu.m. Curve 122 represents the conditions where the line prints at the target minus the tolerance, i.e., 0.25-0.025=0.225 .mu.m. The region between the curves represents the focus and dose conditions where the line is printed in photoresist within the desired tolerance of its nominal size. Likewise, the common process window of two features can be determined by how much focus and dose variation can be tolerated while still maintaining both features within an acceptable tolerance from their nominal sizes.
The process window for a given tolerance can also be stated as the amount of focus variation that can be tolerated, commonly referred to as the depth-of-focus (DOF), and which is a function of the amount of exposure dose variation, or exposure latitude (EL). FIG. 1d shows a representation of the process window for the isolated line. This curve is often found by determining the largest rectangles that are contained within the positive and negative tolerance lines shown in FIG. 1c. In this case, the horizontal dimension of the rectangle corresponds to a given dose variation. The vertical dimension represents the amount of focus variation that can be tolerated when the given amount of dose variation is present while maintaining the line width within tolerance. In FIG. 1c, rectangle 123 represents a 25% dose variation, and its vertical dimension corresponds to a focus variation of 0.6 .mu.m. In FIG. 1d, point 124 corresponds to a 0.6 .mu.m DOF at 25% EL. Since it is more convenient to specify a process window in terms of a single number, the process window will often be specified as either the depth of focus at 10% exposure latitude or the amount of area under the DOF versus the EL curve, which is commonly known as the total window. Other values can also be used as a measure of the process window.
FIG. 2 outlines a conventional process used by a device manufacturer to set a mask defect specification followed by the mask manufacturer using that specification during the inspection/repair process.
In the conventional process that defines a defect specification, the device manufacturer determines the wafer nominal CD and CD tolerance in the manner to be described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 4. However, the mask CD tolerance is normally set as only some fraction of the wafer CD tolerance (204). By way of example, the mask CD tolerance is often set at one-third times the exposure tool magnification of the wafer CD tolerance, or 4/3 times the wafer CD tolerance for a 4.times. exposure tool. Accordingly, if the wafer CD tolerance is 30 nm, the mask CD tolerance will be set at 40 nm for a 4.times. mask. This fractional method is based on apportioning a certain fraction of the total error budget to different parts of the process. Herein, the mask error is allocated one-third of the total error budget, variations in the lithography process are allocated another one-third, and all remaining process variations are apportioned the final third. This method is generally valid for printing features having a k1 factor larger than about 0.5, wherein:
k1= feature size * stepper numerical aperture/wavelength of the exposure illumination.
The method of allocating an error budget becomes invalid for imaging where k1 drops below 0.5 due to the amplification of mask errors by the lithographic process.
Referring again to FIG. 2, mask defects are, typically, only specified by their size, and this size is taken as a fraction of the nominal mask critical dimension (206). For instance, it is normal to consider as defects any undesired structures on the mask having a dimension greater than 10% of the nominal mask dimension. For a mask with nominally 1.2 .mu.m features, all undesired features that are larger than 120 nm are considered defects. Since the wafer CD tolerance specification for these types of features is usually about 10% of the nominal wafer dimension, the wafer CD tolerance for these features will be approximately (1.20 .mu.m/4) * 0.1=30nm. Then, the mask CD specification is typically set at 4/3.times.30 =40nm. This indicates that the defect criterion does not correlate well to the mask CD specification. By allowing the defect specification to be larger than the CD specification, the device manufacturer has traditionally supported the concept that defects do not impact the wafer image as much as a CD variation. The conventional method of quantifying this concept is, however, somewhat arbitrary.
The standard mask inspection/repair process entails incorporating the defect size criterion of the device manufacturer into the inspection tool (208). The tool then locates all undesired features that are larger than that predetermined defect size. Each defect is then reviewed and classified. If a defect is considered non-repairable, then a judgment call (211) is made to establish whether or not the defect will print on the wafer. Advanced mask makers may utilize the AIMS tool to facilitate this process, but it is standard practice with an AIMS review to base this decision strictly on a comparison of the peak intensity values for defective and non-defective features. The behavior of the defect at various dose and focus conditions is not normally considered. If the defect is not repairable and is believed to negatively impact a critical feature on the wafer, the mask is routinely scrapped (212). After review, all repairable defects are typically repaired (210) and the mask finished and shipped (214).

Method of determining the printability of photomask defects

International Business Machines Corporation


Various embodiments illustrated herein disclose a method that includes receiving a plurality of images from an image capturing unit. Thereafter, an image evaluation process is executed on each of plurality of sections in each of the plurality of images. The image evaluation process includes performing optical character recognition (OCR) on each of the plurality of sections in each of the plurality of images to generate text corresponding to the plurality of respective sections. Further, the image evaluation process includes querying a linguistic database to identify one or more errors in the generated text. Further, the method includes modifying one or more image characteristics of each of the plurality of images and repeating the execution of the image evaluation process on the modified plurality of images until at least the calculated statistical score is less than a pre-defined statistical score threshold.

Various image processing techniques such as edge detection, pattern matching, and optical character recognition (OCR) allow retrieval of data from an image. For example, by performing the OCR on an image, text can be retrieved from the image.
A typical OCR system recognizes text by identifying one or more characters in the image. To this end, the OCR system may utilize a pattern matching algorithm and an edge detection algorithm to identify a pattern in the image. Thereafter, the OCR system may compare the determined pattern with a template pattern to determine a character corresponding to the determined pattern. Similarly, the OCR system may recognize other characters in the image.
The accuracy of the OCR system (to identify the one or more characters) may be dependent on the quality of the image. For instance, if the quality of the image (from which the one or more characters are to be identified) is below par, the OCR system may misinterpret certain characters in the image. Further, in certain scenarios, the OCR system may misinterpret certain characters in good quality images.
Applicant has identified a number of deficiencies and problems associated with conventional methods of OCR image processing. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, many of these identified problems have been solved by developing solutions that are included in embodiments of the present disclosure, many examples of which are described in detail herein.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and systems for data retrieval from an image


A multifunctional food processor is provided comprising a driving device, a stirring container and a blade assembly. The driving device directly or indirectly drives the blade assembly, and the blade assembly is rotatably disposed in the stirring container. The blade assembly comprises a blade shaft capable of receiving at least two layers of stirring blades. At least one of the layers of stirring blades is consisted of a blade carrier and at least two blades, at least one of the blades extending in an angle of 85 to 95 degree with respect to the blade shaft, and at least another one of the blades extending upward in an angle of 0 to 80 degree with respect to the blade shaft. Another one of the layers of stirring blades is consisted of a blade carrier and at least one blade extending in an angle of 85 to 95 degree with respect to the blade shaft.

Stirrers or food processors commonly available on the market comprise blade assembly with only a single layer of stirring blades. Although several kinds of food processors are provided with two or three layers of stirring blades, each layer is consisted of stirring blades of the same shape or similar shapes, and most of the blades cannot be disconnected with each other. Therefore these blades can not be combined in various ways, which limits the kind of foods that the processor can process.

GUANGDONG XINBAO ELECTRIC JOINT-STOCK LTD.


A method to correct a current measurement of pressure of a gas stream delivered during a mission by a sensor in the engine. The method includes: estimating a drift error affecting the sensor on the basis of a difference existing between: (1) a calibration measurement of the pressure of the gas stream as delivered by the sensor in the engine, and (2) an atmospheric pressure measurement delivered by a sensor of the aircraft presenting accuracy greater than that of the sensor in the engine; these measurements being performed while the sensor in the engine and the sensor of the aircraft are subjected to same surrounding atmospheric pressure; and subtracting the estimated drift error from the current measurement.

The present invention relates to the general field of aviation. It applies more particularly but in non-limiting manner to turbine engines, and in particular to turbojets.
More particularly, the invention relates to measuring operating parameters of an aircraft engine, such as for example the pressure of a gas stream flowing in the engine.
In known manner, an aircraft engine is controlled and regulated on the basis of measurements supplied by dedicated computers of the aircraft and based on sensor technologies that are known for their stability and for their accuracy. This applies in particular to atmospheric pressure, written P0, which is supplied by a computer dedicated to atmospheric parameters (known as an "air data computer"), e.g. making use of sensors of the quartz type or of the vibrating cylinder type that present long-term accuracy.
For simplification purposes, in the description below, the term "aircraft measurements" is used to designate pressure measurements provided by these dedicated computers of the aircraft.
The aircraft measurement of atmospheric pressure is used by the full authority digital engine control (FADEC) unit, in particular for controlling the thrust of the aircraft engine. Given the importance of this parameter, the FADEC also has an atmospheric pressure measurement available that is performed by another sensor, which sensor is in the engine computer of the aircraft.
This measurement referred to below as the "engine measurement" (in contrast to the aircraft measurement) is used in the event of aircraft measurements of atmospheric pressure being lost in order to limit variation in the thrust of the engine. It must therefore be accurate, and it is the subject of draconian regulations concerning the maximum thrust variation that can be allowed to occur in the event of aircraft measurements being lost.
In order to comply with these regulations, a first solution that engine manufacturers have considered consists in having recourse to engine sensors that present good performance, i.e. close to that of aircraft sensors. Nevertheless, such sensors are very expensive because of their accuracy.
Furthermore, sensors in the engine are subjected to a thermomechanical environment that is much more severe than that to which aircraft sensors are subjected. Consequently, as a general rule, it is very difficult to guarantee that the performance of such sensors will be stable for use over a long duration.
It is thus common for an engine sensor that has been in use for several years to present a significant amount of drift error (also known as "zero error" or as "offset"). Since the sensor is required to continue complying with the regulations in force in spite of this significant drift error, it is necessary for its accuracy when new to be very great so as to ensure that it remains within its tolerance margin for as long as possible.

Method and a device for correcting a measurement of the pressure of a gas stream flowing in an aircraft engine


A non-intrusive vibration measurement system and method using commercial ultrasonic instruments together with digital signal filtering and analysis techniques is adapted to quantitatively detect vibrations as small as 0.04-inch peak-to-peak. The system and its methodology is used for in-service vibration monitoring of internal components of check valves, pumps, nuclear reactors, steam generators and heat exchangers, especially when the vibration frequency is too low for quantitative analysis by accelerometers and when the strain induced is too low for strain gauge analysis, and when the vibrating component is in an "encased" environment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to methods and apparatus for ultrasonically sensing vibrations and particularly to a method and apparatus for non-intrusively measuring low frequency vibrations using ultrasonic techniques.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The importance of quantitatively determining the vibration frequencies and amplitudes of structural systems and components is well known, both in the laboratory as a research tool and in the field as a monitoring and diagnostic technique. Of all the vibration-measuring instruments in existence, the accelerometer is the most commonly used because of its ease in application, ruggedness and economy. Nevertheless, the accelerometer has its limitations. Its sensitivity decreases with frequency and this sensor is not very useful when the frequency of vibration is below a few cycles per second. In addition, to be effective, the accelerometer must be mounted directly on the vibrating surface. Thus, it cannot be used, for example, to quantitatively measure the vibration of a pivoted valve disc inside a check valve, without disassembling the check valve. Further, it cannot be used to measure the vibration of very slender structures such as reactor control rods, because of their lower natural frequencies of vibration.
Strain gauges are also used, but again they must be mounted directly onto the vibrating surface and are thus again an "intrusive" vibration sensor. Furthermore, the strain gauge will not work if the vibration does not produce any strain, such as is the case in trying to determine the flutter of a pivoted valve disc in a check valve.
Displacement probes include both contacting and non-contacting types. They are another commonly used vibration sensor. The displacement probe needs a sturdy mounting surface close to the vibrating surface and measures the relative motion between these two surfaces. As such it is usually an "intrusive" vibration sensor. It is more difficult to install properly compared with the accelerometer; however, it does work even at very low frequencies and when the vibration does not produce any strain.
The dynamic pressure transducer is a very sensitive instrument used to measure pressure fluctuations in fluids. They can also be used indirectly to measure the vibrations of structures immersed in fluids, because a vibrating structure induces pressure fluctuations in the surrounding fluid. However, to mount pressure transducers, tap holes must often be drilled through the pressure boundary, again making the dynamic pressure transducer an "intrusive" instrument. In addition, dynamics pressure transducers are extremely fragile and deducing structural vibration amplitudes from the measured pressure fluctuation often requires sophisticated analysis.
Low frequency vibrations with fairly large amplitudes can often be visually "measured" either with the naked eye or with the aid of high-speed photography. This technique, however, requires the vibrating component to be accessible and visible and would again be "intrusive".
In view of the foregoing description of the present state of the art, it will be seen that none of the prior art devices provided a non-intrusive device that could monitor low frequency vibrations of encased or non-accessible elements let alone provide quantitative measurements of such vibrations.

Method of monitoring heat exchanger vibrations


A speed sensor instability detection and correction system for use with a vehicle includes a speed sensor output variation extractor monitoring and recording change in output of a speed sensor over time. A speed sensor output variation comparison module detects speed sensor instability based on a comparison between the speed sensor output variation and a predetermined threshold. An output speed determination module selectively determines output speed in alternative ways based on whether speed sensor instability is detected.

As a motor vehicle is being driven, it is not uncommon for one of the driven wheels to lose its grip on the road. To promote safety, traction control systems have been developed for detecting wheel spin and reducing wheel torque in response to wheel spin. In one traction control system, described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,002 B1, vehicle acceleration is measured and used to detect wheel spin. Another traction control system is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/601,063, filed Jun. 20, 2003, entitled "Wheel Slip Detection and Torque Management", which is commonly assigned and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This traction control system uses pulley speed of a transmission, such as a continuously variable transmission (CVT), to detect wheel slippage.
In other systems, wheel speeds are monitored to detect wheel spin. For example, in vehicles having anti-lock brake systems (ABS), wheel speed sensors are used to provide information to a traction control system. As a result, wheel slippage can be detected directly.
Speed sensors also play other important roles in a motor vehicle. For example, a CVT ratio is determined as a function of throttle pedal signal, pulley speed signal, and torque converter turbine speed signal. As a result, various output speeds are combined to affect control of the vehicle. Further, some output speeds, such as pulley speed, may play multiple roles.
A problem therefore arises in each of the forgoing systems and methods when a speed sensor exhibits instability resulting, for example, from a missing tooth or electrical instability. For example, when instability occurs in the output pulley speed or turbine speed, the ratio of the CVT is perturbed. Also, when instability occurs in output pulley speed or output wheel speed, engine flare may result due to incorrect detection of wheel slippage.


A substantially tubular supporting member oriented in a substantially vertical position, where a fluid dispenser holder is rotatably coupled to a top end of the supporting member and the fluid dispenser is movable rotationally clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the supporting member into a plurality of rotational positions. In some embodiments, the supporting member may be mounted to a base connected proximate to a bottom end of the supporting member. The fluid dispenser holder has at least one hook attached to it, wherein the hook comprises a light source that may emit visible light.

Medical patients often require intravenous ("IV") medication and hydration delivery systems. These IV systems generally utilize a vertical support pole located above the patient so that their contents may easily be administered with gravity flow. Depending on the patient's needs, multiple medications may be administered simultaneously through use of a plurality of fluid dispensers. In traditional IV systems, IV liquid delivery tubing can easily become tangled or wrapped around the support pole, particularly when multiple IV fluid dispensers are hung from the same support pole. Moreover, when multiple IV fluid dispensers are in use, the delivery tubing itself may become tangled together. These tangles can cause a host of problems, including patient discomfort caused by an IV line inadvertently being removed from the patient, requiring reinsertion. Where an IV line is not removed, the patient can experience discomfort when the medical attendant is untangling the tubing. Additionally, time spent untangling lines is an inefficient use of the medical attendant's time and skills.
Another issue with traditional IV systems is a lack of visibility in low light conditions, such as during the night, which can make changing IV bags difficult. Since patient care in hospital is necessarily carried out on a 24-hour-a-day basis, medical care attendants often change IV fluid dispensers during the night. Since patients may need to remain undisturbed by the attendant's actions, the option of simply turning on the room lighting to see the IV system may be unavailable or inappropriate. Where it is possible to turn on the light, such an action risks waking a sleeping patient, which could have a detrimental impact on the patient. Moreover, the tangling issue in a low light setting is exacerbated, increasing the risk and impact of the problems disclosed above.
Traditional IV systems therefore have at least the disadvantages of being: 1) difficult to manage when a plurality of fluid dispensers is in use at once; 2) difficult to maintain in low lighting situations; and 3) prone to causing patient discomfort when multiple lines become tangled.
The present invention overcomes these limitations and disadvantages, and the impact of these problems with an IV pole featuring a rotating top portion combined with a light source emitted from the pole itself.

Lighted apparatus for supporting fluid dispensers


A dosage device for feeding grained, pourable materials, particularly abrasive blasting materials. Feeding is accomplished by use of a dosage auger that employs a screw mechanism that either decreases or increases relative to the distance between the incline of the spiral wings. The device also includes an adjustable drive, a flow measuring device to monitor and control flow rates and a mixing chamber to assure full mixing of abrasive material in a compressed air stream.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a unit for the dosage of grained, pourable materials, in particular blasting abrasives, for a processing of workpieces, large surfaces or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
A unit of the above mentioned kind is known from the EP-A-0 578 132. An abrasive feeding device is arranged beneath a vessel which is filled with abrasive. The feeding device consists of a tube in which a dosage auger is installed. The abrasive transported by the auger falls through a tube arranged at the end of an outfeed area. At the tube there is a flow measuring device which transfers received measuring signals to an evaluation unit which evaluates the measuring signals and compares the result with nominal values. The rotation speed of the dosage auger is set by means of these results.
It is disadvantageous that although the metering screw has a double-lead screw, not all granular flowable materials can be processed. Even when the dosage auger has double spiral wings, this is not sufficient for the use of all grained, pourable materials for the treatment process. Very fine materials behave similar to flour. The double spiral wings of the dosage auger with its tapering end does not operate well with a uniform dosage, but presses the flour like materials together so that the abrasive passes in lumps through the downpipe. Thus, the function of the flow measuring device and the evaluation unit is severely disturbed. The flow measuring device determines highest and lowest material densities so that the evaluation unit sets the dosage auger to zero or to a maximum speed.
Furthermore, the transport of the materials coming out of the downpipe to the blast nozzle has to be improved. Since the arriving materials are only blown away, a single and directed effect of each grain is not achieved.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,536,250 discloses a cleaning unit where a mixing link is arranged beneath an abrasive feeding device of an abrasive collecting hopper. The mixing link consists of a cross and a longitudinal boring which are connected to a mixing chamber. In this boring a nipple is mounted which is arranged with its tip behind the connecting point of the cross boring, i.e., outside the mixing chamber, and thus ends before an adaptor. A line with a relatively big diameter is connected to the adapter.
It is a disadvantage that the compressed air streaming into the mixing chamber only creates a vacuum towards the abrasive flowing into the mixing chamber. The abrasive is aspirated by the vacuum and pressed into the line. For the support of the transport capacity of the mixing chamber, the longitudinal boring must be directed downwards since the transport pressure on the line is so small that the line length and thus the effectivity of the abrasive is limited. In order to achieve the abrasive's cleaning effect at least steam must be added.
GB-A-182,628 discloses a shot peening device which includes a dosage auger with one inlet which is fed with granulate media by a hopper. The dosage auger is driven by a step motor in order to advance the media fed into the infeed with an exactly controlled speed to an outfeed line. The motor is controlled by a computer so that a programmed quantity comes out of the outfeed line. A capacitive proximity switch is provided in the outfeed line in order to determine whether the outfeed is blocked.
It is also not possible to use all materials, even those which are not similar to flour, without malfunctions in this unit. Furthermore, the materials are only blown away after leaving the dosage auger, so that the single grain cannot achieve its full efficiency which, however, is absolutely necessary for shot peening processes.
EP-A-0 218869 discloses a unit for the uniform dosage of grained abrasive for pneumatically operating blast machines. This unit stores abrasive in a closed vessel. A dosage auger is arranged beneath an outlet of the vessel. The dosage auger turns in a horizontal tube. Thereby, the infeed area of the dosage auger receives abrasive material and feeds it to the outfeed area. At one end the auger tube is connected to ducting in which the abrasive is fed. Since the ducting is pressurized the abrasive is carried along and directed to the blast nozzle. To assure that the abrasive being fed is uniform, a unit is provided which balances the pressure drop from the inside of the closed vessel to the inside of the auger tube up to the feeding line.
However, in order to be able to process all materials and to achieve its full efficiency, the present means to render the material uniform are not sufficient.
Thus, there is the task to continue the development of a unit for the dosage of grained, pourable materials, in particular abrasives, so that all material configurations can be used to full efficiency.
This task is solved by the features of the present invention.

Unit for the dosage of grained, pourable materials, in particular blasting abrasives


A wireless communication system optimizes media services over a wireless network. The wireless communication system is HARQ enabled. The wireless communication system receives the number of HARQ retransmissions, communication status data, configuration data, and flow identifications (IDs) for media flows that use FEC packets. The wireless communication system determines if the communication status data exceeds a system status threshold. If the communication status data exceeds the system status threshold, then the wireless communication system adjusts the number of HARQ retransmissions.

Wireless communication devices communicate with wireless networks using wireless protocols, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Evolution Data Optimized (EVDO), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), and the like. Transmissions over wireless networks can result in lost or corrupted data. One technique to recover lost or corrupted data is Forward Error Correction (FEC). FEC works by encoding and transmitting supplemental data in addition to the original file. FEC allows the receiver to reconstruct missing or corrupted data using the supplemental data.
Another technique to recover lost or corrupted data is retransmission. Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) automatically retransmits packets when the receiver detects lost or corrupted data. Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) adds FEC capability to ARQ. Thus, the receiver may be able to recover lost or corrupted data using the FEC information before retransmission is invoked.
The demand for wireless communications is growing with respect to coverage and capacity. Newer data applications, such as video streaming and music downloads, have become popular features for wireless communication devices. The transmission of multimedia content consumes more network bandwidth compared to voice calls and text messages. The number of users also affects network capacity. The increase in the transmission of multimedia content, in addition to the increase in the number of users may result in network congestion. Network congestion may lead to dropped packets and retransmission attempts, further congesting the network.

Forward error correction and retransmissions for media service optimization over a wireless communication network


An optional apparatus of an image forming device is provided for setting its own driving condition using received specification information of a main body and method thereof. The optional apparatus is additionally combined into the main body of the image forming device to expand functions of the image forming device, and includes a driving unit driven to perform an addition function required to expand the functions of the image forming device, and a control unit for receiving specification information of the main body, setting a driving condition of the driving unit based on the received specification information, and then controlling the driving unit according to the set driving condition. The optional apparatus can be implemented as a general optional apparatus that can be combined into any kind of image forming device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optional apparatus of an image forming device, and more particularly to an optional apparatus of an image forming device that is additionally combined into a main body of the image forming device to expand the function of the image forming device and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming devices output image data produced by the devices themselves or received from an outside source on printing paper. The image forming devices may be copying machines, printers, scanners, facsimile machines and multifunction devices in which two or more devices are combined together.
An optional apparatus of an image forming device is additionally combined into the main body of the image forming device, for expanding the function of the image forming device as needed. The representative optional apparatus of the image forming device may be an optional feeding apparatus. The optional feeding apparatus is additionally combined into the main body of the image forming device to make it possible to additionally feed printing papers of sizes different from those of printing papers that can be fed through feeding trays combined into the main body of the image forming device.
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a conventional multifunction image forming device. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the multifunction image forming device includes a main body 10 and A4/B4 feeding trays 20-1 and 20-2 combined into the main body 10.
FIG. 1B is a sectional view of the multifunction image forming device of FIG. 1A. As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the main body 10 includes A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2, that are fixedly provided at predetermined positions in the image forming device, for feeding A4/B4 printing papers loaded in the A4/B4 feeding trays 20-1 and 20-2 to a printing unit (not illustrated) for printing images.
Hereinafter, the operation of the multifunction image forming device will be explained.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the internal construction of the conventional multifunction image forming device. Referring to FIG. 2, the main body 10 of the multifunction image forming device includes a scanning unit 11, a storage unit 13, a control unit 15, A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2 and a printing unit 19. Additionally, A4/B4 feeding trays 20-1 and 20-2 are combined into the main body 10.
The scanning unit 11 produces image data by scanning manuscript papers. The storage unit 13 is a recording medium in which the image data produced from the scanning unit 11 and print data transmitted from a PC (not illustrated) are stored. The A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2 feed the printing papers loaded in the A4/B4 feeding trays 20-1 and 20-2 to the printing unit 19. The printing unit 19 prints the image data and the print data stored in the storage unit 13 on the printing papers fed by the A4 feeding unit 17-1 or the B4 feeding unit 17-2. The control unit 15 controls the scanning operation, feeding operation and printing operation.
According to the conventional multifunction image forming device, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, the A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2 are fixedly provided in specified positions in the main body 10, and spaces for mounting the A4/B4 feeding trays 20-1 and 20-2 therein are provided in the lower parts of the A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2, respectively.
Accordingly, if the user uses only A4 printing papers as the printing papers, the B4 feeding unit 17-2 and the B4 feeding tray 20-2 that are not in use become useless.
Additionally, in order to make it possible to feed printing papers of a different size, for example, of a B5 size, to the multifunction image forming device, a 'B5 feeding apparatus' should be added to the lower part of the multifunction image forming device as an optional feeding apparatus. The 'B5 feeding apparatus' is provided with a 'B5 feeding unit', and has a space in which a 'B5 feeding tray' is mounted. However, the 'B5 feeding unit' provided in the 'B5 feeding apparatus' operates under the control of the control unit 15 in the same manner as the existing A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2, and thus the 'B5 feeding apparatus' should be manufactured in consideration of the kind of the multifunction image forming device. As a result, the 'B5 feeding apparatus' cannot be used as the optional feeding apparatus of the multifunction image forming device of a different kind. Accordingly, the development and the manufacturing of the optional feeding apparatus should be separately performed according to the kind of the optional feeding apparatus, and this causes the development of the optional feeding apparatus to be troublesome.

Optional apparatus of image forming device for setting its own driving condition using received specification information of main body and control method thereof


The present fluorosilicone composition is an addition reaction curable composition that uses, as an alkenyl group-containing organopolysiloxane, a fluorine-containing organopolysiloxane represented by the following general formula (1): ##STR1## wherein R represents a vinyl group, R.sup.1 represents an alkyl group or a phenyl group, R.sup.2 represents a group represented by the following formula (2): ##STR2## in which p is an integer of 2 to 8 and q is an integer of 1 to 10, and n and m are each a positive integer. This composition can form a gellike cured product particularly excellent in acid resistance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an addition reaction curable fluorosilicone composition and a gellike cured product that is obtained therefrom and is excellent in chemical resistance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known that since addition curable fluorosilicone compositions using as a base polymer an organopolysiloxane with 3,3,3-trifluoropropyl groups can form a gellike cured product excellent in properties such as gasoline resistance and oil resistance, they are useful for parts for aircraft.
However, the above fluorosilicone compositions are still unsatisfactory in chemical resistance such as acid resistance and further improvement is required.

Fluorosilicone composition and its gellike cured product


A method of preparing an aromatic carbonate includes reacting a dialkyl carbonate with an aromatic alcohol in the presence of a catalyst represented by Formula 1. With the method, aromatic carbonate can be prepared from a dialkyl carbonate in high yield using a catalyst capable of increasing initial reactivity of the dialkyl carbonate.

An aromatic carbonate is an eco-friendly carbonyl source capable of replacing phosgene which is a deadly toxic compound. An aromatic carbonate may be obtained through reaction of an aromatic alcohol compound with carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or urea. However, this reaction is associated with problems such as generation of by-products, inflow of impurities into a product, use of expensive catalysts, complex processes, and the like.
To overcome these problems, there has been developed a method of preparing an aromatic carbonate through transesterification of an aliphatic carbonate (dialkyl carbonate) with an aromatic alcohol. Examples of catalysts used in transesterification may include PbO, TiX4 (X being an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, or halogen), SnR2(X)2 (R being an alkyl group, and X being an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, or a halogen element).
However, despite high stability, a PbO catalyst has low activity, thereby causing very slow transesterification. Accordingly, unreacted dialkyl carbonate must be recycled many times. Thus, there is a need for a catalyst which exhibits increased reactivity to reduce such a recycling process. TiX4 and SnR2(X)2 have disadvantages of lack of stability and generation of substantial amounts of by-products, such as ether, despite higher activity than PbO.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of stably preparing an aromatic carbonate in high yield using dialkyl carbonate as a starting material.

Method of preparing aromatic carbonate from dialkyl carbonate

Abstract: wherein X1 and X2 are the same or different and are each independently M—OR1)3 or

Abstract: wherein M is a Group IV transition metal, R1 and R2 are the same or different and are each independently a substituted or unsubstituted C1 to C20 hydrocarbon group, and R3 is a substituted or unsubstituted C5 to C20 cyclic alkylene group or arylene group.


The invention provides a laser interterometric measuring apparatus for measuring the position of an object. A corner cube prism receives a laser beam from a emitting device, splits the beams into a reference beam and a measuring beam, and let the beams to proceed to a fixed mirror and a movable mirror. The corner cube prism has a coated surface to selectively reflect or pass a beam therethrough in accordance with the polarization condition of the beam. On the coated surface of the corner cube prism are provided a parallelogram prism, a triangle prism disposed next to the parallelogram prism on the coated surface, and a polarizing plate disposed between the parallelogram prism and the triangle prism.

The present invention relates to a differential type interference prism (referred to as an interference prism, hereinafter) for use in a differential type laser interference length measuring instrument.
In a differential type laser interference length measuring instrument, a laser beam is branched into reference light flux and measuring light flux, which are respectively introduced to a reference mirror by which the reference light flux is returned, and to a measuring mirror by which the measuring light flux is returned, which are located in the same direction, and then an interference fringe detection signal is obtained from the light flux for optical path difference information using both light flux by a heterodyne method or an interference fringe counting method so that the length can be measured. In order to enhance the stability of the detection signal, it is required that the reference light flux and the measuring flux have optical paths which are as close to each other as possible so that the light path difference between two light paths is not badly influenced by expansion and contraction of an optical element caused by a temperature variation, fluctuation of the atmosphere, or an atmospheric pressure variation. That is, it is preferable that the reference light flux and the measuring light flux are always coaxial because they are influenced in common by the factors described above so that the influence on the optical path difference can be cancelled. However, it is difficult to separate the reference light flux from the measuring light flux. Therefore, in general, the reference light flux and the measuring light flux are separated by more than 10 mm. Consequently, in the differential type laser interference length measuring instrument, the reference light flux has a different optical path from the measuring light flux, resulting in considerable influence on the optical paths of both light flux by the aforementioned disturbance factors. This causes a problem of instability (drift, noise) in the detection signal when length measurement resolving power smaller than one nanometer has to be obtained.
FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show respectively optical path arrangements of conventional differential type laser interference length measuring instruments. In the drawings, L is laser light flux, R is the reference light flux, M is the measuring light flux, I is the optical path difference information light flux in which the reference light flux and the measuring light flux are coaxial, and from which the interference fringe detection signal can be obtained by a conventionally known heterodyne method or an interference fringe counting method, 1 is a polarized light beam splitter, 11 is a polarized light shearing plate, 2 is a .lambda./2 phase shifting plate, 3 is a .lambda./4 phase shifting plate, 4 is a corner cube prism, 5 is a reflection mirror, 6 is a reference mirror, 7 is a measuring mirror, and 74 is a corner cube prism which has the same function as the measuring mirror. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the conventional differential type length measuring instrument has many redundant structures of the optical path using cube prisms in order to obtain an optical path arrangement of the differential type, and therefore, the optical path length of branched reference light flux R and measuring light flux M extends to more than 200 mm, and the optical path length in optical elements becomes more than 80% in an interference prism. Therefore, there is a problem in which the optical path difference between the optical path of reference light flux R and that of measuring light flux M is considerably varied by the influence of disturbances generated transiently in the optical path, such as imbalance of a density or a dimension of the optical element caused by a temperature variation, so that it is difficult to measure a length having an accuracy higher than a nanometer.

Laser interferometer including an optical unit having a corner cube prism, a parallelogram prism, a triangle prism, and a polarizing plate intergrated to form one body


A power measurement device in accordance with aspects of the invention comprises a power harvesting unit that extracts a fraction of current flowing through an electric power supply unit to an electronic appliance; a power determination circuit that generates power measurement data indicative of at least one of the extracted current or a power consumed by the electronic appliance determined based on the extracted current; and an output device that outputs the power measurement data. The power measurement device can be used with plugs or sockets as an external component or integrated therein as an internal component.

Power monitors are devices that measure and output the energy consumption of an apparatus that is powered from an electric outlet or socket (referred to herein as an "electric appliance" or simply an "appliance"). Power monitors can be used in a number of ways to measure the energy consumption of any number of electric appliances. They can be used, for example, to measure the power consumption of appliances such as computers, televisions, kitchen appliances, and so on.
As is shown in FIG. 9, a power monitor typically takes the form of an electrical device that plugs into an electrical socket or outlet, and can include a built-in electric outlet into which can be plugged the appliance. A power monitor typically includes a display unit to locally display parameters of interest to the user. The display unit integrated into the plug portion or tethered thereto, as is shown in FIG. 9. These parameters can include instantaneous power, total energy consumption, cost, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The latter two parameters require a conversion factor from energy to cost per kiloWatt-hours and kilogram of CO2 per kiloWatt-hours be input into the device. To select between these various types of information on a display unit, power monitors typically contain a simple user interface composed of buttons to select between modes and input information.
In principle, power monitors interrupt the conduction path between the device and electrical socket or outlet. Power monitors measure the AC voltage on the electrical socket and measure the current flowing into the device via the interrupted current path. The current may be measured using an accurate and precise power resistor in series with the device and electrical socket, by measuring the voltage across this resistor. An electrical circuit is designed to convert the AC voltage on the electrical socket and produce a DC voltage to provide power to the remaining electronics in the power monitor. The remaining electronics may include an analog-to-digital converter, a microprocessor, display unit, and buttons. The analog-to-digital converter converts the voltage across the resistor into a digital signal that is input into the microprocessor. The microprocessor stores this information and converts it with the measured AC voltage into power and displays it on the display unit. The microprocessor may further integrate this power to produce energy, and can optionally provide a conversion to cost and or consumption of CO2.
It is typically challenging to measure the complete consumption with device-level granularity in a home or commercial building using one or more power monitors. Without wireless communications, a user will typically plug their power monitor into a number of devices or surge protectors or power strips in their home serially to obtain a comprehensive picture of power consumption. This choice is limited by the size of the power monitor or cost, they are typically larger than the vertical spacing of outlets. These are also the same issues with a number of power monitors including wireless communications.

AC plug receptacle with non-contact power meter and radio telemetry


A lever mated connector assembly including a housing configured to mate with a header, a wire guide mounted to the housing having a latch with a retaining surface, a lever having a catch with a retaining surface and being coupled to the housing for rotational movement between an unlocked position and a locked position wherein the catch retaining surface engages the latch retaining surface to inhibit movement of the lever out of the locked position. The wire guide is provided with an overstress mechanism to prevent over extension of the latch to a position where the latch is plastically deformed.

In certain applications, electrical connectors must be securely mated to one another to prevent disconnection of the electrical signals routed through the connector conductors. For example, in automotive applications wherein electrical signals are routed to safety equipment such as air bag deployment systems or other systems relating to the operational or safety features of the vehicle, disconnection of the electrical signals as a result of accident, operating conditions such as vibration, etc. may result in undesirable consequences. Thus, some electrical connectors are coupled to connector assemblies that mechanically lock the electrical connectors in mating engagement with one another.
Some conventional connector assemblies include a housing that houses an electrical connector, a wire guide attached to the housing and enclosing the electrical connector, and a lever that couples the housing to a header housing a mating electrical connector. U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,176 is such an example. When in a locked position, the lever prevents disconnection of the housing from the header, which prevents disconnection of the mated electrical connectors. Some levers are further configured to latch into engagement with the wire guide when the lever is in the locked position to ensure that the lever is not unintentionally moved out of the locked position. As this latch may be used multiple times over the course of its life, and as its life is the same as that of the device in which it operates (in the case of automotive use, multiple years) it is desirable to not overstress the latch while disconnecting it.

Lever mated connector assembly with a latching and overstress mechanism


The present invention relates to a method for making an array of metal balls. The method includes the step of generating a first pattern on a metal foil which includes a plurality of foil projections. The method also includes the step of generating a second pattern on a carrier substrate. The second pattern includes a plurality of carrier recesses that are arranged and configured to correspond with the foil projections of the first pattern. The method further includes the steps of placing the metal foil and the carrier substrate together such that the foil projections of the metal foil fit within the carrier recesses of the carrier substrate, and melting the metal foil such that the foil projections form metal balls positioned within the carrier recesses of the carrier substrate. The invention also relates to metal ball arrays constructed via the above method.

In recent years, the electronic equipment and telecommunications industries have experienced significant growth. One reason for the success of such industries relates to their ability to develop appliances such as computers, tape players, televisions, telephones and other devices that are increasingly smaller, thinner and more portable. The ability to miniaturize electronic and telecommunication components has been made possible at least partially through developments in the field of electronics packaging.
Electronic packages are used to mount integrated circuit (IC) chips to substrates such as printed circuit boards. Electronic packages physically and electrically connect the integrated circuit chips to the substrates and protect the chips from hostile environments. The package provides a means by which electrical connection can be made from the finely spaced electrodes or electrical contact pads of the IC chip to the more coarsely spaced circuitry of the printed circuit board. Common types of techniques for connecting IC chips to electronic packages include tape automated bonding, wire bonding, and flip chip solder bumping. Of the three techniques, solder bumping is experiencing increased popularity because it provides precise, reliable connections at high packaging densities.
Electronic packages have been traditionally connected to printed circuit boards by means of sets of connecting conductors arranged around the periphery of the package which, depending on their shapes, are called "J" leads or "gull-wing" leads. These leads are soldered to corresponding pads on the printed circuit board using surface mount technology. As the spacing or pitch of these peripheral leads has decreased, connection of these leads has become more difficult. To address this problem, arrays of solder balls are increasingly replacing peripheral leads as a means to make electronic connection between packages and printed circuit boards. These arrays, commonly called ball grid arrays or BGA's, can be spread over the full area of the bottom of the electronic package rather than just the peripheries, thus lessening the need for fine pitch.
Ball grid arrays commonly use a plurality of solder balls arranged in an array to provide a connection between an electronic package and a substrate such as a printed circuit board. Typically, the solder balls of the array are positioned between conductive pads or terminals on the electronic package and conductive pads or terminals on the substrate. Once the package has been properly aligned with the substrate, the solder balls are melted and then cooled such that connections are made between the pads of the package and the pads of the substrate.
Solder balls can be manufactured by a variety of techniques. Exemplary techniques include direct casting (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,388,327 and 5,381,848), dipping solder wettable pads in molten solder (U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,623), melting portions of cut off wires (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,661,192 and 3,380,155) reflowing solder paste within recesses or wells (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,024,372 and 5,133,495), evaporation of solder through masks (U.S. Pat. No. 3,458,925), and cutting a thin film of metal into chips and melting the chips against a ceramic jig having recesses which collect microspheres of the melted metal (Japanese Patent Application 4-262895).
A variety of techniques can be used to arrange solder balls in arrays. Exemplary techniques include using adhesive to hold pre-formed solder balls in a desired array on a flat carrier tape (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,323,947 and 3,719,981), partitioning a metal film and then melting the film to form an array of microbeads (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,366,140 and 5,486,427), positioning loose balls using a vacuum placement tool (U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,287), and positioning balls using a template (U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,277).
The competitive nature of the electronics industry combined with the need for smaller and thinner electronic components generates special concerns for electronic package designers. For example, one concern relates to reducing the cost of electrical connecting techniques such as solder bumping and ball grid arrays. A concern specific to solder bumping and ball grid arrays includes providing solder balls having uniform sizes. Another concern specific to solder bumping and ball grid arrays includes providing solder ball arrays having solder balls precisely aligned at desired locations. The present invention addresses these concerns as well as other concerns.

Patterned array of metal balls and methods of making