A control system for an electric arc welder performing a welding process between an electrode and a workpiece, which system comprises: a high speed switching type power supply with a controller operated at a switching frequency of at least about 10 kHz with an input current control signal to adjust the output current of the power supply; a first sensor sensing the actual arc voltage; a second sensor sensing the actual arc current; a first circuit for creating a power signal representing the desired real time power level at progressive times during the welding process; a second circuit for creating a function of the sensed actual voltage and the sensed actual current; and a third circuit for adjusting the current control signal in accordance with the difference between the power signal and the function of the actual voltage and current, preferably arc power.

The present invention relates to the art of electric arc welding and more particularly to an improved system and method for controlling the power supply during a welding process.
In electric arc welding it is common to employ a high speed switching type power supply, such as an inverter or chopper, so the output current of the power supply can be adjusted by a high speed control loop involving current feedback. In such electric arc welders, there is an outer control loop for creating the current command in accordance with the comparison of the average arc voltage with a reference voltage. In some instances, the current command signal to the power supply is directly controlled by the outer control loop. Consequently, the inner high speed control is based upon current feedback and is adjusted to maintain an average voltage. These inner high speed control loops operate at somewhat close to the speed of the inverter or chopper. The outer voltage control loop operates at about one-tenth the speed of the high speed switching power supply. Furthermore, the outer loop operates without the knowledge of the actual current used in the high speed inner control loop. Consequently, at low current operations, the arc current can dip too low and may cause extinguishing of the arc. Welding of aluminum GMAW requires more accurate control to maintain high weld rates. Thus, controlling the output current of a high speed switching power supply often involves a current overshoot because the outer control loop has a relatively slow reaction time. In short circuit and pulse welding where the feedback is average voltage, a complete weld cycle or portion of a weld cycle must be processed causing a relatively slow response time in the outer control loop. The control loop must be slowed down to maintain an average voltage to adequately compensate for long durations near zero voltage in a short circuit arc welding process. The control loop is thus very slow and the arc length is allowed to vary drastically during the welding process. With such a slow control loop the current is forced to transition by a greater amount to drive the arc length to the desired control voltage set by the outer loop. This presents two problem areas. In short arc welding at low currents, the background current is already so low that swings in the current, as experienced in a constant voltage system, forces the current too low and allow the arc to extinguish. This is especially noticeable just after each short is cleared. As the current is reduced to the background level, the control voltage system may overshoot and force the actual current to be driven too low allowing the arc plasma to be extinguished. This phenomena may occur during each weld cycle of a welding process so that intermittent extinguishing of the arc can be experienced unless corrective, expensive procedures are in place. Thus, welding at low currents is normally quite difficult when operating in short circuiting mode. When welding aluminum, fast changes in stick out or arc length caused by slow control cause intermittent disruption of the welding process with the resultant lack of uniformity of the weld bead.
The problems experienced in using a slow outer control loop with or without a high speed inner current control loop, as explained above, have been overcome by the present invention which essentially uses only the inner high speed loop for controlling the welding process. This is made possible by utilizing both the sensed arc current and the sensed arc voltage to produce a feedback signal indicative of the current and voltage product, i.e. power. Essentially, the electric arc welding process, whether it is spray, pulse or AC, has the actual arc power controlled by the desired power. To accomplish this result, both the sensed current and the sensed voltage are used. In the past, the arc voltage controlled the outside loop with its slow response time. The inner high speed loop was merely a current responsive feedback system where a digital error amplifier adjusted the input to the pulse width modulator driving the high speed switching power supply. By utilizing the product of the actual output current and voltage feedback signals, the actual output watts or power is sensed. This signal P is compared to the desired power established by the wave shaper. This causes the output current to change in a manner that forces the actual power to equal the desired power. This is performed at a speed generally ten times as fast as an outer loop control. By using a feedback signal based upon a relationship between both the current and voltage, the arc length is automatically adjusted and the rapid response time prevents any current overshoot.
In accordance with the invention, the voltage and current product is multiplied by a factor k. This product kP is then introduced into the high speed controller for maintaining the arc power at a set amount correlated with the time position in a welding cycle. The slow outer loop control is no longer required. The welding current depends on both the voltage and current introduced into the high speed control loop of the welder. The preferred implementation involves a feedback signal comprising merely the product of arc voltage and arc current. This is the arc power P. This product may be modified by a multiplier k. This factor can be used to compensate for travel speed or wire feed speed. This feedback signal is kP, but k is normally 1.0.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the power P of the arc is a feedback signal for comparison with a power signal or profile from a wave shaper. In this aspect, the wave shaper generates a power profile, especially during arcing conditions of the welding cycle. For instance, when a short circuit type welding is being performed, such as the STT welding process, the wave shaper provides a desired arc power to be created after a short has been broken and an arc is reestablished. When welding in a pulse weld process, the wave shaper outputs peak arc power and then background arc power for comparison with the power feedback signal kP in the high speed control loop. In an AC arc welding process, the desired arc power during the positive polarity is outputted by the wave shaper for comparison with the power feedback signal kP during the actual positive polarity. In a like manner, the desired power during the negative polarity is outputted by the wave shaper for comparison with the power feedback signal kP to control the arc power of the negative polarity. Of course, as used in aluminum welding, the power during the positive polarity can differ drastically from the power during the negative polarity. In summary, a power signal is provided and a power feedback signal kP is sensed. These two parameters are compared to control the current from the high speed switching power supply. Of course, a wave shaper is not necessary during spray or globular welding when a constant power signal Pset controls the inner control loop and is used for comparison with the power feedback signal kP from the arc. The present invention results in substantial advantages, primarily at low current welding.
The feedback referred to as the power feedback function or signal kP is a relationship of sensed arc voltage and sensed arc current, which product may be multiplied by a factor k that is a constant or a variable. In the preferred embodiment, the multiplier is a constant 1.0 so that the feedback signal is merely the arc power. This power feedback function or signal is compared to the desired arc power for control of the output current of the power supply. The multiplier k may be a constant, as explained, or a linear equation, non-linear equation, or some other equation. The factor k may depend on the actual voltage or current and is employed to modify the feedback signal in a manner to compensate for various welding parameters, such as wire feed speed, electrode travel speed, shielding gas, wire diameter, wire material, etc. It has been found that multiplier k can be current plus voltage divided by current times voltages to produce a slope of the type in a drooper machine used for stick welding or aluminum MIG welding. This factor k produces a straight line relationship between current and voltage to give a slope operating curve. As can be seen, multiplier k can have any value to produce a specific relationship between voltage and current. However, in practice, the feedback signal is arc power obtained by multiplying the arc current and the arc voltage. This arc power signal is compared with the arc power desired at any given time in the welding cycle. The advantage of controlling power to a set level is based upon the fact that the power can be regulated at the extremely high switching speed of the inverter or chopper. At this high speed, any changes in arc length will result in a change in the arc force that will either increase or decrease the arc length to maintain equilibrium. For instance, when the arc power is set to operate at a given level, such as 2,000 watts, equilibrium is established when the voltage is 20 volts and the current is 100 amperes. This produces the desired arc length. Should the arc length increase, the output power is remained at 2,000 watts. However, the voltage increases, for example such as to 22 volts. This causes the current to drop to a level, such as 91 amperes. The reduced current reduces the arc force and thus causes the arc length to be reduced. This then decreases the voltage back to 20 volts and the current increases to 100 amperes. In a like manner, should the arc length be reduced and become too short, the output power remains at a fixed 2,000 watts. Consequently, the voltage decreases. This causes an immediate high speed increase in the current. Increased current increases the arc force and, thus, tends to force a greater arc length. Consequently, the short arc length is increased and the current and voltage seek equilibrium to produce the 2,000 watt controlled power level. Arc length variations using the present invention are minimized. Rapid stability is maintained. By using the invention, the power supply quickly reacts to changes in arc length so that the current will swing only a minor amount to maintain the desired set arc length. This advantage is especially noticeable immediately after each short is clear. By using the invention, the controller quickly seeks equilibrium of arc length and maintains it, even after the abrupt clearing of a short.
As is well known in aluminum GMAW welding, arc length is more difficult to control due to the low resistivity and melting temperature of the wire. The rapid control of the arc length, as obtained by the present invention, allows the power supply to maintain consistent control over the arc length, even when welding aluminum. Consequently, even with fast changes in stickout, the arc length is consistently maintained.
The invention is applicable to a pulse welding system, as well as a welding process with a constant desired arc power. In a pulse welding implementation of the invention, high speed control of both the peak output power and the background output power is obtained. In the past, pulse welding involved adaptive controls, wherein the arc length was determined by an adaptive loop based upon changing frequency, or a combination of peak current, background current and frequency. Consequently, the feedback control loop operated only once per pulse, whereby calculations were made and corrections were implemented for the next pulse. The present invention overcomes this problem and merely controls the power during peak and the power during background. This is not adaptive. It is real time power control to obtain the advantage of maintaining constant arc length during peak and background portions of the pulse welding cycle. Pulse welding with the present invention causes self regulation of the arc length faster than obtained with conventional adaptive pulse welding controllers. By using power to control low current during the background portion of a pulse wave improves the robustness of the power supply making it more resistant to pop outs.
It has also been found that the present invention is applicable for mixed polarity welding, such as GMAW, FCAW, SAW, MCAW, SMAW and other systems. All of these welding processes can be regulated by the feedback signal kP. For instance, if a square wave AC welding process is desired, a wave shaper provides the desired arc power for the positive polarity and the desired arc power for the negative polarity. High speed regulation during these different power levels quickly controls the arc length during the positive and negative pulses. The magnitude of the positive power may be different than the magnitude of the negative power in accordance with standard welding practice. While the shape and time of the wave form may change, based upon other conditions, the control of the wave form is based upon a power profile, which power profile is compared with the actual power feedback signal kP from the arc to maintain the arc power in accordance with the desired profile. This power profile is outputted by either an analog or, preferably, a digital wave shaper. The wave shaper produces a desired power profile to control the arc power at all portions of the AC welding cycle.
In accordance with the basic aspect of the invention, the feedback signal for the high speed control loop is arc power. This is the product of the sensed arc voltage and the sensed arc current. To modify the feedback signal, the invention also envisions use of a multiplier referred to as factor or multiplier k. The factor k may be a variable amount between 0.5 and 1.0. As indicated before, 1.0 is preferred. As the voltage changes the current control signal to the power supply changes to maintain constant arc power. The use of the factor k provides flexibility to change the relationship between the current and voltage. The use of the factor k does not change the power feature of the feedback signal. Thus, when the feedback xe2x80x9cpowerxe2x80x9d signal is referred to in discussing the invention, it is normally the product of current and voltage, i.e. P,; however, it can have a factor multiplier used, i.e. kP. In reality the feedback signal can be referred to as kP with k=1.0 when the signal is actual arc power P. Thus, power is used in the invention and is defined as a control variable which is preferably arc power P expressed as kP. To produce a slope operating characteristic for the feedback signal as explained before, the factor k may be voltage plus current divided by voltage times current. Also, the relationship could be another linear kP such as avarc+bIarc+c, where a, b, and c are constants. When this k is multiplied by the product of voltage and current, the feedback signal is the arc voltage plus the arc current. This feedback signal is compared with the desired power signal to obtain the rapid response of the power supply during its switching operation as previously described. The factor k can vary based upon wire feed speed. For instance, the factor k could be 150/wfs. If the wire feed speed is 300 inches/minute, the factor k is 0.5. Thus, the wire feed speed can be used to change the factor k to modify the feedback signal. Factor k may also vary based upon gas or travel speed or the voltage itself. When the factor k is based upon time, the feedback signal is in joules. When voltage is the factor k, the feedback signal is IV2. Other possibilities for modifying the feedback signal involving the product of arc current and arc voltage product can be used, but they do not change the fact that the basic control feedback signal is a multiplication of the current and voltage at the arc. Factor k can be modified by several welding variables or combinations of such variables. Those variables now used are travel speed, wire feed speed, voltage, current, time, gas mix, actual electrode stick out, wire size or type, inductance setting or other settings.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a control system for an electric arc welder performing a welding process between an electrode and a workpiece. In the preferred embodiment, the electrode is a welding wire fed into the arc at a wire feed speed controlled by a motor operating the wire feeding drive. The system comprises a high speed switching type power supply, such as an inverter or chopper. This power supply has a switching frequency of at least 10 kHz by a controller with an input current control signal to adjust the output current of the power supply. The controller operates more rapidly than the switching sequence of the power supply, but control is at the switching speed. A first sensor senses the actual arc voltage, while a second sensor senses the actual arc current. A first circuit is then provided for creating a power signal representing the desired real time power level at progressive times during the welding process. In the preferred embodiment, the power signal is created by a wave shaper that outputs a desired power profile. When spray or globular welding is being practiced, the power supply is a fixed value of the desired arc power. To complete the control system, there is a second circuit for generating a function of the sensed actual voltage and the sensed actual current to give a function of these two arc parameters for controlling the arc power. Consequently, a third circuit is used for adjusting the current control signal to the power supply in accordance with the difference between the desired power signal at any given time and the function of the actual voltage and current. This function is a feedback signal kP that is compared with the desired power signal at any given time during an arc condition so that the arc power is maintained at the desired level. This results in the equilibrium of the arc length as described previously. If the welding process involves a cycle that has a short circuit, then the power supply is operated in a current feedback mode during the short circuit condition. Thereafter, the system shifts to control by the feedback function or signal kP during the successive arcing conditions in the welding cycle. The function or feedback signal kP is preferably merely the product of voltage and current with k=1.0. However, it can employ a non-unity multiplier, as defined above, which multiplier may be a fixed number or a variable number according to the desired modulation of the power feedback function used in the control system. The feedback power signal is preferably Iaxc3x97Va. In the context of a power signal kP, k=1.0.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, all circuits are digital circuits and performed by a digital signal processor, in accordance with standard welding control technology. However some aspects of the control system may be analog circuits or analog components without departing from the intended spirit and scope of the invention. The high speed switching type power supply is preferably an inverter operated at a frequency greater than 10 kHz and, preferably, substantially greater than 18 kHz. Of course, a chopper uses high speed switching and has a high speed inner control loop that can be controlled by power feedback signal kP. Preferably, the first digital circuit is a wave shaper that outputs a power profile matching the desired power level at all times during a welding cycle.
The invention is used with various welding processes. If the weld process has a fixed power, the invention does not require a wave shaper. Variable power cycles, such as pulse welding and AC welding, are controlled by the feedback signal kP and employ a device to output the desired arc power. When implementing a short circuit welding process, current control is used during the short circuit condition and feedback signal kP is used during the arc condition. In the present invention, the comparison of the actual arc power with the desired arc power is accomplished by a digital error amplifier having an output error signal that controls the pulse width modulator for adjusting the output current of the high switching speed power supply. Other implementations are within the skill of the art.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, signal or function kP is used as a feedback signal to adjust the wire feed speed. In this manner, the arc length is changed to regulate the desired power of the arc by a change in wire feed speed (WFS). In accordance with still a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for controlling an electric arc welder by sensing the actual output current, sensing the actual output voltage, creating a power signal, creating a real time feedback signal kP representing the power at the arc, and then adjusting the input signal to the power supply by a comparison of the power signal and the real time arc signal kP. In this manner, as the voltage decreases the current increases and vice versa. This method can be practiced by a variety of analog and digital control circuits implemented in the high speed control loop of the welder.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention power feedback signal P or kP is modified by a value representative of a parameter, such as wire feed speed or electrode travel speed.
The primary object of the present invention is provision of a system and method for controlling a high speed switching power supply of an electric arc welder in a manner to maintain a desired arc power by using a power feedback function or signal kP. As a broader object, there is creation of the feedback signal kP for controlling a weld parameter of an arc welding process.
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a system and method, as defined above, which system and method causes arc length stability and reduces current overshoots, especially when operating at low current and when welding aluminum.
Still a further object of the present invention is the provision of a system and method, as defined above, which system and method is easily implemented with standard welding technology without drastically modifying the control system of the electric arc welder.
These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken together with the accompanying drawings

System and method for controlling an electric arc welder


A battery pack is disclosed. In one aspect, a battery pack includes a plurality of battery units arranged in a first direction, each battery unit including first and second side surfaces opposing each other and a third side surface crossing the first and second side surfaces. The battery pack also includes a lower cover placed on the third side surfaces, wherein the lower cover includes a bottom plate facing the third side surfaces, a plurality of first ribs extending from the bottom plate toward the first side surfaces, and a plurality of second ribs extending from the bottom plate toward the second side surfaces and separate from each other, wherein the first rib extends in the first direction so as to at least partially cover the first side surfaces.

1. Field
The described technology generally relates to a battery pack.
2. Description of the Related Technology
With the advent of wireless Internet and communication technology, the use of portable computing devices equipped with batteries has become ubiquitous. These devices are small, easy to carry, and optimized for mobility, and thus, widely used for business and personal use. Portable devices including battery packs can be used anywhere without being limited to places where power outlets are available. These battery packs typically include multiple rechargeable battery units to deliver sufficient output power.


A differential transmission line connector with little unwanted radiation noise is provided. A connector connects a differential transmission pattern for multiple transmission of a group of three differential signals and a differential transmission cable. The differential transmission pattern is provided with three signal lines, and the differential transmission cable also is provided with three signal lines. In a plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the differential transmission pattern and the differential transmission cable, the signal lines are positioned at the apexes of an equilateral triangle. The connector is provided with three signal lines that connect, at identical lengths, the signal lines of the differential transmission pattern and the signal lines of the differential transmission cable, between a predetermined first plane of the planes that perpendicularly intersect the longitudinal direction of the differential transmission pattern and a predetermined second plane of the planes that perpendicularly intersect the longitudinal direction of the differential transmission cable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to differential transmission line connectors for performing multiple differential transmission in which, through the high-speed signal transmission method of differential transmission, the transmission of a plurality of data bits is achieved with a differential transmission line that is provided with few signal lines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Single-end signals that oscillate logically amplitude at the power source voltage have conventionally been used for the transmission of high-speed signals, but the use of low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) has been on the rise due to the increase in the number of drive frequencies and larger bus widths in order to keep up with recent demands for high-speed data transmission, as well as because of its inhibition of unwanted radiation noise and resistance against exogenous noise. With LVDS, generally the differential driver IC is designed such that only a reverse-phase differential mode current flows between the two transmission lines through which the differential signal flows.
FIG. 30 is a circuit diagram of a differential transmission system according to a first conventional technology, and FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing the schematic configuration of the differential transmission system of FIG. 30. The differential transmission system of FIG. 30 illustrates an example of a conventional LVDS interface configuration. As shown in FIG. 31, a differential driver IC911 is provided on a printed circuit board 916 and a differential receiver IC913 is provided on another printed circuit board 917 that is away from the printed circuit board 916, and the differential driver IC911 and the differential receiver IC913 are connected by a differential transmission cable 912 that serves as a differential transmission line that is provided with a positive signal line 912a and a negative signal line 912b. Here, one end of the differential transmission cable 912 is connected to the differential driver IC911 via a connector 914 on the printed circuit board 916, and the other end of the differential transmission cable 912 is connected to the differential receiver IC913 via a connector 915 on the printed circuit board 917 (in FIG. 31, other circuit elements on the printed circuit boards 916 and 917 have been omitted). Thus, a bit information signal that is input to the differential driver IC911 is transferred to the differential receiver IC913 via the differential transmission cable 912 and then output.
In FIG. 30, the positive output terminal of the differential driver IC911 (in FIG. 30, represented by point p1) is connected to the positive input terminal of the differential receiver IC913 via the signal line 912a, and similarly, the negative output terminal of the differential driver IC911 (in FIG. 30, represented by point p2) is connected to the negative input terminal of the differential receiver IC913 via the signal line 912b. To terminate the differential transmission cable 912, the point p3 where it approaches the differential receiver IC913 on the signal line 912a and the point p4 where it approaches the differential receiver IC913 on the signal line 912b are connected by a 100-Ω terminal resistor R. The differential transmission cable 912 has a 50-Ω odd mode impedance. The positive signal line 912a and the negative signal line 912b of the differential transmission cable 912 have equal electrical properties and form equivalent transmission routes, and in LVDS these two signal lines 912a and 912b together effect the transmission of a single bit information signal. Based on the bit information signal that is input from its input terminal, the differential driver IC911 creates a group of differential signals that causes a potential difference between the positive and negative sides of the differential transmission cable 912. More specifically, the differential driver IC911 outputs an approximately 3.5 mA current in order to generate an approximately 350 mV voltage between points p3 and p4 at either end of the 100-Ω terminal resistor R. The differential receiver IC913 detects the approximately 350 mV differential signal that is produced between points p3 and p4 at either end of the terminal resistor R and converts this to a CMOS level (a voltage level about 20 to 40% of the power source voltage; same hereinafter) and outputs the converted bit information signal from the output terminal.
In LVDS, the signal currents Is that flow through the positive signal line 912a and the negative signal line 912b of the differential transmission cable 912 are the same size and are in opposite directions, and thus unwanted radiation noise and crosstalk noise are prevented by the magnetic fields that are produced by these moving currents canceling each other out, and also because the signal level is small. With regard to exogenous noise also, as long as the positive and negative sides of the differential transmission cable 912 are affected relatively equally, then there is no effect on the logic value of the signal, and thus LVDS has excellent noise resistance as well. However, the flow of a tiny in-phase common mode current to the differential transmission cable 912 occurs in LVDS, as well as due to the printed circuit board, differential impedance mismatching in the differential transmission line, such as the transmission cable, or the end terminal circuit, and skewing between the signal lines 912a and 912b of the differential transmission cable 912. In the differential transmission cable 912 of FIG. 30, the differential mode current component is matched by the terminal resistor R and terminated, but there is no route for the common mode current component to flow over the circuit, and it returns via stray capacitance on the printed circuit boards 916 and 917, for example. Thus, the common mode current component that is generated in the differential transmission cable 912 was the primary source of unwanted radiation noise that radiates from an LVDS transmission system. In order to solve this issue, the two signal lines 912a and 912b are laid out parallel to and near one another as shown in FIG. 31, preventing differential impedance mismatching (for example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-267701). With this method, the common mode current that flows to the differential transmission cable 912, which is made from the two signal lines 912a and 912b, is inhibited, allowing transmission noise and unwanted radiation noise to be inhibited.
However, although compared to ordinary single-end transmission, the differential transmission system of FIGS. 30 and 31 has the numerous above-described merits with regard to high-speed transmission, it requires the two signal lines 912a and 912b in order to transmit a single data bit, and this leads to problems such as more signal lines in order to achieve multiple bit transmission, a thick differential transmission cable 912, and a larger wiring region on the printed circuit boards 916 and 917. One method that has been conceived for solving this problem is the use of three signal lines, with one of the signal lines serving as a complementary data line, in order to achieve the transmission of two data bits with three signal lines, which required four signal lines in conventional differential transmission (for example, see Japanese Patent No. 3507687).
FIG. 32 is a perspective view that schematically shows the configuration of the differential transmission system according to a second conventional technology, and FIG. 33 is a horizontal cross section of the differential transmission cable 912A in FIG. 32. A differential driver IC911A and a differential receiver IC913A are connected by a differential transmission cable 912A, which is made of three signal lines 912a, 912b, and 912c. Here, one end of the differential transmission cable 912A is connected to the differential driver IC911A via a connector 914A on the printed circuit board 916, and the other end of the differential transmission cable 912A is connected to the differential receiver IC913A via a connector 915A on the printed circuit board 917. A first bit information signal that is input to the differential driver IC911A is transmitted to the differential receiver IC913A over the signal lines 912a and 912b, and similarly, a second bit information signal that is input to the differential driver IC911A is transmitted to the differential receiver IC913A over the signal lines 912b and 912c. A terminal resistor for terminating the signal lines 912a and 912b, and a terminal resistor for terminating the signal lines 912b and 912c, are provided in the differential receiver IC913A. When the three signal lines 912a, 912b, and 912c of the differential transmission cable 912A are disposed as shown in FIG. 33, the distances between the two adjacent signal lines 912a and 912b, and 912b and 912c, and the signal lines 912a and 912c on the sides, are different (L51≠L53, L52≠L53), and this creates a novel problem in that the electromagnetic fields between the signals that are transmitted cannot cancel each other out because the differential impedance cannot be kept constant, and unwanted radiation noise cannot be reduced.

Differential transmission line connector


Provided is a lubricating oil composition for manual transmissions which has anti-seizure properties for shift forks and can provide manual transmissions with excellent shifting characteristics though it has a low viscosity and can save fuel to be used in automobiles. The lubricating oil composition for manual transmissions comprises a lubricating base oil with a kinematic viscosity at 100° C. of 4 to 6 mm2/s, on the basis of the total mass of the composition, (A) 0.14 to 0.20 percent by mass in terms of magnesium of magnesium sulfonate, (B) 0.14 to 0.18 percent by mass in terms of zinc of a specific zinc dithiophosphate, (C) 0.3 to 0.5 percent by mass in terms of sulfur of a sulfur-containing extreme pressure additive other than zinc dithiophosphate, and (D) 0.02 to 0.05 percent by mass in terms of phosphorus of an alkyl phosphite, and having a kinematic viscosity at 40° C. of 25 to 30 mm2/s.

The present invention relates to lubricating oil compositions for manual transmissions, particularly to manual transmission lubricating oil compositions with excellent fuel saving properties.
In recent years, energy savings of automobiles, constructions machines, and agricultural machines have been urgently sought as one of the measures for reducing carbon dioxide gas emission from the view point of dealing with environmental issues. Accordingly, lubricating oils used in these machines are required to be more less in stirring resistance and friction resistance than eve before.
Automobile manual transmissions have gear bearing systems. Therefore, the energy saving, i.e., fuel saving of automobiles equipped with such transmissions can be achieved by lowering the viscosity of a transmission lubricating oil because the stirring resistance and friction resistance (friction loss) thereof can be decreased, resulting in an improvement in the power transmission efficiency of the transmissions.
Known lubricating oils for manual transmissions, which have excellent lubricity and low-temperature fluidity, include those with a kinematic viscosity at 40° C. of around 150 mm2/s (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). However, such known lubricating oils are too high in stirring resistance and friction resistance to contribute to the improvement of fuel efficiency.
On the other hand, when a lubricating oil for manual transmissions is lowered in viscosity, it is drastically deteriorated in anti-seizure properties. The lubricating oil thus causes seizure of not only the gears and bearings of the transmissions but also of the shift forks which determine the gear ratio upon shifting, possibly resulting in vibrations and defects in, for example, the shifting characteristics. It is considered that anti-seizure properties can be improved with the use of a high-viscosity lubricating oil as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below or addition of an extreme pressure additive. It is known that a polysulfide compound is effective in improving the friction properties between synchronizer rings and gear cones (see, for example, Patent Document 2). However, it is found that a low viscosity lubricating oil raises other problems such as deterioration of its anti-wear properties, in particular for preventing shift forks and synchronizer rings determining the shifting characteristics from wearing and also deterioration of shifting characteristics and synchronizing characteristics, depending on the selection of additives or mutual interaction thereof. It is, therefore, necessary to optimize the selection of base oils, extreme pressure additives, and other additives to be blended.
(1) Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open
Publication No. 9-208976
(2) Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open
Publication No. 2001-311090

Lubricating oil composition for manual transmission


An on-board monitor for a railroad locomotive is disclosed. The on-board monitor interfaces with the controller subsystems of the locomotive to collect parametric performance data. The specific data to be collected and the collection intervals are defined at a remote service center and transmitted to the on-board monitor. The on-board monitor also includes the capability to collect additional data or collect data more frequently in response to the results of certain triggering events.

The present invention is directed in general to monitoring performance and operational parameters and fault-related information on a railroad locomotive or other complex electromechanical system, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for on-board monitoring of performance and fault-related parameters and transmission of the data collected to a monitoring and diagnostic site.
A railroad locomotive is one example of a complex electromechanical system comprised of several complex subsystems. Each of these subsystems is built from components which over time will fail. When a component does fail, it may be difficult to determine the cause of the failed component because the effects or problems that the failure has on the subsystem are often neither readily apparent in terms of their source nor are they typically unique.
The ability to automatically diagnose problems that have occurred or will occur in the locomotive subsystems has a positive impact on minimizing locomotive downtime. It is known that cost efficient operation of a railroad requires minimization of line-of-road failures and locomotive down time. Failure of a major locomotive subsystem can cause serious damage, costly repairs, and significant operational delays. A locomotive break-down while in service is an especially costly event, requiring the dispatch of a replacement locomotive to pull the train consist and possibly rendering a track segment out of service until the train is moved. As a result, the health of the locomotive engine and its constituent subsystems is of significant concern.
Previous attempts to diagnose problems once they have occurred on a locomotive usually involve performing inspections by experienced personnel who have in-depth individual training and experience in working with locomotives. Typically, these experienced individuals use available information that has been recorded in a log. Looking through the log, they use their accumulated experience and training in mapping incidents occurring in locomotive systems to problems that may be causing the incidents. If the incident-problem scenario is simple, then this approach works fairly well. However, if the incident-problem scenario is complex, then it is very difficult to diagnose and correct any failures associated with the incidents.
Currently, computer-based systems are being used to automatically diagnose problems in a locomotive in order to overcome some of the disadvantages associated with relying completely on experienced personnel. Typically, a computer-based system utilizes a mapping between the observed symptoms of the failures and the equipment problems using techniques such as table look ups, a symptom-problem matrices, and production rules.
There is also no automatic or systematic mechanism for the identification of incipient locomotive problems. Instead, conventionally, the railroads have relied on regular inspections and the observation of performance anomalies by the locomotive operator. Some cursory inspection processes are accomplished while the locomotive is in service; more thorough inspections require the locomotive to be taken out of service for several days. In any case, locomotive down time, whether for inspection or repair, represents a significant railroad cost. The avoidance of these costs by accurate fault diagnosis and prediction of potential failures represents an important cost saving opportunity for the railroads.
As a further means to reduce locomotive downtime, there has been a focus on the engineering design process with an objective of increasing the mean time between failures for locomotive subsystems and components. While this is certainly a commendable objective, it remains for the railroads to continue their cost containment goals through the collection and monitoring of real time performance data and fault related information directly from the locomotive, and the implementation of repairs before the problem requires significant down time.
The above-mentioned difficulties associated with locomotive operations can be ameliorated by the present invention, which relates to a novel and unobvious apparatus and method for measuring performance and fault-related parameters of the locomotive during operation. Monitoring the locomotive performance can provide timely and important indications of expected and immediate failures. With timely and continuous access to locomotive performance data, it is possible to predict and/or prevent untimely failures.
With recent advances in telecommunications technologies, it is now possible to collect information from a moving locomotive and transfer it to a fixed monitoring and diagnostic service center. With today""s advances in computing technology, the large amount of data collected from a fleet of locomotives can be properly aggregated and analyzed. The railroad can now better understand the operational and performance characteristics of its individual locomotives and the entire locomotive fleet. Analysis of this performance data can allow the railroad to advantageously predict and thereby avoid line-of-road failures.
The present invention provides for the collection, aggregation, and communication of locomotive performance and fault-related data from an operational locomotive. Generally, anomalous or fault conditions will be brought to the attention of the locomotive operator directly by the control system, but the control systems generally lack the necessary hardware and software elements to self-diagnose the fault. After collection, the performance data is communicated to a remote monitoring and diagnostic site, where data analysis tools operate on the data to identify the source of potential or actual faults. The analysis tools may employ case-based or artificial intelligence strategies. In addition to computer-based analysis, human operators who are experts in locomotive operation and maintenance analyze the data received. Historical data and patterns of anomalous behavior can be important clues to an accurate diagnosis and repair recommendation. The lessons learned from failure modes in a single locomotive can then be applied to other locomotives of the class or to the entire fleet so that the necessary preventative maintenance can be performed. When the data analysis process identifies incipient problems, certain performance aspects of the locomotive can be derated to avoid further system degradation, and further limit violation of operating parameters.

On-board monitor for railroad locomotive


The present invention provides a female connector that can simplify the process of attaching male contacts by eliminating the need for the process of removing some of male contacts. The female connector has a female housing with recessed mating sections for receiving mating male connectors. A plurality of rows of male contacts protrude from the respective bottom surfaces of the recessed mating sections of the female housing to the interior portions of the recessed mating sections. Ribs protrude from the respective bottom surfaces of the recessed mating sections to the interior portions of the recessed mating sections with the protruding length from these bottom surfaces being greater than that of the male contacts. The ribs are provided in areas where the male contacts are arranged, and male contact receiving cavities that receive some of the male contacts are formed in the ribs.

A female electrical connector in which male contacts are attached to a female housing has conventionally been known. Such a female electrical connector is designed to mate with a mating male electrical connector in which female contacts are attached to a male housing so that this mating male electrical connector is electrically connected to a circuit board and the like. To be concise, the female electrical connector will herein after be referred to as a female connector and the male electrical connector will hereinafter be referred as a male connector.
The female connector shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B (see Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H4-206483), for example, has been known as a conventional female connector of this type.
This female connector 101 comprises a female housing 110 which has a plurality of recessed mating sections 110a through 110d that receive mating male connectors (not shown in the figure), and a plurality of rows of male contacts 120 which protrude from the bottom surfaces of the recessed mating sections 110a through 110d to the interior of these recessed mating sections 110a through 110d. Each of the male contacts 120 has a tine 121 that protrudes from the female housing 110 in the opposite direction from the recessed mating sections 110a through 110d, and these tines 121 are connected to a circuit board (not shown in the figure).
Furthermore, the female housing 110 is provided with a plurality of ribs 111 which protrude from the respective bottom surfaces of the recessed mating sections 110a through 110d to the interior portions of these recessed mating sections 110a through 110d. As is shown in FIG. 8B, the ribs 111 extend from the respective bottom surfaces of the recessed mating sections 110a through 110d to the same plane as the front end surface (right end surface in FIG. 8B) of the female housing 110, so that the protruding length from these bottom surfaces is greater than that of the male contacts 120 which protrude to the interior of the respective recessed mating sections 110a through 110d. Accordingly, when an attempt is made to insert mating male connectors diagonally into the female connector 101, the mating male connectors always contact the female housing 110 and ribs 111 before contacting the tips of the male contacts 120. As a result, there is no damage or deformation of the tips of the male contacts 120 when the mating male connectors are inserted into the female connector 101.
However, in this conventional female connector 101, there is no male contact 120 disposed in the areas where the ribs 111 are disposed as shown in FIG. 8A. The attachment of the male contacts 120 to the female housing 110 is generally accomplished by attaching a group of the male contacts 120 of each row by driving these male contacts in from the rear of the female housing 110. In the female connector 101, however, since the areas where the ribs 111 are disposed have no male contact 120 disposed therein, it is necessary to have a process of removing the male contacts 120 in the areas where the ribs 111 are disposed. Furthermore, the removed male contacts 120 are commonly discarded.

Electrical connector having contact receiving cavities located in ribs


A vehicle floor silencer includes at least one first wall, at least one second wall positioned opposite the first wall, and at least one floor extending between the at least one first wall and the at least one second wall. The at least one first wall, the at least one second wall, and the at least one floor combine to define a receptacle structured to open in an upward direction and to receive a wire harness therein after the floor silencer has been positioned on the floor of the vehicle.

During assembly of a vehicle, a floor silencer may be applied to a floor of the vehicle interior, after which a carpet may be laid over the floor silencer. The floor silencer may aid in insulating the vehicle interior from noise and vibration from the floor and from the exterior of the vehicle. A wire harness may be routed along the floor silencer. The wire harness may be secured to walls of the floor silencer at distinct locations above the vehicle floor with fasteners or tie downs. Routing and securing the harness to the floor silencer with fasteners or tie downs is difficult and time consuming.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A pressure sensor device which uses appropriate passivation materials/patterns to make the device more robust and resistant to a hot and humid environment. The pressure sensor device uses moisture resistant passivation material(s) covering exposed glass areas, including sidewalls, and bonding interfaces to avoid the glass and bonding interfaces absorbing and reacting with moisture, thus maintaining the integrity of the device output after exposure in a humid/hot environment. These passivation materials/patterns used for the MEMS devices described may be applied to any MEMS based sensors and actuators using glass as one type of material for fabrication. The pressure sensor devices may be front side absolute pressure sensors, differential pressure sensors, or back side absolute pressure sensors.

Due to the process maturity and low fabrication cost, the anodic bonding of borosilicate glass with silicon (Si) is widely used in constructing current microelectricalmechanical systems (MEMS) based sensors and actuators. Various types of pressure sensors which use this technology include differential pressure sensors, front side absolute pressure sensors, and backside absolute pressure sensors.
The surface layers of borosilicate glass, however, react with moisture at an elevated temperature, such as in the environment of 85% relative humidity and 85° C. temperature, which is one of the typical test conditions in the automotive industry. It is this reaction that results in device instability, causing output shift. In some cases, this output shift is not recoverable, and becomes a permanent output change, which presents a severe reliability issue.
The primary cause in this instability is due to the reaction of the glass surface with moisture, forming highly stressed surface layers that may result in a glass surface-plastic deformation. There are two major reaction areas in typical MEMS devices that may cause a significant output instability issue, they are the die attach surface and the Si-glass interface. The bottom surface of the glass pedestal for all three types of pressure sensors (differential, front side absolute, and backside absolute) is normally attached to a housing substrate by using a die attachment material. The reaction of glass with the moisture in the die attachment material may degrade the bonding force with, or may even cause delamination from, the die attachment material after long exposure in a hot and humid environment. The Si-glass bonding interface is normally exposed to the moisture around the edges of the device, where the exposed glass may also react with moisture, causing a change in the bonding force with the Si. All of these changes may cause device output shift with high thermal hysteresis, and become a permanent change in many cases.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an MEMS device which reduces or prevents device output shift when exposed to high humidity under elevated temperatures.

Humidity resistant sensors and methods of making same


An apparatus for saturation detection and a method therefor are implemented. Selection circuitry selects a data value signal for outputting between an output from an adder receiving a pair of input operands, and a plurality of saturation value signals. Each input operand may include a plurality of subvector operands of a preselected data type, each data type has having a corresponding length. The selection circuitry selects the data value signal in response to a plurality of second signals. The second signals are generated from carry-out signals from the subvector operands, and first signals that are generated using instruction information for the executing instruction. The second signals may be generated by logically combining the first signals with carry propagate, carry generate and carry-out signals from carry lookahead logic receiving the subvector operands as input.

The present invention relates in general to data processing systems, and in particular, to vector arithmetic operations in a data processor.
Vector processing extensions to microprocessor architectures are being implemented to enhance microprocessor performance, particularly with respect to multimedia applications. One such vector processing extension is the Vector Multimedia Extension (VMX) to the Power PC microprocessor architecture (xe2x80x9cPower PCxe2x80x9d is a trademark of IBM Corporation.) VMX is a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) architecture. In a SIMD architecture, a single instruction operates on multiple sets of operands. For example, an instruction having thirty-two bit operands may operate on the operands in bytewise fashion as four eight-bit operands, as sixteen bit half-word operands, or as word length operands of thirty-two bits.
Integer arithmetic instructions may have both modulo, that is, wrap around, and saturating modes. The mode determines the result of the operation implemented by the instruction when the result overflows the result field, either a byte-length field, a half-word-length field, or a word length field, depending on the data type being operated on by the instruction. In modulo mode, the result truncates an overflow or underflow for the length (byte, half-word, or word) and type of operand (signed or unsigned). In saturating mode, the result is clamped to its saturated value, the smallest or largest representable value in the field.
To implement these instructions, three tasks need to be performed. An intermediate result is produced, using a single adder, which may be embodied in an arithmetic unit, in accordance with the specific instruction being executed. It is then determined if the intermediate result fits into the field corresponding to the length of the operand. Then, the appropriate result must be selected, either the intermediate result, the truncated overflow or underflow, if in modulus mode, or the saturation value, if in saturating mode.
The task of determining if an intermediate result fits into its field, and the task of selecting the appropriate value as a final result may be complicated and time consuming. In particular, these tasks are complicated in that the instructions support different data types, that is, subvector operands having different lengths, as described hereinabove, each of which may be either signed or unsigned. Consequently, it becomes difficult to meet cycle time requirements if the three tasks are performed sequentially.
Thus, there is a need in the art for apparatus and methods for implementing vector integer arithmetic instructions, which are sufficiently fast to meet cycle time requirements. In particular, there is a need in the art for performing, in parallel, the tasks of generating an intermediate result, determining if the intermediate results fits into a preselected field, and selecting a mode dependent result value.
The aforementioned needs are addressed by the present invention. Accordingly, there is provided, in a first form, a saturation detection apparatus. The saturation detection apparatus includes a saturation detection unit having first and second operand inputs operable for receiving first and second vector operands, the saturation detection unit operable for receiving an instruction signal, the saturation detection unit outputting a plurality of selection signals in response to the first and second operands and the instruction signal. Selection circuitry is also included that is operable for receiving the plurality of selection signals, a vector arithmetic result signal, a plurality of saturation value signals, wherein the selection circuitry selects one of the result signal and the plurality of the saturation value signals in response to the plurality of selection signals.
There is also provided, in a second form, a method of saturation detection. The method generates a set of first signals in response to an executing instruction, and generates a set of second signals in response to first and second carry-out signals and the set of first signals. The method also includes selecting for outputting one of a set of output signals including a result signal and a predetermined set of saturation value signals in response to the set of second signals, wherein the first and second carry-out signals are generated in response to a pair of subvector operands, and the result signal is generated in response to the executing instruction.
Additionally, there is provided, in a third form, a data processing system including a central processing unit (CPU), and a memory operable for communicating instructions and operand data to the CPU, in which the CPU further includes instruction decode circuitry operable for receiving the instructions, an arithmetic unit operable for receiving the operand data, and outputting a result signal in response to the operand data, and an instruction, and saturation detection circuitry, coupled to the memory. The saturation detection unit is operable for receiving the operand data from the memory, the saturation detection circuitry also being operable for selecting a one of a plurality of output signals, wherein the plurality of output signals includes the result signal and a preselected set of saturation signals, the saturation detection circuitry selecting the one of the plurality in response to the operand data and an instruction signal from the decode circuitry.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention.

Saturation detection apparatus and method therefor

International Business Machines Corporation


A sheet sticking apparatus 10 includes holding means 13 provided so as to be capable of holding an adhesive sheet S, and sticking means 12 that sticks the adhesive sheet S to an adherend surface W0 of an adherend W. The sticking means 12 includes a first sticking portion 15 capable of sticking a part of the adhesive sheet S held by the holding means 13 to a first sticking surface by pressure, and a second sticking portion 16 that sticks portions of the adhesive sheet S that have not yet been stuck by using the first sticking portion 15 to second sticking surfaces by pressure.

Conventionally, there has been used a sheet sticking apparatus that sticks an adhesive sheet to a non-flat adherend surface. Such a sheet sticking apparatus is disclosed in, for example, Patent document 1. The sheet sticking apparatus disclosed in Patent document 1 includes an elastic member that can elastically deform depending on the shape of the adherend surface of adherends while an adhesive sheet such as a label is held, and is configured to apply a pressing force to the adhesive sheet while deforming the elastic member when sticking the adhesive sheet.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-286928.

Sheet sticking apparatus and sheet sticking method


An inflatable air bag (10, 10a) inflates to restrain a vehicle occupant (13) during a vehicle collision. The air bag has an opening (16, 16a) for venting gas from the interior space (14, 14a) of the air bag. A panel (20, 20a) overlies the opening in the air bag and is secured with, preferably, stitches (22, 22a) to the air bag. The stitches may extend in a generally U-shape along only a portion of the perimeter around the opening in the air bag. Alternatively, the stitches may extend along the entire perimeter around the opening in the air bag. When gas is vented from the interior space of the air bag through the opening in the air bag, the panel restricts flow of the vented gas rearwardly in the vehicle toward the occupant and directs the vented gas forwardly in the vehicle away from the occupant.

A vehicle occupant restraint system having an inflatable air bag is known. Typically, an inflatable air bag is inflated by gas directed into the air bag in response to the vehicle experiencing deceleration indicative of a collision. The inflated air bag absorbs energy resulting from the forward movement of an occupant against the air bag. The energy absorbed by the air bag is dissipated to minimize rebounding of the occupant from the air bag.
One way to dissipate the energy absorbed by the air bag is to vent the gas in the air bag. It is known to vent the gas in the air bag through a vent hole to the atmosphere. The vent hole may be covered with a patch which opens when a predetermined pressure level is reached inside the air bag. When the patch opens, gas inside the air bag passes through the vent hole to the atmosphere.

Apparatus for venting of an inflatable air bag


A method, system, and computer program product for file storage defragmentation on a cluster of nodes. The method for self-governed, contention-aware scheduling of file defragmentation operations commences by calculating a score for candidate files of a storage volume, where the score is based on a fragmentation severity value. The process proceeds to determine an amount of contention for access to a candidate file (e.g., by accessing the candidate file to record the amount of time it takes to obtain access). If the fragmentation severity value and the amount of contention suggestion a benefit from defragmentation, then the method initiating defragmentation operations on the candidate file. The method delays for a calculated wait time before performing a second defragmentation operation. Real-time monitors are used to determine when the contention is too high or when system utilization is too high. Only files that have ever been opened are considered candidates for defragmentation.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to an improved approach for implementing a self-governed, contention-aware approach to scheduling file defragmentation.
Legacy defragmentation implementations attempt to coalesce (e.g., defragment) the entire disk by moving the contents of disk blocks around the physical storage spaces of the disk in order to create contiguous usage of space within files. Such legacy defragmentation approaches are unaware of the usage of files that are being defragmented. Often conventional approaches even require the file system to be offline. When the file system is offline, it is moot to consider the performance effect that the defragmentation operations have on the system, however taking a file system offline is highly undesirable, and improvements to avoid taking a file system offline are needed.
Some legacy approaches have attempted to perform defragmentation operations while online by requiring that the user identify a particular file to be defragmented and to explicitly issue a command to perform the defragmentation. While such a naive approach can prevent contentious access to the file until the entire defragmentation operation is completed, that approach fails to consider the user impact of many hundreds or thousands of files on a system disk. Indeed, legacy cases fail to consider the user impact of concurrently performing defragmentation of many hundreds or thousands of files on a system disk. What is needed is a technique for delaying defragmentation operations when the contention increases or when the system utilization gets above a threshold value.
Further, the aforementioned legacy techniques fail to implement techniques that permit defragmentation while online, and accordingly the aforementioned legacy techniques fail to fairly schedule workload or otherwise consider system resource sharing while online. Specifically, the aforementioned technologies do not have the capabilities to perform a self-governed, contention-aware approach to scheduling file defragmentation of an online volume. Therefore, there is a need for an improved approach.

Self-governed contention-aware approach to scheduling file defragmentation


The present invention provides a polishing head including: an annular rigid ring; an elastic film bonded to the rigid ring; and an upward and downward movable mid-plate, the mid-plate defining a first sealed space together with the rigid ring and the elastic film; an incompressible fluid enclosed in a sealed space; and a mid-plate positioning device for adjusting vertical position of the mid-plate, to hold a back surface of a workpiece on a lower surface of the elastic film and polish a front surface by bringing the front surface into contact with a polishing pad attached to a turn table, wherein the mid-plate can adjust a shape of the lower surface of the elastic film by adjusting the vertical position of the mid-plate. The polishing head polishes a workpiece without generating surface defects on the workpiece surface and easy detachment of the workpiece from a polishing pad after polishing.

In recent years, higher integration of semiconductor devices places demand for higher flatness of semiconductor wafers used in such devices. The higher flatness up to near the edge of wafers is also needed to raise the yield of semiconductor chips.
The shape of finished semiconductor wafers depends on a final mirror polishing process. For a 300-mm-diameter silicon wafer, in particular, primary polishing by double-side polishing is performed to meet strict specifications of the flatness, and then secondary polishing and finish polishing by single-side polishing are performed to remove scratches on a wafer surface or to improve surface roughness.
The secondary polishing and finish polishing by single-side polishing need to maintain or improve flatness obtained by the primary polishing by double-side polishing and to finish the front surface of a wafer into a perfect mirror-surface with no defects, such as scratches.
As shown in FIG. 13, for example, a typical single-side polishing apparatus includes a turn, table 103 to which a polishing pad 102 is attached, a polishing-agent-supply mechanism 104, a polishing head 101. Such a polishing apparatus 110 holds a workpiece W with the polishing head 101, supplies a polishing agent 105 from the polishing-agent-supply mechanism 104 onto the polishing pad 102, rotates both the turn table 103 and the polishing head 101, and polishes the workpiece W by bringing a front surface of the workpiece into sliding contact with the polishing pad 102.
One exemplary method of holding a workpiece with a polishing head is to attach the workpiece to a flat workpiece-holding board through an adhesive such as wax. As shown in FIG. 14, there is also a polishing head 121 of a waxless type that holds a workpiece W with a commercially available template assembly 113 adhering to a workpiece-holding board 112. The template assembly has a template 113b, for preventing the workpiece from coming off, attached to an elastic film 113a called a backing film.
Other exemplary polishing heads of a waxless type currently used include a polishing head 131, as shown in FIG. 15, that includes a backing film 113a attached to a surface of a workpiece-holding board 112, instead of the commercially available template, and an annular guide ring 113b, for preventing a workpiece from coming off, provided around the side surface of the workpiece-holding board.
Although the workpiece holding board 112 is commonly composed of a highly-flat ceramic plate, this polishing head has a problem in that variation in thickness of the backing film 113a, etc., produces a small pressure distribution, resulting in waviness of the polished front surface of the workpiece and hence there is a problem that deteriorates the flatness of the workpiece.
Accordingly, there is also disclosed the so-called rubber chuck type of polishing head having a rubber film for holding a workpiece in place of the workpiece-holding board, in which the workpiece is pressed against a polishing pad by supplying pressurized fluid, such as air, to the back surface of the rubber film to inflate the rubber film with a uniform pressure (see Patent Document 1, for example).
FIG. 16 schematically illustrates an example of a configuration of the rubber chuck type of polishing head. The essential parts of the polishing head 141 are an annular rigid ring 144 made of e.g., stainless steel, a rubber film 143 attached to the rigid ring 144, and a back plate 145 connected to the rigid ring 144. The rigid ring 144, the rubber film 143, and the back plate 145 define a sealed space 146. On a lower surface portion of the rubber film 143, a backing film 148 is attached, and an annular template 147 is provided concentrically with the rigid ring 144. Pressurized fluid is supplied through the center of the back plate 145 with a pressure-adjusting mechanism 150 to adjust the pressure in the sealed space 146. The back plate 145 is connected to a polishing head body 149 having a pressing means (not shown) for pressing the back plate 145 toward a polishing pad.


A computer-implemented method includes obtaining an image of a retinal fundus. A plurality of features is extracted from the image of the retinal fundus. The plurality of features includes at least one feature based on anatomical domain knowledge of the retinal fundus and at least one response of a pre-trained deep convolutional neural network to at least a portion of the image of the retinal fundus. The retinal fundus is determined to belong to a left eye or a right eye, based on an analysis of the plurality of features.

Ophthalmologists often use images of the retinal fundus (i.e., the interior lining of the eyeball, including the retina, the optic disc, and the macula) to diagnose and monitor the development of eye diseases. For example, retinal fundus imaging is one of the leading image technologies used for the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration (DR), hypertensive retinopathy, and systemic diseases (e.g., stroke), among other conditions. The developments and applications of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems for detecting different types of diseases in retinal imaging have been increasing rapidly in recent years.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Automatically detecting eye type in retinal fundus images

International Business Machines Corporation


A microwave dielectric component (100) comprises a microwave dielectric substrate (101) and a metal layer, the metal layer being bonded to a surface of the microwave dielectric substrate (101). The metal layer comprises a conductive seed layer and a metal thickening layer (105). The conductive seed layer comprises an ion implantation layer (103) implanted into the surface of the microwave dielectric substrate (101) and a plasma deposition layer (104) adhered on the ion implantation layer (103). The metal thickening layer (105) is adhered on the plasma deposition layer (104). A manufacturing method of the microwave dielectric component (100) is further disclosed.

Microwave devices generally refer to devices operating in a microwave band (frequency of 300-300,000 MHz).
A quartz crystal resonator is a microwave device in which a quartz wafer as a microwave dielectric component is the main body of the quartz crystal resonator. In the manufacture of a quartz crystal resonator, it is necessary to plate a portion of the surface of a quartz wafer with a metal layer (for example, a silver layer) to form an electrode of the quartz wafer (that is, a so-called silver-plated electrode).
One type of microwave dielectric component can refer to the quartz wafer disclosed in the Chinese Patent Application No. 201210532266.1. As shown in FIG. 1, an intermediate area of the surface of the quartz wafer 1 is a silver-plated electrode 2, and one side of the silver-plated electrode 2 is provided with a transitional zone 3 and an electrode lead-out terminal 4. The electrode lead-out terminal 4 can be electrically connected to a conductive adhesive or a conductive terminal. Additionally, when electrodes are provided on both sides of the quartz wafer 1, the quartz wafer 1 may further be provided with a metallized hole, so that the metallized hole can electrically connect the electrodes.
Generally, a microwave device requires the surface of the microwave device to be solderable during the processing of a latter step. A soldering process may be used during soldering, the temperature of which soldering is above 200 degrees, thereby requiring the microwave device to be resistant to high temperatures. Interfaces, corners, and sites connected to soldering wires of a microwave device fabricated by the prior art often have uneven metal layer thickness, burrs, depressions, cracks, and the like. These phenomena will seriously affect the transmission of microwave signals, causing signal interference, nonlinear intermodulation and so on.
The conductivity of a microwave device has a substantial influence on microwave transmission, and a high conductivity contributes to microwave signal transmission. In addition, a microwave dielectric component of the microwave device has a requirement for reliability due to long-term operation, that is, it requires the metal layer to have high peel strength.
The prior art generally employs the following methods for metallization of a surface and/or of a hole wall of a microwave device.
Method 1: pressing method.
The pressing method can include the following steps:
Step 1: manufacturing a copper foil by calendering or electrolysis;
Step 2: bonding the copper foil to a microwave dielectric component by a high temperature lamination method to form a copper clad laminate;
Step 3: drilling the copper clad laminate and removing drilling debris;
Step 4: forming a conductive seed layer on a hole wall by processes such as electroless copper (PTH) or black hole (the principle of black hole is to dip fine graphite and carbon black powder on the hole wall to form a conductive layer, and then to perform direct electroplating) or black shadow (the principle of black shadow is mainly to use graphite as a conductive material to form a conductive layer on the hole wall, and then perform direct electroplating);Step 5: electroplating thickening, forming a metal conductor layer on the hole wall to obtain a copper clad laminate with metallized holes; andStep 6: making a circuit pattern using a general graphics transfer process in the PCB industry.
With regard to the above step 1, the current minimum roughness of the copper foil is about 0.4 micrometer (pm). The greater the roughness of the bonding surface of the copper foil and the microwave dielectric component is, the more obvious a skin effect is, which is not beneficial for microwave signal transmission. Moreover, due to high roughness of the surface of the copper foil, when the surface is soldered, the roughness of the metal-to-metal contact surface is high, easily generating electric field nonlinearity and resulting in a Passive Inter-Modulation (PIM) product, which affects reception of microwave signals.
With regard to the above step 2, the microwave dielectric component used in the pressing method is a plate material, and most microwave devices are non-plate-shaped, and the method cannot metallize a surface of a non-plate-shaped microwave device. In addition, the pressing method is to press and cure a copper foil and a semi-cured microwave dielectric component at a high temperature. Therefore, this technology is not applicable for metallizing a dielectric component that has been cured.
With regard to the above step 6, the general graphics transfer process in the PCB industry can include forming a photoresist film, exposure, development and etching treatment.
Microwave dielectric components are generally highly hydrophobic materials such as PTFE, PPE, and LCP, and it is difficult for processes such as electroless copper, black hole, and black shadow to form a conductive seed layer with excellent bonding strength on hole walls of such materials, and hole-metallized layers formed thereby have poor reliability and are prone to be layered and cracked.
Method 2: vacuum sputtering method.
The vacuum sputtering method may include the following steps:
Step 1: cutting a dielectric component and forming a hole that needs to be metallized;
Step 2: using a vacuum sputtering method to achieve metallization in the surface of the dielectric component and inside the hole to form a conductive seed layer structure;
Step 3: forming a conductor pattern by using a lithography process; and
Step 4: thickening the conductor pattern by plating.
With regard to the above step 2, the principle of vacuum sputtering is: in a vacuum environment, a metal target material serves as a cathode, and argon gas is introduced into the vacuum. Under the action of an electric field and a magnetic field, argon ionization produces Ar+ and e−, Ar+ impacts the target material through spiral motion to excite target atoms (atomic energy <10 eV) which are deposited on the dielectric surface and the hole wall to form a conductive seed layer. The binding force between the conductive seed layer and the dielectric component is poor (<0.5 N/mm).
With regard to the above step 4, since the conductive seed layer formed by vacuum sputtering has a low binding force with the dielectric component, the metal layer is easily peeled off and dissolved in a plating solution under the impact of the plating solution during electroplating. The binding force of the undissolved electroplating thickened conductor is also low, which leads to a decrease in the reliability of the metal layer of the microwave device.
Method 3: screen printing method.
The screen printing method may include the following steps:
Step 1: cutting a dielectric component and forming a hole that needs to be metallized;
Step 2: forming a pattern on the dielectric surface by screen printing, and metallizing in the hole; and
Step 3: curing a metal coating by drying or high-temperature sintering and bonding it to the dielectric component to form a metallized microwave device.
With regard to the above step 2, the metal slurry used for screen printing is modified slurry. Taking silver conductive slurry as an example, silver conductive slurry is divided into two categories: polymer silver conductive slurry (dried or cured into film, with an organic polymer as binding phase); sintered silver conductive slurry (sintered into film with a sintering temperature >500° C., with glass powder or oxide as binding phase). This slurry has poor conductivity and is not beneficial for the transmission of high frequency signals.
With regard to the above step 3, if the slurry is applied to a dielectric component that can withstand low temperatures (such as plastic), a polymer metal conductive slurry should be used, and the slurry is bonded to the dielectric component by drying with a drying temperature of about 100° C. The metal layer is bonded to the dielectric component by using an organic polymer as binding phase, so the binding force is low. In addition, the organic material has poor temperature resistance, so it cannot withstand a soldering temperature (>200° C.).
The disadvantages of the pressing method, vacuum sputtering method and screen printing method in the prior art for metallizing microwave devices are as follows.
Firstly, the calendered or electrolytic copper foil used in the pressing method has a high surface roughness, which is easy to produce a skin effect, and is not conducive to transmission of microwave signals; in the case of soldering, the roughness of the metal-to-metal contact surface is high, easily generating electric field nonlinearity and resulting in a Passive Inter-Modulation (PIM) product, which affects reception of microwave signals.
Secondly, the pressing method uses processes of electroless copper, black hole, and black shadow to realize metallization of a hole wall, resulting in a poor binding force between the hole copper and the hole wall and a low reliability. The dielectric components used for pressing can only be a plate material, which is unable to realize metallization of irregularly shaped dielectric components.
Thirdly, the biggest disadvantage of the vacuum sputtering method lies in a poor binding force between the metal layer and the dielectric component, which affects the reliability of the microwave device. In the case of manufacturing a dielectric component by the vacuum sputtering method, the metal layers at the corners and joints of the member is prone to burrs, uneven thickness, holes, damage of the metal layers, etc., causing electric field nonlinearity during microwave transmission and generating PIM products, which affects reception of microwave signals.
Fourthly, the metal layer used in the screen printing method is formed by curing a modified slurry, which has a poor conductivity and affects microwave signal transmission. After the polymer metal slurry is cured, the binding force between the metal layer and the dielectric component is poor, which affects the reliability of the microwave device. In addition, the polymer contained in the metal layer cannot withstand a soldering temperature, making it impossible to solder the microwave device. The screen printing method also fails to metallize irregularly shaped microwave dielectric components.
Therefore, there is now a need for a new microwave dielectric component and a method of manufacturing the same to address the deficiencies of conventional microwave dielectric components and manufacturing methods thereof.

Microwave dielectric component and manufacturing method thereof


The present invention relates to an image pickup device including: a detecting unit for detecting a position of a filter for changing light separation; and a white balance controlling unit for performing white balance control on a basis of the position of the filter detected by the detecting unit.

The present invention relates to a device and a method for image pickup, and particularly to a device and a method for image pickup that can perform white balance control according to whether an infrared cut filter is present or not.
Of conventional digital video cameras, a digital video camera is proposed which selectively switches an infrared cut filter to a position on an optical axis of a lens group and a position off the optical axis so that the digital video camera can be used for both picture taking using near-infrared light and picture taking using visible light (see for example Patent Document 1).
Adjustment of a color balance of a camera is referred to as white balance adjustment. A method is proposed which controls an RGB integral ratio to 1:1:1 on the basis of a hypothesis that a spatial average of reflectance of a surface of an object in a scene is close to gray (hereinafter referred to as gray world control). This gray world control is detailed in a document of G. Buchesbaum, "A Spatial Processor Model for Object Color Perception," J. FranklinInst., 310, 1980.
Further, since many light sources can be regarded as a blackbody, a method is proposed which performs control such that a ratio between respective integral values of an R component, a G component, and a B component of an entire screen is the same as an RGB ratio of blackbody curve data L as shown in FIG. 1 (hereinafter referred to as blackbody curve control). In FIG. 1, an axis of ordinates indicates ratio (B/G) between the integral values of the B component and the G component, and an axis of abscissas indicates ratio (R/G) between the integral values of the R component and the G component. The blackbody curve data L indicates ratios between primary color signals R, G, and B based on a white subject taken under a light source at various color temperatures, and represents a curve such that as one of the ratios is increased, the other ratio is decreased. Also, the color temperature rises as the B/G ratio is increased, and the color temperature falls as the R/G ratio is increased. In the example of FIG. 1, integral value ratios when the color temperature is 7500 K, 5800 K, and 3200 K, respectively, are plotted. Details of the blackbody curve control are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2751297.
The gray world control assumes that there is no color deviation within a screen. When there is a color deviation, a white balance is disturbed greatly. On the other hand, the blackbody curve control has an advantage of not readily causing a shift in the white balance even when there is a color deviation. Thus the blackbody curve control is now a mainstream white balance system.
However, at a time of so-called night-shot picture taking, or picture taking in a dark place by irradiation with infrared rays, not only visible light but also an infrared component enters a digital video camera. Hence, blackbody curve control performed using the blackbody curve data L (FIG. 1) for visible light which data is included in a microcomputer changes a color balance of the digital video camera due to effects of the infrared rays. Thus rays of light including the infrared rays redden an entire screen.
Accordingly, in a present situation, the entire screen is purposely made to be a monotone screen for output at a time of night-shot picture taking. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining a process of selectively switching between a time of normal picture taking and a time of night-shot picture taking and performing white balance control.
In step S1, the digital video camera determines whether the infrared cut filter is disposed on the optical axis of the lens group, that is, whether a mode of picture taking under normal visible light is set according to a user instruction. When the digital video camera determines that the infrared cut filter is disposed on the optical axis of the lens group, the process proceeds to step S2, where the digital video camera performs blackbody curve control so that a ratio between respective integral values of an R component, a G component, and a B component of an entire screen becomes the same as the RGB ratio of the blackbody curve data L shown in FIG. 1.
On the other hand, when the digital video camera determines in step S1 that the infrared cut filter is not disposed on the optical axis of the lens group, that is, that a mode of night-shot picture taking under light including infrared light is set according to a user instruction, the process proceeds to step S3, where the digital video camera performs control to make the entire screen a monotone screen for output.
Thus, the digital video camera controls the white balance of the camera according to picture taking conditions at the time of normal picture taking and the time of night-shot picture taking, for example.
In addition, another method of controlling the white balance of a camera is proposed which suppresses reddening of a screen by correcting a color-difference signal R-Y at a time of low illuminance (see for example Patent Document 2)
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-59798
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-70009
As described above, at the time of night-shot picture taking, a monotone screen is outputted, and therefore natural color reproduction of the camera cannot be realized.
The technique of Patent Document 2 is effective for a vehicle-mounted camera, a front-door intercom camera or the like that assumes outdoor picture taking, but is not suitable for digital cameras that need to take pictures under various light sources such as fluorescent lamps, incandescent lamps and the like.


Addressing failure is handled in a nodal system of processor nodes, which comprise at least one processor and at least one interface to a network. Upon detection of a node address failure of a processor node for the network, such as lack of a node address, or presence of a duplicate address, the processor node is disabled from the network, thereby temporarily failing the processor node so that the system remains operational. An alternate node address stored in nonvolatile memory may be selected that avoids the node address failure.

Distributed nodal systems of processors, also called "embedded" processor systems, are being employed in a wide variety of applications, and in ever increasing numbers. In distributed nodal systems of processors, for example, in a control system, overall system control is distributed among two or more processor nodes in the system or product.
An advantage of such systems is that problem diagnosis and repair is simplified because functions are isolated to different areas of the system. Further, such systems can be expanded by adding components and processor nodes, without replacing the entire system. The nodes of a distributed control system are usually interconnected with one or more communication networks, herein called a "network".
One example of a control system comprising a distributed nodal system of processors comprises an automated data storage library, such as an IBM 3584 Ultra Scalable Tape Library. The processors of the 3584 library are embedded with various components of the library, communicate over a bus network, and operate the components and, thereby, the library. A discussion of an automated data storage library with a distributed nodal system of processors is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,803, issued Mar. 12, 2002. Repair actions for such systems may comprise replacing an individual component, a processor node, or a processor at the node. The library is formed of one or more "frames", each comprising a set or subset of library components, such as storage shelves for storing data storage media; one or more data storage drives for reading and/or writing data with respect to the data storage media; a robot accessor for transporting the data storage media between the storage shelves and data storage drives; a network; and a plurality of processor nodes for operating the library. The library may be expanded by adding one or more frames and/or one or more accessors or other nodes.
Another example of a control system comprising a distributed nodal system of processors comprises an automobile multi-processor network.
In order to communicate over the network, the components and/or the processor nodes, must have node addresses, such as employed with CAN busses or Ethernet networks, as are known to those of skill in the art. When a frame is added, the processor node(s) added to the network may have no node address, or have a partial node address, and node addresses must be given to the new processor nodes. When an individual component, processor node, or a processor at the node, is replaced, either with a new component, etc., or another component, etc., is swapped, the processor node may have no node address, or, if swapped, may employ its previous node address. Further, processor node cards may be interchangeable for all of the components, allowing ease of parts handling and to simplify diagnosis and repair, but preventing the use of static addressing where there is a separate part number for each node address, or preventing the node address from being permanently fixed at each processor node card.
One way of providing a new node address is for an operator or repair person to assign a node address. In one example of a complex node address, a component may have a function portion of an address coded into a card, and a frame number is supplied to the processor node, and the function address and frame number are combined to calculate a node address. Alternatively, automatic modes of providing new node addresses may be employed. As one example, a cable is designed with certain lines tied high or low to provide a binary number that may be employed to calculate the node address. As another example, as discussed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/854,865, filed May 14, 2001, a pulse generator and delay signal generator may provide an automatic frame count, which may be used with the function address to calculate the node address. As another example, a server may employ a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) to give a processor node an IP address.
In either a manual or an automated mode, failure is a possibility. For example, the operator may misjudge the placement or function of the processor node. In an automatic mode, the binary cable might become defective, misplugged, or the wrong cable might be used. As another example, the frame counter circuit might become defective, or the cabling could become misplugged.
In such a case, the component may have no node address when on the network, may have a wrong address, or may present an address that is a duplicate of another component on the network. A duplicate address is possible when one processor node is at a component which performs a duplicate function as another component, and misreads the frame number, and employs the erroneous frame number in the address. Alternatively, the processor node may be swapped from one system to another, and be at a different location in the new system. Addressing errors, such as the presence of an unknown component or duplicate on the network, can render all or part of the system inoperable, and require maintenance actions.
Failures of products are becoming less tolerable as systems and customer expectations move toward a concept of continuous availability, such as the well known "24×7×365" availability.
As an example, automated data storage libraries provide a means for storing large quantities of data on data storage media that are not permanently mounted on data storage drives, and that are stored in a readily available form on storage shelves. One or more robot accessors retrieve selected data storage media from storage shelves and provide them to data storage drives. Typically, data stored on data storage media of an automated data storage library, once requested, is needed quickly. Thus, it is desirable that an automated data storage library be maintained in an operational condition on a continuous basis as much as possible.
Automated data storage libraries may comprise systems which are operated by a plurality of processors working together, such as a central controller which interfaces with the host systems through an external interface, and provides a constantly updated inventory of the locations and content of the data storage media within the library, and a robot control system which identifies precise locations of the data storage drives and the storage shelves, and calculates the best operation of the robot accessor(s) to efficiently transport data storage media between the various storage shelves and data storage drives. Many of the components are redundant, allowing a processor node to fail, and still have the overall system operate, but all are dependent upon a proper network addressing structure to perform together.
Global addressing is known, for example, as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,506 for allocating addresses across multiple "clouds" by carefully segmenting the addresses, and does not allow the same address to be allocated in more than one cloud, but provides no method of handling addressing failures.
There are many examples of conflicts in addressing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,515, resolves a conflict by shifting an address space of a hardware adapter to a next sequential address space, ignoring the conflicting address space. However, the system is down and not operational until the conflict is resolved. IBM Technical Disclosure Bulleting Vol. 41, No. 01, January, 1998, pp. 703–705, forces a reply by a host in response to duplication of both sender and receiver IP addresses, so that the duplicate host turns off its interface, and posts a warning message. The replying host may keep using the IP addresses until it is corrected manually, reducing the disruption to the replying host. When a node logs on, all hosts on the network will receive the duplicate IP addresses, and all may thus go through the reply process. Only after the duplicate host receives the reply and turns off its interface, can the replying hosts communicate with the original IP address owner.

Handling node address failure in a distributed nodal system of processors