A liquid cooling system, enabling protection from corrosion due to liquid coolant for a long time-period (5–10 years) while cooling a heat-generation body effectively, comprises a pump 108, a heat-receiving jacket 107, a radiator for radiating heat into an outside, being made up with a heat-radiation pipe 201 and a heat-radiation plate 202, and further a tank 203 for accumulating the liquid coolant 209 within an inside thereof, wherein those are connected in a closed-loop, so as to circulating the cooling liquid therein, thereby cooling the heat-generation of a CPU 106, being a heat-generation element, effectively, through the heat-receiving jacket 107, and further a water-permeable bag 204 is disposed in a portion of flow path of the cooling liquid, which receives microcapsules 10 therein, each enclosing in an inside thereof anti-corrosion agent 20 for suppressing the corrosion due to the cooling liquid, including such as, a water, etc.

The present invention relates to a liquid cooling system, being suitable for use within an electronic apparatus, including such as a notebook-type personal computer, for example, and further a desktop-type personal computer, a home server, a projector, and a media storage, etc., wherein cooling can be achieved, effectively, through the liquid cooling, and further relates to an electronic apparatus using the liquid cooling system therein.
A semiconductor element, which is applied within the electronic apparatus, such as, the computer or the likes mentioned above, in particular, a CPU, generating heat when it operates, as being a representative one of such the semiconductor elements. In particular, in recent years, due to demands for high speed of processing and/or high capacity, upon such the semiconductor elements, a value of heat-generation therefrom is in a tendency of increasing, more and more. Since such the semiconductor element loses the functions thereof, remarkably, when the temperature thereof exceeds a predetermined value, in general; therefore, in particular, with such the semiconductor element having a large heat-generation value, there is a necessity of providing a means for cooling, actively or aggressively. Conventionally, as a technology for cooling down the semiconductor element in such the electronic apparatus, various ones are already known and/or proposed, such as, through heat conduction, air cooling, applying a heat pipe therein, and further applying a liquid coolant or refrigerant therein.
Among of those technologies for cooling down such the semiconductor element, a one of cooling with applying the liquid cooling is most effective, in particular, for the semiconductor element having the large heat-generation, such as, the CPU mentioned above, for example, representatively. Further, a cooling method of applying such the liquid cooling therein is also already described and known in the details thereof, in the following Patent Documents 1 through 4. However, the cooling methods relating to those conventional arts are limited, in particular, only to a use in a large-scaled computer (or, so-called a mainframe).
A reason thereof lies in that the liquid cooling apparatus comes to be large in the sizes, because such the liquid cooling system relating to the conventional arts mentioned above needs a large number of parts, which are exclusive use for the liquid cooling, such as, a pump, a piping system, a radiator, etc., and further, in that it is difficult to maintain the reliability of using a liquid for cooling, comparing to other cooling method. In addition thereto, there can be also pointed out other reason that, the semiconductor element, having such a large heat-generation of a degree of necessitating the liquid cooling therein, was hardly applied therein, other than the field of the large-scaled computer, in the conventional arts.
On the other hand, differing from such the large-scaled computer as was mentioned above, a technology of applying the liquid cooling system within a small-size electronic apparatus is described and is already know in the following Patent Document 5, for example. In more details thereof, this conventional art relates to an apparatus, in which the cooling is obtained by running a liquid therein while connecting between a heat-receiving jacket attached with the semiconductor thereon and a radiator located at a position separated from it, through so-called flexible tubes.
In addition thereto, there is also know a cooling apparatus for cooling an electric equipment, such as, a thyristor or an inverter or the like, wherein a pure water having high dielectric strength is applied as the cooling water, for the purpose of preventing an accident of short-circuit from causing between the electrodes thereof, in particular, due to lowering of the dielectric strength if applying a running tap water (or, a city water) or a water for industrial use, etc., in the place thereof, into which a large amount of electrically conductive materials dissolves therein, and also where an ion-exchange resin is provided within a pure-water tank for maintaining high purity of the pure water, for example, in the following Patent Document 6.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 5-335454 (1993);
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 6-97338 (1994);
Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 6-125188 (1994);
Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 10-213370 (1998);
Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 6-266474 (1994);
Patent Document 6: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-185321 (2003).
However, as was mentioned above, the heat-generation goes up, every year, of the semiconductor element, being the heat-generation parts to be used within those electronic apparatuses, as such, the personal computer, the home server, the projector, and the media storage, etc., in particular, in recent years, and therefore, the cooling comes to be insufficient, obtained by means of such the air-cooling using the heat-conduction and/or a forced circulation air-cooling of the conventional arts, or the cooling through the heat pipe, only.
Then, an attention is paid upon the technology described in the Patent Document 5 mentioned above, and with this technology, a case of the personal computer is made of a metal material having superior heat-conductivity, so that the case itself can be utilized to be a heat-radiation plate, thereby enabling the personal computer to receive the liquid cooling system within the case thereof.
However, installing such the liquid cooling system of using the liquid coolant or refrigerant into an inside of the personal computer further causes a new problem. Namely, within the liquid cooling system to be applied into such the personal computer, an amount of the coolant or refrigerant is very small, such as, the water, typically, which can be held within an inside thereof (i.e., about 1/1,000 in the amount, comparing to that of the cooling liquid that is used within the large-scaled computer), and in addition thereto, further the working temperature thereof is relatively high. For this reason, if corrosive ion dissolves from a portion in contact with the coolant or refrigerant, even in a small amount thereof, in particular, from the parts made of organic materials (i.e., parts made of synthetic resin), then due to that corrosive ion, the liquid quality of the cooling liquid, being small in the amount thereof, is easily degraded as a whole; i.e., there is a problem that corrosion is promoted, in particular, upon the parts made of the metal materials, such as, the heat-receiving jacket and/or the radiator, etc. And further, such the problem is fatal, in particular, for the liquid cooling system to be applied within the electronic apparatus, including the personal computer therein, since it is desirable that those parts, including piping portions therein, are made of the metal materials as far as they can, for the purpose of lowering leakage of the liquid coolant or refrigerant held within the inside, through vaporization thereof, and thereby maintaining the cooling operation for a long time-period (for example, around 5–10 years as a term of guarantee). Moreover, in a case if causing the water leakage due to such the corrosion, it also causes an important problem, such as, that the functions of the electronic apparatus are stopped, or the like; therefore, it is indispensable to apply a countermeasure for the corrosion control (or, an anticorrosive means) upon the parts, which are in contact with the cooling liquid.

Liquid cooling system and an electronic apparatus applying the same therein


A device for use in combination with a nozzle cap of a spray dispenser and an elongate spray tube inserted into a recessed seat of the nozzle cap for preventing the dislodgement of and the separation of the elongate spray tube from the nozzle cap. The device is a flat strip of flexible material having an in-line pattern of spaced openings. A first opening is stretched over the nozzle cap and the remaining openings receive the elongate spray tube in a weaving-type pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device that eliminates the loss of the nozzle tube found on nozzle tube type dispensers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Some dispensers come with a nozzle tube, that is inserted into a recess in the dispensers cap, allowing for a concentrated, directional flow of the spray. The problem with such type of dispenser is that the nozzle tube is held into place only by an interference fit, and almost always falls off and is lost before the contents of the container have been completely used. This invention eliminates this problem.


The present invention provides a system comprising a high-voltage capacitive device and a power circuit electrically coupled to the capacitive device, wherein the power circuit is configured for stepping up a lower DC source voltage to a higher DC output voltage, wherein the source voltage is less than about 5 V, and wherein the output voltage is at least about 1.25 kV, and wherein the power circuit comprises a magnetic component and a switching component for charging and discharging the magnetic component, wherein the switching component has a high resistance of at least about 5 ohms.

High-voltage power supplies are commonly used and well-known for powering devices which require a high DC voltage. Most high-voltage power supplies include a transformer or inductor for converting or stepping-up a relatively low DC source voltage to a relatively high DC output voltage. Components, such as the transformer or inductor, diodes, and capacitors used in high-voltage power supply circuits must be able to withstand the effects of high voltages and, thus, are often relatively large and heavy. In smaller and/or portable devices necessitating the use of a low DC voltage source, i.e., a battery supplying 5V or less, use of such large/heavy power components is prohibitive. Even where power supply size is not as much of an issue, where the high-voltage device being powered is mostly capacitive in nature, efficiently modulating the voltage across the capacitive device can be problematic. This is particularly the ease with high-frequency (up to 10 kHz or more) capacitive devices, e.g., high-speed actuators, electronic displays, etc.
There are commonly known power circuit topologies which can be used in lieu of larger power components and also address the problem of high voltage modulation. One such topology approach is the cascading (series connection) of multiple transistor switch devices to reach a desired voltage rating. However, a significant number of parts must be added (as many as ten or more cascaded switch multipliers may be required) in addition to the main power devices, possibly including high voltage drive transformers with difficult isolation requirements. An additional concern for the modulation of high voltages in capacitive devices is that of power dissipation due to parasitic capacitances across the switching devices. In a fast switching circuit, this energy is dissipated in the transistor switch at every turn-on, and can result in a substantial amount of power dissipation. Power dissipation is particularly acute in high voltage circuits where losses due to high-frequency switching activity (commonly referred to as "switching loss") can quickly reach unacceptable levels. In addition to reducing efficiency, these losses can increase the temperature of the switching elements beyond their ratings, causing premature failure.
Converter topologies such as zero voltage switching (ZVS) and zero current switching (ZCS) address the problem of power dissipation due to switching loss; however, they have complex designs with a high part count, which adds to the size and cost of the power supply.
A boost converter is another type of high voltage power circuit topology which provides voltage gains in the range from about 20× to 50×. They are advantageous in that they are relatively small and compact; however, conventional boost converters do not fully address the problem of power dissipation due to switching losses. Additionally, because they employ high-impedance switching circuits, they are also subject to conduction losses. In order to obviate the conductive losses, additional circuitry is commonly incorporated, but at the sake of increasing the overall size and weight of the power supply.
Another common approach is to use larger switching devices that have significantly lower conduction losses, i.e., lower on-state resistance. This increases the size and cost of the power supply. Even where the high-voltage device being powered requires a relatively low supply voltage, i.e., less than about 2 kV, the components of conventional boost converters do not allow for much of a corresponding reduction in power supply size due to the additional circuitry required to mitigate the conductive losses. Nonetheless, boost circuits have been regarded as an optimal way in which to provide DC-DC voltage step-up. This is especially true for supplies where the ratio of output voltage to input voltage exceeds a factor of one hundred or more.
Other types of power circuit topologies are well-known and commonly-used to reduce the power dissipation which occurs through switching loss without greatly adding to the weight, size or mass of the power supply. One such circuit topology is a multi-stage voltage multiplier circuit which is coupled to the output side of the transformer or inductor. Another topology includes a flyback circuit. These circuits minimize conductive losses as they involve switches having very low resistance. While these circuit topologies reduce power dissipation and are not prohibitively large or heavy for use with smaller high-voltage devices, they are still too large and heavy to be provided in a form fit to accommodate miniature device applications, such as cell phone camera modules, camera flashes, etc.
Another approach to high voltage modulation involves coupling the transducer directly to a transformer. The transformer approach allows the high transducer voltage to be stepped down by the transformer turns ratio such that charging and discharging can be accomplished at low voltages. However, the size of the required transformer increases as the frequency of the charge/discharge cycle decreases. Thus, for the majority of applications in which weight, size and mass considerations are essential, the required transformer is unacceptably large.
One approach to reducing the size of the transformer or inductor (i.e., the magnetic components, generally) and, thus, the overall size and weight of the power supply in high-voltage applications, has been to use switching components having very high switching frequencies, i.e., in the range from about 200 kHz to 2 MHz. Of course, this approach presents the problem of power dissipation due to switching losses discussed above.
Notwithstanding the operational shortcomings of prior art power supplies, there are certain conventional power circuit topologies which enable relatively small power supply architectures. Examples of commercially available "miniature" DC-DC converters which employ one or more of the above approaches are as follows: EMCO High Voltage Corporation Q Series (Q50-5) converter supplying up to 5 kV output with an architecture having a volume of 0.125 in3 (approximately 2.050 mm3) and weighing 0.15 ounces (4.25 g); Gamma High Voltage Research, Inc. SM Series power supply supplying up to 3 kV and having an architecture volume of less than 1 in3 (approximately 16,400 mm3); Matsusada Precision, Inc. UP Series power supply with outputs from 100 to 500 V and having an architecture volume of 0.432 in3 (approximately 7,080 mm3) and AM Power Systems high voltage converters with outputs from 500 V to 5 kV and having an architecture volume of about 1 in3 (approximately 16,400 mm3) and weighing about 1 ounce (29 grams). While the sizes of these "miniature" power supplies are relatively small, the inventors hereof are not aware of an available power supply having an even smaller architecture, or one that could be scaled-down in size even with a substantially lower output voltage requirement, e.g., less than 2 kV.
In sum, prior art high-voltage power supply technology involves a tradeoff between size/weight and power dissipation due to switching losses. Thus, there continues to be an interest and need in developing high-voltage power supplies where size and weight efficiency is paramount without sacrificing power efficiency. As such, it would be highly beneficial to provide a high-voltage power supply made of extremely cost-effective, light-weight components which can realize ultra-miniature power supply architectures without the expected switching losses. Further, it would be highly advantageous to provide such a power circuitry topology which gives a manufacturer the flexibility in scaling the size of the power supply to the desired voltage output of the supply.


Insulating sheets 7 are interposed between adjacent electric contactors 1, and the electric contactors 1 group are integrally formed by being covered with an insulating block 6. A contact portion 2a of each electric contactor 1 is exposed from the insulating block 6.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electric contactor unit comprising a plurality of electric contactors integrated by an insulating material.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
As a conventional contact of this type, there is known a terminal assembly as shown in Japanese Patent Early Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 62-170177, which comprises a plurality of terminals and insulating sheets such as rubber sheets interposed between the terminals. With respect to other prior art, Japanese Patent Early Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 64-3977 discloses a connector for an electric part which comprises a plurality of electric connectors and insulating films applied onto the surfaces of the electric connectors, respectively, the electric connectors being mounted in a connector base formed of an insulating material in such a manner as to intimately engage the insulating films to each other.
In Japanese Patent Early Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 62-170177, however, since the insulating material is disposed at adjacent opposing surfaces of the electric contactors, when foreign matter such as metal screws contact the contactors, there is an inconvenience that there is insufficient insulation. In the case of Japanese Patent Early Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 64-3977, since the electric contactors are separated much time and labor are required for mounting them individually.
Referring back to Japanese Patent Early Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 62-170177, the electric contactors and the elastic insulating sheets interposed therebetween are required to be formed into predetermined shapes beforehand. On the other hand, Japanese Patent Early Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 64-3977 has an additional problem that when spaces between the adjacent electric contactors are different, the thickness of the insulating film is required to be changed in accordance with the different size spaces.
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems inherent in the prior art.


There is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus having a non contact type heater for heating a recording medium on which liquid is ejected via a liquid ejecting head, the heater having a heat generating surface and the heater being arranged in parallel to the liquid ejecting head along a transport direction of the recording medium. The liquid ejecting apparatus includes a mist suctioning unit for suctioning floating mist generated by ejection of the liquid. The mist suctioning unit includes a nozzle plate in which nozzle orifices for ejecting the liquid are formed, the nozzle plate being provided on the liquid ejecting head, an electrode member provided at a marginal portion of the heat generating surface, and an electric potential difference generator for generating an electric potential difference between the electrode member and the nozzle plate to electrostatically absorb the mist on the marginal portion of the heat generating surface.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus.
2. Related Art
Generally, an ink jet recording apparatus as one of liquid ejecting apparatuses is equipped with a recording head (liquid ejection head) in which a nozzle for ejecting ink (liquid) is provided, and printing is performed by ejecting ink to a recording medium from the nozzle (for example, see JP-A-2003-72059 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1)). In the ink jet recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to dry the ink ejected on a recording surface of a recording medium to fix the ink on the recording surface. Accordingly, a halogen heater for heating the recording surface of the recording medium is provided at a downstream side of the recording head in a path way through which the recording medium is transported. Non contact heating is performed at the recording surface side of the recording medium by the halogen heater. The ink ejected on the recording surface can be efficiently dried with the heating of the recording surface.
Incidentally, in the ink jet recording apparatus of Patent Document 1, a heat unit shielding member (heat resistance member) for partitioning the halogen heater and the transport pathway is provided. The heat unit shielding member prevents ignition of the recording member that is entered at the halogen heater side. However, when ink is ejected on the recording surface of the recording medium, a large amount of ink mist is generated. Accordingly, there is a fear that the floating ink mist is adhered on a heat generating surface of the heat unit shielding member and is dried and stuck, thereby reducing the light amount of the halogen heater to lower drying efficiency.


A porous membrane has a thickness of 150 μm or greater. The pore diameters of a first surface are smaller than the pore diameters of a second surface. The average value of the pore diameters of the first surface is 60 nm or less, and the coefficient of variation of the pore diameters is 10% or greater and 50% or less.

Filtration processes have been widely used in industrial fields, such as sterile water production, high purity water production, or drinking water production, and air purification. In addition, the range of usage for filtration processes has been expanding in recent years. Examples of such use include secondary treatment or tertiary treatment at sewage treatment plants for domestic wastewater and industrial wastewater, as well as separation of solids and liquids and highly turbid water treatment in septic tanks.
Hollow fiber membranes, in which polymers having superior processing properties are formed into hollow tubular shapes, or membrane modules, which are collections of flat membranes in which polymers are formed into sheet shapes, are being employed as filter materials to be used in such filtration processes.
Particularly in cases that water from rivers is clarified and used as tap water or the like, three types of performance, which are high blocking properties, high permeability to enable a large quantity of water to be treated, and high operating strength that can be used for a long time under a wide range of operating conditions including high operating pressure, are required. In the case of porous hollow fiber membranes, external pressure filtration systems which are capable of securing a large filtration area are mainly used. Therefore, high strength, that is, high compression resistance, is desired such that the hollow fiber membranes are not crushed during filtering operations.
Among the three types of performance required of the porous membranes which are used in a membrane module, in the field of water treatment, blocking properties that can positively remove viruses and bacteria are important, as this property influences the water quality of filtered water.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-94670 and International Patent Publication No. WO2015/041286 disclose techniques that suppress deterioration in the permeability of porous hollow fiber membranes which are utilized to remove bacteria, viruses, and suspended solid (SS) components, in which the pore diameters at the outer surface of a separation function layer (porous membrane layer) are formed to be sufficiently smaller than the average diameter of the targets for removal, and the layer thickness is formed to be thin. Reduction in strength due to the layer thickness being thin is prevented by laminating the separation function layer on a support to form a composite membrane. However, in the field of water treatment, high pressure is repeatedly applied in an external pressure direction and an internal pressure direction of the porous membrane. Therefore, peeling of the separation function layer from the support may occur during filtering operations due to repetitive use over long periods of time, in the composite membrane in which a separation functional layer is laminated on a support as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-94670 and International Patent Publication. No. WO2015/041286. For this reason, the composite membranes disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-94670 and International Patent Publication No. WO2015/041286 cannot maintain strength over a long period of time, stable long term filtering operations are difficult.

Porous membrane and process for producing porous membrane


A data transmission system has a light-emitting transmitter, a light-receiving receiver and a data transmission channel based on incoherent light. A pre-equalization device connected upstream of the transmitter is provided for the purpose of pre-equalizing a data signal which is to be transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver via the data transmission channel. The data transmission channel has constant transmission conditions within prescribed limits. The data signal to be transmitted is transmitted using a prescribed maximum bandwidth of the transmitter.

The invention relates to a data transmission system having a light-emitting transmitter, a light-receiving receiver and a data transmission channel based on incoherent light. The invention also relates to a method for transmission in such a data transmission system.
With a so-called free space transmission, in particular a data transmission in the close range with incoherent light by a rapid modulation of the optical power of an optical light source, it is disadvantageous that data rates above 40 MBit/s cannot be realized using simple modulation methods, like for instance the on-off keying (OOK). The reason for this is that the minimal modulation bandwidth of the transmitter and of the receiver can result in a blurring of the data signal and thus in a superimposition of transmitted symbols. IR (infrared) LEDs in the data transmission standard IrDA (Infrared Data Association) or also fluorescent tubes can be used as optical sources in such a data transmission system to transmit visible light for instance. White light LEDs are in principle also possible as optical sources. Their continually improving efficiency nevertheless results in a restriction in the useable modulation bandwidth, thereby impeding the achievement of high data rates.
A higher spectral efficiency can, as is known, impede a bandwidth restriction in a transmission channel. A multistage modulation can be used here for instance. With this, the symbols are embodied for so long that no significant superimposition of the transmitted symbols takes place. To increase the data rates, symbols with a higher value can be transmitted instead of a logical "1" and a logical "0", e.g. logical "2", "3", "4" etc. The amplitude is then greater by the factor 2, 3 or 4 for instance than with a logical "1" (Pulse Amplitude Modulation, PAM). Within digital imaging, gray scales are the counterpart to this multistage modulation.
With the afore-cited pulse amplitude modulation, 2 bits can therefore be transmitted in each symbol, namely "00", "01", "10" or "11". This means that with N different amplitudes/gray scales log2 (N), more bits can be transmitted per symbol than with the modulation method on-off keying. If the transmission speed in the case of on-off keying is restricted to 25 MBit/s for instance, then 125 MBit/s can be transmitted with 25=32 amplitudes/gray scales.
It is common to all multistage modulation methods that the output received by the receiver and also the signal-to-noise ratio has to be greater than in the case of on-off keying, so that the amplitudes/gray scales can be clearly distinguished from one another. A further common feature is that the linearity of the data transmission system has to be improved.
In connection with the data transmission by way of a wireless infrared transmission channel, the use of a pre-equalization of the data signal to be transmitted by way of the transmission channel is known (cf. K. L. Sterckx and J. M. H. Elmirghani, "On the Use or Pre-distortion Equalization in Infrared Wireless Communication Connections" IEEE International Conference on Communications, Vol. 7, Pgs. 2166-2170, 2001). Here the special instance of an untargeted transmission, i.e. a transmission during which the transmitter and the receiver can "see" one another, determines why a significant portion of the light radiation output by the transmitter is reflective diffusely. Such a reflection can be produced by walls and/or fixtures/fittings in a room. With the data transmission described in this document, a bandwidth restriction exists in the free space channel, i.e. the "blurring" of the transmitted symbols materialize as result of single or multiple reflections on the walls for instance. The data transmission system described in this document is disadvantageous in that the pre-equalization depends on the transmission function of the free space channel. For instance the transmission function is dependent on whether and which furniture is present in the room of the data transmission system. This however results in the pre-equalization having to be adjusted to the respective environment and also to changes, which, provided it is actually possible, requires a return channel of the receiver in order to adjust the pre-equalization to the change in the free space channel. As a result, a data transmission system made from the system perspective is too complex and too expensive.

Data transmission system and method for transmitting data in a data transmission system


An assembly includes a first cable assembly with a first housing having a first mating face and a retention member. A first ferrule has a plurality of first optical fibers positioned therein. A first beam expanding element is generally aligned with each first optical fiber, and each first beam expanding element expands an optical beam generally to a beam diameter. A second cable assembly including a second housing with a second mating face. A second ferrule has a plurality of second optical fibers positioned therein. A second beam expanding element is generally aligned with each second optical fiber, and each second beam expanding element expands an optical beam generally to the beam diameter. A second retention member interacts with the first retention member to retain the first cable assembly to the second cable assembly.

The Present Disclosure relates, generally, to connector systems and, more particularly, to a connector system having a structure for limiting access to the mating face of the connector system during or after mating of the connector system.
Optical and electrical assemblies are often interconnected as part of a larger system. In some situations, the interface of the assemblies may be damaged, or the optical or electrical paths interrupted or degraded by contaminants or debris that may enter the interface during or after the process of mating or bringing the assemblies together. For example, in some applications, the end faces of mating optical fibers physically contact one another to effect signal transmission between the mating optical fiber pair. Various factors may reduce the efficiency of the light transmission between the optical fiber pair such as irregularities, burrs or scratches in the fiber end faces, misalignment of the fibers as well as dust or debris between the fibers at the mating interface. Removable dust covers are typically used to prevent physical damage to the interfaces.
Operating within or under water is another environment that presents challenges for optical fiber interconnect systems. Some systems use complex sealing configurations that attempt to maintain a watertight seal around the optical interface. Such sealing configurations are often expensive and may result in significant signal loss in case of a sealing failure.
Expanded beam optical fiber connectors are often used in dirty and/or high vibration environments. Due to the small optical path relative to the size of any foreign objects such as dust or debris, almost any foreign objects located within the optical transmission path will interfere with light transmission. Expanded beam optical connectors expand the width of the optical beam and transmit the expanded beam over an air gap between mating connectors. In doing so, the relative size difference between any foreign object and the optical path is increased; thus reducing the impact of any such foreign object on the efficiency of the light transmission.
Aspects of the conventional systems may be improved upon to present a less complicated, more reliable system.


A sensor unit includes an orientation sensor, an electronic processor coupled to the orientation sensor, and memory coupled to the electronic processor and storing support structure configuration data and instructions. The instructions, when executed by the electronic processor, cause the sensor unit to monitor a position of a conductor support structure associated with the sensor unit based on data from the orientation sensor and generate an alert message responsive to determining that the position violates a position threshold. The position threshold is generated based on the support structure configuration data.

Conductors, such as power conductors are widely used in many settings. They form an important part of the power distribution system, carrying power from generation facilities to the locations where it is used by customers. A power distribution system may include many types of conductors, for example, high voltage conductors may be used closer to the power generation facilities or for long distance transmission, and medium and lower voltage conductors may be used closer to the locations where the power is used, such as homes and businesses.
Many power conductors run overhead, meaning that the conductors are attached to conductor support structures that elevate the conductors above the ground. High voltage power conductors are generally routed through open spaces, but medium and low voltage conductors, which are closer to locations that use the power, are more likely to run over or by roads as well as trees or other objects. Other types of conductors are commonly supported by conductor support structures, such as communication lines.
A power company may spend significant amounts of resources repairing and maintaining power conductors and the conductor support structures. Environmental conditions or accidents may cause damage to the conductor support structures and the supported conductors. For example, ice and snow buildup on a conductor may load the conductor to the point that it stretches and breaks or it causes damage to the utility pole. Wind can also be a contributing factor to breakage or wear of conductors or conductor support structures. Wind can directly cause damage to a conductor or it can cause tree limbs or other obstacles to come in contact with the conductor or conductor support structures, thus causing damage. A power conductor may also be damaged by objects, such as vehicles, fallen trees, or the like.

Conductor support structure position monitoring system


A system and method of marketing commodity products over an internet connection, in which the product price is continuously correlated to a publicly traded exchange price and in which a customer may be notified if the product price reaches a previously selected target price set by the customer.

Various methods have been described for the online buying or selling of energy products or commodities, however, these methods primarily involve offering an auction site where various products may be auctioned to bidders, or providing an exchange in which buyers and sellers may connect for transactions through a third party web site. U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,204 describes a system in which a database tracks company and market performance information and alerts a user when certain criteria are met. The present inventors are unaware, however, of any existing method of online marketing of commodity products in which the price is tied to an active exchange market and in which a user may be notified when the product price matches user set target price criteria.

System method for marketing commodity products electronically


A multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) includes a body including first dielectric layers and second dielectric layers, the body including first to sixth surfaces, a second surface, a third surface, a fourth surface, a fifth surface and a sixth surface; first internal electrodes disposed on the first dielectric layers, exposed to the third surface, the fifth surface, and the sixth surface, and spaced apart from the fourth surface by first spaces; second internal electrodes disposed on the second dielectric layers to oppose the first internal electrodes with the first dielectric layers or the second dielectric layers interposed therebetween, exposed to the fourth surface, the fifth surface, and the sixth surface, and spaced apart from the third surface by second spaces; first dielectric patterns disposed in at least a portion of the first spaces, and second dielectric patterns disposed in at least a portion of the second spaces; and lateral insulating layers.

Capacitors are devices able to store electricity. When a voltage is applied to two opposing electrodes of a capacitor, the respective electrodes of the capacitor are charged with electricity. When a direct current (DC) voltage is applied to the electrodes of the capacitor, DC current flows into the capacitor while electricity is stored therein. However, when electricity storage is completed, the DC current no longer flows thereinto. In contrast, when an alternating current (AC) voltage is applied to the electrodes, AC current continues to flow into the capacitor while the polarities of the electrodes alternate with each other.
According to types of insulators provided between the electrodes, such capacitors may be divided into various types: an aluminum electrolytic capacitor having electrodes formed of aluminum and having a thin oxide layer between the electrodes; a tantalum capacitor using tantalum as an electrode material; a ceramic capacitor using a high-k dielectric, such as titanium barium, between electrodes; a multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) provided as a dielectric between electrodes using a high-k-based ceramic as a multilayer structure; and a film capacitor using a polystyrene film provided as a dielectric between electrodes.
Among these capacitors, the MLCC may have excellent temperature and frequency characteristics and may be implemented to have a compact size to thus be applied for use in various fields, such as high-frequency circuits.
MLCCs, according to the related art, have a laminate formed by stacking a plurality of dielectric sheets, external electrodes formed on external surfaces of the laminate to have different polarities, and internal electrodes alternately stacked inside the laminate to be electrically connected to the external electrodes, respectively.
In recent years, with electronic products being formed to have a compact size and high integration, a lot of research into the implementation of compact size and high integration in MLCCs has been conducted. In particular, in the case of MLCCs, various attempts have been made to improve the connectivity of internal electrodes while thinning and highly stacking dielectric layers, in order to achieve high capacity and compact size in MLCCs.
Especially, it has become more important to ensure the reliability of products in which thin-film dielectric layers and internal electrodes are highly stacked. As the stacking number of dielectric layers and internal electrodes is increased, there may be an increase in an amount of step portions formed due to a difference in thicknesses between one portion, such as a central portion of the MLCC, in which the internal electrodes and the dielectric layers are stacked, and another portion, such as an edge portion (or margin portion), in which some of the internal electrodes formed in the one portion may not be formed. Such step portions may cause the end portions of internal electrodes to be bent, owing to the transverse elongation of dielectric layers, in a densification process of pressing MLCC bodies.
That is, the end portions of internal electrodes may be curved when some portions of the dielectric layers reposition to fill the step portions, and margin portions may remove empty space, formed by the step portion, by the depression of covers and a reduction in the margin width. Capacity layers may also be elongated by the margin width reduced by removing the empty space in the margin. Such structurally irregular elongation of internal electrodes may reduce the characteristics of MLCCs, such as breakdown voltage (BDV) characteristics.
The occurrence of the step portion, as described above, may be a problem both in a first direction, perpendicular to the stacking direction of the internal electrodes and the dielectric layers of the MLCCs, and in a second direction, perpendicular to the first direction and perpendicular to the stacking direction. Thus, a need exists for a solution to solve this problem.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multilayer ceramic capacitor and board having the same


A user request is received to access one or more resources. In response to the receiving and as a first background task, one or more remote data sources are queried for information associated with a user of the user request. The information from the one or more remote data sources are obtained. One or more portions of a user interface are caused to be generated based at least on the obtained information and as a second background task.

After launching a web browser, users typically either manually enter in a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or provide search engine terms for each information need they have. Each individual set of information is typically provided via a single graphical user interface (GUI) or set of webpages. Users can also manually download or launch various applications for each need they have. Users often need to resolve multiple information-based matters simultaneously or within a certain time period, which results in repetitive browser queries, web page clicks, or application downloads.
In an illustrative example, if a user desires to see a doctor, the user may launch a web browser and query for different doctors in the area using a search engine. The user may then select a URL link that directs the user to a particular website to read about a particular doctor. If the user likes the doctor, the user may then have to input an insurance URL and login to an insurance website in to be reminded of a particular co-pay or obtain an ID number required for the doctor's visit. During the doctor's visit, the doctor may prescribe a certain medication to be picked up at a particular pharmacy. The user may once again provide a unique URL and/or launch a location tracking application to find out when the medication is ready, where the pharmacy is located, the hours of the pharmacy, etc.

Intelligent user interface and application rendering


A dual-path, multimode sequential storage element (SSE) is described herein. In one example, the dual-path, multimode SSE comprises first and second sequential storage elements, a data input, a data output, and a selector mechanism. The first and second sequential storage elements each have an input and an output. The data input is coupled to the inputs of both sequential storage elements and is configured to accept data. The data output is coupled to the outputs of both sequential storage elements and is configured to output the data. The selector mechanism is configured to select one of the sequential storage elements for passing the data from the data input to the data output. In one example, the first sequential storage element comprises a pulse-triggered storage element and the second sequential storage element comprises a master-slave storage element.

High-performance integrated circuits, particularly microprocessors commonly provide various modes of operation, e.g., high performance, low power, standby, or test modes. Microprocessors may operate in a high-performance mode when tasked with timing-critical applications. Some microprocessors incorporate pulse-triggered storage elements, e.g., pulse-triggered latches, registers, or flip-flops to improve performance when executing instructions associated with timing-critical applications. For example, pulse-triggered storage elements may be dispersed throughout instruction execution pipelines for improving data transfer speed between pipeline stages. Pulse-triggered storage elements capture and/or launch data in response to a pulse clock signal, i.e., a clock signal having a pulse width less than half of the clock period.
Conventional pulse-triggered storage elements trade-off performance for stability. That is, pulse-triggered storage elements offer improved performance in that only a single latch stage exists between the storage element input and output. Conversely, conventional master-slave storage elements comprise two latch stages through which input data passes before reaching the output. However, pulse-triggered storage elements are commonly not as stable as master-slave storage elements over a wide range of process variation and/or operating conditions.
The short sampling window associated with pulse-triggered storage elements causes pulse-triggered storage elements to be more sensitive to variations in process parameters and/or operating conditions. For example, pulse-triggered storage elements are more sensitive than master-slave storage elements to variations in process parameters such as transistor threshold voltage, channel length, and gate oxide thickness. Additionally, pulse-triggered storage elements are more sensitive to variations in operating conditions such as dynamically varied supply voltages, power supply drift, temperature changes, high radiation flux (causing soft errors) and the like.
Further, integrated circuits incorporating pulse-triggered storage elements, e.g., microprocessors may be operated in timing insensitive modes such as low power, standby, or test modes. When configured in an operating mode that is timing insensitive, pulse-triggered storage elements included in a microprocessor may not function properly. For example, in low power mode, the operating voltage may be lowered to such a value that the pulses would become either too narrow or too wide for reliable circuit operation.
As such, pulse-triggered storage elements are conventionally used in applications where performance is critical and variations in process parameters and/or operating conditions are minimal or may be maintained within acceptable limits. Otherwise, master-slave storage elements are conventionally used in applications where reliable operation is desired over a wide range of process variation and/or operating conditions.

Dual-path, multimode sequential storage element


Systems and methods for joining BMG Composites are disclosed. Specifically, the joining of BMG Composites is implemented so as to preserve the amorphicity of their matrix phase and the microstructure of their particulate phase. Implementation of the joining method with respect to the construction of modular cellular structures that comprise BMG Composites is also discussed.

The process of joining of two discrete pieces of material, especially metals, is undoubtedly fundamental to engineering and is often the basis for the construction of various engineered structures. Indeed, the ability to join discrete pieces of metal has enabled the production of a host of structures that would not otherwise be capable of manufacture.
A number of methods have been developed to join two materials, each being useful in certain applications. For example, welding is one such method. Generally, welding involves: placing two metallic pieces in contact with one another; locally melting them at their point of contact; allowing the molten metals to coalesce; and then allowing the newly joined configuration to cool and solidify. Ideally, since the metals solidify after having coalesced into one another, the strength of the bond will be at least as great as, if not greater than, that of either constituent metal. A filler material may also be utilized during the melting stage to facilitate the welding process.
Many techniques can be employed to weld two materials together, including spot-welding, soldering and brazing. Spot welding is a common technique that is effectuated by passing a current through the materials to be joined. The resistance inherent to the joint causes the temperature of the joint to be raised to the extent that the constituent metals melt and coalesce into one another.
Soldering is another prominent method used to join two materials. Unlike welding, soldering does not require melting either of the constituent metallic pieces. Instead, the pieces are arranged in a desired to-be-joined configuration, and an additional filler metallic alloy ("solder") is placed at the desired point of joining between the constituent metals and melted. The molten solder locally envelopes both metallic pieces, solidifies as it cools, and thereby affixes the two constituent metals together. Note that the solder has to have a melting point lower than either of the constituent metals so that the process of melting the solder does not simultaneously melt any constituent metal. Finally, brazing is yet another prominent method used to join two metals. Brazing is like soldering, except that the filler metallic alloy ("braze alloy") typically has a much higher melting point than typical solder. Thus, brazing and soldering are used in different application.
Whereas methods of joining have long been in use, Bulk Metallic Glasses ("BMGs") are a relatively new engineering development. BMGs are metallic alloys that do not have a crystalline structure; instead, like glass, their structure is amorphous. (See e.g., U.S. Pat. Pub. US 2009/0236017 A1, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.) They are generally formed by raising specific alloys above their respective glass transition temperature, and cooling them at a sufficiently fast cooling rate ("critical cooling rate") so that they do not have time to crystallize while above the glass transition temperature; instead, they are cooled quickly enough that they solidify in an amorphous glass-like structure (i.e. re-vitrify). BMGs have a number of beneficial material properties that make them viable for use in any number of engineering applications—some of these properties include: high strength, elasticity, corrosion resistance, and processability from the molten state.
Although BMGs have improved materials properties, their non-crystalline microstructure makes them susceptible to damage by conventional joining techniques. (See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,682, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.) Specifically, conventional joining techniques typically require significantly heating the joint to the extent that some material (e.g., the constituent materials, solder, or braze alloy) is melted. Since conventional joining techniques are typically unconcerned with achieving a critical cooling rate, they risk annealing the amorphous microstructure of BMGs, and thereby eliminating their useful properties. (See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,682, cited above.) Fortunately, specific methods for joining these BMGs have been developed. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,682 discloses using a process akin to spot welding that specifically ensures that after heating is applied to the joint, it is allowed to cool quickly enough to enable the formation of the amorphous structure. Yavari et al. also disclose a method similar to spot welding to join to BMGs together. (See Yavari et al. Materials Research Society Symposium and Proceedings, 644 (2001) L12-20-1, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.) Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,818,078 discloses a method of joining a BMG with a conventional crystalline metal with a different melting point by "melting" the material with the lower melting temperature and casting it against the other material—in the case that the material to be melted is the BMG, the BMG must then be cooled sufficiently fast to re-form the amorphous structure. (See U.S. Pat. No. 6,818,078, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.)
Even though BMGs possess promising material traits, they also have notable shortcomings that limit their viability as engineering materials. For instance, typical BMGs lack appreciable tensile ductility—instead, typical BMGs fail ungracefully exhibiting essentially zero plastic tensile strain. (See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,883,592, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.) Thus, BMG Composites have been developed to address these deficiencies. BMG Composites are materials that have BMGs as an underlying matrix, but also include at least one other phase, the presence of which is understood to enhance material properties. Moreover, U.S. Pat. Pub. 2011/0203704 discloses how to precisely develop secondary phases within a BMG matrix in a highly controlled manner so as to optimize the composite's material properties. Specifically, it discusses methods for developing inhomogeneities within a BMG matrix that are of specific stiffness and size such that they promote shear band intersection and multiplication thereby inhibiting crack formation and propagation. As such, they allow for vastly improved properties. (See U.S. Pat. Pub. 2011/0203704, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.)
As BMG Composites are essentially an enhanced version of BMGs, they are even more promising for a host of engineering applications. However, methods for adjoining BMG composites that preserve their vital secondary phase microstructure have yet to be developed. Therefore, there arises a need to develop methods of joining BMG Composites that specifically preserve the secondary phase microstructures that underlie their enhanced material properties.

Thermoplastic joining and assembly of bulk metallic glass composites through capacitive discharge


An excavator thumb assembly for use with an excavator having a boom, a hydraulic cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder shaft that extends and retracts from the hydraulic cylinder, and a bucket pivotally attached to an end of the boom and operatively attached to the hydraulic cylinder shaft. The excavator thumb assembly includes a thumb pivot plate attached to an intermediate portion of the boom. The thumb pivot plate has a thumb attachment point positioned above the longitudinal axis of the boom. The excavator thumb assembly also includes a thumb pivotally attached to the thumb attachment point along a thumb pivot axis, and operatively attached to the hydraulic cylinder shaft. The excavator thumb assembly is configured so that the thumb and bucket opposably grab and release objects as the hydraulic cylinder shaft extends and retracts, respectively.

Excavating equipment is commonly used for construction projects that require builders and contractors to move large amounts of earth, rocks and other materials. Backhoes and other types of excavating equipment commonly include a boom, or dipper stick, that extends from the main body, and a bucket pivotally attached to the end of the arm. The bucket is typically controlled by hydraulics mounted above the arm. While these types of excavators are well suited for moving loose dirt and small rocks, they are not well suited for picking up larger objects that do not fit easily into the bucket.
Some excavators also include a fixed or movable thumb that opposes the movement of the bucket and facilitates grabbing and moving rocks, pipes, concrete, trees, and other larger objects. The use of thumbs can decrease the amount of time required for a given project. Examples of excavating equipment with a fixed or movable thumb may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,131,210; 4,375,345; 4,466,494; 4,519,739; 4,770,597; 4,803,788; 4,804,309; 4,845,867; 4,932,832; 5,111,602; 5,553,408; 5,678,332; 5,813,822; 5,972,933; 6,209,237; 6,260,294; 6,385,870; 6,640,471; Japanese Patent No. 4-202917; and PCT Application WO 89/12145, the entire disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.

Excavator thumb for use with excavator equipment


A semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor layer; an insulating film provided on the semiconductor layer; and a charge storage layer provided on the insulating film. The semiconductor layer has a channel formation region in its surface portion. The insulating film contains silicon, germanium, and oxygen. The charge storage layer is capable of storing charge supplied from the semiconductor layer through the insulating film. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: forming a silicon oxide film on a surface of a semiconductor layer; introducing germanium into the silicon oxide film; forming an insulating film containing silicon, germanium, and oxygen by heat treatment under oxidizing atmosphere; and forming a charge storage layer on the insulating film, the charge storage layer being capable of storing charge supplied from the semiconductor layer through the insulating layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing same.
2. Background Art
In recent years, nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices, which allow electric bulk erase and rewrite of data and in which the written data can be held without power supply, are widely used particularly in mobile devices. Such a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device is composed of memory MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistors, which each have a tiny floating electrode (floating gate) surrounded by an insulating film, and interconnects for data input/output. The memory device retains memory by storing electric charge in the floating electrode (e.g., JP 2002-261097A).
In a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device having floating electrodes, the potential of a control electrode is controlled to control the potential of the floating electrode through the capacitive coupling between the floating electrode and the control electrode. Here, when the semiconductor substrate is grounded, the potential Vfg of the floating electrode is expressed by the following formula using the capacitance C1 between the floating electrode and the control electrode, the capacitance C2 between the floating electrode and the semiconductor substrate, and the voltage Vcg of the control electrode:Vfg=C1/(C1+C2)×Vcg where C1/(C1+C2) is called the coupling ratio.
The control gate voltage, which is needed to attain a prescribed floating gate voltage required for rewrite operation, is inversely proportional to the coupling ratio.
Nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices typically require high rewrite voltage. Here, the voltage applied to the tunnel insulating film depends on the above coupling ratio. Hence a high voltage must be applied to the control electrode. As the device structure is further downscaled in the future, a parasite capacitance α occurs in relation to the adjacent cell and decreases the coupling ratio as expressed by:Vfg=C1/(C1+C2+α)×Vcg which requires an even higher voltage to be applied to the control electrode. However, attaining the prescribed floating gate voltage required for rewrite operation simply by increasing the control gate voltage accelerates the deterioration of insulating film, and causes concern about insulation breakdown, the increase of leak current, and the decrease of reliability. To prevent this, the rewrite voltage and/or erase voltage must be reduced by increasing the charge injection efficiency and/or charge ejection efficiency of the tunnel insulating film.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing same


The subject matter of this specification can be implemented in, among other things, a method that includes establishing connections between a host server and client devices associated with one or more local devices, receiving from the client devices configuration requests to configure, on the host server, drivers for the local devices to convert data between a data format accessible to the local devices and a data format accessible to applications provided to the client devices by the host server, identifying execution priority of the client devices, identifying a first group of configuration requests and a second group of configuration requests, executing, in order of decreased priority of client devices, the first group of configuration requests until an occurrence of a restart condition, and responsive to the occurrence of the restart condition, executing the second group of configuration requests.

In a network environment, it is often advantageous for a user of a computing device to execute applications on a remote server rather than on the local device. Multiple client devices (clients) can have access to the remote server and applications installed on that server. This eliminates the need to install and upkeep separate applications on client devices, decreases administration demands and costs, and promotes uniformity of user experiences and interchangeability of client devices.

Managing multiple requests to redirect local devices in remote access computing environments


A lens module includes a flexible printed circuit board, a first sensor, a second sensor, an adjustment device, a lens, a protective frame, an outer housing, a drive mechanism and a resilient member. The flexible printed circuit board includes a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion. The first sensor and the second sensor are fixed on the flexible printed circuit board. The outer housing is connected to the flexible printed circuit board and covers on the outside of the adjustment device and the protective frame. The resilient member and the flexible printed circuit board are arranged on opposite sides of the outer housing. The flexible printed circuit board can be folded along a connecting line between the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to a lens module and an assembly method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
A lens module is an important part of a camera. It is complicated to assemble the lens module due to the inclusion of many components and the requirement for higher precision, so as to ensure adequate optical performance.
A commonly used lens module includes a rigid printed circuit board, a lens assembly arranged thereon, and a driving device connected to the lens assembly. The driving device drives the lens assembly for a range of motion and allows the lens assembly to automatically focus for achieving superior optical effect. The lens module further includes a flexible printed circuit board and a sensor arranged on the flexible printed circuit board. The flexible printed circuit board is typically adhered to the rigid printed circuit board. A lens module is often very small, especially if used in a mobile phone, and components of such a lens module are also very small, thus, the flexible printed circuit board and the rigid printed circuit board require more precise positioning during assembly. If not, both may be scrapped, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost of the lens module.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.


Briefly, according to the invention in an information processing system including a plurality of information processing nodes, a request for checkpointing by an application includes node health criteria (or parameters). The system has the authority to grant or deny the checkpointing request depending on the system health or availability. This scheme significantly improves not only the system performance, but also the application running time as the system. By skipping a checkpoint the application can use the same time to run the application instead of spending extra time for checkpointing.

Today computers, networks, or clusters of computers, are used for all types of applications. In order for these computers to be utilized efficiently and to their maximum capacity, it is important not only that the jobs scheduled for execution are scheduled efficiently, but also that the jobs be checkpointed judiciously in case that they are interrupted by computer failures to avoid rerunning them from scratch. A checkpoint is a copy of the computer's memory that is periodically saved on disk along with the current register settings. In the event of any failure, the last checkpoint serves as a recovery point. In long-running scientific applications, with runtimes of the order of weeks to months, checkpointing schemes are crucial for providing reliable performance. The checkpointing interval is a feature of the applications, not of the system. Presently, applications request checkpoints in a quasi-periodic manner, independent of the system health or availability. For computers with more than one node or multi-node systems, the checkpoint overhead increases linearly with the number of nodes.
Authors of long-running scientific applications typically use checkpointing to help recover from failures. However, it is often difficult or awkward to set the right checkpoint interval, because checkpointing depends on system parameters such as the mean time between failures. These failures may include hardware memory problems such as cache parity errors, or network problems such as failed communication between ports. Further, these failures are also time stamped. By considering the mean time between failures and other system parameters, checkpoints should be introduced in a way, such that they are appropriate for a particular system. Ideally, checkpoints should be placed wherever they are cheapest and fastest to perform, according to the determination of the application designer, and this placement should be made without regard for the particulars of the system.
As mentioned above, current checkpointing procedures for any type of computer or computer clusters are typically initiated by the long running applications. These checkpoints are requested by applications at times during their execution, when the application state is minimal, often between iterations of loops. Even if checkpointing methods are to minimize the loss of application running time due to system failures (which may be any type of hardware or software failure leading to the termination of the application), there is no link between the checkpointing interval, or when to checkpoint and system health or availability.
With current procedures for checkpointing, there is no knowledge about the behavior of the nodes when an application runs. Further, there is uncertainty as to whether a node will fail while an application is running, experiencing too many errors, or requiring a restart. Thus, without knowledge of the behavior of the nodes, more frequent checkpoints must be provided to account for any such failures or errors to avoid loss of application running time. For example, if a customer needs a specific application (such as protein folding) to be completed within a specified time, lack of knowledge of the behavior of the nodes forces the application developer to provide more frequent checkpoints to ensure that the application would be completed within a reasonable time, and the system has to accept these excessive checkpoint overheads. Therefore, there is a need to determine or forecast the behavior of nodes so that the system can make an intelligent decision on when to skip a checkpoint requested by the application.
A currently pending patent application Ser. No. 10/720,300, assigned to the same assignee as that of the instant application and incorporated herein by reference, discloses a failure prediction mechanism that determines the probability of the occurrence of failure of the nodes. This determination can be used to compare the probable node down time with the checkpoint overhead to decide whether to include a requested checkpoint or to skip it.
Referring to FIG. 1 we show a block diagram of a computer system 100 using a known checkpointing method. The computer system 100 comprises a plurality (in this case, six) of processing nodes (N1-N6) 105, wherein each node represents one or more processors. FIG. 1 also shows an operating environment 103 (i.e., the operating system, such as AIX or Windows), a health monitoring unit 104, partitions 110, and disk or storage system 102, as primarily affected by checkpointing. The health monitoring unit 104 is commonly known as a problem log unit, which receives information, for example, on failures such as those described above. Each partition can comprise a varying number of nodes according to the application requirements. Each partition is also known as an application running environment. Applications running in an application environment 110 decide the checkpointing interval (I) and are aware of the checkpointing overhead (C). Once the checkpointing time approaches, checkpointing is triggered by the applications from an application environment 110 and the instruction goes to operating environment 103 so that the operating environment 103 gives the instruction to start checkpointing or writing to disk or storage system 102.
Computer systems have one or more health monitoring units 104 for keeping a record or records of all the health-related information for all the nodes 105 as well as the operating environment 103. The health monitoring unit 104 also optionally includes a hardware diagnostics monitoring unit 106 providing health related information for all the hardware components. Known health monitoring units 104 do not have any direct interaction with the checkpointing or backing up mechanism with the hard disk or storage systems 102.
FIG. 2A is block diagram for known independent system software and hardware units within a computer system 200. This figure shows the different existing units with respect to checkpoint or backup mechanisms for computer systems.
A control environment 108 is the central control authority which receives health and diagnostic information from the health monitoring unit 104 and hardware diagnostic unit 106, respectively. The control environment 108 can also receive user specified information from other units 111.
FIG. 2B shows a simple flow diagram for a known checkpointing flow mechanism working independently from the health monitoring unit 104. The application environment 110 instructs the Operating environment 103 to start the checkpointing by writing the data to the disk or storage system 102 at the specified interval I and takes a checkpoint overhead of time C.
FIG. 2C is a flow diagram for the conventional system health monitoring unit 104 in case of a computer system. The health monitoring unit 104 is provided with the hardware diagnostics information from the hardware diagnostics unit 106. The hardware diagnostic information may include memory and communication problems described above. Similarly, the operating environment 103 provides all other software and other environmental health monitoring parameters, such as high temperature of hardware units, fan failures, or other conditions that are known to lead to system failures. Then, the diagnostic information and environmental health parameters communicated to the user through the control environment.
In conventional systems there is no connection between the health monitoring units and the checkpointing units without the human intervention or by means of a system administrator. Therefore there is a need for a system and method for checkpointing applications that uses a connection between the health monitoring units and the checkpointing units without the human intervention.

Method and system for deciding when to checkpoint an application based on risk analysis

International Business Machines Corporation


A liquid level detecting device includes a rotative member having a bearing portion and a stationary member having an axis portion. The axis portion is fitted to a hole of the bearing portion, thereby rotatably holding the rotative member. The rotative member is integrated with a displacement member. The stationary member is fixed with a detection unit to detect a displacement of the displacement member. The rotative member is connected with a float via an arm. The axis portion has an inserted portion inserted in the bearing portion and in contact with the bearing portion via a contact portion. The contact portion has a total area that is less than an area of an outer circumferential periphery of the inserted portion.

For example, according to US2005/0083045A1 (JP-A-2005-10093), a liquid level detecting device includes a float, which floats in fluid to detect a liquid level of the fluid. The float is connected with one end of an arm. The arm is rotatably supported by a body at the other end. The other end of the arm is fixed with a magnet. The body has a magnetoresistive element as a magnetism detection element opposed to the magnet. The float moves correspondingly to change in a liquid level, so that the movement of the float is converted into a rotary motion of the arm, thereby the magnet rotates in conjunction with the liquid level. Thus, magnetic flux generated by the magnet rotates, so that the amount of the magnetic flux, which passes through a magnetoresistive element changes. The liquid level detecting device detects the liquid level in accordance with a signal level output from the magnetoresistive element, the signal level changing correspondingly to the change in the magnetic flux.
In the present structure, the magnet is fixed to a magnet holder. The body has an axis portion fitted to a hole of the magnet holder, so that the magnet holder is rotatable around the axis portion as a rotation axis relative to the body. That is, the hole of the magnet holder and the axis portion of the body construct a slide bearing and a slide axis.
In the present structure of the liquid level detecting device, the magnet holder and the body are immersed in fluid when the liquid level is high. In this condition, fluid infiltrates into a gap in a fitting portion between the magnet holder and the body. When the magnet holder rotates, the fluid infiltrating into the gap exerts frictional force to the fitting portion between the hole of the magnet holder and the axis portion of the body. When the fluid is low-viscosity fluid such as fuel for a motor vehicle, the frictional force is low even in a condition where the fluid infiltrates into the gap in the fitting portion. In this case, the magnet holder rotates promptly to change in the liquid level. Namely, the liquid level detecting device is quick in response to change in the liquid level. By contrast, when the fluid is high-viscosity fluid such as lubricating oil for a motor vehicle, high frictional force is exerted to the fitting portion between the hole of the magnet holder and the axis portion of the body when the magnet holder rotates. Accordingly, the magnet holder hardly rotate promptly to change in the liquid level, and consequently response in the liquid level detection may be impaired.


A camera having a shielding device to prevent leaked magnetic flux generated by a drive motor from affecting magnetic information recorded on film in a camera in which a drive motor is provided within a winding spool. The shielding device includes an inner shielding member and an outer shielding member which shield magnetic flux from the drive motor, even if the intensity of the magnetic flux leaked from the motor fluctuates. The outer shielding member is made of permalloy B with a high maximum relative permeability, and is provided outside of a motor housing case for the drive motor. The motor housing case forms the inner shielding member, and is made of pure iron having a high saturated magnetic flux density. The leaked magnetic fluxes generated by the drive motor having a strong magnetic field intensity are shielded by the motor housing case while other leaked magnetic flux having a weak magnetic field intensity is shielded by the outer shielding member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera including a recording and playback device to record magnetic information on a magnetically recordable film and to play back the recorded information, and, more particularly, the present invention relates to a camera having a shielding member to shield a magnetically recordable film from magnetic flux generated by a drive motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cameras are known which are capable of recording photographic information for each film frame, such as a date of photography or an exposure value, on a magnetically recordable medium which is applied on the film. The photographic information recorded on the magnetically recordable medium applied on the film is read at a photography laboratory and the recorded information is printed on the back side of the prints.
In the known type of camera, the film is fed by driving a film winding spool with a drive motor placed inside the film winding spool. When a magnetically recordable film is used in the known camera having a drive motor inside the film winding spool, the recorded magnetic information may be damaged by magnetic flux leaked from the brush side of the drive motor, or playback may be hindered as a result of regenerated noise caused by the leaked magnetic flux. To prevent the magnetic flux from leaking from the film winding spool, a camera having a magnetic shield applied to the winding spool has been proposed. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H4-26832 discloses such a camera. Further, a camera having a permalloy material, or layers of permalloy material, used as a magnetic shield to reduce the magnetic noise from the motor has been proposed. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H5-34798 discloses this type of camera. The methods described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications Nos. H4-26832 and H5-34798 enable a leaked magnetic flux of a certain intensity to be shielded according to the BH characteristics and relative permeability of the shielding member.
However, with the shielding devices described in the above-noted Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications it is possible to shield only the leaked magnetic flux having a certain intensity that is particular to the shielding member. More particularly, the intensity of the leaked magnetic flux from the motor changes according to the rotation of the motor between a minute magnetic field intensity and a high magnetic field intensity with a certain frequency. Thus, it is not possible to effectively shield the leaked magnetic flux with a thin shielding member if the magnetic field intensity periodically fluctuates.

Camera having a magnetic flux shielding device


An electro-pneumatic air pressure regulator includes a primary pressure introduction port, a secondary pressure output port, a pilot pressure chamber, a main valve for opening and closing a communicating conduit, a floating piston which actuates the main valve, a nozzle conduit via which the pilot pressure chamber is communicatively connected to the atmosphere, a flapper which includes a leaf spring facing an open end of the nozzle conduit, and an electromagnetic drive system which deforms the leaf spring to vary a position of the flapper relative to the open end of the nozzle conduit in accordance with the magnitude of an analogue input signal. The flapper includes a conical projection which projects toward the open end of the nozzle conduit. A conical recess corresponding to the conical projection is formed on an end face of the nozzle conduit around the open end thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electro-pneumatic air pressure regulator which regulates output air pressure in accordance with the magnitude of an analogue input signal (the amount of input electricity).
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional electro-pneumatic air pressure regulator which includes: a primary pressure (valve-inlet pressure) introduction port; a secondary pressure (valve-outlet pressure) output port; a main valve for opening and closing a communicating conduit via which a primary pressure introduction port and a secondary pressure output port are communicatively connected with each other; a floating piston which moves in accordance with the difference in pressure between the secondary pressure output port and the pilot pressure chamber to open and close the main valve and to release air in the secondary pressure output chamber to the atmosphere; a nozzle conduit via which the pilot pressure chamber is communicatively connected to the atmosphere; a flapper which includes a resilient leaf spring facing an open end of the nozzle conduit; and an electromagnetic drive system which varies the position of the flapper relative to the open end of the nozzle conduit in accordance with the magnitude of an analogue input signal (e.g., electricity), is known in the art.
In this conventional electro-pneumatic air pressure regulator, if a flow path area of a communicating passage between the pilot pressure chamber and atmosphere is constant, a movement of the floating piston toward the secondary pressure output port by a variation in the secondary pressure causes the main valve to open the communicating passage, via which the primary pressure introduction port and the secondary pressure output port are communicatively connected with each other, so that the air in the primary pressure introduction port flows into the secondary pressure output port to thereby increase the pressure in the secondary pressure output port. On the other hand, a movement of the floating piston toward the pilot pressure chamber causes the air in the secondary pressure output port to flow out to the atmosphere to thereby decrease the pressure in the secondary pressure output port. These operations of the electro-pneumatic air pressure regulator maintain the pressure in the secondary pressure output port substantially constant.
On the other hand, if the amount of electricity supplied to the electromagnetic drive system is changed, the leaf spring of the flapper is resiliently deformed in accordance with the amount of electricity supplied to the electromagnetic drive system. This deformation of the leaf spring causes the distance between the flapper and the open end of the nozzle conduit to vary, thus causing a flow path area of a communicating passage between the pilot pressure chamber and atmosphere to vary. As a result, the amount of the air flow from the pilot pressure chamber to the atmosphere varies to thereby vary the pressure in the pilot pressure chamber. Accordingly, the pressure chamber in the secondary pressure output port can be adjusted by changing the amount of electricity supplied to the electromagnetic drive system.
In this conventional electro-pneumatic air pressure regulator, a further improvement in resolving power (the ratio of the variation in the amount of control current (amount of electricity) to the variation of the secondary pressure) is required.

Electro-pneumatic air pressure regulator


The invention is directed to a stationary sliding bar for guiding a paper or cardboard web extends across the entire web width B. Viewed in cross section, the sliding bar has a convex, rounded surface. Due to a relatively high speed of travel of the web, an aerodynamic flotation web forms between the sliding bar and the web.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stationary sliding bar for guidance of a traveling fiber material web, notably a paper or cardboard web.
2. Description of the Related Art
The textbook "Die Papierfabrikation und ihre Maschinen" Paper Manufacture and Its Machines! by F. Muller. II. Vol. 1938, page 467, (Sketch No. 300) shows in the area of a rotary slitter a so-called non-slit web spreader, which after longitudinal slitting of the paper web passes the slit webs to a winding system.
EP 0 643 168 A1 discloses in FIGS. 3-6 a plurality of so-called air flotation beams, comprised each of a hollow profile beam which on its side away from the paper web has a plurality of blowing air orifices. These air flotation beams are normally arranged on the outlet end of a web coater, and at that, on the coated web side. Involving considerable expense to feed blowing air, care is taken that the fresh sized, and thus still moist, side of the paper web in no way makes direct contact with the air flotation beam.


Disclosed is an imaging device including a photodiode and floating diffusion region formed to be spaced from each other on a surface layer of a pixel region of a silicon (semiconductor) substrate, and a transfer gate having one of a concave and convex portions toward the floating diffusion region, the transfer gate being formed above the silicon substrate between the photodiode and the floating diffusion region by interposing a gate insulating film therebetween.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging device and a manufacturing method thereof. More specifically, the present invention relates to a CMOS imaging device capable of performing charge transfer efficiently and to a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, mobile devices such as cellular phones have kept becoming more and more multifunctional. Among other things, a camera phone capable of easily taking a moving picture and a static image has been widespread, due to reflection of user's interests. It is necessary for such a mobile device to save power so as to be durable for long-time use. Moreover, as for a camera (hereinafter, referred to as an imaging element) mounted on the cellular phone, it is preferable to adopt a CMOS image sensor, which is more suitable for lowering power consumption in comparison with a CCD. The CMOS image sensor has an advantage of being inexpensive because it can be fabricated by a CMOS process required for forming a peripheral circuit, as well as an advantage of consuming less power.
There are some types in a structure of the CMOS image sensor. One of the structure types is disclosed in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1. According to the structure, electrons generated in a photodiode pass under a transfer gate and are transferred to a floating diffusion region, charges in the floating diffusion region are converted into a voltage in a drive transistor, and the voltage is outputted as a signal voltage to the outside.
Need exists, in the CMOS image sensor, not to lower its charge transfer efficiency, even if the voltage thereof comes to be lowered. In consideration of this point, in Patent Document 1, the transfer gate is extended onto the floating diffusion region as shown in FIG. 6 of the document, and thus a capacitive coupling between the transfer gate and the floating diffusion region is increased. According to this structure, a potential of the floating diffusion region is raised to a positive potential of the transfer gate due to the capacitive coupling described above when a channel of the transfer gate is turned on, resulting in efficient transfer of the electrons from the channel of the transfer gate to the floating diffusion region.
On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, conductivity of a surface layer of a silicon substrate, which serves as the channel of the transfer gate, is set at the N type as shown in FIG. 1 of the document. Thus, the channel and the floating diffusion region are set at the same conductive type, and the charges are allowed to be transferred smoothly from the transfer gate to the floating diffusion region.
Besides the above, technologies relating to the present invention are also disclosed in Patent documents 3 to 5.
(Patent Document 1)
    Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-101006(Patent Document 2)    Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-115580(Patent Document 3)    Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8(1996)-335688(Patent Document 4)    Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-152083(Patent Document 5)    Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-110957
However, Patent Document 1 described above does not go beyond disclosing the structure of extending the transfer gate onto the floating diffusion region, and does not discover a method for realizing such a structure.
Meanwhile, in Patent Document 2, the conductivity of the entire silicon substrate under the transfer gate is set at the N type. Therefore, the channel of the transfer gate becomes prone to be turned on, and the electrons accumulated in the photodiode become prone to overflow to the floating diffusion region through the transfer gate. In such a case, an amount of electrons capable of being accumulated in the photodiode is reduced, and a value of the signal voltage obtained by converting the electrons to a voltage is also reduced. Accordingly, a ratio (S/N ratio) of the signal voltage value and a noise voltage value becomes reduced, causing a possibility that noise of the imaging device is increased.

Imaging device and manufacturing method thereof


A pattern data processor system is disclosed that comprises a pattern storage device for storing pattern data, a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) pattern memory buffer for receiving and temporarily holding the pattern data from the pattern storage device, a shape processor for processing and decoding the pattern data, a shape divider, and a shape generator for generating a shape from the decoded pattern data. The shape processor comprises a programmable gate array device (FPGA) that dynamically decodes different pattern data formats with different decoding schemes, allowing for high speed processing. A Previous Output Shape (POS) Register is also disclosed, which uses information from previous shapes to decompress new shapes, thus allowing for variable length macro and pattern data, and conserving disk space.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to a data processing system for processing pattern data and, more specifically, to a processor system for storing and processing pattern data in a high speed electron beam lithography system.
2. Background Art
Advances in modern microelectronics allow placing an increasing number of devices on a single integrated circuit base. One method of forming devices on an integrated circuit base is through electron beam (E-beam) lithography. In E-beam lithography, devices are generated on the circuit base through patterns that are processed in the pattern processing system of the E-beam system. The data used to generated the patterns of the devices is called pattern data. The typical pattern processing system of an E-beam lithography system comprises a controller, pattern storage device, buffer device and processor. The buffer device temporarily holds the pattern data from the pattern storage device until it can be processed and decoded by the processor.
One example of a typical pattern processing system is U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,509 "High Speed Pattern Generation for Electron Beam Lithography," issued to Wells et al. Wells et al. disclose a system that uses a random access memory (RAM) buffer for temporarily storing the pattern data. Custom hardware is used to decode the pattern data format specifically used for Wells' disclosure. The decoded pattern data is then used to generate the desired shape. Some disadvantages to using the system of Wells et al. are as follows: first, RAM buffers are typically large and expensive and, for storing patterns, consume a relatively large amount of power; second, unless the custom hardware is removed and redesigned, only the specified pattern data format may be decoded, and even then the new redesigned hardware is only set up for the new data format; and third, since there is no data compression in the system of Wells et al., extra space is being used in storing repetitive patterns.
Other typical pattern processing systems are found in the following U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,019 "Electron Beam Exposure System and an Apparatus for Carrying Out a Pattern Unwinder," issued to Fillion et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,186, "Exposure Apparatus Using Electron Beams," issued to Hidai et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,138, "Electron Beam Direct Printing Apparatus," issued to Tobuse et al. Although these patents disclose an apparatus and process for storing and decoding pattern data, they use RAM buffers, which, as aforementioned, are large and expensive. Furthermore, they use custom hardware and/or software that is not reconfigurable for different decode formats "on-the-fly" (i.e., the hardware/software needs to be removed, redesigned and reprogrammed before another decode format may be used). Finally, the pattern data/elements are not compressed, thus wasting extra space.
Accordingly, a need has developed in the art for a pattern data processor that will efficiently and inexpensively store and process control pattern data.

High speed electron beam lithography pattern processing system

International Business Machines Corporation