A frame for a window intended to serve either as a stationary frame or as a sash frame according to the invention comprises an insulating abutment list on a side surface of at least one of the top, bottom or side members intended to face a side surface of another frame of the window. The insulating abutment list is made from a material having a thermal conductivity of less than 0.08 W/(m·k), preferably less than 0.04 W/(m·K). Preferred materials for the insulating abutment list are expanded polystyrene (EPS) or extruded polystyrene (XPS). In a window with such a frame, an insulating abutment list on the sash frame preferably extends from hinge part to the bottom member of the sash frame and an insulating abutment list on the stationary frame preferably extends from a hinge part to the top member of the stationary frame.

The present invention relates to a frame for a window, said frame being intended to serve either as a stationary frame or as a sash frame and comprising a top member, a bottom ember and two side members, each having a side surface intended to face a corresponding side surface of another frame of the window. It further relates to a window with such a frame and to a method of making a frame.
In this, whenever the term "frame" is used it is to be understood as including both sash frames carrying panes and stationary frames carrying sash frames. The terms "sash frame" and "stationary frame" are used when reference is made specifically to frames intended for one of these two purposes.
Frames for windows are traditionally made from wooden members, from moulded polyurethane members with a wooden core for reinforcement or from extruded members of aluminum or polyvinylchloride. Different components such as hinges, locking assemblies and gaskets are added to provide the needed functionality and when using extruded profiles, insulation material may be provided in hollows in the profile.
With these ways of making a frame, a limit on the thermal properties seems to have been reached, but the demand for still more energy efficient windows keeps rising.

Frame for a window and a method for making a frame


An eNB assigns an uplink SRS resource for transmitting the SRS utilized in an adaptive array control, and a PDSCH resource that overlaps, on a frequency axis, with the uplink SRS resource, to a UE. The eNB assigns the uplink SRS resource within a range of an SRS transmission available frequency band f1 that can be used for transmitting the SRS. When it is necessary to transmit downlink repeat data to a first UE when an assignment of the uplink SRS resource is switched from the first UE to a second UE, the eNB assigns the PDSCH resource for the downlink repeat data in an SRS transmission unavailable frequency band f2 outside the range of the SRS transmission available frequency band f1.

In a radio communication system (LTE system) that complies with LTE (Long Term Evolution) with its standards currently being discussed in 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project), a radio base station assigns a radio resource in radio communication between the radio base station and a radio terminal (for example, see Non Patent Literature 1).
Further, in an LTE system according to a Time Division Duplex (TDD) scheme (hereinafter, referred to as "TD-LTE system"), in order to increase a frequency utilization efficiency and improve quality of radio communication, it is considered that adaptive array control using an array antenna is introduced to the radio base station.
The adaptive array control includes a beamforming in which the peak of a directivity pattern of the array antenna is oriented to a radio terminal subordinate to the radio base station and a null steering in which the null of the directivity pattern of the array antenna is oriented to a radio terminal subordinate to another radio base station.
Further, in the LTE system, in order to ensure the reliability of the radio communication, Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ), which is one of the automatic repeat requests, is introduced.

Radio base station and communication control method including resource assignment for downlink repeat data


A heat sink comprising a heat exchange device having a plurality of heat exchange elements each having a surface boundary with respect to a heat transfer fluid, having a fractal variation therebetween, wherein the heat transfer fluid is induced to flow with respect to the plurality of fractally varying heat exchange elements such that flow-induced vortices are generated at non-corresponding locations of the plurality of fractally varying heat exchange elements, resulting in a reduced resonance as compared to a corresponding heat exchange device having a plurality of heat exchange elements that produce flow-induced vortices at corresponding locations on the plurality of heat exchange elements.

A heat sink is a term for a component or assembly that transfers heat generated within a solid material to a fluid medium, such as air or a liquid. A heat sink is typically physically designed to increase the surface area in contact with the cooling fluid surrounding it, such as the air. Approach air velocity, choice of material, fin (or other protrusion) design and surface treatment are some of the design factors which influence the thermal resistance, i.e. thermal performance, of a heat sink.
A heat sink transfers thermal energy from a higher temperature to a lower temperature fluid medium. The fluid medium is frequently air, but can also be water or in the case of heat exchangers, refrigerants and oil. Fourier's law of heat conduction, simplified to a one-dimensional form in the x-direction, shows that when there is a temperature gradient in a body, heat will be transferred from the higher temperature region to the lower temperature region. The rate at which heat is transferred by conduction, qk, is proportional to the product of the temperature gradient and the cross-sectional area through which heat is transferred:
                              q          k                ==                  kA                                                                          dT                          dx                                                                                (        1        )
where qk is the rate of conduction, k is a constant which depends on the materials that are involved, A is the surface area through which the heat must pass, and dT/dx is the rate of change of temperature with respect to distance (for simplicity, the equation is written in one dimension). Thus, according to Fourier's law (which is not the only consideration by any means), heat sinks benefit from having a large surface area exposed to the medium into which the heat is to be transferred.
Consider a heat sink in a duct, where air flows through the duct, and the heat sink base is higher in temperature than the air. Assuming conservation of energy, for steady-state conditions, and applying Newton's law of cooling, gives the following set of equations.
                              Q          .                =                              m            .                                                                                c                              p                ,                                  i                                                                                n                                                                                (                                                T                                      air                    ,                    out                                                  -                                  T                                      air                    ,                                          i                                                                                n                                                                                )                                                          (        2        )                                                      Q            .                    =                                                    T                hs                            -                              T                                  air                  ,                  av                                                                    R              hs                                                                                where                            (        3        )                                          T                      air            ,            av                          =                                            T                              air                ,                out                                      +                          T                              air                ,                                  i                                                                                n                                                              2                                    (        4        )
and {dot over (Q)} is the first derivative of the thermal energy over time—
      Q    .    =            dQ      dt        .
Using the mean air temperature is an assumption that is valid for relatively short heat sinks. When compact heat exchangers are calculated, the logarithmic mean air temperature is used. {dot over (m)} is the air mass flow rate in kg/s.
The above equations show that when the air flow through the heat sink decreases, this results in an increase in the average air temperature. This in turn increases the heat sink base temperature. And additionally, the thermal resistance of the heat sink will also increase. The net result is a higher heat sink base temperature. The inlet air temperature relates strongly with the heat sink base temperature. Therefore, if there is no air or fluid flow around the heat sink, the energy dissipated to the air cannot be transferred to the ambient air. Therefore, the heat sink functions poorly.
Other examples of situations in which a heat sink has impaired efficiency: Pin fins have a lot of surface area, but the pins are so close together that air has a hard time flowing through them; Aligning a heat sink so that the fins are not in the direction of flow; Aligning the fins horizontally for a natural convection heat sink. Whilst a heat sink is stationary and there are no centrifugal forces and artificial gravity, air that is warmer than the ambient temperature always flows upward, given essentially-still-air surroundings; this is convective cooling.
The most common heat sink material is aluminum. Chemically pure aluminum is not used in the manufacture of heat sinks, but rather aluminum alloys. Aluminum alloy 1050A has one of the higher thermal conductivity values at 229 W/m·K. However, it is not recommended for machining, since it is a relatively soft material. Aluminum alloys 6061 and 6063 are the more commonly used aluminum alloys, with thermal conductivity values of 166 and 201 W/m·K, respectively. The aforementioned values are dependent on the temper of the alloy.
Copper is also used since it has around twice the conductivity of aluminum, but is three times as heavy as aluminum. Copper is also around four to six times more expensive than aluminum, but this is market dependent. Aluminum has the added advantage that it is able to be extruded, while copper cannot. Copper heat sinks are machined and skived. Another method of manufacture is to solder the fins into the heat sink base.
Another heat sink material that can be used is diamond. With a value of 2000 W/mK it exceeds that of copper by a factor of five. In contrast to metals, where heat is conducted by delocalized electrons, lattice vibrations are responsible for diamond's very high thermal conductivity. For thermal management applications, the outstanding thermal conductivity and diffusivity of diamond is an essential. CVD diamond may be used as a sub-mount for high-power integrated circuits and laser diodes.
Composite materials can be used. Examples are a copper-tungsten pseudoalloy, AlSiC (silicon carbide in aluminum matrix), Dymalloy (diamond in copper-silver alloy matrix), and E-Material (beryllium oxide in beryllium matrix). Such materials are often used as substrates for chips, as their thermal expansion coefficient can be matched to ceramics and semiconductors.
Fin efficiency is one of the parameters which makes a higher thermal conductivity material important. A fin of a heat sink may be considered to be a flat plate with heat flowing in one end and being dissipated into the surrounding fluid as it travels to the other. As heat flows through the fin, the combination of the thermal resistance of the heat sink impeding the flow and the heat lost due to convection, the temperature of the fin and, therefore, the heat transfer to the fluid, will decrease from the base to the end of the fin. This factor is called the fin efficiency and is defined as the actual heat transferred by the fin, divided by the heat transfer were the fin to be isothermal (hypothetically the fin having infinite thermal conductivity). Equations 5 and 6 are applicable for straight fins.
                              η          f                =                              tanh                                      (                              m                                                                                L                  c                                            )                                            m                                                                                L              c                                                          (        5        )                                          m                                                                          L            c                          =                                                            2                                                  h                  f                                                            kt                f                                                                L              f                                                          (        6        )
Where:                hf is the convection coefficient of the fin                    Air: 10 to 100 W/(m2·K)            Water: 500 to 10,000 W/(m2·K)                        k is the thermal conductivity of the fin material                    Aluminum: 120 to 240 W/(m2·K)                        Lf is the fin height (m)        tf is the fin thickness (m)
Another parameter that concerns the thermal conductivity of the heat sink material is spreading resistance. Spreading resistance occurs when thermal energy is transferred from a small area to a larger area in a substance with finite thermal conductivity. In a heat sink, this means that heat does not distribute uniformly through the heat sink base. The spreading resistance phenomenon is shown by how the heat travels from the heat source location and causes a large temperature gradient between the heat source and the edges of the heat sink. This means that some fins are at a lower temperature than if the heat source were uniform across the base of the heat sink. This non-uniformity increases the heat sink's effective thermal resistance.
A pin fin heat sink is a heat sink that has pins that extend from its base. The pins can be, for example, cylindrical, elliptical or square. A second type of heat sink fin arrangement is the straight fin. These run the entire length of the heat sink. A variation on the straight fin heat sink is a cross cut heat sink. A straight fin heat sink is cut at regular intervals but at a coarser pitch than a pin fin type.
In general, the more surface area a heat sink has, the better it works. However, this is not always true. The concept of a pin fin heat sink is to try to pack as much surface area into a given volume as possible. As well, it works well in any orientation. Kordyban has compared the performance of a pin fin and a straight fin heat sink of similar dimensions. Although the pin fin has 194 cm2 surface area while the straight fin has 58 cm2, the temperature difference between the heat sink base and the ambient air for the pin fin is 50° C. For the straight fin it was 44° C. or 6° C. better than the pin fin. Pin fin heat sink performance is significantly better than straight fins when used in their intended application where the fluid flows axially along the pins rather than only tangentially across the pins.
Another configuration is the flared fin heat sink; its fins are not parallel to each other, but rather diverge with increasing distance from the base. Flaring the fins decreases flow resistance and makes more air go through the heat sink fin channel; otherwise, more air would bypass the fins. Slanting them keeps the overall dimensions the same, but offers longer fins. Forghan, et al. have published data on tests conducted on pin fin, straight fin and flared fin heat sinks. They found that for low approach air velocity, typically around 1 m/s, the thermal performance is at least 20% better than straight fin heat sinks. Lasance and Eggink also found that for the bypass configurations that they tested, the flared heat sink performed better than the other heat sinks tested.
The heat transfer from the heat sink is mediated by two effects: conduction via the coolant, and thermal radiation. The surface of the heat sink influences its emissivity; shiny metal absorbs and radiates only a small amount of heat, while matte black radiates highly. In coolant-mediated heat transfer, the contribution of radiation is generally small. A layer of coating on the heat sink can then be counterproductive, as its thermal resistance can impair heat flow from the fins to the coolant. Finned heat sinks with convective or forced flow will not benefit significantly from being colored. In situations with significant contribution of radiative cooling, e.g. in case of a flat non-finned panel acting as a heat sink with low airflow, the heat sink surface finish can play an important role. Matte-black surfaces will radiate much more efficiently than shiny bare metal. The importance of radiative vs. coolant-mediated heat transfer increases in situations with low ambient air pressure (e.g. high-altitude operations) or in vacuum (e.g. satellites in space).    Fourier, J. B., 1822, Theorie analytique de la chaleur, Paris; Freeman, A., 1955, translation, Dover Publications, Inc, NY.    Kordyban, T., 1998, Hot air rises and heat sinks—Everything you know about cooling electronics is wrong, ASME Press, NY.    Anon, Unknown, "Heat sink selection", Mechanical engineering department, San Jose State University, Jan. 27, 2010. www⋅engr⋅sjsu⋅edu/dejong/ME%20146%20files/Heat%20Sink⋅pptwww⋅engr⋅sjsu⋅edu/ndejong/ME%20146%20files/Heat%20Sink.ppt    Sergent, J. and Krum, A., 1998, Thermal management handbook for electronic assemblies, First Edition, McGraw-Hill.    Incropera, F. P. and DeWitt, D. P., 1985, Introduction to heat transfer, John Wiley and sons, NY.    Forghan, F., Goldthwaite, D., Ulinski, M., Metghalchi, M., Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Thermal Performance of Heat Sinks, ISME May 2001.    Lasance, C. J. M and Eggink, H. J., 2001, A Method to Rank Heat Sinks in Practice: The Heat Sink Performance Tester, 21st IEEE SEMI-THERM Symposium.    ludens.cl/Electron/Thermal.html    Lienard, J. H., IV & V, 2004, A Heat Transfer Textbook, Third edition, MIT    Saint-Gobain, 2004, "Thermal management solutions for electronic equipment" 22 Jul. 2008 www⋅fff⋅saint-gobain⋅com/Media/Documents/S0000000000000001036/ThermaCool %20Brochure⋅pdf    Jeggels, Y. U., Dobson, R. T., Jeggels, D. H., Comparison of the cooling performance between heat pipe and aluminium conductors for electronic equipment enclosures, Proceedings of the 14th International Heat Pipe Conference, Florianópolis, Brazil, 2007.    Prstic, S., Iyengar, M., and Bar-Cohen, A., Bypass effect in high performance heat sinks, Proceedings of the International Thermal Science Seminar Bled, Slovenia, Jun. 11-14,2000.    Mills, A. F., 1999, Heat transfer, Second edition, Prentice Hall.    Potter, C. M. and Wiggert, D. C., 2002, Mechanics of fluid, Third Edition, Brooks/Cole.    White, F. M., 1999, Fluid mechanics, Fourth edition, McGraw-Hill International.    Azar, A, et al., 2009, "Heat sink testing methods and common oversights", Qpedia Thermal E-Magazine, January 2009 Issue. www⋅gats⋅com/cpanel/UploadedPdf/January20092⋅pdf
Several structurally complex heatsink designs are discussed in Hernon, US App. 2009/0321045, incorporated herein by reference.
Several structurally complex heat sink designs are discussed in Hernon, US App. 2009/0321045, incorporated herein by reference.
Heat sinks operate by removing heat from an object to be cooled into the surrounding air, gas or liquid through convection and radiation. Convection occurs when heat is either carried passively from one point to another by fluid motion (forced convection) or when heat itself causes fluid motion (free convection). When forced convection and free convection occur together, the process is termed mixed convection. Radiation occurs when energy, for example in the form of heat, travels through a medium or through space and is ultimately absorbed by another body. Thermal radiation is the process by which the surface of an object radiates its thermal energy in the form of electromagnetic waves. Infrared radiation from a common household radiator or electric heater is an example of thermal radiation, as is the heat and light (IR and visible EM waves) emitted by a glowing incandescent light bulb. Thermal radiation is generated when heat from the movement of charged particles within atoms is converted to electromagnetic radiation.
A heat sink tends to decrease the maximum temperature of the exposed surface, because the power is transferred to a larger volume. This leads to a possibility of diminishing return on larger heat sinks, since the radiative and convective dissipation tends to be related to the temperature differential between the heat sink surface and the external medium. Therefore, if the heat sink is oversized, the efficiency of heat shedding is poor. If the heat sink is undersized, the object may be insufficiently cooled, the surface of the heat sink dangerously hot, and the heat shedding not much greater than the object itself absent the heat sink.
The relationship between friction and convention in heatsinks is discussed by Frigus Primore in "A Method for Comparing Heat Sinks Based on Reynolds Analogy," available at www⋅frigprim⋅com/downloads/Reynolds_analogy_heatsinks⋅PDF, last accessed Apr. 28, 2010.
This article notes that for, plates, parallel plates, and cylinders to be cooled, it is necessary for the velocity of the surrounding fluid to be low in order to minimize mechanical power losses. However, larger surface flow velocities will increase the heat transfer efficiency, especially where the flow near the surface is turbulent, and substantially disrupts a stagnant surface boundary layer. Primore also discusses heatsink fin shapes and notes that no fin shape offers any heat dissipation or weight advantage compared with planar fins, and that straight fins minimize pressure losses while maximizing heat flow. Therefore, the art generally teaches that generally flat and planar surfaces are appropriate for most heatsinks.
Frigus Primore, "Natural Convection and Inclined Parallel Plates," www⋅frigprim⋅com/articels2/parallel_pl_Inc⋅html, last accessed Apr. 29, 2010, discusses the use of natural convection (i.e., convection due to the thermal expansion of a gas surrounding a solid heatsink in normal operating conditions) to cool electronics. One of the design goals of various heatsinks is to increase the rate of natural convection. Primore suggests using parallel plates to attain this result. Once again, Primore notes that parallel plate heatsinks are the most efficient and attempts to define the optimal spacing S and angle λ (relative to the direction of the fluid flow) of the heatsink plates of length L according to the below equations:
Optimum Plate Spacing
                                          S            opt                    =                                                                      k                  s                                                                  (                                      L                    dT                                    )                                            0.25                        ·                                          cos                                                  (                  γ                  )                                                            -                0.25                                                                                γ            opt                    =                      atan                                      (                                                1                                    H                                                  3                                    W                                            )                                                                                γ            opt                    =                                    π              4                        -                          0.508                                                              (                                      H                    W                                    )                                                  -                  1.237                                                                                H            W                    <                      3                                                                                H            W                    >                      3                                              (        1        )
Total heat Dissipation
                                          Q            .                    =                                    k              v                        ·                          k              γ                        ·                          A              c                        ·                          H              0.5                        ·                          dT              1.5                                                                                k            γ                    =                                    1              +                                                1                  9                                                                                (                                          H                      W                                        )                                    2                                                                                k            γ                    =                                    0.307              ·                                                (                                      H                    W                                    )                                                  -                  0.5                                                      +                          0.696              ·                                                (                                      H                    W                                    )                                                  -                  0.5                                                                                H            W                    <                      3                                                                                H            W                    >                      3                                              (        2        )
Applied Equation{dot over (Q)}=ηv·kv·kγ·Ac·H0.5·dTref1.5  (3)                dT=Temperature difference (K)        Ac=W·D        ηv=Volumetric efficiency [--]        {dot over (Q)}=Heat dissipation [W]
FIG. 1A shows the length L, spacing S, and angle λ, of the plates of a heatsink. FIG. 1B shows the spatial relationships of Ac, the area of a face, W, the width, D, the depth, H, the height, of a plate of a heatsink.
In another article titled "Natural Convection and Chimneys," available at www⋅frigprim⋅com/articels2/parallel_plchim⋅html, last accessed Apr. 29, 2010, Frigus Primore discusses the use of parallel plates in chimney heatsinks. One purpose of this type of design is to combine more efficient natural convection with a chimney. Primore notes that the design suffers if there is laminar flow (which creates a re-circulation region in the fluid outlet, thereby completely eliminating the benefit of the chimney) but benefits if there is turbulent flow which allows heat to travel from the parallel plates into the chimney and surrounding fluid.
In "Sub-Grid Turbulence Modeling for Unsteady Flow with Acoustic Resonance," available at www⋅metacomptech⋅com/cfd++/00-0473⋅pdf, last accessed Apr. 29, 2010, incorporated herein by reference, Paul Batten et al discuss that when a fluid is flowing around an obstacle, localized geometric features, such as concave regions or cavities, create pockets of separated flow which can generate self-sustaining oscillations and acoustic resonance. The concave regions or cavities serve to substantially reduce narrow band acoustic resonance as compared to flat surfaces. This is beneficial to a heatsink in a turbulent flow environment because it allows for the reduction of oscillations and acoustic resonance, and therefore for an increase in the energy available for heat transfer.
In S. Liu, "Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop in Fractal Microchannel Heat Sink for Cooling of Electronic Chips," 44 Heat Mass Transfer 221 (2007), Liu et al discuss a heat sink with a "fractal-like branching flow network." Liu's heat sink includes channels through which fluids would flow in order to exchange heat with the heat sink.
Y. J. Lee, "Enhanced Microchannel Heat Sinks Using Oblique Fins," IPACK 2009-89059, similarly discusses a heat sink comprising a "fractal-shaped microchannel based on the fractal pattern of mammalian circulatory and respiratory system." Lee's idea, similar to that of Liu, is that there would be channels inside the heat sink through which a fluid could flow to exchange heat with the heat sink. The stated improvement in Lee's heat sink is (1) the disruption of the thermal boundary layer development; and (2) the generation of secondary flows.
Pence, D. V., 2002, "Reduced Pumping Power and Wall Temperature in Microchannel Heat Sinks with Fractal-like Branching Channel Networks", Microscale Thermophys. Eng. 5, pp. 293-311, similarly, mentions heat sinks that have fractal-like channels allowing fluid to enter into the heat sink. The described advantage of Pence's structure is increased exposure of the heat sink to the fluid and lower pressure drops of the fluid while in the heat sink.
In general, a properly designed heat sink system will take advantage of thermally induced convection or forced air (e.g., a fan). In general, a turbulent flow near the surface of the heat sink disturbs a stagnant surface layer, and improves performance. In many cases, the heat sink operates in a non-ideal environment subject to dust or oil; therefore, the heat sink design must accommodate the typical operating conditions, in addition to the as-manufactured state.
Prior art heat sink designs have traditionally concentrated on geometry that is Euclidian, involving structures such as the pin fins, straight fins, and flares discussed above.
N J Ryan, D A Stone, "Application of the FD-TD method to modelling the electromagnetic radiation from heatsinks", IEEE International Conference on Electromagnetic Compatibility, 1997. 10th (1-3 Sep. 1997), pp: 119-124, discloses a fractal antenna which also serves as a heat sink in a radio frequency transmitter.
Lance Covert, Jenshan Lin, Dan Janning, Thomas Dalrymple, "5.8 GHz orientation-specific extruded-fin heatsink antennas for 3D RF system integration", 23 Apr. 2008 DOI: 10.1002/mop.23478, Microwave and Optical Technology Letters Volume 50, Issue 7, pages 1826-1831, July 2008 also provide a heat sink which can be used as an antenna.
Per Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal (last accessed Apr. 14, 2010), A fractal is "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole," [Mandelbrot, B. B. (1982). The Fractal Geometry of Nature. W.H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-1186-9.] a property called self-similarity. Roots of mathematically rigorous treatment of fractals can be traced back to functions studied by Karl Weierstrass, Georg Cantor and Felix Hausdorff in studying functions that were analytic but not differentiable; however, the term fractal was coined by Benoit Mandelbrot in 1975 and was derived from the Latin fractus meaning "broken" or "fractured." A mathematical fractal is based on an equation that undergoes iteration, a form of feedback based on recursion. (Briggs, John (1992). Fractals: The Patterns of Chaos. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992. p. 148.)
A fractal often has the following features: (Falconer, Kenneth (2003). Fractal Geometry: Mathematical Foundations and Applications. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Xxv)
It has a fine structure at arbitrarily small scales.
It is too irregular to be easily described in traditional Euclidean geometric language.
It is self-similar (at least approximately or stochastically).
It has a Hausdorff dimension which is greater than its topological dimension (although this requirement is not met by space-filling curves such as the Hilbert curve). [The Hilbert curve map is not a homeomorphism, so it does not preserve topological dimension. The topological dimension and Hausdorff dimension of the image of the Hilbert map in R2 are both 2. Note, however, that the topological dimension of the graph of the Hilbert map (a set in R) is 1]
It has a simple and recursive definition.
Because they appear similar at all levels of magnification, fractals are often considered to be infinitely complex (in informal terms). Natural objects that are approximated by fractals to a degree include clouds, mountain ranges, lightning bolts, coastlines, snow flakes, various vegetables (cauliflower and broccoli), and animal coloration patterns. However, not all self-similar objects are fractals—for example, the real line (a straight Euclidean line) is formally self-similar but fails to have other fractal characteristics; for instance, it is regular enough to be described in Euclidean terms.
Images of fractals can be created using fractal-generating software. Images produced by such software are normally referred to as being fractals even if they do not have the above characteristics, such as when it is possible to zoom into a region of the fractal that does not exhibit any fractal properties. Also, these may include calculation or display artifacts which are not characteristics of true fractals.
To create a Koch snowflake, one begins with an equilateral triangle and then replaces the middle third of every line segment with a pair of line segments that form an equilateral "bump." One then performs the same replacement on every line segment of the resulting shape, ad infinitum. With every iteration, the perimeter of this shape increases by one third of the previous length. The Koch snowflake is the result of an infinite number of these iterations, and has an infinite length, while its area remains finite. For this reason, the Koch snowflake and similar constructions were sometimes called "monster curves."
The mathematics behind fractals began to take shape in the 17th century when mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz considered recursive self-similarity (although he made the mistake of thinking that only the straight line was self-similar in this sense).
It was not until 1872 that a function appeared whose graph would today be considered fractal, when Karl Weierstrass gave an example of a function with the non-intuitive property of being everywhere continuous but nowhere differentiable. In 1904, Helge von Koch, dissatisfied with Weierstrass's very abstract and analytic definition, gave a more geometric definition of a similar function, which is now called the Koch curve. (The image at right is three Koch curves put together to form what is commonly called the Koch snowflake.) Waclaw Sierpinski constructed his triangle in 1915 and, one year later, his carpet. Originally these geometric fractals were described as curves rather than the 2D shapes that they are known as in their modern constructions. The idea of self-similar curves was taken further by Paul Pierre Lévy, who, in his 1938 paper Plane or Space Curves and Surfaces Consisting of Parts Similar to the Whole described a new fractal curve, the Lévy C curve. Georg Cantor also gave examples of subsets of the real line with unusual properties—these Cantor sets are also now recognized as fractals.
Iterated functions in the complex plane were investigated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Henri Poincaré, Felix Klein, Pierre Fatou and Gaston Julia. Without the aid of modern computer graphics, however, they lacked the means to visualize the beauty of many of the objects that they had discovered.
In the 1960s, Benoit Mandelbrot started investigating self-similarity in papers such as How Long Is the Coast of Britain? Statistical Self-Similarity and Fractional Dimension, which built on earlier work by Lewis Fry Richardson. Finally, in 1975 Mandelbrot coined the word "fractal" to denote an object whose Hausdorff—Besicovitch dimension is greater than its topological dimension. He illustrated this mathematical definition with striking computer-constructed visualizations. These images captured the popular imagination; many of them were based on recursion, leading to the popular meaning of the term "fractal".
A class of examples is given by the Cantor sets, Sierpinski triangle and carpet, Menger sponge, dragon curve, space-filling curve, and Koch curve. Additional examples of fractals include the Lyapunov fractal and the limit sets of Kleinian groups. Fractals can be deterministic (all the above) or stochastic (that is, non-deterministic). For example, the trajectories of the Brownian motion in the plane have a Hausdorff dimension of 2.
Chaotic dynamical systems are sometimes associated with fractals. Objects in the phase space of a dynamical system can be fractals (see attractor). Objects in the parameter space for a family of systems may be fractal as well. An interesting example is the Mandelbrot set. This set contains whole discs, so it has a Hausdorff dimension equal to its topological dimension of 2—but what is truly surprising is that the boundary of the Mandelbrot set also has a Hausdorff dimension of 2 (while the topological dimension of 1), a result proved by Mitsuhiro Shishikura in 1991. A closely related fractal is the Julia set.
Escape-time fractals— (also known as "orbits" fractals) These are defined by a formula or recurrence relation at each point in a space (such as the complex plane). Examples of this type are the Mandelbrot set, Julia set, the Burning Ship fractal, the Nova fractal and the Lyapunov fractal. The 2d vector fields that are generated by one or two iterations of escape-time formulae also give rise to a fractal form when points (or pixel data) are passed through this field repeatedly.
Iterated function systems—These have a fixed geometric replacement rule. Cantor set, Sierpinski carpet, Sierpinski gasket, Peano curve, Koch snowflake, Harter-Highway dragon curve, T-Square, Menger sponge, are some examples of such fractals.
Random fractals—Generated by stochastic rather than deterministic processes, for example, trajectories of the Brownian motion, Levy flight, fractal landscapes and the Brownian tree. The latter yields so-called mass- or dendritic fractals, for example, diffusion-limited aggregation or reaction-limited aggregation clusters.
Strange attractors—Generated by iteration of a map or the solution of a system of initial-value differential equations that exhibit chaos.
Fractals can also be classified according to their self-similarity. There are three types of self-similarity found in fractals:
Exact self-similarity—This is the strongest type of self-similarity; the fractal appears identical at different scales. Fractals defined by iterated function systems often display exact self-similarity.
Quasi-self-similarity—This is a loose form of self-similarity; the fractal appears approximately (but not exactly) identical at different scales. Quasi-self-similar fractals contain small copies of the entire fractal in distorted and degenerate forms. Fractals defined by recurrence relations are usually quasi-self-similar but not exactly self-similar.
Statistical self-similarity—This is the weakest type of self-similarity; the fractal has numerical or statistical measures which are preserved across scales. Most reasonable definitions of "fractal" trivially imply some form of statistical self-similarity. (Fractal dimension itself is a numerical measure which is preserved across scales.) Random fractals are examples of fractals which are statistically self-similar, but neither exactly nor quasi-self-similar.
Approximate fractals are easily found in nature. These objects display self-similar structure over an extended, but finite, scale range. Examples include clouds, snow flakes, crystals, mountain ranges, lightning, river networks, cauliflower or broccoli, and systems of blood vessels and pulmonary vessels. Coastlines may be loosely considered fractal in nature.
Trees and ferns are fractal in nature and can be modeled on a computer by using a recursive algorithm. This recursive nature is obvious in these examples—a branch from a tree or a frond from a fern is a miniature replica of the whole: not identical, but similar in nature. The connection between fractals and leaves are currently being used to determine how much carbon is contained in trees. ("Hunting the Hidden Dimension." Nova. PBS. WPMB-Maryland. 28 Oct. 2008.)
In 1999, certain self similar fractal shapes were shown to have a property of "frequency invariance"—the same electromagnetic properties no matter what the frequency—from Maxwell's equations (see fractal antenna). (Hohlfeld R, Cohen N (1999). "Self-similarity and the geometric requirements for frequency independence in Antennae". Fractals. 7 (1): 79-84).


Gas shielding is employed to prevent metal plating on contacts during electroplating to reduce particulate contamination and increase thickness uniformity. In another embodiment, gas shielding is employed to prevent deposition on the backside and edges of a semiconductor wafer during plating.

The escalating requirements for high density and performance associated with ultra large scale integration (ULSI) semiconductor wiring require responsive changes in interconnection technology, which is considered one of the most demanding aspects of ultra large scale integration technology. Such escalating requirements have been found difficult to satisfy in terms of providing a low RC (resistance capacitance) interconnect pattern, particularly wherein submicron vias, contacts and trenches have high aspect ratios due to miniaturization.
Conventional semiconductor devices comprise a semiconductor substrate, normally of monocrystalline silicon, and a plurality of sequentially formed dielectric interlayers and conductive patterns. An integrated circuit is formed containing a plurality of conductive patterns comprising conductive lines separated by interwiring spacings, and a plurality of interconnect lines, such as bus lines, bit lines, word lines and logic interconnect lines. Typically, the conductive patterns on different layers, i.e., upper and lower layers, are electrically connected by a conductive plug filling a via opening, while a conductive plug filling a contact opening establishes electrical contact with an active region on a semiconductor substrate, such as a source/drain region. Conductive lines formed in trench openings typically extend substantially horizontal with respect to the semiconductor substrate. Semiconductor "chips" comprising three and four levels of metallization are becoming more prevalent as device geometries shrink to submicron levels.
High performance microprocessor applications require rapid speed of semiconductor circuitry. The control speed of semiconductor circuitry varies inversely with the resistance and capacitance of the interconnection pattern. As integrated circuits become more complex and feature sizes and spacings become smaller, the integrated circuit speed becomes less dependent upon the transistor itself and more dependent upon the interconnection pattern. Thus, the interconnection pattern limits the speed of the integrated circuit.
In ULSI structures, high circuit speeds, high packing density and low powered dissipation are required. Consequently, feature sizes must be scaled down. The interconnect related time delays become the major limitation in achieving high circuit speeds. Shrinking device size automatically miniaturizes the interconnect feature size which increases interconnect resistance and interconnect current densities. Poor step coverage of metal and submicron high aspect ratio via holes also increases interconnect resistance and electromigration failures.
If the interconnection node is routed over a considerable distance, e.g., hundreds of microns or more, as in submicron technologies, the interconnection capacitance limits the circuit node capacitance loading and, hence, the circuit speed. As integration density increases and feature size decreases in accordance with submicron design rules, the rejection rate due to integrated circuit speed delays approaches and even exceeds 20%.
One way to increase the control speed of semiconductor circuitry is to reduce the resistance of a conductive pattern. Conventional metallization patterns are typically formed by depositing a layer of conductive material, notably aluminum (Al) or an alloy thereof, and etching, or by damascene techniques wherein trenches are formed in dielectric layers and filled with a conductive material. Excess conductive material on the surface of the dielectric layer is then removed, as by chemical-mechanical polishing. Al is conventionally employed because it is relatively inexpensive, exhibits low resistivity and is relatively easy to etch. However, as the size of openings for vias/contacts and trenches is scaled down to the submicron range, step coverage problems have arisen involving the use of Al which has decreased the reliability of interconnections formed between different wiring layers. Such poor step coverage results in high current density and enhanced electromigration. Moreover, low dielectric constant polyimide materials, when employed as dielectric interlayers, create moisture/bias reliability problems when in contact with Al.
One approach to improved interconnection paths in vias comprises the use of completely filled plugs of a metal, such as W. Accordingly, many current semiconductor devices utilizing VLSI (very large scale integration) technology employ Al for a wiring metal and W plugs for interconnections at different levels. However, the use W is attendant with several disadvantages. For example, most W processes are complex and expensive. Moreover, W has a high resistivity. The Joule heating may enhance electromigration of adjacent Al wiring. Furthermore, W plugs are susceptible to void formation and the interface with the wiring layer usually results in high contact resistance.
Another attempted solution for the Al plug interconnect problem comprises the use of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD) at elevated temperatures for Al deposition. The use of CVD for depositing Al has proven expensive, while hot PVD Al deposition requires very high process temperatures incompatible with manufacturing integrated circuitry.
Copper (Cu) has recently received considerable attention as a replacement material for Al in VLSI interconnect metallizations. Cu exhibits superior electromigration properties and has a lower resistivity than Al. In addition, Cu has improved electrical properties vis-a-vis W, making Cu a desirable metal for use as a conductive plug as well as conductive wiring. For comparable performance characteristics, aluminum interconnect lines typically exhibit a current density limit of 2.times.10.sup.5 amp/cm.sup.2 ; whereas, a copper line would typically exhibit a current density limit of 5.times.10.sup.6 amp/cm.sup.2. Cu electromigration in interconnect lines has a high activation energy, i.e., up to twice as large as that of Al. Consequently, Cu lines that are significantly thinner than Al lines can theoretically be employed, thereby reducing cross talk and capacitance.
It is expected that a Cu interconnect material leads to an improvement of one and one half times in the maximum clock frequency of a complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chip vis-a-vis the Al-based interconnects for devices with effective channel ends of about 0.25 .mu.m. Such favorable electrical characteristics of Cu provide an incentive for developing Cu films as interconnect layers in ULSI devices as well top metal layers. However, there are also disadvantages attendant upon the use of Cu. For example, Cu metallization is very difficult to etch. Moreover, Cu readily diffuses through silicon dioxide, the typical dielectric interlayer material employed in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and adversely affects the devices.
One conventional approach in attempting to form Cu plugs and wiring comprises the use of damascene structures employing chemical mechanical polishing, as in Chow et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,648. However, due to Cu diffusion through dielectric interlayer materials, such as silicon dioxide, Cu interconnect structures must be encapsulated by a diffusion barrier layer. Typical diffusion barrier metals include tantalum (Ta), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), titanium tungsten (TiW), and silicon nitride (Si.sub.3 N.sub.4) for encapsulating Cu. The use of such barrier materials to encapsulate Cu is not limited to the interface between Cu and the dielectric interlayer, but includes interfaces with other metals as well.
Electroless deposition has been suggested as a technique for forming interconnect structures. See, for example, "Electroless Cu for VLSI," Cho et al., MRS Bulletin, June 1993, pp. 31-38; "Selective Electroless Metal Deposition For Integrated Circuit Fabrication," Ting et al., J. Electrochem. Soc., 136, 1989, p. 456 et seq.; "Selective Electroless Metal Deposition For Via Hole Filling in VLSI Multilevel Interconnection Structures," Ting et al., J. Electrochem. Soc., 136, 1989, p. 462 et seq.; and Shacham et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,497.
Electroless Cu deposition is attractive due to low processing costs and high quality Cu deposits. In addition, equipment for performing electroless metal deposition is relatively inexpensive vis-a-vis other semiconductor processing equipment for depositing metals. Electroless deposition also offers the advantageous opportunity for batch processing of wafers, thereby further reducing the cost of electroless deposition and increasing production throughput. However, electroless deposition requires a catalytic surface, i.e., seed layer, for the autocatalytic action to occur. See, for example, Baum et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,095 and "Electroless Copper Deposition on Metals and Silicides," Mak, MRS Bulletin, August 1994, pp. 55-62. It is difficult to obtain reliable and reproducible electroless Cu deposition, since the seed layer surface must maintain catalytic activity for effective electroless deposition of Cu.
Copending application Ser. No. 08/587,264, filed Jan. 16, 1996, discloses a method of electrolessly depositing Cu in an interconnect structure, which method comprises initially depositing a barrier layer in an opening, depositing a catalytic seed layer, preferably of Cu, on the barrier layer, and then depositing a protective layer on the catalytic layer encapsulating and protecting the catalytic layer from oxidation. The preferred protective material is Al which forms an Al-Cu alloy at the interface of the catalytic and protective layers, thereby encapsulating the underlying Cu. Subsequently, Cu is electrolessly deposited from an electroless deposition solution which dissolves the overlying protective alloy layer to expose the underlying catalytic Cu layer.
As the aspect ratio of contact and via openings, as well as trench openings, approaches 2:1 and greater, it becomes increasingly more challenging to voidlessly fill openings for contacts, vias and trenches of interconnect patterns employing conventional technology, such as magnetron sputtering techniques involving either direct current or radio frequency sputtering. Conventional attempts to improve sputtering capabilities comprise the use of a collimator as in Sandhu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,587.
A more recent approach in the evolution of high aspect ratio contact/via interconnection technology involves the ionization of sputtered metals by a high density plasma. See S. M. Rossnagel et al., "Metal ion deposition from ionized magnetron sputtering discharge," J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 12(1), Jan/Feb 1994, pp. 449-453 and J. Hopwood et al., "Mechanisms for highly ionized magnetron sputtering," J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 78, No. 2, Jul. 15, 1995, pp. 758-765. Further attempts to improve RF induced plasma processing by generating a greater percent of ionized sputtered material employing a coil having a generally flattened surface defined by parallel conductors is disclosed by Cuomo et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,154.
Although electroless deposition and electroplating offer the prospect of low cost, high throughput, high quality plated films and efficient via, contact and trench filling capabilities, the requirement for a catalytic seed layer becomes problematic, particularly in filling high aspect ratio openings. Electroless plating generally involves the controlled autocatalytic deposition of a continuous film on the catalytic surface by the interaction in solution of a metal salt and a chemical reducing agent. Electroplating comprises the electrodeposition of an adherent metallic coating on an electrode employing externally supplied electrons to reduce metal ions in the plating solution. A seed layer is required to catalyze electroless deposition or to carry electrical current for electroplating. For electroplating, the seed layer must be continuous. However, for electroless plating, very thin catalytic layers, e.g., less than 100 .ANG., can be employed in the form of islets of catalytic metal.
Electroless plating has been applied to the manufacture of optical disks. See for example, Kumisaka et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,260.
It is very difficult to form a high conductivity interconnect pattern having high aspect ratio openings employing Cu or a Cu alloy, e.g., a Cu-base alloy, by electroless plating or electroplating, because sputtered catalytic seed layer materials particularly Cu, exhibits extremely poor step coverage, particularly for high aspect ratio openings, e.g., contact, via or trench openings of about 2:1 and greater. Such poor step coverage would inhibit electroplating due to discontinuities of the Cu seed layer, and inhibit electroless Cu deposition for failure of Cu to reach the bottom and lower side walls of high aspect ratio vias/contacts or trenches. In addition, Cu has poor adhesion to dielectric materials and requires encapsulation to prevent diffusion.
A solution to such problems was addressed in copending application Ser. No. 08/857,129 filed May 15, 1997 (Our Docket No. 1033-226), now pending, wherein a method for electroplating and electroless plating Cu is disclosed, comprising depositing a seed layer containing a catalytically active metal, such as Cu, alloyed with a refractory metal, prior to electroless plating or electroplating. In copending application Ser. No. 08/768,447 filed Dec. 18, 1996, pending, an electroless deposition technique is disclosed comprising the use of a spray process in lieu of liquid immersion, wherein itemized droplets of an electroless plating solution are sprayed onto a substrate.
There are significant difficulties attendant upon the application of electroless plating and electroplating in the context of a semiconductor substrate, particularly for ULSI application. For example, during electroplating, metallic contact fingers are typically employed to provide electrical contact with a seed layer on a substrate. During the electroplating process itself, metal from the electroplating solution is disadvantageously electroplated on the contact fingers, thereby generating contaminating particles, as when the electroplated metal is delaminated from the contact fingers. In addition, electroplated metal on the contact fingers increases contact resistance resulting in a high voltage drop and failure.
A conventional approach to the problem of electroplating on contact fingers comprises frequent removal of electroplated metal from the contact fingers, as by wiping or etching, to improve the reliability of the electrical contact. Such approaches are inefficient and time consuming.
Another problem frequently encountered in electroless plating or electroplating a metal on a substrate is the undesirable electrodeposition of metal on the backside and on the edges of the substrate. A satisfactory solution to that problem has not yet surfaced in the art.
A conventional wafer plating is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,733, which issued on Jul. 4, 1995 to Ishida. In the plating device disclosed by Ishida, the lower surface of the circumferential edge of the wafer is restrained by a holding means onto a positioning base portion formed in an opening portion of a plating bath, and a plating fluid is applied onto the lower surface of the wafer. An air bag is employed as a holding means for downwardly depressing the wafer after plating. The air bag constrains only the upper surface of the circumferential edge of the wafer at an expanded state and releases the constraint by contracting to restore an initial configuration in a non-expanded state. The backside of the wafer and the edge of the wafer are not exposed to the plating solution. However, the wafer is not rotated. As a result, the plating thickness uniformity is reduced and the loss of the plating solution is increased since excess plating solution cannot be removed by wafer spinning.
Another wafer plating device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,592, issued on Dec. 5, 1995 to Lowery. The apparatus disclosed by Lowery comprises a tank structure for containing an electrolyte and an anode. A shaft is rotatably mounted within the tank to rotate about a first axis. An arm is mounted on the shaft, and a fixture for receiving the substrate is rotatably mounted on the arm to rotate about a second axis, so that the substrate is both revolved about the first axis and rotated about the second axis. The fixture wheel carries the substrate to be plated, such as a semiconductor wafer, which is mounted by three spring loaded electrical contacts. Electrical contact is maintained between the rotating substrate and a stationary power supply for plating. A flat annular gasket is received within an annular recess formed in the front face of the fixture wheel to seal the back face of the wafer. A solid sheet gasket or another type of seal such as an O-ring seal, can also be used to seal the wafer backside. However, metal will be plated on the edge of the wafer as well as on the contact of the plating device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,592.
Accordingly, there exist a need for an apparatus and efficient methodology for preventing the undesirable electroplating of metal on contact fingers in electrical contact with a seed layer on a substrate during electroplating. There also exists a need for an apparatus and efficient methodology for preventing undesirable electrodeposition of metal on the backside and edges of a substrate during electroless plating and electroplating on the front side of the substrate.


A reel for round rolling stock, such as fine steel or medium steel, particularly wire, with a coil basket for the wire coil to be coiled and vertically extending guide pins for the wire arranged in the coil basket, and with a raisable and lowerable coil floor which can be actuated by a lifting rod. A device for collecting wire windings hanging from the wire coil is arranged in the area of the upper reel head. The collecting device may be of annular construction and the outer diameter of the annular collecting device essentially corresponds to the outer diameter of the reel and the inner diameter of the annular collecting device corresponds essentially to the outer diameter of the outer surface of the coil basket.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reel for round rolling stock, such as fine steel or medium steel, particularly wire, with a coil basket for the wire coil to be coiled and vertically extending guide pins for the wire arranged in the coil basket, and with a raisable and lowerable coil floor which can be actuated by a lifting rod.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rolling trains for wire, fine steel or medium steel are composed of a plurality of high-quality plant components. A single-line or multiple-line wire train is composed, for example, of a support grate for the rolling material being used, usually in the form of billets, and a furnace in which the billets are heated to rolling temperature. The billets are conveyed from the furnace into a breaking-down train which is composed of several roll stands in which a twist-free rolling is made possible. The intermediate train following the breaking-down train also is composed of several roll stands, for example, compact stands, which make it possible to use rolling rings with long service lives. The intermediate train is followed by a finishing train which may be composed of a ten-stand finishing block which is designed for high rolling speeds of up to 90 m/sec and above. Aside from the first two stands of the breaking-down train in which box grooves are used, the rolling stock is exclusively shaped in oval grooves and round grooves. Following the wire train, the rolled wire is cooled. The rolling stock which has been rolled into a round cross-section is coiled into coils in Garrett reels. The rolling stock coils are conveyed from the reel to a transport unit and from there onto a hook conveyor on which further cooling of the rolling stock takes place. Subsequently, the rolling stock coils are shipped.
Among the high-quality plant components of the wire train, as mentioned above, are the wire reel and the means for transporting the coiled wire coil arranged following the wire reel. The reel and the coil transporting means must not impair the continuous manufacturing process of wire and must not cause any damage to the wire surfaces.
A wire reel with an output device for the reeled rolling stock coil is disclosed in DE 37 23 461 A1. The wire reel includes a coil lifting plate which can be raised and lowered in the direction of the center axis of the reel basket by means of a central lifting rod. The rolling stock coiled into a coil is lifted by means of the coil lifting plate until it can be removed from the reel basket.
DE 42 13 459 A1 discloses a device for removing rolling stock coiled into coils, particularly wire, from a reel end for transferring the rolling stock coils to subsequently arranged transport devices. It is proposed that the output and transfer device is provided with a carrousel-type support pallet for the coiled rolling stock coils which can be raised and lowered and displaced horizontally. In addition, one or more reels or one more transport devices are arranged in the peripheral area of displacement of the support pallet. When a coiled wire coil is lifted out of the reel and the coil floor is positioned in the upper reel head, support arms of the transport device are inserted into the longitudinal grooves of the coil floor and are moved underneath the wire coil as a result. For transporting the wire coil, the support arms are lifted, so that the wire coil rests on the support arms. The wire coil resting on the support arms of the transport device is transported from the reel to a transfer device.
When the coiled wire coil is transferred from the reel to the support arms of the transport device, it was not always possible to prevent the last one to two windings of the wire coil from sliding downwardly in irregular intervals. When the support arms of the transport device were inserted in the longitudinal grooves or slots of the coil floor, problems occurred because the end of the windings which were hanging down ended up in front of the open slots of the coil floor.
In the enclosed FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawing, designated as prior art, this disadvantageous situation is illustrated. In this situation, before the support arms can be inserted into the slots of the coil floor, it was necessary that the operating personnel had to carry out a manual operation. The operator had to lift the wire end with tongs in order to make it possible that the support arms could be inserted into the slots. It was possible only in this manner to ensure a continuous and problem-free transfer of the coiled wire coil from the reel to the transport device. If the operator did not act in this manner, the devices involved in the operation would be damaged, as is clear particularly from FIG. 4. This is because, when the wire end comes to rest in front of one the slots of the coil floor and the support arms of the transport device are inserted into the slots, the wire end is being bent into the slot of the support floor. It is apparent that the bent end of the wire made it impossible to insert the support arms which resulted in damage and required significant manipulations by the operator in order to move the end of the wire from the slot of the coil floor.

Reel with a device for collecting windings hanging from a rolling stock coil

SMS Schloemann-Siemag Aktiengesellschaft 40237


A device that can sufficiently speed up a communication of a TCP is provided. A network device relays a TCP communication between hosts. The network device holds a request rate and a first output rate indicative of an effective bandwidth for transferring data to a second network. The network device divides data from a first network into a plurality of connections a second network, and transfers the data between the hosts. The network device holds a second output rate for each of the divided connections. When the request rate is equal to or larger than the first output rate by a threshold value, and a relatively low-speed connection is detected among the plurality of connections of the second network, the network device conducts a communication with the use of a connection other than the relatively low-speed connection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network device, a method for controlling the network device, and a network system, and more particularly to a network device, a method for controlling the network device, and a network system which multiplex TCP on a proxy device to speed up a communication.
2. Description of the Background Art
When a plurality of information communication devices communicate with each other, a transmission control protocol (TCP) defined by RFC 793 ("TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL, DARPA INTERNET PROGRAM, PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION", pages 3-6, sec. 1.5, "Flow Control", http://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc793) is generally used. The TCP is substantially a standard protocol on the internet, and installed in a large number of communication devices. With the use of the TCP, the information communication devices can communicate with each other regardless of the type of the information communication devices.
[WAN Speed-Up Device]
However, when a communication is conducted between a data center and a hub through a wide area network (WAN), an effective bandwidth is bottlenecked by a delay of the WAN from the restrictions of a flow control of the TCP, as a result of which even if a contracted bandwidth of the WAN is widened, the speed-up effect may not be obtained. Under the circumstance, there has been proposed a TCP speed-up technique for improving the flow control of the TCP in a network proxy device (device executing a communication by proxy). Also, the speed-up device of this type is called "WAN speed-up device".
For example, JP-A-2003-69615 pertaining to a flow control improvement of the TCP discloses that "One or more routers 70a and 70b are arranged between a source host 50 and a destination host 60. The router 70a generates and transmits an acknowledge packet responsive to a packet transmitted from the source host 50, and terminates and divides a connection between the source host 50 and the destination host 60. An address of the destination host is used for a start address of the acknowledge packet. Also, a packet whose start address is an address of the source host is brought to the destination host 60. As a result, both of those hosts are made to recognize one virtual connection." (refer to "technical solution").
[Device for Transmitting TCP in a Lump]
Also, as another technical solution to the problem that the effective bandwidth is not obtained from the restrictions of the flow control of the TCP when a communication is conducted between the data center and the hub through the wide area network, there has been proposed a method for changing a communication control system of a transmitter side communication terminal, and multiplexing the TCP.
For example, JP-A-2004-260668 discloses that "There is provided a moving image transmission system including a transmitting device that transmits moving image data required to be reproduced in real time by TCP/IP, and a receiving device that receives the data transmitted from the transmitting device. The transmitting device transmits divided image data obtained by further dividing individual unit image data with one frame or a plurality of frames of the moving image data as one unit through a plurality of TCP connections, and the receiving device has a buffer part that proceeds with the processing for returning the divided image data received through the plurality of TCP connections to the original unit image data, and storage of the moving image data for the plurality of frames, and determines the division number of unit image data, and the number of TCP connections on the basis of a throughput per one TCP connection and an average bit rate of the moving image data." (refer to "technical solution").
Further, a method for applying the TCP multiplexing to proxy is also provided. For example, in US2005/025150 (Accelerating Network Performance by Striping and Parallelization of TCP Connections), "The Proxy application running on network accelerator 14-1 then assigns one or more of the persistent connections it has with the network accelerator 14-2 to handle the connection requested by Machine A." is disclosed (refer to paragraph [0031] in "Detailed Description of the Invention").

Network device, method for controlling the network device, and network system


A block type rolling mill having work roll pairs arranged along a rolling line to roll a single strand product in a twist-free manner, wherein the work roll pairs are driven by a common mill drive via a drive train which includes first and second line shafts extending in parallel relationship with the rolling line, and intermediate drive means for mechanically interconnecting two successive work roll pairs interposed between the two successive work roll pairs and the first and second line shafts, and first and second engagement means for alternatively connecting the intermediate drive means to one or the other of the first and second line shafts via respective first and second intermeshed gear sets having different gear ratios.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to rolling mills, and is concerned in particular with an improvement in single strand finishing blocks of the type employed to roll rods, bars and other like products in a twist-free manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An example of a well known single strand finishing block is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,055, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. In this type of finishing block, successive roll stands have oppositely inclined pairs of grooved cantilevered work rolls. The block is driven by a common drive connected by means of a gear type speed increaser to a pair of line shafts extending in parallel relationship to the rolling line. Successive roll pairs are alternatively connected by means of intermediate drive components to one or the other of the line shafts. The intermediate drive components include intermeshed gears which provide fixed interstand speed ratios designed to accommodate the increasing speed of the product as it is rolled through the block.
The cross section of a product exiting from a conventional finishing block normally will be within tolerances which are acceptable for some but not all purposes. For example, a properly rolled 5.5 mm round will have a tolerance at or slightly below the limit of .+-.0.15 mm as specified by ASTM-A29. Such products may be used "as is" for many applications, including for example wire mesh, etc. For other uses, however, such as for example cold heading, spring and valve steels, much tighter tolerances on the order of 1/4 ASTM are required. Such products are commonly referred to as "precision rounds". In the past, this level of precision has been achieved either by subjecting the product to a separate machining operation after the rolling operation has been completed, or by continuously rolling the product through additional separately driven so-called "sizing stands". Sizing stands are conventionally arranged successively to roll products in a round-round pass sequence, with reductions in each pass being relatively light, e.g., 3.0%-13.5% as compared with reductions on the order of 20% per stand taken during normal rolling.
The sizing stands can be arranged in a separately driven block located downstream from the finishing block, or they can be incorporated as part of the finishing block. Separately driven sizing stands add significantly to the overall cost of the mill, and in some cases this arrangement may be impractical due to physical space limitations. The incorporation of the sizing stands into the finishing block minimizes these drawbacks. However, in the past, the fixed interstand drive speed ratios which exist between the successive stands of conventional finishing blocks has presented a limitation on the extent to which integrally incorporated sizing stands can be utilized.
For example, if the last two stands of a ten stand finishing block are adapted to operate as sizing stands, they can normally size rounds having a particular diameter and travelling at a particular speed as they exit from the preceding eighth stand. Should the rolling schedule subsequently call for a larger round, the normal practice would be to "dummy" (render inoperative) one or more successive pairs of stands in the finishing block in order to obtain the desired larger product. However, because the last two stands are operating at the same constant speed, they cannot accept the larger slower moving product. Thus, they too must be dummied, making it impossible to size the larger product.

Finishing block with dual speed sizing capability


In one embodiment, a method of forming a semiconductor device can comprise; forming a HEM device on a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate provides a current carrying electrode for the semiconductor device and one or more internal conductor structures provide a vertical current path between the semiconductor substrate and regions of the HEM device.

The present invention relates, in general, to electronics, and more particularly, to semiconductors, structures thereof, and methods of forming semiconductor devices.
In the past, the semiconductor industry utilized various methods to form power semiconductor devices that used at least one III series semiconductor material, such as gallium nitride (GaN), as one of the semiconductor materials. Such power semiconductor devices were used in a variety of applications including power supplies and motor controllers including high voltage switching circuits. GaN power semiconductor devices built on silicon substrates, such as high electron mobility transistor ("HEMT") devices, have been lateral devices with both the source and drain electrodes on the top surface of the device. However, this configuration made it difficult to form connections to various portions of the semiconductor devices. It also was difficult to package the GaN devices with silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a semiconductor device using GaN or other III series materials such as a III-nitride series material or SiC that has improved device connectability as well as integration capability.
For simplicity and clarity of the illustration(s), elements in the figures are not necessarily to scale, and the same reference numbers in different figures denote the same elements, unless stated otherwise. Additionally, descriptions and details of well-known steps and elements are omitted for simplicity of the description. As used herein current carrying electrode means an element of a device that carries current through the device such as a source or a drain of a MOS transistor or an emitter or a collector of a bipolar transistor or a cathode or anode of a diode, and a control electrode means an element of the device that controls current through the device such as a gate of a MOS transistor or a base of a bipolar transistor. Although the devices are explained herein as certain N-channel or P-Channel devices, or certain N-type or P-type doped regions, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that complementary devices are also possible in accordance with the present invention. One of ordinary skill in the art understands that the conductivity type refers to the mechanism through which conduction occurs such as through conduction of holes or electrons, therefore, and that conductivity type does not refer to the doping concentration but the doping type, such as P-type or N-type. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the words during, while, and when as used herein relating to circuit operation are not exact terms that mean an action takes place instantly upon an initiating action but that there can be some small but reasonable delay(s), such as various propagation delays, between the reaction that is initiated by the initial action. Additionally, the term while means that a certain action occurs at least within some portion of a duration of the initiating action. The use of the word approximately or substantially means that a value of an element has a parameter that is expected to be close to a stated value or position. However, as is well known in the art there are always minor variances that prevent the values or positions from being exactly as stated. It is well established in the art that variances of up to at least ten per cent (10%) (and up to twenty per cent (20%) for semiconductor doping concentrations) are reasonable variances from the ideal goal of exactly as described. The terms first, second, third and the like in the claims or/and in the Detailed Description of the Drawings, as used in a portion of a name of an element are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or illustrated herein. For clarity of the drawings, doped regions of device structures are illustrated as having generally straight line edges and precise angular corners. However, those skilled in the art understand that due to the diffusion and activation of dopants the edges of doped regions generally may not be straight lines and the corners may not be precise angles.
In addition, the description may illustrate a cellular design (where the body regions are a plurality of cellular regions) instead of a single body design (where the body region is comprised of a single region formed in an elongated pattern, typically in a serpentine pattern). However, it is intended that the description is applicable to both a cellular implementation and a single base implementation.

Method of forming a high electron mobility semiconductor device and structure therefor

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC


A continuous-flow machine (1), in particular a turbine or a compressor, includes at least one stator blade section (2) which has a plurality of stator blades (3) which project into a gas path (10) of a working gas, and at least one adjacent section (6), which has a plurality of adjacent elements (7), which bound the working gas path (10) at the side. A gap (11), through which a cooling gas can be introduced into the working gas path (10), is formed between the stator blades (3) of the stator blade section (2) and the adjacent elements (7) of the adjacent section (6). In order to improve the efficiency of the continuous-flow machine (1), lateral seals (14) are formed in the gap (11) and prevent or at least impede pressure equalization and/or a gas flow in the gap (11) in the lateral direction (5).

1. Field of Endeavor
The present invention relates to a continuous-flow machine, in particular a turbine or a compressor.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
A continuous-flow machine normally has at least one stator blade section which has a plurality of stator blades which are arranged alongside one another in a lateral direction running transversely with respect to the main flow direction of a working gas and project into a gas path of the working gas. Furthermore, an adjacent section can be adjacent to the rotor blade section, upstream or downstream in the main flow direction, and has a plurality of adjacent elements which are arranged alongside one another in the lateral direction and bound the working gas path at the side. A gap can be formed in the main flow direction between stator blades of the stator blade section and the adjacent elements of the adjacent section, which gap extends in the lateral direction and through which a cooling gas can be introduced into the working gas path.
In this case, the cooling gas is introduced into the gap in order to prevent or at least reduce any ingress of the hot working gas into the gap. The cooling gas must accordingly be introduced into the gap at a pressure which is at equal magnitude to or is greater than the pressure in the working gas path.
The pressure in the working gas path is subject to certain fluctuations. In particular, it is possible to observe that stagnation-point pressure waves can occur on leading edges of the stator blades during operation of the continuous-flow machine and propagate in the opposite direction to the main flow direction. Furthermore, wake pressure waves can form on trailing edges of the stator blades and propagate in the main flow direction. Where the stagnation-point pressure waves or the wake pressure waves strike the gap, increased pressures occur in the working gas. In order nevertheless to make it possible to prevent or reduce any ingress of working gas into the gap, the pressure of the cooling gas in the gap is increased accordingly. A relatively large amount of cooling gas is therefore necessary overall in order to reduce or to prevent any ingress of hot working gas into the respective gap. The greater the amount of cooling gas that enters the working gas path, the lower is the efficiency of the continuous-flow machine. There is therefore a need to reduce the amount of cooling gas required.

Continuous-flow machine, turbine, or compressor


A method for generating code, including identifying at least one portion of source code that is simdizable and has a dependence, analyzing the dependence for characteristics, based upon the characteristics, selecting a transformation from a predefined group of transformations, applying the transformation to the at least one portion to generate SIMD code for the at least one portion.

Computer processors function by processing data elements through various registers in accordance with instructions provided by a computer program. The processor executes instructions in the form of machine language, which are the low-level instructions relating to what data elements are processed through which registers. Most software, however, is written in higher-level programming code, such as C++, which has the advantages of being human readable and of embodying relatively complex processing operations using comparatively short, quickly-written commands. A compiler receives the high-level programming code, and based upon the programming of the compiler itself, generates the machine language that is readable by a processor.
Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) operations are a known way of enhancing the performance (i.e., speed) of processors. Generally speaking, SIMD operations enhance performance by efficiently handling large quantities of data in parallel. Processors with SIMD capability are currently used in a wide range of machines, e.g., supercomputers, personal computers, game machines, etc. In order to realize the advantages of SIMD, these processors must be provided with machine language code having SIMD instructions. Accordingly, compilers have been developed that generate SIMD code from programs written in standard high-level languages.
The automatic generation of SIMD code, via a compiler with SIMD capability, is generally well understood for code that is parallel. Although the presence of non-aligned (e.g., not parallel) data elements adds considerable complexity to the generation of SIMD code, methods have been developed for handling such instances. For example, a compiler may track the alignment of each of the data involved in the computation and shift the alignment of the data in registers so as to generate valid SIMD code. However, the shifting may result in the generation of invalid code in the presence of dependences.
Data dependences are statements within the source code that depend on each other. For example, the definition of a new value in a first statement and the subsequent use of the defined value in a second statement creates a dependence between the statements. Dependences often exist in iterative loops where statements are commonly re-defined and re-used in each iteration. Dependences between statements enforce an ordering between the statements that, if violated, would result in an invalid code that generates erroneous results.
Dependences interact with automatic SIMD code generation (also referred to as "simdization") because the statements in a loop to be simdized must be re-ordered in order to satisfy the above-mentioned alignment constraints. Dependences between statements constrain the type of re-ordering that is legal, and, therefore, constrain simdization.
Because of these problems, compilers have been quite conservative when simdizing code in the presence of dependences. One rule typically followed is that when the dependence distance is large enough, then the compiler can simdize regardless of the alignment. More advanced compilers may use compile-time alignment information, when available, to further refine the minimum dependence distance required to simdize the code without violating the dependence.
These approaches, however, are unsatisfactory because empirical evidence in real world application indicates that a large fraction of dependences are very short. Compilers of the current technology simply do not simdize loops with such short dependences, and, in many instances, fail to provide the enhanced performance that SIMD is capable of achieving.

Generating optimized SIMD code in the presence of data dependences

International Business Machines Corporation


A device used for controlling brake fluid pressure includes a plunger pump, for pressurizing brake fluid, and a drive motor for driving the plunger pump. The plunger pump and the output shaft of the drive motor are coupled together so as to transmit power through a cam mechanism arranged in a motor cam chamber. The motor cam chamber is provided with a communication passageway to allow brake fluid seepage to flow from the motor cam chamber to an interior chamber such as a solenoid chamber and/or one or more spring-enclosing chambers. The motor cam chamber is sealed from the exterior and brake fluid seeping into the motor cam chamber is contained within the interior of the device used for controlling brake fluid pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for controlling brake fluid pressure used, for example, in an anti-lock brake system (ABS) and other like systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-52959 teaches a device for controlling brake fluid pressure comprising a plunger pump and a motor for driving the plunger pump. The plunger pump transfers brake fluid from a wheel cylinder into a reservoir provided in the body of the device for controlling brake fluid pressure. The plunger pump refluxes the brake fluid previously introduced into the reservoir to the side of the master cylinder. The plunger pump and the output shaft of the drive motor are coupled together to transmit power in a motor cam chamber provided in the body of the device for controlling brake fluid pressure. Further, there is a drain passage formed for draining the brake fluid seeping (leaking) by the plunger pump. The drain passage connects the motor cam chamber to the exterior. This device is additionally provided with a valve located in the drain passage in order to drain the brake fluid that seeped into the motor cam chamber and to prevent a sudden infiltration of water from the external environment. By using this device for controlling brake fluid pressure, the brake fluid that seeped into the motor cam chamber is drained through the drain passage, thereby preventing the grease of the bearing supporting the output shaft of the drive motor from being washed away by the brake fluid. Consequently, the draining of brake fluid from the motor cam chamber aids in preventing the bearing from being prematurely worn due to the depletion of grease and also aids in preventing the shortening of the life of the product. In addition, the valve provided in the drain passage prevents water from infiltrating into the drain passage when the device is submerged under water, for example.
However, though a sudden infiltration of water into the drain passage can be prevented, this device for controlling brake fluid pressure is not capable of completely preventing a relatively slow intake of water. For example, when the car is washed after having stopped the engine, the temperature in the motor cam chamber drops and the pressure therein decreases, causing water to be drawn into the motor cam chamber of the device for controlling brake fluid pressure.

Devices for controlling brake fluid pressure


The present invention provides a biosensor that can be used for easy and quick quantitative analysis of a specific component in a sample with high precision and a method for manufacturing such a biosensor. The present invention also provides a biosensor that can be used for a highly precise quantitative analysis after an extended period of storage, specifically, a biosensor with excellent storage stability, and a method for manufacturing such a biosensor. The present invention relates to a biosensor comprising an electrically insulating substrate (1); an electrode (2) having a working electrode (21) and a counter electrode (22) formed on the substrate; and a reaction part (4) that is adhered to one end of the electrode (2); the reaction part (4) being mainly composed of a hydrophilic polymer comprising an oxidoreductase, an electron acceptor, fine crystalline cellulose powder, and hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments.

A biosensor is used as a tool for readily determining the quantity of a specific component in a sample solution without diluting and/or stirring the sample solution. Many techniques for overcoming problems of heretofore-used biosensors have been reported.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1991-202764 discloses a method for improving measurement accuracy by adding a hydrophilic polymer to a reaction layer. However, potassium ferricyanides are deposited in the glucose sensor disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1991-202764, the shapes of the obtained reaction parts are not uniform, and therefore the measurement accuracy thereof is insufficient.
There is a technique wherein fine crystalline cellulose is made to coexist in a system having an enzyme and an electronic mediator as a reaction layer (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-311712). The enzyme sensor disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-311712 enhances the uniformity of the thickness of the reaction layer, the precision of the sensor chip, and the performance stability of the chip. However, the fine crystalline cellulose has low solubility in the sample, and therefore it takes time for the fine crystalline cellulose to be satisfactorily dissolved in or mixed with the sample. The measurement thus takes too long. It is presumed that one of the reasons for this problem is that large crystals of potassium hexacyanoferrate (III) grow and the surface area of the reaction layer which can contact the sample become small, and this makes the dispersion and dissolution of the fine crystalline cellulose difficult.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-281202 discloses a method wherein a reaction layer is formed by a sublimation method. However, this method requires decompression in the biosensor manufacturing process. This increases costs of facilities, etc., and therefore this method is not suitable for manufacturing a biosensor at low cost. Furthermore, this makes the manufacturing operation complicated, resulting in low productivity.

Biosensor and method for manufacturing same


A closure for use with a pocket for a protective garment is provided. The closure includes a margin, a closure body and an edge. The edge is thicker than the closure body so as to provide better tactile feedback for the wearer. The edge may also include an insert located within the edge.

Commonly, a firefighter or an emergency worker wears a protective garment, such as a protective coat or protective coveralls, onto which is sewn an external pouch or pocket for holding a variety of items, such as ropes, telecommunications devices and other objects. Additionally, the protective garment is often manufactured to protect the wearer from heat, flames, water, abrasion and other environmental factors. Such protective garments are often multi-layered and manufactured from such materials as Nomex® and Kevlar®.
Furthermore, firefighters and emergency workers often wear gloves which can be thick, thereby providing diminished tactile feedback. In this regard, while wearing gloves, the firefighter or emergency worker may have a difficult time opening pockets, especially when attempting to open the pocket based on tactile feedback. For example, the firefighter or emergency worker may be preoccupied with carrying equipment or rescuing an individual and may need to access items located within a pocket. The firefighter or emergency worker may try to feel for the closure on the pocket, but have a difficult time because of the thickness of the gloves he or she is wearing. Therefore, it is desired to improve the tactile feedback of the pocket and/or closure on the pocket.