A power conversion and distribution system detects faults by monitoring differential current and differential power at certain locations in the system. Current loss faults are detected based on the monitored differential current, and series arc faults are detected based on the monitored differential power. A system controller may make the fault determinations and disable a power converter circuit of the power conversion and distribution system in response to detection of a fault.

The present disclosure relates to detection and isolation of faults in power conversion and distribution systems.
In electrical power conversion and distribution systems, the measurement of currents and power levels of the electrical wiring is often desirable for protection of the system and connected equipment, and to ensure safety in the event of a failure. In many aircraft systems, for example, the quality of the electrical power is critical for flight controls and for electrically driven hydraulic pumps. Internal faults can cause loss of power, or unacceptable degraded power quality to these flight critical systems. Effective protection functions within the power conversion and distribution systems improve flight safety by the prevention or minimization of the effect of electrical faults. Rapid detection and isolation/segregation of short circuit faults are desirable due to the localized heating and potential damage that high current or arcs can cause.

Method of detection and isolation of faults within power conversion and distribution systems


A pile of sheets is held by a separator/feeder and a vibrator is brought into contact with a first region of the pile with a first contact pressure. High frequency vibrations are applied from the vibrator to the sheet. A takeout mechanism is brought into contact with and pressed against the pile with a second contact pressure and sheets are taken out one by one from the top surface of the pile by the takeout mechanism. A first sensor detects the position of the vibrator and outputs a first detection signal, while a second sensor detects the uppermost surface of the pile and outputs a second detection signal. A control section selects first and second contact pressures according to the first and second detection signals and maintains the first and second contact pressures.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a separator/feeder for sheets of paper or paper-like medium for taking out such a medium. More particularly, the present invention relates to a separator/feeder for sheets of paper or paper-like medium that separates and feeds sheets of such a medium one by one from a pile of sheets of the medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
An apparatus adapted to check and process sheets of paper or paper-like medium (to be simply referred to as paper-like medium hereinafter) such as a printer, a copying machine, an automatic teller machine, a banknote processing machine, a mail matter processing machine or the like handles sheets of paper-like medium such as sheets of printing paper, banknotes, sheets of copying paper, sealed letters, postcards, cards securities or the like, whichever appropriate. More specifically, such an apparatus is required to take out sheets one by one from a pile of a plurality of sheets of paper-like medium. Therefore, such a checking apparatus is equipped with a separator/feeder for separating and feeding sheets of paper-like medium one by one from a pile of sheets of paper-like medium. For example, a banknote processing section of an automatic teller machine repeats an operation of taking out a banknote from a pile of banknotes stored in an input/output section or a depository and examines it. Thus, an automatic teller machine is equipped with a separator/feeder for separating banknotes one by one from a pile of banknotes.
Conventionally, separators/feeders for separating and feeding sheets of paper-like medium from a pile of sheets of paper-like medium are required to accurately feed sheets one by one without duplication as the most important requirement that have to meet. Sheets of paper-like medium are apt to be adsorbed by each other in a pile because some of the sheets are inevitably frayed at the time of manufacturing, if slightly, and loosened fibers become entangled or the sheets are held in tight contact with each other or generate static electricity. To date, such sheets of paper-like medium are mostly separated by applying a strong force to the uppermost surface of the piled sheets and a predetermined number of sheets of paper-like medium are stripped off from the pile. Then, the sheets that are stripped off are separated from each other by a duplicate feeding prevention mechanism or the like and fed into the host apparatus one by one. Various techniques are selectively employed in such duplicate feeding prevention mechanisms and the sheets that are laid one on the other and taken out from the pile as a bunch are forced into a narrow gap and separated from each other by the most popular one of the known techniques. For example JP-A 2003-261238 (KOKAI) discloses a technique with which rollers are arranged at the opposite sides of a narrow gap to rotate in various different directions and sheets that are laid one on the other are forced to pass through the gap. Then, the sheets are subjected to forces in opposite directions and separated from each other. However, in many occasions, it is difficult to reliably and satisfactorily separate sheets into individual ones by means of such a mechanism. In other words, sheets of paper-like medium that are strongly adhering to each other can be caught by the gap and locked there to give rise to a trouble of bringing the apparatus to a halt.
Techniques of applying vibrations to the uppermost surface of a pile of sheets of paper-like medium to separate the sheets with ease have been discussed. For example, JP-A 2004-2044 (KOKAI) discloses a technique of applying vibrations to sheets of paper-like medium. With this technique, a beam-shaped vibrating part is applied to the entire surface of a pile of sheets of paper-like medium in the transversal direction at a position located immediately upstream relative to a feed mechanism to reduce the adhesion of the sheets so as to operate as an auxiliary means of a duplicate feeding prevention mechanism. For this purpose, a bar-shaped vibrating part having a length greater than the width of the sheets of paper-like medium is arranged upstream relative to a takeout roller and sheets of paper-like medium are fed while it is being vibrated.
However, the arrangement of applying vibrations to sheets of paper-like medium when taking out the sheets of paper-like medium as disclosed in JP-A 2004-2044 (KOKAI) is accompanied by a problem as described below. As a result of an experiment conducted by the inventors of the present invention, it is indispensably necessary to apply appropriate pressure between the vibrator and the sheets of paper-like medium in order to vibrate the piled sheets of paper-like medium and loosen them. In other words, the effect of separating sheets of paper-like medium is not obtained simply by controlling the height of the uppermost sheet as described in JP-A 2004-2044 (KOKAI).
A mechanism for separating sheets of paper-like medium by applying vibrations to the sheets of paper-like medium until they start vibrating as disclosed in JP-A 2002-356240 (KOKAI). However, the disclosed mechanism can be used only in an apparatus where a paper-like medium having certain predetermined characteristics is supplied and additionally it is not possible to separate sheets of paper-like medium by means of the mechanism unless pressure of an appropriate pressure level is applied to the vibrator. The mechanism disclosed in FIG. 3 of JP-A 2000-177869 (KOKAI) cannot separate sheets of paper-like medium for a similar reason.
Additionally, the paper-like medium feeding position of conventional paper-like medium processing machine is fixed and the machine is so devised that a take out mechanism such as a takeout roller operates to take out sheets of paper-like medium while applying appropriate pressure to the sheets. More specifically, JP-A 2000-219334 (KOKAI) discloses a mechanism comprising a movable lever that is held in contact with the top surface of piled sheets of paper-like medium to detect the position of the top surface and constantly keep the top surface of the piled sheets of paper-like medium to a same position. In short, it is possible for the prior art to take out sheet of paper-like medium reliably without depending on the type of paper-like medium only by means of such a mechanism.
However, the mechanism of using a vibrator held in contact with the surface of piled sheets of paper-like medium is accompanied by a problem that the pressure being applied by the vibrator resists the operation of taking sheets of paper-like medium one by one. Particularly, when sheets of paper-like medium is soft, the sheets of paper-like medium are pressed down by and engaged with the vibrator to adversely affect the operation of taking them out. Therefore, it may be necessary to regulate the pressure according to the state of being pressed down.
As pointed out above, mechanisms for preventing duplicate feeding that takes place when sheets of paper-like medium tightly adhere to each other by means of ultrasonic vibrations are accompanied by a problem that the technique of controlling the pressure applied to piled sheets of paper-like medium by means of a vibrator is not reliably established.

Separator and feeder with vibrator for sheets of paper medium


The present invention provides a system for a contra rotor wind turbine system comprising of dual aerodynamic rotors composed of plurality of either radially extended blades or axially extended helically contoured blades. The blades on the upwind or the outer rotor are set to spin in the first direction about the outer shaft, while the blades on the downwind or inner rotor are set to spin in a second direction about the co-axially mounted center shaft. Each rotor drives a digitally controllable positive displacement pump unit to convert the kinetic energy of the rotor to the fluidic potential energy. The potential energy of each rotor is compounded to achieve net potential energy. The net potential energy is stored in a fluidic reservoir and used by a hydraulic motor to drive an electrical generator. The hydraulic pump and the motor units are provided to maintain uniform rotational speed and torque.

The embodiments stated herein, generally relate to the field of electric power generation from the kinetic energy of a fluid flow medium, such as wind, steam or hydraulic fluid. More specifically, the embodiments described herein relate to the development of an energy efficient wind turbine (WT) system, having a pair of contra rotors (CR) coupled to an electrical power generating alternator by means of a hydraulic power transmission (HPT) device. According to the present innovation, the integration of the contra rotor wind turbine technology with the hydraulic power transmission device (CR-WT-HPT) results in a cost effective and an energy efficient wind turbine having the following features:                reduced tower-top weight, since the low speed hydraulic pump unit need be mounted on the tower top, while the alternator could be placed on the ground level,        the rotors could start easily and safely at any wind speed, because, the heavy duty alternator inertia load is not directly connected to the rotors and moreover, the torque required to drive the hydraulic pump units can be digitally controlled to match the rotor torque at any wind speed,        increased annual energy yield per unit of rotor swept area,        Significantly reduced noise level.
Said Contra Rotor Wind Turbine unit may comprise of conventional radially extended blades (FIG. 1a) having its axis of rotation in the direction of fluid flow, designated as CR-WT. Alternatively, each co-axial contra rotor unit may comprise of helically contoured blades having its axis of rotation, also positioned horizontally in the direction of fluid flow (FIG. 4) and designated as CR-HAWT. Still further, it may have an alternate configuration, wherein the axis of rotation of the helical bladed contra rotor may be positioned vertically up perpendicular to the flow field, designated as CR-VAWT.
As the need for energy continues to grow worldwide, the commitment to extract more of energy from the renewable sources increases. At present, the worldwide requirement is around 30 percent or more from solar and wind energy sources. For this reason, the offshore wind farm development is gaining popularity. According to the present technology, the cost of initial investment required on offshore wind turbine installations is nearly 3 to 4 times more expensive than that for the land based units. To minimize this cost, innovators are looking into several other technologies, which are more efficient and less expensive; such as:
a) The Contra Rotor Wind Turbine (CRWT, FIG. 1a), which is designed to yield nearly 30 to 50 percent more of annual energy per unit of rotor swept area, and
b) The Hydraulic Power Transmission (HPT, FIG. 1c) device that couples a rotor and an alternator. This HPT device permits the coupling of multiple rotors to a single alternator, which can be placed on the ground floor for easy access to installation and maintenance at minimal cost.
FIG. 2 shows the typical art of the present innovation, wherein the Contra Rotor (CR) technology and the hydraulic power transmission (HPT) technology are integrated to yield, a cost effective and an energy efficient wind turbine system.

Contra rotor wind turbine system using a hydraulic power transmission device


A ground engaging tip comprising a ground engaging portion and a coupling portion. The coupling portion in opposing relationship to the ground engaging portion along a longitudinal axis. The coupling portion includes an interior surface defining a coupler pocket, and an interlock tab extending along the longitudinal axis in a direction away from the ground engaging portion. The interlock tab terminates at a proximal end and has an inner and outer lateral surface. The inner lateral surface has a proximal planar portion and a concave portion. The proximal end of the interlock tab has a proximal end width measured along a lateral axis measured between the outer lateral surface and the proximal planar portion. The concave portion has a radius of curvature greater than the proximal end width.

Different types of mining and construction machines, such as excavators, wheel loaders, hydraulic mining shovels, cable shovels, bucket wheels, and draglines commonly employ buckets to dig and remove the earth being worked or materials being excavated or loaded. The buckets frequently experience extreme wear from the loading forces and highly abrasive materials encountered during operation. Replacement of the large buckets and other implements used in mining and construction machinery can be very costly and labor intensive.
The bucket can be equipped with a ground engaging tool (GET) or a set of GETs to help protect the bucket and other earth working tools from wear. Typically, a GET can be in the form of teeth, edge protectors, tips, or other removable components that can be attached to the areas of the bucket or other tool where most damaging and repeated abrasions and impacts occur. For example, a GET in the form of edge protectors can wrap around a bucket's cutting edge to help protect it from excessive wear.
In such applications, the removable GET can be subjected to wear from abrasion and repeated impact, while helping to protect the bucket or other implement to which it can be mounted. When the GET becomes worn through use, it can be removed and replaced with a new GET at a reasonable cost to permit the continued use of the same bucket. By protecting the implement with a GET and replacing the worn GET at appropriate intervals, significant cost and time savings are possible.
A GET can have a variety of forms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,762,015 for a "Ground Engaging Tool System," issued Jul. 27, 2010, to Smith et al. is directed to a ground engaging tool system with a ground engaging tool such as a tip, an adapter mounted to or part of a work tool, and a rotating lock member. The ground engaging tool can be attached to the adapter, and a post portion of the adapter slides into a slot provided on the lock member. The lock member can be rotated so that the entrance to the slot can be blocked and the post cannot slide out of the slot. The lock member in this position can be in a locking position, and the retention of the post in the slot of the lock member retains the ground engaging tool to the adapter.
The cost and time savings available from using a GET to protect large machine implements can be further enhanced by increasing the lifespan of the GET. Thus, a more durable GET system can result in fewer work stoppages for part replacements, thereby resulting in higher work efficiency. There is an ongoing need in the art for an improved GET system that increases the useful life of GET tools resulting in fewer replacements and increased productivity.
It will be appreciated that this background description has been created by the inventors to aid the reader, and is not to be taken as an indication that any of the indicated problems were themselves appreciated in the art. While the described principles can, in some respects and embodiments, alleviate the problems inherent in other systems, it will be appreciated that the scope of the protected innovation is defined by the attached claims, and not by the ability of any disclosed feature to solve any specific problem noted herein.


According to the invention, a processing core is disclosed that includes a first source register, a number of second operands, a destination register, and a number of arithmetic processors. A bitwise inverter is coupled to at least one of the first number of operands and the second number of operands. The first source register includes a plurality of first operands and the destination register includes a plurality of results. The number of arithmetic processors are respectively coupled to the first operands, second operands and results, wherein each arithmetic processor computes one of a sum and a difference of the first operand and a respective second operand.

The present invention relates generally to an improved computer processing instruction set, and more particularly to an instruction set having a parallel arithmetic capability.
Computer architecture designers are constantly trying to increase the speed and efficiency of computer processors. For example, computer architecture designers have attempted to increase processing speeds by increasing clock speeds and attempting latency hiding techniques, such as data prefetching and cache memories. In addition, other techniques, such as instruction-level parallelism using VLIW, multiple-issue superscalar, speculative execution, scoreboarding, and pipelining are used to further enhance performance and increase the number of instructions issued per clock cycle (IPC).
Architectures that attain their performance through instruction-level parallelism seem to be the growing trend in the computer architecture field. Examples of architectures utilizing instruction-level parallelism include single instruction multiple data (SIMD) architecture, multiple instruction multiple data (MIMD) architecture, vector or array processing, and very long instruction word (VLIW) techniques. Of these, VLIW appears to be the most suitable for general purpose computing. However, there is a need to further achieve instruction-level parallelism through other techniques.

Processing architecture having parallel arithmetic capability


Hybrid inorganic light emitting device/luminescent polymer light-emitting sources for efficient and cost effective white lighting and for full-color applications and their manufacture are disclosed. The hybrid light sources include an inorganic light-emitting source such as a p-n junction diode-containing device capable of emitting a first emitted output of light and a photoluminescent polymer element positioned in the first emitted output of light, the polymer being selected to be capable of being pumped by a first portion of the first emitted output of light and when so pumped of emitting a second emitted output of light which is emitted from the device with that portion of the first emitted output remaining beyond the first portion.

Solid state photonic devices are a class of devices in which the quantum of light, the photon, plays a role. Photonic devices are often classified into three categories: light sources (light-emitting diodes, lasers, diode lasers etc.), photodetectors (photoconductors, photodiodes etc.) and energy conversion devices (photovoltaic cells) [S. M. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices (Wiley, New York, 1981)]. All three are important. Because photonic devices are utilized in a wide range of applications, they continue to provide a focus for research laboratories all over the world.
The solid state photonic devices function by utilizing electro-optical and/or opto-electronic effects in solid state materials. Because the interband optical transition (in absorption and/or in emission) is involved in photonic phenomena and because photon energies from near infrared (IR) to near ultraviolet (UV) are of interest, the relevant materials are semiconductors with band gaps in the range from about 1 to about 3 eV. Typical inorganic semiconductors used for photonic devices include Si, Ge, GaAs, GaP, GaN, SiC, (In,Ga)N, and the like. The Group III-nitrides, such as GaN, and (In,Ga)N have been widely studied.
In the (In,Ga)N alloy semiconductor system, the band gap can be varied from 1.9 to 3.4 eV. As a result, (In,Ga)N alloys are useful for the fabrication of optoelectronic devices operating in the wavelength range from the red to ultraviolet. Furthermore, Group III-nitrides generally are distinguished by their high thermal conductivity and physical hardness, making them suitable for high temperature applications. Group III-nitride p-n junction light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) emit in the blue-green spectral region.
Optical characterization of GaN has revealed that, in addition to the emission originating from the interband transition (380 nm), there is also a strong defect-mediated yellow emission around (550 nm). In general, the latter is more intense than the former; hence GaN itself is not believed to be appropriate as the emitting layer in devices. [W. Grieshaber, E. F. Schubert, I. D. Goepfert, R. F. Karlicek, Jr., M. J. Schurman, and C. Tran, J. Appl. Phys. 80, 4615 (1996).] On the other hand, by using a mixed Group III metal nitride, InGaN, as the emitting layer in an LED, the emission from the interband transition can be made to be dominant, and the emission wavelength can be tuned by varying the mole fraction of In. [S. Nakamura, M. Senoh, M. Iwasa, S. Nagahama, T. Yamada, and T. Mukai, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 34, L1332 (1995); H. Morko.cedilla. and S. N. Mohammad, Science 267, 51 (1995).] A number of schemes have been implemented for Group III-nitride-based LEDs, including the use of InGaN quantum wells and Zn-doped InGaN
Although different colors are available from devices using InGaN as the active layer, InGaN films have proven to be difficult to grow as a result of the high volatility of indium at normal nitride growth temperatures. This makes the achievement of white light, comprised of red, green, and blue spectral regions, and/or multiple color LEDs from the InGaN system difficult and costly.
Inorganic semiconductor LEDs have recently achieved sufficiently high efficiencies that they have become competitive with other lighting technologies. Until 1995, bright blue LEDs were the missing color which prevented full-color LED based displays. Now, using Group III-nitride technology, bright blue LEDs with luminous efficiency of 6 lumens/W (7% quantum efficiency) and bright green Group III-nitride-based LEDs with luminous efficiencies over 30 lm/W (5% quantum efficiency) have been realized. The evolution over time of this LED technology is illustrated in FIG. 1.
Unfortunately, however, Group III-nitride technology has not been able to obtain bright red and yellow emission because of a serious drop in luminous efficiency at these longer wavelengths. This is shown in FIG. 2. Therefore GaN chips must be combined with AlGaInP chips to achieve white and full-color products. This multiple chip solution is costly and time consuming; a monolithic source of white light would be much more desirable.
As the quantum efficiency of the Group III-nitride LEDs is further improved from the present level of 7% to anticipated levels in excess of 15%, major opportunities will become possible; in particular, white lighting sources which are substantially more efficient than tungsten light bulbs can be anticipated.
One method of obtaining a monolithic source of white light is to combine Group III-nitride LEDs with phosphors. This approach uses the Group III-nitride source to pump fluorescent films such as ZnS and ZnCdS, as described in Y. Sato, N. Takahashi, and S. Sato, Jpn. J. Appl. Physics 35, L838 (1996). This method produces white light by using red, green and blue phosphors. A disadvantage of this technique is that the phosphors reabsorb higher energy photons, thereby reducing the net efficiency of the light emission. In addition, phosphors degrade under high drive currents and have broad emission spectra which reduce the color purity.
Conjugated polymers are a novel class of semiconductors which combine the optical and electronic properties of semiconductors with the processing advantages and mechanical properties of polymers. Semiconducting polymers typically have band gaps in the range from 1 to 3 eV. The molecular structures of a few important examples of semiconducting polymers are shown in FIG. 3. Because of the sp.sup.2 p.sub.z bonding of these planar conjugated macromolecules, each carbon is covalently bonded to three nearest neighbors (two carbons and a hydrogen); and there is formally one unpaired electron per carbon. Thus, the electronic structure (semiconductor or metal) depends on the number of atoms per repeat unit. For example the repeat unit of poly(paraphenylene vinylene), ("PPV"), contains eight carbons; PPV is a semiconductor in which the fundamental p.sub.z -band is split into eight sub-bands. The energy gap of the semiconductor, the .pi.-.pi.* gap, is the energy between the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital.
When functionalized with flexible side chains, for example, poly(2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene), ("MEH-PPV"), see FIG. 3, these materials become soluble in common organic solvents and can be processed from solution at room temperature into uniform, large area, optical quality thin films [D. Braun and A. J. Heeger, Appl. Phys. Lett. 58, 1982 (1991)]. Because of the large elongation to break which is a characteristic feature of polymers, such films are flexible and easily fabricated into desired shapes that are useful in novel devices [G. Gustafsson, Y. Cao, G. M. Treacy, F. Klavetter, N. Colaneri, and A. J. Heeger, Nature 357, 477 (1992).]
Many conjugated polymers exhibit relatively high photoluminescence (PL) efficiencies with emission that is shifted sufficiently far from the absorption edge that self-absorption is minimal. The absence of self-absorption by the polymer film is a critical advantage of this invention. For example, when inorganic phosphors pumped by Group III-nitride LEDs are used with phosphors to create white light, the self absorption of the phosphor limits the overall efficiency and complicates the achievement of specific desired colors.
Light-emitting diodes have also been fabricated using semiconducting, luminescent polymers as the active materials. Thin film devices in the sandwich (multi-layer thin film) configuration comprise an active luminescent, semiconducting material laminated between two planar electrodes. One of the electrodes is made semitransparent, thereby allowing the emitting light to exit from the device. Inorganic materials (such as ZnS:Mn), organic materials such as organic dye molecules [C. W. Tang and S. A. VanSlyke, Appl. Phys. Lett. 51, 913 (1987); C. W. Tang, S. A. Van Slyke, and C. H. Chen, J. Appl. Phys. 65, 3610 (1989)] and conjugated polymers [J. H. Burroughes, D. D. C. Bradley, A. R. Brown, R. N. Marks, K. Mackay, R. H. Friend, P. L. Burns, and A. B. Holmes, Nature 347, 539 (1990); D. Braun and A. J. Heeger, Appl. Phys. Lett. 58, 1982 (1991)] have been used in this general type of electroluminescent device.
Although polymer LEDs are promising for applications in emissive displays, they suffer many serious disadvantages compared with inorganic LEDs such as those fabricated from the Group III-nitrides. In particular, the efficiencies are relatively low; quantum efficiencies are below 3% (photons per electron) and often below 1%. Moreover, the achievement of long operating life and long shelf life for polymer LEDs remains a difficult and unresolved problem. Finally, the mechanism of operation of the polymer LED requires that carrier injection be optimized and balanced by matching the electrodes to the electronic structure of the semiconducting polymer. For optimum injection, the work function of the anode should lie at approximately the top of the valance band, E.sub.v, (the .pi.-band or highest occupied molecular orbital, HOMO) and the work function of the cathode should lie at approximately the bottom of the conduction band, E.sub.c, (the .pi.*-band or lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, LUMO). Thus, for each new polymer with a different band-gap and therefore a different emission color, a different pair of electrode materials must be developed, a tedious and difficult task.
Semiconducting, luminescent polymers are also potentially interesting as laser materials. In semiconducting polymers, the emission is at longer wavelengths than the onset of significant absorption (the Stokes shift). Because of the spectral Stokes shift between the absorption and the emission, there is minimal self-absorption of the emitted radiation [F. Hide, M. A. Diaz-Garcia, B. J. Schwartz, M. R. Andersson, Q. Pei, and A. J. Heeger, Science 273, 1833 (1996)]. Thus, in semiconducting luminescent polymers, self-absorption does not make the materials lossy. Moreover, since the absorption and emission are spectrally separated, pumping the excited state via the .pi. to .pi.* transition does not stimulate emission. Thus, by pumping the .pi. to .pi.* transition, one can achieve an inverted population at relatively low pump power.
Optically pumped laser emission has been reported from MEH-PPV in dilute solution in an appropriate solvent, in direct analogy with conventional dye lasers [D. Moses, Appl. Phys. Lett. 60, 3215 (1992); U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,582]. In this application, the diluted and dissolved luminescent polymer serves as the laser dye. More recently, semiconducting polymers in the form of neat undiluted films have been demonstrated as being useful as the active luminescent materials in solid state lasers [F. Hide, M. A. Diaz-Garcia, B. J. Schwartz, M. R. Andersson, Q. Pei, and A. J. Heeger, Science 273, 1833 (1996); N. Tessler, G. J. Denton, and R. H. Friend, Nature 382, 695 (1996)] In addition, laser action has been achieved in dilute films and solutions of semiconducting polymers containing a dispersion of titanium dioxide (TiO.sub.2) nanoparticles. In this case, the nanoparticles serve to multiply scatter the emitted light such that the path length of the emitted photon exceeds the gain length above a certain excitation threshold, and an external resonant cavity is not used. [F. Hide, B. J. Schwartz, M. A. Diaz-Garcia, and A. J. Heeger, Chem. Phys. Lett. 256, 424 (1996).] Thus, when pumped by blue emitting sources of sufficient intensity (for example by Group III-nitride or ZnSe based LEDs or Group III-nitride or ZnSe based laser diodes), electrically pumped laser emission can be realized for colors spanning the entire visible spectrum.
Construction of solid state lasers using semiconducting (conjugated) polymers requires that two criteria be fulfilled: First, the active polymer medium must exhibit stimulated emission (SE) when excited optically or electrically; second, some type of resonant structure must enable the emitted photons to travel a distance greater than the gain length in the excited polymer. The requirement that the emitted photons must travel distances longer than the gain length in the excited medium, can be achieved by using resonant structures; for example, cavities or waveguides. Diverse methods, including external mirrors, distributed feedback (DFB), dielectric mismatch reflection, and microcavities are commonly used. The use of semiconducting polymers as materials for solid state lasers has been disclosed in detail in U.S. Patent Application 60/022,164, [titled Conjugated Polymers as Materials for Solid State Lasers]; incorporated herein by reference.

Hybrid light-emitting sources for efficient and cost effective white lighting and for full-color applications

The Regents of the University of California


Process and apparatus for calibrating an electrical device such as a circuit breaker, motor controller or monitor is taught. A precision power supply device is interconnected by way of appropriate input channels to the device to be calibrated for supplying a precise accurate calibration variable as an input. A personal computer PC is interlinked by way of a communications network with the apparatus to be calibrated and is also interlinked with the precision supply device so that the personal computer PC has available the exact value of input variable utilized. Gain adjustment calibration is made by supplying the predetermined value of circuit variables, for instance 10 amperes or 120V to the input terminals of the device being calibrated. Upon command, the personal computer PC instructs the device being calibrated to deliver to the personal computer PC those values of input variable which the device being calibrated interprets as the input variable value. The personal computer PC compares this value with the actual value and generates a correction factor which the personal computer PC sends back to the device being calibrated for storage in an EEPROM. Consequently, during subsequent use after the calibration procedure has been completed and the calibration features have been safely "locked" away in the EEPROM, all readings will be adjusted by the aforementioned calibration factor to compensate for errors which may exist in other portions of the device being calibrated.

Various electrical apparatus such as circuit breakers, motor controllers, monitors, motor starters have many common features. Microprocessor-based overcurrent protection devices such as circuit breakers and motor overload relays must measure electrical current and then produce a time-to-trip versus current characteristic curve should the current be above a preset value. Basically, these apparatus rely upon sensing electrical variables such as line to neutral voltage, line-to-line voltage, phase current, frequency and the like as inputs, either alone or in combination, for ultimately causing a desirable electrical function to occur. For instance, circuit breakers sense electrical current and open upon the occurrence of a predetermined amount. Motor controllers are utilized to start motors to relay information about the status of the motor from one station to another, etc. Monitors provide readout information about the status of line currents, voltages, power, frequency, etc. The state of the art has advanced to a position where the aforementioned may provide current, voltage, power, and frequency information, etc. to a printed circuit card which may have surface mounted components, discrete components, transformers, inductors, capacitors, operational comparators and all of the appropriate interconnecting paths as well as personal computer printed circuit (PC) devices such as communication networks, analog-to-digital (A-to-D) converters, counters, etc. disposed thereupon. In many applications, microprocessors having random access memories (RAM) and electrically erasable programmable read only memories (EEPROM) are also included. Part or all of these may be contained in large scale integrated circuits or combinations of large scale integrated circuits and discrete components. Many of the aforementioned contained potentiometer devices such as three-point or two-point variable resistors, variable capacitors, adjustable operational comparators, etc.
It has long been recognized that in order for any of the devices or apparatus described previously to operate reliably and accurately, it is necessary for the sensing transformers, internal circuit board components, large scale integrated circuits, etc. to accurately depict and react to the basic circuitry and at output devices such as readout devices, circuit breaker tripping devices, relaying devices, those variables which are monitored or read. For example, the measurement of current usually requires a calibration procedure as the "as built" accuracy of circuitry used to convert the analog current values to digital values usually is not precise enough. For instance, if a circuit breaker is programmed to trip at a specific period of time at 10 amperes, for example, and if in fact 10 amperes of current are flowing in the line to be protected but gain adjustment and offset factors within the circuitry make it appear that only 9.9 amperes of current are flowing, then an error exists which could lead to catastrophic consequences. In the past, provision has been made for eliminating the error by placing the device in question in a calibration mode whereby a precision value of a desired variable is provided as a sensed input to the system and various potentiometers, offset adjustment devices and the like are manipulated or "tweaked" at the end of the production process so that desirable occurrences happen at the exact value of input variable at which they are supposed to happen. Generally, after this has been completed, a protective coating of material, a "conformal coating", is placed over the adjustment devices so that they may not be tampered with by subsequent purchasers, users, etc. This leads to a number of disadvantages or problems. One disadvantage lies in the fact that the process is highly labor intensive and furthermore requires a great deal of judgement, experience and perhaps even dexterity on the part of the calibrator or adjustor. Furthermore, in some instances where a microprocessor is employed, a resistive-capacitive network rather than a crystal oscillator may be utilized for determining the microprocessor's time base. In sensitive applications, this time base accuracy may not be sufficient. In addition, problems can arise if the board to be calibrated is small.
Two areas in which calibration problems are likely to arise are associated with analog sampling systems that require "gain" and exhibit "offset". Conventional calibration procedures with the use of trim pots and component selection are not only expensive but can be difficult to implement, especially if the board is very small and/or has been conformal coated. Ideally the trip unit should be calibrated without physically modifying the printed circuit board. Gain adjustments are required for precision circuits requiring operational comparators to magnify or attenuate a signal before being processed by an analog-to-digital converter. Offset adjustments are made to remove errors caused by DC biasing currents existing in a circuit. Those offsets could be present on the input signals or generated by operational comparators in the circuit. Gain adjustment is usually made by imposing a multiplying factor on a signal whereas offset adjustment is made by adding or subtracting a constant to or from the signal being processed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,360 issued on Oct. 29, 1985 to J. J. Dougherty, entitled "Circuit Breaker Static Trip Unit Having Automatic Circuit Trimming", teaches one way to overcome problems associated with the prior art. The Dougherty patent describes the use of a microprocessor and selected input values to correct for gain and offset. However, emphasis is directed to correction for individual components or a class thereof within the system. It requires testing individual components or classes of individual components using different inputs such as, for example, full scale current for current transformers and five milliamperes for a diode and then deriving a microprocessor memory correction value related thereto. However, it would be advantageous to be able to calibrate the entire system using only a single input where the calibration is related to the ultimate output value rather than to the individual values of components. It would be further advantageous to be able to achieve the foregoing without adding extra component elements to the system being calibrated and to do the calibration in a non-obtrusive manner. It can be seen, therefore, that the prior art mode for calibration has many disadvantages as described previously. It would be desirous therefore if an advantageous calibration procedure for apparatus could be found which was relatively inexpensive, required a minimum of human intervention, was highly accurate, highly reliable and as close to being automated as possible.

Process for auto calibration of a microprocessor based overcurrent protective device and apparatus


Techniques and systems suitable for performing low-loss fusion splicing of optical waveguide sections are provided. According to some embodiments, multiple laser beams (from one or more laser) may be utilized to uniformly heat a splice region including portions of the optical waveguide sections to be spliced, which may have different cross-sectional dimensions. According to some embodiments, the relative distance of the optical waveguide sections and/or the power of the multiple laser beams may be varied during splicing operations.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to optical waveguide attachment techniques and, more particularly, to techniques for achieving a low loss large diameter fusion splice.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical industry manufacturers have a variety of products that require attachment or splicing to optical waveguide elements having a larger diameter than typical optical fibers. For example, a thermal gratings, gain flattening filters, pressure and temperature sensors, and potentially many others type devices may be formed in large diameter optical waveguides. In order to connect such devices to optical signal processing equipment, or other such devices connected in series, optical fiber may be attached to the device. To facilitate attachment to such devices, the optical fiber may be encapsulated in a carrier or pigtail having a larger diameter.
Low-loss fusion splicing of optical fiber is a very common operation and many techniques have been developed in order to facilitate this process. For example, one common technique is to use a laser to perform splices, as disclosed in "Optical fiber splicing with a low-power CO2 laser" by Egashira and Kobayashi, Appl. Opt. 16, 1636-1638 (1977), "Monomode fibre fusion splicing with CO2 laser" by Rivoallan et. al., Electronics Letters, vol. 19, No. 2, Jan. 20, 1983, pp 54-55, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,207, entitled "Optical fiber circumferentially symmetric fusion splicing and progressive fire polishing."
Such conventional techniques, however, are typically limited to fiber diameters of 400 um or less. Modifying devices utilizing these techniques to accommodate larger diameters optical waveguides (e.g., of a large diameter carrier and device that may be greater than 1 mm) would present a challenge and may not be feasible, particularly when trying to maintain uniform heating around the entire diameter of the splice area to achieve a strong splice, while also maintaining alignment of the narrow (e.g., 5 um diameter) fiber cores to minimize optical loss through the splice region. As a result, encapsulated fiber pigtails are often attached to large diameter devices via epoxy, which not only limits the heat, humidity, and corrosiveness of the environments in which the devices may be placed, but also results in optical loss if the epoxy is placed in the optical path.
Accordingly, what is needed is the capability to perform a large diameter splice (LDS), preferably using laser fusion thus reducing or eliminating many of the disadvantages associated with using epoxy.


Provided is an upper substrate for a miniature LED component, a miniature LED component, and a miniature LED display device, wherein the upper substrate for the miniature LED component comprises: a bottom substrate; a metal layer formed on the bottom substrate and having a pattern capable of covering a non-opening region of the lower substrate for the miniature LED component; a graphene layer formed on the bottom substrate; a transparent adhesive layer formed on the bottom substrate to cover the metal layer and the graphene layer.

Micro-LED (miniature LED) technology, i.e., LED miniaturization and matrixing technology, refers to a high-density and small-size LED array integrated on a chip, if every pixel on the LED display can be located and separately driven to be lightened, it can be seen as a miniature version of an outdoor LED display, this technology reduces pixel distance from millimeter level to micron level. Micro-LED display is a miniature display achieved through making a LED display driver circuit on the bottom layer of the play by using normal CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) integrated circuit manufacturing process, and then making LED array on the integrated circuit by using MOCVD machine, it is also known as a reduced version of the LED display.
Since the 1990s, TFT-LCD (thin film transistor liquid crystal display) has begun to flourish. However, LED is characterized by its high color saturation, power saving, and thinness etc. Some manufacturers use LEDs as back-lights. However, due to its high cost, poor heat dissipation, and low photoelectric efficiency, LED has not been widely used in TFT-LCD products.
Until 2000, the method, efficiency, and cost of making white LEDs by using blue LED chip to stimulate the phosphor began to mature. Since 2008, white LED back-light modules have shown explosive growth and almost completely replaced CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) in a few years, and its application fields include mobile phones, tablet computers, notebook computers, desktop monitors and even TVs.
However, due to the non-self-luminous display principle of TFT-LCD, the transmittance of its liquid crystal panel (open cell) is about 7% or less, and this results in low photoelectric efficiency of TFT-LCD. In addition, the color saturation provided by white LEDs is still not as good as that of three primary colors LEDs, and most TFT-LCD products are only about 72% NTSC (National Television Standards Committee, United States). In addition, the brightness of TFT-LCD cannot be increased to more than 1000nits in outdoor environments, resulting in low image and color recognition, and this is a major defect in its application. Therefore, another LED display or Micro-LED display technology directly using three primary color LEDs as self-luminous display dot pixels is also being developed.
As mentioned above, miniature LED display (Micro-LED display) is a new generation of display technology, its structure is a miniaturized LED array, that is, the LED structure design is thinned, miniaturized and arrayed, making its volume about 1% of the size of the current mainstream LED, each pixel can be addressed and separately driven to emit light, reducing the pixel distance from the original millimeter level to the micron level.
Inheriting the characteristics of LED, the advantages of Micro-LED include low power consumption, high brightness, ultra high resolution and color saturation, fast response speed, ultra power saving, long service life, high efficiency, etc., and its power consumption is about 10% of that of LCD, and 50% of that of OLED. Compared with OLED, which is also a self-luminous display, Micro-LED has a brightness being 30 times higher than OLED, and a resolution of up to 1500 PPI (pixel density) which is equivalent to 5 times that of Apple Watch i.e., 300 PPI achieved by using an OLED panel. In addition, its good material stability and no image imprinting is also one of the advantages.
OLED improves the problems such as the LCD panel thickness, the needs to be adjusted with the back-light module, and the poor black level contrast, this can achieve a high contrast ratio. However, OLED must reduce the white screen and high brightness display in order to achieve power saving effect. The wide color gamut characteristic of OLED is not significantly different from that of KSF or quantum dots. On the other hand, Micro-LED is composed of a large number of miniature LED arrays, in addition to high brightness, ultra high resolution and color saturation, each pixel can be driven independently, and it also has the advantages of power saving and fast response, etc.

Upper substrate for miniature LED component, miniature LED component, and miniature LED display device

TUNGHSU OPTOELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


Composite structural members and methods for forming the same are disclosed. In one disclosed embodiment, a composite structural member includes a central structural portion comprised of a reinforced, polymer-based material and having a length, a first side and an opposing second side extending along the length. A first reinforcement member fixedly coupled to the first side and a second reinforcement member fixedly coupled to the second side.

Structural members are available in a wide variety of configurations to provide structural support under a variety of loading conditions. For example, a fuselage portion of an aircraft typically includes parallel and longitudinally oriented structural members called keel beams that impart flexural stiffness to the fuselage, particularly in a region where the wing assemblies of the aircraft are joined to the fuselage. Typically, a structural member, such as an aircraft keel beam, is fabricated from aluminum or titanium, and is configured to resist high flexural loads. Accordingly, the structural member may contribute substantially to the overall weight of the aircraft structure.
Reinforced polymer-based materials are also available, and may be used to form various structural members. Such materials may be used as a substitute for metals particularly in applications where relatively low weight and high mechanical strength is desired. As a result, reinforced polymer-based materials are widely used in a variety of commercial and military aircraft, terrestrial vehicles and consumer products. The material is generally comprised of a network of reinforcing fibers that are generally applied in layers, and a polymeric resin that substantially wets the reinforcing fibers to form an intimate contact between the resin and the reinforcing fibers. The material may then be formed into a structural component by a variety of known forming methods, such as an extrusion process or other forming processes.
Structural members formed from reinforced polymer-based materials are generally more expensive to fabricate, and more difficult to inspect and repair than corresponding structural members formed from metals. In particular, repair methods for metallic structural members that have sustained in-service damage due to excessive loading, or have sustained fatigue and/or corrosive damage while in service, are well developed.
What is required is a structural member that is easily and inexpensively fabricated, provides a favorable flexural strength to weight ratio in comparison to conventional structural members, and may be easily assembled, inspected and repaired.


This invention is a method for preamble detection with estimation of UE timing advance (TA) and channel quality information (CQI) which uses a sliding window to detect the preamble and estimate user timing advance and channel quality information. The window length is set to the cyclic prefix length of data transmission. A preamble detection threshold is computed semi-analytically according to noise sample statistics.

In long term evolution (LTE) wireless networks, random access procedure is used for the events including: initial access of a user equipment (UE) into a network; handover of a UE from one base station (Node B) to another base station; arrival of uplink for an uplink non-synchronized UE; arrival of downlink data for an uplink non-synchronized UE; and when there is no dedicated scheduling request channel available. Depending on whether contention is involved, random access procedure is classified into contention based and non-contention based. Contention based random access is applicable for all the events listed above. Non-contention based is only applicable to handover and downlink data arrival. In both cases, random access is based on the transmission of a random access preamble on a random access channel (RACH) by an accessing UE. This allows Node B to estimate, and if needed, adjust the UE transmission time to within a cyclic prefix.

Random access preamble detection for long term evolution wireless networks


Semiconductor grade tungsten hexafluoride (WF.sub.6) is produced by reacting tungsten metal with a recirculating flow of gaseous WF.sub.6 containing a small concentration of fluorine in a heated reactor. The high purity WF.sub.6 produced is useful for deposition of tungsten metallization in fabricating VLSI integrated circuitry.

It is known that deposition of metallic tungsten on semiconductor materials in the fabrication of VLSI integrated circuitry is useful. For this application, the tungsten metal deposited should be, to the highest degree possible, devoid of alpha-particle emitting impurities such uranium and thorium which can cause soft error generation in memory circuits. Impurities such as sodium also must be eliminated from the tungsten used for this purpose to avoid diffusion thereof from the tungsten metal layer into active regions of the circuit, an event which could destroy or degrade circuit performance.
Industrial production of high purity tungsten traces back to the development of tungsten wire for use in incandescent lamp filaments since it was found that certain impurities, such as iron, rendered tungsten billets brittle and unworkable. The development of the technology is recounted in Smithells book Tungsten, A Treatise On Its Metallurgy, Properties And Applications published by Chapman & Hall Ltd., London, 1952.
In providing a tungsten product for use in semiconductors it is found that impurity levels in the tungsten must be far lower, i.e., orders of magnitude lower, than that required merely to make tungsten ductile. The present invention is directed to means and methods of providing a tungsten product which may be employed in treating semiconductor materials without producing adverse or destructive effects in circuits produced using such a tungsten product.
The invention is particularly directed toward the production of tungsten hexafluoride of ultra-high purity which may be employed to deposit metallic tungsten on semiconductor materials without producing the aforementioned deleterious effects on the resulting circuits.
Deposition of tungsten from tungsten hexafluoride offers practical advantages as compared to deposition of tungsten by the sputtering method as has been practiced in the semiconductor industry.

Synthesis of semiconductor grade tungsten hexafluoride


A semiconductor device has an upper well of a first conductivity type formed from the surface of an active region separated by an isolation oxide film at the surface of a semiconductor substrate to a predetermined depth. A first conductivity type layer of high concentration is formed along the entire region of an active region to enclose the bottom of the upper well of the first conductivity type. A lower well of the first conductivity type of a predetermined thickness is formed as a buried layer to enclose the bottom of the first conductivity type layer of high concentration. According to this structure, the spreadout of impurities into the active region due to diffusion at the time of thermal treatment is suppressed. The semiconductor device has the wells and the buried layer of high concentration formed by implanting impurities after the step of forming the isolation oxide film, so that diffusion of impurities into the active region due to thermal treatment at the time of isolation oxide film formation is suppressed. As a result, degradation of channel effect is prevented in miniaturization of the semiconductor device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing thereof, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device having a well structure for improving element isolation characteristics by preventing interference between adjacent wells.
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, miniaturization and larger scale integration are required for semiconductor devices such as DRAMs (Dynamic Random Access Memory) resulting in the employment of a well structure where wells of different conductivity types are formed in an adjacent manner. Such a well structure had a problem that soft errors of DRAMs and latch up of CMOSs (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) occurred due to interference between adjacent wells. Development in various well structures has been proceeded to prevent interference between such wells.
In "IEDM 88" pp. 48-51, for example, a semiconductor device having a well structure for preventing soft errors of a SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) is disclosed. The wells disclosed in this document are all formed by thermal diffusion steps. In these days of high integration density, it has become difficult to control the impurity concentration distribution of wells by thermal diffusion.
A conventional technique to prevent interference between adjacent wells is known, where a semiconductor device has an impurity layer of high concentration formed beneath an isolation oxide film separating wells from each other at the semiconductor substrate surface.
A conventional semiconductor device will be explained hereinafter with reference to FIG. 14, which has a well structure for preventing interference between adjacent wells. In the well structure of FIG. 14, an n well 2, a p well 3, and an n well 4 are allocated adjacent to each other at respective depths from the surface of a p type silicon substrate 1. Each well is separated by an isolation oxide film 6 at the surface of silicon substrate 1. A p well 5 is formed inside n well 4. For the purpose of improving the isolation characteristic between the wells, an n type layer 7 of high concentration, a p type layer 8 of high concentration, an n type layer 9, and a p type layer 10 of high concentration are formed in n well 2, p well 3, n well 4, and p well 5, respectively, beneath the isolation oxide film.
The manufacturing steps of the above-mentioned semiconductor device having a conventional well structure will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 15-26.
A resist film 11 is formed on the main surface of p type silicon substrate 1 to have an opening only at the region where n well 4 is to be formed. Phosphorus which is impurity of n type is implanted at a predetermined implantation energy and dosage (FIG. 15) to form n well 4 (FIG. 16).
A resist film 12 is then formed having an opening at the region where n well 2 is to be formed. Phosphorus is implanted at an implantation energy that is lower than that used for forming n well 4 (FIG. 17) to result in well 2 (FIG. 18).
Next, resist film 13 is formed having an opening only at the region where p wells 3 and 5 are to be formed. Boron which is an impurity of p type is implanted (FIG. 19) to form p wells 3 and 5 (FIG. 20).
Oxide film 14 and silicon nitride film (Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 film) 15 are formed all over the main surface of semiconductor substrate 1 (FIG. 21). Silicon nitride film 15 is patterned by photolithography and etching (FIG. 22). Then, resist film 16 is formed to cover the surface of n wells 2 and 4. Boron is implanted (FIG. 23) to form p type layers 8 and 10 of high concentration partially at the surface of p wells 3 and 5.
Resist film 16 is removed, and resist film 17 is formed to cover the surface of p wells 3 and 5 (FIG. 24). Phosphorus is implanted to form n type layers 7 and 9 of high concentration at the surface of n wells 2 and 4, respectively. Then, resist film 17 is removed (FIG. 25).
Isolation oxide film 6 is formed by thermal oxidation to result in the structure shown in FIGS. 26 and 14.
The above-described conventional well structure and manufacturing method had the following problems.
High concentration n type layer 7 and high concentration p type layers 8 and 10 right beneath isolation oxide film 6 are formed prior to the isolation oxide film 6 formation step for element isolation enhancement. Impurities of high concentration n type layer 7 or high concentration p type layers 8 and 10 will spread out into the active regions of each well at the time of thermal diffusion due to the high temperature of the thermal treatment for forming isolation oxide film 6. If the channel width of the transistor formed in these active regions is small, the threshold voltage V.sub.th will become too high to yield the disadvantage that the transistor does not operate properly, due to the high concentration of impurities in the active region. This was a great disadvantage in the miniaturization of the device for increasing storage capacity. This disadvantageous phenomenon is called "narrow channel effect".
The conventional well structure shown in FIG. 14 also had the following problem. It can be appreciated from FIG. 27A that semiconductor substrate 1 and n well 4, and n well 4 and p well 5 are respectively isolated from each other by pn junctions, with a junction capacitance of C.sub.1 and C.sub.2 at each pn junction. This means that although these pn junctions are separated regarding the direct current component of current, electrical connection is established regarding alternating-current component. Therefore, if n well 4 has supply voltage Vcc applied with a high frequency noise V.sub.N (t), the high frequency noise V.sub.N (t) will appear as the difference between potential V.sub.5 of p well 5 and potential V.sub.1 of semiconductor substrate 1. In the conventional well structure of FIG. 27A, the p type impurity concentration of semiconductor substrate 1 right beneath n well 4 is relatively low so that a depletion layer is easily generated in the semiconductor substrate 1 side at the pn junction formed by n well 4 and semiconductor substrate 1. This reduces junction capacitance C.sub.1, whereby most of the high frequency noise V.sub.N (t) results in a fluctuation of potential V.sub.5 of p well 5. This induced the problems that information stored in the memory formed on p well 5 was lost and the operation of other elements were unstable.

Semiconductor device with diffusion well isolation


A coaxial connector connecting structure according to the invention includes a coaxial connector provided on an outer surface of a housing accommodating a module case of a high-frequency circuit. The module case has a thick side wall with a first through-hole to provide a coaxial space forming portion as a pipe structure so as to be separated from the housing.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a coaxial connector connecting structure connecting a coaxial connector provided on a housing of a high-frequency circuit and a high-frequency circuit module case accommodated in the housing, and a high frequency device equipped with the coaxial connector connecting structure.
2. Background Art
A high-frequency device such as wireless transmitter and receiver, a radio transmitter, a radio receiver and a linear amplifier is provided with a coaxial structural section of a high-frequency circuit which treats a high-frequency signal such as microwave. Such a coaxial structural section may have to perform plating treatment to an inner wall around a central conductor in order to secure a high signal characteristic by reducing loss due to a skin effect.
However, owing to the nature of the plating treatment, unnecessary plating is inevitable for the entire region composing the space of the coaxial structural member and thereby increasing the cost of the plating treatment. When a high frequency circuit is used in outdoor equipment, waterproof treatment is needed so that water does not enter its interior so as not to generate corrosion caused by water such as rainwater adhered to an electric potential difference part between the plating material and the other metal contacted thereto.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the plating treatment area should be made minimal while the structure excellent in signal characteristic should be realized.
Technological examples related to connecting structure of a high-frequency circuit are disclosed in following patent documents 1-6.
The patent document 1 (Japanese Utility Model Registered No. 2561038) discloses a high-frequency signal connecting unit where a coaxial connector provided on a box-shaped metal case is designed to have a tapered outer surface of a sleeve structure. One end of this sleeve is arranged to pass through a side of the metal case and fixed to the metal case by using a nut located in the case. The other side of this sleeve is fitted in between an insulator and an outer conductor of a coaxial cable. Accordingly, a central conductor of the coaxial cable is arranged such that, at the outside of the metal case, it is completely covered with the sleeve which entirely touched with the outer conductor, and in the inside of the metal case, the central conductor is completely covered with the metal case.
In the patent document 2 (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. SHO-59(1984)-041980), a connecting structure between two high-frequency circuit chassis is disclosed where a connecting tool of a thick cylindrical conductor is inserted in a connecting location between opposing side walls of two chassis and being fixed to the chassis by using nuts, respectively. Each wall attached with the connecting tool is provided with a hole having a diameter which is equal to the inside diameter of the connecting tool internal space or rather somewhat larger than that, and an insulated wire is fitted through the internal space of the connecting tool such that the insulated wire has a central conductor of a diameter by which the characteristic impedance would be Z0.
The patent document 3 (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. HEI-06(1998)-048920) discloses a fixing structure for electronic parts or the like in which the electronic part or the like is inserted into an attachment hole provided in a metal casing and being fixed by soldering. The metal casing is fabricated by using a metal plate which is performed plating processing on its surface. An inserting portion of the electronic part or the like is inserted into the attachment hole such that the insetting portion is elastically supported by a contact arm. Then the insert portion is fixed to the metal casing by using a solder.
The patent document 4 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-059140) discloses a high frequency transmitting/receiving device in which an antenna board and a transmitting/receiving circuit board are provided on a front surface and back surface of a base plate, respectively, and they are connected each other by using a coaxial line which penetrates the base plate.
Since the antenna and transmitting/receiving circuit is separated by the base plate, workability of the entire assembling process is improved when the area of the transmitting/receiving circuit is small enough compared with the area of the antenna.
The patent document 5 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI-02(1990)-135901) discloses a mounting structure of an electronic part for microwave circuits.
An external connection pin of the electronic part is used as an inner conductor while a metallic chassis and a conductor plating part of a through hole are used as an outer conductor so as to form a coaxial line. Thus the electronic part is connected to an external connection member through this coaxial line.
The patent document 6 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI-04(1992)-069913) discloses a feed through capacitor in which a synthetic resin coated with a metallic film is used for an outer casing electrode and a penetration electrode.
Because of such structure, elastic modulus and coefficient of linear expansion of those electrodes are almost equal to that of complex dielectrics filled in the outer casing electrode, and thus not causing a gap between the complex dielectrics and the two electrodes even in a thermal stress at the time of a temperature cycle of the hot and cold. Moreover, it is disclosed that a decline of the capacitance does not occur and crack occurrence of complex dielectrics can also be prevented.

Coaxial connector fixed to a housing with a pipe member


A framework and method are disclosed for providing/consuming data items. A memory structure is created within an address space allocated to a provider application. The memory structure stores performance counter data generated by the provider application. The counter provider application registers a counter provider and an associated performance counter memory structure via a set of application program interface methods. Thereafter, a counter provider consumer application, via additional application program interface methods, determines the identity of the performance counter provider, sets up a buffer to receive the counter data of the counter provider, and requests extraction of the counter data stored within the performance counter memory structure. The transfer of data from the provider application to the consumer application occurs through the system API.

Performance counters are any of a variety of functional components/elements within software and hardware used to measure and/or quantify operational characteristics of systems. Though the term "counter" is used extensively herein, performance counters include a broad variety of performance measurement values including ones that are rendered by measurement mechanisms that do not accumulate counted events. For example, a counter value may correspond to an average delay period for carrying out a task. Performance counters are valuable tools in the development and maintenance of properly operating computing systems. Performance counters are relied upon by developers to identify architectural flaws, to verify proper system operation, and to measure throughput. Performance counters are widely used by network/server administrators to monitor/manage the operation of installed systems (e.g., monitoring usage of system resources to identify excessive use of resources and inadequate throughput to meet expected demand).
Performance counters are implemented for a variety of reasons. Performance counters are implemented to measure the effectiveness and capabilities of a system/application under a variety of load conditions. Such information can be used to identify potential/actual problems: system bottlenecks, hacker attacks, needs to re-allocate system resources, etc. Performance counters are also implemented to account for resource usage by particular identified entities. Such accounting can be used to identify particular entities for purposes of billing or merely monitoring usage by particular applications, components, users, etc. Performance counters also facilitate trend analysis by comparing the variations in the measured performance parameters over extended periods of time. In a development environment, performance counters facilitate performing regression analysis (did a change improve/degrade system performance), establishing system capacity (for customer/administrators), and determining whether a particular design goal has been met.
Performance counters also measure a variety of operational parameters. Performance counters measure activity level in the form of percent utilization of resources, disk I/O rates, response times (average), queue length (average), request throughput rate, etc. The performance counters also render measurements of resource usage at various levels of granularity (e.g., per process, per thread, per component, per object). Examples of such provided resource usage measurements include: process working set, thread CPU time, and database cache size. This is merely a small fraction of the virtually limitless number of different measurable parameter types rendered by performance counters.
In one type of performance counter arrangement, a provider/consumer model is adopted that separates performance counter design into two independent and distinct parts. A performance counter provider generates the raw counter information. The performance counter provider for an application containing performance counters, consists of software written specifically for the particular application with which it is associated. In a particular known performance counter provider/consumer arrangement, discussed herein below with reference to FIG. 2, a performance counter dynamically linked library (hereinafter "dll") is written specifically for a particular counter provider. The performance dll communicates with the application providing the raw counter data via inter-process communications.
A performance counter consumer, as the name suggests, receives and processes the raw performance counter data provided by the provider and presents it to a user. In the known performance counter architecture described herein below with reference to FIG. 2, the counter consumer accesses the raw performance counter data, which is rendered by the counter provider, via the performance dll. An example of a performance counter consumer is MICROSOFT WINDOWS Performance Monitor utility. When the counter consumer needs a particular performance counter, the consumer loads the performance dll and then calls an entry point into the dll. In response an inter-process communication link, such as shared memory, is established between the dll and the counter provider. A name is assigned to the shared memory by the provider's application and performance DLL. The provider places counter information within the shared memory location and the consumer retrieves the counter information via the dll using the shared memory. The dll, in response to requests from the consumer, retrieves the counter data from the shared memory, adds metadata to facilitate interpretation of the counter data by the consumer, and returns the data to the requesting consumer.
This prior arrangement for providing performance counters places responsibility for providing counters in the hands of provider authors. This approach presents a number of potential drawbacks. For example, the potential for name space conflicts exists. In particular, the performance dll may use a name that has been previously claimed. In that case, operation of the dll is blocked by the previous claimant of the shared memory name. As a consequence, the reliability of performance counters operating according to the performance dll approach is called into question.

Method and framework for providing system performance information


The present apparatus includes: a liquid ejecting head having a nozzle plate with an ejecting hole through which a liquid is discharged, a conductive member disposed behind an object being processed opposite to the liquid ejecting head, a potential difference generating device for generating a potential difference between the nozzle plate and the conductive member, and a switching control device for turning on and off the potential difference generating device. The switching control device decides whether a process to which the object is subjected is a borderless recording process that drops liquid drops on an edge part of the object or a bordered recording process that does not drop any liquid drops on the edge part, and turns off the potential difference generating device when the bordered recording process is executed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus and a liquid ejecting method in which liquid drops are ejected through an ejecting hole/holes formed in a liquid ejecting head onto an object to be processed.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink-jet recording apparatus provided with an ink-jet recording head for image recording is a representative liquid ejecting apparatus. Other liquid ejecting apparatuses include an apparatus provided with a dye-ejecting head for manufacturing color filters for, for example, liquid crystal displays, an apparatus provided with an ejecting head for ejecting an electrode forming material (conductive paste) ejecting head for forming electrodes of organic EL displays and face emission displays (FEDs), an apparatus provided with a an ejecting head for ejecting a bioorganic substance to manufacture biochips and an apparatus provided with a sample-ejecting head serving as a precision pipette.
The ink-jet recording apparatus, namely, a representative liquid ejecting apparatus, generates comparatively low noise during a printing operation and is capable of forming small dots in a high dot density. Thus the ink-jet recording apparatus is used for various printing operations including a color-picture printing operations these days.
Generally, the ink-jet recording apparatus includes an ink-jet recording head mounted on a carriage capable reciprocating in directions along the width of a recording medium (an object to be processed), such as a recording paper sheet, namely, in a scanning direction and a direction opposite the scanning direction, a feed mechanism for feeding the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction, namely, a feed direction, and a platen supporting the recording medium that is fed by the feed mechanism to position the recording medium relative to the recording head.
In this ink-jet recording apparatus, the recording head is controlled according to printing data to jet ink drops onto the recording medium for printing. When the recording head mounted on the carriage is capable of jetting drops of, for example, black, yellow, cyan and magenta inks, the ink-jet recording apparatus is able to achieve full-color printing by using those color inks in proper discharge ratios as well as text printing using only the black ink.
There is an ink-jet recording apparatus of a type capable of selectively operating in either a borderless printing mode for printing the entire surface of a recording medium without leaving any margins or a bordered printing mode for printing part of the surface of a recording medium so as to leave unprinted margins on the peripheral portion of the recording medium.
When the ink-jet recording apparatus operates in a borderless printing mode, the ink-jet recording apparatus prints an area of a size larger than that of the recording medium to compensate for the positional displacement of the recording medium and the carriage.
Namely, when it is desired to print the recording medium without leaving any margins along the side edges, i.e., the edges extending in the feed direction, of the recording medium, the ink-jet recording apparatus is capable of setting the opposite ends of a scanning range in which the recording head moves for printing at positions outside the side edges of the recording medium to jet ink drops on areas outside the side edges of the recording medium.
Further, when it is desired to print the recording medium without leaving any margins along the leading and the trailing edges, i.e., the edges extending in the scanning direction, the ink-jet recording apparatus specifies a printing area extending beyond the leading edge of the recording medium and behind the trailing edge of the recording medium.
Ink drops jetted onto areas outside the recording medium are absorbed by an absorber, such as sponge, placed in a space behind the recording medium opposite to the recording head.
As mentioned above, ink drops are jetted on areas outside the leading and trailing edges and/or the side edges of the recording medium when it is desired to print the entire surface of the recording medium without leaving any margins along the edges of the recording medium. Consequently, ink mist flowed into a space behind the recording medium adheres to edge parts of the back surface of the recording medium to stain the recording medium with the ink. Such staining is a serious problem particularly when a recording medium is printed on both sides, or when printing a recording medium of which both sides are to be used, such as a postcard.
Moreover, the ink mist soils the interior of the ink-jet recording apparatus, sticks to the electric circuit and the linear scale to cause the electric circuit and the linear scale to malfunction, and deposits on the ink cartridge to dirty the user's hand.
Generally, a feed mechanism for feeding the recording medium is provided with feed rollers disposed opposite to each other to nip and feed the recording medium. One of the feed rollers opposite to each other is a drive roller formed by coating the circumference of a metal roller with an alumina coating formed by baking and having a frictional circumference and the other is a driven roller of a plastic material.
Generally, the recording medium fed into a recording zone is charged due to rubbing by the feed rollers when the recording medium is brought into contact with and is separated from the feed rollers, rubbing by the following recording medium when recording mediums are fed by an automatic sheet feeder or frictional contact of the recording medium with structural members on a feed passage. The charged recording medium tends to attract the ink mist to its back surface.
A method of solving such a problem employs a static eliminating means, such as a static elimination brush, to eliminate static charges from the charged recording medium. The static eliminating means is disposed necessarily at a position downstream the feed mechanism including the pair of feed rollers with respect to the feed direction and hence the printing zone is spaced a long distance apart from the feed mechanism. Consequently, the accuracy of feeding the recording medium is liable to be deteriorated and the recording medium tends to float unstably. The static elimination brush rubs the recording medium, such as a paper sheet, and produces paper powder. The thus produced paper powder adheres to the ejecting holes of the recording head and deteriorates the ink drop jetting ability of the recording head.
The size of ink drops to be jetted by the recording head is required to be reduced to meet the recent demand for higher print quality. Since the velocity of small ink drops decreases rapidly due to the viscous resistance of air, it is possible that ink drops jetted by the recording head toward areas outside the recording medium during an operation in the borderless printing mode are unable to reach the absorber so that ink mist is generated. The ink mist flowed into a space behind the recording medium adheres to edges parts of the back surface of the recording medium to stain the recording medium with the ink. Such staining is a serious problem particularly when the recording medium is printed on both sides, or when printing a recording medium of which both sides are to be printed, such as a postcard.
The necessity of an ink mist preventing means is great in order to prevent the conversion of ink drops jetted onto areas outside the recording medium into ink mist during an operation in the borderless printing mode. However, the operation in the bordered printing mode does not necessarily need the ink mist preventing means and it is possible that the ink mist preventing means employed for the operation in the borderless printing mode exerts a bad influence on the operation in the bordered printing mode.
In some cases, an ink drop jetted in some jetting mode fissions into a large main particle and a small satellite particle of a weight far smaller than that of the main particle. Even if the ink-jet recording apparatus is provided with a mist preventing means for preventing mist formation, the mist preventing means may be effective in preventing the large main particle from floating in a mist, but may be ineffective in preventing the small satellite particle of a weight far smaller than that of the main particle from floating in a mist.
Even in a state where an ink drop jetted toward a printing area in a recording medium can fission into a large main particle and a small satellite particle, the large main particle is able to reach the recording medium, while it is possible for the small satellite particle not to reach the recording medium and the small satellite particle forms a mist. Particularly, when a drop of a pigment ink fissions into a large main particle and a small satellite particle, there is a tendency that the small satellite particle is unable to reach the recording medium and form a mist.
The ink mist soils the interior of the ink-jet recording apparatus, sticks to the electric circuit and the linear scale to cause the electric circuit and the linear scale to malfunction, and deposits on the ink cartridge to dirty the user's hand.
Even if a small ink drop reaches the recording medium without forming a mist, the small ink drop is unable to fly stably and unable to impact on the recording medium at a desired position because the velocity of the small ink drop decreases rapidly. Consequently, it is possible that a blurred or rough picture is formed in a low print quality.
It may be possible to make sure that a small ink drop impacts on a recording medium at a desired position by jetting the small ink drop at a high initial velocity. However, the small ink drop is stretched and is caused to fission into a main particle and a satellite particle if the initial velocity of the ink drop is excessively high. If the ink-jet recording apparatus operates in an operating mode in which a satellite particle is liable to be produced, the main particle and the satellite particle fall at different positions, respectively, with respect to the scanning direction. Consequently, a laterally elongate dot is formed on the recording medium, and the laterally elongate dot reduces the sharpness in a printed image and deteriorates print quality. A problem causing change of color tone arises due to the union or separation of the main particle and the satellite particle resulting from differences in individual property, thermal environment and/or platen gap.
When an ink drop fissions into a main particle and a satellite particle, there is a tendency that the velocity of the main particle increases according to the increase of the initial velocity, whereas the velocity of the satellite particle does not increase according to the increase of the initial velocity. Thus the difference between the respective velocities of the main particle and the satellite particle increases and the distance between positions where the main particle and the satellite particle hit the recording medium, respectively, increases with the increase of the initial velocity, aggravating the problem relating to the deterioration of print quality and the change of color tone.
When the ink-jet recording apparatus is provided with some mist preventing means, the mist preventing means must continue to be effective from the start and the end of the printing operation.

Liquid ejecting apparatus and liquid ejecting method


A device for equipping birds with transponders (21) is not in the form of a foot ring but a wing tag (11) ; with the particularity that one of the at least two stiff plastic limbs (12') which are connected together at respective ends by way of a bending yoke (13) is provided with a trough-shaped or pocket-shaped receiving means (22) for a tube transponder (21) . Preferably, in the case of a three-limbed construction, a cover limb (12") which is reversibly latchable to the transponder limb (12') , when the tag (11) is still open, is disposed in the longitudinal direction between the transponder limb (12') and a rearward holding limb (12) which in turn, at its free limb end (15), can be positively lockingly connected to the cover limb (12") by means of a barb-type pin (17) , opposite the latching means, with a wing bone being engaged therebetween. That connection which is irreversible after fitting to the wing does not have to be broken open again to remove the transponder (21) because for that purpose the transponder limb (12') with its transponder receiving means (22) formed therein in the longitudinal direction then simply has to be pivoted away from the rest of the wing tag (11) and thus the wing of the poultry in order to be able to then re-use the comparatively expensive transponder (21) with a fresh tag (11) , in relation to the next generation.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a device for equipping birds with a transponder.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
For the purposes of equipping birds or fowl or poultry with electronic passive high-frequency transponders, it is known from the article `Die Markierung von Zoo- und Haustieren mit dem elektronischen Markierungsverfahren EURO I.D.` by O Behlert in KLEINTIERPRAXIS, 34th edition, pages 477 to 479 (1989), for the thin, bar-shaped, glass-encased transponder to be implanted into the pectoral musculature, a thigh or one side of the neck in front of the shoulder of birds, where the foreign body grows into the bird in a positionally stable manner and cannot be readily removed again even after the animal has been slaughtered. Directly fitting a transponder in that way is therefore worth discussing only in relation to select animals, for example in a zoo for the purposes of documenting behaviour or breeding results and in the domestic animal sector for identifying the owners. An implanted transponder of that kind would subsequently cause problems in the situation involving large-scale animal husbandry for producing meat.
It is known in a pigeon sporting context to fit carrier pigeons with foot rings into which is fitted an identity transponder in order automatically to be able to detect the arrival time of the pigeon at the home loft without manual intervention requirements and to provide that information for competition assessment. Particularly in relation to chicks however it is scarcely possible permanently to fit foot rings and in particular to use the comparatively large transponder foot rings because in the first days of the life of the birds the feet are still so small and soft that the ring could be easily stripped off again; while on the other hand, in the first weeks of the life of the birds, the circumference of the legs of the birds increases quickly in such a way that a ring which fits closely over the foot would adversely affect the growth process. On the other hand, in regard to commercial animal husbandry, precisely also in relation to chicks which are only several days old, it is a matter of great interest, in terms of optimising the rearing result, of being able to observe and evaluate as early as possible for example changes in the feeding behaviour and the nesting habits of individual animals.

Device for equipping birds with a transponder


A liquid treatment device having a rotatable substrate holding section (2) for horizontally holding a wafer (W), an annular-shaped rotation cup (4) which surrounds the wafer (W) which rotates with the wafer (W), a rotation mechanism (3) for integrally rotating the rotation cup (4) and the substrate holding section (2), a nozzle (5) for supplying a treatment liquid for the wafer (W) at a treatment position and a cleaning liquid for the rotation cup (4) at its external surface, a liquid supply section (85) for the nozzle (5), and a nozzle movement mechanism for moving the nozzle (5) between the wafer treatment position and the external portion of the rotation cup (4).

In the process of manufacturing semiconductor devices or flat panel display devices (FPD), liquid processes are frequently used, in which a process liquid is supplied onto a target substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer or glass substrate. For example, processes of this kind encompass a cleaning process for removing particles and/or contaminants deposited on a substrate, and a coating process for applying a photo-resist liquid or development liquid in a photolithography sequence.
As a liquid processing apparatus used for this purpose, the following apparatus of the single-substrate processing type is known. Specifically, a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, is held on a spin chuck, and a process liquid is supplied onto the front surface or front and back surfaces of the wafer, while the wafer is rotated. Consequently, a liquid film is formed on the front surface or front and back surfaces of the wafer, thereby performing a process.
In general, an apparatus of this kind is arranged to supply a process liquid onto the center of a wafer, and rotate the wafer to spread the process liquid outward, thereby forming a liquid film and throwing off the process liquid. A surrounding member, such as a cup, is disposed around the wafer to guide downward the process liquid thrown off from the wafer, so that the process liquid is swiftly drained. However, where such a cup or the like is used, part of the process liquid may bounce back to the wafer as mist, and generate defects thereon, such as water marks and/or particles.
As a technique for preventing this problem, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 8-1064 discloses a technique which utilizes a process liquid receiving member to be rotated integrally with rotary support means that rotates along with a substrate held thereon in a horizontal state. The process liquid receiving member receives a process liquid scattered around the substrate, and guides the process liquid outward to collect it. According to this Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 8-1064, the process liquid receiving member includes a horizontal eaves portion, an inclined guide portion for guiding the process liquid outward and downward, a horizontal guide portion for guiding the process liquid outward in the horizontal direction, and a wall portion extending upward in the vertical direction, in this order from the substrate side. With this arrangement, the process liquid is guided into a narrow space to prevent mist from bouncing back onto the substrate, while the process liquid is drained from a drain port formed at a corner of the process receiving member. The process liquid is then discharged through grooves extending outward within a spacer disposed around the process liquid receiving member.
Where a liquid process of this kind is performed, a process liquid is deposited on the process liquid receiving member. In this sate, if the liquid process is performed on a substrate, the deposited process liquid may generate particles, which are then transferred onto the substrate. In order to solve this problem by a simple mechanism, a technique of supplying a cleaning liquid from a nozzle disposed inside a cup for receiving a process liquid (for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-232276) may be usable.
However, the process liquid receiving member disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 8-1064 is arranged to rotate along with a substrate at a high speed, so the process liquid reaches portions not only inside but also outside the process liquid receiving member. Accordingly, the technique disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-232276 is unsuitable for the structure disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 8-1064.

Liquid processing apparatus and liquid processing method