The present invention describes the application of specifically derived stress proteins in the modulation of certain specific immune responses in the human and animal body. This application under certain conditions may require the in vitro (out of body) treatment of certain tissues (including cells of all lineages) derived from the intended recipient body or specific donor body, in the case of organ or cell transplantation. The intracellular activity and the subsequent protection against mortality in a cell or tissue has been described in another U.S. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,945 entitled "Method of treatment with HSP70". The present invention differs from the aforementioned patent in that it does not describe a method for non-specific or specific protection against mortality. The invention may be employed to suppress allograft rejection and the rejection of xenografts, transplanted into human and/or animals.

Stress proteins are a very highly conserved group of proteins (Schlesinger, M. J. (1994) "How the Cell Copes with Stress and the Function of Heat Shock Proteins," Pediatric Research, 36(1 Pt 1): 1-6). This term, stress protein, includes both heat shock proteins and glucose regulated proteins and other candidate proteins, such as Erp72. Certain members of the stress proteins are constitutively expressed and are essential components of the cellular machinery. Other members of the group are not readily detectable under normal circumstances but in situations of stress and injury, such as ischemia, (Perdrizet, G. A., Kaneko, H., et al. (1993) "Heat shock and recovery protects renal allografts from warm ischemic injury and enhances hsp72 production," Transplantation proceedings 25(1 Pt 2): 1670-3), hyperthermia. (Chatson, G., Perdrizet, G., et al. (1990) "Heat shock protects kidneys against warm ischemic injury," Current Surgery 47(6): 420-3), physical trauma, reperfusion injury, the expression of these proteins are greatly upregulated (Currie, R. W., White, F. P. (1981) "Trauma-induced protein in rat tissues: a physiological role for a `heat shock` protein?" Science 214(4516): 72-3). Some of these proteins are also specifically upregulated by treatment of cells of almost any origin, with various chemical and physical agents, such as arsenite, radiation, UV light exposure, chemical compounds including Calcium Ionophore A23187 (Resendez, Jr., E., Attenello, J. W., et al. (1985) "Calcium ionophore A23187 induces expression of glucose-regulated genes and their heterologous fusion genes" Molecular & Cellular Biology 5(6): 1212-9). The existence of the heat shock response which causes the expression of these stress proteins was initially described in 1962 with the observation that Drosophila salivary gland chromosomes puffed when exposed to supraphysiological temperatures (Ritossa, F. M. (1962) "A new puffing pattern induced by a temperature shock and DNP in Drosophilal" Experientia 18: 571-573). When the existence of the stress proteins were discovered it became apparent that by inducing the expression of these proteins in a cell it may lead to increased resistance of the cell to similar stresses (Tissieres, A., Mitchell, H. K., et al. (1974) "Protein synthesis in salivary glands of Drosophila melanogaster: relation to chromosome puffs" Journal of Molecular Biology 84(3): 389-98). The stress proteins as a group are however also intricately involved in the process of antigen presentation by cells of all types in the human and animal organism or body (Williams, DB, W. T. (1995) "Molecular chaperones in antigen presentation" Current Opinion in Immunology 1(7): 77-84; Li, Z. and Srivastava, P. K. (1994) "A critical contemplation on the role of heat shock proteins in transfer of antigenic peptides during antigen presentation" Behring Institute Mitteilungen (94): 37-47; Udono, H. and Srivastava, P. K. (1993) "Heat shock protein 70-associated peptides elicit specific cancer immunity" Journal of Experimental Medicine 178(4): 1391-6; Mariethos, E., Tacchini-Cottier, F., et al. (1994) "Exposure of monocytes to heat shock does not increase class II expression but modulates antigen-dependent T cell responses" International Immunology 6(6): 925-930; Hightower, L. E., Sadis, S. E., et al. (1994) "Interactions of vertebrate hsc70 and hsp70 with unfolded proteins and peptides" The Biology of Heat Shock Proteins and Molecular Chaperones. R. L. Morimoto, A. Tissieres and C. Georgopoulos. Plainview, N.Y., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: 179-208; Buskirk, A. V., Crump, B. L., et al. (1989) "A peptide-binding protein having a role in antigen presentation is a member of the HSP70 heat shock protein family" J. Exp. Med. 179: 1799; and Ryan, C., Stevens, T. H., et al. (1992) "Inhibitory effects of hsp70 chaperones on nascent polypeptides" Protein Science 1(8): 980-5). Evidence has been presented to support the possibility that these proteins may also be secreted or released in the immediate environment of the stressed cell or tissue (Hightower, L. E., Guidon, Jr., P. T., (1989) "Selective release from cultured mammalian cells of heat-shock (stress) proteins that resemble glia-axon transfer proteins" Journal of Cellular Physiology 138(2): 257-66). Experimental data has also shown that there is reason to believe that secreted or released stress proteins can once again be ingested by a number of other specialized cells including macrophages (Suto, R. and Srivastava, P. K. (1995) "A Mechanism for the Specific Immunogenicity of Heat Shock Protein-Chaperoned Peptides" Science 269 (Sep. 15, 1995): 1585-1588) and dendritic cells (own data).
The allo-immune response is dependent on the recognition by host cytotoxic lymphocytes of allo-MHC (Major Histo Compatibility) molecule and donor peptide complexes. This recognition has to lead to an effector response to cause rejection of an allograft or xenograft, although other mechanisms may also be important in xenotransplant rejection. This recognition and response is dependent on activation of donor MHC complex specific host T-lymphocytes by donor derived antigen presentation cells (including macrophages and dentritic cells and possibly other cell types) or specific subsets of donor antigen presenting cells (Thomas, R., Davis, L. S., et al. (1993) "Comparative accessory cell function of human peripheral blood dendritic cells and monocytes" Journal of Immunology 151(12): 6840-52). It has long been known that by appropriate pre-treatment of a recipient animal or human with a variety of treatment protocols, long lasting tolerance (non-rejection) of the allo- and xenograft can be induced (Zimmerman, C. E., Stuart, F. P., et al. (1965) "Dog renal homografts prolonged by antigenic pretreatment" Surgical Forum 16: 267-9; and Sykes, M., Lee, L. A., et al. (1994) "Xenograft tolerance" Immunological Reviews 141: 245-76). The mechanism by which the tolerance is induced is as yet unclear. The induction of donor specific tolerance to an allo- or xenograft is the ultimate goal of transplantation immune modulation. Although the effects and role of stress proteins in biological systems has been widely investigated in context of auto-immune disease (Lamb, J. R., Bal, V., et al. (1989) "Stress proteins may provide a link between the immune response to infection and autoimmunity" Int. Immunol. 1: 191-196) and cancer immunity (Srivastava, P. K., Heike, M. (1991) "Tumor-specific immunogenicity of stress-induced proteins: convergence of two evolutionary pathways of antigen presentation?" Seminars in Immunology 3(1): 57-64) it has not been the case for the possible involvement of stress proteins in the biology of transplant immunology. The majority of published works on the role of stress proteins in transplant immunology has focused on the demonstration of stress protein expression by grafted organs (Currie, R. W. (1987) "Effects of ischemia and perfusion temperature on the synthesis of stress-induced (heat shock) proteins in isolated and perfused rat hearts" Journal of Molecular & Cellular Cardiology 19(8): 795-808; Qian, J., Moliterno, R., et al. (1995) "Expression of heat shock proteins and lymphocyte reactivity in rat cardiac allografts undergoing cellular rejection" Transplant Immunology: In Press; and Davis, E. A., Wang, B. H., et al. (1995) "Induction of Heat Shock Protein in a Model of Acute Cardiac Allograft Rejection" Personal Communication). No such investigation of xenografts has been undertaken. The remaining published works focus on the demonstration of T-cell lymphocytes with specific reactivity against stress proteins and specifically heat shock proteins (Mycobacterial tuberculosis hsp71) and glucose regulated proteins (murine grp78) both of which are recombinant proteins expressed in an E. coli expression system. (Moliterno, R., Valdivia, L., et al. (1995) "Heat shock protein reactivity of lymphocytes isolated from heterotopic rat cardiac allografts" Transplantation: In Press; and Moliterno, R., Woan, M., et al. (1995) "Heat shock protein-induced T lymphocyte propagation from endomyocardial biopsies in heart transplantation" Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation: In Press). On reinterpretation of these data it becomes clear that the reactivity of these T-lymphocytes propagated from allografts are in fact not directed to hsp or grp but to an unknown E. coli peptide contained in the stress protein. This is in concordance with the published function of the stress proteins in antigen presentation (DeNagel, D. C., and Pierce, S. K., (1993) "Heat shock proteins in immune responses" Critical Reviews in Immunology 13(1): 71-81; Lakey, E. K., Margoliash, E., et al. (1987) "Identification of a peptide binding protein that plays a role in antigen presentation" Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84: 1659-1663; and Pierce, S. K. (1994) "Molecular chaperones in the processing and presentation of antigen to helper T cells" Experientia 50: 1026-1030).

Method of suppressing graft rejection by means of stress proteins


According to an embodiment, a semiconductor light emitting device includes a foundation layer, a first semiconductor layer, a light emitting layer, and a second semiconductor layer. The foundation layer has an unevenness having recesses, side portions, and protrusions. A first major surface of the foundation layer has an overlay-region. The foundation layer has a plurality of dislocations including first dislocations whose one ends reaching the recess and second dislocations whose one ends reaching the protrusion. A proportion of a number of the second dislocations reaching the first major surface to a number of all of the second dislocations is smaller than a proportion of a number of the first dislocations reaching the first major surface to a number of all of the first dislocations. A number of the dislocations reaching the overlay-region of the first major surface is smaller than a number of all of the first dislocations.

Semiconductor light emitting devices such as ultraviolet, blue, or green light emitting diodes (LEDs) and bluish-violet or blue laser diodes (LDs) that use nitride semiconductors such as gallium nitride and the like have been developed.
It is desirable to increase the external quantum efficiency to increase the luminous efficiency of nitride semiconductor light emitting devices. To increase the external quantum efficiency, it is desirable to reduce dislocations that pierce the nitride semiconductor layer while reducing the pit density and obtaining high flatness.

Semiconductor light emitting device, nitride semiconductor layer, and method for forming nitride semiconductor layer


An interconnect apparatus performs real time scoring and data throughput measurement of parallel data channels. The scoring and measurement information is communicated as feedback across the interconnect. Processing circuitry in the interconnect apparatus routes data to channels that have the best performance and reduces the data rate on channels that have lower performance based on the feedback information. This provides a method of dynamic load balancing to achieve optimal video data rates in a dynamic impedance environment. The interconnect apparatus also adjusts phase and data sampling times for improved fidelity of data transported across the interface.

Digital imaging systems that include mechanically oriented cameras and sensors commonly include signal paths that extend along rotatable mechanical booms or mounting structures. Signal paths that extend across rotatable structures typically include a slip ring interface which include a rotating side and a stationary side. For each channel in a slip ring interface, a contact on the stationary side wipes on a conductive track on the rotating side or vice versa to provide electrical contact there between.
It is often desirable to replace older cameras and/or sensors of a digital imaging system with newer generations of cameras and sensors without replacing the mounting and orienting hardware of the system. The newer cameras and sensors generally provide more advanced features and higher resolution imagery and output much more data at much higher data rates than older cameras and sensors.
Mechanical contacts such as those used in a slip ring interface can degrade and become unreliable due to wear, mechanical interference, vibration, or thermal effects that can vary channel impedances across the slip ring interface. Some degradation and the resulting variations in channel impedance may be tolerable in older video systems where a relatively small amount of data is transported across a channel. However, in more modern high definition and ultra-high definition imaging systems, the much larger amount of data being transported across a slip ring interface may be corrupted by high or varying channel impedances.
High impedance spots on a channel of a slip ring interconnect can result in a dropped line of video or even a whole dropped frame, for example. Image noise such as dropped lines or frames may cause errors or inaccuracies in many downstream processes such as tracking algorithms which are configured to process continuous imagery.
Prior attempt to improve data integrity across slip interconnects have included performing cyclic redundancy checks (CRC) at the conclusion of each video line to determine if the video line includes bit errors. When bit errors are detected the previous video line is substituted in place of the line of video with the errors. Such passive techniques are generally inadequate to provide data integrity of high speed video data transported across a slip ring interconnect. The previously known passive techniques for improving data integrity across slip ring interconnects do not adequately support transporting high speed video data over degraded slip rings, slip rings that are bandwidth limited from data line to data line, or slip ring interconnects that are temporally changing while under extreme rotations or temperatures, for example.
Other attempts to mitigate data integrity problems at a slip ring interface include replacing the slip ring with another type of interconnect, such as a cable wrap. However, the other type of interconnects generally do not have the dynamic functionality of a true slip ring. For example, a cable wrap interconnect can only be rotated through some limited angular range, whereas a slip ring interconnect can be rotated through an unlimited angular range.
Another technique for transporting high speed video data over a degraded interconnect is to compress the video data so that it can be transported over fewer channels and/or at a lower data rate. However, it is often desirable to transport uncompressed video data because compressed data generally includes undesirable artifacts and many tracker algorithms are optimized to operate with uncompressed data. Moreover, when a frame of compressed video data is corrupted, more data is lost than would be if the frame had included uncompressed video data.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Video load balancing and error detection based on measured channel bandwidth


A cell for electrowinning aluminium from alumina, comprises: a metal-based anode having an electrochemically active outer part comprising a layer that contains predominantly cobalt oxide CoO; and a fluoride-containing molten electrolyte in which the active anode surface is immersed. The electrolyte is at a temperature below 950° C., in particular in the range from 910° to 940° C. The electrolyte consists of: 6.5 to 11 weight. % dissolved alumina; 35 to 44 weight % aluminium fluoride; 38 to 46 weight % sodium fluoride; 2 to 15 weight % potassium fluoride; 0 to 5 weight % calcium fluoride; and 0 to 5 weight % in total of one or more further constituents.

Using non-carbon anodes—i.e. anodes which are not made of carbon as such, e.g. graphite, coke, etc. . . . , but possibly contain carbon in a compound—for the electrowinning of aluminium should drastically improve the aluminium production process by reducing pollution and the cost of aluminium production. Many attempts have been made to use oxide anodes, cermet anodes and metal-based anodes for aluminium production, however they were never adopted by the aluminium industry.
For the dissolution of the raw material, usually alumina, a highly aggressive fluoride-based electrolyte, such as cryolite, is required.
Materials for protecting aluminium electrowinning components have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,310,476, 5,340,448, 5,364,513, 5,527,442, 5,651,874, 6,001,236, 6,287,447 and in PCT publication WO01/42531 (all assigned to MOLTECH). Such materials are made predominantly (more than 50%) of non-oxide ceramic materials, e.g. borides, carbides or nitrides, for exposure to molten aluminium and to a molten fluoride-based electrolyte and have successfully been used in cathode applications. However, these non-oxide ceramic-based materials do not resist immediate exposure to anodically produced nascent oxygen.
The materials having the greatest resistance to oxidation are metal oxides which are all to some extent soluble in cryolite. Oxides are also poorly electrically conductive, therefore, to avoid substantial ohmic losses and high cell voltages, the use of non-conductive or poorly conductive oxides should be minimal in the manufacture of anodes. Whenever possible, a good conductive material should be utilised for the anode core, whereas the surface of the anode is preferably made of an oxide having a high electrocatalytic activity.
Several patents disclose the use of an electrically conductive metal anode core with an oxide-based active outer part, in particular U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,956,069, 4,960,494, 5,069,771 (all Nguyen/Lazouni/Doan), U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,415 (Duruz/de Nora), U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,090 (de Nora), U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,758 (de Nora/Duruz) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,227 (de Nora/Duruz), U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,681 (de Nora/Duruz), U.S. Pat. No. 6,365,018 (de Nora), U.S. Pat. No. 6,372,099 (Duruz/de Nora), U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,526 (Duruz/de Nora), U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,406 (de Nora), U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,992 (de Nora), U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,274 (de Nora/Duruz), U.S. Pat. No. 6,521,116 (Duruz/de Nora/Crottaz), U.S. Pat. No. 6,521,115 (Duruz/de Nora/Crottaz), U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,909 (Duruz/de Nora), U.S. Pat. No. 6,562,224 (Crottaz/Duruz) as well as PCT publications WO00/40783 (de Nora/Duruz), WO01/42534 (de Nora/Duruz), WO01/42535 (Duruz/de Nora), WO01/42536 (Nguyen/Duruz/de Nora), WO02/070786 (Nguyen/de Nora), WO02/083990 (de Nora/Nguyen), WO02/083991 (Nguyen/de Nora), WO03/014420 (Nguyen/Duruz/de Nora), WO03/078695 (Nguyen/de Nora), WO03/087435 (Nguyen/de Nora).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,050 (Ray) discloses numerous multiple oxide compositions for electrodes. Such compositions inter-alia include oxides of iron and cobalt. The oxide compositions can be used as a cladding on a metal layer of nickel, nickel-chromium, steel, copper, cobalt or molybdenum.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,005 (Cadwell/Hazelrigg) discloses an anode having a substrate made of titanium, tantalum, tungsten, zirconium, molybdenum, niobium, hafnium or vanadium. The substrate is coated with cobalt oxide Co3O4.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,090 (de Nora), U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,681 (de Nora/Duruz), U.S. Pat. No. 6,365,018 (de Nora), U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,526 (de Nora/Duruz), U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,406 (de Nora) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,992 (de Nora), and WO04/018731 (Nguyen/de Nora) disclose anode substrates that contain at least one of chromium, cobalt, hafnium, iron, molybdenum, nickel, copper, niobium, platinum, silicon, tantalum, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, yttrium and zirconium and that are coated with at least one of ferrites of cobalt, copper, chromium, manganese, nickel and zinc. WO01/42535 (Duruz/de Nora) and WO02/097167 (Nguyen/de Nora), disclose aluminium electrowinning anodes made of surface oxidised iron alloys that contain at least one of nickel and cobalt. U.S. Pat. No. 6,638,412 (de Nora/Duruz) discloses the use of anodes made of a transition metal-containing alloy having an integral oxide layer, the alloy comprising at least one of iron, nickel and cobalt.
Metal-based anodes are liable to corrosion and/or passivation in aluminium electrowinning cells. To avoid of minimise such mechanism, the composition and temperature of the cell's electrolyte should be chosen accordingly.
WO00/06804 discloses that a nickel-iron anode may be used in an electrolyte at a temperature of 820° to 870° C. containing 23 to 26.5 weight % AlF3, 3 to 5 weight % Al2O3, 1 to 2 weight % LiF and 1 to 2 weight % MgF2.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,006,209 and 5,284,562 (both Beck/Brooks), U.S. Pat. No. 6,258,247 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,512 (both Brown/Brooks/Frizzle/Juric), U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,813 (Brown/Brooks/Frizzle) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,272 (Brown/Frizzle) all disclose the use of nickel-copper-iron anodes in an aluminium production electrolyte at 660°-800° C. containing 6-26 weight % NaF, 7-33 weight % KF, 1-6 weight % LiF and 60-65 weight % AlF3. The electrolyte may contain Al2O3 in an amount of up to 30 weight %, in particular 5 to 10 or 15 weight %, most of which is in the form of suspended particles and some of which is dissolved in the electrolyte, i.e. typically 1 to 4 weight % dissolved Al2O3. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,258,247, 6,379,512, 6,419,813 and 6,436,272 such an electrolyte is said to be useable at temperatures up to 900° C. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,258,247 and 6,379,512 the electrolyte further contains 0.004 to 0.2 weight % transition metal additives to facilitate alumina dissolution and improve cathodic operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,744 (de Nora/Duruz) discloses an aluminium production cell having anodes made of nickel, iron and/or copper in a electrolyte at a temperature from 680° to 880° C. containing 42-63 weight % AlF3, up to 48 weight % NaF, up to 48 weight % LiF and 1 to 5 weight % Al2O3. MgF2, KF and CaF2 are also mentioned as possible bath constituents.
WO2004/035871 (de Nora/Nguyen/Duruz) discloses a metal-based anode containing at least one of nickel, cobalt and iron. The anode is used for electrowinning aluminium in a fluoride-containing molten electrolyte consisting of: 5 to 14 wt % dissolved alumina; 35 to 45 wt % aluminium fluoride; 30 to 45 wt % sodium fluoride; 5 to 20 wt % potassium fluoride; 0 to 5 wt % calcium fluoride; and 0 to 5 wt % of further constituents.
Non-carbon anodes have not as yet been commercially and industrially applied and there is still a need for a metal-based anodic material that can be used in an appropriate electrolyte for electrowinning aluminium.


This invention relates to liquid crystal compositions, and polymer networks and articles comprising the compositions. The compositions comprise at least one compound of the group of compounds represented by the structures of each of the following Formulas (IV), (V) and (VI),

Thermotropic liquid crystals are generally crystalline compounds with significant anisotropy in shape. That is, at the molecular level, they are characterized by a rod-like or disc like structure. When heated they typically melt in a stepwise manner, exhibiting one or more thermal transitions from a crystal to a final isotropic phase. The intermediate phases, known as mesophases, can include several types of smectic phases wherein the molecules are generally confined to layers; and a nematic phase wherein the molecules are aligned parallel to one another with no long range positional order. The liquid crystal phase can be achieved in a heating cycle, or can be arrived at in cooling from an isotropic phase. The structure of liquid crystals in general, and twisted nematic liquid crystals in particular, is further discussed in "The Physics of Liquid Crystals", de Gennes and Prost, Oxford University Press, 1995.
An important variant of the nematic phase is one wherein a chiral moiety is present, referred to as a twisted nematic or cholesteric phase. In this case, the molecules are parallel to each other as in the nematic phase, but the director of molecules (the average direction of the rodlike molecules) changes direction through the thickness of a layer to provide a helical packing of the nematic molecules. The pitch of the helix is perpendicular to the long axes of the molecules. This helical packing of anisotropic molecules leads to important and characteristic optical properties of twisted nematic phases including circular dichroism, a high degree of rotary power; and the selective reflection of light, including ultraviolet, visible, and near-IR light. Reflection in the visible region leads to brilliantly colored layers. The sense of the helix can either be right-handed or left-handed, and the rotational sense is an important characteristic of the material. The chiral moiety either may be present in the liquid crystalline molecule itself, for instance, as in a cholesteryl ester, or can be added to the nematic phase as a dopant, with induction of the cholesteric phase. This phenomenon is further discussed in sources such as Bassler and Labes, J. Chem. Phys., 52, 631 (1970).
There has been interest in the preparation of stable polymer layers exhibiting fixed nematic and/or cholesteric optical properties. One approach has been to synthesize monofunctional and/or polyfunctional reactive monomers that exhibit a nematic or cholesteric phase upon melting, formulate a low melting liquid crystal composition, and polymerize the liquid crystal composition in its nematic or cholesteric phase to provide a polymer network exhibiting stable optical properties of the nematic or cholesteric phase. This has resulted in the preparation of compositions comprising mixtures of monofunctional and/or polyfunctional reactive monomers, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,880, for example, discloses liquid crystalline mixtures comprising at least two different compounds of the following formula
where Z1 and Z2, independently of one another, are polymerizable groups, Y1 and Y2, independently of one another, are each a direct bond, —O—, —COO—, —OCO—, or —S—, A1 and A2, independently of one another, are spacers, and R1, R2, and R3, independently of one another, are as defined in the reference, with the proviso that -A1-Y1— and -A2-Y2—, in at least one of the substances are different O-alkylene radicals.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,308 relates to direactive mesogenic compounds or mixtures thereof comprising mesogen-containing molecules, the mesogens having two side chains attached which contain a terminal polymerizable functional group, the mesogens and the functional groups being separated by spacer groups having at least two to twenty spacer atoms, wherein both spacer groups have different chain length.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,225 discloses polymerizable liquid crystalline compounds of the Formula Z1-Y1-A1-Y3-M-Y4-A2-Y2-Z2 where Z1 and Z2 are radicals containing reactive groups via which polymerization can be effected, Y1-Y4 are a single chemical bond, oxygen, sulfur, —O—CO—, —CO—O—, —O—CO—O, —CO—NR—, —NR—CO—, —O—CO—NR—, —NR—CO—O— or —NR—CO—NR—, where at least one of the groups Y3 and Y4 is —O—CO—O—, —O—CO—NR—, —NR—CO—O— or —NR—CO—NR—, A1 and A2 are spacers having 2 to 30 carbon atoms in which the carbon chain may be interrupted by ether oxygen, thioether sulfur or by nonadjacent imino or C1-C4-alkylimino groups, M is a mesogenic group, R is C1-C4-alkyl, and compositions comprising them.
US-A-2007/0228326 discloses chemical synthesis of bis(meth)acrylate liquid crystal compounds and polymerization of liquid crystal compositions to provide polymer networks having nematic and cholesteric properties. US-A-2007/0267599 is related to the chemical synthesis of bis(meth)acrylate chiral compounds, liquid crystal compositions comprising the chiral compounds, and polymerization of the liquid crystal compositions to provide polymer networks having cholesteric properties.
A need nevertheless remains for liquid crystal compositions that have broad thermal windows, low melting points and good phase stability against crystallization, and that are easy to prepare and can be tuned to give desired properties.

Abstract: as defined herein. A process for making the composition is also provided.


Particularly in an engine that has been inactive for a substantial period of time at a cold temperature, fluid forces acting on moving members, such as electronically-activated fluid control valves, may be significant until the engine warms up. A way to reduce the fluid forces and their detrimental effects is to reduce the volume of fluid which are creating the fluid forces, including venting all or some of this fluid to drain. Additionally, fluid that gathers can be drained away. In order to accomplish such venting, the present disclosure includes a fluid control valve having a body with at least one fluid passage connected to a bore, a movable member in the bore, an actuator connected to the movable member to move the movable member, and at least one vent passage opening into the bore between the fluid passage and the actuator. The disclosure may include additional drain passages to drain away gathered fluid from actuating components.

Fluid control valves are well known in the art to provide on/off control of fluid flow, through the use of electrical control signals. Such fluid control valves may find use in internal combustion engines, in fuel systems, and/or in systems that control motion of the engine valves, such as a compression release braking system, or a system in which typical camshaft-produced valve events are modified by way of fluid action. In some cases such fluid control valves may be inactive for a substantial period of time at a cold temperature. These fluid control valves may be prone to slow opening and closing until such time that the fluid viscosity changes due to temperature change as the engine warms up, or the local fluid viscosity changes due to shearing effects of fluid as the fluid control valve is repeatedly operated, or a combination of these and/or other changes.
Such problems are believed to be caused by fluid collecting in undesired regions where it can fully or partially restrict motion of the moving members of the fluid control valve, or by fluid that finds its way into the clearance spaces that exist between stationary and movable members of the fluid control valves.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,045 discloses draining damping fluid with respect to one cavity of an actuator chamber of a fluid control valve, but is silent regarding fluid in other locations of the device.
The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one or more of the deficiencies as set forth above.


Embodiments of the invention provide a magnetic disk unit in which there has been adopted a structure fixing a base and a top plate and preventing a deformation by a bimetal effect. In one embodiment, the magnetic disk unit includes a magnetic disk; a head drive mechanism in which is mounted a head accessing the magnetic disk; a base accommodating the magnetic disk and the head drive mechanism, and possessing a flat part, in which a threaded hole has been formed, in a circumference of an opening edge; and a top cover which is formed by a material whose thermal expansion coefficient differs from that of the base, in which there is provided an escape hole, for a screw, position-aligned to the threaded hole of the flat part, and which is attached to the base by the screw penetrating through the threaded hole and the escape hole for the screw. A slip mechanism for reducing a slip friction resistance is provided respectively in a contact portion between the flat part and the top cover, and a contact portion between a head part of the screw and the top cover.

The present invention relates to an attachment structure of a base and a top cover in a storage device such as magnetic disk unit and magneto-optical unit, and more particularly relates to an attachment structure which prevents deformation of the base or the top cover due to a temperature change.
In the magnetic disk unit, a mechanical apparatus is constituted as a head disk assembly (hereafter, mentioned as HDA in the specification). This HDA is constituted by the base, a magnetic disk having been accommodated in the base, a head support mechanism, a spindle motor and electronic components etc., and by the top cover which forms a sealed structure by being joined to the base in order to form an enclosure to provide a clean air environment. In order to make the HDA into a sealed state, the top cover is screwed to the base.
In the head support mechanism of this magnetic disk unit, a head/slider performs reading/writing of data with respect to the rotating magnetic disk, and an actuator positions the head to a predetermined position. A drive mechanism of this actuator is a voice coil motor (hereinafter, mentioned as VCM in the specification) constituted by a voice coil, a magnet and a yoke.
In the head support mechanism of the magnetic disk unit like this, if the magnetic disk rotates, the slider having an air bearing surface (ABS) slightly lifts from a magnetic disk surface. The head can perform the reading/writing of the data in a predetermined position of the disk surface by rotating, by a driving force of the VCM, the slider about a pivot shaft in an approximately radial direction of the magnetic disk under a state that the slider has slightly floated from the magnetic disk surface. The positioning of the head is performed by the fact that the head reads a servo data having been previously recorded in the magnetic disk and this information is fed back to the actuator. If the head is positioned, a recording or regeneration of the information to or from a recording or recorded face of the magnetic disk is performed.
For the above magnetic disk unit, in a case where the materials of the base and the top cover (typically metals) are different and have different thermal expansion coefficients, a bimetal effect occurs depending on the use environment temperature. FIG. 4 shows a deformation state of the HDA in which this bimetal effect has occurred. In an HDA 100, the material of a base 101 is aluminum, and the material of a top cover 102 is a stainless steel whose thermal expansion coefficient is smaller than that of the aluminum. Further, FIG. 4(A) is a drawing showing an aspect in which the base 101 of the aluminum deforms under a high temperature environment, and FIG. 4(B) is a drawing showing an aspect in which the base 101 of the aluminum deforms under a low temperature environment.
In this HDA 100, the top cover 102 is fixed to the base 101 by screws 103, and the base 101 of the aluminum becomes larger in its thermal expansion coefficient than the top cover 102 of the stainless steel. Accordingly, under the high temperature environment, a bottom part 101a of the base 101 deforms so as to bend downward as shown in FIG. 4(A) and, under the low temperature environment, the bottom part 101a of the base 101 deforms so as to bend upward as shown in FIG. 4(B).
If the bottom part 101a of the base 101 deforms so as to bend downward and/or upward, a positional relation between a magnetic disk 104 and a head (not shown in the drawing) having been provided in a slider 106 of an HSA (head stack assembly) 105 deviates. This is because the magnetic disk 104 is fixed to a spindle hub of a spindle motor 107 which is provided in the bottom part 101a of the base 101, and the head support mechanism 105 is rotatably fixed to a pivot shaft 109 which is provided in the bottom part 101a of the base 101 through a carriage 108.
In a case where the base 101 and the top cover 102 deform while expanding or contracting by the same amount, no problem occurs in an operation mechanism inside the HDA. However, if the base deforms under a mode having been shown in FIG. 4 and thus the positional relation between the magnetic disk 104 and the head of the head support mechanism 105 deviates, an offtrack error occurs or a floating posture of the slider 106 of the head support mechanism 105 changes. The offtrack error refers to the situation in which, when the head support mechanism is mounting plural heads/sliders, a track to which a certain head corresponds when the other head has been positioned to a specified cylinder deviates before and after a temperature change.
If the offtrack error occurs in the head/slider, it becomes difficult to write the data to a right track or regenerate the data from a purposive track. Further, if the floating posture of the head/slider changes, a flying height of the head changes, so that a dysfunction arises in the recording and the regeneration of the data. There are various proposed techniques for preventing the bimetal effect by the base and the top cover. See, e.g., JP-UM-A-2-101392 Gazette, JP-A-6-162758 Gazette, and International Laid-Open 96/17349 Pamphlet.

Structure to prevent deformation of magnetic disk device housing

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


The present disclosure includes various method, device, system, and module embodiments for memory cycle voltage adjustment. One such method embodiment includes counting a number of process cycles performed on a first memory block in a memory device. This method embodiment also includes adjusting at least one program voltage, from an initial program voltage to an adjusted voltage, in response to the counted number of process cycles.

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including random-access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and flash memory, among others.
Flash memory devices are utilized as non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications. Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption.
Uses for flash memory include memory for personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, and cellular telephones. Program code and system data, such as a basic input/output system (BIOS), are typically stored in flash memory devices. This information can be used in personal computer systems, among others.
Two common types of flash memory array architectures are the "NAND" and "NOR" architectures, so called for the logical form in which the basic memory cell configuration of each is arranged. In the NOR array architecture, the floating gate memory cells of the memory array are typically arranged in a matrix.
The gates of each floating gate memory cell of the array matrix are typically coupled by rows to word select lines and their drains are coupled to column bit lines. The NOR architecture floating gate memory array is accessed by a row decoder activating a row of floating gate memory cells by selecting the word select line coupled to their gates. The row of selected memory cells then place their data values on the column bit lines by flowing different currents depending on if a particular cell is in a programmed state or an erased state.
A NAND array architecture also arranges its array of floating gate memory cells in a matrix such that the gates of each floating gate memory cell of the array are coupled by rows to word select lines. However each memory cell is not directly coupled to a column bit line by its drain. Instead, the memory cells of the array are coupled together in series, source to drain, between a source line and a column bit line.
The NAND architecture memory array is accessed by a row decoder activating a row of memory cells by selecting the word select line coupled to their gates. A high bias voltage is applied to a select gate drain line SG(D).
In addition, the word lines coupled to the gates of the unselected memory cells of each group are driven (e.g., at Vpass) to operate the unselected memory cells of each group as pass transistors so that they pass current in a manner that is unrestricted by their stored data values. Current then flows from the source line to the column bit line through each series coupled group, restricted only by the selected memory cells of each group. This places the current encoded data values of the row of selected memory cells on the column bit lines.
In some memory cells, the memory performance, e.g., programming speed, may increase as the number of program/erase cycles increases. However, this condition may make the affected cells more susceptible to over-programming. For instance, when a voltage is applied to the cell, the conditioning of the cell may cause the cell to be over charged and thereby cause an incorrect result when read and/or verified.


A magnetic sensing element includes a composite film, a lower shield layer, and a lower electrode layer and an upper electrode layer for supplying a current perpendicular to the composite film. The composite film has an antiferromagnetic layer, a pinned magnetic layer, a nonmagnetic layer, and a free magnetic layer. The composite film has a top face and two side faces in a track width direction. Each of the two side faces has a bent position. The angle defined by the side face below the bent position and the top face is larger than the angle defined by the side face above the bent position and the top face. The bent portion preferably lies on the lower electrode layer or the lower shield layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to CPP (current perpendicular to plane) magnetic sensing elements. In particular, the present invention relates to a CPP magnetic sensing element that does not cause short-circuiting between thin layers constituting the magnetic sensing element and a method for making the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 16 to 19 are partial cross-sectional view of a known magnetic sensing element and a method for making the same. These drawings are cross-sectional views when viewed from a face opposing a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as merely "opposing face"). Referring to FIG. 16, a lower shield layer 1, a lower electrode layer 2, an underlayer 3, a seed layer 4, an antiferromagnetic layer 5, a pinned magnetic layer 6, a nonmagnetic layer 7, a free magnetic layer 8, and a protective layer 9 are continuously formed on a substrate (not shown) in that order by sputtering. The pinned magnetic layer 6 includes a first pinned magnetic sublayer 6a, a nonmagnetic interlayer 6b, and a second pinned magnetic sublayer 6c. The free magnetic layer 8 includes a first free magnetic sublayer 8a , a nonmagnetic interlayer 8b , and a second free magnetic sublayer 8c . Layers from the underlayer 3 to the protective layer 9 constitute a composite film T.
The lower shield 1 is composed of NiFe, and the lower electrode layer 2 is composed of Cu. The underlayer 3 is composed of Ta, and the seed layer 4 is composed of NiFe. The antiferromagnetic layer 5 is composed of PtMn. The first pinned magnetic sublayer 6a, the second pinned magnetic sublayer 6c, the first free magnetic sublayer 8a , and the second free magnetic sublayer 8c are composed of CoFe. The nonmagnetic interlayers 6b and 8b are composed of Ru. The nonmagnetic layer 7 is composed of Cu, and the protective layer 9 is composed of Ta.
A resist layer R1 is formed on the composite film T. The width of the resist layer R1 in the track width direction (X direction in the drawing) is substantially the same as the track width of the magnetic sensing element.
Referring to FIG. 17, both uncovered portions of the composite film T are removed by ion milling at angle θ from the normal line such that the composite film T has a trapezoidal cross-sectional shape. The angle θ of ion milling is about 5°.
Referring to FIG. 18, on each side of the composite film T, an insulating layer 10 of alumina, a CoPt hard bias layer 11, and an insulating layer 12 of alumina are formed by sputtering. The resist layer R1 is removed, and a Cu upper electrode layer 13 and a NiFe upper shield layer 14 are formed on the composite. A magnetic sensing element shown in FIG. 19 is thereby obtained.
The magnetic sensing element shown in FIG. 19 is of spin-valve type. In the spin-valve type, the magnetization of the pinned magnetic layer is adequately pinned in a direction parallel to the Y direction in the drawing while the magnetization of the free magnetic layer is adequately oriented in the X direction, the pinned magnetic layer and the free magnetic layer having an orthogonal magnetization relationship. In response to a leakage magnetic field from a recording medium, the magnetization direction of the free magnetic layer sensitively changes. Such a change of the magnetization direction causes a change in electrical resistance of the magnetic sensing element. As a result, the leakage magnetic field from the recording medium can be detected as a change in voltage due to a change in electrical resistance.
The magnetic sensing element shown in FIG. 19 is of a CPP type in which a sensing current flows perpendicularly to the composite film T, for example, from the upper electrode layer 13 to the lower electrode layer 2.
In the known magnetic sensing element shown in FIG. 19, the upper face of each insulating layer 12 is curved downward near the corresponding side face Ts of the composite film T in the track width direction to form a dent A on the side face Ts. This is because the materials for the insulating layer 10, the hard bias layer 11, and the insulating layer 12 are not sufficiently deposited near the side faces Ts of the composite film T by the hindrance of the resist layer R1, in the step shown in FIG. 18. Furthermore, the alumina insulating layer 12 is etched by an alkaline material used in patterning of the upper electrode layer 13, and the dents A at the side faces Ts become larger.
The dents A cause short-circuiting between the side faces Ts of the composite film T and the Cu upper electrode layers 13 that formed in the dents A. The short-circuiting decreases sensitivity of the magnetic sensing element. In particular, in a bottom spin-valve magnetic sensing element shown in FIG. 19 of which the free magnetic layer 8 is formed above the antiferromagnetic layer 5, short-circuiting causing a decrease in output easily occurs between the sides of the free magnetic layer 8 and the upper electrode layer 13.
If the dents A reach positions B depicted by dot lines in FIG. 19, the upper electrode layer 13 comes into contact with all sides of the free magnetic layer 8, nonmagnetic layer 7, and pinned magnetic layer 6. In such a case, the free magnetic layer 8 and the pinned magnetic layer 6 are short-circuited and the magnetic sensing element is not sensitive to an external magnetic field.
If thick insulating layers 12 are formed to prevent short-circuiting between the side faces Ts of the composite film T and the upper electrode layer 13 as shown in FIG. 20, layers S corresponding to the insulating layers 10, the hard bias layers 11, and the insulating layers 12 formed on the sides and top of the resist layer R1 connect to the insulating layers 12. After the resist layer R1 is removed, the layers S remain as fins C on the insulating layers 12 as shown in FIG. 21. An upper electrode layer 13 formed on the insulating layers 12 with fins C cannot have a reproducible shape; hence, the connection resistance between the composite film T and the upper electrode layer 13 varies.

CPP magnetic sensing element and method for making the same


Methods and devices for testing a physical layer (PHY) of an asymmetrical interconnect interface using a traffic generator/analyzer (TGA) are described. At least one special PHY test sequence is transmitted to the asymmetrical interconnect interface during link start up to place the device under test in PHY testing mode in which the TGA is used to generate and analyze data. The asymmetrical interconnect interface can then receive a configuration command and configure the asymmetrical interconnect interface in response to the configuration command. The asymmetrical interconnect interface can then use the TGA to transmit test sequences to, or receive test sequences from, e.g., a tester, on at least one identified lane of the asymmetrical interconnect device, which at least one identified lane is set by the configuration command.

Electronic devices, such as mobile phones, personal computers, personal digital assistants, and many others, utilize processors, memories, input/output (I/O) and other digital devices in order to provide their designed functionality to end users. These various digital devices are connected to one another using interconnects (also sometimes referred to as "busses" or "interfaces"), which convey data, signals and commands between or among the various devices.
Some interconnects, like many other electrical devices, are specified by standards. For example, in the Mobile Industry Processor Interface Alliance (MIPI), several standards are defined. One of these standards is called UniPro (Unified Protocol), which is aimed at chip-to-chip networks using high-speed serial links. UniPro is defined to be a general purpose protocol that solves the general interconnect problems, such as error handling, flow control, routing or arbitration. UniPro is intended to increase the flexibility of phone manufacturers by mixing and matching chips with different functionalities, potentially from different vendors for easy creation of new devices.
For high-speed serial interfaces, interface testing typically consists of two parts, PHY testing of the electrical behaviour of the interface and protocol testing of the protocol behaviour of the interface. PHY testing is typically done using logic analyzers which can produce and capture signals with a detailed timing accuracy, and analyze whether the captured signals match the desired behaviour. Protocol testing is typically done assuming the PHY works, and uses an enhanced protocol implementation at the tester side, which inserts specific protocol patterns that can drive the Device under Test (DuT) into various corner cases.
The reason for this split in the testing process is the different nature of the two testing phases. The PHY testing needs electrical and timing accuracy. However, a tester for PHY testing is not capable of handling protocol interaction, which could be fairly complex. Protocol testing needs a high level of interactivity, and the ability to generate "ill" patterns to drive the DuT in various corner cases. However, a tester for protocol testing is not capable of electrical or timing accuracy, and assumes a working PHY for raw data transport. These types of interface testing can be used for various purposes, including testing for debug, conformance testing and production testing.
Currently, PHY testing is done using loopback. This is possible as the existing high-speed interfaces, such as PCI Express, HyperTransport or RapidIO, are symmetrical. Symmetrical, in this context, means that the two directions of a link are used with the same set of parameters, such as the number of lanes, the data rates, the encoding, etc. As a result of this symmetry of these existing interfaces or interconnects, the data sent on the link from the tester to the DuT (UpLink) can be streamed back to the tester using the other direction of the link (DownLink).
The loopback mechanism is a simple yet effective means to test a high-speed interface with a symmetrical usage of the incoming and the outgoing parts of the link. However, recently, interfaces have emerged in which the usage of the UpLink and DownLink is asymmetrical. Examples of such interfaces are UniProSM [UniPro] and LLI, which are standardized in the MIPI Alliance [MIPI]. UniProSM offers support for both D-PHY [D-PHY] and M-PHY [M-PHY] Physical Layers, also defined in the MIPI Alliance. LLI is built on top of M-PHY.
Both UniProSM and LLI allow an asymmetrical usage of the link in the sense that the UpLink and DownLink may have different static capabilities (e.g., different number of lanes, different speed capabilities). Moreover, even if the UpLink and DownLink have the same static capabilities, they may be configured differently (e.g., different number of lanes, different speed or power modes).
When the interface is asymmetrical, the loopback does not provide enough testing coverage anymore. For example, if the UpLink only has low-speed capabilities, and the DownLink offers high-speed capabilities, the high-speed cannot be effectively tested because the data cannot be provided at the speed required by the DownLink. Similar speed mismatches also show up when the UpLink has fewer lanes than the DownLink.
One other issue with an asymmetrical usage of the link is that the DownLink requires individual configuration. This is, it cannot follow the configuration of the UpLink like in the symmetrical link case. Therefore, the DuT has to offer means to have its DownLink PHY individually configured (e.g., the power mode), and the Tester has to have the means to configure the DuT. This PHY configuration has to be simple enough to be usable with a standard logical analyzer, which does not support complex protocol interaction.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide methods, nodes and systems for interconnect link testing, e.g., for M-PHY links in UniPro systems.

Methods and systems for testing electrical behavior of an interconnect having asymmetrical link


A swim cap and a method for producing the same is disclosed. A lower portion of the swim cap is shaped as a band, and an upper portion is dome shaped. Stitching joins the lower portion to the upper portion along a horizontal seam. At least two pieces of the lower portion, and a first and second piece of the upper portion, are joined to one another with stitching along a first vertical seam. The second and a third piece of the upper portion are joined to one another with stitching along a second vertical seam. The lower and upper portions are comprised of a substantially waterproof material.

Swim caps are known which are generally used keep a swimmer's hair dry. Alternatively, or additionally, such swim caps are generally used to improve a swimmer's aerodynamics in the water. For example, hair is gathered under the cap which provides a relatively smooth outer surface, improving the swimmer's ability to cut through the water. However, known swim caps are uncomfortable to wear, particularly for extended periods of time. Furthermore, such caps are generally not very durable and may break after only a few uses. What is needed is a swim cap which is durable and comfortable to wear.
A swim cap which is durable and comfortable to wear is provided. An upper portion may be comprised of a first, second, and third piece. A lower portion may be comprised of a first and second piece. A first vertical seam may extend between the first and second pieces of the upper portion as well as the first and second pieces of the lower portion. A second vertical seam may extend between the second and third pieces of the upper portion. A horizontal seam may extend between the upper and lower portions. The various pieces may be joined along the various seams by stitching, heat seal, some combination thereof, or the like. The first and third pieces of the upper portion may be substantially semi-circular in shape. The second piece of the upper portion may be substantially rectangular in shape. The lower portion may be configured to form a band. The upper portion may be configured to form a dome. The upper and lower portions may be comprised of a waterproof and stretchable material, such as neoprene. The lower portion may be configured to stretch laterally while the upper portion may be configured to stretch vertically. The dome shape, and/or the use of stretchable material, may permit a significant amount of hair to be placed inside the swim cap. The inner surface of the upper and lower portions may have a relatively low coefficient of friction such that the swim cap can be easily placed and removed from the user's head without pulling on hair or otherwise causing discomfort.
A strap may be provided which has hooks on either end that are configured to mate with loops sewn to the lower portion. A grippy material having a relatively high coefficient of friction may be provided in two strips circumscribing an inner surface of the lower portion. The lower portion may comprise a double layer of material while the upper portion may comprise a single layer of material. A waterproof material may be applied along an inner surface of the various seams to further seal the swim cap. The lower portion may be tapered to better fit a user's head.
Further features and advantages of the systems and methods disclosed herein, as well as the structure and operation of various aspects of the present disclosure, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying figures.


An image recording apparatus which is capable of recording an image by forming a dot for each pixel includes an interface (14) for receiving dot data having 300 dpi dot density, converting unit (15, 16, 17, 18) connected to the interface for converting the received data into dot data having 600 dpi dot density by replacing a dot of a focus pixel with a plurality of dots having patterns corresponding to dot patterns of areas containing the focus pixel, and a base engine unit (13) connected to the converting unit for forming an image in accordance with the converted dot data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, such as a laser printer, which is capable of printing characters and symbols on paper at high quality with a low noise.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent days, a laser printer is widely used as an output device of the computer because of producing a high quality image with a low noise.
The inventors of the present invention know a laser printer which is capable of printing an image at a resolution of 300 dpi and a pace of 10 sheets per minute. However, a laser printer which has 600 dpi or more resolution is requested by many users who desire to print more image in the same period of time.
In a case that a printer having a printing density of 600 dpi is used, dot data for a dot density (printing density) of 300 dpi is reduced to a half in a vertical and a horizontal directions of the dot data.
To avoid this reduction, it is necessary to double the number of dots in the vertical and the horizontal directions.
Meanwhile, the rugged contour of the character printed at 600 dpi is not improved as compared with the character printed at 300 dpi.
It is certain that the high-quality image is allowed to be printed by printing the dot data for the printing density of 600 dpi at the density of 600 dpi. However, for achieving this, a capacitance of the video memory is required to be four times larger than the known printer which is capable of printing an image at 300 dpi.
As a result, the laser printer becomes more costly, and the laser printer cannot be applied to the existing application programs developed for a computer designed to output the dot data for the printing density of 300 dpi to the printer, disadvantageously.
To overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages, the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,641 is capable of printing 300-dpi data at a printing density of 600 dpi as a pseudo image. In a case that the dot pattern of a character to be printed coincides with a pre-stored pattern, the disclosed apparatus serves to change a spot size of a light beam or slightly move the location of the dot in the main-scan direction (by 1/3 dot, for example).
However, the disclosed apparatus serves to process a signal only in the main-scan direction, that is, the image quality is not enhanced in the sub-scan direction.

Image recording apparatus for providing high quality image


The present invention is directed to isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding a voltage-sensitive sodium channel (VSSC) of an insect having a mutation therein which renders the sodium channel permeable to calcium, as well as to the isolated calcium permeable voltage-sensitive sodium channels encoded thereby. Nucleic acid molecules encoding calcium permeable VSSCs of Musca domestica, Drosophila melanogaster, and Heliothis virescens are specifically provided. These calcium permeable channels can be used to monitor the function of the channel by monitoring calcium transport through the sodium channel, and for screening chemical agents for the ability of the chemical agent to modify sodium channel function, again by monitoring calcium transport through the channel.

Throughout this application various publications are referenced, many in parenthesis. Full citations for these publications are provided at the end of the Detailed Description. The disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference in this application.
Cell membranes must allow passage of various polar molecules, including ions, sugars, amino acids, and nucleotides. Special membrane proteins are responsible for transferring such molecules across cell membranes. These proteins, referred to as membrane transport proteins, occur in many forms and in all types of biological membranes. Each protein is specific in that it transports a particular class of molecules (such as ions, sugars, or amino acids) and often only certain molecular species of the class. All membrane transport proteins that have been studied in detail have been found to be multipass transmembrane proteins. By forming a continuous protein pathway across the membrane, these proteins enable the specific molecules to cross the membrane without coming into direct contact with the hydrophobic interior of the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane.
There are two major classes of membrane transport proteins: carrier proteins and channel proteins. Carrier proteins bind the specific molecule to be transported and undergo a series of conformational changes in order to transfer the bound molecule across the membrane. Channel proteins, on the other hand, need not bind the molecule. Instead, they form hydrophilic pores that extend across the lipid bilayer; when these pores are open, they allow specific molecules (usually inorganic ions of appropriate size and charge) to pass through them and thereby cross the membrane. Transport through channel proteins occurs at a much faster rate than transport mediated by carrier proteins.
Channel proteins which are concerned specifically with inorganic ion transport are referred to as ion channels, and include ion channels for sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride ions. Ion channels which open in response to a change in the voltage across the membrane are referred to as voltage-sensitive ion channels.
Voltage-sensitive sodium channels are the molecular target site of a wide variety of naturally-occurring neurotoxins (Catterall 1992). Moreover, the sodium channel is one of only a small number of insecticide target sites that has been exploited successfully to achieve effective insect control (Soderlund and Bloomquist 1989b). Three pharmacologically distinct classes of insecticides (pyrethroids/DDT analogs, N-alkylamides, and dihydropyrazoles) are known to act at three different target domains of the sodium channel (Soderlund and Knipple 1994). Moreover, at least 6 other discrete domains are implicated as sites of action for a variety of naturally-occurring neurotoxins that are known to affect sodium channel function (Soderlund and Knipple 1994); these domains may also serve as useful targets for novel insecticides. As a consequence of both the proven practical significance of the sodium channel as an insecticide target site and the rich pharmacology of its multiple neurotoxin-binding domains, the search for novel agents acting at this target continues to be an important objective of many commercial agrochemical discovery efforts.
Site-directed mutagenesis experiments with vertebrate sodium channel .alpha. subunits have identified structural domains involved in ion pore formation, channel inactivation, and the binding of some neurotoxins (reviewed in Catterall 1992). Within the pore-forming domains, two specific mutations have been identified that abolish the normal calcium-dependent blockade of sodium transport and render mutated vertebrate channels permeable to calcium (Heinemann et al. 1992) (FIG. 3).
The use of target-site based biochemical screening assays to idertify novel sodium channel ligands as leads for insecticide design would greatly enhance efforts to exploit the sodium channel as a target in insecticide discovery research. However, this strategy is presently hampered by two significant technical limitations. First, the small amounts of nervous tissue that can be obtained by dissecting individual insects make the establishment of high-throughput biochemical screens based on subcellular preparations derived from insect nervous tissue prohibitively labor-intensive. Second, the principal biochemical tools that are currently available to measure ligand-sodium channel interactions are not appropriate for screening on insect sodium channels. Specifically, the radioligand .sup.3 H!batrachotoxinin A 20-.alpha.-benzoate, which is commonly employed as a direct or allosteric probe of binding at 5 distinct sodium channel domains in mammalian brain preparations (Brown 1988), is not an effective pharmacological probe for insect sodium channels (Soderlund et al. 1989c). Also, radioisotopic ion flux assays with sodium-22 as the tracer, though useful for pharmacological characterization experiments (Bloomquist and Soderlund 1988; Ottea et al. 1989; Deecher and Soderlund 1991), are inappropriate for reasons of safety as routine high-throughput screening assays. The first limitation can be overcome by expressing insect sodium channel genes in cultured cells and employing these cells as a surrogate for native tissue in screening assays. However, overcoming the second limitation will require the development of novel methods for detecting ligand-dependent modifications of sodium channel function.

Calcium permeable insect sodium channels and use thereof


A urology drape is disclosed which comprises a flexible sheet (12) which has a flexible hood (22) overlying part of the sheet (12) to form a repository (24) between the sheet (12) and the hood (22). The sheet (12) has a hole (18) to enable a procedure to be performed on a patient when the drape is located on the patient. Bodily fluid is able to flow from the hole down the sheet (12) into the repository (24) and when the procedure is finished, the drape can be folded or otherwise collapsed into a disposable package so that the drape and fluid can be disposed of in a hygienic manner.

The changing of a urinary catheter, performing of a manual bladder washout and flexible cystoscopy is conducted with the patient normally on a patient bed, occasionally a trolley and rarely an operating table. Male patients are in the supine position, females supine but with legs bent and apart with ankles together (the so-called "frog-leg" position).
Current urology drapes are small and offer partial protection from bodily fluids such as urine and blood. Using current draping methods, the majority of patients after having a urinary catheter changed, a manual bladder washout performed or a flexible cystoscopy, end up lying in wet sheets, bedding and clothing from urine and often blood either from the urine (haematuria) or from a traumatic catheterization. The patient's skin is also often in contact with the blood and urine.
The doctor or nurse performing the procedure and the patient are exposed to infectious materials because they are not well contained by current draping methods. Also, whoever attends the patient and/or needs to move the patient and change clothes and/or bed linen (nurse, patient services or clinical assistants, doctor) is further exposed to infectious material. Furthermore, the floor around the patient's bed or trolley is often covered with urine and blood necessitating cleaning staff to clean this infectious material and it is not uncommon for the shoes/clothes of staff to become soiled in the process.
This exposes healthcare workers to blood-borne pathogens.
Currently, having a urinary catheter changed, a manual bladder washout performed or a flexible cystoscopy often necessitates unnecessary exposure to hazardous material, wastes staff time and valuable hospital resources (bed linen, patient gowns and clothing needing cleaning), and therefore provides the following disadvantages:
1) Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
The healthcare profession globally is actively focused on reducing OHS risks, to save lives, increase staff productivity/utilization by reducing sickness/infection, cut insurance costs and minimize the potential threat of litigation. The current draping methods/products for catheter and related procedures expose healthcare workers to substantial risks regarding infectious materials in the work place.
2) Patient Safety/Risk of Infection
By exposing patients to infectious material, it increases the patient's risk of infection.
3) Diminishment of Hospital Resources/Increased Costs
The current draping methods reduce valuable hospital resources and ultimately increase the cost of providing healthcare. In particular:                the costs associated with current OHS risks (highlighted above)        the time taken by hospital staff attending to the cleanup of patients/beds        soiled/contaminated linen requiring laundering        soiled/contaminated patient clothes/gowns that need laundering.


A lifting scalfold assembly with several scaffolding poles which stand on a base and which are extendable in length and, between which mobile platforms are situated such that they can be adjusted in height, whereby the scaffolding poles are attached to a building by means of holding supports each scaffolding pole includes at least a girder section housing which at least a gear rack on an inside and a gear rack on an outside thereof. On the mobile platforms cogwheels and drives for the cogwheels running on the outer gear racks are provided. A sliding module or carriage includes cogwheels and drives for the cogwheels running on the inner gear connected to the girder section. Conduction rails are included on the scaffolding pole, and current collectors are positioned on the connectable mobile platforms and the sliding modules.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lifting scaffold having multiple frame poles which stand on a base and can be extended by lengths, between which mobile platforms are arranged so that they can be adjusted in height by means of multiple holding supports attached on the building face.
2. The Prior Art
A scaffold for repair work on facades and eaves is known from DE-OS 35 26 105, which discloses a climbable scaffold bridge between two mobile lifting scaffolds, whereby the scaffold bridge can be shifted in work height on the running guides or traverses in the direction of the facade.
In DE-OS 31 14 602 an arrangement for a work scaffold is described with liftable and lowerable working platforms with associated safety devices. The working platform is arranged between four guide rails provided with grooves and connected on both sides over a lifting mechanism and a suspension with the guide rails. On both sides of the working platform a support bar is arranged with the help of which the working platform rests on the scaffolding poles. Drop latches are arranged on the support bar which prevent a sharp drop in the working platform, since they latch into grooves of the guide rails during a wrenching of the chain of the lifting mechanism.
A lifting working platform, especially a working platform for building tradesmen, is known from DE-OS 34 15 074. The lifting working platform has a working platform connected to a stand such that it can be adjusted in height, the working platform having at least two crossbeams arranged at a distance from one another which can be connected to each other by vertical beams, which are provided with guide rails over which the crossbeams each run or in a pole such that they can be adjusted in height.
The object of the present invention is to provide a lifting scaffold of the noted type wherein the scaffold builds itself up and down through arrangements suitable to the scaffold, so that comparatively few workers are required for the building of a relatively large scaffold.


Methods and systems for location estimation. Signals are received from a plurality of satellites and a plurality of base stations by a mobile station. The location of the mobile station is estimated according to TOA (Time-Of-Arrival) and TDOA (Time Difference-Of-Arrival) measurements calculated based on the signals.

The present disclosure relates generally to methods and systems for location estimation, and more particularly, to methods and systems that estimate locations of mobile stations based on network-based and satellite-based signals.
Wireless location technologies have drawn a significant amount of attention over the past few decades. Different types of Location-Based Services (LBSs) have been proposed, including emergency 911 (E-911) subscriber safety services, location-based billing, navigation system, and applications for the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). However, to meet all applications' needs, it is required to provide more accurate location estimation of a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, and a PDA under different environments.
A variety of wireless location techniques have been proposed. These techniques can be classified into network-based and satellite-based location schemes. The representative algorithms for the network-based location techniques are TDOA (Time Difference-Of-Arrival) and AOA (Angle-Of-Arrival) schemes. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a network-based architecture. In the TDOA scheme, a mobile station (MS) 110 receives signals coming from different wireless base stations (121, 122, and 123), and measures the time difference of the signals. In the AOA scheme, a home base station of the mobile station 110 observes the arrival angle of signals from the mobile station 110. On the other hand, the well-adapted technology for the satellite-based location method is GPS (Global Positioning System). FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a satellite-based architecture. The mobile station 110 receives signals coming from a plurality of satellites (131 and 132), and measures TOA (Time-Of-Arrival) of the signals.
The performance of the location techniques, however, varies under different environments. For example, at rural areas, less base stations in a network-based system are installed, resulting in weak incoming signals or shortage of signal sources. Therefore, at rural areas, the network-based (i.e. TDOA, AOA) methods result in degraded performance for the location determination of mobile devices. On the other hand, the major problem for the satellite-based (i.e. GPS) method is that the performance considerably degrades when the satellite signals are severely blocked in urban valley areas.


A residue treatment system includes a treatment tank which treats residue with etching fluid, the residue being generated in a trench formed in an insulating film by dry etching; a measurement unit which measures a characteristic amount of the etching fluid; and a control unit which calculates treatment time for removing the residue on the basis of a value obtained by measuring the characteristic amount, the control unit calculating the treatment time by using correlation between an etching rate of the insulating film and the characteristic amount.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a residue treatment system, a residue treatment method, and a method of a manufacturing semiconductor device which remove residue generated by dry etching for an insulating film.
2. Related Art
With an increase in processing speed of a semiconductor device such as a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI), micropatterning and high integration of elements such as transistors used in the semiconductor device are advanced. In such a semiconductor device, elements and multilayer interconnections are connected by conductive vias, contacts, and the like buried in an insulating interlayer deposited on a semiconductor substrate. For example, in order to form interconnections and conductive vias for connecting between wiring layers, trenches and via holes are formed in an insulating interlayer by dry etching such as reactive ion etching. To the side walls and the bottom surfaces of the trenches and the via holes, polymer which is a reaction product in dry etching on the insulating interlayer adheres as residue. The adhering residue causes not only an increase in resistance between wiring layers but also deterioration of a wiring metal, the conductive vias, and the like by corrosion.
Residue generated by dry etching for an insulating interlayer or the like can be selectively removed by a wet etching treatment using a etching fluid (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-217114). In general, the wet etching treatment in a residue removing step is performed such that the etching fluid is circulated by a circulating system. In the circulating process, residue removing treatment for a large number of semiconductor substrates can be performed by repeatedly uses the etching fluid. For this reason, number of times of waste liquid treatment is reduced to make it possible to suppress the cost of etching fluid.
In the residue removing step, residue is removed by being selectively etched. However, in fact, an insulating interlayer or the like to which residue adheres is also etched. The residue contains a reactive gas component used in dry etching, and the reactive gas component is solved in the etching fluid. The etching characteristics of the etching fluid are adversely affected by the dissolved reactive gas component. For example, in the circulating process, when residue removal is repeated, an etching rate to the insulating interlayer increases. With the increase in etching rate, processing conversion differences between trenches and via holes formed in the insulating interlayer increase. As a result, a capacitance between interconnections or wiring layers increases to deteriorate the performance of a semiconductor device.
At the present, an etching rate of an insulating film immediately before residue removal is checked each time to treat a semiconductor substrate. As a result, time required for the residue removing step increases to cause an increase in manufacturing cost.

Semiconductor manufacturing method for removing residue generated by dry etching


A regulation loop circuit and a method for a buck converter for receiving an input voltage and providing an output voltage are presented. The buck converter has a capacitive divider coupled to the input terminal and comprising a first capacitor, a second capacitor, and a plurality of switches. An inductor is coupled to the capacitive divider at a switching node and is coupled to the output terminal. The regulation loop circuit is coupled to the output terminal and a reference voltage. The loop regulates the output voltage based on the reference voltage by i) regulating a switching node voltage by switching the buck converter through a plurality of phases. and ii) maintaining an approximately equal duration for each phase.

A buck converter is a power converter that is used to step down an input voltage VIN to provide an output voltage VOUT, where the output voltage VOUT is less than the input voltage VIN. The relation between the voltages may be described by the conversion ratio of the buck converter where the conversion ratio (CR) is equal to the output voltage VOUT divided by the input voltage VIN, as follows:
                    CR        =                  VOUT          VIN                                    (        1        )
It will be appreciated that the conversion ratio may be expressed as a percentage (for example, 25%), as a number (for example 0.25) or as a ratio (for example 4:1, being representative of 25%). The conversion ratio may also be referred to as a step-down ratio to indicate that the input voltage VIN is being "stepped-down" to provide the output voltage VOUT.
A 3-level multi-level converter (MLC) buck can provide much better efficiency than a 2-level buck when the conversion ratio is around 50%. However, when the application requires the conversion ratio to be in a lower range (for example, 0.25 CR>0), the efficiency of a 3-level MLC buck becomes comparable to the efficiency of a 2-level buck.
The similarity in efficiency for the 3-level MLC buck and the 2-level buck for conversion ratios between 25% and 0% is a result of the following:                1. the difference in the inductor current ripple between the 3-level MLC buck and the 2-level buck is reduced for smaller conversion ratios, when compared to conversion ratios at or near 50%; and        2. the 3-level MLC has two power switches in series with the inductor during a magnetization phase whereas the 2-level buck has only one power switch in series with the inductor during a magnetization phase.
FIG. 1 is a schematic of a hybrid switched capacitor (SC) power converter 100 from: Samuel Webb et. al., Zero Inductor Voltage Multilevel Bus Converter, IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), pp. 2175-2182, IEEE 2018. The hybrid SC power converter 100 is a 4:1 2-stage SC converter. The current paths for the switch on-states are indicated in the Figure.
The hybrid SC power converter 100 is well suited to provide high efficiency when the application requires a 4:1 conversion ratio. However, it cannot provide any other conversion ratio because it operates in an unregulated (i.e., open loop) manner. Each switch state operates with equal duration.
The hybrid SC power converter 100 comprises a power supply 102; switches 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118; capacitors 120, 122, 124, 126 and is coupled to a load 128. Although illustrated as a battery, it will be appreciated that any suitable power supply may be used for the power supply 102.


A butt terminal in which the number of component parts is small, and a small-size design can be achieved, and a sufficient fitting displacement amount can be obtained, and a stable electrically-connected condition can be obtained. In the butt terminal of a two-part construction of the invention, a female terminal, having a sliding contact piece, and a male terminal are butted to be electrically connected together. The female terminal includes a box-like body of an electrically-conductive material which has a stamped piece portion which is formed on at least one of first opposed walls of the box-like body, and is bent inwardly to be slanting rearwardly, and sliding grooves formed respectively in second opposed walls. The sliding contact piece includes a push portion formed at a front end thereof for engagement with the male terminal, a contact portion which is formed at a rear end thereof, and contacts the stamped piece portion, and sliding projections which are formed respectively at opposite side edges thereof intermediate the opposite ends thereof, and can be guided respectively by the sliding grooves. The sliding contact piece is inserted into the box-like body from the front side of the box-like body.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a butt terminal of a two-part construction in which a pair of male and female terminals are butted to be electrically connected together.
2. Background
There are known various butt terminals including a pair of male and female terminals, in which opposed contacts are butted together, thereby making an electrical connection. One such example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,222.
In the conventional butt 51, shown in FIG. 9, a socket-type female terminal 52 and a pin-type male terminal 53 are butted to be electrically connected together.
A front half portion of the female terminal 52 is defined by a cylindrical tubular portion 54, and a plurality of slits 55 are formed through a front end portion of the cylindrical tubular portion 54, and extend axially, so that a plurality of resilient arms 57, separated from one another by the slits 55, are formed. The cylindrical tubular portion 54 is tapering toward its front end into a diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the male terminal 53. The front end of the cylindrical tubular portion 54 is flaring to provide an introductory portion 56 for receiving the male terminal 53.
A cap-like push member 61 for being pushed by a front end of the male terminal 53 is mounted in a socket cavity 58 defined by the resilient arm 57, and is movable back and forth. A compression spring 62 is provide at a rear end of the push member 61.
A rear half portion of the female terminal 52 is defined by a rod-like body portion 60 having a wire connection hole 59 formed in a rear end thereof, and the cylindrical tubular portion 54 is secured to a front end of the body portion 60.
In the above conventional butt terminal 51, when the front end of the male terminal 53 is fitted into the introductory portion 56 at the front end of the female terminal 52, the resilient arms 57 are spread radially outwardly by the outer peripheral surface of the male terminal 53, and the front end of the male terminal 53 abuts against the push member 61. When the male terminal 53 is further inserted to completely compress the compression spring 62, the connection between the female and male terminals 52 and 53 is completed. The female and male terminals 52 and 53 are retained by retaining mechanisms (not shown) provided on their housings.
With respect to the electrically-connected condition, the contact between the front end of the male terminal 53 and the push member 61 is a surface-to-surface contact, and the contact between the push member 61 and the compression spring 62, as well as the contact between the compression spring 62 and the body portion 60, is generally a line contact.
Next, another butt terminal different in construction from the above butt terminal will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, in the butt terminal 71, a male terminal 73 is pushed to be connected to a female terminal 72 from the upper side, the female terminal 72 being formed by bending a strip of an electrically-conductive material into a generally Z-shape. In this condition, a spring portion 74 of the female terminal 72 is compressed, so that a proper contact pressure is maintained between the female terminal 72 and the male terminal 73. A wire W is connected to an end of a bottom portion 75 of the female terminal 72.
In the above conventional butt terminal 51 shown in FIG. 9, however, when the male terminal 53 is inserted obliquely into the female terminal 52, the compression spring 62 is compressed in a curved condition as shown in FIG. 10, and therefore only an lower portion in FIG. 10 is compressed while an upper portion is not compressed, thus inviting a problem that the electrical connection is affected.
The female terminal 52 includes the push member 61 and the compression spring 62 which are provided within the cylindrical tubular portion 54, which leads to a problem that the number of the component parts is large, and the cost is increased.
In the butt terminal 71 shown in FIG. 11, if the amount of fitting displacement with respect to the male terminal 73 is large, it is necessary to increase a length L of the bottom portion 72 and a radius K of the spring portion 74 so that an internal stress of the female terminal 72 can be kept to within a yield strength of the material, and in this case there arises a problem that the female terminal 72 can not be formed into a small size.
Another problem is that since the direction of extending of the wire W from the female terminal is perpendicular to the direction of fitting of the male terminal 73, the female terminal 72 can not be formed into a small size in this respect.


A memory server providing remote memory for servers independent from the memory server. The memory server includes memory modules and a page table. A memory controller for the memory server allocates memory in the memory modules for each of the servers and manages remote memory accesses for the servers. The page table includes entries identifying the memory module and locations in the memory module storing data for the servers.

Every server relies on physical memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), for processing. In addition to processors, physical memory is one of the most performance-critical resources for modern servers, and also constitutes a significant portion of the total server hardware costs.
Currently, memory modules are collocated with processors on a system board in a server. Nowadays, there are more and more processors, e.g., multi-core chips, provided on each system board. This requires even more memory to accommodate the processing needs of the increased number of processors. However, the requirement for more memory increases costs and size requirements. Furthermore, costs associated with sub-systems, such as power and cooling systems, increase due to the requirement for more memory on each system board. For businesses or other entities requiring many servers, this can represent a significant cost increase. Memory sharing schemes have been proposed, such as sharing memory among multiple processors and other schemes. However, these schemes tend to be difficult and costly to implement or require significant changes to commodity servers, operating systems and memory controllers.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


In a preferred embodiment, there is provided a switched mode power supply operable in start-up mode, normal mode and standby mode. The power supply may comprise a transformer having a primary winding on a primary side and a secondary winding on a secondary side, the primary winding being coupleable to a DC input voltage, and circuitry on the secondary side being arranged to provide a DC output voltage; and a power controller. The power controller may comprise a regulation controller for regulating a DC supply voltage on a supply line during standby mode, and a high voltage device coupled to the DC input voltage and the supply line. The current through the high voltage device to the supply line, during standby mode, may be controlled by the regulation controller. During standby mode, when the supply voltage is greater than or equal to a reference voltage, the current through the high voltage device to the supply line is substantially zero. When the supply voltage is less than the reference voltage, the greater the difference between the supply voltage and the reference voltage, the greater the current through the high voltage device to the supply line. In other preferred embodiments, there is also provided the power controller itself and a method for regulating a supply voltage during standby mode.

Many electronic devices use switched mode power supplies due to their higher power efficiency and smaller physical size compared to other types of power supply. Switched mode power supplies are also advantageous in that these supplies can provide regulated output voltages having magnitudes higher than or lower than the unregulated input supply and can also supply different outputs of different voltages.
In a switched mode power supply system, a controller integrated circuit (IC) is used to generate the switching signal. To power the controller IC, different schemes can be found. U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,357, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes one known switched mode power supply system and method of powering the controller IC and is shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, the switched mode power supply includes a primary circuit portion 20, a secondary circuit portion 30, a self-supply power controller 40 and a feedback circuit 38. The primary circuit portion 20 includes a power source 22 and a primary inductive winding 24 coupled to the power source 22 at one end and to the self-supply power controller 40 at the other end. The secondary circuit portion 30 includes a secondary inductive winding 32 (coupled to the primary inductive winding 24), a rectifier 34 and a filter capacitor 36. The self-supply power controller 40 includes a controllable power source 42, a comparator circuit 44, a controller 48, a power switch 52 and a reference supply voltage 56. If the power controller 40 is implemented in a single IC package, four pins generally are required, shown as P1, P2, P3 and P4.
During operation, the comparator 44 compares the voltage on supply line 54 with the reference voltage 56. Specifically, if the voltage on supply line 54 is less than or equal to a first voltage magnitude, the comparator 44 enables the controllable power source 42, which charges up the capacitor 46. As a result, the voltage on supply line 54 increases. On the other hand, if the voltage on supply line 54 is more than or equal to a second voltage magnitude, the comparator 44 disables the controllable power source 42. Due to the current consumption of the controller, the voltage on supply line 54 will fall.
The operation of the prior art arrangement of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2. Between t0 and t1, the capacitor 46 is charging up, because the voltage on supply line 54 is lower than the first voltage magnitude so the output of the comparator 44 enables the controllable power source 42. At t1, when the voltage on supply line 54 reaches the second voltage magnitude, the comparator output disables the controllable power source 42. Due to the current consumption of the controller, the voltage on supply line 54 will fall. At t2, when the voltage on supply line 54 falls to the first voltage magnitude, the comparator circuit output enables the controllable power source, so that the capacitor starts to charge up again. Thus, the voltage on supply line 54 (which is the voltage across capacitor 46) fluctuates between the first and second voltage magnitudes during the whole period of operation. This cycle repeats until power is removed from the input of the primary circuit portion 20.
Note that, in the arrangement of U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,357, the controllable power source is either enabled or disabled. When it is enabled, there is a constant current flowing to charge up the capacitor. When it is disabled, the capacitor discharges due to consumption by the self-supply power controller 40.
Whilst the arrangement of U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,357, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, is simple and easy to implement, it does have a number of disadvantages. Primarily, this type of self-supply power is quite inefficient because the power controller IC is always powered by the controllable power source, which is coupled to the high bus voltage (usually around 400V), and power consumption in the self-supply power source is quite high. Additionally, the high power consumption may cause thermal problems for the controller IC.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,383, which is incorporated herein by reference, shows another known switched mode power supply system and method of powering the controller IC and is shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 shows the variation of VAUX (equivalent to VCC in U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,357) with time and FIG. 5 shows variation of the voltage across the control output capacitor, VAUX, burst mode signal S6 and the drive signal with time.
In the arrangement shown in FIG. 3, during normal operation the power supply is supplied by the auxiliary winding, and during standby mode the power supply is supplied by the self-supply current source. Therefore, there is no power consumption in the self-supply current source during normal operation. However, one major disadvantage of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,383 arrangement is that the output voltage is not well regulated during burst mode operation since an auto-restart concept is used, i.e., it is as if the power supply is starting up again in every single cycle. Because of this, the load response of the power supply during burst mode operation is poor.

Power supply and method for regulating supply voltage