A device for stabilizing slopes having a first plate and a second plate attached to the first plate at a non-perpendicular angle. The second plate is configured to inhibit rotation of the first plate. At least one gusset is disposed on a first side of the second plate and attaches the first plate to the second plate. At least one strut is disposed on a second side of the second plate and attaches the first plate to the second plate. A guide tube is non-pivotally attached to the first plate such that at least one of a rod and an extension of the anchor are rotatable within the guide tube. The guide tube is a hollow cylinder that is completely closed except at the ends thereof.

Downhill soil movement, such as that which occurs during landslides and ground creep, can cause substantial damage to various structures such as buildings, highways and railroads. Such damage can have severe economic consequences.
According to one contemporary attempt to mitigate such damage, landslides are excavated, subsurface drains are installed, and the land is then backfilled to form a stable slope. This method is frequently successful with respect to mitigating further undesirable movement of the soil.
However, where structures are involved or where space limitations prevent the use of excavation equipment, then in-place stabilization is generally required. To date, the practice of in-place slope stabilization has generally been limited to the use of retaining walls, buttresses, pilings, and soil nailing techniques.
Conventional retaining walls provide a resisting force by virtue of the stiffness of the wall and resistance of its foundation to overturning and base sliding. The stem of a retaining wall is cantilevered from the foundation and is at a substantial mechanical disadvantage with respect to undesirable potential movement. Thus, such retaining walls typically require an extensive foundation in order to adequately resist failure.
Excavation of soil for an extensive foundation at the base (or toe) of a landslide can remove the precarious support presently available and thus inadvertently mobilize the slide. Tie-back anchors used with retaining walls can reduce, or eliminated, the need for such an extensive foundation. However, expense and space limitations sometimes preclude this option.
Mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining walls rely on the tensile properties and pullout resistance of embedded geogrids, as well as their connection strength to an earth retaining facing. For a MSE wall to provide additional resistance to landslide forces, the wall backfill (with its layers of geogrid tying it together) must be massive enough to act as a gravity wall, thus requiring a large abutting fill. Similarly, a buttress is usually constructed of free-draining rock, and can act as a gravity wall provided that it is massive enough. Both MSE walls and buttresses require significant space and a stable foundation at the toe of the landslide. However, the necessary space and foundation are sometimes not available.
Piling and drill piers can be sized to have the mechanical strength required to resist most downhill movements and do not consume a large area. However, piling and drill piers are relatively costly and require large and expensive installation equipment. Piling and piers can be use in conjunction with tie-back anchors to reduce their structural size. However, expense sometimes preclude this option.
Soil nailing utilizes a relatively large number of rods driven though an unstable soil mass and into a more stable underlying layer, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,027. Soil nailing provides a holding force by virtue of the soil shear resistance around the individual rods. Soil nailing requires a considerable understanding of soil mechanics and the engineering uncertainty of the magnitudes of the shear resistance around the rods makes design difficult. Although empirical designs have been somewhat successful, such designs are generally undesirable because they do not typically have a known factor of safety.
A unique method of in-situ stabilization using a plasma arc torch to vitrify the soil across the sliding plane is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,797. This method requires that multiple borings be made, through which zones or columns of vitrified soil are formed to provide resistance to movement. The resistance to movement is provided by the soil shear resistance around the individual hardened areas, thereby increasing the overall shear strength of the soil mass in a fashion similar to soil nailing. Consequently, this method also suffers from the engineering uncertainties associated with quantifying the magnitude of the resulting increase in shear strength.
As such, although the prior art has recognized, to a limited extent, the problem of undesirable soil movement, the proposed solutions have, to date, been ineffective in providing a satisfactory remedy wherein space limitations exists. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a soil stabilization system that requires relatively small and inexpensive equipment, that requires no additional space (or land area), and that is relatively inexpensive to perform when compared to the other soil stabilization methods.

System and method for stabilizing landslides and steep slopes


Processes for producing benzothiophenecarboxylic acid derivatives of the formula (I), which are useful as starting materials for producing drugs, are disclosed. Also disclosed is a process for preparing 5-hydroxybenzo[b]-thiophene-3-carboxylic acid derivatives of the formula (VI), which are specific PGD2 antagonists.

The present invention relates to 5-hydroxybenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxylic acid derivatives which are key starting materials for producing compounds useful in the field of pharmaceuticals.
5-Hydroxybenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxylic acid derivatives of the general formula (I):
wherein R is hydrogen or a hydroxy-protecting group are important starting materials in the synthesis of pharmacologically active compounds. For example, a compound of the formula (I) is essential in the synthesis of benzothiophenecarboxamide derivatives of the general formula (VI):
wherein R is as defined above and X is hydrogen or alkyl. The benzothiophenecarboxamide derivatives are specific antagonists of PGD2 and known to be useful as a drug in the treatment of various diseases related to mast cell dysfunction caused by excessive production of PGD2, for example, systemic mastocytosis, disorder of systemic mast cell activation, tracheal contraction, asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, urticaria, injury due to ischemic reperfusion, inflammation, and atopic dermatis (WO97/00853, PCT/JP97/04527 (WO98/25919)). Among compounds of the formula (VI), a compound wherein OR is 5-hydroxy and X is hydrogen (hereinafter, referred to as xe2x80x9cCompound Axe2x80x9d) has especially high antagonistic effect on PGD2. showing an excellent anti-nasal occlusion activity, and is contemplated to be a promising drug for treating nasal occlusion.
A process for preparing the above-mentioned compound is illustrated by the following reaction scheme (WO98/25919):
In order to clinically apply Compound A widely, it is essential to establish a process for preparing a starting material, the compound (I), which process is safe, efficient and industrially applicable.
However, it is difficult to synthesize benzothiophene derivatives having 5-hydroxyl group like the compound (I) and there have been no methods industrially applicable so far. The existing methods involve various complicated processes and are inefficient and of low yield. For example, there have been methods wherein 5-acetoxybenzo[b]thiophene is brominated to yield 3-bromo-5-acetoxybenzo[b]thiophene, which in turn is re-protected at the 5-acetoxy group with a benzyl group to yield 3-bromo-5-benzyloxybenzo[b]thiophene, which is followed by metallization with magnesium, introduction of carbon dioxide and removal of the benzyl group (J. Chem. Soc. (C). 1967, 1899-1905); or 5-bromobenzo[b]-thiophene is subjected to Friedel-Crafts reaction to yield 3-acetyl-5-bromobenzo[b]thiophene, which is followed by oxidation with sodium hypochlorite to yield 5-bromobenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxylic acid (Nippon-Kagaku Zasshi vol. 86, No. 10, 1067-1072(1965), J. Chem. Soc. (C). 1967, 2084-2089). 5-Hydroxybenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxylic acid or 5-acetoxybenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxylic acid are then synthesized starting from the reaction products above. However, the starting material such as 5-hydroxybenzo[b]thiophene or 5-bromobenzo[b]thiophene is not commercially available and had to be synthesized from an appropriate reagent (e.g., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 57, 1611(1935), J. Heterocyclic Chem., 25, 1271(1988)) in all cases, which have made the synthetic process longer and complex.
The present invention solves the problems of the existing methods and provides a method for the preparation of the compounds of the formula (I), which method is industrially applicable, efficient and safe.
Thus, the present invention provides a process for preparing a compound of the formula (I):
wherein R is hydrogen or a hydroxy-protecting group, or a reactive derivative thereof comprising subjecting 4-mercaptophenol to reactions for introduction of a propargyl group and protection of hydroxyl group to yield a compound of the formula (II):
wherein R1 is a hydroxy-protecting group; oxidizing the compound (II) to yield a compound of the formula (III):
wherein R1 is a hydroxy-protecting group; subjecting the compound (III) to thermal rearrangement reaction to yield a compound of the formula (IV):
wherein R1 is as defined above; and subjecting the compound (IV) to stepwise oxidation of hydroxymethyl group and optionally deprotection.
The present invention also provides a process for preparing a compound of the formula (I):
wherein R is hydrogen or a hydroxy-protecting group or a reactive derivative thereof comprising subjecting 5-hydroxybenzo[b]thiophene to a protecting reaction to yield a compound of the formula (VII):
wherein R2 is a hydroxy-protecting group; reacting the compound (VII) with acetyl halide under the conditions for Friedel-Crafts reaction to yield a compound of the formula (VIII):
wherein R2 is a hydroxy-protecting group; and subjecting the compound (VIII) to oxidation of the acetyl group and optionally deprotection.
The present invention further provides a method for the preparation of the above-mentioned 5-hydroxybenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxylic acid derivative of the general formula (VI) by using a compound of the formula (I). Thus, the present invention provides a process for preparing a compound of the formula (VI):
wherein R is as defined above and X is hydrogen or alkyl, and double bond represents either E- or Z-configuration, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof or a hydrate thereof, which comprises subjecting a compound of the formula (I) or a reactive derivative thereof to the following reactions:
(1) reaction with a compound of the formula (V)
xe2x80x83wherein X is hydrogen or alkyl; or
(2) reaction with a compound of the formula (Vxe2x80x2):
xe2x80x83or a salt thereof followed by oxidation and reaction with an ylide under the conditions for Wittig reaction; and
(3) optionally deprotection.
The terms used herein are defined below.
The term xe2x80x9chydroxy-protecting groupxe2x80x9d means alkyl, alkoxyalkyl, acyl, aralkyl, alkylsulfonyl, arylsulfonyl, alkyl-substituted silyl, alkoxycarbonyl, aryloxycarbonyl, aralkyloxycarbonyl or tetrahydropyranyl.
The term xe2x80x9calkylxe2x80x9d means C1-C20 linear or branched alkyl, particularly, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, n-pentyl, isopentyl, neopentyl, tert-pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, nonyl, decyl, undecyl, dodecyl, tridecyl, tetradecyl, pentadecyl, hexadecyl, heptadecyl, octadecyl, nonadecyl, icosyl and the like, and C1-C6 alkyl is preferred.
The term xe2x80x9calkoxyxe2x80x9d means C1-C6 linear or branched alkoxy, particularly, methoxy, ethoxy, n-propoxy, i-propoxy, n-butoxy, i-butoxy, s-butoxy, t-butoxy, n-pentyloxy, i-pentyloxy, neopentyloxy, s-pentyloxy, t-pentyloxy, n-hexyloxy, neohexyloxy, i-hexyloxy, s-hexyloxy, t-hexyloxy and the like, and C1-C3 alkoxy is preferred.
The term xe2x80x9calkoxyalkylxe2x80x9d means alkyl group substituted by alkoxy group, including methoxymethyl, ethoxymethyl, methoxyethoxymethyl, ethoxyethyl, methoxypropyl and the like.
The term xe2x80x9cacylxe2x80x9d means C1-C11 acyl derived from aliphatic carboxylic acid or aromatic carboxylic acid. Examples of aliphatic carboxylic acid-derived acyl include acetyl, chloroacetyl, trichloroacetyl, propionyl, butyryl, valeryl and the like, and examples of aromatic carboxylic acid-derived acyl include benzoyl, p-nitrobenzoyl, p-methoxybenzoyl, p-bromobenzoyl, toluoyl, naphthoyl and the like.
The term xe2x80x9carylxe2x80x9d means phenyl, naphthyl or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon group and the like. In addition, aryl may be substituted by the following substituents.
Examples of substituent include alkyl such as methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, n-pentyl, isopentyl, neopentyl or tert-pentyl, lower alkoxy such as methoxy or ethoxy, halogen such as fluoro, chloro, bromo or iodo, nitro, hydroxy, carboxy, cyano, sulfonyl, amino, lower alkylamino such as methylamino, dimethylamino, ethylmethylamino or diethylamino, and the like. The aryl group may have one or more substituents at any possible positions. Specific examples of aryl include 2-methylphenyl, 3-methylphenyl, 4-methylphenyl, 2-ethylphenyl, 3-ethylphenyl, 4-ethylphenyl, 4-pentylphenyl, 4-carboxyphenyl, 4-acetylphenyl, 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)phenyl, 4-nitrophenyl, 4-hydroxyphenyl, 4-methoxyphenyl, 4-fluorophenyl, 4-chlorophenyl, 4-iodophenyl and the like.
The aryl group in the xe2x80x9caralkylxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9carylsulfonylxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9caryloxycarbonylxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9caralkyloxycarbonylxe2x80x9d described below may have similar substituents as defined above.
The term xe2x80x9caralkylxe2x80x9d means an alkyl group substituted by aryl group, and includes benzyl, 4-methylbenzyl, 4-methoxybenzyl, 3,4-dimethoxybenzyl, naphthylmethyl, phenethyl, and the like.
The term xe2x80x9calkylsulfonylxe2x80x9d means a sulfonyl group substituted by alkyl group, and includes methanesulfonyl, ethanesulfonyl and the like.
The term xe2x80x9carylsulfonylxe2x80x9d means a sulfonyl group substituted by aryl group, and includes benzenesulfonyl, p-toluenesulfonyl, and the like.
The term xe2x80x9calkyl-substituted silylxe2x80x9d means mono-, di- or tri-alkyl-substituted silyl, for example, methylsilyl, dimethylsilyl, trimethylsilyl, t-butyldimethylsilyl, and the like.
The term xe2x80x9calkoxycarbonylxe2x80x9d means methoxycarbonyl, isopropoxycarbonyl, t-butoxycarbonyl, and the like.
The term xe2x80x9caryloxycarbonylxe2x80x9d means phenoxycarbonyl, and the like.
The term xe2x80x9caralkyloxycarbonylxe2x80x9d means benzyloxycarbonyl, and the like.
Although all the above-mentioned hydroxy-protecting groups are preferred as the hydroxy-protecting group shown by R1, R2 or R in respective formula above, aryl sulfonyl is more preferred and benzenesulfonyl is particularly preferred among them.
Examples of salts of the compound of the general formula (VI) include alkali metal salts such as lithium salt, sodium salt or potassium salt and the like, alkali earth metal salts such as calcium salt and the like, ammonium salt, salts with organic base such as tromethamine, trimethylamine, triethylamine, 2-aminobutane, tert-butylamine, diisopropylethylamine, n-butylmethylamine, n-butyldimethylamine, tri-n-butylamine, cyclohexylamine, dicyclohexylamine, N-isopropylcyclohexylamine, furfurylamine, benzylamine, methylbenzylamine, dibenzylamine, N,N-dimethylbenzylamine, 2-chlorobenzylamine, 4-methoxybenzylamine, 1-naphthalenemethylamine, diphenylbenzylamine, triphenylamine, 1-naphthylamine, 1-aminoanthracene, 2-aminoanthracene, dehydroabiethylamine, N-methylmorpholine or pyridine, or amino acid salts such as lysine salt or arginine salt.
The salts of the amino alcohol of the formula (VI) include salts with organic acid such as benzoic acid, etc., and mineral acid such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, etc.
The final compound of the present invention is represented by the formula (VI) as described above, in which the double bond of the alkenylene side chain (5-heptenylene chain) may be in the E- or Z-configuration.
The method of the present invention is described below in more detail. When a substituent(s) possibly interfering the reaction is present, it can be appropriately protected and then deprotected at a desired stage. Such protection or deprotection can be accomplished by a procedure known in the art.
Wherein R and R1 are as defined above.
[Step 1]
This step is related to the introduction of a propargyl group at the mercapto group of 4-mercaptophenol (1) and protection of hydroxyl group.
The introduction of a propargyl group is accomplished by using propargyl halide such as propargyl bromide, propargyl chloride and the like in the presence of a basic agents. The reaction can be accomplished within several tens minutes to several hours at room temperature by employing, as a basic agent, inorganic base such as potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate or the like, or an organic base such as triethylamine, pyridine, 4-dimethylaminopyridine or the like in a solvent such as acetone, ethyl acetate, tetrahydrofuran, acetonitrile, or the like.
When a strong base such as potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide is used, it can be also accomplished in a two-layer solvent system such as toluene-water or xylene-water.
The protection of hydroxyl group may be conducted using an ordinary hydroxy-protecting group in a conventional manner. Preferred protecting groups to be used in the present method are those which do not undergo changes during the oxidative reactions in the 2nd and 4th steps of the present Process and the 2nd step of Process IV below for the preparation of compound of the formula (VI) and also during the Wittig reaction of the 3rd step of said Process, and can be easily deprotected in the 4th step to give leaving groups which are easily separable from, for example, Compound A for purification thereof, which corresponds to a compound of the formula (VI) wherein OR is 5-hydroxy, X is hydrogen and double bond is in Z-configuration. Examples of such a hydroxy-protecting group include alkyl, alkoxyalkyl, acyl, aralkyl, alkylsulfonyl, arylsulfonyl, alkyl-substituted silyl, alkoxycarbonyl, aryloxycarbonyl, aralkyloxycarbonyl or tetrahydropyranyl.
Considering the requirements that a protecting group should survive during the Wittig reaction conducted under strong basic conditions, be easily deprotected, for example, in the 4th step for the preparation of Compound A, and be separable from Compound A, arylsulfonyl is more preferred and benzenesulfonyl is particularly preferred. Benzenesulfonyl group is relatively stable to base in anhydrous solvents and, upon deprotection, gives benzenesulfonic acid which is water-soluble and is easily separated from the final product of the formula (VI). The protection and deprotection can be carried out by a method known in the art. For example, in the case of benzenesulfonyl group, the introduction of benzenesulfonyl group is carried out in a manner similar to that for the introduction of propargyl group by using benzenesulfonyl chloride.
[Step 2]
This step is related to oxidation of the compound (II). There have been known oxidizing methods which use, for instance, aqueous hydrogen peroxidexe2x80x94acetic acid (J. Am, Chem. Soc., 87, 1109-1114 (1965)),aqueous hydrogen peroxide-titanium(III) chloride (Synthesis 1981, 204-206), m-chloroperbenzoic acid (Org. Synth., 64, 157-163 (1985)), or sodium metaperiodate (J. Org. Chem., 27, 282-284 (1962)). In the present step, it is preferred to use a slightly excess amount of 30% aqueous hydrogen peroxide in an alcoholic solvent such as ethanol, methanol, isopropanol or tert-butanol solution containing formic acid. The reaction is accomplished within several tens minutes to several hours under cooling or at room temperature.
[Step 3]
This step is related to the conversion of the compound (III) into the hydroxymethyl compound (IV) by thermal rearrangement reaction. The thermal rearrangement reaction in this step is carried out according to the method described in J. C, S. Chem. Comm., 1974, 848-849. Examples of preferred solvents for this reaction include dioxane, 1,2-dimethoxyethane, propyl acetate and 3-pentanone. The reaction is accomplished by refluxing in a solvent for several hours followed by adding to the resultant intermediate an acid (p-toluenesulfonic acid, methanesulfonic acid, sulfuric acid, etc.)
[Step 4]
This step is related to the oxidation of the compound (IV) to provide carboxylic acid (I). The oxidation can be carried out either directly or in a stepwise manner. Examples of oxidizing agent for converting an aromatic primary alcohol to the corresponding carboxylic acid directly include chromic acids (Synthesis. 1986, 285-288), potassium permanganate (J. Org. Chem., 18, 806-809 (1953)) and ruthenium oxides (J. C. S. Chem. Comm., 1979, 58-59)). However, these methods have disadvantages in not only the yield but also the following matters. For instance, the reaction time is long, the detoxification treatment of oxidizing agent is needed following the reaction, the reagents are unstable and/or they involve complicated operations.
On the contrary, in some cases, a stepwise oxidation wherein a primary alcohol is oxidized to an aldehyde and then to a carboxylic acid may be of advantage with regard to yield. In general, the oxidation of alcohol to aldehyde has been carried out by using an oxidizing agent of chromic acid series, for example, Jones reagents (J. Org. Chem., 40, 1664-1665 (1975)), Collins reagents (J. C. S. Chem. Comm., 1972 1126)), pyridinium chlorochromate (Tetrahedron Lett., 2647-2650 (1975)). It has been also known a method which uses manganese dioxide (Helv. Chim. Acta., 39, 858-862 (1956)) or dimethyl sulfoxide (Swern oxidation, J. Org. Chem., 43, 2480-2482 (1978)). However, these existing methods have disadvantages. For example, chromic acids are toxic to human body and must be detoxified after use. Further, the Swern oxidation using dimethyl sulfoxide-oxalyl chloride is not suited for a large scale production because it is accompanied by the generation of carbon monoxide harmful to workers and sulfurous odor and also it must be carried out at low temperature, for example, between xe2x88x9250xc2x0 C. and xe2x88x9278xc2x0 C.
Alcohol (IV) can be converted into aldehyde (IVxe2x80x2) almost quantitatively by a method wherein an alcohol (IV) is oxidized with an oxidizing reagent such as halo oxoacid in the presence of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl or the like (referred to as xe2x80x9cTEMPOsxe2x80x9d) according to the description in a literature (e.g., J. Org. Chem., 52, 2559-2562 (1987)), whereby the problems of the existing methods are solved. Examples of TEMPOs usable include 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl, 4-methoxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl, 4-acetylamino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl, 4-benzoyloxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl, and 4-cyano-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl. Examples of usable halo oxoacids include sodium hypochlorite, sodium hypobromite, sodium bromite and higher bleaching powder. A solution of an oxidizing agent may be adjusted to, for example, pH 8.5 to 9.5 with a mineral acid such as sodium hydrogen carbonate, hydrogen chloride or sulfuric acid. Alternatively, a solution of an oxidizing agent may be added in the presence of sodium hydrogen carbonate. The reaction can be accomplished within several minutes to several tens minutes at temperature from ice-cooling to room temperature in a solvent such as ethyl acetate, acetonitrile or dichloromethane.
When the reaction solution containing the resultant aldehyde (IVxe2x80x2) is acidified and sodium chlorite and aqueous hydrogen peroxide are added thereto, the aldehyde is converted into carboxylic acid under ice-cooling within several tens minutes to several hours.
If desired, the product may be further subjected to the deprotection of 5-hydroxy-protecting group and/or conversion into reactive derivatives at 3-carboxyl group. Such xe2x80x9creactive derivativexe2x80x9d includes the corresponding acid halides (e.g., chloride, bromide, iodide), acid anhydrides (e.g., mixed acid anhydride with formic acid or acetic acid), activated esters (e.g., succinimide ester), and the like, and includes acylating agents generally used for the acylation of amino group. For example, to obtain acid halides, a carboxylic acid is reacted with thionyl halide (e.g., thionyl chloride), phosphorous halide (e.g., phosphorous trichloride, phosphorous pentachloride), oxalyl halide (e.g., oxalyl chloride), or the like, according to a known method (e.g., Shin-jikken Kagaku Koza, vol. 14, p. 1787 (1978); Synthesis 852-854(1986); Shin-jikken Kagaku Koza vol. 22, p. 115 (1992)).
wherein R and R2 are as defined above.
[Step 1]
This step is related to the protection of 5-hydroxy group of compound (7).
The compound (7) as the starting material of the present step is known in a literature (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 57, 1611-1616 (1935), Ann. Chem., 527, 83-114 (1938), J. Am. Chem. Soc., 78, 5351-5357 (1956), J. Org. Chem., 41, 1118-1124 (1976)). The hydroxyl group of this compound is protected appropriately in a manner similar to that described in the 1st step of Process I above. For example, when benzenesulfonyl group is used, the compound is added to benzenesulfonyl chloride in the presence of an inorganic base such as sodium carbonate or potassium carbonate, or an organic base such as triethylamine or tripropylamine. Example of preferred solvent includes acetone, ethyl acetate and tetrahydrofuran. The reaction is accomplished within several minutes to several hours at temperature from room temperature to the boiling point of the solvent. The compound (VII) can be also synthesized by a broadly used method, commonly known as xe2x80x9cSchotten-Baumann reactionxe2x80x9d.
[Step 2]
This step is related to the introduction of acetyl group to the 3-position of the compound (VII) by Friedel-Crafts reaction. The introduction of acetyl group is, for example, carried out using acetyl chloride or acetyl bromide in the presence of a catalyst, for example, a Lewis acid such as aluminium chloride, ferric chloride, zinc chloride, tin chloride and boron trifluoride. Example of usable solvent includes carbon disulfide, nitrobenzene or a halogenated hydrocarbons such as methylene chloride or ethylene chloride. The reaction is in general accomplished within several hours at temperature of ice-cooling to room temperature. The 2-acetyl compound slightly produced as a by-product is easily separable by recrystallization.
[Step 3]
This step is related to the conversion of the compound (VIII) into a carboxylic acid (I) or a reactive derivative thereof through the oxidation of the acetyl group in the presence of a salt of hypohalous acid. Examples of preferred hypohalogenite include alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salts of hypohalous acids, and potassium, sodium or calcium salt of hypochlorous or hypobromous acid is especially preferred.
In an aqueous solution of such a salt, the oxidation progresses at relatively low temperature. However, dioxane or 1,2-dimethoxyethane may be used as a solvent so as to increase the solubility of the compound to be oxidized. The reaction is accomplished within several hours to several tens hours at room temperature or with heating.
wherein R and X are as defined above and the double bond represents E- or Z-configuration.
This process is related to the synthesis of a compound of the formula (VI) by reacting a compound of the formula (I) or a reactive derivative thereof obtained in Process I or II above with a compound of the formula (V).
The compound (V) used in the present process is obtainable according to the method described in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. 6-23170 (23170/1994).
The reaction can be carried out under ordinary conditions for acylation of amino group. For example, when a carboxylic acid halide is used, the reaction is carried out according to a method commonly known as xe2x80x9cSchotten-Baumann reactionxe2x80x9d. In general, carboxylic acid halide is added dropwise to an aqueous alkaline solution of amine with stirring and under cooling while removing the generating acid with alkali. Alternatively, when a carboxylic acid is used as a free acid not a reactive derivative, the reaction can be conducted conventionally in the presence of a coupling agent generally used in the coupling reaction between an amine and a carboxylic acid such as dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC), 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide or N,Nxe2x80x2-carbonyldiimidazole.
wherein R and X are as defined above and the double bond represents E- or Z-configuration.
[Step 1]
This step is related to the preparation of a compound of the formula (IX) by reacting a compound of the formula (I) or a reactive derivative thereof with a compound of the formula (Vxe2x80x2) or its salt in a manner similar to that described in Process III above. The preparation of some of the compounds of the formula (Vxe2x80x2) is described in Chem. Pharm. Bull. Vol.37, No. 6 1524-1533 (1989).
[Step 2]
This step is related to the preparation of an aldehyde of the formula (X) by oxidizing a compound of the formula (IX). The reaction can be carried out for several hours under cooling or at room temperature using an oxidizing agent selected from chromic acid series such as Jones reagents, Collins reagents, pyridinium chlorochromate, pyridinium dichromate or dimethyl sulfoxide-oxalyl chloride in a solvent such as chlorinated hydrocarbons (chloroform, dichloromethane, etc.), ethers (ethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran, etc.), acetone or benzene.
[Step 3]
This step is related to the formation of a double bond by reacting a compound of the formula (X) with an ylide (Ph3Pxe2x95x90CH(CH2)3COOH). The reaction for providing a double bond can be carried out in a conventional manner for Wittig reaction. The ylides used in the reaction can be synthesized, in the presence of a base, by treating a phosphonium salt which has been synthesized from triphenylphosphine and an alkyl halide having a desired alkyl group to be condensed, for example, 5-bromopentanoic acid. Examples of a base include dimsyl sodium, dimsyl potassium, sodium hydride, n-butyl lithium, potassium t-butoxide and lithium diisopropylamide. The reaction is accomplished within several hours at room temperature in a solvent such as ether, tetrahydrofuran, n-hexane, 1,2-dimethoxyethane or dimethyl sulfoxide.
[Step 4]
In this step, a compound (VI) wherein R is hydroxy-protecting group is optionally deprotected to give compound (VI-1). The reaction can be carried out in a conventional manner using a catalyst such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide or barium hydroxide, or the like. The reaction is accomplished within several tens minutes to several hours with heating in a solvent such as methanol-water, ethanol-water, acetone-water, acetonitrile-water, or the like, preferably dimethyl sulfoxide-water.

Process for preparing 5-hydroxybenzo [b] thiophene-3-carboxylic acid derivatives


A semiconductor chip includes a first wireless communication circuit, a local oscillator (LO) buffer, and an auxiliary path. The first wireless communication circuit has a signal path, wherein the signal path has a mixer input port and a signal node distinct from the mixer input port. The auxiliary path is used to electrically connect the LO buffer to the signal node of the signal path. The LO buffer is reused for a loop-back test function through the auxiliary path.

The present invention relates to an integrated circuit design, and more particularly, to a semiconductor chip with a local oscillator (LO) buffer reused for loop-back test and/or signal transmission.
Loop-back test is a well-known technique for examining the operational characteristics of a communication system. Ina loop-back test, a test data is transmitted from a source and traverses some portions of the communication system, and ultimately returns to the source. For example, the test data is up-converted to a radio-frequency (RF) signal through a transmit (TX) chain, and then looped back to a receive (RX) chain before being transmitted via the antenna, where the RF signal is down-converted at the RX chain for further processing. Upon the return of the test data, the information content of the test data and/or the physical attributes of the test data (e.g., signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio, and other parameters of interest) can be observed and compared to the same information and/or parameters as they existed when the test data was initially transmitted. Information about the state of the portions of the communication system that the test data traversed and indications of the quality of service that is being provided can be extracted from comparing the original test data and the test data upon its return.
In some communication systems such as Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) systems, TX chains are located at a chip area away from a chip area where RX chains are located. A testing tone generator (TTG) may be implemented in the vicinity of RX chains to act as a TX circuit used to provide a testing tone for testing each of RX chains. However, the TTG consumes a large chip area, and is not a cost-effective solution.
In some communication systems such as RADAR systems, a low-power scan mode is an important feature. For example, a typical RADAR system with 4T4R architecture may enable only a portion of the 4T4R architecture, such as 1T1R or 1T2R, under the low-power scan mode. Once the normal TX chain (1T) is enabled under the low-power scan mode, the TX channel consumes much power due to too many blocks being enabled.
Thus, there is a need for an innovative low-cost loop-back test design and/or an innovative TX design that are applicable to a variety of communication systems, including a RADAR system, a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, a Bluetooth (BT) system, a 5th generation (5G) wireless system, etc.

Semiconductor chip with local oscillator buffer reused for loop-back test and associated loop-back test method


A film die for the production of tubular film made of thermoplastic synthetics has at least one feed channel for the synthetic fused material which ends in a ring-shaped discharge nozzle with an interior and/or exterior cooling ring that is adjusted to the diameter of the extruded synthetic tube, in which physical parameters of the air blown onto the extruded film tube can be variably changed sector by sector. The film die is divided into sections, in which the temperature is individually variable, and/or additional bores are arranged across the circumference of the film die, which are essentially aligned vertical to the exterior cooling ring, whereby air of variable temperatures can be blown from them, the physical parameters of which are variable. The film die has at least one control unit that controls or operates the various measures for influencing the film thickness.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a film die for the production of tubular film made of thermoplastic synthetics. The film die has at least one feed channel for synthetic fused material which ends in a ring-shaped discharge nozzle with an interior and/or exterior cooling ring that is adjusted to the diameter of the extruded synthetic tube.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Film dies of this type are known in various embodiments, whereby the interior cooling air supplied to and discharged through the film die in axial direction serves for the cooling of the extruded film tube and for the inflation of the film tube into a tubular film bubble, which stretches the fusible synthetic tube. However, film dies exist, in which no air is supplied and/or discharged in the film bubble during the extrusion process, but instead a predetermined static air volume is present in the film bubble.
Generally, exterior cooling rings have a ring-shaped nozzle gap that is directed toward the extruded film tube, through which cool air is blown so that the same is rapidly cooled down in order to improve the output with a so-called frost pipe that is as low as possible.
In order to control the thickness of the film tube blown into a tubular film bubble across its circumference, it is known to variably heat and/or cool the tube-shaped extruded synthetic fused material section by section in order to influence the thickness profile. For this purpose the effect is being utilized that while inflating the synthetic tube into a tubular bubble, the warmer areas are stretch formed at a stronger degree, and the cooler areas at a lesser degree. For this purpose, physical parameters of the cool air are varied sector by sector. These parameters include the temperature and the volume flow of the cool air.
It is known from DE 42 07 439 that the exterior cooling ring is divided into sectors, in which the air blown onto the extruded film tube can be heated and/or cooled. This film die has a compact construction, because the elements for the variable heating or cooling of the air blown onto the extruded film tube are directly integrated into the exterior cooling ring. Heating cartridges distributed across the circumference may be arranged on it for the heating, and Peltier elements distributed across the circumference may be arranged on it for the cooling. The variation of the physical parameters of the cool air sector by sector can also occur on or through the interior cooling ring in addition, or as an alternative.
On the other hand, film dies have been known from DE 42 36 443 A, in which heating cartridges distributed across the circumference are integrated into the film die itself, whereby these heating cartridges each can be activated in order to control the thickness of the film tube. A convertibility of the temperature of the die section by section results from this construction. However, this system has the advantage of a more lethargic control as opposed to the system with the exterior cooling ring.
Even though the film die known from DE 42 07 439 A enables a quicker and more exact control of the cool air escaping from the film die and blown onto the film tube, inaccuracies with the control of the wall thickness of the blown film tube still exist, in that interactions between the air of variable temperatures flowing from the exterior cooling ring and the ambient air occur within the area of the nozzle discharge of the exterior cooling ring. Depending on changes in ambient conditions, as the case may be, unsteady turbulences are created here, which influence the cooling results in the area of the film tube in an unpredictable manner.

Blown film die for producing tubular film


An automatic screw fastening machine embodied by the invention transmits the rotating force of a motor to a driver bit via a differential planetary mechanism consisting of an input disc, a plurality of planetary cones, a cam disc, and a variable-speed ring. The automatic screw fastening machine causes a resilient supporting unit to restrict the variable-speed ring from shifting itself in the axial direction. Furthermore, the machine is provided with a torque detection unit capable of detecting the torque of reaction force applied to the variable-speed ring by effect of the load applied to the driver bit. As soon as the detect-signal value correctly matches a specific value corresponding to the predetermined fastening torque, supply of power to the motor is discontinued. In consequence, when fully completing a screw fastening process, rotation of the driver bit is substantially reduced to zero so that no rotating force can be transmitted to the driver bit. This in turn prevents the driver bit from adversely being affected by own inertia. This permits the driver bit to fully stop own movement simultaneous with the completion of the screw fastening process, the automatic screw fastening machine thus offers incomparable capability to execute every screw fastening process by securely applying the desired fastening torque.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic screw fastening machine which is capable of securely fastening screws or bolts by applying desired fastening torque without affecting them by inertia inherent in a driver bit at the moment of completing a process for fastening screws or bolts.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, in order to properly control torque available for fastening screws or bolts, a driver bit is rotated by a rotation drive source such as a motor which can also detect load torque applied to the driver bit via a proper detection means, and then, as soon as the detected value correctly matches a predetermined value, operation of the rotation drive source is brought to a stop. Nevertheless, when executing this conventional method, in particular, when a low value is predetermined for the fastening torque, due to adverse effect of inertia inherent in the rotation drive source, actual fastening torque value exceeds the predetermined value at the moment at which completion of the screw fastening operation is detected. As a result, neither screws nor bolts can be fastened with correct fastening torque.


A memory card adaptor which enables a small memory card to be used in a card connector for a large memory card that is larger than the small memory card. In the surface of a metal cover which cooperates with a resin base to constitute an adaptor body having a shape corresponding to an outer shape of a large memory card, steps are disposed by partly reducing the material thickness of the cover. Insulating layers the thickness of which are equal to less than the steps are formed on the surface of the thinned cover to dispose insulation areas on the side of one face of the adaptor, whereby the insulation areas are arbitrarily set on the side of the one face of the adaptor without increasing the thickness of the adaptor, and while maintaining the rigidity of the adaptor.

1. Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory card adaptor which enables a small memory card to be used in a card connector for a large memory card that is larger than the small memory card.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, as a downsized version of an SD card (24×32×2.1 mm: length×width×thickness), a mini SD card (20×21.5×1.4 mm: length×width×thickness) 200 shown in FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C has been provided. In the rear face side of an end portion of the front side of the mini SD card 200 in the case where the mini SD card is inserted in the normal insertion posture (hereinafter, the front side in this case is referred to as "rear side"), eleven contacts 204a to 204k are juxtaposed in a direction (hereinafter, referred to as "lateral direction") which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the thickness direction. In the rear side of the mini SD card 200, a cut-away portion 201 is formed by cutting away one edge. A step portion 202 which is upward directed is formed in each of the right and left side edges of the surface side of the rear end portion of the mini SD card 200 in which the width is narrowed by the cut-away portion 201. The cut-away portion 201 cooperates with the step portions 202 to prevent erroneous insertion of the mini SD card 200 into a card connector in a posture other than the normal insertion posture (insertion in a posture where the front and rear relationship and the front and back relationship are inverted) from occurring. A locking cut-away 203 is disposed in each of the right and left sides of the surface of the mini SD card 200 in a wider portion which is in front of the cut-away portion 201, so that, when the mini SD card 200 is attached to the card connector, locking members of the card connector are engaged with the locking cut-aways 203, thereby preventing-the mini SD card 200 from dropping off. In the eleven contacts 204a to 204k of the mini SD card 200, the first to eleventh contacts 204a to 204k are sequentially arranged in a direction from left to right as seen from the side of the rear face, four or the first, second, tenth, and eleventh contacts 204a, 204b, 204j, 204k are used for data, the third contact 204c is used for a command, two or the fourth and ninth contacts 204d, 204i are used for grounding, the seventh contact 204g is used for power supply, and the eighth contact 204h is used for a clock signal. The two or the fifth and sixth contacts 204e, 204f are preliminarily added to the mini SD card 200. The effective contacts are nine so as to correspond to the nine contacts of the SD card.
As a memory card which is smaller than the mini SD card 200, a TransFlash card, and a micro SD card (11×15×1 mm: length×width×thickness) 300 shown in FIGS. 13A, 13B, and 13C in which the TransFlash specification is adopted have been provided. In the rear face side of an end portion of the front side of the micro SD card 300 in the case where the micro SD card is inserted in the normal insertion posture (hereinafter, the front side in this case is referred to as "rear side"), eight contacts 303a to 303h are juxtaposed in a direction (hereinafter, referred to as "lateral direction") which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the thickness direction. In the rear side of the micro SD card 300, a cut-away portion 301 for preventing erroneous insertion is formed by cutting away one edge. A locking cut-away 302 is disposed in one side portion of the micro SD card 300 on the side of the cut-away portion 301 and in a wider portion which is in front of the cut-away portion 301. In the eight contacts 303a to 303h of the micro SD card 300, the first to eighth contacts 303a to 303h are sequentially arranged in a direction from left to right as seen from the side of the rear face, four or the first, second, seventh, and eighth contacts 303a, 303b, 303g, 303h are used for data, the third contact 303c is used for a command, the fourth contact 303d is used for power supply, the fifth contact 303e is used for a clock signal, and the sixth contact 303f is used for grounding. In the micro SD card 300, namely, the grounding contact is reduced to one, and the number of contacts is reduced to eight as compared with the case where an SD card and the mini SD card 200 have the nine contacts (in the mini SD card 200, the number of effective contacts).
As described above, miniaturization of memory cards is advancing. In order to enable a small memory card to be used in a card connector for a large memory card that is larger than the small memory card, a memory card adaptor for this purpose is required. In such an adaptor, the adaptor body is inevitably formed so as to have a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the large memory card. Memory cards are originally thin. As a result of miniaturization, the longitudinal and lateral dimensions are considerably reduced, but a large difference is not produced in thickness. Therefore, an outer peripheral portion (front and rear faces) of a housing space for a small memory card is thinned, and as a result there arises a problem in that it is difficult to maintain rigidity.
In order to solve the problem, a conventional memory card adaptor is often formed so that a rear face side (the side of the face where internal contacts are exposed in one end portion) of the adaptor body is configured by a resin base, and a metal cover is used in a thin portion of the surface side (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open No. 2005-50280).


Packaged microelectronic devices, methods of manufacturing packaged microelectronic devices, and method of mounting packaged microelectronic devices to printed circuit boards. One embodiment can include a die, an interposer substrate, a solder-ball, and a dielectric compound. The die can have an integrated circuit and at least one bond-pad coupled to the integrated circuit. The interposer substrate is coupled to the die and can have at least one ball-pad electrically coupled to the bond-pad on the die. The interposer substrate can also have a trace line adjacent to the ball-pad, and a solder-mask having an opening over the ball-pad. The solder-ball can contact the ball-pad in the opening. The dielectric compound can insulate the ball-pad and the solder-ball from an exposed portion of the adjacent trace line in the opening.

Packaged microelectronic devices are used in cell phones, pagers, personal digital assistants, computers and many other products. A packaged microelectronic device typically includes a microelectronic die and an interposer substrate attached to the die. The die generally has an integrated circuit and a plurality of bond-pads coupled to the integrated circuit. The interposer substrate has a plurality of traces coupled to the bond pads on the die, numerous ball-pads that are electrically connected to the traces, and a solder-mask that covers the traces with openings over the ball-pads. The solder-mask is also referred to as the passivation or dielectric layer. An array of solder-balls is configured so that each solder-ball contacts a corresponding ball-pad to define a "ball-grid" array. Packaged microelectronic devices with ball-grid array connections generally have lower profiles and higher pin counts than conventional chip packages that use a lead frame.
Packaged microelectronic devices are typically mounted to circuit boards. When a ball-grid array is used to connect a packaged microelectronic device to a circuit board, the solder-balls are connected to contacts on the circuit board using surface mounting techniques. First, discrete volumes of a solder paste are deposited on the circuit board contacts. Next, the solder-balls are pressed into the solder paste on the contacts. As the packaged microelectronic device and the circuit board are pressed together, the solder-balls are surrounded by solder paste and touch, or are moved proximate to, the contacts on the circuit board. This assembly is then heated to reflow the solder so that the solder mechanically bonds and electrically connects the solder-balls to the contacts.
One concern about surface mounting ball-grid array packages to circuit boards is that electrical shorts can occur between traces on the interposer substrate and ball-pads and/or solder-balls that are adjacent to such traces. The shorting problem arises because the openings in the solder-mask layer may be too large. For example, an etching process is generally used to form the openings in the solder-mask, but the etching process may over etch the solder-mask and expose a portion of a trace adjacent to a ball-pad. When a portion of the adjacent trace is exposed, the conductive solder paste on the circuit board can create a short that renders the assembled microelectronic device and circuit board inoperable. The potential for shorts is especially problematic for high-density devices with high-density ball-grid arrays because the spacing between the traces and the ball-pads is very small.
It is very difficult for the manufacturer of the packaged microelectronic device to detect the problem of potential shorts. The difficulty arises because after etching and placement of the solder-balls on the ball-pads, the device will function properly in quality control testing even though an adjacent trace is exposed because quality control testing does not involve pressing the solder-ball onto a conductive paste. Thus, without a conductive paste to create a short, it is difficult for device manufacturers to detect faulty components that may have a short after being assembled to a circuit board.
The buyer of the packaged microelectronic device, however, will connect the device to a circuit board and discover the faulty components. If the device has an exposed trace in the opening with the solder-ball, solder paste can fill the gap between the exposed trace and the ball-pad and/or solder-ball when the solder-ball is placed in the solder paste. Alternatively, if the paste does not fill the gap initially, it might do so during the reflow process. The solder paste is conductive, and consequently, when the paste fills the gap between the exposed trace and the ball-pad and/or solder-ball, an electrical connection is created. In this case the electrical connection is a short. Accordingly, the packaged microelectronic device and the circuit board, which both worked properly before assembly, do not work properly after being assembled by the customer. After assembly it is more expensive to recover faulty parts than to replace them, and therefore, the faulty parts are generally discarded.
Because the shorting problem is most easily detected only after assembly, the problem often arises after the manufacturer has sold the packaged microelectronic device. Post-sale detection increases the magnitude of the problem for at least two reasons. First, the financial losses are greater because all of the manufacturing, inventory and marketing costs for the product have been incurred by the time the problem is detected. Yet, almost none of these costs can be recouped because the faulty parts are often discarded and replaced. Second, post-sale detection can damage customer relationships because defective products disrupt the customers' business and damage their reputation. Even if customers are compensated for their costs, the process is an inconvenience at the very least.
Manufacturers of packaged microelectronic devices want to produce products with high yields. Therefore, it is desirable to prevent shorting, or at the very least, detect the possibility of shorts early in the manufacturing process. One approach manufacturers use to prevent shorting is to improve the accuracy of the etching process. This approach, however, increases the cost of the etching process and is becoming more difficult as the density of microelectronic devices increases. Moreover, even if the accuracy of the etching process is improved, some traces may still be exposed and susceptible to shorting at assembly.

Microelectronic devices and methods for mounting microelectronic packages to circuit boards


A method and system for improving precision and accuracy of weaponry according to which angular position information of the fire control device and optical location information of the optical signals emitted during the flight of a projectile are processed in a computer using software to calculate and provide a precise aim point for firing one or more subsequent projectiles.

There are several real time factors that influence the accuracy of weaponry and their fire control devices.
Existing fire control devices use ballistic tables and metrological sensors to calculate a predicted hit point (gunner aiming point). Also, some fire control devices allow for users to input manual drift and elevation offsets, but these offsets are generally linear offsets. Further, fire control devices often provide inaccurate aim points because a limited number of inputs are taken into consideration while calculating the aim points.
Existing wind sensing methodologies such as LIDAR and Doppler radar are too expensive to be incorporated into ground combat systems. Also, during the flight of the projectile, different wind conditions exist at different elevations, thus it is not effective to use a wind sensor at the fire control device as the wind conditions at the firing location are different from wind conditions on the in-flight projectile. Further, the trajectory of some projectiles makes it problematic to use wind sensors.
Chemical tracers have been used in ammunition for many years, but use of chemical tracers induces drag that negatively affects projectile ballistics. Further, chemical tracers do not allow precise measurement of the projectile time-location.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,969 discloses a wind and target motion correction method for an airborne fire control system; however, the patent does not describe any method for correcting wind errors in ground combat systems.
The U.K. patent number GB 2,107,835 relates to a method and a device for correcting subsequent firing of a projectile from a weapon. However, the disclosed system is limited to the firing of the projectiles having a flat trajectory only, excluding its use for long range firing, and it does not take into account certain factors, such as errors due to gun jump or the like.
The U.S. Pat. No. 7,239,377 relates to a method and a device for determining a second range to a target based on data observed from a first range to the target. The method uses computer programs to calculate second range to the target using sensors such as a laser range sensor and a tilt sensor. However, practical considerations, such as atmospheric conditions, limit the accuracy of calculated solutions. Thus, there is a need to take into account real time observed data to improve the precision and accuracy of a fire control device.
In summary, there is a need for using real time data in weaponry systems to provide an improved ballistic control.

Methodology for bore sight alignment and correcting ballistic aiming points using an optical (strobe) tracer


An optical test head comprises one or more optical input paths by which a beam of light is communicated from a light source to a workpiece and one or more optical output paths by which light reflected off of the workpiece is communicated to a detector. The input optical path and the output optical path can include one or more mirrors and one or more lenses. At least one of the optical paths includes a layer for trapping and/or absorbing stray light. One or more of the lenses includes an anti-reflective coating for reducing noise caused by unwanted light reflection off of the lenses. The optical paths include one or more masks reducing stray light. The one or more masks can have an adjustable aperture (e.g. an iris).

This invention relates to methods and apparatus for optically inspecting workpieces such as substrates used to make magnetic disks or magnetic disks during any point in the manufacturing process (including the finished disk). This invention also pertains to methods for making such apparatus.
Magnetic disks are typically manufactured using the following method.    1. A disk-shaped substrate (typically an Al alloy) is lapped or ground.    2. A material such as a nickel phosphorus alloy is plated onto the substrate.    3. The plated substrate is polished and textured. (During texturing, texture grooves are typically formed in the substrate by mechanical abrasion to cause a subsequently deposited magnetic layer to exhibit anisotropy. It is also known to laser texture substrates for tribological reasons)    4. One or more underlayers, one or more magnetic layers and one or more protective overcoats are deposited onto the plated substrate. (The deposition process can comprise sputtering or other techniques.) Other layers can also be deposited onto the substrate during manufacturing.    5. A lubricant is applied to the disk.
At various points during manufacturing (e.g. before or after texturing), it is desirable to inspect the substrate for bumps, pits, contaminant particles, or other defects. During such inspection, one should be able to detect very small defects. It is known in the art to use lasers to scan such substrates for this purpose. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,566,674 and 6,548,821, issued to Treves et al. (The Treves patents are incorporated herein by reference.)
Unfortunately, certain undesired light can introduce noise into output signals generated by optical test apparatus. The such light can have any of several sources, including a "halo" surrounding a laser beam generated by a diode laser; undesired light reflected off of structures such as lenses; sources external to the apparatus; or other sources. It would be desirable to reduce or eliminate such undesired light.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for reducing or eliminating stray light in an optical test head


In a portable radio device having a speaker, key buttons, and microphone arranged on the front surface of the case, an antenna support mechanism supports an extended rod-shaped antenna on the top surface of the case. The antenna support mechanism allows rotation of the antenna, which is extended parallel to the front surface of the case, away from the front surface, and holds the antenna in a locked state with respect to the case when the angle of rotation reaches a prescribed angle with respect to the front surface of the case. Accordingly, the antenna can be distanced from the user's face during use and degradation of antenna performance can be prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable radio device such as a portable telephone for a mobile communication system, and particularly to a portable radio device in which degradation of antenna functions during communication can be reduced.
2. Description of the Related Art
The development of mobile communication systems in recent years has underscored the importance of improving the performance of this type of radio device, one approach focusing on the improvement of antenna gain, antenna pattern, and other factors of antenna performance, and another focusing on various contrivances for storing an antenna for easier portability. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 175826/91 discloses a portable telephone constructed with a recess in the rear surface of the telephone body 1 for accommodating an antenna unit 21 which may be raised for use by rotating the antenna unit 180.degree. about a hinge member 31 and pulling an extendible whip antenna vertically up from the antenna unit. The antenna can accordingly be positioned considerably higher than the telephone body 1 during use. In Utility Model Laid-open Number 23810/88, the base of a rod antenna is attached to a coupling 4 on the main body of the portable telephone by way of a freely rotatable coupling member 5, the antenna being raised in a vertical direction for use and rotated down when not in use for easy portability. Similarly, Utility Model Laid-open No. 84935/84 discloses a construction in which a rod antenna 8 is attached in a freely rotatable manner to one side of the case 1 of a portable radio device and the case is further provided with a case lid that can be freely opened and closed with respect to the case body and that has a groove 11 on one side that can accommodate the rod antenna, the antenna being raised vertically for use and folded into the groove when not in use.
During use, the rod-shaped antenna such as the rod antenna or whip antenna employed in the above-described portable radio devices extends parallel to the console surface (front surface) of the case of the radio device. As a result, as radio devices become increasingly smaller, the user inevitably comes into closer proximity to the antenna, which is on the top of the case and extends parallel to the front surface of the case. Such a radio device consequently suffers from the drawback of seriously degraded antenna performance which prevents stable communication with another station.


System and method for visually tracking a target object silhouette in a plurality of video frames under very general conditions. The tracker does not make any assumption about the object or the scene. The tracker works by approximating, in each frame, a PDF (probability distribution function) of the target's bitmap and then estimating the maximum a posteriori bitmap. The PDF is marginalized over all possible motions per pixel, thus avoiding the stage in which optical flow is determined. This is an advantage over other general-context trackers that do not use the motion cue at all or rely on the error-prone calculation of optical flow. Using a Gibbs distribution with a first order neighborhood system yields a bitmap PDF whose maximization may be transformed into that of a quadratic pseudo-Boolean function, the maximum of which is approximated via a reduction to a maximum-flow problem.

Relevant previous work is mainly in the area of video segmentation. However, very few video segmentation algorithms are intended for the very general context discussed here. Most were developed in the context of a stationary camera (e.g., [P. Kornprobst and G. Medioni. Tracking segmented objects using tensor voting. In Proceedings of the 2000 IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, volume 2, pages 118-125, 2000], [. Paragios and R. Deriche. A PDE-based level-set approach for detection and tracking of moving objects. In Proceedings of the 6th IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision, pages 1139-1145, 1998], [H. Y. Wang and K. K. Ma. Automatic video object segmentation via 3D structure tensor. In Proceedings of the 2003 IEEE International Conference on Image Processing, volume 1, pages 153-156, 2003]) or under the assumption that the background has a global, parametric motion (e.g., affine [F. Precioso, M. Barlaud, T. Blu, and M. Unser. Robust real-time segmentation of images and videos using a smooth-spline snake-based algorithm. Image Processing, 14(7):910-924, 2005] or projective [H. Tao, H. S. Sawhney, and R. Kumar. Object tracking with Bayesian estimation of dynamic layer representations. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 24(1):75-89, 2002], [Y. Tsaig and A. Averbuch. Automatic segmentation of moving objects in video sequences: a region labeling approach. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 12(7):597-612, 2002].) Recently, the last restriction was relaxed to a planar scene with parallax [J. Kang, I. Cohen, G. Medioni, and C. Yuan. Detection and tracking of moving objects from a moving platform in presence of strong parallax. In Proceedings of the 10th IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision, pages 10-17, 2005]. Other algorithms were constrained to track video objects modeled well by parametric shapes (e.g., active blobs [S. Sclaroff and J. Isidoro. Active blobs: region-based, deformable appearance models. Computer Vision and Image Understanding, 89(2):197-225, 2003]) or motion (e.g., translation [R. Cucchiara, A. Prati, and R. Vezzani. Real-time motion segmentation from moving cameras. Real-Time Imaging, 10(3):127-143, 2004], 2D rigid motion [H. Tao, H. S. Sawhney, and R. Kumar. Object tracking with Bayesian estimation of dynamic layer representations. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 24(1):75-89, 2002], affine [M. Gelgon and P. Bouthemy. A region-level motion-based graph representation and labeling for tracking a spatial image partition. Pattern Recognition, 33(4):725-740, 2000], [I. Patras, E. A. Hendriks, and R. L. Lagendijk. Video segmentation by MAP labeling of watershed segments. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 23(3):326-332, 2001], projective [C. Gu and M. C. Lee. Semiautomatic segmentation and tracking of semantic video objects. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 8(5):572-584, 1998], small 3D rigid motion [T. Papadimitriou, K. I. Diamantaras, M. G. Strintzisa, and M. Roumeliotis. Video scene segmentation using spatial contours and 3-D robust motion estimation. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 14(4):485-497, 2004] and normally distributed optical flow [S. Khan and M. Shah. Object based segmentation of video using color, motion and spatial information. In Proceedings of the 2001 IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, volume 2, pages 746-751, 2001], [Y. P. Tsai, C. C. Lai, Y. P. Hung, and Z. C. Shih. A Bayesian approach to video object segmentation via 3-D watershed volumes. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 15(1):175-180, 2005]). These algorithms are suitable only for tracking rigid objects or specific preset types of deformations. The algorithm of the invention, however, addresses the tracking of potentially non-rigid objects in 3D scenes from an arbitrarily moving camera, without prior knowledge other than the object's bitmap in the first frame.
There are algorithms that address video segmentation and successfully track objects under general conditions as an aftereffect. That is, they do not perform explicit tracking in the sense of estimating a current state conditional on the previous one or on the previous frames. For example, in [J. Shi and J. Malik. Motion segmentation and tracking using normalized cuts. In Proceedings of the 6th IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision, pages 1154-1160, 1998] each set of a few (five) consecutive frames is spatiotemporally segmented without considering the previous results (other than saving calculations.) In [Y. Liu and Y. F. Zheng. Video object segmentation and tracking using ψ-learning classification. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 15(7):885-899, 2005] each frame is segmented into object/background without considering previous frames or classifications. (Furthermore, the classification requires a training phase, upon which the classification is performed, prohibiting major changes in the target's appearance.) In the contour tracking performed in [S. Jehan-Besson, M. Barlaud, and G. Aubert. DREAM2S: Deformable regions driven by an eulerian accurate minimization method for image and video segmentation. International Journal of Computer Vision, 53(1):45-70, 2003], an active contour is run in each frame separately, while the only information taken from previous frames is the previously estimated contour for initialization in the current frame. According to the invention, the state (target's bitmap) is explicitly tracked by approximating a PDF of the current state, which is conditional on the previous state and on the current and previous frames, and by estimating the MAP state.
Optical flow is an important cue for visually tracking objects, especially under general conditions. Most video segmentation algorithms make a point estimate of the optical flow, usually prior to segmentation (e.g., [R. Cucchiara, A. Prati, and R. Vezzani. Real-time motion segmentation from moving cameras. Real-Time Imaging, 10(3):127-143, 2004], [M. Gelgon and P. Bouthemy. A region-level motion-based graph representation and labeling for tracking a spatial image partition. Pattern Recognition, 33(4):725-740, 2000], [C. Gu and M. C. Lee. Semiautomatic segmentation and tracking of semantic video objects. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 8(5):572-584, 1998], [S. Khan and M. Shah. Object based segmentation of video using color, motion and spatial information. In Proceedings of the 2001 IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, volume 2, pages 746-751, 2001], [V. Mezaris, I. Kompatsiaris, and M. G. Strintzis. Video object segmentation using Bayes-based temporal tracking and trajectory-based region merging. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 14(6):782-795, 2004], [H. T. Nguyen, M. Worring, R. van den Boomgaard, and A. W. M. Smeulders. Tracking nonparameterized object contours in video. Image Processing, 11(9):1081-1091, 2002], [T. Papadimitriou, K. I. Diamantaras, M. G. Strintzisa, and M. Roumeliotis. Video scene segmentation using spatial contours and 3-D robust motion estimation. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 14(4):485-497, 2004], [I. Patras, E. A. Hendriks, and R. L. Lagendijk. Semi-automatic object-based video segmentation with labeling of color segments. Signal Processing: Image Communications, 18(1):51-65, 2003], [Y. P. Tsai, C. C. Lai, Y. P. Hung, and Z. C. Shih. A Bayesian approach to video object segmentation via 3-D watershed volumes. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 15(1):175-180, 2005], [Y. Tsaig and A. Averbuch. Automatic segmentation of moving objects in video sequences: a region labeling approach. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 12(7):597-612, 2002]) and seldom in conjunction with it (e.g, [I. Patras, E. A. Hendriks, and R. L. Lagendijk. Video segmentation by MAP labeling of watershed segments. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 23(3):326-332, 2001]). An exception is [M. Nicolescu and G. Medioni. Motion segmentation with accurate boundaries—a tensor voting approach. In Proceedings of the 2003 IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, volume 1, pages 382-389, 2003], where each pixel may be assigned multiple flow vectors of equal priority. However, the segmentation there is only applied to consecutive image pairs. Furthermore, the objects in all three experiments were rigid and either the camera or the entire scene was static. Since optical flow estimation is prone to error, other algorithms avoid it altogether (e.g., [S. Jehan-Besson, M. Barlaud, and G. Aubert. DREAM2S: Deformable regions driven by an eulerian accurate minimization method for image and video segmentation. International Journal of Computer Vision, 53(1):45-70, 2003], [Y. Liu and Y. F. Zheng. Video object segmentation and tracking using Ã-learning classification. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 15(7):885-899, 2005], [A. R. Mansouri. Region tracking via level set PDEs without motion computation. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 24(7):947-961, 2002.], [S. Sun, D. R. Haynor, and Y. Kim. Semiautomatic video object segmentation using Vsnakes. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 13(1):75-82, 2003]), but these algorithms tend to fail when the target is in proximity to areas of similar texture, and may erroneously classify newly appearing regions with different textures. This is shown in an example in [A. R. Mansouri. Region tracking via level set PDEs without motion computation. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 24(7):947-961, 2002], where occlusions and newly appearing areas are prohibited due to the modeling of image domain relations as bijections. Another exception to the optical flow point-estimation is [J. Shi and J. Malik. Motion segmentation and tracking using normalized cuts. In Proceedings of the 6th IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision, pages 1154-1160, 1998], where a motion pro le vector that captures the probability distribution of image velocity is computed per pixel, and motion similarity of neighboring pixels is approximated from the resemblance of their motion pro les. In the work here, the optical flow is neither estimated as a single hypothesis nor discarded, but the bitmap's PDF is constructed through a marginalization over all possible pixel motions (under a maximal flow assumption).
One class of video segmentation and tracking algorithms copes with general object shapes and motions in the context of an arbitrarily moving camera by tracking a nonparametric contour influenced by intensity/color edges (e.g., [S. Sun, D. R. Haynor, and Y. Kim. Semiautomatic video object segmentation using Vsnakes. IEEE Transactions on Circuits, Systems, and Video, 13(1):75-82, 2003]) and motion edges (e.g., [H. T. Nguyen, M. Worring, R. van den Boomgaard, and A. W. M. Smeulders. Tracking nonparameterized object contours in video. Image Processing, 11(9):1081-1091, 2002].) However, this kind of algorithm does not deal well with cluttered objects and partial occlusions, and may cling to irrelevant features in the face of color edges or additional moving edges in proximity to the tracked contour.
Many video segmentation and tracking algorithms perform spatial segmentation of each frame as a preprocessing step. The resulting segments of homogeneous color/intensity are then used as atomic regions composing objects (e.g., [R. Cucchiara, A. Prati, and R. Vezzani. Real-time motion segmentation from moving cameras. Real-Time Imaging, 10(3):127-143, 2004], [M. Gelgon and P. Bouthemy. A region-level motion-based graph representation and labeling for tracking a spatial image partition. Pattern Recognition, 33(4):725-740, 2000], [I. Patras, E. A. Hendriks, and R. L. Lagendijk. Video segmentation by MAP labeling of watershed segments. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 23(3):326-332, 2001].) These algorithms also assign a parametric motion per segment. Rather than confining the final solution in a preprocessing step and making assumptions regarding the type of motion the segments undergo, the algorithm proposed here uses the aforementioned spatial color coherence assumption and works directly at pixel level.

Bitmap tracker for visual tracking under very general conditions

Technion Research and Development Foundation Ltd.


An inexpensive continuous optical measuring apparatus with high cost/performance ratio capable of obtaining the emission of light at respective fixed positions arranged on a foundation member, by a simple device or a control, and a continuous optical measuring method. The apparatus includes at least one transparent or semi-translucent storage part capable of storing the foundation member having a plurality of types of predetermined detection substances fixed thereto along an arrangement line at predetermined intervals, with the detection substances and their fixed positions associated; at least one light receiving part installed at a predetermined position outside of the storage part.

Conventionally, there have been inventions where a DNA chip is used for determining the gene base sequence (U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,934 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,305).
The DNA chip is a plate such as a semiconductor film or a slide glass on which many types of known oligonucleotides are arranged in an array form and fixed to the surface thereof such that the respective minute amounts of suspensions are in dot form. The DNA chip is manufactured such that, in order to form an array of a large number of oligonucleotides on its narrow surface, minute amounts of oligonucleotide suspensions are dispensed at predetermined intervals one by one using a pipette device while avoiding contamination. Various genetic assays and analysis are performed using the DNA chip.
For example, in order to determine an unknown base sequence of a target gene, conventionally, a user dispenses a solution suspended with a target gene substance which is labeled with a luminescent substance, onto the DNA chip. After a predetermined reaction time, excess suspension is removed by washing. Next, by detecting the light emission from the DNA chip, the base sequence is determined from the position where the light emission is detected.
Incidentally, in order to manufacture the DNA chip, if an attempt is made to arrange as many types of oligonucleotides as possible in a narrow area with a high density in a planar form, they come close to each other. As a result, not only is cross contamination easily generated, but also the amounts of the oligonucleotides are further decreased at the respective fixed positions. In particular, if the amounts of the oligonucleotides are decreased at the respective fixed positions, errors easily occur in the determination of the light emitting positions, and there are problems in accuracy.
Moreover, conventionally, there has been used a DNA chip wherein substances such as respective oligonucleotides are fixed on a plane surface such as a glass plate in the form of a prepared slide having a size of about 2.6 cm×7.6 cm. In order to supply a liquid to substances such as the oligonucleotides at the respective fixed positions on the plane surface, a method has been taken wherein, after dispensing about 10 μl of liquid only on the plane surface, a glass plate or a film is manually mounted on the plane surface in a sandwich form, so that a uniform thin liquid layer is formed, and a minute amount of liquid is evenly supplied to the respective fixed positions. In this method, the step for mounting the film or the like has been an obstacle against work automization. Moreover, since the liquid is supplied by mounting the film or the like, it is difficult to fluidize the liquid to be supplied. Furthermore, due to the decrease in the amount, the encountability and the reactivity with the target substance is further decreased, causing a problem in that the process takes time, and a highly dense liquid is required for the process.
Moreover, since the sample is disposed in a planar form, the treatment and the automization become more difficult as the density is increased. Consequently, a very large amount of time and labor is required to manufacture the DNA chip, which increases the price. In particular, in order to analyze, assay, and determine an unknown target substance including a huge amount of base sequences, a large amount of DNA chips are required to be analyzed, assayed, and the like. Therefore, the inventor of the present application has made an invention to solve the problem (International Publication No. WO 01/53831, International Publication No. WO 01/61361, and International Publication No. WO 01/69249), and has disclosed an integrated support having: at least one foundation member formed in a slender shape such as a thread, a cord, a tape, or a rod; and various detection substances fixed in lines in the longitudinal direction of the foundation member having predetermined chemical structures, wherein the foundation member is rolled, laminated, or aligned, and the fixed positions of the various detection substances and the respective chemical structures thereof are associated.
Furthermore, heretofore, as performed by the inventor of the present application, in order to examine the bond of the respective fixed positions and a target substance tagged with a labeling substance, the overall fixed positions or a plurality of fixed positions are measured at once, and the light emission at the respective fixed positions is measured, so as to efficiently examine the chemical structure of the target substance and the affinity thereof (International Publication No. WO 02/063300).
However, even if the manufacture of such an integrated support is easy and the cost is low, there has been a problem in that the advantage of the integrated support is not sufficiently demonstrated unless the reaction, the measurement, and the identification using the integrated support can be efficiently and quickly performed.
On the other hand, if the DNA chip is optically measured, since the DNA chip is a two-dimensional array on a plane surface, in order to measure the light emission at the respective fixed positions, it is necessary to move the light receiving part along a complicated route where the direction and the position are discontinuously changed for the measurement, for example, so as to move it in the Y axis direction while reciprocating along the X axis direction. Therefore, there has been a problem in that the apparatus may be complicated and the scale of the apparatus enlarged.
Moreover, as in the conventional manner, if the presence/absence of a target substance tagged with one type of labeling substance is mainly detected, then regarding a large number of labeled fixed positions, the presence/absence of the labeling substance at the respective fixed positions can be readily identified even if a plurality of fixed positions are measured at once.
However, recently, it is further required to label many types of target substances for determining and analyzing the DNA base sequence. In order to label many types of target substances in this manner, it is not sufficient to merely use a plurality of different types of labeling substances for the respective fixed positions, but it is necessary to specify the quantity ratio (mass ratio) for the labeling (International Publication No. WO 00/5357). At this time, in order to obtain the information from the labeling substances for the respective fixed positions, it has been necessary to obtain detailed information on the respective fixed positions.
Therefore, the present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, with a first object of providing an inexpensive continuous optical measuring apparatus with high cost/performance ratio capable of obtaining the emission of light at respective fixed positions arranged on a foundation member, by a simple device or a control, and a continuous optical measuring method.
A second object is to provide a reliable continuous optical measuring apparatus capable of obtaining the information on the respective fixed positions arranged on the foundation member accurately and precisely, and a continuous optical measuring method.
A third object is to provide a continuous optical measuring apparatus capable of reliably performing the identification in the labeling performed by changing the quantity ratio of a plurality of types of labeling substances generated as a result of reactions at the respective fixed positions on the foundation member, and a continuous optical measuring method.
A fourth object is to provide a continuous optical measuring apparatus capable of consistently and automatically performing the reaction on the foundation member, the measurement, and the identification of the detection substances or the binding substances, and a continuous optical measuring method
A fifth object is to provide a continuous optical measuring apparatus capable of efficiently measuring the light emission at the fixed positions on the foundation member, and a continuous optical measuring method.

Continuous optical measuring apparatus and continuous optical measuring method


A base station receives channel state information corresponding to each of spare coordinated groups from each of user devices. A first group includes a plurality of coordinated groups arranged in advance. The spare coordinated groups corresponding to each user device are such as selected from the first group and include at least a service sector of best channel quality obtained measurement by the user device. The base station specifies a user device group corresponding to each of coordinated groups contained in each of coordinated group patterns. The user device group corresponding to the coordinated group is formed of user devices having the coordinated group in their spare coordinated groups. The base station uses channel state information reported from the user devices of the user device group corresponding to the coordinated group as a basis to perform user scheduling on the coordinated group.

In an LTE (Long Term Evolution) system or LTE-A (Long Term Evolution-Advanced) system, antennas of a base station (eNodeB) are arranged in a 3-sector or 6-sector ULA (Uniform Linear Array) antenna pattern.
The 3-sector antennas are arranged as illustrated in FIG. 1. Each of the three sectors 1, 2, and 3 has a coverage of 120 degrees and a plurality of beam antennas are arranged in each sector. These antennas are the same in horizontal directivity, which is shown in the center of the coverage of the corresponding sector. A cell to which the base station belongs is divided into three fixed sectors. A user measures RSRP (Reference Signal Receiving Power) and selects, as a service sector, one of the sectors which is of the strongest RSRP, that is, of greatest scale and best signal quality. The user performs channel estimation of channel state information of the service sector of the best channel quality, quantizes the channel state information of the service sector of the best channel quality by PMI (Precoding Matrix Indicator) and CQI (Channel Quality Indicator) and sends the result to the base station. In each sector of the base station, an algorithm such as PF (Proportional Fairness) or RR (Round-robin) is used to determine the priority order of uses in the sector and data is transmitted to a user of the highest priority.

Communication processing method and base station


An interface circuit includes a reference voltage generation circuit to generate a reference voltage, a differential voltage signal generation circuit to convert send data input in sending data into a pair of differential voltage signals and output the pair of differential voltage signals based on the reference voltage generated by the reference voltage generation circuit, a receiver to convert a pair of differential voltage signals input in receiving data and output received data, and a receiver test circuit to perform a sensitivity test of the receiver, the receiver test circuit having a resistance circuit to generate a pair of differential voltage signals having a potential difference being necessary for the sensitivity test of the receiver.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to interface circuits converting send data into a pair of differential voltage signals and outputting the pair of differential voltage signals in sending data, and converting the pair of differential voltage signals received into a former data and outputting the former data in receiving data.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, serial communications have been spread one of them includes a receiver which needs predetermined receiving sensitivity. For example, in USB specification which is one of the serial communications, as shown in FIG. 5, in the case where a differential voltage of a differential voltage signal is equal to or more than 150 mV and equal to or lower than −150 mV, it is specified that the signals are received as normal signals. In the case where a differential voltage of a differential voltage signal which is input signal is from −100 mV to 100 mV, the signal is cut off because it is squelch condition. As just described, because USB specification requires a high receiving sensitivity, it is desired to confirm a receiving sensitivity accurately and easily.
Here, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-267124 (Yoshimoto) describes a transceiver interface which can estimate a sensitivity of a receiver (receiver for reception). As shown in FIG. 6, a transceiver interface 250 of the prior art realizes a data transfer of serial bus specification by converting send data into a pair of differential voltage signals and outputting it in sending data, and converting the received pair of differential voltage signals into a former data and outputting it in receiving data.
The transceiver interface 250 includes a reference voltage generation circuit 211. The reference voltage generation circuit 211 receives a power supply voltage VDD and a ground power supply voltage VSS and then generates a reference voltage signal. Further the transceiver interface 250 includes an inverter 212 and a pair of current driven drivers 213, 214. The send data is converted into the pair of differential voltage signals by the inverter 212 and a pair of current driven drivers 213, 214. The voltage level of the pair of differential voltage signals is determined by the reference voltage and a termination resistor as described below. The transceiver interface 250 further includes a receiver 215. The receiver 215 converts the pair of differential voltage signals which is received data into the former data.
The transceiver interface 250 further includes a sending data input terminal 201, a power supply input terminal 202, a ground supply input terminal 203, a received data output terminal REC 204, and differential voltage signal input and output terminals DP205, DM206. The differential voltage signal input and output terminals DP205, DM206 are connected to serial cable and input and output a pair of a differential voltage signals.
The transceiver interface 250 can input a voltage signal which is input from an external device and has arbitrary voltage level to the pair of current driven drivers 213, 214. In this way, the reference voltage generation circuit 211 has a first switch circuit (not shown) and a second switch circuit 216. The second switch circuit 216 is connected to a signal input terminal AAP and inputs the voltage signal which has arbitrary voltage level from an external device to the pair of current driven drivers 213, 214. The reference voltage generation circuit 211 is controlled by the first switch circuit so as to input the reference voltage signal to the pair of current driven drivers 213, 214 at normal timing and to shut off supply of the reference voltage signal at test timing.
A switch circuit switches a voltage signal which is input to the pair of current driven drivers 213, 214 to the reference voltage signal from the reference voltage generation circuit 211 or a voltage signal from the signal input terminal AAP207 based on a control signal from a first control terminal 208 connected to the switch circuit which has the second switch circuit 216 and the first switch circuit.
FIG. 7 is a view showing a specific example of the current driven driver. A reference voltage signal which is generated by a reference voltage generating circuit 251 is input to an input terminal 241 of a current driven driver 220. The current driven driver 220 includes send data input terminal 242 to which send data is inputted and a differential voltage signal output terminal 243 to which a reference voltage signal is input. The differential voltage signal output terminal 243 is connected to a differential voltage signal input and output terminal DP205. The current driven driver 220 corresponds to a current driven driver 213. Note, a current driven driver connected to a differential voltage signal input and output terminal DM has a same constitution and operation as above described, therefore the explanation is omitted.
The current driven driver 220 has an operational amplifier 221, P channel transistors 222-225, and N channel transistors 226-228 and transistors 222 and 223, 224 and 225, and 226 and 227 of those transistors configure current mirrors.
A constant current I3 is determined by a voltage level Vref input to a reference voltage input terminal 241 and a current mirror ratio and a driver flowing the constant current I3 is configured. When a signal level of send data is H, the transistor is turned on by terminating a differential voltage signal output terminal 243 with external resistors 230, 231. Then the constant current I3 flows in the external resistors 230, 231 and the voltage level of the differential voltage signal output terminal 243 is determined. That is, if a current flowing in the transistor 225 is I3, and resistances of the resistors 231, 232 are Rs1, Rs2, a voltage of the differential output voltage signal terminal 243 is Vdp=I3((1/Rs1)+(1/Rs2)). On the other hand, when a signal level of send data is L, since transistor 228 is turned off, the constant current I3 does not flow and a voltage level of the differential voltage signal output terminal 243 becomes GND. Thus, the voltage level of the differential voltage signals is determined by the voltage level input to the reference voltage input terminal 241 and resistances of the external resistances 230, 231.
In this prior art, at the sensitivity test of the receiver for itself, the differential voltage signal terminals DP205, DM206 of FIG. 6 are connected to the external resistance. When the signal input terminal AAP is enabled by the control terminal 208, and a voltage signal input from the signal input terminal AAP207 is input to a pair of the current driven drivers 213, 214, a constant current which is proportional to a voltage level which is input is output from the pair of the current driven drivers 213, 214 according to the signal level of the send data. The constant current is flowed in the external resistance, and the voltage level of the differential voltage signal terminals DP205, DM206 are determined, and then a potential difference between the differential voltage signal terminals DP205 and DM206 are generated. The differential signal of the potential is performed whether or not the receiver receives the signal.
Therefore, the sensitivity test of the receiver for itself is performed by inputting an arbitrary voltage level from an external device by using the signal input terminal AAP207 and generating a voltage level corresponding to the arbitrary voltage level in the differential voltage signal terminals DP205 and PM206.
However, according to the transceiver interface 250 of the prior art, there is a problem that an own power supply unit is needed since an arbitrary voltage level is supplied from an external device. Recently, with multi-functionalization by SOC (System On Chip), LSI gets to have many power supplies. Therefore it is not realistic to use a dedicated power supply unit in test. Further there is another problem that a test accuracy becomes low by an external effect such as an accuracy of a voltage supply source or a voltage drop with supplying a power supply from an external device.


A power storage module includes: a power storage element; a cooling member that is stacked on the power storage element and has a sealing body hermetically sealing a coolant and an absorption member disposed in the sealing body to absorb the coolant; and a heat transfer plate that is stacked on the power storage element with the cooling member sandwiched therebetween. The heat transfer plate is provided with protrusion portions that protrude to the cooling member side.

There has been conventionally known a technique for cooling a power storage element. Patent Document 1 describes that a battery module is stored in a pack case and positive terminals and negative terminals of a plurality of cells are electrically connected together via bus bars. When a coolant charged in the lower portion of the pack case becomes evaporated and condensed in the upper portion of the pack case, the battery is cooled.

Power storage module with cooling member