A trash barrel receptacle or storage bin container includes a detached lid having a predetermined depth, which is held down with an elastic lid retainer. The garbage can or storage bin and lids use no physical locks or canvas straps, but include the elastic lid retainer, which avoids the need for a pivotable handle located near the top of the garbage can or storage bin, to lock the lid over the garbage can or storage bin. The lid has a central portion with a concave groove or channel to retain the bungee cord within, to prevent the lid from sliding off laterally off of the refuse barrel or storage bin.

Lids which are not pivoted or tethered to the garbage can or storage bin container often do not fit the top of the garbage can or storage bin container after time or after having been crushed by traffic on the road before the garbage can and lid are retrieved from the roadside by the homeowner.
Efforts have been made to permanently tether the lid to the can by a pivot joint or by a flexible tether. However, tethered or pivotable lids with hinges require complicated buckles or other fasteners, and interfere with the sanitation worker's swift lifting and inverting the garbage can's refuse contents into the garbage truck bin. An attached hinged lid could move against the sanitation worker's arm or hands, and interfere with dumping, or worse, could spring back and hit the sanitation worker in the face or eyes while dumping the refuse contents into the bin of the garbage truck.
Prior art patents disclose attaching lids to garbage cans with elastic members (cords or straps) in U.S. Pat. No. 6,880,717 of O'Conor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,501 of DeFord, U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,709 of Bergdoll and U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,914 of Ioveno '914.
For example, O'Conor '717 uses an elastic strap 22 to retain a hinged lid upon a refuse receptacle, but the strap 22 does not go all over the top of the lid 14 for the garbage can 12. O'Conor '717 also requires a complicated buckle 30a, 30b, which can interfere with a sanitation worker's swift dumping of a garbage can's refuse into the bin receptacle of a garbage truck.
Related thereto, Bergdoll '709 discloses holding a lid 12 to a top of a garbage can 14 via the use of two "flexible" tension rods 11, such as elastic bungee cords. However, Bergdoll '709 has complicated anchor portions 24 to anchor the flexible tension rods 11 in place to the handles 16, 18 of the garbage can 14.
Additionally, Ioveno '914 discloses attaching an elastic bungee cord 12 via opposite end alligator clips 14A, 14B to the handle 8 of a garbage can 2, where the bungee cord 12 goes through the handle 6 of the lid 5. However, in Ioveno '914, the lid 5 is tethered by the bungee cord to the garbage can 2 itself, which can interfere with the sanitation worker's lifting and dumping of the can, or the lid could possibly swing back and strike the sanitation worker.
Moreover, DeFord '501 discloses use of a flexible elastic strap 21 which locks the lid 12 over a top region of the smooth cylindrical garbage can 10. However, the strap 21 of DeFord is connected by snap fasteners to the opposite handles 14 and 16 of the garbage can 10 of DeFord, so the sanitation worker has to take the extra time to lift the strap 21 by its centrally located handle 38, and slide the handle 38 and strap 20 down to that they stay horizontally against the side of the garbage can 10, as shown in FIG. 3 of DeFord '501. At that point, the sanitation worker is free to lift the lid 12 off of the garbage can 10, and then lift and invert the garbage can 10 to dump its refuse contents into the collection bin of the garbage truck.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,170 of Ciancimino describes using a bendable cable 62 to connect a lid 34 to a garage can 12. However, the bendable cable 62 is permanently attached to the handle 46 of the lid 34 via a nut 52 and bolt 56 that penetrate and hold an eyelet 48 through which the bendable cable 62, thereby permanently tethering the lid 34 to the garbage can 12.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,909,199 of Cahill permanently tethers a lid 21 to a garbage can 20 with a connecting bungee cord 50, permanently attaching the lid 21 to the garbage can 20.
Cahill '199 discloses permanently attaching an elastic bungee cord between the lid and the garbage can, but Leal '960 attaches an elastic bungee cord 12 permanently to an eyelet fastener 52 on one side of garbage can 40 and a removable hook 32 at the other end of the bungee cord 12 to attach it to another eyelet fastener 54 on the other side of the garbage can 40. The bungee cord 12 in Leal '960 is attached to the lid via a hollow eyelet bolt 20 on the top of the lid 42.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,114 of Terbusch is similar to Cahill '199, but with a rigid C-shaped member (not elastic) to permanently attach the lid to the garbage can.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,960 of Leal, like Ciancimino '170 and Cahill '199, permanently attaches an elastic bungee cord 12 or 70 to a lid 42 of a garbage can 40 by providing an eyelet 20 or 80 bolted to the lid 42 or 94 through which the bungee cord 12 or 70 is threaded, thereby permanently tethering the lid 42 or 94 to the garbage can 40 or 80. But Leal '960 requires conventional circumferential tongue and groove molding to lock the garbage can.
Additionally, the Canadian patent '301 of Walker discloses using the opposite sided locking handles 28 to be attached to buckles 68 at opposite sides of a flexible strap 54 to press against a lengthwise and upwardly extending ridges 16, against which the force of the flexible strap 54 is applied, to retain the lid 12 on top of the garbage can 10. However, the Canadian patent '301 has complicated and time-consuming buckles 68 to be unlatched, which delay the time required to quickly remove the lid 12 from the garbage can 10 to invert the can 10 and dump the refuse contents of the can 10 into a garbage truck bin.
US Patent application publication No. 2008/0169289 of Dawn discloses a central diameter extending recess channel groove 62, extending across the middle of a circular lid 14 of a garbage can 20 to hold an elastic strap in place, to temporarily secure the lid 14 on top of the garbage can 20. Dawn '289 also discloses an elongated flexible flat strap 60. The strap 60 is attached by either magnets 96 or by Velcro® hook and loop fasteners 76, 78 at one end to connectors 59 on each opposite side of the garbage can 29. Release of the lid 14 from the garbage can 20 of Dawn keeps the lid untethered and away from the sanitation worker, however, the recessed channel provided across the top of the lid is shallow and wide, and does not provide any alignment for keeping the lid on top of the garbage can. In fact, Dawn '289 requires opposite triangular fasteners to align and keep the lid in place.
An advertisement for a brand name "Lid Loc" discloses permanently holding the lid of a garbage can with an elastic bungee cord, that wraps around half of the lid and attaches by the loop of the bungee cord wrapped over a hook on the side of the garbage can. But it discloses a tethered lid which is permanently tethered to the garbage can, which can possibly swing and strike a sanitation worker trying to dump refuse from the garbage can.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,294,022 of Blazer describes a lid 36 of a garbage can 30 which uses a strap 1 to be locked in a lockable anchor 2 located on the side of the can 30. Blazer '022's anchor may be cumbersome and complicated for loosening the strap 1 from the lockable anchor 2.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,856,079 of Manssourian discloses attaching a lid 112 to a garbage can 104 with an adjustable belt 112, but Manssourian requires a pivoting retainer arm 206 of a retainer 110, and the lid 106 is permanently and pivotably attached to the garbage can 114.
Another refuse receptacle with a permanently attached pivoting lid is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,459,487 of Sharma, which also describes a strap with buckles attached to a refuse receptacle lid, where the buckles need to be loosened and opened to lift the attached, pivotable lid from the refuse receptacle.
Also, among other garbage cans with permanently attached, pivotable lids is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,691,257 B2 of Hartman, et al. discloses a downwardly extending flexible tongue strap engageable with a padlock. But the lid 302 is permanently and pivotably attached to the garbage can 322 of Hallman '257.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,564 B2 of Hassell also describes a pivoting lid locking portion 18 attached to a lid 24 and to a garbage can 12.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,557 B2 of Miller, et al., discloses attaching a pivoting lid to a garbage can via two (2) bungee cords with distal end locks 29 that lock to lock holes 24 of the lid. The bungee cords with fasteners 27 are permanently attached to the lid 5, which is pivotably attached to the garbage can 40. A similar trash bin 12 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,501 of Hodge has two adjacent lids 14, 16, which are permanently and pivotably attached to one edge of the trash bin 12, where elastic cords 50 are attached to and through apertures of lugs and fasteners on the trash bin 12.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,080 B2 of Busch, like Hartman '257, is similar to the aforementioned lid lock 14 which includes downwardly extending tongue 18 that also engages a padlock to lock a pivotably attached lid 14 to a garbage can 12.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,920 B1 of Porter describes a cage-like assembly 10 with a sunburst pattern of straps 14 to hold a lid in place upon a garbage can.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,090 of Kowalski discloses using molded plastic edges of a lid to lock it to a garbage can.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,692 of Kronmiller discloses retaining a lid 11 to a garbage can 12 via an elastic strap 21 to access the lid. But Kronmiller does not discuss the use of a spanning elastic strap 21 across the lid, but where the strap 21 is not using a recess channel to stabilize the lid of the garbage can. However, in Kronmiller '692, one proximal end of the flexible strap is looped around one of the handles of the garbage can and the distal end has Velcro® hook and loop fasteners to wrap the distal end of the strap around the opposite handle on the other side of the garbage can and fasten the strap firmly in place, exerting holding force against the lid of the garbage can. However, Kronmiller '692's flimsy VELCRO® hook and loop fasteners, can inadvertently disconnect.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,001 of Teague discloses a strap clip 26 which wraps partially around a lid to hold a non-analogous sealed container to its lid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,295 of Grant discloses two flexible spring cords that wrap around a lid 12 to hold it and tether it permanently onto a garbage can 11.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,762 of Giorgi describes a molded lockable lid for connecting securely to a molded non-smooth surfaced top protruding circumferential horizontally extending ridge of a garbage can.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,371 of Wise, et al., discloses locking a lid to a garbage can via use of an encircling belt 24 having a flexible strap 28 with VELCRO® locking pads, to temporarily hold a garbage can lid 14 firmly on top of a garbage can 10.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,851 of Ritter discloses use of a strap 17 with a snap buckle 26 and opposite snap fastener 28, 29 to lock a lid 31 over a garbage can 32. The strap 17 is threaded through or around the lid handle 15 or 35.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,846 of Murphy discloses wrapping a flexible chain 29 with a spring portion 41 around a lid 65 to lock it to a garbage can 59. The chain 29 is threaded through the lid handle 63. A similar cord and spring combination to hold a garbage can lid to the handles o a garbage can is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,760 of Williams. However, the garbage can lids of Murphy and Williams do not have deep, narrow recessed channels to orient and hold the flexible locking members in place upon the respective lids of Murphy '846 and Williams 760.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,087 of Cornell discloses using a pivoting metal bar and a padlock to semi-permanently lock and tether a lid cover 11 to a garbage can 12.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,830 of Spellman discloses an animal-proof lock for a garbage can lid comprising of three-pronged elastic strap 7 with distal end loops 9 to engage mounted hooks 28 on adjacent post 18 and to side handles 14 of a garbage can 10.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,202 of Monyak, et al. discloses a garbage can cover retainer that includes a flexible strap 11 with a pair of lockable rings 17, 19 at opposite ends thereof, to engage a handle of the garbage can at one end, and to engage a lid handle of the garbage can lid at the other end of the flexible strap, so that the lid 25 is semi-permanently tethered to the garbage can 27.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 333,715 of Mahler describes a garbage can lid having a plurality of elastic cords permanently attached to a garbage can lid handle, with distal end hooks that a permanently and pivotably attached to the peripheral circumferential edge of the lid, to pivot and lock a corresponding lip of the upper edge of a garbage can.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,522 of Rucker describes a rigid, bent tubular rod that goes through two upright handles of a garbage can, to press down upon a lid atop the garbage can.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,205,953 B2 of Andrews describes a garbage can with a pair of wide shallow rectangular cutouts at an upper edge thereof, to be used to hold pieces of rectangular cross sectional shaped planks of lumber, to form a retrofit saw horse with a garbage can base.
International PCT application publication No. WO2015/168,721 A1 of McPherson and Padlock Pty Ltd., both of Australia, describes a tether 14 that attaches at one end to a garbage can lid 110 and at the other end to a garbage can 100, so that the lid 110 is tethered semi-permanently to the garbage can 100.
The same is true with the aforementioned Ciancimino '170 patent, where the top shoulder 16 of a can 12 is closed by a lid 34 locked by a flexible metal cable 62.
Cahill '199, Bergdoll '709 and Ioveno '914 each semi-permanently tether the lid to the garbage can, which can be inconvenient and/or unsafe to a sanitation worker in danger of being struck by the tethered lid while attempting to dump the refuse contents from the garbage can into the bin of a garbage truck.
A reference in a non-analogous field of technology is U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,945 of Ginocchio, which describes a bundling device to bundling a plurality of objects, where an integrally affixed elastic cord is affixed to a wedge support member with a handle, where channels are provided with diameters less than the diameter of the elastic cord, so that the cord is tightly gripped therein.
The aforementioned patents do not provide simple hook and eyelet connections, which can more quickly and safely release a bungee cord from the lid of the garbage can, than releasing the snap locks of DeFord '501 or the Velcro® hook and loop fasteners of Kronmiller '692 or of Dawn '289, from their respective lids of their respective garbage cans.

Storage bin with stable removable lid and retainer


A two transistor, one resistor gain cell and a suitable storage element are described. In some embodiments the gain cell has a resistive memory element coupled to a common node at one end to store a value and to a source line at another end, the value being read as conductivity between the common node and the source line of the resistive memory element, a write transistor having a source coupled to a bit line, a gate coupled to a write line, and a drain coupled to the common node to write a value at the bit line to the resistive memory element upon setting the write line high, and a read transistor having a source coupled to a bit line read line and a gate coupled to the common node to read the value written to the resistive memory element as a value at the second transistor gate.

In silicon semiconductor processors, memory is critical for performing many functions. For particularly high speed memory SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) is used. The SRAM circuits are usually embedded into the same die as logic circuitry, although discrete SRAM dies are also made. For embedded applications, the memory is built on the same die as the processor and so compatibility with CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) logic circuitry allows costs to be reduced. On the other hand a typical SRAM circuit has six transistors and so is expensive to produce in large numbers. SRAM also requires frequent refresh cycles and so it consumes power and generates heat.
2T (two transistor) or 3T memory gain cells are normally used for DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). DRAM is not as fast as 6T SRAM but is less expensive and requires less frequent refresh cycles. A DRAM cell stores the memory state in a capacitor and so for optimum performance DRAM is built on separate dies for which the design of the capacitor is optimized. With a separate die, the DRAM can be made using the best or lowest cost techniques available for DRAM without regard to the logic circuitry. Nevertheless, there are still high off-state leakages that limit the retention times of the corresponding memory cell. Therefore, constant refresh cycles are required to retain the state stored in the memory. The refresh cycles require power so that DRAM also requires constant power and generates significant heat.

Two transistor, one resistor non-volatile gain cell memory and storage element


A switching current converter is connected in parallel with each controlled power switch in an electric circuit so that it is allowed to operate from the input voltage and transfer energy from input to output during the turn-on periods of the controlled power switch, whereby each power switch is allowed to be turned ON when a near-to-zero voltage is present across it. The switching converter serves as an active power switch stress relieving means, resulting in minimizing the switching loss in the power switch while providing the energy for operation of the power switch in a very efficient way.

The invention relates to power switches such as power transistors and diodes and in particular to a method for reducing switching loss in a power switch, e.g. a pulse-width-modulated power switch.
The switching losses constitute the major limitation to the use of power switches at high switching frequencies such as those which are required for instance in a power converter in order to reduce the mass of magnetic and capacitive components.
Several snubber circuits have been proposed so far for solving this important problem and among other patents relating to the subject is U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,023. However, all prior art snubber circuits have the disadvantage that they only have a low efficiency so that any power loss saving of the power switch was paid for by the inefficiency of the snubber circuit itself resulting in little total power gain. The reasons for the low efficiency of the state-of-the-art snubber circuits are the following.
Generally the object of the snubber circuit was to relieve the main power switch of the voltage and current stress associated with power switching and many of the snubber circuits use very inefficient techniques resulting in a total decrease in efficiency.
In most prior art snubber circuits, the power switch is used for providing the energy to the circuit, which has a double consequence: 1) an additional stress is put on the power switch, and 2) the power switch is chosen with a low resistance, but this constitutes a handicap for the switching part of its working cycle because a low resistance is normally incompatible with a high switching speed.
In other arrangements, the energy used by the circuit is taken from the power supply and is returned to the input. Hence a low total efficiency is achieved. An example of zero voltage switching converter of this kind is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,764.

Method for minimizing the switching loss in a power switch


A computer-enabled system and method that collects and processes various data from mobile devices possessed by on-demand (“ride-hailing”) transportation drivers, along with other possible external data sources, and subsequently recognizes, classifies, stores, and delivers ride-hailing-related activity information of individual or multiple drivers to various consumers of the system, while also iteratively improving the system and method's ride-hailing activity classification accuracy over time.

The present invention is in the technical field of transportation software systems. More particularly, the present invention is in the technical field of ride-hailing transportation data analytics and activity recognition.
Many transportation service providers ("services") exist to facilitate the logistics of pairing vehicle operators ("drivers") offering transportation service to one or more ride requesters ("riders" or "passengers") who are attempting to get from point A to B. Such "ride-hailing" services may be requested a number of ways, including street hailing, booking over the telephone, or requesting through a mobile application on an internet-enabled mobile computing device ("mobile device"). These requests can be thought of as "on-demand," meaning that upon the rider's request the driver will be notified to pick the rider up at or near the rider's current location, and transport the rider to the desired destination. Additionally, drivers are often employed by the services as independent contractors, and are able to work for multiple service providers at a schedule of their choosing. The service providers who facilitate transportation between drivers and riders possess first-hand records of transportation-related activity for their own driver fleets, such as records of all working hours and trips performed by each driver, passenger pickup and dropoff locations, etc. However, no sufficient system currently exists for the participating drivers or other interested third parties to gather and learn from similar types of transportation activity data, whether it be activity for a single service or across multiple services in aggregate.

Transportation activity classification system and method


Soluble, non-crosslinked polysaccharides are used to stabilize microorganisms for use as inoculants in agriculture. Preferably, the polysaccharide is alginate and plant seeds are inoculated. A solution of the polysaccharide and a suspension of the microorganism are mixed to form a composition containing about 0.005% to about 10% of the polysaccharide. The composition can be stored for one week or more before use and the composition may be dried.

The use of microbial inoculants (such as Rhizobium) has long been known to increase crop yields. The utility of this approach has been limited by the availability of compositions capable of both affixing the microbial cells to the seed and maintaining the viability of the microbial inoculant. Burton, J. C. (U.S. Pat. No. 2,995,867) discloses the possibility of using water soluble gums such as methylcellulose as a seed coating. Through the use of such coatings, it is possible to keep microbial cells alive and effective for over two weeks.
The success of this work spurred others to attempt to identify alternate compositions which might be capable of maintaining bacterial viability for longer periods of time. A method was disclosed by Hamrin, B.S.A. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,437), which involved the use of seed coatings comprising a gelatin-calcium alginate foam. Dommergues, Y. R., et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,737) disclosed the possibility of embedding the microbial inoculant in a polyacrylamide seed coating.
The possibility of stabilizing bacterial cells in a microbial inoculant through the use of a polysaccharide matrix was shown by Mugnier, J., et al. (French Patent 2,469,861). This patent discloses the ability to stabilize a suspension of bacterial cells by embedding them in an alginate gel. The gel disclosed in this patent is formed by the addition of calcium chloride to a solution containing a suspension of bacterial cells and sodium alginate. The addition of calcium chloride results in the precipitation and crosslinking of the previously soluble sodium alginate mixture.
A similar alginate composition is disclosed by Jung, G. (European Patent 17,565 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,231). These patents disclose the possibility of crosslinking or precipitating solutions of sodium alginate that contain suspensions of bacterial cells. The Jung patents disclose the use of calcium sulfate to convert a sodium alginate suspension into a gel. This crosslinking reaction can be delayed through the addition of sodium phosphate to the suspension. Bacterial cells treated in this manner remained viable for greater than 60 days. These patents further disclose the use of such embedded microorganisms as microbial inoculants in agriculture. Although the ease of formation of crosslinked alginate gels commended their use as an embedding matrix for a microbial inoculant, such matrices were found to be inferior to embedding matrices of xanthan gums in that embedding matrices composed of xanthan gums were found to release microorganisms into the soil more readily than matrices composed of alginates. (Jung, G., et al., Plant and Soil, 65:219-231 (1982)).
Jung, et al. (European patent no. 83267) disclose compositions containing microbial cells and polymeric gels which may be dried and used to inoculate plant seeds. The patent further discloses the use of a crosslinked alginate suspension of microbial cells as a microbial inoculant.
One concern reflected in the prior art is that suitable embedding agents should provide an environment strong enough to resist external abrasion and adverse forces yet be pliable enough to allow release of internal components and permit breakdown of the matrix at the appropriate time. Two different methods have been disclosed in order to accomplish this goal. Redenbaugh, M. K., et al. (P.C.T. Publication W085/02972) disclosed the use of crosslinked alginate-bacterial cell suspensions which are surrounded by an external membrane as a microbial inoculant. Fravel, D. R., et al. (Phytopatholoqy, 75:774-777 (1985)) disclosed the use of crosslinked alginate-bacterial cell suspensions which contain clays or other materials, added as bulking agents. The process disclosed by Fravel, et al produces solid pellets of relatively uniform size.
Thus, the prior art teaches the value of pre-inoculating seeds with microbial suspensions in order to enhance their germination and growth. A wide variety of different embedding matrices have been disclosed in the prior art. Especially significant are matrix compositions which employ crosslinked or precipitated alginates or very thick, gum-like compositions. Such compositions have been successful in sustaining bacterial cell viability for extended periods of time, while simultaneously possessing the desired properties of rigidity and support. The preparation of gels, however, requires additional steps and both gels and gums involve handling difficulties.

Method of using polysaccharides to stabilize microorganisms for inoculating plant seeds


A flow control device for constraining fluid flow between axial flow turbomachines in series has a flow constrainer which constrains the fluid flow downstream of the first turbomachine in the series to the blades region of the second turbomachine, preventing fluid flow from impacting the hub or nosecone of the second turbomachine and providing more uniform fluid flow to the second turbomachine. The flow control device includes connective elements for positioning between the downstream region of the first turbomachine and the upstream region of the second turbomachine. The device may be equipped with stator vanes having a variety of optional configurations to further improve the uniformity of the fluid flow load on the second turbomachine.

Axial flow turbomachinery is used in many applications for generating flow and pressure of fluids. Fluids include liquids, such as water, and gases, such as air. Such axial flow turbomachinery may be present in fans, pumps, compressors, turbines, propellers, impellers, ducted propulsors, waterjets, fluid mixers, windmills, and the like.
Axial flow turbomachines are used to generate fluid flow and pressure in a wide variety of applications, including fresh air Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems and other air or fluid delivery systems. The term "air" as used herein contemplates other gases, and the term "water" as used herein contemplates other liquids. While some embodiments of the invention herein are described with reference to the flow of a particular fluid, for example air, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the invention is applicable to a wide variety of other fluids, such as other gases and liquids.
An axial flow turbomachine produces axial flow, i.e., flow which is predominantly parallel with the axis of rotation. An axial flow turbomachine is typically a generally cylindrical assembly constructed from several components, including a rotating member at one end, known as the hub, whose axis of rotation is generally coaxial with the axis of the cylindrical turbomachine assembly. The hub is equipped with a series of blades situate around its circumference, the hub with attached blades being known as a rotor, and the blades are angled and/or shaped to produce axial fluid flow when the rotor rotates. Viewed face-on looking in the direction of the hub, the blades region is an annular region surrounding the central hub.
A rotating rotor which impels fluid to flow may also be known functionally as an impeller. The impeller is set in rotational motion by a drive assembly, typically disposed at the other end of the turbomachine. The drive assembly extends a drive shaft to the rotor and connects therewith in the center of the rotor. The drive assembly rotates the drive shaft, which drives the rotor in rotational motion. In a direct drive turbomachine, the drive assembly has a motor rotating the driveshaft. Alternatively, in an indirect drive turbomachine, the motor may be disposed externally from the turbomachine assembly and attach to the drive assembly opposite the rotor via drive elements such as crankshafts, belts, gears, or other drive means.
Fluid approaches the incoming or inlet end of the axial flow turbomachine. This proximal or upstream end of the turbomachine features the hub, which hub may also have a nose cone attached thereto to improve the aerodynamics of fluid flow. The distal or downstream end of the axial flow turbomachine typically contains the drive assembly, which may have a motor or the drive elements for connecting to an external motor. The drive assembly is typically non-rotating, but may be rotating in certain applications. The drive assembly end is typically cylindrical, but other shapes may be used in different applications. The impeller generates axial flow of the fluid toward the downstream end of the turbomachine.
Typically, axial flow turbomachines used for delivering pressurized fluid are disposed in a coaxial cylindrical housing, which is joined at both ends to pipes, conduits, or other similar ducting via flanges on the housing and matching flanges on the ducting. At the turbomachine inlet end, fluid flows from the ducting toward the axial flow turbomachine disposed in its housing. The fluid passes around the hub and meets the blades, which accelerates the fluid such that pressurized fluid flows downstream from the impeller. Depending on the intended destination and use of the pressurized fluid, non-rotating stator vanes may be advantageously disposed immediately downstream of the impeller to straighten the fluid flow, or to impart other desirable flow patterns.
The flow and pressure produced by axial flow turbomachines are dependent on many factors, including the rotational velocity of the rotor, the dimensions and shape of the blades, the ratio of the hub radius (defined as the distance from the hub center of rotation to its outer circumference at the base of the blades) to the tip radius (defined as the distance from the hub center of rotation to the tips of the blades), and characteristics of the spaces leading toward (upstream) and away (downstream) from the turbomachines. The ratio of hub radius to tip radius, known as hub to tip ratio (HTR), is an important factor in determining the performance characteristics of an axial flow turbomachine. Where the HTR is low, i.e., the hub radius is significantly smaller than the tip radius, the tips of the blades move at substantially greater velocity than the portion of the blades near the hub. The generated fluid flow is likewise highest at the tips and lowest near the base of the blades attached to the hub. The overall pressure such a low HTR turbomachine is capable of delivering is compromised by the weaker performance of the portions of the blades near the hub. Conversely, where the HTR is high, i.e., the hub radius is relatively large compared to the tip radius, the tips of the blades move at nearly the same velocity as the portions of the blades near the hub. This characteristic allows higher HTR axial flow turbomachines to achieve higher pressures than lower HTR axial flow turbomachines.
The incoming fluid arrives at the proximal end of the turbomachine at the hub, and the impeller. Downstream from the impeller the fluid flows downstream around and over any portion of the turbomachine assembly extending past the rotor, until it reaches the distal end of the turbomachine (typically the drive assembly end), at which point the fluid fills the otherwise empty space in the housing and proceeds further downstream. The hub at the proximal end of a second axial flow turbomachine frequently has a different diameter than the distal end of the first turbomachine depending on the design of the axial flow turbomachine's drive assembly. For high HTR axial flow turbomachines, for example, typically the hub will be larger than the downstream end of the turbomachine.
In some applications for axial flow turbomachines, maximizing fluid flow is more important than maximizing fluid pressure. In other applications, maximizing fluid pressure is of greater importance than fluid flow. Those of skill in the art will appreciate selecting an axial flow turbomachine with an HTR suitable for the intended purpose.
Where the physical space available to place an axial flow turbomachine is not restrictive, a turbomachine may be sized optimally to achieve the desired flow and pressure. Axial flow turbomachines may be used to deliver fluid at high pressures. Depending on the application, space may be at a premium and the space available for turbomachines tasked with generating the pressures required is limited. Where the physical space available is limited, the performance characteristics of a single axial flow turbomachine optimized for such a limited space may still be insufficient to produce the desired flow and pressure. That is, a single axial flow turbomachine may struggle to achieve the desired pressures simply because the space available for the turbomachine is restricted. Even when the HTR is high, the blades are adapted for maximum pressure performance, and the rotor velocity is maximized, the turbomachine's size may still be incapable of generating the desired pressure. In such cases, it may be necessary to use two separate axial flow turbomachines to achieve the required flow and pressure. Depending on the purpose, two or more axial flow turbomachines may be used in parallel or in series.
Axial flow turbomachines may be employed in series when pressure requirements exceed the capability of a single axial flow turbomachine and/or when two smaller turbomachines fit the available space better than one larger turbomachine. Typically, the second axial flow turbomachine in its housing would be placed at an advantageous distance downstream of the first axial flow turbomachine in its housing. Turbomachines in series are currently constructed in several different ways. Some are bolted directly to one another in a rigid arrangement. Others have a rigid duct positioned between them. Still others have a flexible connection between the two turbomachines. Flexible ducting under high velocities may be prone to pressure "necking" the connection and thereby starving the rotor blade tips.
In all of these arrangements, however, there are concomitant problems generated by the non-uniform flow of fluid from the downstream end of the first axial flow turbomachine to the upstream end of the second turbomachine. The non-uniform flow may have several components, including undesirable uncontrolled pre-rotational swirl ("pre-swirl"), counter-rotational swirl ("co-swirl"), vortices, and/or other irregular flow patterns of the fluid approaching the second axial flow turbomachine due to the flow dynamics of the fluid flowing downstream from the impeller of the first axial flow turbomachine. These non-uniform flow phenomena can have disadvantageous effects on the overall flow through the system or component, leading to degradation in performance of the system.
The non-uniform flow downstream of the first turbomachine in a series is less problematic when the turbomachines can be spaced at sufficiently large distances such that the flow becomes substantially more uniform by the time it reaches the second turbomachine. Generally, spacing the turbomachines at a distance greater than the diameter of the housing reduces the problem of non-uniform flow, although efficiency is still reduced by the effects of fluid flow impacting the hub of the second turbomachine. Non-uniform flow is particularly problematic, however, at smaller distances between the two turbomachines. In the context of requiring high pressure fluid but having only limited physical space, two axial flow turbomachines in series may need to be placed closer together than even the diameter of the housing, pipe, duct, or conduit. Non-uniformity flow problems arise because much of the fluid downstream of the first turbomachine is free to migrate from the periphery and impact the hub region of the second turbomachine. These irregular flow problems create uneven loading conditions and non-uniform fluid flow reaching the second turbomachine, including swirls, vortices, vibrations, and the like. This uneven loading creates stresses within the system including vibrations, noise, fatigue in welds and mechanical joints, loosening of fittings and more, further degrading the overall soundness of the system as a whole and ultimately increasing the likelihood of mechanical failures. The efficiency of the system is thus adversely affected.
High pressure fluid flow may be achieved by using two (or more) high HTR axial flow turbomachines in series as described above. In the ducting and piping systems, and at the pressures such axial flow turbomachines operate, however, the fluid flow is particularly prone to non-uniformity as the fluid exiting downstream from the first turbomachine impacts not only the blades of the second turbomachine but the relatively larger hub in a high HTR system as well, even when the hub is equipped with a nose cone.
In previous attempts to mitigate and minimize non-uniform flow, a length of duct or a flexible expansion joint has been constructed between two turbomachines in series. Such attempts have had only limited success at reducing non-uniform flow, but at the cost of a decrease in pressure for the entire system. One means of better controlling the fluid flow is to use straightening devices such as stator vanes downstream of the impeller of the first turbomachine. Such vanes are capable of improving the fluid flow to a more uniform pattern, even aimed more or less directly at the inlet side of the second turbomachine. However, even a more directionally uniform fluid flow still impacts the center of the hub of the second turbomachine, thereby re-creating non-uniform flow and uneven loading, reducing efficiency, and reducing the level of pressure the series of axial flow turbomachines would otherwise be capable of producing. The effects of such hub impact is even more problematic with higher HTR turbomachines in close proximity.
The art is in need of improved ways to use axial flow turbomachines in series to generate desired pressures without the disadvantages of current designs.

Flow control device for axial flow turbomachines in series

The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


An integrated circuit package comprises a semiconductor die located on a substrate in a flip-chip configuration, an encapsulant layer overlying the non-active surface of the semiconductor die and at least a portion of the surface of the substrate adjacent the die, and a heat spreader comprising a thermally conductive material. The heat spreader directly interfaces to a top surface of the encapsulant layer overlying the die and the substrate. This package provides physical protection during handling and reduced die stress and warpage.

Flip chip technology provides a method for connecting an integrated circuit (IC) die to a substrate within a package. In the flip chip method, a plurality of electrical terminals are formed on an active face of the die. A respective solder bump is formed on each of the electrical terminals. The substrate has a plurality of terminal pads corresponding to the terminals on the die. The die is "flipped," so that the terminals of the device contact the pads of the substrate. Heat is applied to reflow the solder bumps, forming electrical and mechanical connections between the substrate and the active face of the die.
The flip chip package is very compact, and is also referred to a chip-scale package. The flip chip device poses design challenges, because a thermal mismatch between the die and the substrate may cause high die stress leading to a delamination failure. One method of reducing this problem is to cool the device by placing a heat spreader on the back (non-active) side of the die.
Both one piece and two piece heat spreaders are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,482 discloses several examples of single piece heat spreaders, and is fully incorporated herein by reference. The heat spreaders disclosed comprise thermally conductive material such as copper and multiple "legs" that are attached to the substrate to form a lid overlying the die to provide physical protection. The disclosed structures are open allowing easy flushing of a solvent for cleaning (open configuration). Prior art packages were sealed to prevent materials from entering and effecting the ICs during operation. If pinholes were present in the prior art sealed packages, any material penetrating the package could not be easily removed, thus reducing the operational lifetime of the IC. However, the disclosed structure of U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,482 does not achieve the operational life time of an IC effectively sealed (pinhole free) against the penetration of moisture in a high humidity environment.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a prior art example of a flip-chip package comprising a substrate 5, a die 10, an underfill material 15, a shaped one piece heat spreader 20, and a thermally conductive adhesive layer 25 between the heat spreader 20 and the die's non-active surface 30. FIG. 1 also shows an adhesive layer 35 attaching the one piece heat spreader 20 to the substrate 5.
FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a prior art example of a flip-chip package comprising a substrate 5, a die 10, and underfill material 15, a flat heat spreader 40, and a thermally conductive adhesive layer 25 between the heat spreader 40 and the die's non-active surface 30. The heat spreader 40 is attached to the substrate 5 by an intermediary insert 45. The heat spreader 40 is adhered to the insert 45 by an adhesive layer 47. Alternatively, if the insert 45 is made of an appropriate material it can be preattached to the heat spreader 40 by standard procedures which include welding, brazing or soldering. The insert is also attached to the substrate by an adhesive layer 50.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,411,507 discloses that Integrated circuit packages are very moisture sensitive. Extended exposure to humidity from the air may allow moisture to seep into the packages and damage them. For example, moisture seeping underneath a protective overcoat (PO) of an integrated circuit will cause the PO to delaminate. Therefore, it is desirable to encase integrated circuit dies in hermetically sealed packages, to protect them from moisture. These "closed cap" packages also protect integrated circuit dies from damage due to physical stress during assembly and testing.
Although prior art heat spreaders provide physical protection to the die during handling, they were not designed to provide protection against die stress and control of warpage of the die/substrate/heat spreader package.
Additionally, in chip-scale packages having a relatively large die and relatively small substrate, attachment of the heat spreader to the substrate may not be feasible. There may not be enough physical space between the end of the substrate and the underfill to allow even the designs in U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,482 to be attached with sufficient strength to provide physical protection to the die. Therefore, the selection of die size and substrate size is limited by this practical consideration. An improved package configuration is desired.

Structural design for flip-chip assembly

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A structure for a multi-level interconnect inter-level dielectric layer (ILD), a method of manufacturing thereof, and a semiconductor device including the ILD layer. The ILD layer includes a first low-dielectric constant material sub-layer, and a second low-dielectric constant material sub-layer disposed over the first low-dielectric constant material sub-layer. The second low-dielectric constant material sub-layer has at least one different material property than the first low-dielectric constant material sub-layer. A third low-dielectric constant material sub-layer is disposed over the second low-dielectric constant material sub-layer, the third low-dielectric constant material sub-layer having at least one different material property than the second low-dielectric constant material sub-layer. The first, second and third low-dielectric constant materials sub-layers are preferably comprised of the same material, deposited continuously in one or more deposition chambers while the deposition conditions such as the gas flow rate, power, or gas species are adjusted or changed.

As semiconductor device circuit density increases and device feature size decreases, increased numbers of patterned metal levels are required with decreased spacing between metal lines at each level to effectively interconnect discrete semiconductor devices on semiconductor chips. The different levels of metal interconnections are separated by layers of insulating materials or films, often referred to as inter-level dielectric (ILD) layers. These interposed insulating layers have etched holes or trenches that are filled with a conductive material, referred to as vias or plugs, which are used to connect one level of metallization lines to the next. A common insulating material used for ILD layers is silicon oxide (SiO2), which has a dielectric constant (k) of about 4.0 to 4.5, relative to a vacuum, which has a k value of 1.0.
However, as semiconductor device dimensions decrease and the packing density increases, it is necessary to reduce the spacing between the metal lines at each level of interconnection to wire up the integrated circuits. Unfortunately, as the spacing decreases, the intra-level and inter-level capacitances increase between metal lines, as capacitance is inversely proportional to the spacing between the lines. Therefore, it is desirable to minimize the dielectric constant k of the insulating material (dielectric) between the conducting lines, in order to reduce the RC time constant and thereby increase the performance of the circuit, e.g., the frequency response, since the signal propagation time in the circuit is adversely affected by the RC delay time.
To achieve an insulating layer with a dielectric constant of 3 or less, low-k insulating films are often used for ILD layers. However, lower-k dielectric materials usually have poor mechanical strength and related properties. In general, the lower the k value, the poorer the mechanical strength. Introducing low-k insulating materials into a multi-level metallization integration scheme results in a mechanically weak and vulnerable low-k interconnect stack, degrading the reliability of the semiconductor device and resulting in device failures.

Integration film scheme for copper / low-k interconnect

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A selective call transceiver (20) in a messaging system (100) having a plurality of transmitters (90, 94, 99), comprises a receiver module (26), a transmitter module (22) coupled to the receiver module and a controller (28) coupled to the receiver module and the transmitter module for controlling the operation of the selective call transceiver. Additionally the selective call transceiver comprises a GPS receiver (24) for receiving GPS information and coupled to the controller, wherein the controller uses the GPS information to assist in the control of functions selected from the group consisting of transmitter power control, site selection switching, sub-zone selection switching, forward error correction, retry transmission decisions, Doppler frequency shifting, synchronization, and frequency scanning and selection.

The advent of two-way paging raises many system issues as well as issues that would require greater efficiency at a portable subscriber unit. With the addition of a transmitter to a traditional one-way paging subscriber unit, battery life becomes more significant than usual. On a system level, a transmitter at the portable subscriber unit provides many benefits that can still use further refinements. For example, a system that does not adjust their transmission power, either from an outbound paging transmitter to a portable subscriber unit or from the portable subscriber unit inbound to the system reduces the overall system efficiency as well as battery life at the subscriber unit. When transmitters needlessly transmit at full power, system capacity is jeopardize and the risk of on-channel intermodulation is increased. There are existing methods that use Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) measurements, Signal Quality Evaluation (SQE) measurements, and/or color codes to adjust transmission power or to make transmission site selection decisions. These methods are adequate in many instances, but they are not accurate. For instance, these methods do not account for the terrain nor do they allow for automatic "boundary" site switching. Geographic information at a portable subscriber unit would thus be helpful in controlling many operations. Thus, a need exists incorporating geographic information for optimizing power transmission levels from either a portable subscriber unit's transmitter or an outbound transmitter. Additionally, geographic information would provide other benefits that would improve site selection decisions, battery life and synchronization among other benefits.

Method and apparatus for geographic based control in a communication system


A bicycle derailleur includes a base element, a movable element having a receptacle and movably coupled to the base element, a rotary shaft mounted in the movable element in the receptacle to be rotatable about an axis of rotation, and a chain guide assembly rotatable relative to the movable element about the axis of rotation and which is coupled rotationally conjointly to the rotary shaft. An elastic force store device exerts on the chain guide assembly a preload force which preloads said chain guide assembly in a direction of rotation relative to the movable element. A damping device acts directly or indirectly between the movable element and the chain guide assembly and has a coupling device arranged radially within the first elastic force store device by which the damping device is coupled to a support, which is static in relation to the movable element, and the rotary shaft.

A bicycle can be equipped with a drive arrangement, for example a chain drive. Bicycle drive arrangements can be used to transmit the torque from a rider to a rear wheel in order to drive the bicycle. A drive arrangement can for example transmit the torque from a front sprocket arrangement via a chain to a rear sprocket or pinion, for example a pinion of a pinion cassette or of a pinion assembly, in order to drive a rear wheel. Such a drive arrangement can be referred to as drive train.
Sprocket assemblies for bicycles can have one or more individual sprockets. The front sprockets are generally referred to as chain wheels. Chain wheels can be fastened with the aid of a variety of fastening devices. A chain wheel can for example be fastened by chain wheel screws or mounted directly on the crank of a bicycle. The rear sprockets are commonly referred to as pinions. A multiplicity of rear sprockets or pinions may be referred to as a cassette, pinion cassette or pinion assembly. Such a cassette is typically configured such that it can be fastened to a freewheel part of a rear wheel. A cassette can for example be fastened to a freewheel body of a rear wheel with the aid of a spline-type and/or threaded connection.
The alignment of a front chain wheel group with a rear pinion cassette influences the performance of the chain. For example, a front chain wheel assembly may have a single chain wheel which is aligned with one particular pinion of the rear pinion cassette. When the chain connects the individual chain wheel to said substantially aligned individual rear pinion, the chain is subjected to little or no lateral load. However, if the chain is moved laterally to another pinion of the cassette, for example by a rear derailleur or a rear gearshift mechanism of a derailleur system of the drive train, the chain is subjected to a certain lateral loading. Corresponding lateral loading of the chain arises if the front chain wheel assembly has multiple chain wheels, between which the chain is moved by a front derailleur or a front gearshift mechanism of the derailleur system.
For good performance of a derailleur system of said type, the functionality and performance of the rear derailleur, also referred to in the technical field as rear bicycle derailleur or rear gearshift mechanism, are of particular importance. Said rear derailleur serves not only for performing gearshift processes by transferring the chain between multiple adjacent pinions of the pinion set of the bicycle. A further, likewise highly important function of the derailleur is that of ensuring an adequate chain tension. For this purpose, a rear derailleur generally has the following construction. A base element, also referred to in the technical field as B knuckle, is provided, by which the derailleur is mounted on the bicycle. Furthermore, there is a movable element, also referred to in the technical field as P knuckle, which is movably coupled to the base element, and a chain guide, which is generally designed as a chain cage and which is movably coupled to the movable element for rotation with respect to an axis of rotation. The movable element is movable in a lateral (axial) direction in order to move the chain guide between the pinions of the pinion set, such that the chain can be transferred from a starting pinion to a target pinion. The chain guide is elastically preloaded in one direction of rotation, specifically in the direction of tensioning of the bicycle chain guided by the chain guide, by a tension spring or the like in order to keep the chain in the tensioned state or restore the tensioned state after a previous state of inadequate chain tension. This direction of rotation or pivoting is also referred to here as "chain tensioning direction". A rotation of the chain guide in this direction increases the chain tension and at the same time reduces the tension of the tension spring acting on the chain guide.
Depending on which pinion of the pinion set is presently in engagement with the chain at a given point in time, the chain guide will assume different pivoting positions relative to the movable element with respect to the axis of rotation.
Actions on the chain and the chain guide arise not only from the shifting of the derailleur system, owing to transfer of the chain between different pinions of the pinion set, but also from riding operation itself. For example, the derailleur and the chain are subjected, for example during riding on uneven terrain, to impacts and vibrations which can act on the chain guide in a pivoting direction opposite to the "chain tensioning direction". A rotation of the chain guide in this direction which is opposite to the "chain tensioning direction" increases the tension of the tension spring acting on the chain guide, and leads directly to a reduction of the chain tension (for example if a direct action on the chain guide rotates the latter in this direction) or at least to a considerable risk of a subsequent reduction of the chain tension to below the required level. A negative consequence can be decreases in tension of the chain with undesired play or "slackening" of the chain, in the extreme case to the point of the chain jumping off the pinion set.
To counteract such problems, some conventional solutions are configured with an opposing-force generating device, which can also be referred to as damper, damping device or damper assembly, and which provides a resistance with respect to the rotational movement of the chain guide. Some known solutions provide this damping resistance only in that direction of rotation of the chain guide which is opposite to the "chain tensioning direction". For this purpose, some of these known solutions have in each case one freewheel clutch device and one friction device which interact such that the resistance with respect to a rotational movement of the chain guide is effected in the direction of rotation opposite to the "chain tensioning direction".
The movable element and the chain guide are rotatable relative to one another but, by the friction device and the freewheel clutch device, which can also be referred to as one-way clutch, have a frictionally locking rotational driving connection which, owing to the one-way clutch characteristic of the one-way clutch, is effective only for the direction of rotation opposite to the "chain tensioning direction", such that sliding friction which counteracts the rotation occurs only in this direction of rotation. In the other direction of rotation, which corresponds to a backwards rotation of the chain guide in the sense of tensioning of the chain, the chain guide is decoupled from the movable element owing to this one-way clutch characteristic, such that the tensioning of the chain by rotation of the chain guide is not opposed by any resistance, or is at least opposed by no significant resistance.
It can be stated that, in the case of high-grade mountain bikes, gearshift mechanisms with spring-damper systems in the movable element (P knuckle) have become established in recent years. This technology has meanwhile also found use in the cyclocross sector and even in racing bicycles in order to improve the "chain management". The aim of improving the chain management includes reducing all undesired chain movements, such as for example the impacting of the chain against the chain strut, intense chain vibrations during riding, which can lead to the chain being thrown off, or also the sagging of the chain in the load section owing to the torque, imparted by the rider, during freewheeling operation of the rear-wheel hub.
Various damper systems are in use on the market. Here, the damper moment is generally imparted in a direction-dependent manner, such that it takes effect only in the presence of additional, in particular dynamic, chain tension, but does not oppose the chain-tensioning resetting movement of the cage spring.
Important further requirements, and characteristics which are important in practice, of a rear derailleur, irrespective of whether or not this is implemented with a damping device, concern its dimensions, tolerance chains, a rotational mounting of the chain cage, which realizes a defined mobility of the chain cage relative to the movable element (P knuckle), leak-tightness, robustness, operational reliability and assembly and maintenance.
The background to the present disclosure and its various aspects is formed specifically also by the following problems, which are considered in the case of known solutions:
(1) Structural space—the gearshift mechanism is in an exposed position on the bicycle. It must not collide with the wheel or with the chain strut. A generally large ground clearance of exposed components of the bicycle reduces the likelihood of damage as a result of collision with obstructions. Also, the limitation of the structural space in the region of the gearshift mechanism towards the right (the outside) assists in preventing damage when passing through constrictions. This structural space also has particular importance in ensuring collision-free pedalling ("heel clearance"). The development in the direction of short chain struts and the lowest possible Q factor (lateral pedal spacing, cf. for example the explanation given under de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-Faktor_%28Fahrrad%29) intensifies this structural space conflict.
(2) Damper moment—in order to ensure an optimum function of the spring/damper unit (if provided) in the system context of the overall drivetrain, the deviation of the damper moment from the intended nominal value should be kept as low as possible. The decrease or increase of the damper moment over the service life of the product is also a problem and should as far as possible be prevented or at least minimized. Essential factors for the damper moment are: the friction diameter and friction surface areas of the friction surfaces, which are provided for example by friction discs; the required contact pressure for generating a corresponding friction moment; and the spring characteristic curve of the preload spring.
(3) Bearing arrangement of the axle of the gearshift mechanism cage—the bearing arrangement of the axle or rotary shaft determines the pivoting movement of the gearshift mechanism cage. The guide roller on the cage ("upper pulley") must be precisely positioned relative to the toothed ring cassette in order to ensure optimum gearshift performance. A small bearing play of this axle and a short tolerance chain in an axial direction are of importance here. Furthermore, the bearing arrangement is subjected to high loading during gearshift processes or under dynamic loads owing to the lever moment of the gearshift mechanism cage. As large as possible a bearing spacing is advantageous here, but is not realized in the prior art.

Damper assembly for bicycle gearshift mechanism


Apparatuses and methods for processing substrates are disclosed. A processing apparatus includes a chamber for generating a plasma therein, an electrode associated with the chamber, and a signal generator coupled to the electrode. The signal generator applies a DC pulse to the electrode with sufficient amplitude and sufficient duty cycle of an on-time and an off-time to cause events within the chamber. A plasma is generated from a gas in the chamber responsive to the amplitude of the DC pulse. Energetic ions are generated by accelerating ions of the plasma toward a substrate in the chamber in response to the amplitude of the DC pulse during the on-time. Some of the energetic ions are neutralized to energetic neutrals in response to the DC pulse during the off-time. Some of the energetic neutrals impact the substrate with sufficient energy to cause a chemical reaction on the substrate.

Higher performance, lower cost, and greater density of integrated circuits are ongoing goals of the computer industry. In processing these integrated circuits on semiconductor substrates, layers are often deposited on the substrate and subsequently some or all of the layers are removed. One process for material removal from a substrate is plasma etching.
In plasma etching, plasma is utilized to assist etch processes by facilitating an anisotropic removal of material along fine lines, within vias, within contacts, and for other general patterning operations on a semiconductor substrate. Examples of such plasma assisted etching include reactive ion etching (RIE), which is essentially an ion activated chemical etching process.
In a plasma etching process reactive species are generated as a plasma from a bulk gas. The reactive species diffuse to a surface of a material being etched and are adsorbed on the surface of the material being etched. A chemical reaction occurs, which results in the formation of a volatile by-product, which is desorbed from the surface of the material being etched and diffuses into the bulk gas, where it can be purged from the reaction chamber.
Many plasma reactors provide energy to a gas in the reactor chamber by coupling Radio Frequency (RF) electric power into the chamber. The RF power ionizes, dissociates, and excites molecules within the plasma body. In particular, the RF power provides energy to free electrons in the plasma body. Ionization may occur from an energized free electron colliding with a gas molecule causing the gas molecule to ionize. Dissociation may occur from an energized free electron colliding with a gas molecule, such as O2, causing the molecule to break into smaller molecular or atomic fragments, such as atomic oxygen. Excitation occurs when the collision, rather than breaking molecular bonds, transfers energy to the molecule causing it to enter an excited state. Control of the relative amounts of ionization, dissociation, and excitation depends upon a variety of factors, including the pressure and power density of the plasma. Due to ionization, the plasma body typically includes substantially equal densities of negatively and positively charged particles.
Plasmas may be particularly useful for anisotropic etching of a semiconductor substrate. Anisotropic etching is etching that occurs primarily in one direction, whereas isotropic etching is etching that occurs in multiple directions. Anisotropic etching is desirable for manufacturing integrated circuit devices, because it can be used to produce features with precisely located sidewalls that extend perpendicularly from the edges of a masking layer. This precision is important in devices that have feature sizes and spacing comparable to the depth of the etch.
To accomplish an anisotropic plasma etch, a semiconductor substrate such as a wafer may be placed in a plasma reactor such that a plasma forms in an electric field perpendicular to the substrate surface. This electric field accelerates ions perpendicularly toward the substrate surface for etching. One conventional approach to anisotropic plasma etching uses parallel planar electrodes. Often, the lower electrode acts as a pedestal for a wafer. RF power is applied to the electrodes to produce a plasma and accelerate ions toward the substrate surface.
The crystalline silicon or thin insulating layers of some modern integrated circuit designs may be damaged by high-energy ion bombardment, so it may be necessary to decrease the RF power applied to the electrodes for lower ion energy etch processes. Decreasing the RF power, however, will reduce the ion density in the plasma. Decreased ion density usually decreases the etch rate.
Inductively coupled plasma reactors have been used with an RF coupling mechanisms to generate the plasma and control the ion density and ion bombardment energy. Power is applied to an induction coil surrounding the reactor chamber to inductively couple power into the chamber to produce the plasma. The inductively coupled power accelerates electrons circumferentially within the plasma. As a result, the charged particles generally do not accelerate in any specific direction. To move ions toward a substrate, some type of bias is typically applied between the substrate and the plasma. In other words, a separate source of power may be needed and applied to a substrate support to accelerate ions toward the substrate for etching. A relatively high level of power may be applied to the induction coil to provide a plasma with a high ion density, and a relatively low level of power may be applied to the substrate support to control the energy of ions bombarding the substrate surface. As a result, a relatively high rate of etching may be achieved with relatively low-energy ion bombardment.
While low-energy ion bombardment may reduce damage to sensitive layers of the integrated circuit, other problems may be encountered that interfere with the anisotropic nature of the etch. In particular, low-energy ions may be deflected by charges that accumulate on the substrate or mask surface during etching causing a charge buildup.
This charge buildup may result from the relatively isotropic motion of electrons in the plasma as opposed to the anisotropic motion of the ions. The normal thermal energy of the plasma causes the electrons to have high velocities because of their low mass. These high velocity electrons collide with molecules and ions and may be deflected in a variety of directions, including toward the substrate surface. While the negative bias on the substrate tends to repel electrons, the high velocity of some electrons overcomes this negative bias. The electrons are deflected in a variety of directions and have a relatively isotropic motion. As a result, electrons deflected toward the substrate surface tend to accumulate on elevated surfaces of the substrate or mask layer, rather than penetrating to the depths of narrow substrate features.
Ions, on the other hand, have a large mass relative to electrons, do not have high random velocities, and are directed toward the substrate in a perpendicular direction. This anisotropic acceleration allows ions to penetrate to the depths of narrow substrate features more readily than electrons.
As a result, negatively charged electrons tend to accumulate on the upper surfaces of the substrate or mask layer, while positively charged ions tend to accumulate in the recessed regions of the substrate that are being etched. These accumulated charges may form small electric fields, often referred to as "micro fields," near features on the surface of the substrate. While these small electric fields may have little effect on high-energy ions, they may deflect low-energy ions used in low-energy etch processes for small integrated circuit features. The negative charge on the substrate or mask surface tends to attract positively charged ions, while the positive charge in recessed regions tends to repel these ions. As a result, low-energy ions falling into recessed regions between features may be deflected into feature sidewalls, thereby undercutting the mask layer. This undercutting can degrade the anisotropic etch process and inhibit the formation of well-defined features with vertical sidewalls.
Because of these issues, and others, neutral beam etching processes have been proposed. In a neutral beam process, the ions are accelerated toward the substrate, but they then pass through a variety of proposed mechanisms to neutralize the ions by supplying electrons to the ions. The neutralized ions then strike the surface of the substrate with an amount of kinetic energy related to the mass and velocity of the neutralized ions. That kinetic energy is enough to cause a chemical reaction on the surface of the substrate. In other words, the chemical process, such as an etching process, at the substrate is activated by the kinetic energy of the incident neutral species.
These previously proposed neutralizing structures take different forms. As an example, one proposal includes a deflection plate that deflects the ions as they move toward the substrate by a small angle in one direction then another deflection plate deflects the ions back to a perpendicular direction relative to the substrate. These deflection plates are negatively charged such that the ions can readily pick up electrons and neutralize as they strike the plates and before they strike the substrate.
In another example of a previous proposal, one or more grids are disposed between a region where the plasma exists and the substrate. These grids may be configured to emit electrons such that as the ions travel through the grids and toward the substrate these emitted electrons are available for recombination with the ions to create neutral species for impact with the substrate.
However, these previously proposed neutral beam etching apparatuses require additional elements to be added to the reaction chamber to neutralize the ions. These additional elements add complexity and cost to the chamber as well as new elements that must be maintained. Moreover, as semiconductor wafers become very large, such as 300 millimeter wafers and above, these additional elements generally must span an area even larger than the wafer, which may introduce structural problems with how to build the neutralizing structures without any physical deformation across the large area.
The inventor has appreciated that for the reasons stated above, and for other reasons, there is a need in the art for alternative and simplified structures and processes for generating neutral beam flux for processing substrates.

Methods and apparatuses for energetic neutral flux generation for processing a substrate


A timing adjustment value is received, and from the received timing adjustment value is determined an integer portion and a fractional portion. In the frequency domain, the determined fractional portion is applied by rotating a signal. Optionally, a phase shift may also be imposed with the rotation. In the time domain, the determined integer portion is applied by one of inserting samples in the rotated signal or removing samples from the rotated signal in an amount corresponding to the determined integer portion. After the signal rotation to apply the fractional portion, the active sub-carriers are mapped, and the transition from frequency domain to time domain occurs by means of an inverse Fourier transform. A cyclic prefix CP may be added after the Fourier transform, separately or functionally combined with the integer portion shift by modifying the size of the CP to impose the determined integer portion. After other conventional processing known in the art, the rotated signal as advanced/delayed by the sample removal/addition is then transmitted.

Various abbreviations that appear in the specification and/or in the drawing figures are defined as follows:
3GPP3rd Generation Partnership ProjectBBbase bandBSbase stationCORDICcoordinate rotation digital computerCPcyclic prefixDACdigital to analog converterDCdirect current (in this context: zero frequency)DFTdiscrete Fourier transformDFTSdiscrete Fourier transform spreadEUTRANevolved universal terrestrial radio access networkFIRfinite impulse responseIEEEinstitute of electrical and electronics engineersIDFTinverse discrete Fourier transformIQin-phase/quadratureLTElong term evolution (3.9G)MIMOmultiple input multiple outputMSmobile stationOFDMorthogonal frequency division multiplexingOFDMAorthogonal frequency division multiple accessPApower amplifierRFradio frequencyRXDFEreceiver digital front endTAtiming adjustmentTXDFEtransmitter digital front endWiMAXworldwide interoperability for microwave accessUMTSuniversal mobile telecommunications systemUTRANUMTS terrestrial radio access network
This invention is related to physical-layer wireless communications, and is described in the context of wireless OFDM communications such as OFDM/OFDMA based wireless communication systems. It is applicable to wireless standards 3GPP EUTRAN/LTE/3.9 G and to IEEE 802.16d/e/WiMAX, though not necessarily limited thereto and can be extended to any OFDM based wireless protocol.
In a cellular OFDMA-based wireless communication system, during uplink transmission, the transmitted signals from mobile stations (MSs) have to reach the base station (BS) approximately at the same time. The time of arrival differences should be smaller than the length of the cyclic prefix CP for demodulation. However, the distances between the various MSs and the BS may vary considerably, possibly by several kilometers depending on cell size. This can result in large variations in the signal propagation delays from the MSs to the BS. To equalize this propagation delay variation, the BS periodically sends control messages, commonly termed timing adjustment or timing advance (TA) messages, to the MSs to adjust their transmission times. The MSs then individually advance or delay their transmitted signals according to the TA value in the TA message. Since the BS sends the TA messages, the individual timing adjustments are such that the transmitted signals from the MSs reach the BS at the same time.
FIG. 2 is a prior art block diagram showing a conventional OFDMA-based transmit chain and receive chain. Each of the BS and the MSs include both chains, but for clarity the transmit chain is described with reference to an MS and the receive chain is described with reference to the BS since in the description of the invention below it is the MS that sends its timing adjusted signal to the BS. The OFDMA transmitter 20A in the MS takes a data bit stream as input and generates the base-band transmit signal, which is up-sampled and filtered in the digital front end (TXDFE) 22A. The signal is converted into an analog waveform and up-converted to pass-band in the RF transmitter stage 24A and transmitted through the transmit antennas 26A (only one shown). The RF stage of the receiver 24B in the BS receives the transmitted signal from the antenna(s) 26B, down-converts it in base-band and produces a digital signal stream. The receiver digital front end (RXDFE) 22B processes this signal by down-sampling and filtering (and performing other functionalities not relevant to these teachings), and the OFDMA receiver 20B demodulates the sent information-bearing symbols, producing estimates of the sent data bits. Even though FIG. 2 shows only one transmitter for the MS, in OFDMA systems there may be a number of MSs transmitting to the BS receiver at the same time.
Depending on the distance between these various MSs and the BS receiving their transmissions, the time it takes for the transmitted signals to propagate to the BS may vary considerably. In order for the BS to demodulate the transmitted signals from the MSs, these signals must arrive at the BS within a certain time window. In OFDMA systems, this time window is generally determined by the duration of the CP and the delay spread of the channel. To ensure that these signals arrive within that window, the MSs further away from the BS should transmit earlier, while the MSs closer to the BS should delay their transmitted signals. This is why the BS periodically sends TA control messages to the MSs as noted above, so that the multiple MSs could adjust their transmit timing in a coordinated fashion.
Exactly how the MSs impose the TA delay or advance in an OFDM system is not a new problem. In the prior art the TA functionality was implemented in the time domain by up-sampling and inserting/deleting samples to or from the up-sampled signal. In the diagram of FIG. 2, this TA advance or delay is therefore imposed at the transmit digital front end 22A. Specifically, a polyphase upsampling finite impulse response FIR filter for TA is included within the TXDFE 22A, or in other instances it was disposed in the OFDMA transmitter 20A. The coefficients of this FIR filter are periodically connected to the multipliers by commutator switches. The TA is then done by advancing or delaying the commutators with control logic. This prior art solution is not specific to OFDMA, and has been used in various devices adapted for other wireless protocols (e.g., global system for mobile communications GSM and wideband code division multiple access WCDMA). It is also used in some EUTRAN/LTE/3.9 G uplink transmitters. However, this is seen as somewhat inefficient as the upsampling factor needs to be increased by an amount sufficient to impose the TA advance/delay with sufficient precision. This higher upsampling factor increases the sampling frequency of the signal, and greatly increases processing load and power consumption. Also, a simple polyphase filer to implement this prior art approach requires additional control signals to the commutator switches to impose the TA functionality by holding or skipping a number of commutator switch positions.
Another prior art approach by which to impose the TA advance or delay is to insert the CP after up-sampling, but to insert a shorter or longer CP in order to advance or delay the transmitted signal by the amount of the TA given by the BS.
What is needed in the art is a way to implement for a transmitted signal with arbitrarily precise timing advances/delays based on the TA messages received from a base station. Preferably, such precision is at less computational overhead than the polyphase filter implementation detailed above for the prior art.

Method and apparatus for transmitter timing adjustment


An immunoadjuvant comprising one kind or two or more kinds of immunostimulating substances carried separately by two or more kinds of different microparticle immunostimulating substance carriers, and comprising at least a combination of (a) an inorganic substance such as microparticle calcium phosphate having a size phagocytizable by cells, and (b) precipitates of a soluble protein and a mucopolysaccharide formed by coacervation as the microparticle immunostimulating substance carriers, which is highly safe and can exhibit potent immunoadjuvant activity.

Most of immunoadjuvants widely used so far have two kinds of roles at a local administration site in vivo, specifically, (1) gradually releasing antigens to efficiently supply them to immunocompetent cells with maintaining the antigens in a state of aqueous or oil emulsion to prevent rapid disperse of the antigens, and (2) inducing inflammatory reactions and activating the immunocompetent cells gathering at the local inflammation site. In recent years, it has been revealed that antigen-presenting cells play a major role of immune responses in both of the humoral immune responses inducing antibody production and the cell-mediated immune responses inducing killer T cells, and that dendritic cells, macrophages, and B cells exist as the antigen-presenting cells. Among them, the dendritic cells have the most potent antigen-presenting ability (Dendritic Cells, Second edition, ed. by Lotze, M. T. and Thomson, A. W., Academic Press, San Diego, 2001). When a substance that can effectively activate antigen-presenting cells is administered to a living body together with an antigen, the substance acts as an immunoadjuvant and can efficiently induce and enhance immune responses against the antigen in both of the humoral immune responses and cell-mediated immune responses.
Among the variety of conventionally known immunoadjuvants, only a few immunoadjuvants are safe enough to be usable in a tumor immunotherapy for a purpose of therapeutic treatment, and prevention of metastasis and recurrence of human tumors, and also are inexpensive. For example, keyhole limpet hemocianin (KLH) has been used as an immunoadjuvant in a tumor immunotherapy by using cultured dendritic cells (Geiger, J. D., et al., Cancer Res., 61:8513-8519, 2001). However, this substance is expensive. Methods of directly administering cytokines such as granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (henceforth also abbreviated as "GM-CSF"), which directly activate dendritic cells, as immunoadjuvants have also been proposed. However, cytokines are still much more expensive.
As safe and inexpensive immunoadjuvants for manufacture of vaccines as a measure against infectious diseases, immunoadjuvants having insufficient activity such as alum (aluminum hydroxide), Freund's incomplete adjuvant (since this adjuvant is oily substance, toxicity is concerned), and Montanide have been used. Although these substances are less toxic compared with Freund's complete adjuvant (henceforth also abbreviated as "FCA") and Ribi adjuvant system, which are used in animal experiments, immunoadjuvant activities thereof are also weak.
Tuberculin for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection history, especially, tuberculin purified protein derivative (henceforth also abbreviated as "PPD"), which consists of protein ingredients in tuberculin purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, is extremely safe even if repetitively administered to humans and moreover inexpensive. Therefore, tuberculin has been widespread all over the world. The inventors of the present invention found that PPD could be used as an immunoadjuvant (PCT/JP00/00692). The inventors of the present invention also found that, when PPD was formed as precipitate by coacervation with soluble proteins and mucopolysaccharides and then administered into tumor tissues denatured by a physical means, the PPD could served as an effective immunoadjuvant for inducing antitumor immune responses (Japanese Patent No. 3492671). This immunoadjuvant has a higher immunoadjuvant activity compared with dissolved PPD, and has extremely high safety in the same manner as the dissolved PPD. However, the immunoadjuvant activity thereof is insufficient if compared with lipopolysaccharides (henceforth also abbreviated as "LPS") which are major ingredients of FCA or endotoxins.
In peripheral blood, immature antigen-presenting cells flow which can phagocytize microparticle antigens. It is known that when a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is added to cultured immature antigen-presenting cells in vitro, maturation of the cells is advanced to exhibit potent ability to present antigens. The antigen-presenting cells activated in this process release various kinds of cytokines, such as GM-CSF, interleukin (henceforth also abbreviated as "IL") 12, and interferon-γ (henceforth also abbreviated as "IFNg"). GM-CSF itself is essential as a cell growth factor of the dendritic cells. Therefore, the dendritic cells once activated become possible to maintain the activated state for a long period of time and continue to survive on the basis of the autocline mechanism of GM-CSF. Macrophages, as well as dendritic cells, are isogenic antigen-presenting cells which are differentiated from the same hematopoietic stem cells, and produce cytokines such as GM-CSF upon receipt of immunostimulation in the same manner as dendritic cell.
Practically, antitumor immune responses to tumor cells can be efficiently induced by administering solidified and microparticulated antigen tumor tissues as an antigen into a living body together with a cytokine such as GM-CSF (PCT/JP00/00692). This fact indicates that GM-CSF itself serves as an immunoadjuvant, and at the same time, an amount of GM-CSF produced from antigen-presenting cells stimulated with the immunoadjuvant can serve as an index representing the activity of the original immunoadjuvant. In other words, quantification of GM-CSF produced by antigen-presenting cells derived from a human enables successful estimation of immunoadjuvant activity in human in an in vitro experimental system without using human individuals.
By using peripheral blood adherent cells including antigen-presenting cells derived from human peripheral blood, the inventors of the present invention demonstrated, on the basis of the aforementioned means, that a potent immunoadjuvant action could be obtained by immobilizing soluble ingredients derived from microorganisms [soluble ingredients extracted with an organic solvent such as Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (henceforth also abbreviated as "BCG bacterium")] on a solidified tissue as an immunostimulating substance carrier (WO2003/074079).
The solidified tissue used as the immunostimulating substance carrier in the aforementioned immunoadjuvant is a biodegradable material which is digested in phagocytes including antigen-presenting cells and disappears without remaining in the body. However, when this immunoadjuvant is applied to a human individual, if a tissue used is not from the individual himself wherein major histocompatibility antigen is completely identical, or a tissue of the other one of monozygotic twins wherein major histocompatibility antigen is genetically identical, the immunostimulating substance carrier may have antigenicity to the human individual, and may sometimes induce an antigen-antibody reaction against the immunostimulating substance carrier or digested protein fragments thereof. This causes a problem that, when the aforementioned immunoadjuvant is used as a general-purpose immunoadjuvant (when a desired antigen is added to the immunoadjuvant to induce an immune response to the antigen), undesired antigen-antibody reactions against the immunostimulating substance carrier itself are induced, and the immune response to the antigen is buried among the whole immune responses and become unlikely to be manifested.
The inventors of the present invention also proposed a method for preparing calcium phosphate microparticles carrying one kind or two or more kinds of molecules to be carried (Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (KOKAI) No. 2005-126335). These calcium phosphate microparticles consist of hydroxyapatite having a Ca/P molar ratio of 1.3 or higher. It has been further demonstrated that since amorphous calcium phosphate microparticles and low-crystalline apatite can carry not only hydrophilic protein molecules but also hydrophobic low molecules, they can serve as an immunostimulating substance carrier (Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (KOHYO) No. 2002-524491). However, any immunoadjuvant consisting of a mixture of two or more kinds of immunostimulating substance carriers having completely different physicochemical properties and carrying one kind or two or more kinds of immunostimulating substances have not been known so far.


A printing material container detachably attachable to a printing apparatus having apparatus-side terminals. The container can comprise an electrical device, a memory device and a plurality of terminals. First and second terminals can be coupled to the electrical device and a plurality of memory terminals can be coupled to the memory device. Terminal contact portions are present where the terminals contact a respective apparatus side contact forming member. A short detection contact portion can be positioned to contact a contact forming member that itself is coupled to a short detection circuit of the printing apparatus. The terminals can be arranged with the memory terminal contact portions located to the left of the second terminal contact portion and to the right of the first terminal contact portion. The contact portion that is second farthest to the right can be the third contact portion.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a printing material container containing a printing material and a board mounted on the printing material container, and relates in particular to an arrangement for a plurality of terminals disposed on these components.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, it has become common practice to equip ink cartridges used in ink jet printers or other printing apparatus, with a device, for example, a memory for storing information relating to the ink. Also disposed on such ink cartridges is another device, for example, a high voltage circuit (e.g. a remaining ink level sensor using a piezoelectric element) applied to higher voltage than the driving voltage of the memory. In such cases, there are instances in which the ink cartridge and the printing apparatus are electrically connected through terminals. There is proposed a structure for preventing the information storage medium from shorting and becoming damaged due to a drop of liquid being deposited on the terminals connecting the printing apparatus with the storage medium furnished to the ink cartridge.
However, the technologies mentioned above do not contemplate an ink cartridge having equipped with a plurality of devices, for example, a memory and a high voltage circuit, with terminals for one device and the terminals for another device. With this kind of cartridge, there was a risk that shorting could occur between a terminal for the one device and the terminal for the another device. Such shorting caused the problem of possible damage to the ink cartridge or to the printing apparatus in which the ink cartridge is attached. This problem is not limited to ink cartridges, but is a problem common to receptacles containing other printing materials, for example, toner.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Printing material container, and board mounted on printing material container


Adjustable climbing walls for crack climbing at various gap sizes are provided. The adjustable climbing wall may have two panels and a slide for positioning one panel relative to another. An actuator may adjustably position each of the two panels along the slide. Aspects contemplated methods and systems for the adjustable climbing wall.

Crack climbing is a type of rock climbing where the climber follows a crack of a rock face and uses specialized techniques. Traditionally, a climber uses pressure, force, and friction to advance up the crack. The size of the crack (e.g., the gap between two surfaces) when climbing the rock face can vary due to natural formations. The techniques used to crack climb can also change dependent on the size of the crack.


A high-frequency signal transmission line includes a dielectric element assembly including a plurality of dielectric layers laminated on each other, a linear signal line provided at the dielectric element assembly, and a first ground conductor provided on a first side in a direction of lamination relative to the signal line and including a plurality of openings arranged along the signal line. The dielectric layer positioned at an end of the first side in the direction of lamination includes an undulating portion provided on a first principal surface located on the first side in the direction of lamination, such that the undulating portion overlaps with the openings when viewed in a plan view in the direction of lamination.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to high-frequency signal transmission lines and electronic devices, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a high-frequency signal transmission line for use in high-frequency signal transmission and an electronic device including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an invention relevant to a conventional high-frequency signal transmission line, a high-frequency signal line described in, for example, International Publication WO 2012/074100 is known. FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional structure view of the high-frequency signal line 500 described in International Publication WO 2012/074100.
The high-frequency signal line 500 includes a dielectric element assembly 512, a high-permittivity layer 515, a signal line 520, and ground conductors 522 and 524. The dielectric element assembly 512 is formed by laminating a plurality of dielectric sheets. The signal line 520 is provided in the dielectric element assembly 512. The ground conductor 522 is positioned on the positive side in the z-axis direction relative to the signal line 520. The ground conductor 524 is positioned on the negative side in the z-axis direction relative to the signal line 520. The ground conductor 524 has openings 530 provided therein. The high-permittivity layer 515 is positioned on the principal surface of the dielectric element assembly 512 that is located on the negative side in the z-axis direction. The high-permittivity layer 515 has a higher specific permittivity than the dielectric element assembly 512.
In the high-frequency signal line 500 thus configured, the high-permittivity layer 515 covers the openings 530. Accordingly, more electromagnetic field radiation from the signal line 520 is reflected into the high-frequency signal line 500 at the interface between the high-permittivity layer 515 and the air space, resulting in reduced spurious radiation.
Incidentally, in the case of the high-frequency signal line 500, if the specific permittivity of the high-permittivity layer 515 is increased, the characteristic impedance of the high-frequency signal line 500 might deviate from a desired impedance value (e.g., 50Ω). More specifically, from the viewpoint of reducing spurious radiation, the high-permittivity layer 515 preferably has a high specific permittivity. However, in the case where the specific permittivity of the high-permittivity layer 515 is high, if there is a metallic body or the like near the opening 530, high capacitance is generated between the signal line 520 and the metallic body or the like. As a result, the characteristic impedance of the high-frequency signal line 500 becomes lower than the desired impedance value.

High-frequency signal transmission line and electronic device