An information recording and reproducing apparatus according to the present invention includes a read-ahead history buffer which is used as a ring buffer. A read-ahead operation is performed, every time a reproduction request is made by a host device, so as to maintain the read-ahead data after the last block for which reproduction has been requested at a predetermined value. Data which has already been requested by the host device and has not been overwritten by the read-ahead operation is treated as history data. As a result, data centered around (i.e., preceding and following) the last block for which the host device has requested reproduction is always secured as cache data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information recording and reproducing apparatus for recording/reproducing information on a disk-shaped information recording medium block by block. In particular, the present invention relates to an information recording and reproducing apparatus having both history caching and read-ahead caching functions.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the operation speed of host computers has increased, making a large gap between the computer speed and the speed of external storage apparatuses (e.g., information recording and reproducing apparatus such as hard disk drives and optical disk drives). In order to reduce this gap, the speed of external storage apparatuses has been increased. There are two general methods for achieving improvement in the speed of an external storage apparatus: One is a physical improvement in speed, which is achieved by enhancing the rotation rate of a storage medium and reducing the seek time, i.e., the time required for a head to move to a target track of a storage medium. The other is a logical improvement, which is achieved by data caching techniques, that is, incorporating a buffer composed of a semiconductor memory in the apparatus and transferring data which is requested by a host computer and happens to be in the buffer to the host computer, without accessing the recording medium.
Data cache is classified into read caching and write caching. Read caching increases the speed of reproduction operations, whereas write caching increases the speed of recording operations. Read caching is further classified into a history type and a read-ahead type. According to history read caching, data which has previously been requested by a host computer is retained as cache data. According to read-ahead read caching, data which is next to data requested by a host computer is retained as cache data in advance.
In the field of large-scale computers, history read caching has long been studied with an aim to construct a hierarchial structure having components ranging from high-speed and low-capacity memories to low-speed and high-capacity memories into a high-speed and high-capacity memory as a whole.
According to the history read caching technique, a high-speed memory is divided into a plurality of smaller regions (referred to as "pages") so as to retain and manage data which has previously been read from a low-speed memory. If requested data happens to be in one of the pages (described as a "hit"), the data in that page is transferred as required data instead of reading from the low-speed memory. If the requested data is not in any pages of the high-speed memory (described as a "mis-hit"), data is read from the low-speed memory into a page so as to be transferred as the requested data. If every page of the high-speed memory stores previously requested data, it is necessary to discard the old data stored in one of the pages in order to read data from the low-speed memory into that page. The algorithms for history read caching can be classified according to the method of selecting the page of which data should be discarded. One popular algorithm for history read caching is a LRU (Least Recently Use) algorithm (An application of the LRU algorithm to a magnetic bubble memory is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,881 issued to Vincent A. Cordi et al). According to the LRU algorithm, when there has been a mis-hit, the data in the page for which has not been accessed for the longest time is discarded so as to store information from a high-speed memory in that page. This algorithm utilizes the fact that the more recently the data has been accessed, the more likely the data is to be referred to again.
Read-ahead type read caching will now be described. According to this technique, the reproduction speed of an information recording and reproducing apparatus for recording/reproducing information on a disk-shaped information recording medium, e.g., a hard disk drive, is enhanced by eliminating moments during which the device is required to wait for the rotation of the disk. Usually, when an OS (Operation System) or an application which works on a computer tries to read out a file, it does not request the entire file to be reproduced at a time, but sequentially requests smaller units of the file, beginning from the top of the file. Such accesses are referred to as sequential accesses. For example, a case is contemplated where sequential accesses are made to blocks 1 to 10 in a block-by-block manner. This case will be described with reference to FIG. 19, which is a conceptual diagram showing a disk-shaped information recording medium.
In FIG. 19, each small fan-shaped portion represents a "sector", the number written in each sector representing the sector number thereof. A concentric group of sectors constitute a track. Reference numerals T0 to T2 represent the track numbers of the respective tracks. In the case where sectors are disposed in a spiral arrangement, one cycle of the spiral defines a track. For conciseness, sector s of track t will be referred to as (t, s) hereinafter. Block 1 corresponds to (T0, 1). Block 2 corresponds to (T0, 2) . . . Block 10 corresponds to (T0, 10). If the information recording medium rotates counterclockwise, the blocks in one concentric circle (track) are accessed clockwise.
When a host computer requests block 1, the information recording and reproducing apparatus accesses (T0, 1) by using a head and transfers the data reproduced therefrom to the host computer. Even if the host computer requests block 2 immediately afterward, the head is passing by (T0, 2). Accordingly, the head must wait until the information recording medium makes an almost complete turn (i.e., rotate once) before the head can access (T0, 2). In other words, one rotation is required in order to reproduce information stored in one block. As a result, 10 rotations are required in order to reproduce information stored in blocks 1 to 10. In order to solve this problem, when a host computer requests the reproduction of information in a given block, blocks that are located forward with respect to the one that is requested by the host computer are read in a high-speed memory (i.e., a data buffer composed of a semiconductor memory). If a block which is requested next has been read into the data buffer (described as a "hit") in advance, the data in the data buffer is transferred to the host computer without accessing the information recording medium. According to this technique, it is possible to reproduce the data stored in blocks 1 to 10 by only one rotation of the information recording medium. Recently, Iida et al. has disclosed an information recording and reproducing apparatus in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-274090, which information recording and reproducing apparatus features read-ahead type read caching. Since a large number of consecutive blocks are read out in sequential accesses, it is often the case that the data buffer is used as a ring buffer (i.e., when the last end of the buffer is reached, the control returns to the top end of the buffer).
In order to obtain an information recording and reproducing apparatus capable of both history type read caching and read-ahead type read caching based on a conventional technique, the following scheme is required:
(1) an internal data buffer is split into two, one being defined as a history cache data region and the other being defined as a read-ahead cache data region; PA1 (2) a history type algorithm is applied to the history cache data region, while a read-ahead type algorithm is applied to the read-ahead cache data region; PA1 (3) on receiving a request from a host computer, a retrieval is attempted to determine which cache data a requested block hits; PA1 (4) if the requested block does not "hit" at (3), the block is read out from the information recording medium to the internal data buffer; and PA1 (5) it is determined which algorithm should be applied to the block that was read out at (4), which is to be stored as cache data. PA1 (Step U1) Seek a target track; PA1 (Step U2) Rotation waiting (by 1/2 rotations on average) till the head arrives at the target sector; PA1 (Step U3) Erase one sector (i.e., target sector); PA1 (Step U4) Rotation waiting (by 1 rotation) till the head arrives at the target sector; PA1 (Step U5) Record one sector (i.e., target sector); PA1 (Step U6) Rotation waiting (by 1 rotation) till the head arrives at the target sector; and PA1 (Step U7) One sector (i.e., target sector) is reproduced for verification.
However, the history type algorithm and the read-ahead type algorithm are completely different from each other, so that it is difficult to dynamically vary the sizes of the respective cache data regions. Accordingly, the internal buffer is likely to be split into the two regions at a fixed boundary at (1).
Next, write caching will be described. Representative write caching techniques are write-through caching and write-back caching. One similarity between the two write caching techniques is that when the content of a low-speed memory is updated, the change is reflected on a high-speed memory, so that the high-speed memory is accessed when referring to the updated content of the low-speed memory. The method for managing the data in the high-speed memory is similar to that of history type read caching. The two write caching techniques are different in that, according to the write-through caching, the control must wait until the low-speed memory is updated, whereas according to the write-back caching, the control does not wait until the low-speed memory is updated. Although both techniques can reduce the amount of time required for referring to information, only the write-back caching can reduce the amount of time required for updating information.
When a recording operation for one sector is required, an information recording and reproducing apparatus in which an disk-shaped information recording medium is rotated, e.g., a hard disk drive or an optical disk drive, requires a seek time (during which a head moves to a track including a target sector) and a rotation waiting time (during which the target sector is reached). In particular, an optical disk drive requires extra time because the content of the sector is erased before the recording, and a verification reproduction is performed after the recording. FIG. 20 shows a recording operation of an optical disk drive. The operation is as follows:
Thus, a sum of an average rotation waiting time of 2.5 rotations plus seek time is required for performing a recording for one sector. This is very slow compared with the speed of the bus to which a host computer and the optical disk drive are connected. Accordingly, by adopting the write-back caching technique, under which the host computer is notified that a recording operation is complete as soon as data to be recorded is stored in a data buffer in the optical disk drive, followed by the actual recording of the data stored in the data buffer on the optical disk, the speed of the recording operation as viewed from the host computer is improved. In the case of a hard disk drive, recording data in one sector requires a sum of an average rotation waiting time of 0.5 rotations plus seek time. However, this is also slow compared with the speed of the bus to which a host computer and the hard disk drive are connected, so that the adoption of write-back caching can increase the speed of recording operations as viewed from the host computer.
As described earlier, history type read caching utilizes the fact that the more recently a block has been referred to, the more likely the block is to be referred to again. Read-ahead type read caching utilizes the fact that blocks lying ahead of a block that has been referred to are likely to be referred to. Since these two types of read caching are based on different facts, it is difficult to realize both types of read caching. Even if both types of read caching are achieved, there is a problem in that one type of read caching may hinder the performance of the other.
Moreover, if a recording is requested from a host computer while reproducing read-ahead cache data from the information recording medium, the recording operation must wait until the completion of the reproduction of the read-ahead cache data, since the data to be recorded is to be treated as history cache data, which cannot be managed in common with read-ahead cache data.
There is also a problem in that, when a reproduction is requested from a host computer while recording is performed on the information recording medium by the write-back caching technique, the reading of the requested data, even if present in the cache data, must wait until the completion of the recording on the information recording medium.
There is also a problem in that, although the write-back caching technique improves the speed of the recording operation as viewed from the host computer, the amount of time required for the actual recording on the information recording medium is not reduced.

Information recording and reproduction apparatus and a method of data caching including read-ahead capability

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The invention is directed to a system for managing storage of an object in a storage system having a plurality of different storage media divided into different partitions, which includes a storage processor for determining whether a particular storage partition has reached a predetermined capacity threshold; a data migration processor for identifying within the particular storage partition an object to be moved and for identifying a target destination partition for the particular object in response to the capacity determination, the migration processor identifying the target destination partition based on one or more selected from the group consisting of (a) media type of the particular storage partition, and (b) information identifying related objects in the target destination partition; and a transfer processor for transferring data representing the particular object to the target destination partition.

Document-imaging systems are often used as a platform for the management of healthcare related documents and the integration of multimedia content in a client server environment. Document imaging is often used for long-term storage of patient data and hospital. This data is often received electronically from a clinical or financial system or it can be input from a paper format (e.g., scanning). Electronic data (in particular, demographic data) that is stored by the document-imaging system is often sent via electronic transactions from a third-party source. Inbound transactions from any external application are handled by a receiver application. Transactions are usually sent from the application to an interface engine, which then routes the transactions to Imaging. Imaging can receive Imaging Style Transactions, XML, or HL7 transactions. After a transaction has been received, the transaction is parsed and the database for the document-imaging system is updated. Outbound Transactions are similarly handled by a sending application.
Such systems require tools for applications to acquire, store, organize, display and manage multimedia content (including traditional reports, images, voice, video, etc.). They also require an adequate mechanism to share multimedia content with healthcare applications regardless of where the content originated. Moreover, these document-imaging systems typically require a mechanism to store objects and to make them available on demand. Any application, including these document imaging applications, that generates binary output, such as electronic documents or reports, may thus choose to send this output to a storage manager, which is typically a separate software component to the document imaging platform, via standard operating system interfaces accessible by both the storage manager and the document imaging system.
While commercial software is available to store and retrieve such data, these systems have significant drawbacks that greatly reduce the performance of hierarchical storage management systems.
For example, physically storing related documents on the same on-line, direct-access devices is usually not necessary because hardware access to the data is very fast. As a result, related documents may be archived by the storage manager wherever enough free space exists. It is especially important, however, to group related documents on long-term storage media, especially if the long-term storage media is a near-line, or potentially off-line media. Retrieval of related documents can be slow while the appropriate media is being loaded (whether manual or automatic), so it is important to reduce the number of pieces of media required to satisfy typical user retrieval requests. The systems of the prior art, however, do not have the ability to efficiently group related data on the storage media.
Also, hardware or software failures may sometimes block access to data. Access can remain blocked until the problem has been corrected. This is especially true of hardware failures, where devices need to be repaired, replaced, restored, and/or rebuilt before the data they contained is accessible again to users. As a result, hardware and software errors can cause data to be unavailable. Unfortunately, the systems of the prior art do not have the ability to automatically alternate copy access to alleviate this problem.
Moreover, storage managers typically attempt to provide users with a consistent view of stored data. Users are allowed to access documents that are in a stable state (i.e. the structure of the document is correct and it is not undergoing any modifications). When a document is being changed, the storage manager blocks user access to the document by putting the document in a "transitional" state and blocks access to an individual document while it is performing work on that document to prevent users from getting a misleading or incomplete view of the data.
Failures may occur for a variety of reasons while a document is being stored, retrieved, or manipulated. When these failures occur, the document is placed in an "error" state and the caller is informed that their requested transaction has failed. If nothing further happened to the document, it would be left in a transitional or error state, it would be unavailable to users, and support personnel would have to manually correct the problem before the document would be available again to users. This could result in long periods of time where a document is not accessible, and could result in a significant drain on support personnel to restore documents to a stable, accessible state. The systems of the prior art do not have the ability to automatically make document repairs.
Accordingly, a system is needed that overcomes these disadvantages in the systems of the prior art.

System for managing object storage and retrieval in partitioned storage media

Siemens Medial Solutions Health Services Corporation


A structure for mounting a horizontal hood latch to an automobile includes an upper panel of a front-end module and a bracket over-molded onto the upper panel of the front-end module. A pair of through-openings are provided on opposite side portions of the bracket that allow both surfaces of the bracket to be coated by plastic material and the bracket to be mounted onto the upper panel, as the plastic material is poured thereon.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure for mounting a horizontal hood latch to an upper panel of a front-end module (FEM) of an automobile, and more particularly to a structure for mounting a horizontal hood latch to an upper panel of an FEM of an automobile which comprises a bracket over-molded onto the upper panel of the FEM, along with a horizontal hood latch fixed thereto, for allowing an engine hood to be fixed to the upper panel of the FEM.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, the body of an automobile, which defines the appearance of the automobile, is comprised of a passenger compartment, an engine compartment, a trunk compartment, fenders, etc. Further, such an automobile body is divided into a front body, a center body, and a rear body, which are successively arranged in a longitudinal direction of an automobile.
Here, the front body is provided with a carrier for use in the installation of headlamps, a radiator, a condenser, a bumper, etc. Such a carrier has been obtained by applying a front-end module technique, which allows the headlamps, radiator, condenser, bumper, etc. to be wholly attached to a body panel, thereby improving assembling efficiency, shortening assembly time through reduction in the number of elements to be assembled, and securing accuracy in the assembling of products.
Considering a front-end module, to an upper panel thereof is attached a latch for use in the fixing of an engine hood. The latch is required to have a mechanical strength sufficient to endure a dynamic load of the hood generated when the hood is opened or closed for opening or closing an engine compartment of an automobile.
Such a latch for use in the fixing of the hood is classified into a vertical latch and a horizontal latch. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional structure wherein a vertical latch is mounted to an upper panel of a front-end module.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for the mounting of such a vertical latch, first, the vertical latch, designated as reference numeral 15, is attached to the front surface of an upper panel 12 of a front-end module 10, and rigidity-reinforcing ribs 7 are affixed to the rear surface of the upper panel 12 so as to achieve a satisfactory rigidity.
However, in case of a horizontal latch, since it must be mounted to the upper surface of the upper panel, a lower portion thereof inevitably occupies a space required for the installation of the reinforcing ribs, thereby making it impossible to install the rigidity-reinforcing ribs to the rear surface of the upper panel of the FEM.

Structure for mounting horizontal hood latch to upper panel of front-end module of automobile


A method and an apparatus take software source code to synthesize a hardware platform for running the software. The method determines which processor is suitable for running the code and meeting the performance parameters determined by the user. The method also determines which hardware devices are accessed by software. If the hardware target is a semiconductor chip, the invention selects the appropriate IP and creates an HDL description of the chip. If the hardware target is a printed circuit board, the invention creates a schematic or netlist that includes the appropriate microprocessor, the various semiconductor chips, and the necessary interconnections.

The present invention is a tool for developing embedded systems hardware. When hardware and software are developed for an embedded system, typically the hardware is specified and designed, and then the software is written to control the hardware. In some cases, the hardware and software are specified and designed in parallel, with trade-offs occurring as needed during the process. However, the software that runs the system can be considered a specification for the system itself. For example, if the software includes a driver for a UART, a UART must be designed into the hardware. If the software has a timer interrupt task, the hardware must provide a timer. If the software application needs to transmit and receive Ethernet data, the hardware must provide an Ethernet interface. Ideally, the software functionality would be determined first and the hardware would be designed to accommodate the software.

Method and apparatus for synthesizing a hardware system from a software description


The invention provides a technique to prevent confusion between part numbers used by different suppliers and manufacturers. The invention includes a database that (1) creates an association between part numbers that are directed to comparable parts, (2) generates a universal number for comparable parts, and (3) creates an association between the part numbers and the universal part. This set of associations is used to generate documents that include part numbers that the recipient of the document is familiar with. Limitations are placed on what authorities may provide information about a set of associations. Generally, only the supplier of a part or the supplier of a comparable part may create associations between their parts. This limitation helps maintain the integrity of information in the database. This database is coupled to a shared service network such as a hub for design collaboration or supply chain control.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to associating part numbers from multiple vendors with a universal part number for use in a collaborative tracking network.
2. Related Art
For ease in record keeping, it has become customary for a seller to use an alphanumeric code to precisely identify a particular good. It is generally recognized that such systems provide information more efficiently and accurately than verbal descriptors directed to the nature of an item. One such system that has come into almost universal use involves stock keeping numbers (SKUs). Sellers can generally evaluate their inventory by referring to SKU numbers without resort to verbal descriptors.
One drawback to alpha-numeric codes is that persons interested in buying a product may not be familiar with the code. For this reason, such alpha-numeric codes are not commonly used in marketing, sales or in most non-electronic transactions. If used at all in such contexts, the alpha-numeric code is for the benefit of the seller, not the buyer.
One solution to this problem is to use an additional verbal description of a good. For example, when ordering an auto part, it is useful to refer to both the part name as well as the part number. This combined use of a verbal descriptor and alphanumeric code minimizes confusion on the part of the both the seller and the buyer: the verbal descriptor provides a degree of certainty for the buyer (especially those buyers who are relatively unfamiliar with buying auto parts) and the alpha-numeric identifier streamlines record keeping for the seller.
Use of additional verbal description is not always possible however—either because the additional verbiage creates confusion or because it is not conventional to use it. For example, in many industries, including the electronics industry, it is customary to refer to a part solely by a part number. In such instances, the confusion that results from using just a part number is compounded when many different manufacturers make identical or similar parts and each manufacturer uses a different alpha-numeric code to identify the part. Under these circumstances, a seller may generate a BOM (bill of manufacture) or a PO (purchase order) (PO) that is not understood by the recipient of the document. This practice makes it difficult to compare the actual product ordered with the documentation that accompanies it. The problem is further compounded during the billing process because it is unclear what materials a bill refers to.
The need for a system of part numbers that is easily understood is particularly critical in electronic systems for collaborative design and supply chain management. Such systems may include numerous entities that produce similar parts, but identify them differently. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a technique for mapping part numbers from multiple vendors that is not subject to the drawbacks of the known art.

Mapping part numbers and other identifiers


A thin film transistor includes a channel layer including an amorphous 12CaO.7Al2O3 (C12A7) and a flat panel display device including the same. According to the present invention, the amorphous channel layer can be formed at a low temperature using C12A7. The thin film transistor including the amorphous channel layer has excellent electron mobility.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a thin film transistor and a flat panel display device including the same, and more particularly, to a thin film transistor including a channel layer including an amorphous 12CaO.7Al2O3 (C12A7), and a flat panel display device including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A field effect transistor is an active device including a gate electrode, source electrode, and a drain electrode, and is operated by applying a voltage to the gate electrode to control a current flowing between the source and drain electrodes. In particular, a field effect transistor using a thin film as a channel layer on an insulating substrate formed of ceramic, glass, or plastic is referred to as a thin film transistor (TFT).
Because TFTs use a thin film technology, they can be easily formed on a substrate with a relatively large surface area, and are widely used as driving units of flat panel display devices, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs). That is, image pixels can be turned on or off using TFTs formed on the substrate. In particular, it is predicted that pixel currents can be efficiently controlled by TFTs in future high-performance organic light-emitting devices. Moreover, a TFT circuit driving and controlling the entire image can be formed on the substrate around the image display region, thereby providing a high performance LCD device.
The most widely used form of TFT uses a polycrystalline silicon film or an amorphous silicon film as a channel layer material. Such a TFT is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 1997-0013427. However, in the case of an amorphous silicon or a polycrystalline silicon, a high temperature process is required, and it is difficult to form films of such materials on a plastic or a film substrate.
Organic semiconductor films, such as pentacene, are being developed as a material that can form a film on a plastic substrate at a low temperature. Such organic semiconductors have an aromatic ring, and a large carrier mobility is obtained from the stacking direction of the aromatic ring when crystallized. However, organic semiconductors, such as pentacene, are generally not stable in higher temperatures. An ohmic contact between the source and drain electrode-forming material and the organic semiconducting layer-forming material of a conventional thin film transistor is almost impossible, due to the work function difference between them. Moreover, source and drain electrodes are conventionally composed of inorganic materials, while an organic semiconducting layer is composed of organic materials, and thus the adhesive force between the source/drain electrodes and the organic semiconducting layer is not satisfactory.

Thin film transistor and flat panel display device including the same


A charged particle detection material which can detect charged particles due to a discharge phenomenon or the like caused even in a very low voltage which cannot be observed by a prior art, as well as a charged particle detection film and a charged particle detection liquid using the material. The charged particle detection material and the charged particle detection film contain at least one of a fluorescent substance, a luminescent substance, an electroluminescent substance, a fractoluminescent substance, a photochromic substance, an afterglow substance, a photostimulated luminescent substance and a mechanoluminescent substance and can easily detect emission or incidence of charged particles in real time.

Materials for detecting charged particles such as electrons and ions have been required in the technical fields widely ranging from theoretical physics to applied engineering.
Examples of such a material for detecting charged particles include a fluorescent material such as cesium iodide used as a scintillator, and a semiconductor such as silicon or germanium used for a semiconductor charged particle detector (see Patent Document 1).
In addition, other examples of the material include a fluorescent material such as (Zn, Cd)S:Ag used in a fluorescent screen used for reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED).

Charged particle detection material, and charged particle detection film and charged particle detection liquid using the same

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


Method and system for providing load balancing in Infiniband-to-Ethernet networks including detecting a data traffic request, determining a network interface port information associated with the detected data traffic request, and selecting a network gateway based on the network interface port information is disclosed.

Infiniband (IB) is an industry standard channel based architecture that features high speed, low latency interconnects for distributed computing infrastructure. Hosts with infiniband host adapter can be connected by infiniband switch. Infiniband to Ethernet gateway is typically used to connect infiniband network with traditional Ethernet network.
For high availability, two or more IB-to-Ethernet gateways can be used in redundant mode. The IB-to-Ethernet gateways can be in active/standby mode where only one gateway is actively handling data traffic. Alternatively, the IB-to-Ethernet gateways may be configured to work in active/active mode where data traffic is load balanced among the IB-to-Ethernet gateways.
Broadly, the IB-to-Ethernet gateways are configured as a layer 2bridge, and ARP (Address Translation Protocol) relay is used to bridge the infiniband and the Ethernet networks. Typically, target/destination IP address in ARP request is used to determine which IB-to-Ethernet gateway to handle the data traffic. Further, traffic between a pair of hosts or network devices such as client terminals may use different IB-to-Ethernet gateways depending upon which host initiated the data traffic.
Typically, the Ethernet side of the network includes a router as the default router for all IB hosts. IB hosts use the default router as the next hop to communicate with hosts in the other networks. If the IB host initiates the data traffic, the IB host will send ARP request using the router's IP address as the target IP address. As a result, all IB hosts will result in using the same IB-to-Ethernet gateway to communicate with hosts in the other networks (for example, the hosts on the Ethernet side).
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have methods and systems for providing improved data traffic load balancing among redundant IB-to-Ethernet gateways.

Method and system for providing load balanced traffic in redundant infiniband ethernet gateways network


Provided are processes for the production of titanium dioxide from ilmenite. In these processes, ilmenite is digested with aqueous trimethylammonium hydrogen oxalate. Iron from the ilmenite precipitates as a hydrated iron oxalate and is removed by filtering, leaving a titanium-rich solution. The titanium-rich solution can be further processed to form titanium dioxide.

Titanium dioxide is used as a white pigment in paints, plastics, paper, and specialty applications. Ilmenite is a naturally occurring mineral containing both titanium and iron with the chemical formula FeTiO3.
Two major processes are currently used to produce TiO2 pigment—the sulfate process as described in "Haddeland, G. E. and Morikawa, S., "Titanium Dioxide Pigment", SRI international Report #117" and the chloride process as described in "Battle, T. P., Nguygen, D., and Reeves, J. W., The Paul E. Queneau International Symposium on Extractive Metallurgy of Copper, Nickel and Cobalt, Volume I: Fundamental Aspects, Reddy, R. G. and Weizenbach, R. N. eds., The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, 1993, pp. 925-943". Dumon et al (Dumon, J. C., Bull. Inst. Geol. Bassin Aquitaine, 1975, 17, 95-100 and Dumon, J. C., and Vigneaux, M., Phys. Chem. Earth 1977, 11, 331-337) describe the extraction of ilmenite with organic and mineral acids.
The present invention provides new processes for TiO2 production with the ability to use low grade ores that are less energy intensive, that require reduced capital investment and that have a smaller environmental footprint than conventional current production processes.

Processes for producing titanium dioxide


In a step-up circuit for causing the emission of light of a distance measuring light emitting element, the step-up circuit outputs a step-up voltage from one terminal of a step-up capacitor. A step-up voltage level changeover circuit applies a step-up voltage to the capacitor every time the distance measuring light emitting element emits light that is higher than the step-up voltage in the normal state. The number of parts is reduced by eliminating a separate capacitor for light emission, the space for the circuit is reduced by using the capacitor having a small capacity, the soldering steps for fabrication of the circuit are automated; and the costs for assembly are ameliorated owing to the automation.

A conventional power supply circuit for driving a light emitting element, as illustrated in FIG. 4, is comprised of a step-up circuit 1, a step-up voltage control circuit 15, a voltage regulator 11, a CPU 13, an AF unit 12 and an AF light emitting diode 17 for emitting light in response to the operation of a light emitting diode driving transistor 16.
The step-up circuit 1 includes a coil 2, a rectifier diode 3, a switching transistor 4 and a step-up capacitor C.sub.1. One terminal of the coil 2 is connected to the (+) terminal of a battery VB, and the (-) terminal of the battery VB is connected to a ground point. The other terminal of the coil 2 is connected to the anode of a rectifier diode 3, and the cathode of the rectifier diode is connected to a pin P.sub.1. The other end of the coil 2 is also connected to the collector of a switching transistor 4. The emitter of the transistor is connected to the ground point, and the base of the switching transistor 4 is connected to a pin P.sub.2. One electrode of a step-up capacitor C.sub.1 is connected to the pin P.sub.1, and e other electrode thereof is connected to the ground point.
An input terminal of the voltage regulator circuit 11 is connected to the pin P.sub.1, while the output thereof provides a stabilized power supply voltage VDD. This voltage is applied to one electrode of a capacitor C.sub.2. The other electrode of the capacitor C.sub.2 is connected to the ground point. One electrode of a light emitting capacitor C.sub.3 is connected to a junction point between resistors R.sub.4 and R.sub.3, and the other electrode of the capacitor C.sub.3 is connected to the ground point. The other end of the resistor R.sub.4 is connected to the pin P.sub.1 of the step-up circuit 1 and the other end of the resistor R.sub.3 is connected to the anode of the light emitting diode 17. The cathode of the AF light emitting diode 17 is connected to the ground point via the collector and emitter path of the light emitting diode driving transistor 16.
The step-up circuit 1 of the above described power supply circuit for driving the light emitting element employs known circuitry. The step-up capability of this circuit is determined by losses of the parts thereof and duty cycles of step-up clock signals applied to the switching transistor 4. The step-up voltage control circuit 15, which is comprised of a comparator or the like, performs the function of maintaining a constant step-up voltage by stopping the step-up operation when the step-up voltage increases over a predetermined voltage, and reducing the duty of the step-up clocks applied to a pin P.sub.6 from the CPU 13 In this arrangement, the stepped up voltage is applied to the input of the voltage regulator 11. The regulated voltage VDD of approximately 5 V is applied from the output of the regulator to the CPU 13 and the AF unit 12. The light emitting diode driving transistor 16 for driving the AF light emitting diode 17 is turned ON/OFF in response to signals output from a pin P.sub.5 of the AF unit 12. The resistor R.sub.3 and the light emitting capacitor C.sub.3 serve as a power supply circuit for the AF light emitting diode 17. The AF light emitting diode 17 emits light with the energy from electric charges with which the light emitting capacitor C.sub.3 is charged. The electric charges with which the light emitting capacitor C.sub.3 is charged is supplied from the step-up capacitor C.sub.1. If a large charge current flows in the light emitting capacitor C.sub.3 in a charging cycle, the predetermined voltage is not applied to the input side of the voltage regulator 11, with the result that the prescribed regulated voltage VDD can not be maintained. The resistor R.sub.4 is provided in order to avoid this problem. A surge current flowing in the light emitting capacitor C.sub. 3 is restrained by resistor R.sub.4.
As described above, the conventional power supply circuit for driving the light emitting element requires a capacitor having a large capacity. A capacitor with a large capacity typically employs an aluminum electrolytic capacitor. If such a capacitor is packaged into a small-sized camera, the problem arises that the required space is not sufficient and the costs of the elements are increased.
Medium and large-sized capacitors, such as aluminum electrolytic capacitors, etc. are assembled manually, resulting in the disadvantage that the assembly costs are increased.

Power supply circuit for driving a light emitting element


A process for making 5-(d-3-(tert-butylamino)-2-hydroxypropoxy)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-cis-2,3 naphthalenediol of the formula ##STR1## by reacting ##STR2## in an essentially water free environment with (a) M'IO.sub.3 wherein M' represents a suitable ion for forming the salt.. (b) I.sub.2 (iodine) PA1 (c) CH.sub.3 COO.sup.- M".sup.+ wherein M" represents a suitable ion for forming the salt PA1 (d) glacial acetic acid and PA1 (e) ROH/M'"OH where R is alkyl and M'" is a suitable metal ion.

According to the Official Monograph of USP XXI, Nadolol is identified as follows: ##STR3##
Formula C.sub.17 H.sub.27 NO.sub.4 M.W. 309.41; 2,3-Naphthalenediol, 5-[-3(1,1-dimethylethyl)amino]-2-hydroxypropoxy]-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-, cis, 1-(tert-Butylamino)-3-[(5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-cis-6,7-dihydroxy-1-naphthyl)ox y]-2-propanol [42200-33-9]. Nadolol contains not less than 98.0 percent and not more than 101.5 percent of C.sub.17 H.sub.27 NO.sub.4, calculated on a dried basis. Nadolol is also made up of 4 cis isomers.
Many processes have been proposed for the manufacture of Nadolol from various intermediates. There are 4 cis isomers of Nadolol and because each cis isomer of Nadolol produced may have a number of impurities associated with it (from the manufacturing process). Also some of the impurities in the starting materials may themselves become involved in the reaction (the starting materials may only be 80%-85% pure and some of the impurities may be unknowns). Thus, the Official Monograph provides the specifications for Nadolol, and assay procedures for determination of its purity. The Monograph does-not include an HPLC method.
A number of proposals have been made for making Nadolol. See Canadian Letters Patent 979,912; 979,926; 1,000,287; 1,041,544; 1,059,147; 1,063,120; and 1,064,965. Hauck has also proposed processes for separation of the four cis isomers from one another. (See Canadian Letters Patent 1,041,544; 1,059,147 and 1,064,965.) However the processes led to very low yields and are therefore not commercially viable.
Canadian Letters Patent 1,132,560 (Ciba-Geigy) discloses a process for inverting the configuration in optically active compounds characterized in that an optically active compound of the formula ##STR4## having a R(+) or S(-) configuration is converted by treating with concentrated phosphoric acid or concentrated sulphuric acid or a chloride or bromide of such acids, into an optically active compound and the resulting compound is hydrolyzed to form a compound with a configuration opposite to that of the starting material used. This process is complex.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved process for manufacturing 5-[d-3-(tert-butylamino)-2-hydroxypropoxy]-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-cis-2,3 naphthalenediol in good yields.
Canadian Letters Patent 882,705 discloses a process for the preparation of ##STR5##
Applicant is also aware of the following additional publications (a) "A Convenient Procedure for the Cis-hydroxylation of Olefins" by L. Mangoni et al, Tetrahedron Letters No. 45, pp.4485-4486, 1973; and (b) "A Convenient Modification of the Woodward cis-hydroxylation of Olefins" L. Mangoni et al, Gazz. Chim. Ital. 1975, 105,377.
Woodward in U.S. Pat. No. 2,687,435 (1954) and at J. Am. Chem. Soc. 80,209 (1958) with F. V. Brutcher taught the hydroxylation of an olefin with iodine and silver acetate in wet acetic acid to give cis-glycols. The process involves the "trans" addition of iodine and silver acetate to give a "trans" -iodo-acetoxy-derivative. The latter is hydrolyzed to a cis- mono-glycol acetate with acetic acid and water. Alkaline hydrolysis results in the final cis-glycol.
Brutcher and Evans reported in Journal of Organic
(1957) 23, 618, a modification to the process proposed by Woodward and Brutcher. This modification involved the interaction of an olefin with iodine, silver acetate, and wet acetic acid to give cis hydroxy acetate in one operation. Subsequent hydrolysis was purported to yield the free diol.
Bunton and Carr in an article "The hydroxylation of Cyclic Olefins by Iodine and Silver Acetate", J. Chem. Society (1963) 770 reported results as follows:
"Cyclohexenes.- The Woodward procedure, reaction between 1, 2-dimethylcyclohexene and iodine and silver acetate in `wet` acetic acid (1.5% of water), gave after vacuum-distillation of the product and its recrystallization a 1:1 molecular compound of the cis-and the trans-diol. Stereospecific cis-hydroxylation by this method has been reported previously..sup.3 Reaction in `dry` acetic acid gave no 1, 2-diol.
We therefore studied the oxidation of 1methylcyclohexene by the Woodward procedure and obtained the cis-1,2-diol. In agreement with other workers, we also obtained the cis-diol from cyclohexene by the Woodward procedure and the 'trans-diol by using `dry` acetic acid.
Cyclopentenes. - The reaction between cyclopentene and iodine and silver acetaic in `wet` acetic acid is reported to give the cis-diol in a 48% yield. By this method we converted 1-methylcyclopentene into the cis-diol in 20% yield, but obtained no diol from 1,2-dimethylcyclopentene."
Subsequently Hauck in Canadian Letters Patent 1,041,544 attempted to separate the four optical cis isomers of 2,3-cis-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-S-[2-hydroxy-3-(tert-butylamino) propoxy]-2,3-naphthalenediol in order to determine the best of these isomers. The processes of manufacture (See pages 4, 5 and 6 of the Patent and example 4 at pages 18 and of the patent) employ water. Crystallization of isomer product is from chloroform. In Hauck's laboratory procedure resulting 1-(2,3-epoxypropoxy)-5,8-dihydronaphthalene is isolated and subsequently reacted with t-butylamine in a high pressure reactor. The resulting dl-1-(tert-butylamino)-3-(5,8-dihydronaphthyl)oxyl-2-propanol is then cis hydroxylated with wet acetic acid, silver iodide, and the resulting acetoxy iodide is hydrolysed with base and finally subjected to catalytic hydrogenation to afford crude Nadolol.
Mangoni et al in an article entitled "A convenient Modification of the Woodward cis-Hydroxylation of Olefins" (Gazz. Chem. Ital. 1975, 105, 377) discussed modifications of the Woodward procedure by subtituting for silver acetate. Wet acetic acid is still used; glacial acetic acid was also tried. No exceptional results are produced by the use of the glacial acetic acid. The cis-diol steroid product is produced with both procedures--in a slightly lesser percentage return using glacial acetic acid than a solution of acetic acid and water.
It is therefore another object of this invention to provide improved processes for the manufacture of Nadolol which unexpectedly yielded Nadolol in a minimal number of process steps, in good yields and Nadolol of substantial purity.
Further and other objects of this invention will be realized by those skilled in the art from the following summary of invention and detailed description of an embodiment thereof.


An etching apparatus includes: a chamber configured to accommodate a substrate to be processed having an etching target film; a gas exhaust mechanism configured to exhaust an inside of the chamber; an etching gas supply mechanism configured to supply an etching gas into the chamber; and a gas cluster generation mechanism configured to generate a gas cluster in the chamber by spraying a cluster gas into the chamber, wherein a gas produced by a reaction when the etching target film is etched with the etching gas is discharged from the chamber by the gas cluster generated by the gas cluster generation mechanism.

Recently, in manufacturing of a semiconductor device, a non-plasma based dry etching referred to as a chemical oxide removal (COR) process is attracting attention as a method of performing a miniature etching which substitutes for a dry etching or a wet etching (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. 2005-39185 and 2008-160000).
In the COR process, HF gas, a gas mixture of HF and NH3, or the like is used in a case of etching a film made of a silicon-based material such as Si, SiO2, SiN or the like. In this case, the film is required to be etched with a good selectivity.
It is known that, among those materials, a film made of SiN can be etched with HF gas and a film made of SiO2 is difficult to be etched with HF gas but can be etched with the gas mixture of HF and NH3. Accordingly, in a case where the SiN film coexists with the SiO2 film, if the SiN film needs to be etched with a higher selectivity than the SiO2 film, HF gas is expected to be available.
However, when the SiN film is etched with HF gas, NH3 is produced as a reaction product and thus the SiO2 film is etched by the HF gas and the NH3 gas. Therefore, in practice, it is difficult to etch the SiN film with a higher selectivity than the SiO2 film by using HF gas. This problem is not limited to the case where the SiN film coexists with the SiO2 film and the SiN film is etched with HF gas. When a layer of a laminated film is etched with an etching gas, the above problem occurs if a different gas, contributing to an etching of a different layer of the laminated film, is produced.
In order to solve the above problem, a gas produced by a reaction may be purged by vacuum-exhausting the inside of a chamber and supplying a purge gas at an appropriate timing. However, purging the inside of the chamber takes time and mass productivity becomes poor.


In an arrangement for supplying an internal combustion engine with fuel and a method for servicing and repairing the arrangement wherein a number of components, that is, a fuel reservoir, a fuel pumping unit, a fuel filter, a fuel level sensor and line elements are arranged in a fuel container and the container has an access opening formed in a wall thereof and sealingly closed by a cover, at least the fuel reservoir and at least one of the line elements are firmly installed in the fuel container and for servicing or replacement only the other components are removed through the access opening after being disconnected from their support mounts and associated connecting lines.

The invention relates to an arrangement for supplying an internal combustion engine with fuel, comprising a fuel container including a fuel reservoir, a fuel pump, a fuel filter and a fuel level sensor and pipe elements which are accessible by a closable opening in the fuel container.
DE 195 28 182 A1 discloses a fuel pumping unit for pumping fuel from a fuel tank to an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle. The fuel pumping unit can be arranged in the fuel tank as an assembly unit. A tank flange is connected, by way of a rotatable and longitudinally movable mechanical connection to a surge pot which includes a fuel pump and a fuel level sensor. The mechanical connection includes two spring elements which are mounted on the tank flange and the surge pot in a non-pivotable or -rotatable manner. Intermediate sections of the spring elements facilitate longitudinal movement and rotation of the surge pot relative to the tank flange and its support on the bottom of the fuel tank in a uniform manner.
Normally, the surge pot which is arranged within the fuel tank is part of a fuel pumping unit which also includes an electric fuel pump, by which fuel is supplied to the internal combustion engine. The purpose of the surge pot whose volume is substantially smaller than that of the fuel tank is mainly to ensure that a sufficient amount of fuel is contained in the area of the fuel pump inlet even under adverse operating conditions for example when the tank is close to empty or when negotiating a long curve or when the vehicle is not in a horizontal position. This requires the presence of a certain minimum amount of fuel in the surge pot so that the surge pot must have a certain minimum volume which is reduced by the fuel pumping unit and other components usually disposed in the surge pot. Today's motor vehicles however require a surge pot with a particularly large volume since short-term interruption of the fuel supply may for example cause damage to an exhaust gas catalytic converter.
For reason of stability of the fuel container and in order to achieve low emissions and to provide for a simple sealing of the container opening by a closing element, one usually tries to keep the cross-section of the opening in the fuel container as small as possible. For units which comprise a surge pot, a fuel supply pump and a fuel filter the size and consequently the volume of the surge pot is therefore limited. Extreme operating conditions of the vehicle, that is extreme sideward leaning or high centrifugal forces when negotiating a curve, can therefore result in a possibly large fuel loss per time unit from the surge pot. In order to ensure that also under these conditions a sufficiently large amount of fuel remains at the inlet for the fuel pump unit, the surge pot, whose height is limited by the height of the fuel tank, should have a relatively large volume. This however can be achieved only by a corresponding enlargement of the cross-section of the surge pot.
It is consequently the object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for supplying an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle with fuel and also to provide a method of servicing or repairing such an arrangement in a simple and inexpensive way, wherein in spite of a small opening in the wall of the fuel container, a relatively large surge pot or fuel reservoir is provided.

Arrangement for supplying an internal combustion engine with fuel


A radio frequency device comprises a radio frequency (RF) power amplifier (PA) operably coupled to a protection circuit for minimising voltage standing wave ratio effects, wherein the protection circuit comprises a current limiter indexed to a power supplied to the RF PA.

In the field of radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers (PAs), a PA is typically designed to be 'matched' into a 50 ohm load impedance, to ensure efficient power transfer from an RF input signal to an amplified RF output signal. This enables a low power RF input signal to be amplified and a maximum amount of the amplified signal forwarded on to, say, an antenna switch and/or an antenna. In this manner, maximum power transfer is achieved and minimal power is reflected back into the PA output. The reflection back of power is typically due to "load mismatch", for example where the antenna switch or antenna load does not exhibit a 50 Ohm load. This can be due to the antenna being located near an object that affects its radiation properties, and correspondingly its impedance values.
It has been found that load mismatch problems occur, in particular, under both high power conditions and when a high battery voltage is applied to the power amplifier. In this regard, it can be observed that the DC current increases more than when operating under normal (50-Ohm load) conditions. The increase of DC current, under load mismatch conditions, is highly undesirable (particularly in a hand-portable environment) as it causes increased power consumption and may over-load the power amplifier transistor device thereby resulting in damage to, or failure of, the device.
Known mechanisms do not solve the aforementioned problems. For example, voltage limiters do not protect the PA from mismatch conditions that lead to high current. Furthermore, existing current limiters do not protect efficiently the PA from battery voltage variations under mismatch. Known solutions use circuitry external to the power amplifier module to realize the function, when the PA is located on Gallium Arsenide (GaAs). Undesirably, this results in extra inputs/outputs (I/O) leads on the PA die. Alternatively, if a monolithically integrated circuit (IC) is used, for example where the PA is manufactured on Silicon Germanium (SiGe), approximately 20% of additional die size is required.
To accommodate mismatch problems, protection circuits are often used. A standard current limiter protection circuit is illustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, the radio frequency input signal (RFin) 105 is input to a base port of power transistor 110. The power transistor 110 is supplied from a battery voltage 115 via an RF choke inductor 120 to provide a RF amplified output voltage 125.
The emitter port of the RF power transistor 110 includes a sensing resistor 130 to ground. The emitter port of the RF power transistor 110 is also operably coupled to a protection circuit 140. The protection circuit 140 comprises a multiplier circuit 145, receiving the detected voltage developed across the sensing resistor 130 and a comparator circuit 150, comparing the output from the multiplier circuit 145 with a reference voltage 155, which sets the chosen limiting current. The comparator circuit 150 output is input to a transistor (Q1), which effectively is switching the bias circuit 135 to 'ground' when the voltage coming from the multiplier 145 is greater than the reference voltage 155, thereby reducing the bias current of the power transistor 110.
Thus, as shown, the use of a protection circuit adds significantly to the size and complexity of power amplifier circuits, with regard to the extra circuitry/components (typically two operational amplifiers) that are required to generate/compare the detected voltage to the reference voltage 155, which is set by additional external circuitry.
However, the effectiveness of the protection circuit is compromised due to the operational amplifier offset voltage ε1 (comparable to the detected voltage Vdet) and to the variation of Vdet with regard to sensing resistor 130 dispersion. It is noteworthy that a low value resistor is more sensitive to process variation than a high value resistor. In addition, the collector efficiency of the power transistor 110 is degraded by the sensing resistor 130. Furthermore, the complexity of the protection circuit may typically lead to undesirable loop stability issues, due to high loop gain.
Thus, a need exists for an improved RF device, such as a wireless communication unit, RF PA module and method of operation therefor, which prevents high current under extreme VSWR conditions, wherein the aforementioned problems with prior art arrangements are substantially alleviated.

Adaptive protection circuit for a power amplifier

Abstract: In this manner, the protection circuit combines detection of both current and voltage increase in order to provide a direct feedback on the final RF PA stage via a bias control.


Processing of a range-Doppler matrix of a radar system is described. For easy, efficient and rapid ascertainment of a detection threshold of the range-Doppler matrix, only a partial quantity of the cells of the range-Doppler matrix is selected, and the detection threshold is ascertained on the basis of the selected partial quantity of cells of the range-Doppler matrix.

To process radar signals, the measuring operation is usually subdivided into a plurality of temporally successive measuring intervals. Moreover, within one measuring interval, the measurement may be subdivided into a plurality of cells. In addition, the individual cells are defined by parameters which characterize the radar signals to be detected there. In the case of a coherent frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar, the individual cells of a range-Doppler matrix may be defined in one dimension by the distance to a potential scattering center, for example, and in the other dimension, by the relative speed of the potential scattering center.
To detect target objects, what are referred to as Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR) algorithms may be used when processing the radar signals in order to extract target objects, with which the average disturbance power is estimated locally and adaptively.
In so doing, in a detection step, an adaptive threshold must be calculated, based on which cells that have signal components of scattering centers of the objects to be detected are able to be separated from cells having merely a noise component. If the amplitude of a cell lies above such a threshold, the scattering center stemming from an object is detected, and the corresponding distance and speed are noted in the list of the detected objects.
German Patent No. DE 196 37 010 A1 describes a method for processing radar signals, and in particular, determination of the average disturbance power of the radar cells of a matrix of a radar system.

Method and apparatus for processing a radar range doppler matrix using a pseudorandom noise detection threshold


The present invention relates to positioning components of an assembly using fiducial features. A first fiducial feature on a first piece of the assembly can be located. A first component can be positioned on the first piece of the assembly based on the location of the first fiducial feature. A second fiducial feature on a second piece of the assembly can be located. The second component can be positioned relative to the second piece of the assembly based on the location of the second fiducial feature. The first piece can be positioned relative to the second piece based on the locations of the first and second fiducial features. The assembly can be an optical device. The first component can be an active optical device, the second component can be a lens, the first piece can be a package, and the second piece can be a lid.

1. The Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to alignment of components and subcomponents of an optical assembly.
2. The Relevant Technology
Problems are often encountered when positioning components and sub-components of optical assemblies. One type of optical assembly is an optical package. Optical packages and other optical assemblies can include components such as an active optical device attached to a leadframe. Die attach can provide the mechanical support between the active optical device and the leadframe. Die attach (also known as die mount or die bond) is the process of attaching a silicon component to the die pad or die cavity of the support structure (e.g., the leadframe) of the semiconductor package. There are two common die attach processes, i.e. adhesive die attach and eutectic die attach. Both of these processes use special die attach equipment and die attach tools to mount the die.
A mold compound can protect the optical device mechanically and environmentally from the outside environment. Transfer molding, injection molding, or other molding processes can be used to at least partially encapsulate many packages and are often used to encapsulate leadframe based packages. The leadframe can include, or be coupled to, conductors (e.g. lead fingers for a leadframe) or conductive traces as well as terminal contacts (e.g. metal leads or solder balls) for making electrical connection from outside of the package.
Placement machines can be programmed with component positional information derived from CAD data generated during the design and manufacture of the assembly. The edges of a leadframe are typically referenced for positioning components of an assembly on a leadframe. However, leadframes can change shape from part to part, and even the most accurate and precise mechanical referencing can still result in positional variation between the programmed position of a component and its actual position on a leadframe.
In addition, different components requiring accurate placement and/or optical alignment can be located on different parts of the optical package, which can be later assembled into the optical package or optical assemblies thereby compounding overall tolerances for alignment. For example, an active optical device (e.g. a laser, light emitting diode or a photodiode receiver) located upon a substrate or a leadframe may need to be aligned with an additional component (e.g. a lens, barrel, or interface) located on other pieces of the device (e.g. a lid piece).
An active optical device and a leadframe may be manufactured separate from a lid and a lens. However, alignment of the active optical device with the lens can be difficult where there are several stackable tolerances between the various processes required to manufacture the final optical device. For example, there can be molding processes, attaching processes, cutting processes, drilling processes, and etching processes that contribute to an overall tolerance for aligning an active optical device with a lens. In addition, where the different components, such as the active optical device and the lens, are located on different parts of the device that must be later assembled, such as the base and the lid, the assembly or attachment of the base with the lid must also be held within the stackable tolerances. Thus, what would be advantageous are methods and apparatuses for accurate placement of components of an optical assembly.


An improved container and closure therefore. The improved container includes a finish, a body extending downwardly from the finish, a fitment fit within the finish, the fitment including a pour spout extending upwardly, and a closure. The closure includes an upper wall having a product exit, which permits egress of the product. The product exit is reclosable so that in the closed position no product can escape from the container, wherein as in the open position product can be selectively dispensed from the container without removing the entire closure from the bottle. If so desired, the consumer can leave the product exit in the closed position, unscrew the closure from the bottle and use the inverted closure as a measuring cup for the product.

One popular form of laundry detergent is the laundry liquid. This is due in part to the convenience of that product form, in particular the ability to apply the detergent readily to soiled areas of the clothes. The popularity of laundry liquids has created a need for more convenient containers for dispensing these products. Thus, bottles having cups serving as measuring closures, and fitments incorporating drainage mechanisms and pouring spouts have appears on the market.
One type of container is exemplified by that of Barker, U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,862 wherein a bottle includes a fitment having a spout and a structure permitting the product to drain back into the container. The fitment has internal threads at its upper aspects which mate the external threads surrounding the mouth of a bottle cap.
Other containers have been developed using a different approach. The container disclosed in Davidson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,009 comprises a spout-and drainback-including fitment which snaps into the mouth of the bottle. The closure has internal threads situated within a flange which surrounds the measuring cup portion of the closure. The internal threads of the closure mate with external threads surrounding the neck opening.
Various other arrangements are disclosed in Hidding, U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,700, Livingstone, U.S. Pat. No. 2,763,402, Kitterman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,198,393, Baxter, U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,189, Livingstone, U.S. Pat. No. 2,743,844, Visser, U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,150, Lay, U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,302, and Bartimes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,083.
Since an important advantage of liquid laundry detergents is the ability to pretreat the clothes by pouring the detergent on the particular soiled areas, it is desirable that the pour spout permit fairly precise pouring onto specific areas. Many pour spouts on the market do not permit the consumer adequately to control the pouring so as to target successfully the area of the fabric onto which the liquid will be poured. There is a need, therefore, for a pour spout which improves the control of the user when pouring liquid products.
An additional desired feature of pouring spouts for laundry detergent and other products is the ability to dispense limited amounts of the product without going to the trouble of removing a closure. There is therefore a need for a container, particularly one suitable for liquid household products, which permits controlled dispensing to selected areas of the clothes without the need for screwing and unscrewing a closure.
Another desired feature of a successful liquid detergent container is good topload compression strength. Moreover, good topload compression strength may permit the elimination of dividers in shipping cases in certain instances and the attendant cost and waste to the environment. Improved handling on a filling line is another desired feature.
The present invention is directed to solving these and the problems associated with containers, particularly containers having pouring spouts suitable for dispensing liquid household products such as liquid detergents.

Lever Brothers Company, Division of Conopco, Inc.


A transmission electron microscopy system for imaging a sample, comprising: a pulse generator for generating an initial electron pulse towards the sample, the initial electron pulse to be propagated through the sample to obtain a transmitted electron pulse; an encoding device for encoding the transmitted electron pulse according to a predefined pattern to obtain an encoded electron pulse; a shearing device for temporally shearing the encoded electron pulse in a given direction to obtain a given electron pulse; a detector for detecting the given electron pulse to obtain a single image of the sample; and a datacube generator for determining a spatiotemporal datacube from the single image using the predefined pattern, and outputting the spatiotemporal datacube.

Developing spatiotemporal imaging techniques having both high spatial and temporal resolutions has been traditionally challenging because of the limitations of the elementary particles used in the imaging processes. Photons and electrons, the two particles that account for the most, if not all, imaging technologies, are dissimilar in terms of the spatiotemporal domains they can access. Photons, with no dispersion in free space and with no elementary charge, excel in forming ultrafast pulses that can propagate long distances. Fast electrons, on the other hand, with their picometer wavelengths and strong interaction cross-sections, excel in forming images with the highest spatial resolution (sub-angstrom) available today. Methodologies based on the former, such as ultrafast optical spectroscopy, have offered access to the first "moments" of fundamentally significant phenomena, including the birth of chemical species and evolution of molecular bonds, phonon dynamics, and valance-band electronic transitions. While excelling in temporal resolution, photons lack the extreme spatial resolution that electrons can achieve in transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
In the last decade, it was made possible to make photons and electrons work together in one microscope to achieve combined spatiotemporal resolution that was not possible before. At the California Institute of Technology, a TEM system was modified to merge it with a femtosecond laser. In such an ultrafast TEM, instead of using continuous electron beams in conventional TEM systems, ultrashort electron pulses created by the photoelectric effect are used for imaging, while optical pulses are used to clock the sample synchronously. With such a pump-probe scheme, it is possible to achieve few-nanometers real-space resolution combined with sub-picosecond temporal resolution, which represents the current resolution limits in spatiotemporal imaging. Complementarily, another photon-electron imaging methodology was developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). This technique is based on using several intense electron pulses to image a photo-excited sample and then, deflecting these pulses successively to fill a CCD camera with several frames. This single-shot, real-time (i.e., duration in which the event occurs), ultrafast imaging approach enables to visualize irreversible phenomena, albeit with limited sequence depth (i.e., the maximum number of frames that can be captured in one acquisition) with real-space resolution of tens of nanometers and temporal resolution in the nanoseconds range. However, higher spatial and temporal resolutions would be desirable.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved electron imaging method and system.

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE (INRS)


Provided is a semiconductor device which includes a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor having high driving performance and high withstanding voltage with a thick gate oxide film. In the local oxidation-of-silicon (LOCOS) offset MOS transistor having high withstanding voltage, in order to prevent a gate oxide film (6) formed on a channel formation region (7) from being etched at a time of removing the gate oxide film (6) with a polycrystalline silicon gate electrode (8) being used as a mask to form a second conductivity type high concentration source region (4) and a second conductivity type high concentration drain region (5), a source field oxide film (14) is formed also on a source side of the channel formation region (7), and in addition, a length of a second conductivity type high concentration source field region (13) is optimized. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain a MOS transistor having high driving performance and high withstanding voltage with a thick gate oxide film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having high withstanding voltage and high driving performance for a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor, and to a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 4 is a cross-section illustrating an example of a conventional MOS transistor having a high withstanding voltage and a high driving performance. A semiconductor device 200 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes a semiconductor substrate 1, a first conductivity type well region 2, a second conductivity type low concentration drain region 3, a second conductivity type high concentration source region 4, a second conductivity type high concentration drain region 5, a gate oxide film 6, a channel formation region 7, a polycrystalline silicon gate electrode 8, a field oxide film 9, a protective oxide film 16, a source electrode 10, and a drain electrode 11. A feature of this structure resides in that the second conductivity type low concentration drain region 3 is formed between the channel formation region 7 and the second conductivity type high concentration drain region 5 to thereby attain high with standing voltage while the channel formation region 7 and the second conductivity type high concentration source region 4 are brought into direct contact with each other to thereby attain high driving performance.
In the case of employing the structure described above, ion implantation for forming the second conductivity type high concentration source region 4 and the second conductivity type high concentration drain region 5 is performed over the gate oxide film 6 with the polycrystalline silicon gate electrode 8 being used as a mask. Here, in order to attain not only high source-drain withstanding voltage but also high gate-source withstanding voltage, it is necessary to increase a thickness of the gate oxide film 6, which may cause a problem that stable ion implantation for forming the second conductivity type high concentration source region 4 and the second conductivity type high concentration drain region 5 cannot be performed depending on kinds of impurities to be used and capability of an ion implantation apparatus. In view of the problem, there is known a method of removing the gate oxide film 6 through etching after the polycrystalline silicon gate electrode 8 has been formed before ion implantation for forming the second conductivity type high concentration source region 4 and the second conductivity type high concentration drain region 5 is performed. However, a source-side region 12 of the gate oxide film 6 is also side-etched during the etching, resulting in a structure having a region in which a part of the gate oxide film 6 located below the polycrystalline silicon gate electrode 8 is removed, as a semiconductor device 201 illustrated in FIG. 5. As in the case of the semiconductor device 201, if the gate oxide film 6 formed on the channel formation region 7 is removed even partially so that the protective oxide film 16 occupies the side-etched portion, performance of the semiconductor device is significantly deteriorated. Accordingly, an upper limit is placed on the thickness of the gate oxide film 6 with which the structure of the semiconductor device 200 may be obtained. To eliminate the upper limit, there has been proposed a method in which a source field oxide film is formed also on a source side of the channel formation region, and an impurity concentration of a field region below the source field oxide film is set higher than an impurity concentration of the second conductivity type low concentration drain region 3 (see, for example, JP 2002-208694 A).
With the method described above, a high driving performance may be attained even in a MOS transistor using a thick gate oxide film for a high withstanding voltage. However, because the impurity implantation into the region below the source field oxide film is performed before the formation of the field oxide film, a problem arises in which the film quality thereof deteriorates if the impurity concentration of the region below the source field oxide film becomes too high, also causing deterioration of characteristics of the transistor.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


A vehicle headlamp is provided. The vehicle headlamp includes a projection-type light source unit housed in a lamp chamber. The light source unit includes a projection lens; a shade; a light emitting diode (LED) light source; a reflector; and an optical element. The LED light source includes a substrate; an LED chip disposed on the substrate such that the LED chip is oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of the light source unit; and a cover member. A region of the cover member includes concave and convex portions so as to diffuse light transmitted through the cover member. The reflector reflects and guides the light from the LED light source onto a rear focus of the projection lens. The optical element guides the diffused light transmitted through the cover toward a front side of the vehicle headlamp so as to form an overhead light distribution.

1. Technical Field
Apparatuses and devices consistent with the present invention relate to a vehicle headlamp which includes a projection-type light source and, more particularly, to a vehicle headlamp that effectively uses light non-reflected light as overhead light distribution.
2. Related Art
For example, Japanese Patent Application No. JP-A-2003-317513 describes a related art vehicle headlamp. According to a lamp structure of JP-A-2003-317513, the related art vehicle headlamp includes a projection-type light source unit for a high beam. The projection-type light unit includes a projection lens, a light emitting device, and a reflector for reflecting light emitted from the light emitting device such that the light converges to a rear focus of the projection lens. With this lamp structure, light emitted from the light emitting device is reflected twice by a sub-reflecting surface that extends forward from the front edge of the reflector, and an upward sub-reflecting surface that is provided near a rear focus of the projection lens so as to guide the light to the projection lens. Therefore, in addition to the light distribution pattern for the high beam formed by the reflector and the projection lens, the lamp structure provides a light distribution pattern widely diffused outward to the left and right sides.
Further, Japanese Patent Application No. JP-A-2004-241349 describes another related art vehicle headlamp. The related art vehicle headlamp includes a translucent member where the projection lens, a cut-off line forming shade, a light emitting device, and a reflector are integrally formed. In the lamp structure, a subreflector is formed on an outer surface between the reflector and the projection lens, and light reflected from the subreflector is radiated forward from the outer surface of the projection lens. Therefore, in addition to the light distribution pattern for a low beam that has a cut-off line corresponding to the cut-off line forming shade, the lamp structure provides a small light distribution pattern, which mainly illuminates a central region of the light distribution pattern.
However, the added light distribution patterns described in JP-A-2003-317513 and JP-A-2004-241349 have excessively high luminous flux density (i.e., excessive brightness) as the overhead light distribution used for the light distribution pattern for a low beam. Here, the overhead light distribution denotes light distribution that has low luminous flux density and illuminates a part of an upper portion of the cut-off line of light distribution pattern for a low beam in order to improve the visibility of a road sign or a trade sign provided on the front upper side. The intensity of the overhead light distribution is prescribed in a light distribution standard of a lamp. Accordingly, since the light from the added light distribution patterns in JP-A-2003-317513 and JP-A-2004-241349 becomes glare light against an oncoming vehicle, the lamp structures described above have a disadvantage in that they cannot be used as a headlamp for a low beam.


A supplementary power supply apparatus for electric onboard consumers of a vehicle, in particular flying machines. The apparatus includes openly disposed visible solar surfaces of several solar cells that are arranged in areas on the surface of an outer skin of the vehicle or integrated in the latter in the manner of a layer. Each of the solar cells includes at least two electric terminals by means of which the solar cells may be interconnected to form a solar generator, and several ones of the electric terminals are configured as generator terminals of the solar generator for one or several predetermined voltages between two respective ones of these generator terminals.

At present it is customary for aircraft to furnish the power required by electric onboard systems with the aid of an auxiliary power unit (APU) while on the ground and with the aid of generators in the engines of the aircraft in flight operation.
Owing to local noise and exhaust gas regulations, the use of the APU on the ground is partly restricted. In such cases there is a possibility of meeting the electric power requirements through a ground power unit (GPU) or air starter unit (ASU) that is present externally of the aircraft. A GPU or an ASU is moreover employed when the battery of an APU of the aircraft is exhausted so that it is not possible to start the APU of the aircraft. This may bring about delays in air traffic. As the provision of a GPU or ASU is a service on the part of the respective airport, making use of this incurs additional costs for the operator of the aircraft.
In the case of aircraft that are to meet a particular requirement profile of the ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operation Performance Standard) it is mandatory for certain flight routes to add on the APU in flight operation so as to ensure a sufficient supply of electric current for the case that an engine and thus the generators integrated therein should fail. As a result the fuel consumption increases, the maintenance interval for the APU is shortened, and the operating costs of the aircraft are increased accordingly.
Furthermore it may happen that an aircraft having left the parking position still has to wait on a taxiway of an airport for several hours because the runway is closed, e.g. due to an incident. Particularly in the case of long-haul aircraft it is then frequently necessary to request a GPU as well as an air conditioning truck, for without the power supply from the generators driven by the running engines it is not possible to guarantee sufficient air conditioning of the aircraft's cabin.
I.e., the energy consumption of an aircraft occupied to capacity can not be covered in every situation without engines running, particularly when on the ground.

Supplementary power supply apparatus for a vehicle, in particular a flying machine


A lubricating oil comprising an add mixture of the following components: (A) a complex alcohol ester basestock which comprises the reaction product of an add mixture of the following: (1) a polyhydroxyl compound represented by the general formula: EQU R(OH).sub.n. wherein R is any aliphatic or cyclo-aliphatic hydrocarbyl group and n is at least 2, provided that the hydrocarbyl group contains from about 2 to 20 carbon atoms; (2) a polybasic acid or an anhydride of a polybasic acid, provided that the ratio of equivalents of the polybasic acid to equivalents of alcohol from the polyhydroxyl compound is in the range between about 1.6:1 to 2:1; and (3) a monohydric alcohol, provided that the ratio of equivalents of the monohydric alcohol to equivalents of the polybasic acid is in the range between about 0.84:1 to 1.2:1; wherein the complex alcohol ester exhibits a viscosity in the range between about 100-700 cSt at 40.degree. C. and having a polybasic acid ester concentration of less than or equal to 70 wt. %, based on the complex alcohol ester; and (B) at least one additional basestock.

Lubricants in commercial use today are prepared from a variety of natural and synthetic basestocks admixed with various additive packages and solvents depending upon their intended application. The basestocks typically include mineral oils, highly refined mineral oils, poly alpha olefins (PAO), polyalkylene glycols (PAG), phosphate esters, silicone oils, diesters or polyol esters.
Synthetic lubricants provide a valuable alternative to natural lubricants in a wide variety of applications. A preferred synthetic lubricant is neopolyol esters which are formed from the esterification of neopolyols and monocarboxylic acids. Thus, for example, use of neopolyols such as neopentyl glycol, trimethylolethane, trimethylolpropane, monopentaerythritol, technical grade pentaerythritol, dipentaerythritol, tripentaerythritol and the like can be esterified with carboxylic acids ranging from formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, up through long chain carboxylic acids both linear and branched. Typically, the acids employed range from C.sub.5 to C.sub.22.
One typical method of production of polyol esters would be to react a neopolyol with a carboxylic acid at elevated temperatures in the presence or absence of an added catalyst. Catalysts such as sulfuric acid, p-toluene sulfonic acid, phosphorous acid, and soluble metal esterification catalysts are conventionally employed.
While the method of production of neopolyol esters as outlined above is well known, the method produces materials with a set of standard properties. For a given combination of neopolyol and acid (or mixtures thereof) there is a set of product properties such as viscosity, viscosity index, molecular weight, pour point, flash point, stability, polarity, and biodegradability which are inherent to the compositions formed by the components in the recipe. To get out of the box of viscosity and other properties imposed by structure, attempts have been made to increase the viscosity of neopolyol esters by means of a second acid, a polybasic acid, in addition to, or instead of, the monocarboxylic acids described above. Thus, employing a polybasic acid such as, e.g., adipic acid, sebacic acid, azelaic acid and/or acid anhydrides such as, succinic, maleic and phthalic anhydride and the like enables one to have the components of a polymeric system when reacted with a neopolyol. By adding a poly- or di-basic acid to the mix, one is able to achieve some degree of cross-linking and/or oligomerization, thereby causing molecular size growth such that the overall viscosity of the system is increased.
High viscosity oils (greater than 100 cSt at 40.degree. C.) are desirable for two reasons: alone, in certain end use applications such as greases, heavy duty engine oils, certain hydraulic fluids and the like, and in blends with lower viscosity oils to achieve a wide viscosity range of products for various iso grades. Complex acid esters like those described above (i.e., esters produced using a polyol, a polybasic acid for cross-linking, and a monobasic acid for end-capping), however, have inherent problems such as high acid numbers and high cost.
An alternative to complex acid esters is complex alcohol esters (esters produced using a polyol, a polybasic acid, and a monohydric linear or branched alcohol for end-capping). With the right ratios of polyol to polybasic acid to monohydric alcohol, complex alcohol esters can be produced which have: reduced cost (approximately half the cost of complex acid esters), high viscosity (greater than 100 cSt at 40.degree. C., good thermal and oxidative stability, good biodegradability, low toxicity, good low temperature properties, excellent lubricity. When blended with lower viscosity oils, a wide range of iso grade products can be produced which meet stringent end-use specifications. The present inventors have discovered that when the amount of linear monohydric alcohol exceed 20% of the total alcohol used, then the pour point is too high, e.g., above -30.degree. C. Furthermore, the present inventors have discovered that the ratio of polybasic acid to polyol is critical in the formation of a complex alcohol ester. That is, if this ratio is too low then a complex alcohol ester contains undesirable amounts of heavies which reduces biodegradability and increases the hydroxyl number of the ester which increases the corrosive nature of the resultant ester which is also undesirable. If, however, the ratio is too high then the resultant complex alcohol ester will have an undesirably low viscosity (reducing its applicability in certain iso grade applications) and poor seal swell characteristics.
Other conventional natural and synthetic esters may each provide one or more of the desired attributes, e.g., high viscosity, good low temperature properties, biodegradability, lubricity, seal compatibility, low toxicity, and good thermal and oxidative stability, but none appears to be able to meet all of the product attributes by themselves. For example, some synthetic esters are capable of meeting the high viscosity property, but fail the biodegradability, low temperature requirements, or low toxicity requirements. Similarly, the natural basestocks such as rapeseed oil are capable of meeting the biodegradability and toxicity properties, but fail to meet the required high viscosity, lubricity, and thermal and oxidative stability properties.
The blended lubricant basestocks according to the present invention comprising a complex alcohol ester and at least one additional natural or synthetic basestock appear to satisfy all of the desired attributes for fully formulated lubricant basestocks by providing the basestock with a unique level of biodegradability in conjunction with effective lubricating properties. They also provide excellent thermal and oxidative stability, good low temperature properties (i.e., low pour points), low toxicity, low volatility, and good seal compatibility.
The complex alcohol esters with low adipate content according to the present invention is formed by using no more than 20% excess alcohol during the reaction step. Furthermore, the present inventors have discovered that these unique complex alcohol esters according to the present invention can also be formed such that they have low metals and acid content by treating the crude reactor product with water at elevated temperatures and pressures greater than one atmosphere. That is, the present inventors have unexpectedly discovered that high temperature hydrolysis can be used to remove a substantial portion of the metal catalyst from the complex alcohol ester reaction product without any significant increase in the total acid number of the resulting product. Low metal and low acid number are important because both can catalyze the hydrolysis of the ester during end-use.
Moreover, the present inventors have also demonstrated that an unexpected, synergistic effect occurs when these complex alcohol esters of the present invention are blended with either a natural or synthetic ester basestock, i.e., the blended basestock unexpectedly exhibits enhanced product attributes versus either the complex alcohol ester or other basestock by itself. Thus, the blended basestocks according to the present invention exhibit the following attributes: excellent lubricity, seal compatibility, biodegradability, low toxicity, good low temperature properties, a wide viscosity range to meet various iso grade needs, good thermal and oxidative stability, and improved engine performance.

Blends of lubricant basestocks with high viscosity complex alcohol esters