An electrical connector for connection to a complementary mating connector includes a housing having at least one socket and at least one contact assembly which is disposed at least partially within the socket. A fastening element secures the contact assembly within the socket. A secondary retention means is movable between a pre-latched position and a final latched position, and, in the final latched position, prevents the fastening element from releasing securement of the contact assembly in the socket. The housing has a fastening groove extending along the socket at least along a portion of its length for securing the secondary retention means. In the final latched position, the secondary retention means engages by at least one latching element in the fastening groove.

Electrical cables are typically connected together or to an electrical device using electrical connectors which can be releasably connected to a complementary mating connector, thereby creating an electrically conductive connection. In such a connection, the cable is connected to the connector, whereas the mating connector is electrically conductively connected to the partner to be connected, so that when the connector and the mating connector are connected together, an electrically conductive connection is created between the cable and the respective partner to be connected.
In particular, in the case of connectors where it must be ensured that the connection between the cable and the connector and/or the connection between the connector and the mating connector are/is properly made, additional retention systems are frequently used. For example, a secondary locking means may be provided which is capable of additionally securing the cable on or in the connector. The connector may further have an insertion-preventing means which prevents the connector and the mating connector from being connected when the cable is not properly connected to the connector and/or the partner to be connected is not properly connected to the mating connector. Furthermore, depending on the available space, it may be necessary to connect a plurality of cables via one connector to a corresponding complementary mating connector.
However, both the additional retention systems and the requirement of being able to connect a plurality of cables using one connector significantly increase the complexity of the connector. Especially in the case of small connectors such as are used, for example, for radio-frequency cables, the wide range of functions increases the manufacturing complexity and cost of the connector.


A method of and a receiver for mitigating multipath interference in a global navigation satellite system. In accordance with an embodiment, GNSS signals are received from a plurality of satellites in at least two frequency bands. A likelihood indicator is determined which is indicative of how likely the received GNSS signals are affected by multipath interference. In response to the likelihood indicator, all GNSS signals from at least one frequency band of the at least two frequency bands are discounted. The received GNSS signals are processed by taking into account said discounting of all GNSS signals in the at least one frequency band. The discounting may include assigning less weight to the discounted frequency bands or disregarding each of the discounted frequency bands in their entirety.

The present invention relates to the field of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of mitigating multipath interference in GNSS.
GNSS is a satellite navigation system which utilizes signals transmitted from one or more constellations of satellites orbiting the earth. GNSS receivers are configured to receive the satellite signals and process them to determine a navigation solution. Such a navigation solution generally includes the position and velocity of the receiver as well as precise time. This can be referred to as Position, Velocity and Time or PVT. GNSS has proven to be highly accurate. However, because GNSS signals are electromagnetic, they can be blocked by objects such as mountains, tall buildings, and dense foliage.
Multipath is a major error source for GNSS receivers and can occur in situations where the direct GNSS signal is blocked and only a reflected satellite signal is received by the antenna of a GNSS receiver. However multipath effects can also occur when GNSS signals transmitted by a particular satellite travel by two or more paths to the GNSS receiver's antenna. In such situations, known as multipath interference, the GNSS receiver intercepts a direct or line-of-sight (LOS) component together with one or more non-line-of-sight (NLOS) components. The latter can be caused by the signals being reflected from objects such as mountains or buildings. The signals travelling different paths can experience fading and phase shifting which can cause measurement errors and/or compromise the correlation function shape used to estimate the time delay when processing the GNSS signals. In some environments, such as urban canyon environments, the GNSS signals can be subjected to a significant amount of multipath interference which can result in significant GNSS measurement errors.
A typical approach for mitigating multipath interference in GNSS involves detection and correction of individual affected navigation measurements. Typically, this is done during a signal processing stage. Such an approach may not always perform well. For example, heavy multipath interference tends to distort measurements in ways that are difficult to model reliably. Therefore, if the signals are severely degraded or if assumptions about properties of the degraded signals, such as uniformity of phase error, are not accurate, detection and correction of individual measurements may not yield accurate results.
What is needed, therefore, is an improved technique for mitigating multipath interference in GNSS.

Method of and receiver for mitigating multipath interference in a global navigation satellite system


There is provided a fluorine-containing elastomer molded article which is obtained by irradiating the fluorine-containing elastomer molded article with a plasma and has a center line average roughness of not less than 0.65 μm or a fluorine-containing elastomer molded article which is obtained by applying a resin coating layer on a fluorine-containing elastomer substrate, has a small peeling strength and a small etching rate at the irradiation of plasma and is excellent in detachability and whiteness. There is provided particularly a molded article suitable as various sealing materials for semiconductor production apparatuses.

Fluorine-containing elastomers are used for a molded article which is used under tough conditions because of their excellent heat resistance, plasma resistance and corrosive gas resistance. Examples of such a molded article are sealing materials such as O-ring and gasket which are required to have elastomeric property, and those molded articles are used in a state of being always compressed.
When the sealing material is kept in the compressed state for a long period of time, there is a case where the sealing material sticks to a surface of a device to be sealed and is difficult to be separated therefrom and in an extreme case, a part of the sealing material sticks to and remains on the surface of the device to be sealed.
Improvement of peeling property of a fluorine-containing elastomer (rubber) is handled particularly as a problem with releasing property and blocking property when removing from a metal mold. For example, JP-B-7-94582 proposes that a diphenyl compound is added to an elastomer so as to bleed on a surface of the elastomer.
A sticking property of a molded article itself of a fluorine-containing elastomer is referred to in JP-B-63-65703. However mentioned therein is a method of eliminating impurities (un-reacted product) by heat-treating the elastomer under reduced pressure before crosslinking. The obtained fluorine-containing elastomer molded article has a certain degree of releasing property (property to prevent sticking, that is, detachability), but in case of use for a sealing material which is required to have a high sealing property in a state of always being compressed under a high load, it becomes difficult to detach the sealing material.
In case of use as parts for devices such as semiconductor production apparatuses which are required to be free from contamination materials and micro-particles, a metal mold having a smooth surface is used for a fluorine-containing elastomer (fluorine-containing rubber) molded article or the molded article is subjected to coating with silicone on its surface, thereby making the surface of the molded article as smooth as possible.
As a result, fluorine-containing elastomer molded articles which are used for semiconductor production apparatuses have a relatively smooth surface having a center line average roughness of less than 0.60 μm.
In a sealing material particularly required to have a high sealing property, it has been considered that a sealing material having smoother surface is preferred from the viewpoint of sealing performance.
The inventors of the present invention changed a conventional way of thinking and made other approach than such conventional methods as addition or removal of chemical substances, and thus have found that when a surface of a fluorine-containing elastomer molded article is roughened to not less than a certain degree, its detachability can be improved without lowering its sealing property and have completed the first invention.
Also coating of a surface of an elastomer molded article has been proposed as an another approach for improving detachability. For example, JP-A-5-271448 describes a proposal that a surface of a fluorine-containing rubber is coated with a thermosetting resin layer (layer thickness: not more than 10 μm) having functional group and having heat resistance of not less than 200° C. such as a novolak phenol resin or a polyimide prepared by using a specific acid anhydride.
However when the coated molded article described in the above publication is used as a molded article such as a sealing material for a plasma irradiation device for production of semiconductor, it cannot stand strict environment and its durability is insufficient.
The inventors of the present invention have challenged an approach aiming at a coated molded article and have found that when an oxygen (O2) plasma etching rate is not more than 13 nm/sec in case of plasma irradiation under specific irradiation conditions, the molded article has a particularly excellent durability and thus have completed the second invention.

Molded fluoroelastomer with excellent detachability and process for producing the same


A pool guard alarm apparatus includes an alarm body, a triggering device and a relative triggering element. The alarm body accommodates a circuit board and a battery for providing a power source. The circuit board is provided with several buttons and a sound member. The buttons enable an authorized person to bypass the alarm mode. The triggering device located at the entrance to the pool has a movable part which is elastic to be against the relative triggering element. The moveable part will produce a triggering signal to the circuit board when the entrance is opened. The circuit board activates the sound member to produce an alarm sound after a predetermined time. The alarm sound is repeated after a period of time while in the alarm mode. When the entrance is then closed, the user must reset a pass code to activate the said alarm mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pool guard alarm apparatus, and more particularly to an alarm apparatus that is effective in preventing unauthorized persons from entering an area around a pool and sounds an alarm when a person enters the protected pool area.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is an important security management to prevent a stranger or young child from entering an area around an outdoor pool. Sometimes, accidents occur. It is especially dangerous for infants and younger children to enter the pool area when there is no lifeguard or other supervision present. Most outdoor pools have a pool gate for entrance to the pool area. In practice, the gate is often opened by unauthorized persons. Therefore, a simple and effective device is provided at the door or gate that will sound an alarm as soon as the gate is opened.
A conventional pool guard alarm, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,310, comprises a sensor composed of a magnet and a magnetic switch to detect the entrance of an area around a pool, a high output alarm unit having a delay timer activated via a battery, a housing to accommodate the alarm and the battery, and a reset button located on the housing. The housing and the sensor are located at the entrance to the pool area. The reset button must be pressed within a short time after opening and passage through, or an alarm is sounded whether or not the gate was closed. This design prevents unauthorized persons from entering the pool area and sounds the alarm as soon as the unauthorized persons enter the protected area. There are several disadvantages in the design of the aforesaid patent:    1. An iron gate decreases the magnetism of the trigger, as well as interfering with the magnetic switch, which causes the sensor to malfunction and cause a false alarm.    2. The sensor uses the magnet to attract and activate the magnetic switch. The magnetic switch can easily be out of the scope of the magnetism of the magnet due to wind or other external forces, which may produce an inadvertent contact which will influence the precision of the alarm.    3. This alarm uses a single reset button to bypass the alarm mode. This limits the effectiveness of the protection of the area since anyone can simply push the button to enter without sounding the alarm.
Accordingly, the inventor of the present invention has devoted himself based on his many years of practical experiences to the development of a pool guard alarm apparatus to overcome the above shortcomings.


In one embodiment, a concentric ring ESD structure includes a first p-type region and a second p-type region are formed in a layer of semiconductor material. The two p-type regions are coupled together with a floating n-type buried layer. The first and second p-type regions form a back-to-back diode structure with the floating n-type buried layer. A pair of shorted n-type and p-type contact regions is formed in each of the first and second regions. An isolation region is formed between the first and second p-type regions.

This invention relates, in general, to integrated circuit protection structures, and more particularly to an electro-static discharge (ESD) structure for protecting integrated circuits from extreme ESD conditions and a method of manufacture.
ESD is a well-known and documented problem in integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing and usage. ESD occurs when large voltage pulses from static electricity are applied to the I/O pads of integrated circuits. ESD voltage spikes may cause damage to insulating layers and conductive interconnects and integrated semiconductor devices, which can result in short and/or open circuit failures and overheating. Additionally, such spikes can damage junction regions causing cross diffusion and melting.
ESD protection has emerged as a major design challenge in certain high frequency applications such as radio frequency (RF), digital, and mixed signal integrated circuits. For all IC applications, higher failure voltages and smaller available areas for placing an ESD structure on an IC are driving factors for ESD performance levels. In addition, an ESD load often dominates the parasitic capacitance, which becomes a significant problem at higher operating frequencies. ESD device related parasitic capacitance slows signals down, causes large reflections, and limits chip-to-chip signal bandwidth. As a result, a significant part of a signal may be lost through ESD circuits, which makes them a major obstacle for high-speed operation.
Some industries, such as the automotive, computing, and personal communication industries, now require ESD testing and certification up to 20 kV, which puts higher demands and stresses on ESD structures. In particular, such stresses are troublesome in IC technologies incorporating bump structures on I/O pads where such stresses can lead to device degradation or failure.
Accordingly, ESD structures and methods are needed that can withstand ≧15 kV air and contact discharge events, and that have mechanical robustness and long-term reliability. Additionally, it would be advantageous for such structures and methods to be easily integrated into typical IC process flows, to have reduced parasitic effects particularly for high frequency applications, and to take-up minimal space.
For ease of understanding, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and like element numbers are used where appropriate throughout the various figures. Additionally, the terms first, second, third, and the like in the description and claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between elements and not necessarily for describing sequential or chronological order. It is understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other sequences that are described or illustrated herein.

Semiconductor Components Industries, L.L.C.


In a roller chain, the outside diameters D of the rollers and the outside diameters d of the pins extending through bushings on which the rollers are disposed satisfy the relationships 0.72P≦D≦0.79P and 0.40P≦d≦0.44P where P is the pitch of the roller chain. The height H of the inner plates of the chain satisfies the relationship 0.96P≦H. The elongation ratio of the chain is significantly reduced, and improvements in breaking strength of the pin and in the rotational fatigue of the chain are realized. Consequently wear resistance, strength, and endurance of the chain are significantly improved, making the chain suitable for use as a timing chain in an engine that rotates at high speed.

Metal roller chains have recently come into increasing use as power transmission media, especially in automobiles, where higher loads, and the demand for high speed, maintenance-free, operation have caused the roller chain to displace the toothed belt.
As shown in FIGS. 5(a), 5(b) and 5(c), a conventional roller chain 500 comprises an inner link 520 (FIG. 5(b)) in which both ends of each of two cylindrical bushings 522 are fixed, by press-fitting, in bushing holes 526 in a pair of inner plates 524, and rollers 528 fit rotatably on the bushings 522. An outer link 540 (FIG. 5(c)) has two pins 542, which extend through the bushings and are similarly fixed, by press-fitting, in holes 546 in a pair of outer plates 544 disposed on the outsides of the pair of inner plates 524, as shown in FIG. 5(a).
From the standpoint of size balance, the roller chains most commonly used are "A type" roller chains, having the relationships 0.591≦D/P≦0.640 and 0.281≦d/P≦0.377, and "B type" roller chains, having the relationship 0.575≦D/P≦0.670 and 0.288≦d/P≦0.389, where D is the outside diameter of the roller, d is the outside diameter of the pin, and P is the pitch of the roller chain. (See JIS B1801).
The are two reasons for these limitations. When D/P is too high, the sprocket teeth engaging the roller chain are too narrow and insufficiently strong. On the other hand, when D/P is too low, the outside diameter d of the pins becomes too low, resulting in a reduction of the strength of the chain.
A B-type roller chain, designated a "06B" chain according to JIS B1801 (coincident with the ISO number) has been used commonly as a power transmission medium in an automobile engine. This chain has a pitch of 9.525 mm, an outside roller diameter of 6.35 mm, and an outside pin diameter of 3.28 mm,
It has been reported that, when the above-mentioned conventional roller chains are used as timing chains in automobile engines in which high loads, for example 4 kN, are encountered, some of the roller chains do not exhibit the expected endurance. Therefore, enhancement of reliability of the engine and of the endurance of the roller chain, has become an urgent problem. As a result of continued study, we have found that the "elongation—wear resistance" of a roller chain is exceeded when a high speed engine applies an unexpectedly high load to the pins of the roller chain. The conventional ratio of the outside diameter D of a roller, to the pitch P, and the conventional ratio of outside diameter d of the pin to the pitch P (D/P and d/P), which were set in accordance with the conventional size balance, are not always the optimum values.
The general object of the invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems encountered in a conventional roller chain, and to provide a roller chain with enhanced wear resistance and strength, and particularly good endurance when the roller chain is used as a timing chain in an automobile engine which rotates at high speed.


The subject matter described herein involves a connector cable, particularly for use in a computerized storage system, such as Fibre Channel. The connector cable generally connects together a storage device, a power supply and an optical cable through which optical signals are transferred. A media interface adapter connects between the connector cable and the optical cable and receives electrical power from the power supply through the connector cable to convert the optical signals to electrical signals and vice versa. Using a plurality of the connector cables with or without a connection to the power supply, a plurality of the storage devices may be chained together.

The subject matter herein relates to connections between optical and electrical devices.
In computerized storage systems, it is often necessary to connect one or more storage devices to a host computer, such as a storage server. In a Fibre Channel system, for example, the host computer commonly connects through a fiber optic cable to the storage devices. The host computer typically sends optical signals through the fiber optic cable to the storage devices, where the optical signals are converted into electrical signals for transfer through common wiring, such as copper wires, to the storage devices. The storage devices are commonly connected in a group referred to as a xe2x80x9cJBODxe2x80x9d (Just a Bunch Of Disks). Typical JBODs have up to eight storage devices connected to a xe2x80x9cbackplane,xe2x80x9d which connects to the fiber optic cable. Thus, the JBODs are limited in the number of storage devices that can be connected together.
For connecting a single storage device through the fiber optic cable to the host computer at a 1-Gbit/sec transfer rate, a connector cable 100 has been developed, as shown in FIG. 1. The connector cable 100 is of the type commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cpigtailxe2x80x9d and includes a conventional DB9 connector 102 connected to conventional transmit and receive connectors 104 and 106, respectively. The DB9 connector 102 connects through a media interface adapter (not shown) to the fiber optic cable (not shown). The transmit and receive connectors 104 and 106 connect to the storage device (not shown) or to a conventional Fibre Channel xe2x80x9cT-Cardxe2x80x9d (not shown), which connects to the storage device. The media interface adapter converts the optical signal used by the fiber optic cable to the electrical signal used by the connector cable 100. To do so, however, the media interface adapter requires electrical power. Therefore, the connector cable 100 also includes two conventional power connectors 108 and 110, one of which is connected to an electrical power source (not shown). The power connectors 108 and 110 connect to the DB9 connector 102 to supply the electrical power to the media interface adapter. The connector cable 100 is limited to working with only one storage device and is not supported in recent standards set by the Fibre Channel Standards Committee for 2-Gbit/sec transfer rates.
It is with respect to these and other background considerations that the subject matter herein has evolved.
The subject matter herein involves a new and improved connector cable (sometimes referred to as a xe2x80x9cpigtailxe2x80x9d) for connecting a host computer (e.g. a storage server) through a fiber optic cable to any number of storage devices connected together in a chain-like fashion through the connector cable at the new 2-Gbit/sec rate set by the Fibre Channel Standards Committee. The connector cable also generally includes electrical power connectors for electrical power to support a media interface adapter (MIA) in an environment that provides both wire (e.g. copper, etc.) and optical interconnectivity. With the electrical power, the MIA converts signals that pass therethrough from optical to electrical and vice versa.
The connector cable also generally includes a pass-through mechanism so that any number of the storage devices can be chained together, rather than being limited to the number of storage devices that can be inserted into the backplane of a JBOD. For the pass-through mechanism, in one embodiment, the connector cable includes two transceiver connectors connected together. One of the transceiver connectors is for connecting to the MIA (and thus to the fiber optic cable), and the other transceiver connector is for chaining, or connecting, to a next storage device (possibly through another similar connector cable). Additionally, one of the transceiver connectors is also for connecting to a receiver connector connected to the storage device, and the other transceiver connector is also for connecting to a transmitter connector connected to the storage device. In this manner, a signal from the host computer that comes to the connector cable through the fiber optic cable is passed from the first transceiver connector to the receiver connector and the storage device connected thereto and/or to the second transceiver connector and the next storage device, if any.
In one embodiment, the connector cable preferably uses a conventional HSSDC (High Speed Serial Device Connector) connector, instead of a DB9connector, to connect to the MIA and to pass the electrical power to the MIA, since the HSSDC connector is supported by the new 2-Gbit/sec standards set by the Fibre Channel Standards Committee. In a more particular embodiment, the connector cable uses two of the HSSDC connectors as the two transceiver connectors to enable the pass-through mechanism.
A more complete appreciation of the present disclosure and its scope, and the manner in which it achieves the above noted improvements, can be obtained by reference to the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are briefly summarized below, and the appended claims.

Connector cable for connecting between an optical cable and multiple devices


A driving circuit for an IGBT module is provided. The driving circuit includes: a gate driving resistor connected with the IGBT module; a driving module connected with the gate driving resistor; an integrating circuit connected with the driving module, in which the integrating circuit comprises an equivalent resistor and a first capacitor connected in series with the equivalent resistor, and a time constant of the integrating circuit is adjusted by changing a resistance of the equivalent resistor; a first optical coupler connected with the integrating circuit; and a micro control unit, connected with the first optical coupler. The disclosed driving circuit for an IGBT module can adjust an equivalent resistance of the gate driving resistor, thus driving the IGBT module working at different powers without replacing the gate driving resistor, and improving an operation state of the IGBT module.

An IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) is a composite power electronic device, which is equivalent to a BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistor) with a thick base region driven by a MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor). The IGBT not only has features of the MOSFET, such as a rapid response, a high input impedance, a great heat stability and a simple driving circuit, but also has features of the BJT, such as a high current density, a low on-state voltage drop and a high withstand voltage and, thus is widely used in power electronic devices.
Common driving circuits for an IGBT (such as EXB841, A316J, M57962) are generally isolated from the IGBT via an optical coupler. As shown in FIG. 1, the driving circuit comprises an MCU (Micro Control Unit) U1, a high speed photoelectric coupler U2, a transistor Q1 and a transistor Q2 for driving an IBGT module U4, a current-limiting resistor R1 for driving the high speed photoelectric coupler U2, a resistor R2 coupled with the transistors Q1 and Q2, a gate driving resistor R5, a resistor R4 for discharging a gate of the IGBT module U4 and preventing static, a voltage stabilization diode ZD1 and a voltage stabilization diode ZD2 used for overvoltage protection. The MCU U1 outputs a driving signal from a pulse-width modulation waveform output terminal PWM_1 to the resistor R1 so as to drive the photoelectric coupler U2 to work. Then, the photoelectric coupler U2 outputs a control signal to drive the transistors Q1 and Q2 to work via the resistor R2, such that the transistors Q1 and Q2 output an IGBT driving signal which drives the IGBT module U4 to work via the resistor R5.
As shown in FIG. 1, the gate driving resistor R5 is fixed in the circuit, and a resistance of the gate driving resistor R5 is constant and cannot be adjusted according to a power of the IGBT module U4, thus impacting operating performance of the IGBT module U4.


A RF transmit coil decoupling circuit in a parallel drive configuration comprises a power amplifier and an output matching network to shim the B1 field in response to inhomogeneities therein. The separate coil segments in a transmit array are effectively decoupled from each other despite inherent mutual inductance between coil segments by the decoupling circuit. The output matching network forms a high impedance block seen by the coil elements, while it provides a load line impedance at the output of the power amplifier. The transmission line transformer in the output matching network suppresses higher order harmonics for clearer RF wave forms. It also dampen the Q factor of the output matching network allowing stable operation with a series tuned coil element.

The field of the invention is nuclear magnetic resonance imaging methods and systems. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods for decoupling coil elements in an RF transmit coil array used to apply radio frequency magnetic fields to the subject being examined.
When a substance such as human tissue is subjected to a uniform magnetic field (polarizing field B0) applied along the z axis of a Cartesian coordinate system, the individual magnetic moments of the spins in the tissue attempt to align with this polarizing field, but precess about it in random order at their characteristic Larmor frequency. If the substance, or tissue, is subjected to a magnetic field (excitation field B1) which is in the x-y plane and which is near the Larmor frequency, the net aligned moment, Mz, may be rotated, or "tipped", into the x-y plane to produce a net transverse magnetic moment Mt. A NMR signal is emitted by the excited spins after the excitation signal B1 is terminated, this signal may be received and processed to form an image or produce a spectrum.
When utilizing these signals to produce images, magnetic field gradients (Gx, Gy and Gz) are employed. Typically, the region to be imaged is scanned by a sequence of measurement cycles in which these gradients vary according to the particular localization method being used. The resulting set of received NMR signals are digitized and processed to reconstruct the image using one of many well known reconstruction techniques.
Radio frequency antennas, or coils are used to produce the excitation field B1 and other RF magnetic fields in the subject being examined. Such coils are also used to receive the very weak NMR signals that are produced in the subject. Such coils may be so-called "whole body" coils that are large enough to produce a uniform magnetic field for a human subject or, they can be much smaller "local" coils that are designed for specific clinical applications such as head imaging, knee imaging, wrist imaging, etc. Local coils may be either volume coils or surface coils.
The quality of an MR image depends on the homogeneity of the applied excitation field B1. The tipping of the aligned moment Mz into the transverse plane should be as uniform as possible throughout the region of interest (ROI) and this in turn depends on the homogeneity of the excitation field B1 throughout the ROI. MRI systems include a whole-body RF coil that is specifically designed to produce such a homogeneous field throughout the ROI.
The most common whole body coil found in commercial MRI systems is the so-called "birdcage" coil. A birdcage coil has a pair of circular end rings which are bridged by a plurality (typically 8 to 24) of equi-spaced longitudinal straight segments. Traditionally, RF volume coils such as birdcage coils have been used to generate both transmission (Tx) and reception (Rx) B1 fields. In a primary mode, currents in the straight segments are sinusoidally distributed which results in good B1 field uniformity across the axis of the coil. Birdcage coils are the structure of choice in horizontal field MRI systems because they produce a homogeneous magnetic field in the bore of the magnet and they have a high SNR which enables them to pick up the small NMR signals emanating from the examined subject. That is, these coils have a periodic, resonant structure with multiple resonant modes. While birdcage coils and its variants generate uniform B1 fields at low B0 field strengths (1.5 T and below), their performance is compromised at higher B0 field strengths (3 T and above).
The homogeneity of the B1 field is affected by the presence of the subject being imaged due to the different electrical characteristics of various tissue types found in the human body. Thus, even though the RF coil is shimmed by adjusting capacitors distributed throughout its structure to produce a homogeneous RF field, this homogeneity is lost when a subject is placed in the scanner. This problem is magnified as the polarizing field B0 is increased and the resulting Larmor frequency increases due to the increased coil-sample interactions at higher frequencies.
Recognizing this problem in MRI systems with higher B0 field strengths, techniques have been developed to shim the B1 field after the subject is placed in the scanner. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,982,554 issued on Jan. 3, 2006 and entitled "System And Method For Operating Transmit Or Transmit/Receive Elements In An MR System", the phase and current magnitude applied to the individual segments in a birdcage RF coil can be separately controlled to shim the RF field it produces. As described in published US Pat. Application No. 2005/0231203, field on Mar. 18, 2005 and entitled "Method And Magnetic Resonance System For Homogenizing the B1 Field", an iterative method may be used to measure RF field homogeneity after the subject is in place and make adjustments in the RF field until it reaches an acceptable homogeneous level.
Trimming the B1 field by adjusting the currents in the separate coil segments to match the dielectric loading of the subject works well in principle but is difficult in practice to achieve. Unfortunately, because of the mutual inductance between RF coil segments, a change in the RF current in one segment to trim the RF field in a desired manner has the undesirable result of also changing the RF currents in adjacent RF coil segments through mutual inductance. Referring to FIG. 3, a single RF coil segment 2 is shown schematically to include an inductance 3, resistance 4 and capacitance 5. The inductance 3, being a function of conductor length, capacitance 5 is accordingly selected to tune the segment 2 to a frequency near the Larmor frequency of the scanner. The RF coil segment 2 is connected across the output of a current control circuit 6 that is driven by an input signal 7 to produce a current in the RF coil segment 2 that contributes to a homogeneous B1 field. The problem is that an additional current Iind is also flowing through the RF coil segment 2 due to signals indicated at 8 induced by the currents flowing in adjacent RF coil segments. Because the output impedance Z0 of the current control circuit 6 is necessarily low in order to efficiently drive large currents into the RF coil segment 2, the induced currents IM can be substantial, which can result in substantial artifacts in a resulting image.
With multiple driving loops tuned at single image frequency, as in phased array coil, the current on each loop is a superposition of the driven current and currents induced by neighboring transmitters due to electromagnetic induction. The B1 field generated by each transmitting element is, therefore, due to the resultant current on the element. When transmitting elements are strongly coupled to each other as in Birdcage coils or transverse electromagnetic (TEM) coils, independent control of B1 fields on each transmitting element becomes very difficult.
The coupling through the mutual impedance in two interacting elements can be minimized either by canceling the mutual impedance or reducing the current in the coil itself. Mutual inductance is typically cancelled by either partial overlap of two adjacent coils (transformer type decoupling) or by using decoupling capacitors. Although the mutual inductance can be driven to zero between two coils, those configurations are restricted to decoupling only the nearest neighbor.
Capacitive ladder networks can be used to decouple not only the nearest element but also distant neighbors by cancelling decaying mutual inductances as the distance between the coil elements increases. However, this technique is not robust because it requires a perfectly symmetrical arrangement of identical array elements and is sensitive to the placement of a sample and its electrical properties.
Alternatively, particularly in a receive array, the preamplifier decoupling network is used to isolate the coil elements by creating a large impedance block at the terminals of each receive element, thereby, suppressing currents driven by the spin induced electromotive force (emf). The simultaneous input matching network enables the formation of a high-impedance block with an optimum noise match for the minimum noise figure at the input terminal of preamplifier. Such a matching network is based on the fact that optimum noise matching is not generally the same as conjugate impedance matching at the preamplifier input terminal. This decoupling technique allows flexible receiver array design for the optimum noise correlation among array elements. Furthermore, the mismatched impedance seen by a coil element is known to reduce receiver ringing, thereby, improving transient response of a receiver coil. However, this technique is unusable at the output terminal of a power device in a transmit phased array because of the suppression of driven current used to generate desired B1 fields.
A Cartesian feedback approach in two interacting transmit elements has been proposed to suppress the induced current using the negative feedback. The feedback efficacy, however, depends heavily on the large open loop gain of the transmitter based on the small bandwidth of the feedback filter. As such, this approach limits the RF excitation bandwidth in some special applications. Furthermore, the inherent narrow bandwidth and system complexity of this approach have rendered it impractical for implementation at this time.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a system and method for decoupling elements in an RF coil array and independently controlling the current flowing through elements in an RF coil.

Magnetic resonance imaging RF coil decoupling circuit


For conversion of harmful compound in contaminated liquid into harmless compound by use of reactant, a plurality of agitators are arranged in a vertical superposition within a closed agitation chamber and, after the contaminated liquid is charged into the agitation chamber, the agitators are driven for rotation at a high speed in a rage from 10,000 to 18,000 rpm in order to create a field of super critical conditions in which free radicals are liberated from the harmful compound and coupled by the reactant. Neither high temperature heating nor high level pressurization is needed for processing of the contaminated liquid.

The present invention relates to method and unit for processing a contaminated liquid, and more particularly relates to formation of a field of super critical conditions within an agitation chamber containing a liquid contaminated with a harmful compound or compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) unsuited for any chemical reactions under normal conditions for the purpose of liberation and removal of such a compound or compounds.
In this specification, the term xe2x80x9ca harmful compoundxe2x80x9d refers to a compound which poses malign influences, in any forms, on healthy human life and is unsuited for any chemical reactions under normal conditions.
Further, the term xe2x80x9cperforatedxe2x80x9d encompasses a substantially planar construction which is provided with one or more holes opening in both surfaces of an agitator and/or one or more recesses formed in at least one of both surfaces of an agitator.
Conventionally, the following expedients have been generally employed in order to convert a harmful compound, which is unsuited for chemical reactions by use of reactants under normal conditions, into a harmless compound via reactions.
One of such expedients is called xe2x80x9cseparation of super critical water by oxidationxe2x80x9d. Here the term xe2x80x9csuper critical waterxe2x80x9d refers to a kind of water placed under a condition in which the temperature is 374xc2x0 C. or higher and the pressure exceeds 22 MPa. Such a water has a property to move actively just like gases to separate a target, i.e. a harmful compound. In practice it is required that the temperature is about 600xc2x0 C. and the pressure is about 22 MPa.
Another of such expedients is called xe2x80x9cseparation by alkali catalystxe2x80x9d. In the case of this process, hydrogen provider, carbon type catalyst and alkali such as potassium hydroxide are added to a harmful compound, and the mixture is heated at a temperature in a range from 300 to 350xc2x0 C. under presence of nitrogen in order to eliminate a part of the harmful compound, for example chlorine in the case of PCB.
In the case of such conventional expedients, however, it is necessary to carry out the process within a closed environment under high temperature and high-pressure conditions and/or under presence of nitrogen gas. This entails use of a reaction device well resistant to corrosions by high temperature, high pressure and reaction gas. In addition, high level of process control and maintenance of the device are required. For these reasons, the conventional expedients are suited for only batch-type processing but not for continuous processing. Consequently, all of the conventional expedients were not feasible in practice from the viewpoint of economic efficiency.
It is thus the primary object of the present invention to enable rapid conversion of a harmful compound into a harmless compound such as dechlorination of PCB under normal temperatures and normal pressures in a continuous mode.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an agitation chamber is provided which incorporates two or more horizontal perforated agitators arranged in a vertically spaced superposed positions, a mixed solution of contaminated liquid containing harmful compounds and reactant capable of coupling to free radicals from the compounds is prepared, the mixed solution is charged into the agitation chamber, the agitators are driven for rotation at a speed in a range from 10,000 to 18,000 rpm, and a processed solution is discharged from the agitation chamber.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a vertical-type agitation chamber is formed in a substantially closed construction, two or more horizontal perforated agitators are incorporated in the agitation chamber in a vertically spaced superposed arrangement, means are provided for charging into the agitation chamber a mixed solution of a contaminated liquid containing harmful compounds and a reactant capable of coupling to free radicals from the compounds, means are provided for driving the agitators for rotation at a speed in a range from 10,000 to 18,000 rpm, and means are provided for discharging a processed solution from the agitation chamber.
The agitator may take the form of either a circular disc or a branched disc.
In the system of the present invention of the above-described aspects, high-speed rotation of the agitators causes intense and dynamic frictional contact of the mixed solution with the surfaces of the agitators. This frictional contact generates heat of high temperature (from 230 to 300xc2x0 C.). In addition, centrifugal force caused by the frictional contact strongly compresses the mixed solution within the holes and/or recesses in the agitators and the mixed solution in the region near the side wall of the agitation chamber, thereby creating a high pressure condition of 22 MPa or higher. Further, due to Bernoulli effect, high speed rotation of the agitators causes a large pressure drop in the mixed solution and such pressure drop causes generation of lots of fine bubbles via cavitation. These fine bubbles are destroyed by shearing force created by the high-speed rotation of the agitators.
Combination of the high temperature with the high pressure creates a field of super critical conditions within the agitation chamber. Such conditions induce a radical reaction by which a part of the contaminated liquid is liberated in the form of free radicals. In addition, destruction of the fine bubbles generates super sonic which promotes the above-described radical reaction.

Method and unit for processing contaminated liquid

Room 902, Charme-Ebara 1-17-5 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku


A substantial amount of publicly available and private information pertaining to buildings is inputted into a computerized data base programmed to produce statistical standards (norms) which can then serve as a basis for subsequent comparison with particular, selected, structures. The information is organized and formatted to facilitate the analysis of various income and expense items (including the taxes) pertaining to selected structures. Various special screens (forms) are used to aid in entering data pertaining to selected buildings and portfolios of buildings into the computerized data base and to interactively assist in the analysis of the data entered in view of the information contained in the computerized data base including the generation and display of significant statistical information regarding the selected properties and the generation of various reports. The system includes programs for simultaneously displaying the actual and adjusted values of selected income and expense items for the generation of reports for local property and/or income tax purposes, assessments determination, management purposes and/or investment decisions.

This invention relates to the acquisition and analysis of data pertaining to real estate. In particular, this invention relates to the acquisition and analysis of data pertaining to real estate assessments and to the income and expense streams of selected properties, and to reporting the results of the analysis.
Owners and managers of real estate buildings are often faced with a problem of determining whether the income and/or the expenses from their building is in line with like buildings. Owners/managers are also faced with the problem of determining whether certain expenses are excessive and whether the income from their property is adequate. These owners/managers are also faced with the payment of taxes and other assessments levied against their buildings. Assessment practices and policies are directly linked to the income and expenses of a selected property relative to certain norms and the owners of the property may be faced with potentially erroneous real property taxes and assessments, which they have to pay. Owners/managers have a problem determining whether these charges are out of line compared to like structures and whether or not to appeal them. Owners/managers of properties are also faced with the problem of paying local property and/or state and federal income taxes on the property and maintaining records. Potential purchasers of a property (e.g., investors) are also faced with the problem of ascertaining how the property compares with other properties with respect, among others, to assessments and the historical income and expense (I&E) stream to determine the value of the property.

Computerized system and method for acquiring and analyzing data pertaining to real estate


Disclosed herein is a door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door, which is adapted to minimize a work load and the number of work processes thereof according to assembly and disassembly thereof through the modification of a retaining structure thereof. The door hinge device includes a furniture hinge 10, a damper adapter 20 and a covering member 30. According to the present invention, since the assembly and disassembly of the door hinge device can be performed in a one-touch manner through the interaction between the damper adapter and the covering member, a convenience of the operation according to the assembly and disassembly of the door hinge device is improved, a work load is reduced, and a safety accident such as injury of hands and the like is prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved door buffering device which is installed at a path where a door for furniture is opened/closed to absorb a noise generated upon the closing impact of the furniture door, and more particularly, to a door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door, which is adapted to minimize a work load and the number of work processes thereof according to assembly and disassembly thereof through the modification of a retaining structure thereof.
2. Background of the Related Art
In general, a door buffering device, i.e., a door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door is mounted at on the inner wall or the front side of pieces of furniture such as sinks, drawers or the like so as to absorb the impact noise or contact resistance generated in the course of closing the door. Such a door hinge device is configured such that a damper adapter having a built-in fluid damper is mounted on a top surface or a side surface of a hinge for furniture.
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a furniture hinge 10 of the door hinge device is hingeably mounted to a coupling portion between a side wall W of a piece of furniture and a furniture door D and serves as rotating means of the furniture door D. A damper adapter 20 having a built-in fluid damper 21 is mounted on a top surface of the furniture hinge 10.
Also, as shown in FIG. 2, a door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door (Korean Registration No. 731335) which is a prior application invention filed by the present applicant includes: a furniture hinge 10 adapted to hingeably interconnect a side wall W of a piece of furniture and a furniture door D and having at least one tension adjustment bolt 11 and a fixing bolt 15 mounted thereon; a damper adapter 20 mounted to the furniture hinge 10 by means of fixing means thereof, the damper adapter having a fluid damper 21 built therein for absorbing the closing impact of the furniture door D and a plurality of check openings 22 formed thereon to correspond to the tension adjustment bolt 11 and the fixing bolt 15 of the furniture hinge; and a covering member 30 fixedly mounted to the damper adapter 20 by means of retaining hooks 31 and adapted to selectively close or open the check openings 22 of the damper adapter 20.
As shown in FIG. 3, the fixing means of the damping adapter 20 includes a hook 27 formed integrally on the underside of the damping adapter 20 so as to be fittingly coupled to a retaining aperture 14 of the furniture hinge 10, and an elastic piece 28 fixedly mounted to the underside of the damper adapter 20 by means of fastening means such as a bolt, etc., so as to be retained by a flange portion 17 of a rear end of the furniture hinge 10.
Thus, in case where it is desired to fixedly mount the damper adapter 20 to the furniture hinge 10, when the elastic piece 28 is hooked on the flange portion 17 of the furniture hinge 10 and the hook 27 is pressingly pushed into the retaining aperture 14 while abutting against the retaining aperture 14 of the furniture hinge 10, the hook 27 of the damper adapter 20 is inserted into the retaining aperture 14 of the furniture hinge 10 and simultaneously the elastic piece 28 is retained by the flange portion 17 to cause the damper adapter 20 to be fixedly mounted to the furniture hinge 10.
On the other hand, in case where it is desired to separate the damper adapter 20 from the furniture hinge 10, the hook 27 fit into the retaining aperture 14 is lifted upwardly while the damper adapter 20 is slightly pulled forwardly with a user's hand so as to cause the hook 27 to be withdrawn from the furniture hinge 10 and the elastic piece 28 to be removed from the flange portion 17.
By the way, as shown in FIG. 3, the furniture hinge 10 and the damper adapter 20 are constructed to be fixed by means of the hook 27 and the elastic piece 28. Thus, when it is desired to mount the damper adapter 20 to the furniture hinge 10, the hook 27 should be pressingly pushed into the retaining aperture 14 while forwardly pulling the damper adapter 20 in a state where the elastic piece 28 is hooked on the flange portion of the furniture hinge 10, leading to an increase in a work load.
That is, since the damper adapter 20 must be pressed with a strong force of the extent of exceeding the elastic force of the elastic piece 28 and the hook 27 in a state where both side portions of the damper adapter 20 are gripped by the user's hand, it is difficult to mount the damper adapter 20 to the furniture hinge 10. Also, in case where the user's hand is slipped from the damper adapter 20 during the exertion of a strong force to the damper adapter 20 by a user, there is a risk that the user's hand will be injured.
In addition, in case where it is desired to separate the damper adapter 20 mounted on the furniture hinge 10, the hooking state of the hook 27 must be released to separate the elastic piece 28 in a state where the damper adapter 20 are pressed forwardly while being gripped by the user's hand, so that there is an increase in a work load according the separation of the damper adapter 20 and inconvenience is caused.
Therefore, the conventional door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of the furniture door entails a problem in that it is difficult to horizontally and vertically apply a proper force to the damper adapter 20 in the course of the installation and separation of the damper adapter 20, making it difficult for general persons but not experts to install and separate the damper adapter 20.

Door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of furniture door


The present invention is related to a device that is adapted for selective engagement with existing hardware on a vehicle to provide a step. More specifically, the present invention is a device that is engages a towing mechanism used on some sport utility and outdoor vehicles, such as the HUMMER® recovery loop that allows for interconnection with towing hardware, such as chains or straps. One embodiment of the present invention engages the loop to retain it in a generally horizontal orientation to thus provide a step that facilitates access to the roof of the vehicle that is often 5-7 feet from the ground.

Off-road and sport utility vehicles have increasingly become a common mode of transportation. These vehicles usually have a very high ground clearance to allow them to traverse rough terrain and road debris. As a result, the roofs of these vehicles are often 5-7 feet from the ground, thereby making access to the roof and roof racks thereon very difficult. Often, the only way to access the upper portions of sports utility vehicles is to open the door and use the interior as a step. One drawback of this method is that the user's orientation with respect to the roof rack is precarious, such that they are often situated too close to the vehicle to effectively gain access to the roof rack. Another method is to use the bumpers of the vehicle as steps. Often, however, after using the vehicle in an off-road manner, the bumpers are often muddy and slick, thereby potentially causing injury to one who attempts to use them as footholds.
Some automobile manufacturers, such as HUMMER®, provide steps for access to their vehicles' extremely high roofs. However, the steps provided are usually three feet from the ground and are difficult to access by shorter individuals. In addition, some manufacturers provide steps that are adapted to selectively interconnect to trailer hitches. The major drawback of these steps is that they interconnect to the vehicle in the rear center of the vehicle where the spare tire is usually positioned, thus the access to the roof is limited.
Thus, there is a long felt need in the field of sport utility vehicle manufacturing to provide a step that provides the user with greater access to the higher portions of the vehicle. The following disclosure describes a mechanism that selectively interconnects with existing hardware of some sport utility vehicles to create a safe stepping surface.

Towing loop retaining device and method of using the same to provide a step


A failure analysis device 10 is provided with an identification unit 11 that discriminates whether a predetermined failure has occurred on the basis of a learning model for discriminating the presence or absence of an occurrence of the predetermined failure learned by using a cause attribute which is associated with a cause of the predetermined failure and on the basis of a value of the attribute, and that identifies the cause of the predetermined failure discriminated to have occurred and countermeasures therefor.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a communication system used to provide a communication service. As shown in FIG. 9, the communication system includes paired communication devices. The communication system is communicably connected to a base station and a router.
In the above-described communication systems which are in operation in various parts of the world, various failures sometimes occur during operation of the systems. Examples of failures that occur include a low throughput failure in which packet data transmitted through a communication system is transferred only at a throughput that is a designed throughput or less.
Examples of failures also include a packet loss in which a part of packet data carried through the communication system is lost. Examples further include a zero traffic failure in which substantially no packet data is transferred between a transmitter and a receiver.
In order to promptly handle a failure that has occurred, it is important to promptly identify the cause of the failure. In the present specification, the cause of a failure is classified into either an "internal cause" or an "external cause".
The "internal cause" corresponds to a cause that has emerged between paired communication devices, for example. Specifically, an example of a possible internal cause is a situation including an inappropriate orientation relationship between the antenna provided in one communication device and the antenna provided in the other communication device.
Possible internal causes also include a situation in which an obstacle such as a tree exists in Line-of-Sight (LOS) and an occurrence of radio interference in which interference occurs on radio waves between the paired communication devices.
Other possible internal causes include frequent occurrence of an automatic optimization function for modulation schemes in radio channels (quality degradation), occurrence of burst traffic, and misconfiguration of Quality of Service (QoS).
The "external cause" corresponds to a cause occurring outside the paired communication devices (in other words, occurring at a location other than between the paired communication devices). A specific example of an external cause can be a malfunction of a router or a base station communicably connected to the communication system.
Another example of an external cause is a case of receiving data not intended to be received, such as data including a computer virus. In addition, events peculiar to the region in which the communication system is installed, such as an event that can hinder radio communication, are also considered as external causes.
As described above, many candidates can be present as causes of a failure that occurs during the operation of the communication system. The method of manually verifying each of candidate as to whether a possible candidate is a real cause would require a lot of time, and thus is not a method to be practically adopted.
Techniques of generating a model capable of analyzing the cause of a failure or techniques of generating a model capable of predicting occurrence of a failure are described in Patent Literatures (PTLs) 1 to 3, for example.
PTL 1 discloses an abnormality occurrence cause identifying device that assumes a plurality of causes as causes of an abnormality occurring in a connected terminal, preliminarily learns a state of the terminal emerging due to the assumed cause, and collects, from each of connected terminals, information indicating the state of each of the connected terminals.
When an abnormality is detected in the abnormality detection device, the abnormality occurrence cause identifying device described in PTL 1 estimates which of the learned states is closest to the state of the terminal related to the occurrence of the abnormality by a discrimination analysis based on statistics, and identifies the cause to which the state belongs as a cause of the occurrence of the abnormality.
Furthermore, PTL 2 describes a network failure estimation method of searching a case database using an input failure site and failure phenomenon as search keys, estimating the cause of the failure on the basis of a cause site and frequency of the case record obtained by the search, and presenting the result.
Moreover, PTL 3 discloses a malfunction prediction system that generates a learning model that predicts a malfunction of a monitored device using time-series sensor data received by a learning server, as training data.
When a malfunction occurs in the monitored device, the failure prediction device described in PTL 3 transmits, to a learning server, time-series sensor data regarding states before the malfunction occurred in the monitored device. In addition, the malfunction prediction device uses the learning model and predicts the probability of malfunction of the monitored device using the time-series sensor data received from the monitored device as an input.
PTL 4 describes an example of a learner to generate a learning model using a heterogeneous mixture learning technique.

Failure analysis device, failure analysis method, and failure analysis program


An inrush current at beginning of operation of a charge pump circuit is reduced to prevent adverse effect on other circuits in a system. Charge transfer MOS transistors are connected in series. One end of each coupling capacitor is connected to each connecting point of the charge transfer MOS transistors. An output from each clock driver is applied on the other end of the respective coupling capacitor. Each clock driver includes a first clock driver and a second clock driver having higher driving capacity than the first clock driver. Each clock driver is controlled so that the first clock driver is put into operation at first and at the end of a predetermined elapsed time it is stopped and the second clock driver is put into operation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a charge pump circuit, specifically to a charge pump circuit with large output current capacity used for a power supply circuit and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Video equipment in recent years such as a camcorder, a digital still camera (DSC) and a mobile phone with DSC use CCDs (charge-coupled devices) to capture an image. A CCD drive circuit for driving the CCDs requires a power supply circuit that provides both positive and negative high voltages (over 10 volts) and a large current (several milliamperes). A switching regulator has been used for that purpose.
The switching regulator can generate a high voltage with high performance, i.e. with high power efficiency (output power/input power). However, it has a drawback to generate a harmonic noise when switching a current. Therefore, the power supply has to be used with a noise shield. In addition to that, it requires a coil as an external part.
Against this backdrop, attention is being given to a Dickson charge pump circuit as a power supply circuit for portable equipment in recent years. The Dickson charge pump device is described in detail in a technical journal "John F. Dickson 'On-chip High-Voltage Generation in MNOS Integrated Circuits Using an Improved Voltage Multiplier Technique', IEEE JOURNAL OF SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS, VOL. SC-11, NO. 3, pp. 374–378, JUNE 1976", for example.
FIG. 11 shows a circuit diagram of a four-stage Dickson charge pump device. Diodes D1–D5 are connected in series. Each of coupling capacitors C1–C4 is connected to each of connecting nodes of the diodes D1–D5. CL refers to an output capacitor. CLK and CLKB are input clock pulses having opposite phase to each other. The CLK and CLKB are inputted to a clock driver 51. A numeral 52 refers to a current load. The clock driver 51 is provided with a power supply voltage Vdd. Herewith, an amplitude of the clock pulses Φ1 and Φ2 outputted from the clock driver 51 becomes Vdd approximately. The clock pulse Φ1 is fed to the capacitors C2 and C4, while the clock pulse Φ2 is fed to the capacitors C1 and C3.
In a stable state, in which a constant current Iout flows out, an input current to the charge pump circuit is a sum of a current from an input voltage Vin and a current provided from the clock driver. These currents are as described below, disregarding charging and discharging currents to and from stray capacitances. During a period of Φ1=High and Φ2=Low, an average current of 2 Iout flows through each of paths in directions depicted in the figure as solid line arrows.
During a period of Φ1=Low and Φ2=High, an average current of 2 Iout flows through each of paths in directions depicted in the figure as dashed line arrows. An average current of each of these currents over a clock cycle is Iout. A boosted voltage Vout from the charge pump device in the stable state is expressed by a following equation (1),Vout=Vin−Vd+n(Vφ′−V1·Vd)  (1)
where Vφ′ refers to an amplitude of a voltage at each of the connecting nodes induced through the coupling capacitor by a change in the clock pulse. V1 denotes a voltage drop due to the output current Iout and Vin denotes the input voltage which is usually set at Vdd in positive voltage boosting and at 0V in negative voltage boosting. Vd refers to a forward bias diode voltage, and n denotes a number of stages of pumping. Furthermore, V1 and Vφ′ are expressed by following equations,V1=Iout/(f(C+Cs))=(2 Iout T/2)/(C+Cs)Vφ′=V(C/(C+Cs)
where C denotes capacitance of each of the coupling capacitances C1–C4, Cs denotes a stray capacitance at each of the connecting nodes, Vφ denotes the amplitude of the clock pulses, f denotes a frequency of the clock pulses and T denotes a clock period of the clock pulses. Power efficiency η of the charge pump device is expressed by a following equation, disregarding charging and discharging currents from/to the clock driver to/from the stray capacitors and assuming Vin=Vdd.η=Vout Iout/((n+1) Vdd Iout)=Vout/((n+1)Vdd)
In this way, the Dickson charge pump circuit boosts the voltage by successively transferring electric charge to a next stage using the diodes as charge transfer devices. Although the Dickson charge pump circuit has advantages of no need for the coil and low noise, it also has disadvantage of incapability to provide large output current because of its low efficiency.
With this being the situation, the inventors have improved the Dickson charge pump circuit and have developed a charge pump circuit with high efficiency capable of providing large output current (several milliamperes). The improved charge pump circuit adopts MOS transistors for charge transfer instead of the diodes and has a level shift circuit to provide gates of the MOS transistors for charge transfer with level-shifted high voltage clocks to reduce ON resistance of the MOS transistors for charge transfer.
The improved charge pump circuit is described in a Japanese patent document Kokai (unexamined patent publication) No. 2001-286125.
However, an inrush current has presented a problem in putting the improved charge pump circuit into practical use. The coupling capacitors are not provided with sufficient amount of charge at the beginning of operation of the charge pump circuit. Each of the coupling capacitors is charged with enough amount of charge only after predetermined length of time after an input power supply is applied to the charge transfer devices of the charge pump circuit and the clock driver is put into operation. Thus a large inrush current ranging from 100 mA to 1 A flows from the input power supply and a power supply of the clock driver for duration from start of operation of the charge pump circuit until the charge pump circuit reaches a steady state of operation. A stabilized power supply is generally used as a power supply of the charge pump circuit. i.e. the input power supply and the power supply of the clock driver, while the stabilized power supply provides other circuits in the system with power supply.
Therefore when too large inrush current flows through the charge pump circuit, the stabilized power supply is made unstable, the other circuits malfunction, or a protection circuit of the stabilized power supply is activated, resulting in stopping operation of the other circuits.


Ablation catheters and systems include coaxial catheter shafts with an inner lumen for delivering an ablative agent and an outer lumen for circulation of a cooling element about the catheter. Induction heating is used to heat a chamber and vaporize a fluid within by wrapping a coil about a ferromagnetic chamber and providing an alternating current to the coil. A magnetic field is created in the area surrounding the chamber which induces electric current flow in the chamber, heating the chamber and vaporizing the fluid inside. Positioning elements help maintain the device in the proper position with respect to the target tissue and also prevent the passage of ablative agent to normal tissues.

Ablation, as it pertains to the present specification, relates to the removal or destruction of a body tissue, via the introduction of a destructive agent, such as radiofrequency energy, laser energy, ultrasonic energy, cyroagents, or steam. Ablation is commonly used to eliminate diseased or unwanted tissues, such as, but not limited to cysts, polyps, tumors, hemorrhoids, and other similar lesions.
Steam-based ablation systems, such as the ones disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,615,875, 9,433,457, 9,376,497, 9,561,068, 9,561,067, and 9,561,066, disclose ablation systems that controllably deliver steam through one or more lumens toward a tissue target. One problem that all such steam-based ablation systems have is the potential overheating or burning of healthy tissue. Steam passing through a channel within a body cavity heats up surfaces of the channel and may cause exterior surfaces of the medical tool, other than the operational tool end itself, to become excessively hot. As a result, physicians may unintentionally burn healthy tissue when external portions of the device, other than the distal operational end of the tool, accidentally contacts healthy tissue. U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,561,068, 9,561,067, and 9,561,066 are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Furthermore, it is often desirable to rapidly cool a treatment area after the application of steam or some other ablative agent. Current systems largely rely, however, on a natural cooling process that prolongs treatment time. Alternatively, current medical treatment methods may flush an area with fluid, but that requires implementing a separate medical tool, thereby complicating the procedure and also prolonging treatment times.
It is therefore desirable to have steam-based ablation devices that integrate into the device itself safety mechanisms which prevent unwanted burning during use. It is further desirable to be able to provide a way to augment the natural cooling process to thereby decrease treatment time. Finally, it is desirable to provide an easy to implement cooling mechanism that does not rely on a separate medical tool to deliver fluid to cool the treatment area.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Catheter with a double balloon structure to generate and apply an ablative zone to tissue


An electrostatic microrelay is disclosed. The electrostatic microrelay includes a fixed substrate having a fixed electrode and a fixed terminal on its upper surface and a moveable substrate having a moveable electrode and a moveable terminal on its lower surface. The moveable substrate is elastically supported by a support member that is disposed between the fixed substrate and the moveable substrate in a manner that the lower surface of the moveable substrate faces the upper surface of the fixed substrate at a certain distance. A protrusion is provided on the upper surface of the fixed substrate or the lower surface of the moveable substrate. The protrusion has a certain height. Upon applying voltage between the moveable electrode and the fixed electrode, the moveable electrode is attracted to the fixed electrode such that the protrusion provided on the upper surface of the fixed substrate or the lower surface of the moveable substrate contacts the other substrate and the moveable terminal elastically contacts the fixed terminal to close the microrelay in this order. Also, upon releasing the voltage from the electrode, the moveable terminal becomes reliably separated from the fixed terminal by a repulsive elastic force caused by the contact between the protrusion and the other substrate.

An electrostatic microrelay known in the art is shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication HEI5-2976 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,368).
In this electrostatic microrelay, a moveable substrate 202 is elastically supported by a frame-like support portion 201 provided on the surface of a fixed substrate 200 so that a fixed electrode 203 formed on the upper surface of the fixed substrate 200 and a moveable electrode 204 formed on the lower surface of the moveable substrate 202 are placed facing each other. By applying a voltage between the fixed electrode 203 and the movable electrode 204, electrostatic attraction force is generated to attract the moveable electrode 204 toward the fixed electrode 203. As a result, the moveable substrate 202 is bent such that a moveable terminal 205 contacts a fixed terminal 206 to close the relay.
However, when the relay is closed at the terminals, cohesion or adhesion may occur. Therefore, in order to reliably break the contact of the terminals, elastic recovery force of the moveable substrate needs to be set large enough to separate the moveable terminal from the fixed terminal. For this reason, it is necessary to increase electrostatic attraction force between the electrodes, by, for example, increasing the driving voltage (voltage applied between the electrodes), increasing the electrode area where the electrodes are facing to each other, decreasing the distance between the electrodes, or using an electret. As a result, the volume of the microrelay has been increased and electric voltage durability of the terminals has been deteriorated, and structure and machining process of the microrelay becomes more complicated, resulting in increase of production cost.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a microrelay having a better capability of breaking the contact of the terminals using a simple and small structure, and which can be easily manufactured at low-cost.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electrostatic microrelay which comprises a fixed substrate having a fixed electrode thereon, and a moveable substrate having a moveable electrode thereon. The moveable substrate is positioned a selected distance from the fixed substrate. The moveable substrate faces the fixed substrate and is supported by a support member, wherein application of voltage between the moveable substrate and the fixed substrate generates an electrostatic attraction force therebetween so as to move the moveable electrode toward the fixed substrate so that a moveable terminal formed on the moveable substrate contacts a fixed terminal formed on the fixed substrate to close the microrelay. The electrostatic microrelay comprises a protrusion provided on at least one of the fixed substrate and the moveable substrate wherein the protrusion provided on one of the substrates contacts the other substrate after the movement of the moveable substrate toward the fixed substrate but before the terminals are closed.
Under this configuration, when a voltage is applied between the electrodes to generate electrostatic attraction force therebetween, a portion of the moveable substrate extending from the support member thereof is elastically deformed and the protrusion provided on either one of the substrates contacts the other substrate. By this movement, the moveable electrode comes close to the fixed electrode, thereby increasing the electrostatic attraction force. As a result the moveable substrate is partially elastically deformed around the protrusion, and the moveable electrode adheres to the fixed electrode such that the moveable terminals are closed at the fixed terminals. Thereafter, if the voltage applied between the electrodes is removed, the electrostatic attraction force disappears. In addition, the elastic force generated by the bend of the extending portion and the elastic force caused by the partial deformation of the protrusion at the time of contact with the substrate works as the separation force of the terminals. Once the protrusion is separated from the substrate, the moveable substrate recovers to its original opposing position portion due to the elastic force generated by the bend of the whole body.
The protrusion may be formed at least at one position between the support member and the moveable terminal.
The height of the protrusion may be the height or less at which the terminals can be closed by elastically deforming the moveable substrate at nearby the protrusion by using the electrostatic attraction force generated between the electrodes. For example, the height of the protrusion may be determined to be one third of the distance between the separated substrates. Under this configuration, the closing of the terminals is not obstructed by the existence of the protrusion.
By evenly supporting the moveable substrate via a plurality of beam members which extend from the moveable substrate, the moveable electrode may be smoothly moved both before and after the protrusion contacts the substrate.
Beam members elastically support the moveable substrate at two positions in point symmetry around the moveable terminal.
Signal lines are positioned on a single straight line on the fixed substrate.
The portion of the moveable substrate which opposes the signal line is removed, the moveable terminals are elastically supported at two positions which perpendicularly cross the straight line of the signal line but does not face the signal lines.
A pair of protrusions may be point-symmetrically formed around the moveable terminal where the protrusion first contacts either one of the substrates after the close of the terminals.
In this configuration, the terminal breaking force can be changed in two stages corresponding to the change of electrostatic attraction force regardless of the configuration which is adapted to the open-close operation of high frequency signals. Namely, in the range where the electrostatic attraction force is weak, the protrusions do not contact the opposing substrate, and the moveable substrate is easily deformed in accordance with electrostatic attraction force. Also, in the range where electrostatic attraction force is strong, the elastic force of the moveable substrate becomes large due to the contact of the protrusions with the opposing substrate. Moreover, the protrusion is formed in the position where it first contacts the opposing substrate after the terminals are closed. Therefore, because the elastic force of the moveable substrate can be changed at the most suitable position in relation to the electrostatic attraction curve, it becomes possible to improve the terminal separation characteristics.
The protrusions may be formed on either one of the substrates in the portion of the substrate that contacts the opposing substrate after the protrusion contacts the opposing substrate in order of precedence in which since change of the electric force by the side of the moveable contact can be made to meet the electrostatic attraction curve, it is enable to obtain suitable force of contact-breaking.
The protrusion may be formed of insulation material. By removing electrode from the portion where the protrusions contact, adhesion of organic materials between the protrusion and the electrode can be prevented, thereby achieving desired stable performance characteristics for a long period of time.
In addition, the electrostatic microrelay having the above configuration is suitable for opening and closing terminals used in wireless transmission apparatus and/or high frequency signal devices, such as radio devices and measuring devices.


A method of wirelessly communicating between units comprises using at least two repeaters between a transmit unit and a receive unit. The repeaters enable a diversity scheme to be emulated.

The present invention is related to a method of creating spatial diversity in wireless communication networks.
Wireless communication systems have exploded in popularity in recent years. Cellular phones, pagers, and more recently Bluetooth devices all take advantage of these wireless communication systems. A common obstacle to wireless communications is a phenomenon known as fading, where messages transmitted between two units in the system are lost or garbled.
One technique to combat fading is using diversity schemes such as a spatial transmit diversity scheme. Transmit diversity schemes send at least two signals from distinct antennas or antenna elements. The signals contain parts or all of the same message. The goal of transmit diversity it to alleviate the effects of fading. The signals are transmitted in such a way that they do not cancel each other at the receiver. The receiver can process the signals to exploit diversity and improve performance. Transmit diversity can be viewed as a dual of traditional receive diversity, where signals from multiple receive antennas are processed by the receiver. Transmit and receive diversity can also be used together to obtain further improvements. Transmit diversity methods include delay diversity, the Alamouti code, the Lindskog-Paulraj technique, space-time codes, BLAST, and other similar methods. Some transmit diversity schemes require multiple transmit antennas, which may be difficult to implement in small, inexpensive wireless devices. For example, Bluetooth devices typically have a single transmit antenna operative in the Bluetooth frequency band.

Method to achieve diversity in a communication network


A processor having a limited amount of local memory for storing code and/or data utilizes a program stored in external memory. The program stored in external memory is configured into blocks which can be loaded individually into the local memory for execution. Queuing the individual blocks of code allows the program to be executed by the processor and also facilitates loading of the subsequent code to be executed. A semaphore system can be utilized to indicate which blocks of local memory are available/unavailable. A group of transfer parameters as queue entries allow code and data for an algorithm to be transferred between both local and external memory.

This invention relates generally to the implementation of complex computations in an environment that has limited storage and execution resources. More particularly, this invention relates to transferring data from external memory to a local memory of a processor.
In certain areas of computing, for example in the audio/video field, complex algorithms must often be performed to decompress and manipulate audio and video data so that the data can be broadcast in real time. In the use of MPEG protocols to transmit data, for example, header information is removed from the payload data before the payload data can be displayed or played. Similarly, where the data is compressed, the data must be decompressed so that it can be put to use. A variety of other processes are similarly performed on the data in order to manipulate it.
In a processor with limited resources, however, this manipulation is often difficult to achieve in a time efficient manner. Namely, a processor with a limited local memory can only store a small amount of code to be executed and its accompanying data. Hence, a complete application program typically cannot be loaded into the local memory all at once. Therefore, there is a need for a system that can load code into the processor's local memory in an efficient manner while the existing code resident in the processor is being executed.
Another drawback created by a small local memory is the start and stop nature of loading code into the local memory. Only a small amount of code can be stored by the small local memory. Hence, space in local memory typically must become available before it can be refilled with unexecuted code. Furthermore, the code that is being used to refill the space typically should be loaded by the time the remaining code finishes execution in order to achieve maximum efficiency. Thus, there is a tradeoff between waiting for enough space in local memory to become available and completely loading a space of local memory by the time the previous code has finished loading. Consequently, there is a need for a system that allows a transfer of data to be estimated such that the transfer of code from external memory to internal memory can be completed by the time the resident code completes execution.

Method of analyzing data utilizing queue entry


A control apparatus for a cylinder-injection spark-ignition internal combustion engine, having a fuel injection valve for directly injecting fuel to a combustion chamber and controlling the fuel injection valve on the basis of either an intake stroke injection mode for effecting fuel injection mainly in the intake stroke and a compression stroke injection mode for effecting fuel injection mainly in the compression stroke. A fuel injection quantity correction device corrects at least the fuel injection quantity supplied to the combustion chamber and an intake air quantity correction device corrects the intake air quantity supplied to the combustion chamber so that the preset target idle speed is reached when an idle operation state is detected. An idle speed control device controls the idle speed on the basis of each correction amount corrected by the fuel injection quantity correction device and intake air quantity correction device when an idle operation state is detected and the compression stroke injection mode is selected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus for controlling engine rotational speed of a cylinder-injection spark-ignition internal combustion engine capable of injecting fuel in the compression and intake strokes.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to reduce harmful exhaust gas components or improve fuel efficiency in a spark-ignition internal combustion engine mounted on a vehicle, there have recently been proposed various types of cylinder-injection gasoline engines, in which fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber, in place of conventional manifold-injection engines.
A cylinder-injection gasoline engine is designed so that an air-fuel mixture with an air-fuel ratio near the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio is produced around a spark plug at the time of ignition, for example, by injecting the fuel from a fuel injection valve into a cavity formed on the top of a piston, thereby enabling ignition with a generally lean air-fuel ratio. Accordingly, the discharge amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) can be reduced, and the fuel efficiency during idle operation or low-load running can be improved considerably.
In a gasoline engine of this type, the fuel injection mode is switched between a compression stroke injection mode (late injection mode) and an intake stroke injection mode (early injection mode). Thereby, during low-load operation, the fuel is injected in the compression stroke, so that the air-fuel mixture with an air-fuel ratio near the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio can be formed around the spark plug or in the cavity. As a result, satisfactory ignition is enabled even with a generally lean air-fuel ratio. During medium- and high-load operation, the fuel is injected in the intake stroke, so that the air-fuel mixture with a uniform air-fuel ratio can be formed in the combustion chamber. As a result, like the manifold-injection engine, the output required in acceleration or high-speed running can be secured by burning large amounts of fuel.
In this cylinder-injection gasoline engine as well, like the conventional manifold-injection internal combustion engine, the idle speed control is carried out to maintain a stable idle speed in idle operation.
In this case, when the fuel injection mode is the intake stroke injection mode and the engine is in the idle operation state, the fuel is injected in the intake stroke, so that the idle speed control can be carried out as with the case of the manifold-injection engine.
In the case where an external load of accessories such as an air conditioner is applied or released, the engine speed Ne is decreased or increased. In the intake stroke injection mode, to prevent the decrease or increase, the intake air quantity is corrected by the opening control of an air bypass valve (ABV), which functions mainly as an idle speed controller. Further, to increase or decrease the engine output with high response, the advance angle correction or lag angle correction of ignition timing is made temporarily immediately after the application or release of external load, thereby rapidly stabilizing the idle speed.
However, in the cylinder-injection gasoline engine, in case the fuel injection mode is the compression stroke injection mode, ignition is effected when fuel spray is collected satisfactorily in the vicinity of the spark plug, thereby achieving good combustion (MBT (minimum advance for best torque) setting). When the fuel injection mode is the compression stroke injection mode and the engine is in the idle operation mode, therefore, although the correction of intake air quantity can be made, the deterioration in combustion may be caused if the correction of ignition timing is made to improve the response. Therefore, it is not preferable to make ignition timing correction for idle speed control in the compression stroke injection mode.

Control apparatus for a cylinder-injection spark-ignition internal combustion engine

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha


A method of forming a semiconductor device includes forming a gate electrode on a substrate, forming a first spacer on a sidewall of the gate electrode, forming a second spacer on the first spacer, and forming a capping pattern on top surfaces of the gate electrode, the first spacer and the second spacer. An outer sidewall of the second spacer is vertically aligned with a sidewall of the capping pattern.

The inventive concepts relate to semiconductor devices and methods of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to semiconductor devices including FET (field effect transistor) structures and methods of manufacturing the same.
A semiconductor device may include an integrated circuit including a plurality of MOSFETs (metal oxide semiconductor FETs). As the design rule of MOSFETs decreases, the sizes of MOSFETs are gradually being reduced. Reducing the size of a MOSFET may cause a short channel effect, which can degrade the operational characteristics of a semiconductor device. Accordingly, various methods of forming semiconductor devices that can overcome limitations due to increased integration are being studied.

Methods of manufacturing semiconductor devices including gate patterns with sidewall spacers and capping patterns on the sidewall spacers


A semiconductor integrated circuit comprising a terminal connected to the ground potential between an input and an output terminal of an oscillator so that a ground wire pattern of sufficient width is provided between the input and output terminals on the wiring substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor chip with a circuit connected to an oscillator to generate clocks, and a semiconductor integrated circuit with the semiconductor chip sealed in a package.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a semiconductor integrated circuit including a circuit to generate an oscillating wave by means of connecting an oscillator outside between an input and an output terminals, it is known to be effective for lightening the hindrance in oscillation such as an parasitic oscillation or the like to shorten the wiring length as much as possible between the oscillator and the semiconductor integrated circuit, and to ground or shield the vicinity of the input and the output terminals by a ground earth wire of low impedance disposed between the terminals. However, the input and the output terminals to the oscillator are provided too close to each other in a conventional semiconductor integrated circuit.
FIG. 1 is a partial plan view showing the periphery of an oscillating circuit of a conventional semiconductor integrated circuit. In the figure, a numeral 1 denotes a semiconductor chip 1 which has an input electrode 4 for inputting an oscillating waveform from an oscillator 8a and an output electrode 6 for supplying a voltage to oscillate the oscillator 8a. The semiconductor chip 1 is fixed to a frame 3 of the ground potential and sealed in a package 2. The package 2 has an input terminal 5 and an output terminal 7 to be respectively connected with the input electrode 4 and the output electrode 6 of the semiconductor chip 1 via metallic wires.
An output and an input terminal of the two-terminal oscillator 8a are connected via capacitors 9, 9 for reducing harmonic noises in the oscillating waveform to the corresponding input terminal 5 and output terminal 7 of the package 2 by wire patterns formed on a wiring substrate 12. A ground wire pattern 14 to shield between the input terminals and output terminals is formed between the above wire patterns for connecting the input and the output terminals 5 and 7 with the input and the output terminals of the oscillator 8a.
FIG. 2 is a partial plan view showing the periphery of an oscillating circuit of a conventional semiconductor integrated circuit to which a three-terminal oscillator with a capacitor incorporated is connected. In the drawing, references 10 and 8b represent a semiconductor integrated circuit and a three-terminal oscillator, respectively. Generally, the central terminal of the oscillator 8b is a connecting terminal to the ground potential, and the output and the input terminals located on both sides of the connecting terminal are connected to the input and the output terminals 5 and 7, respectively of the semiconductor integrated circuit.
In the conventional semiconductor integrated circuits in the above-described structure, the wire pattern on the wiring substrate is inevitably bent in the vicinity of the oscillator, thus causing the wiring length to be elongated and to increase the wiring area, since the input and the output terminals are arranged adjacent to each other, and moreover, since the interval of the terminals becomes narrower according to the recent trend of higher integration of the circuit.
Further, although it is generally ideal that the ground wire has a low impedance, the wiring width of the ground wire pattern 14 is too narrow to obtain enough ground effect because the space between the input and the output terminals 5 and 7 is narrow. At the same time, the narrow space hinders ground within the package between the input and the output terminals 5 and 7.
If an ground wire is provided between the input and the output terminals 5 and 7 of the semiconductor integrated circuit connected with a three-terminal oscillator, the ground effect cannot be expected so much as above due to the narrow wiring width. In this case, therefore, the central ground terminal of the oscillator is connected to a wire of the ground potential pulled from the other surface or from the other wiring layer of the wiring substrate. Further, the oscillator is necessary to be separated by a predetermined distance from the semiconductor integrated circuit in order to wire between the input terminal and the output terminal of the oscillator and the semiconductor integrated circuit in a manner not to overlap the ground terminal of the oscillator. As a result, the wiring length becomes longer thereby to increase the wiring area.

Semiconductor integrated circuit having a grounding terminal