A hybrid telemetry system includes a plurality of telemetry networks configured to communicate a modulated signal representing digital data along adjoining sections of a pipe string. The plurality of telemetry networks may each be optimized or particularly suitable for the configuration of the pipe string, the well, and/or the environment of the well occurring in each of the adjoining sections. Some of the plurality of telemetry networks may overlap to provide redundancy of the communication of the digital data.

This disclosure relates generally to methods and apparatus for communicating digital data along a pipe string that is for use in a well.
Often, that pipe string has sections of variable diameter along its length. For example, the diameter of the pipe string may be locally reduced to accommodate a tool around the pipe string, or otherwise enlarged to accommodate tool joints at the extremities of a pipe body, collars, etc. These variations of diameter may induce multiple reflections of waves that travel in the wall of the pipe string or in the fluid provided in the central bore of the pipe string. As a consequence of these reflections, it may be difficult to communicate digital data along the entire length of the pipe string by using a single telemetry type that relies on wave propagation either in the wall of the pipe string or in the fluid located in the central bore of the pipe string.
Further, the pipe string may have sections that lie on the wall of the well, such as in horizontal or highly deviated portions of the well, sections that are centered in the well, such as in vertical portions of the well, and/or sections that are highly curved. These changes of configuration of the pipe string and/or the well may cause changes in the frequency response of the medium or attenuation of waves that travel in the wall of the pipe string or in the fluid provided in the central bore of the pipe string. As a consequence of these variations, it may be difficult to communicate digital data along a pipe string in a well by using a single telemetry type for every configuration of the pipe string and/or the well.
Also, some portions of the well may be cased, while other portions of the well may be open-hole. Some portions of the material surrounding the well may be electrically conductive (such as in the ocean around a riser), while other portions of the material surrounding the well may not be electrically conductive (such as hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs). These changes of environment of the well may cause attenuation of electromagnetic waves. Again, as a consequence of these attenuations, it may be difficult to communicate digital data along a pipe string in a well by using a single telemetry type for every environment of the well.
Still further, sources of noise, such as electromagnetic noise, or acoustic noise, are often present at different locations along a pipe string. For example, mud pumps located on a drilling rig may cause acoustic noise near the proximal end of the pipe string. A drill bit or a mud motor may cause another type of acoustic noise near the distal end of the pipe string. The characteristics of the noise generated by these sources (such as frequency and magnitude) usually vary along the well. Yet again, as a consequence of the noise variations, it may be difficult to communicate digital data along a pipe string in a well by using a single telemetry type that relies on the same modulation frequency regardless of the source of noises that may be present.
Finally, mechanical constraints imposed by the wellbore (such as available space) and/or imposed on the pipe string (such required strength) may change along the length of the pipe string. Because of these different mechanical constraints, it may be difficult to communicate digital data along a pipe string by using a single telemetry type. For example, it may be difficult to use only an acoustic telemetry based on clamp-on transceivers, or only an acoustic telemetry based on inline transceivers (incorporated in the wall of a collar).
Thus, there is a continuing need in the art for methods and apparatus for communicating digital data along a pipe string. Preferably, these methods and apparatus involve multiple telemetry networks operating in series to communicate digital data bi-directionally between downhole locations and the surface. Each telemetry network may be optimized or particularly suitable for communicating digital data along each of multiple sections of the pipe string or each of multiple portions of the well.

Serial hybrid downhole telemetry networks


A distributed database comprising a plurality of interconnected nodes. Each node may include an external interface configured to receive a data element from a data source external to the distributed database. The data element may include one or more data fragments. Each of the one or more data fragments may be linked to a single aspect of a plurality of aspects. The external interface may also be configured to divide the data element into the one or more data fragments. Each node may also include a local database configured to store the one or more data fragments. Each node may further include an internal interface configured to send the one or more data fragments to a destination node within the distributed database.

In a distributed database, multiple computers (i.e., nodes) communicate information with each other without sharing physical components such as processors, memory devices, etc. The computers may be located in the same physical location (e.g., in the same server room) or they may be dispersed across different geographic locations. One advantage of distributed databases is that performance for end users is improved by allowing transactions to be processed on many machines, instead of being limited to a single machine. Another advantage is that distributed databases may be easily expanded with additional computers, and computers that are currently connected to the distributed database may be easily replaced due to, e.g., a hardware failure or routine maintenance.
Despite these advantages, distributed databases have several drawbacks. For example, a simple data retrieval request made by an end user may cause significantly more computations than a similar request made to a centralized database due to the increased complexity of finding a particular piece of data within the distributed database and moving the data across multiple nodes. Another drawback of distributed databases is the increased vulnerability to security threats. For example, the movement of data across multiple communication links between nodes increases the number of opportunities for a data breach. Accordingly, new systems, methods, and other techniques for improving distributed databases are needed.

Environmental lifecycle data management system


The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method that includes receiving at a computing device that is in a locked state, one or more user inputs to unlock the device and to execute at least one command that is different from a command for unlocking the device. The method further includes executing in response to the user inputs to unlock the device an unlocking operation by the device to convert the device from a locked state to an unlocked state. The method further includes executing the at least one command in response to receiving the user inputs to execute the at least one command. The at least one command executes so that results of executing the at least one command are first displayed on the device to a user automatically after the device changes from the locked state to the unlocked state.

Computing devices, such as smartphones or desktop computers, often have a security measure that prevents accidental and/or unauthorized access. The locking of a device may simply be aimed at preventing casual contact with the device from leading to a dialed number or similar input, or it may be aimed at preventing a user other than the owner of the device from accessing the full functionality of the device (partial functionality like a clock and access to dialing 911 may be permitted even when the device is locked). For example, a user of a smartphone may enter a number of alphanumeric characters to gain access to the full functionality of the smartphone, or a smartphone may have a touchscreen on which a simple pattern can be drawn by a user to unlock the device. A more complex pattern can be used to prevent access by unauthorized users. Larger computers, such as desktop computers, also often require a person to enter a username and password to unlock or gain access to the device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A traffic light control system comprises a passive infra-red presence detection system for detecting the presence of a target emitting infra-red radiation, which comprises a pyro-electric detector including an array of pyro-electric sensor elements. The pyro-electric detector is arranged to generate a signal representative of movement of the target within a detection zone of the detector. By priding a signal processing unit which operates to analyse pulses present in the signal, the said presence detection system is provided with a means whereby it can not only detect movement of the target within the detection zone but also whether that target has moved into and stopped within the detection zone.

The present invention relates to passive infra-red presence detectors which operate to detect the presence of a target emitting infra-red radiation.
In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to passive infra-red presence detectors for use within traffic control systems.
Traffic control systems operate to regulate the flow of traffic at predetermined junctions within a road system of a town. Typically, traffic control systems take the form of traffic lights operatively connected to a controller. The controller operates to generate instructions which are visually represented by the traffic lights, which thereby provides a means for instructing the vehicles to `stop` or `go` in accordance with a predetermined routine. In order to operate effectively, such traffic control systems must be provided with a means for detecting the presence and movement of vehicles.
Known systems for detecting the presence and movement of vehicles on roads include the use of inductance loops buried in roads over which the vehicles pass. An inductance loop operates to detect the presence of a vehicle from a change in the inductance of the loop, as a result of the presence of a vehicle. Disadvantages with this known system arise from the requirement that the inductance loop must be buried in a road at a position over which the vehicles pass. Inductance loops are expensive to bury and are often disturbed when the road in which they are buried has to be repaired or, alternatively the repair of the road is rendered more difficult. Furthermore, inductance loops are unsuitable for use with metalised roads.
The aforementioned disadvantages with inductance loops have led to a preference for above ground detectors. Such above ground detectors include microwave sensors which operate to detect microwaves transmitted and reflected by vehicles on an approach road to a traffic control system, thereby providing a means for detecting the movement of a vehicle from the reflected microwaves, in accordance with a change in a time between transmission and reception. Such microwave sensors are however expensive. For this reason passive infra-red detectors, which serve to detect the presence of a target vehicle from infra-red radiation emitted thereby, are preferred.
Known passive infra-red detectors use either pyro-electric sensors or thermopile sensors, or a combination of both. A thermopile sensor operates to generate a signal representative of an absolute level of infra-red radiation received from a target vehicle. Thermopile sensors are therefore appropriate for use in detecting static target vehicles, although they may also be used for dynamic targets. However, thermopile sensors are expensive to implement and provide a poor signal to noise ratio. By contrast, pyro-electric sensors are inexpensive and provide a comparatively high signal to noise ratio. However pyro-electric sensors suffer a disadvantage in that they only detect changes in infra-red radiation. Therefore, such pyro-electric sensors are only suitable for detecting movement of a target emitting infra-red radiation and hitherto have been inappropriate for use in detecting stationary targets. For this reason, passive infra-red presence detection systems, which are required to detect both stationary as well as moving targets embody both pyro-electric sensors as well as thermopile sensors.


Embodiments of a device and a technique are disclosed for locating the angular position of a radiating point source with respect to a detector comprising a point source of radiation, a variable transmissivity mask with pseudo-random variations, a multi-element detector and computing means for interpreting the detected image. The mask pattern, when illuminated by a point source of radiation, casts an image on the detector array. Computing means determine the pattern shift to allow determination of point source angular location in two dimensions. The mask transmissivity pattern and corresponding image vary in two dimensions, in such a manner as to yield two correlation peaks that indicate the incident angle in two dimensions. The differential shift and common mode shift in correlation peaks indicate the respective angles of incidence, allowing determination of the angular position of the light source.

The present invention relates to a sensor for determining the angular position of a radiating point source in two dimensions. The present invention has particular pertinence in the field of surgery, with particular reference to close range surgical instrument tracking. Additionally, the present invention is applicable in the fields of virtual reality and pilot head tracking systems.
In the prior art, systems have been devised that employ one dimensional masked or coded apertures placed above multi-element one dimensional detectors. Such structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,810,870 and 5,408,323. In such systems, correlation techniques are employed to determine the position of a projected pseudo-random pattern on a detector surface by comparing signals from fixed detector elements arranged in a unique pattern or from comparison with fixed reference signals previously stored in a computer.
Additionally, it is known in the prior art to use a two dimensional aperture and a one dimensional detector in the form of a charge coupled device (CCD) to determine angular position in two dimensions. Such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,072. A drawback of such a system is that it does not provide immunity from errors resulting from reflections, and does not yield sufficiently high enough resolution as is the case with techniques employing pseudo-random patterns and correlation techniques.
It is with the deficiencies in the prior art in mind, as described above, that the present invention was developed.

Sensor for determining the angular position of a radiating point source in two dimensions


Disclosed is a data transmission method, including: determining a time domain structure, the time domain structure chronologically and sequentially including a first downlink part, a second downlink part, a first uplink part, and a second uplink part, wherein a guard period GP is further included between the second downlink part and the first uplink part; and transmitting data according to the time domain structure; wherein, information transmitted by the first uplink part corresponds to information transmitted by the first downlink part, and information transmitted by the second uplink part corresponds to information transmitted by the second downlink part.

A self-contained subframe structure refers to limiting a variety of signals related to one Downlink (DL) transmission or one Uplink (UL) transmission of a certain terminal device into one subframe period without relying on interpolation and other joint operations with an adjacent subframe. The design of the self-contained subframe structure is an important technical improvement in a 5G system. On one hand, the forward compatibility of a 5G air interface can be guaranteed. The adjacent subframe may be used for new services or new technologies that will be introduced by 5G in the future (e.g., vertical industry applications such as the Internet of Things), and these services or new technologies may adopt completely different designs; therefore, "completely blank" subframe resources should be reserved for these unknown technologies as much as possible, thus avoiding any pre-set constraints. If the current design of 5G requires to basing on joint operations among multiple subframes, the development space for 5G new technologies may be limited. On the other hand, an uplink and downlink loopback operation with a low time delay may be implemented. For the low time-delay requirement of 5G, it is an effective improvement way to speed up a rhythm of various uplink and downlink loopback operations. By placing downlink resource allocation (DL SA), downlink data, and downlink ACK/NACK in one subframe, or placing Uplink Resource Grant (UL Grant), and uplink data in one subframe, time delays of downlink data transmission and uplink data transmission can be minimized; or, by placing downlink Channel State Information (CSI), a Reference Signal (RS) (e.g., CSI-RS), and a CSI report in one subframe, the time delay of channel measurement feedback can be minimized.
The self-contained subframe structure may be roughly divided into two types of subframes: DL-dominant subframes and UL-dominant subframes. In addition to a main portion configured to transmit Downlink Control Signaling (e.g., DL SA) and Downlink Data (DL Data), the DL-dominant subframe may also contain an uplink control channel carrying downlink ACK/NACK. In addition to transmitting uplink control signaling and Uplink Data (UL Data) by a main portion, the UL-dominant subframe may also transmit related Downlink Control Signaling (e.g., UL Grant).
However, such associated and tightly jointed structure has a certain drawback, i.e., the problem of processing time delay is not considered. For the DL-dominant subframes, after the terminal receives the downlink data, since ACK/NACK contents may be determined only after the downlink data is demodulated and decoded, the processing time delay needs several tens or even hundreds of microseconds (μs). In the same way, for the UL-dominant subframes, the terminal may start sending the uplink data only after demodulating the UL Grant signaling in the downlink control signaling, which also needs a processing time delay of several tens of microseconds (μs).

GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD.


A multi-axis machine tool presents a gantry positioned over a bed equipped with a machining station in which to position a workpiece, a moving beam associated slidably with the gantry, aligned on a horizontal direction and translatable in a vertical direction, a carriage associated slidably with the moving beam and traversable in the horizontal direction, and a tool holder mounted to the carriage. The tool holder is mounted direct to the carriage, making no use of quills or telescopic arms, with freedom to rotate relative to the carriage about two positioning axes.

The present invention relates to a multi-axis machine tool of which the essential features are recited in the preamble of claim 1 appended.
More particularly, the invention is pertinent to the art field of numerically controlled multi-axis machine tools used to perform high-speed milling operations.
Conventionally, such machine tools are utilized particularly in the aerospace industries for contouring and drilling parts made of aluminum and composite materials, and in the automobile sector for producing master models, models for bodywork, internal parts and dies.
Multi-axis machines of the type in question comprise a frame, or gantry, composed of two upright members with first ends anchored slidably or otherwise to the bed of the machine, and a horizontal cross member extending between and rigidly associated with the second ends of the two upright members.
Such machines also comprise a moving horizontal member, or beam, sliding on the upright members and consequently positionable closer to or farther from the bed. The bed affords a machining station to which the workpiece is secured.
The moving beam is coupled slidably by its two opposite ends to the upright members and serves to support a carriage, traversable horizontally along the beam. The carriage in turn carries a machining head with a tool holder, to which the tool best suited to the machining operation is clamped.
More particularly, a first conventional type of multi-axis machine is equipped with a tool holder having one degree of freedom, namely rotational, relative to the carriage traversable horizontally along the moving beam.
In this instance, the machining station has two degrees of freedom relative to the gantry of the machine tool, in that the station is translatable and rotatable with respect to the gantry.
Accordingly, the machine tool has five degrees of freedom and is able to perform the requisite operations on the workpiece correctly.
In reality however, machine tools of this type will not allow particularly large workpieces to be processed, given that during the rotation of the machining station, such bulky items would interfere with the uprights of the gantry and effectively prevent the work from being positioned correctly in relation to the tool holder.
In another conventional type of machine tool, the tool holder has two degrees of freedom relative to the carriage traversable horizontally along the moving beam.
In particular, the tool holder is mounted to a quill extendible along a vertical axis relative to the carriage and rotatable about this same vertical axis.
In this instance, the machining station possesses just one degree of freedom relative to the gantry, consisting in relative translational motion between gantry and station.
Accordingly, the machine tool has five degrees of freedom and is able to perform the requisite operations on the workpiece correctly.
With this second type of design, however, the rigidity of the connection between tool and machine is afforded by the rigidity of the quill, and since the rigidity of the quill when extended from the carriage is decidedly low, when compared to that of the carriage and the moving beam, high machining accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
Moreover, because the rigidity in question is dependent on the portion of the quill projecting from the carriage, the load transmissible from the tool to the workpiece compatible with a given level of machining accuracy can never be constant, as the maximum load applicable to the work in machining has to be calculated on the basis of the distance the quill is extended from the tool carriage.
The applicant finds that multi-axis machine tools of the prior art are improvable in a number of ways, with regard particularly to the accuracy and flexibility in machining of which they are capable.
In the light of the foregoing, the main object of the present invention is to provide a multi-axis machine tool unaffected by the drawbacks mentioned.
In particular, the object of the invention is to set forth a multi-axis machine tool capable of high machining accuracy.
A further object of the present invention is to set forth a multi-axis machine tool able to process workpieces of sizeable proportions.


A bicycle shift position control mechanism is configured to provide a bicycle shifting unit with multiple gear shifting in a single upshift operation or a single downshift operation. The shift position control mechanism that has a wire take up member, a positioning member, a first position maintaining member and a second position maintaining member. The positioning member rotates with the wire take up member between one of a plurality of predetermined shift positions. The first position maintaining member selectively moves between a first engagement position that holds the positioning member in one of the predetermined shift positions and a first disengagement position that releases the positioning member for rotational movement. The second position maintaining member selectively moves between a second engagement position that holds the positioning member in one of the predetermined shift positions and a second disengagement position that releases the positioning member for rotational movement.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a bicycle control device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a bicycle control device that performs shifting operations.
2. Background Information
Bicycling is becoming an increasingly more popular form of recreation as well as a means of transportation. Moreover, bicycling has become a very popular competitive sport for both amateurs and professionals. Whether the bicycle is used for recreation, transportation or competition, the bicycle industry is constantly improving the various components of the bicycle. In particular, control devices for shifting have been extensively redesigned in recent years.
Currently, there are many types of cable operated shifting devices currently being installed on bicycles. For example, some cable operated shifting devices have a pair of shift levers and a cable winding mechanism that rotates via a ratchet mechanism. With conventional cable operated shifting devices of this type, operation of one of the shift lever causes the cable winder to rotate via the ratchet mechanism in one direction by one gear at a time. As a result, the cable is wound around the cable winder, and a shift is made by the shift mechanism from one gear to the next gear. Operation of the other shift lever causes the ratchet mechanism to be released and the cable winder to rotate in the other direction by one gear at a time. As a result, the cable that was wound on the cable winder is played out, and a shift is made in the opposite direction by the shift mechanism.
More recently, some cable operated shifting devices have been developed that allow multiple gear shifts in a single operation of one of the shift levers. When performing multiple gear shifts in a single operation, it is desirable for the rider to know when a shift occurs. Thus, various indexing arrangements have been developed to let the rider know when a shift has occurred. These prior shifting devices with indexing arrangements can be complicated and expensive to manufacture and assemble. Furthermore, these prior shifting devices can be sometimes heavy and/or cumbersome.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved bicycle control (shifting) device. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.


An image sensor device includes a semiconductor substrate having a first type of conductivity, a semiconductor layer having the first type of conductivity formed on the semiconductor substrate, and pixels formed in the semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer includes a first deep well having the first type of conductivity and substantially underlying the plurality of pixels, and a second deep well having a second type of conductivity different from the first type of conductivity and substantially underlying the first deep well.

In semiconductor technologies, image sensors are used for sensing a volume of exposed light projected towards a semiconductor substrate. Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors (CIS) and charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors are widely used in various applications such as digital still camera applications. These devices utilize an array of pixels or image sensor elements, including photodiodes and transistors, to collect photo energy to convert images into electrical signals.
However, image sensor devices suffer from cross-talk. That is, light targeted for one image sensor element (and the electrical signal generated thereby) may spread to neighboring image sensor elements, which causes cross-talk. Cross-talk will degrade spatial resolution, reduce overall optical sensitivity, and result in poor color separation.
Therefore, what is needed is a simple and cost-effective device and method for reducing cross-talk in image sensors.

Cross-talk reduction through deep pixel well implant for image sensors

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


In a multilayer printed wiring board having a plurality of laminated resin layers, a plurality of wiring patterns formed on the interfacial surface of the resin layers, and a plurality of lands formed on the outermost layer of the resin layers and on which the solder is provided, at least one of the wiring patterns has a plurality of openings in the form of a mesh, the size of openings of the wiring patterns in a region corresponding to the position of solder in which a stress generated in the solder provided on the lands becomes a value larger than a desired value due to thermal deformation of the semiconductor device and the multilayer printed wiring board is larger than that of openings in the other regions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiring pattern of a multilayer printed wiring board mounting a semiconductor device.
2. Related Background Art
A printed circuit board in which a semiconductor device is mounted on a printed wiring board has been used so far for various products. Because wirings of a printed wiring board are increased in density, the BGA method and the CSP method for connecting a semiconductor device with a printed wiring board by a plurality of solder balls arranged like an array have been frequently used. Moreover, a multilayer printed wiring board is generally used.
It is requested for a solder ball for connecting a semiconductor device with a printed wiring board to keep a desired joint strength. To keep the joint strength, it is necessary to minimize a relative deformation between the printed wiring board and the semiconductor device.
However, the printed wiring board is exposed to a high temperature of 200° C. or higher in a heating-cooling process such as a solder reflow process. Moreover, the coefficient of thermal expansion of epoxy resin or glass epoxy resin for forming the printed wiring board is larger than the coefficient of thermal expansion of an IC chip comprising silicon forming a semiconductor device by approximately 10 times. Therefore, in the solder reflow process, the elongation of the printed wiring board becomes larger than the elongation of a semiconductor device including an IC chip having a small coefficient of thermal expansion. Because of the difference between the coefficients of thermal expansion, the printed wiring board greatly warps and thereby, a large stress is applied to a solder ball. Therefore, a crack occurs on the solder ball or the joint between the semiconductor device and the printed wiring board is disconnected.
As a means for reducing the warp, it is known to minimize the coefficient of thermal expansion of the printed wiring board. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-100880 (Patent Document 1) discloses a method for preventing the warp of a multilayer printed wiring board due to thermal expansion and reducing a stress applied to a solder joint portion. That is, a plurality of lands are formed on the surface of a multilayer printed wiring board, a semiconductor device is mounted by solder, and a solid ground layer made of a metal, such as copper, of an inner layer of the multilayer printed wiring board is formed by punching a circular or hexagonal continuous pattern. Thereby, the thermal expansion coefficient of the printed wiring board is decreased and the warp of the printed wiring board is prevented.
Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-343820 (Patent Document 2) discloses that a solid ground layer of an inner layer of a printed wiring board as in Patent Document 1 is formed into a shape a continuous pattern of a circle or polygon such as a hexagon obtained by punching. Moreover, its purpose is to adjust the characteristic impedance of a signal wiring set to a wiring layer adjacent to the ground layer. That is, the characteristic impedance value of the signal wiring set to the adjacent wiring layer is adjusted in accordance with the size or shape of a circular or hexagonal continuous pattern. Thereby, it is possible to realize impedance matching of a wiring and obtain the propagation characteristic of a high-speed stable electric signal.
In recent years, because a product is downsized and has an advanced function, the wiring of a printed wiring board is further increased in density and the size of a solder ball for connecting a semiconductor device with the printed wiring board is further decreased. Therefore, how to maintain a joint strength by small solder ball is a large problem. Moreover, the thickness of a printed wiring board is decreased and the number of wiring pattern layers made of a metal such as a copper foil is increased. Therefore, the coefficient of thermal expansion and the stiffness of a printed wiring board are raised and the difference between coefficients of thermal expansion of a semiconductor device and a printed wiring board is increased.
In the case of a method for forming a continuous pattern of a circle or polygon such as a hexagon on a solid ground layer of an inner layer disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, to stabilize the wiring impedance of the whole wiring layer, it is effective to minimize the size of the continuous pattern of circle or polygon such as a hexagon. However, when the size of the continuous pattern of circle or polygon such as a hexagon is decreased, the coefficient of thermal expansion of a printed wiring board increases and the above problem of warp is actualized.

Multilayer printed wiring board and multilayer printed circuit board


An exhaust gas control apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes a NOx purification catalyst disposed in an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine and carrying a first catalyst metal on a first catalyst carrier, an oxidation catalyst disposed in the downstream exhaust passage of the NOx purification catalyst and carrying second catalyst metals including a base metal on a second catalyst carrier, an air introduction apparatus introducing air into an upstream of the oxidation catalyst, and a temperature detector detecting a temperature of the oxidation catalyst. When an oxidation catalyst temperature is a predetermined temperature or lower, an air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas into the oxidation catalyst is controlled to a more fuel lean ratio than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. When the oxidation catalyst temperature exceeds the predetermined temperature, the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas into the oxidation catalyst is controlled to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exhaust gas control apparatus for an internal combustion engine and particularly to an exhaust gas control apparatus for an internal combustion engine that includes a nitrogen oxide (NOx) purification catalyst and an oxidation catalyst.
2. Description of Related Art
A technology for purifying exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine has been known that uses a NOx purification catalyst. However, use of noble metals in general used as catalyst components of the NOx purification catalyst, for example, platinum group metals such as rhodium (Rh) has been increasing accompanying reinforcement of regulation of automobile exhaust gas. Therefore, there has been a concern about the depletion of the resources. Accordingly, it is required that the amount of the platinum group metals used be reduced and such a function of the platinum group metals be provided by other metals instead.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-309013 (JP 2008-309013 A) discloses an exhaust gas control apparatus for an internal combustion engine that includes a fundamental structure having a first stage base metal catalyst which partially oxidizes mainly hydrocarbons (HC) and produces carbon monoxide (CO) and a second stage base metal catalyst which reduces and purifies NOx. Further, a preferable mode is disclosed such that an exhaust gas at an air-fuel ratio which is slightly more fuel rich than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio is caused to flow into the first stage base metal catalyst, a third stage base metal catalyst which oxidizes and purifies HC and CO is provided on a downstream side of the fundamental structure, and air is introduced into the exhaust gas flowing into the third base metal catalyst by an air introduction apparatus provided between the fundamental structure and the third base metal catalyst. JP 2008-309013 A describes that iron (Fe) can be used as a catalyst component of the second base metal catalyst which reduces and purifies NOx. Further, JP 2008-309013 A describes that an exhaust gas control apparatus having an above configuration facilitates the reduction and purification of NOx by the CO—NO reaction in the second base metal catalyst, and residual CO and HC in the exhaust gas are oxidized and purified in the third base metal catalyst.
Here, in the exhaust gas control apparatus disclosed in JP 2008-309013 A, base metals such as iron (Fe) used as catalyst components have low reduction abilities compared to platinum group metals such as rhodium (Rh), in an atmosphere which has excess oxygen compared to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio such as a fuel lean atmosphere, or an atmosphere around the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. Accordingly, when the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas is a fuel lean ratio or the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, NOx contained in the exhaust gas cannot be sufficiently reduced and purified. Hence, for example, when base metals are used as catalyst metals for the NOx purification catalyst, it is in general preferably that the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas flowing into the NOx purification catalyst is controlled to a more fuel rich air-fuel ratio than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio as described in JP 2008-309013 A. However, at such a fuel rich ratio, in other words, in a reducing atmosphere, for example, nitrogen (N2) contained in the exhaust gas is reduced by HC or the like, and ammonia (NH3) may thereby be produced.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-289211 (JP 2006-289211 A) and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-085557 (JP 10-085557 A) discloses catalysts and methods for oxidizing and decomposing ammonia contained in the exhaust gas.
For example, an ammonia oxidation catalyst disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-289211 (JP 2006-289211 A) prevents the production of nitrous oxide (N2O) from NH3 and oxidizes NH3 to nitric oxide (NO). Accordingly, the ammonia oxidation catalyst disclosed in JP 2006-289211 A does not oxidize and decompose NH3 to nitrogen (N2) and water (H2O) that are harmless. Meanwhile, an exhaust gas control method for purifying an exhaust gas containing ammonia which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-085557 (JP 10-085557 A) is to purify exhaust gases from chemical plants but not to purify an exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine. An exhaust gas control method for purifying an exhaust gas containing ammonia which is disclosed in JP 10-085557 A requires two reactors that are a pre-stage reactor and a post-stage reactor each filled with a catalyst for purifying ammonia. Therefore, in view of cost, installation space, and the like, it is difficult to apply the method disclosed in JP 10-085557 A to an exhaust gas control apparatus for an internal combustion engine.

Exhaust gas control apparatus for internal combustion engine


Disclosed area process and a system for gasifying biomass to obtain a combustible gas for combustion in an engine. Further, a method and a purification system for removing tar components from a combustible gas having a temperature above its dew-point are disclosed.

Gasification of biomass and subsequent combustion to generate power is an interesting small scale system for combined heat and power supply.
Combustion of biomass to produce steam for use in a steam turbine is only effective in large scale systems having an effect for more than 50 MW. System having an effect less than about 10 MW, such as small scale system for combined heat and power supply, are an interesting alternative for industries having need of heat and power and further having an energy rich biomass waste, such as the paper pulp industry. Further, such small scale system for combined heat and power supply are of interest for urban districts having a net for district heating.
There are a lot of different proposals on how gasifier-engine systems may be designed. One of the simplest ways to construct such a system is to use a common fixed-bed gasifier and a standard Otto engine. This solution has for example been used by the American company Community Power Corporation which is producing small scale combined heat and power systems. The British company Biomass Engineering Ltd uses more or less the same technique and has an electric efficiency of about 25% in their 250 kWe pilot plant, where the gasifier had an efficiency of 80% (DTI, Development of a 250 kWe Downdraft Gasifier for CHP. 2006, Biomass Enginering Ltd.).
The BTG Biomass Technology Group in the Netherlands used a downdraft gasifier and had a relatively high engine efficiency of 37% (gas to electricity) at their tests of a 215 kWe plant. At the same time the gasifier efficiency was only 71%, which gave an overall electric efficiency of 27% gross. In this study the temperature of the producer gas was kept over the dew point to avoid production of condensate.
Downdraft gasifiers provide a gas suitable for subsequent combustion. However, a significant part of the carbon initially present in the biomass, typically 4 to 7%, will end up in the residual ash, thus lowering the overall efficiency of the systems comprising a downdraft gasifier. In addition, downdraft gasifiers operate with a rather high oxygen:biomass ratio. Thus, a fairly high degree of the biomass is oxidized already at the gasification stage, lowering the heat value of the generated gas to be combusted subsequently.
A way to get more control over the gasification is to split the process into two stages. Wang et al. used an updraft gasifier combined with a subsequent reformer to crack tars using partial oxidation (Wang, Y., et al., Performance optimization of two-staged gasification system for woody biomass. Fuel Processing Technology, 2007. 88: p. 243-250). The electric efficiency of this system was claimed to be 27% gross, were gross means excluding parasitic losses. The engine they were using was a diesel engine, and to ignite the mixture of air and producer gas diesel oil was used. This means that their system needs both wood chips and diesel oil to operate.
The Biomass Gasification Group in Denmark has designed a two-stage gasifier called Viking (Henriksena, U., et al., The design, construction and operation of a 75 kW two-stage gasifier. Energy, 2006. 31: p. 1542-1553). Here heat from the engine's exhaust gases were transferred to the incoming wood chips in a pyrolysis reactor, where the temperature reached about 600° C. The feed of pyrolysis products, that is gas, vaporized tars and charcoal, enters a downdraft gasifier, operating as a reformer. In the upper part of the gasifier, the tars were partially oxidized with air and reached a temperature of about 1200° C. In the lower part of the gasifier the charcoal was gasified. The fuel to gas efficiency of a 70 kWin pilot plant was 93.2%, the gas to electricity efficiency was 29.1% and the overall fuel to net electricity was 25.1% (Ahrenfeldt, J., et al., Validation of a Continues Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Operation of a Two-Stage Biomass Gasifier. Energy & Fuels, 2006. 20: p. 2672-2680). The efficiency of their engine was not as impressive as the gasifier and this was partly because no supercharging was used and that the engine only operated at part load.
Systems comprising a reformer suffer from the need for a rather high oxygen:biomass ratio in the gasification step(s). Thus, a fairly high degree of the biomass is oxidized already at the gasification stage, lowering the heat value of the generated gas to be combusted subsequently.
The residence time of biomass in systems of the art is fairly long. As a consequence, systems in the art all suffer from demanding long periods of time for start up and equilibration. From a safety perspective, i.e. to lower the risk of explosions and conflagration, a lower amount of biomass present in the system would also be desirable.
Further, systems in the art are adopted solely for solid biomass and are hence not suitable for gasification of alternative streams of carbonaceous liquid. In addition, systems in the art are not suitable for varying the fed of biomass over time. Furthermore, the above mentioned systems are all fairly complex and hence costly.
Thus, there is need within the art for an alternative process and a system for gasifying biomass to obtain synthesis gas mitigating, alleviating, eliminating, overcoming or circumventing the above mentioned problems.

System and process for gasifying biomass


A dishwasher appliance includes a rack assembly. A bracket of the rack assembly has a post and a support projection that defines a plurality of slots. The post of the bracket extends through a tub of the dishwasher appliance, and a sleeve engages the post such that the sleeve hinders the post from retracting through the tub. A slide rail is mounted on the support projection of the bracket.

A dishwasher appliance is typically provided with one or more rack assemblies into which various articles may be loaded for cleaning. The rack assemblies may include features such as, e.g., tines that hold and orient the articles to receive sprays of wash and rinse fluids during the cleaning process. The articles to be cleaned may include a variety of dishes, cooking utensils, silverware, and other items.
Certain dishwasher appliances include rack assemblies that are mounted to tubs of the dishwasher appliances with wheel and rack systems. The wheel can roll within a slide track in order to permit movement of the rack assembly into and out of the tub. Wheel and rack systems have certain drawbacks. For example, inconsistent rotation of the wheel within the rack can provide inconsistent rack assembly motion. As another example, wheel and rack systems can require relatively high insertion and/or retraction forces to move the rack assembly. In addition, the rack is generally mounted to the tub with welding or adhesive such that removing the rack from the tub is difficult.
Slides rails can provide smooth rack assembly motion. However, slide rails can be difficult to mount to the tub. In particular, top portions of the tub can include curved surfaces. Mounting a slide rail at the top portion of the tub can be difficult due to such curved surfaces.
Accordingly, a dishwasher appliance with features for assisting with smooth rack assembly motion would be useful. In particular, a dishwasher appliance with features for providing smooth rack assembly motion for a rack assembly at a top portion of the tub would be useful. In addition, a dishwasher appliance with features for assisting an installer with mounting a rack assembly within the dishwasher appliance would be useful.


A system and method for using a consumer wireless device in retail transactions utilizes a fixed communication device that functions as a base station for the consumer wireless device. The fixed communication device has a limited coverage zone. When a consumer wireless device comes within the coverage zone of the fixed communication device, the consumer wireless device selects the fixed communication device as the preferred base station and initiates a registration with that base station. The consumer wireless device is uniquely identified with ID data transmitted by the consumer wireless device to the fixed communication device. The unique identification is subsequently used in the process of completing a transaction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to a system and method for wireless communication involving the transmission of indemnification data for retail transactions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cellular telephones, personal communication system (PCS) devices, personal digital assistants (PDA) and other forms of wireless communications are ubiquitous. Many individuals have one or more of these communication devices. In some embodiments, multiple functionalities are incorporated into a single device. For example, it is known to combine a wireless telephone with a PDA.
Telephones, and wireless devices may also be used to obtain services. For example, it is possible to dial a telephone number to receive a daily horoscope, a joke of the day, or the like. In another example, consumers may dial a telephone number using a "900" area code. In these examples, some services are delivered to the consumer via the telephone and, in turn, the consumer pays for the services through billing to the consumer's telephone company. While it is known to use a telephone for services delivered through the telephone, there is no convenient technique by which one may use a telephone to complete a transaction in a retail setting. Although consumers often carry one or more wireless communication devices, these devices are not used to complete a transaction in a retail setting. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for a system and method that allows a wireless communication device to be used to complete a transaction in a retail setting. The present invention provides this and other advantages as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.

System and method for wireless transactions


A doll arranged to depict a person realistically. A first image of a person such as a photograph is ultimately transferred to a flexible substrate such as a fabric sheet. The substrate is cut or trimmed generally to configuration of a human body. The substrate is joined to a corresponding rear substrate, thereby forming an outer shell having an open interior. The interior may be stuffed with soft material. The outer shell is then sealed to preclude escape of stuffing material. Optionally, the rear substrate may bear a second image such as that of the rear of the person furnishing the first image. The doll may range in size from very small to full body dimensions or may be even larger.

Dolls which intentionally simulate real people and fictitious characters are known. These dolls typically rely on reproducing characteristics of the intended subject person or character on the doll. Illustratively, hair and other facial colors and contours may be imprinted on a doll. The doll may be configured in three dimensions to reproduce as best possible the three dimensional characteristics of the human subject.
Dolls may be made to any scale, including full or near full size, and even greater, as well as to scale reduced from life size. Dolls may be formed in many ways, including molding from plastic and sewing fabric panels into the final form, among others.
However, dolls are generally intended for the mass market, and do not have personalized characteristics for most people.


A non-saturating inductor is connected in series with the filament of an incandescent lamp and the increase in resistance of the filament with respect to the increase in temperature is utilized to dynamically modulate the power factor of the circuit during a warm-up interval immediately following lamp turn-on.

Passmore U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,540 recognizes the variable resistance behavior of tungsten filaments in lamps or bulbs and suggests that, because of low filament resistance when the filament is cold, a high current flow at turn-on time is a significant factor in the failure rate of the lamp. The patentee limits the current flow by providing a fixed resistance in series with the filament to limit current flow until after the filament has warmed up. A temperature-sensitive bimetallic switch has contacts in parallel with the resistor for shorting out the resistance when the filament has warmed up to some predetermined temperature. The arrangement provides a static control, that is, the current-limiting resistance is constant throughout the filament warm-up interval. The arrangement requires a mechanical temperature sensor which is an additional source of failure. A further disadvantage of this device is that the temperature sensor must be in close proximity to the filament and within the lamp thus requiring special lamp manufacturing procedures.

Extending the life of incandescent lamps by power factor modulation


An embodiment provides a method, including: detecting two devices are proximate to one another utilizing a device component; comparing received device motion information to a predetermined motion; and after matching the received device motion information to a predetermined motion, transferring an object between the two devices. Other aspects are described and claimed.

Information handling devices ("devices"), for example laptop computers, tablets, smart phones, e-readers, etc., may be used to interact with other devices. Mobile devices commonly share information over some type of network connection. Wireless mesh networks may be used in this regard.
Wireless mesh networks provide a distributed connection area or mesh using a plurality of mesh nodes or devices. In contrast to more traditional networks that utilize a relatively small number of hotspots/access points to connect devices to a network, a wireless mesh network provides connectivity by distributing connectivity, including broader network access, among many wireless mesh nodes in communication with one another. Thus, the mesh network may be used to share objects, e.g., data, files, etc., among devices connected via the mesh network.
In terms of sharing objects, devices may be physically tapped or bumped together to pair devices using near field communication for a transfer of an object between devices. The object is thus transferred, e.g., using a network communication, commonly WiFi and/or BLUETOOTH communication or even near field communication (NFC).


Systems and methods providing an enclosure for protecting portions of a medical device are shown. Embodiments individually protect multiple portions of a medical device during sterilization. Protective enclosures of embodiments provide a minimized size adapted to provide protection to portions of a medical device susceptible to damage by a sterilization process. Enclosures of embodiments provide protection by preventing unauthorized use of the medical device being protected.

Medical devices used to treat and diagnose patients may come into contact with internal or external areas of the patients, creating a risk of transmitting bacteria, viruses, or other infectious diseases from one patient to another. Sterilization, or the elimination of all transmissible agents (including bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms), of medical devices, is used to prevent spreading diseases between patients who are treated or diagnosed with the same medical devices.
Methods for sterilizing medical devices are commonly carried out in a device called an autoclave and are performed by using heat, radiation, or chemicals. Heat sterilization exposes a medical device to pressurized steam to sufficiently heat the surfaces of the device to effect sterilization. In order to be effective, the steam needs to impinge all surfaces, thus limiting the size of the item being sterilized by the size of the autoclave. While one of the most widely used methods of sterilization, not all medical devices, or not all parts of a medical device, can survive the requisite temperatures and pressures used in heat sterilization. For example, electrical components and/or particular materials comprising a portion of the medical device may be damaged by the application of such sterilizing steam.
Radiation sterilization exposes all surfaces of a medical device to ionizing radiation, such as gamma radiation, x rays, or high-energy electrons, in order to create charged particles and free radicals within the transmissible agents. The charged particles and free radicals act to damage the inner workings of the agent (such as a bacteria's DNA), thereby killing the agent after enough damage has accumulated. While effective, radiation sterilization requires the use of expensive equipment to handle the source of the ionizing radiation. The size of apparatus for containing and safely delivering such radiation is limited, thus limiting the size of the item being sterilized. Moreover, not all medical devices, or not all parts of a medical device, can survive exposure to such radiation. For example, electrical components and/or particular materials comprising a portion of the medical device may be damaged by the application of such sterilizing radiation.
Chemical sterilization exposes all surfaces of a medical device to chemical compounds, such as ethylene oxide gas or liquid glutaraldehyde, with known sterilizing properties for a fixed amount of time to effect sterilization. While chemical sterilization enables low temperature sterilization without the use of radioactivity, its use is still limited in that the chemical compounds used are toxic and expensive. Not all medical devices, or not all parts of a medical device, can survive exposure to such chemicals. For example, electrical components and/or particular materials comprising a portion of the medical device may be damaged by the application of such sterilizing chemicals.
Ultrasound devices are used by the medical industry to provide images of the muscle and soft tissue of patients. Ultrasound devices may be used in noninvasive procedures, such as during pregnancy to image the developing fetus, or may be used in invasive procedures, such as during surgery to image internal tissue and organs of the patient. Ultrasound devices typically comprise a base unit and a scan head. The base unit is operable to control the scan head, interpret the ultrasonic pulses, and generate the image of the tissue of the patient and typically does not come into contact with any portion of the patient, preventing the need for sterilization. The scan head is generally comprised of an ultrasonic transducer and a cable wherein the cable is sufficiently long to prevent the patient from coming into contact with or otherwise contaminating the base unit. In some configurations, the ultrasound device may provide a connection between the base unit and the ultrasonic transducer, such as to allow the use of differently configured transducers, to allow for their replacement, etc. In operation, the scan head is placed onto or inside of the patient and sends and receives ultrasonic pulses, thus necessitating sterilization.
Generally, a scan head may require sterilization where the base unit may does not. Accordingly, the use of a connector detachably connecting the scan head to the base unit allows the scan head to be separated from and sterilized apart from the base unit, such that the base unit does not need to be designed to withstand sterilization. However, portions of the scan head assembly may not be suitable for exposure the sterilization process. For example, the connector itself may be damaged by the sterilization process. Additionally, the connector of the scan head may contain delicate electrical components that need to be protected from sterilization. However, when used on a patient for imaging, only portions of the of the scan head (the transducer and possibly some portions of the cable) come into contact with the patient. While some portions (the transducer and cable) of the scan head necessitate sterilization, other portions (the connector) need to be protected from sterilization. Protective enclosures that surround the connector are used to protect it from sterilization while still allowing the transducer and cable of the scan head to be sterilized.
The types and sizes of medical devices to be sterilized in an autoclave or other sterilization apparatus are limited by the size of the sterilization apparatus. Yet, a protective enclosure must be large enough to contain, seal, and adequately protect portions of the medical device from sterilization. Prior art protective enclosures for use with scan head assemblies have generally been relatively large, e.g., protecting the entire connector by providing an enclosure fully incarcerating the scan head assembly connector and providing a seal through which the cable to the transducer passes. Such a configuration suffers from disadvantages such as an enclosure which is too large to fit into many sterilization apparatus. Additionally, by closing the seal against the cable, such prior art enclosures may cut into or otherwise damage the cable after repeated sterilizations. Further, as the connector is not held in place within the enclosure, the connector may become damaged by forcefully contacting the enclosure when the scan head is being handled or sterilized.


When DMA transfer for a DMA transfer area is completed, DMA transfer for the next area may be continuously executed or stopped. In addition to this, if there is a need to urgently stop DMA transfer being executed, DMA transfer can be immediately stopped without waiting for the end of DMA transfer currently executed. For continuous DMA transfer for a plurality of DMA transfer areas, the device may be provided with an authorization bit to authorize DMA transfer operation and a next area authorization bit to authorize DMA transfer for the next area and the contents in the next area authorization bit are set to the DMA authorization bit when the terminal counter which counts the number of DMA transfer data reaches the predetermined value due to decrement. Depending on the contents in the DMA authorization bit, DMA transfer may be continued or stopped when the next DMA transfer request is generated. In addition, DMA transfer may be stopped in emergency by directly setting the applicable value at the DMA authorization bit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a data transfer control device using direct memory access (DMA) method for data transfer between a memory and a peripheral, and particularly relates to a data transfer control device for easy switching between execution and inhibition of data transfer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an information processing system using a microcomputer, a bulk of data is often transferred between peripherals and memories, processed at the central processing unit (CPU) and then transferred to other peripherals or external storage. For example, in a print control processing system, a CPU receives data from another computer, processes the received data and, each time the printer sends a transfer request, sends a data representing one character. In such procedures, if a peripheral (printer) generates an interruption to the CPU for data transfer above using an interrupt routine, overhead at the CPU increases resulting in lower data processing efficiency of the system. To avoid such drawback, direct memory access controller (DMA controller) is used as a data transfer controller exclusively used for data transfer.
For data transfer with a DMA controller (DMA transfer), various control information including the memory address for DMA transfer and the number of DMA transfers is set in the DMA controller in advance through execution of instruction by the CPU. Then, when the DMA controller detects a DMA transfer request from a peripheral, the DMA controller requests the CPU to give the right to use the bus. When the CPU detects this request, it grants the right to use buses including the address bus and data bus to the DMA controller. The DMA controller uses an empty bus to generate address information and read/write control signal for processing to transfer the data stored in the memory to the peripheral which has generated the DMA transfer request.
When the DMA controller completes data transfer for the required number of transfers by repeating such a DMA transfer operation, it notifies the CPU of the DMA transfer completion. The CPU detecting the DMA completion executes the interrupt processing and the interrupt processing program routine. In this interruption processing program routine, the CPU resets the control information at the DMA controller to prepare for the next DMA transfer execution and starts DMA transfer again. In execution of such DMA transfer, if the memory space subjected to DMA transfer is limited, the above memory is usually divided into a plurality of areas for execution of DMA transfer so that the areas are alternatively transferred.
Conventional data transfer from a memory to a peripheral using a DMA controller is briefly described below.
A DMA controller is provided with a memory address register to store the address information to be DMA transferred and a terminal counter to store the number of transfer data, and a DMA control register having a DMA authorization bit to specify authorization/inhibition of DMA transfer. The CPU sets DMA transfer starting address to the memory address register and the number of DMA transfer data to the terminal counter before the start of DMA transfer. When the DMA controller detects DMA transfer request signal from a peripheral, it obtains the right to use the bus from the CPU and executes DMA transfer between the memory and the peripheral. The memory has, in addition to a CPU program area and a data area, a DMA transfer area divided into a plurality of areas (first and second DMA transfer areas, for example).
Before the start of DMA transfer, the CPU writes the DMA transfer data to the first DMA transfer area. After the CPU writes all of the data up to the last data in the first DMA transfer area, it sets the DMA authorization bit in the DMA control register to authorize the DMA transfer to the first DMA transfer area. This causes the DMA controller to transfer the data written to the first DMA transfer area to the peripheral. While DMA transfer for the first DMA transfer area is not executed, the CPU writes DMA transfer data to the second DMA transfer area. Upon completion of DMA transfer up to the last data of the first DMA transfer area, the DMA controller immediately starts DMA transfer for the second DMA controller. While the DMA transfer for the second DMA transfer area is not executed, the CPU writes DMA transfer data to the first DMA transfer area. Thus, the first and the second DMA transfer areas are alternatively subjected to DMA transfer.
The operation of DMA transfer between the memory and a peripheral is described next. If there occurs a need for DMA transfer at a peripheral, the peripheral activates the DMA transfer request signal and provides it to the DMA controller. Activation of the DMA transfer request signal causes the DMA controller request the right to use bus to the CPU. The DMA controller obtaining the right to use the bus, outputs the DMA transfer address information of the first DMA transfer area to the address bus and at the same time activates the memory read signal and outputs the transfer data from the memory to the bus. Then, the DMA controller activates the DMA write signal for the peripheral to write the DMA transfer data.
Each time a DMA transfer is executed, the memory address register contents are updated and the value at the terminal counter decrements by "1". If the peripheral does not generate a continuous DMA transfer request, the DMA controller notifies the CPU of abortion of the right to use the bus. When recovering the right to use bus, the CPU resumes program execution. When DMA transfer as described above is repeated until completion of data transfer for the required number of transfers (when the terminal counter value becomes "0" by decrement), the DMA controller prepares for the next DMA transfer request. It also notifies the CPU of the completion of DMA transfer by activating the DMA interruption request signal.
When such an interruption request signal ,is generated, the CPU saves the Program Counter (PC) and the Program Status Word (PSW) to the stack and activates the interrupt processing program routine. This program routine processing judges whether to continuously execute the DMA transfer or not. The routine ends without further processing for continuous execution, but resets the DMA authorization bit before termination if the transfer is not continued. Upon termination of the interrupt program routine, the CPU restores the PC and PSW from the stack.
In conventional data transfer control using DMA, as described above, the interrupt processing routine generated upon termination of DMA transfer for one DMA transfer area resets the DMA authorization bit when the next DMA transfer is not continuously executed. In this method, however, there was a drawback that DMA transfer for the next area is executed if a next DMA transfer request is generated before resetting of the DMA authorization bit.
In addition, in a conventional DMA transfer control device has another drawback that when it is required to stop DMA transfer in emergency due to an error occurring during data processing, for example, the transfer could not be stopped until DMA transfer for all the data in the area under execution is completed.

Data transfer control device using direct memory access


A RAID-enabled solid state drive (SSD) including: a controller connected to a plurality of channels; a plurality of flash chip groups, each including a plurality of flash chips coupled to the plurality of channels, the plurality of flash chips including: a plurality of non-parity flash chips; and i parity flash chips, wherein the controller is configured to write data to the plurality of flash chip groups such that within each of the plurality of flash chip groups only i or less flash chips of the plurality of flash chips are allowed to be written to at the same time, where i is an integer equal to 1 or more.

Solid State Drives (SSDs) usually employ many flash chips, clustered into several groups, each group connected to an SSD controller through independently-functioning data buses, called channels. Each flash chip contains multiple planes to offer higher levels of parallelism. A plane includes hundreds/thousands of blocks, each containing hundreds of pages. A page is the smallest granularity for any read/write operation on an SSD.
There are three different types of operations on SSDs: read, program, and erase. To store or write data on an SSD, a program operation is done that requires a long-latency erase operation beforehand which takes place in block-level granularity. To avoid having each program operation suspended by an erase operation, SSDs take advantage of a no-write-in-place property which requires (i) storing mapping information for logical and physical addresses in FTL tables and (ii) a garbage collector that is periodically invoked to free up the space. The garbage collection process undergoes two phases: (i) reading valid data out of a victim block (i.e., the block targeted by the garbage collection) and (ii) writing it back to another block.
Efforts in exploiting a high level of SSD internal parallelism as well as the read-write-erase disparity results in long delays in service of some read requests. Thus, the latencies of some read requests are increasing dramatically, leading to a long read tail latency from the SSD, which in turn violates the latency Service Level Objectives (SLOs). Database and storage service providers, such as Facebook® and Amazon®, on the other hand, need SSDs to meet latency SLOs for even 99.99th percentiles. The sources of large read tail latency are threefold: (i) read-read interference, (ii) read-write interference, and (iii) read-erase interference. However, (ii) is the main source of read tail latency due to relatively long latency of write/program operations compared to read operation and high frequency of write/program operation compared to erase operation.

Reducing read-write interference by adaptive scheduling in NAND flash SSDs


The application of SET for the imaging and analysis of seismic energy emission induced during production of fluid resources from their reservoirs allows 4 dimensional measurements of the components of the permeability field of the reservoir. The seismic energy emission associated with the permeability field is identified by its spatial and temporal location with respect to a well or plurality of wells in which fluid pressure is being changed. Changing fluid pressure causes seismicity to rapidly migrate outward from the points of fluid pressure change and will alter the characteristics of the seismic energy emission. Monitoring the changes in seismic energy emission in response to pressure changes in the active well and altering the values of the processing parameters permits measurement of components of the permeability tensor. The placement of subsequent infill, development and injection wells may be selected based on the analysis.

It is well known that the earth's crust contains underground fluid reservoirs. These reservoirs form an important natural resource for major components of our economic systems, e.g. oil, gas, water, etc. Recovery of resources from hydrocarbon reservoirs traditionally averages well below complete recovery, and on average only about 30–35% of the total resource in any given reservoir. Given the importance of oil and gas in our present day economy, an increased recovery of the total resources from oil and gas reservoirs is a major focus of many firms in this industry.
Recovery of these resources is dependent, in part, on knowing the "plumbing" of the reservoirs, i.e. the paths through which the fluid moves and by means of which the fluid can be extracted. In a fluid reservoir the "plumbing system" includes a network of interconnected cracks ("crack network") that can be described as "hydraulically linked," i.e. changes in fluid pressure can be transmitted through them. The character of the hydraulically linked crack network is known as the "reservoir permeability field." Character, as used herein, refers to the shape and distribution of the crack network and the ease with which fluid moves through the network. Determining the character of reservoir permeability fields is the focus of much effort of fluid resource recovery and exploitation. For example, in a resource exploration and production application, the spatial geometry and the variation in flow of the permeability field are major factors in identifying locations and developing drilling plans and strategies for production wells that will yield enhanced production. In the case of hydrocarbons, injector wells are often used to enhance output of production wells. Injector wells are used to inject fluids whose densities differ from that of the hydrocarbons, and thus act to "sweep" the fluid that remains after the initial production phase. A more detailed knowledge of the reservoir permeability field would facilitate more efficient secondary and tertiary recovery in such applications.
Traditional approaches to determining the spatial geometry of permeability fields include the use of "guess and test" methods using reservoir simulators. A "guess and test" method uses largely inferential and sparse information about the permeability field to make a best "guess" as to its full three dimensional character. The "guess" is then "tested" by using measured data on production and injection from the field to test whether the model reproduces the measured data. The efficiency of "guess and test" methods is generally poor, and results in low quality of information relating to the reservoir permeability field.
Some approaches have attempted to determine the spatial geometry of permeability fields by seismic investigations of the geological medium. Such seismic investigations include measurements of time-limited (narrow-time window) determinate signals from artificial or natural sources. It has long been recognized that production from fluid reservoirs can induce seismicity. Attempts have been made to use microseismicity induced by production to gather information regarding fracture systems or the crack network, as well as other information, such as, for example, possible causes of the earthquakes, e.g. pore collapse, fault reactivation, etc. With few exceptions monitoring of this microseismicity has been done with seismometers placed "downhole" in wells adjacent to the study well in order to get as close as possible to the ruptures associated with fluid injection. The "downhole" method is both difficult and expensive to use as it requires either that an appropriate well be available or else that one be drilled. Further the use of downhole seismometers limits observations to within a few hundred meters of the observation well.
Another approach to determine the spatial geometry of permeability fields is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,389,361, issued on May 14, 2002, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. This patent describes increasing fluid pressure to generate a pressure "wave" at a point in the earth's crust to induce microseismicity and creep in the permeability field and to record this microseismicity and creep to create a map of the permeability field associated with the point of fluid pressure increase. The fluid pressure generates microseismicity and creep because the earth's crust is at a near critical state and responds to small changes in the ambient stress state. The permeability field mapped is close to an actual map of the permeability system. The induced microseismicity extends for kilometers from the point of fluid pressure change. The described mapping technique measures one component of the permeability field, namely the geometry.
In addition to the foregoing, the following sets of observations on secondary hydrocarbon recovery, hydraulically conductive fractures and microseismicity, are of particular importance with regard to the background of the present invention.                1. Rate correlation statistics, maximum compressive directions and rapid response: Heffer et al, (1997, Novel techniques show links between reservoir flow directionality, earth stress, fault structure and geomechanical changes in mature waterfloods, SPE Journal, V. 2, June, pp. 91–98) show that rate of production correlation's between producer and injection wells is directly related to the orientation of the maximum ambient compressive stress direction. Positive correlations (i.e. production increases) are observed between injection and production wells where the line connecting the two wells lies within a sector of arc of from 60 to 90 degrees that is bisected by the local maximum compressive stress. Response times between injector and producer wells has "zero" (less than 1 month) time lag over very large distances (>4.5 kilometers). They note that D'arcyian type diffusive flow cannot explain this phenomena.        2. Hydraulically conductive fractures are critically stressed: Barton et al (1995, Fluid flow along potentially active faults in crystalline rock, Geology, V. 23, no. 8, p. 683–686) demonstrate that critically stressed faults and fractures are those with the highest hydraulic conductivity and that statistically these are conoidally distributed around the maximum stress direction (Barton et al, 1995; FIG. 3).        3. Seismicity induced by fluid pressure changes shows rapid response over large distances: In the earthquake control experiment run at Chevron's Rangely, Colo. field and reported by Raleigh et al (1976, An experiment in earthquake control at Rangely, Colo.; Science, V. 191, p. 1230–1237), microseismicity induced by fluid injection and occuring at distances of up to 3 km from the injection well, were observed to stop within 1 day of shut-in of the injection wells.        4. No lower threshold for earthquake triggering and rupture size: A study of central California seismicity by Ziv and Rubin (2000, Ziv, A. and Rubin, A. M., Static stress transfer and earthquake triggering: No lower threshold in sight?, J. Geophys. Res., 105, B6, 13631–13642) finds no lower limit for the cumulative stress changes at the time of rupture. Further that the time delay between events is proportional to the magnitude of the stress change. This is consistent with the inverse power law relationship between the frequency of rupture events and their magnitude. Thus one may infer that the frequency of events increases as the rupture size decreases and there is no lower limit for rupture size.
None of the above, however, provides sufficient useful information regarding the character of the hydraulically linked crack network. Thus, is would be desirous to develop systems and methods which provide useful information regarding the character of the hydraulically linked crack network.

Method and apparatus for imaging permeability pathways of geologic fluid reservoirs using seismic emission tomography


Building materials such as concrete can be protected from the growth of algae by being treated with a compound containing tin covalently bonded to a silylating group such that cleavage of the covalent bonds due to hydrolysis or photolysis is minimized, thus making the treatment ecologically safe. One such compound is (n-Bu).sub.3 SnCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 Si(OEt).sub.3. The tin compound can either be incorporated into raw materials from which building materials are to be made, or it can be applied to the finished building materials. When the tin compound is applied to a building material that is algae streaked, the streaking should disappear.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is concerned with preserving the aesthetic appearance of architectural structures, e.g. buildings, freestanding walls, statuary and asphalt roofing shingles. More specifically, the invention concerns the treatment of building materials to prevent or remove disfiguring growths such as dark streaks of algae.
2. Description of the Related Art
Concrete provides durable, inexpensive building facings, roofing tiles and statuary, but can quickly develop dark streaks due to algae growth. Other building materials such as wood, limestone and other stonework, masonry, glass and asphalt roofing shingles likewise can become streaked by algae. The discoloration of asphalt roofing shingles is particularly noticeable when their roofing granules have a light color.
Concrete, stonework and masonry can be coated with silicones or silicates for water repellency, but such treatments do not prevent algae and other growths. Instead, it has been necessary to clean concrete periodically, usually with bleaches or phosphates, to remove algae growth. The cleaning operation is time-consuming and expensive and does nothing to inhibit recurring growth.
Algae growth on the granules of asphalt roofing shingles can be virtually eliminated by incorporating copper into the silicate binder that holds the color to the roofing granules. However, doing so substantially increases the cost of manufacturing the shingles. If copper could be incorporated into concrete, it might likewise inhibit algae growth, but copper would interfere with the setting up of the concrete. Another way to minimize algae growth on asphalt shingles is to minimize its content of limestone filler, but this can be economically undesirable.

Treating building materials with a compound containing tin covalently bonded to a silylating group

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


In a base-bias-control-type high-frequency power amplifier with a plural stage configuration, a rising voltage of a base bias current supplied to an initial stage transistor is made lower than a rising voltage of a base bias current supplied to a second stage transistor by a bias circuit, and a difference between the both voltages is set to be smaller than a base-emitter voltage of an amplifying stage transistor. Also, a rising voltage of a base bias current supplied to a third stage transistor is made equal to the rising voltage of the base bias current supplied to an initial stage transistor. Accordingly, a technology capable of improving the power control linearity can be provided in a high-frequency power amplifier used in a polar-loop transmitter or the like.

As a technology for a high-frequency power amplifier with a multi-stage configuration used in, for example, a mobile phone terminal or the like, the inventors of the present invention have examined the following technologies.
Recently, the mobile phones have rapidly spread and high-level services such as image communication also have become widely used. In order to respond to rapid increase in communication traffic amount, practical application of a third-generation system such as an EDGE system or W-CDMA system has started. The EDGE system is the third-generation system obtained by expanding communication speed of a GSM system which is a mainstream of the second-generation system and it can share the same frequency band with the GSM system, and thus, the spreading thereof in the future is expected.
A polar-loop transmitter is known as a transmitter configuration suitable for the EDGE system, and a configuration example thereof is shown in FIG. 2. The polar-loop transmitter includes an input terminal (IF input) 1, a phase detector (PD) 2, a VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) 3, a high-frequency power amplifier (PA) 4, a directional coupler (Coupler) 5, an output terminal (RF output) 6, an amplitude detector (AMD) 7, a variable gain amplifier (IVGA) 8, a down conversion mixer (DCM) 9, a variable gain amplifier (MVGA) 10, and a control terminal (Vramp) 11.
An IF input signal from the input terminal 1 is inputted into the phase detector 2 and the amplitude detector 7. The phase detector 2 outputs a voltage corresponding to a phase difference between the IF input signal and a feedback signal from the variable gain amplifier 10. An RF output from the VCO 3 is phase-modulated by an output from the phase detector 2. The amplitude detector 7 outputs a voltage corresponding to an amplitude difference between the IF input signal and a feedback signal from the variable gain amplifier 10. An output from the amplitude detector 7 is amplified by the variable gain amplifier 8. An output from the VCO 3 is amplified by the high-frequency power amplifier 4 and it is simultaneously amplitude-modulated by a signal from the variable gain amplifier 8. An output signal from the high-frequency power amplifier 4 is outputted to the output terminal 6 via the directional coupler 5. A part of the output signal from the high-frequency power amplifier 4 is branched at the directional coupler 5 to be inputted into the down conversion mixer 9 and then converted to an IF signal. An output from the down conversion mixer 9 is amplified by the variable gain amplifier 10 to be supplied as a feedback signal to the phase detector 2 and the amplitude detector 7. Gains in the variable gain amplifier 8 and the variable gain amplifier 10 are varied by a control signal from the control terminal 11.
In the polar-loop transmitter, linearity required for the EDGE system is satisfied by using a phase feedback loop configured of the phase detector 2, the VCO 3, the high-frequency power amplifier 4, the directional coupler 5, the down conversion mixer 9, and the variable gain amplifier 10 and an amplitude feedback loop configured of the amplitude detector 7, the variable gain amplifier 8, the high-frequency power amplifier 4, the directional coupler 5, the down conversion mixer 9, and the variable gain amplifier 10.
The high-frequency power amplifier 4 used in the polar-loop transmitter is a high-frequency power amplifier having a power control function, which has been conventionally used in the GSM system. However, a high-frequency power amplifier excellent in linearity of power control must be used in order to achieve the stable operation of the amplitude feedback loop.
As the technologies relating to such a high-frequency power amplifier, for example, the technologies described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are known.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-332542 (Patent Document 1) describes a bias circuit for a multi-stage power amplifier in which, in order to suppress increase of Rx noise at an output power reduction time in the multi-stage power amplifier configured of HBTs performing power amplification of a high-frequency signal, a signal Vapc inputted from an external control circuit is outputted only to a base of an HBT constituting an initial-stage amplifier in the power amplifier and a bias current from a constant voltage circuit whose operation is controlled by the signal Vapc is supplied to respective bases of the HBTs constituting the other amplifiers in the power amplifier.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-40418 (Patent Document 2) describes a wireless machine in which a control voltage for varying transmission output supplied to a drive amplifier and a final amplifier is optimized so that the drive amplifier and the final amplifier always operate at their optimal operation points with respective transmission outputs. By this means, since the transmission efficiency can be improved, it is possible to achieve power saving and to widen the variable range of transmission output.


First memory chips each have a memory cell as storage means for storing data and do not have a redundant memory cell as redundant storage means for repairing an erroneous bit in the memory cell. Furthermore, a logic minimal in degree is solely provided for operation on a control logic of a second memory chip. The second memory chip has a control logic for effecting memory control of the memory cells, the redundant memory cells, etc. and a redundant memory cell for repairing an error bit of the first memory chips. The memory device is structured by stacking the first and second memory chips.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory device that defects of a memory possessed by a memory chip can be repaired.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the memory chip, erroneous bits possibly occur as defects that disable normal storage operation because of a trouble encountered in the process. In the case there is an erroneous bit even one in the number on a memory chip, the memory chip must be scrapped away as a poor product. This results in a lowering in production yield.
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a memory chip 80 applied with the related art. The memory chip 80 includes a memory cell 81, a row decoder 82, a column decoder 83, a redundant row memory cell 84, a redundant column memory cell 85, a redundant row decoder 86 and a redundant column decoder 87. The memory cell 81 is a memory cell for storing data. In the memory cell 81, data is to be read or write out of and to the intersections of data and word lines that are two orthogonal signal lines. The circuits for selecting the data line and word line are respectively the column decoder 83 and the row decoder 82. The redundant row memory cell 84 and the redundant column memory cell 85 are to change into a memory cell for replacement in the event of occurrence of a failure, such as a break in the data line and word line.
In case a defective data and word line in a memory cell is found in a test and repair process in the manufacturing process of a memory chip, the corresponding value is stored as a decision value in a fuse storage circuit provided in the redundant column decider 87 and redundant row decoder 86. Furthermore, the column decoder 83 and row decoder 82 corresponding to the data line and word line to be replaced are set not to operate when the corresponding value is designated. In this manner, by replacing the erroneous bits of the memory cell 81 with the redundant row memory cell 84 and redundant column memory cell 85, the defective memory cell is repaired to operate as a good product. From now on, it is referred to as a repair with redundancy to repair an erroneous bit of the memory cell 81 by use of a redundant memory cell, such as a redundant row memory cell 84 and redundant column memory cell 85.
As a typical, first related art as described in relation to FIG. 21, there is a redundant system that the column having an erroneous bit is to be replaced with a redundant memory by using a fuse storage circuit for storing fuse information representative of a column position at which an erroneous bit exists (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 2004-87100, for example).
In such a related art, the memory chip is mounted with a storage device greater in storage capacity than the memory chip. By replacing the erroneous bit with the storage device in a portion exceeding the storage capacity, the memory chip involving an erroneous bit is operated as a good product.
Erroneous bits take place with statistic disorder, on the memory chip. The erroneous bits distribute on the memory chip, according to a statistic probability. The storage capacity of a redundant memory, required for a repair with redundancy, is determined by a balance between a yield to be improved by a repair with redundancy and a memory chip size to be increased by the redundant memory. Consequently, there arises memory chips not to be repaired with redundancy, i.e. memory chips unavoidably scrapped away as unacceptable products, at a certain probability.
The memory to be read destructively, as represented by the DRAM (dynamic random access memory), requires complicated control, e.g. repairing the data destroyed upon reading by post-read rewrite. There is devised a memory, such as a pseudo SRAM (static random access memory), that control from the external of the memory chip is facilitated by arranging a logic for memory control within the memory chip in place of effecting complicated control from the external of the memory chip.
Even in an electrically erasable memory such as a flash memory, complicated control is needed including to supply, as a write operation voltage, a voltage different from the reading operation voltage, and allow operation while monitoring a write completion, and so on. The flash memory, in many kinds, is mounted with a logic for memory control within the memory chip so that control from the external of the memory chip can be made easily.
There is a semiconductor storage device allowing a flash memory to operate at high speed, as a second related art related to the logic for memory control. The semiconductor storage device has, therein, a logic for memory control, a flash memory and a plurality of working RAMs. The logic for memory control is to operate the flash memory at high speed by interleave operation through taking the plurality of working RAMs in synchronism with a clock (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 2004-71104, for example).
The memory device used in a computer is rarely composed of only one memory chip. In many cases, it is composed of a plurality of memory chips in the same kind. There is developed and commercially applied a complex memory package including a plurality of memory chips within one package, owing to the progress in highly-integrated package technology. In the case of a memory device using a plurality of memory chips and mounted with a pseudo SRAM or a flash memory, there is no need to provide a logic for memory control on each memory chip from a circuit perspective of view. It is sufficient to provide one per memory device.
Because such a memory cell as a pseudo SRAM or a flash memory requires complicated control as noted above, many electric interconnections are needed between the logic for memory control and the memory cells. In case the logic for memory control and the memory cells are mounted on separate memory chips, there is an increased number of terminals required to connect between the memory chips. For this reason, the terminals increased in the number are not easily accommodated in the conventional semiconductor package. Thus, it is not easy to adopt mounting the logic for memory control and those memory cells on different memory chips.
Furthermore, it is frequent to arrange a memory chip in a planar form on a circuit board. It takes a time in signal propagation correspondingly to the planar size of the memory chip, causing a time difference in the time to receive signals at the individual memory chips. Considering the time difference in signal delay, realization is easy by arranging the conventionally used logic on each memory chip rather than employing a logic for complicated control. Namely, because each memory chip is mounted with a logic for memory control, it is possible to avoid the increase in the number of terminals and logic complexity though the logic is provided redundantly. Accordingly, it is a practice to configure a memory device by using a plurality of memory chips each mounted with a logic for memory control without collectively using a logic for memory control.
However, in the first related art, there is a relationship in balance between the yield and the memory chip size increased by the redundant memories. Namely, there is restriction that, in case the redundant memories are increased in the number in order to improve the yield, the chip size increases. Thus, there is a problem that the chips cannot be reduced down to a size required to secure a constant value or higher of yield.
Furthermore, error bits are practically repaired on a memory-chip unit basis. There is a problem that, even where there are available redundant memories of other memory chips, the memory chip is to become poor unless repaired by the redundant memory of the relevant memory chip.
In the second related art, a logic for memory control is mounted within the memory chip, thus realizing the increase of speed. However, there is a problem that the memory chip increases in size because the memory, the memory controlling logic and the redundant memory are mounted on the memory chip.

Memory device having redundant memory for repairing defects