Within a method for fabricating a memory cell structure there is formed both: (1) a self aligned contact structure accessing a source/drain region within a field effect transistor (FET) device; and (2) a silicide layer upon a gate electrode within the field effect transistor (FET) while employing a salicide method. The self aligned contact structure provides that the memory cell structure may be fabricated with decreased dimensions. The silicide layer formed employing the salicide method provides the memory cell structure with enhanced performance. The method is particularly useful for fabricating memory cell structures embedded within logic circuits.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to memory cell structures formed within microelectronic fabrications. More particularly, the present invention relates to enhanced performance memory cell structures formed within semiconductor integrated circuit microelectronic fabrications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Microelectronic fabrications are formed from microelectronic substrates over which are formed patterned microelectronic conductor layers which are separated by microelectronic dielectric layers.
Common in the art of microelectronic fabrication, and in particular in the art of semiconductor integrated circuit microelectronic memory fabrication, is the use and the fabrication of memory cell structures, and in particular dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell structures. Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell structures typically comprise a field effect transistor (FET) device formed within and upon a semiconductor substrate, where one of a pair of source/drain regions within the field effect transistor (FET) device has formed thereover and electrically connected therewith a storage capacitor. Within a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell structure, a gate electrode within the field effect transistor (FET) device serves as a wordline which provides a switching function for charge introduction into and retrieval from the storage capacitor, while the other of the pair of source/drain regions within the field effect transistor (FET) device serves as a contact for a bitline conductor layer which introduces or retrieves charge with respect to the storage capacitor.
While the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell structure has clearly become ubiquitous in the art of semiconductor integrated circuit microelectronic fabrication, and is thus essential in the art of semiconductor integrated circuit microelectronic fabrication, the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell structure is nonetheless not entirely without problems in the art of semiconductor integrated circuit microelectronic fabrication.
In that regard, as semiconductor integrated circuit microelectronic fabrication integration levels have increased and semiconductor device and patterned conductor layer dimensions have decreased, it has become increasingly difficult in the art of semiconductor integrated circuit microelectronic fabrication, and in particular in the art of semiconductor integrated circuit microelectronic memory fabrication, to fabricate dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell structures with decreased dimension and enhanced performance.
It is thus desirable in the art of microelectronic fabrication, and in particular in the art of semiconductor integrated circuit microelectronic memory fabrication, to provide methods and materials through which there may be fabricated memory cell structures with decreased dimensions and enhanced performance.
It is towards the foregoing object that the present invention is directed.
Various memory cell structures having desirable properties, and methods for fabrication thereof, have been disclosed in the art of semiconductor integrated circuit microelectronic fabrication.
Included among the memory cell structures, but not limited among the memory cell structures, is the memory cell structure disclosed within Huang, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,595 (a memory cell structure having formed therein a self aligned conductor contact structure interposed between a pair of polycide gate structures, where the memory cell structure is further integrated and embedded with respect to a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) logic device structure having formed therein a salicide gate structure).
Desirable in the art of microelectronic fabrication, and in particular in the art of semiconductor integrated circuit microelectronic memory fabrication, are additional methods and materials which may be employed for fabricating memory cell structures of decreased dimensions and enhanced performance.
It is towards the foregoing object that the present invention is directed.
A first object of the invention is to provide a memory cell structure for use within a microelectronic fabrication.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a memory cell structure in accord with the first object of the present invention, wherein the memory cell structure may be fabricated with decreased dimensions and enhanced performance.
In accord with the objects of the present invention, there is provided by the present invention a method for fabricating a memory cell structure. To practice the method of the present invention, there is first provided a semiconductor substrate. There is then formed within and upon the semiconductor substrate a field effect transistor (FET) device comprising a gate dielectric layer formed upon the semiconductor substrate, a polysilicon gate electrode formed upon the gate dielectric layer, a sacrificial capping layer formed upon the polysilicon gate electrode, a pair of source/drain regions formed within the semiconductor substrate and separated by the gate electrode and a pair of spacer layers adjoining a pair of opposite edges of the gate electrode. There is then formed over the semiconductor substrate and passivating the field effect transistor (FET) device a passivating layer. There is then formed through the passivating layer, while employing the pair of spacer layers and the sacrificial capping layer as a mask, at least one self aligned contact via accessing at least one of the source/drain regions. There is then forming into the self aligned contact via a conductor stud layer. There is then stripped from over the substrate the passivating layer and the sacrificial capping layer to leave exposed a top surface of the polysilicon gate electrode separated from the conductor stud layer by one of the pair of spacer layers. Finally, there is then formed upon the exposed top surface of the gate electrode a silicide layer while employing a salicide method.
The present invention provides a memory cell structure for use within a microelectronic fabrication, wherein the memory cell structure may be fabricated with decreased dimensions and enhanced performance.
The present invention realizes the decreased dimensions of the memory cell structure by fabricating the memory cell structure with a self aligned conductor stud layer formed within a self aligned contact via. The present invention realizes the enhanced performance of the memory cell structure by forming upon a polysilicon gate electrode within the memory cell structure a silicide layer while employing a salicide method which provides the silicide layer with an decreased contact resistance in comparison with silicide layers formed other than by employing salicide methods.

Memory cell structure integrating self aligned contact structure with salicide gate electrode structure

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd


Disclosed herein is a device for equipping a recliner with one or more accessories, comprising a base frame portion attachable to the recliner, the base frame having a plurality of mounting locations and a plurality of recliner accessories, each of which is arranged for removable attachment to a corresponding one or more of said mounting locations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to chairs and more particularly, but not necessarily exclusively to mobile or stationary recliner chairs for medical patients.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been an increase in the level of comfort available to people in their residences, in large part by the ubiquitous recliner known by the trade name LA-Z-BOY. Recliners of this brand and others similar to it come in an increasingly wide array of colours, fabrics, styles, all with the intent of providing reclining comfort to the owner.
However, there has been relatively fewer recliner products available in medical environments such as hospitals and nursing homes and those that are available are usually of limited comfort and bland in appearance.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel chair and method of equipping a chair for medical and other environments.


A method for triggering an anode bleed from split fuel cell stacks in a fuel cell system that employs anode flow-shifting. The method requests the bleed if any one of three different conditions are met. Those conditions include that the concentration of nitrogen in the anode side of the split stacks is above a predetermined percentage, the voltage spread between the maximum cell voltage and the minimum cell voltage of two fuel cells in the split stacks is greater than a predetermined spread voltage and the absolute value of the difference between the overall voltage of the two split stacks is greater than a predetermined voltage. The concentration of nitrogen in the anode can be determined in any suitable manner, such as by a nitrogen cross-over model or a sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method for triggering an anode bleed from a fuel cell stack and, more particularly, to a method for triggering an anode bleed from split fuel cell stacks that includes triggering the bleed if an estimated concentration of nitrogen in the anode is greater than a predetermined threshold concentration, triggering the bleed if the absolute value of the difference between the average split stack cell voltages is greater than a predetermined threshold voltage, or triggering the bleed if the voltage spread of the fuel cell voltages in either of the split fuel cell stacks is greater than a predetermined threshold voltage.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Hydrogen is a very attractive fuel because it is clean and can be used to efficiently produce electricity in a fuel cell. A hydrogen fuel cell is an electrochemical device that includes an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte therebetween. The anode receives hydrogen gas and the cathode receives oxygen or air. The hydrogen gas is dissociated in the anode to generate free protons and electrons. The protons pass through the electrolyte to the cathode. The protons react with the oxygen and the electrons in the cathode to generate water. The electrons from the anode cannot pass through the electrolyte, and thus are directed through a load to perform work before being sent to the cathode.
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are a popular fuel cell for vehicles. The PEMFC generally includes a solid polymer-electrolyte proton-conducting membrane, such as a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane. The anode and cathode typically include finely divided catalytic particles, usually platinum (Pt), supported on carbon particles and mixed with an ionomer. The catalytic mixture is deposited on opposing sides of the membrane. The combination of the anode catalytic mixture, the cathode catalytic mixture and the membrane define a membrane electrode assembly (MEA).
Several fuel cells are typically combined in a fuel cell stack to generate the desired power. For the automotive fuel cell stack mentioned above, the stack may include two hundred or more fuel cells. The fuel cell stack receives a cathode reactant gas, typically a flow of air forced through the stack by a compressor. Not all of the oxygen is consumed by the stack and some of the air is output as a cathode exhaust gas that may include water as a stack by-product. The fuel cell stack also receives an anode hydrogen reactant gas that flows into the anode side of the stack.
A fuel cell stack includes a series of bipolar plates positioned between the several MEAs in the stack, where the bipolar plates and the MEAs are positioned between two end plates. The bipolar plates include an anode side and a cathode side for adjacent fuel cells in the stack. Anode gas flow channels are provided on the anode side of the bipolar plates that allow the anode reactant gas to flow to the respective MEA. Cathode gas flow channels are provided on the cathode side of the bipolar plates that allow the cathode reactant gas to flow to the respective MEA. One end plate includes anode gas flow channels, and the other end plate includes cathode gas flow channels. The bipolar plates and end plates are made of a conductive material, such as stainless steel or a conductive composite. The end plates conduct the electricity generated by the fuel cells out of the stack. The bipolar plates also include flow channels through which a cooling fluid flows.
The MEAs are permeable and thus allow nitrogen in the air from the cathode side of the stack to permeate therethrough and collect in the anode side of the stack, referred to in the industry as nitrogen cross-over. Even though the anode side pressure may be slightly higher than the cathode side pressure, the cathode side partial pressures will cause air to permeate through the membrane. Nitrogen in the anode side of the fuel cell stack dilutes the hydrogen such that if the nitrogen concentration increases above a certain percentage, such as 50%, the fuel cell stack becomes unstable and may fail. It is known in the art to provide a bleed valve at the anode exhaust gas output of the fuel cell stack to remove nitrogen from the anode side of the stack.
It has been proposed in the art to provide stack order switching or anode flow-shifting in a fuel cell system that employs split stacks. Particularly, valves and plumbing in the system are provided so that the anode exhaust gas exiting a first sub-stack is sent to the anode of a second sub-stack, and the anode exhaust gas exiting the second sub-stack is sent to the anode of the first sub-stack in a cyclical manner.

Comprehensive method for triggering anode bleed events in a fuel cell system


In the present invention, a terminal retainer is mounted on a rear portion of a connector housing so as to move in a two-stage manner, that is, between a provisionally-connected condition and a completely-connected condition, and a metal terminal can be immediately withdrawn in the provisionally-connected condition and can be positively engaged with metal terminals. According to the present invention, flexible support pieces each having a terminal retaining projection having a tapered relief engagement surface for a metal terminal are provided on a terminal retainer. A provisionally-retaining projection for provisionally retaining the terminal retainer is provided at a connector housing. In the provisionally-connected condition of the terminal retainer, by pulling the metal terminal, the terminal retainer is retracted via the tapered relief engagement surfaces, and at the same time the flexible support piece is caused to slide onto the retaining projection to be disposed out of the path of movement of the metal terminal.

This invention relates to a connector of the type in which a terminal retainer is connected to connection terminals, retainingly received in respective terminal receiving chambers of a connector housing, from the rear side of the terminal receiving chambers, thereby achieving a double retaining construction for retaining the connection terminals.
Referring to FIG. 21, in Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application Publication Sho. 63-58470, a designates a connector housing, and b designates a terminal retainer. A housing locking arm c of the terminal retainer b is engaged with a provisionally engaging projection e of connector housing a in a provisionally engagement condition. After that, the terminal retainer b is further pushed to engage the housing locking arm with real engaging projection in a real engagement condition.
FIG. 22 is a showing a cross-sectional view of a condition of a temporally engagement between the connector housing a and the terminal retainer b. The terminal retainer b has a resilient terminal locking arm f. The resilient terminal locking arm f includes a bulged portion f.sub.1 at a free end thereof. The bulged portion f.sub.1 is positioned into each terminal accommodating chamber g. A metal terminal h connected with a wire w is inserted from a rear portion into each terminal accommodating chamber g with the bulged portion being pushed up by the metal terminal h through a.sub.1 window of the connector housing a until the metal terminal is engaged with a resilient locking piece i. Then, the terminal retainer b moves into the real engaging position to position the bulged portion f.sub.1 of the resilient terminal locking arm f into an end portion of an electric contact portion h.sub.1 of the metal terminal h. As a result, the metal terminal is doubly locked as shown in FIG. 23.
As shown in FIG. 24, in the case of where the metal terminal h is incompletely inserted, when the terminal retainer moves into the real engaging position, the bulged portion of f.sub.1 of the resilient terminal locking arm f abuts against the metal terminal h to forcedly move the terminal retainer b into a normal position where the terminal retainer b is engaged with the resilient locking piece i.
However, when it is necessary to exchange the metal terminal h, the terminal retainer b should be removed from the Connector housing a. Thus, the terminal remove operation is more complicated, and it is possible to lose the removed terminal retainer b.


A method of treating a subterranean formation penetrated by a well-bore, for example to facilitate fracturing of the formation, comprises the steps of: (i) selecting a treatment fluid comprising a diverting agent (A) in a flaked form, for example guar gum in a flaked form. (ii) introducing the treatment fluid into the subterranean formation via the well-bore to plug a region of the formation. Thereafter, the formation may be fractured or re-fractured.

Hydraulic fracturing is a process needed to produce oil and gas from unconventional reservoirs such as coal beds, tight sandstones and shales. In this process, a fracturing fluid is injected at rates and pressures necessary to cause formation failure by inducing fractures or cracks in the formation. These cracks originate through perforations at the well-bore and radiate out into the formation. A perforation is produced by a projectile fired from a perforating tool to create a hole through a well-bore steel casing and cement casing and into the formation, a distance 6 to 8 inches from the casing. Common practice in unconventional reservoirs is to initiate entry into the reservoir through the perforation with a small slug of acid pumped at a low rate followed by low viscosity water pumped at increasing rates until a desired high rate (typically from 50 to 100 barrels per minute) is achieved. In order to pump at these high rates, normally, small amounts of friction reducers are added to the fluid. These friction reducers are normally 120 to 1,000 ppm polyacrylamide polymers or copolymers.
Once a desired rate is achieved, a small loading of propping agent or proppant is added to the pumped fluid. Typically, most proppant comprises small-sized sand such as 0.25 pounds of 100 mesh sand per gallon of water. As a treatment proceeds, the amount of, for example, sand is systematically increased and, at some point, the size of the sand may be increased to, for example, 40/70 or 30/50 mesh. The purpose of the sand is to form a sand pack in the fracture which is orders of magnitude more permeable than the formation strata. The sand pack is then able to maintain a conductive pathway from the reservoir to the well-bore for the recovery of the reservoir fluids. Also, it is expected that the perforations in the casing are eroded. In the treatment, a perforation tunnel between the casing and the fracture is packed with proppant to produce a permeable pathway into the well-bore. Sand concentrations will normally range from 200,000 lb to 500,000 lb per fracturing stage and the water can range from 2,000 to 7,000 barrels of water.
However, the placement of transverse fractures along a horizontal lateral of a well often leaves large regions of the reservoir adjacent the well-bore untreated, these regions being poorly fractured or poorly propped. Consequently, they contribute little or nothing to the overall oil and gas production. Such untreated regions may have initially been by-passed because of the stage intervals being excessively long or, during attempted fracturing, the treatment design may have been inadequate or relevant regions of the formation may not have taken the treating fluid.
Once a well has produced for some period of time, it may be decided to re-fracture the reservoir, particularly those regions of the formation that were poorly stimulated initially. These regions can be identified using various forms of well logging. However, re-injection of fracturing fluids, with expectations of stimulating previously untreated regions of the reservoir, is difficult without the ability to seal off those perforations that are conveying most of the production from the reservoir. To address this problem, it is desirable to introduce a temporary blocking or sealing material (a "diverting agent") that could prevent re-injection of fracturing fluid into the most productive perforations. Once such productive perforations are sealed, treatment fluids can be injected through perforations that are less or non-productive in an effort to stimulate those regions of the reservoir. In some cases, once the most productive perforations are sealed, a new set of perforations can be formed, starting at the toe of the well and systematically working toward the heel while employing zonal isolation methods such as sliding sleeves or "plug and perf" processes.
In other cases, it may be desirable to inject intermittent slugs of diverting agent at lower pumping rates, while monitoring the pressure. Each time there is a pressure bump or increase after landing the diverting agent, the pumping rate on the fluid is increased to force open a new set of perforations, followed by an appropriate treating fluid volume and proppant concentration needed to fracture one or multiple zones. This is normally followed by another flush stage containing another slug of diverting agent to seal off that latest set of perforations. The fracturing stage and flush with diverting agent is repeated multiple times until the entire interval has been fractured as a means of stimulating production from previously un-fractured portions of the reservoir.
There are several requirements needed for a diverting agent. Firstly, a diverting agent should have an ability to block fluid flow at a concentration that can be operationally managed. For example 10 lb to 1,000 lb of diverting agent per 1,000 gal of treating fluid, but more commonly 20 lb to 500 lb of diverting agent per 1,000 gal of treating fluid and, most common, between 50 lb and 200 lb of diverting agent per 1,000 gal of treating fluid, may be used.
A diverting agent is suitably carried by injection fluid from the surface to those perforations receiving the fluid. Usually, there is a number of perforations accepting fluid flow in a non-uniform manner; some perforations may accept high volumes of fluid and others significantly less volumes. Since the diverting agent is added to the fluid on surface, those perforations accepting the most fluid will also be those perforations initially accepting the largest amount of diverting agent until the fluid flow through that perforation is blocked.
Secondly, a diverting agent suitably possesses some method of blocking fluid flow once a sand pack is established, such as the agent being malleable or deformable. In this mechanism, addition of pressure, sometimes influenced by temperature, will cause the product to pack and deform to block any further fluid flow, this then terminating the permeability in the flow channel.
Another important requirement for a diverting agent is easy removal to allow continued recovery of oil and gas from previously fractured portions of the well, in addition to the newly fractured portions, to enhance ultimate recovery of oil and gas from the reservoir. This may involve self-degradation of the diverting agent. Alternatively, a mixture of diverting agent and a degrading composition may be used, with the requirement that the degrading substance becomes part of the diverting pack. It will also be important that any degrading substance does not perform immediately, but slowly over a period of time that allows other portions of the reservoir to be stimulated. It may be necessary that the diverting agents be replenished periodically.

Method for making a treatment fluid comprising a diverting agent in flake form, and method of treating a well


Devices and methods for reading picklists are disclosed herein. An example barcode reader device includes an imaging assembly to capture images while scanning over picklist. The barcode reader includes a processing platform configured to decode, for each image, any newly appearing decodable barcode within the image, evaluate, using positional tracking, whether a decodable barcode is within a decode region of a field view, thereby indicating a barcode to decode, and instead of decoding that barcode, access previously stored decoded barcode data for the barcode and report that data, thereby allowing the barcode reader to avoid scanning and decoding the barcode at the decode region, and avoid on-axis reflection errors.

Barcodes are commonly used to encode data associated with a variety of items that the barcodes are often printed on or attached thereto. In the past, laser-based barcode readers were employed to read barcode data and thereafter decode the payload. However, with the proliferation of imaging sensors, imager-based barcode readers have become mainstream. These barcode readers typically capture image data associated with the imager's field of view (FOV), and identify and decode barcodes found within the said image data. While being effective in many instances, certain drawbacks can and do exist in these barcode readers.
As one example, barcode readers today can be configured to operate in so-called "picklist" modes. This type of operation is typically desired when a plurality of barcodes is printed on a list, called a picklist, in tight formation. Such formation can be problematic for a reader operating in regular mode as the reader's FOV is likely wide enough to encompass multiple barcodes at once. Hence, the barcode reader can be configured to decode only the barcodes that overlap within the reader's decode region (e.g., a sub-region of the FOV that partially of fully overlaps with an aim-pattern projected on a target). This configuration can allow the user to activate the read operation, move the FOV over the entire picklist, and decode only the specific barcodes of interest until the read operation is terminated. In other instances, the barcode reader can be configured to activate the aiming assembly prior to decoding a barcode of interest and initiate a decode operation upon a subsequent user input. For example, a user may activate the barcode reader via a trigger causing the aiming assembly to emit an aim pattern, navigate to the barcode of interest where the aim pattern would impinge on said barcode, and release the trigger signaling a decode operation of the barcode of interest.
However, in some cases, the aforementioned barcode readers can experience certain drawbacks. For example, picklists can often be found in relatively harsh environments and thus be laminated. Such lamination can create undesired specular reflections, either from the barcode reader's own aiming/illumination systems and/or from external sources like overhead lights, which can negatively impact the ability of the barcode reader to decode a barcode that overlaps with the reader's decode region. Consequently, there continues to be a need for improved devices, methods, and systems that at least address this concern.


A projection image display apparatus is disclosed which enable users to observe an image in an overlap area well. The apparatus comprises a first projector which projects a first image onto a projection surface, a projection area detector which acquires a projection area onto which a second projector projects a second image in a certain area of the projection surface. Further, the apparatus comprises a projection area controller which controls a projection area onto which the firs projector projects the first image, based on an input signal from the projection area detector.

The present invention relates to projection image display apparatuses suitable for projection of images onto a projection surface using a single or plural projectors and multi-projection systems.
Multi-projection systems (image display system) are conventionally used, which project plural images onto a projection surface by combination of plural projectors.
Of the systems, one is known which displays a magnified image by arranging plural image display areas onto which the plural projectors project images in a tiled manner (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2005-39849).
As another image display system, a so-called stack projection system is known in which plural projectors are combined and plural image areas of the respective projectors are overlapped with each other (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2004-228824).
The multi-projection system disclosed in FIG. 1 of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2005-39849 divides input image information into plural pieces and displays the pieces of information by the plural projectors that constitute the system. This system displays a smooth image that is a mostly seamless image on a screen.
The stack projection system disclosed in FIG. 1 of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2004-228824 overlaps the projection display areas of the respective projectors with high accuracy. This system can obtain a bright projection image by causing the respective projectors to display the same image information.
However, in a case where the respective projectors display images different from each other in the multi-projection system, the stack projection system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2004-228824 overlaps the different images. This results in making it hard to recognize the projection image.
The multi-projection system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2005-39849 can display the respective images independently since the respective projection areas are different from each other. However, since the projection areas are fixed, their positions cannot be moved freely.
Further, when a single projector projects an image onto the projection surface, the image and another image projected by another projector may overlap with each other.
Furthermore, when the plural projectors project plural images onto the screen, the projection areas of the images may overlap with each other thereon.

Projection image display apparatus and multi-projection system


A fluoro-substituted benzoylpropionic acid compound of formula (I) either as a single optical isomer or as a mixture of optical isomers ##STR1## wherein R is hydroxy, amino, hydroxylamine, --OR', --NHR', N(R').sub.2 or --NHOR' in which R' is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl or benzyl;. or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fluoro-substituted benzoylpropionic acid derivatives, to their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, to a process for their preparation and to pharmaceutical compositions comprising them.
2. Description of the Related Art
Our previous International patent application WO 95/03271 refers to 2-amino-4-phenyl-4-oxo-butyric acid derivatives of formula (IA) either as single isomers or as racemic mixture ##STR2## and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein
each of the groups X and Y is, independently, hydrogen, halogen, trifluoromethyl, hydroxy, C.sub.1 -C.sub.5 alkyl, benzyl, C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl, OR', --SR', SOR', SO.sub.2 R' in which R' is C.sub.1 -C.sub.5 alkyl or benzyl; and
R is hydroxy, OR', amino, NHR', --N(R').sub.2, hydroxylamine or --NHOR' in which R' is as defined above;
provided that R is not hydroxy when:
(i) X and Y are simultaneously hydrogen; or PA1 (ii) X and Y are in positions 3 and 4 of the phenyl ring and are simultaneously a hydroxy group or a --OR' group in which R' is methyl; or PA1 (iii) one of the X and Y groups is hydrogen and the other is in position 4 of the phenyl ring and is hydroxy, chlorine, fluorine, methyl, n-propyl or methoxy. PA1 a) reacting a compound of formula (II) ##STR4## with a compound of formula (III) either as a single (R) or (S) enantiomer or as racemic mixture ##STR5## wherein PA1 b) converting a compound of formula (IV) either as a single (R) or (S) enantiomer or as racemic mixture into a single (R) or (S) enantiomer or racemic mixture of a compound of formula (I) wherein R is hydroxy, and, if desired, converting a compound of formula (I) wherein R is hydroxy into a compound of formula (I) wherein R is other than hydroxy.
In WO 95/03271 the compounds of formula (IA) are described as effective in inhibiting the activity of the enzymes kynureninase and/or kynurenine-3-hydroxylase which are involved in the metabolic pathway of kynurenines leading to the formation of quinolinic acid, a tryptophan neurotoxic metabolite with excitatory activity in the mammalian central nervous system. The compounds of formula (IA) may therefore be employed in the prevention and/or treatment of a variety of nervous system diseases wherein the inhibition of the enzymes kynureninase or kynurenine-3-hydroxylase is needed; namely, they can be useful in the prevention and/or treatment of a nervous system disease related to a deranged production of quinolinic acid or excessive activation of neurotransmission mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartic acid.
For example, the compounds of formula (IA) may be useful in the prevention and/or treatment of neurodegenerative pathologies including, for example, Huntington's chorea, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, dementia caused by acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), multi-infarctual dementia, cerebral ischemia, cerebral hypoxia and epilepsy.
The compounds of formula (IA) are, in general, soluble in aqueous vehicles suitable for parenteral administration.
In accordance with the present invention, it has now been surprisingly found that certain fluoro-substituted benzoylpropionic acid derivatives, which represent a selected class of compounds of formula (IA), not specifically disclosed in WO95/03271, possess excellent solubility. These novel fluoro derivatives, which are selective inhibitors of the enzyme Kynurenine-3-hydroxylase, are considerably more soluble than the corresponding di-chloro derivatives disclosed in WO 95/03271 and are therefore particularly useful for injectable administration purposes.

Fluoro-substituted benzoylpropionic acid derivatives


A pile driver is provided for use in deep water with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and a working ship for setting piles, pin piles and well conductors in subsea soil and for soil sampling in deep water and can be used for shallow water and land-based applications. A ram mass or hammer is received in an open frame and hydraulically reciprocated while in contact with water. A piston rod received in a piston cylinder is secured at one end to the hammer through a coupling mechanism, and an external source of hydraulic power is used with an on-board hydraulic circuit. Gas is compressed during an up-stroke to store energy, which is released during a down-stroke to push the hammer downwardly. The coupling mechanism provides a connection between the piston rod and the hammer that can move between an essentially rigid lift connection, an essentially rigid downward-push connection and an essentially non-rigid impact connection for preventing buckling of the piston rod when the hammer strikes at its lowermost point. One embodiment of the coupling mechanism includes a hollow body having opposing longitudinal slots, a rod slideably received in the hollow body that is pinned slideably at one end in the opposing slots and pinned fixedly at the other end to the hammer, with a spring in the hollow body providing a bias to push the rod toward the hammer.

1. Field of the Invention
This present invention pertains to pile drivers, and more particularly to a ramming apparatus, a system incorporating the ramming apparatus and methods and applications for driving objects into soil under deep water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Large, heavy, surface-powered hammering devices exist for the purpose of vertically forcing piles, well conductors, soil sampling devices, and other objects into subsea soil. Existing hammering devices are very large, very expensive to deploy, and because of their size and complexity, existing hammering devices tend to be limited to relatively shallow seawater depths and to driving relatively large objects. Current technology also includes drilling a hole and/or jetting a hole into the ocean floor, then inserting an object into the hole, but these techniques require a very large, expensive ship or platform and a considerable amount of time for installing the object. Also, in the case of piles, well conductors and other objects that are to remain in the soil, the objects need to be longer than would be necessary if the objects were instead driven into the subsea soil. This is due to the reduced holding capacity or strength of an object that is placed in a drilled or jetted hole, because of the soil disturbance at the walls of the hole and also the enlarged size of the hole relative to the object.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,175, issued to Warrington et al. and incorporated by reference, describes a pile hammer that can be used under water, which uses water as a hydraulic fluid. A hydraulic power pack is located at the surface and connected by hoses to a hydraulically-operated ram. There is a practical limit to the depth at which the pile hammer can be used because it is impractical to pump water through hoses to a great depth.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,872,514; 5,667,341; 5,788,418; and 5,915,883, issued to Kuehn and incorporated by reference, describe, in general, pile drivers that can be used in relatively deep water. Kuehn's '883 patent describes a submersible hydraulic driving unit that can be connected to the driving mechanism of an underwater ramming apparatus or cut-off tool. The driving unit has a hydraulic pump powered by an electric motor, which receives electricity from the surface through an umbilical cable. The driving unit has another umbilical cable that plugs into the ramming apparatus or cut-off tool, and a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) is used to observe and make that connection. In the process of lowering equipment supported by an umbilical cable, the umbilical cable is prone to damage, and Kuehn's '341 patent describes using the umbilical cable of an ROV for signal and data transmission with a driving unit.
International Patent Application No. PCT/GB2006/001239, bearing International Publication No. WO2006109018, invented by Clive Jones and incorporated by reference for all purposes, describes an apparatus for driving a pile into an underwater seabed, which includes a pile guide that includes a base frame, a guide member mounted on the base frame and configured to guide a pile, a device for driving the pile into the seabed, and a power supply for supplying power to drive the device. The Jones application describes a power supply that is part of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Jones discloses that hydraulic hammers such as the IHC Hydrohammers supplied by Dutch Company IHC Hydrohammer BV can be used as the pile driving device. According to an IHC brochure, the IHC Hydrohammer includes a hammer and a piston rod constructed as a single piece and an enclosure for the hammer, which indicates that the assembly is designed so that the hammer reciprocates in an essentially clean, dry, gaseous environment, which is an environment that is difficult to maintain while under the pressure imparted by very deep water.


An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a process cartridge including a developing device that includes a developer carrier and a toner storing portion storing toner for replenishment. The developer carrier conveys a developer deposited thereon to a developing zone where the developer carrier faces and image carrier. The developing device feeds the toner from the toner storing portion to the developer carrier or the developer deposited on the developer carrier. A toner container stores toner to be replenished to said the storing section. The process cartridge and toner container each are removably mounted to the apparatus independently of each other. A toner conveying device configured to convey the toner from toner container to toner storing portion by using the weight of the toner is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a copier, facsimile apparatus, printer or similar image forming apparatus and more particularly to an image forming apparatus using a process cartridge, which includes a developing device including a toner storing section, and a toner cartridge storing fresh toner for replenishment.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is a common practice with an image forming apparatus to use an image carrier, charger, a developing device and cleaning device implemented as replaceable expendables. For example, the developing device, storing toner therein, is removably mounted to the body of an image forming apparatus and replaced when it runs out of toner. Although this scheme reduces the size of a replaceable unit, it makes not only a mechanism but also work for replacement itself sophisticated.
In light of the above, the image carrier, charger and other expendables and the developing device, storing toner therein, may be constructed into a single process cartridge, in which case the process cartridge will be bodily replaced when the developing device runs out of toner. With the process cartridge, it is possible to effect toner replenishment and the replacement of expendables at the same time for thereby simplifying maintenance. However, when the process cartridge is operated in a condition that consumes much toner, it must be wastefully replaced despite that the number of prints output is small and therefore the expendables are still usable.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-239974, for example, discloses a process cartridge configured to replenish toner from a toner bottle, which is removably disposed in the cartridge, to a developing device, thereby obviating the wasteful replacement of the expendables mentioned above. However, the process cartridge taught in the above document has a problem that the toner bottle cannot be replaced unless the entire process cartridge is removed from the body of an image forming apparatus, resulting in troublesome replacement.
To solve the above problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-231631, for example, teaches an image forming apparatus with a process cartridge and a toner bottle removable independently of each other. The toner bottle and process cartridge adjoin each other and are removable from the body of the apparatus independently of each other. However, when the toner bottle and process cartridge are positioned close to each other, the apparatus becomes bulky because optimum design for reducing the size of the apparatus is not attainable. This is particularly true with a color image forming apparatus including four or more toner bottles and four or more process cartridges.
Technologies relating to the present invention are also disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 9-160364, 2001-27839, 2002-6601, 2002-244359 and 2002-268357.

Image forming apparatus using a toner container and a process cartridge


Embodiments of apparatuses, systems, and methods for single stepping a virtual machine guest using a reorder buffer are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a sequencer and a reorder buffer. The sequencer is to issue micro-operations. The reorder buffer is to signal the sequencer to signal the sequencer to issue micro-operations corresponding to a monitor trap flag event.

Virtual machine extension (VMX) architecture allows multiple software programs and operating systems to use the same microprocessor logic ("hardware") by allocating processor resources to various software applications and operating systems at different times. One feature of the VMX architecture allows software programs ("guest software") to be executed one instruction at a time. Executing instructions of a software program one at a time is typically used as a debug technique and may be referred to as "single stepping" the program.
The VMX architecture typically uses a virtual machine monitor (VMM) program that interfaces one or more software programs, such as a virtual machine (VM), to a single microprocessor or collection of processing elements. The guest software running on each VM may include a guest operating system and various guest software applications. Furthermore, an application and operating system running on a VMM may be collectively called a VM or a guest. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art structure ("virtual machine environment") for interfacing guest software to a microprocessor. Specifically, FIG. 1 illustrates a VMM that interface two VMs ("guest software") to a microprocessor. The software running within each VM may include a guest operating system as well as various software applications. In order to interface each VM to processor resources, such as registers, memory, and input/output ("I/O") resources, state and control information is modified and otherwise tracked via a set of fields within a virtual machine control structure (VMCS). More specifically, a control structure, such as the VMCS, is typically used to pass control of and access to processor resources between the VMM and a VM guest.
One feature of the VMX architecture is the ability to single step through guest software. In order to single step through guest software, the VMM typically, among other things, sets a control field or bit, such as a called Monitor Trap Flag (MTF), in the VMCS.
After the MTF bit is set in the VMCS, the VMM may request a transfer of access and/or control of processor resources to the guest software. The VMM may request access to and/or control of processing resources by issuing an instruction, such as a VMLAUNCH or VMRESUME instruction. A VMLAUNCH instruction is typically executed in order to execute a guest application for the first time. Thereafter, a VMRESUME instruction may be used to perform the same function.
Prior art techniques of single stepping through a guest software routine or routines can often be susceptible failure if an event, such as an exception, occurs during the execution of the guest software. Typically, successful execution of instructions within a guest software context yields control to the VMM whenever a VM exit event occurs. However, some VMM instructions, such as VMLAUNCH and VMRESUME, which transfer control to guest, do not.

Single stepping a virtual machine guest using a reorder buffer


A valve is provided to fill a chamber for holding a rotation shaft of a rotating anode in an X-ray tube. The valve has a needle supported on a seat. The needle maintains the vacuum in the tube. A sleeve can engage in the valve. The sleeve is hollow and has a cavity. This cavity can be connected to the vacuum or to a bottle under vacuum filled with a lubricant liquid. The sleeve is used to handle the needle. The sleeve furthermore bears on a rim of the valve by an O-ring joint. This joint maintains the vacuum when the needle is raised and when the tube under vacuum is connected to the cavity of the sleeve.

An embodiment of the present invention is a radiation emission device, in particular, a rotating-anode X-ray tube with improved bearing and a method for its manufacture. An embodiment of the present invention can be used in medical imaging and also in the field of non-destructive controls when high-powered X-ray tubes are used.
In radiology, such X-rays are produced by an electron tube provided with an anode rotating on a shaft. A powerful electrical field created between the cathode and the anode causes electrons emitted by the cathode to strike the anode, generating X-rays. For this X-ray emission, the positive polarity is applied to the anode by its shaft, and the negative polarity is applied to the cathode. The unit is insulated, especially by dielectric pieces or by an enclosure of the electron tube. This enclosure can be partly made of glass.
When the tube is high-powered, the impact of the electrons on the anode has the effect of abnormally heating this anode. If the power is excessively high, the emitter track of the anode may get deteriorated and pitted with impact holes. To prevent such overheating, the anode is made to rotate so that a constantly renewed and constantly cold surface is presented to the electron stream.
A motor of the tube therefore drives the shaft of the anode freely in a mechanical bearing. This shaft is located in an anode chamber. The anode chamber is itself formed in a support of the anode. On the one hand, the bearing is held by the anode support and, on the other hand, it holds the shaft of the anode.
In practice and when made on an industrial scale, this bearing has classic ball bearings as opposed to the little-used magnetic bearings. The problem posed by the rotating anode arises from the fast wearing out of the metal coating the balls during the rotation of the shaft in the bearing. The service lifetime is then about 100 hours, giving a period of use of the tube of about six months to one year. To overcome this problem, it has been proposed to coat the balls of the bearing with metal, lead or silver in the form of a thin layer. To reduce this premature wearing out of the metal layer, in the known art, a lubricant film is placed at the interface between the surfaces of the ball bearings and the shaft, between the bearing and the shaft of the anode. To this end, the interior of the chamber is filled with a gallium-indium-tin based liquid. Such a liquid is chosen because it improves the coefficient of friction, reduces the noise of the impacts between the balls and augments heat transfer through the heating of the shaft from the anode to the fixed part, either by convection or by conduction. Other lubricant liquids are not chosen because they have poor degassing properties.
The use of the gallium-indium-tin based alloy has proved to be a source of difficulty. Indeed, this alloy, which is liquid at ambient temperature (starting from 10 degrees Celsius), gets oxidized very quickly in contact with air. This oxide is solid and takes the form of a surface film within a very short time of about one to two minutes. This means that the handling of such a liquid in industrial conditions has to be done with certain precautions, in a neutral atmosphere or under vacuum. Besides, this film has no lubricating quality, indeed far from it. Gallium is furthermore highly corrosive. If this mixture were to be handled, even in the laboratory, liquid could get spilt or could leak or overflow, giving rise to puddles or deposits on the handling surface. It is then extremely difficult to remove all these puddles or deposits in a white room, especially in a system under manufacture (in the enclosure of the tube). Indeed, if a stain is wiped off, it reappears within a few seconds in the form of another brownish stain at the position that has been just (but not completely) cleaned. The state of the room is then not propitious to the requirements of quality manufacturing.
The difficulties then are of two types: the handling of the alloy itself in the laboratory or plant, and its mode of insertion under vacuum into the bearing during the manufacture of the tube. Furthermore, the purity of this liquid, despite its contribution to the lubrication of the bearing in association with the balls of the bearing, may deteriorate in the course of time and finally, as in the case of the coating of the balls, it may cease to have any effect.
In current and future radiology, the power need by electron tubes are increasing in order obtain improved diagnosis. This increase in power is increasing the weight of the anode to six-eight kilograms. The resulting effects within the bearing are becoming critical. Furthermore, for use in computerized tomography with continuous rotation at two rotations per second, the bearing is subjected to acceleration of about eight G. Rotation speeds of three to four rotations per second are anticipated. As a consequence, the service life of the bearing, and therefore of the tube, with the balls and the liquid, may be limited in time. Indeed, the liquid may lose its properties and therefore its qualities as and when heating and friction occur inside the bearing.

Radiation emission device having a bearing and method of manufacture


An internal combustion engine has an exhaust treatment system with a fluid injection system and a swirl can plenum mixer for mixing injected fluid with exhaust gas exhausted from the engine. The mixer comprises a canister having an inner plenum. A bulkhead separates the inner plenum into an exhaust gas collector and a diffuser chamber. A flow port opens through the bulkhead to a tangential flow director on the downstream side of the bulkhead to collect the exhaust gas. A fluid injector port receives a fluid injector for dispensing a fluid into the exhaust gas for mixing with the exhaust gas in the swirl can plenum mixer. A tangential flow director nozzle is configured to dispense the exhaust gas and fluid into the downstream plenum in a tangential flow trajectory, wherein mixing and vaporization of the exhaust gas and fluid mixture with the exhaust gas is accomplished.

The exhaust gas emitted to an exhaust treatment system from an internal combustion engine is a heterogeneous mixture that contains gaseous emissions such as carbon monoxide ("CO"), unburned hydrocarbons ("HC") and oxides of nitrogen ("NOx") as well as condensed phase materials (liquids and solids) that constitute particulate matter. Catalyst compositions, typically disposed on catalyst supports or substrates, are provided in various exhaust system devices to convert certain, or all of these exhaust constituents into non-regulated exhaust gas components.
An exhaust treatment technology in use for high levels of particulate matter reduction, particularly in diesel engines, is the Particulate Filter ("PF") device. There are several known filter structures used in PF devices that have displayed effectiveness in removing the particulate matter from the exhaust gas such as ceramic honeycomb wall flow filters, wound or packed fiber filters, open cell foams, sintered metal fibers, etc. Ceramic wall flow filters have experienced significant acceptance in automotive applications.
The filter in a PF device is a physical structure for removing particulates from exhaust gas and, as a result, the accumulation of filtered particulates will have the effect of increasing the exhaust system backpressure experienced by the engine. To address backpressure increases caused by the accumulation of exhaust gas particulates, the PF device is periodically cleaned, or regenerated. The regeneration operation burns off the carbon and particulate matter collected in the filter substrate and regenerates the PF device.
Regeneration of a PF device in vehicle applications is typically automatic and is controlled by an engine or other controller based on signals generated by engine and exhaust system sensors such as temperature sensors and back pressure sensors. The regeneration event involves increasing the temperature of the PF device to levels that are often above 600C in order to burn the accumulated particulates.
One method of generating the temperatures required in the exhaust system for regeneration of the PF device is to deliver unburned HC (often in the form of raw fuel) to an oxidation catalyst ("OC") device disposed upstream of the PF device. The HC may be delivered by injecting fuel (either as a liquid or pre-vaporized) directly into the exhaust gas using an HC injector/vaporizer. The HC is oxidized in the OC device resulting in an exothermic reaction that raises the temperature of the exhaust gas. The heated exhaust gas travels downstream to the PF device to thereby burn (oxidize) the particulate accumulation.
A challenge for designers, especially those involved in space limited automotive applications, is that injecting fluids such as HC into the exhaust gas upstream of an OC device, or any other device for that matter, must allow for sufficient residence time, turbulence and distance in the exhaust flow for the injected fluid to become sufficiently mixed with and vaporized in the exhaust gas prior to entering the device. Without proper preparation, the injected fluid will not properly oxidize in the OC device and some unburned HC may pass through the device. The result is wasted fuel passing through the exhaust treatment system and uneven temperatures within the devices. Turbulators (i.e. static mixers) or other mixing devices may be installed in an exhaust conduit that fluidly connects the various exhaust treatment devices to aide in mixing the injected fluid. Such mixing devices, while effective, may add undesirable backpressure to the exhaust treatment system, reducing engine performance.
A technology that has been developed to reduce the levels of NOx emissions in lean-burn engines (ex. diesel engines) that burn fuel in excess oxygen includes a Selective Catalytic Reduction ("SCR") device. An SCR catalyst composition disposed in the SCR device preferably contains a zeolite and one or more base metal components such as iron ("Fe"), cobalt ("Co"), copper ("Cu") or vanadium ("V") which can operate efficiently to reduce NOx constituents in the exhaust gas in the presence of a reductant such as ammonia ("NH3"). The SCR catalyst may be applied as a wash coat to either a conventional flow-through substrate or on the substrate of a particulate filter. The reductant is typically delivered as a liquid upstream of the SCR device, in a manner similar to the HC discussed above, and travels downstream to the SCR device to interact with the SCR catalyst composition; reducing the levels of NOx in the exhaust gas passing through the SCR device. Like the HC discussed above, without proper mixing and evaporation, the injected reductant, urea or ammonia for instance, will not properly function in the SCR device and some of the fluid may pass through the device resulting in wasted reductant as well as reduced NOx conversion efficiency.
Typical exhaust treatment systems may include several exhaust treatment devices as described above. In many instances, whether historical or not, the devices may comprise individual components that are serially disposed along an exhaust conduit that extends from the exhaust manifold outlet of the internal combustion engine to the tailpipe outlet of the exhaust treatment system. A challenge with this configuration is that it is necessary to choose a reasonable length between components, as well as sufficient mixing devices disposed within the exhaust conduit, to achieve adequate mixing of injected fluids (ex. HC and Urea (ammonia) reductant). As vehicle architectures become smaller, the desired length for an exhaust treatment system may not necessarily be available.
Accordingly it is desirable to provide an apparatus that will achieve uniform mixing and distribution of a fluid injected into the exhaust gas in an exhaust treatment system in a compact distance.

Internal combustion engine and exhaust aftertreatment system


An aft closure assembly manufactured from two separate and distinct pieces made from different materials is provided for a rocket motor case. The aft closure assembly includes at least a retaining ring piece made from a first material similar to or having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the motor case. The aft closure assembly includes a blast tube and closure piece that can be manufactured from a second material that does not need to be similar to nor have a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to the motor case and retaining ring piece. This is possible because the blast tube and closure piece includes a face seal that seals against a face of the retaining ring.

A typical rocket motor has a pressure vessel (motor case) and a nozzle. The motor case contains the propellant. In typical rocket motor configurations, the nozzle and nozzle components are housed in an aft closure. In addition to holding the nozzle and nozzle components, the aft closure also seals an end of the motor case so that the seal is able to withstand the pressure generated inside the rocket motor case. To meet this goal, the aft closure is made from a single piece of material. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art aft closure 100 with blast tube 102. The aft closure 100 is made from a single (i.e., a monolithic) piece of material. The aft closure 100 is connected to the blast tube 102 either by being milled from the same piece of material as the aft closure, or alternatively, the blast tube 102 is E-beam welded to the aft closure 100. The cylindrical wall 104 exterior seals against the inside surface of the motor case. To this end, the cylindrical wall 104 includes a groove 106 for an O-ring (not shown).
Because tactical rocket motors are designed to perform over a broad range of temperatures (e.g., −65° F. to 160° F.), the motor case and aft closure 100 are typically made from materials having similar coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE). Using the same materials or materials with similar coefficients of thermal expansion are necessary to reduce leaks between the motor case and the aft closure 100.
Ideally, the motor case and aft closure are manufactured from the same material. Titanium is a common material used for the motor case because of its relatively high strength to weight ratio. Minimizing the amount of material is also a design consideration, making the use of high-strength, low-weight materials, such as titanium, an attractive option for the closure 100 as well. Manufacturing the aft closure 100 from titanium reduces the mass of the closure, but also has inherent disadvantages. For example, the cost of the raw material is much higher for titanium than steel or aluminum. Also, an aft closure 100 has intricate details that are difficult to produce in a single piece of titanium, leading to expensive manufacturing processes.
On the other hand, avoiding a titanium aft closure 100 and manufacturing the aft closure 100 from a light, inexpensive, easily machined material, such as aluminum, has other disadvantages. For example, aluminum has a high coefficient of thermal expansion as compared to materials used for the motor case. Consequently, extremes in temperature will create potential leak conditions. Further, aluminum has a lower strength than steel or titanium, requiring more mass to achieve similar strength as titanium.

Two-piece aft closure for a rocket motor case


According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a mobile phone including: a first timer configured to output a first time out signal representing that a first processing is to be executed by starting a system when a first given time period has elapsed; a starting unit configured to start the system; a second timer configured to determine whether time out is brought about when the system is started from a sleeping state without determining whether the time out is brought about when the system is sleeping and output a second time out signal representing that a second processing is to be executed when it is determined that a second given time period has elapsed from a time counting start time point when the system is activated; and a second processing unit configured to execute the second processing when the second time out signal is received.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a mobile phone for utilizing a data of an IC card of a UIM card or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
There is a mobile phone inserting an IC card of a UIM (User Identity Module) card or an SIN (Subscriber Identity Module) card or the like (hereinafter, refer to as UIM card) and utilizing a data stored to the card. The UIM card is stored with various kinds of personal information starting from an inherent ID No for specifying a telephone number (refer to, for example, JP-A-2007-53655). Therefore, it is necessary to monitor which (JIM card is currently inserted to a mobile phone from a view point of protecting personal information.
In the related-art technique, according to a mobile phone of this kind, a polling processing of the UIM card is carried out in starting a system (in speaking or in data communicating), or in system sleeping (at standby). Here, the polling processing of the UIM card refers to confirming whether the UIM card is inserted, whether the URI card is not interchanged or the like.
By carrying out the polling processing of the UIM card periodically and repeatedly, it can pertinently be monitored which OIM card is currently inserted to a mobile phone.

Mobile phone for checking the presence of an integrated circuit card

Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications Limited


A safety system for mining equipment is provided having a proximity-based system with a marker field generator in an explosion-proof housing. The generator has a resonant circuit with an inductive reactance that is provided by a ferrite rod wound with an electrical conductor. Also provided is an RF receiver to receive information about the strength of the generated marker field from a sensing device used by a worker. The system provides for a personal alert device, carried by personnel to be kept at a safe distance from the mining machine, the personal alert device being capable of detecting the marker field. Also disclosed is a geosteering system that stops the cutting of a continuous miner when the cutter reaches an interface between a mineral being mined and an adjacent formation that is not to be mined.

Operation of Continuous Miners (CM) is one of the most dangerous jobs in the coal mining industry. Fatalities and injuries to mining personnel working in the vicinity of CMs are a major concern to both the industry and to the government health and safety organizations, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and the National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH). MSHA and NIOSH have initiatives and programs under way to try to improve the health and safety of personnel working around CMs. Further improvements are not likely to be made by better procedures and controls alone, better technical tools being needed. The operational conditions for CMs are especially complex and challenging and produce unique hazardous conditions. Some technical solutions to these difficult safety and health hazards around CMs are applicable to other work environments involving mobile equipment.
The hazards and health concerns for CM operators and other workers are many and need to be explained in order to understand the associated problems and solutions. They can be generally divided into three categories. One category are the health and safety concerns associated with the cutting process. Another category is associated with moving the CM from one position to another, called tramming, which is necessary and frequent, and movements of the cutter boom and loading boom. The third category is performing maintenance or other operations on the CM. For purposes of this specification, the third category can be grouped with the hazards associated with category two. One factor in common with all these hazards is the proximity of personnel to the CM and/or to the geologic formation in which the CM is operating.
During cutting, operators typically position themselves as far forward toward the mineral face as safety rules will allow so that they can better see, hear, and feel the vibrations from the cutting process. The most challenging phase of their cutting control task is when the cutter drum is shearing down toward the floor because the view of the front area of the miner is obstructed by the miner itself and by dust and water sprays. When cutting around a corner during a crosscut, the view is further obstructed by a pillar. After frequently being in a forward position, at the side of the CM, it becomes a comfort zone and the operator develops a habit of remaining in that position, even when tramming.
In recent times fatalities and serious injuries have resulted from metallic objects being thrown from the cutter, hitting personnel. Rocks or coal sometimes fall from a freshly cut wall or roof, seriously injuring or resulting in fatalities, even when the operators are behind two roof bolts, which is required by safety rules. Positions further from the coal face are less hazardous. The NIOSH, a division of the Center for Disease Control, studies and reports on the serious health hazards from CM produced dust and noise. It is rather obvious that the safety and health of the operators would be improved if they were positioned further from the CM and the coal face being cut. Not only is there a need for a method of keeping personnel further away from the hazards, there is also a need to help the operator to develop safer habits.
It has already been made possible to re-position the operator further from the CM and the mineral face, during cutting, through the use of Armored Rock Detectors and Geosteering techniques as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,781,130 and 6,435,619, which are incorporated herein in their entireties. However, even if this capability, now available to the industry, were being widely used, experience has shown that operators may continue to move unnecessarily close to the CM and to the mineral face. A proximity system is needed for use in conjunction with Geosteering to provide protection to miners during all CM activities.
Because of the significant number of fatalities resulting from crushing by CMs, the MSHA has made the development of an effective proximity system their highest priority safety initiative. Historically, the greatest concern has been for the CM operator since he is constrained to be in the vicinity of the CM at all times. However, personnel other than the operator are sometimes crushed by the CM, and their safety should be protected equally well. A major reason for other personnel being dangerously close to the CM is in order to help move the power cable trailing behind the CMs through which they obtain their electrical power. The CM is used to drag the heavy cables as it is moved from one cut to another, which is typically required many times during a work shift. As workers attach cable straps to the CM, they must essentially touch the CM. Although the CM should be stopped until after the worker has completed his task, mistakes are made. Whether due to operator error or equipment failure or a combination of these factors, these workers are sometimes crushed before they leave the hazardous area. Since the length of CM crawler tracks are short relative to the length of the overall CM, each end of the CM can move quickly, giving little time for a worker to move away. Also, personnel may approach the CM in order to make an adjustment or for maintenance purposes. The two booms of the CM may be moved or be articulated such that a worker is crushed against the wall or roof. Incidents like these, and others, could not occur if CM movements were stopped when the CM is dangerously close to any worker. Therefore, there needs to be an automatic method of stopping the CM movements if the CM is too close to a worker. A worker should be able to make a Panic Call to stop the CM if a hazardous condition is being created for himself or others.
Though the safety challenges for the CM are generally more operationally complex than for mobile machines used in most other industries, overcoming these challenges has produced technology that can improve the safety of other mobile equipment, including trucks, tractors, fork lifts, rollers, etc. Even within the underground mining operations, there is a need for an effective proximity system for use on shuttle cars, pinning machines, rides, and other moving equipment. There is also a need for an effective method of preventing personnel from entering un-supported roof areas, conveyors, and such which can benefit from this same technology.
It should be pointed out that many types of proximity devices and systems have been used through the years. None are very effective for underground mining applications and have been only moderately successful in some other industries. In many cases, these devices and systems have been passive types that have not included an active element worn by the person being protected. Nuisance alarms are a common problem which reduces the effectiveness of some systems.
Important progress was made with the proximity concepts offered by the Schiffbauer U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,939,986 and 6,810,353, which are incorporated herein in their entireties. However, there are significant deficiencies in these concepts. Important issues and technical problems must be resolved before they can be made effective for underground mining applications. Novel solutions are required. For example, in order to provide a magnetic marker field around all or most all of a CM, multiple generators are required. According to the '986 patent, multiple loop antennas may be driven with a single alternating current source. Not addressed are requirements for positioning, orienting, and phasing of the loops to produce fields that are complimentary and not mutually destructive. Loops are difficult to protect in the harsh environment on a CM. They must be placed in a plane that is generally parallel to the outer surface of the CM to avoid damage. If oriented perpendicular to the CM, they will soon be ripped off. Any item attached to the outer surface of a CM must be specially designed and protected. Most locations on a CM are such that a loop in any orientation will require carefully designed protection. Structural elements used to protect the loops alter the shape of the fields, though not as much for low frequencies as for higher frequencies. The fields produced by adjacent loops will vary according to the separation of the loops and the distance from the loops. Taking all these variables in combination, one can readily conclude that the use of multiple loops to produce a single, uniform marker field is not easy to accomplish. Adjustment of fields generated by loops can be difficult and time consuming, at best. An earlier approach was to use a single loop around the entire CM body. Protection of such a loop is difficult to achieve and once installed such a loop reduces access to CM equipment. Providing sufficient driving power, combined with the difficulty in tuning the coil to resonance, creates a very challenging situation. Another general concern with loops that are to be close to the coal face, carrying large circulating currents and resonance-produced voltages is that they are being used in an atmosphere that may, from time to time, be explosive. It is desirable for such devices to be contained within explosion proof (X/P) housings. Placing such loops inside an X/P housing is not feasible due to size and other factors.
In the Schiffbauer '353 patent mention is made of the possible use of a ferrite as the inductor for producing the magnetic marker field, rather than a loop, though no details are supplied. Practical and crucial considerations of how to design the ferrite "antennas" so that they can be effectively protected, properly positioned, properly oriented, and how to control the phasing of multiple ferrite "antennas" are not addressed. As explained above, the profile of the "antennas" must be made as low as possible while, at the same time, providing shielding from the mining materials and the walls. They must be properly spaced so that they must be made capable of withstanding the environment at the installed location. Also, if separate signals are provided for each ferrite, as implied by the '353 patent, there will be a phasing problem. Since all of the set of "antennas" must operate within a relatively small bandpass produced by the required resonant circuits, some of the units are likely to be operating at frequencies that are nearly the same. The beat frequencies in the magnetic field will produce fluctuations in the field strength readings by the alarm devices carried by the workers, which is the basis for determining when a worker is within a hazardous zone. One could attempt to provide a minimum separation between the frequencies of all marker field generator units. But, there are obvious practical problems with providing sufficient frequency separation between units, particularly when there is a limited bandwidth. A method of avoiding beat frequencies in the marker field is needed.
In the Schiffbauer '353 patent, a device, called a "receiver" was described that had ferrites wound with copper coils that were used to sense a marker field, circuits to measure its strength, circuits to make a decision if the "receiver" was in a Warning Zone or in a Stop Zone. It also contemplated the need to send warning or stop decisions to the mobile equipment to be acted upon. But, there are important problems to be solved before this concept can become a practical system for use on a continuous miner. For example, critical timing problems posed by simultaneously operated multiple "receivers" must be solved to prevent the signals from the "receivers" from interfering with each other when they transmit data or commands to the CM. After more study into the safety problem being solved, it is apparent that additional capability is needed. For example, the worker needs to be able to give commands to the CM to identify the operator in charge, to reset the system after the CM has been stopped by the system, and other commands, all without having to enter the warning or stop zone around the CM in order to reach the controls on the CM. There is a need to provide an identification (I.D.) for each "receiver" and to record data for each "receiver" in range. The worker needs to be given a sense of urgency by his alarm if a CM is approaching. The operator needs to know if there is a miner in range who has a low battery voltage in his personal alarm, and each such safety event should be recorded. The strength of the marker field being measured by the "receiver" needs to be transmitted to the CM for recording for use in investigations of incidents. Most, if not all of these needs have to be met in satisfactory manner so that the total system is user friendly and effective.
There is also a need for an integrated system concept not addressed by the prior art, and a need for other capabilities not considered. Many operational rules and procedures have been employed to improve miner safety. Countless safety features have been designed into modern mining equipment. However, even with these many innovations, communications between mining machines and between personnel moving from place to place in the mine continue to have serious shortcomings. An example is when the operation of one CM should result in constraining the operation of another. This can exist whenever two CMs are operating within the same mining unit, sometimes referred to as a super unit. Ventilation requirements often specify that two CMs in the same unit not be cutting coal simultaneously. Verbal coordination is not sufficiently dependable and currently available techniques for interlocking the CMs are complex, costly, and troublesome. A better system is needed.
Much progress has been made by the American mining industry in eliminating underground explosions and fires and other disastrous situations, but they sometimes occur. Frequently, immediately after such events, location of the workers is very difficult and sometimes impossible because the workers move around as they work, and their equipment is moving as well. Even though numerous communication devices have been employed, using many different technologies and approaches, communications problems remain. In particular, there is a need to provide better reporting of the location of personnel within the mine and to do so in a way that is transparent to the worker so as to not impact his activities or to be distracting. Finally, it is desirable that all safety improvements be implemented in such a way that reduces stress on the worker.
Finally, one of the reasons that some potentially useful communication devices are not employed is due to the difficulty of keeping the devices properly positioned in the mine and of keeping them operational under such difficult circumstances. In some locations, power is not available so that portable generators having an internal battery supply are needed. Also, proliferation of safety and communications devices can cause confusion and complexity which detracts somewhat from safety. These safety innovations need to be combined in a more effective manner than has not been achieved in the past.


A method and system for improving buffer compression in automatic retransmission request (ARQ) systems includes both a compander and decompander for further processing data. A received data string k bits in length is first companded according to a predetermined companding scheme. The companded data string is reduced to a length of k−1 bits for more efficient storage. Upon receipt of a request for retransmission, the stored companded data string is loaded and decompanded back to a length of k bits. Once decompanded, the data string is combined with a retransmitted data string to produce a single data string with an increased likelihood of being correct. By companding the data string before storage, a smaller memory block can be used for the storage of the data string.

Automatic Retransmission requests (ARQs) are utilized in numerous applications, especially in the field of telecommunications. Generally, designs using ARQs store transmitted data strings temporarily in memory for use in the event that a retransmission request is received (i.e., when a decoder fails to correctly decode the received data string), creating a temporary buffer of transmitted data. If a retransmission request is received, a data string is re-transmitted. Once the retransmitted data string is received, the decoder attempts once again to decode the string. Only when a decoder successfully decodes a string will the next data string be received.
Prior art designs using ARQ utilize a "stop-and-wait" functionality. Once a transmission is sent, the transmitted data string is held in a buffer (or small memory block) in the transmitter until either an acknowledgement (ACK) or not-acknowledgement (NACK) signal is received from the decoder. If an ACK is received, the next string of data is sent to the recipient. If a NACK is received, a retransmission request is sent to the original transmitter.
In order to overcome delays between reception of a block and its retransmission (which can be due to processing latencies, e.g., decode and transmission of an acknowledgement/not-acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) signal), many implementations, including the well known 3GPP standards, support multiple, or parallel, stop-and-wait ARQ processes. 3GPP (the 3rd Generation Partnership Project) is a collaboration agreement established in December 1998 that brought together a number of telecommunications standards and described several standards for use with systems employing ARQ. One such standard is the parallel stop-and-wait ARQ process. Parallel stop-and-wait processes have the effect of increasing the throughput by utilizing what would otherwise be dead time between transmission of the data and reception of the ACK/NACK signal. Essentially, a parallel stop-and-wait ARQ process utilizes multiple stop-and-wait processes running simultaneously. Once a first data string is sent, additional data strings are sent until the ACK/NACK is received for the first string. If a NACK is received, the first data string is loaded from memory and retransmitted. If an ACK is received, the new data string is received that overwrites the first data string in memory.
Unfortunately, when parallel stop-and-wait ARQ processes are used, the receiver must store up to n strings of data, where n is the number of parallel ARQ processes that can be supported, requiring a significant amount of additional memory (which increases the cost of the receiver). Compared to a single stop-and-wait process, a parallel stop-and-wait process requires a memory block n times larger.
Any communication system implementing a stop-and-wait ARQ process, whether single or parallel, has large memory requirements for storage of received data between retransmissions, which consumes significant chip area. While systems using single stop-and-wait ARQ systems do not require as large a memory block as those using parallel ARQ, they inefficiently use the transmission channel and, subsequently, processing time is lost as only one data transmission is processed at a time.
Improvements in system performance can be achieved by performing "chase combining" in the receiver. Chase combining is the combining of a transmission and its subsequent retransmissions in the receiver and passing the combined transmissions to the decoder. This achieves improved performance because the combination of multiple transmissions is more accurate than any of the single transmissions on their own. Chase combining, however, requires significant memory as the receiver must store soft information (usually in the form of log-likelihood ratios) rather than hard samples such that samples between transmissions can be combined with an appropriate weight. In ARQ systems employing chase combining, a receiver converts each bit of a received transmission to a log-likelihood ratio (LLR) bit (i.e., a soft sample of the data string). Each conversion is based upon the likelihood of that bit having been transmitted correctly. Once the transmitted data string is converted, the data string is then stored in memory. Once a retransmission request is received, the stored data string is loaded and combined with the re-received data string. Since the stored data string has been converted to an LLR, each bit is weighted appropriately based upon the likelihood of it having been correct when originally received.
One of the standards of 3GPP describes an implementation of a variant of ARQ known as hybrid-ARQ or HARQ. A major difference between a traditional stop-and-wait ARQ and HARQ is that in HARQ a different subset of coded data may be sent on each transmission, and subsequent retransmission. Sending different subsets of the coded data on retransmissions is also known as incremental redundancy. In HARQ, a data string is encoded along with an error correction code. HARQ results in better performance but increases the implementation complexity. Whether traditional ARQ or HARQ is implemented, received data strings should be stored between transmissions such that if a transmission failure occurs a stored data string can be combined with the next transmission of a data string to improve the probability of making a successful decode.
State of the art technology utilizing parallel stop-and-wait ARQ and chase combining, together with the HARQ variation, leads to superior system performance, but requires a very large memory in the receiver (many-times larger than the number of bits in a single transmission).
What is needed is a way to reduce the size of the onboard memory utilized in an ARQ system, thereby resulting in reduced silicon cost and reduced power consumption, particularly for battery powered consumer devices such as cellular telephones.

Buffer compression in automatic retransmission request (ARQ) systems


A method and a satellite terminal are provided. The satellite terminal may range over multiple frequencies and may receive, from a satellite gateway, a signal quality indicator with respect to each of the ranged multiple frequencies. Noise and interference for a corresponding frequency are estimated based on at least one of the received signal quality indicators for the corresponding frequency. Path loss is estimated based on multiple received signal quality indicators, each of which is received in response to the satellite terminal transmitting a signal while not performing the ranging process. A transmit power level of the satellite terminal is adjusted for the corresponding frequency based on the estimated path loss and the estimated noise and interference for the corresponding frequency.

In certain Ka band satellite communication systems, satellite gateway outroute transmissions intended for one or more satellite terminals can interfere with inroute transmissions from satellite terminals to a satellite gateway. The inroute transmissions are affected by thermal noise effects with a spectral density of N0 Watts/Hz. The presence of outroute interference results in an increase in the spectral floor due to the undesired effects from No to No+Io (where Io refers to spectral density, or level, of outroute induced interference). The level, Io, of the interference can vary with varying center frequencies and bandwidths of the outroute signals (i.e., the interference floor Io as a function of the frequency can be uneven). Inroutes on certain transmission frequencies experience more interference compared to inroutes on some other transmission frequencies.
In certain existing satellite communication systems, spectral density, or level, of noise plus interference No+Io is assumed to be identical across all frequencies. During initial installation and commissioning, the satellite terminal performs a procedure, subsequently referred to as a ranging procedure, to account for the No+Io level, in addition to a nominal value of end-to-end channel gain. The satellite terminal transmits the ranging signal at one frequency. Based on a received power level PRX, of the ranged frequency received at the satellite gateway, the satellite terminal determines a nominal transmit power level (the ranging power setting). The certain existing satellite communication systems assume that the spectral density, No+Io, is flat across all inroute frequencies. As a result, the nominal transmit power level estimated at the ranging frequency is used with respect to other inroute frequencies.
During the ranging process, the satellite terminal transmits a ranging signal at a maximum power level. The satellite gateway receiver measures a signal quality of the ranging signal and the satellite gateway transmits a message to the satellite terminal containing a measured Signal Quality Indicator (SQI). The SQI, as received by the terminal, typically exceeds a Signal Quality Target (SQT). The satellite terminal subsequently reduces transmit power and retransmits the ranging signal. The ranging process is repeated until the SQI received by the terminal from the satellite gateway approximately equals the SQT. When this occurs, the ranging process is declared to have been converged, and the terminal stores the final transmitted power upon the convergence of the ranging power. When the ranging process is performed during a clear sky condition, the ranging power value is determined by a clear sky path loss, satellite and ground equipment hardware gains, and the noise and interference N0+I0 spectral density.
Subsequent to ranging, when the satellite terminal initiates a transmission, the satellite terminal determines a power level with which to begin the transmission. The ranging power derived during an initial ranging process is a best estimate that the terminal has for the power level. The estimate is accurate during the clear sky condition and for an operating scenario in which the noise and interference (N0+I0) floor, or level, is flat (i.e., it does not exhibit variations over different inroute frequencies). It is with assumptions as described above that, in an existing Ka band system, the ranging power value derived by the satellite terminal is used as a nominal transmit power whenever the satellite terminal initiates a return uplink transmission subsequent to the ranging process.
Similar to the ranging process, the satellite gateway continually measures the SQI for each uplink transmission from the satellite terminal and sends a message containing the SQI to the satellite terminal. The satellite terminal measures the difference between the SQT and the SQI received from the satellite gateway. The measured difference is a Power Control Error or PCE.
The PCE is used as an input to a system tracking filter (STF). An output of the STF is used to adjust the transmit power of the satellite terminal, relative to the initial transmit power, which is equal to the ranging power level. A positive-valued PCE, which occurs when SQT exceeds SQI, indicates that the satellite terminal is under-powered (i.e., it is transmitting at a less than desired power level). The positive-valued PCE causes the STF output to increase, which, in turn, increases the satellite terminal transmit power. The increased satellite terminal transmit power reduces a shortfall of the SQI relative to the SQT. Similarly, a negative-valued PCE results in the satellite terminal reducing the transmit power. Thus, in general, the PCE and the STF act to balance the satellite terminal transmit power, such that it is just enough to ensure that SQI approximately equals SQT. One single STF is used across all the inroute frequencies. This is because of the assumption, stated earlier, that the N0+I0 floor is flat. With this assumption, the main variable in an end-to-end link is Ka band channel gain, which can decrease from its value during the clear sky condition. The STF compensates for variation of the channel gain.

Interference compensation in uplink power control


A passive cooling system for removing decay heat from an open cycle nuclear reactor. Coolant tanks are filled with coolant during normal operation of the reactor and coolant pump. A check valve in the inlet line for each tank prevents loss of coolant through the inlet line. After the reactor is shut down and the coolant pump is inoperative, coolant flows from the coolant tanks through exhaust lines into the normal coolant line and to the reactor for removal of decay heat. A flow control valve or fixed orifice in the exhaust line for each tank provides for a different predetermined flow rate of coolant from each tank to match the decay heat rate of the reactor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to open cycle reactors and more particularly to passive cooling of open cycle reactors.
2. General Background
Open cycle reactors intended for use in outer space have generally been focused on their use in nuclear rockets. Core fission power from delayed neutrons and gamma heating from fission products will continue to produce power after the reactor is shutdown. Information obtained from the NERVA program indicates that, because of this continued heating, the rocket engine turbopump would have to provide coolant to the reactor after reactor shutdown to prevent core melting. This turbopump was powered by coolant heated in the reactor core by decay heat. However, the turbopump could not operate efficiently at the low coolant flows and reactor powers produced by decay heat. This led to an operating scheme where the turbopump would be operated in a pulsed mode. In this mode, the engine is allowed to heat up to the designed operating temperature before providing a burst of coolant flow which would cool the reactor down to a lower temperature. The problem with this mode of operation is that it cycles much of the engine equipment and increases the potential for failure. One approach is to have the coolant pump continue to pump coolant to the reactor at a reduced rate. Pump failure or premature emptying of the coolant tank can result in reactor damage by melting. Over cooling of the reactor can also cause damage if the flow rate of the coolant pump is too high. This leaves a need for a means of removing decay heat from the reactor that does not require constant cycling of the engine equipment and is not dependent on the coolant pump.

Passive cooling system for a nuclear reactor