Provided is a valve seat having excellent strength and wear resistance. In a valve seat using an iron-based sintered alloy, an oxide mains composed of triiron tetroxide is formed by oxidation treatment on the surface and interior of the iron-based sintered alloy, and the average area ratio of the oxide mainly composed of triiron tetroxide in a cross section of the iron-based, sintered alloy in the state prior to installation on a cylinder head is 5 to 20%. Preferably, the iron-based sintered alloy contains hard particles formed from at least one compound of carbides, silicides, nitrides, borides, and intermetallic compounds containing one or more elements selected from groups 4a to 6a of the periodic table, and the average area ratio of the hard particles in the cross section of the iron-based sintered alloy in the state prior to installation on a cylinder head is 5 to 45%.

A valve seat is a part that serves as a seat of an air valve or an exhaust valve, the part being connected to the valve and needed for maintaining air-tightness of a combustion chamber.
A valve seat has the following requirements: (1) a function of maintaining air-tightness in order to prevent leakage of compressed gas or combustion gas into a manifold; (2) a heat-conducting function for allowing heat in the valve to escape toward the cylinder head; (3) sufficient strength to withstand impact on the valve during seating; and (4) a wear-resistance function minimizing wear even in high-heat and high-load environments.
Additional required characteristics of a valve seat include: (5) lacking aggressiveness to the associated valve; (6) having a reasonable cost; and (7) being easy to scrape during processing.
An iron-based sintered alloy therefore is used in a valve seat so as to satisfy the functions and characteristics stated above.
For example, patent document 1 discloses a valve seat made of an iron-based sintered alloy, in which voids are filled with an organic compound and at least the outer perimeter surface is sealed with triiron tetroxide.
Patent 2 discloses a valve seat containing an iron-based sintered alloy, in which the iron-based sintered alloy is used as a base material and the surface is covered with an iron oxide film mainly composed of triiron tetroxide.


A self-actuating traction drive speed changer has a movable force input element having a planar drive surface, and a movable force output element having a planar drive surface which is connectable to an output load. One or more movable roller elements has a planar drive surface operatively connected for movement to the input element, and are in frictional engagement with the planar drive surface of the output element so that movement of the input element will cause the planar drive surface of the roller element to engage and frictionally move the output element.

Most speed changers in use today utilize gears to produce an output speed different than the input speed. Gears require the manufacture of precise shapes for the teeth to satisfy the fundamental law of gearing which insures a constant speed ratio for the system. If the gears are to be used in a transmission, special provision must be made so the speed ratio can be changed without causing gear teeth on one gear to clash with those on the mating gear.
There are, however, other types of speed changers in use including traction drive speed changers. These depend on friction between rolling elements to transmit torque from the input member to the output member. The rolling elements are held together with a prescribed normal force to generate the required friction force based on the power to be transmitted by the device. However, these devices are not self-actuating. Further, these devices often require a separate clutch to allow the output to be disengaged from the input.
It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a traction drive speed changer which is self-actuating.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a traction drive speed reducer that does not require a clutch.
A further object of this invention is to provide a self-actuating traction drive speed changer wherein the normal force on the roller members is only present when needed to permit the rolling elements to be operationally disengaged.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a self-actuating traction drive speed changer which can be easily engaged and disengaged in response to changing speed requirements.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Self-actuating, traction-drive speed changer

Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.


A substrate holding apparatus holds a substrate and presses the substrate against a polishing pad. The substrate holding apparatus includes a top ring configured to hold the substrate and press the substrate against the polishing pad, a vertical movement mechanism configured to vertically move the top ring, a torque detector configured to detect a torque of the vertical movement mechanism when the top ring is being lowered or being lifted by the vertical movement mechanism, and a controller in which a torque of the vertical movement mechanism when the top ring is brought into contact with a surface of the polishing pad at the time of a pad search is preset as a torque limit value. The controller calculates a torque correction amount from the torque detected by the torque detector and a preset reference value, and corrects the torque limit value by using the torque correction amount.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate holding apparatus for holding a substrate to be polished and pressing the substrate against a polishing pad (polishing surface), and more particularly to a substrate holding apparatus for holding a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer in a polishing apparatus for polishing and planarizing the substrate. Further, the present invention relates to a polishing apparatus having such substrate holding apparatus.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, high integration and high density in semiconductor device demands smaller and smaller wiring patterns or interconnections and also more and more interconnection layers. Multilayer interconnections in smaller circuits result in greater steps which reflect surface irregularities on lower interconnection layers. An increase in the number of interconnection layers makes film coating performance (step coverage) poor over stepped configurations of thin films. Therefore, better multilayer interconnections need to have the improved step coverage and proper surface planarization. Further, since the depth of focus of a photolithographic optical system is smaller with miniaturization of a photolithographic process, a surface of the semiconductor device needs to be planarized such that irregular steps on the surface of the semiconductor device will fall within the depth of focus.
Thus, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, it increasingly becomes important to planarize a surface of the semiconductor device. One of the most important planarizing technologies is chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). In the chemical mechanical polishing, while a polishing liquid containing abrasive particles such as silica (SiO2) therein is supplied onto a polishing surface of a polishing pad, a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer is brought into sliding contact with the polishing surface and polished by using the polishing apparatus.
The polishing apparatus which performs the above-mentioned CMP process includes a polishing table having a polishing surface formed by a polishing pad, and a substrate holding apparatus, which is referred to as a top ring or a polishing head, for holding a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. When the substrate is polished with such a polishing apparatus, the substrate is held and pressed against the polishing surface of the polishing pad under a predetermined pressure by the substrate holding apparatus. At this time, the polishing table and the substrate holding apparatus are moved relative to each other to bring the substrate into sliding contact with the polishing surface, so that the surface of the substrate is polished to a flat mirror finish.
If a relative pressing force produced between the substrate being polished and the polishing surface of the polishing pad is not uniform over the entire surface of the substrate, then the substrate is insufficiently or excessively polished depending on the pressing force applied to each area of the substrate. Therefore, it has been attempted that a substrate-holding surface of the substrate holding apparatus is formed by an elastic membrane made of an elastic material such as rubber, and a plurality of pressure chambers to which a pressurized fluid is supplied are formed at the reverse side of the elastic membrane and a fluid pressure such as air pressure is applied to the pressure chambers to uniform the pressing force applied to the substrate over the entire surface of the substrate.
In the above polishing apparatus, when the substrates are polished using a polishing pad made of synthetic resin, the polishing pad is progressively worn each time it is dressed and with the passage of polishing time. In order to keep the surface pressure distribution unchanged on the substrate held by the top ring, it is necessary to keep the distance between the top ring and the polishing pad constant during polishing.
When a product substrate is processed, the top ring is moved by a servomotor to a contact position (height), between a substrate held by the top ring and the polishing pad, determined beforehand by an operation referred to as pad search which is a function or action for determining a reference height position for polishing, and the product substrate is polished at the contact position (height) in a positioning control state. In some cases, the top ring is lifted from the contact position (height) to a certain height corresponding to a clearance between the polishing pad and the membrane, and the product substrate is polished in a positioning control state.
In the operation of pad search for determining the above contact position, for example, if the contact position is determined by simply measuring a distance to the polishing pad by a distance measuring device or the like, it may cause considerable error because the polishing pad is made of an elastic material and has a concavo-convex surface. Therefore, it has been customary that the top ring is lowered from a lifted position onto the surface of the polishing pad to detect a contact force against the polishing pad, thereby determining the contact position. The contact force is detected by monitoring an output torque (output current) of the servomotor of a positioning mechanism for lifting and lowering the top ring.
The function or action referred to as the pad search is a function for determining the contact position (height) between the substrate held by the top ring and the polishing pad from a certain reference height (for example, a transfer height in a horizontal direction) of the top ring. When performing this function, a torque limit value which has been obtained beforehand is set, and the top ring is stopped at the position at which the top ring is brought into contact with the polishing pad and the output torque of the servomotor becomes the preset torque limit value, and then this position is set as a reference position (height) for polishing.
The pad search operation will be described further in detail below. The torque limit value for the pad search is determined beforehand. The method for determining the torque limit value is as follows: For example, first, an initial value of the torque limit value is set from a design value. Then, a load cell is placed on the polishing table to which the polishing pad is attached, and the top ring is lowered until the set torque limit value (initial value) is reached, and a lowering thrust force of the top ring shaft is measured by the load cell to determine the relationship between the torque limit value and the thrust force. Specifically, if the measured value of the thrust force is larger than the reference (design) thrust force (value having a certain range), the torque limit value is made smaller, and the same measurement is performed again. Conversely, if the measured value of the thrust force is smaller than the reference (design) thrust force (value having a certain range), the torque limit value is made larger, and the same measurement is repeated, whereby the torque limit value which falls within the range of the reference (design) thrust force (value having a certain range) is determined (searched). The torque limit value thus determined is set as a torque limit value for the pad search.
The inventors of the present invention have conducted various experiments and obtained the following knowledge. Specifically, in the polishing apparatus described above, a loss torque of the vertical movement mechanism for vertically moving the top ring is decreased by operation history, compared to startup operation. Because the limit value is set for the motor torque of the vertical movement mechanism to determine the position at which the top ring is brought into contact with the surface of the polishing pad, the change of the loss torque of the vertical movement mechanism has an effect on a thrust force for pressing the top ring against the surface of the polishing pad. When the loss torque of the vertical movement mechanism is reduced, the thrust force for pressing the top ring against the surface of the polishing pad is increased by an amount corresponding to the reduction, thus pressing the top ring against the polishing pad with more powerful force. Consequently, if the pad search is conducted at a predetermined period determined by the number of processed substrates, the wear amount of a retainer ring, or the like, the top ring is pressed excessively. Therefore, a gap between the surface of the polishing pad and the elastic membrane provided in the top ring for pressing the substrate cannot be kept constant. As a result, the polishing process condition varies, causing adverse effect on a process performance, such as poor uniformity of the surface, being polished, of the substrate.

Substrate holding apparatus and polishing apparatus


The invention is methods and related kits for diagnosing a disease state of cachexia by measuring biomarker profiles from a biological sample. Rapid measurement of early onset or progression of the disease in a subject is determined by measuring biomarker levels from the subject and optionally comparing the biomarker levels to a standard biomarker profile or metabolome phase portrait for the disease. The biomarkers measured in the assay and related kit for cachexia progression include biomarkers selected from the group consisting of lactate, citrate, formate, acetoacetate, 3-hydroxy butrate, alanine, glutamine, glutamate, valine, isoleucine leucine, thrionine, lysine, arginine, tyrosine, phenyl alanine, histidine and tryptophan.

The present invention is in the field of identification of disease states by measuring levels of biomarkers that are associated with the disease state.
The complex networks of biochemical processes that underlie living systems are amenable to analysis to determine the state of the living system. For example, under a pathological challenge, there is a shift in these networks as the pathogen affects the system and the system responds to the challenge. For example, various genes involved in different disease processes have been studied and modeled in an attempt to further understand drivers of complex disease states (see, e.g., U.S. Pub. No. 20060241869). As underlying biochemical processes change, there is an attendant change in biological substances that are consumed or produced as the system is challenged. Depending on the specific type of challenge, including bacterial versus viral and different bacterial strains, the levels of different biological substances change. Biological substances that change depending on the pathological condition or "disease state" are referred to as "biomarkers." The invention relies on measuring one or more biomarkers associated with the disease state from a biological sample in order to assess the subject's disease state and specifically address the need in the art for fast and reliable assays of disease states in order to prevent, treat or eliminate infection. Developing a refined biomarker phase portrait platform is useful for early diagnosis of complex diseases with high specificity and sensitivity.
Biomarkers are potential tools for assessing disease state and associated therapeutic decision-making on a patient-by-patient basis. Due to the enormous network complexity underlying biological processes, there is a need in the art for understanding biomarker profiles or fingerprints associated for a specific disease. Without this basic understanding, the vast number of potential biomarkers associated with a disease can overwhelm the ability to rapidly and efficiently determine disease state. There are growing concerns that the rising expenditures in pharmaceutical research and development are not sustainable if sufficient gains for industry or society at large are not realized. Thus, there is a need for development of bioinformatics and associated methods that go beyond the mere collection of massive amount of data. Instead, there needs to be a focused effort on how biomarkers, personalized medicine, and the industry can successfully interact to create feasible clinical solutions. The methods and associated kits presented herein rely on parameterized biochemical pathway models reconstructed from the combination of collected data to provide a richer context in which to interpret associations between metabolite patterns and early disease onset, facilitating more robust points for therapeutic intervention.
Cachexia is a physical condition characterized by weight loss, body wasting and anorexia associated with the host immune response. Cachexia is commonly associated with any one or more underlying disorders such as cancer, infectious disease (AIDs, tuberculosis), and certain autoimmune disorders. Cachexia is a particularly useful pathological condition to model because its underlying biochemical pathways and associated biomarkers have been well-studied (Butz et al. (2006)). Cachexia is readily induced experimentally in animals by injection of bacterial lipopolysaccaride (LPS). The disease is known to be catabolic to muscle tissue and depresses growth via immune stimulation. The basic platform technology of utilizing biomarker profiles as a function of disease state in an assay for assessing disease state in a subject is demonstrated for cachexia.
Immune response to endotoxin has been studied (e.g., Krabbe et al., Clinic. Diag. Lab. Immun. (2001) 8: 333-338). For example, Krabbe et al. shows the change in body temperature, TNF-α, sTNFR-I, circulating monocytes and a variety of interleukin family members after endotoxin administration. Waters et al. (Chem. Res. Toxicol. 2005) discloses NMR-detected changes for a number of substances in urine, blood plasma, renal cortex, and liver in rats following thioacetamide treatment. Those studies, however, do not provide comprehensive information about biomarker profile changes as a function of disease progression, ranging from onset to recovery, required in a commercially-feasible assay of cachexia and related catabolic diseases.
The biomarker profile analysis of the present invention is capable of providing information not currently available in other assays known in the art. For example, because viruses and bacterium have unique effects on certain biochemical pathways, assays relying on measured biomarker profiles provide the ability to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections. This is an important aspect and is needed in the art in combination with rapid and reliable assays order to prevent unnecessary antibiotic use (and attendant bacterial resistance development) for situations where the disease state has a viral origin.

Noninvasive measurement and identification of biomarkers in disease state


An access rights analysis including a query automaton generation unit for generating a query automaton from a path expression in which retrieval conditions for a database. An access control automaton generation unit generates an access control automaton from an access control policy; a schema automaton generation unit generates a schema automaton from a schema; and a logic operation unit performs a logic operation related to each of the generated automatons. By use of the above components, access rights in database retrieval using the path expressions are decided without checking the XML document itself in the XML database and checking by each node.

A document described in XML (XML document) can be expressed by a tree structure including elements and attributes. Conditions for this tree structure can be described by use of a schema. Therefore, by use of this schema, it is possible to create such a system as to permit only an XML document having a tree structure satisfying specific conditions (as to the schema, for example, refer to Makoto Murata, "XML[I]-XML Schema and Relax-", The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, December, 2001, Vol. 84, No. 12, p. 890-894).
In a database handling the XML document (XML database), not only a document is retrieved but also elements and attributes in the XML document can be selectively retrieved while placing limitations thereon. For example, processing such as retrieval of all elements representing paragraphs (elements represented by <p> . . . </p>) is possible. As a method for describing retrieval conditions, the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) recommendation as XPath is widely used.
Moreover, in the XML database, not only the elements and attributes are retrieved but also a new XML document can be created by use of the retrieved elements and attributes. As a query language including such a function, a specification as XQuery has been designed by the W3C. XQuery uses XPath as a mechanism for retrieving the elements and attributes.
Furthermore, as to a case where it is required, in the XML database, to access the elements and attributes which constitute the XML document, as a concrete example, an XML document expressing a list of employees of a certain company is considered. For each of the employees, his/her annual salary and employee number are indicated. The employee, salary and employee number are assumed to be represented by an employee element, a salary element and a number element, respectively. In an XML database storing such an XML document, no particular limitation is required for an access to the number element. However, in some cases, an access to the salary element must be limited to some people. A description of who can access which elements or attributes is called an access control policy. A user describes the access control policy and gives the policy to the XML database. With respect to an access request for the XML document, the XML database utilizes the given access control policy and decides whether an access to elements or attributes is permitted or denied.
There is XACL (XML Access Control Language) as a language for expressing the access control policy (as to XACL, for example, refer to Michiharu Kudo and Satoshi Hada, "XML Document Security based on Provisional Authorization", Proceedings of the 7th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, November, 2000, p. 87-96). In language specifications of XACL, described is an algorithm for deciding whether an access is permitted or denied for a given access request. This algorithm performs the decision for one predetermined node. Therefore, when XPath or a retrieval by XPath accesses plural nodes, this algorithm is executed once for any of the nodes.
As described above, in the XML database, it is required to decide whether the access to elements or attributes is permitted or denied for the access request, by use of the given access control policy. In order to improve this performance of the XML database, it is required to perform an access right decision at high speed.
However, an access right decision algorithm described in the language specifications of XACL that is the language for expressing the access control policy is not rapid. Moreover, as described above, in an actual access right decision, processing by this algorithm is repeated for many nodes. Thus, execution performance of the algorithm is not practical.
Note that, in the foregoing conventional technology, XPath and XQuery are enumerated as methods for describing the retrieval conditions of the XML database. However, there are other methods than the above-described, including one similar to XPath (called a path expression) and one similar to XQuery (called a query expression). However, all XML databases by the methods described above are similar to each other in the point that processing is executed taking such a procedure as below.
When
path expression (or query expression including path expression)
XML document
are given,
node in XML document (element/attribute/text)
is retrieved. Thereafter, it is decided whether access to the retrieved node is permitted by referring to
access control policy
Therefore, by any of the methods, if there are, for example, 1000 elements or attributes retrieved, this decision is repeated by 1000 times. Thus, it is a common problem that this processing takes an enormous amount of time.
Consequently, the present invention has an object to realize an access rights analysis in a database handling a data file, in which a structured document such as an XML document is described, without checking the data file itself and/or its node and to improve retrieval performance of the database.

Information processor, database search system and access rights analysis method thereof

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus and method are disclosed for ensuring adequate and uniform cooling for any heat-generating device that experiences large heat pulses by integrating parallel expansion devices and their control directly into each of a discrete cooling load or cold plate. One of the parallel expansion devices is an integrated cartridge thermostatic expansion valve (TXV) and the other is an electrically-actuated valve. The TXV is positioned such that a sensing element is located directly within an exit refrigerant stream, thereby improving time-response of the valve and eliminating the need for a capillary tube. The electrically-actuated valve provides a sudden burst of refrigerant while the TXV is responding to sudden heat pulses and operates at the command of the heat generating system or triggered by a temperature rise. The disclosed operational method leads to an order of magnitude reduction in settling time after a heat pulse.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for ensuring adequate and uniform cooling for a single heat-generating device or an array of discrete heat-generating devices mounted to cold plates. Heat fluxes and temperature uniformity constraints for modern electronics and optics are progressively demanding. As this occurs, the cooling technology for these components shifts from low-cost legacy solutions like air cooling and liquid cooling that produce heat transfer coefficients of 100s to 1000s of W/m2K to advanced thermal management solutions, such as vapor-compression cooling that can supply heat transfer coefficients up to 100,000 W/m2K.
Vapor compression systems require expansion devices (also known in the art as throttling devices) between a condenser and a number of evaporators that primarily perform the function of throttling the refrigerant (sudden drop in pressure) before allowing the refrigerant to flow to each evaporator based on evaporator (or cold plate) heat load. Various types of expansion devices are well known in the art including mechanically passive (i.e., no feedback control) devices including orifice plates and capillary tubes, and mechanically-active devices where there is feedback control of the valve based on the exit condition of the refrigerant leaving the evaporator or conditions within the condenser or evaporator. Exit feedback-controlled throttling (or expansion devices as they are commonly called) include thermal expansion valves (TXVs) and electronic or electrically-actuated expansion valves (EXVs) which use evaporator exit superheat temperature feedback. Float expansion valves use feedback based on the level of liquid refrigerant in the evaporator or condenser rather than the superheat at the exit of the evaporator. For example, a low-side float valve expansion device controls the flow of refrigerant to the evaporator based on feedback on the level of liquid in the evaporator. Likewise, a high-side float valve expansion device controls the flow of refrigerant to the evaporator based on feedback on the level of liquid in the condenser. The present invention can employ any type of expansion device, with or without feedback control; however, the currently preferred embodiment employs a TXV expansion device.
The conventional TXV approach, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,334 employs an external sensing bulb filled with a temperature sensitive working fluid that is mechanically attached to the outlet of the evaporator. Temperature changes at the outlet of the evaporator are converted to changes in working fluid pressure within the external sensing bulb. The pressure within the external sensing bulb is communicated through a capillary tube to a diaphragm which works against a mechanically resistive force (usually a mechanical spring) to open the valve. This is also discussed in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 23,706 where an "equalizer passage" is used to communicate the pressure at the inlet of the evaporator to the underside of the follower and of the opposite side of the pressure created by the sensing bulb. The balance of forces generated by the diaphragm, mechanical spring, and fluid pressures results in the opening action of the valve. The nominal mechanical spring initial displacement, mechanical spring stiffness, and temperature-pressure relationship of the fluid in the sensing bulb are chosen such that the valve ensures a near constant thermodynamic superheat at the exit of the evaporator over a range of operating temperatures. The mechanical spring displacement can be adjusted during operation to adjust the superheat temperature of the refrigerant to the desired value.
Though very widely used in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) industry, conventional TXV technology has a limitation when applying it to a highly variant heat load with many fast heat load transients on devices that require precise temperature control, such as electronics for lasers, microwaves, and transmit/receive modules for radar systems. The conventional TXV uses an external sensing bulb that is typically in direct mechanical contact with the outlet tube of the evaporator. This installation approach leads to undesirable time lag from the following heat transfer processes: 1) convection of the refrigerant to the inner wall of the evaporator outlet tube, 2) conduction through the evaporator outlet tube wall, 3) conduction across the mechanical interface between the evaporator outlet tube and the sensing bulb (element), and 4) the sensible energy of the sensing bulb. In addition, time lag is increased from cold plate mass (thermal inertia) and transit time of the refrigerant within the cold plate. The combination of these time lags with the heat transfer time lag precludes conventional TXV use in cold plates with sudden large heat load variations that require precise temperature control. One object of this invention is to dramatically improve the time response, i.e., reduce the time lag of conventional cold plates using an expansion device.
We have previously found that integrating a compact thermostatic expansion device (TXV) directly into the cold plate or evaporator significantly reduces these heat transfer time lags and improves performance. An example of this approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,398,722 B1, issued to Sykes et al. The approach disclosed in the '722 Patent allows the sensing element to be integrated into the TXV, thereby eliminating the capillary tube that is seen in conventional TXV systems and improving the time response of the TXV. The improved response time is achieved because the sensing element can be immersed in the exiting refrigerant stream reduces or eliminates three of the four restrictive heat transfer mechanisms noted above for a conventional TXV. This herein now identified as an integrated TXV was configured as a compact cartridge having an integrated sensing element located directly in a stream of refrigerant exiting the cold plate.
While the integrated TXV locally controls flow and has a response time much faster than conventional TXVs, the thermal inertia of the integrated sensing element coupled with the transient lag associated with the cold plate mass and coolant passage length render this approach less than ideal for rapid thermal heat pulse applications where the turn-on time is less than 100 milliseconds, e.g., lasers, high-powered microwaves, and other electromagnetic energy applications. In order to accommodate these rapid thermal heat pulse applications, we have discovered that the inclusion of a second valve in parallel to the aforementioned integrated TXV with specific relative sizing and operation to the integrated TXV can accommodate the faster heat load transients associated with pulsed heat loads in cold plates that require precise temperature control (e.g., ±2° C. during the transient). This improvement in the thermal response time is necessary to reduce or eliminate the rapid transient temperature spikes that can occur when a rapid transient heat load is applied to the cold plate and the time lag in the response time of the expansion device or the thermal inertia of the temperature sensing devices results in too slow of a thermal response to the sudden transient heat load or heat pulse.

Integrated hybrid thermostatic expansion valve and method for providing uniform cooling of heat generating devices


The present invention provides means to modify the tropism of recombinant adenoviral vectors using genetic methods to alter the adenoviral fiber cell-binding protein. The present invention generates an adenovirus with modified fiber gene using a two-plasmid rescue system for derivation of adenoviral fiber recombinants.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/008,375 filed Dec. 8, 1995 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/020,163 filed Jun. 20, 1996.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the fields of molecular biology and gene theapy. More specifically, the present invention relates to the production of recombinant adenoviral vectors with modified fibers for the purpose of cell-specific targeting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recombinant adenoviruses have demonstrated great utility in the context of a variety of strategies to accomplish gene therapy (1-3). One of the principal features of recombinant adenoviruses resulting in their frequent use relates to the unique ability of these vectors to accomplish direct in vivo gene delivery. In this regard, recombinant adenoviral vectors have been shown to be capable of efficient gene transfer to parenchymal cells of various organs including the lung, the brain, the pancreas, the gall bladder, the liver, and others (4-12). This has allowed the utilization of recombinant adenoviral vectors as an approach to treat inherited genetic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, whereby the delivered vector may be contained within the target organ (4-13). In addition, the ability of the adenoviral vector to accomplish in situ tumor transduction has allowed the development of a variety of anti-cancer gene therapy approaches for loco-regional disease (14-18, 45). Again, these approaches have been directed towards non-disseminated disease, whereby vector containment favors tumor cell-specific transduction.
Despite the versatility of the adenoviral vector in these contexts, the full utility of the recombinant virions for in vivo gene transfer applications is not currently exploitable. This is because the promiscuous tropism of the virus allows widespread, unrestricted tissue transduction after systemic in vivo vector delivery (19, 20). Thus, approaches based upon vascular vector delivery to specific organ sites would be undermined by ectopic, non-targeted cellular transduction. This biologic feature of the virion has thus limited gene therapy approaches to the aforementioned loco-regional or compartment disease models whereby anatomic containment favors some level of selective target cell transduction.
Adenoviruses as vectors for gene therapy
The approach of direct intramuscular injection, whether of naked DNA or of viral vectors, as a method for in vivo gene transfer in various genetic diseases suffers from practical limitations. The injection of the large mass of skeletal tissue would be impractical in a clinical context. However, the problems associated with Intramuscular injection could be avoided by the targeted delivery to muscle cells of an intravenously administered vector. Adenoviral vectors can accomplish in vivo gene delivery to a variety of organs after intravenous injection. In these instances, gene transfer frequencies have been sufficiently high to correct inherited metabolic abnormalities in various murine models. Thus, adenoviral vectors fulfill two requirements of an intravenously administered vector for gene therapy: systemic stability and the ability to accomplish long-term gene expression following high efficiency transduction of muscle cells. However, adenoviruses suffer from the disadvantage that the widespread distribution of the adenovirus cellular receptor precludes the targeting of specific cell types. This lack of tropism of adenoviral vectors would result in a decrease in the efficiency of transduction, as the number of virus particles available for delivery to the target cells would be decreased by sequestration by nontarget cells. Furthermore, this would allow ectopic expression of the delivered gene, with unknown and possibly deleterious consequences. Therefore a means must be developed to redirect the tropism of the adenovirus vector specifically to target cells to permit gene delivery uniquely to organs affected.
Another recognized problem with the use of existing adenovirus vectors deleted only in the E1 region of the genome is that the low-level expression of late adenovirus gene products triggers an immune response in the host. This is manifested as an inflammatory immune attack on the transduced cells which leads to transient expression of the transgene and precludes repeated gene transfer with the same vector. A further problem associated with the current generation of adenovirus vectors is that the insert capacity is presently limited to about 7.5 kb, whereas many genes cDNA's are much greater in length.
A strategy to overcome this limitation would be the modification of the cell binding domains of the adenovirus to allow interaction with cellular receptors in a specific manner. Adenovirus interacts with eucaryotic cells by virtue of specific receptor recognition by domains in the knob portion of the fiber protein (21-23) which protrude from each of the twelve vertices of the icosahedral capsid.
The prior art is deficient in the lack of effective means to produce recombinant adenoviral vectors with modified fibers for purposes of cell-specific targeting. The present invention fulfills this longstanding need and desire in the art.


Culturing an L-amino acid producing microorganism belonging to the genus Brevibacterium or corynebacterium and having a resistance to a dipeptide containing glutamic acid or aspartic acid gives L-amino acids in high yield.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing L-amino acids by fermentation and microorganisms for producing L-amino acids.
2. Discussion of the Background
L-amino acids have been widely used as seasonings, medical drugs, feed additives, chemicals, reagents and the like. L-amino acids, which are produced by fermentation on an industrial scale, include L-glutamic acid, L-lysine, L-glutamine, L-arginine, L-phenylalanine, L-alanine, L-threonine, L-isoleucine, L-histidine, L-proline, L-valine, L-serine, L-ornithine, L-citrulline, L-tyrosine, L-tryptophan and L-leucine, etc. As microorganisms utilized for the production of L-amino acids, there are those belonging to the genus Brevibacterium, the genus Corynebacterium, the genus Bacillus, the genus Escherichia, the genus Seratia, the genus Providencia, and the genus Arthorbacter, etc.
It is important to produce L-amino acids at low costs on an industrial scale by enhancing the fermentation yield and accumulation of L-amino acids. To produce L-amino acids industrially at low costs utilizing these various microorganisms, improved breeding of microorganisms has often been used. That is, the L-amino acid production of wild strains per se is extremely poor in many instances, and therefore, methods for imparting nutrient auxotrophy, imparting analog resistance or imparting nutrient auxotrophy in combination with analog resistance, through artificial mutation; or potentiating a gene for amino acid biosynthesis, etc. by genetic recombination, and the like are used to increase the L-amino acid productivity of the wild strain. However, fermentation with conventional strains does not produce L-amino acids in a sufficiently high yield.
Thus, there remains a need for a process which will produce L-amino acids by fermentation in high yield. There also remains a need for microorganisms which produce L-amino acids in high yield.

Process for producing L-amino acids by fermentation employing a microorganism with resistance to a dipeptide


A card edge connector for connecting a printed circuit board, includes an insulative housing defining an elongated base portion, a first and a second end portions located on both ends of the base portion and a pair of locking arms respectively extending forwardly from the first and second end portions. A plurality of conductive terminals are received in the insulative housing. A first soldering member is mounted on the first end portion and includes a soldering portion located below the corresponding locking arm. A second soldering member is mounted on the second end portion and includes a soldering portion located below the corresponding locking arm. The distance between the soldering portion of the first soldering member and the first end portion in a front-to-rear direction is different from the distance between the soldering portion of the second soldering member and the second end portion in the front-to-rear direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card edge connector, and more particularly to a card edge connector having two soldering members offset with each other in a front-to-rear direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Taiwan Pat. No. 1264167 issued on Oct. 11, 2006, discloses a card edge connector used for electrically connecting an electrical card to a mother board and including an elongated insulative housing, a pair of plastic arms extending forwardly from both ends of the insulative housing and a plurality of conductive terminals retained in the insulative housing. A pair of locking mechanisms is assembled to the plastic arms, respectively, and each locking mechanism includes a locking member locked on the electrical card and a soldering member soldered on the mother board, the soldering portions of the two soldering members are located in one line in a face-to-face manner along a longitudinal direction. However, when the soldering pads of the mother board used for soldering the soldering members are offset with each other in the front-to-rear direction, this card edge connector can not be used. In fact, recently one layout design of the PCB (printed circuit board) was announced by others to form an electrical connector area with two opposite soldering pads at two opposite ends in the lengthwise direction while being offset from each other in the front-to-back direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction.
Therefore, an improved card edge connector is highly desired to meet this offset soldering pad requirement while maintaining flexibility of manufacturing and assembling for lowering the cost due to variable positions of the offset arrangement of the soldering pads on the mother board.

Card edge connector with soldering members in different positions


A shock-resistant device includes snubbers that may be selectively extended to selectively create a stiff attachment between a vibration-isolated component of the device, and another part of the device. The snubbers may be electromechanical or hydraulically driven. The device may be a sensor system for an unmanned aerial vehicle, with the snubbers extendible to create a stiff attachment between an inner gimbal and an outer shell of the sensor system, for example prior to landing the unmanned aerial vehicle on an aircraft carrier, or prior to transportation or storage of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The snubbers may be able to be manually actuated, even when the unmanned aerial vehicle has no power available.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field shock-resistant devices and methods.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is advantageous sometimes for devices to have vibration isolation, with one part vibration isolated from another part. In such an arrangement there may be damping devices between the parts, with the vibration-isolated part able to move to some extent relative to the other part. One problem is that severe shocks to such systems may cause undesirable movement or forces on the isolated parts. It would be desirable for improvements in such devices, and in methods of using them.


Embodiments of the invention provide an ablation apparatus for ablating target tissue adjacent pulmonary veins of a patient. The ablation apparatus can include a tube capable of being advanced around the pulmonary veins to form a loop. The tube can receive or include electrodes to ablate target tissue. Some embodiments provide a loop ablation device, which may include a cannula and two or more electrode rods carrying two or more bipolar electrodes. The electrode rods can be advanced through the distal ends toward the proximal ends of the loop and toward the target tissue. The bipolar electrodes can receive energy to ablate the target tissue. The bipolar electrodes may be surrounded by the liquid within the cannula while ablating the target tissue. The loop ablation device can further include a rotating grasping mechanism coupled to the electrode rods.

Various types of electrocautery devices are used for ablating tissue. Typically, such devices include a conductive tip or blade, which serves as one electrode in an electrical circuit that is completed via a grounding electrode coupled to the patient. With sufficiently high levels of electrical energy between the two electrodes, heat is generated which is sufficient to denature proteins within the tissue and cause cell death.
By controlling the energy level, the amount of heat generated and the degree of tissue damage can also be controlled. High levels of voltage can actually cut and remove tissue (i.e., electrosurgery), while lower levels will simply create sufficient heat to cause cell damage, but leave the structure intact (i.e., ablation) and block electrical pathways within the tissue. Irrigation of the electrode(s) with saline or other conductive fluid can decrease the interface impedance, cool the tissue, and allow for a greater lesion depth.
The treatment of chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) requires the creation of numerous linear lesions that pass completely through the thickness of the tissue. Some electrophysiologists have created these lesions using the tip electrode of standard ablation catheters. These catheters were designed to create spot lesions, typically for ablation of specific structures or focal abnormalities. In order to make the linear lesions required to replicate the maze procedure, an electrophysiologist makes a series of focal lesions, and "connects the dots."
Manufacturers have therefore developed catheters that have a linear array of electrodes along a long axis (i.e., the Amazr, MECCA, and Revcelation catheters). The catheter and the electrodes are positioned in contact with the tissue. Energy is provided to the electrodes either individually or sequentially. Additionally, catheters which incorporate an electrode that can be energized and moved along a length of the catheter have been proposed.
Surgeons have also been able to create linear lesions on the heart using applications of the techniques discussed above. For example, Kottkamp et al. have used a handheld device that creates a series of spot or short (<1 cm) linear lesions. Other investigators have used long, linear unipolar probes to create somewhat longer lesions. Still others have used multi-electrode linear catheters, similar to those described above, to create a series of ablations that together form a linear lesion.
A bipolar system (in which the grounding electrode is in close proximity to the conductive tip) can create narrower and deeper lesions. The grounding electrode can be approximately the same dimension as the conductive tip, and both electrodes can create the lesion.
One bipolar ablation device has integrated the electrode into the jaws of a hemostat-like or forceps-like device. The device can clamp and ablate the tissue inbetween the jaws. In conjunction with a transmurality algorithm, the device creates transmural lesions. However, the device was designed to access the heart via a mid-line sternotomy. In order for the therapy to be considered as a stand-alone, access must be made less invasively. Simply placing the jaws onto an endoscopic handle has certain advantages, but there are significant limitations when trying to manipulate both jaws simultaneously through separate tissue spaces.
A microwave device has been developed that can loop around the posterior of the heart to encircle the pulmonary veins. A right thorocotomy is created at about the fourth intercostal space, and the pericardium is freed behind the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava. A movable antenna slides within an integral sheath and discrete sections are ablated in series.
Loop devices do not all use microwave energy. Some investigators have used the radio frequency Cobra device, from Boston Scientific, to encircle the veins. Epicor has initiated clinical studies of a similar device that uses high frequency ultrasonic (HIFU) energy to generate heat within the tissue. Although easy to position within the patient, a significant limitation of these types of loop devices is the ability to reliably create a transmural lesion. Blood is constantly flowing within the heart chamber, and the blood acts as a heat sink to the energy being deposited within the tissue. Blood flow has the largest cooling effect on the tissue at an area of lowest heating. With epicardial systems, it is almost impossible to heat the endocardial layer sufficiently to create a permanent conduction block.
Other investigators have used a clamping device to compress the tissue between two ablative elements. The ablative elements are connected to rigid members that facilitate this compression. Although this bipolar arrangement is very effective at creating transmural lesions, it tends to be difficult to position within the patient. Manipulation of the rigid elements is problematic and can lead to tissue trauma.


A foldable trolley for supporting a stretcher, including a foldable frame having a pair of vertical support members that are rigidly secured to each other by a first horizontal member, and a pair of elongated frame members that are pivotally secured to the pair of vertical support members at their respective bottom ends and rigidly connected by a second horizontal member, a wheel assembly including a first wheel and a second wheel rotatably attached to a corresponding vertical support member, and a plurality of clamp assemblies, each clamp assembly being mounted to a top end of each vertical support member and each elongated frame members, each clamp assembly being movable between a closed position and an open position.

Stretcher trolleys for transporting ambulatory patients from the scene of an accident to a treatment facility, mode of transportation, etc., are well known. Often, these trolleys are foldable so that they may be more readily stored when not in use, as they are often stored in ambulances and other emergency response vehicles where space can be rather limited. However, the articulated frames, that are required to allow the trolleys to be foldable, of certain prior art trolleys may limit the overall weight capacity of the trolley. For example, in those trolleys where slanted front and rear frame members meet in a symmetrical V-shaped configuration, high stress is exerted on the pivoting joint that connects slanted members, or the slanted members are urged outwardly away from each other by the weight of the person being supported. Additionally, the slanted frame members join the supported stretcher at acute internal angles and, as such, they do not directly support the vertical weight component of the stretcher and patient. Rather, a large portion of the weight is transferred along the slanted members to their pivoting joint. Moreover, many of these trolleys may require deployable support assemblies at both ends as the trolley is prone to tipping both forwardly and rearwardly when not being supported by the emergency response personnel.
The present invention recognizes and addresses considerations of prior art constructions and methods.


A method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving a signal using a channel output feedback in a wireless communication system and Hybrid-Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) are provided. The method and apparatus include a transmitter configured to transmit to a base station and a first packet on a precoder received from the base station. A receiver configured to receive, from the base station, a Channel Output Feedback (COF) of the transmitted first packet and information for transmitting a second packet. A controller configured to prepare a variant of the second packet using the COF and the received information for transmitting the second packet, and to control to transmit the prepared variant to the base station.

The use of Channel Output Feedback (COF) in conjunction with Channel State Information (CSI) feedback has generated a lot of attention in the research community (See, References [1, 3, 4]). This kind of feedback set up is generally referred to as Shannon feedback. It has been shown that the use of Shannon feedback has the potential to increase the capacity of a network (See, Reference [1]). However most of the analysis has been geared towards degrees of freedom arguments in a high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) regime.

Method and apparatus for using channel output feedback in multi user wireless systems and hybrid-ARQ


A stripping assembly for removal of a can body from a punch in a can bodymaker in which an actuator lifts stripper fingers clear of the can carried on the punch in the forward stroke to avoid damage to the can or can coating. On the return stroke, the actuator piston is disabled so that the fingers close around the punch for stripping the can from the punch.

This invention relates to a stripping assembly. In particular, it relates to a stripper for removal of a tubular article, such as a can body, from a close-fitting mandrel on which the article is carried, for example for forming.
Stripping devices are in general use for stripping thin-walled cans from a punch or ram on which such cans have been formed in a "draw and wall-ironing" ("DWI") process. These strippers typically comprise an annulus of stripping fingers. The annulus is situated within a die assembly such that radially inward ends of the fingers extend into the bore of the assembly through which the punch passes during the DWI process.
The stripper fingers are biased inwardly so that on the forward, can forming, stroke of the punch, the can formed and carried on the punch deflects the stripping fingers against the biasing force as the can moves along the bore through the fingers. After the can has moved axially beyond the fingers, the biasing force causes the fingers to be deflected against the punch itself. As the punch moves on the return stroke, the fingers prevent the can from moving with the punch and the can is stripped from the punch.
The biasing force for deflecting the fingers has been provided by a variety of spring devices, most conventionally by the use of an 'O' ring of resilient material, although other biasing devices, for example a continuous helical spring or using hydraulics, are also possible.
A known stripping assembly which uses an O-ring for biasing respective stripping fingers is described in GB-B-2,181,685. The O-ring in this patent encircles the stripping fingers and is compressively trapped between the fingers and an outer opposing part of an annular housing. The O-ring further causes the fingers to rest on seating parts of the housing so as to limit the extent to which the tips of the fingers, which engage the can, protrude from the housing.
Known stripping devices have several drawbacks, particularly when high manufacturing speeds are used. If excessive pressure is used to strip the can during the return stroke, the open end of the can may be spoiled and the punch may even be damaged. During the forward stroke, the coating on the can surface is often scratched as the stripper fingers are forced open by the can carried on the punch. Although the stripping assembly of GB-B-2,181,685 is said to apply only a light pressure to the surface of the can and/or punch, it has nonetheless been found that small scratches are made on the can surface as the stripper fingers are forced open by the can carried on the punch on its forward stroke.
"Active" stripping has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,662 in which one or more electromagnets are energized to move the stripping fingers into or away from the stripping location. This device requires the stripping fingers to be formed from magnetically conductive material and is unsuitable for use with cans which are themselves of magnetically conductive material such as steel since any debris arising from the forming process would be attracted to the electromagnet.
The abstract of JP 2003 103312 shows a stripping device which uses a cam actuation to move the stripping fingers away from the can surface on the forward stroke of the punch. Not only does this device require externally moving parts in the form of the cam and cam followers but it also requires external energizing to move the fingers into the stripping position on the return stroke of the punch.
Although stripping using air pressure alone has been proposed, such devices have not proved practical at high speeds and a mechanical stripper acting on the edge of the can is still required. At high line speeds, the stripper may be used in conjunction with an air strip in which pressurized air passes along the center of the punch to assist in can removal and avoid formation of a vacuum which could cause can collapse.


The invention relates to a process for operating a nitrogen oxide storage-type catalytic converter of an internal combustion engine, particularly of a motor vehicle, in which the nitrogen oxides which have been produced by the internal combustion engine are stored in the storage catalytic converter in the first operating phase (lean phase) as a storage phase for a specific storage time, and in which, after expiration of the storage time at a specific switching instant for a specific discharge time, switching to the second operating phase as the discharge phase takes place, in which the nitrogen oxides which were stored during the storage time are discharged from the storage catalytic converter, the switching instant in the storage phase being determined as a function of the nitrogen oxide slip as the difference between the nitrogen oxide mass flow which has flowed into the storage catalytic converter and the nitrogen oxide mass flow which has flowed out of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter, each relative to the storage time. As claimed in the invention, to establish the switching instant from the storage phase to the discharge phase, the relative nitrogen oxide slip is determined such that the nitrogen oxide mass flow upstream of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter and the nitrogen oxide mass flow downstream of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter are each integrated over the time interval of the lean phase and the quotient of the integral values are brought into a relative relationship with a definable degree of conversion of the nitrogen oxide which can be derived from the exhaust gas boundary value, such that when this predetermined switching condition is present, switching from the storage phase to the discharge phase is carried out. In this way the fuel consumption can be reduced especially for a new storage catalytic converter using the full storage potential.

The invention relates to a method for operating a nitrogen oxide storage-type catalytic converter of an internal combustion engine, particularly of a motor vehicle.
In current automotive engineering spark ignition engines as internal combustion engines with direct gasoline injection instead of a conventional intake manifold injection are preferred, since these internal combustion engines, compared to conventional spark ignition engines, have distinctly more dynamics, are superior with respect to torque and output, and at the same time make possible a reduction in fuel consumption by up to 15%. This makes possible so-called stratification in the partial load range in which an ignitable mixture is required only in the area of the spark plug, while the remaining combustion chamber is filled with air. As a result the engine can be operated unthrottled; this leads to reduced load changes. In addition, the direct gasoline injector benefits from reduced heat losses since the air layers around the mixture cloud insulate toward the cylinder and cylinder head. Since conventional internal combustion engines, which work according to the intake manifold principle, as such a high air excess as prevails in direct gasoline injection can no longer be ignited, in this stratified charging mode the fuel mixture is concentrated around the spark plug which is positioned centrally in the combustion chamber, while in the edge areas of the combustion chamber there is pure air. In order to be able to center the fuel mixture around the spark plug which is positioned centrally in the combustion chamber, a concerted air flow in the combustion chamber is necessary, a so-called tumble flow. In the process an intensive, roller-shaped flow is formed in the combustion chamber and the fuel is injected only in the last third of the upward motion of the piston. By the combination of the concerted air flow and the special geometry of the piston which has for example a pronounced fuel and flow depression, the especially finely atomized fuel is concentrated in a so-called "mixture ball" ideally around the spark plug and reliably ignites. The engine control provides for the respectively optimized adaptation of the injection parameters (point of injection time, fuel pressure).
These internal combustion engines can therefore be operated in lean operation for a correspondingly long time; this benefits fuel consumption overall, as has been described in the foregoing. This lean operation however entails the disadvantage that the nitrogen oxides (NOx) cannot be reduced in the lean exhaust gas of a 3-way catalytic converter. In order to keep the nitrogen oxide emissions within the scope of prescribed limits, for example of the Euro-IV limit value, nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converters are generally used in conjunction with these internal combustion engines. These nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converters are operated such that the nitrogen oxides produced by the internal combustion engine in the first operating phase as the lean operating phase are stored in the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter. This first operating phase or lean operating phase of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter is also called the storage phase. As the length of the storage phase increases, the efficiency of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter decreases; this leads to a rise in nitrogen oxide emissions downstream of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter. The reduction in efficiency is caused by the increase of the nitrogen oxide fill level of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter. The rise in nitrogen oxide emissions downstream of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter can be monitored, and after a predeterminable threshold value is exceeded, a second operating phase of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter, a so-called discharge phase, can be initiated. During this second operating phase a reducing agent can be added to the exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine and it reduces the stored nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and oxygen. The reducing agents are generally hydrocarbons (HC) and/or carbon monoxide (CO) which can be produced in the exhaust gas simply by a rich setting of the fuel/air mixture. Towards the end of the discharge phase most of the stored nitrogen oxide is reduced and less and less of the reducing agent which can reduce the nitrogen oxide to oxygen and nitrogen comes into contact with the nitrogen oxide. Towards the end of the discharge phase the proportion of the reducing agent in the exhaust gas downstream of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter therefore rises. By corresponding analysis of the exhaust gas downstream of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter, for example by means of an oxygen sensor, the end of the discharge phase can be initiated and it is possible to switch back to the lean operating phase. In known nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converters this switching is carried out at time intervals of for example from 30 to 60 seconds, regeneration, i.e., the discharge phase, lasting approximately 2 to 4 seconds.
To determine a quality factor for evaluation of the storage capacity of a nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter, WO 02/14658A1 discloses a process in which during the storage phase the raw nitrogen oxide mass flow upstream of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter and a nitrogen oxide mass flow downstream of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter are determined and the state of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter is determined from the two determined values for the raw nitrogen oxide mass flow upstream and the nitrogen oxide mass flow downstream of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter. For this purpose, the two determined values for the raw nitrogen oxide mass flow upstream and the nitrogen oxide mass flow downstream of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter are each integrated over a predetermined time interval and the state of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter is determined by the quotient from the integrated values for the raw nitrogen oxide mass flow upstream and the nitrogen oxide mass flow downstream of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter. In this way, the quality factor is obtained which enables a conclusion about the storage capacity of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter with respect to catalytic converter aging by sulfur poisoning and thermal damage or the ageing-induced decrease of the storage capacity. In particular, in this way the degree of poisoning of the catalytic converter with sulfur will be determined and thus the sulfur content will be corrected in the control device of the internal combustion engine in order to optimize sulfur regeneration. This is because the sulfur which is contained in fuels leads to poisoning of the storage catalytic converter, i.e., to permanent storage of the sulfur in the storage catalytic converter which reduces the storage capacity for the nitrogen oxides. In the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter the nitrogen oxides are stored in the form of nitrates, while the sulfur is stored in the form of sulfates. Since the sulfates are chemically more stable than the nitrates, the sulfate cannot break down in nitrogen oxide regeneration. Only for catalytic converter temperatures above 650° C. under reducing conditions can sulfur discharge can be achieved. These high catalytic converter temperatures are however generally not reached in urban driving so that mainly in city traffic does creeping attachment of sulfur in the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter occur, which leads to ageing of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter. This ageing must therefore always be considered in the design and operation of a nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter in order to ensure that catalytic converter ageing over the intended service life of the catalytic converter leads to adherence to predetermined exhaust gas limit values with respect to nitrogen oxide emissions for an aged nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter. A generic process for operating a nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle is in general already known, in which the nitrogen oxides which have been produced by the internal combustion engine are stored in the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter in the first operating phase (lean phase) as a storage phase for a specific storage time, and in which, after expiration of the storage time at a specific switching instant for a specific discharge time, switching to the second operating phase as the discharge phase takes place, in which the nitrogen oxides which were stored during the storage time are discharged from the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter. The switching instant in the storage phase is determined as a function of the nitrogen oxide slip as the difference between the nitrogen oxide mass flow which has flowed into the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter and the nitrogen oxide mass flow which has flowed out of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter, each relative to the storage time.
Specifically, in order to be able to adhere to the predetermined exhaust gas limit value over the entire service life of the nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter, in such an operating mode the number of discharges must be matched to the amount of nitrogen oxide which has been discharged per charging and discharging cycle, such that for the storage capacity of an aged nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter which has been reduced compared to a new nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter, the amount of nitrogen oxide which has been released during the exhaust gas test time interval does not exceed the predetermined exhaust gas limit value. This amount of nitrogen oxide release which is predetermined per charging cycle for an aged storage catalytic converter is an absolute quantity and constitutes the absolute nitrogen oxide slip, i.e., that as soon as the storage catalytic converter is charged with this amount of nitrogen oxide, discharge takes place. This absolute nitrogen oxide slip as a fixed value applies both to the new and also the aged nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter.
Since a rich mixture of lambda greater than 1 per discharge is required, with an increasing number of discharges in the course of ageing of a storage catalytic converter, the fuel consumption also rises compared to that of a new storage catalytic converter.
The object of the invention is therefore to make available a process for operating a nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter with which the fuel consumption especially for new storage catalytic converters can be reduced.

Method for operating a nitrogen oxide storage-type catalytic converter of an internal combustion engine, particularly of a motor vehicle


An etchback apparatus for use in integrated circuit processing after via fill to remove excess metal and leave plugged vias, has a sacrificial ring with a surface consisting substantially of a metal that etches much like the metal used to fill the vias. The excess surface area in the process provides sacrificial metal so microloading is avoided. he metal used to fill the vias.

In the manufacture of integrated circuits, thin films of various materials are deposited onto on wafers of semiconducting material, such as doped silicon. Specific selected areas of deposited films are removed to form structures and circuitry. Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) are well known processes for depositing such thin films. For example, polysilicon is typically deposited from a mixture of silane gas (SiH.sub.4) and hydrogen. Similarly, tungsten silicide is deposited from a mixture of gases including silane and a tungsten-bearing gas such as tungsten hexafhoride. Pure tungsten is also deposited on silicon wafers in the manufacture of integrated circuits, sometimes selectively and sometimes across the entire surface in a process known as "blanket" tungsten.
Typically during fabrication of integrated circuits, where it is necessary to form electrical connection between different layers, channels called vias are etched through the layers that are usually oxide to provide access to underlying electrically conductive layers so electrical connections can be made. Electrical contact is then established with the underlying layers by coating the wafer with tungsten over the entire wafer surface to fill the vias, then etching away the excess tungsten to leave the vias filled with tungsten. The filled vias are called "plugs". Subsequent metallization and patterning can connect these plugs to allow device operation.
Via fill and etchback has been accomplished in a number of different ways. For example, a blanket tungsten CVD process can be used to fill the vias while covering the entire wafer surface with tungsten. The tungsten is then etched away until only the vias are left with tungsten.
A significant problem with the blanket tungsten approach is presented by the fact that the original topography of the wafer with vias is uneven, and the coating tends to replicate the original topography. If the etchback is initiated with an uneven topography, which may result from thick and thin films of tungsten on the same wafer, the etch proceeds unevenly as well. In this circumstance it is not possible to terminate the etch with all of the vias plugged to their full depth with tungsten. One way of combatting the uneven etch problem is to make the blanket tungsten layer thick enough to "planarize". The surface can also be planarized with a coating of a different sort, such as photoresist or silicon dioxide, before the etchback.
Another way is to use a selective tungsten CVD process which deposits tungsten selectively in the vias. In the selective process, since the vias are of different depth and often of different size and shape, the process has to be continued until all the vias are filled, so many are overfilled. The overfilled vias are called "nailheads" in the art. In this procedure the already uneven topography is made more uneven by the nailheads. To do a uniform etch with the selective approach, planarization is also necessary before the etchback step.
Even with a planar starting surface there are significant problems in etching so that all vias are filled uniformly with tungsten. One of the more serious problems is called "microloading" in the art. In the etch process, with a fixed amount of power, a relatively constant gas flow, and a relatively constant surface area of tungsten and other material exposed to the plasma, the etch proceeds evenly and smoothly. If one of the variables suddenly changes without adequate compensation of other variables, the etch rate may change drastically as well. In the blanket tungsten etch process this happens at the time in the process that the surface tungsten begins to be depleted. i.e. in the regions of thinner tungsten.
Since it is not possible to make the tungsten thickness exactly uniform over the entire wafer surface, the broad area of tungsten will disappear first at the places on the wafer that the tungsten layer is thinnest, usually near the periphery of the wafer. In these areas etching becomes concentrated and much more rapid in the vias, while on other parts of the wafer, etching is still at the slower rate. Another mechanism that contributes to the higher rates is that uncovering more oxide results in additional oxygen activation of fluorine etch species in the plasma. The end result is that some vias are properly filled and some with an excess amount of tungsten are removed. This is referred to as "microloading" in the art. Microloading can also be a problem with the selective process if all of the nailheads do not have the same height and area.
A useful article that discusses the microloading phenomenon is "Plasma Etching Methods for the Formation of Planarized Tungsten Plugs Used in Multilevel VLSI Metallizations" by R. J. Saia, et al. in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society, April 1988. This article is incorporated by reference in this specification.
A number of different approaches have been taken to compensate for the microloading problem, such as extreme care in planarization, and proceeding very slowly in etching, particularly near the end of the etch process. Other methods include a process in which a layer of silicon nitride is deposited on the wafer to act as a sacrificial material during the etchback to defeat the microloading effect. i.e. no oxide being exposed. The sacrificial SiN approach is described in an article "A Novel Blanket Tungsten Etchback Scheme" by J. M. F. G. van Learhoven et al., presented at the 1989 IEEE VMIC Conference Jun. 12-13, 1989. A problem with that approach is that the extra layer of material requires extra processing steps in the overall process flow.
What is needed is an apparatus and method to overcome the microloading effect without increasing the time for or the complexity of the etchback process.


A system for reducing emissions in an engine is provided. The system includes a primary fuel tank having a primary fuel. The system also includes a secondary fuel tank having a secondary fuel. The system further includes a separator in fluid communication with the secondary fuel tank or the primary fuel tank or both the secondary fuel tank and the primary fuel tank, the engine and a hydrocarbon-selective catalytic reduction subsystem. The subsystem separator separates a less volatile portion of the secondary fuel or the primary fuel from a more volatile portion, said less volatile portion of the secondary fuel or the primary fuel in the separator is routed to the hydrocarbon-selective catalytic reduction subsystem and said more volatile portion of the secondary fuel or the primary fuel in the separator is routed to the engine.

The invention relates generally to system and method of reducing emissions and more particularly to a system and method for reducing mono-nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions.
Typically, various combustion sources such as locomotives, vehicles, power plants, and the like, has resulted in environmental pollution due to production of emissions. One particular type of such emissions is NOx. Environmental legislation restricts the amount of NOx that can be emitted by vehicles. In order to comply with this legislation, efforts have been directed at reducing the amount of NOx emissions. One method of emission reduction is directed to reducing the amount of NOx emissions produced during the process of combustion in engines. This method generally involves redesigning engines to optimize the combustion of fuel. This approach has resulted in the reduction of NOx over the years; however, it is often expensive. Further, engines can be tuned to emit less NOx emissions, but this is usually at the expense of increased fuel consumption. Another method is directed to using urea based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for reducing NOx emissions. In this method, a solution of ammonia or urea contacts the exhaust stream of the combustion source to reduce the NOx to nitrogen, over a SCR catalyst, water and carbon dioxide (if urea is used). This method is disadvantageous as ammonia or urea is toxic and is required to be maintained at sufficient levels for NOx reduction during transportation. Further urea may also be unavailable at all areas and may also be expensive.
Accordingly, there is an ongoing need for improving upon systems and methods that provide reductants in hydrocarbon based selective catalytic reduction (HC-SCR) systems for reduced NOx emissions

System and method for reducing mono-nitrogen oxide emissions


A semiconductor memory device divided into a number of main blocks each main block having a number of subblocks selects a single main block and enables the subblocks of the selected main block, so as to reduce the power consumptions. The semiconductor memory device includes a block selector for selecting one of the main blocks in response to row address signals, a number of first boost circuits for selecting the subblocks of the selected main block in response to the row address signals, and a number of second boost circuits adapted to be disabled in response to the row address signals.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device having a memory cell array block selection function and more particularly to a device for selecting memory cell array blocks with low power consumptions.
Dynamic RAM (DRAM) can be widely divided into a memory cell array portion and a peripheral circuit portion. In such a DRAM, the power consumption ratio of the memory cell array portion to the peripheral circuit portion is normally 100 to 30. The power consumed in the memory cell array is generally caused by a write operation of writing data into a memory cell, which has been read out from a different memory cell and is determined by the refresh cycles and the number of divided memory cell array blocks. When the power is consumed abruptly, the power noises may be generated. Therefore, it is very important to reduce the power consumption in a semiconductor memory device with high speed and high density.
Referring to FIG. 1A, the configuration of a known semiconductor memory chip with a block selection function is shown, wherein four main blocks ULA, URA, LLA, LRA are respectively divided into thirty-two subblocks. As shown in FIG. 1A, the conventional semiconductor memory device drives only a specific number of subblocks within each main block to distribute the entire power consumptions. For example, the subblocks SB1 and SB17 are selected in the upper left block ULA; the subblocks SB33 and SB 49 in the upper right block URA; the subblocks SB65 and SB77 in the lower left block LLA; and the subblocks SB96 and SB112 in the lower right block LRA.
Conventional semiconductor memory devices employing the partial activation technique as shown in FIG. 1A are disclosed in U.S Pat. Nos. 4,528,646 and 4,569,036. Referring to FIG. 1B, another conventional semiconductor memory device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,646 is shown. It is well shown in the drawing that the device is partially activated by first through fourth selection circuits which are controlled by a selection control signal. The first selection circuit controls selectively the left or right bit line precharge circuit to activate a bit line pair corresponding to a selected subblock of the left or right memory cell array. The second selection circuit activates a sense amplifier corresponding to a memory cell of the selected subblock. The third selection circuit activates a data bus line corresponding to the selected subblock, and the fourth selection circuit activates an input/output precharge circuit corresponding to the selected subblock. Namely, by driving the bit line precharge circuit, the sense amplifier, the data bus line, and the input/output precharge circuit which correspond to the subblocks SB1, SB17, SB33, SB49, SB65, SB77, SB96 and SB112, the memory cell array (which correspond to the subblocks of the respect main blocks of FIG. 1) is partially activated.
Referring now to FIG. 1C, a conventional semiconductor memory device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,036 is shown. The device is a little different from the device shown in FIG. 1B, but a signal RSBS (randomly selected bit signal) generated from a row address buffer is applied to a driver circuit and sense amplifiers corresponding to the respective memory cell array are controlled by the driver circuit. It is noted that the device of FIG. 1C also has a partial activation function similarly to the device of FIG. 1A.
The memory device having the partial activation function has an advantage of reducing the noises by distributing the total power consumption of the memory cell array. However, in recent a dual pad and a double metal line are used for the power supply voltage terminal Vcc and/or the ground voltage terminal Vss because of the high density of the memory device, so that the noises are not considerably reduced in comparison with the device in which the power consumptions of the subblocks are not distributed. Instead, because in the case where the subblocks are evenly distributed the peripheral circuit for controlling the subblocks are additionally required, the entire peripheral circuits must be enabled even if only some of the subblocks in each main block are activated as shown in FIG. 1. This will increase not only the power consumption but also the peak current of the peripheral circuits. Such undesirable effect gets worse as the chip size increases, because the load of the wires of a control circuit for driving the subblocks is usually influenced by the capacitance formed between the metal and the substrate. Namely, as the chip size of the memory device increases, the transmission distance of the signals of the control circuit becomes longer and the areas of the metal and the substrate also increase. The foregoing relation can be understood from an equation of C=A/d, where A is the area of the metal and the substrate, and d is the space between the wires. Further, it can be appreciated from the related equations of i=C(dv/dt) and p=iv that the power consumption increases.

Semiconductor memory device having a block selection function with low power consumptions


A control system for a machine includes a machine, a plurality of proximity sensors coupled to the machine, and a controller in communication with the plurality of proximity sensors. The controller is configured to activate and monitor proximity information from the proximity sensors during a containerization mode and indicate an alert if the proximity information is below a threshold distance.

The present disclosure relates to construction machines that are containerized—loaded and/or driven into shipping containers. Construction machines are typically large machines. When loading a construction machine into a shipping container, there may be very little space on the sides of the construction machine. As a result, it may be necessary for multiple individuals to be positioned around the machine to assist the operator in loading and/or driving the machine into the shipping container. Additionally, the interiors of shipping containers are often dark and, as the machine is being loaded into the shipping container, the machine may further darken the interior of the shipping container by blocking exterior light from illuminating the interior of the shipping container, which may further complicate the loading and/or unloading of the machine from the shipping container and/or the securing of the machine within the shipping container.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/071074, filed by Gokan et al. and published on Mar. 7, 2019 ("the '074 application"), describes a vehicle with a control and alert system. The system of the '074 application uses image detection to detect objects and executes an automatic brake control based on the detected objects. However, the control and alert system of the '074 application is limited to stopping the vehicle based on the presence of an object and does not help ensure the vehicle is maintaining a desired path or maintaining a desired distance from one or more objects or surfaces as the vehicle is being containerized.
The control system of the present disclosure may solve one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art. The scope of the current disclosure, however, is defined by the attached claims, and not by the ability to solve any specific problem.


One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for generating a classifier to detect patterns in a data sequence. During operation, the system receives the data sequence, which represents a sequence of measurements of a phenomenon. The system transforms the data sequence into a feature sequence that is of a higher dimensionality than a dimensionality of the data sequence, and the feature sequence is a sequence of feature vectors each created from contiguous members of the data sequence. Next, the system generates a graph where each node of the graph corresponds to a feature vector. The system converts the generated graph into a two-dimensional graph. Subsequently, the system displays, to a user, the two-dimensional graph. The system receives user input indicating that a region of the two-dimensional graph corresponds to a pattern associated with the feature sequence, and then generates a classifier based on the received user input.

1. Field
This disclosure is generally related to machine learning. More specifically, this disclosure is related to a method and system for enabling non-experts to create classifiers for patterns in a data sequence.
2. Related Art
Machine learning systems allow users to interpret sequential data, such as global positioning signals (GPS), vision, or speech data. With GPS, as a person or vehicle moves, a stream of high-dimensional temporal data is created by the GPS device. The GPS information may include a time-stamped stream of latitude and longitude values, elevation, satellite information, measurement errors, velocity, and other information. Interpreting such data to determine movement patterns, such as left turns and right turns, is a non-trivial task. This problem is complicated by the fact that humans have difficulty comprehending high-dimensional data. High-dimensional data is data with multiple dimensional values. For example, a point on a map that includes latitude and longitude data has two dimensions, and a point on a map with elevation, time, latitude, and longitude data is a four-dimensional value. Even experts in machine learning consider it difficult to visualize and work with such high-dimensional data sequences that include more than two or three dimensions.
In one approach, one can classify the multi-dimensional data by viewing the data through hierarchical visualization. Hierarchical visualization involves processing each dimension one-by-one. This process requires the user to recursively process successive visualization regions at great levels of detail. In another approach, one can analyze time-series transactional data by using a distance matrix generated from a similarity matrix to reduce the time-series data.
Unfortunately, such approaches are not sufficiently effective for non-experts to analyze and classify patterns in sequential data.

Method and system for analyzing sequential data based on sparsity and sequential adjacency


A method for inspecting a liquid droplet ejection apparatus that ejects a liquid droplet from an ejection port includes (a) ejecting the liquid droplet toward an ejection target at an inspection drive frequency that is higher than an operation drive frequency set during a normal operation; (b) measuring a characteristic of the liquid droplet deposited on a surface of the ejection target; and (c) determining that the ejection port the characteristic of which is outside a predetermined range is defective.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a method for inspecting a liquid droplet ejection apparatus and a method for manufacturing a device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices such as an organic light emitting device and a thin-film transistor (TFT) board have a functional layer formed on a substrate. The functional layer has a specific function. Examples of the functional layer includes an organic light emitting layer of an organic light emitting device and an organic semiconductor layer of a TFT board. In recent years, such devices have grown in size. To efficiently form a functional layer on a large sized substrate, a technique called "wet process" has been developed. The term "wet process" refers to a technique for applying liquid solution containing a functional material (hereinafter also referred to as "ink") to a substrate using, for example, an inkjet technique. For example, according to the inkjet technique, an ejection target is placed on a work table of an ink droplet ejection apparatus first. Subsequently, an inkjet head is scanned over the ejection target and, simultaneously, liquid droplets are ejected from a plurality of ejection ports. Thereafter, the liquid droplets deposited on the surface of the ejection target are dried. In this manner, the functional layer is formed (refer to, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-318556). In addition, according to an inkjet technique, inspection of ejection ports is performed as needed. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-120237 describes a technique in which liquid droplets are continuously ejected under a drive condition that is severer than a normal drive condition. Immediately after the ejection, liquid droplets are ejected under a normal drive condition. Thereafter, it is determined whether each of the ejection ports normally functions by determining whether a liquid droplet is ejected from the ejection port.

Method for inspecting liquid droplet ejection apparatus


The ventilation unit includes: an explosion-proof valve that permits gas to flow from the inside of a housing to the outside of the housing when internal pressure within the housing is higher than external pressure outside the housing by a value larger than or equal to a predetermined value, and is capable of returning to block the flow of the gas from the inside of the housing to the outside of the housing; and a ventilation membrane that permits gas to flow between the inside and the outside of the housing even when a pressure difference between the internal pressure and the external pressure is less than the predetermined value.

Conventionally, a technique that provides a function of a ventilation hole to an explosion-proof valve of a battery pack to eliminate the need to separately provide the ventilation hole including a ventilation membrane has been suggested.
For example, an explosion-proof valve described in Patent Document 1 includes: an explosion-proof valve case formed of a synthetic resin, and forming an annular ring shape; an O-ring sealing between the explosion-proof valve case and a pack case; a circular sheet-like ventilation membrane attached to the case so as to close a central opening of the explosion-proof valve case; and a circular plate-like protector formed of a synthetic resin, and overlapped and arranged outside the ventilation membrane. Notches as ventilation holes are provided around the protector, and a small amount of air can go in and out via the ventilation membrane. When an internal pressure rapidly rises at battery abnormality, the protector is folded, and locking by locking projections is released to drop the protector, and therefore, a large passage cross-sectional area is secured instantaneously to release the internal pressure.