A method for monitoring fluid properties with a distributed sensor in a wellbore having an inner surface, a top and a bottom comprising causing the distributed sensor to assume a helical shape, pulling the distributed sensor towards the bottom of the wellbore, while retaining the helical shape of the distributed sensor, feeding the distributed sensor into the wellbore so that the distributed sensor is in substantially continuous contact with the inner surface, and allowing the distributed sensor to become at least partially supported by friction at the inner surface.

In the oil and gas industry, there is considerable value in the ability to monitor the flow properties of fluid in a well. Many wells consist of several hydrocarbon-producing zones that vary in permeability and are perforated or otherwise left open to permit production. It is desirable to obtain flow data from each of these zones to make operational decisions regarding production rate, stimulation, remediation, and other issues that arise in well operation. In addition to production flow data, injection flow data is also valuable as it can reveal how much fluid is being injected into a particular zone of and how this fluid is being absorbed by the formation.
To address this need, the industry has developed an array of "intelligent well" technologies that are designed to measure flow properties in a producing well. Frequently measured properties include but are not limited to temperature, pressure, composition, and flow rate. Some measurement tools are installed in the well permanently for long term monitoring while others are run into the well during an intervention to obtain a temporary measurement. Despite advances in these intelligent well technologies, the tools currently available are limited by technical challenges. Some challenges include building a sensing device that is durable enough to withstand the harsh conditions of the downhole environment, providing power to such a device, increasing reliability of downhole sensing systems, and developing a tool that measures the properties of the flow in the wellbore without interfering with the production. Although numerous downhole gauges for measuring temperature, pressure, and other properties have been developed, discrete measurements at several points in the well only reveal limited details about the flow conditions downhole. Ideally, an operator would like to obtain a real time continuous profile of the flow properties along the length and circumference of the wellbore as well as radially into the formation.
A promising new development in the area of downhole sensing is distributed temperature sensing or DTS. See James J. Smolen and Alex van der Spek, Distributed Temperature Sensing: A DTS Primer for Oil & Gas Production, Shell International Exploration and Production B.V. (May 2003). A DTS system works by utilizing a distributed sensor as the sensing mechanism. Once the distributed sensor is installed in the well, a pulse of laser light is sent along the fiber so that it collides with the lattice structure and atoms of the fiber causing them to emit small bursts of light, which are "backscattered" or returned to the beginning of the fiber. These bursts of light are returned at slightly shifted frequencies. Because of this frequency shift, the backscattered light provides information, which can be used to determine the temperature at the point from which the backscatter originated. Because the velocity of light is constant, one can determine the distance from the surface to the point where the temperature was recorded using the elapsed travel time of the light pulse. By continually monitoring backscattered light, one can obtain a continuous profile of temperature along the length of the fiber.
US Patent Application US 2005/0034873 A1 (hereafter Coon) discloses a method for placing a fiber optic sensor line in a wellbore. The method in Coon includes providing a tubular in the wellbore, the tubular having a first conduit operatively attached thereto, whereby the first conduit extends substantially the entire length of the tubular. The method further includes aligning the first conduit with a second conduit operatively attached to a downhole component and forming a hydraulic connection between the first conduit and the second conduit thereby completing a passageway for the fiber optic sensor line to be urged through with a fluid pump and a hose. Although this method can provide flow data along the entire length of the well, the measurements are limited to a single side of the wellbore. Ideally, operators would like to obtain a complete profile of the inflow and outflow of the well along its depth and circumference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,713 (hereafter Kluth) discloses an apparatus for installation of fiber optic sensors in wells. Kluth discloses an apparatus with a first channel containing at least one sensor location arrangement so that at least one sensor can be pumped through the first channel to the sensor location arrangement with at least one turn such that the physical disposition of the sensor after it has been pumped to the sensor location arrangement is not linear, and the turn comprises a loop of hydraulic conduit. Essentially, the sensor is installed by pumping the line through a hydraulic conduit, which is wrapped around the production tubing. Some parts of the conduit allow the fiber optics cable to be wrapped circumferentially around the pipe while others provide a linear configuration. Generally, a low viscosity fluid must be maintained at a particular flow rate in order to locate the fiber at a specific sensor location. In some applications, a load is applied to the fiber optic line, which could cause potential damage to its sensing capabilities.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,959,604 (hereinafter Bryant) discloses an apparatus for measuring an unsteady pressure within a pipe comprising an optical sensor including at least one optical fiber disposed circumferentially around at least a portion of a circumference of the pipe. The optical fiber provides an optical signal indicative of the length of the fiber. An optical instrument determines a signal indicative of the unsteady pressure in response to the optical signal. In this system the fiber is wrapped circumferentially around the outside of the pipe.


The present invention provides antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof that specifically bind proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin-9 (PCSK9) with greater affinity at neutral pH than at acidic pH. The antibodies of the invention may possess one or more amino acid changes as compared to antibodies that do not exhibit pH-dependent binding properties. For example, the present invention includes anti-PCSK9 antibodies which possess one or more histidine substitutions in one or more complementarity determining regions. The antibodies of the invention, with pH-dependent binding properties, remain in circulation and exhibit cholesterol lowering activity for prolonged periods of time in animal subjects as compared to anti-PCSK9 antibodies that do not exhibit pH-dependent binding properties. The antibodies of the invention are therefore useful for treating diseases and disorders related to elevated HDL cholesterol, wherein the antibodies of the invention can be administered to a patient at a lower dose and/or with less frequent dosing as compared to antibodies that do not exhibit pH-dependent binding properties.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is a proprotein convertase belonging to the proteinase K subfamily of the secretory subtilase family. The encoded protein is synthesized as a soluble zymogen that undergoes autocatalytic intramolecular processing in the endoplasmic reticulum. Circulating PCSK9 binds to the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) on the surface of hepatocytes and targets it for destruction. This process reduces the capacity of the liver to bind and remove LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and thus results in increased LDL-C levels. Antibodies which specifically bind PCSK9 and block its interaction with the LDL receptor have been shown to be therapeutically useful for lowering serum LDL-C levels in human subjects. (See, e.g., Stein et al., New Engl. J. Med. 2012; 366:1108-1118).
The dosing amount and/or frequency of administration of an antibody necessary to produce a therapeutic effect is generally dictated by the number of antigens that can be neutralized by a single antibody molecule. For example, if an antibody can bind and neutralize only one antigen before the antibody is targeted for degradation within the host, then a relatively large amount of the antibody must be administered to produce a therapeutic effect and/or the antibody must be administered on a relatively frequent basis. On the other hand, if a single antibody is able to repeatedly bind multiple antigens before degradation, then less antibody needs to be administered, and can be administered on a less frequent basis, to result in an effective therapeutic response.
A need exists in the art for new therapeutic molecules capable of binding PCSK9 which can produce an effective therapeutic response for a longer period of time and/or with a lower dosing amount than what is required with currently known and available PCSK9 antagonists.

Anti-PCSK9 antibodies with pH-dependent binding characteristics


A method for determining a traffic bearer for data traffic between a terminal (106) of a mobile network (102) and a content data source (116) of a content data network (104) is described. The method comprises sending (126) a service request for data of the content data source (116) from the terminal (106) to a network gateway (110) of the mobile network (102), and determining (132) an edge entity (108) of the mobile network (102). The edge entity (112) is adapted to forward the data traffic between the content data source (116) and the mobile network (102). The method comprises sending (130) a bearer establishment request to a control node (108) of the mobile network (102) for establishing the traffic bearer (389, 589) to the edge entity (112), and directing (154) the data traffic associated with the content data source (116) to the traffic bearer. Therefore a delivery of data between the content data source (116) of the content data network (104) and the terminal (106) may be enabled, which delivery may deploy few mobile network resources and may cause a high user experience of an end user associated with the terminal (116) requesting the data from the content data source (116).

Data traffic in the mobile network is significantly growing, while the end user is expecting services and applications at an affordable price.
Utilization of a content data network is considered to decrease the deployment of mobile network resources and thus reduce transport and peering costs associated with a data traffic and to increase a user experience associated with requested services and applications. Such a content data network comprises a control node and at least one content data source. Data are available from the content data sources, and are, for example, replicated in several content data sources. Such data may be associated with a service usable by a terminal associated with an end user. A content data source is selected by the control node of the content data network upon a request of the terminal for data, in order to provide the requested data to the terminal. Usually, the selected content data source may represent the physically closest entity of the content data sources of the content data network for the terminal. Thus, a data delivery performance in terms of latency times and packet loss may be increased for the end user associated with the terminal.
The content data network is logically located outside of the mobile network, and is linked to respective network gateways of the mobile network via an interface of the mobile network towards the content data network, for example, a SGi interface of a Gi interface.
However, using such a content data network for providing data to a terminal may still require a high load on mobile network resources, and may be accompanied by a poor user experience associated with the data delivery to the end user.

Determining a traffic bearer for data traffic between a terminal and a content data source of a content data network


An air conditioning device for air conditioning an interior and/or a component of an electric vehicle includes multiple fluid circuits having respective working media and configured for heating and cooling the electric vehicle. A first fluid circuit is designed for heating the interior of the electric vehicle via the first heat exchanger. A second fluid circuit is designed for heating the first evaporator. A third fluid circuit is designed for heating or cooling the interior of the electric vehicle. A fourth fluid circuit is designed for heating the interior of the electric vehicle via the first heat exchanger. A fifth fluid circuit is designed for cooling the heat source of the component of the electric vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioning device and a method for air conditioning an interior and/or at least one component of an electric vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Published German patent document DE 196 09 048 C2 describes a heating and air conditioning device for motor vehicles, the described heating and air conditioning device having a first fluid circuit, which includes a heat exchanger, a pump, and a heat source for heating the fluid, the secondary side of the heat exchanger being acted on by air, and a blower being provided for generating an air flow. Furthermore, the described heating and air conditioning device includes a cooling circuit having an evaporator, a condenser, and a compressor, and a control unit for regulating the cooling circuit as a function of at least one signal of a temperature sensor, and of a settable setpoint value. The described heating and air conditioning device furthermore includes a second fluid circuit, which may be switched to the first fluid circuit via a valve means, having a heat accumulator situated therein and a pump, a heat source in the first fluid circuit being a heating device which is independent of the operation of the vehicle and is used for heating the air flowing through the heat exchanger and/or for charging the heat accumulator with thermal energy; the evaporator of the cooling circuit may be thermally coupled to the heat exchanger with the aid of the second fluid circuit and is used for charging the heat accumulator with cooling energy.

Air conditioning device and method for air conditioning an interior and/or at least one component of an electric vehicle


An electronic device and a heat-dissipation device for an electronic device are provided. The heat-dissipation device comprises an airflow channel; an airflow source located in the airflow channel; a plurality of elongated heat-dissipation fins arranged in the airflow channel; and a plurality of heat-dissipation flow-guiding devices arranged in the airflow channel and between the airflow source and the plurality of elongated heat-dissipation fins, wherein the plurality of heat-dissipation flow-guiding devices include a first heat-dissipation flow-guiding device in a central position of the airflow channel and a second heat-dissipation flow-guiding device on two sides of the airflow channel, and a longitudinal distance between the first heat-dissipation flow-guiding device and the airflow source is less than the distance between the second heat-dissipation flow-guiding device and the airflow source.

With the integration and miniaturization of electronic circuits in electronic devices, the heat release of the electronic circuits per unit volume is increasing, so the heat dissipation problem of the electronic devices is becoming increasingly significant. In order to improve the heat dissipation effect, a fan and a set of heat-dissipation fins are arranged in an airflow channel in an existing heat-dissipation device. An airflow from the fan flows along the airflow channel and flows over the surfaces of the heat-dissipation fins to remove heat from the surfaces of the heat-dissipation fins, thus achieving heat dissipation. However, the inventor of this utility model finds that in such a heat-dissipation device, the airflow flowing through the set of heat-dissipation fins is usually uneven, and the velocity of the airflow flowing through the heat-dissipation fins in a central position of the airflow channel is much greater than the velocity of the airflow flowing through the heat-dissipation fins on two sides, which greatly affects the heat dissipation efficiency of the heat-dissipation device.
Therefore, there is a need for a heat-dissipation device that can allow the airflow to evenly flow through the heat-dissipation fins, thus improving the heat dissipation efficiency. At the same time, the heat-dissipation device is also required to have a simple structure and basically does not increase airflow resistance.

One mixed heat sink fins for better thermal dissipation used on electrical products

Harman International Industries, Incorporated


A method includes receiving a signal including a two-dimensional signal pattern in a time-frequency representation, the two-dimensional signal pattern including first reference resource elements at predetermined positions in the two-dimensional signal pattern. The method further includes determining a first covariance measure based on the first reference resource elements of the signal pattern. The method further includes determining a second covariance measure based on resource elements of the signal pattern different from the first reference resource elements. The method further includes determining a noise and interference covariance measure of the received signal based on the first covariance measure and based on the second covariance measure.

Modern cellular networks face the challenge that the demand for data traffic is increasing dramatically. Network operators need to modify their networks to increase the overall capacity. One solution may be to place denser macro cells. However, this solution may be very costly and rapidly moving users might be required to perform handovers very frequently. Another solution may be heterogeneous networks. One macro cell may be used for coverage of a larger area and pico or femto cells may be placed into the coverage area to increase the capacity at some "hot spots". The deployment of femto and pico cells may be less expensive compared to new macro cells, may increase the coverage, and may increase the overall data throughput of the network. However, it may generate as well strong interference scenarios, especially if the operator targets a frequency reuse of one, i.e., all macro/pico/femto cells transmit in the same frequency band.
The 3GPP standardization has introduced enhanced inter-cell interference coordination (eICIC) in Release 10 of LTE to support a deployment of heterogeneous networks. Time-domain eICIC introduces almost blank sub-frames (ABS) at aggressor cells. During these sub-frames, a UE connected to the victim cell and facing strong interference from the aggressor cells, may be able to receive data from the victim cell. However, during these ABS sub-frames, the aggressor cells may continue to transmit cell specific reference signals (CRS)—these CRS signals may degrade the overall data throughput of conventional technologies significantly. It may thus be desirable to provide a method and a device to improve the data throughput in a time-domain eICIC scenario such that the performance improvement is significant and the computational complexity is smaller than for known solutions.
A similar interference scenario arises as well in a synchronized network without eICIC scheduling: if an aggressor cell does not schedule a PDSCH transmission for a particular resource block then it continues to transmit the CRS signals in this resource block. The invention can as well be applied in such a scenario.

Determination of a noise and interference covariance measure


Various embodiments of undulators, methods of fabricating undulators, and systems incorporating undulators are described. Certain embodiments provide a compact, electromagnetic undulator. The undulator may comprise a substrate and one or more electromagnets, which may be formed on the substrate. Certain embodiments have a period not greater than about 5 mm. The undulator may be operatively coupled with a particle accelerator to provide a free electron laser system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an undulator for use with a free-electron laser system, and in particular, to an electro-magnetic undulator and processes for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional devices used for the decelerator/interaction region of a collimated X-Ray free electron laser (FEL) typically rely on chains of opposing permanent magnets with 1 cm to 10 cm characteristic length scales to extract keV energy photons from GeV (Gigaelectron volt) energy electrons. Such conventional undulators permit only a few 10s of periods of the undulator in a device that is several meters long. Further, the intense fields developed by the close spacing of 1 T to 10 T permanent magnets in conventional permanent magnet undulators generate enormous forces that require significant structural support. Such structural support may result in undulators that occupy a volume of greater than one cubic meter, and may weigh more than 10,000 kg. Further, the magnetic fields tend to be non-uniform. In certain conventional implementations, to achieve very large controllable and uniform fields, superconducting magnets are often used, requiring cryogenic cooling and ancillary support hardware. Such types of undulators are too large, heavy, and expensive for many types of applications.
Certain other undulator designs use expensive, hand assembled 100 micron scale wax-bound powder permanent magnets, magnetic fields induced by a high power laser, or betatron oscillators which use laser-plasma Wakefield accelerators to extract MeV energy photons from GeV energy electrons.
Conventional wax-bound hard micro-magnets typically have not been scaled below 100 microns, must be hand assembled, and have poor field uniformity due to limitations in the NiFeB microstructural grain size, the magnetic domain size, and thermal stability of the material.
Further, conventional laser-driven undulators may require very high intensity (100 TW/m2) to achieve 1 T magnetic fields in free space or intricate waveguide structures to control the light. Additionally, in order to achieve high intensities, conventional laser-driven undulators typically require a great deal of specialized optics, ancillary electronics, power, and space in order to focus a 1 kW 10.6 micron laser or the like.
Similar intensities may also be realized by micro-fabricated off-axis illuminated periodic cavities used as advanced deflection structures, but such structures are very challenging to implement and so tend to be impractical for typical applications.
Betatron oscillations in a laser-plasma Wakefield accelerator have been used for the undulating field, but conventionally cannot produce a sufficiently narrow spectral output. Further, filtering the laser spectrum from the 36% bandwidth, typical of betatron sources, to 0.1% bandwidth may reduce the brightness by 99.7%.
While the foregoing conventional undulators may have certain characteristics that are improvements over sintered ceramic permanent magnets, they do not present an adequate path for future scaling.

The Regents of the University of California


An actuator package includes a base frame member and an image sensor. The actuator package further includes a plurality of comb drive actuators affixed to the base frame member by a plurality of respective electrically conductive leaf spring flexures. The respective electrically conductive leaf spring flexures provide an electrical current conductive path between the image sensor and conductors mounted on the base frame member, and the plurality of comb drive actuators is arranged to control the motion of the image sensor in multiple degrees of freedom relative to the fixed structure. Each of the plurality of comb drive actuators includes at least two independent comb drive array portions. At least one of the comb drive array portions generates force tending to move the image sensor out of a plane of the base frame member.

Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to control of the motion of camera components.
Description Or Related Art
For high-end computing devices, it is common to incorporate miniature cameras. One typical feature augmentation for such miniature cameras is autofocus (AF). The incumbent actuator technology for such cameras is the voice coil motor (VCM). Many other technologies have been proposed, with varying strengths and weaknesses and differing degrees of commercial success. The voice coil motor technology has the key advantage of being simple, and therefore being straightforward to design.
While there are several disadvantages of voice coil motor, such as high power, and low relative force, their use persists in spite of the associated costs.
Demands on improvements to performance of such miniature cameras are constant, as are demands for continued miniaturization, given the added features and devices added to such mobile devices.
In particular, demands to decrease the dimensions of camera components and demands for high image quality continue to create an ongoing desire for camera components that exhibit superior performance as measured in various ways, while consuming less space and energy.

Comb drive and leaf spring camera actuator


A method for configuring an illumination source of a lithographic apparatus, the method including dividing the illumination source into pixel groups, each pixel group including one or more illumination source points in a pupil plane of the illumination source; changing a polarization state of each pixel group and determining an incremental effect on each of the plurality of critical dimensions resulting from the change of polarization state; calculating a first plurality of sensitivity coefficients for each of the plurality of critical dimensions using the determined incremental effects; selecting an initial illumination source; iteratively calculating a lithographic metric as a result of a change of polarization state using the calculated first plurality of sensitivity coefficients, the change of the polarization state of the pixel group in the initial illumination source creating a modified illumination source; and adjusting the initial illumination source based on the iterative results of calculations.

A lithographic apparatus applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that instance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. comprising part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Known lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at one time, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through a radiation beam in a given direction (the "scanning"-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. It is also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device to the substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.
A lithographic apparatus generally includes an illumination system, referred to hereafter as an illuminator. The illuminator receives radiation from a source, for example a laser, and produces an illumination beam for illuminating a patterning device. Within a typical illuminator, the beam is shaped and controlled such that at a pupil plane the beam has a desired spatial intensity distribution, also referred to as an illumination mode. Examples of types of illumination modes are conventional, dipole, asymmetric, quadrupole, hexapole and annular illumination modes. This spatial intensity distribution at the pupil plane effectively acts as a secondary radiation source for producing the illumination beam. Following the pupil plane, the radiation is typically focused by an optical element (e.g., lens) group referred to hereafter as "coupling optics". The coupling optics couples the focused radiation into an integrator, such as a quartz rod. The function of the integrator is to improve the homogeneity of the spatial and/or angular intensity distribution of the illumination beam. The spatial intensity distribution at the pupil plane is converted to an angular intensity distribution at the object being illuminated by the coupling optics, because the pupil plane substantially coincides with the front focal plane of the coupling optics. Controlling the spatial intensity distribution at the pupil plane can be done to improve the processing latitude when an image of the illuminated object is projected onto a substrate. In particular, spatial intensity distributions with dipolar, annular or quadrupole off-axis illumination modes have been proposed to enhance the resolution and/or other parameters of the projection, such as sensitivity to projection system aberrations, exposure latitude and depth of focus.
Furthermore, the beam may be polarized. A correctly polarized beam may enhance image contrast and/or improve exposure latitude. These effects may result in an improved dimension uniformity of the imaged features. This eventually leads to an improved yield of the product.


A coding control unit (110) and a mode selection unit (109) are included. The coding control unit (110) determines the coding order for a plurality of consecutive B-pictures located between I-pictures and P-pictures so that the B-picture whose temporal distance from two previously coded pictures is farthest in display order is coded by priority, so as to reorder the B-pictures in coding order. When a current block is coded in direct mode, the mode selection unit 109 scales a forward motion vector of a block which is included in a backward reference picture of a current picture and co-located with the current block, so as to generate motion vectors of the current block, if the forward motion vector has been used for coding the co-located block.

In moving picture coding, data amount is generally compressed by utilizing the spatial and temporal redundancies that exist within a moving picture. Generally speaking, frequency transformation is used as a method utilizing the spatial redundancies, and inter picture prediction coding is used as a method utilizing the temporal redundancies. In the inter picture prediction coding, for coding a current picture, previously coded pictures earlier or later than the current picture in display order are used as reference pictures. The amount of motion of the current picture from the reference picture is estimated, and the difference between the picture data obtained by motion compensation based on that amount of motion and the picture data of the current picture is calculated, so that the temporal redundancies are eliminated. The spatial redundancies are further eliminated from this differential value so as to compress the data amount of the current picture.
In the moving picture coding method called H.264 which has been developed for standardization, a picture which is coded not using inter picture prediction but using intra picture coding is referred to as an I-picture, a picture which is coded using inter picture prediction with reference to one previously processed picture which is earlier or later than a current picture in display order is referred to as a P-picture, and a picture which is coded using inter picture prediction with reference to two previously processed pictures which are earlier or later than a current picture in display order is referred to as a B-picture (See ISO/IEC 14496-2 "Information technology—Coding of audio-visual objects—Part2: Visual" pp. 218-219).
FIG. 1A is a diagram showing relationship between respective pictures and the corresponding reference pictures in the above-mentioned moving picture coding method, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the sequence of the pictures in the bit stream generated by coding.
A picture I1 is an I-picture, pictures P5, P9 and P13 are P-pictures, and pictures B2, B3, B4, B6, B7, B8, B10, B11 and B12 are B-pictures. As shown by the arrows, the P-pictures P5, P9 and P13 are coded using inter picture prediction from the I-picture I1 and P-pictures P5 and P9 respectively as reference pictures.
As shown by the arrows, the B-pictures B2, B3 and B4 are coded using inter picture prediction from the I-picture I1 and P-picture P5 respectively as reference pictures. In the same manner, the B-pictures B6, B7 and B8 are coded using the P-pictures P5 and P9 respectively as reference pictures, and the B-pictures B10, B11 and B12 are coded using the P-pictures P9 and P13 respectively as reference pictures.
In the above-mentioned coding, the reference pictures are coded prior to the pictures which refer to the reference pictures. Therefore, the bit stream is generated by the above coding in the sequence as shown in FIG. 1B.
By the way, in the H.264 moving picture coding method, a coding mode called direct mode can be selected. An inter picture prediction method in direct mode will be explained with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is an illustration showing motion vectors in direct mode, and particularly showing the case of coding a block a in the picture B6 in direct mode. In this case, a motion vector c used for coding a block b in the picture P9 is utilized. The block b is co-located with the block a and the picture P9 is a backward reference picture of the picture B6. The motion vector c is a vector used for coding the block b and refers to the picture P5. The block a is coded using bi-prediction based on the reference blocks obtained from the forward reference picture P5 and the backward reference picture P9 using vectors parallel to the motion vector c. In other words, the motion vectors used for coding the block a are the motion vector d for the picture P5 and the motion vector e for the picture P9.
However, when B-pictures are coded using inter picture prediction with reference to I and P-pictures, the temporal distance between the current B-picture and the reference picture may be long, which causes reduction of coding efficiency. Particularly when a lot of B-pictures are located between adjacent I-picture and P-picture or two P-pictures closest to each other, coding efficiency is significantly reduced.
The present invention has been conceived in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a moving picture coding method and a moving picture decoding method for avoiding efficiency reduction of coding B-pictures if a lot of B-pictures are located between an I-picture and a P-picture or between two P-pictures. In addition, it is another object to provide a moving picture coding method and a moving picture decoding method for improving coding efficiency in direct mode.

Moving picture coding method and moving picture decoding method for performing inter picture prediction coding and inter picture predection decoding using previously processed pictures as reference pictures


An inexpensive and lightweight air insulated high frequency filter can be made utilizing a radio device's frame and a printed board (15) intended for electrical circuits, so that during manufacture of the printed board (15) it is machined so that several side by side finger-like projecting tongues (14.sub.1, 14.sub.2, 14.sub.3, 14.sub.4) are formed, which are entirely coated with electrically conducting material. Thereafter the printed board, on which electrical and mechanical components intended for it are mounted, is placed in the radio device's crate-like frame made of conducting material and possibly provided with partition walls (18, 19), and on which also cover parts are fastened so that the tongues will be parallel with them and located between them, whereby the tongues, the enclosing cover parts and the frame wall parts form a filter structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air insulated high frequency filter suitable for use in radio devices.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Radiotelephone manufacturers typically use individual RF filters bought from their manufacturer as separate components already tuned to specifications. Filters based on quarter-wave resonators, such as air insulated rod resonators, helix resonators and ceramic resonators, are thus ready made assemblies encapsulated by the manufacturer in a metal case having solder ears to be fixed on a printed board and connectors for the electrical interface. Even from the beginning of the design, a radiotelephone manufacturer takes into account the mounting of filters so that within the radiotelephone frame, which is usually a structure containing compartments and made by casting or possibly by pressing and bending sheet metal, an compartment is usually allocated for the high frequency filters, such as the duplexer. The frame can also be made of plastics or similar material, which at least partially is coated with a conducting material. Besides the filters, there are separate compartments for the high frequency sections of the transmitter and receiver paths, for the logic and for the synthesizers.
The printed boards located in the compartments are shielded with metallic RF covers at the upper side and possibly below, while the compartment side walls belonging to the frame provide the sideways shielding. This known compartment structure of the frame is able to prevent mutual interference between different functional blocks, or the so called electromagnetic interference. In the assembly of a radiotelephone the printed boards with components attached to them are placed in the frame, and the boards are electrically interconnected. Thus also ready made encapsulated filters are attached to the printed boards, the filters and the printed circuit boards requiring connectors for mechanical as well as for electrical connection.
It is also known to manufacture filters realized by strip line resonators, directly on the printed board's surface, whereby the desired resonator pattern is etched on the printed board in connection with its manufacture. Good accuracy and reproducibility are advantages of this method.
The commonly used technique of this type has some disadvantages. The compartment structure may well lead to using the available space of the radiotelephone in a way which is not optimal, but where e.g. the encapsulated antenna filters stand in their own compartment with plenty of space around them. From the point of view of high frequency filters it is unnecessary to place them in their own compartments, even covered by possible RF covers, because the manufacturer always supplies the filters with a housing. The encapsulated individual filters require a printed board as a mounting base, from where signals are transmitted through an expensive connector and a cable to the front end of the receiver, and correspondingly a separate connector and cable to supply signals from the transmitter output stage to the duplex filter. Said mounting must further be somehow fixed to the frame compartment. A filter realized with strip line resonators requires an excellent Q factor, which is not easily obtained on a common printed board substrate.

Air insulated high frequency filter with resonating rods


A method of representing a serpentine track accessing format includes obtaining a plurality of head and physical track number pairs in the serpentine track accessing format. Then, each of the head and physical track number pairs are mapped to a unique virtual track number. In some embodiments, the unique the virtual track numbers are in a non-continuous monotonic order. In some embodiments, the unique virtual track numbers are assigned based upon a modulo M which is a function of a maximum number of tracks per physical zone. Translation engines which perform the mapping, as well as data storage systems which include the translation engines, are also disclosed.

One type of mass storage device is a disc drive data storage system. Disc drive data storage systems include, for example, one or more magnetic or optical storage discs. In disc drives which include multiple storage discs, the discs are mounted on a spindle for co-rotation about a central axis. Each disc surface has an associated head slider (or "head") which includes a transducer for reading data from the disc surface. Data is stored on the disc surface in circular, concentric data tracks. A "cylinder" is the set of tracks (one per each disc surface) which have the same radius from the central axis.
The data format on the disc drive is laid out in a form such that sequential addresses follow a track. At the end of a track either a head switch is performed to address the same track on an adjacent surface (another track in the same cylinder), or a track switch is performed to access an adjacent track on the same surface. This creates a serpentine track format. If the head switch takes a higher priority over the track switch (i.e., head switches are performed whenever possible), the format is called "head serpentine." On the other hand, if track switch is taken before head switch, the format is called "track serpentine." As the track density has increased significantly over the past years, the track pitch becomes increasingly smaller. As a result, the time to finish a track switch is now significantly smaller than that of a head switch, and the track serpentine format has become the preferred data format.
In head serpentine and track serpentine formats, the track and head numbers experience periodically increasing and decreasing order. The inconsistency of monotonicity causes significant computational inefficiency that is connected to the track or head numbers. This is especially true in cases where certain tables that are indexed by the track or head numbers must be searched. It is very likely that the entries in those tables must be checked one by one from the very beginning toward the ending point, until all targets have been found. As a results, efficient search algorithms, such as a binary search, cannot be employed. As the table size gets large, such searching consumes quite a lot of computation time and resources. This in turn adversely effects the performance of the drive.
Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to these and/or other problems, and offer other advantages over the prior art.

Virtual track for serpentine track format


Image display control by which effective correction is performed even for a biased change in a source potential for one frame in a liquid crystal display device is achieved. A liquid crystal display device (2) includes a correction unit that corrects a source voltage value to a pixel. The correction unit calculates a correction amount by using an integrated value of a source potential for previous one frame instead of an integrated value of the source potential for next one frame. The liquid crystal display device (2) applies the source voltage based on the correction amount to the pixel.

Television receivers have been recently required to have high-definition display performance corresponding to Super Hi-Vision. As display devices having such high-definition display performance, so-called double-source-drive liquid crystal display devices are known. Such a high-performance liquid crystal display device requires high-speed driving by which image data is written to a pixel in a short time. Therefore, the liquid crystal display device generally has a display control device that controls display thereof.
As the display control device, a display control device of a liquid crystal display device that has a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of source lines, and display pixels arranged correspondingly at intersections of the gate lines and the source lines is known (for example, refer to PTL 1). The display control device further has a generation unit that generates a correction value, an update unit that updates corresponding correction data, and a correction unit that generates image data based on an updated correction value and supplies the resultant to a driving unit. The generation unit generates correction values based on integrated values of first and second data lines from the past to the present for a certain vertical scanning period (frame). The update unit updates the correction values so that at least one of the correction values is a value between the correction values.
Moreover, as the display control device, a display control device including a correction circuit that obtains output gray scales of a present frame that are given to a display pixel is known (for example, refer to PTL 2). The correction circuit integrates, for a period of 0.5 frame or longer, values of voltages corresponding to input gray scales that are applied to source lines disposed on both sides of the display pixel, and adds a difference between resultant two integrated values to the values of the voltages. Then, the correction circuit obtains output gray scales of the present frame that are given to the display pixel.
Further, as the display control described above, a technique of correcting image data of pixels and setting a potential of a source line to a potential according to the corrected image data is known (for example, refer to PTL 3). In the image data of the pixels, first, a polarity indicating a relationship between levels of a potential of a common electrode and a potential of a pixel electrode is inverted. Then, the image data of the pixels is corrected so that an average potential of respective pixel electrodes in a frame matches an average potential in the frame when it is assumed that potentials of the pixel electrodes do not change with a change in a potential of a source line.

Display control device, liquid crystal display device, and television receiver


A precision force transducer having a spring element (1) whose load-dependent deflection is converted into an electrical signal by means of strain gauge elements (10). The spring element (1) is made of a precipitation-hardenable nickel-based alloy with a nickel content in the range of 36 to 60 percent and a chromium content in the range of 15 to 25 percent. The strain gauge elements (10) are composed of a polymer-free layered film system. This makes it possible to produce a precision force transducer that features great accuracy, low creep and low moisture sensitivity.

The invention relates to a precision force transducer with a spring element whose load-dependent deflection is converted into an electrical signal using strain gauge elements.
Precision force transducers of this kind are generally known and are described, for example, in German Publication DE 195 11 353 C1.
If the accuracy of this precision force transducer is to be increased, creep and hysteresis in particular are significant problems. One approach to achieve an improvement was to use low creep steel grades subjected to special heat treatments—so-called maraging steels, for example. Nanostructured austenitic steels with block dislocation have also been proposed (German Laid Open Publication DE 198 13 459 A1). Another approach to solve this problem is to use aluminum alloys. Creep of this material is compensated by reverse creep of the conventional strain gauges. Creep of conventional strain gauges is due to the polymer film forming the base layer of the strain gauge and the adhesive used between the strain gauge and the spring element. However, because the temperature dependence of the two creep effects differs, this compensation is successful, at best, in a narrow temperature range. However, all of these known solutions allow a meaningful resolution of the precision force transducer of only approximately 50,000 increments. Thus, if the precision force transducer is used for calibratable scales, only approximately 3×3000 calibratable increments are possible.
Another error effect in conventional strain gauges is the moisture sensitivity of the adhesive layer and the substrate film. High-resolution precision force transducers can be encapsulated against the influence of moisture only to a limited extent because of force shunting. Therefore the moisture sensitivity of a conventional strain gauge is another factor limiting resolution in the construction of precision force transducers.

Nickel alloy precision force transducer with strain gauge elements


A fan includes a fan frame and an impeller. The fan frame has a housing, a base and at least one supporting element. The inner wall of the housing has at least one guiding portion in the form of a curved cavity for increasing an airflow intake of the fan, and the base is disposed within the housing and has a bottom portion and a pressurizing portion. The pressurizing portion is disposed around the bottom portion for increasing an air pressure of the fan. The supporting elements are connected to the housing and the pressurized portion of the base. The impeller is disposed within the housing and supported by the base.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a fan and a fan frame thereof, and in particular to a fan and a fan frame thereof having functions of airflow pressurizing and guiding.
2. Related Art
An electronic element, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), is usually disposed in a housing in order to protect the electronic element from being contaminated by the dust in the air. However, the operating electronic element generates heat, which has to be dissipated. If the heat is not dissipated appropriately, the stability and efficiency of the electronic element tend to deteriorate, or even the electronic element may burn out. Thus, a fan is usually used to keep the electronic element to work normally within an operational temperature range.
FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing a conventional fan, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the fan of FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional fan 1 includes a fan frame 10 and an impeller 20. The fan frame 10 has a housing 11, a base 12 and a plurality of ribs 13. The base 12 is disposed in the middle of the housing 11. The ribs 13 are disposed between the housing 11 and the base 12 for supporting the base 12. The impeller 20 is disposed in the housing 11 and located on the base 12. A motor 14 is also disposed on the base 12. When the fan 1 rotates, the motor 14 drives the impeller 20 to rotate for producing an airflow and enforcing the airflow to flow toward the electronic element (not shown) so as to dissipate the heat of the electronic element.
However, the operation voltage and the working frequency of the electronic element are increased with the increasing of the processing speed of the electronic element, and the temperature of the electronic element is also greatly increased. Thus, the air pressure and the air quantity of the fan 1 have to be increased for achieving the sufficient heat dissipating effect. The cross-sectional area of the flowing fluid is a main reason of determining the air quantity. However, the housing 11 of the conventional fan 1 has a uniform aperture. In other words, the cross-sectional area of an inlet 15 of the housing 11 is equal to the cross-sectional area of an outlet 16 of the housing 11. Thus, the air pressure and the air quantity of the fan 1 are restricted and cannot be effectively increased.
To solve this problem, the prior art usually increases the operational efficiency of the fan 1 or enlarges the impeller 20 so as to increase the air quantity of the fan 1. However, increasing the operational efficiency of the fan 1 has to pay for the extra power cost. Besides, the inner temperature of the fan 1 is inevitably increased, and the lifetime of the fan 1 is thus shortened. Furthermore, enlarging the impeller 20 has to satisfy the precondition of the enlarged housing 11 for accommodating the enlarged impeller 20. However, the size of the housing 11 is often restricted by the limited space in the casing of the electronic element and thus cannot be increased arbitrarily.
Thus, it is an important subject of the invention to provide a fan and a fan frame thereof capable of effectively increasing the air pressure and the air quantity of the fan without adding the extra power and enlarging the size of the fan.


An improved method for forming a capacitor. The method includes the steps of: providing a metal foil; forming a dielectric on the metal foil; applying a non-conductive polymer dam on the dielectric to isolate discrete regions of the dielectric; forming a cathode in at least one discrete region of the discrete regions on the dielectric; and cutting the metal foil at the non-conductive polymer dam to isolate at least one capacitor comprising one cathode, one discrete region of the dielectric and a portion of the metal foil with the discrete region of the dielectric.

The present invention is directed to thin solid electrolytic capacitors which are particularly suitable for embedding in a substrate and are surface mountable by conventional means. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method of forming a thin solid electrolytic capacitor which is particularly suitable for embedding in a substrate and is surface mountable by conventional means.
Capacitors are utilized in virtually every electronic device. Their function in an electronic circuit is well known and further discussion is not warranted herein. The instant disclosure is directed to improvements in the manufacture of sheet based capacitors.
In one method of manufacture, capacitors are formed from metal sheets wherein the general process includes oxidation, or anodization, of a valve metal sheet to form a dielectric oxide, thus defining the anode (the valve metal substrate) and the dielectric of the finished device. A conductive layer is then formed on the dielectric, forming the initial cathode contact to the dielectric. The capacitor is conventionally utilized in an electrical circuit with the metal sheet functioning as the anode and the conductive layer functioning as the cathode even though this can be reversed to some degree.
Small surface mount capacitors have been successfully formed from metal foil and particularly aluminum foil. The foil, in either strip or sheet form, is typically etched to increase the surface area and then anodized to form a thin dielectric oxide on each face. A conductive layer, such as a conductive polymer, is then formed on the dielectric. If necessary, the strip is cut into rectangles. The rectangles may be combined in parallel to form a capacitor package. Terminal leads and molding are added to form a surface mountable capacitor.
The drive to reduce the size of electronic products, and in particular to make very thin electronic products, demands that capacitors become correspondingly thinner. There is a need for an ultra-thin, surface mountable capacitor package that is on the order of the thickness of a silicon chip which is typically less than 0.508 mm (0.020 inches) thick and preferably less than 0.254 mm (0.010 inches) thick, and/or an ultra-thin embeddable capacitor that can be embedded within a printed circuit board layer without increasing the board layer's thickness which is again less than about 0.508 mm (0.020 inches) thick and preferably less than 0.254 mm (0.010 inches) thick. The present invention provides a method for thin solid electrolytic capacitor formation.

Thin solid electrolytic capacitor embeddable in a substrate


The package structure may includes: a sensor chip having a detecting device formed on a front surface of a substrate; through electrodes that are arranged at predetermined positions of the substrate around the detecting device, electrically insulated at circumferences thereof, pierce the substrate from the front surface to a rear surface, are connected with lead patterns of the detecting device on the front surface side, and connected with signal fetching means for the outside on the rear surface side; a flow path body on which the sensor chip is mounted and which has a flow path (a conduction path) for a fluid being formed on a surface facing the detecting device and sealing means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a package structure of a sensor that measures a small flow rate, a pressure, a temperature, a concentration, a composition or the like of, e.g., a gas used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and to a flow sensor having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, as a flow rate measuring apparatus (a flow sensor) that detects a flow rate of a fluid, e.g., a gas used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, there is a thermal type flow rate measuring apparatus that gives heat to a fluid and measures a temperature difference of the fluid at a predetermined position to measure a flow rate (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H5(1993)-99722 (pp. 3-4, FIG. 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-146652 (p. 2, FIG. 1)). Such a flow rate measuring apparatus is formed by bonding a sensor chip having a flow rate detecting device formed on a silicon substrate to a glass chip as a flow path chip that accommodates the flow rate detecting device and has a flow path (a groove) for a fluid flowing through the flow rate detecting device formed therein or to the silicon substrate.
Generally, in order to mount the flow rate measuring apparatus having the above-explained structure on a flowmeter or a flow rate controller, e.g., a mass flowmeter or a mass flow controller having a flow path body formed of a stainless member or the like, the flow rate measuring apparatus must be connected with the stainless member.
However, when a glass chip is bonded to a flow path body formed of a stainless member through, e.g., brazing, a difference in thermal expansion coefficient between both the members provokes distortion, thereby affecting sensor characteristics. Further, since a lead pattern must be pulled out to the outside of the flow path through a part of a bonded portion between the silicon substrate and the glass chip to take out an electrode, a countermeasure for maintaining strength or sealing properties of this portion is required. Furthermore, in a structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-146652 (p. 2, FIG. 1), since a part of a glass chip is constricted to take out an electrode, there is a problem of a reduction in strength of this constricted part.

Package structure of sensor and flow sensor having the same


A communications circuit includes a first filter having a corner frequency that is adjustable. A data type identifier that tracks first and second types of data flowing through the communications circuit. A control module that adjusts the corner frequency of the first filter to provide alternating current (AC) coupling during the first type of data and adjusts the corner frequency of the first filter to provide direct current (DC) coupling during the second type of data.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary magnetic storage system 100, such as a hard disk drive, is shown. A buffer 102 stores data that is associated with control of the hard disk drive. The buffer 102 may employ SDRAM or other types of low latency memory. A processor 104 performs processing that is related to the operation of the hard disk drive. A hard disk controller (HDC) 106 communicates with the buffer 102, the processor 104, a host 108 via an I/O channel 110, a spindle/voice coil motor (VCM) driver 112, and a read/write channel circuit 114.
One or more hard drive platters 116 include a magnetic recording media that stores magnetic fields. The platters 116 are rotated by a spindle motor that is shown schematically at 118. Generally, the spindle motor 118 rotates the hard drive platters 116 at a fixed speed during read/write operations. One or more read/write arm(s) 120 move relative to the platters 116 to read and/or write data to/from the hard drive platters 116. The spindle/VCM driver 112 controls the spindle motor 118, which rotates the platters 116. The spindle/VCM driver 112 also generates control signals that position the read/write arm 120, for example using a voice coil actuator, a stepper motor, or any other suitable actuator.
A read/write device 122 is located near a distal end of the read/write arm 120. The read/write device 122 includes a write element such as an inductor that generates a magnetic field. The read/write device 122 also includes a read element (such as a magneto-resistive (MR) sensor) that senses the magnetic fields on the platter 116. A preamplifier (preamp) circuit 124 amplifies analog read/write signals received from the read/write device 122. When reading data, the preamp circuit 124 amplifies low level signals from the read element and outputs the amplified signal to the read/write channel circuit 114. While writing data, a write current that flows through the write element of the read/write channel circuit 114 is switched to produce a magnetic field having a positive or negative polarity. The positive or negative polarity is stored by the hard drive platter 116 to represent data.
During a write operation, the read/write channel circuit 114 encodes the data to be written onto the storage medium. The read/write channel circuit 114 processes the signal for reliability and may include, for example, error checking and correcting (ECC) coding and run length limited (RLL) coding. During read operations, the read/write channel circuit 114 converts an analog output from the medium to a digital signal. The converted signal is then detected and decoded by known techniques to recover the data written on the hard disk drive.
In longitudinal recording, the read/write device 122 records each bit by magnetizing a portion of the magnetic recording media in the direction that the magnetic recording media rotates. In perpendicular recording, the transducer records data by magnetizing a portion of the magnetic recording media in a direction perpendicular to the rotation of the magnetic recording media. Perpendicular recording channels achieve a higher signal error rate (SER) and thus a lower Bit Error Rate (BER) using a target channel response with a DC term. In longitudinal recording channels, the optimum channel response is DC free. In other words, the channel response has a (1-D) factor.
Conventional channel technologies using AC coupling have been built and optimized for longitudinal recording. DC-coupled channels are difficult to implement. In addition, the performance of longitudinal recording channels are relatively insensitive to a low-to-moderate high-pass corner coupling frequency. Therefore, conventional channels are designed to have AC filters. In FIG. 1, the read/write channel 114 and the preamp 124 are shown to include AC filters 117 and 127 respectively. For perpendicular recording, however, AC coupling causes baseline-wander. The read/write channel for perpendicular recording typically implements a baseline tracking circuit to remove the baseline wander.
Limited bandwidth of the baseline correction loop has placed a practical limitation on the maximum allowed high pass corner of the AC coupling paths. Conventional baseline correction loops typically can handle an AC coupling corner frequency that is about 0.1% to 0.2% of the channel data rate without causing significant BER degradation in the channel.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Communications channel with programmable coupling


A polishing method includes the steps of: (a) polishing a to-be-polished object by moving an abrasive cloth relative to the to-be-polished object while pressing the to-be-polished object against the abrasive cloth; and (b) pressing a dressing member against the abrasive cloth moving relative to the to-be-polished object with the to-be-polished object pressed against the abrasive cloth and relatively moving the abrasive cloth and the dressing member, thereby dressing the abrasive cloth while polishing the to-be-polished object. The difference between the torque current of a motor in the step (a) and the torque current of the motor in the step (b) is determined, and when the determined difference falls below a previously set value is detected.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for polishing a semiconductor wafer or the like.
(2) Description of Related Art
In a polishing process for a semiconductor wafer or the like, an abrasive cloth is dressed using a dressing member during polishing to prevent the abrasive cloth from becoming clogged during polishing and keep the polishing rate constant. Abrasive diamond grains are typically embedded in a surface of the dressing member, and the abrasive cloth is dressed by cutting a surface of the abrasive cloth using the abrasive diamond grains.
With an increase in the time during which a dressing member is used, the ability of the dressing member to cut an abrasive cloth decreases due to the dropping off or the like of abrasive diamond grains. In this case, clogging of the abrasive cloth is not eliminated, resulting in the reduced polishing rate of a semiconductor wafer.
In a polishing process for a semiconductor wafer, it is very difficult to measure the amount of the semiconductor wafer polished during polishing. Therefore, a semiconductor wafer is typically polished using, as an index, the polishing time determined based on the target amount of the semiconductor wafer polished and the polishing rate. It is thus very significant to keep the polishing rate of the semiconductor wafer constant, and one dressing member need be appropriately replaced in a polishing process for a semiconductor wafer.
An interval at which a dressing member is replaced is set based on previously obtained correlation data between the time during which the dressing member is used or the number of processed semiconductor wafers and a process result, such as the polishing rate. A dressing member is replaced at the time when a process abnormality, such as the reduced polishing rate, is detected by periodically checking a wafer to be monitored.
On the other hand, attempts have been made to keep the amount of a semiconductor wafer polished constant by resetting the polishing time in accordance with reduction in the polishing rate. A method in which reduction in the polishing rate is estimated by monitoring the torque of a motor for rotating an abrasive cloth and the polishing time is accordingly reset to keep a predetermined amount of the semiconductor wafer polished is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-103202.
In this known method, when a dressing member is replaced on condition that the time during which a dressing member is used is fixed, an apparent life of a dressing member becomes shorter than an actual life thereof so that a still available dressing member is replaced. The reason for this is that dressing members themselves have individually different lives. Furthermore, when dressing members having a short life are used, one of the dressing members is replaced after a wafer to be monitored are checked for reduction in the polishing rate. As a result, the deterioration of the dressing member cannot be found until the wafer to be monitored is checked. Since the deterioration of the dressing member cannot therefore be previously sensed, an abnormally polished product might be produced.
In a method in which the polishing rate is estimated and the polishing time is varied according to the estimated polishing rate, the polishing time becomes long. Furthermore, in this case, the life of each dressing member is unspecified, and therefore the time at which the dressing member should be replaced cannot be determined.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A ball body is guided in a partially cylindrical hole into which a guide ring is inserted to secure it axially and to guide the pivoting movement. The tripod joint is suitable for the displaceable and pivotable driving connection of two shaft ends, in particular in conjunction with drive trains or side shafts of motor vehicles.

Tripod joints are used, for example, as side shafts of motor vehicles. The tripod joints are used for transmitting driving torques between two driving elements of a drive train. The tripod joints allow a relative displacement and a relative pivoting of the driving elements to be compensated for. In the case of side shafts of a motor vehicle, relative movements of this type are caused by spring deflections of the vehicle wheels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,628 describes a tripod joint having a joint outer part and a joint inner part held in the latter. The joint inner part has a tripod star having ball bodies having pins. The ball bodies are accommodated pivotably in a partially spherical universal ball joint of a pressure element and are therefore mounted pivotably with respect to the pressure element. The pressure element is mounted movably via rolling bearings with respect to the mating surfaces of the joint outer part.
The production of the recess in the pressure element for the purpose of forming the universal ball joint requires a high manufacturing outlay. In order to realize extensive bearing surfaces of the pressure element on the ball body, a curved surface is required to be manufactured with great precision. The installation of the ball body in the pressure element constitutes a further problem. Conventionally, a configuration of the connection as a bayonet connection is required for this purpose.


A reflective plate (10) is disclosed, comprising a substrate (1), a retroreflective sheet (2) adhered to the surface of said substrate and having substantially flat base portions (3) covered with said retroreflective sheet (2), the retroreflective sheeting having retroreflective elements and a light transmissive cover layer; and a plurality of projections (4) covered with said retroreflective sheet and present on the corners of regular polygons that are arranged to form a regularly repeated pattern, wherein the arrangement of the projections (4) satisfies the relationship 0.05<h/P<0.60.

Structures and production methods of retroreflective articles such as retroreflective sheets comprising a plurality of reflecting beads which are fixed in the support layer having a raised surface are disclosed in several publications. JP-A-55-65524 and JP-A-57-193352 disclose methods including the steps of applying a foaming component to a flat substrate surface in a spot form, and coating a resin over the substrate surface to make a support layer. On the support layer, transparent glass beads are scattered, and then the paint for the support layer is dried and cured to fix the glass beads to the support layer. Finally, the substrate is heated to blow the foaming component to produce projections.
Publications JP-A-53-46363 and JP-A-5346371 disclose methods including embossing a substrate made of thermoplastic resins to make a raised surface, and coating a paint containing resins in a thickness sufficient for filling indented portions to obtain a support layer having a flat surface. Transparent glass beads are embedded in the surface of the support layer, and then the resin in the support layer is cured to fix the glass beads in the layer. Finally, the whole sheet is heated so that the surface of substrate is recovered from the flat state to form raised surface having varying heights corresponding to the difference of coated thicknesses of the substrate resins.
Publication JP-A-57-10102 discloses a method including coating a paint which shrinks and forms wrinkles upon drying on a substrate, scattering glass beads over the wet paint, and then heating and drying the paint to form projections to which the glass beads are fixed.
Publications U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,281 and JP-A-58-237243 disclose retroreflective sheets that are produced by making projections of a paint containing resins on a substrate, embedding glass beads in the projections before drying and curing the projections, and then curing the projections to fix the glass beads.
U.K. Patent 2,251,091 discloses a retroreflective sheet produced by adhering transparent glass beads to an aluminum layer which has a plurality of indentations.
Publications JP-A-58-208041 and JP-B-7-84726 describe methods for producing the retroreflective sheets including the steps of forming a support layer from a thermoplastic polymer, and embedding parts of transparent glass beads in the surface of the support layer. Then, the support layer is embossed from the side on which the beads have been embedded, and the projections in which the parts of beads are embedded, and also the depressions in which the beads are entirely embedded.
The methods and structures described in the foregoing references do not use any light-transmitting covering layer which covers the surfaces of the beads.
Publication JP-Y-62-41804 discloses a reflective sheet having projections which are intended to prevent sticking bills thereto. This reflective sheet is produced, for example, by adhering a retroreflective sheet having a light-transmitting covering layer which covers the surfaces of beads to the surface of a substrate and embossing the substrate from its back face to form projections on the surface of the substrate. However, in general, the size of the projections which are formed to prevent sticking bills is relatively small, for example, a width of 2 mm and a height of 1 mm. Furthermore, this utility model publication does not teach any favorable reflective characteristics for incident light in a wide incident angle from a low incident angle (a direction close to the normal line to the reflective plate) to a high incident angle (a direction close to the reflective plate), that is, sizes and arrangement of the projections for a reflective sheet having good wide incident angle reflective characteristics.
Publications WO97/01677 and WO97/01678 disclose retroreflective materials comprising reflective wall-form raised portions and flat areas which are covered with an enclosed lens type retroreflective sheet, although they are not produced by embossing. However, these publications do not suggest the improvement for easily removing water droplets and solid foreign substances adhered to the flat areas.
In view of the relative disadvantages of the methods and structures described above, it is important for reflective projections to have predetermined sizes and patterns for the formation of a plate-type reflective material with excellent wide incident angle reflective characteristics. This is particularly important for the improvement of reflective characteristics against light having a relatively high incident angle, for example, 70 degrees or higher from the normal line to the reflective surface.
The reflective plates should have properties suitable for outdoor use, when they are used as construction parts of signs used outdoors. That is, they are required to have properties that their reflective luminance hardly decreases when water droplets adhere to the reflective plates, that the foreign substances such as dust are easily removed if they adhere to the reflective plates, and that they maintain sufficient reflective luminance during use.
An object of the present invention is to provide a wide incident angle reflective plate which has both good wide incident angle reflective characteristics and outdoor use characteristics.


Alumina-modified colloidal silica nanoparticles mitigate Alkali Silica Reaction (ASR) in cementitious compositions. Additives containing the nanoparticles are used in methods of reducing ASR in concrete and to form cementitious compositions. Cementitious products, such as concrete, made by these methods are described herein.

Chemical degradation of concrete structures nationally account for a substantial amount of taxpayer dollars. Alkali Silica Reaction (ASR) gel is one of the chemical degradation mechanisms that contributes to the reduction of the structural integrity of concrete civil structures, which must then be repaired or replaced. Current ASR mitigation materials and the associated concrete mixtures are falling short of generating durable concrete infrastructure. Excessive ASR gel damage in concrete is characterized by excessive map cracking that compromises the structural integrity of the concrete. Concrete that is exposed to the environment, particularly exposed concrete with a wetted surface, is susceptible to excessive ASR gel expansion, which causes map-cracking, leading to degradation of the concrete composite, and ultimately, failure of the concrete structure. Supplementary additives in the form of secondary cementitious and pozzolanic materials are used to fortify concrete against this ASR gel expansion but often fail.
ASR gel is defined as an expansive gel that is created by the combination of reactive silica, soluble alkalis, and hydroxides in the cementitious solution (Belkowitz, J. S., An Analysis of the Use of Nano Silica To Alkali-Silica Reaction in Concrete, Stevens Institute of Technology, 2015, 274). Stresses develop as ASR gel expands in the confined space of the hydrating cementitious matrix of the concrete structure (Belkowitz, J. S., An Analysis of the Use of Nano Silica To Alkali-Silica Reaction in Concrete, Stevens Institute of Technology, 2015, 274). Under normal conditions, this process takes several months, or even years, to evolve, but can be accelerated by harsh environments, availability of soluble alkalis, and availability of absorbed H2O from the environment. Also, diffusion of H2O into concrete can be accelerated by cracking in the hydrated cementitious matrix of concrete. Due to the porous structural network and brittle nature of the HCM, cracks gradually form throughout the concrete. Failure will ensue, as soluble alkalis in the cement paste combine with reactive silica in the aggregate to form an expansive gel at the interfacial zone. The expansive forces cause micro-stresses that compromise the concrete structure. These micro-stresses eventually lead to cracks, increasing the permeability of the concrete and exacerbating ASR gel expansion. Eventually, the composite structure of the concrete is compromised by the expansion, and the concrete structure becomes unserviceable.
What is needed in the art is an additive that can be directly added to a cementitious mixture to reduce ASR in any cementitious composite, and to increase the compressive and flexural strength of a formed cementitious article (e.g., concrete).

Alumina-modified colloidal silica particles, cementitious products containing same, and methods of use thereof


The present invention has an object to provide a tool replacement system that is capable of preventing the waiting time from occurring as much as possible although an intermediate magazine arranged therefore has a smaller capacity than prior arts. In the tool replacement system, programs pertaining to the sequence of operation and operation time of operating tools 7 are established, wherein, when the operation time of individual tools 7 is shorter than the conveyance time for reciprocation of the tool conveyance apparatus 3 between the tool magazine 1 and the tool replacement arm 4, the object can be solved by realizing transfer of at least a part of the tools planned to be operated in a next process of the corresponding individual tools 7 to the tool replacement arm 4 after the tools are arranged to the intermediate magazine 5.

In a prior art tool replacement system, a tool replacement arm that copes with carry-in and carry-out of tools is provided at a machining center side, a tool conveyance apparatus reciprocates between the tool magazine and the tool replacement arm while holding a tool, and realizes acceptance of a tool from the tool replacement arm.
However, instead of directly accepting a tool between the tool conveyance apparatus and the tool replacement arm, such a design example exists, in which an intermediate holding portion is provided at a position within the range of turning of the holding portion at both side end portions of the tool replacement arm, and a tool is carried in the machining center by transferring the tool to the end portion side of the tool replacement arm while temporarily holding the tool transferred from the tool conveyance apparatus, and conversely, return of the corresponding tool is completed by transferring the tool to the tool conveyance apparatus after the tool replacement arm accepts the tool carried out from the machining center.
In this connection, it takes a predetermined duration of time for the tool conveyance apparatus to convey a tool from the tool magazine to the tool replacement arm and to return the tool, which is separated from the tool replacement apparatus, to the tool magazine.
However, operation times required for tools in a machining center are diverse, a case where the operation time is shorter than the time required for the tool conveyance apparatus to convey the tool to the intermediate holding apparatus occurs.
In such a case, with a tool intended to be operated next after the tool requiring such a shorter operation time, since the operation of the tool requiring a shorter operation time already ends at the point of time when the next tool is transferred to the position of the tool replacement arm by the tool conveyance apparatus, a so-called waiting time may occur in the machining center until the machining center commences its own operation.
As a matter of course, where such a waiting time frequently occurs, the operation efficiency in the entire process is necessarily lowered.
Taking attention on such a shortcoming in the prior art tool replacement system, such a configuration is disclosed in Patent Document 1, in which an intermediate magazine, for holding a plurality of tools sequentially between a tool arm, which is capable of replacing tools, is installed between the tool magazine and the machining center, the tool conveyance apparatus transfers tools from the intermediate magazine to the tool replacement arm and the corresponding intermediate magazine accepts tools from the tool replacement arm while the tool conveyance apparatus accepts tools from the intermediate magazine while reciprocating between the intermediate magazine and the tool magazine.
In the configuration according to Patent Document 1, since, with respect to all tools, transfer and carry-in of tools into the machining center and carry-out and return of the tools from the machining center are realized based on replacement between the intermediate magazine and the tool replacement arm, and all the tools planned to be operated are held in the intermediate magazine, no waiting time occurs, and efficient tool operation can be realized.
However, in the above-described configuration, the intermediate magazine is required to hold even tools, for which no waiting time occurs in order to hold, since all the tools are held in the intermediate magazine. As a result, the number of tools that the intermediate magazine must hold is necessarily increased, and it is necessary that the intermediate magazine has a large space therefore.
However, the arrangement situation of the machining center and tool magazine does not necessarily allow a large space for the intermediate magazine.
Patent Document 1 Japanese Published number of Unexamined Patent Application Hei-08-187640


The presently disclosed technology is directed towards two-dimensional clothing for a doll that has a portal or passage way for a head and neck of a doll to pass through and which further has shoulder straps that rest on at least one shoulder of the doll. In addition, such a device has a fold line at a line of symmetry between a front side and back side of the clothing which is used to fold the clothing or to adjust the clothing based on the size or fashion style of a doll.

A doll resembles a person, and is generally used as a toy for children. Dolls were used as toys by the Ancient Greeks and Romans, and such dolls also had clothes. In our era, there are many people who collect dolls of all types, divided into many categories depending on the material used to craft the doll, the style of the doll, its origin, etc. Since dolls are made to look like humans, they are also used for teaching purposes. For example, one could use a doll to demonstrate to a child how to put on clothes.
Since, dolls are produced to resemble people, they are usually made as realistic as possible, especially in connection with the accessories and clothes they wear. There is an endless variety of accessories and clothes for different kinds of dolls, depending on what type of a person the doll is intended to resemble. Towards that end, having removable clothes for dolls is important, because it completes the image of the doll and makes it more human-like, since people wear different types of clothes for different events or functions.
Some prior art designs have devised different ways of attaching clothes to dolls, such as the design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,475,054 to Kuo-Ching Liu, which talks about a three-dimensional built-up toy with doll, clothes, and a base, where a device for coupling clothing to the doll is used to attach the clothing thereto.
Further, another prior art design, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,429 to Kaulfuss et al. shows a planar flexible material toy with two "generally similar and opposable sides" which extend to form a connective member. The sides are flexed to connect free ends, though the lengths of the sides are unequal.
Still further, another design, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,339 to Kramer talks about a bath toy formed from flexible sheets of plastic. Starting at column 1, line 51, this reference describes how a child may dress a doll with clothing. This is done by mounting a body to a wall, and then placing clothing on top of the body.
What is further needed in the art is a way to clothe two-dimensional dolls which is more lifelike and realistic than that of the predecessors.


A relatively compact and vibration-insensitive electric-to-pressure converter includes an annular flexure from which an annular electromagnetic coil depends into an annular gap defined by the pole pieces of a permanent magnet assembly. A compressed air exhaust nozzle is located below the central region of the flexure which controls the rate of exhaust of air from the nozzle, and therefore the output pressure of the converter, in dependence upon the magnitude of an electrical input current applied to the coil.

In one known type of I/P converter (hereinafter referred to as "an electromagnetic I/P converter of the type described"), the fluid pressure output is varied in dependence upon an electrical input signal applied to an annular electromagnetic coil which is operatively associated with a "flapper" that co-operates with a fluid exhaust nozzle. The coil co-operates with a permanent magnet assembly and assumes an axial position relative to the magnet assembly in dependence upon the magnitude of the electrical input signal. Thus, the flapper assumes a corresponding position nearer to or further from the exhaust nozzle, as the case may be, and creates a variable back pressure within the nozzle which, in turn, is dependant upon the magnitude of the electrical input signal. This back pressure determines, via a piston or diaphragm assembly, the degree of opening of the converter's main valve assembly and therefore the fluid output pressure of the converter.
In one commonly used construction of I/P converter of the type described, the electromagnetic coil is secured to the upper surface of one end of a lever pivotally mounted on a fulcrum and the other end of the lever carries the flapper on its lower surface, the flapper co-operating with the exhaust nozzle which is located below it. Such a construction is not particularly compact and suffers from the serious problem that, because it utilises a fulcrum/lever arrangement, it is very sensitive to external vibrations. This problem can be solved by providing a closed-loop control arrangement but the converter is then significantly more expensive to produce.
In an improved construction devised by us and which is embodied in our prior 100 Series I/P converters, the fulcrum/lever arrangement is replaced by an annular flexure fixedly secured at its periphery and having an integral flexible central portion that carries a separately formed flapper, the coil being mounted on the upper surface of the flexible central portion and the flapper co-operating with the fluid exhaust nozzle which is located below the central portion of the flexure. Whilst such a construction is less susceptible to external vibrations, it is not particularly compact.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved, relatively compact, cost-effective design of electromagnetic I/P converter of the type described that, especially, does not suffer to any significant extent from the problem associated with external vibrations whether or not it incorporates closed-loop control. As will become apparent, preferred features of the design afford other significant advantages over prior designs.


The present invention is a methodology for developing high-assurance microcode. The method may comprise one or more of the following steps: (a) receiving a plurality of requirements detailing intended behavior of microcode (b) creating a model of microcode behavior; (c) generating microcode based on the model; (d) generating test cases based on the model; (e) simulating the behavior of the microcode; (f) translating the model into a verification tool-specific format; and (g) formally verifying the model using a verification tool.

The development of complex high-assurance platforms for commercial and military control systems, such as avionics and communications, and secure computing applications such as crypto modernization, guard applications and Multiple Independent Levels of Security (MILS) separation has generated a need for an efficient development and certification path for such high-assurance systems. To date, traditional approaches to the development and verification of microcode (also known as microprograms or firmware) for microprocessors have been labor intensive, error prone, and have lacked a formal specification for their implementation.
Such approaches have been based on textual specifications and implemented by hand-coding. Hand-coding is a labor intensive task requiring an individual intimately familiar with both the target architecture and the behavioral specifications of the desired microprogram. Verification has been performed through simulations which are driven by hand-generated test cases, corner case stimulus, or random input stimulus.
Further complicating this approach is the development of the simulation environment itself. In most cases, the development of the target microprocessor architecture (and the associated simulation platform) is a parallel effort with that of the development of the microcode. The simulation platform must be accurate at the gate and clock-cycle level to provide the microprogrammer with a faithful simulation tool. In order to accurately model register and gate level architecture of the target platform, the choice of simulation environments is often between a hardware description language (HDL) simulator intended for hardware development and a proprietary hand-coded software based simulator. Hand-coded software based simulators are oftentimes the preferred option as they may be specifically tailored to meet the needs of a microprogrammer.
To develop and certify high-assurance microcode, traditional approaches are inadequate due to the possibility of errors in specification interpretation, hand coding and incomplete test case coverage. In addition, the development time and cost associated with the simulation environment development may also be significant.
Achieving the Common Criteria for certain Evaluation Assurance Levels (EAL) requires the use of semi-formal or formal certification tools. For example, EAL 5 and 6 require semi-formal analysis while EAL 7 requires full formal analysis. Traditional approaches to microcoding fail to address these aspects of certification.
In addition, the artifacts and proofs of correctness necessary for the rigorous nature of high-assurance certification are not inherent to the development process and must be generated at the end of the design cycle.
As such, there is a need for efficient methods and systems for the development of certifiable high-assurance microcode which integrates current model-based design principles with automatic code generation of microcode and associated test cases, and automated analysis tools, such as model checkers and theorem provers. Such methods and systems provide designs having a documented pedigree of correctness.

Method and system for the development of high-assurance microcode


In the method, calcium chloride scales (75) are produced on a cooled surface (20), namely through the application of a layer (70) consisting of an aqueous CaCl.sub.2 solution (7) to the cooled surface, solidification of the layer and stripping off the solidified layer. The solution contains less than 70% CaCl.sub.2 by weight, preferably less than 65% CaCl.sub.2 by weight. The layer thickness is set to a maximum of about 1 mm. A relative speed between the point of application of the solution and the cooling surface is produced so that a specific production rate of at least 20 g/s m.sup.2 is connected with this relative speed. The heat is carried off so rapidly through the cooling surface that the solidified layer remains largely free from calcium chloride dihydrate, CaCl.sub.2.2H.sub.2 O. Dry scales thus arise.

The invention relates to a method for producing calcium chloride scales. It also refers to a use of the method in the washing of exhaust gases.
The washing of exhaust gases, which are required for the incineration of rubbish, yield diverse solid substances which must be disposed of or which may in part be recycled. One of these substances is calcium chloride CaCl.sub.2. The CaCl.sub.2 contained in a dilute aqueous solution only becomes disposable or recyclable through concentration of the solution. The CaCl.sub.2 is advantageously brought into a solid form, which is stable at environmental temperatures of 20 to 25.degree. C. A hot CaCl.sub.2 solution whose concentration amounts to 75.5% by weight solidifies on cooling to calcium chloride dihydrate CaCl.sub.2.2H.sub.2 O.
It is known that, in addition to CaCl.sub.2.2H.sub.2 O, crystalline calcium chloride hydrates with a greater proportion of water exist; namely CaCl.sub.2.4H.sub.2 O and CaCl.sub.2.6H.sub.2 O.
It should therefore be possible to obtain a solid product of CaCl.sub.2.4H.sub.2 O or CaCl.sub.2.6H.sub.2 O respectively from a solution with 60.6% CaCl.sub.2 by weight or even 50.7% by weight. For a saving in energy as well as savings in the complication and expense of the apparatus which is associated with the concentration process, it would be desirable to produce such a product with an increased proportion of water. However, as practice has shown when a water-rich solution cools down--with the use of, for example, a cooling roller--a soft product arises which does not consist completely of crystallised phases, but still contains liquid components.

Method for producing calcium chloride scales