A charge control device for a hybrid vehicle includes a driving battery supplying electric power to front and rear motors. It can switch between a normal power generation mode in which an engine is driven at a first rotational speed higher than an idling speed to generate electric power and charge the driving battery to a predetermined amount of charge, and a forced power generation mode in which the engine is forcedly driven at the first rotational speed or higher to generate electric power and charge the battery so as to maintain a higher amount of charge of the driving battery than a predetermined amount of charge, and drives the engine at an idling speed or lower to reduce an amount of electric power generation if the cooling water of the engine is a first predetermined temperature or higher when the forced power generation mode is performed.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charge control technique for a battery of a hybrid vehicle.
Description of the Related Art
A vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle including an engine, a travel driving motor, and a driving battery can use a power generator driven by the engine to charge the driving battery. Such a hybrid vehicle allows a normal power generation mode in which, for example, when a state of charge of the driving battery decreases, the engine is automatically actuated to charge the driving battery.
Further, a vehicle has been also developed that allows a forced power generation mode in which an engine is forcedly actuated by an occupant operating a switch or the like to generate electric power until a driving battery is almost fully charged.
Also, many hybrid vehicles include a cooling system that cools electric instruments such as a power generator, a travel driving motor, and an inverter that controls supply of electric power to the travel driving motor. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-171557 discloses a hybrid vehicle having a configuration in which engine cooling water is circulated to cool an electric instrument such as an inverter.
However, if the hybrid vehicle including the cooling system for the electric instrument as described above further allows a forced power generation mode, performing the forced power generation mode increases a load on the engine to increase a temperature of the cooling water, which may make it difficult to cool the engine itself, and further cool the electric instrument such as an inverter using the cooling system.

Charge control device for hybrid vehicle

MITSUBISHI JIDOSHA KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA


A method for producing polymer particles is disclosed in which a fluid preparation is ejected in drop form from a nozzle of an ink jet print head. At least one nozzle ejects droplets in response to electrical signals, and radiation from a radiation source is directed on the droplets in flight, whereby the fluid preparation is at least partially cured by irradiation, so that particles are obtained from the fluid drops before impact or collection. The fluid preparation contains a prepolymer, an oligomer, monomers, or reactive diluents as well as at least one photoinitiator. The fluid preparation has a polymerizable group that is radically polymerizable. Further, a printed product and a device for making the printed product are disclosed. The printed product has a rough polymeric coating that is composed of spherical or largely spherically shaped polymer particles.

Methods for producing three-dimensional structures on a substrate using a print head are known from the prior art. Particles or particle-containing solutions are used in these methods.
United States patent application publication 2012/0269983 describes a method in which, for example, pigments or glitter, metallic particles, or glass particles are applied to a substrate. To guarantee adhesion of the particles, the substrate has a curable coating on which the particles are cured after application. In the method described, an adhesive is partially applied to the substrate, and the particles are then scattered onto the substrate. In a following step, the adhesive is cured, and lastly, the excess particles not located in the area of adhesive coating are suctioned off or removed in another manner.
DE 102010063982A1 describes a method for producing three-dimensional structures on a substrate in which a solution with particles is ejected from a nozzle opening onto a substrate. The majority of the solvent used evaporates in flight, so that a three-dimensional structure forms for each droplet during flight. The method takes advantage of the ordinarily undesired effect which results, with corresponding activation of drop-on-demand (DOD) ink jet heads, in the production of satellite droplets in addition to the desired droplets. In extreme cases, activation can be carried out in such a way that only small satellite droplets are formed. This makes it possible to produce substantially smaller droplet masses than those which would correspond to the nozzle diameter of the DOD ink jet head used. Because of their size, these droplets have a particularly high vapor pressure, which helps to achieve the objective of drying during flight.
Examples of coating preparations used include colloidal inks with highly monodisperse organic polystyrene microspheres or inorganic polystyrene microspheres, or alternatively, inorganic silica microspheres, that is, highly specialized coating agents. The selection of coating agents for the object described in DE 102010063982A1 is therefore highly restricted.
In the method described, evaporation of the solvent during droplet flight causes self-organization of the microparticles within the droplets into crystalline spherical aggregates.
The purpose of the method is also, by means of the aggregates formed in flight, to allow the production of aggregated, three-dimensional structures having special photonic properties using a simple and economical method according to the "dry self-assembly" method without having to depend on special highly hydrophobic substrates and the like.
GB 2233928B and U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,266 describe a 3-D printing process for producing three-dimensional objects using UV-curable inks of various colors or having various polymer properties. The method takes advantage of (partial) curing of the droplets in flight to prevent mixing of the colors with one another, as the precured droplets have extremely high viscosity or are even solid.
A further configuration of the printing method concerns the placement of the ink jet machine in a housing that can be completely operated in an inert gas atmosphere by means of evacuation and subsequent filling with inert gas, thus preventing the problem inherent in radical polymerization of unsaturated acrylate compounds referred to as oxygen inhibition. Oxygen possesses the property of interrupting the radical chain reaction by accumulating on the reactive radical and thus preventing or at least hindering complete polymerization. Even if this inhibition can be suppressed by means of suitable additives, it is nevertheless more favorable from an energy standpoint to prevent it using an inert gas atmosphere. In addition, this obviates the need for the aforementioned additives.
In DE 102010063982A1, in which production of the crystalline array is significant, the optical properties of the microcrystals in particular are utilized, while mechanical and esthetic properties or other functional properties do not play a role. GB 2233928 B and U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,266 pertain to the achievement of a three-dimensional shape rather than coatings per se.
In the use of coatings in general, the aim is to achieve the widest possible variety of material and surface properties and functions. In the case of fluid coating agents, both fluid and solid components can be used for this purpose. Here, solid components are used for a wide range of purposes. For example, solids can be used in order to achieve a matted coating or to influence surface properties such as sliding friction. A drawback of this method is that the particles are homogenously distributed in the coating material and therefore cannot specifically be applied to the surface. Particles may also be contained in coatings in order to influence the mechanical properties of the coating. As an example, particles can be added to coatings in order to improve the scratch resistance thereof. The use of pigments is also common. Moreover, the conductivity of magnetic properties of coatings can also be affected by the use of particles. Materials representing all the above-mentioned particle types exert their action based on a specified particle size, with the result that they cannot be produced in any desired small size.
In using ink jets, there are limits on the use of particles due to the small jet diameter, which is in the micron range. Excessively large particles can block the nozzles and thus potentially destroy the ink jet head. In addition to this risk, particles having diameters larger than the nozzle diameter cannot be processed by ink jet methods.
EP 1037716B1 or DE 69822201T2 concern layered structures produced using controlled droplets and methods for the production thereof.

Production of polymeric particles and rough coatings by ink jet printing


A system and method of calculating optimum angle advance for brushless permanent magnet motors. The calculations are based on the motor and drive parameters, and on operational variables including the motor speed and the motor load. The angle advance is calculated dynamically as a function of motor speed and where reluctance torque is involved, as a function of load current as well. For a given motor, the advance is calculated according to the speed and load together with the motor and drive parameters according to one or more angle advance equations.

A brushless permanent magnet motor typically includes windings on the stator, rotating permanent magnets, and a position sensor for indicating the rotor position. The winding energization is generally controlled by solid state switches that are responsive to the position indications to energize the windings in the proper commutated sequence. Control of motor torque is achieved by controlling the magnitude of the winding excitation current.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,771 to Whited, entitled "Control System for Synchronous Brushless Motors" (the '771 patent), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,293 to Peterson et al., entitled, "Motor Control for a Brushless DC Motor", both describe a system in which both the phase and magnitude of a motor's winding excitation currents are controlled. A quadrature phase relationship normally exists between the rotor field and the rotating stator magnetic field. The phase angle is varied from the quadrature relationship to compensate for the fundamental current lag, which is a predetermined function of the motor speed. By dynamically varying the phase angle an improved motor performance is achieved over a wider speed range.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,068 to Meshikat-Razavi discloses a brushless motor drive circuit that utilizes current shaping in addition to a phase advancing technique as a function of motor velocity. The waveform compensation is especially effective in motors with trapezoidal magnetic field distribution.
In a manner similar to the '771 patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,661 to Brown et al., entitled "Control System for Synchronous Brushless Motors Utilizing Torque Angle Control" (the '661 patent), employs "torque angle factors" to vary the phase relationship between the rotor field and the rotating stator magnetic field as a function of the motor load, in addition to the phase advance as a function of the speed.
This patent may be applicable to motors where the inductance value of the stator is a function of the rotor angle, typically notable when rotor magnets are buried inside the rotor. For these types of motors, U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,331 to Jahns teaches us how to operate the motor at a high speed, constant power range by automatically following the voltage limit ellipse.
Although the fundamental principles of phase advancing techniques are revealed in the previous patents, a method to obtain the optimal phase advance values is highly nonlinear and usually requires torque plot at various phase advance angles at each operating condition (speed and torque).
The typical calibration procedure for arriving at the torque angle factors used in determining the angle advance in the '771, '661 and other patents would use a test motor and drive and a dynamometer with torque and speed sensor. First, the motor is started to run with a load so that its temperature reaches its predetermined temperature. Once stable speed and temperature were achieved the angle advance is manually adjusted while observing the dynamometer reading to determine the angle that gives the maximum torque. The calibration procedure was repeated for the desired number of motor speeds and/or loads to create a table of torque angle factors. The calibration procedure would be repeated for each motor type, and in some cases, for each motor. This prior calibration method was costly and time consuming and provided torque angle values for only a finite number of motor speeds.
An object of the present invention is to provide a formula to calculate the amount of speed and load angle advances based on motor and drive parameters.
Another object of this invention is to provide a command boost technique to further increase the torque from the motor. Although many prior patents, as mentioned above, dealt with speed and load advance angles, they all exhibit magnitude reduction of the actual torque at high speeds. The magnitude boost can also be calculated from the motor parameters to improve high speed torque when operated with the torque mode.

System and method for controlling brushless permanent magnet motors


Generally, this disclosure provides apparatus and methods for improved indication of cell information in a wireless network. The cell information may include an evolved Node B (eNB) carrier type. The UE device may include a receiver circuit configured to receive a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message from an evolved Node B (eNB) of a serving cell, the RRC message comprising carrier information associated with the serving cell eNB; a processing circuit configured to extract, from the serving cell eNB carrier information: a carrier type, synchronization information and Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement information; a synchronization circuit configured to synchronize the UE to the serving cell eNB based on the synchronization information associated with the serving cell eNB carrier information; and a signal measurement circuit configured to perform RRM signal measurements on the serving cell eNB based on the RRM measurement information associated with the serving cell eNB carrier information.

Wireless networks, for example Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) networks, may be heterogeneous networks that include "macro cells," providing higher power/wider area coverage, and "small cells," providing lower power/reduced area coverage. Small cells may include "femto cells," suitable for home or office coverage and "pico cells," for larger indoor environments such as shopping centers. A base station, for example an evolved Node B (eNB) transceiver, may be associated with each cell to provide network access to wireless mobile devices, for example User Equipment (UEs), passing through that cell coverage area.
As network traffic increases, new system enhancements are being implemented to improve bandwidth utilization and efficiency including the introduction of new carrier types with modified frame structures and synchronization methods. A heterogeneous network may include a mixture of eNBs, some operating with a New Carrier Type (NCT) and others operating with a legacy or Backward-compatible Carrier Type (BCT). The eNBs may further be operating at different carrier frequencies. A UE operating in this environment, including potential handovers between eNBs of different carrier types, needs to be able to determine the carrier type of eNBs in the network as well as the associated parameters related to measurement and management aspects of the UE operation.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Apparatus and method for cell information indication in a wireless network


A bow with brake assistance includes a pair of bow limbs utilizing pulleys that aid in holding the bow in a compressed position when the bow's string is drawn. A disk surface moves concurrently with a wheel from one of the bow's pulleys. A brake caliper contains brake pads that squeeze and restrict the turning motion of the disc surface and thus hold the bow's limbs in a compressed position. The brake caliper can squeeze the brake pads together via a brake cable when a brake trigger is squeezed by an archer's finger. The brake trigger is positioned near the bow's handle so that it can be conveniently activated by the archer's finger.

When hunting with a bow, it is desirable to pull the bow's string back before a hunted animal comes close enough to detect the hunters action. Holding a drawn bowstring is a challenge for many hunters as it requires considerable strength and endurance. Compound bows currently on the market can reduce the effort required to hold back a drawn bowstring by approximately 65% of the effort required to attain the drawn position.
When the string of a compound bow is drawn back the limbs of the bow move from a relaxed position to a flexed or compressed position. As this is occuring, the wheels and cables of the bow are moving and gaining a mechanical advantage over the limbs of the bow.
The present invention applies friction to the cable wheels of the bow and makes holding a drawn bow string considerably easier. The embodiment shown presently adapts a disk surface, much like the surface of a automobile disk brake, to move concurrently or as a part of a wheel of the bow.
Pressure is applied to the disk using a lever, cable, and caliper brake system like the brake system used to squeeze the rim of a bicycle wheel. The brake lever or trigger is positioned near the bows handle so that it can be conveniently activated by the hunters finger once the bow string is drawn. Releasing the lever allows tension from holding a conventional compound bow to return to the arms of the archer. By applying stopping power to the bows cables or wheels (pulley system), the bow can be held back with minimal fatigue and allow archers whose strength isn't fully developed or adequate a better chance in hunting larger game.
The procedure to fire the present invention is:
1) Pull back or draw the bow string and arrow. PA0 2) Press the brake activation lever on the bow handle to reduce required effort to hold the string back. PA0 3) Release the activation lever to allow the bow wheels to turn and to receive an increase in tension on the bow string just before firing. PA0 4) Fire the arrow by releasing the bow string from the fingers or from a mechanical release.
The present invention requires the shooting technique used to fire a conventional compound bow with the same initial force to draw the bow string. Pressure must be maintained on the brake lever to keep the brake activated and to keep pressure reduced on the archer's arms. The art of hunting is maintained with the present invention since it will not cock like a crossbow or other modified bow which can maintain a drawn bow string without attention from the archer.


A compact throttle device with a short air intake pipe length. A throttle device includes: throttle bodies that define air intake paths; throttle valves that are disposed in the air intake paths and adjust the air flow rate in the air intake paths; a throttle shaft that rotatably supports the throttle valves; a motor that rotates the throttle shaft; and a gear that connects the throttle shaft to the motor. A pin is provided as a protrusion on the peripheral surface of the throttle shaft. The gear externally fitted and fixed to the throttle shaft has, on a fixing ring that is externally fitted to the throttle shaft, a housing groove for housing the pin, the housing groove being impelled against the pin by a spring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a throttle device having a gear that connects a throttle shaft and a motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional throttle device, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-23859, each of the throttle shafts provided in the two throttle bodies are fitted from the outside to a gear provided in a gear case disposed between the two throttle bodies.
The throttle device disclosed in the above Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-23859 has problems including that the two throttle shafts are connected to a gear, but the structure of the connection of the two shafts to the gear is complex, and the rotational responsiveness of the throttle valves is poor due to the increase in weight. Also, to ensure the connection stiffness between the two throttle shafts and the gear, the external fitting portion of the gear to which the throttle shaft is fitted is made large, and as a result the size of the gear case must be made larger. When the space between the throttle bodies is reduced by making the gear case larger, it is necessary to provide the fitting portions for fitting the mating components in the throttle bodies in a location that projects from the gear case, so the overall length of the air intake pipes is lengthened. Therefore the capacity of the air intake pipe on the downstream side of the throttle valve from the throttle valve to the cylinder head becomes larger, and this has the problem that the engine responsiveness becomes poorer.


An X-ray tube assembly including a cathode having an electron emitting surface, a rotatable anode having an X-ray target surface, and a vacuum-enclosing rotatable frame surrounding, and spaced apart from, the electron emitting surface and the X-ray target surface. The frame is hermetically attached to the anode, and the frame includes a totally-annular and X-ray-transparent window ring. Load-carrying bearings are located outside the vacuum of the frame and rotatably support the frame and the anode.

X-ray devices used in the medical field contain an X-ray tube which typically includes a stationary cathode which is heated to emit electrons, a rotating anode having a target surface attached to a cap and generally facing the cathode, and a surrounding glass and/or metal stationary frame containing a vacuum and having an X-ray-transparent window. Some emitted electrons strike the target surface and produce X-rays, and some of the X-rays exit the frame as an X-ray beam through the X-ray-transparent window. Load-carrying bearings are located inside the vacuum between the frame and a stem attached to the cap. The bearings are lubricated by special dry lubricants or by special liquid gallium lubricants. The lubricants tend, in the vacuum, to migrate away from the bearings which will cause increased bearing friction (and which can also cause high voltage instability) which shortens the operating life of the X-ray tube. The target surface is heated by the impinging electrons. The heat is dissipated by thermal radiation from the target surface through the vacuum to the frame and by thermal conduction from the target surface to the cap to the stem to the bearings to the frame. The heated frame is typically cooled by a liquid coolant, such as oil or water, located between the frame and a surrounding casing which has its own X-ray transparent window. The limited cooling arrangement of the tube design restricts the X-ray power output.
What is needed is an improved X-ray tube design having improved lubrication of the bearings and improved cooling of the anode stem.


A method, apparatus, and system for hierarchical organization of tablespace free space metadata in a database are provided. The hierarchy is divided into at least two levels: level 1 or L1 bitmap blocks are stored as a shared data structure and map free space in a tablespace, whereas level 2 or L2 bitmap blocks are stored as separate local copies at each database instance and map to the L1 bitmap blocks. This hierarchical organization provides a mechanism for finer grained concurrency control, enabling highly parallel tablespace metadata processing to accommodate the performance requirements of large tablespaces with big data sets. By integrating the hierarchical organization as part of the tablespace stack layer in a database management system (DBMS), implementations can be provided transparently to database end users without demanding any additional administrative, maintenance, or development burdens.

As the amount of data to be generated and processed steadily increases over time, existing database paradigms cannot meet the performance requirements to support working with big data sets. Database management systems must be able to scale to highly parallel multi-server environments where data may be read and written concurrently by multiple database instances.
An area of particular importance is the allocation and management of free space within a tablespace. One approach is to use locally-managed tablespaces, where each tablespace manages its own local free space bitmaps. In this approach, concurrent free space operations from single or multiple database instances must obtain a latch on a local free space bitmap associated with a data file, necessitating the serialization of such free space operations.
With continual exponential improvements in processor speed and memory capacities, the actual database transactions complete so quickly that the associated tablespace free space maintenance overhead becomes a noticeably larger proportion of the total processing wait time. Since free space operations must be serialized for each free space bitmap, the use of locally-managed tablespaces becomes less appropriate for tablespaces with big data sets demanding high levels of data concurrency. While attempts have been made to improve free space maintenance concurrency by manually splitting a locally-managed tablespace into several data files with independent local free space bitmaps, this fragmenting severely complicates end user database administration, management, and development tasks.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for a tablespace free space management method that can scale to big data sets while minimizing complexity for end users.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Hierarchical tablespace space management


The present invention relates to graphic presentations of complex analytical data strings containing each a multitude of substance-representing peaks (e.g. mass spectra or chromatograms) and pattern recognition or classification techniques in collections of such data strings. The invention proposes to highlight, after execution of the pattern recognition or classification algorithms, the significantly participating peaks in the graphical display so that the nature of these peaks, and the substances represented by these peaks, can easily be further investigated. The content of the graphical display, particularly the peaks, can be interactively accessed by the user and by the pattern recognition programs.

In many fields of science, collections of mass spectra, optical absorption spectra, chromatograms, electrophorograms or other analytical peak-containing strings of digital data are investigated with respect to inherent patterns and correlations of such patterns with external parameters of the original samples where the data strings are acquired from. The strings of data describe each the distribution of "peak intensities" along a scale of a "scaling parameter" which may be a "mass" (mass spectrometry) or "retention time" (chromatography) or the like. As a rule, the acquisition of such data strings is performed by a chemical analysis procedure, and the peaks each represent a certain substance. In different strings of data, peaks with the same scaling parameter can be related and assigned by a common parameter value (e.g., "mass", "retention time" or simply a peak number) throughout the collection of data strings.
These strings of digital data can be displayed in a two-dimensional diagram showing the peaks within the data strings in graphical form. The notion "peak" designates not only just one peak in a single data string but, in a broader sense, all related peaks in the collection of data strings with a common scaling parameter value.
Mass spectra of affinity-extracted proteins from body fluids in clinical proteomics may serve as an example. Here, the peaks in the data strings are mass peaks, they each represent the signal of a protein (or some other biomolecule) having this mass. Usually, two collections of spectra are acquired, one collection from healthy patients, and another collection from patients with a well-confirmed and well-documented disease, and significant differences in the two collections of spectra are searched for. This is done first by visual inspection of a suitable graphical presentation of the collections of spectra. Greatly significant differences like peaks appearing only in one collection and lacking in the other may be found immediately in such a way. But usually refinements in the search for such differentiation parameters will be necessary. These mathematical refinements are performed by application of some pattern recognition, correlation, cluster-searching, or classification algorithms.
In some cases, even three-dimensional data ensembles are generated and investigated for inherent patterns. Examples are chromatograms of body fluids sampled before and after application of drugs, measured by LC-MS (liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry). The goal is to detect the appearance of drug metabolites and other changes in composition by some regulatory effects. Here, the graphical display is more difficult, but in many cases it is sufficient to just show the total ion current chromatograms with their peaks representing the biosubstances. These total ion current chromatograms form the strings of data which can be displayed with the retention time as the scaling parameter. Only the mathematical pattern recognition investigations may take access to the mass spectra hidden behind the peaks.
There are many known kinds of graphical two-dimensional presentations for collections of such data strings: single data strings (intensity vs. scaling parameter) arranged for each data string in its own window one below the other, stacked data strings (shifted by small displacements in both dimensions), contour plots, gray scale plots, density plots, plots of averaged intensities (means) and relative standard deviations, and the like. The graphical display programs may only show the data strings in a passive way, or they may allow for interactive user access to predetermined features of the graphical presentation, like e.g. peaks, base lines, spikes or the like. The user access usually is realized by computer mouse clicking with the cursor on the selected feature.
There are likewise many programs for pattern recognition in given types of data strings. The data strings may be investigated as such, or the strings of data may be reduced beforehand to lists of peaks by "peak finding algorithms". The peak list is a special form of a data string, but characterized by two data values per peak (intensity; scaling parameter), whereas the original data string consists of a string of digital measurement values of intensities acquired in predetermined time intervals. Data strings or peak lists may be put together in "collections" stemming from different types of samples, e.g., from healthy and ill patients.
The notion "pattern recognition" is used here for all programs which search for classifying, differentiating, or correlating structures in collections of data strings or peak lists. The pattern recognition programs thus comprise classification algorithms, principal component analysis, cluster analysis, cross correlation analysis, and many others. There are "supervised pattern recognition algorithms" (sometimes called "supervised learning programs)", if different collections of data strings can be identified beforehand as belonging to different classes (e.g. healthy and ill patients), and there are "unsupervised pattern recognition algorithms", if no such membership in different classes is known beforehand.
Results of pattern recognition programs are usually shown in graphical presentations of their own; e.g., clusters are shown in a diagram with principal components as coordinates, the principal components being built by transformation of the original peak parameters in some complicated way. In these types of graphical presentation, there is no easily recognizable connection to the original peaks in the data strings and therefore no connection to the substances represented by the peaks. In some cases it may even be difficult to refer back to the peaks (and substances) responsible for some recognized pattern, e.g., if the principal components for a cluster presentation is a non-linear combination of the parameters of many peaks.

Graphical displaying of and pattern recognition in analytical data strings


A metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor having a recessed gate electrode and a fabrication method thereof are provided. The MOS transistor includes a semiconductor substrate and an isolation layer formed in a predetermined region of the semiconductor substrate to define an active region. A channel trench region is disposed within the active region to cross the active region. A gate insulating layer is disposed to cover sidewalls and a bottom of the channel trench region. The MOS transistor has a gate pattern that fills the channel trench region and crosses above the active region. A portion of the sidewall of the gate pattern is recessed at an upper corner of the channel trench region and has a width smaller than the width of the top of the gate pattern and smaller than the width of the channel trench region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a fabrication method thereof, and more particularly, to a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor having a recessed gate electrode and a fabrication method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increases in the integration density of semiconductor memory devices such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) are typically accompanied by corresponding decreases in the area occupied by MOS transistors in the devices. As a result, the channel length of the MOS transistors is typically reduced, which may cause a short channel effect. When the short channel effect occurs in an access MOS transistor employed as a memory cell in a DRAM device, a threshold voltage of the DRAM cell decreases and leakage current increases, which degrades a refresh property of the DRAM device. Accordingly, a MOS transistor having a recessed gate electrode capable of suppressing the short channel effect by increasing the gate channel length, even when the integration density of the DRAM device is increased, has been developed.
In a MOS transistor having the recessed gate electrode, the semiconductor substrate may be partially recessed to form a gate in the recessed region and to form a channel in the silicon substrate at both sides of the gate.
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a conventional MOS transistor having a recessed gate electrode.
Referring to FIG. 1, an active region A is disposed in a predetermined region of a semiconductor substrate 100. The active region A is defined by an isolation layer (not shown). A channel trench region 104 is disposed to cross a predetermined part of the active region A. A gate insulating layer 106 is disposed to cover the bottom and sidewalls of the channel trench region 104. A gate pattern 114 is disposed to fill the channel trench region 104, which is covered by the gate insulating layer 106, and to cross the active region A. The gate pattern 114 is composed of a polysilicon pattern 108, a tungsten silicide pattern 110 and a hard mask pattern 112. An insulating layer spacer 116 is formed to cover sidewalls of the gate pattern 114. Source and drain regions 118 are disposed within the active region A, below both sides of the gate pattern 114.
The MOS transistor having the recessed gate electrode shown in FIG. 1 has an outer gate shape in which the channel trench region 104 and the gate pattern 114 have the same width. The outer gate has a concentrated electric field at an upper corner of the active region adjacent to the polysilicon pattern 108, the upper corner marked by a dotted circle denoted by reference numeral 120. Due to the concentrated electric field, the threshold voltage property of the device is degraded and the leakage current is increased.
Methods for preventing electric field concentration at an upper corner of an active region adjacent to a gate polysilicon pattern have been developed. In one such method, the concentration of the electric field at the upper corner of the active region is prevented to reduce the leakage current. In particular, a main trench and a parasitic trench, adjacent to the main trench, are formed in a substrate. A thermal oxide layer is formed in the main trench and a gate oxide layer is formed in the parasitic trench relatively thicker than in other regions. A conductive layer for forming the gate electrode is buried within the trench.
While this method may prevent the concentration of the electric field at the upper corner of the active region so that leakage current can be suppressed, since the area of the active region decreases when the width of the top of the trench increases, the current drivability of the device is degraded.
In order to prevent the concentrated electric field of the outer gate and the decreased current drivability due to the increased top width of the trench, a method of forming an inner gate-type gate pattern in which the width of the gate pattern is smaller than the width of the trench has been proposed. However, the decreased gate size may result in misalignment, and a metal silicide layer formed on the polysilicon may be cracked when the surface of the metal silicide layer is not uniform.
Thus, a method of fabricating a MOS transistor having a recessed gate electrode which can prevent concentration of the electric field at an upper corner of an active region, and having a gate pattern whose top width is equal to the width of the channel trench region, is needed.

MOS transistor having a recessed gate electrode and fabrication method thereof


A voice signal is synthesized using a plurality of phonetic piece data each indicating a phonetic piece containing at least two phoneme sections corresponding to different phonemes. In the apparatus, a phonetic piece adjustor forms a target section from first and second phonetic pieces so as to connect the first and second phonetic pieces to each other such that the target section includes a rear phoneme section of the first piece and a front phoneme section of the second piece, and expands the target section by a target time length to form an adjustment section such that a central part is expanded at an expansion rate higher than that of front and rear parts of the target section, to thereby create synthesized phonetic piece data having the target time length. A voice synthesizer creates a voice signal from the synthesized phonetic piece data.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for interconnecting a plurality of phonetic pieces to synthesize a voice, such as a speech voice or a singing voice.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a voice synthesis technology of phonetic piece connection type for interconnecting a plurality of phonetic pieces to synthesize a desired voice, it is necessary to expand and contract a phonetic piece to a target time length. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H7-129193 discloses a construction in which a plurality of kinds of phonetic pieces is classified into a stable part and a transition part, and the time length of each phonetic piece is separately adjusted in the normal part and the transition part. For example, the normal part is more greatly expanded and contracted than the transition part.
In a technology of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H7-129193, the time length is adjusted at a fixed expansion and contraction rate within a range of a phonetic piece classified into the normal part or the transition part. In real pronunciation, however, a degree of expansion may be changed on a section to section basis even within a range of a phonetic piece (phoneme). In the technology of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H7-129193, therefore, an aurally unnatural voice (that is, a voice different from a really pronounced sound) may be synthesized in a case in which a phonetic piece is expanded.

Voice synthesis apparatus using a plurality of phonetic piece data


A transport/stacker module provides for a vertical stacking of mail bins. Carriers traveling in a transport path have openable and closable doors at both ends, and a frame of the transport/stacker module is provided with cam actuators to open the doors after the carriers pass turnaround areas and close the doors before the carriers enter the turnaround areas. A rake mechanism disposed above each bin is provided with a snubber which engages a mail piece prior to rake tines of the rake mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mail processing systems and equipment and, more specifically, to a transport/stacker module for a flats mail sorter system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical automated mail system includes a mail induction system and a transport system. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the mail induction system 10 feeds pieces of mail to an oval or "race track" transport conveyor 12 which carries a plurality of mail piece carriers 14. The induction system 10 delivers one mail piece to each carrier 14 as the carriers travel in a given direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 1).
A plurality of bins 16 are disposed under the movable carriers 14. Each bin 16 is designated for a particular mail stop, address, etc., and a pivotally mounted rake 18 is disposed over the carriers 14 at each bin 16. When a piece of mail arrives over its destination bin, the rake 18 is actuated to pivot downwardly to push the mail piece off the carrier and into the designated bin.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rake 18 is mounted on a shaft 20 journalled in a pair of supports 20a and 20b carried by the frame (not shown) and includes a plurality of rake tines 22 which interleave with slots 24 formed in a forward, angled end 26 of the carrier 14. A bottom 28 of the carrier 14 is integrally formed with the forward end 26.
Prior to actuation of the rake 18, the tines 22 are disposed horizontally (90.degree. counterclockwise rotated from the position illustrated in FIG. 3). A lever 30 is fixedly mounted on the shaft 20 in line with the tines 22. A push rod 32 has a proximal end pivotally connected to the lever 30 and a distal end which is unattached. A spring 34 has a coiled portion, through which the push rod 32 extends, a first end connected to the lever 30 and a second, opposite end connected to a second lever 36. The lever 36 is fixedly mounted on and rotatable with a second shaft 38. When the tines 22 and lever 30 are in a substantially horizontal position, the push rod 32 abuts against the upper end of the lever 36 and causes same to rotate counterclockwise with the shaft 38 until it reaches a nearly horizontal disposition.
As seen in FIG. 3, the shaft 38 carries an arm 40 which functions as a retarder such that, as the carrier 14 moves under the rake 18 when the rake is actuated to the vertical position by an actuator (not shown), the arm 40 rotates clockwise to engage a mail piece 42 as the rake 18 pushes the mail piece 42 off the carrier 14. The mail piece 42 may be a piece of "flats mail" which generally refers to magazines, large envelopes, newspapers, circulars, catalogs, digests, etc. The arm 40 is intended to control the "bounce back" of the mail piece caused by the rake tines 22 to allow neat stacking of the mail in the bins 16. An adjustable stop 44 provides a limit to the downward movement of the arm 40.
The system described above, and others of similar construction, have certain inherent deficiencies. First of all, the carriers have one open end and another end with a fixed end plate. The open end is a source of potential loss of mail pieces during transport, while the fixed end limits discharge of the mail piece to one direction. Moreover, the rake mechanism and retarder arms require a rather complex linkage to interconnect the two.
Also, the oval, horizontally oriented conveyor 12 requires a large amount of floor space and is not easily expanded to accommodate additional bins.

Transport/stacker module for mail processing system


The present invention provides a process and an apparatus for the layer-by-layer production of three-dimensional objects, wherein material vapors formed during processing in the construction chamber are prevented from deposition on apparatus components by exposing the gases to deposition surfaces where the materials condense and deposit.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for the layer-by-layer production of three-dimensional objects, to processes for layer-by-layer production, and also to corresponding mouldings.
The rapid provision of prototypes is a task frequently encountered in very recent times. Processes which permit the rapid provision of a prototypes are described as rapid prototyping, rapid manufacturing, or as an additive fabrication process. Particularly suitable processes the rapid provision of a prototype are based on selective melting and solidification of pulverulent materials which are produced in a layer-by-layer manner through selective melting and solidification of the pulverulent material according to a pattern of the prototype object under construction. Supportive structures for overhangs and undercuts are not required in such a process, because the powder bed surrounding the molten regions provides adequate support. Correspondingly, as no supports are employed, a subsequent task of removing supports is not required. These processes are also suitable for short-run production. The temperature of the construction chamber is selected in such a way as to avoid distortion of the structures produced layer-by-layer during the construction process.
One process which has particularly good suitability for rapid prototyping/rapid manufacturing is selective laser sintering (SLS). In this process, plastics powders in a chamber are selectively briefly exposed to a laser beam, and the powder particles impacted by the laser beam therefore melt. The molten particles coalesce and rapidly solidify again to give a solid mass. This process can produce three-dimensional structures simply and rapidly by constantly applying new layers and repeatedly exposing them to laser light to melt and subsequently coalesce in the form of the three dimensional object.
The laser sintering (rapid prototyping) process for producing mouldings from pulverulent polymers is described in detail in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,948 and WO 96/06881 (both DTM Corporation). A wide variety of polymers and copolymers is claimed for this application, and includes polyacetate, polypropylene, polyethylene, ionomers and polyamide, for example.
Other processes with good suitability are the Selective Inhibition of Bonding (SIB) process as described in WO 01/38061 and in EP 1015214. Both processes operate with large-surface-area infrared heating to melt the powder. The selectivity of the melting process is achieved in the first case by applying an inhibitor, and in the second process by a mask. DE 10311438 describes a further process, wherein the energy needed for the fusion process is introduced via a microwave generator, and the selectivity is achieved by applying a susceptor. WO 2005/105412 describes a method where the required energy for the fusion process is introduced via electromagnetic radiation, and the selectivity is achieved by applying an absorber.
A common problem incurred with the above described conventional processes is that constituents of the polymeric powder are released or vaporized when the polymeric powders are heated. The substances or vapours which are released disrupt the process, because they condense on important components of the production apparatus, such as lenses, pyrometer or mask, and impair their function.
The constituents released often involve monomers, oligomers or additives which have a markedly lower melting point than the polymer. The content of monomers and oligomers in the polymer can be reduced, but this incurs considerable additional costs. Furthermore, in most cases the polymer still comprises residues of substances which can be released as vapours upon heating.

Apparatus for avoiding deposits on optical components in the laser sintering process


Hyaluronan-binding protein (HABP) is expressed on the cell surface during tumor cell and endothelial cell migration and during capillary-like tubule formation. Monoclonal antibodies and hyaluronan oligosaccharides are described which specifically recognize HABP and can be used to (1) inhibit tumor growth by preventing tumor vascularization, (2) inhibit tumor cell migration and (3) image tumors.

The extracellular matrix plays an important role in tissue structure and in cell behavior, function and differentiation. Many of the effects of matrix macromolecules are mediated by binding sites or receptors on the cell surface. Endothelial cell morphogenesis, as occurs in angiogenesis or embryonic vasculogenesis, involves a series of events that include cell migration, tubule formation, and division. Folkman, J. and Haudenschild, C. Nature, 288:551-556 (1980); Poole, T. and Coffin, J. J. Exp. Zool., 251:224-231 (1989). Many experimental studies have indicated that the interaction of endothelial cells with the extracellular matrix plays a key role in these processes. Madri, J. and Pratt, B. J. Histochem. Cytochem., 34:85-91 (1986); Furcht, L. Lab. Invest., 55:505-509 (1986); Ingber, D. J. Cell. Biochem., 47:236-241 (1991). For example, the integrin family of matrix receptors and a 67-69 kilodalton (kDa) laminin receptor appear to mediate at least part of this influence of matrix on the behavior of endothelial cells. Charo et al., J. biol. Chem., 262:9935-9938 (1987); Dejana et al., J. Cell Biol., 107:1215-1223 (1988); Grant et al., Cell, 58:933-943 (1989); Basson et al., Dev. Biol., 146:186-197 (1990); Defilippi et al., J. Cell biol., 114:855-863 (1991).
Hyaluronan is a high molecular weight, highly anionic polysaccharide found in the extracellular matrix and at cell surfaces. It is composed of 200-10,000 disaccharides of B-1,4-glucuronate-B-1,3-N-acetylglucosamine, and has a molecular weight in the range of from about 6.times.10.sup.4 to about 1.2.times.10.sup.7. Hyaluronan is a major component of matrices in which cells proliferate and migrate during embryonic morphogenesis and differentiation, tissue regeneration, tissue healing, tissue remodeling and tumorigenesis. See Toole, B., Cell Biology of Extracellular Matrix (F. Hay, ed.) pp. 259-294 (1981).
The pericellular region surrounding migrating tips of newly forming capillaries is enriched in hyaluronan. Ausprunk et al., Am. J. Pathol., 103:367-375 (1981). It has also been shown that capillaries of the chorioallantoic membrane begin to form in hyaluronan-rich areas but the level of hyaluronan surrounding the capillaries rapidly decreases thereafter. Ausprunk et al., Am. J. Pathol., 103:367-375 (1981); Ausprunk, D., Am. J. Anat., 177:313-331 (1986). Other investigations have shown that blood vessel formation does not occur in hyaluronan-rich zones and that endothelial cell growth is inhibited by polymeric hyaluronan. Feinberg, R. and Beebe, B., Science, 220:1177-1179 (1983); West, D. and Kumar, S., Exp. Cell Res., 183:179-196 (1989). However, oligosaccharides of hyaluronan containing 3-16 disaccharide repeats have been shown to stimulate blood vessel formation and endothelial cell growth. West, et al., Science, 228:1324-1326 (1985); West, D. and Kumar, S., Exp. Cell Res., 183:179-196 (1989).

Oligosaccharides reactive with hyaluronan-binding protein and their methods of use


A current-mode buck converter is disclosed, wherein the current-mode buck converter operates in a pulse width modulation (PWM) mode or a pulse frequency modulation (PFM) mode. When the current-mode buck converter enters into the PFM mode, the voltage level of the parking voltage is maintained at the voltage level of compensation voltage, so as to decrease switch loss of the current-mode buck converter operating between PWM mode and PFM mode, and stabilize the output voltage of the current-mode buck converter.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant disclosure relates to a current-mode buck converter; in particular, to current-mode buck converter smoothly switched between a pulse width modulation mode and a pulse frequency modulation mode.
2. Description of Related Art
The electronic device usually comprises different components, and operating voltages of each component are different. Therefore, the electronic device is able to achieve regulation of the voltage level through a DC-to-DC voltage conversion circuit, and make the voltage be stabilized at a preset voltage value. According to different power requirements, it may be extended to many different types of DC-DC voltage conversion circuit, e.g. Buck/Step Down Converter and Boost/Step Up Converter. Furthermore, buck/step down converter may make the DC voltage of the input terminal decrease to a preset voltage level, and boost/step up converter may elevate DC voltage of the input terminal. There are many case of buck/step down converter or boost/step up converter has already evolved for adapting different architecture or meeting different demands as evolution of the circuit technology.
For example, referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 shows circuit schematic view of the current-mode buck converter according to prior art. The current-mode buck converter comprises an oscillator 110, an input terminal IT′, an output terminal OT′, a feedback module 160, a switch module 150, a current detecting circuit 130, a slope compensating circuit 140, a detection resistor RU, an error amplifier E1′ a modulation compensating circuit 170, a first comparator COP1′, a modulation control circuit 120, a zero-crossing detecting circuit ZT′, a current source ISET and a resistor RS. The modulation compensating circuit 170 comprises a compensation switch S1′, a compensation resistor ROP′ and a compensation capacitor COP′. The feedback module 160 comprises a first resistor R1′ and a second resistor R2′. The switch module 150 comprises a buffer amplifier 152, an up-bridge switch transistor MP′ and a down-bridge switch transistor MN′, wherein the up-bridge switch transistor MP′ is a P type metal-oxide semiconductor transistor and the down-bridge switch transistor MN′ is an N type metal-oxide semiconductor transistor.
In prior art, the current-mode buck converter 100 receives an input voltage VIN′ via an input terminal IT′, and outputs an output voltage VOUT′ via an output terminal OT′. The feedback module 160 generates a feedback signal VFB′ according to the output voltage VOUT′. The switch module 150 determines an electrical connection of the input terminal IT′, a ground voltage GND′ and the output terminal OT′ according to a next-stage switch signal SWB′. The current detecting circuit 130 amplifies an input current ISNP′ received so as to generate an image current ISP′. The slope compensating circuit 140 receives a pre-stage switch signal SW′ and operates correspondingly according to the pre-stage switch signal SW′, and then generates a slope compensating current ISC′ accordingly. The current-mode buck converter 100 gather the image current ISP′ and the slope compensating current ISC′ via an adder AD′ and then it flows into one terminal of the detection resistor RU so as to generate a detection voltage VC′. The detection voltage VC′ is electrically connected to an input terminal of the first comparator COP1′. The error amplifier E1′ is used for amplifying a difference of the feedback signal VFB′ and the first reference voltage VREF1′ so as to generate a difference voltage ΔV′. The modulation compensating circuit 170 compensates frequency response of the current-mode buck converter 100 according to the difference voltage ΔV′, and accordingly generates a compensation voltage EAO′, wherein one terminal of the compensation switch S1′ of the modulation compensating circuit 170 is switched and connected to one of the PWM terminal T1′ and the PFM terminal T2′ according to a mode switch signal PF′. The first comparator COP1′ receives the detection voltage VC′ and the compensation voltage EAO′ and compares the detection voltage VC′ with the compensation voltage EAO′, so as to the PWM signal PS′. The modulation control circuit 120 is used for generating the pre-stage switch signal SW′ according to the PWM signal PS′ and the oscillation signal VOSC′, wherein the oscillation signal VOSC′ is generated from the oscillator 110. The zero-crossing detecting circuit ZT′ is used for detecting a source current ISNN′ of the down-bridge switch transistor MN′, and transmits the mode switch signal PF′ to the modulation control circuit 120, the compensation switch S1′, the current detecting circuit 130 and the slope compensating circuit 140 according to a detection result.
However, when the current-mode buck converter 100 is changed from the pulse width modulation (PWM) mode to the pulse frequency modulation (PFM) mode, one terminal of the compensation switch S1′ is switched and connected to the PFM terminal T2′ from the PWM terminal T1′ so as to receive a constant voltage FV. Because, a fixed current is generated from the current source ISET, a constant voltage FV is generated at the PFM terminal T2′ when the fixed current flows through a fixed resistor RS, wherein the constant voltage FV does not carry any information about the detection voltage VC′ and the compensation voltage EAO′. Accordingly, when the current-mode buck converter 100 is switched between the PFM mode and the PWM mode, the output voltage VOUT′ will be not stable or be oscillated between the PFM mode and the PWM mode.

Current-mode buck converter and electronic system using the same


The present invention includes a radio access network and a method for sending a multimedia broadcasts/multicast services (MBMS) using channel switching. The channel switching is between dedicated and shared/common channels. The invention also includes MBMS reception scheduling for use when a wireless transmit/receive device receives an MBMS service from multiple transmission sources. The sources transmitting the MBMS service data in differing orders. One embodiment uses in band segmentation information and another embodiment uses out of band synchronization information.

There is a growing desire to use multimedia broadcasts/multicast services (MBMS) in wireless communication systems. For a particular MBMS, a given cell in the network may have none, one or multiple users, wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs), subscribed to that MBMS. As users migrate between cells, a cell that may originally have one or no users subscribed to the service may at a later point have multiple subscribed users. Conversely, a cell that may at one point have multiple subscribed users may at another time have only one or no users.
This migration of the users can create inefficient use of radio resource. If only one or a few users are subscribed to the MBMS in the cell, it may be desirable to support the service using dedicated channels to the users. The dedicated channels can utilize power control and beam steering to reduce the amount of radio resources utilized to support the MBMS.
However, if many users are subscribed to the MBMS in the cell, the multiple dedicated channels in total may use considerable radio resources. In such a situation, a more optimal use of the radio resources may be to send the MBMS data over a common/shared channel to a set of users subscribed to that MBMS. Although the use of beamsteering and power control in such situations is limited, the reduction in the number of total channels may reduce the used radio resources. As the number of MBMS users in the cell changes, an original choice of using either a common/shared channel or a dedicated channel may not be optimal at a later time.
Another potential problem resulting from user migration is MBMS scheduling. As a MBMS user moves between cells, that user needs to reconstruct the MBMS service from information received from both cells. If both cells synchronize their MBMS transmissions, the MBMS user can seamlessly move between the cells. However, such a scenario is typically not practical and undesirable. At certain time intervals based on the cell's loading and available resources, a cell may have more available resources to support the MBMS transmission than at another time. As a result, at that time, it is desirable for that cell to transmit a large amount of the MBMS data. For another cell at that same time interval, resources to support the same MBMS bandwidth may not be available. As a result, it may be desirable to schedule the MBMS transmissions differently between the cells, to better utilize such resources. As the MBMS user moves between cells, the new cell that the user has moved into may have transmissions either ahead or behind the other cell's transmissions. As a result, the MBMS user may miss MBMS data or needlessly receive redundant MBMS data.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have better resource utilization for MBMS.

Channel switching for support of multimedia broadcast and multicast services


Systems and methods are disclosed for converting a legacy 850 nm optical-fiber link in a data center to a 1310 nm optical-fiber link. The methods include accessing the primary optical fiber of the legacy 850 nm optical-fiber link and optically connecting thereto one or more sections of compensating optical fiber. The resulting 1310 nm link has a peak wavelength of nominally 1310 nm and supports a bandwidth of greater than 2 GHz·km and a data rate of at least 25 Gb/s.

Optical fibers are currently used to transmit optical signals for a variety of applications. Optical fibers, including multimode optical fibers, are frequently used for data transmission (including high-speed data transmission) over distances ranging from one meter or less up to the distance needed to transmit throughout a building, e.g., a data center. The optical-fiber links ("links") in present-day data centers are mostly "legacy links" designed to operate in the 850 nm wavelength window and utilize relatively inexpensive 850 nm VCSEL laser sources.
Unfortunately, optical fiber has relatively high chromatic dispersion in the 850 nm window, which leads to rapid broadening of the optical signals. This high chromatic dispersion is a key limitation on the maximum length of legacy links for high data modulation (data) rates, e.g., 25 Gb/s and higher. In addition, the fiber attenuation is relatively high at 850 nm, and this negatively impacts the performance when the legacy link is more than a few tens of meters.
To operate optical-fiber links at higher data modulation rates, it would be advantageous to convert the 850 nm legacy links to links that have high bandwidth at longer wavelengths, such as 1060 nm or 1310 nm. The 1310 nm window in particular offers a significant performance advantage over the 850 nm window due to its possessing near zero chromatic dispersion as well as relatively low attenuation. This is particularly important at data modulation rates of 25 Gb/s and higher, where dispersive broadening of the optical signals results in large impairments. In addition, high data-rate systems employing silicon-photonic transceivers in the 1310 nm window advantageously require much less electrical power than do conventional transceivers operating at 850 nm.
While in principle it is possible for data-center operators to swap out all the optical-fiber cables optimized for 850 nm VCSELs with new optical-fiber cables optimized for 1310 nm, this approach is costly and labor intensive. Much of the optical-fiber cabling runs beneath floors and other hidden portions of the building in which the data center resides. Further, the existing optical-fiber cabling in just one data center represents thousands of kilometers of optical fiber cabling that would need to be replaced.

Systems and methods for converting legacy multimode links to longer-wavelength links


An apparatus and method for inspecting the bonding between a cell structure having a multiplicity of cells which are open at one end and bonded at an opposite end to a substrate are disclosed. The apparatus includes a heater and nozzle arrangement for directing a fluid, such as heated air, having a selected temperature, substantially different from ambient, into the open ends of the cell structure to cause a change in the temperature of the cell structure and radiance therefrom. A sensor is provided for sensing the temperature of the cell structure along the extent thereof or a detector may be provided for detecting the radiance along the cell structure. The temperature sensor or radiance detector generate electrical signals representative of either the temperature sensed or the radiance detected; these electrical signals are electronically converted to an image representative of either the temperatures sensed along the cell structure or the radiance detected from the cell structure to permit detection of any disbonded or plugged cells by differences between either the temperatures sensed or radiance detected along the cell structure. In another embodiment of the present invention, the output of the temperature sensor or radiance detector may be coupled to an alarm to provide a signal if the temperature or radiance varies outside of a predetermined range.

The present invention relates to inspection of an open-face cell structure bonded to a substrate and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for inspecting an open-face honeycomb cell structure of the type commonly used in the aircraft and aerospace industry, including use in gas turbine engines for aircraft propulsion as a seal between non-rotating outer casings and inner rotating components, such as gas turbine engine blades.
Rotating components of a gas turbine engine, such as the fan section, turbine section and compressor section of the engine are typically surrounded by a casing or lining having an interior portion formed of a cell structure having a multiplicity of cells which are typically six sided. These cell structures are commonly referred to as honeycomb because of the distinctive shape of the cells. The interior of each of the hexagonal cells is open and one end of the cell structure is bonded or brazed to a substrate with the open end facing the rotating component of the gas turbine engine.
The honeycomb structure in conjunction with teeth or fingers extending radially from each of the rotating components or blades creates a seal for more efficient operation of the gas turbine engine. The honeycomb structure is abradable to accommodate slight radial growth of the rotating component caused by thermal and centrifugal forces acting upon the rotating component. Thus, the radially extending blade fingers may peel away a minute layer of the honeycomb structure. Therefore, it is important that the honeycomb structure be properly or well bonded to the substrate to prevent a large portion of the honeycomb structure from being peeled from the substrate if the radially extending fingers contact the honeycomb seal which could result in further damage to the engine. Additionally, there should be no leaks between the adjacent honeycomb cells to provide proper sealing and air flow through the engine and therefore efficient engine operation.
Additionally, the honeycomb cells should not be plugged by braze or bonding material because this additional bonding or brazing material within a cell could break off one of the radially extending fingers from a rotating blade resulting in further damage to the engine and also loss of the air seal at this section of the engine resulting in decreased engine efficiency and performance.
Thus, it is important that the honeycomb cell structure be inspected for disbonds between the cell structure and the substrate to which it is bonded or brazed and also for plugged or partially plugged honeycomb cells.
A current inspection apparatus and method for inspecting a honeycomb cell structure is a visual inspection method which includes fixturing the part under an intense light source and viewing each of the individual honeycomb cells through a microscope or similar device for magnifying each of the cells. The operator thus visually determines if a disbond is present or if plugged cells exist. This apparatus and method is dependent upon the skill and vitality of the inspector or operator who must individually observe each of the honeycomb cells. Thus, this method is slow and inefficient and fatigue of the operator can result in inspection errors. While this method may possibly be used to inspect honeycomb cells having diameters of about 1/16" and 1/32", it is impractical for inspecting smaller honeycomb cells as small as about 1/64" in diameter.
Another method for inspecting the honeycomb cell structure involves filling each of the cells with a solvent, such as trichloroethane or the like. The honeycomb component is then rotated with the open face open to the ground. If the cell is properly bonded and sealed to the substrate, the solvent will remain within the cell. If a disbond exists, air will be allowed into the cell through adjacent cells and the solvent will fall out. This method has disadvantages in that plugged cells cannot be detected and honeycomb cells as small as 1/64" in diameter hold the solvent within the cell, even if there is a disbond, because of the surface energy within the smaller cells. Additionally, cleanup of the honeycomb structure after the inspection is necessary and the trichloroethane must be properly handled and disposed of. New environmental standards are also seeking the restrictive use of trichloroethane and similar materials hazardous to the environment which may be utilized with this method.
It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel apparatus and method for inspecting the bonding between a cell structure and a substrate which is not subject to the foregoing disaidvantages.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for inspecting the bonding of a cell structure which is reliable, minimizes operator fatigue and operator errors and substantially reduces the inspection time over current inspection methods.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel apparatus and method for inspecting the bonding between a cell structure and a substrate which is environmentally safe.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for inspecting the bonding between a cell structure and a substrate which can be incorporated into an automated system.
These and other objects of the invention, together with the features and advantages thereof, will become apparent from the following detailed specification when read with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements.

Apparatus and method for inspecting an open-face cell structure bonded to a substrate


In a fuel cell assembly typically with a plurality of cells each including an electrolyte layer (2), a pair of gas diffusion electrode layers (3, 4), and a pair of flow distribution plates (5), the electrolyte layer (2) comprises a frame (21) and electrolyte (22) retained in the frame; and the flow distribution plates and frames are made of materials having similar thermal expansion properties so that the generation of thermal stress between the frames of the electrolyte layers and the corresponding flow distribution plates can be avoided, and the durability of the various components can be ensured. By joining each flow distribution plate with the corresponding frame by anodic bonding or using a bonding agent along a periphery thereof, the need for a sealing arrangement such as a gasket or a clamping arrangement can be eliminated, and this contributes to the compact design of the assembly.

A fuel cell includes an electrolyte layer and a pair of electrodes placed on either side of the electrolyte layer, and generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction between fuel gas such as hydrogen and alcohol and oxidizing gas such as oxygen and air, which are supplied to the corresponding electrodes, with the aid of a catalyst. Depending on the electrolytic material used for the electrolyte layer, the fuel cell may be called as the phosphoric acid type, solid polymer type or molten carbonate type.
In particular, the solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) type fuel cell using an ion-exchange resin membrane for the electrolyte layer is considered to be highly promising because of the possibility of compact design, low operating temperature (100° C. or lower), and high efficiency.
The SPE typically includes an ion-exchange resin membrane made of perfluorocarbonsulfonic acid (Nafion: tradename), phenolsulfonic acid, polyethylenesulfonic acid, polytrifluorosulfonic acid, and so on. A porous carbon sheet impregnated with a catalyst such as platinum powder is placed on each side of the ion-exchange resin membrane to serve 5 as a gas diffusion electrode layer. This assembly is called as a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA). A fuel cell can be formed by defining a fuel gas passage on one side of the MEA and an oxidizing gas passage on the other side of the MEA by using flow distribution plates (separators).
Typically, such fuel cells are stacked, and the flow distribution plates are shared by the adjacent fuel cells in the same stack. When forming such a stack, it is necessary to seal off the passages defined on the surfaces of the MEAs from outside. Conventionally, gaskets were placed in the periphery of the interface between each adjoining pair of a MEA and a distribution plate. The contact area between the MEA and the gas diffusion electrode was ensured by pressing them together by applying an external force, typically with the aid of a suitable fastener. The required electric connection between the gas diffusion electrode and an electrode terminal connected to an external circuit was also ensured by pressing them together by applying an external force.
However, because the MEA changes its volume depending on the water content and temperature of the SPE, the external force applied by a fastener inevitably changes, and this may impair the sealing capability of the assembly. The SPE may be surrounded by a frame to stabilize the shape of the SPE, but because the frame and flow distribution plates thermally expand and contract individually, the external force applied by the fastener still changes. The change in the external force in this case produces stresses in the various members, and this may impair the durability of the various members of the assembly.
The packaging and/or the arrangement for ensuring such a controlled pressure and a required sealing performance tends to be large in size, and this has prevented a compact design for the fuel cell assembly. Furthermore, even with a highly elaborate arrangement for ensuring a sealing performance, due to the uneven thermal expansion and contraction of various parts, it has been difficult to maintain the required sealing performance for an extended period of time.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


Systems and methods are described for dynamically assigning data sets to cells within a cell-based architecture, in which individual cells individual cells operate independently of one another within the cell-based architecture. In response to a request to create a data set on the cell-based architecture, a system can dynamically assign the data set to a cell based on cell information, which can reflect cell health, utilization, configuration, and the like. The system can create a record that associates the data set to the selected cell, such that subsequent requests to access the data set can be routed to the selected cell based on the record. Dynamic assignment of data sets to cells improves on fixed assignment techniques, for example, by enabling heterogeneous cell configuration.

Computing devices can utilize communication networks to exchange data. Companies and organizations operate computer networks that interconnect a number of computing devices to support operations or to provide services to third parties. The computing systems can be located in a single geographic location or located in multiple, distinct geographic locations (e.g., interconnected via private or public communication networks). Specifically, data centers or data processing centers, herein generally referred to as a "data center," may include a number of interconnected computing systems to provide computing resources to users of the data center. The data centers may be private data centers operated on behalf of an organization or public data centers operated on behalf, or for the benefit of, the general public.
To facilitate increased utilization of data center resources, virtualization technologies allow a single physical computing device to host one or more instances of virtual machines that appear and operate as independent computing devices to users of a data center. With virtualization, the single physical computing device can create, maintain, delete, or otherwise manage virtual machines in a dynamic manner. In turn, users can request computer resources from a data center, including single computing devices or a configuration of networked computing devices, and be provided with varying numbers of virtual machine resources.
Virtualization technologies and data centers enable a variety of new techniques for providing network-based services. One such technique is "micro-services," in which desired functionality is not simply housed within a single device providing a service, but distributed among a variety of smaller, fine-grained services (each a "micro-service"). Micro-services may be independently developed, maintained, managed, and scaled, providing higher flexibility and resiliency to "macro-services" built using the micro-services.
One issue that arises in network-based services, and particularly for micro-services, is that of service discovery. The term service discovery generally refers to mechanisms for locating a service on a network, such as by locating an identifier of a computing device providing a service. A variety of traditional mechanisms for network discovery exist. For example, early network devices hard-coded identifiers into a local file (a "HOSTS.TXT" file), which was manually updated as new devices were added to the network. Later, the Domain Name System (DNS) was introduced as an automated, hierarchical mechanism for resolving identifiers into network addresses. While these discovery mechanisms are possible to use with micro-services, they are often insufficient. For example, DNS often suffers from "tail-latency," meaning that changes to network address information records can require large amounts of time to propagate through the system. Moreover, many DNS implementations are limited in the type of data that can be provided, often requiring resolution into an Internet Protocol (IP) address (or mapping to a domain name with a valid DNS record that itself resolves to an IP address). These problems limit the suitability of DNS as a stand-alone solution for service discovery, particularly in a micro-services context.

Cell-based distributed service architecture with dynamic cell assignment


Apparatus and methods are disclosed for measuring wavefront aberrations microlithography projection lenses such as i-line or excimer laser projection lenses. The apparatus comprises an argon-ion laser irradiating a Fizeau surface that reflects reference light and transmits test light. The test light is reflected by a spherical reflecting surface to pass twice through the test lens and the Fizeau surface, to interfere with the reference light. A piezoelectric element changes the fringes slightly. An image-pickup device receives the interference fringes and outputs data to a processor that calculates corresponding wavefront aberrations of the test lens. For testing an i-line lens, the argon laser can be a single-mode, 363.8 nm laser. For testing a lens used with a KrF excimer laser, the argon laser can emit second-harmonic light at 248.25 nm.

The ever-decreasing feature size of new semiconductor devices has resulted in demand for increasingly high precision projection lenses for microlithography. To produce higher precision projection lenses, it is necessary to characterize performance, i.e., aberrations, of the lenses with higher accuracy.
Conventional performance evaluation of an i-line projection lens (a projection lens used in a microlithography device employing a mercury-vapor i-line light source) or an excimer projection lens (a projection lens used in a microlithography device employing an excimer laser light source) is conducted, for example, by a method in which a certain spatial test pattern is imaged through the lens to be tested. The performance of the test lens is evaluated based on the image of the test pattern produced by the lens compared to a standard.
This conventional method for evaluating i-line and excimer projection lenses poses certain problems. Because the test lens performance is evaluated based on imaging performance, i.e., by a spatial image measurement, aberrations of the test lens are not directly measured. Therefore, the performance or aberrations of the test lens cannot be determined with high accuracy. Without an accurate determination of the performance or aberrations of the test lens, it is impossible to obtain a computer simulation, based on the performance of the test lens as tested, with parameters such as illumination, spatial image characteristics, and image height being freely varied. Since the performance of the test lens cannot be measured with high accuracy, an indicated value for gap adjustment cannot be calculated. In other words, information required to calculate an adjustment for lens correction cannot be obtained. Thus a significant amount of time is required (for trial-and-error adjustments) to produce a lens having a desired performance.
A representative conventional apparatus for evaluating excimer projection lenses is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1-134224. The disclosed apparatus includes: a narrow-band excimer laser; an interference optical system including means for splitting light from the excimer laser into two beams that traverse different optical paths having an adjustable path difference, and an image-pickup means for receiving an image of an interference pattern formed by recombining the beams; and a processing device for receiving information from the image-pickup means and calculating wavefront aberrations of a test lens placed in one of the split optical paths in the interference optical system.
Measuring wavefront aberrations of a test projection lens to a high degree of accuracy is difficult with the above-described proposed apparatus.

Apparatus and methods for measuring wavefront aberrations of a microlithography projection lens


A two piece male contact, such as a harness contact for use in a harness connector. The two piece male contact includes an elongated contact pin which is connectable to a mating female contact, and a terminal, one end of which is electrically and mechanically attached to the contact pin and the other end of which is connectable to a conductor.

A typical connector such as a harness connector for use in the automobile industry includes a male harness connector and a female harness connector. Typically, the male harness connector includes a plurality of contact pins and the female harness connector includes a plurality of ferrules in the form of sockets which mate with respective contact pins. In use, the male contact pins are plugged into the female sockets to effect a mechanical and electrical connection between the two. Typically, a plurality of cables such as coaxial cables are electrically and mechanically attached to respective contacts of one of the harness connectors such as the contact pins of the male connector. Similarly, a plurality of coaxial cables is typically electrically and mechanically attached to respective contacts of the other connector, such as the ferrules of the female connector. The cables may be attached to the respective contacts by crimping and/or welding in a conventional manner.
In such an application there is a need for providing a satisfactory male contact pin which exhibits adequate strength and conductivity. There is also a need for providing a pin terminal which exhibits adequate conductivity, and satisfactory strength and ductility for electrical and mechanical crimped connection between a conductor and the terminal.
When fabricating male contacts such as, for example, pin-type contacts for use in a pin-type harness connector, it is known to use a dual gauged material to form a contact terminal, for attachment to a conductor such as a coaxial cable, and a pin extending from the terminal. Such material provides satisfactory ductility for crimping connectors to the conductor and satisfactory strength and conductivity. However, the use of dual gauged material is much more costly than single gauged material. It is also known to use single gauged material which is folded to provide contact pins having a 0.64 mm terminal interface. However, it is inherent in such a configuration that contact pins fabricated from folded material are limited to two sided matability. In addition, there are strength concerns in such applications.


An intelligent post-treatment and regeneration control method for an engineering machinery engine, comprising an automatic and manual regenerated auxiliary load loading control method. The method steps include, when the accumulation of the particles in a diesel particulate filter exceeds a specified standard and the exhaust temperature of the engine is higher than the regeneration required temperature, an engine controller transmits an auxiliary regeneration packet; after receiving the packet, a main controller determines the external environment temperature; the main controller supplies corresponding current for the regeneration electromagnetic valve of the particulate filter according to the obtained external environment temperature and the corresponding relationship between a preset environment temperature and a loading current, so as to obtain a load matching the environment temperature; and the main controller monitors the exhaust temperature at the inlet of the diesel particulate filter catalytic converter to achieve automatic closed-loop control of the regeneration auxiliary loading.

Nowadays, with the energy saving ideas emerged in the world, the technology of cleansing the exhaust gas is widely used in Euro IV engine for the higher demands of the engine exhaust. When the diesel engine exhaust gas cleansing system is applied to the engineering machineries like excavators, of which disadvantages are as follows: The stop operation has to be performed for the manual regeneration, of which effect is poor and owns low efficiency under the low load loading condition. Chinese Patent Publication NO. CN101737124A discloses an engineering machinery exhaust gas cleansing system, which enables the efficient burning of the particle accumulated on the filter, thus avoiding the decrease of the operating efficiency caused by regeneration control. The system comprises a filter, a regeneration mechanism, a setting mechanism and a regeneration control mechanism. After the setting mechanism presets and stops the, when the machine is informed to goes into the stop status, the controller calculates the time used for the particulate matter accumulated in the filter burning, if the time is longer than the preset time or the stop time, thus making the regeneration control operate. As the DPD regeneration depends on the promotion of exhaust temperature, when the excavator is in the high-load operating state and the exhaust temperature of the engine reaches the regeneration required temperature, the engine control ECM automatically controls DPD to regenerate in this time, when the excavator in light-load operating state or idle state, the exhaust temperature is not high enough, actually it can't reach the regeneration required temperature, thus it need to rely on the hydraulic load auxiliary to promote exhaust temperature; nowadays, in the situation of the low exhaust temperature, it uses two opened-loop methods such as the manual loading load or the value load to operate auxiliary regeneration;
The technical problems comprise:
1. The load loading time is about twenty minutes. The loading load is manually controlled by changing the inlet exhaust temperature of the diesel particulate filter (DPF) catalytic converter, i.e., DOC temperature during the manual load loading process, which leads to the inconveniences for the operators.
2. The loading load can't be adjusted by the determined load loading in accordance with the change of the inlet exhaust temperature of the diesel particulate filter (DPF) catalytic converter, i.e., DOC temperature.
3. The loading load can't be controlled by the manual load loading and the determined load loading in accordance with the external environment temperature since its low intelligent.

Intelligent post-treatment and regeneration control method for engineering machinery engine

SHANGHAI HUAXING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


According to the present invention, a sheath has flexibility, and includes a first lumen for guiding a conducting wire in the sheath and a second lumen for injecting contrast medium, which are made of insulating material. The wire exposes itself outside at openings formed in the terminal position of the first lumen, and thus forms a dissecting section for dissecting a contact tissue with supplied high-frequency current. The proximal portion of the sheath is connected to a bifurcating section for bifurcating the sheath into a first path having substantially the same cross-sectional area as the first lumen and communicating with the first lumen for guiding the wire so that the wire will not buckle up and a second path communicating with the second lumen. An operation handle for advancing or withdrawing the wire is connected externally to the back of the first path.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a diathermic dissector for dissecting living tissues by flowing high-frequency current over a wire, or more particularly, to a diathermic dissector with a bifurcation forming a path having substantially the same cross-sectional area as a lumen for guiding a wire.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Diathermic dissectors for endoscopes have been employed in recent years. Herein, an insertion tube of an endoscope is guided to a body cavity, a flexible sheath characteristic of electric insulation is routed through a channel formed in the insertion tube, a diathermic dissecting section formed with a conducting wire exposed at the tip of the flexible sheath is pressed on a therapeutic region, then high-frequency current is supplied to flow through the conducting wire to dissect an intended living tissue.
Of the foregoing diathermic dissectors, an endoscope diathermic dissector disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model No. 61-156911 is well-known. FIG. 1 shows the distal portion of the endoscope diathermic dissector.
In FIG. 1, on a side wall in the terminal (distal) portion of a flexible sheath 91 made of electrically-insulating material, a pair of openings or side holes 92a and 92b are bored in the longitudinal-dislocated manner to penetrate through a first lumen 93 for guiding a wire. A conducting wire 94 is routed through these side holes 92a and 92b so that the conducting wire 94 will come out of the flexible sheath 91 between the side hole 92a and the side hole 92b. The exposed portion of the conducting wire 94 forms a diathermic dissecting section 95.
The tip of the wire 94 is provided with a locking member 96. With the locking member 96, the wire 94 is locked in the distal end of the first lumen 93. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the flexible sheath 91 has a second lumen 97 running in parallel with the first lumen 93, allowing a guide wire, which is not shown, or other guide member to pass through, and serving as a fluid feed path for feeding contrast medium.
As shown in FIG. 3, the proximal end of the flexible sheath 91 is connected to a bifurcating section 98 for bifurcating the flexible sheath into a first duct 98a for guiding the wire 94 and a second duct 98b connected to the second lumen 97. A base 99 is attached to the end of the second duct 98b.
The wire 94 is connected to an operation member, which is not shown, at the back of the first duct 98a from which the wire 94 comes out. When the operation member is advanced or withdrawn, a dissecting section 95 of the wire 94 projects or part of the sheath in which the dissecting section 95 is formed bends. A wire exposing itself outside at the opening is pressed onto a tissue of a therapeutic region. With high-frequency current supplied by surgeon's manipulation, the tissue is cauterized and dissected.
To feed contrast medium through the second lumen 97, a syringe (not shown) must be mounted on the base 99.
In an endoscope diathermic dissector having the aforesaid configuration, when a therapeutic region is to be dissected, an operation member is advanced or withdrawn to expose a wire 94 of a dissecting section 95 or project the corresponding portion of a sheath so that the wire will touch the therapeutic region.
In the aforesaid configuration of prior art, a space 100 of a first duct 98a for guiding a wire 94 is so large that even when an operation member is, for example, advanced, the wire 94 buckles up in the large space 100 (as shown with an alternate long and two short dashes line in FIG. 3).
Therefore, advancement by a surgeon's manipulations is not fully communicated to the distal end of the wire 94. As a result, the dissecting wire section exposed outside at the opening cannot be projected to form a shape most suitable for dissection. This results in insufficient operability. When a wire buckles up, the wire must be stretched (withdrawn) once, then advanced.
When buckling occurs, even if the wire 94 is stretched, bending distortion cannot be dissolved quickly. Advancement and withdrawal must be repeated to shape the wire as desired. When advancement and withdrawal are repeated, buckling often recurs. When buckling is repeated, great distortion occurs in the buckled area. The wire 94 becomes prone to rupture, deteriorating durability.
In other cases, when an operation member is withdrawn, the distal portion of a sheath 91 in which a dissecting section 95 is formed is curved to form an arc. This allows a portion of a wire 94 exposing itself outside or the dissecting section 95 to project for use in dissecting an object tissue. After dissection is complete, the operation member must be advanced to straighten the curved area. During the advancement, the wire 94 of prior art buckles up in a large space 100 as described above. This results in degraded operability and deteriorated durability of the wire 94.
During cleaning, the operation member is advanced and withdrawn repeatedly. In prior art, the cleaning causes the wire 94 to buckle up in the large space 100 as described previously.

Diathermic dissector with a bifurcation having substantially the same cross-sectional area as a lumen for guiding a wire