Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device in which an upper conductor layer and a lower conductor layer are electrically connected to each other through a contact hole provided in a multi-layer film. A lower conductor layer having a connection portion is formed on a semiconductor substrate. A first insulator film is formed on the semiconductor substrate to cover the lower conductor layer. On the first insulator film is formed a second insulator film having etching speed different from that of the first insulator film. An opening portion for exposing the connection portion is formed in the first and second insulator films. A native oxide film existing on the surface of the exposed opening portion is removed. An upper conductor layer is deposited on the second insulator film to fill the opening portion. According to this method, no projection which interrupts the step of forming the upper conductor layer is formed on the sidewall of the contact hole even if the native oxide film existing at the bottom surface of the contact hole is etched away. This results in an electrical connection between the upper and lower conductor layers in a satisfactory state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor devices having multi-layer film structures, and more particularly to an improved semiconductor device of a multi-layer film structure in which a lower conductor layer and an upper conductor layer separated from each other by a multilayered insulator film are electrically connected to each other in a satisfactory state through a contact hole provided in the multilayered insulator film. This invention further relates to a method of manufacturing such a semiconductor device having a multi-layer film structure.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently, high integration of semiconductor devices is remarkable, and a technique of forming a contact hole in a multi-layer film is required for such high integration.
FIG. 3A is a plan view of a conventional dynamic random access memory (DRAM) having a multi-layer film; and FIG. 3B is a cross sectional view taken along the lines IIIB--IIIB of FIG. 3A. Referring to these figures, the DRAM includes a semiconductor substrate 1 of the P-type. An isolating oxide film 2 for isolating device areas from each other is formed on a main surface of the semiconductor substrate 1. The DRAM shown in FIG. 3 basically includes transistors and stacked capacitors. Each of the transistors includes an N-type source/drain region 3 formed in the main surface of the semiconductor substrate 1, a transfer gate oxide film provided on the substrate 1, and a transfer gate 5. Meanwhile, each of the stacked capacitor includes a storage node 6, a capacitor dielectric film 7 provided on the storage node 6, and a cell plate electrode 8 provided on the capacitor dielectric film 7. The storage node 6 and the transfer gate 5 are isolated from each other by a first layer insulating film 9 between them. The layer insulating film 9 is formed of a silicon oxide film while the capacitor dielectric film 7 is formed, for example, of a silicon nitride film.
A second layer insulating film 10 is provided over an entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 1 including the transistors and stacked capacitors. The second layer insulating film 10 has a contact hole 11 formed therein which extends to the source/drain region 3. A bit line 12 extends through the contact hole 11 and is connected to the source/drain region 3. A third layer insulating film 13 is provided on the bit line 12. An aluminum wire 14 for carrying a signal to the transfer gate 5 is formed on the third layer insulating film 13. The aluminum wire 14 is made of an aluminum-silicon-copper alloy and formed by sputtering.
With the DRAM having such a construction as described above, when word lines are selected and a predetermined potential is applied to the transfer gate 5, the source/drain regions 3, 3 are rendered conductive to perform a reading/writing operation.
Subsequently, a structure of a contact portion between an aluminum wire 14 and a transfer gate 5 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a conventional structure of the contact portion between the aluminum wire and transfer gate, taken along the lines IV--IV of FIG. 3A.
Referring to FIG. 4, a multi-layer film 15 consisting of a first layer insulating film 9, an extension 7a of a capacitor dielectric film 7 and a second layer insulating film 10 is formed on a transfer gate 5. A contact hole 16 is formed in the multi-layer film 15, an aluminum wire 14 extends through the contact hole 16 and is connected to the transfer gate 5. The aluminum wire 14 is formed by sputtering as described hereinabove.
Now, referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B when the bit line 12 is to be connected to the source/drain region 3 by way of the contact hole 11, polycrystal silicon is placed into the contact hole 11 by chemical vapor deposition. Since such a chemical vapor deposition has a good coating property with respect to a sidewall face of the contact hole 11, there is no trouble in this instance.
However, referring to FIG. 4, when the aluminum wire 14 is to be connected to the transfer gate 5 by way of the contact hole 16, an aluminum-silicon-copper alloy is put into the contact hole 16 by sputtering. This sputtering provides a poor coating property for a sidewall face of the contact hole 16 and hence does not provide such an ideal structure as shown in FIG. 4. This method has such problems as described below with reference to the following figures.
FIGS. 5A to 5D are schedule views of conventional steps in forming a contact hole in a multi-layer film and are represented in sectional views.
Referring to FIG. 5A, a multi-layer film 15 is formed on a substrate 17. The multi-layer film 15 includes a lower film 18, an intermediate film 19 and an upper film 20. The substrate 17 is, for example, a silicon substrate or a wire (polycrystal silicon, an aluminum alloy or the like). The lower film 18 is a layer insulating film, for example, a silicon oxide film. The intermediate film 19 is an extension of a capacitor dielectric film, for example, a silicon nitride film. The upper film 20 is a layer insulating film, for example, a silicon oxide film.
Subsequently, referring to FIG. 5B, a resist film 21 is formed on the multi-layer film 15. After then, the resist film 21 is patterned so that an opening may be formed at a portion of the resist film 21 at which a contact hole is to be formed. After then, using the resist film 21 as a mask, the multi-layer film 15 consisting of the lower film 18, intermediate film 19 and lower film 20 is etched until a surface of the substrate 17 is exposed, thereby forming a contact hole 22. Formation of the contact hole 22 is carried out by etching the upper film 20, intermediate film 19 and lower film 18 at a stroke normally using plasma etching which presents a high anisotropic property. Where the anisotropic property is high, the selectivity in etching between a silicon oxide film (18, 20) and a silicon nitride film (19) is low, which allows a smooth etched face to be obtained. At this stage, a native oxide film 60 is produced at the bottom of the contact hole 22. After then, the resist film 21 is removed.
Then, after removal of the resist film 21, referring to FIG. 5C, the substrate 17 is immersed for a short period of time in dilute solution of hydrofluoric acid or ammonium fluoride to remove a very thin native oxide film 60 of scores angstroms which exists on a surface of the substrate 17. Such removing processing of a native oxide film is a step essential to improvement in ohmic property of a junction between the substrate 17 and an aluminum wire which is formed later. However, since the wet type removing processing of a natural oxide film is chemical etching, the selectivity in etching is high. Consequently, a phenomenon takes place that a silicon oxide film (18, 20) is etched while a silicon nitride film (19) remains not etched, and an eave-like projection 19a of the silicon nitride film (19) is produced on a sidewall face of the contact hole 22 as shown in the figure. If the aluminum wire 14 of an aluminum alloy or the like is formed by sputtering while such an eave-like projection 19a as described above remains present, referring to FIG. 5D, the aluminum wire 14 will not come around to a location below the eave-like projection 19a. As a result, the coating property of the aluminum wire 14 is deteriorated extremely on the sidewall face of the contact hole 22, and in a worst case, the aluminum wire 14 is disconnected at a portion thereof on the intermediate film 19 (silicon nitride film) as shown in the figure, thereby causing an imperfect conducting condition. Or else, even if disconnection does not take place, the thickness of the aluminum wire 14 is reduced at a portion thereof on the eave-like projection 19a, which makes a problem of reliability.
Further, with the conventional method, a problem sometimes takes place also when a contact hole is formed.
FIGS. 6A to 6E are schedule views of a process of forming a contact hole in a multi-layer film using both of wet etching and anisotropic etching.
Referring to FIG. 6A, a multi-layer film 15 is formed on a substrate 17. The multi-layer film 15 consists of a lower film 18, an intermediate film 19 and an upper film 20. The lower film 18 and the upper film 20 are, for example, silicon oxide films. The intermediate film 19 is, for example, a silicon nitride film.
Subsequently, referring to FIG. 6B, a resist film 21 is formed on the multi-layer film 15. Then, the resist film 21 is patterned so that an opening may be formed at a portion of the resist film 21 at which a contact hole is to be formed. Then, using the resist film 21 as a mask, isotropic etching of the multi-layer film 15 is carried out with etching liquid of hydrogen fluoride. The reason why wet etching is additionally used for the formation of a contact hole is that it is intended to shape an upper end portion of the contact hole into a tapered configuration. However, since such a wet etching is chemical etching, the selectivity in etching is high. Consequently, such a phenomenon takes place that a silicon oxide film (18, 20) is etched while a silicon nitride film (19) remains not etched, and an eave-like projection 19a of the silicon nitride film (19) is produced as shown in the figure. Then, referring to FIG. 6C, using the resist film 21 as a mask, anisotropic plasma etching is carried out to form a contact hole 22 which extends to the substrate 17.
After then, referring to FIG. 6D, if the resist film 21 is removed, then the contact hole 22 is obtained wherein the eave-like projection 19a of the silicon nitride film 19 is projected from a sidewall face of the contact hole 22.
If an aluminum wire 14 of an aluminum alloy or the like is formed by sputtering while such an eave-like projection 19a as described above remains present, then the aluminum wire 14 will not come around to a location below the eave-like projection 19a as shown in the figure. As a result, the coating property of the aluminum wire 14 is deteriorated extremely at the sidewall face of the contact hole 2, and in a worst case, the aluminum wire 14 is disconnected at a portion thereof on the silicon nitride film (19) as shown in the figure to cause an imperfect conducting condition. Or else, even if disconnection does not take place, the film thickness of the aluminum wire 14 is reduced at a portion thereof on the eave-like projection 19a, which makes a problem of reliability.
Further, while, in the conventional examples described above, the case is described wherein an intermediate film is projected as an eave-like projection from a wall face of a contact hole, referring to FIG. 7, when a spin on glass film (SOG film) having low density is used for an intermediate film 19, a phenomenon takes place that the intermediate film 19 recedes from a wall face of a contact hole 22 by etching before formation of an aluminum wire (etching for the removal of a native oxide film) so that a groove 19b in the form of a depression is produced on a sidewall of the contact hole 22. If an aluminum wire 14 is formed by sputtering while such a groove 19b in the form of a depression as described above remains present, then disconnection of the aluminum wire 14 takes place as shown in the figure. It is to be noted that, since members or elements denoted by reference numerals 14, 17, 18, 20 and 22 in FIG. 7 are quite the same as those described hereinabove with reference to FIG. 5D, description thereof will not be repeated.
The problem of disconnection of an aluminum wire in a contact hole described above will hereinafter be a progressively serious problem due to an increase of layers in a film arising from promotion of fine structures of semiconductor devices, a deterioration of the coating property of metal wiring films arising from an increase of the aspect ratio of contact holes, and so forth.
In order to solve such problems as described above, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 64-57717 discloses a technique of protecting a sidewall face of a contact hole with a polycrystal silicon film.
In particular, referring to FIG. 8, a multi-layer film 15 is formed on a substrate 17. The multi-layer film 15 consists of an upper film 23 and a lower film 24. The multi-layer film 15 has a contact hole 22 formed therein which extends to the substrate 17. A polycrystal silicon film 25 is formed in such a manner as to cover a sidewall face of the contact hole 22. Such a construction as described above prevents formation of such an eave-like projection or a groove in the form of a depression as described above. However, the method has the following problems.
In particular, when the multi-layer film 15 is etched to form the contact hole 22, the surface of the substrate 17 is acted upon by an impact energy upon etching. Further, since the polycrystal silicon 25 is formed on the sidewall face of the contact hole 22, the surface of the substrate 17 is acted upon again by an impact energy upon etching. Since the surface of the substrate 17 is acted upon by an impact energy twice, there is a problem that the substrate 17 is damaged to cause leak current.
Further, there is a problem that there remains a polycrystal silicon film as a residue during etching of the polycrystalline silicon on the bottom of the contact hole 22 and consequently an ohmic junction cannot be obtained between the aluminum wire 14 and the substrate 17.
In addition, according to the method, a polycrystal silicon film is deposited on the substrate 17 using chemical vapor deposition and is then dry etched to form a polycrystal silicon film 25 on the sidewall face of the contact hole 22. Upon such dry etching, fragments of polycrystal silicon are scattered as foreign particles and stick to every portion of the semiconductor device. Accordingly, there is a problem that such polycrystal silicon fragments may make a cause of short-circuiting between wires.

Semiconductor device having multi-layer film structure


An approach is provided for determining requests for media and responding in substantially real-time utilizing a single user interface. The social network client determines one or more requests from one or more requesting users to capture media related to at least one social networking status of one or more sharing users. The social network client then causes, at least in part, an indication of the one or more requests to the one or more sharing users related to the at least one social networking status.

Service providers and device manufacturers (e.g., wireless, cellular, etc.) are continually challenged to deliver value and convenience to consumers by, for example, providing compelling network services. One area of interest has been the development of social networking services (e.g., FACEBOOK, TWITTER, etc.) that allow users to share photographs, videos, and/or music with their friends, family, and/or associates. Service providers and device manufactures have recently made considerable inroads in the development of services and applications that allow users of mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones) to share media with their friends, family, and/or associates on-the-go and in substantially real-time. However, because users are often required to switch back and forth between an application used for capturing media and an application used for sharing media, many users share their media in retrospect (i.e., after some time has passed since capturing the media). As a result, users can only guess whether others will like their shared media. Accordingly, many users find the experience of sharing media tedious and therefore lose interest in the process.

Method and apparatus for sharing media upon request via social networks


Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a network communication device that includes a backhaul link circuit and a Wi-Fi access point to provide broadband services to a service provider's broadband customers and to provide mobility services to the service provider's mobility customers. This network communication device is installed outside of a dwelling unit in order to simplify the installation procedure and avoid property disruption. An extender device registered to a broadband customer user account may associate to the access point for seamless service. User equipment (UE) of the service provider's mobility customers may associate to the access point to receive Wi-Fi roaming services. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Communication service providers typically provide services to broadband customers, mobility customers, or both. For example, a service provider may provide broadband data services to a broadband customer by running fiber to the home (FTTH), and providing a residential gateway (RG) for the customer to deploy inside the home. Also for example, a service provider may provide mobile data services to user equipment (UE) of mobility customers over a communications network such as a 3GPP 5G network.


A light-emitting device includes a transparent substrate, a light-emitting layer which is provided on one surface of the substrate and which emits light in response to an electrical signal, a conductive portion which transmits the electrical signal to the light-emitting layer, such that light from the light-emitting layer is emitted after being transmitted through the substrate, and a light transflective layer which is provided between the conductive portion and the substrate at a predetermined distance from the conductive portion to reflect some of incident light through the substrate and to transmit the remainder.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a light-emitting device such as an organic EL (electroluminescent) device or an inorganic EL device and to an electronic apparatus having the light-emitting device mounted therein.
2. Related Art
In a bottom emission-type organic EL device, a plurality of light-emitting elements (pixels) are arranged on one surface of a transparent substrate, such as a glass substrate, with an insulating film provided therebetween. Further, wiring lines are formed on regions between pixels. Light generated at each pixel is emitted after being transmitted through the substrate. The substrate may transmit light emitted from a light-emitting layer to an exterior and allow light from the exterior to be incident on the inside of the organic EL device. In the inside of the organic EL device, ratio of areas between the light-emitting portion and the remaining portion other than the light-emitting portion in each pixel is, for example, about 4:6, and most incident light which is transmitted through the substrate from the exterior is reflected by the wiring lines provided between the pixels. In addition, though not reflected by the wiring lines, light may be reflected by a common electrode serving as a cathode after being transmitted through the pixels. Therefore, when the organic EL device is driven to perform display, light emitted from the pixel and light reflected on the wiring line or the common electrode are mixed. As a result, the contrast may be deteriorated.
In order to prevent the contrast from deteriorating, according to a related art, there is provided a method in which an organic material for absorbing light between the wiring lines is arranged as a black matrix such that incident light does not reach the wiring line or the common electrode, or a method in which a circularly polarizing plate is arranged to overlap the display unit such that light reflected inside the device is prevented from leaking to the exterior. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 10-214043 is an example of the related art.
However, since the circularly polarizing plate is expensive, the cost of a light-emitting device using the circularly polarizing plate increases. Further, in the method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-214043, it is necessary to pattern the black matrix so as to cover the regions between wiring lines and thus the manufacturing process is complex. Further, carbon is included in the black matrix and thus the wiring lines may become electrically connected to one another via the carbon.

Light-emitting device and electronic apparatus


An archery arrow/bolt pulling device designed for the safe, easy, non-destructive and one handed extraction of deeply embedded, complete arrow or bolt assemblies regardless of shaft diameter or arrowhead type from foam and other target materials. This device pulls with three surrounding gripping jaws in a coaxial path with the long axis of the arrow/bolt and the combined mechanical advantage power of lever, fulcrum and cam while overcoming the minimal movement of the load end of the lever by means of a ratcheting pawl and toothed pull rod.

The "arrow" from a bow and the "bolt" or "quarrel" from a crossbow being completely interchangeable in the context of this invention shall herein be succinctly called "arrow" and shall not limit this "Archery Arrow Puller" to one or the other.
This invention relates generally to archery bows, crossbows and their details. More specifically it relates to a device for the safe and non-destructive removal of an arrow from foam and other target materials without the need for disassembly of said arrow. "Non-destructive" in this context includes but is not limited to the avoidance of bending, cracking, crushing or breaking of the arrow shaft and/or damage to the fletching, knock or arrowhead. Any of which would be detrimental to the re-use or accuracy of said arrow making archery practice impracticable. "Safe" in this context considers the avoidance of bodily harm by eliminating the extreme force one must use to extract said arrows from said targets and the opposite reaction that occurs when and if the arrow breaks or breaks free. Especially those with razor broadheads.
The advanced technology of modern compound bows and carbon fiber arrows has dramatically increased arrow impact (kinetic energy) and the depth and speed of penetration the arrow has on said targets. The smaller diameter and stiffness of spine of carbon fiber arrows adds to the problem of arrow removal from said targets in the following three ways; 1) stiffness of spine causes deeper target penetration due to less deflection of the arrow shaft upon impact of said targets, 2) the smaller diameter of carbon fiber arrows cause for less surface area to meet with friction during the penetration of said targets and, 3) the smaller diameter of carbon fiber arrows makes them very hard to grasp with your hands during the removal from said targets. The arrow speed and arrow efficiency brought forth from this advanced archery technology causes extreme friction as a loosed arrow penetrates said target. Interaction of these asperities through elastic and plastic yielding generates heat which creates a bond (friction weld) between arrow and said target.
Another issue exposed itself upon the initial design of such an arrow pulling device. Grasping the said arrow in a non-destructive way with enough surface area on the arrow shaft to hold firmly enough caused some of the previous inventions to encircle the arrow with semi cylindrical shaped grippers. Deiter U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,219 B2 is one such example. Braswell U.S. Pat. No. 8,544,926 B2 is another. While this semi cylindrical shaped gripper design does ensure maximum gripping surface on a similarly sized arrow, it does not lend itself well to the wide range of arrow shaft diameters. A study of arrow shaft materials (aluminum, carbon fiber, fiberglass, hybrid, wood etc.) and subsequent diameter of the arrow shafts showed a wide range of diameters (approximately 5 mm˜10 mm O.D.). Online references: lancasterarchery.com/blog/large-diameter-arrows-for-indoor-target-shooting/eastonarchery.com/huntingarrows/Inspirational reference: A. I. Jacobs U.S. Pat. No. 709,014.
The necessity for non-destructive arrow removal from said targets has driven several inventors to apply an array of solutions, none of which encompass in totality the requirements met in this invention. Numerous arrow pulling devices are found in the current state of the art. Ravencroft, U.S. Pat. No. D373,610, discloses an arrow gripping tool to help the hand grab or grip an arrow embedded in the target. While Ravencroft's invention improves traction on the arrow shaft, it does not provide a mechanical advantage to amplify the force needed to remove today's deeply embedded arrows. Orton et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,471, discloses a tool for extraction of an arrowhead. Orton's device does provide an amplifying mechanical advantage by means of a lever and fulcrum while grasping the arrowhead rather than the arrow shaft. While this provides protection for the arrow shaft, it would be impossible to grasp an arrow head that is deeply embedded (unreachable) in the archery target. Binette U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,424 device features a ramp clamping system that does grasp the arrow shaft rather than the unreachable arrowhead. However, it's acceptance of the wide range of arrow shaft diameters seems limited and there is no mechanical advantage in its arrow removal technique. Smith U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,625 exhibits a nice use of mechanical advantage via a threaded screw system. Unfortunately, the device can not access an arrowhead which is deeply submerged in the target material and also requires disassembly of the arrow. Pace et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,001 uses a sliding hammer or tamping rod device as a mechanical advantage but necessitates arrow disassembly and can not access a deeply embedded arrowhead. While this sliding hammer pulling device is extremely effective in extracting the arrowhead alone, this style of mechanical advantage does not lend itself well to the arrow shaft pulling device as the shock of each hammer stroke may separate the threaded insert which is only glued to the inside wall of the arrow and allows for the attachment of the arrowhead to the arrow. Inspirational reference: S. Clark U.S. Pat. No. 1,976,253.


Connectors and linking components for a guidewire probe having multiple optical emitting fibers and methods of making connectors and linking components for guidewire probes having multiple optical emitting fibers are described herein.

Stents are expandable devices inserted into arteries via angioplasty techniques that keep a blood vessel open. They are typically open tubular structures having, for example, struts and ribs that allow expansion when an interiorly placed balloon is inflated. The stents are typically made of metal although other materials are possible, and are designed to be inflated with sufficient pressure to make close contact with the wall of the lumen in the artery being treated. Manufacturer recommended pressures for expansion of standard stents are typically in the range of from 4 to 16 atmospheres.
Current clinical practice is to position a balloon and stent in the required location by observation, for example, using angiographic x-ray techniques. The balloon is typically filled with a solution of saline and x-ray contrast agent. The angiogram presents a one-dimensional cross-sectional view of the artery with relatively poor spatial resolution, which is commonly the case, as the lumen of an artery does not necessarily have a circular cross-section, especially in atherosclerotic sections where it is likely to be an irregular shape. Although the physician may view the artery from more than one angle, the information provided by angiography is limited and insufficient to provide an accurate assessment of the size to which the stent should be inflated.
Angiography is also used in current clinical practice to determine the degree to which an artery is narrowed. Narrowing of the artery is called stenosis and is illustrated in FIG. 1A. Stenosis is caused by the buildup of plaque 14 commonly referred to as lesions on an interior area of an artery wall 10. This in turn decreases a cross-section of the lumen 16 through which blood flows 12. In FIG. 1A, the narrowing caused by an atherosclerotic plaque 14 is of the order of 70% in the longitudinal view and, as such, would likely be treated with balloon angioplasty and stent placement. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 1A, shown at lower inset, illustrates the irregularly shaped lumen 16. As illustrated, plaques 14 commonly form with increased frequency at or very near to bifurcations of the artery 18.
In current, practice, the cardiologist estimates the degree of narrowing as compared to the expected dimension of an open lumen. Based on this estimation, the cardiologist then determines whether an angioplasty or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG—bypass surgery) is required to improve blood flow. Such stenotic lesions as plaques 14 are commonly treated using balloon angioplasty, as illustrated in FIG. 1B. A balloon catheter 22 includes a dilation balloon 20 attached to a guidewire 24 to navigate through the artery. The dilation balloon 20 is inserted at the area of the lesion 14 and inflated to increase the luminal size 16. Following dilation, stents which may be deployed by the use of the balloon catheter 22 are commonly placed at the site of the lesion to prevent stenosis at a later time (restenosis).
As known in the field, accurate stent expansion is critical to the success of an angiography procedure. For example, the over-expansion of a stent can cause rupture of the blood vessel. Conversely, under-expansion of a stent leaves areas or gaps between a stent structure and lumen wall which can lead to thrombosis.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device, system, and method which provide for accurate measurement of the dimensions of a luminal space of an artery thereby allowing for the determination of the size to which a stent should be expanded. There is also a need for combining a device for determining the location of a lesion with a means for deploying a sent. Such a combined device requires connectors which allow the locating device to identify a lesion, disconnect from an instrument box allowing a secondary device to be slid over the locating device so that the secondary device may act on the lesion, for example, deploy a stent, and reconnect to the instrument box to allow observation of the deployed stent.

Connectors for multi fiber optical probes


A phase switch (energy switch) comprising a three-cavity system (an end-coupled cavity+side-passed accelerate cavity+an end-coupled cavity) and a separate single couple cavity is disclosed. The phase shift between the adjacent accelerate cavities is π when the three-cavities system is disordered (state ‘0’); and a microwave pass through the three-cavities system to the adjacent accelerate cavities, the phase between the adjacent accelerate cavities is change to 2π (or 0) when the single couple cavity is disordered (state ‘1’). When the state 0 changes to state 1, the field phase in the structure behind the system is changed to π, thereby to switch the phase. In the two states, the entire structure operates in π/2 mode, that is very stable. That is very important for the medical accelerator. The detaining components have been moved outside the cavity when the single couple cavity or the three-cavity system is in the operate state, without warring about high frequency breakdown. By changing couple between the two end-coupled cavities in the three-cavity system and the adjacent accelerate cavities and between the cavities in the system, the relative field-strength in the acceleration section besides the switching is changed while the phase reverses. It can be used for 6 Mev accelerator middle-energy or high-energy accelerator.

Standing wave electron linear accelerators are widely used in radiation treatment. It has been a research direction over the past thirty years to extend the operating energy range, that is, to increase the output dosage over middle-energy and high-energy accelerators and to implement multiple purposes on one machine. The "Image Guided Radiation Treatment" (IGRT) is primary research direction in recent years. The related patents are as below:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,192 A, Tanabe et al., Varian, August 1981;
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,208 A, Meddaugh et al., Varian, May 1983;
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,938 A, Whitham, Varian, December 1986;
4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,839 A, Kazusa et al., NEC, May 1988;
5. U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,694 A, Young, LANL, October 1998;
6. U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,021 B1, Meddaugh et al., Varian, April 2002;
7. PCT/GB00/03004, Allen et al., Elekta, August 2000;
8. CN 1237079 A, TONG Dechun et al., TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY et al., December 1999.
When treading deceases using radiation treatment devices, the high-energy radiation beams radiated by electron linear accelerator are used to kill ill cells such as cancer cells. However, the energy of such radiation beams are much higher than that required by medical imaging. Therefore, what is needed is a device capable of switching between high energy and low energy such that the linear accelerator outputs low-energy electron beams when the radiation treatment device is used for examining, while outputs high-energy electron beams when the device is used for treating.
In the 20 cm beam focus segment in front of the electron linear accelerator, the electrons are accelerated to a velocity very close to the velocity of light (the energy is at about 1-1.5 MeV), in the following light segments the electrons are further accelerated over the wave to a high energy. Finally, the performance of the electron beams is determined by the relationship of field intensity and phase velocity to a great extent. The phase velocity, however, is a structural parameter, while the field intensity is changed over the power. The energy of electrons is decreased over the along with the decrease of power. When the power is decreased to a certain value, the relationship of field intensity and phase velocity in the beam focus segment goes far away from the design value, the performance of electron beam output is seriously deteriorated and trapping is greatly reduced so that the accelerator cannot function normally.
This problem can be avoided by using a phase switch to adjust energy. Assume that the electron beam energy finally output by the accelerator is 18 MeV, a phase switch is placed at a position when the electron energy reaches 12 MeV. When the phase switch is working, the accelerating segments after the switch are phase inversed, i.e., with a change of 180 degree in phase. Then the electrons are decelerated rather than being accelerated, with the energy decreased to 6 MeV from 12 MeV. Since the relationship of the field intensity and phase velocity in these two statuses is not changed, the 6 MeV electron beam has a performance as good as that of the 18 MeV electron beam.
Tanabe taught a design in U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,192 that, in a common side-coupling cavity, an end could be replaced by a movable piston. When the piston is extended into the coupling cavity, the frequency of TM011 or TEM modes is decreased to a value in wave band S and the structure is resonated again. The phases of the accelerating segments after the cavity change 180 degree and implement phase inversion because there's an additional phase movement of π in this coupling cavity. However, under this status, the field intensity in the coupling cavity is very high, and any moving components would cause high-frequency fire striking. During phase inversion, it is difficult to adjust field intensity separately. In addition, the structure is not operating in π/2 mode in this segment. A minor change of the position of the piston would not only affect the resonance capability of the whole structure, but also change the distribution of the field intensity.
In the above patent applications No. U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,192, U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,208, U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,938, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,021 obtained by Varian, the patent application No. U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,938 has always been used in the medical use accelerators produced by Varian. The Patent No. CN 1,237,079 A obtained by Tsinghua University is similar to the above patents. The technology of Tsinghua's is used in axis-coupling standing wave structure, while the technologies of Varian's are used in side-coupling standing wave structure. Patent No. U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,021 is the latest one. The above patents are all adjusting mechanisms used in a coupling cavity that adjust the relative field intensity in the previous and next accelerating structures by changing its coupling to the two adjacent accelerating cavities to improve the outputs at low-energy end. Therefore, they are often referred to as "energy switch". The patent by NEC uses two predetermined coupling cavities that have different coupling to adjacent accelerating cavities, and achieves the same by deresonate one of the two cavities. However, all the technologies above improve the performance of the low-energy electron beam outputted by the accelerator by changing coupling coefficients to increase the field intensity of the beam focus segment, while do not incorporate phase inversion. Further discussions are omitted herewith.
The patent application No. PCT/GBOO/03004 by Elekta implements phase inversion by using a cylindrical coupling cavity having an axis perpendicular to the axis of the accelerator (conventionally, the axis of the coupling cavity is in parallel to the axis of the accelerator). The device operates in TE111 polarized mode, continuously adjusts its relative coupling to the adjacent accelerating cavities by rotating the polarization plane of the mode with mechanism, and achieves the purpose for phase inversion. However, according to the recitations in the description of this patent application, the frequency of the cylindrical coupling cavity would change when the polarization plane rotates so that the performance of the structure and the stability of operation are affected. Besides, since the device operates under a high order mode TE111, it may be easily affected by other adjacent high order modes during operation. Since there's still field intensity existed in the cylindrical coupling cavity, the device is not strictly operating in π/2 mode and also has the problem of fire striking. All these problems affect the operation stability of the device. In addition, the adjusting in the adjustment mechanism is not convenient, and has a low flexibility.

Phase switch and a standing wave linear accelerator with the phase switch

Mian Yang Gao Xin Qu Twin Peak Technology Development Inc.


Based on a relative comparison of respective consumed powers of cells which are subjected to a layout, separation information on cells to be separated which are to be arranged in a spaced-apart manner from each other is generated by separation information generating means, and a layout is generated by layout generating means based on this separation information. Accordingly, it is no more necessary to rearrange cells or to form a layout of the entire circuit again after generating an initial layout. Furthermore, it is no more necessary to set wide spacing between wirings. Still furthermore, the occurrence of noise is prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improvement of an LSI design system using a computer, and more particularly to an LSI design system which is capable of preventing the occurrence of voltage drop and noise which are caused by the concentration of cells or wirings.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Recently, along with the advancement of the fine processing technology, the high integration of the LSI has been progressed and hence, the demand for further speedup or further lowering of voltages of an LSI and the demand for the development of an LSI in a short period are increasing.
In designing the densely packed cells and wirings, voltage drop and noise occur due to the partial concentration of consumed power and this causes the malfunction of the LSI and lowering of the yield. This is caused by a following reason. That is, the voltage drop occurs in case the consumed power of the cells connected to power trunks is relatively large compared to the power supplied to the power trunks. When the voltage drop occurs, there arises a problem that driving of cells connected to the power trunks requires a long time or cells become inoperable. On the other hand, noise occurs in the following manner. That is, when signals are changed approximately in the identical timing at a plurality of neighboring wirings, a capacitance constructed between wires mediates unexpected signal as noise. This noise causes the delay or rashness of the signal.
As illustrated in FIG. 23, when a plurality of cells having a large consumed power, for example, cells which are given instance names A–D are arranged in such a manner that they are concentrated at one place, voltage drop occurs thus giving rise to a malfunction of a circuit.
Conventionally, the layout of wirings has been designed in such a manner that the wirings are arranged without taking change of signals into account. With respect to three wirings N1, N2, N3 illustrated in FIG. 24 which generate change of signals, when two wirings N1, N2 which generate change of signals in the identical timing are arranged close to each other as shown in FIG. 25, noise occurs thus giving rise to a malfunction of the circuit.
Conventionally, based on information on an arrangement of cells and wirings obtained after designing the layout, in case voltage drop is greater than the minimum operating voltage, the cells which are subjected to such a voltage drop are rearranged so as to ensure the minimum operating voltage thus preventing the voltage drop. One example of such method has been disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent publication Hei 9-130622, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,348 and the U.S. Pat. No. 5,751,957.
Furthermore, considering the necessity of preventing the occurrence of noise, with respect to wirings which are arranged in parallel to each other, it has been recommended to set a wide spacing between wirings from the beginning.
The rearrangement of cells after completion of the designing of the layout requires considerable efforts and time. Furthermore, in case the rearrangement of cells turns out to be insufficient to prevent voltage drop, the layout of the entire circuit must be designed again. Such a redesigning of the layout prolongs the development period of the LSI.
Setting of the wide spacing or distance between wirings from the beginning to obviate such troubles, on the other hand, increases the area of the LSI, gives rise to an increase of cost and makes the high integration of the LSI difficult.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method of processing a ticket order requesting the production of an identification tag for an article of commerce can be accomplished in the following manner. In the first step, a ticketing services provider receives the ticket order placed by the client, the ticket order including, inter alia, order information (e.g., purchase order information) with respect to the article to which the tag is to be affixed. Having received the order, the ticketing services provider associates a unique identification code, such as an automatically-retrievable electronic product code (EPC), with the identification tag (e.g., by programming the IC chip of an RFID tag with the unique identification code). In turn, a file is stored in an electronically-accessible database which links the unique identification code for the ID tag with the order information for the article to which the tag is to be affixed. In this manner, the client can retrieve the order information relating to each individual article of commerce that it produces. The ability to track order information for individual articles of commerce is useful in, among other things, anti-counterfeit, anti-diversion, inventory management and article return applications.

The present invention relates generally to the retail industry and more particularly to ticketing services in the retail industry.
In the retail industry, articles of commerce are traditionally provided with one or more identification tags (also referred to herein simply as tags, tickets or labels) to communicate pertinent information relating to the articles. For example, an article of clothing is commonly provided with a permanent label which may inform a consumer of, among other things, the name of the manufacturer and/or instructions for washing the article. As another example, an article of clothing is commonly provided with a removable tag which is designed for separation from the article after purchase, the removable tag informing a consumer of, among other things, the price, size and style of the article at the point-of-sale.
The production costs associated with the printing, sorting, packing and shipping of individual labels (e.g., labor, equipment and facilities) are often too large for a manufacturer to absorb. As a result, many retail companies often out-source either a portion or all of their ticketing services to a specialist in the ticketing industry. As will be described further in detail below, the out-sourcing of global ticketing services provides clients (e.g., vendors, retailers, etc.) with not only the individual identification tags but also the management services associated with the production of the tags (e.g., printing, consolidating, shipping, etc.).
Avery Dennison Corporation of Pasadena, Calif., is widely regarded as an innovator and pioneer in the retail ticketing services industry. FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a ticketing system that is useful in describing a proprietary business model which Avery Dennison Corporation (hereinafter referred to simply as Avery) has developed to provide its clients with global ticketing services in the retail industry, the ticketing system being identified generally by reference numeral 11. As can be seen in FIG. 1, Avery's proprietary business model utilizes a network-based ticketing system to promote efficient and accurate ticket production and management services.
As part of Avery's proprietary business model, a ticketing services provider (i.e., Avery) in the network-based ticketing system is set up to receive one or more ticket orders from its client. The ticketing services provider is then responsible for overseeing the manufacture of identification tags at any one of its globally-diverse print centers. The manufactured tickets are then routed to the manufacturing facility where the client's articles are being made. At that time, each ticket is affixed to a corresponding article.
An example of one of Avery's proprietary business models for providing global ticketing services is presently commercialized under the name of Ticket Express™.
Referring now to the details of FIG. 1, ticketing system 11 includes a ticketing services provider 13 (e.g, Avery) which serves as the epicenter, or core, of the entire ticketing system. Ticketing services 11 additionally includes a vendor 15 (i.e., the manufacturer of a particular article of commerce), a manufacturing facility 17 (i.e., the particular facility where the particular article of commerce is made) and a retailer 19 (i.e., the place where the particular article of commerce is ultimately offered for sale). As will be described further in detail below, ticketing system 11 provides a client (namely, vendor 15 and/or retailer 19) with a third party means (i.e., ticketing services provider 13) for supplying a manufacturing facility 17 with the necessary tags for its manufactured, but yet untagged, articles of commerce. As defined herein, ticketing system 11 is referred to as a closed-loop system in that the all of the constituents of system 11 are either affiliated or contracted by the client requesting the ticketing services and, as a consequence, have standardized/compatible system hardware and software tools (the standardization of the tools for the constituents often being provided as part of the services offered by provider 13).
As noted briefly above, ticketing services provider 13 includes a network of facilities which together provide a client with global retail ticketing services. Ticketing services provider 13 includes a centralized hub 21 which serves as the epicenter, or core, of its ticketing services, centralized hub 21 comprising a hub server 23 and a hub database 25 which are connected through an electronic communication path 27 (e.g., a local area network). Preferably, vendor 15, manufacturing facility 17 and retailer 19 are all electronically linked to hub 21 via electronic communication paths 29, 31 and 33, respectively. For example, a personal computer (PC) 35 may be used by one or more of said constituents to electronically communicate with hub 21.
Ticketing services provider 13 is also provided with a plurality of globally-diverse hosts 37-1 and 37-2, hosts 37-1 and 37-2 also being identified herein as Host A and Host B, respectively. Hosts 37-1 and 37-2 are both independently electronically linked to hub 21 via electronic communication paths 39 and 41, respectively, each host 37 comprising a server 43 and a database 45 which are electronically linked together.
Each host 37 is preferably assigned the ticket management services for a particular geographic territory (e.g., North America, South America, Europe, Far East, etc.). Accordingly, hosts 37-1 and 37-2 serve as regional facilities where particular print orders are routed from hub 21, wherein the particular host 37 selected to receive a print order is based upon the territory where the particular manufacturing facility 17 that is constructing the articles in conjunction with the order is located. Upon receiving the print orders, the particular host 37 then manages the release of the print orders to one or more of its associated print centers, as will be described further in detail below.
It should be noted that, for simplicity purposes only, ticketing services provider 13 is shown comprising a pair of hosts 37. However, it is to be understood that the number of hosts 37 utilized by provider 13 could be modified to meet the ticketing services demands of its clients without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
Ticketing services provider 13 is further provided with a plurality of globally-diverse print centers 47-1 through 47-5, each print center 47 comprising, inter alia, a personal computer 35 and a printer 49 which are electronically linked together.
As seen in FIG. 1, each print center 47 is independently electronically linked to a corresponding host 37. Specifically, print centers 47-1, 47-2 and 47-3 are shown as being independently electronically linked to host 37-1 via electronic communication paths 51, 53 and 55, respectively, and print centers 47-4 and 47-5 are shown as being independently electronically linked to host 37-2 via electronic communication paths 57 and 59, respectively.
Each print center 47 is located at a site within the territory assigned to its corresponding host 37. In this manner, upon receiving a particular print order, host 37 is able to select the optimal print center 47 for its ticket printing operations (e.g., the print center 47 located in closest proximity to manufacturing facility 17).
It should be noted that provider 13 is not limited in the number of print centers 47 that it assigns to each of its hosts 37. Rather, the number of print centers 47 assigned to each of its hosts 37 could be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should also be noted that not all of the print centers 47 are necessarily owned by provider 13 (i.e., some of the print centers 47 may fall outside of the circle defined by provider 13). Rather, a print center located at, or affiliated with, manufacturing facility 17 could be managed by provider 13 as part of the provider's ticketing services without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
An example of one of Avery's proprietary business models for providing global ticketing services to a client will be described herein in conjunction with ticketing system 11. First, the client places a ticket order with provider 13 via hub 21 (the placed ticket order being represented by dashed arrow 61 in FIG. 1). It should be noted that, in the present example, the client placing the ticket order with provider 13 is depicted as either vendor 15 (wherein the emanation of said ticket order is represented by dashed arrow 63 in FIG. 1) or retailer 19 (wherein the emanation of said ticket order is represented by dashed arrow 65 in FIG. 1).
In the ticket order, the client typically specifies the following data (the data being commonly referred to in the art as the ticket order's variable information): (1) ticket information—as defined herein, ticket information relates to the number, format, size and style of ticket stock which is to be used with respect to the order (e.g., 500, double-sided color hang tags); (2) article information—as defined herein, article information relates to visually perceptible information associated with the articles to which the labels are to be affixed (e.g., article size, style, color, etc.); and (3) order information—as defined herein, order information relates to business information associated with the articles to which the labels are to be affixed, such as purchase order (P.O.) information. As can be appreciated, purchase order information can be used to retrieve, among other things, advanced shipping notification (ASN) information for articles associated with a particular purchase order.
Ticketing system 11 preferably allows for the ticket order to be placed by the client in any number of different ways. For example, the ticket order can be placed by the client using electronic data interchange (EDI), proprietary file transfers, web-based orders, email orders, fax orders and/or telephone orders.
The ticket order received by hub 21 is directed to its hub server 23 which, in turn, translates the ticket order into data which utilizes EDI-based formatting. After performing the translation process, hub server 23 performs the two following functions: (1) server 23 stores the raw, translated data in database 25; and (2) server 23 routes the raw, translated data to the particular host 37 responsible for processing the particular ticket order (i.e., the host located in the territory where the articles in the order are being manufactured). In the present example, the translated data is routed to Host B (as represented by dashed arrow 67 in FIG. 1).
Upon receiving the translated data, the host 37 performs a series of calculations to determine, among other things, the most cost-effective manner to process the ticket order. For example, host 37 utilizes complex algorithms to group, or map, the translated data with other data (e.g., additional pending ticket orders) which is similar in nature. As can be appreciated, it has been found that by grouping similar ticket orders, economic benefits can be materialized by jointly printing the orders at the same printing facility.
Based on the results of its calculations, host 37 creates a file which details the particulars of the ticket order to be immediately processed (the ticket order including the original ticket order information as well as the information associated with any other similar, pending ticket orders). Host 37 then releases the file to a particular print center 47. In the present example, the file is released from Host B to print center 47-5 (as represented by dashed arrow 69 in FIG. 1). As noted above, because each host 37 is provided with a plurality of diversely located print centers 47, host 37 preferably releases the ticket order to the print center 47 that is best suited to process the order (e.g., the print center 47 situated in the closest proximity to the manufacturing facility 17 where the articles to be associated with the identification tags are being produced).
Once it receives the file, print center 47-5 commences its tag manufacturing process. Specifically, a personal computer (PC) 35 located at print center 47-5 retrieves the file and, in response thereto, controls the process of printing identification tags using its associated printer 49. It should be noted that the file received by the computer 35 contains all of the client-specified information that is to be associated with the particular ticket order. In accordance therewith, ticket center 47-5 utilizes its printer 49 to complete the manufacture of the identification tags for the ticket order. Once the tag manufacturing process is complete, print center 47-5 delivers the finished tags to manufacturing facility 17 (as represented by dashed arrow 71 in FIG. 1). In the case where manufacturing facility 17 is located in close proximity to print center 47-5, it is to be understood that the costs associated with the delivery are minimized, which is highly desirable.
Preferably, each print center 47 is provided with the technology to impart different types of data onto each identification tag (i.e., data which can be read using different types of conventional data retrieval technologies). For example, print center 47 may impart human-readable printed matter onto a surface of the tag which, in turn, provides a potential customer with relevant details relating to the article (e.g, the size and/or price of the article). As another example, print center 47 may impart automatic identification (auto ID) information onto each tag. As defined herein, the term "automatic identification information" relates to data provided on a tag which can be automatically captured by a computer using an auto ID reading instrument. For instance, a printed bar code system is one well-known and widely used system for relaying information using automatic identification techniques.
At manufacturing facility 17, the supply of finished tags are secured to the individual articles that are being manufactured in accordance therewith. In this manner, each tag serves to display (using either human-readable print or automatic identification means) pertinent information relating to the article to which it is affixed. Having secured each ticket to its associated article, the ticketed articles are then packaged and shipped to retailer 19, as represented by dashed arrow 73 in FIG. 1. At this point, retailer 19 displays the ticketed articles for sale, such as in a retail store.
It should be noted that numerous intermediary facilities (e.g., consolidators, de-consolidators, poolers, distribution centers, etc.) are often involved in the process of shipping the ticketed articles from manufacturing facility 17 to retailer 19. However, for simplicity purposes only, the ticketed articles are represented herein as being delivered directly from manufacturing facility 17 to retailer 19.
The use of a network-based, global ticketing service business model of the type described in detail above inherently provides a client with a number of significant benefits.
As a first benefit, the client is able to defer the considerable manufacturing costs associated with printing tickets to an expert in the industry. As a result, the client is not required to invest capital in the production costs that are typically associated with the printing, sorting, packing and shipping of individual labels (e.g., labor, equipment and manufacturing facilities).
As a second benefit, the client is able to defer the management services associated with the ticket manufacturing process to an expert in the industry. In this capacity, the client is ensured that ticket orders are processed in a timely, efficient, accurate and cost-effective manner.
As a third benefit, the ticket order mapping algorithms used by hosts 37 allow for multiple ticket orders which are similar in nature to be bundled together for processing in order to minimize production costs. In addition, the algorithms minimize shipment costs by assigning print orders to print centers 47 located in close proximity to a manufacturing facility 17.
It should be noted that a similar but subsequent approach to Avery's above-described proprietary business model for providing global ticketing services is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0061217 to P. K. Whittingham et al., which is incorporated herein by reference.
As noted briefly above, identification tags are commonly provided with information using automatic identification (auto ID) means. In this manner, the information provided on the tag can be automatically captured using the combination of a reader and a computer. Some examples of automatic identification means include bar codes, smart cards, voice recognition software, biometric technologies (such as retinal scans), optical character recognition and radio frequency identification (RFID). The principal benefit associated with automatic data capture relates to the relative ease, simplicity, quickness and accuracy of uploading data into a computer by eliminating the need for manual data entry.
In the retail industry, automated bar code systems are well-known and widely used to automatically exchange data relating to a particular item. Simply stated, a bar code is a stamp-sized patch of variable thickness, parallel lines with variable spacing provided between successive lines. Using a bar code reader, which includes the combination of an infrared or light emitter and an optical detector, the pattern of lines in a bar code can be captured by a computer which translates said pattern into a numeric code that, in turn, can be used to retrieve data. Commonly, bar coding is utilized in the retail industry to scan articles for purchase into a retail register, thereby providing a retailer with a quick, efficient and accurate means for calculating the cost associated with the purchase of an item at the point-of-sale.
Bar code systems are capable of storing a relatively small amount of data. As a result, bar code systems have been traditionally used in the art to identify only the manufacturer, product and version of a particular product. Bar code systems are not typically used to uniquely identify each individual article of commerce from similar articles of commerce. As an example, bar coding is commonly used to identify an article as a 12 ounce can of a particular soft drink. However, bar coding is not typically used to uniquely identify (i.e., distinguish) one 12 ounce can of soda from an identical 12 ounce can of soda.
As can be appreciated, the retail industry has recently recognized that a number of considerable benefits arise from being able to uniquely identify individual articles of commerce. As a result, the retail industry is currently exploring the use of supplemental means of automatic identification (other than traditional bar codes) in accordance with its articles of manufacture.
Specifically, the electronic product code (EPC) is a well-known identification coding system which has recently grown into prominence in the retail ticketing industry. The electronic product code is particularly useful in that it is capable of providing a relatively large number of unique identification codes for articles of commerce. In fact, a 96 bit electronic product code system provides unique identification codes for 268 million companies, wherein each company is able, in turn, to assign 16 million object classes and 68 billion serial numbers in each class. As can be appreciated, the implementation of a 96 bit electronic product code system in the retail industry would adequately cover all products manufactured worldwide in the present and in the immediate future.
One means for implementing the electronic product code is through the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. In particular, many companies in the retail and retail ticketing industries have supplemented and in some cases replaced the use of traditional bar codes with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, each RFID tag being designed for securement to an individual article of commerce (as well as shipping containers and pallets which house the individual articles). When used to label an item, each RFID tag is assigned a unique EPC-based identification code (e.g., EPCglobal-based code) to provide retailers with a means for uniquely identifying each item or article of commerce in the supply chain, as will be described further below.
RFID devices are most commonly categorized as labels or tags. Some examples of RFID tags and labels appear in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,107,920, 6,206,292 and 6,262,292. RFID labels are RFID devices that are adhesive or otherwise have a surface that is attached directly to objects. RFID tags, in contrast, are secured to objects by other means, for example by use of a plastic fastener, string or other fastening means. RFID tags, labels or other marking media used in the garment and accessories retail industry can include, for example, pressure sensitive adhesive labels, heat transfer labels, printed fabric labels, woven labels, graphic hang tags, price tickets, loop tags, and pocket flashers. RFID devices are referred to herein somewhat interchangeably as "tags" or "labels", and references to "RFID tags" may indicate any of these types of marking or identification media, and others.
RFID devices include active tags and labels, which include a power source, and passive tags and labels, which do not. In the case of passive tags, in order to retrieve the information from the chip, a "base station" or "reader" sends an excitation signal to the RFID tag or label. The excitation signal energizes the tag or label, and the RFID circuitry transmits the stored information back to the reader. The "reader" receives and decodes the information from the RFID tag.
Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown an exploded, top perspective view of one type of RFID tag that is well known in the art, the RFID tag being identified generally by reference numeral 75. RFID tag 75 comprises an RFID inlay 77 that is secured to the underside of a printable face sheet (or facestock) 79 by means of a first layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 81. The underside of RFID inlay 77 is in turn releasably secured to a liner sheet 83 by means of a second layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 85 so as to form a unitary RFID tag assembly, the RFID tag assembly being identified generally by reference numeral 87.
As seen most clearly in FIG. 3, RFID inlay 77 includes a substrate 89, an antenna 91 disposed on one surface of substrate 89 and an RFID integrated circuit (IC) chip 93 coupled to antenna 91. As will be described further below, IC chip 93 is designed to generate a radio frequency signal which is in turn propagated by antenna 91.
Integrated circuit chips which are used in RFID applications are typically categorized by class. A class 0 integrated circuit chip is defined as having a memory capacity of 64 or 96 bits (this memory capacity being commonly referred to in the art as "user-defined" memory) and read only capabilities (i.e., preprogrammed with data that can be read multiple times but that can not be reprogrammed). A class 1 integrated circuit chip is defined as having a memory capacity of 64 or 96 bits and limited read/write capabilities (i.e., data can be written into said chip once but read multiple times). A class 2 integrated circuit chip is defined as having a memory capacity of 96 to 256 bits (i.e., a greater maximum memory capacity than both the class 0 and the class 1 IC chips) and unlimited read/write capabilities (i.e., can be read and reprogrammed multiple times).
For purposes of simplicity only, IC chip 93 is defined herein as being a class 1 integrated circuit chip which can be programmed a single time to include an automatic identification code. However, it is to be understood that IC chip 93 could be replaced with any other IC chip which is well-known in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
Facestock 79 is preferably constructed using a print-receptive material, such as paper. During the construction of tag 75, printed matter is preferably provided onto the front surface of facestock 79 in order to communicate information relating to the product to which RFID label 75 is secured.
Liner sheet 83 includes a backing 95 and a release coating 97 applied to the top surface of backing 95. Liner sheet 83 may serve as a common web on which a plurality of RFID labels 75 are retained, with adjacent labels 75 being spaced apart from one another by a distance of approximately ⅛ to ¼ inch. In this manner, a continuous supply of label assemblies 87 can be formed into a roll which can be then be used in an assembly line environment.
Backing 95 is preferably a length of polyethylene terephthalate film, a length of Mylar® polyester film, or a strip of paper. Release coating 97 is typically a silicone or wax release from which label 75 can be manually removed, thereby exposing adhesive layer 85 of RFID label 75. Having been removed from release coating 97, RFID label 75 can be disposed against a desired article with adhesive layer 85 directly contacting the article so as to secure RFID label 75 thereto.
RFID label 75 can be used in the retail industry to wirelessly transmit data associated with a particular article to a computer system. Specifically, referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a retail environment which is represented generally by reference numeral 99. In retail environment 99, RFID label 75 is shown affixed onto an article of commerce A. As noted above, integrated circuit chip 93 of RFID label 75 is preferably programmed to include a unique identification code (e.g., using the electronic product code system) which can be captured by a computer using radio frequency technology.
Retail environment 99 additionally includes an RFID reader 101 which is designed to retrieve the unique identification code using radio frequency technology. Reader 101 is electrically connected to an antenna 103 which is located in the general vicinity (e.g., several meters) of radio frequency identification tag 75. Reader 101 is additionally electrically connected to a computer 105 which is designed to link codes captured by reader 101 with pertinent information relating to article A.
Retail environment 99 operates in the following manner. RFID reader 101 periodically generates an interrogation signal which is, in turn, transmitted by antenna 103, the interrogation signal being represented generally by reference numeral 107. When subjected to interrogation signal 107, integrated circuit chip 93 becomes active and converts its stored identification code into a corresponding electromagnetic signal which is, in turn, propagated as radio frequency waves by antenna 91, the propagated signal being represented generally by reference numeral 109. If antenna 103 is located within a defined range of RFID label 75, antenna 103 transmits signal 109 to RFID reader 101 which then converts signal 109 into a digital code. Computer 105 utilizes the digital code as a license plate to locate within a network, such as the internet, selected pieces of information relating to article A (e.g., its price, SKU, etc.). More specifically, computer 105 sends a query over a network to an object name service (ONS) database which, in turn, functions in a manner similar to a reverse telephone directory by associating the retrieved digital code with a particular network address. This particular network address then directs computer 105 to a physical markup language (PML) server which includes detailed information associated with article A (the information having been manually input into the PML server during a previous data entry process).
The use of radio frequency identification technology in the retail industry introduces a number of notable advantages.
As a first advantage, the use of RFID technology eliminates the need for a direct line of sight during the automatic exchange of data (which is presently required in bar code systems). In fact, because many conventional RFID systems operate in a range of several meters, there is often little need for the handling of individual articles during the data exchange data process. Because human involvement is minimized during the data exchange process, the risk of human error introducing data inaccuracies can be significantly reduced.
As a second advantage, the use of RFID technology allows for a large quantity of data to be exchanged within a relatively short period of time. More importantly, the use of RFID technology allows for each individual article of commerce in the world today to be assigned a unique identification code, thereby providing a means for monitoring and retrieving useful information relating to individual articles.
As a third advantage, RFID technology is effective in visually and environmentally challenging conditions. For example, because the RFID inlay is sealed within the tag, the IC chip is adequately protected from harsh outside elements. To the contrary, traditional bar codes are directly exposed to outside elements which can compromise their integrity and, as a consequence, their functionality.
As a fourth advantage, because RFID technology allows for the extraction of data automatically, labor costs typically associated with the exchange of data in the retail industry can be minimized.
As a fifth advantage, due to the simplicity and cost-effective manner in which information can be readily extracted from an integrated circuit chip, data can be extracted from an RFID label at a greater number of locations and/or with greater frequency during the supply chain. As a result, RFID technology affords a client with the capability to more adequately monitor inventory (with updates generated in real-time). Greater monitoring of inventory affords the client with greater product control (security), an increased efficiency in supplying/stocking a retailer with the proper amount of product (i.e., greater efficiency in managing safety-stock inventory) and a greater ability to locate a product (e.g., within a large warehouse).
Further advantages associated with the use of RFID technology in retail environments are described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0038267 to N. Can et al., and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0132854 to R. J. Swan et al., both of these publications being incorporated herein by reference.
Although RFID technology allows for the association of a large quantity of information with respect to a particular product, current trends in the retail industry have limited the types of data which are tracked with respect to a particular article of commerce. Notably, although RFID technology is currently used to communicate article information (i.e., visually perceptive information, such as size, shape, style and/or color), RFID technology is not presently used to communicate order information (i.e., business information) for individual articles of commerce.
Accordingly, the applicant recognizes a particular need for individual identification tags, such as RFID tags, to be used in the retail industry to provide the specific order information (e.g., purchase order information) that is associated with an individual article of commerce. As will be described in greater detail below, the present invention: (1) recognizes this need for implementing a process in which an individual identification tag can be used to retrieve order information relating to the particular article to which it is affixed; (2) provides a means for implementing this process; and (3) enumerates a multitude of applications in the retail industry where this process can be used in order to realize considerable benefits.


Disclosed is a battery charger having a rack fastened in a casing to hold two horizontal battery-charging contacts and two vertical battery-charging contacts for charging rechargeable batteries of different types, a horizontal sliding frame controlled by a screw to hold down the battery to be charged. The pitch of the horizontal battery-charging contacts as well as the vertical battery-charging contacts is adjustable. The elevation of the horizontal battery-charging contacts is also adjustable.

The present invention relates to battery chargers, and more particularly the present invention relates to such a battery charger which is adjustable for charging rechargeable batteries of different types and sizes.
A variety of battery chargers have been proposed for charging different rechargeable batteries. Because different apparatus may use different rechargeable batteries, one may have to prepare various battery chargers for charging rechargeable batteries of different types and sizes.

2F., No. 10, Alley 5, Lane 220, Wen Der Road


When an instruction to change the display size of the content of a 1-segment broadcast received by a television broadcast communication unit is given while the content is being displayed on a display screen, and if it is possible to receive the content of a 12-segment broadcast continuously to the content of the 1-segment broadcast, a CPU switches to receiving the 12-segment broadcast and displays the broadcast content in the standard display size (second display size) of the 12-segment broadcast. If it is not possible to receive the 12-segment broadcast continuously to the 1-segment broadcast, the CPU displays the content of the 1-segment broadcast by changing it to the second display size.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a broadcasting receiver that can receive and display broadcasting signals of different broadcast schemes, and an information recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to digital terrestrial television broadcasting, one channel assigned to each broadcasting station is generally divided into 13 segments. 12 segments of these divided bands are used for high-definition television broadcasting (high-resolution 12-segment broadcasting) having improved image and sound quality. The remaining 1 segment is used for mobile devices (simplified low-resolution 1-segment broadcasting). The following techniques are known as digital broadcasting receivers that receive and display both 1-segment broadcasts and 12-segment broadcasts.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 2004-289712 discloses a digital broadcasting receiver that controls itself to receive either a 1-segment broadcast or a 12-segment broadcast according to the display size.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 2007-96508 discloses a digital broadcasting receiver that, on the condition that a 12-segment broadcast and a 1-segment broadcast are simultaneously broadcast, displays a message that it is possible to switch from the 12-segment broadcast to the 1-segment broadcast if the reception quality (reception sensitivity) deteriorates while the 12-segment broadcast is received and displayed.
However, according to the digital broadcasting receiver disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 2004-289712, a desired content is not necessarily broadcasted on the 1-segment broadcast or the 12-segment broadcast that is automatically selected according to the display size. For example, different programs might be broadcasted on the 1-segment broadcast and the 12-segment broadcast even on the same channel. An operation, made while viewing the 1-segment broadcast, to instruct a switch to the 12-segment broadcast for viewing in the larger size has to be followed by an operation to instruct a switchback to the 1-segment broadcast if the desired program is not broadcasted on the 12-segment broadcast on the same channel. The digital broadcasting receiver disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 2004-289712 thus has a problem that it requires troublesome operations for changing broadcasting schemes. Further, this digital broadcasting receiver might falsely recognize that the program on the 1-segment broadcast and that on the 12-segment broadcast are the same programs although these programs are different.
On the other hand, with the digital broadcasting receiver disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 2007-96508, a user has to confirm by a message that simultaneous broadcasting is ongoing, before switching from the 12-segment broadcast to the 1-segment broadcast. Hence, this digital broadcasting receiver has a problem that the user has to make a bothersome operation when switching the broadcasting schemes.

Broadcasting receiver and information recording medium

Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications Co., Ltd.


A battery tester is formed at an AC constant-current generator for applying an AC current for measurement to a battery BT under test via a coupling capacitor, an internal resistance detecting device for detecting the internal resistance of the battery BT according to a voltage signal therefrom when the AC current is applied, a voltage detecting device for detecting the terminal voltage across the battery, and a deterioration judging unit for judging the deterioration of the battery from the internal resistance and terminal voltage detected by the internal resistance detecting device and the voltage detecting device. The internal resistance and terminal voltage of the battery are measured simultaneously, and deterioration of the battery is judged from the measurement data.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to battery testers and, more particularly, to battery testers which can determine the deteriorated state of a battery from simultaneous measurements of the internal resistance, terminal voltage, etc. of the battery.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The deteriorated state of a battery (either primary or secondary battery) is usually determined from the internal resistance (or equivalent series resistance) and terminal voltage of the battery. Battery deterioration tends to result in internal resistance increase and terminal voltage reduction of the battery.
Heretofore, the deteriorated state of a battery is determined by using an AC resistance gauge (for instance AC m .OMEGA. gauge) and a tester (or circuit tester). The internal resistance of the battery is measured with the AC resistance gauge, and the terminal voltage is measured with the tester. According to these measurements the deteriorated state of the battery can be determined. The internal resistance of the battery is temperature-dependent, and when more accurate judgment is required, the ambient temperature around a part of the battery under measurement is measured with a temperature gauge, and taken into consideration as reference data for the battery deterioration judgment.
This battery deterioration judgment, however, requires two measuring instruments, i.e., the AC resistance gauge and the tester. In addition, the internal resistance and the terminal voltage have to be measured separately, and these measuring operations are inevitably cumbersome. Moreover, in the case of taking the ambient temperature into consideration AS reference data, the temperature measurement with a temperature gauge is necessary and increases the operational burden.
Further cumbersomeness is added to the battery deterioration judgment on the bases of the above measurements by different criteria of judgment with different battery manufacturers and models. In other words, whenever battery deterioration judgment is made, it is necessary to make cumbersome checks of battery characteristics from battery specifications or the like.
As an example, a case of measuring the internal resistance of a vehicle-mounted battery will now be described. As shown in FIG. 10, a pair of source side probes 1a and 1b led out from an AC constant-current generator 1, and a pair of sense side probes 2a and 2b from an AC volt meter 2, are held in contact with the plus and minus terminals, respectively, of a battery BT. An AC current for measurement is caused from the AC current generator 1, and the terminal voltage generated across the battery BT is measured with the AC volt meter 2. The measurement is converted in a next stage A/D converter into digital data, which is in turn converted in a CPU 4 into a corresponding resistance.
When the internal resistance Rs of the battery is increased due to deterioration thereof or like cause, the terminal voltage generated across the battery is correspondingly increased. When a rating value of measurement is exceeded, overflow of the A/D converter 3 takes place.
In the principle underlying the above measurement, the source side pair probes 1a and 1b and sense side pair probes 2a and 2b, i.e., a total of four probes, are electrically connected to the plus and minus terminals of the battery BT. However, independently connecting the probes to the terminals is time-consuming. Actually, therefore, one source side probe 1a and one sense side probe 2a are commonly connected to a positive side clamp probe of a clip type, while commonly connecting the other source side probe 1b and the other sense side probe 2b to a negative side clamp probe of like type, and then the two, i.e., positive and negative side clamp probes, are connected to the plus and minus terminals, respectively, of the battery BT.
Where the above clamp probes are used as two terminals, however, in the event of defective connection between the clamp probes and battery terminals or breaking due to detachment of the clamp probes from the battery terminals, the AC constant-current generator 1 is brought to a load-free state, and its output voltage is directly applied across the AC volt meter 2. Therefore, the overflow of the A/D converter 3 takes place due to the reason noted above.
A problem is therefore posed that it cannot be determined whether overflow of the A/D converter 3 is caused by battery internal resistance increase or by defective contact (or breaking) of the clamp probes with respect to the battery terminals.
In the case of directly using the four probes 1a, 1b, 2a and 2b as respective terminals as shown in FIG. 10, without replacing these probes with the two clamp probes, a resistor with a high resistance is sometimes connected between the probes 1a and 2a to prevent the open circuit therebetween. Again in such a case, defective contact regarded to be a breaking between these probes and the battery terminals would result in overflow of the A/D converter 3.


Devices and methods provide a duty cycle clamping device for preventing an output voltage of a power converter from decreasing as the duty cycle of a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal driving the power converter increases, the clamping device including duty cycle clamping circuitry configured to determine a critical duty cycle for the PWM signal based on an input voltage, a top voltage of a flying capacitor and a bottom voltage of the flying capacitor, and configured to clamp an actual duty cycle of the PWM signal at the critical duty cycle if a desired duty cycle exceeds the critical duty cycle.

DC-DC power converters can be used to convert a first voltage to a second voltage that may be higher or lower than the first voltage. Typically, a duty cycle of a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal driving an output stage of the power converter may be controlled by control logic to regulate the output voltage, and increasing the duty cycle of the PWM signal may cause the output stage of the power converter to generate an increased output voltage. However, if the DC-DC power converter includes a flying capacitor, there is a critical duty cycle above which increasing the duty cycle results in a decrease in the output voltage. To avoid this, some control logic may clamp the duty cycle at a fixed value representing the worst case scenario to prevent a decrease in the output voltage. However, the actual critical duty cycle varies depending on operating conditions, and the fixed value may limit the operating range of the power converter.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to some illustrative example embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Adaptive critical-duty-cycle clamp for power converters


Disclosed herein are embodiments of a flare control method and a flare apparatus for automatically controlling, in real-time, the flow of one or more of fuel, steam, and air to a flare. The disclosed embodiments advantageously allow for automated control over a wide spectrum of operating conditions, including emergency operations, and planned operations such as startup and shutdown.

This disclosure generally relates to the control of flow of one or more of air, steam, and supplemental fuel gas to a flare for efficient combustion of vent gases.
Chemical and petroleum production, refining, and processing plants and facilities use flares for burning and disposing of combustible gases. The sources of these plant gases include both continuous streams of combustible gases, and occasional streams of combustible gases. The system is also designed to burn and dispose of combustible gases from some or even all of the safety systems (e.g. relief valves, rupture disks, etc.) in the plant during an emergency shutdown. The flame of the flare is commonly elevated high above the ground on a flare stack, and a vent gas having flammable gaseous components can be directed to the flare. It is generally desirable that the vent gas is economically and completely consumed. Efficient combustion of the vent gas can be accomplished by supplying air or steam to the combustion zone of the flare along with a supplemental fuel gas as necessary. The amounts of air or steam along with the supplemental fuel gas are controlled to achieve a combustion efficiency of at least 96.5% (or a destruction efficiency of at least 98%). If not enough air or steam is present in the combustion zone of the flare, incomplete combustion can occur due to both the fuel rich combustion zone and incomplete mixing of the oxygen and fuel. The result is particulates seen as smoke. If too much air or steam is present, the combustion zone temperature drops, and incomplete combustion can occur which is environmentally undesirable and wastes valuable steam. This situation is not typically noticeable because particulates are not produced, and the incomplete combustion products are dispersed and diluted in the steam or air. If the combustible material present in the vent gas is not the correct amount (e.g. high enough flow) or the correct type (e.g. high enough heating value) to produce a combustion zone of the flare hot enough to achieve efficient combustion, then the supplemental fuel gas is added to the vent gas to raise the net heating value of the vent gas and increase the combustion zone temperature. If not enough supplemental fuel gas is added, then incomplete combustion can occur due to the lower combustion zone temperature or due to the flow rates through the combustion zone being below the design threshold of the flare. If too much of the supplemental fuel gas is added, then it is needlessly burned. Since the composition and/or flow of the vent gas can change greatly within seconds, for example, due to an emergency shutdown, balancing the amount of steam or air and supplemental fuel gas is difficult over the full range of vent gas flow rates.
Efficient combustion of vent gases can be automated, for example, by control systems coupled with the flare that control the flow of steam or air to the flare based on compositional measurements of the vent gas, or a gas stream containing the vent gas, that is analyzed by gas chromatography. The amount of time it can take to determine the composition of the vent gas is limited by the gas chromatography technique, usually no faster than every 7-10 minutes. Thus, such systems are unable to operate over the full range of operating conditions and will inefficiently combust the vent gas after a change in the vent gas composition and/or flow rate.
Control systems which depend on gas chromatography to measure the vent gas composition thus adapt (e.g., change the flow of steam or air) to new composition measurements no faster than every 7-10 minutes. Since the composition and/or flow of the vent gas can change greatly within seconds, for example, due to an emergency shutdown (e.g., loss of electricity, failure of key plant component, natural disaster), and planned operations (e.g., startup, normal shutdown, or normal transitions between sets of operating conditions), automatic control of steam or air flow based on gas chromatography measurements can lead to inefficient combustion for a window of time between the times when the GC measurements are taken due to more frequent (relative to GC measurement intervals) changes in the vent gas composition. Inefficient combustion during this window of time can lead to emissions which are not in compliance with environmental regulations even though a control system is in place to meet regulatory compliance.
To avoid inefficient combustion which can result from automatic control of steam or air based on GC measurements, the flow of air or steam to the flare is typically manually controlled. Manual control involves a plant operator visually monitoring the flare and adjusting the flow of steam or air to the flare based on visual input. As can be appreciated, manual control can be imprecise, risks inefficient combustion, carries its own safety concerns, is subjective, and must be transitioned back to automatic control once conditions are again suitable.
There is a need for a flare control method and apparatus that can maintain efficient combustion of vent gases by rapidly determining the concentration and species of vent gas components and then automatically controlling the flow of steam or air and supplemental fuel gas to a flare over a broader range of operating conditions which include emergency operations and/or sudden changes in the vent gas composition.

Flare monitoring and control method and apparatus