A clock generation circuit is provided that multiplies an input signal of a specific frequency by a specific multiplication factor and generates an output clock signal. The clock generation circuit includes a PLL circuit that multiplies the input signal and generates the output clock signal, and a correction circuit that changes the multiplication factor of the PLL circuit. The correction circuit changes the PLL circuit multiplication factor by increasing or decreasing the specific multiplication factor, the change being performed only during a correction interval for each correction cycle, the correction cycle being longer than one cycle of the input signal, and being performed such that a time difference between an input synchronizing signal synchronized with the input signal and an output synchronizing signal synchronized with the output clock signal is reduced. The PLL circuit multiplies the input signal by the changed multiplication factor during the correction interval.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clock generation circuit, a recording device and a clock generation method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, recording media such as optical disks that are recordable as well as allowing playback, have grooves formed in advance on the recording surface, and so-called wobble modulation is performed on these grooves to record address data (position data). When recording specific data to be recorded on a recording medium, a recording device extracts the address data as an electric signal (known as a wobble signal), multiplies the signal using a phase-lock loop (PLL) circuit and generates a write clock signal. Then, the recording device uses the write clock signal to write the recording data. At that time, with regard to the recording medium address data, the position to which the recording data is recorded is decided by a format set in advance.

Clock generation circuit, recording device and clock generation method


A method and apparatus is provided for testing integrated circuits and permanently affixing the ICs which are successfully tested to a product level carrier substrate. A modular test oven is used which allows the chips to be electrically and thermally tested with the chips non-permanently affixed to a carrier substrate. If all of the chips on the carrier substrate test good, then the temperature within the oven is elevated, thereby reflowing the solder balls and permanently affixing the chips to the carrier substrate.

The present invention generally relates to the testing and placement of electronic components. More particularly, this invention relates to the burn-in and placement of integrated circuits (ICs or chips) on to a carrier substrate, or circuit card which will ultimately be used in the manufacture of electronic devices, such as computers, or the like. Burn-in is a process of testing ICs by elevating their temperature and simultaneously performing electrical testing thereon. The present invention provides for simultaneous burn-in and direct chip attachment of multiple chips on to the carrier substrate. This direct chip attachment is a card fabrication process which results in permanent placement of ICs on the carrier substrate.
Conventional systems perform burn-in as a separate and distinct operation when compared with the circuit card fabrication process. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,591 describes a variable temperature oven having an associated computer for monitoring the electrical testing of the ICs, simultaneous with their exposure to the elevated temperatures of the oven. Burn-in boards are used to mount the ICs during the burn-in testing process. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,259 discuses a burn-in technique where ICs are mounted on PC storage cards which are then placed in an environmental chamber that elevates the temperature. The PC cards are constructed to isolate individual ICs which ensures burn-in of each chip. After burn-in, the PC cards are removed from the chamber and the ICs are removed from the card. The defective ICs are then separated from the good ICs, which are subjected to one by one short functional testing. U.S. Pat. No. 4.908,385 describes the electrical circuitry typically utilized for testing of ICS during burn-in. IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin. Vol. 32, No 5A. October, 1989. "Non-Permanent Mounting Technique for Test and Burn-in of C4 Devices" describes a system in which a weight is applied to the top of the chip, making non-permanent electrical contact through the C4 solder ball with the vias of a text mount carrier substrate metallization.
Additionally, prior art burn-in systems provide a global elevation in temperature within the test chamber, which may result in stress to the carrier substrate material. The conventional burn-in techniques address the problem of stress of the carrier substrate by using a carrier substrate for burn-in which will not ultimately be used in the product. Finally, the previously discussed stress to the carrier substrate is amplified due to the long time periods required by conventional systems to "ramp up" to burn-in temperatures.
Thus, it can be seen that conventional burn-in requires removal of the ICs after testing from a burn-in board. PC storage card, or the like. It would be advantageous to a circuit board manufacturer to have the ability to test ICs and fabricate a circuit board in a single process, thereby increasing efficiency and saving a great deal of time and overhead.

Method for testing integrated circuits on a carrier substrate

International Business Machines Corporation


A viscous fluid type heater is disclosed. The heater has a rotor that is mounted on a drive shaft for integral rotation therewith in a heating chamber. The rotor rotates to shears and heats viscous fluid that is accommodated in a clearance defined between an inner surface of the heating chamber and an outer operation surface of the rotor opposed to the inner surface. The operation surface and the inner surface are formed of different materials. The inner surface and the operation surface has a coating for altering characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to viscous fluid heaters having rotors that shear viscous fluid to generate heat.
2. Description of the Related Art
Viscous fluid heaters, which are operated by the drive force of automobile engines, have become widely used as an auxiliary heat source. A typical viscous heater is provided with a housing that accommodates a drive shaft and a rotor. The drive shaft is rotated about its axis by the drive force transmitted from the engine. The rotor is operably connected to the drive shaft. The drive shaft and the rotor are located within a heating chamber, which is defined in the housing. In the heating chamber, a slight clearance is provided between the surfaces of a rotor and the opposing walls of the heating chamber.
A viscous fluid (silicone oil is generally used) fills the heating chamber including the clearance. When the rotor is rotated, the viscous fluid surrounding the rotor is moved together with the rotor. The viscous fluid residing in the vicinity of the walls of the heating chamber adheres to the walls. Accordingly, the rotation of the rotor shears the viscous fluid. The shearing action causes friction between the moving and stationary parts of the viscous fluid and generates heat.
In such viscous fluid heaters, it is preferably that the clearance between the rotor surface and the wall surface of the heating chamber be as small as possible to enhance the heating efficiency during shearing of the viscous fluid. However, if the clearance is too small, the rotor may contact and slide against the wall of the heating chamber when rotated. This may cause damage of the rotor and other parts.

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho


An image forming apparatus includes control power source section for controlling a potential to be supplied to a control electrode so that the potential becomes closer to a potential of the holder than a potential on center portions of gates caused by a potential difference across the holder and a counter electrode formed by a high voltage power source section when the charged toner is allowed to pass the gates. In accordance with the above arrangement, the toner receives electric force directing towards the center portions of the gates, and thus a prescribed-shaped dot having a smaller diameter than of the gates is formed on a recording medium. Moreover, since toner does not scatter, a dot to be formed on a recording medium has a clear outline and obtains sufficient density. Therefore, a clear image with high contrast can be obtained. Quality of an image formed on a recording medium can be improved only by controlling the potential to be supplied to the control electrode. Consequently, an image with good quality can be formed on a recording medium by satisfactorily controlling flying of the toner, thereby improving resolution of the image.

Recently, as an image forming apparatus for outputting an image signal as a visible image onto a recording medium, such as paper, an image forming apparatus for directly forming a toner image on a recording medium by allowing toner, which is development particles, to fly so as to adhere to the recording medium is suggested (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-155798/1994 (Tokukaihei 6-155798)). The following describes the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus in reference to FIGS. 15 and 16.
As shown in FIG. 15, the conventional image forming apparatus has an image forming section 51 having a toner supplying section 52, a printing section 53. The image forming apparatus allows toner 71 to fly so as to adhere onto a sheet 55 which is a recording medium. At the same time, the image forming apparatus controls the flying of the toner 71 based upon an image signal, an image is directly formed on the sheet 55.
The toner supplying section 52 is composed of a toner storing tank 70 where the toner 71 as negatively charged development particles is stored, and a toner holder 72 for holding the toner 71 by magnetic force. The toner holder 72 is grounded, and it rotates in the direction of the arrow "E" shown in FIG. 15 so that its speed on the surface is kept 30 mm/sec. The toner 71 is magnetic toner with average particle diameter of 10 .mu.m, and it is charged by known technology so that the charging amount is -4 .mu.C/g to -5 .mu.C/g. Moreover, the toner 71 is held on the outer peripheral surface of the toner holder 72 so that a layer with an average thickness of 80 .mu.m is formed.
The printing section 53 of the image forming section 51 has a counter electrode 75 composed of an aluminum tube with a diameter of 50 mm, and a control electrode 76 provided between the counter electrode 75 and the toner holder 72. The counter electrode 75 is provided so that the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the toner holder 72 becomes 1 mm. A voltage of 2 kV is applied to the counter electrode 75 by a high voltage power source 80, and it rotates in the direction of the arrow "F" shown in FIG. 15 so that its speed on the surface is 30 mm/sec. In other words, an electric field, which is necessary to allow the toner 71 held on the toner holder 72 to fly towards the counter electrode 75, is formed between the counter electrode 75 and the toner holder 72.
The control electrode 76 is parallel with a tangent plane of the outer peripheral surface of the counter electrode 75 and two-dimensionally spreads opposite to the counter electrode 75 so that the toner 71, which flies from the toner holder 72 towards the counter electrode 75, can pass the control electrode 76. The electric field formed between the toner holder 72 and the counter electrode 75 is changed by a potential supplied to the control electrode 76, and the flying of the toner 71 from the toner holder 72 to the counter electrode 75 is controlled.
The control electrode 76 is provided such that the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the toner holder 72 becomes 100 .mu.m. The control electrode 76 is composed of a flexible print substrate (FPC) 76a with a thickness of 50 .mu.m and ring electrodes 77 made of copper foil with a thickness of 20 .mu.m. Gates 79 with diameter of 150 .mu.m which is a passing section of the toner 71 is formed on the substrate 76a, and the ring electrodes 77 are provided around each gate 79. Each ring electrode 77 is electrically connected to a control power source section 81 via a feed line and a high voltage driver (not shown).
A voltage according to an image signal is applied to the ring electrodes 77 by the control power source section 81. In other words, in the case where the toner 71 held on the toner holder 72 is allowed to pass towards the counter electrode 75, the control power source section 81 applies a voltage of 200 V to the ring electrodes 77. Meanwhile, in the case where the toner 71 held on the toner holder 72 is not allowed to pass towards the counter electrode 75, the control power source section 81 applies a voltage of -200 V to the ring electrodes 77. In such a manner, when the applying voltage to the control electrode 76 is controlled according to an image signal and a sheet 55 is positioned on the counter surface on the counter electrode 75 to the toner holder 72, a toner image according to the image signal is directly formed on the surface of the sheet 55.
The following describes the electric field, which is formed between the toner holder 72 and the counter electrode 75 by applying voltage thereto. As mentioned above, since the toner holder 72 is grounded and a voltage of 2 kV is applied to the counter electrode 75, an equipotential surface in the range from 0 V to 2 kV is formed between the toner holder 72 and the counter electrode 75 at equal intervals. Since the counter electrode 75 is provided so that the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the toner holder 72 becomes 1 mm and the control electrode 76 is provided so that the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the toner holder 72 becomes 100 .mu.m, a potential (Vc) of the center portion of the gates 79 on the control electrode 76 is 200 V.
In this state, a voltage (Ve) of 200 V is applied to the ring electrodes 77 on the control electrode 76 by the control power source section 81 so that the toner 71 held on the toner holder 72 is allowed to pass towards the counter electrode 75. Namely, the voltage is applied to the ring electrodes 77 so that Vc=Ve. Then, as shown in FIG. 16, the toner 71 flies in the perpendicular direction to the equipotential surface by a potential difference between the toner holder 72 and the counter electrode 75, and reaches the surface of the counter electrode 75, namely, the sheet 55. As a result, a dot having the same diameter as of the gates 79 (150 .mu.m) is formed on the sheet 55. In other words, a dot diameter (FL) of an image (not shown) formed on the sheet 55 becomes equal to the diameter (dm) of the gates 79 (dm=FL).
The toner 71, which flew from a portion on the surface of the toner holder 72 which does not corresponds to the gates 79, cannot pass the gates 79, and adheres to the control electrode 76. In other words, the toner 71 which can pass the gates 79 is limited only to the toner 71 which flies from the portion corresponding to the gates 79 on the toner holder 72.
In above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, a diameter of a dot formed on the sheet 55 is equal to of the gates 79. In other words, resolution of an image formed on the sheet 55 is determined by the diameter of the gates 79. Consequently, in order to improve the resolution of an image in a conventional image forming apparatus, the diameter of the gates 79 on the control electrode 76 should be further minimized.
However, in order to further minimize the diameter of the gates 79 while reliability of an apparatus is maintained, namely, in order to manufacture the control electrode 76 so that the gates 79 having a smaller diameter are formed, a high-precision manufacturing technique is required. Accordingly, since yield of the control electrode 76 is lowered, cost rises. Therefore, in a conventional image forming apparatus, it is difficult to improve resolution of an image without a rise of its cost.
In order to minimize a diameter of a dot formed on sheet 55, it is considered that the distance between the control electrode 76 and the counter electrode 75 or a voltage to be applied to the counter electrode 75 is changed. However, if the distance or the voltage is changed, the state of the toner 71 flying towards sheet 55 is degraded, thereby causing a new problem of a deterioration in image quality, such as a distortion of a shape of a dot.
In addition, if a voltage is applied to the ring electrodes 77 so that Vc<Ve, after passing the gates 79, the toner 71 receives electric force due to an electric field adjacent to the gates 79, and the toner 71 spreads wider than the gates 79. Moreover, Coulomb's force (repulsive force), which is generated by charges of the toner 71, further widen the spread of the flying toner 71. Consequently, the toner 71 scatters and a diameter of a dot formed on sheet 55 becomes large. Accordingly, since toner density of a dot becomes low, sufficient toner density to form an image with good quality cannot be obtained. For this reason, a contrast becomes poor and contour becomes indistinct, so resolution of an image deteriorates.
In order to obtain sufficient toner density, it is necessary to make a toner layer (an amount of toner 71 held on the outer peripheral surface of the toner holder 72) thicker or to further increase the revolution rate of the toner holder 72. However, if the toner layer is made thicker, the uniformity of the toner layer and the uniformity and the stability of a charging amount of toner 71 are deteriorated. Moreover, if the revolution rate of the toner holder 72 is increased, vibration which is generated from the toner holder 72, a driving unit for driving the toner holder 72, etc. becomes large accordingly, thereby causing a new problem that the reliability of the apparatus is declined.
In addition, in order to obtain sufficient toner density, it is considered that time for continuously giving a potential, which allows the toner 71 to pass, to the control electrode 76 is made longer and to increase a flying amount of the toner 71. However, in this case, a time for forming an image becomes long. Consequently, an image forming speed is slowed down, and the toner 71 is remarkably scattered, thereby further deteriorating quality of an image.
In addition, in order to obtain resolution of 300 DPI (dot per inch), for example, it is necessary to adjust each dot diameter to approximately 150 .mu.m. However, in a conventional image forming apparatus, in order to adjust each dot diameter to the above value, a diameter of gates 79 on control electrode 76 should be made smaller than at least the dot diameter, namely, 150 .mu.m. Therefore, a high-precision manufacturing technique is required for manufacturing control electrode 76 in this manner, and accordingly, since yield of control electrode 76 is lowered, cost rises. Moreover, since a diameter of gates 79 becomes too small, the gates 79 become clogged with toner 71, thereby making it impossible to stably form an image with good quality on a sheet 55.
Since it is considered that a demand for the improvement of resolution is further increased from now on, if the above problem is solved only by improving accuracy, more difficulties are expected.


A pressure-sensitive adhesive composition that improves not only durability but also bending characteristics of a polarizing plate, an optical laminate and a polarizing plate, both of which are prepared with said pressure-sensitive adhesive composition, and a display device comprising the optical laminate and the polarizing plate.

A liquid crystal display device (hereinafter, referred to as "LCD device") typically comprises a liquid crystal panel containing a liquid crystal component injected between two transparent substrates, and an optical film. The optical film includes a polarizing film, a retardation film, a luminance enhancement film, or the like, where a pressure-sensitive adhesive for an optical film may be used in order to laminate such optical films therebetween or attach the optical films to an adherend such as a liquid crystal panel.
As the pressure-sensitive adhesive, an acrylic polymer, a rubber, a urethane resin, a silicone resin or an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) resin may be used. Considering transparency or resistance to oxidation or yellowing, the acrylic copolymer having relatively excellent characteristics above has been widely used.


A method for generating material test samples for conducting material tests of a legacy steam turbine rotor having an inter-blade region rotor surface, and an inlet region rotor surface adjoining the inter-blade region rotor surface. The method includes forming an annular ring of rotor material in the sample area and forming a material test sample from a portion of the annular ring. Also described is a legacy steam turbine rotor including an inter-blade region rotor surface, and an inlet region rotor surface adjoining the inter-blade region rotor surface. The steam turbine rotor having a groove formed therein, and wherein the groove is machined to enable removal of material from the steam turbine rotor to form samples configured to enable at least one of conducting material property tests and operating the improved legacy steam turbine rotor at an expanded thermal stress compared to the legacy steam turbine rotor.

A steam turbine may include a rotor with a thrust balance piston having a relief groove for relieving thermal stress that is outside the region of the live steam flow path. This relief groove is displaced axially opposite the direction of the operating steam flow through the blade flow path.
With the increased use of renewable power, there is an increased need for the electrical network to operate with increased power plant and steam turbine cycling. The operational flexibility requirements may be limited by the steam turbine life since increased exposure to frequent thermal transients increases the risk of the occurrence of thermal fatigue crack initiation during cold, warm and hot start-ups, as well as during load transitions and shutdowns. Additionally, in steam turbines having multiple stages or turbines, for example, a high-pressure turbine and an intermediate pressure turbine, different thermal conditions in each of the steam turbines/sections results in different low cycle fatigue life of rotor portions of each of the steam turbines/sections. As a result, maintenance schedule requirements can be unsynchronised, which may result in an increase in maintenance outages. Although it may be possible to balance the low cycle fatigue life of rotor portions by the selection of rotor materials to improve toughness and ductility, there are practical limitations on achieving the objectives with rotor material selection alone. These measures do not overcome the potential negative effects that thermal transients have on low cycle fatigue life of the rotor.
As a result, the lifetime status of a steam turbine needs to be supervised. Generally, theoretical assessments are conducted with real, but generalized operating data, based on minimum material properties. To that end, investigations of the actual mechanical behavior of the rotor in the hot section would be beneficial. In some instances, a small-scale test sampling method is used to perform Fracture Appearance Transition Temperature (FATT) assessments. Unfortunately, such methods often exhibit large inaccuracies resultant from the small sample size. Moreover, for reaction drum type rotors, no database of FATT data of aged in-service steam turbine rotors is generally available. This is namely the result of a lack of material for easy removal from which test samples could be obtained. Conversely, for impulse rotor steam turbines, as the rotor of the steam turbine includes discs with no pressure drop across the respective stages, it is permissible to drill holes into the discs (as long as they are balanced) and retrieve sample material for further investigation as needed.
There is, therefore, a need to improve sampling of the rotor to assess the effect of thermal aging onto creep rupture properties. Additionally, there is a need to improve low cycle fatigue life of steam turbine rotor portions and to tailor the low cycle fatigue life of different portions of the steam turbine rotor to synchronise rotor portion maintenance cycles.

System and method for full-scale sampling to conduct material tests on a steam turbine rotor


An apparatus and method are for cutting and pulling of a casing in a well. The apparatus comprises a housing connected to a wired connection, a cutting tool arranged in connection with the housing, where said cutting tool is rotatable around the longitudinal axis of the housing and arranged to be able to provide at least one cut-out in the wall of the casing and to be able to cut the casing, and a holding device for controlled holding of the housing in the casing. The apparatus is provided with at least one radially displaceable gripping means arranged to go into engagement with the at least one cut-out in the wall of the casing. The method comprises bringing the apparatus down into the well; positioning the apparatus in order to carry out a first cut; carrying out the first cut; positioning the apparatus in order to carry out a second cut; carrying out the second cut; one of the first cut and the second cut comprising cutting of the casing; bringing at least one gripping means into engagement with at least one of the first and the second cut; and pulling the cut casing out of the well by means of the apparatus.

On shutting down a well in the underground for example a petroleum well, or on drilling a slot recovery, it is necessary to cut and pull the casing. In order to carry out such cutting and pulling, it is known to use one tool for cutting and another tool for pulling. This is a time-consuming and therefore also costly operation.
Norwegian Patent No. 313156 discloses a tool for radial or diametrical cutting of metal pipework, in particular submerged submarine pipework and pipework forming parts of oil platform support structures, the cutting being performed by high pressure projection of abrasive particles suspended in a vector fluid. A tool for radial cutting of pipework using a pressurized abrasive jet may be accommodated inside of the pipework. The tool comprises a housing which may be immobilized inside of said pipework, and a rotary head provided with a nozzle for projecting water and abrasives, said body including a first and a second inflatable positioning ring, each of said inflatable rings being toroid and being constituted by an elastomeric membrane which defines a sealed cavity which is very flattened in cross section when deflated, and which has a thickness under pressure that is at least twice its deflated thickness. The tool according to said publication is used for cutting pipework forming the support structures of oil platforms on dismantling such platforms. When the cutting operation is finished, the cutting tool and the cut tube are lifted to the surface when lifting rings are inflated to cause cushions to bear against the inner wall of the tube. The engagement between the tool and the cut tube is thus dependent on the frictional engagement between these and of the integrity of the inflatable lifting rings.

Apparatus and method for cutting and pulling of a casing


A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, which includes a through hole that extends through the semiconductor substrate. An insulative layer includes a first surface, an opposite second surface covering the semiconductor substrate, and an opening aligned with the through hole. An insulative film covers an inner wall surface of the semiconductor substrate and the opening. A through electrode is formed in the through hole and the opening inward from the insulative film. The through electrode includes a first end surface that forms a pad exposed from the first surface of the insulative layer. The first end surface of the through electrode is flush with the first surface of the insulative layer.

Electronic devices are required to be more compact and include more sophisticated functions. As a result, semiconductor devices (chips), such as ICs and LSIs, used in such electronic devices have a higher level of integration and are provided with a higher capacity. Further, packages on which semiconductor chips are mounted are required to be smaller (thinner), include more pins, and have a higher density. To meet such requirements, a system in package (SiP) has been put to practical use. The SiP mounts a plurality of semiconductor chips on a single substrate. In particular, an SiP using three-dimensional mounting technology that stacks semiconductor chips three-dimensionally, or a so-called chip-stacked type package, allows for a higher level of integration and is thus advantageous. In addition, the chip-stacked type package allows the wiring length to be shortened. This allows the circuit operation speed to be increased and stray capacitance in the wiring to be decreased and is thereby advantageous and widely used.
As the three-dimensional mounting technology used to manufacture such a chip-stacked type package, a known technique stacks semiconductor chips on a substrate and electrically connects electrodes of the semiconductor chips to electrodes of the substrate through wire bonding. However, in such a structure, fine wires are used to electrically connect the semiconductor chip to the substrate. This increases impedance. As a result, the package may not be applicable to high-speed semiconductor chips. Further, a region used for the formation of a wire loop is required to be arranged in the package. This enlarges the package.
A different three-dimensional mounting technique for manufacturing a chip-stacked package stacks semiconductor chip, which include through electrodes, on a substrate, and electrically connects the semiconductor chips with the through electrodes (refer to, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-179562). This technique allows for a shorter wiring length than the wire bonding technique and thereby allows for the package to be miniaturized.

Semiconductor device, semiconductor package, method for manufacturing semiconductor device, and method for manufacturing semiconductor package


The invention relates to a food preparation entity comprising a cavity (2) for receiving food to be prepared and an image recognition system (3) for gathering optical information of the food to be prepared, wherein the food preparation entity (1) is further adapted to store, gather and/or receive meta-information and select one or more food types out of a list of food types based on said meta-information and said captured optical information.

Food preparation entities, for example baking ovens, are well known in prior art. Such food preparation entities may comprise an image recognition system for capturing optical information for selecting a certain food type based on said optical information. More in detail, the captured optical information may be compared with stored information in order to decide which food type is most probably included in the cavity.
However in cases in which the visual appearance of food types is quite similar, the selection quality is quite low.


The magnetic storage apparatus has a high reliability at a recording density of 2 gigabits or more per square inch. The longitudinal recording media necessary to realize the apparatus has a low media noise and is immune from the influence of thermal fluctuations. The magnetic storage apparatus has a longitudinal magnetic recording media including a magnetic layer which is formed on a substrate via a multi-layered underlayer; a driver for driving the recording media in a recording direction; a magnetic head including a recording section and a read-back section; a driver for moving the magnetic head relatively with respect to the longitudinal magnetic recording media; and a read/write signal processor for processing input signals to the magnetic head and output signal read-back therefrom. The read-back section of the magnetic head includes a magnetoresistive head. One layer of the multi-layered underlayer in the longitudinal magnetic recording media which is in contact with the magnetic layer has a substantially hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure and has crystal grains whose c-axes are substantially parallel with the substrate plane.

With the advancement of high performance computers, the quantity of information to be processed including image data is continuously increasing. Accordingly, a larger storage capacity is required for a magnetic recording disk drive which is employed as an external storage device. Presently, a storage capacity as large as several hundred megabits per square inch has been realized. A magnetic head, used in such a high density magnetic recording disk drive, is an integrated head having a separately provided electromagnetic induction head for use as a recording head and a magnetoresistive head for use as a read-back head. The magnetoresistive head has improved read-back sensitivity as compared with the conventional electromagnetic inductive head and has an advantage in that an adequate read output is ensured even if its recording bit becomes smaller and its leakage flux is reduced. Furthermore, a giant magnetoresistive effect head of a spin valve type having even more improved read-back sensitivity is being developed.
Magnetic recording media currently in use include a Co alloy magnetic layer such as CoNiCr, CoCrTa, CoCrPt, or the like, and a Cr underlayer which controls crystallographic orientation of the magnetic layer. The Co alloy magnetic layer has a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure having its c-axis as an axis-of-easy magnetization. When the Co alloy magnetic layer is used as a longitudinal magnetic recording media, it is preferable for its c-axis to be oriented in-plane, also referred to as horizontally. Therefore, a method for orientating the c-axis in the direction within the plane is used, whereby a Cr underlayer having a body-centered cubic (bcc) structure is formed on a substrate, then a Co alloy magnetic layer is formed epitaxially thereon so as to orientate the c-axis in-plane.
In the case where a CoCrPt alloy having a large lattice constant is used as a magnetic layer, as disclosed in JP-A Laid-Open Nos. 62-257618 and 63-197018, a lattice spacing is increased by the addition of Ti or V to Cr to improve lattice matching with the magnetic layer so as to more effectively orientate the c-axis in-plane.
When the magnetoresistive head is used during read-back, since noise accompanies the signal being reproduced from the longitudinal magnetic recording media at high sensitivity, significantly improved noise reduction is required for the longitudinal magnetic recording media. The noise is mainly caused from magnetization distortion in a magnetization transition region between recording bits. Therefore, narrowing of this region will lead to a reduction of noise. In order to accomplish this, it is effective to make magnetic crystal grains finer as well as weakening the interaction between respective grains, thereby reducing the size of magnetization reversal. As described above, since there is an epitaxial relationship between the magnetic layer and its underlayer, finer magnetic crystal grains can be obtained by forming crystal grains of the underlayer of a smaller size. In order to form grains of the underlayer of a smaller size, various methods are being studied, but no suitable solution had been discovered until the present invention.

Longitudinal magnetic recording media and magnetic storage apparatus using the same


An image forming apparatus includes a toner image forming section, an image carrying section, a transferring section, a recording material conveying section, a heat fixing section, a wet fixing section, and a recording material supply section. In the image forming apparatus, a surface temperature of fixing roller in the heat fixing section is detected by a temperature sensor and according to a detected result, the recording material conveying section selects either one of the heat fixing section and the wet fixing section as a conveyance destination for a recording material carrying an unfixed toner image.

1. Field of the Technology
The present technology relates to an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine, a printing machine, a printer and a facsimile machine generally employs an electrophotographic method, an electrostatic recording method, and the like using toner. For example, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus is used a photoreceptor drum on a surface of which a photosensitive layer containing a photoconductive substance is formed. In such an image forming apparatus is formed an image as follows: the surface of the photoreceptor drum is uniformly charged by giving electric charges to the surface of photoreceptor drum, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image information is formed in various image forming processes, the electrostatic latent image is developed by use of toner supplied from a developing section to make a toner image, the resultant toner image is transferred to a recording material such as paper, directly or with assistance of an image carrier, and the toner image on the recording material is subjected to fixing process.
Currently-adopted fixing methods for fixing the unfixed toner image onto the recording material include: a heat fixing method that the unfixed toner image on the image carrier or recording material is heated; and a wet fixing method that fixer fluid having a toner-softening action is applied to a toner image on the image carrier or recording material.
The heat fixing method is such a method that a toner image on the image carrier such as an intermediate transfer belt, or on the recording material is heated into a fused state, and this fused toner image is fixed on the recording material by pressure. For example, an image forming apparatus has been proposed in which a toner image is transferred and fixed onto a recording material in a heated state by heating not only the toner image on the image carrier but also the recording material to which the toner image has not been transferred and fixed (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 2004-151626).
In this image forming apparatus, fixing force of the toner image onto the recording material is enhanced, but there is a problem that it is not possible to perform a heat fixing operation until a temperature of a heating section rises up to a temperature (which will be hereinafter referred to as "a predetermined temperature" unless particularly mentioned) necessary for fusing the toner, so that a standby time lasting until reach of the predetermined temperature, namely a warm-up time will be required and in particular, when the image forming apparatus is activated, the warm-up time is longer than usual. Further, even when the temperature of the heating section has reached the predetermined temperature, there is still a problem that a large amount of successive image formations results in delay of a heating operation conducted by the heating section, which is to be complied with the image formation, to therefore lead an insufficient heat fixing property of the toner image. The image forming apparatuses of the heat fixing method have the above-mentioned problems in common.
On the other hand, in the wet fixing method, fixer fluid having a toner-softening action is applied to the toner image on the image carrier or recording material to thereby soften the toner image so as to fix the softened toner image onto the recording material by pressure. An advantage of the wet fixing method is an extremely small power consumption compared to that in the heat fixing method. For this reason, an image forming apparatus of combined wet fixing method and heat fixing method has been proposed.
For example, there has been proposed a fixing apparatus in which a coating roller carrying on a surface thereof fixer fluid comes into contact with a toner image carried on an image carrier or recording material so that the fixer fluid is applied selectively to only a toner attached portion of the toner image, and the toner and the fixer fluid are heated (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications JP-A 2004-109747). That is to say, this fixing apparatus employs a method in which heating is conducted by a heating section after the fixer fluid is applied to the toner image on the image carrier or recording material. By thus heating the toner image to which the fixer fluid has been applied, softening of the toner is promoted so that a transferring-fixing property of the toner image onto the recording material is enhanced. Furthermore, evaporation of excess liquid contained in the fixer fluid is promoted, so that an amount of the fixer fluid attached to the recording material is minimized, with the result that there exists an advantage that wrinkles, curls and the like defects are prevented from being generated in the recording material.
Further, JP-A 2004-109747 discloses the following constitution. That is, in a case where the toner image is carried on the image carrier, an intermediate transfer belt serving as the image carrier is treated with water-shedding processes such as fluorine treatment. Accordingly, in a case where the fixer fluid is applied to an unfixed toner image on the intermediate transfer belt, the fixer fluid gathers only on a toner portion (an image portion) while the fixer fluid does not stagnate on a portion where the toner does not exist (a non-image portion).
However, in the image forming apparatus described in JP-A 2004-109747, the fixer fluid is used indispensably for softening the toner image and as a result, a usage of the fixer fluid is large. This poses a problem that it is necessary to replenish a large amount of the fixer fluid frequently. This is especially prominent in a high-speed machine which outputs a large number of sheets per hour. The frequent replenishment of the fixer fluid also leads deterioration of high-speed property in forming images, which is originally an advantage of the high-speed machine. Although it is conceivable to enlarge a tank for storing the fixer fluid so as to eliminate necessity of the frequent replenishment of the fixer fluid, this leads to an increase in size of the image forming apparatus itself and is thus not preferable. Further, in the image forming apparatus of JP-A 2004-109747, the evaporation of the excess liquid is promoted by the heating section, with the result that a problem originally posed in the heat fixing method such that the warm-up time is necessary, has not been solved. If the image forming operation is performed in a state where a temperature of the heating section has yet been reached the predetermined temperature, the fixer fluid is pressed at a nip portion (contact portion) between the image carrier and the coating roller so that meniscus is formed at an entrance of the nip portion where the fixer fluid therefore stagnates, and the excess fixer fluid is attached to the coating roller again and made to be pushed back, in a consequence whereof there is a stream of the fixer fluid generated at the entrance of the nip portion. In addition, a mutually-binding force of toner particles constituting the toner image is weak and therefore, a part of the toner may be swept away. This may cause troubles such as irregularities of the toner image and thus irregularities of the image and fixing failure.

Image forming apparatus having a heat fixing section and wet fixing section


The various embodiments include a dual-SIM-dual-active (DSDA) device and methods for implementing robust receive (Rx) processing to resolve radio frequency coexistence interference between two subscriptions operating on the DSDA device. The DSDA device may detect when a subscription (the “aggressor”) de-senses the other subscription (the “victim”) as a result of the aggressor's transmissions, and in response, implement robust Rx processing to mitigate the effects of de-sense on the victim while causing minimal impact to the aggressor.

Some new designs of mobile communication devices-such as smart phones, tablet computers, and laptop computers-support two Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards that provide users with access to two separate mobile telephony networks. Examples of mobile telephony networks include GSM, TDSCDMA, CDMA2000, and WCDMA. Example multi-SIM mobile communication devices include mobile phones, laptop computers, smart phones, and other mobile communication devices that are enable to connect to multiple mobile telephony networks. A mobile communication device that includes two SIM cards and connects to two separate mobile telephony networks using two separate radio frequency (RF) communication circuits is termed a "dual-SIM-dual-active" (DSDA) device.
Because a DSDA device has two separate RF communication circuits or "RF chains," each subscription on the DSDA device may use its associated RF chain to communicate with its mobile network at any time. However, because of the proximity of the antennas of the two RF chains included in a DSDA communication device, the simultaneous use of the two RF chains may cause one RF chain to desensitize and thus interfere with the ability of the other RF chain to receive transmission.
Receiver desensitization ("de-sense"), or degradation of receiver sensitivity, may result from noise interference from a nearby transmitter. In particular, when two radios are close together with one transmitting on the uplink and the other receiving on the downlink, the feedback from the transmitter may be picked by the receiver. As a result, the received signals may become corrupted and difficult or impossible to decode. Further, feedback from the transmitter can be detected by a power monitor that measures the receive signal, which would cause the mobile device to falsely determine the presence of a cell site. In particular, receiver de-sense may present a challenge in multi-radio devices, such as devices configured with multiple SIMs, due to the necessary proximity of transmitter and receiver.
In general, mobile device radio receivers may have filters to reduce interference from a simultaneous transmit signal. In order to be effective, a transmit filter needs to be positioned in the radio circuitry after the signal is amplified, but that requires a filter that can handle high power levels, and such filters are expensive. As such, previous communication system designs are inadequate to mitigate the effects of de-sense in DSDA devices. Thus, there is a need for a method for managing the de-sense received on one of the RF chains in a DSDA device.

Method and device for implementing radio frequency coexistence management strategy in wireless devices


In the present invention data from the odd memory cell array is latched to a data-hold circuit at a fast timing, which ignores the delay time of the +1 arithmetic circuit, and outputs that data to the output terminal. Further, when the supplied column address is even, data from the even memory cell array is latched to a data-hold circuit at a fast timing similar to that described above, and when the column address is odd, this data is latched to a data-hold circuit with a delay equivalent to the delay of the +1 arithmetic circuit. In this case, since the output of even output data to an output terminal occurs following the output of odd output data, the overall output operation is not affected comparing to the conventional one. Another aspect of the present invention provides a circuit, which shifts one bit combinations of the second and third bits following the least significant bit in a column address. And when the column address is even, the second and third bits address as-is are supplied into an even decoder, and when the column address is odd, supplies a shifted combination of the second and third bits address are supplied to the even decoder. Since this shift operation does not require the same delay time as conventional arithmetic operations, both even and odd CAS delay times can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly to a semiconductor memory device, which improves 2-bit pre-fetch access time in a burst mode of a synchronized Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM).
2. Description of the Related Art
A synchronized DRAM (hereafter referred to simply as SDRAM) is a DRAM that performs internal operations in synchronous with a system-supplied clock, and is capable of faster operation than an ordinary DRAM. This SDRAM is also supplied with system-supplied command signals, which specify operating modes. By internally decoding these supplied command signals, the SDRAM determines the system-requested operating mode, and, for example, outputs read data in accordance with a specified operating mode.
One of the aforementioned operating modes is a burst mode. Relative to an externally-supplied address, this burst mode treats that address as the point of origin and outputs memory data of consecutive addresses. It also specifies the number of consecutive output bits as 2 bits, 4 bits or 8 bits.
With such a burst mode, an SDRAM internally generates consecutive addresses based on the external address, decodes those addresses and outputs their memory data. However, it is inefficient that one internal address is generated in the 2-bit burst mode, three internal addresses are generated in the 4-bit burst mode, and seven internal addresses are generated in the 8-bit burst mode.
Accordingly, SDRAM divides the internal memory cell array into an odd address memory cell array and an even address memory cell array, and in the burst mode, for externally-supplied or internally-generated addresses, supplies addresses minus their least significant bits to column decoders in the odd address memory cell array and even address memory cell array. Such an architecture makes it possible to output 2-bit memory data sequentially at all times. This architecture is called a 2-bit pre-fetch circuit.
FIG. 13 depicts an example of a conventional SDRAM 2-bit pre-fetch circuit. In this example, the memory cell array is divided into an odd address memory cell array 10 and even address memory cell array 20. Then, address predecoders 11, 21 and address main decoders 12, 22 are provided for each of the memory cell arrays 10, 20. Furthermore, the output from each memory cell array 10, 20 is amplified by a data bus amplifier 13, 23.
SDRAM operates in synchronous with a clock CLK supplied by the system. Therefore, based on the timing of the clock 31 output from the clock buffer 30 incorporating this clock CLK, a command signal 2 (Comm) is latched by a command latch & decoder 32, and an address signal 3 (Add) (in this example, 10 bits from a0-a9) is latched by an address buffer 33. Then, an address signal a3-a9 from the address buffer 33 is latched by an address latch 38 based on the timing of an address latch clock 35 generated by the comma nd latch & decoder 32. Also, based on the same clock 35, an address signal a1-a2 is latched by an address latch & counter 39.
An address signal a3-a9 is supplied as-is to odd and even address predecoders 11, 21. Meanwhile , address a1, a2 is supplied as-is to the odd address predecoder 11. Also, address a1, a2 is supplied to the even address predecoder in accordance with the value of the least significant ad dress a0, that is, according to whether it is odd or even, either as-is as a latched address 44 or as a new shifted address 48 which the address arithmetic circuit 46 increments by 1 the address a1, a2.
Thus, when the external address is even, the even memory data 24 amplified by the even data bus amplifier 23 is latched by an output data latch circuit 16 based on clock 56 timing, and then the odd memory data 14 amplified by the odd data bus amplifier 13 is latched by an output data latch circuit 26 based on clock 57 timing, and even and odd data are sequentially output in that order.
Further, when the external address is odd, odd memory data 14 is latched by an output data latch circuit 16, and even memory data is latched by an output data latch circuit 26, based on timing supplied by clocks 56, 57, respectively, and odd and even data are sequentially output in that order.
FIG. 14 is a timing chart depicting the operation of the circuitry depicted in the above-described FIG. 13. With SDRAM, a command signal 2 which instructs read is supplied in synchronous with the rise edge of the external clock CLK, and an external address 3 is supplied based on the same timing. Then, address 42 (a9-a3) and address 44 (a1, a2), which were latched by address latch circuits 38, 39, are output based on time t1 timing.
However, in the case of an externally-supplied odd address, a shifted address 48, which is generated by adding 1 to an address a1, a2, must be supplied to the even address predecoder 21. In the figure, this shifted address 48 is generated at time t2. As a result, even if an odd address 58 (a9-a1) is generated on the basis of time t2 timing, an even address 60 (a9-a1) is not generated until time t3. Therefore, once both addresses 58 and 60 have been generated, and following the read time tread of the cell data in the memory cell arrays 10, 20, a data bus amplifier latch signal 55 is generated by a clock generator 54 based on time t4 timing, and both data are latched by the data bus amplifiers 13, 23. Then, read data is latched by an output data latch circuit 16 on the basis of clock 56 timing, following which, read data is latched by an output data latch circuit 26 on the basis of clock 57 timing.
Therefore, CAS delay time t.sub.cac, from the clock CLK rise timing, by which a read command 2 is supplied, until time t6, when the initial read data is output in th5 terminal Dout, is fairly long.
In addition, in a 4-bit burst mode, the above-described 2-bit pre-fetch operation is performed two times, and in an 8-bit burst mode, the above-described 2-bit pre-fetch operation is performed four times. Thus, the above-described CAS delay timetfFt.sub.cac, is required for each 2-bit pre-fetch operation.
This kind of delay time is not suitable for burst mode read time aimed at highspeed operation, and the reduction of CAS delay time t.sub.CAC is desirable.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor memory device that speeds up the 2-bit pre-fetch operation in the burst mode.
In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor memory device that reduces the CAS delay time at least until the initial output data in a burst mode 2-bit pre-fetch operation is output.


A vehicle door outside handle apparatus includes a handle frame fixed to a vehicle door, a handle portion supported on the handle frame, at least one electrical component housed in the handle portion, a handle-side connected portion provided at the handle portion and electrically connected to the at least one electrical component housed in the handle portion, and a frame-side connected portion provided at the handle frame. The frame-side connected portion is adapted to be engaged with the handle-side connected portion. The frame-side connected portion can be then electrically connected with the handle-side connected portion.

Recent developments have lead to a vehicle door that is provided with various types of systems for enhancing convenience for opening/closing the vehicle door, such as an electrically driven door locking system (e.g., an E-latch system) and a wireless remote controlled door locking system (e.g., a smart entry system). An outside door handle apparatus of each type of system is provided with a handle portion that is attached at an outer portion of the vehicle door and houses various types of electrical parts. Various methods have been employed in order to electrically connect these electrical parts housed in the handle portion with the vehicle.
For example, a door opening/closing system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-30844. According to the reference, various electrical components in a handle portion are electrically connected to a vehicle by use of a connector and a harness or an electrical signal wire. However, when the electrical parts are electrically connected with the harness or the electrical signal wire at the vehicle side after assembling the handle portion at the vehicle door, electrical connection has to be performed in a space in which the vehicle door was assembled. This may cause increase of the hours need for assembling. Further, the system is provided with the harness. Therefore, it requires considering unpreferable touch between the harness and an adjacent door glass. This may cause increase of hours needed for designing the door placement.
In order to enhance assembling performance of the handle portion at the vehicle door, an outside handle apparatus disclosed in EP Application Publication 1108835 is provided with a handle portion integrated with a connector mechanism. According to the reference, an electrical signal wire at a handle side can be electrically connected with an electrical signal wire at a vehicle side when the handle portion is inserted or linked to the vehicle door. However, in order to achieve the aforementioned electrical connection, the handle portion is required to be a fixed type. This may shadow constrain of versatility.
A need thus exists for providing an improved outside handle apparatus and a connector mechanism, both of which are capable of enhancing assembling performance of the handle portion at the vehicle door without limiting versatility of the handle portion.

Outside handle apparatus and connector mechanism


Techniques for automatically setting trim removal or stacking device arms. One point on a trim arm (such as an end) is attached to a transverse rail, along which that end moves, and provides an anchor point to which the trim arm can be angled. An automated device anchors that end of the trim arm, and locks it in place at a position designated by an operator. A skew adjustment pin couples to a second point on the trim arm, so that adjusting the position of the adjustment pin skews the trim arm's angle. An automated device anchors that second point of the trim arm, and locks it in place at a angle designated by an operator. A control system electronically measures the location of the first anchor point, and directs positioning devices to move trim arms, skew them, and lock or unlock those settings.

1. Field of the Disclosure
This application generally relates to automatic setting of arms in a trim removal or stacking device, and other matters.
2. Background of the Disclosure
Sheet fed production lines generally operate on substantially flat sheets that are relatively thin with respect to their width, such as paper, cardboard, corrugated cardboard, thin plastics, thin wooden boards, and other materials. For example, the sheets might flow through a rotary die cutter (RDC), which perforates or semi-perforates the sheets. The cut sheets might flow through a stacker, which helps remove any excess pieces (sometimes known as "trim removal"), separates the sheets into separate flows, and stacks and possibly binds them for transport.
It sometimes occurs that it is desirable to separate the sheets into separate streams, such as spreading them out horizontally, after they exit the stacker. For example, as the sheets undergo trim removal, they also can be separated into streams with distinct interstitial distance. This can be usefully performed in the trim removal section, which captures the sheets as they flow from the rotary die cutter, and which includes multiple arms (sometimes known as "trim arms") that can be adjusted to separate the sheets as trim is removed.
Some known systems provide for manual adjustment of trim arms, such as by an operator of the device. One or more operators might set each arm in position to support and capture the sheets, and to adjust their angle of travel with the effect of separating them into individual streams. This process is inefficient. Further, it sometimes occurs that the operators misalign the trim arms, with the effect that the trim arms can fail to support the sheets, fail to adequately control the sheets, or fail to accurately separate the sheets.
Other known systems provide for support and trim removal in a first section of the flow, and separation of the sheets into distinct streams in a second section of the flow. In such systems, the second section would be separately adjusted, with the effect that a separate section, such as an incline conveyor, is involved with adjusting the angle of travel of the sheets. It sometimes occurs that the length of the separate section (such as the incline conveyor) can be inconvenient or pose undesirable or excessive draw on available space.
Other known systems provide for separate adjustment of each end of the trim arms, offsetting them to provide a skew that adjusts the angle of travel of the sheets. In such systems, this can involve two separate mechanisms to find both ends of each arm and to offset them properly. It sometimes occurs that these systems are slower and less reliable.
Each of these examples, as well as other possible considerations, can cause difficulty in aspects of a skewing function being applied to separate the sheets (such as in a trim removal section), particularly in those cases in which careful alignment is desired, or in those cases in which changes of alignment are desired. Similarly, each of these examples, as well as other possible considerations, can cause difficulty in aspects of an automatic trim arm setting system, particularly in those cases in which there is an advantage to maintaining the flexibility of adjusting alignment, and the relatively reduced expense of stopping the flow to make adjustments.

Trim arm adjustment assembly automated setting

Alliance Machine Systems International, LLC


An endpoint detector for plasma etching comprises a photo detecting section for receiving an emission spectrum of plasma due to etching gas from a process chamber for providing plasma etching to a processing object so as to detect a specific waveform of the received emission spectrum, a calculating section for detecting an endpoint of an etching process based on a detecting signal sent from the photo detecting means, the photo detecting section comprises a first optical system for detecting light having a specific wavelength from the emission spectrum received from the process chamber so as to be photoelectrically transferred, and a second optical system for detecting a part of the emission spectrum so as to be photoelectrically transferred before light having a specific wavelength is extracted from the emission spectrum by the first optical system, and the calculating section reduces drift of an electrical signal, which is based on light having a specific wavelength extracted from the first optical system, based on an electrical signal, which is based on light extracted from the second optical system, so as to detect the endpoint of the etching process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a detector detecting an advance state of a plasma etching process, particularly an endpoint of the plasma etching process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, as shown in FIG. 3, a plasma etching device comprises a vacuum process chamber 1, serving as an etching chamber, and a pair of parallel plate electrodes 2 and 3, which are provided in upper and lower portions of the vacuum chamber 1 to have a predetermined distance. A gas introducing tube 4 and and a gas discharging tube 5 are connected to the vacuum process chamber 1. The gas introducing tube 4 is used to introduce CF series etching gas such as CF.sub.4 into the vacuum chamber 1. The gas discharging tube 5 is used to discharge gas generated in the vacuum chamber 1 to an outer unit of the vacuum chamber 1. Among the pair of electrodes 2 and 3 provided in the vacuum chamber 1, the lower electrode 2 is formed on a bottom surface of the vacuum chamber 1 to be used as a base for mounting a processing object, such as a semiconductor wafer W. The lower electrode 2 is a ground electrode, and the upper electrode 3 is connected to a high frequency power source 6. Due to this, if a high frequency voltage is applied to the upper electrode 3 to be discharged between the upper and lower electrode 3 and 2, plasma P due to etching gas, which is introduce to the vacuum process chamber 1, is generated, and, for example, the semiconductor wafer W, which is mounted on the lower electrode 2, is etched by the activated species of etching gas, which is present in plasma P.
In order to realize the improvement of etching accuracy and automatic etching, an emission spectrum of plasma P due to etching gas is guided to an endpoint detector A for detecting an endpoint of a plasma etching process through a view window 1a formed in the vacuum process chamber 1. The endpoint detector A comprises a photo detector 7 and a calculating section 8. The photo detector 7 sequentially detects the emission spectrum of the plasma P emitted from the view window 1a of the vacuum process chamber 1 to be photoelectrically transferred. The calculating section 8 calculates an advance state of the etching based on a detection signal of the photo detector 7. An electrical signal sent from the calculating section 8 is sent to a controller 9, and the controller 9 controls the drive of the high frequency power source 6 based on the electrical signal sent from the calculating section 8. According to the above-mentioned structure, the etching process, which is suitable for a predetermined pattern, is provided to a surface of the semiconductor wafer W until the endpoint of the etching is detected by the endpoint detector A.
As shown in FIG. 4, the photo detector 7 comprises an optical system, which comprises an aberration corrected lens 71, an incident slit 72, a diaphragm 73, a concave surface diffraction grating 75, a first light-receiving sensor 79, and a second light-receiving sensor 82. The aberration corrected lens 71 converges the emission spectrum of the plasma P emitted from the view window 1a of the vacuum process chamber 1. The incident slit 72 is provided at a focal point of the aberration corrected lens 71. The diaphragm 73 reduces the emission spectrum passed through the incident slit 72. The concave surface diffraction grating 75 receives the emission spectrum sent from the diaphragm 73 through a reflection mirror 74. The first light-receiving sensor 79 comprises a photodiode for receiving a first-order diffracted light having a specific wavelength sent from the concave-surface diffraction grating 75 through reflection mirrors 76, 77 and an emission slit 78 so as to be photoelectrically transferred. The second light-receiving sensor 82 comprises a photodiode for receiving a zero-order diffracted light sent from the concave surface diffraction grating 75 through a reflection mirror 80 and an interference filter 81 so as to be photoelectrically transferred.
According to the above-mentioned optical system, the photo detector 7 can detect a specific wavelength of the emission spectrum of plasma P. Generally, the wavelength to be detected by the photo detector 7 is determined by kinds of etching gas. In a case where a silicon oxide film is etched by use of etching gas of CF series such as a CF.sub.4, a specific wavelength of the emission spectrum of an activated species CO* which is a reaction product, such as 219 nm or 483.5 nm is detected by the photo detector 7. Also, In a case where a silicon nitride film is etched by use of etching gas of CF series such as a CF.sub.4, a specific wavelength of the emission spectrum of an activated species N* which is a reaction product, such as 674 nm is detected by the photo detector 7.
More specifically, in the case where a silicon oxide film is etched, an light-receiving angle of the concave-surface diffraction grating 75 is set to have a predetermined angle in order that the first-order diffracted light whose wavelength is, for example, 219 nm is guided to the first light-receiving sensor 79 from the concave-surface diffraction grating 75 through the reflection mirrors 76, 77 and the emission slit 78. At the same time, in order to that the zero-order diffracted light from the concave-surface diffraction grating 75 having the above-set light-receiving angle incident onto the second light-receiving sensor 82, in other words, light, which changes in accordance with density of the emission spectrum of the vacuum process chamber 1, is made incident onto the second light-receiving sensor 82, the optical system, which comprises the reflection mirror 80, the interference filter 81 and the second light-receiving sensor 82, is set to have a predetermined light-receiving angle. Then, in the wavelength detection under the above-mentioned state, the calculating section 8 corrects an electrical signal s.sub.1, which is based on the first-order diffracted light, sent from the first light receiving sensor 79, by an electrical signal s.sub.2, which is based on the zero-order diffracted light, sent from the second light receiving sensor 82 to smooth a drift phenomenon of light having the specific wavelength, which is to be detected, thereby the change of light having the specific wavelength is correctly captured, and the endpoint of etching is correctly calculated.
In the above-structured endpoint detector A, if the object to be etched is changed from the silicon oxide film to the silicon nitride film, the specific wavelength of the first-order diffracted light to be extracted through the concave-surface diffraction grating 75 is changed from 219 nm to 674 nm. Due to this, it is needed that the concave-surface diffraction grating 75 be rotated to change the light-receiving angle. However, in the optical system of the above-mentioned conventional endpoint detector A, the zero-order diffracted light sent from the concave-surface diffraction grating 75 is detected in order to smooth the drift phenomenon of light having the specific wavelength which is to be detected. Due to this, if the light-receiving angle of the concave-surface diffraction grating 75 is changed, an optical path of the zero-order diffracted light is varied. Due to this, there must be also changed the light-receiving angle of the optical system including the reflection mirror 80 for capturing the zero-order diffracted light from the concave-surface diffraction grating 75, the interference filter 81, and the second light-receiving sensor 82. Due to this, there is a problem in that the adjusting operation is extremely complicated.


A container system including a vessel for holding a thixotropic semi-solid aluminum alloy slurry during its processing as a billet and an ejection system for cleanly discharging the processed thixotropic semi-solid aluminum billet. The crucible is preferably formed from a chemically and thermally stable material (such as graphite or a ceramic). The crucible defines a mixing volume. The crucible ejection mechanism may include a movable bottom portion mounted on a piston or may include a solenoid coil for inducing an electromotive force in the electrically conducting billet for urging it from the crucible.

The present invention relates in general to an apparatus which is constructed and arranged for producing an "on-demand" semi-solid material for use in a casting process. Included as part of the overall apparatus are various stations which have the requisite components and structural arrangements which are to be used as part of the process. The method of producing the on-demand semi-solid material, using the disclosed apparatus, is included as part of the present invention.
More specifically, the present invention incorporates a high temperature and corrosion resistant container to hold the semi-solid material during processing and an electromagnetic ejection system to facilitate the transference of the semi-solid material from the container after processing. Also included are structural arrangements and techniques to discharge the semi-solid material directly into a casting machine shot sleeve. As used herein, the concept of "on-demand" means that the semi-solid material goes directly to the casting step from the vessel where the material is produced. The semi-solid material is typically referred to as a "slurry" and the slug which is produced as a "single shot" is also referred to as a billet.
It is well known that semi-solid metal slurry can be used to produce products with high strength, leak tight and near net shape. However, the viscosity of semi-solid metal is very sensitive to the slurry's temperature or the corresponding solid fraction. In order to obtain good fluidity at high solid fraction, the primary solid phase of the semi-solid metal should be nearly spherical.
In general, semi-solid processing can be divided into two categories; thixocasting and rheocasting. In thixocasting, the microstructure of the solidifying alloy is modified from dendritic to discrete degenerated dendrite before the alloy is cast into solid feedstock, which will then be re-melted to a semi-solid state and cast into a mold to make the desired part. In rheocasting, liquid metal is cooled to a semi-solid state while its microstructure is modified. The slurry is then formed or cast into a mold to produce the desired part or parts.
The major barrier in rheocasting is the difficulty to generate sufficient slurry within preferred temperature range in a short cycle time. Although the cost of thixocasting is higher due to the additional casting and remelting steps, the implementation of thixocasting in industrial production has far exceeded rheocasting because semi-solid feedstock can be cast in large quantities in separate operations which can be remote in time and space from the reheating and forming steps.
In a semi-solid casting process, generally, a slurry is formed during solidification consisting of dendritic solid particles whose form is preserved. Initially, dendritic particles nucleate and grow as equiaxed dendrites within the molten alloy in the early stages of slurry or semi-solid formation. With the appropriate cooling rate and stirring, the dendritic particle branches grow larger and the dendrite arms have time to coarsen so that the primary and secondary dendrite arm spacing increases. During this growth stage in the presence of stirring, the dendrite arms come into contact and become fragmented to form degenerate dendritic particles. At the holding temperature, the particles continue to coarsen and become more rounded and approach an ideal spherical shape. The extent of rounding is controlled by the holding time selected for the process. With stirring, the point of "coherency" (the dendrites become a tangled structure) is not reached. The semi-solid material comprised of fragmented, degenerate dendrite particles continues to deform at low shear forces.
When the desired fraction solid and particle size and shape have been attained the semi-solid material is ready to be formed by injecting into a die-mold or some other forming process. Solid phase particle size is controlled in the process by limiting the slurry creation process to temperatures above the point at which the solid phase begins to form and particle coarsening begins.
It is known that the dendritic structure of the primary solid of a semi-solid alloy can be modified to become nearly spherical by introducing the following perturbation in the liquid alloy near liquidus temperature or semi-solid alloy:                1) Stirring: mechanical stirring or electromagnetic stirring;        2) Agitation: low frequency vibration, high-frequency wave, electric shock, or electromagnetic wave;        3) Equiaxed Nucleation: rapid under-cooling, grain refiner;        4) Oswald Ripening and Coarsening: holding alloy in semi-solid temperature for a long time.While the methods in (2)–(4) have been proven effective in modifying the microstructure of semi-solid alloy, they have the common limitation of not being efficient in the processing of a high volume of alloy with a short preparation time due to the following characteristics or requirements of semi-solid metals:        High dampening effect in vibration.        Small penetration depth for electromagnetic waves.        High latent heat against rapid under-cooling.        Additional cost and recycling problem to add grain refiners.        Natural ripening takes a long time, precluding a short cycle time.While most of the prior art developments have been focused on the microstructure and rheology of semi-solid alloy, temperature control has been found by the present inventors to be one of the most critical parameters for reliable and efficient semi-solid processing with a comparatively short cycle time. As the apparent viscosity of semi-solid metal increases exponentially with the solid fraction, a small temperature difference in the alloy with 40% or higher solid fraction results in significant changes in its fluidity. In fact, the greatest barrier in using methods (2)–(4), as listed above, to produce semi-solid metal is the lack of stirring. Without stirring, it is very difficult to make alloy slurry with the required uniform temperature and microstructure, especially when the there is a requirement for a high volume of the alloy. Without stirring, the only way to heat/cool semi-solid metal without creating a large temperature difference is to use a slow heating/cooling process. Such a process often requires that multiple billets of feedstock be processed simultaneously under a pre-programmed furnace and conveyor system, which is expensive, hard to maintain, and difficult to control.
While using high-speed mechanical stirring within an annular thin gap can generate high shear rate sufficient to break up the dendrites in a semi-solid metal mixture, the thin gap becomes a limit to the process's volumetric throughput. The combination of high temperature, high corrosion (e.g. of molten aluminum alloy) and high wearing of semi-solid slurry also makes it very difficult to design, to select the proper materials and to maintain the stirring mechanism.
Prior references disclose the process of forming a semi-solid slurry by reheating a solid billet, formed by thixocasting, or directly from the melt using mechanical or electromagnetic stirring. The known methods for producing semi-solid alloy slurries include mechanical stirring and inductive electromagnetic stirring. The processes for forming a slurry with the desired structure are controlled, in part, by the interactive influences of the shear and solidification rates.
In the early 1980's, an electromagnetic stirring process was developed to cast semi-solid feedstock with discrete degenerate dendrites. The feedstock is cut to proper size and then remelt to semi-solid state before being injected into mold cavity. Although this magneto hydrodynamic (MHD) casting process is capable of generating high volume of semi-solid feedstock with adequate discrete degenerate dendrites, the material handling cost to cast a billet and to remelt it back to a semi-solid composition reduces the competitiveness of this semi-solid process compared to other casting processes, e.g. gravity casting, low-pressure die-casting or high-pressure die-casting. Most of all, the complexity of billet heating equipment, the slow billet heating process and the difficulties in billet temperature control have been the major technical barriers in semi-solid forming of this type.
The billet reheating process provides a slurry or semi-solid material for the production of semi-solid formed (SSF) products. While this process has been used extensively, there is a limited range of castable alloys. Further, a high fraction of solids (0.7 to 0.8) is required to provide for the mechanical strength required in processing with this form of feedstock. Cost has been another major limitation of this approach due to the required processes of billet casting, handling, and reheating as compared to the direct application of a molten metal feedstock in the competitive die and squeeze casting processes.
In the mechanical stirring process to form a slurry or semi-solid material, the attack on the rotor by reactive metals results in corrosion products that contaminate the solidifying metal. Furthermore, the annulus formed between the outer edge of the rotor blades and the inner vessel wall within the mixing vessel results in a low shear zone while shear band formation may occur in the transition zone between the high and low shear rate zones. There have been a number of electromagnetic stirring methods described and used in preparing slurry for thixocasting billets for the SSF process, but little mention has been made of an application for rheocasting.
The rheocasting, i.e., the production by stirring of a liquid metal to form semi-solid slurry that would immediately be shaped, has not been industrialized so far. It is clear that rheocasting should overcome most of limitations of thixocasting. However, in order to become an industrial production technology, i.e., producing stable, deliverable semi-solid slurry on-line (i.e., on-demand) rheocasting must overcome the following practical challenges: cooling rate control, microstructure control, uniformity of temperature and microstructure, the large volume and size of slurry, short cycle time control and the handling of different types of alloys, as well as the means and method of transferring the slurry to a vessel and directly from the vessel to the casting shot sleeve.
One of the ways to overcome above challenges, according to the present invention, is to apply electromagnetic stirring of the liquid metal when it is solidified into semi-solid ranges. Such stirring enhances the heat transfer between the liquid metal and its container to control the metal temperature and cooling rate, and generates the high shear rate inside of the liquid metal to modify the microstructure with discrete degenerate dendrites. It increases the uniformity of metal temperature and microstructure by means of the molten metal mixture. With a careful design of the stirring mechanism and method, the stirring drives and controls a large volume and size of semi-solid slurry, depending on the application requirements. The stirring helps to shorten the cycle time by controlling the cooling rate, and this is applicable to all type of alloys, i.e., casting alloys, wrought alloys, MMC, etc.
while propeller type mechanical stirring has been used in the context of making a semi-solid slurry, there are certain problems and limitations. For example, the high temperature and the corrosive and high wearing characteristics of semi-solid slurry make it very difficult to design a reliable slurry apparatus with mechanical stirring. However, the most critical limitation of using mechanical stirring in rheocasting is that its small throughput cannot meet the requirements production capacity. It is also known that semi-solid metal with discrete degenerated dendrite can also be made by introducing low frequency mechanical vibration, high-frequency ultra-sonic waves, or electric-magnetic agitation with a solenoid coil. While these processes may work for smaller samples at slower cycle time, they are not effective in making larger billet because of the limitation in penetration depth. Another type of process is solenoidal induction agitation, because of its limited magnetic field penetration depth and unnecessary heat generation, it has many technological problems to implement for productivity. Vigorous electromagnetic stirring is the most widely used industrial process permits the production of a large volume of slurry. Importantly, this is applicable to any high-temperature alloys.
Two main variants of vigorous electromagnetic stirring exist, one is rotational stator stirring, and the other is linear stator stirring. With rotational stator stirring, the molten metal is moving in a quasi-isothermal plane, therefore, the degeneration of dendrites is achieved by dominant mechanical shear. U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,837, issued Mar. 6, 1984 to Winter, describes an electromagnetic stirring apparatus for the continuous making of thixotropic metal slurries in which a stator having a single two pole arrangement generates a non-zero rotating magnetic field which moves transversely of a longitudinal axis. The moving magnetic field provides a magnetic stirring force directed tangentially to the metal container, which produces a shear rate of at least 50 sec−1 to break down the dendrites. With linear stator stirring, the slurries within the mesh zone are re-circulated to the higher temperature zone and remelted, therefore, the thermal processes play a more important role in breaking down the dendrites. U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,018, issued Jun. 15, 1993 to Meyer, describes a method of producing thixotropic metallic products by continuous casting with polyphase current electromagnetic agitation. This method achieves the conversion of the dendrites into nodules by causing a refusion of the surface of these dendrites by a continuous transfer of the cold zone where they form towards a hotter zone.
A part formed according to this invention will typically have equivalent or superior mechanical properties, particularly elongation, as compared to castings formed by a fully liquid-to-solid transformation within the mold, the latter castings having a dendritic structure characteristic of other casting processes.
It is known in the art that in addition to being relatively dense and heavy and to holding a great deal of heat, some molten metals are also quite corrosive. Aluminum, for example, is extremely corrosive in its molten state. A crucible or vessel for containing such a molten metal must necessarily be strong as well as resistant to corrosion and thermal degradation. If the metal is to be magnetically stirred as part of a process for forming a thixotropic semi-solid metal slurry in the crucible, it is important that the crucible be as transparent as possible to lines of magnetic force so that they may pass through the crucible with minimal obstruction.
It is also important to be able to readily remove the thixotropic metal slurry once it has been processed in the crucible. Due to its thixotropic nature, the slurry is maintained at a temperature just above its solidus or coherency point. Therefore, mechanical manipulation is problematic, since a slight increase in temperature through mechanical contact could radically lower the viscosity of the slurry, and a slight decrease in temperature could provoke the formation of a solid skin around the slurry or even bulk crystallization of the slurry.
Another problem with ejection of the slurry from the crucible is that thixotropic semi-solid metal slurries tend to adhere to the inner surface of crucibles. Drag at the crucible inner surface reduces the shear on the thixotropic slurry, producing a region of higher viscosity slurry adjacent the crucible inner surface. Also, the slurry tends to interlock with any present crucible porosity, further contributing to adherence to the crucible.
Moreover, once the thixotropic semi-solid slurry is removed from the crucible, there is the problem of residual metallic deposits on the crucible walls. These can be a source of impurities, such as insoluble metallic oxides. Further, if the crucible must handle more than one metallic composition, any residual metal can of itself be an impurity.
There is therefore a need for a crucible system capable of containing a molten metal billet for thixotropic processing and also capable of readily and cleanly ejecting the processed thixotropic semi-solid slurry. The present invention addresses this need.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for containing and ejecting a thixotropic metal slurry

Abstract: During processing, a molten aluminum alloy precursor is transferred into the crucible and vigorously stirred and controlledly cooled to form a thixotropic semi-solid billet. Once the billet is formed, the ejection mechanism is activated to discharge the billet from the crucible. The billet is discharged onto a shot sleeve and immediately placed in a mold and molded into a desired form.


A compressor is provided for guiding lubricating oil separated from the discharged refrigerant by an oil separator to a radial bearing supporting a drive shaft through an oil supply hole. A rotating member that rotates together with the drive shaft is provided adjacent to the radial bearing on the drive shaft, and lubricating oil is supplied to the radial bearing via a gap between an external surface of the rotating member and an internal surface of a circular hole that supports the rotating member. An oil support groove, which alternately communicates with the oil supply hole and the discharge hole every time the rotating member rotates once, is provided on the external surface of the rotating member, and the lubricating oil flowing in from the oil supply hole is intermittently discharged into a drive chamber via the groove and the discharge hole.

A compressor that guides lubricating oil to the bearing of a drive shaft is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-27047. The compressor described in this publication is a swash plate compressor, in which a refrigerant gas that is discharged into a discharge chamber is guided to an oil separator provided in a cylinder block, thereby separating the lubricating oil from the refrigerant gas, and then the separated lubricating oil is guided to the bearing of a drive shaft via an oil supply hole provided in the cylinder block for lubrication.
The compressor configured as described above guides the oil separated from the discharged refrigerant to the bearing for lubrication, using the pressure difference between the oil separation chamber, which is at a higher pressure, and a drive chamber, which is at a lower pressure, and then returns the oil to the drive chamber. Consequently, if the diameter of the lubricating oil supply hole formed in the cylinder block is too large, leakage of the discharged refrigerant causes a degradation in performance, and leakage of a large amount of high-temperature lubricating oil heats the refrigerant that has been drawn in, thereby causing performance degradation. On the other hand, if the oil supply hole is too small, foreign substances, such as sludge (oil sludge), tend to clog the oil supply hole, and manufacturing such a small hole is also difficult.
Especially when a compressor uses carbon dioxide (CO2) as the refrigerant, the operation pressure difference (the difference between a discharge pressure and a suction pressure) is large (5 MPa or greater) and therefore, said conflicting requirements become more difficult to satisfy.
The present invention has been developed in view of said existing problems, and its objectives are to prevent the clogging of the oil supply hole by foreign substances, such as sludge, and to avoid performance degradation caused by leakage of the discharged refrigerant.

Compressor and method of lubricating the compressor


Video editing software tools platform utilizing a video display to provide access to specific video editing software tools, such as video oriented applications or widgets, that can assist those in a video broadcasting team, such as a camera operator or video editor, with a video broadcast feed. Various video editing software tools can provide features and functions that can add visual context to video data presented in the image stream from the video camera and provide archived information pertaining to the same. Various embodiments relate to systems and methods for simultaneously switching input image streams to output devices, while providing optional image processing functions on the image streams. Certain embodiments may enable multiple users/viewers to collaboratively control such systems and methods.

Video editing and broadcasting occurs with advanced audio-visual capturing technology. Still or video cameras may be used to capture image data. Video broadcast feeds are operated under a broad range of conditions and are equipped with tools to allow for streaming video, including editing tools that allow broadcasters to incorporate audio-visual content from a variety of sources. For example, a broadcast stream may be equipped with a video camera that transmits live data and can operate under a broad range of conditions. Data from these different sources are typically displayed on various display devices within the video broadcasting station. These data streams are typically transmitted using a variety of protocols and formats according to the source device and purpose of the data stream. Accordingly, a video broadcast control station typically devotes separate resources to the separate data streams.
To display visual information from data streams, large panel video and multi-screen displays are commonly employed in such contexts as Network Operations Centers (NOCs), entertainment, theaters, and retail venues. Such displays are often referred to as video walls, info walls, data walls, tiled displays, virtual walls, display walls, or virtual monitor walls. Large panel video and multi-screen displays provide groups of people with visual information that can be automatically updated, or are frequently used for enabling collaboration among viewers. Where a large panel video and multi-screen display is used for group collaboration, there is generally a requirement that the group has the ability to update and reconfigure the visual information displayed, which is usually facilitated through a video switch. Traditional video switches are controlled through a switch box and have only a single point for control access.
Video broadcasts for sporting events can identify and transmit plays in real time to a sports team fan through the fan's mobile device. This includes video data such as highlight reels, JPEGS, and collated clips. This data is also used to produce web based video, and can also be used by teams for player training and evaluations. This allows for all teams have access to video archives online to do opposing team research and player evaluations. This technology also allows for video archiving and alternative audio overlay, with the ability to record proxy video in high quality.

System and method for advanced data management with video enabled software tools for video broadcasting environments