A data processor capable of executing sequential processing efficiently while retaining the advantages of a prior art data-driven processor. The data processor includes: an instruction fetch unit which fetches a data-driven instruction or a control-driven instruction from an instruction memory based on an input packet or a program counter; an instruction decode unit which decodes the issued instruction and, in the case of the control-driven instruction, thereafter accesses a register and performs register renaming if a data hazard is detected; a firing control unit which stores the decoded instruction in a matching memory to wait therein, and which selects one of the ready-to-fire instructions and fires the selected instruction; an execution unit which performs an operation specified by the fired instruction and, in the case of the data-driven instruction, transfers an operation result to the instruction fetch unit, or in the case of the control-driven instruction, forwards the operation result to the firing control unit; and a write back unit which writes the operation result to a register.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processor for multiprocessing a data-driven program and a control-driven program, in the same pipeline, on an instruction-by-instruction basis.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a data-driven processor, instructions are issued and executed according to their data dependencies. That is, any given instruction is issued when the result of an operation is passed from an instruction that generates its source operand. Then, when all source operands necessary for an operation become available, the instruction is fired, and the operation is performed. Further, based on the dynamic data-driven principle, multiprocessing free from the overhead associated with context switching is made possible on an instruction-by-instruction basis by assigning a unique identifier (color) for each program being executed. In this specification, each individual program in execution, identified by a color, is called a process. Further, in this specification, the data-driven processor refers to a processor that employs an architecture based on the dynamic data-driven principle.
As shown in FIG. 1, the data-driven processor comprises a plurality of processing elements (PEs) and a packet transfer switch (SW) interconnecting the PEs. Each PE in the data-driven processor comprises three functional blocks, i.e., a firing control unit (FC), an execution unit (EX), and a program storage unit (PS). Each functional block can be divided up into a plurality of pipeline stages. A matching memory (MM) is connected to the firing control unit (FC), while an instruction memory (IM) is connected to the program storage unit (PS). Further, a data memory (DM) is connected to the execution unit (EX). With each instruction, as a packet, cycling through the pipeline, a program is executed. Therefore, the pipeline shown in FIG. 1 is called a cyclic pipeline.
First, a packet is input into a PE via the packet transfer switch (SW). Here, the packet carries the color, operation code, operand, and the instruction number that uniquely identifies the instruction within the program. The firing control unit (FC) refers to the matching memory (MM) by using the instruction number and the color of the input packet as keys, and detects whether the firing condition is satisfied or not, that is, whether all operands necessary for the execution of the instruction are available or not. If the firing condition is not satisfied, the operand carried in the packet is stored in the matching memory (MM). On the other hand, when the firing condition is satisfied, a packet carrying the operand pair is generated and transferred to the execution unit (EX).
The execution unit (EX) executes the instruction based on the operation code. Next, using the current instruction number as the address, the program storage unit (PS) fetches from the instruction memory (IM) the instruction number and operation code of the instruction that consumes the result of the operation. The packet output from the program storage unit (PS) is transferred via the packet transfer switch (SW) to the PE where the fetched instruction is to be executed.
The data-driven processor has advantages such as being able to automatically extract various granularities of parallelism residing in problems and to perform multiprocessing without requiring overhead.
In the data-driven processor shown in FIG. 1, any given instruction will not be issued until after the execution of an instruction that generates its source operand is completed. As a result, instructions having data dependencies on each other cannot be processed by pipelining. Accordingly, a delay equal to one cycle of the cyclic pipeline occurs before one instruction having a data dependency on the other is executed. When the number of pipeline stages is denoted by N, and the degree of parallelism of the program by c, then the CPI (Cycles per Instruction) is max (1, N/c). Therefore, when the degree of parallelism of the problem is smaller than the number of pipeline stages, the efficiency of pipelining decreases.
In this way, in the prior art data-driven processor, as any given instruction will not be issued until after the execution of an instruction that generates its source operand is completed, a delay of an amount equal to the number of pipeline stages occurs before one instruction having data a dependency on the other is executed and, as a result, a sequential processing part in the program becomes a bottleneck.
In the prior art, attempts have been made to improve the performance of sequential processing by introducing control-driven processing into data-driven processing. In a strongly connected arc model, when all inputs to a subprogram called a strongly connected block become available, the strongly connected block is executed by monopolizing the pipeline. As the execution of instructions outside the strongly connected block is excluded, advanced control of instructions is facilitated. Furthermore, as tokens in the strongly connected block can be stored using registers, overhead associated with matching and the copying of operation results can be reduced. This, on the other hand, impairs the advantages that the prior art data-driven processor has, that is, the latency hidden by multiprocessing on an instruction-by-instruction basis and the retention of the response of each individual process.

Semiconductor Technology Academic Research Center


The present invention is a method of making laminated material comprising the steps of providing a base lamina with pointed tipped piercing members, impaling successive layers of thin laminae thereon using a resilient pad, clinching the protruding tips down onto the top lamina with a hard pad.

There is a growing need for lighter, stiffer, less expensive structural materials, preferably with all three qualities, with which to make better products.
Laminates are generally made from thin laminae and adhesive. The layers with adhesive between them are clamped and held in a heated press until the adhesive cures. Adhesives are generally expensive, toxic and messy. For many purposes and reasons, it would often be very desirable to be able to make laminates without using adhesive.


A substrate having a sacrificial layer and a structural layer disposed on the front surface of the substrate is provided. Thereon an opening is formed on the back surface of the substrate and the sacrificial layer is exposed partially. A wet etching process is performed to etch the sacrificial layer via the opening to form a suspended structure. Finally, a gas injection process is performed. The gas injection process comprises blowing a gas on the suspended structure via the opening and consequently preventing the suspended structure from sticking to the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of fabricating a suspended structure, and more particularly to a method using a gas injection process on a structural layer to prevent the structural layer from sticking to a substrate after removing a sacrificial layer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are modern technology, which coordinate electrical circuits and mechanics. MEMS have been applied to fabricate devices with both electrical circuits and mechanical elements, such as pressure sensors, accelerators, and micro-microphones. Compared to semiconductor devices, MEMS devices usually have a suspended structure, for instance, a diaphragm. While fabricating a MEMS device, a sacrificial layer is formed before a structural layer, which is going to be the structure of the device. Afterward, the pattern of the structural layer is defined, and then the sacrificial layer is removed to form a suspended structure.
In general, the material of the sacrificial layer is silica, and the material of the structural layer is silicon. There are two major methods of removing the sacrificial layer: dry etching and wet etching. Dry etching uses a gas-phase material, such as a fluorine-included gas, to remove the sacrificial layer and to form the suspended structure. However, dry etching costs much process time. Contrary to dry etching, wet etching uses a liquid, such as a hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution, to remove the sacrificial layer and to form the suspended structure. Wet etching costs less process time. Nevertheless, the suspended structure may collapse easily owing to the surface tension of the cleaning solution and stick to the substrate during the following cleaning process.
Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate a conventional method of removing the sacrificial layer by wet etching. As shown in FIG. 1, a substrate 10 is provided. The substrate 10 comprises a sacrificial layer 12 with a defined pattern, and a structural layer 14 on the front surface of the substrate 10. Afterward, an opening 16 is formed on the back surface of the substrate 10. As shown in FIG. 2, a wet etching process is performed to etch the sacrificial layer 12 via the opening 16 by an etching solution and to form a suspended structure 18. Then, a cleaning process is performed immediately. The suspended structure 18 is a fine structure and is able to shift vertically in a proper range. However, according to the conventional method of removing the sacrificial layer 12 by wet etching, the suspended structure 18 may collapse owing to the surface tension of the cleaning solution and stick to the substrate 10. These may result in device damage and affect the yield of fabrication seriously.

Method of fabricating suspended structure


The present invention provides a method for recording digital data utilizing a digital recording system having a recording area. The method includes a recording step and an erasing step. The recording step includes recording a first digital sequence in the recording area. The first digital sequence is then both preceded by and followed by a non-recordable area. The erasing step includes erasing the first digital sequence, as well as both non-recordable areas from the recording area, pursuant to a command to erase the first digital sequence. A start address and an end address is kept in a management area of the recording medium for each digital sequence stored in the recording area. When a command to erase the first digital sequence is received, a magnetic head and an optical pick-up sequentially erase from an address following an end address of a preceding sequence to an address preceding a start address of a succeeding sequence. Information on start and end addresses of digital sequences and their positions with respect to each other both physically on the disk and as they are read pursuant to a read command is stored in tabular form in the management area. An apparatus for performing the above operations is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for recording digital data. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for recording digital data on a recording medium on an discrete basis in predetermined amounts.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Recording and reproducing apparatuses have been proposed which use a magneto-optical disc as a recording medium and record an analog audio signal on the magneto-optical disc by converting the analog signal into a digital audio signal. In such recording and reproducing apparatuses, digital data obtained by compressing a digital audio signal are continuously or discretely recorded on a magneto-optical disc in predetermined amounts.
Specifically, for recording, a digital audio signal obtained by performing digital conversion on an analog audio signal is divided into blocks in predetermined cycles and is subjected to data compression block by block (such a block is hereinafter referred to as a "sound group"). The compressed data are subjected to an encoding process for correcting errors and a modulation process for recording. The digital data which have been subjected to these processes are supplied to a magnetic head. A vertical magnetic field which has been modulated based on digital data supplied by the magnetic head is supplied to a magneto-optical disc to which an optical beam is directed by an optical head simultaneously to record the data thereon. The magneto-optical disc is formed with a recording track in the form of a spiral extending from the inner circumference to the outer circumference thereof along a groove which has been formed thereon in advance.
FIG. 1 shows the format of digital data which have been compressed from among signals recorded on a magneto-optical disc. The digital data are sequentially distributed to clusters C.sub.c, C.sub.c+1, C.sub.c+2, etc., each cluster being constituted by 36 sectors, i.e., sectors L2 through L4, S0 through S31 and L1.
The sectors S0 through S31 are data sectors which include main data such as digital audio data. The sectors L2 through L4 and L1 are referred to as "linking sectors" and are used for connecting a cluster C.sub.c to the preceding cluster C.sub.c-1 and the succeeding cluster C.sub.c+1. Among these linking sectors, the sectors L2 and L3 are sectors for run-in blocks; the sector L4 is a sector for sub-data (the contents of which are undefined); the sector L1 is a sector for run-out blocks. The size of each of these sectors is 2352 bytes and, therefore, one cluster contains 84672 bytes (=2352 bytes.times.36 sectors).
Recording on a magneto-optical disc is performed on a cluster basis, and it is recognized as described above that the clusters are discretely recorded on a magneto-optical disc. Therefore, a plurality of clusters which constitute continuous digital data are not necessarily physically continuous on a magneto-optical disc.
The detail of the sectors is shown in FIG. 2 wherein an area constituted by one sector, i.e., 2352 bytes, is illustrated in the form of a table which is constituted by 588 bytes and four bytes in the vertical and horizontal directions. In the following description, an area constituted by four bytes in the horizontal direction is treated as one address, and addresses 0 through 587 are assigned in the vertical direction. Therefore, the size of one address is four bytes.
Addresses 0 through 3 constitute a header, and the 12 bytes in addresses 0 through 2 are synchronization signals, labelled sector Sync, having a predetermined bit pattern. The first two bytes in address 3 represent the cluster number of the cluster to which this sector belongs (the cluster number of the cluster on the disc), labelled Cluster, and the next one byte represents the sector number of the sector, labelled Sector. The last one byte, labelled Mode, is assigned to data which indicates type of disc. For example, if an audio signal is recorded, Mode=2.
The 584 addresses from address 4 up to address 587 (an area of 2336 bytes) constitute a data area which contains audio data for 5.5 sound groups. Specifically, as also shown in FIG. 1, addresses up to address 4 of each sector serve as a header as described above. In an even-numbered sector, however, addresses from address 4 up to address 534 are grouped into five areas each containing 106 addresses. Those areas are treated as sound groups 0 through 4, respectively. The area constituted by the remaining 53 addresses from address 535 up to address 587 is treated as the first half of a sound group 5.
In the odd-numbered sector succeeding this even-numbered sector, an area constituted by 53 addresses from address 5 up to address 57, is treated as the second half of the sound group 5; addresses 58 through 587 are grouped into five areas each containing 106 addresses; and those groups are treated as sound groups 6 through 10, respectively.
The above-described formats of clusters, sectors and sound groups equally apply to a disc except that the contents of clusters are continuous in point of time but the physical positions of clusters on a magneto-optical disc can be discrete.
As described above, since it is recognized that digital audio data are discretely recorded on a magneto-optical disc on a cluster basis, it is necessary to manage the positions in the recording area of a magneto-optical disc wherein digital audio data are recorded. For this purpose, a management data area for recording management data which are used for managing the utilization of clusters is provided at the innermost circumferential portion of a magneto-optical disc.
Such a management data area is referred to as "TOC (Table of Contents)", and the above-described magneto-optical disc is provided with a "P-TOC" which cannot be rewritten by a user and a "U-TOC" which can be rewritten by a user. In addition to the cluster management table, the U-TOC records the name of the disc, the titles of pieces of music and date and time of recording where the audio data are music data. In the P-TOC, data or the like indicating the type of the disc are prerecorded by means of pits as physical irregularities.
Sector 0 which is the first sector of the cluster wherein the U-TOC is prepared is allotted to the cluster management table. FIG. 3 shows the structure of sector 0. The following example is a description of a configuration for recording of music information as recorded digital data.
Specifically, in the main data area, a pointer P-TNOn (n=1 through 255) related to the position where the n-th piece of music is recorded is written in each of the bytes from the second byte in address 12 up to the fourth byte in address 75. Start addresses and end addresses indicating the start and end positions of 255 parts of music are written in the first, second and third bytes in addresses 78 through 587.
In this case, the address pointed to by the pointer P-TNOn is the address wherein the start address of the n-th piece of music is written, and the succeeding address is the address wherein the end address is written. If P-TNOn=m, the start address of the n-th piece of music is written in an address (76+m.times.2), and the end address of the n-th piece of music is written in an address (76+m.times.2+1).
The clusters on the magneto-optical disc are used in a continuous manner from a position in which recording is started indicated by a start address up to a position in which recording is finished indicated by an end address. A continuous recording area specified by a pair of start and end addresses is hereinafter referred to as a "part". The number of such parts is 255 which is equal to the number of pairs of start and end addresses.
When clusters on the magneto-optical disc cannot be used in a continuous manner for a single piece of music, i.e., when a plurality of parts are used for a single piece of music, it is necessary to know the order in which those parts are used. A link pointer Link-P is prepared in the fourth address following each of the end addresses written in the addresses 78 through 587. A link pointer Link-P specifies the start address of the part succeeding the part to which the link pointer Link-P belongs as a part pointer P-TNOn does. If there is no succeeding part, i.e., the part is the last part of a piece of music, the link pointer Link-P is set to, for example, "0".
Mode data, labelled Track Mode, indicate the processing mode for each part and are written in the fourth part following each of the start addresses in the addresses 78 through 587. This makes it possible to identify whether or not a part is inhibited from being copied and written and whether emphasis is put on it or not.
The first two bytes of address 11 are a disc identification code labelled Disc ID. The next one byte is a pointer, labelled P-FRA, P-DFA indicating a defective area in the main data area. The last one byte is a pointer, labelled P-FRA, indicating the leading address of an area in the U-TOC wherein neither start address nor end address is written. Assume that a recordable area wherein digital data can be recorded is referred to as a "free area". Then, the first byte in address 12 is a pointer P-FRA indicating this free area. The pointers P-DFA and P-FRA point in the same manner as that of the pointer P-TNOn.
FIG. 4 shows the formats of a start address and an end address. Specifically, a start address and an end address are both data consisting of three bytes wherein the first 14 bits indicate the cluster number of the cluster on the optical disc; the next six bits indicate the sector number of a sector in the cluster; and the last four bits indicate the sound group number of a sound group in the sector. Therefore, the use of such start and end addresses makes it possible to manage and identify positions on a magneto-optical disc on a sound group basis.
The above-described formatting of digital data recorded on a magneto-optical disc allows additional recording of digital data based on music information, overwrite-recording and erasing of only one piece of music. Instead of actually erasing digital data in a part, the data in the part can be equivalently erased only by rewriting the data in the U-TOC to update the U-TOC so that it indicates that the part is a free area.
In a recording and reproducing apparatus as described above, when a plurality of parts Pi, Pj, Pk, etc. are physically continuously formed on a magneto-optical disc as shown in FIG. 5, non-recording areas C.sub.x each constituted by one cluster are provided between those parts. The length of one cluster corresponds to about three tracks (i.e., three turns of the disc) on average. As a result, even if the position of an optical beam for recording directed by the optical head is moved in the direction of the length or width of the recording track due to vibration or the like during recording, the position reached by the movement will be in a non-recording area C.sub.x. This protects the contents recorded in the adjacent positions against corruption.
However, recording involving the non-recording areas C.sub.x will result in a decrease in the areas among the recording area of a magneto-optical disk which can be actually used for recording due to an increase in the number of the non-recording areas C.sub.x if a single piece of music is recorded in a multiplicity of parts after repeated erasing and recording operations.
Further, as apparent from the above description on the U-TOC, the U-TOC does not directly manage the non-recording areas C.sub.x. For example, assume that the data recorded in the part Pj in FIG. 5 are erased to change the area wherein the part Pj has been recorded to a free area and, thereafter, other digital data are recorded in this free area (the former part Pj). Then, the first cluster of this free area (the former part Pj) is appointed to be a non-recording area C.sub.x, and new digital data are recorded starting with the cluster that follows the new non-recording area C.sub.x. As a result, the newly recorded part will be preceded by a non-recording area C.sub.x consisting of two clusters, one of which is the non-recording area of the former part Pj.
In addition, as a single piece of music is shared by an increasing number of parts as a result of repeated erasing and recording, the U-TOC becomes unable to manage all digital data recorded on the magneto-optical disc because the maximum number of parts which can be managed by the U-TOC is 255.
One possible solution to this problem is as follows. When a piece of music is erased, from among the parts which have been erased, recording areas whose lengths are equal to or longer than four clusters are recorded in the U-TOC as areas usable for recording, i.e., free areas.
However, if recording areas having lengths equal to or longer than four clusters are recorded in the U-TOC as free areas, there is a possibility that areas shorter than four clusters are produced after repeated erasing and recording. This results in a reducyion in the areas of the recording area of the magneto-optical disc which can be actually used for recording.
Further, some users repeatedly record data having a short duration corresponding to less than four clusters. In this case, even if such data are erased from the recording area of the magneto-optical disc, the erased area will not be managed by the U-TOC as a free area.
When new digital data are written over old digital data, i.e., when overwriting is performed, a non-recording area C.sub.x is formed as in the case of erasing as described above. However, the U-TOC does not directly manage non-recording areas C.sub.x. For example, if new digital data are written over the area of the part Pj in FIG. 5, the first cluster of the part Pj is appointed as a non-recording area C.sub.x as in the case of erasing, and the new digital data are overwritten starting with the cluster that follows this new non-recording area C.sub.x. As a result, the newly formed part will be preceded by a non-recording area C.sub.x having a size corresponding to two clusters. Therefore, repeated overwriting operations will also result in a decrease in areas of the recording area of the optical disc which can be actually used for recording.
In order to prevent areas of a magneto-optical disc which can be used for recording from being decreased, it has been proposed to perform processing as described below during erasing. Assume that the part Pj in FIG. 5 is to be erased during an erasing operation performed in the above-described apparatus Then, the part Pj is managed on the U-TOC as a free area. The non-recording areas C.sub.x provided before and after the part Pj are also regarded as free areas and are managed on the U-TOC. In other words, when TOC data in the U-TOC are updated to treat the part Pj as a free area, the area from the non-recording area C.sub.x preceding the part Pj up to the non-recording area C.sub.x succeeding the part Pj is now regarded as the part Pj and is managed on the U-TOC as a free area.
In the case of the overwriting of digital data, the non-recording area C.sub.x preceding the part Pj on which overwriting is to be performed is similarly recorded as the part Pj, and new digital data are written over the area wherein old digital data are recorded and the non-recording area.
In this way, the non-recording areas C.sub.x are included in the free area when erasing is performed. This makes it possible to prevent the areas in the recording area of a magneto-optical disc which can be used for recording from being decreased. In the case of the overwriting of new digital data, there will be no decrease in recordable areas for the same reason.
As apparent from above, however, the U-TOC does not directly manage non-recording areas C.sub.x. Therefore, to register the part Pj and the non-recording areas C.sub.x before and after the part Pj as a free area, it is necessary to search all the start and end addresses registered in the U-TOC for an end address AEi which is the nearest end address preceding the start address ASj of the part Pj and for a start address ASk which is the nearest start address succeeding the end address AEj of the part Pj.
Thus, in erasing a piece of music recorded using many parts or many pieces of music, many parts are erased, and necessary addresses must be found for all of such parts from among all the start and end addresses registered in the U-TOC.
This results in a significant increase in the time required for the erasing of digital data.

Apparatus and methods for minimizing non-recordable areas and numbers of parts per track on a digital recording medium


A method of manufacturing electric double layer capacitors is disclosed. The method assumes a model in which solute is dissolved in solvent before preparing electrolyte, and estimates a withstanding voltage through a simulation. The electrolyte, of which withstanding voltage is expected to exceed a target value, is selectively prepared. The method adjusts respective surface areas of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the capacitor for making full use of the withstanding voltage of the electrolyte. According to this method, a time for developing electrolyte can be substantially shortened, and an electric double layer capacitor having a high withstanding voltage can be efficiently developed.

An electric double layer capacitor is expected to withstand a high voltage. A conventional method of preparing electrolyte synthetically is to produce electrolyte by combining numbers of conceivable solutes and solvents in order to obtain a higher withstanding voltage. The withstanding voltage of the electrolyte produced is measured to examine whether or not it meets the target withstanding voltage. Such a process of trial and error is repeated for preparing electrolyte, and then an amount of positive and negative electrodes is adjusted in order to make a full use of the withstanding voltage of the electrolyte thus prepared. Electric double layer capacitors have been thus manufactured.
The foregoing conventional method has a problem of taking an extremely long time to develop electrolyte. To be more specific, it needs the following three steps: (1) select appropriate solutes and solvents from among numbers of conceivable ones; (2) prepare electrolyte synthetically by dissolving the solutes into the solvents selected; and (3) measure a withstanding voltage of the electrolyte. Those steps are repeated again and again to obtain a target electrolyte. Therefore, it takes an extremely long time to complete the target electrolyte. As a result, the foregoing problem has caused delay in developing electric double layer capacitors.

Production method for electric double-layer capacitor

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A system for injecting I/O faults into a closed system, for example, the injection of link level I/O faults, involves the use of a simulated computing environment. In an embodiment, the system provides for fault injection using an emulated IBM System z environment and including the use of FICON and/or other suitable communication channel protocols. The emulated System z environment may include a simulated z/OS and/or emulated System z hardware and software components.

Mainframe computers are large scale computer system architectures that are used by large organizations for bulk data processing, such as financial transaction processing. Mainframe computers offer enhanced availability, scalability, reliability and security along with high volume data throughput, among other features. For example, IBM Corporation's System z is a mainframe platform and computing environment that is widely used in the industry and that includes z/Architecture-based systems and zSeries mainframes. System z components may operate with IBM's z/OS (operating system) and/or other zSeries operating systems. Input/Output (I/O) devices may be coupled to interact with mainframe computers, such as IBM's System z computing environment, that may include an I/O subsystem that communicates with the I/O devices over communication channels. The I/O subsystem controls data flow between I/O devices and main storage. The I/O subsystem may be coupled to the central processors of the main system and may communicate directly with the I/O devices. I/O subsystem may communicate with the I/O devices using multiple types of interfaces, including, for example, communication channels such as Fibre channels.
Software may be designed to emulate, and/or otherwise simulate, other programs, such as operating systems. For example, it may be desirable to emulate IBM's z/OS operating system using software. It is also possible to emulate, or and/or otherwise simulate, hardware systems, such as processors, used in connection with computing systems. For example, it may be desirable to emulate components of IBM's z/Architecture computing systems. Emulation of hardware and software systems may be useful in connection with testing and other operations of I/O devices and/or other software applications and hardware components that interface with a computing environment, such as IBM's System z. One reason, in particular, for emulation is that the cost of running a System z environment may be significant. For further discussion of z/OS and z/Architecture components, see, for example, Loveland, et al., "Testing z/OS: The premier operating system for IBM's zSeries server," IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 41, No. 1, 2002, pp. 55-73, and Plambeck, et al., "Development and attributes of z/Architecture," IBM J. Res. & Dev., Vol. 46, No. 4/5, July/September 2002, pp. 367-379, which are incorporated herein by reference. See also, z/Architecture: Principles of Operation, IBM, SA22-7832-04, 2005 for a detailed z/Architecture description.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide for the improved software and hardware emulation and/or simulation of operating systems and computing architectures, such as the z/OS operating system and z/Architecture computing systems, and the use of emulated systems in connection with testing, compatibility and other issues. For example, using emulated systems in a testing environment may allow for the evaluation of fault tolerance of various components through managed fault injection, i.e. the controlled generation of fault conditions at various points in the system to evaluate the effect on actual components being tested.

I/O fault injection using simulated computing environments


A contactless thickness measuring apparatus is provided which includes an terahertz transmitter configured to receive the first optical path signal from the coupler and to generate a terahertz continuous wave using the first optical signal and an applied bias; an optical delay line configured to delay the second optical path signal output from the coupler; and an terahertz receiver configured to receive the terahertz continuous wave penetrating a sample and to detect an optical current using the terahertz continuous wave and the second optical path signal delayed. A thickness of the sample is a value corresponding to the optical current which phase value becomes a constant regardless of a plurality of measurement frequencies.

The inventive concepts described herein relate to a contactless thickness measuring apparatus and a thickness measuring method thereof.
A frequency (e.g., 0.1 to 10.0 THz) of a terahertz wave may correspond to a frequency domain of vibration and rotation among molecules of an organic/nonorganic material. In particular, the frequency may be associated with information of a living body material including moisture. In a terahertz spectroscopy, application to medical diagnosis, biotechnology material, etc. may be researched by using a characteristic not analyzed by another spectrum technique. In general, a terahertz wave may be generated using a pulse wave or a continuous wave.
A terahertz time-domain spectroscopy may use a pulse wave to analyze a material. Since signal amplitude and phase are simultaneously analyzed, it is possible to calculate a thickness or permittivity of a material. However, since a terahertz pulse-type spectrum system uses a high-priced femtosecond laser, its size may be large and high-priced. A terahertz frequency-domain spectroscopy developed to overcome the above-described drawback may use a terahertz continuous wave to analyze a material. Thus, in comparison with a pulse type spectroscopy, it is possible to implement a small-sized and low-priced system.
Since a terahertz continuous wave spectrum system generates and detects a terahertz wave using a beating light source of a laser having two different wavelengths, a terahertz wave generated may be decided by a beating frequency of the laser. A general terahertz continuous wave spectrum system may measure a thickness of a material in a homodyne manner by controlling a frequency of a terahertz continuous wave precisely. To achieve this, it is essential to perform precise control and measurement on a laser wavelength by which a terahertz continuous wave frequency is decided.

Apparatus and method for contactless thickness measurement

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


An automated supply management system for dynamically fulfilling a customer requested order having an order fulfillment system for fulfilling a plurality of customer requests in accordance with a plurality of processing capacity restraints defined for a plurality of pieces of manufacturing equipment disposed within a manufacturing facility; an allocation planning system for receiving a plurality of capacity modeling data from the order fulfillment system, an order management system for communicating a plurality of consumption data and a customer requested due date to the order fulfillment system, wherein the order management system requests the customer requested due date and receives a calendar date of production available to promise from the order fulfillment system; and a manufacturing planning system for receiving an order fulfillment matrix from the order fulfillment system.

In an automated manufacturing facility, it is important to dynamically fulfill a customer's product order within a customer requested due date. This need increases in importance in manufacturing facilities produce large volumes of advanced technology products such as a wafer or semiconductor manufacturing facility. In such a volatile business as wafer fabrication facility it is important to fulfill a customer order as close to a customer's requested due date as possible to avoid customer dissatisfaction in an ever increasing competitive market.
Typically, existing order promising systems within a wafer fabrication facility do not have the capability to accurately fulfill a customer's order on a customer requested date or within a time period that a customer requests. Instead, forecasts are generated to predict future order demands. However, the forecasts are not based on real-time events relating to facility operations, but instead are based on past practices, data and experiences of facility operations and facility personnel. Existing forecasting systems do not provide a dynamic feedback system to determine allocated capacity and constraints within a manufacturing facility. Thus, using an existing system a fabrication facility's processing capacity cannot be fully utilized in an efficient manner.
Typically, existing systems do not accommodate processing capacity constraints within a fabrication facility. Thus when a particular customer's order falls within a plurality of variable technology groups, the order may violate processing capacity restraints within the fabrication facility and adversely impact orders requests by different customers. Thus, the existing forecast systems do not accurately reflect a wafer fabrication facility's actual capacity constraints in situation where a customer places an order different than a forecasted order, or where a customer requests a variable product mix order.
It is desirable to provide an automated supply chain management system and a method of use of an automated supply chain management system to automatically fulfill a customer order on-time within a customer requested due date.

Automated supply management method for dynamically fulfilling a customer requested order

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A method of generating a positional representation of a document, including identifying each unique term in a document and positions in the document at which the unique term appears, and for the each unique term, storing positional information derived from the positions into a positional representation.

Modern search engines ranging from the ones that power internet search sites such as Google, MSN and open source such as Lucene have become extremely useful tools for rapidly locating information documents, and multimedia content from a variety of sources. A typical modern search engine builds an index representation of terms in a document to locate relevant documents. This index representation can be thought of as a lookup table which locates a set of documents relevant to a particular search term. This lookup table is ordered sequentially for all the search terms and each entry in this table consists of one search term and all documents relevant to that search term. Given a search term, locating this entry in the lookup table returns a list of relevant documents. Similarly, combinations of search terms can be handled using a union or set intersection of entry lookups. This index representation is generally known as an inverted index.
In the case of web searches and homepage searches, locating a document is all that is desired and there is no need to additionally locate the search terms within the document itself. However, in the case of multi-page or voluminous documents such as user manuals, programming guides, etc., or multimedia (video and audio files) which span several minutes, it becomes important to not only locate the document relevant to a given search query, but also the appropriate location of the search term within the document itself. For example, if a user wants to locate news broadcasts on a particular sporting event, the user would not only like to access the relevant broadcasts, but also the precise time slot within such a broadcast where the sporting event was mentioned. Similarly, for user manuals, the relevant search terms might be located deep within the document and it would be ideal to be able to jump directly to the exact location of the term in the document.
The typical solution to this problem is to either split the document into many-documents and index each of these sub-documents individually or scan the document linearly to locate the search terms within the document after they have been identified as relevant. However, splitting the document results in significant loss of contextual information due to an arbitrary chunking of documents into sub-documents. Further, the cost of a linear scan is prohibitive, especially when there are multiple matching documents and the length of each document is large (e.g. 1000 page pdf documents are not uncommon these days).
An additional problem is that during indexing, and re-indexing, a searching application typically scans the document and creates and inverted word index to internally represent the document. This process is fairly expensive, especially for applications where new documents are continually added requiring regularly scheduled re-indexing of documents.
There is a need for a positional representation of data that makes possible efficient indexing of documents and retrieval of searched information.

System and method for positional representation of content for efficient indexing, search, retrieval, and compression

International Business Machines Corporation


A process for separating the components of a gas mixture in a single adsorption vessel pressure swing adsorption system including the steps: (a) cocurrently passing the gas mixture through the adsorption vessel at a desired adsorption pressure and collecting the nonadsorbed product gas in a storage vessel, (b) cocurrently depressurizing the adsorption vessel and pumping gas removed from the adsorption vessel during this step to the storage vessel, (c) regenerating the adsorbent in the adsorption vessel by countercurrently depressurizing the adsorption vessel, and (d) repressurizing the adsorption vessel to the desired adsorption pressure. Steps (a) and (b) are carried out using gas pumping or compressing devices, and the same or different gas pumping or compressing devices can be used for steps (a) and (b). Step (c) can also be carried out with the pumping device used in step (a). The apparatus used to carry out the process includes a single adsorption vessel adsorption system, a pump to charge feed gas into and withdraw strongly adsorbed gas from the adsorption vessel and a pump to transfer nonadsorbed product gas from the adsorption vessel to the storage vessel, and the system may have a single pump or a pair of pumps for the gas transfer operations.

Pressure swing adsorption is a useful method of separating the components of gas mixtures when one or more of the components of the mixture are more strongly adsorbed by an adsorbent than are one or more other components of the gas mixture. PSA processes are intermittent in the sense that nonadsorbed gas is produced by passing the feed gas through a bed of the chosen adsorbent until the adsorbent becomes saturated, and then the adsorption bed is taken out of service so that the bed of adsorbent can be regenerated. This is accomplished by depressurizing the bed of adsorbent and, optionally, purging the adsorbent with nonadsorbed gas, to remove the sorbed component from the adsorbent. The regenerated bed of adsorbent is then put back into adsorption service.
In some adsorptive gas separation applications, it is desirable that one or more of the separated components be provided on a substantially continuous basis. This can be conveniently accomplished by using an adsorption system comprising a battery of two or more adsorption vessels operated in parallel and out of phase. This is generally the preferred procedure when the product gas is required on a large volume basis, for example, when more than about 20,000 normal cubic feet per hour (NCFH) of product gas is required. Multiple bed plants are not very attractive for applications in which the product gas is required at less than about 20,000 NCFH, because of the high cost of the adsorption equipment and the complex multiple valve and gas line systems required for efficient operation of such plants.
Single adsorption vessel adsorption systems can be operated in a manner such that the product gas is available on a continuous basis. This is accomplished by designing the system so that it produces sufficient gas product on an intermittent basis to meet the total product demand, and storing the product gas in a buffer tank to provide a continuous supply of the product gas at the desired pressure. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,561,865 and 4,892,566 illustrate single vessel adsorption systems which have a surge tank to hold nonadsorbed product gas. The cycles described in these patents is relatively simple with a countercurrent depressurization step following the gas production step.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,370,728 and 5,658,371 disclose single vessel PSA systems which improve on the processes described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,865 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,566 in that they include a cocurrent depressurization step in which void space gas, i. e., nonadsorbed gas remaining in the adsorption vessel at the end of the adsorption step, is collected and stored in an equalization vessel for later use in purging and/or repressurizing the adsorption vessel in preparation for the next adsorption step. The processes of U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,728 and U.S. 5,658,371 are costly to operate because they require two gas storage vessels and associated piping and valves.
Adsorption processes and equipment configurations which are more efficient than those currently in use are continually sought. The present invention provides a single adsorption vessel-based process which increases the yield of nonadsorbed product gas and makes more efficient use of the partially fractionated void space gas, and provides a simpler single vessel adsorption system than currently available systems.

Single vessel gas adsorption system and process


A spatial light modulator having a multi-layer mirror is described.

The present specification relates to spatial light modulators (SLMs) and their operations.
Over the past fifteen to twenty years, micro-mirror based SLMs have made incremental technical progress and have gained acceptance in the display industry. The SLM devices operate by tilting individual micro-mirror plates around a torsion hinge with an electrostatic torque to deflect incident light in a direction that depends on the orientation of the micro-mirror plates. In digital mode operation, each individual micro-mirror plate acts as a pixel that can be turned "on" or "off" by selectively rotating the individual mirror. The mirrors are mechanically stopped at a specific landing position to ensure the precision of deflection angles. A functional micro-mirror array requires sufficient electrostatic torque to overcome contact sticking forces at the mechanical stops and efficient electrostatic torques to control timing and ensure reliability. A high performance SLM device for display applications may produce high brightness and high contrast ratio video images.
Early SLMs in video applications suffer a disadvantage of low brightness and low contrast ratio of projected images. Conventional SLM designs typically have a low active reflection area fill-ratio of pixels (e.g., ratio between active reflective areas and non-active areas in each pixel). A large inactive area around each pixel in the array of SLMs results in low optical coupling efficiency and low brightness. Scattered light from these inactive areas in the array forms diffraction patterns that adversely impact the contrast of video images. Another factor reducing the contrast ratio of micro-mirror array based SLMs is the diffraction of the scattered light from two straight edges of each mirror in the array that are perpendicular to the incident illumination. In a traditional square shape mirror design, orthogonal incident light is scattered directly by the perpendicular straight leading and trailing edges of each mirror in the array during the operation. The scattered light produces a diffraction pattern and the projection lenses collect much of the diffracted light. The bright diffraction pattern can smear out the high contrast of projected video images.
One type of micro-mirror based SLM device is the Digital Mirror Device (DMD), developed by Texas Instruments. Implementations include a micro-mirror plate suspended by a rigid vertical support post on top of a yoke plate. The yoke plate comprises a pair of torsion hinges and two pairs of horizontal landing tips above addressing electrodes. Electrostatic forces on the yoke plate and mirror plate are controlled by the voltage potentials on the addressing electrodes which cause the bi-directional rotation of both plates. The double plate structure is used to provide an approximately flat mirror surface that covers the underlying circuitry and hinge mechanism, which is one way to achieve an acceptable contrast ratio.
However, the vertical mirror support post that elevates the mirror plate above the hinge yoke plate potentially has negative influences on the contrast ratio of the DMD. A large dimple (caused by the fabrication of the mirror support post) is present at the center of the mirror in some designs. The dimple scatters reflected light and reduces optical efficiency. Double plate structures also tend to scatter incident light, which reduces the contrast ratio. Double plate rotation causes a horizontal displacement of the mirror surface along the surface of the DMD, resulting in a horizontal vibration of a micro-mirror during operation. Additionally, the horizontal movement of the mirrors during rotation requires larger gaps to be designed in between the mirrors in the array, reducing the active reflection area fill-ratio. For example, if the rotation of the mirror in each direction is 12°, every one micron between the mirror and the yoke results in 0.2 microns horizontal displacement in each direction. In other words, more than 0.4 microns spacing between adjacent mirrors is required for every one micron length of mirror support post to accommodate the horizontal displacement. The yoke structure can limit the electrostatic efficiency of the capacitive coupling between the bottom electrodes and the yoke and mirror. In a landing position, the yoke structure requires a high voltage potential between the electrodes and the yoke and mirror to enable rotation or angular crossover transition.
Another type of reflective SLM device includes an upper optically transmissive substrate held above a lower substrate containing addressing circuitry. Two hinge posts from the upper substrate suspend one or more electrostatically deflectable elements. In operation, individual mirrors are selectively deflected and serve to spatially modulate light that is incident to, and then reflected back through, the upper transmissive substrate. Motion stops may be attached to the reflective deflectable elements so that the mirror does not snap to the bottom control substrate. Instead, the motion stops rest against the upper transmissive substrate thus limiting the deflection angle of the reflective deflectable elements.
In such a top hanging mirror design, the mirror hanging posts and mechanical stops are all exposed to the illumination light, which reduces the active reflection area fill-ratio and optical efficiency, and increases light scattering. It is also difficult to control the smoothness of the reflective mirror surfaces, which is often sandwiched between deposited aluminum film and LPCVD silicon nitride layers. Film quality determines the roughness of reflective aluminum surfaces. No post-polishing can be done to correct the mirror roughness.
It would be highly desirable to provide a high contrast SLM device that overcomes the foregoing shortcomings.

Spatial light modulator multi-layer mirror plate


A write abort algorithm of a tracking and focus servo system that can abort a write operation on an optical disk drive is presented. The write abort algorithm monitors at least one of a tracking error signal or a focus error signal and indicates a write abort status when the tracking error signal or the focus error signal indicates a threshold value. In some embodiments, the write abort algorithms suspends indication of the write abort status in the presence of a defect, suspension of the write abort status occurs more than a predetermined number of times.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk drive and, in particular, to a tracking and focus servo system of an optical disk drive with a write abort.
2. Disscusion of Related Art
The need for compact data storage is explosively increasing. The explosive increase in demand is fueled by the growth of multimedia systems utilizing text, video, and audio information. Furthermore, there is a large demand for highly portable, rugged, and robust systems for use as multimedia entertainment, storage systems for PDA's, cell phones, electronic books, and other systems. One of the more promising technologies for rugged, removable, and portable data storage is WORM (write once read many) optical disk drives.
One of the important factors affecting design of an optical system (such as that utilized in a WORM drive) is the optical components utilized in the system and the control of actuators utilized to control the optical system on the disk. The optical system typically includes a laser or other optical source, focusing lenses, reflectors, optical detectors, and other components. Although a wide variety of systems have been used or proposed, typical previous systems have used optical components that were sufficiently large and/or massive that functions such as focus and/or tracking were performed by moving components of the optical system. For example, some systems move the objective lens (e.g. for focus) relative to the laser or other light source. It was generally believed that the relatively large size of the optical components was related to the spot size, which in turn was substantially dictated by designs in which the data layer of a disk was significantly spaced from the physical surface of the disk. A typical optical path, then, passed through a disk substrate, or some other portion of the disk, typically passing through a substantial distance of the disk thickness, such as about 0.6 mm or more, before reaching a data layer.
Regardless of the cause being provided for relative movement between optical components, such an approach, while perhaps useful for accommodating relatively large or massive components, presents certain disadvantages for more compact usage. These disadvantages include a requirement for large form factors, the cost associated with establishing and maintaining optical alignment between components which must be made moveable with respect to one another, and the power required to perform operations on more massive drive components. Such alignment often involves manual and/or individual alignment or adjustment procedures which can undesirably increase manufacturing or fabrication costs for a reader/writer, as well as contributing to costs of design, maintenance, repair, and the like.
Many early optical disks and other optical storage systems provided relatively large format read/write devices including, for example, devices for use in connection with 12 inch (or larger) diameter disks. As optical storage technologies have developed, however, there has been increasing attention toward providing feasible and practical systems which are of relatively smaller size. Generally, a practical read/write device must accommodate numerous items within its form factor, including the media, media cartridge (if any), media spin motor, power supply and/or conditioning, signal processing, focus, tracking or other servo electronics, and components associated or affecting the laser or light beam optics. Accordingly, in order to facilitate a relatively small form-factor, an optical head occupying small volume is desirable. In particular, it is desirable that the optical head have a small dimension in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the spinning media. Additionally, a smaller, more compact, optical head provides numerous specific problems for electronics designed to control the position and focus of the optical head.
Additionally, although larger home systems have little concern regarding power usage, portable personal systems should be low power devices. Therefore, it is also important to have a system that conserves power (e.g., by optically overfilling lenses) in both the optical system and the electronic controlling system.
Therefore, there is a need for an optical head and optical media drive system with a small form factor and, in addition, a servo system for controlling the optical head and optical drive system so that data can be reliably read from and written to the optical media.

Tracking and focus digital servo system with write abort


The method for manufacturing a camera module of the present invention includes forming a bump on each electrode portion of an imaging element. Next, a through hole is formed in a substrate. The imaging element is then mounted on a first side of the substrate having at least one bump such that a light receiving portion of the imaging element receives light via the through-hole of the substrate. A periphery of the imaging element is sealed to the substrate. Next, a lens unit is mounted on a second side of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging element and an imaging device using the same and, further, to a camera module provided with an imaging element and a camera system using the same and an optical module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a camera module using an imaging element is required to be mounted in a small information terminal, such as a personal computer or a mobile viewphone, as a camera system including a signal processing system. With this requirement, there is a stronger demand for a reduction in the size of a camera module.
A conventionally known camera module using an imaging element, such as a CCD imaging element or a CMOS imaging element, uses as a function device an imaging device of a QFP (Quad Flat Package) type which hermetically seals a chip-shaped imaging element in a hollow package. In a well-known camera module of this type, the above-mentioned package is mounted on a substrate such as a printed circuit board, and a lens unit for image formation is mounted on the upper portion of the package.
In the case of the camera module constructed as described above, the thickness of the entire module is the sum total of the thickness of the imaging element package, the mounting substrate and the lens unit constituting the same. Thus, to achieve a reduction in the thickness of the camera module, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of each component.
At present, however, there is a limitation to a reduction in the thickness of the imaging device package, the mounting substrate and the lens unit. Thus, it is very difficult to achieve a further reduction in the thickness of the camera module.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Imaging element, imaging device, camera module and camera system


An electrode for a battery produced by a method comprising the steps of continuously forming a metallic porous foil consisting of metal powders having fine voids; attaching powders of an active substance not containing a binder; fixing the powders into the fine voids and the surface of the foil under pressure by passing rollers; forming a binder coating layer on surfaces of the powders by introducing the foil into a binder-tank; drying the binder coating layer; and setting a thickness of the foil by passing pressure rollers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of producing an electrode for a battery and the electrode produced by the method. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of forming a metallic porous foil from metal powder, filling a void of the metallic porous foil with a powder of an active substance, and fixing it to a surface of a sheet of the metallic porous foil. The method is preferably used to produce a negative electrode of a nickel hydrogen battery. In addition, the method is preferably used to produce a positive electrode of the nickel hydrogen battery, and further to produce electrodes of various kinds of batteries such as a nickel cadmium battery, a lithium primary battery, a lithium secondary battery, an alkaline dry cell, a fuel cell, and a battery for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a negative electrode of the nickel hydrogen battery is produced as follows: Hydrogen-storing alloy powders are kneaded with binder (binding agent), carbon (electrically conductive material), and the like to obtain a pasty active substance. Then, the pasty active substance is filled into three-dimensional pores of a three-dimensional metallic porous plate such as a foamed sheet-shaped metallic porous plate and a nonwoven fabric-like metallic porous plate used as a base material of an electrode; or the pasty active substance is applied to a metallic porous plate produced by forming pores on a metallic plate such as a punching metal, a lath, and the like. Finally, the metallic porous plate is passed between a pair of pressure rollers one to four times to pressurize the plate after the pasty active substance is dried to produce the electrode.
However when the metallic porus plate having the three-dimensional pores is pressurized after the pasty active substance is applied thereto, a skeleton surrounding the three-dimensional pores is destroyed by the powder of the active substance. Therefore, an electrode thus formed is not flexible and is hard.
More specifically, the thickness of the skeleton surrounding the pores of the foamed metallic porous plate and the nonwoven cloth-like metallic porous plate is as small as 30-50 xcexcm, and the hydrogen-storing alloy powders used as the active substance of the nickel hydrogen battery are hard. Thus, the hydrogen-storing alloy powders may destroy the skeleton of the pores of the foamed metallic porous plate and the nonwoven cloth-like metallic porous plate.
On the other hand, the metallic porous plate produced by forming pores on the metallic plate such as the punching metal, the lath, and the like has a high degree of strength. Thus, the metallic porous plate is not destroyed by the hydrogen-storing alloy powders. The pores formed on the metallic plate are not three-dimensional. Therefore, to fix the hydrogen-storing alloy powders to the metallic porous plate, it is necessary to apply the pasty hydrogen-storing alloy powders thereto and pressurize the metallic porous plate repeatedly at a high degree after the pasty hydrogen-storing alloy powders are dried. However, when the metallic porous plate is pressurized repeatedly at a high degree, an electrode thus produced is very hard.
In the case where the negative electrode having base material, in which the hydrogen-storing alloy powders have been filled, is used for a cylindrical battery, the negative electrode is spirally wound together with a positive electrode via a separator to accommodate both electrodes in a battery can.
However, because the negative electrode produced as described above is hard, the electrode is cracked when it is wound. Normally, the electrode is accommodated in a battery can, with a crack left thereon. The occurrence of the crack causes an alloy powder layer of the active substance to drop from an electricity collecting material. As a result, flow of electric current is not favorable in the electrode and the electric resistance becomes high, which deteriorates the characteristic of the battery. Therefore, in a conventional method, preventive measures are taken by forming fine cracks intentionally in the electrode to prevent large cracks from being generated when it is wound. However, the alloy powder layer drops from the cracks. Thus, the preventive measures cannot solve the above-described problem that causes the characteristics of the battery to deteriorate.
Further, according to the conventional method, a pasty binder is kneaded with powder of hydrogen-storing alloy powder, and a mixture thereof is applied to a metallic porous plate. According to this method, the entire surface of alloy powders is likely to be coated with the binder. In this case, the alloy powders do not contact each other, and the binder disturbs the flow of electric current. Especially, electricity collection performance at a thickness of the electrode decreases, which deteriorates a characteristic of the battery.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation. Thus, it is a first object of the present invention to provide an electrode for a battery which does not become hard when pressurization is repeated to securely fill an active substance such as hydrogen-storing alloy powder into a base material of an electrode and fix it thereto and which does not crack when the electrode is wound spirally.
It is a second object of the present invention to improve electricity collection performance by contacting powders of the active substance with each other directly.
In order to achieve the object, there is provided a method of producing an electrode for a battery comprising the continuous steps of:
forming a metallic porous foil consisting of metal powders in which adjacent powders are contacted and bonded with each other and gaps between non-contact powders form fine voids;
applying powders of an active substance not containing a binder to a surface of the metallic porous foil at a required position while the metallic porous foil is being conveyed continuously;
filling the powders of the active substance into the fine voids of the metallic porous foil and fixing the powders on the surface of the metallic porous foil under pressure by passing the metallic porous foil between a pair of rollers immediately after the powders of the active substance is applied to the metallic porous foil or while the powders of the active substance is being applied to the metallic porous foil;
forming a binder coating layer on surfaces of the powders of the active substance positioned at the surface of the metallic porous foil by introducing the metallic porous foil into a tank accommodating a liquid binder;
drying the binder coating layer by introducing the metallic porous foil into a drying oven;
and setting the metallic porous foil to a required thickness by passing the metallic porous foil sequentially between a plurality of a pair of pressure rollers arranged along a conveying path.
For example, the powders of the active substance not containing a binder are applied to both surfaces of the metallic porous foil by introducing the metallic porous foil into a hopper accommodating the powders of the active substance. The metallic porous foil, which has the powders of the active substance applied to it, is passed under pressure between a pair of rollers disposed at an exit position of the hopper so that the powders of the active substance are filled into the fine voids of the metallic porous foil and fixed to both surfaces of the metallic porous foil. Thereafter, the metallic porous foil is introduced into a tank accommodating a liquid binder so that binder coating layers are formed on the surfaces of the powders of the active substance, which have been applied to the both surfaces of the metallic porous foil.
According to the present invention, as described above, the metallic porous foil consisting of metal powders and having fine voids consisting of gaps between non-contact portions of the metal powders is used as the base material of the electrode. Because the metallic porous foil has the fine voids, powders of the active substance can be filled into the voids.
The metallic porous foil is entirely flexible, and the gaps between adjacent powders can be increased and decreased, whereby the powders of the active substance are filled into the fine voids. Thus, when the metallic porous foil is passed between a plurality of pressure rollers after the powders of the active substance have been applied to the metallic porous foil, the powders of the active substance penetrate gradually into the voids consisting of the gaps between metal powders of the metallic porous foil. In other words, the metallic porous foil penetrates into the gaps between the adjacent powders of the active substance while the metallic porous foil is deflecting. In this state, the metallic porous foil serves as a cushioning medium between the adjacent powders of the active substance. Therefore, even though the metallic porous foil is pressurized repeatedly, it does not become hard and holds its flexibility, unlike the conventional metallic porous foil, and further the holding force of the alloy powders of the active substance by the metallic porous foil is increased.
As described above, when the metallic porous foil is pressurized repeatedly, the metallic porous foil penetrates into the gaps between the powders of the active substance while the metallic porous foil is deflecting. In other words, the powders of the active substance deflect the metallic porous foil. Accordingly, it is possible to produce an electrode is not hard, but is flexible. Therefore, when the electrode is used for a cylindrical battery, the electrode can be wound easily without cracking of the electrode. Further, the base material consisting of the metallic porous foil penetrates into the gaps between the adjacent powders of the active substance and strongly holds the powders of the active substance. Thus, it is possible to prevent a layer of the active substance from dropping from the base material.
Further, because the powders of the active substance that are applied to the metallic porous foil composing the base material of the electrode do not contain a binder, the powders of the active substance contact each other directly. Therefore, it is possible to solve the conventional problem of deterioration of the electricity collection performance of the metallic porous foil, which occurs as a result of the non-contact of the powders of the binder-containing active substance caused by the presence of the binder between the adjacent powders of the active substance applied to the metallic porous foil. Thus, it is possible to improve battery characteristics of cylindrical and square pillar-shaped batteries.
As described above, the powders of the active substance not containing the binder are applied to the metallic porous foil, then the metallic porous foil is pressurized by a roller to fill the powders of the active substance into voids thereof and to fix them to the surface thereof, and then the metallic porous foil is introduced into a liquid binder tank to immerse the metallic porous foil in the binder. In this process, the binder forms a thin coating layer on the surface of the layer of the powders of the active substance. Thus, it is possible to prevent the powders of the active substance from dropping from the layer thereof formed on the surface of the metallic porous foil. Moreover, the binder penetrates into gaps between non-contact portions of the adjacent powders of the active substance and into remaining gaps between the powders of the active substance and the metallic porous foil. Thus, the binder adheres the powders of the active substance strongly thereto without preventing direct contact of the powders of the active substance and fixes the powders of the active substance and the metallic porous foil strongly to each other. That is, the binder can be used for only the fixing action without preventing flow of electric current.
Further, in the present invention, subsequent to the process of forming the metallic porous foil composing the base material for an electrode from metal powders, the powders of the active substance are continuously supplied to the metallic porous foil at a required pressure. In this manner, an electrode can be manufactured continuously. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the productivity of the electrode and thus produce it at a low cost.
The metallic porous foil is formed from nickel powder, and the powders of the active substance are composed mainly of hydrogen-storing alloy powder. The metallic porous foil of the nickel powder is preferably used in producing a negative electrode of a nickel hydrogen battery. In the case of the negative electrode of the nickel hydrogen battery, preferably the hydrogen-storing alloy powder to be used as the powder of the active substance has an average diameter of 10 xcexcm-100 xcexcm. Preferably, the density of the hydrogen-storing alloy powder is 5.0-6.5 g/cc, when it is filled into and fixed to the electrode.
The powder of the active substance is not limited to the hydrogen-storing alloy powder, but the hydrogen-storing alloy powder or a mixture of the hydrogen-storing alloy powder and Ni powder or/and a transition metal powder such as Cu powder or the like may be used to produce the negative electrode of the nickel hydrogen battery. As described above, electricity collection performance thereof can be enhanced by mixing the hydrogen-storing alloy powder with the Ni powder, instead of carbon hitherto used as an electrically conductive material.
As described above, the powder of the active substance is composed of metal powder or alloy powder without adding a binder, the surface of each metal powder and that of each alloy powder is not coated with the binder, and the powders contact each other directly. Thus, electric current flows through the active substance preferably and electric resistance can be reduced. Thus, battery characteristics can be improved.
The powder of the active substance is pressed against the metallic porous foil with a roller, thereafter a powder of a transition metal is applied on the metallic porous foil on the surface of a layer of the active substance powder, and then the metallic porous foil is pressed with a roller. Continuously, the metallic porous foil is introduced into a liquid binder tank. According to the above steps, the surface of the layer of the hydrogen-storing alloy powder is coated with a layer of the transition metal, and the surface of the layer of the transition metal is coated with a binder layer. It is also possible for the liquid binder to contain the powder of the transition metal to form a binder coating layer containing the transition metal.
That is, in the case where it is preferable to coat the surface of the active substance layer with the transition metal, the transition metal is applied to the surface of the layer of the hydrogen-storing alloy powder in a later process, separately from the hydrogen-storing alloy powder.
The metallic porous foil may be produced as follows:
The metal powder is spread on a conveyor belt or a supporting sheet placed on the conveyor belt which is conveying continuously. Then, the conveyor belt or the supporting sheet on which the metal powder has been spread is passed between a pair of rollers to press the metal powder at a low force. As a result, adjacent metal powders contact partly each other, with gaps present between them. Then, the metal powder on the conveyor belt or on the supporting sheet is introduced into a sintering oven to sinter the metal powder. Then, the metal powder is separated from the conveyor belt or the supporting sheet.
As the conveyor belt, a solid metal sheet, an inorganic sheet including a metallic porous sheet or a layer of these sheets is used in a circulation driving apparatus of belt conveyor type. For example, the conveyor belt is made of SUS (310S). Metal powder spread on the conveyor belt is rolled at a low pressure and sintered to form a sheet, and the sheet can be separated from the surface of the conveyor belt. By introducing the conveyor belt that is moved continuously into the sintering oven, it is possible to form the metallic porous foil from metal powder continuously and very efficiently.
As described above, when the metal powders spread on the conveyor belt are rolled at a low pressure, spherical surfaces of adjacent metal powders are in point contact or line contact. That is, they do not contact each other entirely but have gaps present between them. Thus, when they are heated in the above-described contact state in the sintering oven, portions thereof in contact with each other are fixed with each other to form the metallic porous foil continuously, with gaps between the metal powders forming fine voids. The size of the formed void of the metallic porous foil depends on the size of the metal powder. That is, when the diameter of the metal powder is large, the void is large, whereas when the diameter thereof is small, the void is small. The metal powder having a diameter of 0.1 xcexcm-100 xcexcm is preferably used.
The kinds of metal for the metallic porous foil is not limited to a specific one, but the following metals can be preferably used: Ni, Cu, Al, Ag, Fe, Zn, In, Ti, Pb, V, Cr, Co, Sn, Au, Sb, C, Ca, Mo, P, W, Rh, Mn, B, Si, Ge, Se, La, Ga, and Ir; oxides and sulfides of these metals; and a substance or a mixture containing a compound of these metals. That is, it is possible to use Al, Ti, and V that cannot be used in electroplating. It is also possible to use powders of these metals alone or by mixing powders of a plurality of these metals with each other. It is preferable that the powders of these metals do not interlock with each other and are dispersive. Therefore, it is preferable that peripheral surfaces of these metals do not have concave and convex portions that interlock with each other. For example, preferably, these metals are spherical, die-shaped, square pillar-shaped, columnar or the like.
When the conveyor belt is porous, metal powder spread thereon drops from the pores of the conveyor belt. Thus, portions corresponding to the pores form through-voids of a metallic porous foil. The through-voids are larger than fine gaps between adjacent metal; powders. Thus, the metallic porous foil produced has fine voids and comparatively large through-voids.
According to the present invention, the metallic porous foil may be formed as follows: The supporting sheet is conveyed continuously; metal powders are spread on the supporting sheet; the supporting sheet on which the metal powders have been spread is conveyed over the conveyor belt; and the supporting sheet and the conveyor belt are passed between a pair of pressure rollers to roll them at a low pressure, with gaps between adjacent metal powders kept. Then they are introduced into a sintering oven to sinter the metal powders, whereby contact portions of the metal powders are fixed with each other and the fine gaps form fine voids. The following sheets can be used preferably as the supporting sheet: an organic sheet including a solid resinous sheet, a three-dimensional reticulate resinous sheet, a porous fibrous resinous sheet; and an inorganic sheet including a solid metal sheet, a metallic porous sheet or a laminate of these sheets.
The metallic porous foil formed by using the supporting sheet can be separated from the conveyor belt more easily than the one formed by spreading the metal powder directly on the conveyor belt of the circulation driving apparatus. Of the a above-described supporting sheets, the resinous sheet is burnt in the resin removal oven. On the other hand, the inorganic sheet such as the metal sheet is not removed by heating. In some cases, the inorganic sheet is separated from the formed metallic porous foil when it is discharged from the sintering oven. In the other case, it is conveyed downstream together with the formed metallic porous foil and wound together therewith. As a result of using a thin metal sheet as the supporting sheet, it is possible to increase the conveying speed and enhance productivity.
In the case where a porous sheet having a large number of pores is used as the supporting sheet, similarly to the case where the conveyor belt is used, it is possible to produce a metallic porous foil having fine voids consisting of gaps present in the adjacent metal powders and large through-pores in the portion thereof corresponding to the pores formed on the supporting sheet.
The conveyor belt or the supporting sheet on which the metal powder has been spread is introduced into a cooling oven disposed continuously with the sintering oven to cool the metal powder after it is sintered.
It is possible to use an electrode substrate, consisting of the metallic porous foil formed by merely sintering the metal powder spread on the conveyor belt or the supporting sheet in the sintering oven without passing it between a pair of the pressure rollers. However, there is a case in which a small number of metal powders contact each other and thus a desired degree of strength cannot be obtained. Therefore, it is preferable to increase the number of connection portions of metal powders by rolling them at a low pressure before they are introduced into the sintering oven after they are spread over the conveyor belt or the supporting sheet.
A mixture of a sublimable fine fragment, which can be burnt, and metal powder may be spread on a conveyor belt or the supporting sheet. Otherwise, the sublimable fine fragment may be spread thereon before the metal powder is spread thereon. Then, the sublimable fine fragment is burnt in a resin removal oven. In this manner, it is possible to produce a metallic porous foil having fine voids consisting of gaps between the adjacent metal powders and voids formed at portions where the sublimable fine fragment is burnt. In the case where a foamed agent or the like, which is decomposed by heating and generates gas, is used as the sublimable fine fragment. through-voids are obtained by the generated gas. In this manner, it is possible to produce a metallic porous foil having through-pores and further, to control the size of the through-void, depending on the size of particles of the sublimable fine fragment.
According to a method other than the above-described methods, the metallic porous foil is formed continuously as follows: That is, metal powders are spread directly over the surface of a pair of pressure rollers. Then, the metal powders are pressed by the pressure rollers at a required force to connect contact portions of the adjacent metal powders with each other and form gaps of non-contact portions thereof as fine voids. It is possible to use a pattern roller as a pair of pressure rollers disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-287006. The pattern roller has a pattern of a large number of concave portions formed on its peripheral surface to successively form a metallic porous foil having fine voids consisting of gaps between adjacent metal powders and large voids formed by using the pattern of the pattern roller and then fixedly apply powder of an active substance to the metallic porous foil.
The present invention provides an electrode for a battery which is produced by the above-described methods.
The electrode for a battery may be produced by forming voids consisting of fine gaps between adjacent metal powders and pores having a required configuration and being larger than the voids on the metallic porous foil and filling the powder of the active substance into the voids consisting of the fine gaps and into the pores larger than the voids.
That is, to increase the amount of the active substance per area, in addition to voids consisting of fine gaps that are generated between adjacent metal powders, large pores may be formed on a metallic porous foil similar to a conventional punched porous metal plate, and powder of the active substance may be filled into the large pores in addition to the voids consisting of the fine gaps.
The electrode for a battery may be produced by forming burr-formed pores having burrs projecting from one surface or both surfaces of the metallic porous foil or/and concave and convex bent portions on one surface or both surfaces of the metallic porous foil. The burrs and/or the concave and convex bent portions hold the layer of the active substance.
By forming the burr-formed pores to hold the active substance applied to the metallic porous foil with the burrs or/and by forming the concave and convex bent portions on the metallic porous foil to increase an apparent thickness thereof, it is possible to increase the amount the active substance which is held by the burrs or/and the concave and convex portions.
Preferably, the metallic porous foil has a plurality of void-unformed lead portions formed at regular intervals. The layer of the powder of the active substance is not formed on a surface of the lead portion.
The electrode produced by passing the active substance powder-applied base material (porous metallic foil) between a pair of pressure rollers has a thickness of 0.05 mm-6.0 mm. The metallic porous foil consisting of metal powder and serving as the base material of the electrode has a thickness 10 xcexcm-500 xcexcm. The void content of a fine gap between the adjacent metal powders is 5-30%. The metallic porous foil has a tensile force of 1 kgf/20 mm-30 kgf/20 mm and an elongation of 0.6-30%. The rate of large pore area of the metallic porous foil is 20-60%.
Although the kind of powder of the active substance which fixes to the metallic porous foil corresponds to the kind of battery, the following active substances can be used: metals such as zinc, lead, iron, cadmium, aluminum, lithium, and the like; metal hydroxides such as nickel hydroxide, zinc hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, iron hydroxide, and the like; lithium composite oxides such as cobalt oxide lithium, nickel oxide lithium, manganese oxide lithium, vanadium oxide lithium and the like; metal oxides such as manganese dioxide, lead dioxide, and the like; conducting polymer such as polyaniline, polyacetylene, hydrogen-storing alloy, carbon and the like. When the active substance is filled into the base material of the electrode for a battery, according to the conventional method, a conductive agent such as carbon powder and a binder (binding agent) are added to the active substance. On the other hand, according to the present invention, the active substance is filled into the base material of the electrode without adding the binder thereto, as described above. The metallic porous foil of the present invention has fine voids into which the powder of the active substance can be filled without a binder. The void having a three-dimensional structure holds the powder of the active substance at a high degree of strength and thus can hold it without dropping it from the metallic porous foil. Non-addition of the binder to the active substance enhances the electricity collection performance of the electrode dramatically.
The present invention provides a battery having the above-described electrode. The electrode is most favorably used in a nickel hydrogen battery. In addition, the electrode is used in a nickel cadmium battery, a lithium primary battery, a lithium secondary battery, an alkaline dry cell, a fuel cell, and a battery for a vehicle.

Method of producing electrode for battery and electrode produced by method


Techniques for data source driven expected network policy control are described. A policy enforcement service receives, from a compute instance in a virtual network implemented within a service provider system, a request to access data. The policy enforcement service determines that a virtual network security condition of a policy statement is not satisfied. The policy statement was configured by a user for use in controlling access to the data. The virtual network security condition defines a condition of the virtual network that is to be met. The policy enforcement service performs one or more security actions in response to the determination that the virtual network security condition of the policy statement is not satisfied.

As an increasing number of applications and services are being made available over networks such as the Internet, an increasing number of content, application, and/or service providers are turning to technologies such as cloud computing. Cloud computing, in general, is an approach to providing access to electronic resources through services, such as Web services, where the hardware and/or software used to provide those services is dynamically scalable to meet the needs of the services at any given time. A user or customer often will rent, lease, or otherwise pay for access to resources provided in a service provider's system, and thus does not have to purchase and maintain the underlying hardware and/or software.
In this context, many cloud computing service providers utilize virtualization and multi-tenant architectures to allow multiple users to share its underlying hardware and/or software resources. Virtualization allows server end stations, storage devices, or other hardware resources to be partitioned into multiple isolated instances that can be assigned to and used by different users. Thus, multiple users can utilize the cloud computing provider's resources at a time, increasing the number of users a service provider can support, thus reducing the management and financial costs to both the service provider and its users.
However, with the shared use of such computing resources, there is a potential that data or code—which may be highly-sensitive—from one user could potentially be exposed to other users or even to the world at large. Such data leakage could occur due a variety of reasons, ranging from sophisticated computer attacks to malware infections to simple misconfigurations on the part of the users.

Data source driven expected network policy control


A surge suppressor includes a high-pass filter configured to pass signals in the range suitable for use in a powerline network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices, systems, and processes useful as surge suppressors, and more specifically to surge suppressors useful in a powerline network.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Home Power Line Network Adapters (HPLNA) is a recent advance in networking technology that uses a building's AC power wiring and circuits to also transmit data signals between computing devices. Typical HPLNA networking is done with a module plugged into a wall electrical outlet and then connecting a USB cable (or other type of interface connection) to the computer, e.g. Ethernet. While this type of solution has had some uses, it is not a well integrated solution for systems shipped with networking and requires several user steps in installing.
Surge protectors can be built to work very well, yet this capacity to suppress spikes in a circuit's AC power has negative effects as well. Indeed, many surge suppressors work so well that the frequencies that HPLNA operates at cannot effectively pass through the surge suppressor to the home power grid. Thus, the surge suppressor can have the effect of not making available a HPLNA network to devices plugged into the surge suppressor.
Many other types of electrical adapters have previously been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,373,377 B1 describes a power supply in a personal computer that incorporates a network interface card (NIC). U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,691 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,165 describe AC adapters with power conditioning; APC Corp., of West Kingston, R.I. (among others), offers similar devices on the current market. The X10 Home Solutions company offers devices which, according to X10, enable a user to remotely turn on and off devices powered by an AC circuit utilizing an interface that plugs into the AC circuit. Pacific Cable (Bonney Lake and Auburn, Wash.) has offered devices that it characterizes as X10 power suppressors.
There remains a need, therefore, for surge suppressors that pass through powerline network signals while still providing surge suppression functions in AC power grids.

Surge protector including data pass-through


A beam-forming apparatus applied in a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system and a related method where the MIMO system transmits signals through a plurality of channels. The method includes generating a plurality of channel estimations corresponding to the channels; determining a plurality of first candidate transmitting vectors; selecting a first transmitting vector from the first candidate transmitting vectors according to the channel estimations; determining a plurality of second candidate transmitting vectors orthogonal to the first transmitting vector; selecting a second transmitting vector from the second candidate transmitting vectors according to the channel estimations; generating a plurality of transmitted signals by combining a first data stream and a second data stream according to the first and second transmitting vectors; and respectively transmitting the transmitted signals through a plurality of antennas. The apparatus ensures that power of a data stream is distributed equally for each antenna.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a beam-forming apparatus and related method, more particularly, to a beam-forming apparatus applied in a multiple input multiple output system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A primary concept of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system is having a plurality of antennas installed on a transmission end and a receiving end for receiving and transmitting data through a channel between the plurality of antennas. For example, please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of a conventional MIMO system 10. The MIMO system 10 includes a transmission end 20 and a receiving end 30, three antennas 22, 24, 26 are installed on the transmission end 20, and two antennas 32, 34 are also installed on the receiving end 30, therefore data transmitted by the transmission end 20 to the receiving end 30 passes through 3*2 channels 42, 44, 46, 48, 52, 54. If the transmission end 20 transmits two data streams D1, D2 simultaneously to the receiving end 30, then the transmission end 20 will multiply the data streams D1, D2 by a gain vector and form three transmitted signals S1, S2, S3 to be transmitted respectively through the antennas 22, 24, 26. A method of generating the transmitted signal S1, S2, S3 can be represented by the following formula:S1=D1*V1,1+D2*V1,2  Formula (1)S2=D1*V2,1+D2*V2,2  Formula (2)S3=D1*V3,1+D2*V3,2  Formula (3)
Regarding the formulas above, the three vectors [V1,1, V2,1, V3,1]T are utilized for determining the portion of the transmitted signal S1, S2, S3 in the data stream D1, therefore the three vectors [V1,1, V2,1, V3,1]T can be viewed as a transmitting vector of the data stream D1; similarly, the three vectors [V1,2, V2,2, V3,2]T are utilized for determining the portion of the transmitted signal S1, S2, S3 in the data stream D2, therefore the three vectors [V1,2, V2,2, V3,2]T can be viewed as a transmitting vector of the data stream D2.
To separate the data stream D1 from the data stream D2 after the wireless transmission, a conventional technology utilizes a singular value decomposition (SVD) method to determine the transmitting vectors [V1,1, V2,1, V3,1]T, [V1,2, V2,2, V3,2]T, such that the data stream D1 and the data stream D2 are orthogonal to each other. However, the SVD method of generating the transmitting vectors [V1,1, V2,1, V3,1]T, [V1,2, V2,2, V3,2]T requires a high volume of floating point calculation which guarantees a high volume calculation consumption. Furthermore, in utilizing the SVD method, it is unavoidable that problems will arise. The problems include the power distribution between the antennas being unequal and thereby the high requirement for PA (power amplifier) linearity accompanied with the increase of cost is necessary.

Beam forming apparatus applied in multiple input multiple output system and related method