A method of operating a nuclear power plant includes determining and licensing a maximum power level at which the power plant can be operated subsequent to the beginning of a fuel cycle, and with the power plant being operated at less than its maximum power rating at certain times such as at the beginning of a fuel cycle. The maximum power level is greater than the power level that would be calculated based upon an assumption that the heat flux peaking factor (FQ) and enthalpy rise peaking factor (FΔH) remain at their maximum level throughout an entire fuel cycle. The maximum power rating takes advantage of factors such as known reductions in FQ and FΔH at certain points in the fuel cycle, the marginal additional capacity of the Balance Of Plant, and the occasional optimization of process parameters such as ultimate heat sink temperature and atmospheric conditions. The power plant may be operated at a substantially continuously variable power level based upon various factors of the power plant, but would not exceed the NRC licensed core thermal power level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to nuclear power plants and, more particularly, to a method of operating a nuclear power plant at multiple power levels during the course of a fuel cycle.
2. Description of the Related Art
The design and operation of nuclear power plants in the United States are highly regulated. The federal regulations regarding the licensing of nuclear power plants are set forth at 10 C.F.R. § 50. In applying for a license on a nuclear power plant from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), one must set forth various operating parameters of the power plant, including the thermal power level at which the reactor will be operated and above which the reactor will not be permitted to be operated. In determining what will be the operating power of a nuclear reactor for purposes of obtaining a license, one must perform calculations that assume multiple simultaneous worst-case scenarios, even though many of such scenarios cannot, as a practical matter, exist simultaneously. As a general matter, therefore, power ratings of nuclear reactors in the United States are conservative with respect to the actual power capacity of such reactors.
As an additional matter, such calculations typically assume that certain conditions within the reactor are at their worst-case values, i.e., maximum or minimum values, at all times during the course of a fuel cycle of the reactor, when in fact such values can vary in a known fashion from the beginning of cycle to the end. Accordingly, such nuclear reactors operate at power levels below what could be achieved if the values of such conditions were considered as being variable and not fixed at their worst case levels.
Two examples of such variable values of reactor conditions are the heat flux peaking factor (FQ) and the enthalpy rise peaking factor (FΔH). It is known that FQ is typically at a maximum at the beginning of a fuel cycle and decreases with the depletion of the fuel rods of the reactor. It is also known that FΔH typically starts at an initial value and increases slightly in the initial stages of a fuel cycle but thereafter decreases with depletion of the fuel rods. Calculations that are performed in order to determine a power level at which a reactor will be licensed to operate are based on the assumption that the values of FQ and FΔH are fixed at their maximum levels, although such values are at a maximum for only a relatively short period of time during the fuel cycle.
A nuclear power plant is generally said to comprise a reactor and the Balance Of Plant (BOP), with the BOP including all of the apparatus that interacts with the reactor in order to generate electricity. It is also known that the various components of the BOP are designed to operate at a given operating level, but typically include an additional margin, whether as a factor of safety, a design excess in order to comply with rating requirements, or for other reasons. It is also known that various environmental factors can affect the performance of a nuclear power plant. For instance, a cooling tower may be designed to have a certain rated capacity at 80° F. and 90% relative humidity, and may be designed with a margin of an additional 2%. Accordingly, the cooling tower can operate at another 2% above its rated capacity at 80° F. and 90% relative humidity. On a winter day with a temperature of 20° F. and 10% relative humidity, however, the cooling tower may be operating at only 90% of its rated capacity to meet the cooling needs of the power plant. Accordingly, on such a winter day the cooling tower potentially could provide an additional 12% capacity. It thus can be seen that the performance conditions of the various components of the BOP, as well as the process parameters of the environment, can cause the BOP to have an additional aggregate capacity above and beyond what is needed when the reactor is operating at its rated power level. It thus would be desirable to take advantage of the excess capacity of the BOP, perhaps in conjunction with reductions in FQ and FΔH below their maximum values with the depletion of the fuel rods.

Method of operating a nuclear power plant at multiple power levels


An LED-based light for replacing a fluorescent light in a light fixture comprises: an elongate housing, the housing having a first longitudinal portion with a first cross section and a second longitudinal portion adjoining the first longitudinal portion with a second cross section, wherein a shape of the first cross section is different from a shape of the second cross section, such that the housing includes at least one geometric asymmetry; at least one LED arranged in the housing; and a connector at and end of the housing configured for connection to a light fixture.

Fluorescent lights may be used in a variety of locations, such as schools and commercial buildings and residential dwellings. Although fluorescent lights may have certain advantages over, for example, incandescent lights, they may also pose certain disadvantages including, inter alia, disposal problems due to the presence of potentially toxic materials within the light.
LED-based lights designed as one-for-one replacements for fluorescent tube lights have appeared in recent years. These LED-based lights can define a housing that includes circuitry configured to condition power received from a power supply to a power usable to operate the LEDs of the LED-based light.

Power supply assembly for LED-based light tube


An image forming apparatus includes a toner containing portion, a first conveying member, an image conveying portion, and an image forming portion. The first conveying member is configured to convey the toner in a conveyance direction within the toner containing portion. The image conveying portion includes a surface layer portion having a first end portion located at an upstream side in the conveyance direction and a second end portion located at a downstream side in the conveyance direction. The first end portion has a larger layer thickness than second end portion. The image conveying portion is configured to convey a toner image formed on a surface of the surface layer portion at a predetermined image forming position, to a transfer position for transfer to a transfer target medium. The image forming portion is configured to form the toner image on the surface layer portion by using the toner being conveyed.

The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image by electrophotography.
An image forming apparatus, such as a printer, which is capable of forming an image by electrophotography is known. The image forming apparatus forms a toner image on an image conveying portion such as an intermediate transfer belt. For example, the intermediate transfer belt includes a base layer portion and a surface layer portion. For example, the base layer portion is formed of a thermoplastic resin, and, as the surface layer portion, a thermosetting resin which is a surface layer material is coated on the base layer portion. As a method for coating the surface layer material onto the intermediate transfer belt, a dipping method or a ring coating method is known.
In such an image forming apparatus, toner is supplied from a developing device to an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum. Accordingly, the toner adheres to an electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier, whereby the electrostatic latent image is developed. For example, the toner contained within the developing device is conveyed so as to be circulated within the developing device by a conveying member such as an agitating screw, and is also charged by agitation. Then, the toner within the developing device is supplied to the image carrier by a developing roller provided along a direction of conveyance of the toner by the conveying member.¥

Image forming apparatus forming toner image on surface layer portion of image conveying portion


A motor control device drives a motor based on a vehicle signal including drive assist information and performs vehicle control. The motor control device includes: a first controller and a second controller that perform a calculation operation concerning drive control over the motor. A first microcomputer corresponds to a calculation portion of the first controller. A second microcomputer corresponds to a calculation portion of the second controller. The first microcomputer and the second microcomputer mutually transmit and receive operation results by inter-microcomputer communication, or the first microcomputer unilaterally transmits an operation result from the first microcomputer by the inter-microcomputer communication. The first microcomputer and the second microcomputer synchronize timings to start and end control by performing at least one of three types of arbitration processes including: an AND-start arbitration process; an OR-start arbitration process; and a forced arbitration process.

A motor control device that controls motor driving by using two controllers has been known.
For example, a technology that is applied to a dual-system control device including a main system and a sub-system and enables normal control to continue when a malfunction occurs on a communication module or an AD conversion module in the main system, has been proposed.


A hand rivet squeezer with adjustable handles includes a riveting head body, and C-shaped anvil yoke and stationary and lever swing-arm handles attached to the body. A mechanical linkage inside the body converts pivoting forces applied to the lever swing-arm into axial forces applied to a plunger pushing it from inside the body into the C-shaped yoke. The preferred mechanical linkage is a rack-and-pinion type design or alternatively a cam between the lever swing arm and the plunger. The handles are adjustable such that their angle relative the rivet head body can be varied depending on the access available around a solid rivet to be installed. The handles are engaged or locked to the body but may be unlocked or slidably disengaged and pivoted up to 90 degrees relative the body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to generally to manual riveting tools, and more particularly to a rivet squeezer with a repositionable yoke for making access possible to otherwise inaccessible rivets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rivets remain a popular fastening choice not only in aircraft assembly but also in other vehicles such as trucks, buses, boats and the like. Aircraft preventive maintenance, especially helicopters, is intensive in view of the high degree of reliability required and vibration loads typically present. Replacing rivets that are difficult to access in a completed helicopter assembly is a recurring challenge. Although blind rivets requiring access only on one side of the rivet for installation can sometimes be utilized in less-critical joints, solid rivets are preferred from both a cost and structural-integrity standpoint.
In aircraft maintenance solid rivets are most commonly installed by two mechanics, one using a rivet gun and the second a bucking bar on the opposite side of the rivet. Conventional rivet squeezers are used by a single mechanic to squeeze both sides and install a small number of solid rivets. Such tools generally have a pair of handles one stationary and the other operating as a lever arm engaging a mechanical linkage that moves a plunger up and down (approximately along the axis of the stationary handle) inside a C-shaped yoke portion of the tool. Still these tools are difficult to use if the access is such that upon attempting to position the riveting head and anvil yoke around a rivet other surrounding aircraft structure is in the way of the handles.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hand tool for a single mechanic installing solid rivets in tight spaces where access is limited. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rivet squeezer with a head and yoke portion that are adjustable relative the handles to make the most of whatever access is available. It is a still further object of the invention to provide a rivet squeezer with an effective mechanical linkage to convert the forces applied to the handles into the forces necessary to properly install the solid rivets, and to do so however the rivet squeezer is configured for access.


A snowmobile having a lightweight fabricated frame assembly. The frame assembly includes a number of reinforcing elements, some of which comprise heat exchangers for the liquid cooling system of the engine, so as to provide high rigidity and light weight. The engine of the snowmobile is provided with an exhaust system that permits a relatively short effective length, but minimizes pulse-back effects by forming internal expansion chambers around the exhaust branch pipes. The drive for the snowmobile includes a reversing transmission and a brake assembly associated therewith in addition to a main brake assembly for the snowmobile. Furthermore, there is provided a parking brake assembly that is easy to operate and which will provide the operator with a visual and physical warning of its condition so that the operator will not attempt to operate the snowmobile with the parking brake engaged.

This invention relates to a vehicle frame and more particularly to an improved front frame subassembly for a snowmobile.
In snowmobiles and particularly the larger versions of snowmobiles, the frame assembly is generally comprised of two main frame subassemblies. The first is a comprised primarily of generally inverted U-shaped sheet metal member that supports the seat of the snowmobile on its upper surface and which encloses and overlies the drive belt. A front frame subassembly is generally made up of a pair of side plates that are reinforced by a plurality of box-shaped cross members that extend between the side plates. The engine, the front skis and steering mechanism are all carried by this front frame assembly.
Because of the construction, it is necessary to locate the cross members in such a way that they are either detachable or will clear the engine and other components supported thereby. This frequently results in sacrifices in strength and rigidity.
More importantly, however, the aforenoted type of front frame subassembly requires considerable manual labor for fabrication and assembly. A wide variety of welds or rivets or other fasteners are required to secure all of the components together, some of which must be detachable for service purposes.
In addition to the aforenoted problems in connection with frame constructions, the front frame assembly generally is disposed forwardly of the drive belt of the snowmobile, as has been noted. This presents a problem in conjunction with the positioning and supporting of additional components or auxiliary for the engine such as its heat exchangers or radiators. The radiator should be mounted in an area where it can receive adequate airflow but also should be mounted in such a way so as to avoid damage.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved frame subassembly for the front of a vehicle such as a snowmobile that has high rigidity, low-cost and which affords a convenient mounting for a radiator and wherein the airflow path across the radiator is substantially unobstructed.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved front frame subassembly for a snowmobile wherein the frame subassembly not only mounts but is reinforced by a heat exchanger for the engine cooling system.


A process and apparatus for controlling an etchant gas concentration in an etch chamber. The etchant gas concentration and an inert gas concentration are determined and the latter concentration is used to normalize the etchant gas concentration. The normalized value is compared with a predetermined reference value and the flow of etchant gas into the chamber is controlled in response thereto.

Semiconductor devices typically comprise a substrate and elements such as transistors formed from doped regions within the substrate. Interconnect layers are formed overlying the semiconductor substrate to electrically interconnect the devices and to provide a connection pad for connection to external circuit elements.
The interconnect layers are formed by employing conventional photolithographic techniques, wherein a pattern is designed on a photomask and transferred to the semiconductor chip via exposure and etching processes. A relatively thin layer of photoresist material is deposited on the substrate and exposed to a controlled pattern of radiation, causing a chemical reaction in the exposed regions. Visible light, ultraviolet radiation, electron beam or x-ray energy can be used as the developing energy depending upon the selected photoresist material. A developer solution contacts the photoresist layer to dissolve and remove either the radiation exposed areas or the radiation masked areas, depending upon the chemistry of the selected photoresist material. If the exposed areas of the photoresist layer become less soluble after exposure, the pattern remaining on the substrate is a negative image of the radiation pattern and the photoresist is referred to as a negative photoresist. If the exposed area becomes more soluble and is removed by the developer solution, the pattern remaining on the substrate is a positive image of the pattern of radiation and the photoresist is referred to as a positive-acting photoresist. In either case, when the photoresist is removed a desired region of the underlying substrate is uncovered for exposure to subsequent processing steps. The region of the substrate where the photoresist mask remains in place is protected from the subsequent processing steps. Subsequent processing steps include implanting dopants, depositing materials and applying an etchants to the surface to remove the exposed material.
Continuing advancements in semiconductor technology have promoted the fabrication of smaller devices operating at higher speeds. The drive towards such ultra large-scale integration has resulted in continued shrinking of device sizes, circuit dimensions and device features, resulting in the use of smaller masks during the photolithographic process. However, when transferring the mask pattern to the substrate, the critical dimensions of the pattern are restricted to the resolution limit of the optical exposure tool that exposes the pattern. For example,. for integrated circuits comprising field-effect transistors, an important process step is the formation of the transistor gate, with particular emphasis on the dimensions of the gate. In many applications, the performance characteristics (e.g., switching speed) and the size of the transistor are functionally related to the transistor channel length, which corresponds approximately to the width of the transistor gate. Shorter channel lengths tend to produce higher performance transistors (within certain limits).
Gate line width control is thus of paramount importance in semiconductor manufacturing. As semiconductor operational speeds increase and dimensions decrease, certain techniques have been developed for forming aggressively small gate line width targets in advanced fabrication technologies. One known technique photolithographically defines the gate structure with a size somewhat larger than the final target. The gate-defining photoresist material is over-sized during the conventional photolithographic masking and patterning processes. In a subsequent etching step the photoresist is reduced in both the length and the width dimensions by exposure to an oxygen radical. Subsequent etching of the underlying conductive layer to form the gate results in a narrower gate length and width than defined by the mask dimensions.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a conductive layer 10, comprising for example polysilicon or a conductive metal, is formed on a semiconductor substrate 12. An anti-reflective coating layer 14 overlies the conductive layer 10. Photoresist patterns 16 are formed by conventional photolithographic techniques as described above. The height (h), width (w) and spacing (s) of the photoresist patterns 16 are illustrated in FIG. 1.
In a conventional plasma etching chamber the substrate is subjected to an oxygen gas containing oxygen radicals that thin the photoresist patterns, with the resulting photoresist profile illustrated in FIG. 2, where h′ is less than h, w′ is less than w and s′ is less than s. Typically, the process is carried out at atmospheric pressure and at a relatively low temperature of between about 130° C. and 200° C. The photoresist material comprises a basic C—H—O structure that may be easily disconnected through reaction with the oxygen radical, forming CO2, CO and H2O, which are then exhausted from the process chamber.
One disadvantage of this prior art trim process is the inability to determine a process end point such that the plasma etch of the photoresist can be terminated when the end point is reached. Unlike most conventional semiconductor etch processes, the trim process does not end or terminate on an etch stop layer. When applied to the process of gate etch, the lack of a definitive end point leads to variations in the gate dimensions that can affect several performance parameters, including device speed and current leakage. The variations in the trim process can also reduce throughput, yield, and profitability if one or more of the gate dimensions are reduced beyond predetermined limits.
In an effort to overcome these disadvantages, certain statistical process control or wafer-run monitoring ("run-to-run" control) techniques have been applied to the trim tool. In either case, external metrology tools, such as a critical dimension scanning electron microscope or a scatterometer, are employed to measure the gate dimensions and control the etch trim process based on the measurement results. These measurements can be performed in situ on the fabricated gate or ex situ on the photoresist layer. However, this process control technique benefits only subsequently fabricated transistors. No real-time feedback control is provided, possibly resulting in the fabrication of defective wafers during the period between determining that a critical dimension problem exists and adjusting the process variables to overcome the problem. Further, the process adjustments are applied iteratively in an effort to alleviate the problem, as the root cause is frequently not known. Without a root cause determination, the variable adjustments may offer only a temporary fix or may not produce an immediate fix as the process is iterated toward the correct parameters. Additionally, as the chamber conditions change over time, the initial process adjustments will likely no longer be adequate.
Various process control techniques are conventionally employed to determine whether a semiconductor fabrication process tool is functioning properly. Statistical process control techniques can be utilized to identify long term statistical variations in one or more specific critical dimensions of a device. A critical dimension of interest is measured on several devices or fields within a wafer on a predetermined schedule. Based on several wafer lots, a statistical function, such as an average or a standard deviation of the measured critical dimension is calculated. As processing continues, additional fields are randomly selected from processed devices, the critical dimensions measured, and the running average or standard deviation recalculated using the latest critical dimension measurement. If the last acquired measurement does not change the average or standard deviation by more than a predetermined amount, then the process is deemed to be repeatable and no process modifications are required. If the last measurement causes the average or standard deviation to change by more than the predetermined amount then a change to the process "recipe" is warranted. Recipe changes include modifying any of the variables associated with the process tool that is causing the out-of-range feature. For example, gas pressure and/or temperature can be raised or lowered, the quantity of inlet gas per unit time can be increased or decreased, and various voltage settings can be modified in an effort to return the feature size to pre-established limits. Although this method can be used to provide a statistical analysis of a critical dimension, it cannot identify the root cause of critical dimension variations.
Run-to-run control of feature dimensions also requires the use of external metrology tools. After processing each cassette of wafers (typically 25 wafers) a plurality of critical dimensions are measured. If found to be out-of-specification, the process variables are examined in an effort to determine the cause of the anomaly and the process recipe modified in response thereto.
Although the statistical process control and run-to-run control techniques provide some feature size information for controlling a fabrication process, such as the trim rate process described above, they may not provide the desired repeatability for critical dimension control. Nor do they provide real time control over the etch rate, as the critical measurements are performed off-line and modifications are made only after confirming an out-of-specification condition.
It has been determined that the lateral etch rate for the above-described resist trim process depends on such parameters as the photolithographic pattern density, the wafer mix previously processed through the etching chamber and the cleanliness state of the chamber, i.e., the number of wafers that have been etched since the last chamber cleaning. It is believed that these factors, and likely others, influence the concentration of the available etching oxidant, in turn altering the rate at which the trim etch proceeds. According to the prior art techniques, if the statistical process control methods or run-to-run measurements indicate that the trim results are not within the predetermined bounds the flow of oxidizing gas is varied to attempt a process correction.
Certain techniques are known for controlling the trim process and attempting to reduce process variations. For example, process-specific (or tool or chamber-specific) and product-specific recipes can be devised. Thus when fabricating a certain product, the product-specific recipe for that product is employed in an effort to limit variations in the trim rate and produce a more consistent result. Similarly, when trim etching a product in a specific tool or chamber, the only the unique recipe associated with that chamber is employed. Given their different process histories and inherent physical differences, two chambers rarely employ the same recipe to fabricate the same product. Recipes can also be developed for wafers having specific photolithographic pattern densities. Observed long-term drift of the trim results, as determined by statistical process control techniques described above, can be mitigated by adjustment of the oxidant flow for all chamber-based and product-based recipes.
Whenever a new product is introduced into the manufacturing process it is preferable to monitor the trim etch results until a statistical database is created or until the effects of the trim process variables on the product is obtained. It is also important to verify the trim rate after each major etch tool hardware perturbation, such as when the chamber is cleaned.
As can be inferred from the foregoing discussion, given the significant number of variables affecting it, the trim process is cumbersome, not repeatable, and not easily controlled. Under certain worst-case conditions the process may not be usable in a manufacturing environment.

Real-time gate etch critical dimension control by oxygen monitoring


A computing device has storage means, for example fixed and floppy discs, a processor and I/O devices. A communication bus connects this device to a security module which includes data encryption circuitry. The security module preferably also includes its own microprocessor, security storage and a token coupler for copying to a token, for example an IC card. Data stored on the storage means is encrypted in accordance with keys read from tokens in the token coupler. Different levels of encryption and access can be provided.

Over the past few decades, the power of computing devices has progressively increased, whilst at the same time the size of various computing devices has decreased considerably. This led to the development of personal or desk top computers of relatively small size. Such computing devices have become even more compact and powerful, leading to the development of so-called laptop computers. Such a laptop computer has dimensions typically comparable to a conventional businessman's brief case, and as such can be readily transported by a user and taken wherever the user wishes.
Now, when computing devices were of a relatively large or fixed sized, security was relatively easily controlled. At a basic level, one could simply use long established security techniques, such as locked doors etc., to control actual physical access to the computer. Now that smaller and more portable computing devices are available, security becomes a much greater and entirely different problem. In the case of laptop and other portable computers which can be carried around, an administrator has a problem of simply not knowing where a computing device is at any one time. It is also possible that a laptop computer could simply be lost or simply left in a public place, e.g. on public transit.
Bearing in mind that laptop computers are frequently used for storing and processing sensitive data, for example tax information, investigative data collected by police and other authorities, it is extremely important to ensure that the data is maintained secure, even if the laptop computer is accidentally lost or mislaid.
This problem has been recognized, but current attempts at providing any degree of security have been crude and ineffectual for a variety of reasons.
It is known to provide a simple password control for access to certain files. This suffers from the fundamental disadvantage that the files themselves are still perfectly readable, i.e. they are not encrypted in any way. Accordingly, whilst any ordinary user, who is not supposed to have access, would be stopped by the password control, a skilled computer professional could in many cases gain access to the files.
It has been known to provide for encryption of data by means of a software program. This has a number of disadvantages. Firstly, such an encryption technique is relatively slow. Secondly, it relies on the fact that the user will, in fact, encrypt the necessary data. There are many situations, where an administrator or supervisor needs to be confident that, for all the laptops for which they are responsible, the appropriate degree of security is in fact being provided. In other words, there should be no mechanism by which an individual user can subvert or avoid using the required level of security.
Another mode of controlling access to individual computing devices is by means of an IC card. An IC card is a card, somewhat similar physically to a conventional credit card, but including a microprocessor and memory, to give it some data processing capabilities. Known techniques rely upon provision of an external IC card reader connected to the laptop. By itself, this again provides for no data encryption, and as the IC reader is separate from the computing device, it is possible for a knowledgable person to detach the card reader and gain access to the files. Further, the provision of a separate IC card reader is physically highly inconvenient, particularly for a portable or laptop computer.
Accordingly, what is desired is a system or modification to a laptop computer, which provides a high degree of security, to prevent unauthorized access to one or both of data and application files. The system should be such as to ensure that a minimum level of encryption is provided to all the files, which cannot be overridden by a user. Further, it is desirable that such a system should provide different levels of access, so that there is one level enabling all the files to be changed, and at least one further level which provides more restricted access.
Preferably, the system is such that it is wholly integrated into a laptop or other computing device, such that the portability of the device is not impaired. Further, the integration should be such as to render it virtually impossible to remove the security elements or module incorporated into the device, without detailed knowledge of the whole device.

Encryption apparatus for computer device


This is a board to transport and convert optical outgoing free-space signals from a spatial light modulator which comprises: at least one detector to process the outgoing free-space signal; at least one signal transmitter to process the outgoing free-space signal; and at least one outgoing optical signal carrier to carry a converted outgoing signal. Other methods and devices are disclosed.

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with optical interconnects and parallel computing. Optical interconnections are generally divided into two categories, guided wave and free-space optics. Guided wave interconnection uses optical fiber or integrated optics methods. Disadvantages of guided wave optical interconnects include fixed interconnects and a crowded backplane. The advantage of guided wave connection is the precision in reaching the destination. However, free-space optics can provide a similar advantage if properly arranged. Furthermore, free-space optics solve routing restriction by utilizing the advantage of non-interactive property of photons when crossing over.
Backplane crowdedness becomes an important issue when submicron technology allows the existence of multi-million-transistor chips and the co-existence of sophisticated functional blocks in the chips. The implementation of the communications between the chips tends to negate the advantage of the submicron technology for reasons including the following: (1) the number of I/O pins grows with the complexity of the chip; (2) the narrower the interconnection metallization the higher the resistance; (3) the closer the lines are the higher the stray capacitance is, and hence the higher RC time constant will induce slower I/O rate for more functionality; (4) the multiple use of the I/O interconnects to limit their number results in the use of one or more crossbar-switches which dominate the board space as the parallelism increases; and (5) the technique of limiting the number of I/O paths between complex components and not using crossbar interconnect self-organization results in I/0 blocking and performance that is dependent on the time varying demand for specific I/O paths.
The state-of-the-art microprocessor runs above 150 MHz. It is expected to achieve a clock rate of 0.5 GHz with the assistance of BiCMOS and GaAs technologies. The 25 MHz proc TMS320C40) are achieving 50 MFLOP performance, therefore, the newer technologies are expected to achieve 1 GFLOP performance. The newer technologies will require 1000 parallel processors to achieve a teraflop (TFLOP) performance; note the current technology requires more than 20000 parallel processors. In the foreseeable future, massively parallel computing systems will be required to achieve TFLOP computing capability. Therefore, this system must solve the interconnection problem for very large numbers of computing elements without diminishing the delivered performance relative to the available performance.
Considerable study has been given to the applications of fixed interconnect strategies in parallel computing architectures. These strategies result in a system with, for example, tiered-bus, two-dimensional (2D) mesh, three-dimensional (3D) mesh, multi-degree hypercube, and tiered binary crossbar architectures. In general, all of the strategies result in a system performance that is dependent on the number of independent paths provided from point A to arbitrary point B in the system. I/O contention decreases the delivered performance from the system's available capability based on the specific application's data communication requirements. Therefore, different architectures will provide better results depending on the application run on them.
A non trivial secondary attribute of these fixed interconnect strategies is the mapping of the applications onto the architecture. This mapping can have a dominant impact on the system performance. The application is the set of system functions for which the parallel computing system is needed. These functions represent the perceived system solution to some problem and that solution has some natural structure and parallelism. One must then try to optimize the mapping of this solution, which may have been very difficult to conceive of in its own right, onto the parallel computing system's architectural connectivity and parallelism. This mapping of application data flow and parallelism onto hardware interconnect structure and parallelism is a problem which is essentially unsolved to date.

Optical signal free-space conversion board


A film for a bag. The film includes a plurality of extruded layers, with the layers including a first layer, a second layer, a third layer, a fourth layer, and a fifth layer. The first layer is a mixture of metallocene polyethylene and linear low density polyethylene. The second layer contacting the first layer and comprising a tie layer. The third layer contacts the second layer opposite the first layer. The third layer comprises ethylene vinyl alcohol having a mol % ethylene of at least approximately 24 mol % and a thickness of between approximately 0.01 mil and 0.40 mil. The fourth layer contacts the third layer opposite of the second layer. The fourth layer comprises a tie layer. The fifth layer contacts the fourth layer opposite the third layer. The fifth layer comprises a metallocene polyethylene and liner low density polyethylene. The film includes a thickness that is between approximately 0.46 mil and 10.4 mil.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The invention relates in general to polymer based films, and more particularly, to a film for flexible packaging. Among other uses, the film of the present disclosure is well suited for use in association with bag in box packaging.
2. Background Art
The use of bag in box packaging is ubiquitous. Generally such packaging comprises a flexible bag made from a plurality of panels of polymer film. The panels are coupled together through a plurality of seals to form a generally fluid tight cavity. A spout may be provided on one of the panels to provide ingress into the fluid tight cavity. The flexible bag is then placed within a rigid outer container.
Such bags are generally filled with a flowable material and are generally shipped and stored in the rigid outer container. Eventually, the flowable material is dispensed from the flexible bag. Through storage, transport and use, the bags are subjected to various loads, some of which are repetitive loads. Such loads and movement of the flowable material within the flexible bag will degrade the bag and impart forces onto the flexible bag.
Thus, it is known that the bag must meet certain criteria relative to strength and operational performance. Generally, such flexible bags are formed from a plurality of coextruded or laminated film structures. A number of different structures are known to have been utilized. There is an ever present need to improve the film structures relative to performance, and cost. That is, there is a need to provide improved performance through films that are more easily and cost effectively produced.

Film for flexible packaging for use in bag in box packaging and bags made therefrom


An optical measuring device capable of improving the precision of detection of contamination on a protective glass is disclosed. With threshold values as large as 90%, 50%, 10% of a peak value of a scan signal, measured values Q90, Q50, Q10 of a dimension of a work to be measured are derived, respectively. It is determined whether a difference between the measured value Q90 and the measured value Q50 (or a variation of the measured value) is equal to or larger than a predetermined reference value. (B)-(D) show the presence of contamination on the protective glass, equal to or larger than the reference value. (A) shows the absence of contamination, lower than the reference value. It is then determined whether a difference between the measured value Q50 and the measured value Q10 is equal to or larger than a predetermined reference value. (D) shows the presence of thick contamination on the protective glass, equal to or larger than this reference value. Accordingly, a buzzer is driven and a red lamp is turned on to give the alarm to the operator to remove the contamination immediately.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical measuring device of a scanning type that uses a collimated beam.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical measuring device comprises a projector and a photoreceptor located separately by a scan region in which a work to be measured locates. A collimated beam from the projector is employed to repeatedly scan the scan region and the photoreceptor receives the beam transmitted through the scan region to generate scanned signals. The scanned signals are specifically processed to indicate a measured value (such as a dimension and roundness of the work to be measured).
The projector and the photoreceptor contain expensive optical components (such as a semiconductor laser, photodiodes, lenses and mirrors). To prevent contamination of and damage to the optical components, the projector and the photoreceptor are each provided with a cabinet that houses the optical components.
The cabinet has a window with a protective glass fitted therein. The collimated beam generated at the projector is led to the scan region in an external ambient after it transmits through the protective glass. The collimated beam transmitted through the scan region transmits through the protective glass and is led into the photoreceptor. The protective glass is exposed to the external ambient and accordingly easily contaminated and may be damaged occasionally. The contamination, for example, becomes an obstacle on measurements and cause increased measurement errors. A dimension-measuring device has therefore been proposed that can detect a foreign substance located on the optical path of the beam (JP-A11-83448, Paragraphs 0029-0043, FIGS. 2 and 3).
The present invention has an object to provide an optical measuring device capable of improving the precision of detection of an abnormality on the optical path of the beam.


An electrical tool for planning and/or milling has a motor shaft, a working shaft connected with the motor shaft, wherein the working shaft is positioned perpendicular to the motor shaft.

The present invention relates to an electrical tool, in particular planning or milling.
Electrical hand-held planers are already known in the art. With all of these planers, the motor shaft and planer shaft are located parallel to one other, and the main guiding handle is positioned at a 90° angle above these shafts. Due to this arrangement of motor shaft, planer shaft and handle, these known planing devices are poorly suited for machining grooves. Machining edges and lateral surfaces, in particular, is a complicated procedure using planers of this type.
In addition, routers are known, with which the milling shaft and the motor shaft are located one behind the other in one direction. These devices are guided using one or both hands, and the handles are located parallel to the motor shaft. A considerable amount of effort is also required with these milling machines to machine lateral surfaces and edges.


A method for producing a narrow molecular weight distribution polyalkylene glycol derivative having an amino group at an end under mild conditions. A method for producing a compound of the general formula (1): CH3O(CH2CH2O)nCH2CH2CH2NH2 (wherein n is an integer of 1 to 450) comprises the following steps of:                1) a step of producing a compound of the general formula (3): CH3O(CH2CH2O)k-1CH2CH2O−M+ from a compound of the general formula (2): CH3O(CH2CH2O)kH (wherein k is an integer of 2 to 5);        2) a step of producing a compound of the general formula (4): CH3O(CH2CH2O)n-1CH2CH2O−M+ from a compound of the general formula (3);        3) a step of reacting a compound of the general formula (4) with acrylonitrile to obtain a compound of the general formula (5): CH3O(CH2CH2O)nCH2CH2CN; and        4) a step of reducing a compound of the general formula (5) to obtain a compound of the general formula (1).

The present invention relates to a method for producing a narrow molecular weight distribution polyalkylene glycol derivative having an amino group at an end.
Recently, in the drug delivery system, a method for encapsulating drugs in a polymer micelle using a block copolymer formed from a hydrophilic segment and a hydrophobic segment has been proposed (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2690276, Japanese Patent No. 2777530, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Application No. 11-335267). By using the method, the polymer micelle functions as a carrier of drugs, producing various effects including sustained release in vivo and concentrated dosage to an affected region.
As the hydrophilic segment, many examples with use of a polyalkylene glycol skeleton are proposed (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2690276, Japanese Patent No. 2777530, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-335267). A compound having a polyalkylene glycol skeleton has low toxicity in vivo, and enables excretion in kidney to be delayed. Consequently, in comparison with a compound having no polyalkylene glycol skeleton, the retention time in blood can be prolonged. As a result, with use of a drug micellized with a polyalkylene glycol derivative, the dosage amount or dosage frequency can be reduced.
Among polyalkylene glycol derivatives, a compound having an amino group at an end can lead to a block copolymer composed of a polyalkylene glycol skeleton and an amino acid skeleton through a ring-opening polymerization reaction with α-amino acid-N-carboxyanhydride. Many examples with use of the produced block copolymer for encapsulating drugs in a polymer micelle are proposed (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2690276, Japanese Patent No. 2777530, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Application No. 11-335267).
Synthesis methods of such polyalkylene glycol derivatives having an amino group at an end are also known (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3050228 and Japanese Patent No. 3562000). In these methods, after polymerization of alkylene oxide with use of a metal salt of monohydric alcohol as a polymerization initiator, a polymer end is converted to a hydroxyl group, and then to a 2-cyanoethoxy group, finally leading to an amino group-containing substituent group (3-amino-1-propoxy group) through hydrogen reduction of the cyano group.
A polymerization example of ethylene oxide in diglyme with use of a potassium salt of substituted diethylene glycol is known, in which the necessary reaction temperature is specified to be 80 to 140° C. with use of diethylene glycol monomethyl ether as co-solvent (with reference to, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4987719).

Method for producing polyalkylene glycol derivative having amino group at end, with narrow molecular weight distribution


In addition to the consumers of a closed loop, known air supply systems also can supply an external consumer with fresh pressurized air. These systems are very complex with respect to apparatus and furthermore have the disadvantage that already improved pressurized air can escape from the pressurized air store during the supply of the external consumer. A switchable 3/2-directional valve (31) is arranged in the first consumer pressure line (19) of the drive unit (1) and a switchable 3/2-directional valve (32) is mounted in the store pressure line (11) of the drive unit (1) and a switchable check valve is mounted in the bypass line (16) of the store pressure line (11). This check valve disables the throttle function of the bypass throttle (17).

Air supply systems are utilized especially for supplying air spring damper units for the leveling control of a motor vehicle within a closed loop but also to supply external consumers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,189 discloses one such air supply system in various embodiments.
In the first embodiment of FIG. 1 of this patent, the air supply system comprises: several air spring damper units arranged in parallel to each other, a compressor and a pressurized air store. A 2/2-directional valve is assigned to each air spring damper unit and the air spring damper units are connected via a common ring line to the intake end as well as to the pressure end of the compressor. In this ring line, a switchable intake valve is also provided. A second ring line connects the pressurized air store to the intake end and to the pressure end of the compressor. In this ring line, an air dryer is arranged on the pressure end which has a free flow via a throttle check valve in the through-flow direction to fill the pressurized air store and this through-flow is throttled in the opposite through-flow direction for flushing the air dryer.
In this air supply system, the compressor can transfer pressurized air from the air spring damper units into the pressurized air store and, in the opposite direction, fill the air spring damper units with air from the pressurized air store. Furthermore, the compressor can supply the air spring damper units or the pressurized air store with fresh air from the atmosphere. A further function comprises venting pressurized air into the atmosphere from the pressurized air store in the opposite direction via the air dryer in order to regenerate the latter. Several directional valve units are provided in both ring lines to realize these various functions. Accordingly, and in accordance with FIG. 1, two parallelly-connected 2/2-directional valves are used for the first ring line and two likewise parallelly-connected 2/2-directional valves are used for the second ring line.
This embodiment of the air supply system has the disadvantage that no consumer, which lies outside of the closed loop, can be supplied with pressurized air. In this way, the power capacity of the compressor is not fully utilized.
Accordingly, in FIG. 8 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,189, a second embodiment provides for a branching between the compressor and the air dryer for a line connection to supply an external consumer. With this embodiment of the air supply system, for example, a tire-fill apparatus can be operated as shown.
This embodiment has the disadvantage that it is very complex and therefore very expensive with respect to its manufacture. This is caused by the additional units for tire filling and has its cause, however, also in the plurality of 2/2-directional valves required for the closed loop.


A Quadrature Error Corrected Digital Waveform Synthesizer (QECDWS) employs frequency dependent phase error corrections to, in effect, pre-distort the phase characteristic of the chirp to compensate for the frequency dependent phase nonlinearity of the RF and microwave subsystem. In addition, the QECDWS can employ frequency dependent correction vectors to the quadrature amplitude and phase of the synthesized output. The quadrature corrections cancel the radars' quadrature upconverter (mixer) errors to null the unwanted spectral image. A result is the direct generation of an RF waveform, which has a theoretical chirp bandwidth equal to the QECDWS clock frequency (1 to 1.2 GHz) with the high Spurious Free Dynamic Range (SFDR) necessary for high dynamic range radar systems such as SAR. To correct for the problematic upconverter local oscillator (LO) leakage, precision DC offsets can be applied over the chirped pulse using a pseudo-random noise dither. The present dither technique can effectively produce a quadrature DC bias which has the precision required to adequately suppress the LO leakage. A calibration technique can be employed to calculate both the quadrature correction vectors and the LO-nulling DC offsets using the radar built-in test capability.

It has long been known that additive noise dither with optimum amplitude and proper statistics can improve the spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) of a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) or an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Use of dithering, however, to achieve precision DC bias for the purpose of mixer LO leakage suppression has not been attempted.
Current generation synthetic aperture radars (SAR) developed at Sandia National Laboratories generally employ a receiver/exciter construct that comprise fundamental components of a high performance, wide bandwidth radar receiver/exciter subsystem. As shown in FIG. 1, a digital waveform synthesizer (DWS) 110, operating at a clock frequency of 1 GHz, with a single-ended output 105, is capable of directly synthesizing chirp waveforms with a maximum bandwidth of approximately 375 MHz, after filtering 140. An RF up-converter 120 with a ×8 bandwidth multiplication chain can realize a system with a maximum RF bandwidth capability of 3 GHz. Broad RF bandwidth operation (fine range resolution) can be emphasized with this configuration, so stretch processing (de-ramp mixing) 170 is generally used to compress the RF bandwidth to a much narrower IF bandwidth. A high-speed, dual accumulator, DWS 110 is typically the source of transmit and receiver LO linear FM (chirp) waveform. At the receiving end generally is a high-performance, high dynamic range receiver/digitizer 160.
The single ended DWS 110 of FIG. 1 has fundamental limitations, which can be summarized as follows:                The theoretical maximum synthesized bandwidth is ½ of the DWS clock frequency.        The single ended DWS output is filtered, translated, and bandwidth multiplied to obtain the necessary LO frequency.
What is needed in the art are improved SAR systems that can overcome the foregoing limitation associated with radar dynamic range.

Quadrature mixture LO suppression via DSW DAC noise dither


The present disclosure describes an all terrain straddle-type vehicle for carrying a load including a rider. The vehicle includes a frame, a plurality of wheels, a rear fender, a front fender, and a body panel. The wheels, including front and rear wheels coupled to the frame. The fenders are secured to the frame for covering the wheels. The fenders are formed from a plastic material having a smooth portion and a textured portion thereon. The smooth and textured portions are disposed adjacent to one another and formed integrally on the fender. The textured portion is positioned on the fender in a location of frequent rider or other load contact. The body panel is secured to the frame forward of the rear fender. The body panel includes a textured portion situated in a location of frequent rider contact. A method of manufacturing a fender is also disclosed.

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) commonly have plastic body fenders surrounding the wheels and adjacent the seating area. These areas are subject to scratches due to being rubbed by a user. For example, as the user mounts or dismounts the ATV, his or her leg and/or boot will typically rub against the forward portion of one of the rear-wheel fenders. Rubbing also commonly occurs during riding. Such rubbing often causes slight scratching on the shiny, smooth, polyethylene surface. The surfaces are attractive in their smooth state when untouched. However, before the vehicles even have a chance to leave the showroom floor, they may receive many marring scratches. These make the vehicle look somewhat used and less appealing to a buyer. The value of the ATV is reduced whether at the dealer or consumer.
Manufacturing reject rates on such molded parts are also high. The manufactured parts must be handled with increased care, also increasing manufacturing costs.
ATV body panels, such as fenders are constructed of thermoplastic materials, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and TPR. Such polymers may be molded to a desired body shape and they are extremely durable: they do not easily break or tear. They also can be formed with smooth, high-gloss surfaces. However, due to the relative softness of these materials they also scratch easily such that the surface finish may be ruined.
Current methods of dealing with scratches on ATV body panels are directed to use of lighter colors for the molded plastic panel. Lighter colors tend to hide the scratches somewhat. However, a lighter color is not always desirable. Furthermore, the scratches can still be seen upon close inspection.


A frame structure for a snowmobile includes a frame front end member, right and left main frames, and a connecting mechanism. The frame front end member includes a pair of right and left head members, each being formed into a hollow columnar shape, disposed substantially in the vertical direction, and a cross-member connecting the head members to each other. The right and left head members are connected to front end portions of the right and left main frames. The connecting mechanism is tightly secured to the cross-member. An upper end portion of a suspending member for operably suspending a steering member is disposed at a front portion of a snowmobile.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a frame structure suitable for a small-sized snowmobile.
2. Description of Related Art
A device for steering and suspending a ski as a steering member disposed at a front portion of a snowmobile is disclosed, for example, in (1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 61-163081, and (2) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 3-189289.
The device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 61-163081 describes a snowmobile of a type including right and left skis, wherein steering arms are fixed to supporting pipes of right and left dampers and are connected to each other by a tie rod. The right and left skis are steered by simultaneously steering the right and left dampers in the same direction, to thus steer the snowmobile.
This technique is suitable for a relatively large sized snowmobile, similar to a small-sized four-wheeled buggy, of a type including a right and left steering skis, in which a frame including a supporting portion of a steering portion is relatively large.
In this snowmobile, a steering shaft is supported not by a frame member but by a stay or the like extending from the frame.
Accordingly, a steering shaft supporting portion must be disposed separately from the frame member, so that the entire frame structure including the steering shaft supporting portion becomes large and complicated and also the number of parts constituting the frame structure is increased. Such a frame structure is not suitable for a small-sized snowmobile.
The device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 3-189289 describes a small-sized snowmobile of a normal motorcycle using a frame similar to that of a motorcycle, in which one ski is provided on a portion equivalent to a front wheel of a motorcycle and is supported by a front fork.
A steering shaft of the front fork is turnably supported by a head tube having the same front structure of a frame of a normal motorcycle.
In a small-sized snowmobile, the frame structure described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 3-189289 is preferred for reducing the size of the snowmobile. However, for a snowmobile of a type in which a driver operates the snowmobile in a standing state, the frame structure of a motorcycle type in which a head tube is provided at a front end portion has the following problems.
For the snowmobile of the type in which a driver operates the snowmobile in a standing state, it is desired to lower the position of head members for supporting steering arms. In this regard, the structure of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 3-189289 is disadvantageous in that the position of the front portion of the frame, particularly, the head tube is lowered so that the suspending member for the ski is close to the head tube. As a result, it becomes difficult to ensure a sufficient stroke of the suspending member and also the head tube may interfere with an engine and the like because of the lowered head tube.


A cargo screen unit includes: a cargo screen having a cover sheet rolled out from a rolled-in and wound state so as to cover a cargo; and a parcel tray having an inner space for receiving an edge portion of the cargo screen, and having a receiving shutter, which communicates the inner space and an outer space by a downward movement and blocks the inner space and the outer space by an upward movement.

A vehicle, in particular, a leisure vehicle, is equipped with a cargo screen in a trunk. Such a cargo screen generally has a detachable and attachable structure connected to a parcel tray in a space behind a wheelhouse (i.e., a space between the left and right wheel houses and a rear door). The parcel tray refers to a space for receiving a tool, a jack, and the like.
For example, in the cargo screen, a cover sheet for covering the cargo space inside the trunk is rolled-in by using a roller assembly, and the left and right end portions (i.e., left and right edge portions) of roller bars constituting the roller assembly are stored (i.e., fitted and fixed) in the parcel tray space covered by a luggage side trim, such that the cover sheet can be fixed in a rolled-out state when the cargo screen is being used.
Therefore, the cargo screen is in a detachable and attachable structure connected to the parcel tray so that items inside the trunk may not be seen from the outside by the cover sheet that has been rolled-out from a fixed state. In addition, the cover sheet can bring aesthetic improvement to the cargo space of the trunk opened in communication with a rear seat.
The contents described above are to help the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and may include what is not previously known to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.

Side shutter receiving type cargo screen unit and vehicle including the same


A method for producing a photovoltaic solar cell, including the method steps: A. providing at least one solar cell precursor having at least one base and at least one emitter; B. providing a metal film on a back side of the solar cell precursor, so that the metal film is electrically conductively connected to the base or the emitter, the metal film being formed as an integral component of the back side contact and the solar cell being terminated on the back side. The at least one cell connection region on at least one side of the metal film overhangs the edge of the solar cell precursor by at least 1 mm, preferably by at least 3 mm.

The present invention is based on the object of providing a cost-effective interconnection of photovoltaic solar cells having improved mechanical properties.
This object is achieved by a method for producing a photovoltaic solar cell, a photovoltaic solar cell and a photovoltaic module having one or more features described herein. Advantageous configurations are found below and in the claims.
The photovoltaic solar cell according to the invention is preferably formed by the method according to the invention, in particular a preferred embodiment thereof. The method according to the invention is preferably formed for producing a photovoltaic solar cell according to the invention, in particular a preferred embodiment thereof.
The method according to the invention for producing a photovoltaic solar cell comprises a method step A, comprising providing at least one solar cell precursor having at least one base and at least one emitter, and a method step B comprising arranging a metal foil (also abbreviated hereinafter to "foil") at a back side of the solar cell precursor, such that the metal foil is electrically conductively connected to the base or the emitter.
In this case, the metal foil is formed as an integral part of the back-side contacting of the photovoltaic solar cell. Furthermore, the metal foil terminates the back side of the solar cell.
What is essential is that the metal foil projects beyond the edge of the solar cell precursor with at least one cell connection region at at least one side by at least 200 μm, preferably by at least 1 mm, in particular by at least 3 mm.
It is already known to carry out the back-side contacting of a solar cell by a metal foil. Such a solar cell and such a method are known from DE 10 2016 115 355 A1, for example. The metal foil constitutes an integral part of the photovoltaic solar cell in order to ensure that charge carriers of the solar cell are carried away at the back side. Consequently, with regard to its main function, the metal foil corresponds to the otherwise customary whole-area back-side metallization of a photovoltaic solar cell by a metal layer.
In the method according to the invention, the metal foil overlaps the solar cell at at least one edge by at least 1 mm, preferably by at least 3 mm, more preferably by at least 5 mm. By way of this cell connection region, the solar cell can thus be electrically conductively connected to an adjacent solar cell more simply and in a cost-effective manner. The cell connection region of the back-side metal foil thus wholly or at least partly performs the function of the otherwise customary, separate cell connectors.
The present invention thus constitutes a further development of the previously known back-side metallic contacting structure of a photovoltaic solar cell using a metal foil, wherein at least one cell connection region of the metal foil is used as a cell connector or at least part of a cell connector to be coiled.
This affords considerable cost advantages. Furthermore, it is possible to have recourse to connection methods known per se in the case of solar cell modules, however, on account of the flexibility of the metal foil. In particular, it is possible to use standard structures of solar cells known per se, in which the back side of a solar cell is electrically conductively connected to the front side of an adjacent solar cell in order to form a series circuit.
In contrast to previously known methods, an external cell connector is thus not absolutely necessary for this. Furthermore, no special requirements are made of the construction or the structure of the metal foil. Advantageously, a monolayer metal foil is therefore used. In particular, it is advantageous to use an unstructured metal foil, in particular an unstructured monolayer metal foil. This affords cost advantages since a cost-effective metal foil can be used and, moreover, the handling in the process is also simplified by comparison with multilayer foils or structured foils. By comparison with previously known cell connectors, the metal foil is also mechanically more stable since it is flexible and less rigid.
Advantageously, the metal foil projects beyond the edge of the solar cell precursor at exactly one side. As a result, at this edge it is possible to form the connection to an adjacent solar cell by the cell connection region of the metal foil and, at the other edges, the module arrangement is not adversely affected by projecting foil.
Advantageously, the metal foil is electrically conductively connected to the solar cell precursor via a plurality of point contacts. Firstly, low series resistance losses and, secondly, an increased mechanical adhesion of the metal foil are realized by this means.
In particular, it is advantageous that at least one electrically insulating insulation layer is arranged between metal foil and solar cell precursor, said insulation layer having a plurality of openings, at each of which an electrically conductive connection between metal foil and solar cell precursor is formed. The insulation layer prevents the metal foil from being electrically conductively connected to a semiconductor layer of the solar cell in an uncontrolled manner outside the region of the point contacts, and undesired side effects such as increased recombination or short circuits are avoided as a result.
Advantageously, the plurality of point contacts are electrically conductively connected to one another outside the solar cell precursor exclusively via the metal foil. In order to reduce costs and simplify the production method, it is advantageous that no additional metallic connection structures for an electrical connection of the point contacts among one another, apart from the metal foil, are provided. In one advantageous embodiment, the metal foil completely covers the back side of the solar cell precursor. As a result, firstly, a low series resistance is achieved and, secondly, the effect of an optically specularly reflective back side on account of the specular reflection of radiation at the side of the metal foil facing the solar cell precursor is optimally utilized as a result and, consequently, the light absorption and hence the efficiency of the solar cell are increased.
In an alternative embodiment, the metal foil is arranged in a manner omitting a connection edge region of the back side, in particular a connection edge region having a width in the range of 50 μm to 1 cm. In this advantageous embodiment, an electrical contacting possibility for the opposite polarity can be provided in the connection edge region. Preferably a semiconductor layer of the photovoltaic solar cell at the back side or near the back side is electrically conductively contacted by the metal foil. In particular, it is advantageous for a base of the solar cell to be electrically conductively contacted by the metal foil. The connection edge region, at which the metal foil is omitted in this advantageous embodiment, can thus be used for the electrical contacting of the opposite polarity. In particular, it is advantageous for an emitter of the solar cell to be electrically conductively contacted at the connection edge region.
It is within the scope of the invention to form marginally an electrically conductive connection from the front side to the connection edge region of the back side. Such an electrically conductive connection can be configured in a metallic connection element at the edge of the solar cell. It is likewise within the scope of the invention to lead an emitter region arranged at the front side through emitter channels from the front side to the back side and to electrically conductively contact them at the back side in the connection edge region. Such structures are known as EWT structures (Emitter Wrap Through).
In order to avoid series resistance losses particularly within emitter channels, it is advantageous, however, to provide a metallic electrically conductive connection from the front side to the back side: in one advantageous configuration, at least one metallic through connection, preferably a plurality of metallic through connections, from a front side to the back side of the solar cell precursor is formed in the connection edge region, which is not covered by the metal foil. By means of these metallic through connections, charge carriers can thus be guided from the front side to the back side in order to be carried away at the back side. In particular, it is advantageous for an emitter arranged at the front side to be electrically conductively contacted by the metallic through connections. The photovoltaic solar cell is thus preferably formed as an MWT solar cell (Metal Wrap Through).
This advantageous configuration does have the disadvantage that a standard solar cell structure is not used. In return, however, there is the advantage that an interconnection of solar cells in series in a solar cell module is made possible exclusively by a back-side interconnection: advantageously, in a solar cell module the solar cells are juxtaposed in such a way that in each case a cell connection region of a solar cell faces the connection edge region of an adjacent solar cell. As a result, in an uncomplicated manner, the cell connection region of the metal foil can be arranged below the connection edge region of the adjacent solar cell and can be mechanically and electrically conductively connected thereto, such that a series interconnection is obtained.
In one advantageous embodiment, the cell connection region is formed with at least one elongate contacting finger extension at the side of the cell connection region facing away from the solar cell precursor, in particular a contacting finger extension with a width of less than 2 mm and a length of greater than 1 mm. The contacting finger extension can advantageously be led to the front side of an adjacent solar cell in the case of series interconnection in a photovoltaic module. Advantageously, the solar cell therefore has, on the front side, a metallic contacting structure, in particular a busbar, extending along the contacting finger extension and the contacting finger extension is arranged on this metallic contacting structure of the adjacent solar cell and is electrically conductively and mechanically connected thereto in order to obtain a series interconnection in the photovoltaic module.
The object mentioned in the introduction is furthermore achieved by a method for producing a solar module. This method comprises a method step A comprising producing a plurality of solar cells according to the invention, in particular in accordance with an advantageous embodiment. Furthermore, a method step B involves juxtaposing at least two such solar cells and electrically connecting the solar cells by the cell connection region of the metal foil of a solar cell being electrically conductively connected to the adjacent solar cell.
Advantageously, in this case, the cell connection region of the metal foil is led onto the front side of the adjacent solar cell and there is electrically conductively connected to the adjacent solar cell. As a result, it is possible to have recourse to solar cell structures known per se, in particular solar cell structures having a front-side emitter and a front-side metallic contacting structure for the emitter. In one preferred embodiment, particularly in the case of standard solar cells having an edge length of 156 mm, the front-side electrode should be designed in an appropriately reinforced manner in order to produce an excessively large series resistance losses. To that end, in one preferred embodiment, the busbars are printed or dispensed with greater thickness or else busbars are specially produced by metal spraying methods, for example, or the number of busbars is increased.
In an alternative advantageous embodiment, the solar cell, at the back side, are formed in each case with a connection edge region not covered by metal foil, in particular preferably as described above, and are juxtaposed in such a way that in each case a cell connection region of the metal foil of a solar cell overlaps the connection edge region of the adjacent solar cell and there the cell connection region is electrically conductively connected to the connection edge region.
In a further advantageous embodiment, at least one cell connector which is electrically conductively connected to the solar cell is arranged at the front side of the solar cell, said cell connector overlapping the solar cell by at least 1 mm at least at an edge in a cell connector overlap region, and the cell connection region of the metal foil of a solar cell is electrically conductively connected to the cell connector overlap region of the adjacent solar cell, in particular preferably by soldering or welding. In this advantageous embodiment, the cell connection region of the metal foil thus partly replaces the cell connector. This affords the advantage that, in comparison with the present-day standard design, 50% of the cell connector length can be saved since said cell connector now only covers the front side of the solar cell but no longer extends over the entire back side. Furthermore, the foil is significantly more flexible than the relatively rigid, approximately 200 μm thick copper connector, such that the flexible connection by foil reduces the mechanical stresses between the cells that occur in the module during daily use. A further advantage is that local welding or hard soldering processes can be employed in the cell intermediate region, which processes result in stabler connections of the two materials and have a lower electrical resistance. That is not possible in the case of conventional soldering processes since the soldering process takes place on the cell and the latter is heated globally for this purpose, for which reason exclusively soft soldering processes up to temperatures of <300 degrees can be used.
The object mentioned in the introduction is furthermore achieved by a photovoltaic solar cell having one or more features described herein. The photovoltaic solar cell comprises a semiconductor substrate and a metallic back-side contacting with a metal foil, wherein the metal foil terminates the solar cell at the back side.
What is essential is that the metal foil, in a cell connection region projects beyond the semiconductor substrate at at least one edge by at least 1 mm, preferably at least 3 mm.
In this case, the solar cell is preferably produced in accordance with DE 10 2016 115 355 A1, but additionally comprises the cell connection region described above.
Advantageously, the metal foil is connected to the semiconductor substrate at a plurality of point contacts, and outside the semiconductor substrate the point contacts are electrically conductively connected to one another exclusively via the metal foil. This affords cost advantages since there is no need to form additional metallic contacting structures for back-side contacting by the metal foil.
In this case, it is within the scope of the invention that the metal of the metal foil is used directly for contacting a semiconductor layer of the photovoltaic solar cell. It is likewise within the scope of the invention that, during the production of the solar cell, firstly separate metallic point contacts are formed and then the metal foil is electrically conductively connected to the point contacts, in particular by local fusion.
It is particularly advantageous that a heterocontact structure comprising a heterojunction layer and a dielectric tunnel layer arranged indirectly or preferably directly between heterojunction layer and semiconductor substrate is arranged at the back side of the semiconductor substrate, and that the metal layer is electrically conductively connected to the heterojunction layer. As a result, a highly efficient and nevertheless cost-effective photovoltaic solar cell can be achieved since, firstly, a low effective back-side recombination rate can be achieved by way of the heterojunction layer and, secondly, the contacting with the metal foil enables a cost-effective contacting which, moreover, requires no or only little heat input for production, such that the heterojunction layer is not adversely affected, or is adversely affected slightly at most, on account of the heat input.
The object stated in the introduction is furthermore achieved by a photovoltaic module having one or more of the features described herein, comprising a plurality of juxtaposed and electrically conductively connected solar cells. What is essential is that the back side of a solar cell is electrically conductively connected to the front side of the adjacent solar cell by a metal foil arranged at a back side of the solar cell, said metal foil being an integral part of the back-side contacting of said solar cell.
The method according to the invention is suitable in particular for forming an expansion reserve between the solar cells:
In one advantageous embodiment, a solar cell module is produced by method steps A and B mentioned above. After method step B the two solar cells are brought close together in order to form an expansion reserve by the cell connection region. The two solar cells are thus brought closer together in such a way that the distance between the solar cells that is bridged by the cell connection region can be shortened and, as a result, a curvature and/or folding in the cell connection region can form in the cell connection region between the solar cells. This curvature and/or folding of the cell connection region thus enables an expansion reserve if a change in distance between the solar cells takes place in the solar cell module for example on account of temperature fluctuations or mechanical loading as a result of snow load or wind. Advantageously, the solar cells are brought closer together by a distance in the range of 100 μm to 300 μm.
The method according to the invention is suitable particularly for narrow solar cells, so-called "half-cells", since a possible lower transverse conductivity of the foil in comparison with cell connector ribbons here causes lower losses in efficiency. Advantageously, therefore, the solar cell, perpendicular to the edge of the cell connection region, have a width of less than 10 cm, in particular less than 6 cm, preferably less than 3 cm.
The method according to the invention is suitable in particular for shingle solar cells, particularly if the latter, in a further preferred embodiment, are of a size typical of shingle solar cells, which is again significantly smaller than half-cells. The amount of electricity generated is thus lower and the resistance contribution is significantly smaller on account of the limited conductivity in the case of thin foils. Since this type of module construction exhibits no cell interspaces at all, possibly even a foil overhang is sufficient which is just wide enough that the foil can still be secured to the neighboring cell. A further advantage is that standard cell connectors, on account of their stiffness, cannot be employed for interconnection in shingle modules and only adhesive bonding by expensive conductive adhesive remains as the sole connection technology. Thin foils, on account of their flexibility, can be shaped to such a great extent that even shingle solar cell are thereby able to be electrically connected.
In one advantageous embodiment of the method for producing a photovoltaic module, method steps A and B are carried out as described above. Afterward, the solar cell whose metal foil was used for connecting the two solar cells is raised and placed onto the edge of the adjacent solar cell, such that in a plan view from above the solar cell covers, preferably completely covers, the metal foil. A shingle arrangement of solar cells which enables a high module efficiency is realized as a result. At the same time, the cells are mechanically non-rigidly connected to one another, which significantly improves the module durability.
The metal foil preferably has a thickness in the range of 6 μm to 40 μm. This affords an optimization between flexibility and conductivity.
The metal foil is preferably formed as an aluminum foil.
In one advantageous development of the method, at least one, preferably exactly one, electrically conductive cross-connector is electrically conductively connected to the cell connection region. This affords the advantage that for interconnecting the solar cell in a module, a cell connector of the adjacent solar cell, in particular an electrically conductive so-called cell connector ribbon, can be led from the front side of the adjacent solar cell to the cross-connector and can be electrically conductively connected thereto, preferably by soldering.
The additional provision of a cross-connector in this case has the advantage that with regard to the type of material and also the material thickness it is possible to optimize the cross-connector for forming a soldering connection to the cell connector with respect to the adjacent solar cell, in particular a cell connector ribbon. The cross-connector preferably has an elongate shape, in particular a parallelepipedal shape, and preferably extends parallel to the edge of the solar cell precursor at which the cell connection region of the metal foil is arranged. Preferably, the cross-connector is at a distance from the edge of the solar cell precursor, such that it does not touch the latter, in order to maintain the flexibility of the metal foil and also to avoid impairment of the solar cell precursor during the soldering process, in particular of semiconductor material of the solar cell precursor.
The cross-connector is preferably formed as a metallic cross-connector, in particular preferably composed of one or more of the materials aluminum or copper; the cross-connector preferably has a copper proportion of at least 50%, preferably at least 80% (in each case percent by mass); in particular, the cross-connector is preferably formed from copper. Advantageously, the cross-connector has a solder layer. The solder layer is preferably arranged at least on the side of the cross-connector facing away from the cell connection region. In particular, it is advantageous for the cell connector to be enveloped by solder. The provision of a solder layer has the advantage of the simpler solder process when interconnecting the solar cell with an adjacent solar cell in a module, in particular by a cell connector, preferably a cell connector ribbon. The solder layer is preferably formed from solder known per se; in particular, the solder layer preferably comprises one or more of the metals lead, tin, or silver.
The cell connector preferably has a thickness in the range of 20 μm to 1 mm, in particular in the range of 50 μm to 300 μm. This affords the advantage that no or only little bending of the cell connector is necessary when interconnecting the solar cell with an adjacent solar cell by a cell connector. Typical solar cells have a thickness in the range of 80 μm to 250 μm. Preferably, the cross-connector therefore likewise has a thickness in the range of 80 μm to 250 μm.
The cross-connector is preferably placed onto the cell connection region of the metal foil, in particular preferably onto the side of the cell connection region facing the front side of the solar cell. The cross-connector is preferably mechanically and electrically conductively connected to the cell connection region by the action of heat, in particular preferably by welding.
Preferably, the cross-connector is arranged at the metal foil during solar cell production and thus constitutes an integral part of the solar cell, such that during later module interconnection and arrangement of a plurality of solar cells in a row in order to form a module, the cross-connector is already situated in a manner arranged at the metal foil.
Advantageously, in order to form a solar cell module, the cross-connector of a solar cell is electrically conductively connected by a cell connector, in particular a cell connector ribbon, to an adjacent solar cell, in particular preferably to a metallic front-side contacting structure arranged at the front side of the adjacent solar cell. Preferably, the cell connector has a solder layer, such that a simple connection by soldering to the front-side contacting structure, on the one hand, and the cross-connector, on the other hand, is possible. In particular, it is advantageous to use a cell connector having a solder layer on one side, in particular a solder layer only on the side facing the front-side contacting structure and the cross-connector. Since, by virtue of the cross-connector, the cell connector does not have to be led onto the back side of the solar cell, the advantage is thus afforded that a coating with solder on one side is sufficient.

Method for producing a photovoltaic solar cell, photovoltaic solar cell and photovoltaic module

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.


An apparatus for establishing lane information using driving information of a vehicle is provided. The apparatus comprises a map information storing unit storing digital map information and a driving information collecting unit collecting driving information from a plurality of vehicles. An accumulating and compiling statistics unit accumulates the driving information of each vehicle collected by the driving collecting unit and then compiles statistics on the accumulated driving information. A controlling unit generates lane information based on a statistics result of the accumulating and compiling statistics unit and the digital map information. A lane information database stores the lane information generated by the controlling unit.

It is difficult to establish a lane information database for a network of roads intricately connected to one another on a national scale. Particularly, it is difficult to establish the lane information in every lane of each road.
To this end, a vehicle equipped with equipment such as front/rear/left/right radars, a yaw rate sensor, a roll rate sensor, a pitch rate sensor, front and rear cameras, a global positioning system-dead reckoning (GPS-DR), and the like generally needs to drive on a network of roads in all parts of the country in addition to every lane in order to establish the lane information. This is a very inefficient method and can not be implemented in actuality.
Here, the GPS-DR using a principle of an inertial navigation system is a system measuring a relative position of the vehicle using a gyro sensor, a wheel sensor, a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, and the like.
In addition, when a front and rear, a top and bottom, and a right and left axes are referred to as X, Z, and Y axes, respectively, a rotary motion based on each axis is referred to as a roll, a yaw, and a pitch, respectively.
In order to solve the foregoing problem, there is a long-felt need in the art for a method capable of collecting driving information for a plurality of vehicles in which mobile communication or wireless LAN communication and establishing the lane information based on the collected driving information.

Apparatus of establishing lane information using driving information of vehicle and method of establishing the same


A method and machine for folding and finishing training pant diapers, whereby the diapers are formed from respective flat blanks, each of which is fed to a continuously-rotating, suction-type first wheel, and is folded into a U by clamping an intermediate portion of the blank on the first wheel by means of a folding member; retaining a trailing half of the blank on the first wheel, while detaching a leading half from the first wheel by means of a continuously-rotating, suction-type second wheel; transferring the leading half to a continuously-rotating, suction-type third wheel; and gradually superimposing the leading half of the blank onto the trailing half, as the trailing half advances on the first wheel, and after first removing the folding member from the blank.

In the diaper industry, diapers are normally folded by feeding a succession of flat diapers along a linear conveyor; arresting each flat diaper with a central portion positioned over a transverse opening in the linear conveyor; and folding the diaper into a U by inserting a folding member through the opening.
Though widely used, by being simple and efficient, the above method has several serious drawbacks, particularly at maximum production speed, and which derive from two factors: firstly, potential damage of the diaper, given its relatively fragile structure, by the rapid in-out movement of the folding member; and, secondly, and more importantly, the impossibility, given the way in which the folding operation is performed, of promptly controlling the position of the two halves of the diaper superimposed during the folding operation, with the result that one half of the folded diaper is offset in respect of the other.
The problem is further compounded in the relatively recent production of so-called "training pant" diapers which, after being folded into a U in the same way as conventional diapers, are joined permanently, e.g. sealed, along the lateral portions to form a closed annular girdle enabling the diaper to be used pant-fashion.
While U-folding conventional diapers does not necessarily call for a high degree of precision, the same obviously does not apply to training pants, in which case, the flat diaper must be folded extremely accurately so that the lateral portions to be joined permanently overlap perfectly.
As stated, experience has shown that the above folding method, by failing to control the folding operation and ensure precise overlapping of the two halves of the diaper, and therefore of the portions to be joined permanently, may result in an unacceptable end product, both in terms of function and appearance.

Method and machine for folding and finishing training pant diapers


A radiation detector has a larger plural number of scintillators arranged closely and two-dimensionally together and a smaller plural number of photomultiplier tubes optically connected to this scintillator group. Specified regions on mutually opposite surfaces of these scintillators are covered with an optically reflective material and the areas covered by this reflective material vary according to the order in which these scintillators are arranged.

This invention relates to a radiation detector for use in an apparatus, such as a positron type CT (computed tomography) apparatus or a single photon type ECT (emission computed tomography) apparatus, for detecting radiation (such as gamma rays) emitted from a radiative isotope (RI) administered to an object body and accumulated at a target location of interest to thereby obtain tomographic images of the RI distribution at the target location.
A radiation detector of this type is comprised of scintillators which emit light by absorbing gamma rays from an object body and photomultiplier tubes for converting light from the scintillators into electrical pulse signals. In prior art radiation detectors of this type, scintillators and photomultiplier tubes were provided in mutually corresponding one-to-one relationship. According to a recent method for improving resolution, however, a plurality of scintillators are coupled with a smaller number of photomultiplier tubes and the locations of incident gamma rays are determined from the output ratios of these photomultiplier tubes. For this reason, many types of radiation detectors have been proposed for properly distributing emitted light from scintillators among a plurality of photomultiplier tubes. The structure of some prior art radiation detectors will be explained next with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 5, a first example of prior art radiation detector (as described in Japanese Patent Publication Tokko 2-14666) is comprised of a scintillator group 1 with four scintillators 1.sub.1, 1.sub.2, 1.sub.3 and 1.sub.4 and two photomultiplier tubes 2.sub.1 and 2.sub.2. The two inside scintillators 1.sub.2 and 1.sub.3 of the scintillator group 1 are optically connected at their boundary with silicone grease or the like, but a reflective material is provided at the boundary between the pair of outside scintillators 1.sub.1 and 1.sub.2 and also between the pair of outside scintillators 1.sub.3 and 1.sub.4 such that each scintillator of the pairs is optically screened from the other and that the ratio of outputs from the photomultiplier tubes 2.sub.1 and 2.sub.2 will vary according to the location of incident gamma rays.
FIG. 6 shows a second example of prior art radiation detector (as described in Japanese Patent Publication Tokko 62-500957) comprised of a scintillator group 4 partitioned by many slits 3 and four photomultiplier tubes 5.sub.1, 5.sub.2, 5.sub.3 and 5.sub.4 optically connected to this scintillator group 4. A reflective material is buried inside each slit, and the slits near the peripheries of the scintillator group 4 are made deeper than those near the center such that locations of incident gamma rays can be distinguished.
FIG. 7 shows a third example of prior art radiation detector (as described in Japanese Patent Publication Tokkai 3-185385) comprised of a scintillator group 6 having a plurality of scintillators and four photomultiplier tubes 7.sub.1, 7.sub.2, 7.sub.3 and 7.sub.4 connected to this scintillator group 6. The surfaces of these scintillators through which they are optically connected are made rough and/or mirror-like and air layers are formed between these connecting surfaces. With this radiation detector, the locations of incident gamma rays can be distinguished because the optical transmissivity between the scintillators varies according to the surface conditions of the mutually opposite scintillators.
Each of the prior art radiation detectors described above has a problem. In the detector of the first example, since the scintillators are arranged one-dimensionally against the photomultiplier tubes, the number of photomultiplier tubes is rather large compared to that of the scintillators, resulting in an increased cost of production of the detector. Another problem of this detector is low resolution because only four different locations of incident gamma rays can be distinguished by using two photomultiplier tubes. As for the second example, the work on the scintillators to make slits therein and to uniformly fill them with a reflective material is both troublesome and difficult. If high resolution is desired, the slits must be provided at a small pitch and this makes the scintillators easy to damage. With the third example, the surface conditions of the scintillators must be varied in different ways, but such a surface processing is complicated and the production cost of the detector will be adversely affected.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of these problems, and its object is to provide a radiation detector which is both capable of identifying the locations of incident radiation with high resolution and easy to manufacture.