Procedure for estimating the electrical drive speed and position of a permanent magnet rotor of a brushless electrical linear or rotating motor, especially for a drive control circuit, using multi-phase current measurements on the motor, whose measurement values, depending on the estimated position, are transformed into a rotor-related d,q reference frame i.e. into a direct current vector component and a quadrature current vector component, and the direct and quadrature vector components of current and a voltage, together with the estimated speed, are fed as input variables to a mathematical motor model, and the motor model generates a first output variable and a second output variable, whereby the first output variable in the d,q reference frame corresponds to the d or direct vector component as well as to a position estimation error, and the second output variable in the d,q reference frame corresponds to the q or quadrature component as well as to a speed estimation error, and the two output variables are fed to a tracking controller for estimating and outputting the position and/or speed, whereby from the motor model a third output variable is computed, by                a) the direct and quadrature vector components of current each being weighted with a direct and quadrature inductance of the motor,        b) the third output variable being formed from the difference between the two weighting results,        whereby the third output variable is fed to the tracking controller for processing to estimate the position and speed.

The invention relates to a procedure for estimating drive speed and position of a permanent magnet rotor of a brushless electrical motor. This procedure is especially suited for use in a drive control circuit. For the procedure, multiple-phase current measurements are used on the motor, whose measurement values, depending on the position estimated, are transformed into a rotor-related d,q-reference frame, i.e. to a direct current vector component and a quadrature current vector component. Together with the estimated (electrical) r.p.m., the direct and quadrature vector components of a current and of a voltage demand are applied as input variables to a mathematical model of the electrical motor. The motor model generates a first output variable and a second output variable, whereby the first output variable corresponds in the d,q reference frame to the d- or direct vector component as well as to a position estimation error, and the second output variable in the d,q reference frame corresponds to the q or quadrature component as well as to a speed estimation error. The two output variables are applied to a tracking controller for estimating and outputting the speed, or the electrical r.p.m., and the position, or the electrical angle. The invention further relates to a position- and/or speed-estimation device to carry out this procedure, a motor modeling module, and a speed tracker according to the respective first parts or preambles of the collateral, independent claims 8, 12 and 15.
For estimation of the position and speed of the permanent magnet rotor in a brushless electrical drive motor, in the Austrian specialized journal "Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik," no. 2 for 2000, the article "Controlled Drives", on pages 103-112, by M. Schrödl and E. Robeischl, provides information about an EMF- or voltage model of the permanent magnet synchronous motor, capable to estimate in real time position and speed information, necessary for example for a drive control, from electrical quantities at higher speed (in the area above about 10% to 20% of nominal speed). The rotor position estimation based on the voltage induced in the stator winding, which does not influence current control. The basic idea of that is to use measurement technique to evaluate the change in the stator flux linkage space vector. By measurement of the current signals, the change in the permanent magnet flux linkage of the permanent magnet rotor is detected.
A system for estimating the drive position and/or speed in a brushless electrical motor, especially a synchronous motor, with a permanent magnet rotor, of about the same type named in the first paragraph, is known, cp. S. M. Abu-Sharkh's and V. Barinberg's article "A new approach to rotor position estimation for a PM brushless motor drive", Mediterranean Electrotechnical Conference, 1998, pages 1199-1203. According to it, the rotor position and/or speed likewise identified using the EMF—voltage model of the electrical motor. The differentiation of current signals that are necessary for that, but problematical in practice, are avoided by usage of parameter-sensitive low-pass filters, whose time delaying influence is compensated by a proportional-plus-integral tracking controller (PI tracking filter) that is inserted after. The time constant of the low pass filters corresponds the stator time constant of the electrical motor. Using the low pass filters, position and speed estimation errors are weighted.

System for estimation of position and speed in a permanent magnet rotor of an electrical motor


The performance of phosphor screens can be improved by coating the phosphor dispersion/mixture onto a substrate while the dispersion/mixture contains less than 5% by weight of polymerizable components with a molecular weight less than 300, preferably with less than 5% by weight of polymerizable components having molecular weights less than 500. The polymerizable composition should be photopolymerizable, and other components within the coating to be photohardened which have molecular weights below 300 or 500 should likewise be kept to less than 5% by weight of the composition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processes for the manufacture of intensifying screens, particularly intensifying phosphor screens for use in radiographic imaging.
2. Background of the Art
There are at least two critical objectives in the production of radiographic images, particularly in medical radiographic images. One desired aspect of radiographic imaging is of course the faithfulness of the generated image to the object through which radiation was passed during imaging. Another important aspect, particularly during medical radiographic imaging, is the reduction of the level of exposure of the object (patient) to radiation during the imaging process.
One significant means of reducing the level of X-ray exposure during imaging has been the use of "intensifying screens" during the imaging process. These screens usually comprise phosphors in a binder on a carrier layer. The phosphors absorb X-ray radiation at a higher efficiency than does silver halide which is normally used in the hard-copy output of radiographic images. The phosphors not only absorb X-rays at an efficient rate, but can also phosphoresce (or fluoresce), emitting radiation at a wavelength other than the wavelength of X-rays which the phosphor absorbed. Depending upon the chemical nature and properties of the phosphor, the emitted radiation may be at essentially any wavelength between and including the infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. Silver halide naturally absorbs radiation in the ultraviolet and near blue wavelengths, and can be spectrally sensitized to efficiently absorb radiation in other portions of the visible and the infrared spectrum. By exposing the phosphor screen to X-rays, having the phosphor screen emit in the UV, visible or infrared, and having a silver halide emulsion spectrally sensitized to the wavelength of emission of the phosphor screen and optically associated with the phosphor screen, the entire efficiency of the X-ray imaging system can be greatly enhanced. This allows for the use of lower doses of X-rays during exposure of the object.
The use of such phosphors is well known in the art as exemplified by such patents as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,883,747 and 4,204,125 where there is direct emission of phosphorescent radiation upon X-ray stimulation, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,859,527 and 5,164,224 where there is exposure to X-rays, storage of the absorbed energy by the phosphor, and subsequent stimulation by stimulating radiation to cause the phosphor to emit the stored energy as UV to infrared radiation. These phosphor systems are commercially successful and provide a significant benefit to the radiographic art. In these types of systems, however, there is a trade-off between speed and sharpness. In order to absorb more x-rays and emit more light, the screen itself can be made thicker. But in this case, light generated within the thickness of the screen is scattered by the phosphor grains to a greater extent, thereby reducing the resulting image sharpness recorded on the film. Conversely, to improve sharpness a thinner screen is desirable, but this reduces the x-ray absorbing power, and ultimately requires a higher dosage to the patient or object being x-rayed.
Many methods of improving the image quality, particularly the sharpness of images generated from phosphor screens, without adversely affecting the sensitivity or speed of the system, have been proposed. Reflective particulates, dyes, pigments and other light affecting materials have been proposed as additives to phosphor layers to improve sharpness as shown in EPO 102 790 (powdered glass), Japanese Application 146,447/1980 (white pigments), Japanese Patent Application 163,500/1980 (colorants), and EPO 175 578 (sputtering or vacuum evaporation of phosphors). The objective of these methods is primarily to provide a high concentration of phosphor in the active layer of the screen and provide a screen of uniform properties. U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,367 produces a storage phosphor screen by dispersing phosphor particles in a thermoplastic binder diluted with a solvent, then coats the mixture, dries to remove the solvent, and compresses the coating at a temperature above the melting point of the binder. U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,117 deposits phosphor particles in a binder by electrophoretic deposition of a dispersion of the phosphor particles in a solution of polymeric binder. The solution is coated onto a substrate, dried and the phosphor screen thus produced. Each of these types of systems has shown some benefits, but there is still significant room for improvement in the sharpness of radiographic phosphor screens. In particular, it is desired to eliminate complicated deposition processes which can be costly, to eliminate the use of solvents which are harmful to the environment, and to eliminate or reduce high processing temperatures.

Method for the manufacture of a phosphor screen and resulting article

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A shoe comprises a flexible outersole, an insole and an upper, the upper being formed from a flat Thermo Plastic Rubber blank, a toe cap first being fabricated in the blank by means of a teacup crease special-use sewing machine, the blank or preform subsequently affixed to a last and joined by a second special purpose sewing machine, or disc feed overseaming machine, to a non-woven fabric midsole or insole, substantially completing the upper. Thermal processing on the resulting preform completes processing of the upper without use of an insole board. A third element of the shoe, the outersole, is unitary in construction, and equipped with a unique pattern of intersecting grooves, as well as an external bridge or instep support in lieu of an inner steel shank. Following bonding of the upper and the outersole, a shoe of unique flexibility is produced, while still providing adequate protection to an active user""s foot.

A price paid by humanity for an upright posture and for a habitat including supporting surfaces both painful and injurious to an unprotected human foot is the necessity of wearing footwear. Footwear protects the soles of a wearer""s feet from the ground surface, the balance of a wearer""s feet from other environmental influences, and simultaneously is viewed as a means of ornamentation and sexually differentiated display. In addition to protective and ornamental functions, requirements already partly in tension, an item of footwear is desired to do minimum violence to a user""s pedal anatomy in the course of walking and standing, and simultaneously allow maximum possible freedom of movement so that the supple human foot may continue to function in a manner for which evolution adapted it, and possibly even move beyond the pedestrian in kinesthetic manifestation of physical talent. Simultaneously with an increasing flexibility in certain degrees or axes of motion however, as in bending in a posterior phalangeal or rearward toe or ball region, it may be desirable to reduce flexibility in other degrees of freedom, as in providing support or preventing collapse in a metatarsal region. The metatarsal region of a foot, or a corresponding region of a shoe, is also variously known as an arch or an instep region, with xe2x80x9cinstepxe2x80x9d more indicative of a shoe, and xe2x80x9carchxe2x80x9d more indicative of a foot.
Aforementioned manifold objectives of footwear function are of course partially in conflict, as may be observed from the marketing of ornamental or fashion shoes thought to be positively damaging to a user""s feet, however accepted by a sub-population of shoe wearers as a necessary expression of a fashion persona. Similarly athletic shoes, while possibly making a fashion statement in a limited context, are unsuitable for dress or office wear. Other similar tradeoffs may be observed between comfort and protection, comfort and fashion, and so forth, not to mention between cost of manufacture and quality of materials and construction. Add to these trade-offs variation in user taste, fitness, mass, life-style, gait, activities and budget, and it is clear that a product which expands the envelope of available design solutions along at least one product axis is likely to increase some consumers"" utility function, and hence constitute a new and useful addition to the foot-covering marketplace.
A demand exists for toddler""s and children""s footwear meeting a parent""s need for fashionable decoration of the toddler, while simultaneously allowing that child freedom and comfort of pedal movement, while avoiding repetitive stress injury to the foot. Given a product meeting these objectives, an efficient or simplified method of manufacturing obviously possesses additional economic utility.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved article of footwear.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an efficient method of manufacture for an improved article of footwear.
It is a more particular object of this invention to provide an improved article of footwear providing superior flexibility in a posterior phalangeal region.
Yet a more particular object of this invention is to provide an article with superior flexibility in a posterior phalangeal region, also possessing adequate support in a metatarsal or arch region.
Another object of the invention is to provide such an article of footwear embodying aesthetically pleasing features.
More particularly, an object of the invention is to provide an article of footwear having an construction functionally adapted to meet the above requirements, which article is also aesthetically pleasing.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of construction for an article of footwear in accordance with the above object, which method is economically efficient.
These and other objects of the present invention will be more readily comprehended by an inspection of the drawings and specification contained herein.
A shoe is constructed having an upper, and a composite sole comprising an innersole, a midsole, and an outersole. An innersole is essentially an insert, either free-floating or affixed to an interior or upper surface of a midsole, and is not regarded as part of the present invention. The primary function of an innersole is generally to provide additional cushioning between a bottom of a user""s foot and a remainder of the composite or multilayer sole, and, by variable thickness, more closely conform an innermost or upper surface of the composite sole with the bottom of the foot.
A midsole, unsurprisingly, is a structure intervening between an innersole and an outersole. In the present invention, a midsole is affixed to a lower periphery of the upper in a method of manufacture to be described more fully below. Finally, an outersole is affixed to a lower surface of the midsole as well as an exposed portion of the periphery of the upper. The outersole is that portion of the composite sole and of the shoe which directly contacts a ground surface during use, and is a relatively thick slab of rubberized plastic or other similarly flexible material, which by its bulk provides a dominant portion of a stiffness or elastic modulus of the shoe in bending and in twisting about major and minor principal axes; a lesser portion of the stiffness being provided by the upper. When confusion with xe2x80x9cinnersolexe2x80x9d is not likely, the midsole may also be known as an insole.
The sole or outersole of a shoe functions to cushion the user""s foot from small irregularities of a ground surface, such as pebbles, by distributing a resultant force concentration over a larger area of the bottom or sole of the user""s foot, while ideally maintaining sufficient local flexibility and shock absorption to avoid pivoting or rocking on the irregularities. The (shoe) sole also provides an overall structural integrity to the shoe, and constitutes a strongest member thereof.
Structural and cushioning functions of the outersole dictate a relatively thick and rigid structure, compared to other components of the shoe. This relative thickness and rigidity are however counterindicated by a requirement or objective of flexibility. It is thus a general feature of shoe design, and a particular feature of the present invention, that an intelligent compromise be achieved between requisite rigidities, flexibilities and cushionings.
A useful compromise is achieved in part between rigidity, flexibility and cushioning in accordance with the present invention by an indentation or grooving of a foresole or frontmost portion of the outersole. Forming a grid-like pattern or design on a bottom or ground-contacting surface of the outersole, the indentations or grooves permit a greatest degree of flexibility in bending about a horizontal axis perpendicular to a longitudinal or major principal axis of a user""s foot and shoe, a substantial degree of flexibility around this longitudinal axis, and simultaneously an incrementally negligible degree of flexibility about a vertical axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shoe or foot, thus preserving an overall shape of the shoe. Simultaneously a substantial degree of resistance to bending about a rearwardly parallelly displaced member of a series of horizontal axes perpendicular to the shoe""s longitudinal axis, is achieved by interposition of a brace or bridge spanning a gap between a heel and the foresole, as will be clear in the illustrations. This bridge simultaneously provides added support to a user""s metatarsal or arch region, while focussing bending about the described series of parallel axes in a region adjacent to a user""s toes, coincident with a natural hinge region of the human foot. It is believed that a unique pattern of grooves or indentations in the foresole region of the outersole, coupled with the action of a uniquely adapted bridge or tapered shank support extending through the metatarsal or arch region of the outersole, cooperating with a conventional heel shape, confers a unique and advantageous combination of flexibility and stiffness against bending in variously rotated and spatially displaced axes of the outersole, and confers a uniquely advantageous complex mechanical characteristic on the shoe of which the outersole forms a composite member.
A further flexibility is achieved in a show built in accordance with the present invention by elimination or moderation of unnecessary sources of stiffness in a construction of the shoe. In particular, an internal steel shank support is replaced with the tapered external shank support or bridge, as discussed above. Also, an insole board, a common feature in the conventional shoe making art for, in part, maintaining a shape of an upper prior to attachment to an outersole portion of an item of footwear, is eliminated by virtue of a technique of construction which sews an upper blank directly onto a flexible non-woven fabric midsole, prior to a glueing of a resulting form to the outersole.
A process to fabricate an upper from a blank, and a midsole, comprises a plurality of steps: A special use sewing machine, known in the art as a xe2x80x9c(toe) Cap Beat Creasexe2x80x9d machine forms a toe shape in a blank prior to a lasting process, to create a partially formed upper, or first stage upper preform. The Toecap Beat Crease or Toecap Crease machine is known in the industry, and models are available from the Ta Chung sewing machine company, of Taiwan, R.O.C., and Yao Han Industries co., Ltd, also of Taiwan; Shin-Chuang City, Taipei Hsien.
Following a formation of the toe shape or toe cap, a second special use sewing machine, known in the art as a xe2x80x9cDisc Feed Overseaming Machinexe2x80x9d is utilized to stitch the preform directly to the non-woven fabric midsole. A resulting second-stage upper preform is then subjected to a 100 to 110 degree stress relief/vulcanizing heat treatment in order to remove a shape memory of an original flat blank conformation. The preform is subsequently subjected to a controlled and rapid cooling rate in order to impress a new stress-free conformation or shape memory on a now substantially prefabricated upper, or upper form. Upper and outersole are now bonded by adhesive over essentially a complete intermediate surface to form a uniquely flexible unitary construction without a use of insole board, insole binding, or other techniques known in the art of shoe construction tending to add additional stiffness.
Remaining machines mentioned: Vulcanizing machines, disc feed overseaming machines, and chillers or automatic refrigerators are known in the industry, and available on the open market.


There is provided a method for production of a high-purity biodegradable polyoxyethylene derivative on an industrial scale using a polyoxyethylene compound containing polylactic acid at the terminal thereof. A biodegradable polyoxyethylene compound represented by formula (1) and a compound represented by formula (I) are caused to react with each other at 60° C. to 120° C. using toluene as a solvent in the presence of sodium acetate to obtain a biodegradable polyoxyethylene derivative represented by formula (2).

In recent years, the demand for various biocompatible materials has been increased for use in, for example, tissue engineering and drug delivery systems (DDSs). For example, a method for suppressing side effects and improving retention in the blood by modifying a physiologically active substance such as a drug or polypeptide with a hydrophilic polymer such as polyethylene glycol has been studied. Furthermore, a cross-linked polymer composition formed through gelation of a plurality of components has been developed and studied for use in, for example, cell scaffolds, drug-release devices, sutures/bone fixation agents, hemostatics, and tissue adhesion inhibitors.
An example of such a cross-linked polymer composition is a hydrogel formed by mixing a synthetic polypeptide or a polyethylene glycol derivative having a plurality of nucleophilic groups such as a primary amino group and a thiol group and a hydrophilic or hydrophobic polymer derivative having an electrophilic group such as an N-hydroxysuccinimidyl group.
To sufficiently exhibit the function of the gel formed of a cross-linked polymer, the polymer derivatives to be mixed equally react with each other and a three-dimensional network structure needs to be uniformly formed. Therefore, it is important to introduce a reactive functional group into the polymers at a high introduction ratio.
Furthermore, biodegradable polymers such as polylactic acid and polyglycolic acid and copolymers obtained by introducing such biodegradable polymers into polyethylene glycol or the like as biodegradable moieties have received attention and have been widely used in order to enzymatically or non-enzymatically hydrolyze a drug, which has been implanted into a body or sustainedly released at a target site, into nontoxic components and cause metabolism and absorption.
It is highly important to establish a method for production of a high-purity polymer derivative on an industrial scale, the polymer derivative being produced by introducing a reactive functional group into such a polymer having a biodegradable moiety.
One of methods for production of a high-purity polymer derivative having a biodegradable moiety is purification performed by preparative liquid chromatography. However, polymer derivatives having different numbers of functional groups have similar physical properties depending on their structures. Therefore, it is often difficult to separate a target substance or conduct removal. Even if removal can be conducted, some problems such as a decrease in the yield are caused. Thus, such a method is not efficient on an industrial scale. Although a polymer derivative can be produced with a high yield by purification performed by recrystallization or crystal precipitation, it is also difficult to remove polymer derivatives having different numbers of functional groups.
Accordingly, in order to produce a high-purity polymer derivative having a biodegradable moiety on an industrial scale, it is important to achieve a high functional group introduction ratio in a reaction process.
For example, PTL 1 discloses, as a method for production of a polymer derivative having a biodegradable moiety, a method for production of acrylic-polyhydroxy acid-polyoxyethylene obtained by causing polyhydroxy acid-polyoxyethylene to react with acryloyl chloride in the presence of triethylamine. However, triethylamine hydrochloride formed as a by-product is filtered at a very low rate, and cools and solidifies on a filter surface. Consequently, the filtration cannot be completed. From this point of view, the method disclosed in PTL 1 is not suitable for industrial production.
In the reaction of introducing a functional group, if the type of catalyst is inappropriate, the bond of the biodegradable moiety is cleaved. Thus, the selection of the catalyst is limited. In particular, a substance terminated with a secondary hydroxyl group, such as polylactic acid, has reactivity lower than that of a substance terminated with a primary hydroxyl group. Therefore, the selection of a catalyst is particularly important to produce a high-purity polymer.
PTL 2 discloses a method for production of pentaerythritol polyoxyethylene-polylactide-tetraglutarate obtained by causing pentaerythritol polyoxyethylene-polylactide terminated with a secondary hydroxyl group to react with glutaric anhydride in the presence of potassium carbonate.

Method for production of biodegradable polyoxyethylene derivative


A back and spine exerciser provides a slow and small amplitude cyclical action of tension and relaxation of the tension to the back and spine of a user, by applying a corresponding pull and release under the chin of the user.

The present invention relates to a back and spine exerciser, particularly adapted for non-institutional, home use by individuals. The present exerciser functions to treat the back and spine by applying a gentle, relatively slow and small amplitude cyclic motion to the back and spine of the user by exerting a slight pull along the length of the spine followed by relaxation of the pull, in a uniform and repetitive fashion.
Numerous back traction devices are well known in the prior art, intended to relieve spinal pressures and backaches by placing the user and his spine under substantial traction force for substantial periods of time. Other body treatment devices are also well known, that subject portions of the body of the user to vibratory action, the purpose of which is to stimulate the muscles and tissues, frequently for the ultimate intended purpose of weight loss and muscle tone.
The concept of the present invention is quite different from these prior art devices. The purpose and function of the present invention is not to apply substantial traction forces to the user's back and spine, or to relieve spinal pressures by traction. Nor does the present invention apply vibratory stimulation to the body of the user. The present invention exerts a relatively slow, cyclic and gentle tension and relaxation of the tension to the spine of the user. The nature of the action imparted by the present invention will be appreciated from the fact that in a preferred embodiment, the cyclic stroke is only 7/8 inch in length, and the cyclic period is only 6 cycles per minute. These particular values can be varied somewhat, of course, but to obtain the exercising, non-traction, non-vibratory effect of the invention, it is suggested that the stroke be between about 3/4 and 1 inch, and not more than about 1 inch, and that the cyclic period be only a few strokes per minute, such as between about 5 and 7 strokes per minute.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide for the exercise of the back and spine, by applying thereto a slow cyclic and gentle action of tension followed by relaxation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for applying said cyclic action to the back and spine of a user.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully appreciated from a consideration of the following detailed description of one illustrative specific embodiment of the invention.


A battery control system capable of relatively smoothly canceling memory effects caused to a battery mounted on a hybrid vehicle, while avoiding deterioration of the battery and vehicle performance. Upon detection of generation of charge memory effects, an HVECU changes the center of a control range for the battery""s charged amount (SOC) from its ordinary value to a value in the vicinity of an upper limit of an appropriately charged range. This SOC control is continued for a predetermined amount of time for cancellation of charge memory effects. Under such control, SOC basically varies within a range lower than where excessive charging may possibly be caused, so that battery deterioration due to excessive charging and droped power consumption due to prohibited charging can be prevented. Meanwhile, upon detection of discharge memory effects, the center of the control range is set at a value in the vicinity of a lower limit of an appropriately charged range, so that deterioration of vehicle""s dynamic performance is prevented.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery control system for controlling a charged amount of a secondary battery mounted on a hybrid vehicle, and in particular to cancellation of memory effects generated in a secondary battery which uses a nickel compound.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, hybrid vehicles which are equipped with an engine-driven generator in addition to a vehicle driving motor have been known. Such a hybrid vehicle is additionally equipped with a battery (a main battery) so that the vehicle driving motor is driven using power from the battery, which is in turn charged using power from the generator. The vehicle driving motor and the engine are used to rotate the wheels for traveling.
A charge level of a battery is observed for control utilizing an index known as the State of Charge, or SOC. The SOC is defined by a ratio of an amount of residual charge relative to a full charge capacity. Presently, SOC is generally measured using combination of a measurement method utilizing correlation between SOC and a battery""s voltage-current characteristics (I-V characteristics) at the time of charging (or discharging), and a measurement method utilizing accumulation of charged and discharged amounts.
A battery control system controls charging and discharging of a battery based on SOC. Specifically, for charging and discharging control, SOC values are divided into three ranges, namely, a charging prohibited range, a discharging prohibited range, and an appropriately charged range. In a charging prohibited range, corresponding to SOC being 80 to 100%, for example, further charging is prohibited because excessive charging could possibly result. In a discharging prohibited range, corresponding to SOC being 0 to 20%, for example, further discharging is prohibited to prevent excessive discharging. In an appropriately charged range, corresponding to SOC being 20 to 80%, for example, excessive charging or discharging are both unlikely, and further charging and discharging are both allowed.
Power consumption efficiency deteriorates in a charging prohibited range because, due to charging being prohibited, redundant energy is not regenerated into power, but is instead discharged as heat or the like. In a discharging prohibited range, on the other hand, a motor is not driven because discharging is prohibited, and engine power is used for charging a battery, which adversely affects a vehicle""s dynamic performance.
In consideration of the above, a battery control system controls such that SOC is maintained within an appropriately charged range. Specifically, driving of a motor and a generator is controlled during ordinary traveling such that an SOC varies within a predetermined control range which is set with a predetermined target charged amount level, for example, about 50%, at the center.
Here, hybrid vehicles often employ NiMH batteries. With batteries using a nickel compound, repetitive charging and discharging within a predetermined control range set around the above mentioned target charged amount level causes memory effects.
Memory effects are caused in electric products by repetitive charging of a battery before full discharging. Once memory effects have been created, an electromotive force of the battery drops after a smaller amount of discharging, even when discharging begins with the battery in fully charged status. That is, the effective operating time of the battery is reduced. Such memory effects are referred to as discharge memory effects for discrimination from the charge memory effects described below. Discharge memory effects can be cancelled by excessive charging of the battery.
Charge memory effects are caused through repetitive discharging of a battery before full charging. Once charge memory effects are caused, the battery""s charge receivability is deteriorated. That is, an electromotive force of the battery reaches a level equivalent to that in a fully charged status when it receives a smaller amount of charge. In still other words, the battery""s maximum charge capacity is reduced.
Whereas charging of ordinary electric devices is basically continued until the device is fully charged, charging of a hybrid vehicle is controlled such that charging and discharging are repeated within a predetermined control range which is set within an appropriately charged range, as described above. Therefore, with a hybrid vehicle, discharge memory effects similar to those in other electrical devices, are caused, and moreover charge memory effects, which are unlikely to be caused in ordinary electrical products, are also likely to be caused.
As described above, a hybrid vehicle uses energy from a battery to enhance dynamic performance, converts kinetic energy into electric energy using a regeneration brake, and stores the converted energy in a battery to improve power consumption. Therefore, when charge memory effects are generated and maximum charge capacity is thus reduced in a hybrid vehicle, vehicle performance is deteriorated because both the amount of energy that can be output and the amount that can be retrieved are reduced.
Such charge memory effects can be countered or cancelled through excessive charging. Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2001-69608, for example, proposes a technique in which a control range for SOC variation is set larger so as to be closer to a fully discharged or charged level so that memory effects are cancelled.
Although charge memory effects can be cancelled through excessive charging, as described above, excessive discharging generates hydrogen molecules (H2) and oxygen molecules (O2) through electrolysis of water in the battery, which causes internal pressure to increase. Moreover, recombination reaction between H2 and O2 causes temperature to increase. Such increases of internal pressure and temperature accelerate battery deterioration. At present, however, because variation of electric load of a hybrid vehicle during traveling is large, it is difficult to apply stable charging at a low rate so as to prevent increases of temperature and internal pressure for cancellation of charge memory effects.
In addition, because excessive charging for cancellation of discharge memory effects results in significant deterioration of dynamic performance, it is preferable that excessive charging not be applied during traveling.
Further, with the above-noted technique for setting a larger control range for SOC variation so as to be closer to a fully charged or discharged level, a varying SOC remains within an appropriately charged range, which is a middle range where the battery is neither fully charged or discharged, for a longer time. As a result, a longer time is required to cancel memory effects.
The present invention has been conceived in order to address the above problems and aims to provide a battery control system which can relatively smoothly cancel memory effects created in a battery used on a hybrid vehicle, while avoiding deterioration of either vehicle performance or the battery.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery control system comprising memory effects determining means for determining generation of memory effects in the secondary battery and target level setting means for setting the target charged amount level at a predetermined normal level when generation of memory effects is not determined and at a closer-to-limit level closer than the normal level to an upper limit or a lower limit of the appropriately charged range when generation of memory effects is determined.
Specifically, upon determination of generation of memory effects, at least one of these operations is applied, namely, increasing of a target charged amount level from a normal level to the vicinity of the upper limit of an appropriately charged range and reduction of a target charged amount level from a normal level to the vicinity of the lower limit of an appropriately charged range. Increasing of the target charged amount level to a level in the vicinity of the upper limit level can cancel charge memory effects, while reduction of the target charged amount level to a level in the vicinity of the lower limit level can cancel discharge memory effects.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the charged amount may be controlled so as to vary within a predetermined control range which has the target charged amount level at the center and is set within the appropriately charged range, and a control range for the closer-to-limit level may be identical in size to or smaller than a control range for the normal level.
Specifically, a predetermined control range centered at a target charged amount level is set as a target control range of a stored charged amount within the appropriately charged range, and a stored charged amount is controlled so as to vary within this range during most traveling. Because the control range for the closer-to-limit level is either identical in size to or narrower than the control range for the normal level, a control range for a closer-to-limit level is smaller than the appropriately charged range and set closer to either the upper or lower limit of the appropriately charged range. This arrangement increases the likelihood that the charged amount will vary within a range closer to the upper or lower limit, which enables smoother cancellation of charging or discharge memory effects compared to a case wherein, for example, the control range is set as the entire appropriately charged range.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the target level setting means may preferably maintain the target charged amount level at the closer-to-limit level for a predetermined amount of time when generation of memory effects is determined.
Specifically, upon determination of generation of memory effects, the target charged amount level is set at a closer-to-limit level and maintained there for a predetermined time and, after the elapse of the predetermined time, the target charged amount level is returned to a normal level. The predetermined time during which the target charged amount level is maintained at the closer-to-limit level is determined based on the period of time required to cancel memory effects. The period of time required for cancellation of memory effects with the target charged amount level maintained at a closer-to-limit level can vary depending on, for example, a difference between the closer-to-limit level and the upper or lower limit of the appropriately charged range, or the size of a charged amount control range set with the closer-to-limit level at the center.
In another embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the closer-to-limit level may be set in the vicinity of the upper limit of the appropriately charged range.
A secondary battery mounted on a hybrid vehicle is generally a combination battery constituting of a plurality of serially connected batteries (unit cells), in which a charged amount may vary for each unit cell. In this embodiment, by increasing the target charged amount level to be closer to the upper limit of the appropriately charged range, variation in charged amounts among unit cells constituting the secondary battery can be reduced so that charged amounts of the respective unit cells constituting the secondary battery can be made uniform.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery control system for controlling a charged amount of a secondary battery mounted on a hybrid vehicle such that the charged amount is maintained in the vicinity of a predetermined target charged amount level which is set within an appropriately charged range in which excessive charging and discharging are prevented, comprising memory effects determining means for determining generation of charge memory effects and discharge memory effects of the secondary battery; target level setting means for setting the target charged amount level at a predetermined normal level when generation of charge memory effects or discharge memory effects is not determined, in the vicinity of an upper limit of the appropriately charged range when generation of charge memory effects is determined, and in the vicinity of a lower limit of the appropriately charged range when generation of discharge memory effects is determined.


Each of seal projections 7, 8 is positioned radially outward of an inner periphery 1a, 2a of abutting end face of each of joint members 7, 8 and has in section a contour which comprises a circular-arc portion 7b, 8b extending radially outward from the abutting end face, and a straight portion 7a, 8a extending from the circular-arc portion 7b, 8b. The circular-arc portion 7b, 8b has a center positioned radially inward of the point of intersection of the circular-arc portion 7b, 8b and the straight portion 7a, 8a. The straight portion 7a, 8a is inclined at 30 to 60 degrees with respect to the direction of axis of the joint member.

The present invention relates to pipe joints, and more particularly to pipe joints suitable, for example, for use in manufacturing semiconductors of which extremely high cleanliness is required.
The present inventor has already proposed a pipe joint suited, for example, to use in fabricating semiconductors of which extremely high cleanliness is required. With reference to FIG. 6, the proposed pipe joint comprises a pair of tubular joint members 1, 2, an annular gasket 3 interposed between abutting end faces of the joint members 1, 2 and threaded means for joining the joint members 1, 2, the abutting end faces of the joint members 1, 2 being formed with annular seal projections 37, 38 respectively, so that when the threaded means is completely tightened up, recesses corresponding to the respective seal projections 37, 38 are created in end faces of the gasket 3, with respective inner peripheries 1a, 2a of the abutting end faces of the joint members 1, 2 becoming approximately flush with an inner periphery 3a of the gasket 3. The pipe joint is characterized in that each of the seal projections 37, 38 has a sectional contour which comprises a circular-arc portion 37b (38b) extending radially outward from the abutting end face, and a straight portion 37a (38a) extending from the circular-arc portion 37b (38b) (see JP-A-32984/1997). Referring to the same drawing, the abutting end faces have respective inner flat portions 15, 16 formed inwardly of the seal projections 37, 38, and respective outer flat portions 17, 18 positioned outwardly of the projections 37, 38. Indicated at 9 and 10 are overtightening preventing annular ridges formed at the outer peripheries of the respective abutting end faces.
The pipe joint described has no liquid trapping cavity, is unlikely to develop in the inner periphery of the gasket creases which would permit deposition of dirt and further enables the worker, while tightening the threaded member, to perceive an altered reaction which indicates the completion of tightening. Thus, the pipe joint has features suitable for use in manufacturing semiconductors. However, the joint has the following problem. While such pipe joints as assembled once are frequently disassembled and assembled again, the joint shown in FIG. 6 has the drawback that the gasket 3 is difficult to remove from the joint members 1, 2 for disassembly because when the gasket 3 is to be moved axially relative to the first and second joint members 1, 2, the straight portions 37a, 38a of the seal projections 37, 38 biting in the gasket 3 give increased friction against the movement of the gasket.


A motor comprises an enclosure, a stator and a rotor, the stator comprising a first electromagnetic group and a second electromagnetic group between which the rotor is inserted, the rotor comprising a rotating shaft and a magnetic part installed around the outer wall of the rotating shaft, the motor further comprising an elastic element with a first contact part fixed on rear cover of the enclosure and a second contact part connected with the rotating shaft, wherein the elastic element is elastically deformable in at least two different directions. The motor is applicable to electric toothbrushes, shavers, loudspeakers, electric hammers, stirrers, refrigerators, sewing machines, packaging and bundling machines, electromagnetic pumps, etc. A rotating shaft of the electric toothbrush using the motor has the effects of high-frequency shimming and high-frequency knocking vibration, and the dental calculi on the dental surface are crushed via high-frequency knock, with higher cleaning effect.

With continuous development of the society, people attach increasingly greater importance to oral health, and also pay more and more attention to daily maintenance of teeth. Dental calculi, as an important pathogenic factor of periodontal diseases, refers to dental plaque and debris which are mineralized or being mineralized on the dental face, and are composed of 75% of calcium phosphate, 15-25% of water, organic matters, manganese phosphate, mineral acid calcium as well as trace potassium, sodium and iron. It is difficult to clear the dental calculi with a common toothbrush, and the dental calculi are easily and quickly deposited on the surface of teeth again even if being thoroughly scaled in a stomatological hospital.
At present, many electric toothbrushes appear in the market, e.g., rotating electric toothbrushes, sonic vibrating electric toothbrushes and sonic swinging electric toothbrushes. Because the motors of the electric toothbrushes in the market can only drive the toothbrushes to swing left and right, so that the toothbrushes periodically rub the surfaces of teeth left and right, thus only the superficial layers of dental calculi can be removed, and the dental calculi cannot be cleared deeply.

Motor with elastic element deformable in different directions


A method for clustering geolocations using geo-point density includes receiving a user log of geolocation data extracted from user interactions with at least one electronic device. A density is determined relative to other geo-points for each geo-point in a set of geo-points extracted from the user log. Lower density geo-points in the set are merged into higher density geo-points in the set to result in a merged set of geo-points, and clusters of geo-points are identified from the merged set. Merging the geo-points tends to preserve frequently occurring geo-points while reducing those that constitute noise, which improves the reliability of identifying the clusters. Core geo-points of the user log are selected from the clusters. The core geo-points of the user log can be compared to core geo-points of other use logs to identify associations between the user logs.

As the number of web users who access web services increases, so does the number of such users who do so anonymously. Visitor stitching aims to identify which user logs belong to the same user, even where the logs represent anonymous user sessions. This identification is central to a wide variety of applications on the web that aim to provide personalized services and experiences to users. Unfortunately, visitor stitching can be complicated in that user logs, such as web or cookie logs, corresponding to a single user often span many devices and applications, including a mix of logged-in and anonymous sessions.
Approaches to visitor stitching have compared search behavior, purchase history, and topical and content information between logs to determine whether the logs belong to the same user. This information is unlikely to be universal across separate domains, meaning some logs could lack this information, or it could be expressed inconsistently amongst the logs. Geolocation information tends to be more consistent and available amongst domains. Approaches that employ geolocation information for visitor stitching simply attempt to match IP-addresses across user logs. Thus, the geolocation information is only useful in this limited context.

Associating user logs using geo-point density


A method for operating an industrial truck with an operating element comprising at least one operating for a vehicle function, an unlocking apparatus for the vehicle function, and a resetting apparatus configured to interact with the at least one operating lever generating a resetting force depending on a deflection of the least one operating lever. Upon an actuation of the operating lever without previously unlocking the operating lever, the resetting force acting on the at least one operating lever is changed in order to report an unsuccessful unlocking procedure.

The invention generally relates to a method for operating an industrial truck with an operating element.
Numerous different concepts and approaches for operating elements are known for operating and controlling industrial trucks. For example, a control element for an industrial truck is known from DE 10 2013 012 176 that has two operating levers and at least one switch arranged therebetween. The operating levers are each designed for a two-axial movement and are spatially separate from each other such that the fingers of a hand positioned between the levers can actuate the operating levers without grasping, and can actuate the at least one switch between the operating levers.
DE 10 2005 000 633 A1 disclosed providing vibration in the control element and/or the driver's seat as feedback for vehicle states and/or vehicle information. This is haptic feedback of vehicle states and/or vehicle information. When the control element is embodied as a joystick, there is reliable and direct feedback of vehicle states and/or vehicle information by electromagnets generating vibrations, or an electric motor interacting with an unbalanced mass.
Control elements designed as a joystick are known from DE 10 2014 103 988 A1 for controlling commercial vehicles, machines, work functions of commercial vehicles or construction machines and attachments. The use of force feedback is also known for the joysticks. Force feedback is mechanical feedback which is normally achieved by coupled torque of an electric motor with the assistance of a gear unit. Different technical embodiments of the actuating lever of the joystick are known for implementing force feedback.
A key aspect in the operation of an industrial truck is its stability. Variables that influence the stability are the load weight, distance from the load's center of gravity, lifting height and tilt of the mast. In addition to these static variables, there are dynamic processes that have an influence on stability such as braking, reverse acceleration, driving in a curve, etc. A number of different approaches are known for determining stability. In one approach, the force or pressure is measured at different positions of the vehicle. Other approaches such as those in DE 100 15 707 A1, DE 103 04 658 A1 or DE 10 2005 012 004 A1 are based on model-based considerations.

Method for operating an industrial truck with an operating element


A system for supplying electrical energy to a partial or a total electrified drivetrain of a vehicle, the system may include an energy storage system having an energy storage system output that is excess of an operating voltage of the electrified drivetrain. A first converter having an input coupled to the energy storage system output and a first converter output that is at an operating voltage of the electrified drivetrain. Optionally, a supplemental storage bank may be coupled to the first converter output. A second converter is coupled to the supplemental storage bank to provide an output at an operating voltage of the electrified drivetrain and at a peak operating current of the electrified drivetrain.

Electric vehicles (EV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) have been suggested as a means to reducing fossil fuel consumption and the potential adverse environmental implications. PHEV technology is attractive because it offers potential benefits of an all-electric vehicle, while preserving the range and flexibility of an internal combustion engine powered vehicle.
HEV and PHEV systems are not able presently to provide all power demands, for example during heavy acceleration, because of the power supply limitations of the battery technology. Additionally, the battery technology itself still adds significantly to vehicle mass and consumes a substantial portion of storage space within the vehicle.
The design of an electrical energy storage system for an electrified drivetrain of an electric or hybrid electric vehicle poses significant challenges. Existing vehicle electrical energy storage systems, primarily single chemistry lead-acid, nickel metal hydride, lithium and the like are inadequate. Other electrical energy storage technology, such as employed in small scale applications like consumer electronics, can inform the design of energy storage systems for electrified drivertrain leaves many questions unanswered. The suggestion of a battery structure, i.e., chemistry, cell configuration, construction, size and shape, suitable for consumer electronics, for example, may not scale to provide a solution to the vehicle energy storage system designer.
Design issues including cell and module robustness, safety, aging, lifetime, thermal effects, material/shelf life, shock and vibration resistance and general suitability in a vehicle environment all come into play. Issues of system scale also exist. Load requirements in a consumer electronic device may be relatively small, while electrified drivetrain systems may demand power delivery in the 20-100 kiloWatt range at 300-400 volts and significantly high load currents of 200 amps or more. A vehicle environment is also an extreme use environment subjecting the system to temperature extremes, changing temperatures, shock and vibration and, of course, crashes. Costs including initial installation and future replacement are also of concern. Selection and usage of materials should be made with a view toward sustainability, i.e., use of materials that are fundamentally abundant and reusable.
The typical energy storage/battery system of electric (EV), hybrid electric (HEV) or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) electric vehicle is limited to a single storage system or module with a single cell chemistry and architecture. To meet the many diverse operating conditions the vehicle might experience, the designer necessarily compromises in selecting the battery system. The resulting drawbacks are less than optimal energy delivery, volumetric size, weight and operating complexity (number and configuration of cells, cell monitoring for health and failure, etc.).

Energy storage and control system for a vehicle electrified drivetrain

The Regents of the University of Michigan


The disclosed embodiments describe a method, an apparatus, an application specific integrated circuit, and a server that provides a fast and efficient look up for data analysis. The apparatus and server may be configured to obtain data segments from a plurality of input devices. The data segments may be individual unique subsets of the entire data set obtained by a plurality input devices. A hash function may be applied to an aggregated set of the data segments. A result of the hash function may be stored in a data structure. A codebook may be generated from the hash function results.

Data may be provided by numerous types of data sources. Examples of data sources include cameras, microphones, cellular telephones, radios and electronic documents. Signals representing the data output from or, in the case of documents, the data in the document may be analyzed because the signals may contain a feature that is of interest to a user. For example, the image may contain an object that is to be recognized, or the audio signal or electronic document may contain a particular phrase or word.
One technique of analyzing data is by vector quantization. Vector quantization divides a data set into segments that may be represented as vectors. The vectors may be grouped into a plurality of groups using a nearest neighbor search algorithm such as, K-means, distance mapping or clustering. The output of the nearest neighbor search algorithm may be a vector that represents a center, or centroid, of each of the groups of vectors. There may be hundreds to thousands of centroids that are representative of data in an input data set. The centroid vector may be determined after a number of iterations of the nearest neighbor search. By representing the data set with a centroid vector, a complex or a large volume of data may be represented by a smaller data set. The centroid vectors may be used as codewords in a codebook for the particular groups of vectors. There may be a number of iterations through the data vectors to determine an optimal centroid vector that will be used as the final codeword. This iterative process may be called training of the codebook. The codewords may be of different lengths. Vector quantization can be used, for example, in signal analysis, image analysis, data compression and other data processing operations.
The data analysis performed by using vector quantization may be performed by comparing data of interest to each of the codewords in the codebook. This comparison can consume both time and resources. As a result, the comparisons may need the more powerful processors available only on servers or some desktop computers.
There are many computer operations that may be performed to narrow data sets such as K-means, clustering, hash functions, and the like. An exemplary hash function H is a transformation that takes a variable-size input m and returns a fixed-size string, which is called the hash value h (that is, h=H(m)). The hash value may be stored in a hash table that is indexed according to the respective hash values.

Fast efficient vocabulary computation with hashed vocabularies


An eye-surgical holed towel comprises a transparent PVC holed towel with two holes at a center thereof; a separable paper adhered to a backside of the holed towel; the separable paper having two holes; and an opaque shielding sheet adhered to a front side of the holed towel and between the two holes of the holed towel; and a lower edge of the opaque shielding sheet being adhered upon the holed towel so that the opaque shielding sheet is turnable along the lower edge for shielding one eye of a user; The two holes of the separable paper are at positions corresponding to the two holes of the holed towel. When the separable paper is torn, it can be placed upon the face of a user. The shielding sheet has a gluing section, when the separable paper is torn, it can be adhered to an eye of the user.

Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art eye-surgical holed towel 10a is illustrated. The holed towel has only one single hole 111 and is made of opaque non-weaving cloth 11. The prior art is heavy. Then the holed towel covers upon the face. The holed towel will tightly contact the face of the patient so that the holed towel has a shape like the face, see FIG. 2, especially in the nose. Furthermore, the non-weaving cloth is adhered on the nose so as to affect the breath of the patient and thus to affect the emotion of the user. Moreover, since the non-weaving cloth is non-transparent, it is difficult to find whether the holed towel is correctly disposed. Furthermore, the heavy non-weaving cloth will contact the eyes so as to rub or infect the disease to the user.
Referring to FIG. 3, a holed towel 10b has a single one hole 121 and is made of transparent PVC material. A backside of the holed towel has glue layer 122 for adhering to the face of the user, especially, the periphery of the eyes. Since the material is transparent, it can be corrected easily. Further, because it is light, the problems of affecting breathing and difficulty of arrangement of the holed towel as those induced in non-weaving holed towel 10a. The main problem is that only one hole 121 is formed. When the other eye is to be operated, another holed towel 10 is necessary. In the updating process, a friction between the holed towel 10b and eye will occur. Furthermore, when the holed towel 10b is torn, it must sterilize the eyes and peripheries of the eyes. This makes the process tedious.
Referring to FIG. 4, a holed towel 10c is made of opaque non-weaving cloth 13 with two holes 131. A glue layer 13 is adhered to the face of the patient, and particular to the peripheries of eyes. Before surgery, an opaque shielding sheet 133 serves to shield another eye without surgery. This kind of holed towel with two holes 131 have the advantage that it is unnecessary to tear the holed towel 13 when it is desired to operate another eye after one eye has been operated. Thereby, it is unnecessary to sterilize the eyes, but in this prior art, the shielding sheet 13 is not fixed so that the shielding sheet 133 is possible to displace.
Next, before surgery, an absorbent cloth 134 covers upon the holed towel, see FIG. 4. The absorbent cloth 134 has two holes 134a corresponding to the holes 131 and covers upon the shielding sheet 133 of the holed towel 10c. The area of the holed towel is sufficient to cover the two holes 131. In operation, the absorbent cloth 134 serves to absorb undesired objects flowing from the eyes (such as drug liquid, eye liquid, etc.) However, when the absorbent cloth 134 is too wet, the liquid possibly flows to the ears, see FIG. 5 so that the patient feels uneasy.
Moreover, the holed towel is too small to cover an area including the forehead and jaw of the patient. If the holed towel is too large, the air cannot flow successfully, and thus the patient will feel uneasy and breath of the patient is affected.

Iniversal Vision Biotechnology Co., Ltd.


A method for fabricating a semiconductor device includes forming a structure including a sacrificial layer and a hard mask over a substrate, performing a plasma treatment over the structure including the hard mask to form a protective layer over the hard mask, etching the sacrificial layer using the protective layer as an etch barrier, and etching the substrate using the protective layer and the patterned sacrificial layer as an etch barrier to form a recess pattern.

The present invention relates to a method for fabricating a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method for fabricating a semiconductor device with a recess gate.
With the ultra-high integration of a semiconductor device, a threshold voltage is lowered and a refresh characteristic is degraded due to the decrease of a channel length of a cell transistor. Therefore, increasing the channel length of the cell transistor is needed. Increasing the channel length is achieved through a recess gate process in which a predetermined portion of an active region of a semiconductor substrate is etched to form a recess gate.
FIGS. 1A to 1E illustrate sectional views of a typical method for fabricating a semiconductor device with a recess gate. Referring to FIG. 1A, an isolation structure 12 is formed to define an active region of a substrate 11.
A sacrificial oxide layer 13 and a hard mask layer 14 are formed on the substrate 11 in sequence. For example, the hard mask layer 14 is formed in a double-layer structure including a polysilicon layer 14A and a silicon oxynitride (SiON) layer 14B are stacked on the sacrificial oxide layer 13.
A photoresist pattern 16 is formed over the hard mask layer 14 to define a region where a recess pattern will be formed. Between the hard mask layer 14 and the photoresist pattern 16, an anti-reflective coating layer 15 is interposed to prevent the reflection during a photo-exposure.
Referring to FIG. 1B, the SiON layer 14B is etched using the photoresist pattern 16 as an etch mask. Then, the photoresist pattern 16 and the anti-reflective coating layer 15 are removed. Reference numeral 14X represents a first hard mask pattern including the SiON layer pattern 14B1 and the polysilicon layer 14A.
Referring to FIG. 1C, the polysilicon layer 14A is etched using the SiON layer pattern 14B1 as an etch barrier. The etching of the polysilicon layer 14A is performed until the sacrificial oxide layer 13 is exposed. During the etching of the polysilicon layer 14A, a portion of the sacrificial oxide layer 13 may be etched. Reference numeral 14Y represents a second hard mask pattern including the SiON layer pattern 14B1 and a polysilicon layer pattern 14A1.
Referring to FIG. 1D, the SiON layer pattern 14B1, is removed. The exposed sacrificial oxide layer 13A is etched using the polysilicon layer pattern 14A1 as an etch barrier to expose the substrate 11. Reference numeral 13A represents a sacrificial oxide layer pattern.
Referring to FIG. 1E, the exposed substrate 11 is anisotropically etched using the polysilicon layer pattern 14A1 and the sacrificial oxide layer pattern 13A as an etch barrier, thereby forming a recess pattern 100 having a vertical profile. During this process, the polysilicon layer pattern 14A1 may be all removed. Reference numeral 11A represents a patterned substrate.
A gate is formed over the recess pattern 100 formed through the above-described processes to increase the channel length of the cell transistor, which makes it possible to improve device characteristics such as threshold voltage, refresh, etc. However, as recently a space between patterns is reduced with the advance of ultra-high integration of a semiconductor device, the same phenomenon (i.e., the reduction of a space between recess patterns) is likely to occur during forming of a recess pattern. The reduction between the recess patterns may cause the recess patterns to be bridged together. In addition, a height difference between an isolation structure and an active region frequently occurs during the formation of the isolation structure in a typical recess gate process. The height difference may lead to more frequent occasions of the bridge formation between the recess patterns. The bridge formation will be more fully described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C below.
FIGS. 2A to 2C illustrate sectional views showing limitations which may occur in fabricating a typical semiconductor device with a recess gate. Referring to FIG. 2A, an isolation structure 22 is formed in a semiconductor substrate 21 to define an active region. As for more detailed description of the formation of the isolation structure 22, a pad oxide layer (not shown) and a pad nitride layer (not shown) are formed in sequence on the semiconductor substrate 21, and patterned into a predetermined structure. An exposed portion of the semiconductor substrate 21 is etched using the patterned pad oxide and nitride layers as a mask to form trenches. An insulating layer is formed on the entire surface of the above resultant substrate structure, and polished using the patterned pad nitride layer as a polish stop layer to form the isolation structure 22 that fills the trenches. The pad nitride layer is generally removed. Therefore, the active region of the semiconductor substrate 21 is located lower than the isolation structure 22, resulting in the height difference therebetween over the resultant substrate structure.
A sacrificial oxide layer 23 and a polysilicon layer 24 for use in a hard mask are sequentially formed on the above resultant substrate structure having the height difference between the active region of the semiconductor substrate 21 and the isolation structure 22. Due to the height difference, a portion of the polysilicon layer 24 disposed over the active region also becomes lower than a portion thereof disposed over the isolation structure 22.
Referring to FIG. 2B, the polysilicon layer 24 is etched to form a patterned polysilicon layer 24A. At this time, the portion of the polysilicon layer 24 (see FIG. 2A) over the active region is more actively etched than the portion of the polysilicon layer over the isolation structure 22. Consequently, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, a portion of the patterned polysilicon layer 24A over the active region has a weaker structure than the portion of the patterned polysilicon layer 24A over the isolation structure 22.
Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 2C, the sacrificial oxide layer 23 and the semiconductor substrate 21 are etched using the patterned polysilicon layer 24A as an etch barrier to form a recess pattern 200. Reference numeral 23A and 21A represent a patterned sacrificial oxide layer and a patterned substrate, respectively. As reference numeral 24B indicates, the portion of the patterned polysilicon layer 24A disposed over the active region is highly likely to be removed during the etching for forming the recess pattern 20 due to the aforementioned structural weakness. For this reason, the patterned polysilicon layer 24A may not act as an effective hard mask (i.e., etch barrier). Therefore, recesses of the recess pattern 200 are likely to be bridged together. Alternatively, it may be difficult to adjust a critical dimension (CD) or a profile of the recess pattern 200.

Method for fabricating semiconductor device with recess gate


Federated computing architectures allow for the interoperability of components and facilitates the exchange of data between varying systems and components. Endpoints, such as those utilizing Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) assume the same XMPP stream is used for both messaging and presence. Such systems are unable to accommodate a representational state transfer (“REST”) or, in other words, be “RESTful,” where the messaging server and presence server are distinct servers and may be on different domains. Provided here are systems described to split the protocols and enable an endpoint to appear to communicate with a single server while a protocol splitter routes and receives messages from distinct servers handling messaging and presence separately.

Presence is an indication of the availability of an individual at a point in time, and presently refers to the visibility of a person on a shared communication network.
A federated architecture allows interoperability and information sharing between information technology systems and applications. Presence services (PS), such as provided by Avaya Aura® Presence Services, provide an aggregated presence for a user. PS supports protocols, such as Session Initiation Protocol/Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIP/SIMPLE) and Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP). PS uses server-to-server updates to collect and publish presence information, and may federate with third-party applications.
XMPP is utilized for both instant messaging (IM) and presence services (PS). A typical XMPP endpoint assumes that the same XMPP stream is used for both presence and messaging and utilizes the same server for both PS and IM.

Telephony endpoint presence and instant messaging data-packet management


Apparatus for illuminating a bar code at a relatively shallow (i.e., acute) angle, and for sensing the light reflected from the surface at the shallow angle. In one embodiment the apparatus is used to illuminate the data bars at an acute angle along their length. Viewing the illuminated area at an acute angle, equal to the acute angle of incidence, increases the area being viewed and tends to spatially integrate the non-uniformity of the data bars. Apparatus embodying the invention is particularly useful for reading bar codes formed on a highly reflective surface. The shallow angle of illumination increases the contrast between the surrounding surface and the "data bars" of the bar code as it increases the effective area being viewed and enables the bar code to be read more accurately. In some embodiments a laser light spot is swept at an acute angle across a bar code and the light reflected from the bar code is viewed at the acute angle.

This invention relates to means and methods for reading bar code data formed on a highly reflective surface and/or where the width of the bars of the bar code vary widely along the length of the bars and/or where there is very little apparent contrast between the "bars" of a bar code and the surrounding space.
Bar code readers are used to sense the light reflected from a bar code, where the bar code normally includes a series of parallel black bars of different widths and spacing formed on a white background (or, vice versa, white bars formed on a black background). Typically, when the bar code is illuminated, the white or lightly colored regions reflect a large portion, if not all, of the incident light while the black bars absorb a large portion, if not at all, of the incident light. The resulting differences (contrast) in the levels of light reflected from the bar code enables the bar code to be read visually or sensed electronically.
However, a problem exists where the bar code is formed on a highly reflective surface, such as the top side of a silicon wafer which is highly polished and functions like a mirror. Light incident on the wafer surface in a normal direction is fully reflected since the surface acts like a mirror and light incident on the "data bars" formed on the silicon surface is also reflected with little attenuation, as shown for the depressed area 12 in FIG. 1A. Consequently, there is little contrast between the light reflected from the bars and the light reflected from the surrounding area. Hence, it is very difficult to read or sense the bar code. Furthermore, the high reflectivity levels from the bars and the surrounding area cause the photosensors to saturate and the bar code information to be lost.
The problem of reading bar codes formed on a highly reflective surface, such as silicon wafers, may be better understood by noting that the bar codes present on the wafer surface may be produced by forming holes (i.e., 12 in FIG. 1A) in the wafer surface by means of a laser or other appropriate hole forming means. Each "data bar" of a bar code to be sensed, as shown in FIG. 1B, is actually formed of a series of circular holes formed along a line rather than a well defined rectangular shape. The circular holes are formed of, and within, the silicon material and light incident in the normal direction (i.e., perpendicular) to the silicon surface will be reflected from the hole surface (which is reflective) without significant attenuation. Hence, as noted above, when viewed from a "normal" direction there is minimal contrast between the "data bar" (i.e., a hole or damage caused to the surface of the silicon wafer) and the surrounding space.
Another problem is that the data bar may be formed with circular holes at various densities ranging from circles with considerable overlap to a condition where there is some space between circular holes. Consequently, the data bars do not have a uniform width in a direction perpendicular to the length of the data bar, as is normally the case with typical bar codes. This should be evident from an examination of FIG. 1B which shows a very small cross-section at the point (X1--X1) of tangency or abutment and a substantially greater cross-section along the midpoint (X2--X2) of each circular hole. To accurately decode the presence of bar code data the data bar must have some minimum width. Also, the information contained in bar codes is often a function of the ratio of the width of the "data" bars to the space between the data bars. Where the width of the data bar varies considerably along its length, reading the data bars perpendicular to their length will produce different results depending where along the length of the bar the reading is taken (or made); (i.e., readings are position dependent). Hence, where the width of a data bar varies greatly along its length, reading a "data bar" in a conventional manner (i.e., in a direction perpendicular to the bar) makes the accurate decoding of a bar code difficult.
The problems discussed above are significantly reduced in systems embodying the invention.

Bar code reader for sensing at an acute angle


A vacuum coating apparatus for coating films on the surfaces of objects to be deposited under vacuum is provided with a vacuum deposition chamber, a carrier accommodated in the vacuum deposition chamber for carrying the objects, a rotary mechanism extending through the vacuum deposition chamber and being rotatable with respect to the carrier, and a container mounted on the rotary mechanism and accommodated in the vacuum deposition chamber. The container accommodates a material to be evaporated and is rotated by the rotary mechanism during a deposition operation while the objects are maintained stationary.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum coating apparatus for coating films on the surfaces of electronic components, lenses or the like by evaporating a film material under a vacuum.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a vacuum coating apparatus, a material to be deposited on object surfaces is generally accommodated in a heating element called a "boat" or a crucible and is positioned so as to confront objects to be coated. The material is evaporated by means of resistance heating, high-frequency induction heating or the like. Evaporated particles are then deposited on the object surfaces to form films thereon. Conventionally, in order to form uniform films on the object surfaces, the deposition is performed by rotating the objects confronting the boat or an entire carrier for carrying the objects.
FIG. 1 depicts a conventional vacuum coating apparatus having a vacuum deposition chamber 1, a dish-like boat 10 accommodated in the vacuum deposition chamber 1, a pair of electrodes 11 connected to the boat 10, and a dome 15 in the form of a hemispherical shell disposed above the boat 0 and confronting the boat 10. The boat 10 accommodates a film material V. The electrodes 11 extend through the vacuum deposition chamber 1 and are connected to a power source via a transformer 12 disposed outside of the vacuum deposition chamber 1. A plurality of objects, for example lenses R, are arrayed and supported on the dome 15. The dome 15 is supported at its periphery by a ring gear 13, which is rotatably supported by a bearing mechanism 17 and meshes with a pinion gear 19 driven by a drive motor 16. A sheathed heater or heaters 18 are disposed above the dome 15 so as to cover it.
A through-hole is formed at the center of the dome 15 and a monitoring member M made of, for example, glass is disposed above the through-hole. A film thickness measuring device 14 is disposed outside of the vacuum deposition chamber 1 and above the monitoring member M and measures the thickness of a film deposited on the surface of the monitoring member M in order to grasp the state of films deposited on the surfaces of the lenses R.
In the vacuum coating apparatus having the above-described construction, since the dome 15 rotates along with the heated lenses R, the relative distances between the lenses R and the boat 10 and the directions and the angles of the lenses R relative to the boat 10 vary gradually during a deposition treatment. As a result, coating films of a substantially uniform thickness are formed on the lens surfaces.
The vacuum coating apparatus of the conventional construction is, however, disadvantageous in the installation and removal of the large-sized dome 15 is somewhat troublesome, thus making it difficult to automate the entire vacuum coating operation including the installation and removal of the objects onto and from the dome 15.
This vacuum coating apparatus is also disadvantageous in that replacing the monitoring member M is troublesome. Since the monitoring member M must be replaced by a new one whenever a vacuum deposition operation is completed, replacing of the monitoring member M must be replaced upon the installation and removal of the dome 15. In automating the deposition treatment, it is particularly difficult to supply and properly position a large number of monitoring members M stored at a predetermined location one-by-one because the inside of the vacuum deposition chamber 1 is under a vacuum and is at a high temperature. If a monitoring member M is mounted in advance on the dome 15 on which the lenses R are mounted, rotation of the dome 15 is accompanied by a rotation of the monitoring member M. As a result, it becomes impossible to accurately detect the thickness of a film formed on the monitoring member M from outside of the vacuum deposition chamber 1.
The conventional vacuum coating apparatus is still further disadvantageous in that it is rather difficult to lubricate the bearing mechanism 17 for rotatably supporting the ring gear 13 and the pinion gear 19 through which a driving force from the motor 16 is transmitted to the ring gear 13. More specifically, since the inside of the vacuum deposition chamber 1 is under a high vacuum and is at a high temperature of about 300.degree. C., there is no perfectly satisfactory lubricant or no complete bearing means. It is, therefore, very difficult to maintain the rotation of the dome 15 under a desired condition.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A generic wafer includes memory units separated by scribe lanes. Memory chips of different storage capacities can be produced from different numbers of memory units on the generic wafer by forming one or more interconnect layer specialized according to a desired storage capacity and cutting the wafer using a sawing pattern according to the desired storage capacity. The specialized layer can be formed using different masks sets that form a different conductive pattern for each storage capacity or forming a generic interconnect structure with fuses that are cut to select the storage capacity of the memory chips

This invention relates to semiconductor memories and to the manufacture of semiconductor memories.
Manufacturers of integrated circuit (IC) memory devices such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), and flash memory typically provide different products having different sizes (i.e., different storage capacities). Each memory product generally requires separate development, a unique mask set, and a different manufacturing process. Changing a manufacturing facility from manufacturing one size of memory device to another size of memory device can be time consuming because the mask set and process parameters must be changed. The time required for these changes can reduce manufacturing efficiency and increase the cost of the memory devices. Additionally, the manufacturer of IC memory devices often needs to accurately judge the demand for memory devices of the different sizes. Otherwise, the manufacturer has inventory problems when the demand for memory devices shifts and the manufacturer has too many memory devices of one size and too few of another size.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,406 describes a programmable gate array (PGA) architecture that permits manufacture of gate arrays of different sizes on a single wafer. The PGA architecture includes arrays that can be used alone for small devices or combined with other gate arrays on the same wafer to create larger devices. This permits simultaneous manufacture of gate arrays of different sizes and avoids the down time associated with changing mask sets for separate manufacture of different sizes of gate array devices. The ability to combine different numbers of underlying arrays in different devices allows flexibility in the product mix resulting from the fabrication process. However, such techniques have not been used for memory because input/output requirements of memory, for example, for address, data, and clock signals differ from the input/output requirements of gate arrays, and efficient methods for combining memory units on a wafer have not been known. Accordingly, achieving similar efficiencies in the production of memory devices requires further advances.
The present invention provides methods and structures for manufacturing memory chips of different sizes on a single wafer or using the same masks and processing steps to generate a generic wafer that is adaptable to produce memory chips having a size selected in the final stages of wafer processing. When the generic wafers are fabricated, generic layers form a plurality of memory units. The memory units include memory arrays and peripheral circuitry such as input/output (I/O) circuits, control circuits, decoders, address and data buffers, and/or other peripheral circuits needed in an integrated circuit memory device. In one embodiment, each memory unit alone is not complete but is combined with one or more memory unit to form an IC memory chip. Scribe lanes between the memory units can be left free of active circuitry or may include connecting circuitry between the memory units. Generally, the desired storage capacity of each memory chip determines the area of each chip and whether the wafer will be cut along a scribe lane or the scribe lane will contain connecting circuitry.
When demand requires memory devices of a specific storage capacity, specialized layers, which typically implement electrical interconnections, are fabricated over the generic layers to achieve the demanded storage capacity. The specialized layers interconnect the appropriate number of memory units to function as a single IC memory device. The specialized layers can also disable operation of selected circuit blocks that lie within the area of a chip when the circuit blocks are not required to implement the demanded storage capacity.
One embodiment of the invention is a wafer that includes a plurality of memory units that are separated by the scribe lanes. The memory units are such that forming a first conductive structure on a first set of the memory units and cutting the wafer along the scribe lanes surrounding the first set of memory units forms a complete first memory chip having a first storage capacity. Alternatively, forming a second conductive structure on a second set of the memory units and cutting the wafer along the scribe lanes surrounding the second set of memory units forms a complete second memory chip having a second storage capacity that differs the first storage capacity. Generally, the wafer includes all active circuit elements required for the first or second memory chip, and the conductive structures cross at least one of the scribe lanes to connect active circuit elements in one memory unit to active circuit elements in another memory unit.
The first conductive structure can include a conductive pattern formed with a first mask, while the second conductive structure includes a conductive pattern formed with a second mask.
In one specific embodiment, a fuse structure is connected to the memory units. Forming the first conductive structure in this embodiment includes implementing a first fuse option in the fuse structure. Forming the second conductive structure includes implementing a second fuse option in the fuse structure. Generally, the fuse structure extends across one or more of the scribe lanes to thereby interconnect two or more of the memory units.
Each memory units generally includes memory cores and peripheral circuits, but different memory units can include different peripheral circuits so that when the memory units are used in combination there is less redundancy and so that bonding pad patterns for the different size memory chips are similar. When redundant peripheral circuits are present on the same chip, some of the redundant circuits can be disconnected or otherwise disabled.
The wafer is cut according to the desired size or sizes of memory chips, and each memory chip typically includes an intact scribe lane. Additionally, a larger capacity memory chip can have an edge that would have been inside a smaller memory chip. In particular, such relative positioning of boundaries permits different size memory chips that have similar bonding pad configurations.
Another embodiment of the invention is a memory chip. The memory chip includes a semiconductor substrate and a plurality of generic layers disposed on the semiconductor substrate to form first and second memory units. An interconnect structure connects the first memory unit to the second memory unit and crosses a scribe lane that is intact within the memory chip. The scribe lane corresponds to a region of the substrate and the plurality of layers that lacks active circuit elements and has a width sufficient for a wafer cutting process that separated the integrated memory circuit chip from other integrated memory chips formed in a wafer. The memory chip can further include additional memory units and additional scribe lanes between the memory units.
The memory units in the memory chip may be of two different types. Both types including memory storage arrays, but the different types of memory units include different peripheral circuitry. For example, each of X address buffers, Y address buffer, clock buffers, and control signal buffer may only be implemented in one type of memory unit. The interconnect structure can disable redundant peripheral circuitry.
Another embodiment of the invention is an integrated circuit memory chip including a semiconductor substrate and a plurality of generic layers disposed on the semiconductor substrate to form a first memory unit group and a second memory unit group. Each memory unit group can contain one or more memory units. The first memory unit group includes a first structure such as an address buffer, clock buffer, or control signal buffer that is identical to a second structure in the second memory unit. An interconnect structure that connects the first memory unit group to the second memory unit group disables the first structure in the first memory unit group and enables the second structure in the second memory unit group. Similarly, the first memory unit group may further include a third structure that is identical to a fourth structure in the second memory unit, and the interconnect structure can enable the third structure in the first memory unit group and disable the fourth structure in the second memory unit group. Accordingly, redundant circuitry, which is used when manufacturing smaller capacity memory chips, is disabled for larger capacity memory chips, which contain more memory units.
Another embodiment of the invention is a method for manufacturing an integrated circuit memory. One such method includes processing a wafer to form a plurality of memory units, forming a conductive structure on the memory units, and separating the wafer into memory chips. The conductive structure corresponds to a desired storage capacity and is one of a plurality of alternative conductive structures for the memory units, each of the alternative conductive structures corresponding to a different one of the plurality of storage densities. The sawing pattern for the separation corresponds to the desired storage capacity and is one of a plurality of alternative sawing patterns, each of the alternative sawing patterns corresponding to a different one of the plurality of storage densities.
One very specific embodiment includes a row of memory units separated by a sequence of scribe lanes. In this embodiment, a first of the alternative sawing pattern cuts along every other one of the scribe lanes beginning with a scribe lane that is first in the sequence. A second of the alternative sawing patterns cuts along every fourth of the scribe lanes beginning with a scribe lane that is second in the sequence.

Memory architecture permitting selection of storage density after fabrication of active circuitry


An integrating analog-to-digital converter comprising an integrator, a memory capacitor for memorizing the potential of an integrated output from the integrator, a comparator for comparing the potential memorized in the memory capacitor and the potential of the integrated output divided by a set of potential dividing resistances, a clock pulse generating circuit, a counter for counting the period until the integrated output of the reference voltages passes through a reference level using clock pulses, and a reversible counter for counting the period from when the integrated output passes through the reference level to when the integration is completed, by the clock pulses, and for adding its value to the counted value from the counter as low order digits; wherein the number of digits of AD conversion is increased, and high conversion accuracy and high resolution are realized by enlarging the time period from the reference level crossing point to a clock pulse immediately after the crossing in the reference voltage integrating period, and by counting the time using the clock pulses.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an analog-to-digital converter, such as used for digital voltmeters, digital ohmmeters, and the like; and more particularly, to improvements in the conversion accuracy and resolution of a double integrating analog-to-digital converter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are various conventional analog-to-digital (known as AD) converters which are enhanced to obtain high accuracy and high resolution, such as the triple integrating AD converter. FIG. 5 depicts one example of a triple integral AD converter; and FIGS. 6(A)-6(H) are time charts useful in explaining the operation thereof. In FIGS. 6(A)-6(H), in the initial state (i.e. the state until t1) switches S1, S2, and S3 (of FIG. 5) are switched OFF, a reset switch SR is switched ON and an integrator 14 is reset. Then, switch S1 is switched ON for a predetermined period of time Ti (which is from time t1 to time t2) to integrate a voltage to be measured -Vi. The output of integrator 14 increases in the positive direction as shown in FIG. 6(A). Time period Ti is controlled by counting clock pulses using a counting and switching control circuit 22. Upon reaching time t2, switch S1 is switched OFF and switch S2 is switched ON to integrate a first reference voltage +Vr1 having a reversed polarity to voltage -Vi to be measured. During this period, the time is measured utilizing high speed clock pulses. When the output of integrator 14 reaches a first detection level +VC, it is detected by first level detector 19 as shown in FIG. 6(H) and switch S2 is switched OFF and switch S3 is switched ON in synchronism with the clock pulses.
Thus, a second reference voltage +Vr2, which is lower than first reference voltage +Vr1, is supplied to integrator 14 to be integrated. The output of integrator 14 decreases toward the initial value 0 V with a gentle slope. During period Tr2 (from t3 to t4), the time is measured by low speed clock pulses. When the output of integrator 14 reaches 0 V, it is detected by a second level detector 20 and switch S3 is switched OFF, and reset switch SR is switched ON to end the AD conversion.
Since the amount of charge accumulated during the period t1 to t2 and the amount of charge released durign the period t2 to t4 (i.e. Tr1+Tr2) are equal, the digital value of the voltage to be measured can be found by taking the weighted sum of the number of pulses in period Tr1 and those in period Tr2.
In short, this triple integrating AD converter of FIG. 5 is a system which divides integrating periods by the reference voltages into integration of the first reference voltage and that of the second reference voltage and to integrate roughly in the first half and finely in the second half by making the slope gentle.
However, this conventional system has various disadvantages. For example, it requires two types of clock pulses, two different types of reference voltages having different voltages, and another comparator and comparison level for changing the slope of integration in addition to the comparator for detecting the crossing of the reference level.

Integrating ADC having memory capacitor connected to integrator output and one comparator input and voltage divider connected to integrator output and the other comparator input