A striker device for a firearm of the type having a loading chamber for a munition includes a detonator cap provided with a percussion cap and a translationally movable assembly comprised of a striker equipped with a striker tip and associated with a part or valve in which the striker is axially guided and that is itself guided in axial displacement in a passage of a striker body located to the rear of the loading chamber. The striker and valve are respectively mounted by the front and rear faces of striker body and joined to each other by a removable connector of the bayonet type.

The invention relates to a striker device for a firearm of the type having a loading chamber for a munition whose detonator cap is provided with a percussion cap. The device includes a translationally movable assembly comprised of a striker equipped with a striker tip and associated with a part or valve in which the striker is axially guided and which is itself guided in axial displacement in a passage of a striker body located to the rear of the loading chamber and which has, on one face or front face, a firing pocket against which the detonator cap of the munition is normally applied, and structure for moving the striker between a cocked position in which its striker tip is withdrawn inside the passage of the striker body and a firing position in which its striker tip projects into the firing pocket of the striker body to strike the percussion cap.
A striker device of the aforementioned type is described in particular in Applicant's French patent FR-A2 678 057.
In general, the striker device described in this prior document is equipped with structure allowing for compensation of the relatively large lengthwise play that may exist in the chamber of the weapon between the firing pocket and the munition detonator cap, for example due to the accumulation of dimensional tolerances, and to a differential in thermal expansion and increased humidity when the cases of the munitions are made of nonmetal materials. The play between the firing pocket and the munition detonator cap may when be greater than the projection of the striker tip into the firing pocket, and the munition does not ignite.
However, a striker device is relatively complex because of the large number of parts that must be assembled. As a result, the machining and assembly operations are delicate and must be carried out by skilled personnel.


A liquid crystal display device in which a touch panel is embedded in a liquid crystal panel, which reduces the number of processes and eases assembly. The liquid crystal display device includes first and second substrates opposite each other, a thin film transistor array formed on the first substrate, a touch sensing part formed on the second substrate including a plurality of transparent X electrodes, a plurality of transparent Y electrodes orthogonally intersecting each other and a first transparent insulating film between the X electrodes and the Y electrodes, a color filter array formed on the touch sensing part, and a liquid crystal layer formed between the thin film transistor array and the color filter array.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display device, wherein a touch panel is embedded in a liquid crystal panel, contributing to a reduction in the number of processes and easy assembling.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As society becomes increasingly information dependent, a display field, wherein electrical information signals are visually displayed, is being developed rapidly. As such, a variety of flat panel display devices having outstanding performances, such as a thin thickness, light weight and low consumption of electricity, have been developed and have rapidly replaced conventional Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs).
Examples of flat panel display devices include, for example, Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Plasma Panel Display (PDP), Field Emission Display (FED) and Electro-Luminescence Display (ELD) devices, etc. These devices commonly include, as an essential element, a flat display panel to form an image. The flat display panel is configured such that a pair of transparent insulating substrates is bonded to face each other with an inherent illuminating or polarizing material layer interposed therebetween.
Of the above-mentioned display devices, an LCD device is designed to display an image by adjusting light transmissivity of liquid crystals using an electric field. For this, the LCD device includes a display panel having liquid crystal cells, a backlight unit to irradiate light to the display panel, and drive circuits to drive the liquid crystal cells.
The display panel is provided with a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines, which intersect each other to define a plurality of unit pixel regions. In this case, each pixel region consists of a thin-film transistor array substrate and color filter array substrate opposite each other, spacers located between the two substrates to maintain a cell gap, and liquid crystals filled in the cell gap.
The thin-film transistor array substrate includes the gate lines and data lines, thin-film transistors as switching devices formed at intersections of the gate lines and data lines, pixel electrodes arranged per liquid crystal cell and connected to the thin-film transistors, and an alignment film coated over all the above elements. Signals from the drive circuits are supplied to the gate lines and data lines through respective pads.
The thin-film transistors supply pixel voltage signals, to the pixel electrodes, in response to signals supplied to the data lines and in response to scan signals supplied to the gate lines.
The color filter array substrate includes color filters arranged per liquid crystal cell, a black matrix for division of the color filters and refraction of outside light, a common electrode to commonly supply a reference voltage to the liquid crystal cells, and an alignment film coated over all the above elements.
After the thin-film transistor substrate and color filter array substrate, which are fabricated separately, are aligned, the thin-film transistor substrate and color filter array substrate are bonded to face each other, and liquid crystals are injected and sealed, to thereby complete the display panel.
The demand for the addition of a touch panel to the LCD device fabricated as described above is increasing. A touch panel is designed to sense a touch position of person's hand or other input means and transmit information in response to the sensed touch position. Currently, such a touch panel has been attached to an outer surface of the LCD device.
Hereinafter, a conventional touch panel attached LCD device will be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a conventional touch panel attached LCD device.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional touch panel attached LCD device includes a liquid crystal panel 10 which consists of first and second substrates 1 and 2 respectively, a liquid crystal layer 3 filled between the substrates 1 and 2 and first and second polarizers 4a and 4b, respectively, attached to rear surfaces of the first and second substrates 1 and 2, a touch panel 20 which is placed on the liquid crystal panel 10 and is driven in a capacitive manner, and a cover glass 30 to protect the top of the touch panel 20.
Provided on the first substrate 1 of the liquid crystal panel 10 is a Thin-Film-Transistor (TFT) array consisting of gate lines and data lines intersecting each other to define pixel regions, TFTs formed at intersections of the gate lines and data lines, and pixel electrodes in the respective pixel regions (not shown).
Provided on the second substrate 2 is a color filter array consisting of a black matrix layer, a color filter layer and a common electrode.
The interior configuration of the touch panel 20 is changed according to a driving manner of the touch panel. For example, in the case of a capacitive touch panel designed to sense a touch position via a capacitance variation at a touch point, first and second electrodes intersecting each other are provided to enable sensing via a capacitance value variation between the electrodes.
To protect the touch panel 20, the cover glass 30 is provided on the top of the touch panel 20.
The above-described conventional touch panel attached LCD device requires an adhesive layer (not shown) between the touch panel 20 and the liquid crystal panel 10 because the touch panel 20 is formed as a sheath of the liquid crystal panel 10. In this case, the liquid crystal panel 10 and touch panel 20 must be fabricated separately, and there is a need for a process for attaching the touch panel 20 and the liquid crystal panel 10 to each other.
Problems of the above-described conventional touch panel attached LCD device will be described.
The touch panel is provided as a sheath of the liquid crystal panel and therefore, an adhesive layer must be provided between the touch panel and the liquid crystal panel. This inevitably requires an additional attachment process. Further, if the touch panel and liquid crystal panel are misaligned, it is difficult to separate the touch panel attached to the liquid crystal panel, and forcible separation may damage the touch panel.
In addition, the attachment of the adhesive layer between the touch panel and the liquid crystal panel has a risk of increasing process time and costs due to an increased number of processes.
With the configuration of the touch panel being attached to the liquid crystal panel, the entire LCD device has a total thickness of at least the touch panel, liquid crystal panel, a module surrounding the liquid crystal panel, and a cover glass. Assuming that such a touch panel attached LCD device is used in small devices such as cellular phones, the thick thickness of the entire LCD device becomes a burden.

Liquid crystal display device including touch panel


A rotation rate detecting apparatus that includes a rotation rate calculating unit configured to calculate a rotation rate of a pedal in a riding apparatus having the pedal rotating by pedaling operation of a user, based on sensor information of an acceleration sensor. The rotation rate calculating unit calculates a rotation rate based on information corresponding to acceleration in a traveling direction of the riding apparatus or a roll direction with respect to the traveling direction in association with movement of the user or the riding apparatus.

In the past, as a technology for detecting information regarding cycling of a bike, a technology of detecting a rotation rate of a pedal is known. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology in which a crank rotation sensor is attached to a chain stay of a bike, which faces a pedal, a magnet is attached to the pedal, and a magnetic field line of the magnet which revolves in accordance with rotation of the pedal is detected for each revolution of the crank. Patent Literature 1 describes that a detection value of the crank rotation sensor is transmitted to a display apparatus, or the like, using a wireless communication apparatus. Further, Patent Literature 2 discloses a technology in which a rotation rate of a pedal is detected using angular velocity detected by an angular velocity sensor attached to a bike.

Rotation rate detecting apparatus and rotation rate detecting method


On an open-end spinning machine having a plurality of spinning units arranged in a row, a servicing apparatus is movably arranged on which cleaning elements are provided which can be applied to the environment of an opening roller and therefore clean it. A control device is assigned to the cleaning elements which controls a first cleaning operation when servicing apparatus is moving and a second cleaning operation when the servicing apparatus is stopped. Thus, a cleaning is possible which is adapted to the moving condition of the servicing apparatus.

This invention relates to open-end spinning machine having a plurality of spinning units arranged in a row which each comprise an opening roller, to the environment of which cleaning elements of a movable servicing apparatus can be applied while the spinning operation is not interrupted.
In the case of such a spinning machine, the area of the spinning units, particularly the area of the opening roller, must be cleaned at regular intervals in order to minimize the danger of yarn breakages. If this cleaning takes place manually, a group of three to four persons per machine needs at least half a day and the spinning operation must be interrupted in this case. During the spinning operation, the yarn breakage situation deteriorates continuously because of the accumulating dirt.
On the basis of the German Patent Document DE-A 24 58 538, it is known to clean the dirt collecting chamber assigned to an opening roller without any significant impairment of the spinning operation. For this purpose, connection openings for blowing and suction devices as well as possibly mechanical elements are provided on the covering of the opening roller. The cleaning operation takes place while the servicing apparatus is stopped. In the case of another known embodiment, which is described in the above-mentioned text, additional areas may also be cleaned while the spinning unit is stopped, for example, the opening roller itself as well as a fiber feeding duct leading from the opening roller to the spinning rotor.
From the German Patent Document DE-PS 23 50 840, an open-end spinning machine with a movable servicing apparatus is known. In this case, the servicing apparatus is divided into structural components. While one structural component eliminates a yarn breakage on a stopped spinning unit, the other structural component can carry out preparatory work, such as a cleaning operation, on an adjacent stopped spinning unit.
The European Patent Document EP-A 0 259 622 describes a programmable suction device for use on an open-end spinning machine. The suction device is arranged to be movable along the spinning units of the spinning machine. Predetermined elements of the spinning station are subjected to suction while the suction device is stopped. As a programming variant for this suction device, it is suggested in this patent text that the suction device in one operating cycle vacuums, for example, only the elements which are most susceptible to becoming dusty and, in a subsequent operating cycle, a more comprehensive cleaning is carried out.
On the basis of the German Patent Document DE-A 26 58 441, it is finally known to provide a cleaning head on a movable cleaning device which can be applied to a spinning unit and which, in turn, is stripped by cleaning devices of the movable apparatus.
It is an object of the invention to suggest an openend spinning machine of the initially mentioned type in which, during the moving operation of the servicing apparatus as well as when this servicing apparatus is stopped, a cleaning of the environment of the opening roller can be carried out while the spinning operation is not interrupted.
According to the invention, this object is achieved in that a control device is assigned to the cleaning elements which controls a first cleaning operation when the servicing apparatus is moving and a second cleaning operation when the servicing apparatus is stopped.
By means of this development, it is possible to adapt the cleaning operation to the moving condition of the servicing apparatus. This takes the circumstance into account that the cleaning while the servicing apparatus is moving must be carried out in a different manner than while it is stopped. By means of the preventive cleaning of the environment of the opening roller, which is carried out during the spinning operation, it is achieved that the yarn breakage situation resulting from accumulating dirt can be improved significantly. In addition, the servicing apparatus is utilized better because cleaning operations can be carried out while it is moving as well as while it is stopped.
In a further development, the cleaning operation while the servicing apparatus is stopped is designed for an intensive cleaning, and the cleaning operation while the servicing apparatus is moving is designed for a less intensive cleaning. When the servicing apparatus is stopped, that is, particularly during the elimination of a yarn breakage at an adjacent spinning station, cleaning measures can be carried out which are not possible when the servicing apparatus is moving. For example, while the servicing apparatus is stopped, cleaning elements can be introduced into the depth of the area surrounding the opening roller. It should be noted that the cleaning while the servicing apparatus is stopped has nothing in common with the cleaning of a spinning station which as a rule precedes, for example, the elimination of a yarn breakage. The invention relates to cleaning operations which are carried out preventively while the spinning operation is not interrupted.
In an advantageous development, the control device is constructed to be programmable by means of at least two control programs. A first control program is used for the control of the cleaning elements during a cleaning operation carried out while the servicing apparatus is moving. In contrast, the second control program controls the cleaning operation while the servicing apparatus is stopped.
It may advantageously be provided that the servicing apparatus is equipped with at least two different cleaning elements, in which case a first cleaning element is designed for the cleaning operation while the servicing apparatus is moving, and another cleaning element is designed for the cleaning operation when the servicing apparatus is stopped. As a result, it is achieved that for the cleaning operation while the servicing apparatus is moving, different cleaning elements are available than for the cleaning operation while the servicing apparatus is stopped. The control device assigned to the cleaning elements controls the cleaning elements as a function of the moving condition of the servicing apparatus. In this case, a signal which indicates the moving condition of the servicing apparatus is tapped, for example, from the driving motor of the servicing apparatus and is fed to the control device controlling the cleaning elements.
In this case, it may advantageously be provided that the cleaning element which is used when the servicing apparatus is moving is constructed with at least one pneumatic element, and the cleaning element which is used when the servicing apparatus is stopped is constructed with at least one pneumatic and/or mechanical element. Pneumatic elements are suction and blowing devices which are connected with an air-carrying pipe. The mechanical elements to be used may have different constructions. In particular, a stripping wheel, a roll-picker needle or a brush may be used for the intensive cleaning of the environment of the opening roller. When the servicing apparatus is moving, only pneumatic elements are used, while when the servicing apparatus is stopped, it is also possible to use such mechanical elements. When the servicing apparatus is stopped, these may be introduced deep into the area to be cleaned.
In an advantageous development, the different cleaning elements are assigned to one cleaning head respectively which is pivotally arranged on the servicing apparatus. As a function of the moving condition of the servicing apparatus, the respective cleaning head is guided to the area to be cleaned.
Accordingly, one cleaning head respectively is provided for the moving operation of the servicing apparatus and one cleaning head is provided for the stoppage of the servicing apparatus.
The stripping of the cleaning elements, particularly of dirt particles and fiber residues adhering to them, advantageously takes place by the application of a cleaning element which strips the cleaning elements. This may advantageously be constructed inside the servicing apparatus as a stripping cleaning head.
In a further development, it may be provided that the cleaning element for the cleaning operation when the servicing apparatus is stopped can be applied to a spinning unit which is adjacent to the spinning unit serviced by the cleaning arrangement. While the spinning unit to be serviced is rendered inoperative, a preventive cleaning may be carried out at the adjacent operative spinning unit. Since the servicing apparatus is stopped, the cleaning operation can be carried out intensively; that is, particularly by using pneumatic and mechanical elements.
Furthermore, it is contemplated that the position of the cleaning elements can be programmed to be variable with respect to the areas to be cleaned. As a result, it is advantageously achieved that an extensive environment of the opening roller can be subjected to a cleaning operation. By changing the position of the cleaning elements, additional cleaning elements are not required. It may, for example, be provided to control a roll-picker needle with its bearing and its drive in such a manner that during each cycle it cleans a different part of the spinning unit. In this case, the control may be developed in such a manner that such a roll-picker needle can be inserted even when the servicing apparatus is moving. When the roll-picker needle is pivotally held in the servicing arrangement, it is possible to give the roll-picker needle a different direction at desirable time intervals. For example, first the area below a trough table assigned to a feeding roller can be cleaned, while, during a further pass, the roll-picker needle removes fly residue which always catches in the proximity of the feeding hopper. In the case of a third pass, for example, a particularly endangered point of a dirt discharge opening assigned to the opening roller could be serviced.
In a further development of this invention, it may advantageously be provided that the control program assigned to the moving operation can be changed during each cycle of the servicing apparatus. This may take place for example by a signal emitter mounted on the open-end spinning machine which comes in contact with it during each cycle of the servicing apparatus.
In a further development, the area of the opening roller of each spinning unit is freely accessible for the cleaning elements. As a result, a cleaning is achieved that is not hindered particularly when the servicing apparatus is moving. In the case of one embodiment, only the front-face area of the opening roller is provided with a covering. In contrast, the area arranged below the opening roller is freely accessible to the cleaning elements.
In a further development of the invention, the area of the opening roller is provided with a covering that can be swivelled away. The swivelling-away of the covering advantageously takes place by means of the servicing apparatus.
Furthermore, it may be advantageous for the cleaning element, when the servicing apparatus is moving, to be provided with a suction bell which is constructed to surround the area to be cleaned. During the stripping operation, such a suction bell permits the covering of the respective spinning station so that mechanically stripped dirt particles can be caught securely. In this case, the cleaning elements for the moving operation of the servicing apparatus are advantageously arranged inside the suction bell.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


The illustrated and preferred embodiment of the present invention is a sample delivery system for packed or open tubular column gas chromatographic apparatus. The apparatus comprises a sample injection valve constructed and arranged to utilize multiple ports wherein a gaseous or liquid sample is injected through a syringe into an injection port, the valve being heated to volatilize the sample which is then temporarily stored in a sample storage loop. The valve apparatus rotates to connect the sample storage loop with an inlet conduit delivering the sample and sweep gas to an exponential dilution flask (EDF). The flask provides an output which delivers a diluted portion of sample with the extent of dilution controlled as a function of time through a second valve assembly. The second valve assembly is switched with a timer to deliver a portion of the sample flow and sweep gas to a capillary bore gas chromatographic apparatus. The first valve may also be used independently as an off-line, septumless inlet for use with packed columns without the dilution stage.

Gas chromatographic apparatus utilizing capillary columns is an extremely successful analytical device in the chemical laboratory. Such a device provides very sharp separation between similar compounds, large theoretical plate count and relatively rapid analysis speed. It utilizes a capillary column which has an inside diameter typically less than 0.5 millimeter in diameter. Columns of this sort are extremely valuable in providing very critical separations of similar compounds, but there are great difficulties in preparing the materials for delivery to the column. One difficulty is acquiring a sample sufficiently small to achieve optimal separation of constitutent components. In many instances, even where the material to be analyzed is quite small in quantity, the material must be handled in a rather gross fashion in comparison with the size of the necessary sample required for the column. It is common practice to inject an oversized sample into an inlet splitter apparatus. Some sample is always wasted which, in and of itself, is not highly desirable, but, more importantly, it is difficult to know what portion of the excessive or oversized sample has been split into the column and what portion has been wasted. Most importantly, the ratio of splitting varies somewhat with changing molecular weights of sample constituents. Some measure of proportionality must be known in advance so that sample size delivery to the column is properly controlled.
In a typical situation, the size of the sample is only a minute portion of a liter, even as small as 10.0 nanoliters. Nanoliter specimens are so small as to be usually impossible to obtain from a sample delivery system other than through the use of sample splitters and the like.
An early sample splitter utilized a type of passage with a large outlet and a small outlet. The large outlet carries away the bulk of the sample, and, hopefully, the remaining portion passing through the small outlet is precisely controlled so that the capillary column apparatus receives a known percentage of the gross sample delivered to the splitter. There have been other systems for splitless injection which are well documented in the literature. References can be consulted for various known techniques for attempting to obtain a portion of a sample free of bias arising from molecular weight.
There has been some difficulty in achieving analysis of liquids with low boiling point constitutents. The difficulty is not in the testing, per se, but, rather, in the delivery of a specimen of precise volume measure. As an example, if a specimen is maintained in a liquid state under pressure within a syringe prior to injection, a problem later arises in that injection through an elastomeric septum at high temperatures results in fractionation of the sample. Error as a result of fractional vaporization is increased when the light sample constituents partially vaporize and heavier constituents partially remain in liquid or solid form in the syringe needle after injection. This error is randomized by variations in the time the syringe remains in the inlet port.
The present invention is an apparatus which overcomes this by providing a method and an apparatus whereby the injected sample is intentionally vaporized off-line into an open loop before introduction to the separation column. Sample introduction to the gas chromatographic column is then effected either directly or after dilution and an additional sampling stage.
The present invention is uniquely able to handle these problems. Additionally, it simplifies other existing methods by reducing the complexity of preconcentration and solvent stripping techniques, while permitting introduction of smaller, but more quantitative samples.

Sample introduction apparatus for gas chromatographic analysis using packed or capillary bore open tubular columns and method of testing


An ultraviolet risk indicator instrument comprising a dial and a shadow projection device on it, the dial having colored areas that indicate different UV risks, defined by lines of declination (solstices and equinoxes) and solar hour lines calculated based on the transformation of the Hour Coordinates of the Sun (Hour Angle and Declination) in a 3D Cartesian Coordinate System, whose origin is the tip of the shadow projection device (being a polar style parallel to the rotation axis of the Earth, or a straight style perpendicular to the dial plane) using matrix calculations to produce the necessary rotations of the system, taking into account the latitude of the place, the declination and inclination of the dial. The style may be a rod or a triangular shape. The tip of the style is the focus or point of view of a gnomonic projection, where the Sun is the “point” of space to be projected, the dial is the projection plane and the projected point is the shadow point, whose coordinates (x,y) in the dial plane are calculated. Hour lines for local solar time in the dial are calculated, converging to the intersection of a polar style with the dial, the lines of declination of solstices and equinoxes and the position on the dial plane of the shadow cast by the tip of the style. The shadow point moves according to the annual and diurnal variation of the altitude of the Sun crossing different sectors of the dial.

The ULTRAVIOLET RISK INDICATOR (UVRI) is intended to warn people about the damage to human health which may result from exposure to UV radiation of the solar spectrum, depending on the altitude of the sun in the sky and its relationship with the intensity of UV radiation at a particular place and time. UV solar radiation also depends on other factors, such as the stratospheric ozone layer, the presence of clouds, latitude of the place, elevation above sea level, and reflection of solar radiation from the surface of Earth. The instrument basically consists of a dial with a shadow projection device on it (a polar or straight stylus). The polar stylus is parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. The straight stylus is perpendicular to the dial and shows areas of different colors indicating different degrees of UV risk. The dial is defined by lines of declination (solstices or equinoxes) and solar hour lines calculated on the basis of the transformation of Solar Hour Coordinates (Hour Angle and Declination) in the 3D Cartesian Coordinates System, whose origin is the tip of the stylus (polar or straight), using a matrix calculation to produce rotations of the coordinate system that take into account the latitude of the place, declination (orientation) and inclination of the dial. In general, the style is a rod or triangular shape, whose parameters are calculated, the tip of the style is the projection focus or point of view of a gnomonic projection, where the "point" of space to be projected is the sun. The dial is the plane projection, and the point projected is the "shadow point". The coordinates of the shadow point (x,y) of an orthogonal coordinate system located in the plane of the dial are calculated.
Apart from the hour lines of the local solar time, which will be concurrent to the so-called center of the dial, the declination lines of the solstices and equinoxes and the location on the dial plane of the shadow projected by the end of the projection device (polar or perpendicular) are calculated, which moves according to the annual and diurnal variation of the altitude of the sun crossing different sectors of the dial, with different colors indicating the degree of risk of UV radiation at the instant of the observation.
There are no known instruments like the UV RISK INDICATOR for the purpose of providing information in real time in situ about the solar UV radiation risk, in a simple form and which is available to any observer, even a child, since normally the operation, reading and interpretation of data from radiometers, spectroradiometers and dosimeter instruments for measuring the intensity of solar or UV radiation is reserved for qualified technicians. There are also organizations in different countries, usually meteorological services that report the UV Index based on measurements with spectroradiometers or broadband detectors. For prediction of a UV Index a radiative transfer model is required with input of total ozone from ground-based spectroradiometers or from satellites, and the aerosol optical properties. According to the country, this type of warning is not always taken into account by people when they are gauging appropriate sun protection, and there is a general lack of knowledge about the critical values of UV radiation.
1.1. Extraterrestrial Radiation
The solar radiation incidence outside the atmosphere of the Earth is the extraterrestrial radiation (FIGS. 1 and 2).Io=1367*(Rm/R)2 W/m2
Io extraterrestrial irradiance (FIG. 2)
Rm mean distance Sun-Earth
R actual distance Sun-Earth
An approximate equation (Rm/R)2 is:(Rm/R)2=1.00011+0.034221*cos+0.001280*sin+0.000719*cos(2*β)+0.000077*sin(2*β)β=2*pi*n/365 radians
n day of the year
The Earth has an elliptical orbit around the sun that is located in one focus of the ellipse (Kepler's 1st Law). The maximum value of extraterrestrial irradiance (1414.9 W/m2) occurs each year on the perihelion, in early January, when the distance Earth-Sun is minimal. The minimum irradiance (1321.3 W/m2) is reached on the aphelion, in early July, when the distance Earth-Sun is at its maximum point. The average value of extraterrestrial irradiance is 1367.1 W/m2.
The highest values of extraterrestrial radiation coincide with the summer in the Southern Hemisphere (winter in the Northern Hemisphere). The lowest values occur when it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere (summer in the Northern Hemisphere).
1.2. Electromagnetic Spectrum
RadiationWavelengthEnergyType(nm)(%)Infrared>70049.4Visible400-70042.3UVA400-3206.3UVB320-2901.5UVC<2900.5Total100.0
The table above shows the distribution of solar irradiance energy. The ultraviolet radiation can be subdivided into UVA, UVB and UVC and is a specific part of the spectrum, which represents only 8.3% of total energy. Most of the radiation is in the visible and infrared zone (FIG. 3).
The UVA radiation includes the wavelength range between 320 and 400 nm and it is absorbed to a small extent by the ozone layer in the stratosphere of the Earth. The UVB radiation, with wavelengths between 290 and 320 nm, is mostly absorbed by the stratospheric ozone. The UVC radiation is characterized by wavelengths shorter than 290 nm and it is completely absorbed by the ozone.
The radiation reaching the Earth is largely composed by UVA and a small amount of UVB radiation. This is the part of the spectrum that may affect human beings if they are exposed for a long time to sunlight.
1.3. UV Index
The UV Index is a daily forecast of the amount of skin damaging UV radiation which is expected to reach the surface of the Earth when the altitude of the Sun at its maximum point in the sky.
The amount of UV radiation reaching surface of the Earth is mainly influenced by the altitude of the Sun above the horizon of a place, the ozone levels in the stratosphere and the cloud cover. The UV Index ranges from 0 at night hours to 15 or 16 on the tropics and high places under clear skies.
1.4. Diurnal Variability of UV Radiation
FIG. 4 shows Diurnal Variation of Ultraviolet Radiation Erithemal Dose Rate mW/m2 (ordinates), Local Solar Time (abscissas)
The UV radiation and its likelihood to affect skin are highest when the Sun reaches its maximum altitude in the sky or solar noon (zenith distance z=0), and it decreases rapidly as the Sun approaches the horizon (FIG. 4).
FIG. 5 shows the diurnal variation of UV solar radiation and its likelihood to affect skin for different latitudes in Northern Hemisphere and summer solstice. The UV radiation presents strong variations between 08:00 and 16:00 approximately of local solar time for latitudes 20° N and 40° N, and an attenuated variation for latitude 60° N, with a maximum value at solar noon much higher for the first two. The hour angle ±4 h (±60°) of the Sun corresponds to 16:00 and 08:00 h of true solar time, westward and eastward respectively measured from transit or solar noon.
1.5. UV Radiation and the Altitude of Sun
The amount of ozone crossed by solar radiation depends on the concentration in the atmosphere, the altitude above sea level and the angle of the Sun over the horizon of a place.
The higher the altitude above sea level (mountain) the shorter the path of the radiation in the atmosphere, which therefore results in an increase in the irradiance.
If the sun is low over the horizon (FIG. 6), that is, if there is a large zenith distance, the greater is the path of solar radiation in the atmosphere and the amount of stratospheric ozone that must be crossed is longer, therefore the level of irradiance at this point on the surface of the Earth is lower.
If zenith distance z=0 the Sun is directly above the place (zenith), that situation is only possible for latitudes between 23.44° N and 23.44° S, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn respectively.


Pure L-cystine is recovered from a mixture with other aminoacids by fractional crystallization in presence of acids and water from an alcoholic medium.

The invention is directed to a process for the recovery of pure L-cystine from a mixture with other aminoacids by fractional crystallization in the presence of acids and water.
It is known to separate cystine from a mixture of aminoacids by fractional crystallization. To separate the cystine, especially from tyrosine, the crystallization takes place from dilute aqueous hydrochloric acid with addition of sodium acetate (Org. Syntheses 5 (1925) 39-41). Cystine also is separated from tyrosine and leucine by crystallization from concentrated aqueous hydrochloric acid and from glutamic acid in neutral aqueous medium (German Pat. No. 907,175). The disadvantage of these processes is that a pure cystine free from tyrosine can be produced only with considerable expense or with moderate yields.

Process for the recovery of pure L-cystine

Deutsche Gold- und Silber-Scheideanstalt vormals Roessler


A ferroelectric memory device according to the present invention comprises a plurality of bit lines carrying data signals and voltage signals, every adjacent two of the bit lines being paired to form a plurality of bit line pairs; sense amplifiers connected to each of the bit line pairs; a plurality of memory cells for storing data, each memory cell having a first capacitor and a first switching element, the first capacitor being connected to one of the bit lines via the first switching element, wherein the first capacitor includes a capacitor insulating film, at least one portion of the capacitor insulating film being formed of a ferroelectric material; a plurality of dummy cells for storing a reference voltage, each dummy cell having a second capacitor and a second switching element, the second capacitor being connected to one of the bit lines via the second switching element, wherein the second capacitor includes the capacitor insulating film at least one portion of the capacitor insulating film being formed of a ferroelectric material; a first common electrode line for controlling a voltage to be applied to the first capacitor; a second common electrode line for controlling a voltage to be applied to the second capacitor; a first word line for controlling the first switching element; and a second word line for controlling the second switching element, wherein a plurality of the memory cells and at least one of the dummy cells are connected to each bit line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for driving a ferroelectric memory device, and more particularly to a method for driving a non-volatile semiconductor memory device in which a memory cell for storing data has a capacitor insulating film made from a ferroelectric material.
2. Description of the Related Art
An EPROM and an EEPROM have been put to practical use as a non-volatile memory device among semiconductor memory devices, and used for various kinds of personal computers and information apparatus.
A memory device using the EPROM, the EEPROM, or the like needs a time period for reading data the same as that of a RAM (a DRAM or a SRAM); however, the memory device needs a time period for writing or erasing data which is much longer than that of the RAM by some orders.
The EPROM should be irradiated with ultra violet rays in order to erase data. Thus, it is not easy to incorporate the EPROM into a device. Further, the EPROM should be wrapped with an expensive ceramic package having a quartz window through which ultra violet rays are irradiated. On the other hand, the EEPROM needs a higher voltage or a negative voltage for writing and erasing data. Thus, the EEPROM involves the inconvenience that another power supply is required for writing and erasing data, apart from a power supply for driving the memory device.
In order to solve these problems, a ferroelectric memory device in which a memory cell capacitor has an insulating film made of a ferroelectric substance film has been proposed. FIG. 11 shows a ferroelectric memory device in accordance with a conventional technique (the extended drafts of the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), 1989, p. 242). In this conventional memory device, each memory cell includes two ferroelectric capacitors and two switching transistors. A junction point of two ferroelectric capacitors is connected to a drive line. The memory device is driven by a so-called destructive reading method, and reading/writing data is accompanied with polarization inversion in the ferroelectric film of the capacitor.
When data is written into the memory cell, a + signal and a - signal are given to respective bit lines of each pair of bit lines and the two ferroelectric capacitors are polarized in the opposite direction, respectively. When data is read out from the memory cell, the bit lines are grounded and a pulse voltage is applied to the drive lines. Then, due to the difference in polarization directions of the capacitor insulating films, i.e. whether polarization inversion is caused or not, the potential difference is caused between the bit lines. The potential difference is amplified by a sense amplifier and a signal corresponding to stored data is detected.
In the above-mentioned conventional technique, two ferroelectric capacitors and two switching transistors are required for each memory cell (i.e. 1 bit), so that a chip area of 1 bit memory cell becomes quite large. In order to improve cost competitiveness, however, the chip area should be substantially equivalent to that of the EEPROM, the DRAM, and the like. For this purpose, a 1 capacitor-- 1 transistor structure is required for 1 memory cell.
Further, in the conventional technique, due to the destructive-reading, the possible number of times for reading-out from the memory cell is restricted by the operative life time of the ferroelectric film, i.e. the possible number of times for polarization inversion to obtain sufficient polarization. In current ferroelectric materials and process techniques, the operative life time of the ferroelectric film is in the range of 10.sup.9 to 10.sup.11 times. However, polarization inversion of 10.sup.15 times or more is required in order to use the device for 10 years. Thus, in the conventional techniques, the ferroelectric memory device cannot be available for practical use with a practical operative life time. Accordingly, it is preferable to use a method without polarization inversion for ordinary read/write operations.

Driving circuit of a ferroelectric memory device and a method for driving the same


An apparatus and method are provided for performing a sequence of verification tests to verify the design of a data processing system. The apparatus comprises a system under verification representing the design of the data processing system, the system under verification including a component model representing at least one hardware component of the data processing system. The component model includes an interface module through which the component model interacts with other portions of the system under verification during performance of the verification tests. An alternative model is provided for representing the hardware component for selected verification tests, and the interface module comprises a verification interface module which is responsive to switch criteria specified by the alternative model to switch in the alternative model in place of the component model. Accordingly, by such an approach, the alternative model can take the place of the component model during performance of the selected verification tests. This maintains system integrity of the system under verification, whilst providing a simple and effective mechanism for enabling the alternative model to take the place of the component model for certain specific verification tests, for example when testing corner cases in the design.

The ability to effectively and efficiently test and/or validate designs is becoming increasingly important. Typical data processing system designs are rapidly increasing in complexity and furthermore are including circuit blocks designed by a variety of different sources or companies. So called system-on-chip (SoC) designs that integrate a large number of functional elements on a single integrated circuit have strong advantages in terms of cost and performance, but require significant amounts of validation and testing before the designs can be reliably released for manufacture. This validation and testing requirement is becoming a bottleneck in getting new systems into the market place. Consequently, measures that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of such validation and testing of designs are strongly advantageous.
One known approach that can be used to seek to validate a SoC design is to construct a system under verification representing the design of the data processing system to be tested, where the system under verification includes a number of models modelling particular parts of the system design. The system under verification may include a component model representing one or more hardware components of the data processing system, and this component model may be coupled via an interface module with other portions of the system under verification.
Sequences of verification tests can then be performed upon the system under verification to cause various transactions to take place between different portions of the system in order to test correct operation, each transaction defining one or more transfers between specified portions of the system. However, it can be difficult to efficiently verify corner cases (i.e. problems or situations that occur only outside of normal operating parameters) in a system design purely by performing sequences of transactions within the system under verification. Accordingly, it is known to seek to verify corner cases by substituting one or more component models with transactors, a transactor being a simplified model which can be viewed externally as modelling the same hardware component(s) as the component model which it is substituted for, but which internally is significantly simplified, and designed specifically to perform one or more test actions which can be provided to seek to test and verify corner cases in the system design.
One example of such a transactor is an eXtensible Verification Component (XVC) which can be arranged to execute certain test scenarios. Often a number of XVCs may be substituted into the design, with the actions of the separate XVCs being coordinated by a test manager. The test actions performed by the XVCs can take a variety of forms, and hence for example considering an XVC used to represent a master device, that XVC may perform test actions to either drive directed FRBM (File Reader BUS Master) format vectors onto an associated bus, or to generate random patterns of transfers constrained by a user configuration file. FRBM is an ARM Limited proprietary format used to stimulate AMBA bus signals, for example AHB, APB or AXI, in order to perform read and write transfers on a bus interconnect.
Transactors such as the above XVC components can often provide a more direct route to exercising design corner cases than would be the case if instead a particular component model is used, and this can enable verification closure to be completed more efficiently. However, one disadvantage of such an approach is that system integrity is potentially compromised at each stage of the verification process due to the absence of the actual component models that have been substituted. In particular, due to the substitution of a component model with such a transactor, the revised system under verification then less precisely models the actual design of the data processing system seeking to be verified. Another disadvantage is that it is often very time consuming for a verification engineer to produce a set of test vectors to be executed by the transactor to place the system into a given state ready for testing.
The article "Integrating Verification Components" by Leonardo de Moura et al, Computer Science Laboratory, SRI International, appearing on the Internet at http://vstte.ethz.ch/Files/demoura-owre-ruess-rushby-shankar.pdf, discusses the merits of directly connected or embedded verification components. Verification components replace system components for DUT (Device under Test) testing, and are analogous to the ARM XVC methodology discussed earlier.
The article "Spying on Components: A Runtime Verification Technique", by Mike Barneff et al, Microsoft Research, appearing on the Internet at http://research.microsoft.com/users/schulte/Papers/SpyingOnComponents(savcbs2001) .pdf, discusses the use of runtime monitors to check the specification of a component.
The CADI interface developed by ARM Limited, Cambridge, United Kingdom, in connection with its RealView SoC Designer product provides an interface to a model that allows a debugger to access the internal state of the model and perform memory access to the rest of the system. These memory accesses should not change the internal state of the system e.g. cache state, cycle count, or bus state. However a write access to memory or an internal register will change the state of that memory location or register.
In the field of testing designs at an RTL (Register Transfer Language) level, ARM Limited developed a RealView modelling environment which included a test interface controller (TIC). The TIC can be used as a bus master in a system in order to inject test vectors, and hence is essentially a verification component that connects to the system bus and is controlled via an external control mechanism outside of the system under test. Further discussion of the TIC module can be found in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,488.
It would be desirable to provide an improved technique for verifying a design of a data processing system which enables effective testing of corner cases whilst alleviating impact on system integrity whilst performing such testing.

Apparatus and method for performing a sequence of verification tests to verify a design of a data processing system


An integrated circuit includes a digital signal processor (DSP) and an error correction co-processor (ECCP) that implements a Viterbi decoding function. The DSP and ECCP share a block of multi-port memory, typically by bus multiplexing a dual-port RAM. When the ECCP possesses the RAM, it inhibits the DSP from accessing that block of the RAM by asserting an EBUSY flag. This technique conserves and optimizes the RAM usage, allowing the DSP and ECCP to advantageously be formed on the same integrated circuit chip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated circuit having a digital processor, a Viterbi decoder, and a shared memory.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Viterbi decoders are used in signal processing applications to give an improved estimate of a received digital signal sequence in the face of channel noise. For example, cellular telephones are increasingly moving to digital transmission techniques of various types. One digital standard (GSM) has been generally adopted for use in Europe, while another (IS54) is intended for use in North America, with still others under consideration. However, the nature of cellular transmission and reception, often occurring from moving vehicles or pedestrians, gives rise to a variety of channel disturbances. For example, multi-path interference exists when reflections from nearby objects causes several signals, delayed in time from the original signal, to be received. Therefore, the received digital sequence may not exactly match the transmitted sequence. The digital sequences are sent in "packets" having a desired number of digital bits, which may be fixed, or alternatively variable, in order to compensate for transmission difficulties. The above-noted standards provide various forms of Forward Error Correction (FEC), by which additional bits are included in the packets to provide a degree of redundancy in transmission, so that errors may be detected and corrected to some degree at the receiving end. The packets may contain digitized voice information or other forms of data, including computer files, video information, etc.
A Viterbi trellis decoder is one commonly used method of decoding the received packets in order to recover the transmitted sequence. That is, given the properties of the FEC encoder used, some sequences of bits are more likely than others. Therefore, the Viterbi decoder provides a MLSE (Most Likely Sequence Estimation) deconvolution output, to more accurately recover the transmitted sequence in the face of channel noise and distortion of various types. In addition to correcting errors due to random noise, a Viterbi decoder can improve receiver performance in the presence of multi-path interference, since the received digits are then not independent of one another, but correlated to some degree. The decoding of a known bit sequence can then be used to adjust the tap weights of an equalizer, which compensates for the multi-path interference. Therefore, a knowledge of the history of a received signal sequence can be used to improve the accuracy of recovering the signal sequence that was actually sent. An overview of the Viterbi decoding technique is given in "Overview of the Viterbi Algorithm", Mobile Radio Communications, R. Steele (editor), Pentech, London (1992).
In the prior art, the Viterbi decoder has been implemented in one or more integrated circuits. The control circuitry that instructs the Viterbi is implemented on one or more other integrated circuits. In some cases, the control circuitry is of limited flexibility in terms of the ease of passing instructions to the Viterbi decoder. Furthermore, the complexity of the circuit functions has hindered their economical inclusion in a single integrated circuit. It is desirable to implement a Viterbi decoder that obtains improved functionality and ease of programming, while reducing the total number of integrated circuits needed to implement the desired functionality.

Digital processor and viterbi decoder having shared memory


A remote device configured to control operation of a remote electronic device, such as a garage door opener, is provided. A transmitter circuit may be configured to receive and transmit communications directed to the remote electronic device. The communications may include data arranged according to a plurality of the control packet formats, and communications to the remote electronic device may include data transmitted according to the plurality of control packet formats.

Many conventional barrier operators include a communication interface that enables remote operation of the barrier operator via commands received from a transmitter through the communication interface. For instance, the communication interface for a barrier operator of a garage door may include wireless capabilities that can be utilized by the transmitter to wirelessly communicate a command to open or close the garage door. The transmitter in this context is often a handheld device provided by the manufacturer of the barrier operator to enable a person to remotely control the barrier.
In some cases, aftermarket or alternative manufacturer transmitters have been provided with the capability to learn a protocol or format of communications for operation of this barrier operator. This type of transmitter is often described as a "code learning" style of trainable transmitter. However, conventional "code learning" style trainable transmitters are capable of training to only one data format at a time. Another type of conventional trainable transmitter does not utilize the original transmitter at all, and instead relies on a "guess and test" method in which the trainable transmitter outputs one data format at a time, and relies on feedback from the user to select the correct format. This guess and test method can be cumbersome for a user to operate and ineffective due to the reliance on the user feedback.

System and method for training a transmitter


In wireless communications between a frequency hopping master device (M) and a frequency hopping slave device (S1), the slave-to-master transmission frequency can be dynamically selected from a plurality of previous master-to-slave transmission frequencies (33) based on quality measures of those master-to-slave frequencies.

Present telecommunication system technology includes a wide variety of wireless networking systems associated with both voice and data communications. An overview of several of these wireless networking systems is presented by Amitava Dutta-Roy, Communications Networks for Homes, IEEE Spectrum, pg. 26, December 1999. Therein, Dutta-Roy discusses several communication protocols in the 2.4 GHz band, including IEEE 802.11 direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) and frequency-hopping (FHSS) protocols. A disadvantage of these protocols is the high overhead associated with their implementation. A less complex wireless protocol known as Shared Wireless Access Protocol (SWAP) also operates in the 2.4 GHz band. This protocol has been developed by the HomeRF Working Group and is supported by North American communications companies. The SWAP protocol uses frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology to produce a data rate of 1 Mb/sec. Another less complex protocol is named Bluetooth after a 10th century Scandinavian king who united several Danish kingdoms. This protocol also operates in the 2.4 GHz band and advantageously offers short-range wireless communication between Bluetooth devices without the need for a central network.
The Bluetooth protocol provides a 1 Mb/sec data rate with low energy consumption for battery powered devices operating in the 2.4 GHz ISM (industrial, scientific, medical) band. The current Bluetooth protocol provides a 10-meter range and an asymmetric data transfer rate of 721 kb/sec. The protocol supports a maximum of three voice channels for synchronous, CVSD-encoded transmission at 64 kb/sec. The Bluetooth protocol treats all radios as peer units except for a unique 48-bit address. At the start of any connection, the initiating unit is a temporary master. This temporary assignment, however, may change after initial communications are established. Each master may have active connections of up to seven slaves. Such a connection between a master and one or more slaves forms a "piconet." Link management allows communication between piconets, thereby forming "scattemets." Typical Bluetooth master devices include cordless phone base stations, local area network (LAN) access points, laptop computers, or bridges to other networks. Bluetooth slave devices may include cordless handsets, cell phones, headsets, personal digital assistants, digital cameras, or computer peripherals such as printers, scanners, fax machines and other devices.
The Bluetooth protocol uses time-division duplex (TDD) to support bi-directional communication. Spread-spectrum technology or frequency diversity with frequency hopping permits operation in noisy environments and permits multiple piconets to exist in close proximity. The frequency hopping scheme permits up to 1600 hops per second over 79 1-MHZ channels or the entire ISM spectrum. Various error correcting schemes permit data packet protection by ⅓ and ⅔ rate forward error correction. Further, Bluetooth uses retransmission of packets for guaranteed reliability. These schemes help correct data errors, but at the expense of throughput.
The Bluetooth protocol is specified in detail in Specification of the Bluetooth System, Version 1.0A, Jul. 26, 1999, which is incorporated herein by reference.
In some Bluetooth applications, the master could be an access point (AP) which can afford to transmit at, for example, a 20 dBm power level, while the slave could be a mobile unit with strict power consumption limitations that permit it to transmit only at a substantially lower power level, for example 0 dBm. One conventional example of such a communications system is a cordless telephone system wherein the master is the base unit and the slaves are the mobile phone units. In the exemplary system specified above, there would be an imbalance between the master-to-slave link (i.e., the downlink) and the slave-to-master links (i.e., the uplinks). Considering now a voice application such as the aforementioned cordless telephone system, even when using a receive diversity antenna at the master, such a system would achieve a 10 dB diversity gain with selection diversity. Thus, there would still be a 10 dB power imbalance between the downlink and the uplink transmissions. This situation is illustrated in FIG. 1.
The example of FIG. 1 assumes no retransmissions in either direction, because it is typically desired to conserve power consumption both for reception and transmission at the slave. Also, if the master employs some form of transmission diversity, this would further increase the imbalance between uplink and downlink.
It is desirable in view of the foregoing to compensate for power imbalances such as described above, in order to balance the uplink and downlink.
According to the present invention, the uplink slave-to-master transmission frequency can be dynamically selected from a plurality of previous downlink master-to-slave transmission frequencies based on quality measures thereof, which produces improved uplink performance and thereby advantageously reduces imbalances between the uplink and downlink.

Dynamic slave frequency selection for improving uplink frequency hopping wireless communications


A light-control assembly including a modular beam with a plurality of adjacent circular bores separated by web portions, and a series of light-controlling members with laterally compliant edge structures mounted in the beam so that the edge structures accommodate the webs between the bores when the light-controlling members are closed to achieve enhanced, blackout or near blackout light-blocking along the edges of the light-controlling members.

The U.S. Department of Energy as well as sustainable construction organizations and the like are pressing for the installation of dynamic daylighting and shading systems to improve energy efficiency in buildings. Innovations are sorely needed to meet this need.
Various types of transparent and translucent glazing systems are available for the construction of horizontal, vertical and sloped glazing in skylights, roofs, walls, and other architectural structures designed to pass light for daylighting interiors or other purposes. When using such glazing systems, it is therefore desirable, in accord with sustainable construction criteria, to optimize the system's shading coefficient to reduce solar heat gain on hot summer days and during peak sunlight hours year round, while providing maximum light and solar heating on cold winter days and when it is otherwise needed or desired. It is also often desirable to control glare and direct sunlight in order to ensure the comfort of those who occupy the space exposed to the glazing system. If architects and space planners can be freed from the constraints of current light transmission control in horizontal, vertical and sloped glazing in skylights, roofs, walls, and other architectural structures, they will be able to maximize interior daylight without the burden of unmanaged heat gain or discomforting glare more effectively address these shading requirements and meet sustainable construction criteria. Furthermore, these considerations apply as well to shading of open unglazed areas.
Indeed, if the level of light entering overhead large glazed as well as unglazed areas can be simply, efficiently, effectively and uniformly controlled with little or no light leakage between, e.g., multiple adjacent light-controlling members, it will provide architects and space planners with important new tools. They will be able to maximize energy efficiency with aesthetic and sustainable designs to a degree not previously possible. And, sun tracking control shading systems can dynamically rotate light-blocking members up to 360° to efficiently shade small or large glazed and open, unglazed areas to provide the desired uniform light level inside the space thereunder would be particularly desirable.
The known approaches to controlling the amount of light admitted through glazing systems—particularly on a large scale and in overhead, horizontal and sloped glazing applications—are limited and are generally unreliable, noisy and often difficult and expensive to construct, assemble on-site, maintain and service. Also, existing approaches suffer from non-uniform and excessive light leakage between adjacent light-controlling members which appears as an aesthetically undesirable series of often irregular bright lines. Additionally, although it is often desirable to retrofit light-controlling systems to already constructed glazing systems, this is not easily accomplished with current light-controlling systems. There is therefore substantial need for an economic and readily constructed and retrofitted light-controlling system that may be used for shading glazed areas of all sizes, including very large glazed areas. There is also substantial need for such light-controlling systems that can be easily assembled, maintained and serviced, in which the light is uniformly distributed across the glazed area, and in which light leakage is de minimis or eliminated or, where present, is kept to narrow and regular lines.
Prior approaches to controlling the level of light passing into architectural structures have included louver blind assemblies using pivoting flexible light-controlling members operable behind a window or sandwiched inside a chamber formed by a double-glazed window unit. Such louver blinds require substantial support of the flexible members which, additionally, must be controlled from both their distal and their proximal ends. Furthermore, louver blinds are difficult and expensive to assemble, apply, operate, maintain and replace, and cannot be readily adapted for use in non-vertical applications or in applications in which it is either desirable or necessary to control the flexible members from only one end. Louver blinds are particularly problematic when it comes to applications in which the installation requiring light-control or shading is very long, e.g., 10 ft., 20 ft., 40 ft., 60 ft. or more. In addition, dynamic control of louver blinds in large overhead shading applications is complicated, expensive, difficult to install and maintain, and often simply impractical. Furthermore, rotating louver blinds require that rotary force be applied to the top edge of the blinds. This is because louver blinds are flexible and rely on the force of gravity to hang vertically in the proper desired position and therefore cannot be rotated from their base. Thus, louver blinds cannot be used in generally horizontal overhead glazing application or in sloped applications, where rotation must be controlled from the base or proximal end and the force of gravity on non-vertical louver blinds would create untold complications and very non-uniform shading.
Other approaches to controlling the level of light passing through architectural structures have used motorized shades or drapery. These approaches are also problematic, particularly in the applications noted above where the glazing is large and would require very long shades or blinds, e.g., on the order of 10 ft., 20 ft., 40 ft., 60 ft. or more, since such large shades would be heavy, difficult to manipulate and maintain, and expensive. The mechanics of controlling and manipulating motorized shades or drapery of any size is quite complicated and therefore motorized shades and drapery are expensive and difficult to maintain. Also, it is not possible to achieve uniform light distribution across a wide glazed space with motorized shades or drapery.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,281,353; 6,499,255; and 6,978,578 provide other more recent approaches to addressing the challenge of providing dynamic daylighting and shading systems on a large scale and in overhead, horizontal and sloped glazing applications. These patents utilize a plurality of rotatably-mounted light-blocking tubular members having at least one portion that is substantially opaque and means for rotating the light-blocking members to block out varying amounts of radiation by varying the area of the opaque portions presented to the incoming light. In the systems described in the above three patents, the light-blocking members are combined in a series of adjacent segregated elongated tubular cells or mounted for rotation in individual or paired cross-members positioned between light transmitting panels. As an alternative to tubular members, a generally rigid opaque member may be used if fitted with rings spaced along this member. Indeed, even the tubular members may be fitted with such rings in order to facilitate tubular member rotation and to improve performance. Attachment of the rings requires notching of the generally rigid opaque member and can be difficult and time-consuming for both generally flat and tubular members. Also, the rings, which unfortunately may interfere with light-blocking, must nevertheless be wide enough to accommodate longitudinal movement due to thermal expansion and contraction. Determining the width and location of the rings and ring-receiving notches is complex and, indeed, may require architectural approval before being implemented in custom applications, often making the use of such rings inconvenient and expensive.
In the system of the '578 patent, the centers of rotation of the light-blocking members do not remain in place as the light-blocking members are rotated resulting in increased torque and load on the motor and varying horizontal positioning of the light-controlling members. Since the light-blocking members often do not run true because they are inadequately restrained and therefore bend and snake about as they rotate, they produce uneven and continuously varying spacing between adjacent members with uneven light distribution and an unacceptable appearance of disarray of the light-blocking members. When these light-blocking members are used in vertically oriented applications, they can disengage from lower-cross-members and run far more untrue with even greater increases in the torque/motor load and irregular lateral movement. When they are used in applications calling for an inclined orientation, the light-blocking members tend to disengage from the lower cross members and rotate in an uncontrolled manner, rubbing against one another, resulting in increased friction and torque and producing problematic noise. Finally, in tests simulating the application of snow and wind loads, excessive friction is produced between the light-blocking members and the cross-members which could cause early failure.
The paired upper and lower cross members of the '353 patent solve the above problems. Also, when this system is in the fully closed position, there may be more light leakage than often desired.
While the designs provided by the above three patents represent important advances in the art, they have another drawback. For these designs, the light-blocking components of adjacent tubular members cannot come sufficiently close to each other when the systems are in their fully closed configuration due to intervening structural features. Therefore total blackout or near total blackout light blocking cannot be achieved.
We provide a significantly improved design in one of our two patent applications, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/903,904 filed Oct. 13, 2010. In the '904 application, a beam with adjacent bores separated by web portions is described. Bearing members comprising an annular ring are dimensioned to fit within the bores and are provided with a flange extending radially outwardly from the rings. The bearings are mounted to the beam with the flanges in an offset fashion. A first bearing member is mounted in a first bore with its flange adjacent to a first beam face, its ring extending into the bore and a next bearing member mounted in a next adjacent bore with its flange adjacent the opposite beam face and its ring extending into the bore. This bearing structure and disposition makes it possible to bring the edges of adjacent light-controlling members close together when the members are closed making them more effective in light-blocking than has heretofore been thought possible.
However, in various applications, including where the web portions in the beam of the '904 application between the bores are increased in width for structural or other reasons, it is desirable to provide alternative embodiments to achieve total or near total blackout where the adjacent edges of the light-blocking members are able to span the increased width webs between adjacent bores.
The present system provides a transparent/translucent panel unit in which the transmission of light across the system can be adjusted from almost full transparency or translucency to near total opacity.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The process of laying out a floorplan for a clock control distribution network in an integrated chip design is simplified and the efficiency of a staging network created is improved. Rather than manually create the staging network in HDL or as a network description table while looking at a picture of the chip floorplan in a Cadence Viewer, an automated method which runs in the Cadence environment uses an algorithmic approach to the problem of maximizing the utilization of staging latches, eliminating unnecessary power and area usage. Efficiency is maximized by updating the Physical Layout directly with the staging solution arrived at by the algorithm.

This invention relates to, and the following discussion assumes skill in, the design of integrated circuit chip floorplan, layout or topography and in particular in the use of electronic design automation tools capable of place and route design.
Multiple giga-hertz frequency integrated circuit designs contain complex distribution networks for clock control logic. From a centralized source circuit, clock control signals are distributed throughout the design through multiple levels of staging latches to support high frequency operation. The number of levels of staging latches is defined by the chip timing architect and can be no more or no less than the exact number of levels defined. Clock control signals must switch at the highest frequency available (usually the Phase Locked Loop—PLL—oscillator frequency itself) to support the start and stop requirements for the system. To meet these difficult timing constraints, staging latches are placed at optimal locations throughout the chip and the clock control signals are distributed through these latches to meet the timing requirements of these clock control signals. Physical abstracts for logic elements exist at various locations throughout the chip floorplan creating obstacles (physical barriers) which these clock control signals must navigate around in order to provide clock controls to all necessary pin destinations throughout the chip. The location of these abstracts will likely be non-symmetrical creating an imbalanced distribution network requirement for these clock control signals as they propagate through the staging network across the chip.
Traditionally the method of creating the staging distribution across the whole chip with staging latches has been a manual process. Determining the distribution network requires knowledge of the location of all abstract blockages which will interfere with the placement of these latches and the routing and connections between them. Physical abstract location information can be found in the "Physical Layout" using a Cadence Viewer program. A designer's expertise is required in understanding what is shown by the Cadence Viewer and visually determining the most appropriate routes around existing abstracts to place latches as close to the required pin connections as possible. Each destination pin connection must contain the same exact number of staging latches between the centralized source circuit and the destination pin to meet the architectural requirements of the design. Writing a complete descriptive of the final routing solution conceived of by the designer required manually writing Hardware Description Language (HDL) which contains the staging latches and all connections from the source in the centralized source circuit to each individual destination sink pin across the whole chip. Creating this HDL is a time consuming and error prone task which requires knowledge of both the logical structure of the chip as well as the physical layout of the chip floorplan. Only an experienced design person would possess these skills. Once the logical description of the latch distribution had been created, additional placement information must also be provided to the chip integrator indicating where each latch in the logical HDL descriptive should be placed. HDL contains no physical placement information. Traditionally physical information is included in HDL by manually adding X, Y coordinates to the latch names in the HDL code. As each generation of chips has grown more complex, the number of staging latches in the distribution network has grown greatly. In the current generation of microprocessor chips the number of staging latches is counted in the thousands and the number of pins requiring these clock control signals is also in the thousands, making the traditional method of completing this work effort almost impossible in a reasonable amount of time.
The most recent generation of microprocessors used several software tools (written in PERL) which created a staging structure in HDL from a table based input file. The table (plat_staging.tbl) was constructed manually by defining in a simple language the structure of the staging latch distribution network which would be created in the HDL. i.e. root staging tree description with all necessary branches to complete the staging network. Fanout was taken into account and appropriate cloning of latches was done where appropriate to support loading and fanout. A second software tool accessed and searched the chip level Physical Layout for appropriate destination sink pins and created a connection file (plat_connection.lst) that defined connections between the latches created in the 1st step and the destination pins requiring a control signal. This file was then applied to the source HDL (via a PERL script) to insert and connect the staging network to all required sink pins in the design (plat_staging.vhdl). Although a significant step forward from the traditional method above, this process was still time consuming and did not create an optimal solution to a complex distribution problem. One inherent problem with this method was the "two pass" requirement. As the design progressed additional destination pins appeared in the design. Initially these pins would not have a physical location associated with them in the Physical Layout. The physical location is assigned by the integrator after creating the Physical Layout. Without physical location information it is impossible to determine the appropriate staging latch to connect to each new destination pin. The solution was to create an initial Physical Layout and define pin locations for all new destination sink pins, then pass the Physical Layout back to the tools to determine the appropriate latch connection for all new pins. Then a second Physical Layout was created with the final staging and pin connection solution. This two pass process was time consuming and was still not efficient because the original table which defined the staging distribution network to be created was itself manually created, requiring manual intervention for every change to the design structure.

Method of automating creation of a clock control distribution network in an integrated circuit floorplan

International Business Machines Corporation


An improved kelly valve of a type wherein a flexible inner valve body closes the valve passageway responsive to the pressure of a gaseous control fluid contained within a sealed chamber and opens the passageway responsive to exterior pressure of drilling fluid or of tools being passed through the valve. The improvements enhance the operating life of the flexible member and simplify the valve structure and assembly and disassembly procedures.

In the drilling of wells, drilling fluid or mud is ordinarily circulated through the drill string and well bore. Such mud is pumped into the kelly at the upper end of the drill string and passes through the kelly into the drill string suspended therefrom. It is periodically necessary to disconnect the kelly from the remainder of the drill string, for example, in order to add additional sections of pipe to the string or to remove pipe sections therefrom. At such times, the mud pumps are shut down so that mud will not continue to be pumped through the kelly while it is disconnected. However, a significant quantity of mud remains in the kelly downstream of the pump, and can thus spill from the lower end of the kelly onto the rig floor when the kelly is disconnected.
Such spillage has a number of disadvantages, not the least of which is waste of the mud itself. The wasted mud spills onto the floor of the drill rig making the work site messy and unpleasant. Furthermore, the mud is usually slippery, and its presence on the equipment and the rig floor make the work difficult and even hazardous for the crew. Additionally, it is impossible for the crew to work on or with the kelly while the mud is flowing therefrom, and they must, therefore, wait for the mud to drain before continuing with their work. This in turn increases the time and expense of any given operation.
In an effort to aleviate the above described problems, various valve devices have been designed for disposition at the lower end of the kelly to prevent spilling of the mud therefrom when the kelly is disconnected from the drill or operating string. One such effort is represented by the kelly valve as shown and described in my copending application Ser. No. 881,188, filed Feb. 27, 1978, now abandoned. Field experience with that kelly valve revealed a number of deficiencies. One such deficiency was that the inner valve body, which was a cylinder of elastomeric material with flanged end portions, had to be deformed in order to assemble it onto the outer valve body, and such deformation caused weakness which lead to early failure. Another deficiency was that, when subjected to mud flow pressures, the inner valve body would take a permanent set at its end regions where it was secured to inwardly extending flange portions of the outer valve body, thus producing further weakness contributing to early failure. Another deficiency was the complexity of assembly and disassembly due to securing of the inner body member to the outer body member by means of bolt rings. A further deficiency was that the maximum inner diameter of the kelly valve was limited due to the inwardly extending flange portions of the outer valve body.
It is accordingly the general object of this invention to provide an improved kelly valve.
Another object of the invention is to provide a kelly valve which obviates the deficiencies of the kelly valve disclosed in said co-pending application.
For a further understanding of the invention and further objectives, features, and advantages thereof, reference may now be had to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A growable read only memory (ROM) provides improved performance over a wide range of array sizes by incorporating a localized reference bitline that accurately tracks changes in loading and variations in process parameters. The reference bitline is input into one side of a differential sense amplifier while a selected data bitline is input into the other side. The reference bitline is precharged and includes two columns, a first column includes devices that are matched to memory cell devices wherein a device of the selected word line will be selected to discharge the referenced bitline. The second column includes a recessed oxide device corresponding to each memory cell in the column. The combination of the two columns ensures that the reference bitline will discharge at a predetermined rate that tracks the rate at which a selected contact programmed memory cell discharges.

Integrated circuits continue to advance such that an increasing number of devices, and hence more circuit functions, are integrateable onto a single semiconductor device. Not only are the number of integrateable circuit functions increasing, but the complexity of the circuits are increasing as well. In addition to continual increases in density and complexity, engineers concurrently find ways to decrease design cycle times of these integrated circuits. One well known integrated circuit type that uses a design methodology that improves cycle times is the application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
A substantial benefit of designing with ASICs is the ability, using sophisticated computer aided design (CAD) techniques, to quickly define a design using predefined or compiled library elements and realize that design in silicon. ASICs rely upon the use of predefined macros, for example, adders, multipliers, microprocessor cores, control functions, memories, etc. These macros can be predefined to the level of having all mask layers defined or may merely reside in software. Macros that reside in software are referred to as soft macros or paramaterized macros.
Soft or paramaterized macros describe a circuit or logic function that may be modified according to certain input parameters before being defined in the several mask layers. ROM circuits play an important role in systems and due to the needed flexibility of storing different amounts of memory in varying word lengths ROMs are often available as a soft or paramaterized macro. For example, a soft ROM macro (growable ROM) may be used in one system that requires 2K bits of memory organized in eight bit word lengths. The same growable ROM could very quickly be re-compiled to provide 4K words organized to provide sixteen bit word lengths.
High density ROMs typically rely upon a sensing scheme that operates upon a single bitline for each column of memory cells. Higher performance, however, generally dictates a sense amplifier design having dual inputs operating in a differential mode wherein the second input is a reference signal. During a read cycle the reference bitline must track an average transient response of a data bitline representing a logic one and the transient response of a data bitline representing a logic zero. Maintaining accurate reference bitline tracking in a growable ROM is complicated by the fact that the electrical characteristics of the data bitlines change not only in response to specific programming but also according to their location in the memory array. The change in such electrical characteristics is especially exacerbated in larger arrays.
The two data values in the memory array are programmed by either the presence or absence of a bitline contact to a drain of each memory cell transistor, wherein that transistor is an n-channel field effect transistor (NFET). When a contact is present, the corresponding selected bitline discharges during the read cycle. When a contact is not present, the corresponding selected bitline does not discharge but remains precharged. A design goal is to allow the reference bitline to discharge at half the rate the data bitline discharges (contact present). This has been accomplished heretofor by connecting two adjacent bitlines together and programming one of the two cells that share a same wordline. The dual cells present a doubled capacitive load causing the discharge rate of the reference bitline network halve.
When a contact is absent in a data bitline cell or the reference bitline cell the junction capacitances associated with the drain contact is not added to the corresponding data or reference bitline. Worst case capacitive loading occurs in a data bitline having a contact in each memory cell of that column. An accurate reference bitline to reflect this scenario would also have contacts in every cell. The inventors of the present invention described herein recognize that such a similarly programmed reference bitline would discharge double the current that is associated with the double capacitance and the target reference bitline discharge rate of half that of the data bitline discharge rate will not be achieved.
Accordingly it is desired to provide a ROM having localized reference bit lines that track a target discharge rate of one half the discharge rate of a data bitline regardless of the contact programming of the memory cells of the columns of memory cells.

Read only memory having localized reference bit lines

International Business Machines Corporation