A method includes providing, in a data processing device including a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a capability to interface a microprocessor with the GPU, and communicatively interfacing a sensor with the microprocessor. The method also includes obtaining data related to an operating environment external to the data processing device through the sensor, and determining, through the microprocessor, personalization required of a computing environment of the data processing device with respect to a user thereof based on the data related to the operating environment external to the data processing device. Further, the method includes utilizing the GPU solely to effect the personalization required of the computing environment of the data processing device with respect to the user determined through the microprocessor to reduce power consumption through the data processing device.

A data processing device (e.g., a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook, a netbook, an ultrabook, a mobile device such as a mobile phone) may be operating in an environment non-conducive (e.g., low ambient light) to a user thereof. The user may have to manually intervene on the data processing device to control one or more parameter(s) of a computing environment and/or one or more component(s) thereof to account for the non-conduciveness. The aforementioned requirement of manual intervention on part of the user may frustrate the user.

Power-efficient personalization of a computing environment of a data processing device with respect to a user thereof


Disclosed is a noise-absorbent fabric for a vehicle and a method for manufacturing the same. The noise-absorbent fabric for the vehicle includes a mono-layered nonwoven fabric and a binder. The mono-layered nonwoven fabric is formed of a super fiber, such as an aramid fiber, with a fineness of about 1 denier to about 15 deniers and a thickness of about 3 mm to about 20 mm. The binder is located in the same layer as the nonwoven fabric to maintain a three-dimensional shape of the nonwoven fabric.

(a) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a noise-absorbent fabric for a vehicle and a method for manufacturing the noise-absorbent fabric. More particularly, the present invention relates to a noise-absorbent fabric for a vehicle and a method for manufacturing the noise-absorbent fabric, which is applicable for high temperature applications of about 200° C. or more, such as engines and exhaust systems of vehicles.
(b) Background Art
Generally, various kinds of sound-absorbing and blocking materials are installed on various components of a vehicle body to block and absorb noise. For example, materials having sounds absorbing and/or blocking properties can be used to block and/or absorb generated in an engine room or a power transmission system of a vehicle to prevent the noise from leaking into the interior passenger compartment of a vehicle. The design of these sound-absorbing and blocking materials is a very important factor in the design of the vehicle.
The most important factor in the design of the sound-absorbing and blocking materials for vehicles is the installation of suitable sound-absorbing and blocking materials with sufficient sound-absorbing and blocking characteristics at suitable locations.
Currently, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyurethane, glass wool, and resin felt are being widely used as sound-absorbing and blocking materials.
However, the above materials are only suitable for use at temperatures of about 200° C. or less. In particular, the durability of these materials is rapidly reduced at high temperature conditions of about 200° C. or more, which prohibits their application to parts located near noise sources such as an engine and an exhaust system. The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Noise-absorbent fabric for vehicle and method for manufacturing the same


A ranging apparatus in a communication system is provided. A terminal generates a ranging code for ranging with a base station, maps the ranging code to at least one sub-carrier so the ranging code is repeated in a time domain, generates a ranging signal so the mapped ranging code has a size of one symbol interval, and transmits the generated ranging signal to the base station. The base station receives a ranging signal, extracts a half signal of a valid symbol interval of the ranging signal, generates a valid symbol interval signal by repeating the extracted half signal of the valid symbol interval, restores a ranging signal using the valid symbol interval signal, and performs ranging using the ranging signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a communication system, and in particular, to an apparatus and method for performing ranging in a communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the 4th generation (4G) communication system which is the next generation communication system, active research is being conducted to provide services having various Qualities of Service (QoS) to users at a data rate of about 100 Mbps. Particularly, the current 4G communication system positively considers a communication system that uses an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) scheme and an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex Access (OFDMA) scheme in order to support broadband high-speed transmission.
The OFDMA communication system needs a ranging procedure for matching an accurate time offset and adjusting power, between a transmitter and a receiver, for example, between a base station and a terminal. The ranging can be classified into three types: initial ranging, bandwidth request ranging, and periodic ranging.
Initial ranging is performed at the request of a terminal in order for the terminal to acquire synchronization with a base station. Initial ranging is performed to match an accurate time offset and adjust transmission power between the terminal and the base station.
Periodic ranging is periodically performed by a terminal to adjust a channel state with a base station after adjusting the time offset and transmission power with the base station through the initial ranging.
Bandwidth request ranging is performed by a terminal to request allocation of a bandwidth to perform actual communication with a base station after adjusting the time offset and transmission power with the base station through the initial ranging.
To perform the initial ranging procedure, the terminal transmits an arbitrarily selected ranging code to the base station. The initial ranging procedure will be described hereinbelow with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 shows a ranging signal received in a ranging symbol interval of a base station in a general communication system. Before a description of FIG. 1 is given, a description will be made of a TDD/OFDMA communication system that uses a Time Division Duplexing (TDD) scheme as a duplexing scheme, and an OFDMA scheme as a multiple access scheme, by way of example. In this communication system, the initial ranging is performed to acquire synchronization between the base station and the terminal in the state where uplink/downlink synchronization is not secured. However, when the ranging signal transmitted by the terminal of the communication system arrives in a ranging symbol interval of the base station, a synchronization error corresponding to a length of the Cyclic Prefix/Postfix (CP) inserted as a kind of a guard interval may occur in the ranging symbol interval.
When the synchronization error occurs between the base station and the terminal, the ranging signal cannot be restored. In addition, the ranging signal departing from the ranging symbol interval functions as an Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) for the data signal that will arrive in the next symbol interval, deteriorating the system performance. Therefore, in the communication system, the terminal extends the ranging signal to a length of two symbols, for example, a length of two OFDM symbols (OFDMA symbols) in such a manner that phases thereof should be consecutive to each other, and then transmits the extended ranging signal so the ranging signal should always arrive before a start point of the ranging symbol interval.
Referring to FIG. 1, there are shown a first ranging symbol interval and a second ranging symbol interval of the base station, and each of the ranging symbol intervals corresponds to, for example, a size of one OFDM symbol. In addition, the ranging symbol interval includes a CP.
A ranging signal is shown that is transmitted by the terminal to the base station for ranging. Two OFDM symbols transmitted from the terminal through an uplink are allocated as the ranging signal, and the ranging signal is composed of two phase-consecutive OFDM symbols. The terminal transmits the ranging signal so the ranging signal should always arrive before the start point of the ranging symbol interval of the base station. That is, the terminal transmits the ranging signal so the ranging signal should always arrive before a start point the first ranging symbol interval. It does not matter because an interval given before the first ranging symbol interval starts is a guard interval.
The ranging signal received at the base station in this way is composed of two in-phase OFDM symbols obtained by repeating a ranging signal of a 1-OFDM symbol length. Therefore, the ranging signal arriving in the first ranging symbol interval is a ranging signal obtained by cyclic-shifting the ranging signal of a 1-OFDM symbol length. The base station estimates a time offset using the ranging signal received in the first ranging symbol interval.
A signal received in the second ranging symbol interval cannot be restored because it cannot have a 1-OFDM symbol length. In addition, since the signal received in the second ranging symbol interval serves as interference over the full band, it is not used.
As a result, when the foregoing ranging procedure is performed between the base station and the terminal, the ranging signal received in the second ranging symbol interval simply functions as a guard interval for ranging, thereby causing an unnecessary resource waste due to the ranging signal received in the second ranging symbol interval.

Apparatus and method for performing ranging in a communication system


A method includes transferring a wafer to a position over a wafer chuck; ejecting a first gas from a purging device above the wafer to clean a top surface of the wafer; after ejecting the first gas, lifting a lifting pin through the wafer chuck to receive the wafer; and after the wafer is received by the lifting pin, ejecting a second gas from first openings in a sidewall of the lifting pin to a region between a bottom surface of the wafer and a top surface of the wafer chuck.

Semiconductor devices are manufactured after performing many processes such as depositing a material layer on a wafer, patterning the deposited material layer, and removing unnecessary residuals on the wafer. To perform these processes repeatedly, a wafer is loaded on a wafer stage inside a chamber, the wafer is processed, and then unloaded. In order to successively process a wafer, it is important to be able to mount a wafer on a chuck in the chamber and to remove the wafer therefrom without the wafer being damaged in the process. As semiconductor devices become highly integrated, the design rule becomes tighter, and the process margin becomes narrower. If the wafer is not mounted on a chuck properly, mask overlay and heating homogeneity may be impacted.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


The invention relates to motor vehicles which are equipped with an electric power steering system. Using a known method, the value of the maximum current that is allowed to travel through the electric assist motor is calculated at each instant (t), and a threshold value is determined for said maximum calculated current. Once the value of the maximum calculated current at each instant reaches the threshold value, a gradually-decreasing percentage is applied to the assist current calculated as a function of the torque (C) applied to the steering wheel. In this way, the assist current is reduced before the assist motor thermal protection procedure is activated, such that the driver is not surprised by a sudden lack of power assistance.

The present invention relates, generally, to motor vehicles equipped with electric power steering. This invention relates, more particularly, to a sophisticated method of controlling the thermal protection for the electric motor of such a power steering system.
In a power steering system of this type, an electric motor is used to apply a torque or a force to the steering column or to the steering pinion or even to the rack, to assist the movement imparted on the steering wheel by the driver of the vehicle, in each change of direction, parking or avoidance maneuver. When the power steering is required, an electric current of relatively high intensity passes through the windings of the electric assist motor.
Thus, in a long journey punctuated by turns, the electric power steering motor can become hot. If the heating becomes intense and prolonged, there is a risk of damaging, or even destroying, the electric assist motor.
To avoid this risk, thermal protection is provided, in a known manner, to protect the motor against excessive overheating. In particular, depending on parameters, some of which are supposed to describe the thermal state of the motor, a maximum current that can be sent to feed this motor, to drive it, is calculated at each instant.
More particularly, at each instant, depending on the torque applied manually to the steering wheel by the driver, an assist current is calculated to feed the electric assist motor, in order to assist the movement imparted by the driver in optimum conditions. When this calculated current is greater than the maximum current determined elsewhere, the set point current of the motor is chosen to be equal to the maximum calculated current.

Method of controlling motor thermal protection for an electric power steering system of a motor vehicle


An rf ion source suitable for low power operation over a range of pressures in air comprises discharge electrodes having one or more cathodes (1) and an anode (2). Each cathode (1) is connected to an rf signal supply (8) through an associated coupling means (4) and the anode (2) is adapted to provide a surface area over which a plasma discharge may occur that is not substantially greater than the total cathodal area over which the discharge may occur. In this way, the anode (2) presents no more useful surface than is required to accommodate the optimum area of the plasma discharge thereby preventing plasma wander and enhancing the stability of the discharge over known ion sources. By configuring the electrodes such that the respective areas of the anode and the cathode(s) over which discharge occurs are separated by no more than 5 mm and by forming the electrodes to have highly curved ends and so creating a highly distorted electric field in the inter-electrode gap when the source is in operation, it is possible to create an effective discharge with very low power input even at atmospheric pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio frequency (rf) ion source and in particular to a glow discharge source capable of low power operation over a range of pressures, including atmospheric, in air.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
There exists considerable interest in the development of an ion source which is capable of operating under similar conditions to the commercially available electron impact ion source but which is more versatile and more robust than that source. The electron impact ion source is widely used in vapour analysis systems in which it is coupled to a mass spectrometer. In this source ionising particles in the form of electrons are emitted from a heated tungsten wire into a low pressure cavity, which is evacuated to pressures in the region of 10.sup.-4 to 10.sup.-3 Torr. The electrons in this cavity are accelerated by both electric and magnetic fields to an energy where impact of an electron with a sample molecule causes ionisation of that molecule. The electron impact ion source has the disadvantages that it cannot operate at high pressures and that it tends to bum out in oxygen rich environments, making the source unsuitable for use in analysis systems which operate in air at or close to atmospheric pressure.
Additionally, this source has the further disadvantage that it lacks versatility of use since it is effectively limited to the production of positively charged ions in a relatively energetic ionisation process (so called `hard` ionisation) and usually has associated with it sample molecule fragmentation.
There also exists considerable interest in the development of an ion source capable of operating efficiently at atmospheric pressure with air as the discharge gas in which the plasma is maintained and of interfacing with commercially available mass spectrometers. This would allow for the direct sampling of air in order to monitor for the presence of impurity gases, given off for example from some drugs or explosives such as TNT, RDX and PETN.
One known device, which can operate in air at atmospheric pressure, is that described by Zhao and Lubman (Analytical Chemistry Vol 64, No 13, pages 1427-1428 and Vol 65, No 7, pages 866-876) and comprises an insulated tungsten rod driven electrode, of 0.04" diameter and ground at the end to a sharp tip which is the operative end at which a plasma discharge can occur. This electrode is coupled to an rf source and extends into a grounded 1".times.0.8" (diameter) brass cell which forms an effective "plate" electrode. In use the plasma discharge occurs between the operative end of the rod and the cell walls. The sample, ions from which are to be produced and detected, is introduced into the sample-carrying discharge gas as a liquid and carried by the gas into the brass cell where it is ionised. This device however requires a power supply capable of providing the relatively high forward power of approximately 16 Watts (W) to induce the formation and maintenance of a plasma in air at atmospheric pressure. This has the disadvantage that the power supply is relatively costly and bulky.
Furthermore, even at this relatively high forward power this ion source produces only soft (low energy) ionisation and therefore cannot substitute for the electron impact ion source. If hard (high energy) ionisation is needed, then a higher power rf source would be required. This would compound the aforementioned disadvantage since to provide a hard ionising source a power supply which is capable of providing even higher forward powers than those discussed above will be necessary. Moreover, since the plasma generated by the Lubman ion source is stable only over a limited rf range of 125-375 Kilohertz (KHz), then a further disadvantage is that a relatively large ion energy distribution is likely to result which would effectively reduce the resolution of any analysis system incorporating a mass spectrometer. This is because the energy gained from the rf electric field by the ionised particles is, in part, dependent on the frequency of that rf field, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art. If the ionised particles reside in the field long enough to suffer several oscillations of the rf field then their resultant energy will be close to zero, conversely if these particles are formed and ejected from the plasma within the time scale of the rf cycle then their energy will depend on the change in field potential between their formation and ejection. Thus, for a given residence time of an ion created in a radio frequency discharge, the energy distribution of the ejected ionised particles increases as the frequency of the rf field decreases.
Generally in rf ion sources both positive ions and electrons are generated within the plasma. The difference in the mobilities of these charged particles causes a self-bias to develop on the electrode which is capacitatively coupled to the rf power supply. The degree of this self-bias is governed by the geometry of the source and in particular by the relative surface areas of the discharge electrodes, between which a plasma may form. In prior art devices the geometry of the source is such that the surface area of operative end of the driven electrode is small compared with that of the operative end of the grounded (or floating) electrode, which electrode often includes the contacting walls of the ionisation cell. This results in the generation of a negative self-bias. For this reason the driven electrode is customarily termed the "cathode" and the grounded (or floating) electrode the "anode" and therefore throughout this document the terms cathode and anode shall be taken to refer to the driven and grounded (or floating) electrodes respectively.

Distorted field radio frequency ion source

The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland


Disclosed is a security locking device mounted on a body of a desk top computer. The locking device is key operated and allows the user to either disassemble the chassis or to turn on power to the appliance, depending on which direction and how far a key is rotated. The structure of the lock is simple as no microprocessor is used to operate the lock. Instead, a pair of contacting rods, positioned on a rotating shaft rotate onto contact plates to form electrical contact with the contacting plates, thus delivering power to the computer when the key is rotated to one of three possible positions. The computer chassis can be disassembled if the key is rotated to another of the three positions. Since the device is key operated, only authorized personnel can disassemble the device or electrically energize the device, thus protecting the computer hardware and software from theft.

The notion of having a locking mechanism that can both electronically engage and mechanically disengage a computer system is not entirely new. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,397 for a Computer with Modules Readily Replaceable By Unskilled Personnel to Harshberger et al discloses a computer module with such a key locking mechanism. In column 6, lines 11 through 45 describe a key mechanism movable between three positions is described. In one of the three positions, power is delivered to the CPU and the rest of the unit. If the key is rotated to any of the other two positions, the electrical power is disconnected. One of these remaining two positions allow for mechanical disengagement or separation of the chassis. The other of these two positions does not allow for mechanical separation of the chassis. Thus, by rotating a key, electronic power can be delivered to the computer. By rotating a key to another position, the chassis can be disassembled. The electrical connection associated with the key is microprocessor controlled in Harshberger et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,665 to for an Electrical Plug with Disabling Means to Jankow '665 discloses an electrical plug that is key operated so as to enable power to be engaged and disengaged by rotating the key within the socket. As the key is rotated, an electrical connection is formed between the power supply and the remainder of the circuitry, energizing the device. Jankow '665 does not pertain to a desk top computer and does not allow for the disassembly of a computer chassis.
What is needed is a simplified locking mechanism that can both electrically engage and mechanically disengage the computer with the turn of a key. Such a simplified locking mechanism would preclude the use of a microprocessor operated lock.

Security locking device for a desk top computer


An antenna device includes a circuit board, an upper shield case, a lower shield case, and a power feeding member. The circuit board has high frequency circuits arranged thereon. The upper shield case and the lower shield case cover the circuit board. The power feeding member extends from an upper plate of the upper shield case. Radiation slots and are formed in the upper plate. The power feeding member includes a horizontal portion, a bent portion, and a drooping portion, and a front end of the drooping portion is mounted on a land of the circuit board and soldered thereto. The horizontal portion protrudes from a base end which is continuous to the upper plate in a horizontal direction. The bent portion is formed by bending a front end of the horizontal portion at a right angle. The drooping portion extends downward from the bent portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna device in which a slot antenna which excites a radiation slot formed in a metal plate and a circuit board having high frequency circuits connected to the slot antenna through a power feeding member are integrally formed, and more particularly, to a structure of the power feeding member.
2. Description of the Related Art
In this type of an antenna device, power feeding is implemented by forming a radiation slot in a metal case which covers a circuit board, thus allowing the case to function as a slot antenna. Therefore, the antenna device is suitable for a vehicle because miniaturization and cost reduction can be easily achieved.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a slot antenna according to the related art (for example, see JP-A-2003-218629 (page 2, FIG. 5). This slot antenna is constructed such that a radiation slot 2 is formed in an upper plate 1 a of a case member 1 made of a conductive metal plate so as to be excited. The radiation slot 2 is formed of an elongated aperture having a straight shape. Power feeding points 3 and 4 are set on the upper plate 1a at a substantially middle portion of the radiation slot 2. One of the power feeding points 3 and 4 is connected to a power feeding circuit, and the other is connected to a ground. While a power is being fed, a high frequency current flows along the periphery of the radiation slot 2, thus exciting the radiation slot 2 with a predetermined frequency.
In the slot antenna according to the above-described related art, the case member 1 can be used as a shield case which covers a circuit board (not shown) by disposing the upper plate 1 a above the circuit board having high frequency circuits such as a low noise amplification circuit. Thus, the power feeding points 3 and 4 are electrically connected to a land on the circuit board through a power feeding member such as a power feeding pin, so that a compact antenna device can be realized by making the slot antenna and the circuit board into one unit.
However, in the antenna device having the above-mentioned structure, in order to electrically connect the power feeding points 3 and 4 of the upper plate 1a to the land on the circuit board, the power feeding member should be soldered to each of the power feeding points 3 and 4. Thus, solder connection work is not only complicated but also may cause connection defects due to excessively strong stress applied on a soldered portion of the power feeding member when displacement is generated in a relative position between the upper plate 1a and the circuit board. In particular, when this type of an antenna device is mounted in a vehicle, displacement may easily occur in the relative position between the upper plate 1a and the circuit board due to thermal expansion which is caused by external vibration and temperature changes. Thus, for example, whenever the distance between the upper plate 1a and the circuit board increases and decreases, strong stress is applied on the soldered portion of the power feeding member, thus causing soldering crack to easily occur.


A peeler for fruits and vegetables having a handle for gripping the peeler and having a pair of head portions which diverge from a fore end of the handle and between which a cutting blade is supported. An elongated, generally rectangular plate member such as a thin plastic plate is fixedly secured to one of the head portions, whereby the cutting blade can peel the fruits and vegetables with one face of the plate member being maintained in sliding contact therewith when the peeler is moved relative to the fruits and vegetables in the direction from the fore end to opposite rear end of the handle.

This invention relates to a kitchen utensil for peeling fruits and vegetables such as apples, potatoes and carrots.
One known peeler for vegetables having a columnar shape, such as carrot and Japanese radish, is shown in FIG. 8. The peeler has a handle 100 extending in a longitudinal direction for gripping the peeler and a pair of head portions 200a and 200b diverging from a fore end of the handle 100. A transversely extending cutting blade 300 is secured between the head portions 200a and 200b. The cutting blade 300 is composed of an elongated upper blade plate 301 and an elongated lower engaging plate 302 between which a slit 303 is defined.
In use, the peeler gripped at its handle 100 is positioned so that an edge of the blade plate 301 is in contact with a surface of an object to be peeled, e.g. Japanese radish Y. The peeler is then moved longitudinally downward as shown by the arrow so that the radish is peeled with the separated peel being passed through the slit 303. In this case, by maintaining the engaging plate 302 in contact with the radish Y, an excessive increase of the thickness of the peel can be prevented.
The known peeler has a problem in that the peeler is apt to be shift laterally. Further, with the conventional peeler, it is extremely difficult to peel a round fruit or vegetable such as an apple or a potato.


The invention provides a keypad comprising at least consonant keys and vowel keys such that the vowel keys are arranged in a column between two edge columns of consonant keys, or in a row between two edge rows of consonant keys, wherein the consonant keys other than Z follow an alphabetic progression.

The most common key layout for a computer keyboard is known as the QWERTY keyboard, so named because the first six letters are q, w, e, r, t and y. The keyboard was originally designed for use with mechanical typewriters that used downwards force on keys to actuate pivoted typeset to impact against an inked ribbon. The QWERTY keyboard was specifically designed to reduce the speed of a typist because the typewriters suffered from jamming when typists struck keys in quick succession on more intuitive keyboard layouts, such as those with an alphabetic layout.
Clearly such a mechanical limitation is not a problem with electric typewriters, word-processors or computer keyboards, yet the QWERTY key layout has persisted in these devices. The persistence is even more remarkable for compact devices, such as smart phones and tablet devices, on which users type with a single finger, one or two thumbs or one-handed. This is true of both physical keyboards and virtual keypads (generated on a touchscreen using software).
The problem applies also to other character sets, such as keypads using other Roman-based alphabets (Spanish, French, Indonesian, etc.), non-Roman alphabets (Greek, Cyrillic, Korean, That, etc.), or character based scripts such as Japanese and Chinese.


Viral infections in a target region can be inhibited by imposing an alternating electric field in the target region for a duration of time. The alternating electric field has a frequency and a field strength such that when the alternating electric field is imposed in the target region for the duration of time, the alternating electric field inhibits infection of the cells in the target region by the virus. Optionally, the inhibition of viral infections using the alternating electric field approach can be combined with delivering an antiviral agent to the target region so that a therapeutically effective dose of the antiviral agent is present in the target region while the alternating electric fields are imposed.

Viruses are small intracellular obligate parasites. Viruses include a nucleic acid that contains the genetic information necessary to program the synthetic machinery of the host cell for viral replication, and, in the simplest viruses, a protective protein coat.
To infect a cell, the virus must attach to the cell surface, penetrate into the cell, and become sufficiently uncoated to make its genome accessible to viral or host machinery for transcription or translation. Viruses' multiplication usually causes cell damage or death. Productive infection results in the formation of progeny viruses.
It has previously been shown that when cells are exposed to an alternating electric field (AEF) in specific frequency ranges while the cell is undergoing mitosis, the AEF can disrupt the mitosis process and cause apoptosis. This phenomenon has been successfully used to treat tumors (e.g. glioblastoma, mesothelioma, etc.) as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,016,725 and 7,565,205, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. And in the context of treating tumors, these alternating electric fields are referred to as "TTFields" (or "Tumor Treating Fields"). One of the reasons why TTFields therapy is well-suited for treating tumors is that TTFields selectively disrupt dividing cells during mitosis, and apparently have no effect on cells that are not dividing. And because tumor cells divide much more often than other cells in a person's body, applying TTFields to a subject will selectively attack the tumor cells while leaving the other cells unharmed. The same phenomenon has also been successfully shown to be useful for destroying bacteria, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,750,934, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. And here again, one of the reasons why this approach is well-suited for destroying bacteria is that bacteria cells divide much more rapidly than other cells in a person's body.

Inhibiting viral infection using alternating electric fields


An Instrument Meteorological Conditions Simulation Device including a headpiece and a drape having a viewing aperture laterally translated from the centerline of the headpiece. The off-center viewing aperture provides a pilot wearing the IFR training hood with an asymmetric field-of-view, which allows a pilot using the IFR training hood to view an entire instrument panel, while excluding outside visual references. The IFR training hood can be implemented by single-piece construction, or by two-part construction using hook-and-pile type fasteners, or other suitable fasteners, to connect the drape to the headpiece. A two-part construction allows retro-fitting the IFR training hood to a pilot's cap or visor.

To obtain Instrument Flight Rules certification, a pilot must be trained to fly in Instrument Meteorological Conditions, with his or her vision occluded to the instrument panel of the airplane. Accordingly, a pilot must train for IFR certification by simulating IMC flying conditions. To achieve IMC simulation, a pilot can wear various training devices, such as hoods, visors, or glasses to block outside visual references. For the purposes of this discussion, the terms "IMC simulation" and "IFR training" will be used interchangeably. Existing IFR training devices are available which can restrict the pilot's field-of-view, but they are plagued with practical problems.
One existing IFR training device mounts to a pilot's headset. The headset-mounted device attaches to the flat metal stirrups found on some general aviation headsets. The headset-mounted device is constructed of a hard, opaque material and essentially surrounds the eyes of the pilot. The headset-mounted device has a forward viewing aperture which defines the wearer's field-of-view. Two pivoting arms allow the device to be manually raised and lowered. Although the device will accommodate some general aviation headsets, it cannot be worn with all types of headsets. Specifically, the device is limited to operation with selected aviation headsets from certain manufacturers.
Another problem with the headset-mounted device is that when engaged, the pilot cannot look down easily, which is often required in order to see navigational maps. The viewing aperture occludes the pilot's vision not only on the sides, but at the bottom of the device as well. Consequently, the pilot must either crane his neck downward, or use one hand to tilt the device upwards, neither solution being desirable. Repeatedly craning the neck downward increases the possibility that the pilot will suffer vertigo and become partially disoriented. Tilting the headset-mounted device upwards defeats the intended purpose of preventing outside visual references from being introduced.
A second existing IFR training device is a visor-type device. The visor-type device is typically either an attachable-hood style, or an integral visor-hood combination. The attachable-hood style device typically provides a hood that removably attaches to the bill of a visor or cap. The integral-hood style device is typically constructed such that the hood and the visor or cap are not detachable. Both styles share similar features. For both styles, the hood part has a forward portion, which extends forward from the bill of the visor or cap, and side portions, which extend downward from either side of the forward portion.
The visor-type device occludes the pilot's vision over the top of the instrument panel, but the design still allows excessive visual references in the pilot's peripheral vision. Moreover, the visor-type device occludes the pilot's vision equally on both the right and left sides. When the pilot sits in the cockpit of an IFR training-compatible airplane, the instrument panel is asymmetrically displaced about the pilot. In other words, when sitting in the left seat, there is more of the instrument panel to the right of the pilot than to the left. During IFR training, the pilot's field-of-view should include the entire instrument panel, but exclude all visual references above and to the sides of the instrument panel. Therefore, the pilot's field-of-view should be occluded asymmetrically to match the asymmetric displacement of the instrument panel about the pilot. In other words, when sitting in the left seat, the pilot should be able to see more to the right than to the left for a realistic IMC simulated environment, and vice versa.
Another IFR training device is a fogged-glasses device, which is visibly similar to protective glasses worn by a carpenter or craftsman. The pilot's viewing area is defined by an opaque or translucent treatment applied to the lenses of the goggles or glasses such that the wearer's vision is occluded to an instrument panel. These goggles, adapted for use as IFR training devices, suffer from several problems. First, wearing the device over regular glasses is very difficult and uncomfortable. The viewing area defined by the opaque treatment is symmetric, so the wearer's field-of-view is not skewed to one side. Moreover, the viewing area of the goggles allows excessive visual references to be introduced into the pilot's peripheral vision.
Additional problems with the glasses-type device are that many wearers complain that the device causes headaches from the pressure applied to the head by the earpieces, and the lenses often fog from perspiration during use. The lenses of the device are also susceptible to being scratched.
Yet another IFR training device is a mask-type device similar to a scuba diver's mask, held in place by an elastic headband. This mask-type device is constructed of an opaque, lightweight, shock-resistant plastic, and provides a small viewing aperture defining the pilot's field-of-view.
The mask-type device suffers from many of the same problems as the other existing devices. It is difficult to remove because the device is secured to the wearer's head with an elastic band that can become tangled with the pilot's headset and aviation goggles. Like the headset-mounted device, the mask-type device does not allow the pilot to look down easily. Also, because of the design, many pilots complain that the mask-type device is too snug and confining, almost creating a claustrophobic feeling while wearing it. Moreover, the pilot's field-of-view is not asymmetrically occluded.
Therefore, a practical IFR training device which can be comfortably worn over conventional aviation headsets and eyeglasses, which can constrict the pilot's field of view in an asymmetric manner, and which can adequately eliminate external references from the pilot's peripheral vision, has proven elusive to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, a need exists for an IFR training device that meets each of the above-described requirements.


An electric vehicle motor control device controls the transmission of power from an electric motor to driving wheels via an automatic transmission. The electric vehicle motor control device includes a vehicle speed detecting device that detects a vehicle speed of the electric vehicle and a controller. The controller includes a required driving power calculating section that calculates a required driving power of the electric vehicle, and a target motor rotational speed calculating section that calculates a target motor rotational speed. The target motor rotational speed is calculated so that an efficiency of a product of a power consumption rate of the electric motor and a transmission efficiency of the automatic transmission will become a prescribed target efficiency, based on the vehicle speed and the required driving power. The controller controls the electric motor based on the target motor rotational speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor control device for electric vehicles comprising a motor transmission system that transmits power from an electric motor to the drive wheels, such as electric cars equipped with only an electric motor as the motor or a hybrid vehicle equipped with an electric motor and an engine as the motor.
2. Background Information
Conventionally, as an electric vehicle, such as that disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1993-176419, which interposes an automatic transmission (a continuously variable transmission) in the above-described motor transmission system and transmits power from an electric motor to the drive wheels via this automatic transmission (a continuously variable transmission) is known.
Additionally, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1993-176419 further discloses a motor control technology in which, upon controlling the rotational speed of an electric motor via a shift control of the automatic transmission (a continuously variable transmission) in a manner in which the efficiency of the motor and the inverter that is in charge of the motor is maximized, that is, in a manner so that the power consumption rate (the power cost) is optimal, a target motor rotational speed that can achieve the required driving power is calculated, and the automatic transmission (a continuously variable transmission) is shifted to a target gear ratio that matches the actual rotational speed of the electric motor to this target motor rotational speed.

Motor control device for electric vehicle


A surface-coated cutting tool member includes a tungsten carbide based cemented carbide substrate, a titanium carbonitride based cermet substrate, or a cubic boron nitride based sintered substrate; and a hard coating layer of a nitride compound containing aluminum and titanium, formed on a surface of the substrate using a physical vapor deposition method in an overall average thickness of 1 to 15 μm. The hard coating layer has a component concentration profile in which maximum aluminum containing points and minimum aluminum containing points appear alternatingly and repeatedly at a distance from 0.01 to 0.1 μm in a direction of thickness of the hard coating layer. The amount of contained aluminum (or titanium) is changed from the maximum aluminum containing points to the minimum aluminum containing points. The maximum aluminum containing points satisfy a formula: (AlXTi1−X)N, wherein X is between 0.70 to 0.95. The minimum aluminum containing points satisfy a formula: (AlYTi1−Y)N, wherein Y is between 0.40 to 0.65.

In general, cutting tools include an indexable insert which is detachably attached to a tip portion of a cutting tool in order to perform a turning or planing operation for a workpiece such as made of various steels or cast irons, a drill or a miniature drill which is used for performing a drilling operation for a workpiece as mentioned above, and a solid type end mill which is used for performing a face milling operation, a groove milling operation, or a shoulder milling operation for a workpiece as mentioned above. In addition, an indexable type end mill is also known, to which an indexable insert is detachably attached for performing a cutting operation as in the case of the solid type end mill.
Furthermore, in order to improve wear resistance, a method is known in which a cutting tool made of a tungsten carbide (hereinafter termed WC) based cemented carbide, a titanium carbonitride (hereinafter termed TiCN) based cermet, or a cubic boron nitride (hereinafter termed c-BN) based sintered material, is accommodated in, for example, an arc ion plating apparatus schematically shown in FIG. 2, which is a type of physical vapor deposition apparatus, an electric current of, for example, 90 A is made to flow as an arc discharge between an anode electrode and a cathode electrode (an evaporation source) to which an Al—Ti alloy having a predetermined composition is attached under the conditions in which the inside of the apparatus is heated to a temperature of, for example, 500° C. using a heater, a nitrogen gas as a reaction gas is introduced into the apparatus so as to prepare a reaction atmosphere at, for example, 2 Pa, and a bias voltage of −100 V is applied to the cutting tool, so that a hard coating layer, which has an average thickness of 1 to 15 μm and is made of a nitride compound (hereinafter termed (Al, Ti)N) layer that includes aluminum and titanium and satisfies a composition formula of (AlZTi1−Z)N (where Z indicates an atomic ratio of 0.4 to 0.65), is formed on the surface of the cutting tool.
In recent years, cutting operation apparatuses tend to have significantly high performance, and on the other hand, it is strongly demanded that cutting operations be performed with less power, less energy, and less cost; therefore, cutting operations tend to be performed at high speed. With regard to the above-mentioned conventional cutting tool, no significant problem is encountered when such a tool is used under normal cutting conditions; however, when such a tool is used under high speed cutting conditions in which a significant amount of heat is generated, wear of the hard coating layer of the tool is significantly progressed, which leads to a relatively short operation life.

Surface-coated cutting tool member having hard coating layer exhibiting superior wear resistance during high speed cutting operation and method for forming hard coating layer on surface of cutting tool

Mitsubishi Materials Kobe Tools Corporation


An echo path of the echo in a received audio signal is modelled using an adaptive model to determine an adaptive model estimate of the echo. The adaptive model estimate is used to determine an estimate of the echo power of the echo in the received audio signal. The power of the received audio signal is determined. The estimate of the echo power and the determined power of the received audio signal are used to determine echo suppression gains. Temporal smoothing is applied to one or more of the echo suppression gains and the one or more smoothed echo suppression gains are used to apply echo suppression to the received audio signal, thereby suppressing the echo in the received audio signal, wherein the amount of smoothing applied to the echo suppression gains is varied according to a non-decreasing function of the frequency of the received audio signal.

A device may have audio input apparatus that can be used to receive audio signals from the surrounding environment. The device may also have audio output apparatus that can be used to output audio signals to the surrounding environment. For example, a device may have one or more speakers for outputting audio signals and one or more microphones for receiving audio signals. Audio signals which are output from the speaker(s) of the device may be received as "echo" in the audio signal received by the microphone(s). It may be the case that this echo is not desired in the received audio signal. For example, the device may be a user device (such as a mobile phone, tablet, laptop, PC, etc) which is used in a communication event, such as an audio or video call, with another user device over a network. Far-end signals of the call may be output from the speaker at the user device and may be received as echo in the audio signals received by the microphone at the device. Such echo can be disturbing to users of the call, and the perceived quality of the call may be reduced due to the echo. In particular, the echo may cause interference for near-end audio signals which are intended to be received by the microphone and transmitted to the far-end in the call. Therefore echo cancellation and/or echo suppression may be applied to the received audio signals to thereby suppress the echo in the received audio signal. The power of the echo in the received audio signal may vary depending upon the arrangement of the user device. For example, the user device may be a mobile phone and in that case, the power of the echo in the received audio signal would normally be higher when the mobile phone is operating in a "hands-free" mode compared to when the mobile phone is not operating in a "hands-free" mode.
Echo cancellation (or "echo subtraction") techniques aim to estimate an echo signal included in the audio signal received at the microphone, based on knowledge of the audio signal which is output from the speaker. The estimate of the echo signal can then be subtracted from the received audio signal thereby removing at least some of the echo from the received audio signal. Echo suppression is used to apply frequency-dependent suppression to the received audio signal to thereby suppress the echo in the received audio signal.


An efficient method and apparatus for rapidly detecting anomalies from massive data streams is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method enables near real time detection of anomaly behavior in networks. The invention rapidly identifies the addresses that require further analysis and reduces the cost of monitoring, the cost of managing the security of the network as well as reduces the time needed to initiate mitigation steps.

The Internet has emerged as a critical communication infrastructure, carrying traffic for a wide range of important scientific, business and consumer applications. Network service providers and enterprise network operators need the ability to detect anomalous events in the network, for network management and monitoring, reliability, security and performance reasons. While some traffic anomalies are relatively benign and tolerable, others can be symptomatic of potentially serious problems such as performance bottlenecks due to flash crowds, network element failures, malicious activities such as denial of service attacks (DoS), and worm propagation. It is therefore very important to be able to detect traffic anomalies accurately and in near real-time, to enable timely initiation of appropriate mitigation steps.
One of the main challenges of detecting anomalies is the mere volume of traffic and measured statistics. This is a particular challenge where the system architecture does not leverage such methods as built-in bottlenecks for failsafe enforcement of policy controls. Given today's traffic volume and link speeds, the input data stream can easily contain millions or more of concurrent flows, so it is often impossible or too expensive to maintain per-flow state. The diversity of network types further compounds the problem. Thus, it is infeasible to keep track of all the traffic components and inspect each packet individually for anomalous behavior. Further risks include the difficulty in discerning whether a usage pattern constitutes the unauthorized access, control or modification of information or system resources. Host-based and network-based logging provides a potential recognition basis as well as the forensic capability to ensure a level of accountability for action or inaction.
Another challenge is that different types of anomalies manifest themselves in a variety of ways and remain in the network for different durations. The anomalies with large durations are identified by detection methods such as top ten counting. The anomalies that are a major challenge to detect are those appearing repeatedly for short durations. Another challenge is the unauthorized tunneling or copying of information, or example by malfeasant information gathering, illicit proxy or store/forward, hijacked management capabilities or outright spyware.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for near real-time detection of anomalies in traffic logs that elude simple ranking methods such as "top ten" counting. Anomaly detection is critical for monitoring and maintaining packet networks, e.g., Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) networks.

Method and apparatus for rapid location of anomalies in IP traffic logs


A method and system is used in managing organization based security risks. Organization based information is analyzed for information that is suitable for use in attacking a user in the organization. The organization based information comprises user access information. Publicly available information is analyzed for information that is suitable for use in identifying the user within the organization. Based on the analyzes, there is derived a risk score for the user.

Many computer users and other entities have systems that utilize some form of security. Therefore, there often arises a need to prevent all but selected authorized persons from being able to carry out some defined transaction or to gain access to electronic equipment or other system, facility or data. Preventing unauthorized clearance or access typically involves devices which limit access to the subject data, facility, or transaction to those who possess a unique physical device, such as a key or who know a fixed or predictable (hereinafter "fixed") secret code. In at least some cases, relying on a fixed code or unique physical device as the means to control such selective clearance or access can mean that would-be unauthorized users need only obtain possession of the fixed code or unique device to gain such clearance or access. Typical instances of fixed codes include card numbers, user numbers or passwords issued to customers of computer data retrieval services.
So-called phising or phishing attacks are a substantial threat for all kinds of transactions based on a secure and authenticated access to a server. Economically important types of transactions are so called e-banking, e-voting, e-healthcare and further electronic services. A phishing attack usually comprises the use of social engineering, to fool the user to exchange secret data, e.g. log-on data, with the attacker. The user undertaking such a log-on procedure believes he communicates and exchanges data with the correct provider. The attacker, a man-in-the-middle, uses the transmitted authentication data thereafter or simultaneously to affect a log-on procedure with the service provider under the identity of the attacked authorized user. Following the log-on procedure the attacker than misuses the user's rights. Within this meaning a phishing attack is a classical so called man-in-the-middle attack, which cannot be fend off easily through pure cryptographic measures. It may not be a very successful measure trying simply to elucidate the users because it is sufficient that only a very small portion of the users fall for such a social engineering mislead.
In phishing cases in which a specific user is targeted by name, it is known as "spear phishing". Upon receiving such a message, the user, believing it to have been sent from the recognized institution or provider, opens a link to a Web page as directed and enters a login name and password. The stolen information is then used to illegally obtain money (for example from a user's bank account) and/or to otherwise illegally obtain a financial or other advantage. Various solutions have been proposed in an attempt to block such illegal activity and the concomitant financial losses which arise. For example, U.S. patent application No. 2006/0174119 describes a method for storing the sensitive information of the user; however, the user must select the data to protect as the method does not operate automatically. Also the user sensitive data can be retrieved from the repository where it is stored, as it is not masked or blocked. The method also cannot handle complex web forms or sophisticated forms of fraud.
Other proposed solutions focus upon the link contained in the e-mail, comparing such links to a list of known or suspected phishing web sites; such solutions are provided by most known web browsers and toolbars nowadays. U.S. patent application No. 2005/0289148 describes a method for identifying suspected patterns in an email message that may indicate that the email is a spoof or phishing email, followed by warning the user about it. Access to the site is blocked or the user is warned that the web site is dangerous. Links may be analyzed when contained in an e-mail message or upon a request of the user to access a web site associated with the link.
Large enterprises are entities that have a significant reliance on an information technology (IT) infrastructure for their core business operations, and they have a corresponding significant investment in that infrastructure. They include public utilities; financial companies; transportation and logistics providers; local, state, and national governments; and global energy companies. They share the following characteristics, in varying degrees:
Dispersed or distributed operations. The diversity of their operations includes geographical and/or functional distribution. The IT infrastructure supporting the distributed operations is usually a combination of owned and leased. Responsibility for security and operations of the infrastructure is correspondingly distributed (shared).
Critical assets or operations that warrant protection. Large enterprises have significant assets of operations that warrant protection beyond what the industry generally considers "ordinary measures." The value of those assets may be assessed in dollars (financial networks and data), intellectual value ("intellectual property"), public necessity (utilities and critical infrastructure), and state/national security. Disruption of these critical assets or operations will generally yield cascading negative effects across a wide geopolitical and business landscape.
Full-time, 24×7 operations or the resources to accommodate them. Because of the distributed nature of the operation and the critical need to protect it, large enterprises can provide continuous monitoring and protection services. These may be routine coverage or surge capacity to meet a 24×7 requirement, and it may be a combination of indigenous and contracted capability. This framework proposes certain levels of investment in human capital that a smaller enterprise may find difficult to justify. Implementation of this framework within an enterprise also may not be optimal for an otherwise large enterprise that outsources critical protection functions, such as network monitoring, forensics and analysis, and incident response.
Some characteristics, not limited to large enterprises, are common to entities with a large user population and functional organization including:
Combined operations and security responsibilities. In this context, "operations" refers to the health and functioning of the IT infrastructure (network). Security refers to the protection measures associated with ensuring infrastructure and data availability, integrity, and authentication. Many organizations today levy the responsibility for security on the same IT staff tasked with ensuring the network operates effectively. Consequently, staffs must make decisions balancing security with ease of use (convenience) when it comes to operations of the network.
Range of user experience and skills. Larger enterprises are likely to have a broad range of familiarity and skill among its user population. This translates into potential trade-offs—sometimes significant ones—when it comes to implementing security policies and training programs. Also, depending on the enterprise, users include a mix of internal users and external customers (clients)—additionally compounding the skill/experience variables, and possibly introducing attack vectors that favor sophisticated threats.
Varying levels of interest and involvement by leadership and management. In the context of network security/defense, this refers to how network-savvy and involved the leadership is in decision making. It also refers to the level at which they are involved—ranging from strategic decisions-only, to developing the necessary policies and personally directing response actions. These factors dictate the required levels of autonomy—and associated levels of trust—that an enterprise comfortably places upon its IT staff.
The cyber threat environment that today's large enterprises typically must navigate has changed rapidly over time. Running through each phase has been the constant threat that someone with access to the internal network—either witting or unwitting—can hold an enterprise hostage and create discord that is equal parts damaging and difficult to trace.
A recent phase in threat evolution is a more advanced, persistent threat. It is characterized by greater sophistication and skill, rapid collaboration, and increasingly structured relationships to overwhelm complex network security mechanisms—oftentimes from the inside. Their motivation is becoming increasingly profit-focused, and their modus operandi includes persistence and stealth. It includes possible state-sponsored actors whose effects contribute to long-term influence and exploitation campaigns, as well as devastating effects to facilitate military action. Their signatures include the use of zero-day exploits, distributed agent networks, advanced social engineering techniques such as spear phishing, and long-term data mining and exfiltration. Their flexibility and robust kitbag of tools and techniques makes the advanced threats particularly difficult to successfully defeat with today's technology-heavy network security focus.

Managing organization based security risks


A device such as an optical mouse includes a light source for illuminating an imaging surface, thereby generating reflected images. The device also includes an optical motion sensor for generating one-dimensional projection data based on the reflected images, filtering the projection data, and generating movement data based on the filtered projection data. The movement data is indicative of relative motion between the imaging surface and the device.

The use of a hand operated pointing device with a computer and its display has become almost universal. One form of the various types of pointing devices is the conventional (mechanical) mouse, used in conjunction with a cooperating mouse pad. Mechanical mice typically include a rubber-surfaced steel ball that rolls over the mouse pad as the mouse is moved. Interior to the mouse are rollers, or wheels, that contact the ball at its equator and convert its rotation into electrical signals representing orthogonal components of mouse motion. These electrical signals are coupled to a computer, where software responds to the signals to change by a ΔX and a ΔY the displayed position of a pointer (cursor) in accordance with movement of the mouse.
In addition to mechanical types of pointing devices, such as a conventional mechanical mouse, optical pointing devices have also been developed. In one form of an optical pointing device, rather than using a moving mechanical element like a ball, relative movement between an imaging surface, such as a finger or a desktop, and photo detectors within the optical pointing device, is optically sensed and converted into movement information.
In some optical pointing devices, motion is determined from two-dimensional (2-D) cross-correlations of image sequences. The two-dimensional nature of the data results in significant computational complexity, and a large memory is typically used to store the image arrays that are used for correlation. The two-dimensional nature of the data constrains the maximum frame rate at which images can be acquired and processed. As a result, the pixel pitch of the image sensor is lower bounded to enable navigation up to some maximum velocity.

Apparatus for controlling the position of a screen pointer based on projection data


An impeller system with split impeller configuration between adjacent turbine wheels for synchronizing their thermal response is provided. Exemplary embodiments include a turbomachine having a turbine, a compressor and a rotor disposed between the turbine and the compressor, and an impeller system. An impeller system includes a turbomachine wheel, and another turbomachine wheel disposed adjacent to the first turbomachine wheel, a rabbet joint defined between the first and second turbomachine wheels and a split impeller disposed on the first and second turbomachine wheels.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to thermal response of turbine wheels, and more particularly to a split impeller configuration on adjacent turbine wheels for synchronizing thermal response of the adjacent wheels.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art turbomachine 1. In the turbomachine 1, adjacent wheels 2, 3 on a compressor rotor 8 include a rabbet joint 4 between the wheels 2, 3. The rabbet joint 4 can crack due to high crushing stresses experienced during start up of the turbomachine 1. Studies of the cracking problem indicate that difference in thermal response of the two wheels 2, 3 is a significant contributor to high crushing stress. Thermal response of a given wheel is indicated by its bulk temperature variation during a transient. The difference in thermal response is represented by difference in bulk temperature of the two wheels 2, 3. A current impeller 5 is machined entirely on the wheel 2 and thereby wheel 2 heats up quicker than wheel 3. As a consequence, male portion 6 of the rabbet joint 4 heats up quicker than the female portion 7 of the rabbet joint 4. The difference in rates of heating causes high rabbet loads and thereby high crushing stress on the rabbet joint 4, which can lead to cracking. It is appreciated that the heat transfer area for the wheel 2 is greater than the heat transfer area for the wheel 3.

Split impeller configuration for synchronizing thermal response between turbine wheels


The method mainly contains the following steps. First, an UBM is formed on a top side of a semiconductor's I/O pad. An isolative layer and a metallic foil are sequentially arranged in this order on the UBM. Then, a via is formed to expose the top surface of the UBM. Subsequently, a thin metallic layer is formed in the via and a resist is formed on the metallic foil. Then, by using the metallic foil and the thin metallic layer as an electrode to conduct electrical current, a metallic bump is formed using electroplating in the via on the top side of the UBM. Finally, the resist and the metallic foil are removed and the formation of the metallic bump is completed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to chip packaging, and more particularly to a method of forming metallic bumps on the I/O pads of a semiconductor device
2. The Prior Arts
Flip-chip packaging utilizes bumps to establish electrical contact between a chip's I/O pads and the substrate (or lead frame) of the package. Structurally, a bump actually contains the bump itself and a so-called under bump metallurgy (UBM) located between the bump and an I/O pad.
An UBM generally contains an adhesion layer usually made of aluminum or chromium, a barrier layer usually made of copper, lead, or platinum, and a wetting layer usually made of gold, arranged in this order on the I/O pad. The bumps themselves, based on the material used, are classified as solder bumps and gold bumps.
To form solder bumps on the UBMs, usually either electroplating or printing method is used. For electroplating, patterned resists are first formed on the UBMs and then solders are plated. For printing, solders are first printed on the UBMs and the solders are thermally cured into the bumps. The two methods, however, all suffer disadvantages such as excessive bubbles, easy to peel off, etc and the production yield is therefore limited.
Electroplating similar to that used for solder bumps is also usually used to form gold bumps on UBMs so as to facilitate the subsequent Tape Carrier Package (TCP) or Chip On Glass (COG) process. Another method is to use a specialized wire bonding apparatus capable of melting gold wire into ball shape to perform bonding on the UBMs several times until the gold bumps reach a required height. Gold bumping, however, is not widely popular due to its high cost.

Method of forming metallic bump on I/O pad


Marching band string instruments and wearable string instruments are described that include a stiff waist band to prevent excessive side to side movement during use, while providing easy doff and don of the string instrument. String instruments also are provided with adjustable chest braces to allow accommodation for different player sizes and for minimization of back strain when playing the electric string instrument for extended time periods. Electric string instruments optionally have soft material interposed between bridge feet and a string instrument body, to allow a more resonant sound detection from a pickup located between the bridge feet and the body. Other advances include generation of a stereo signal from bridge vibrations, and electronic processing of sound that enhances the electric string instrument playing and learning experience.

Cellists and other string instrument players often take the limitations of their instrument for granted. One such limitation is low sound volume, due to inefficiency of energy conversion from mechanical bowing into sound energy from a resonating cello chamber. To alleviate this problem, musicians often group multiple cellos together within a string section of an orchestra to balance off a much smaller number of individual wind instruments or brass instruments. Compared to a wind or brass instrument a cello is wimpy.
Another problem for many is the large size of the cello, making transportation difficult for small, young players. Yet another is the fact that most cellos are played by sandwiching the instrument between the legs to keep the cello steady. Those who wear a short dress or skirt may find this very uncomfortable, or worse, which further limits usability of this instrument. Still another limitation is that most cellos cannot be played while walking or marching, which inhibits use in a marching band or while sauntering around a house or restaurant.
Recent developments in electric cellos alleviate the wimpy sound problem. An electric cello produces an electric signal output that may feed headphones, or that can be amplified and output to a speaker system. See for example the Silent Cello™ from Yamaha, cellos from NS Research, Jensen, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,255,565 and 36,664,461. Virtually all of these cellos are held and played in the traditional manner. A few are mounted on posts above the floor and the NS Design offers a shoulder harness with a very small, 12 inch wide inflexible stomach brace that does not reasonably prevent movement sideways. Many electric cellos have strings that extend far (eg. more than 6 inches, or even more than 9 inches) below the bridge, in a throwback to the old style. Unfortunately, many or most electric cellos fail to utilize fully the technology available but use big bridges mounted on solid supports and may even use old style tuning pegs.
Some electric cellos rely on digital electronics to recreate a cello like sound and use a separate, isolated pickup for each string, but tend to neglect the natural rich sound created by the bridge between the resonating chamber and the strings. Also sometimes ignored is the inter string energy transfer that occurs when vibration energy of a note from one string activates an open string that shares a harmonic or sub-harmonic relationship with the note. Such subtle interactions that give the cello its characteristic sound can be eliminated when individual isolated pickups are used for individual strings.
Developments in this area may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,120, which describes placement of a piezo electric crystal under the bass side of the bridge foot, but which still relies on a large resonating chamber; and U.S. Pat. No. 2004/0129127 A1, which purports to describe a number of "improvements" to the violin family, but which sound a little fantastic on the surface, and do not seem to be backed up with any significant experimental results. Also see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2002/0157523 A1, 4,389,917 and 6,803,510, which purport to present improvements to bridges and sensors located at the bridge. Electric cellos and basses are known that are held by floor stands, as seen for example in www.vectorinstruments.com/cellos/cellette.html.
Despite numerous advances in guitar and other stringed instruments over the last 75 years, many electric cellos use old technology and even maintain the unnecessary limitation of a large body, forcing the use of thumb positions. While such quaint limiting features may appeal to a small group of traditional cello players, a much larger number of would be cellists simply pass on to the more modern, more convenient and more adaptable guitar. Accordingly, cello playing is much less popular than it should be and cello music is greatly eclipsed by other instruments such as the guitar and electronic keyboards.
Other stringed instruments have related problems. For example, the electric bass guitar is considered too large by some people, and is not easily played while marching outside. This stringed instrument also is not easily bowed. A support that allows easy attachment to a player and that allows stable placement while walking around in a playing position would be an advantage and provide new opportunities for musical expression, particularly in athletic venues such as marching bands at sporting events.

Electric string instruments and string instrument systems


Disclosed is a polyamine sheet which is usable for DNA chips or protein chips. Also disclosed are a photoreactive polyamine used for producing such a polyamine sheet, and a photoreactive compound which can be a raw material for such a photoreactive polyamine. Specifically disclosed are a photoreactive compound having a diazirine group as a photoreactive group, a photoreactive polyamine compound produced from such a photoreactive compound and a polyamine, a polyamine sheet using such a photoreactive polyamine compound, and a method for producing such a polyamine sheet.

DNA chip technology is a technology for identifying a target expressed gene, by labeling the gene, hybridizing to DNA on a glass surface or silicon substrate, and observing the positions of immobilization. DNA chips make use of the spotting technique whereby cDNA or synthesized oligonucleotides are immobilized on a substrate, or the in situ (on chip) technique wherein oligonucleotides are directly synthesized on a substrate. A representative example of the latter is the "Gene Chip" of Affymetrix. In the spotting technique, DNA fragments of from several hundred to up to ten thousand types of genes can be arrayed within an area of several square centimeters on a substrate such as a glass slide, then subjected to an immobilization method using primarily electrostatic bonding and covalent bonding (Non-patent Document 1).
In immobilization by electrostatic bonding, a glass slide coated with polycations is spotted with DNA and oligonucleotides which are polyanions. The immobilization efficiency depends on their length. In order to observe a difference of one base in SNP analysis, it is necessary to use synthesized oligonucleotides of 20-30 bases, but if the lengths are short, it is difficult to achieve stable immobilization of DNA, and the efficiency decreases. Additionally, polyamines have been used for modification of the substrate surface of DNA chips, but they are coated on the entire solid phase, making detection of trace amounts of genes difficult due to non-specific adsorption of DNA (Non-patent Documents 2 and 3).
On the other hand, in the immobilization method using covalent bonding, a substrate is treated with a silane coupling agent having amino groups, aldehyde groups, epoxy groups, activated ester groups, vinyl groups, and the like, then bound to DNA to the ends of which amino groups, aldehyde groups, thiol groups, biotin and the like have been introduced. By this method, the stability of immobilized molecules is increased, but in cases where hybridization and the like are carried out, it is easily affected by the substrate surface, and in particular, there are reports that the first 20-30 bases from the surface are hardly used, so that problems of specificity and reproducibility arise quite easily. Recently, hybridization to synthesized oligomers covalently bonded to the surface under a liquid phase environment has become possible by arraying minute pieces of polyacrylamide gel on the glass surface, but a prior surface treatment process such as attachment of functional groups on the glass surface is unavoidable (Non-patent Document 4).
The search for drug discovery candidates and their target molecules efficiently by proteomics must depend on a direct and rational analysis based upon the ligand recognition ability of proteins. However, the DNA chips and protein chips available until now have the aforementioned drawbacks, and therefore do not have adequate performance for such analysis.    Non-patent Document 1: DNA Chip Ouyou Gijutsu (2000), Tadashi Matsunaga (ed.), Published by CMC Publishing Co., Ltd.    Non-patent Document 2: "DNA chip technology and its applications", Protein, Nucleic Acids and Enzyme 43(13), (1998), Fusao Kimizuka, Ikunoshin Katoh, Published by Kyoritsu Shuppan CO., LTD, pp. 2004-2011.    Non-patent Document 3. Barrett J. C, Kawasaki E. S., "Microarrays: the use of oligonucleotides and cDNA for the analysis of gene expression", Drug Discov Today, 8, 134-141, 2003.    Non-patent Document 4: Yershov G, Barsky V, Belgovskiy A, Kirillov E, Kreindlin E, Ivanov I, Parinov S, Cuschin D, Drobishev A, Dubilev S, Mirzabekov A., "DNA analysis and diagnostics on oligonucleotide microchips", Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93, 4913-4918, 1996.

Photoreactive compound, photoreactive polyamine and method for producing polyamine sheet


A method for measuring the coupling capacitance between two interconnect lines of an integrated circuit structure having a ground plane. The steps include shorting the first and second lines together and measuring a first capacitance (Ct) between the ground plane and the shorted first and second lines; eliminating the short between the first and second lines; shorting the first line to the ground plane and measuring a second capacitance (C1) between the second line and the shorted ground plane and first line; eliminating the short between the first line and the ground plane; shorting the second line to the ground plane and measuring a third capacitance (Cc) between the first line and the shorted ground plane and second line; and determining the coupling capacitance between the first line and the second line according to the formula Cc=(C1+C2-Ct)/2.

Much of the emphasis in developing smaller and faster ICs has been on optimization and size reduction of transistor architecture. As the number of semiconductor devices designed on an IC chip has increased, so too has the number of interconnect lines on the chip. Thus as technology advances, multilevel interconnect lines ("MLIC") are spaced more closely together. While capacitance between MLIC has heretofore been insignificant from a design standpoint, as the number, length and concentration of MLIC increase, so does the effect of the capacitances between these lines, and its contribution to internal delays. More complex and higher performance circuits are restricted by the RC delay and the IR drop of MLIC. These so-called coupling capacitances, whether in the same plane (intra-level) or in different planes (inter-level), can cause crosstalk that results in functional failures of chip designs.
A large percentage of the MLIC in a modem IC chip are crossing lines (not parallel), which may have coupling capacitances between them of less than a few femtoFarads (fF). While IC computer aided design (CAD) software can theoretically predict the capacitance between such lines, available measurement devices are not sufficiently sensitive to measure capacitances of less than about 1 fF. Accordingly, it is difficult or impossible to verify the accuracy of CAD-predicted capacitances for many modern MLIC. This increases the time and expense of verifying the correct operation of a particular IC design.
As interconnect scales with each technology generation, several tradeoffs are made. In order to reduce line resistance and improve electromigration properties, metal thickness is kept fairly constant, and not scaled with pitch. The increasing aspect ratio (thickness/width) results in larger coupling capacitances and more crosstalk. This problem worsens as more metal layers are added with almost every generation. The performance gains of adding more metallization layers will eventually saturate; in other words, a limit exists for the number of metal layers feasible for integrated circuits. Once this limit is reached only tighter pitches in each layer will result in higher density, leading to larger capacitances again as reported by M. Bohr, "Interconnect Scaling--the real limiter to high performance ULSI," IEEE Tech. Digest International Electron Devices Meeting, pg. 241, 1995.
Credible optimization of chip designs and IC layouts require effective and reliable measurement of coupling capacitances so speed and noise of a proposed design can be considered. However, accurate measurement of coupling capacitance has been elusive. Capacitance is generally measured using a impedance meter ("LCR meter"). But the substrate in an IC chip is normally treated as a ground plane and as such the wire capacitance to the ground becomes a major part of the total wire capacitance. Additionally, this capacitance to ground is highly dependent on the presence or absence of neighboring wires. Furthermore, the coupling component can be a small fraction of the total wire capacitance. These factors, among others, have made accurate measurement of coupling capacitance difficult or impossible.
Coupling capacitances have been measured using so called test structures wherein a prototype chip having a desired wire configuration (but without all final semiconductor devices) of an IC chip is manufactured. There are two types of test structures that are normally used to measure interconnect coupling capacitances, the off-chip or passive test structures and the on-chip or active test structures. The passive test structures are laid out with very large geometries and the capacitance is measured directly using an impedance meter. In this direct method, very large lines are used in order to increase capacitance values and hence method gives average value a of the capacitance over a large area. Unlike the off-chip method, the on-chip method uses active devices to apply currents to charge or discharge capacitances of the interconnect lines. In this method, capacitance is a derived quantity, obtained by measuring the capacitive currents, and hence this method is also called indirect method. Either an on-chip reference capacitor and/or measuring circuitry is used to measure the capacitance. The present methods of measuring coupling capacitance cannot measure the small coupling capacitances of the order encountered in modem IC technology.
One proposed direct method for measuring MLIC capacitances is proposed in D. Cho, "Measurement and Characterization of Multi-Layerd Interconnect Capacitance for Deep Submicron VLSI Technology," Proc. IEEE 1997 Int. Conference on Microelectronic Test Structures, Vol. 10, March 1997, which is hereby incorporated by reference. This technique requires manufacture of an IC test structure for the particular design, i.e., an IC chip having all interconnect lines, but in which the active devices are not included. However, in addition to the designed interconnect lines, extra testing ground lines that run between designed interconnect lines must be added for each line for which a capacitance measurement is desired. To measure the coupling capacitance between two interconnect lines, the two lines are variously shorted and capacitances between the shorted lines are measured with respect to ground. While all of these measurements are being taken, the extra lines immediately adjacent to and on each side of the lines being measured must be grounded. From the measured capacitances, additional calculations must be made to eliminate those portions of the measured capacitances that represent the IC pads, and to calculate the final capacitance. This technique has the shortcoming of requiring the manufacture of a test structure with extra ground lines that run between designed interconnect lines. Moreover, this technique is not reported to work for interconnect lines below 5,000 .mu.m in length, and accordingly is unsuitable for modern IC lines, which can have lengths of less than 100 .mu.m. Also this technique is not disclosed to be able to measure the capacitance between crossing lines, i.e., non-parallel lines on different layers.
As discussed, another approach to measuring capacitances is the use of active test structures. In such methods, either an on-chip reference capacitor and/or measuring circuitry is used to measure the currents from which the coupling capacitance is derived.
For example, J. Chen, "An On-Chip, Interconnect Capacitance Characterization Method with Sub-Femto-Farad Resolution," Proc. IEEE 1977 Int. Conference on Microelectronic Test Structures, Vo. 10, March 1997, and "Investigation of Interconnect Capacitance Characterization using Charge-Based Capacitance Measurement (CBCM) Technique and 3-D Simulation," IEEE 1977 Custom Integrated Circuits Conference 1997 ("Chen"), disclose an active test structure for measuring coupling capacitances. Chen applies voltage pulses to dual Field Effect Transistors ("FET"s), set on both sides of two MLIC configurations such that the desired coupling capacitance is calculated from the measured average currents flowing through the configurations. However, Chen is a two-step, two-configuration method and test structure--which is inaccurate. Moreover, the wiring geometry is different for each MLIC configuration (i.e., parallel, crossing, etc.) for which a capacitance measurement is desired. In particular, Chen's incorporation of an additional MLIC into its second configuration actually changes the capacitance which was determined from the first configuration. In other words, the capacitance that is determined for the first configuration, and then factored into the determination of the a desired coupling capacitance, is inaccurate.

Method of measuring interconnect coupling capacitance in an IC chip