A LED driving control circuit for controlling a power switch in a LED power supply includes: a feedback circuit coupled to a LED load and generating a feedback signal indicative of an output voltage of the LED power supply; an enabling circuit generating an enable signal according to the feedback signal, a first reference signal and a PWM dimming signal, wherein when the feedback signal is higher than the first reference signal, the enable signal synchronizes with the PWM dimming signal, and when the feedback signal is lower than the first reference signal, the duty cycle of the enable signal is higher than the duty cycle of the PWM dimming signal; and a feedback loop control circuit generating a control signal for controlling the power switch according to the feedback signal only when the enable signal is in an active state.

Along with the development of electronic devices, lighting emitting diode (LED) is widely used for its high light intensity, direct current (DC) driving ability, long life and environmental-friendness.
At present, LED power supply mainly has two dimming methods. One is silicon controlled rectifier (or called TRIAC) dimming and the other is pulse width modulation (PWM) dimming. Compared to TRIAC dimming, PWM dimming has the advantage of no LED shimming and thus is preferred.
In order to decrease power dissipation of the LED power supply with PWM dimming, PWM dimming signal is used to control both the LED and the power supply. When the LED is turned off, the power supply is also shut off by the PWM dimming signal. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art LED power supply 10 with PWM dimming. As shown in FIG. 1, LED power supply 10 comprises a boost converter 101, a LED load 102, a feedback circuit 103, a feedback loop control circuit 104 and dimming switches S1, S2 and S3. Feedback loop control circuit 104 comprises a double loop control circuit, which receives a feedback signal VFB from the feedback circuit 103, a reference signal VREF and an inductor current sensing signal ISENSE from the boost converter 101, and a driving signal generator 105 of the feedback loop control circuit 104 generates a control signal CTRL which is used to control a power switch of the boost converter 101. When the PWM dimming signal transits from logic HIGH to logic LOW, dimming switches S1, S2 and S3 together with switch S4 in control circuit 103 are turned OFF, and driving signal generator 105 is disabled, in order to decrease the power dissipation and improve efficiency.
However, in applications with wide range of dimming ratio, the dimming ratio or called the duty cycle of the PWM dimming signal may be very small, and in one dimming cycle, the inductor current even is unable to increase from zero to the desired level, and thus the power supplied to the LED load is not high enough. If this situation maintains in a period, the output voltage of the converter will decrease and makes the LED load functions abnormally.

LED power supply with small dimming ratio control and control method thereof

Chengdu Monolithic Power Systems Co., Ltd.


A position diagnostic test for a shift-by-wire system is provided. The shift-by-wire system includes a shift lever configured to move along a shift path, a first and a second position sensor configured to generate a first and a second position signal, respectively, of the shift lever along the shift path, and a controller configured to receive the first and second position signals. The first position sensor includes a first x-coordinate value and a first y-coordinate value, and the second position sensor includes a second x-coordinate value and a second y-coordinate value. The position diagnostic test includes performing a rationality test on each of the coordinate values. If at least one predetermined condition exists for a particular coordinate value, then it fails the rationality test, and the position signal containing the coordinate value may be disregarded.

In a traditional automatic transmission system for a vehicle, a shifter is connected to the transmission by a mechanical linkage to change the gears or ranges of the transmission. The ranges may include, but are not limited to, Park, Neutral, Reverse, and Drive. However, shift-by-wire transmission systems have been developed where the mechanical linkage is replaced by an electronic connection through which an electronic signal is sent to the transmission to effect the changing of the transmission ranges. The electronic signal may be activated via a shift lever, buttons, and the like. In shift-by-wire systems that implement a shift lever, the shift-by-wire systems generally include a position sensor to track the position of the shift lever such that the desired range selection is communicated to the transmission. Some shift-by-wire systems include multiple position sensors to provide redundancy and reliability.

Position diagnostic test for a shift-by-wire system, and a method thereof


Methods and apparatuses for transient simulation of circuits. One embodiment of the present invention eliminates the inductive branch current variables in terms of node voltage variables to generate a linear equation system with a sparse, symmetric and positive definite matrix, which can be solved efficiently using a pre-conditioned conjugate gradient method. The known vector of the linear equation system includes the contribution from the known inductive branch currents at a previous time instance. In one embodiment of the present invention, a node on a branch to a known voltage, such as ground, and on two resistive branches are identified and eliminated to form the linear equation system with a reduced dimension. In one embodiment of the present invention, multiple time step sizes are selectively used to balance the accuracy in transient simulation and efficiency.

A general resistive, capacitive and inductive network can be analyzed by using the circuit laws known as Kirchoff's current law (KCL) and Kirchoff's voltage law (KVL) to generate sets of coupled differential equations. A common method to generate these equations is called Modified Nodal Analysis (MNA). Other methods such as the Sparse Tableau Method may also be used to create equivalent systems of equations (see, e.g., T. L. Pillage, R. A. Rohrer and C. Visweswariah, "Electronic Circuit and System Simulation Methods", McGraw Hill, 1995).
Many methods, such as backward Euler, trapezoidal rule, etc. can be used to discretize the differential equations for transient simulation. The discretized differential equations represent the relation between the voltages and/or currents in the circuit at two or more time instances. Thus, from the known voltages and/or currents at one or more times instances, the voltages and/or currents at another time instance can be obtained. The differential equations are typically discretized in time to produce a matrix equation for a time step. Typically, the matrix equation for a linear circuit with inductors represents a linear equation system whose unknown is the vector of voltages and currents in the circuit at a time step. The known vector of the matrix equation (e.g., the right hand side of the equations of the linear equation system) typically depends on previous known time step results and/or known input stimuli.

Methods and apparatuses for circuit simulation


The present invention relates to compositions and methods for treatment of neurological disorders. In particular, the present invention relates to EGFR as a clinical target for treatment of neurological disorders.

Chronic and/or neuropathic pain after nerve injury is a major health problem worldwide. Neuropathic pain (NP) is caused by a primary lesion or disease of the somatosensory system (Jensen T S, Baron R, Haanpaa M, et al. A new definition of neuropathic pain. Pain 2011; 152:2204-5). Not uncommonly, its severity, chronicity and the poor side-effect to benefit ratio of current pharmacotherapy for NP (Dworkin R H. An overview of neuropathic pain: syndromes, symptoms, signs, and several mechanisms. Clin J Pain 2002; 18:343-9; Finnerup N B, Sindrup S H, Jensen T S. The evidence for pharmacological treatment of neuropathic pain. Pain 2010; 150:573-81) lead to severely impaired physical and psychological functioning among sufferers (Jensen M P, Chodroff M J, Dworkin R H. The impact of neuropathic pain on health-related quality of life: review and implications. Neurology 2007; 68:1178-82). In the general population, the incidence of NP is estimated to be 1% (Dieleman J P, Kerklaan J, Huygen F J, Bouma P A, Sturkenboom M C. Incidence rates and treatment of neuropathic pain conditions in the general population. Pain 2008; 137:681-8) and rising (Dworkin, supra). The resulting prevalence of moderate to severe chronic NP is 5% (Bouhassira D, Lanteri-Minet M, Attal N, Laurent B, Touboul C. Prevalence of chronic pain with neuropathic characteristics in the general population. Pain 2008; 136:380-7), making it a common and formidable health problem worldwide.
Despite the numerous etiologies of NP, the mechanism of its perpetuation, regardless of origin, appears to involve the interaction of neuronal, glial and immune cells (Scholz J, Woolf C J. The neuropathic pain triad: neurons, immune cells and glia. Nat Neurosci 2007; 10:1361-8). Communication between these cells has been attributed to signaling via the family of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) proteins (Ji R R, Gereau R Wt, Malcangio M, Strichartz G R. MAP kinase and pain. Brain Res Rev 2009; 60:135-48).
Neuropathic pain is a complex, chronic pain state that usually is accompanied by tissue injury. With neuropathic pain, the nerve fibers themselves may be damaged, dysfunctional or injured. These damaged nerve fibers send incorrect signals to other pain centers. The impact of nerve fiber injury includes a change in nerve function both at the site of injury and areas around the injury. Some neuropathic pain studies suggest the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Aleve or Motrin, may ease pain. Some people may require a stronger painkiller, such as those containing morphine. Anticonvulsant and antidepressant drugs seem to work in some cases. If another condition, such as diabetes, is involved, better management of that disorder may alleviate the pain.
In cases that are difficult to treat, a pain specialist may use invasive or implantable device therapies to manage the pain. Electrical stimulation of the nerves involved in neuropathic pain generation may also control the pain symptoms.
Unfortunately, neuropathic pain often responds poorly to standard pain treatments and occasionally may get worse instead of better over time. For some people, it can lead to serious disability. Current treatments are characterized by an unsatisfactory side effect to benefit-ratio.
Thus, additional therapies that target neurological disorders such as neuropathic pain are urgently needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An optical disk apparatus includes: a servo control unit, operable to execute a servo control of focusing based on a focus error signal and to execute a servo control of tracking based on a tracking error signal; a detrack regulating unit, operable to execute a detrack regulation for setting an offset voltage, which is to be added to the tracking error signal, to be a voltage for giving the highest signal quality of an output of an optical pickup; and a defocus regulating unit, operable to execute a defocus regulation for setting an offset voltage, which is to be added to the focus error signal, to be a voltage for giving the highest signal quality of the output of the optical pickup. The defocus regulation is executed in a state in which the servo control of the focusing and the servo control of the tracking are executed. The defocus regulation is executed after the detrack regulation is executed, in the state in which the servo control of the focusing and the servo control of the tracking are executed.

The present invention relates to an optical disk apparatus, and more particularly to an optical disk apparatus for carrying out a defocus regulation in a state in which a servo control of focusing and tracking is performed.
In an apparatus for reproducing data recorded on an optical disk, the following technique has been proposed in order to enhance precision in a tracking servo and to improve the signal quality of a reproducing signal (which will be referred to as a first related art). More specifically, in the technique, focus-ON is carried out by executing a servo control of focusing and track-ON is carried out by executing a servo control of tracking as shown in FIG. 4 (a servo control of a CLV can also be carried out together in the technique). In this state, there is carried out a defocus regulation for adding an offset voltage to a focus error signal (which will be hereinafter referred to as an FE signal) in such a manner that a jitter amount of an RF signal is a minimum (an amplitude of the RF signal is a maximum).
Then, a tracking servo is turned OFF and a balance of a tracking error signal (which will be hereinafter referred to as a TE signal) (which will be hereinafter referred to as a TE balance) is regulated (a regulation for setting an offset of the TE signal to be zero) in such a manner that a peak voltage and a bottom voltage of the TE signal are symmetrical with a reference voltage when a beam spot crosses a track. More specifically, the TE balance is regulated in a state of a just focus in which a focal position of the beam spot is placed on a recording plane with high precision. For this reason, there is not generated a shift of the TE balance which is caused when the defocus regulation is carried out after the regulation of the TE balance. Therefore, a stable tracking servo is carried out (for example, see JP-A-2000-76668).
Moreover, the following technique has been proposed (which will be referred to as a second related art). More specifically, in the technique, a servo control of focusing is carried out to turn ON focusing in a reproduction of a CD, and subsequently, a defocus regulation for adding an offset voltage to a focus error signal (which will be hereinafter referred to as an FE signal) in such a manner that an amplitude of an RF signal is maximized. Then, a TE balance is regulated in such a manner that a peak voltage and a bottom voltage of a TE signal are symmetrical with a reference voltage when a beam spot crosses a track. Thereafter, a servo control of tracking is carried out. Accordingly, the servo control of the tracking is carried out in a state of the best TE balance. Consequently, a stable tracking servo is carried out (for example, see JP-A-8-339550).
In the case in which the first related art is used, however, the following problems arise. More specifically, in some cases in which an optical disk which is a reproducing target is a CD-R or a CD-RW in an apparatus for generating a TE signal by a DPD method, there is brought a state of detrack in which a beam spot is not positioned on a center of a track due to a shift of an attachment position of a PDIC that is a unit for detecting a reflected light or a variation in a sensitivity of a region of the PDIC divided into four parts also when the regulation of the TE balance is carried out.
When the defocus regulation is carried out in this state, the TE balance is lost due to the state of the detrack. In some cases in which the TE balance is lost, precision in the detection of the offset voltage to be added to the FE signal is deteriorated to cause a situation in which an offset voltage separated from an optimum value is added to the FE signal (a situation in which the defocus regulation cannot be carried out well).
Referring to the second related art, the defocus regulation is carried out in a state of track-OFF in which the servo control of the tracking is not performed. More specifically, in a state in which a signal indicative of data cannot be reproduced continuously, an offset voltage for giving a maximum amplitude of the RF signal is detected. For this reason, the precision in the detection of the offset voltage for giving the maximum amplitude of the RF signal is apt to be deteriorated. Therefore, there is a problem in that precision in the defocus regulation is deteriorated easily.

Optical disk apparatus for carrying out a defocus regulation


A stackable flex circuit IC package includes a flex circuit comprised of a flexible base with a conductive pattern thereon, and wrapped around at least one end portion of a frame so as to expose the conductive pattern at the edge portion. An IC device is mounted within a central aperture in the frame, and is electrically coupled to the conductive pattern. The IC device is sealed in place within the frame with epoxy. A stack of the IC packages is assembled by disposing a conductive epoxy of anisotropic material between the conductive patterns at the edge portions of adjacent IC packages. Application of pressure in a vertical or Z-axis direction between adjacent IC packages completes electrical connections between the individual conductors of the conductive patterns of adjacent IC packages to interconnect the IC packages of the stack, while at the same time maintaining electrical isolation between adjacent conductors within each of the conductive patterns. The IC devices may comprise bare memory chips electrically coupled to the conductive pattern by wire bonds which are encapsulated in the epoxy together with the chip. Alternatively, where the IC devices comprise ball grid array (BGA) devices, such as chip scale packages, μBGAs, flip chips, or the like, the matrix of balls or other conductive elements on the device are disposed within apertures ablated through the flexible base of the flex circuit where they are soldered to the conductive pattern. A method of making the stackable flex circuit IC package secures the frame onto the flex circuit so that the flex circuit is wrapped around at least one end of the frame, secures the IC device to the flex circuit within the opening in the frame, electrically couples the IC device to the conductive pattern on the flex circuit, either by wire bonding in the case of a bare chip or by soldering the matrix of balls or other conductive elements to the conductive pattern of the flex circuit in the case of a BGA device, and then encapsulates the device with epoxy. A stack of the IC packages is formed by placing anisotropic conductive epoxy between the exposed conductive patterns of adjacent IC packages and pressing the IC packages together.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to stacks in which a plurality of integrated circuit (IC) packages arranged in a stack are electrically connected in a desired fashion, and to methods of making such stacks.
2. History of the Prior Art
Various common approaches are used to increase memory capacity on a circuit board. Larger memory IC devices such as chips can be used, if available. The size of the circuit board can be increased in order to hold more IC chips. Vertical plug-in boards can be used to increase the height of the mother board. The memory devices can be stacked in pancake style (sometimes referred to as 3D packaging or Z-Stacking). The Z-Stacking approach interconnects from 2 to as many as 8 chips in a single component which can be mounted on the "footprint" of a single package device. This approach is the most volumetrically efficient. Package chips in TSOP (thin small outline package) or LCC (leadless chip carrier) form have been used for stacking, and are perhaps the easiest to use. Bare chips or dies have also been used, but the process for forming a stack thereof tends to be complex and not well adapted to automation.
In forming a stack of IC chips such as memory chips, the chips must be formed into a stack and at the same time must be electrically interconnected in the desired fashion. Typically, the chips, which are mounted within packages therefor, have most of the electrical contacts thereof coupled in common or in parallel to contacts on a supporting substrate, and several unique contacts which are coupled individually to the substrate to the exclusion of the other chips. The prior art includes various different arrangements for electrically interconnecting the IC chips in a stack. For example, electrical conductors which may comprise thin film metal on an insulating base may be disposed perpendicular to the planes of the planar chips so as to connect those conductors on each chip which are exposed through openings in an insulating layer. Where the chip packages are assembled into a stack, electrical connections may be accomplished by lead frames or solder strips extending along the sides of the stack and attached to the electrical contacts of the chips.
Another common technique for providing the desired electrical interconnections in a chip stack is to form a stack of chips having bonding pads disposed on the chips adjacent the outer edges thereof. After assembling the stack of chips, the chip edges are ground flat and polished before sputtering an insulating layer thereon. The bonding pads on the edges of the chips are masked during the sputtering process to avoid covering them with the insulating layer. Next, a metal layer is sputtered onto the entire edge of the stack in conjunction with photomasking which forms conductive traces of the metal layer in desired locations for connecting the bonding pads.
Further examples of vertical stacks of IC chips and various methods of making such stacks are provided by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,956,694, 5,313,096 and 5,612,570, which patents are commonly assigned with the present application. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,612,570, which issued Mar. 18, 1997 and is entitled CHIP STACK AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME, describes a chip stack and a method for making the same in which chip packages are first assembled by mounting plastic packaged chips or thin, small outline package chips (TSOPs) within the central apertures of thin, planar frames having a thickness similar to the thickness of the packaged chip. Leads at opposite ends of the package are soldered to conductive pads on the upper surface of the surrounding frame. Each frame also has other conductive pads on the upper and lower surface thereof adjacent the outer edges of the frame, which are coupled to the conductive pads that receive the leads of the packaged chip by conductive traces and vias. A chip stack is then formed by stacking together a plurality of the chip packages and dipping the upper edges of the stack into molten solder to solder together the conductive pads adjacent the outer edges of the frames. The conductive pads adjacent the outer edges of the frame can be interconnected in a stair step arrangement, and pads on opposite sides of each frame can be coupled in offset fashion using vias, in order to achieve desired electrical interconnections of the various chips.
A still further example is provided by copending application Ser. No. 08/935,216, filed Sep. 22, 1987 and entitled CHIP STACK AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME. Such application, which is commonly assigned with the present application, describes formation of a stack of ball grid array IC packages by assembling a ribbon-like structure of thin, planar bases, each with plural terminals and an interconnecting conductive pattern thereon, and with the bases electrically interconnected by flex circuits extending therebetween. A different IC package is mounted on each base by soldering the balls of a ball grid array thereon to the terminals of the base. The bases alternate in orientation, so that alternate IC packages are joined to the tops and bottoms of the bases. The resulting arrangement is then folded over on itself, with IC packages being joined to adjacent bases using adhesive. The resulting chip stack is mounted on a substrate by soldering the balls of the ball grid array at the underside of the lowermost base at the bottom of the stack to the substrate. The conductive patterns on the bases and the interconnecting flex circuits form conductive pads which contact selected terminals of the various IC packages as the pads extend in alternating fashion through the stack between opposite sides of the stack.
A still further example is provided by copending application Ser. No. 08/971,499, filed Nov. 17, 1997 and entitled METHOD OF MAKING CHIP STACKS. Such application, which is commonly assigned with the present application, describes the making of a chip stack which begins with the formation of a plurality of panels having apertures therein and conductive pads on opposite sides thereof. Solder paste is deposited on the conductive pads prior to mounting plastic packaged IC chips within each of the apertures in each of the panels so that opposite leads thereof reside on the conductive pads at opposite sides of the apertures. The plural panels are then assembled into a stack, such as by use of a tooling jig which aligns the various panels and holds them together in compressed fashion. The assembled panel stack is heated so that the conductive paste solders the leads of the packaged chips to the conductive pads and interfacing conductive pads of adjacent panels together, to form a panel stack comprised of a plurality of chip package stacks. Following cleaning of the panel stack to remove solder flux residue, the individual chip package stacks are separated from the panel stack by cutting and breaking the stack. Score lines across the topmost panel and transverse slots within remaining panels therebelow result in the formation of strips of chip package stacks when longitudinal cuts are made through the panel stack. The remaining portions of the uppermost panel within such strips are then snapped along the score lines thereof to separate the individual chip package stacks from the strips.
A still further example is provided by copending application Serial No. 09/073,254, filed May 5, 1998 and entitled CHIP STACK AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME. Such application, which is commonly assigned with the present application, describes a stackable carrier made from plural layers of Kapton or other plastic material, and which may be made using conventional flex circuit techniques. The stackable carrier has a central opening, a plurality of stacking apertures extending through the thickness thereof between opposite surfaces of the carrier and a conductive pattern therein which extends between the central opening and the stacking apertures. An IC device is mounted within the central opening, and is electrically coupled to the conductive pattern such as by wire bonding or by soldering a ball grid array or other arrangement of contacts on the device directly to the conductive pattern, and is encapsulated therein with potting compound using conventional chip-on-board encapsulation technology, to form a single layer integrated circuit element. Conductive elements such as metallic balls are inserted into the stacking apertures, and are mounted therein using solder or conductive epoxy, so as to electrically contact the conductive pattern and form a stackable IC package. A stack of the IC packages is assembled by arranging a stack of the packages so that the metallic balls which protrude from a surface of each package are inserted into the stacking apertures of an adjacent package, where they are electrically and mechanically secured by solder or conductive epoxy. Balls mounted within the stacking apertures of a lowermost one of the IC packages protrude from the bottom surface thereof, so that the completed stack forms a ball grid array product.
The various arrangements and methods described in the patents and patent applications noted above have been found to provide IC package stacks and methods which are advantageous and which are suited for many applications. Nevertheless, the provision of further alternative arrangements and methods would be advantageous. In particular, it would be advantageous to provide IC package stacks and methods of making such stacks which utilize available materials and known process techniques, including particularly flex circuit technology. The assembly of such stacks should lend itself to automated production methods, and thus be competitive with other stacking approaches.

Stackable flex circuit IC package and method of making same


The present invention relates to a method for splicing successive rolls of webmaterial to one endless web, in such way that during subsequent coating of the web, coating defects near the splices are reduced, preferably prevented. To that end at least part of the trailing edge of the splicing tape used to splice the succeeding webs, is left free of adhesive. Because of this, air, which during said coating process gets entrapped behind the splice, between the coating layer and the web, can dissipate between the adhesive-free tape edge and the underlying web surface, thus reducing or preventing the formation of air bubbles and subsequent coating defects.

Substrata of photographic films and papers are usually coated with aqueous solutions of hydrophilic colloid materials in an uninterrupted coating process. To this end supply rolls Or webs of material to be coated are joined together (spliced) prior to the coating process. This is usually accomplished by means of a piece of tape 6, which is glued to a trailing edge 3 of a preceding web 1 and a leading edge 4 of a newly supplied web 2 by means of an adhesive 5, as shown in FIG. 1. The resulting continuous web can then be uninterruptedly coated with at least one coating layer 8. However, when said coating layer 8 traverses the trailing edge of the splicing tape 6, the coating layer 8 cannot instantaneously make contact with the surface of the succeeding web 2. As a consequence air 7, entrained at the trailing edge of said splicing tape 6, may be entrapped between the coating layer 8 and the surface of the succeeding web 2. This causes several problems.
Firstly, the entrapped air may cause bubble defects, as shown in FIG. 2. These bubble defects result in areas of non-uniformity in the coating distribution which makes the product unsuitable for sale, Furthermore, at the areas of non-uniformity the coating layer can be locally thicker, requiring more time to dry. Consequently, when said bubbled areas reach a first pass roll that guides the coated web through the process, the liquid coating layer may not have completely dried. When passing said first pass roll the bubbles may burst and the not yet completely dried coating may contaminate the first roll and subsequent pass rolls. The contamination will hit the passing web various times before being completely removed by the passing web. This results in a considerable loss of coated products and in delays in the production, due to necessary cleaning of the coating apparatus.
As the coating speed is increased, the above-signalised problems will increase accordingly, since more air will become entrapped between the coating layer and the web surface behind the trailing edge of the splicing tape.
Various methods and countermeasures have been suggested to prevent the above described coating non-uniformities and coating defect problems.
Bourns et al. (Eastman Kodak, DE 1,805,734) suggests in 1969 to use filler material to smooth the gap between the web, the coating layer and the trailing edged of the splicing tape. In addition a special, tapered splicing tape is disclosed to reduce said gap and the unevenness and bubbles.
A different method is disclosed in 1979 by Heetderks et al. (Eastman Kodak, U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,001). The method involves the use of two different splicing tapes, a first tape being sufficiently strong for constituting the actual connection between the two webs and a second, very thin tape, placed on top of the trailing edge of the first tape, for covering the gap between the web, the coating layer and the trailing edge of the first splicing tape.
In 1977 Takagi et al. (Fuji Photo Film, U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,302) discovers that a small area of coarsened web surface immediately following the trailing edge of the splicing tape can prevent unevenness and coating discontinuities. A similar method is proposed by Deprez in 2001. (Eastman Kodak, U.S. Pat. No. 6,197,148) involving the application of a rough layer immediately after the trailing edge of the splicing tape.
DeRoeck et al. (Agfa Gevaert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,655) discloses yet another method in 1980. The splicing tape used in this application has its leading edge adhered to an upper surface of the trailing end of a preceding web and its trailing edge adhered to a lower surface of the leading end of a succeeding web. The webs are separated from each other over a distance of at least ten times their thickness. The tape thus forms a flexible connection between the two webs, wherein both discontinuities at the upper side of the webs to be coated are "step-up" discontinuities, which are known to be less harmful than "step-down" discontinuities.
A completely different method is developed by Verkinderen at al. (Agfa-Gevaert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,647) In this method a splicing tape is adhered against a lower side of the webs, after which a fast-drying hydrophobic coating is applied to the upper side around the splicing tape area. Subsequently the upper surface of the webs and tape is coated with a hydrophilic emulsion coating.
Finnicum (Eastman Kodak, U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,951) developed in 1992 a method and an apparatus to reduce the coating defects caused by the splicing tape by controlling a vacuum at the upper side of the web when the splice arrives at the coating apparatus, in such a way, that no air gets entrapped between the coating layer and the trailing edge of the splicing tape. This prevents the formation of coating defects.
With the known methods the splice induced coating defects may be reduced in some cases, but the splices remain a Source of potential problems. The more so as the coating speed has increased since the disclosure of the above-cited prior art. Furthermore, all above cited prior-art countermeasures require modifications to the splicing process and the need for additional operations and means, making the splicing process more complex. In fact, some of the intended improvements, such as the suggested changes to the shape of the splicing tape and the tape material may even bring on new problems.
The object of the invention is to provide an improved method for splicing successive webs to one continuous web, wherein the occurrence of non-uniformities and coating defects during subsequent coating of the spliced web is reduced, preferably eliminated.

Method for splicing and coating webs as well as a web obtained with such methods

Abstract: The possible reoccurrence of discontinuity coating defects at very high coating speeds can be reduced or prevented by subjecting the surface of the web to be coated to an electrostatic charge before applying the coating.


Provided are a terahertz wave transmission and reception (Tx/Rx) module package and method of manufacturing the same. The complete and separate terahertz wave Tx/Rx module package is implemented by simply aligning a silicon ball lens, a photoconductive antenna and a focusing lens, and thus facilitates generation or measurement of a terahertz wave. The terahertz wave Tx/Rx module package and method can remarkably reduce time and cost required to build a terahertz wave generation and measurement system, and simplify and miniaturize the terahertz wave generation and measurement system. In addition, characteristics of a terahertz wave generated by the photoconductive antenna can be simply measured. Furthermore, the terahertz wave Tx/Rx module package can be stored and transported with a photoconductive antenna, a silicon ball lens and a focusing lens kept aligned as they are, and also it is possible to minimize pollution of terahertz wave devices caused by surroundings.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terahertz wave transmission and reception (Tx/Rx) module package and method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a technique for simply aligning a silicon ball lens, a photoconductive antenna and a focusing lens to implement a complete and separate terahertz wave Tx/Rx module package.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Terahertz waves are electromagnetic waves ranging from 100 GHz to 10 THz between infrared rays and microwaves. Lately, terahertz waves have been approved as future electric wave resources due to the development of high technology. Accordingly, terahertz waves are attracting attention all over the world, and becoming more important in various fields through fusion with information technology (IT), bio technology (BT), etc.
In particular, terahertz waves transmit through various materials like electric waves while traveling straight like visible rays, and thus can be used in basic science, such as physics, chemistry, biology and medical science. Since terahertz waves can be used to detect counterfeit bills, drugs, explosives, biochemical weapons, etc., and to non-destructively examine industrial structures, they are also expected to be extensively used in fields of general industry, national defense, security, etc. Furthermore, terahertz technology is expected to be extensively used for wireless communication at 40 Gb/s or higher, high-speed data processing and inter-satellite communication in the IT field.
Terahertz waves can be classified into continuous waves and pulse waves. In general, the pulse terahertz waves are generated by radiating a femtosecond (10−15 second) laser onto a special semiconductor or optical crystal. This will be described below in further detail.
FIG. 1 illustrates a method of generating a pulse terahertz wave by radiating a femtosecond laser onto a photoconductive antenna.
Referring to FIG. 1, a photoconductive antenna 100 includes a photoconductive thin film 120 formed on a semi-insulating GaAs substrate 110, and parallel metal transmission lines (also functioning as electrodes) 130 formed on the photoconductive thin film 120 and having middle protrusions. Here, the middle protrusions of the parallel metal transmission lines 130 function as a small dipole antenna.
When excitation is intermittently performed using laser pulse light fs having a time width of 100 femtoseconds or less with a bias voltage Vb applied to the parallel metal transmission lines 130, carriers (electrons and holes) are generated by light absorption, and current instantly flows through the parallel metal transmission lines 130. As a result, a terahertz wave (dipole radiation) proportional to a value obtained by differentiating the current with respect to time is generated.
The generated terahertz wave is intensely radiated from the surface of the substrate 110 having high permittivity, and the pulse width of the radiated terahertz wave is 1 ps or less. When light excitation is performed using a general-use laser pulse of 30 fs or more, a spectrum obtained by Fourier transform has a broad frequency band from 0 to several terahertz.
In order to radiate a terahertz wave from a substrate surface as mentioned above, a femtosecond laser pulse should be focused onto the photoconductive antenna 100 through a focusing lens and transformed into the frequency domain, and then focused again onto a predetermined region through a silicon ball lens.
According to conventional art, all devices such as a focusing lens, a photoconductive antenna, and a silicon ball lens are mounted and aligned on an optical table to manufacture a terahertz wave Tx/Rx module. Thus, to precisely bring the devices into surface contact with each other, a high precision alignment technique is necessary.
In particular, when a photoconductive antenna and a hemispherical silicon ball lens are brought into surface contact with each other, surfaces of the photoconductive antenna and the silicon ball lens may be scratched, an alignment error may occur, and an additional fixing means is needed to keep the photoconductive antenna and the silicon ball lens aligned.
Also, a wire should be directly connected with a photoconductive antenna using a conductive adhesive or indium bonding in order to test characteristics of a generated terahertz wave, and should be removed again using the conductive adhesive or indium bonding after the test is finished. Thus, it is very troublesome and difficult to test characteristics of the terahertz wave while keeping the photoconductive antenna and the silicon ball lens aligned as they are.
Furthermore, alignment of the focusing lens, the photoconductive antenna and the silicon ball lens may be easily disturbed during transportation and storage, and the devices may be easily damaged or polluted by surroundings.

Terahertz wave TX/RX module package and method of manufacturing the same

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A knee pad includes a base member which, when unassembled, is planar. A top member is operatively connected to the base member. In a preferred embodiment, the top member is also, when unassembled, planar. The base member has first and second points of attachment and, when unassembled, are at a first distance from each other. The top member has first and second points of attachment which, when unassembled, are also a first distance from each other. Provided are means for securing the top member to the base member at the points of attachment wherein, when assembled, the first and second points of attachment of the base member are at a second distance from each other. The second distance is less than the first distance wherein the base member forms a cupped region. Also provided is a means for attaching the base and top members to a user's knee.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to knee pads, and more particularly to a knee pad constructed from two planar members.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Knee pads are well known throughout the "protection" world in a variety of configurations. They can have soft shells, hard shells, be made of foam, leather or plastic. The primary function of the knee pad is to provide relief to the bony structure of the knee when in the kneeling position. Like other joints of the body, the knee is void of fatty deposits that would aid in cushioning or protecting this area. When kneeling the majority of a person's body weight is transferred directly to the knee and the comfort level is greatly reduced when kneeling on hard, bumpy or abrasive surfaces. In essence, the knee pad is a "kneeling pad" with the added convenience of a form of attachment to the knee area. Instead of carrying the kneeling pad around with you, the pad travels with you and you don't have to be concerned when changing your position that the pad won't be in the proper position to protect your knee. Many sophisticated knee pads have been developed and they are often quite expensive. One manner of making a lower cost knee pad is to have a foam pad sewn into a fabric pocket. However, sewing is labor intensive and in the end, is expensive and would be prohibitive in producing a value-priced product. Since the majority of the cost of a knee pad was built into the sewn portion of the product, it would be advantageous to eliminate the sewn portion and allocate the majority of the cost on the padding material itself. Assembly time would also be reduced by the elimination of the sewn portions.
Another problem associated with the prior art is the method of attachment of the knee pad to the knee area. Hook and loop closures have both advantages and disadvantages. They enable easy on/off attachment but tend to collect particles and soon loose their ability to fasten. This may pose a problem if the knee pad is used in an environment which is inherently dirty. The knee pad needs easy on and off access when it is used with any regularity, so there needs to be a fastener developed that will address these issues.
Another problem with knee pads is cleanability. Over long periods of time, knee pads may become dirty, which may cause problems when they need to be used on a variety of surfaces, from the garden to laying tile on the floor, or when they become dirty and need to be laundered. It would be ideal to simply rinse off the knee pad and go back to work or simply hang them up until they are needed next.
The present invention addresses the problems associated with the prior art knee pads and provides for a knee pad that is simply to manufacture, eliminating much of the sewing/assembly time as possible, and still protecting the vulnerable regions of the knee. The knee pad is easy to clean, and has an easy on/easy off fastening mechanism.


A circuit board has traces attached to a flexible trace surface such that the traces can be displaced in a direction of thermal expansion of a component attached to the traces without causing the failure of the solder joint between the component and the trace. In one embodiment, the printed circuit board substrate is etched away in areas not covered by the traces such that flexible protuberances are formed from the substrate underneath the traces. In one method for constructing such a circuit board, a conductive layer is deposited on the printed circuit board substrate. The conductive layer is then etched to form conductive traces. The printed circuit board substrate is then selectively etched using the traces as a mask for etching the printed circuit board substrate. In a second printed circuit board embodiment, a flexible layer of a material is deposited onto the printed circuit board substrate. The traces are then formed on top of the flexible layer. The flexible layer allows the traces to move in the direction of thermal expansion of an attached component without causing failure of the solder joint between the trace and the component.

Surface mount technology in general and ball grid array technology in particular are becoming increasing popular choices for integrated circuit packaging. Both the size and pin count of surface mount components continue to increase. This trend aggravates the problem of solder joint failure due to coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch between the printed circuit board and components mounted thereon. This problem is particularly acute for ball grid array components. Therefore, although the invention is applicable to any component packaging technology, it will be discussed using a ball grid array component as an example.
A bottom view of a ball grid array (BGA) component 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1. The underside of the BGA component 10 contains a plurality of solder bumps 12. Each solder bump 12 is electrically connected to an internal lead (not shown) which itself is connected to an integrated circuit formed on a silicon wafer (also not shown) inside the BGA component.
FIG. 2 illustrates the connection of a BGA component 10 to a printed circuit board 20. Each solder bump 12 is soldered to a corresponding trace pad 28 on the printed circuit board 20. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 5, the trace pad is an enlarged portion of the trace 27. Referring back to FIG. 2, the trace pads 28 are in positions corresponding to the positions of the solder bumps 12 on the BGA component 10. The other portions of the traces 27 are narrower to allow space for traces 27 between the trace pads 28. The solder bumps 12 may be attached to the corresponding trace pads 28 by well known methods such as reflow soldering or laser soldering.
When power is applied to an integrated circuit, some of that power is converted to heat by the movement of electrons through the integrated circuit. When integrated circuits are heated, they expand. The amount of expansion relative to the heat of a material is expressed as a quantity known as the coefficient of thermal expansion. The higher the coefficient of thermal expansion, the more a material expands when it is heated.
Referring back to FIG. 1, the physical center of the EGA component 10 is indicated by the point labeled NP. The BGA component 10 is perfectly symmetrical, therefore the physical center NP of the BGA is also the thermal neutral point NP. The neutral point NP is the point on the BGA component 10 from which all thermal expansion occurs in a radial direction. Thermal expansion directions are indicated by the vectors "E" extending radially outward from the neutral point NP.
The amount of thermal expansion for each of the solder bumps 12 on the BGA component 10 is dependent upon the distance from the neutral point NP to the solder bump 12. This distance is known as the distance to neutral point, or DNP. As the DNP increases, the amount of movement of a solder bump 12 from the neutral point NP also increases. One reason that components are designed with square packages is to minimize the DNP for all connections.
Referring back to FIG. 2, the vectors "E" indicate the direction of thermal expansion of the BGA component 10 from the neutral point NP. It should be appreciated that as heat is transferred from the BGA component 10 to the printed circuit board 20, the printed circuit board 20 also expands. However, because the printed circuit board 20 and the BGA component 10 are usually made of different materials, the corresponding coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) may also be different, or mismatched. The result is a net force (which may be positive or negative, depending upon the respective CTEs of the BGA component and the printed circuit board and the amount of heat transferred to the printed circuit board by the BGA component) in the direction of the vector E on the solder bumps 12 and trace pads 28.
When leaded components (e.g. components with `J` leads or gull wing leads) are used, the leads act as compliant members, allowing for forces on solder joints caused by coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch. However, when leadless components such as BGAs are used, the solder bump 12 is the only available compliant member.
When component sizes and corresponding DNPs are small, the forces on the solder bumps 12 are also small and do not cause a problem. However, when component sizes and corresponding DNPs are large, the forces on the solder bumps 12 are also large and can lead to failure of the solder joint. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a single solder bump 12 that has failed. The force on the solder bump 12 in the direction of the vector "E" caused by the CTE mismatch between the BGA component 10 and the printed circuit board 20 has caused cracks 14, 16 in the solder bump 12. A crack 14 has completely broken the connection between the solder bump 12 and the BGA component 10, resulting in an open circuit. A second crack 16 near the bottom of the solder bump 12 has also begun.
FIG. 4 illustrates one attempted solution to this problem. The spaces underneath the BGA component 10 between the solder bumps 12 and printed circuit board 20 are filled with an underfill material 18. The underfill 18 acts as an adhesive between the BGA component 10 and the printed circuit board 20 such that movement between them is prevented.
There are two main disadvantages to this solution. First, the adhesive eventually fails, leading to solder joint failure after repeated thermal cycling. Second, the underfill must be "wicked" under the BGA component 10 between the solder bumps 12, which is a time-consuming, and therefore expensive, procedure.
A second solution to the problem is to minimize the CTE mismatch between the BGA component 10 and the printed circuit board 12. The disadvantage to this solution is that the materials needed to achieve a good CTE match result in increased production costs.
What is needed is an inexpensive and reliable apparatus and method for attaching components and printed circuit boards with mismatched coefficients of thermal expansion.

Flexible trace surface circuit board and method for making flexible trace surface circuit board


An image forming apparatus includes a housing, a mechanism, mounted in the housing, for forming images on a medium, an operation panel formed on the housing, the mechanism being driven in accordance with an operating instruction input from the operation panel by an operator, a microphone, provided in the housing, for detecting a noise generated by a driving of the mechanism, and a noise canceling unit for outputting an acoustic wave to an area adjacent to the operation panel of the housing, the acoustic wave being generated based on the noise detected by the microphone so that the acoustic wave and a noise present in the area cancel out, whereby the noise present in the area is reduced.

(1) Field of the invention
The present invention generally relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a copy machine, a facsimile machine or a printer, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a system for reducing noise caused by operation of the image forming apparatus in a predetermined space.
(2) Description of related art
In, for example, a copy machine (an image forming apparatus), an image receptor body (a photosensitive member) on which latent images can be formed, a developing unit for developing latent images on the image receptor body, a transfer unit for transferring a visible image obtained by the developing unit from the image receptor body to a transfer material (a recording sheet) and so on are housed in a main body. In addition, the main body of the copy machine can be integrated with peripheral equipments, such as an automatic document feeder unit, a sorter unit, a stapler unit, and the like. Thus, when the image forming apparatus such as the copy machine is being operated, various noises can be generated therefrom.
In the main body of the copy machine, there are vibrations caused by a rotation of a main motor for driving various mechanisms therein, noises generated when papers are fed by rollers, noises generated when developer is agitated in the developing unit, and the like. In a sorter unit, there are noises generated when feed rollers are rotated and noises generated when papers are set in bins in the sorter unit. In a stapler unit, there are noises generated when papers are stapled. The above noises generated in the main body of the copy machine and the peripheral equipments integrated with the main body are radiated from them via openings used for heat radiation and for ejecting papers.
Conventionally, a sound arrestor of an impact printer has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 61-262166. In the sound arrestor disclosed in the reference, a noise generated by a printer head is canceled by an acoustic wave having a phase inverse to the noise.
In addition, the applicant has been proposed an apparatus in which the noise generated in a machine is canceled by an acoustic wave having a phase inverse to that of the noise, in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 810,169 and 851,375.
However, a position at which a loudspeaker outputting an acoustic wave for canceling the noise generated by a machine is mounted is not related to an area in which an operator is positioned when operating the machine. Thus, the noise generated in the machine is not always effectively reduced for the operator of the machine.
Further, in an image forming apparatus, such as a copy machine, an area in which the operator may be positioned varies in accordance with operation mode. For example, an area in which the operator may be positioned in a normal copy mode differ from that in which the operator may be positioned in an operation mode using the sorter unit.
An image forming apparatus, such as a copy machine, is set up in an office. In this case, it is desirable that noises caused by the copy machine be effectively reduced in an area, in which persons work, remote from the copy machine.

Image forming apparatus having system for reducing noise


According to the present invention, a pin-disposed portion where a pin member for mounting a heat exchanger on a vehicle is disposed is structured such that an inner edge shape of a cross section of the pin-disposed portion draws a four-sided closed curved line. The pin member passes through an inner space of the pin-disposed portion and is connected to the pin-disposed portion at plural positions. In this way, the pin-disposed portion constructs a shell structure which is superior in a mechanical strength. Further, because the pin member is connected to the pin-disposed portion at plural positions while passing through the space, the shell structure of the pin-disposed portion can be made more rigid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat exchanger for a vehicle, in which a pin member for mounting the heat exchanger on the vehicle is integrally connected to the heat exchanger, and is effectively employed for a heat exchanger having a comparatively large mass, such as a radiator or a condenser.
2. Description of Related Art
The heat exchanger for a vehicle is assembled into the vehicle by a pin member integrally connected to the heat exchanger, as described above. For example, in JP-A-6-159975, one axial end portion of a pin member is joined to a bracket formed in a U-shaped cross section, and the bracket is fastened onto a side plate for reinforcing a core portion of the radiator by a bolt.
In recent years, to expand the space in a passenger compartment of the vehicle while suppressing the vehicle from being large-sized, the industry has increased the production of a front engine front drive vehicle (so-called FF vehicle). In general, in the FF vehicle, an engine vibration is reduced by vibrating the heat exchanger for a vehicle as a balance weight with a resonance frequency according to a vibration frequency of the engine.
Therefore, a large vibrating force is applied to a pin member and the portion where the pin member is received (pin-receiving portion). Because the vibrating force is partially applied to the pin-receiving portion with the pin member as a center, the pin-receiving portion especially needs high mechanical strength.
Against this necessity, in JP-A-6-159975, because the axial one end of the pin member is joined only to the bracket formed in a U-shaped cross section, the bracket may be partially deformed by a concentrated load generated by the pin member, so that it is difficult to obtain a sufficient mechanical strength with this structure.
The problem of the mechanical strength of the pin-receiving portion is described with reference to the FF vehicle; however, the problem of the mechanical strength of the pin-receiving portion is also caused in a front engine rear drive vehicle (so-called FR vehicle), because a vibrating force is applied to the heat exchanger for a vehicle by an engine vibration or the like.


A method of operating an electrostatographic printing apparatus, the apparatus including a charge-retentive member defining an imaging surface and a charging device for placing a charge on the imaging surface, a gap existing between the imaging surface and the charging device, including applying an electrical bias to the charge-retentive member by generating a burst modulated waveform.

The present invention relates to a xerographic printing apparatus, and in particular embodiments relates to a system and method for extending the useful life of a non-contact charge receptor, such as a photoreceptor, and extending the useful life of a customer replaceable unit used in the printing apparatus.
Electrostatographic printing methods, such as xerography, involve creation of an electrostatic latent image on a charge receptor, such as a photoreceptor (PR). As is well known, in such apparatus, the photoreceptor is imagewise discharged in a manner conforming to an image desired to be copied or printed, and then this latent image is developed with toner. The developed toner image is in turn transferred to a print sheet, which is then fused to fix the transferred toner image thereon.
Charging involves contact charging of a photoreceptor by a bias charge roll (BCR). Its main advantage is its low footprint. Thus it is particularly suited for charging small diameter organic photoreceptor drums (OPC) drums used in low and mid-volume black and white (B/W) and color machines. Conventional BCR charging is based on a DC-offset AC excitation waveform. As a result a stable photoreceptor charge voltage V-hi controlled by the DC bias is achieved when Vpp, the AC peak to peak voltage, is greater than a threshold voltage, V-th. Print quality considerations such as background disappearance and halftone uniformity require Vpp and IAC somewhat greater than the threshold values. Moreover, the trend toward increasing process speed in OPC drum based machines, particularly in tandem color applications, leads to even higher AC current requirements.
A drawback of contact AC BCR charging is the significant limitation it imposes on PR life because degradative AC corona species are generated in close proximity to the PR surface. Approaches to extend PR life include the development of hard PR overcoats and corona resistant CTL materials (e.g., PTFE filled CTLs) as well as a variety of excitation waveforms such as DC, clipped AC or pulsed bias waveforms, each with varying degrees of success. These approaches have many limitations. For example, PR degradation and wear associated with corona discharge limits the useful life of the customer replaceable unit and drives up run costs for the xerographic printing apparatus. Thus, the proximity of an AC corona discharge at the photoreceptor surface is associated with an increase in the total cost of ownership of the xerographic printing apparatus.
DC BCR charging is a very effective means of improving wear life, but BCR sensitivity to contamination by toner and PR degradation products generally precludes its practical use. Pulsed bias and clipped AC excitation waveforms have been shown to greatly improve PR wear life but a stable V-hi cannot be attained with the latter. Instead V-hi increases monotonically as V-pp and IAC increases. Thus, practical implementation of pulsed biased and clipped AC excitation waveforms would require complex controls to achieve V-hi stability especially across environmental conditions, and may be difficult to achieve.
The properties of the charge receptor, such as a photoreceptor, affect the overall functioning of a printing apparatus and the ultimate quality of images created therewith. The electrical stresses placed on a photoreceptor by printing of thousands of images contributes to the degradation of the photoreceptor. As the photoreceptor degrades the quality of images that can be created by that photoreceptor degrades as well. Thus, in practical embodiments of xerographic printers and copiers, it is inevitable that the photoreceptor will be periodically replaced. Replacement of the photoreceptor represents a large expense. It is therefore desirable to provide a method and system by which the photoreceptor, even a pre-existing photoreceptor, can be extended significantly.
Other factors that shorten the life of the bias charge rolls include toner and additive contamination. Such contamination is another cause of non-uniform charging of the BCR. Further, various methods of cleaning the BCR fail to sufficiently solve these problems. For example, contaminants in cleaners are densely impacted on the BCR surface due to the BCR loading force against the PR. These densely packed contaminants are often not removed by typical cleaning methods. Thus, even after cleaning, the effect of non-uniform charging of the BCR remains.
As BCR technology advances to include faster color machines, it is not uncommon to use higher AC currents. The use of higher AC currents in these applications typically causes an even higher wear rate of the photoreceptor. Thus, the demands of advancing technology expose even greater shortfalls associated with customer expectations regarding the usable life of a customer replaceable unit.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,543,900 and 5,613,173 disclose a type of charging apparatus for use in charging the photoreceptor in a xerographic printer. In combination with the bias roll which initially charges the photoreceptor a special "clipping" circuit is disclosed comprising a diode and resistor. The clipping circuit has the function of clipping an oscillating voltage applied to the bias roll, and in turn to the photoreceptor, as the bias roll charges the photoreceptor. The long-term effect of this clipping is that lower electrical stresses are experienced by the photoreceptor with extended use, and in turn the degradation of the photoreceptor is inhibited.

Non-contact bias charge roll biased with burst modulation waveform


A system and method for adding decorative images to a plurality of input images allows the decorative images to be easily selected. An image processing device includes a decorative image storage unit configured to store a plurality of decorative images, and a representative color acquisition unit configured to acquire a representative color for each of the input images by analyzing the input images. A decorative image selecting unit selects a decorative image to be added to each of the input images based on the representative color of the input image. An output image generating unit generates an output image by individually synthesizing the decorative images with a same pattern and the input images.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for selecting a decorative image which is added to an input image individually.
2. Description of the Related Art
When an image input from an image input device such as a digital still camera are output to an image output device such as a display or printer, a decorative image may be added to the input image. Such decorative image is selected from a plurality of decorative images through the user's own judgment based on features of the input image such as color tone.
However, many decorative images with different patterns and color tone may cause the user to make decisions on a large number of combinations of the decorative images and the input image, which imposes a significant burden on the user when selecting a decorative image.

Selection of decorative picture suitable for input picture


For one embodiment, a computer system includes both high power and low power buses coupling a processor to a controller. When the processor is in a high power mode, its cache is snooped by the controller via the high power bus. When the processor is in a low power mode, its cache is snooped by the controller via the low power bus.

Computer systems are becoming increasingly pervasive in our society, including everything from small handheld electronic devices, such as personal data assistants and cellular phones, to application-specific electronic components, such as set-top boxes and other consumer electronics, to medium-sized mobile and desktop systems to large workstations and servers. Computer systems typically include one or more processors. A processor manipulates and controls the flow of data in a computer by executing instructions. To provide more powerful computer systems for consumers, processor designers strive to continually increase the operating speed of the processor. Unfortunately, as processor speed increases, the power consumed by the processor tends to increase as well. Historically, the power consumed by a computer system has been limited by two factors. First, as power consumption increases, the computer tends to run hotter, leading to thermal dissipation problems. Second, the power consumed by a computer system may tax the limits of the power supply used to keep the system operational, reducing battery life in mobile systems and diminishing reliability while increasing cost in larger systems.
One way to reduce the power consumed by the processor is to enable the processor to operate in different power states or modes. Generally, when a processor is in a high power mode, the processor consumes more power than when the processor is in a low power mode. Therefore, increasing the relative amount of time a processor spends in a low power mode reduces the overall power consumed by the computer system.
Unfortunately, some low power modes do not support snooping of one or more caches of a processor. This may limit the usefulness of the low power mode and force the processor to spend more time in a high power mode, increasing power consumption of the computer system. The present invention addresses this and other problems associated with the prior art.

Method and apparatus for communicating between integrated circuits in a low power mode


A pulse encoder for fitting to a meter of a liquid dispenser device for the purpose of supplying a signal representative of the flow of dispensed liquid. The encoder includes a coding wheel driven by the meter at a speed of rotation that is substantially proportional to the liquid flow rate. The wheel carries a first series of divisions of angular period P, and referred to as "primary" divisions. Two primary sensors which detect the primary divisions are angularly offset from each other by one-fourth of the angular period, i.e. P/4, modulo P, so as to provide two primary pulse signals that are likewise offset by one-fourth of a period. The coding wheel also carries a second series of divisions, referred to as "secondary" divisions, of angular period P' equal to twice the angular period P of the primary divisions. A secondary sensor is suitable for detecting the secondary divisions so as to supply a secondary pulse signal of a period that is double the period of the primary pulse signals. The encoder includes processor means suitable for supplying the signal representative of the flow of liquid dispensed on the basis of the primary and secondary pulse signals. The encoder is applicable to fuel dispensers.

By way of example, fuel-pump meters in a fuel dispensing station usually comprise a pump enabling said fuel to be brought from a storage tank to a delivery point, in this case the tank of a vehicle, by passing through a volume meter or measurer whose function, in quite general terms, is to produce rotary motion from the flow of fuel in such a manner that one complete revolution corresponds to a known given volume of fuel passing through the meter.
An encoding system coupled to said rotary motion in association with the volume meter forms measurement apparatus suitable for forming a signal representative of the volume flow of fuel that had been dispensed, which signal is processed by a computer designed to sum the volume signal received from the encoding system so as to be able to determine the volume of fuel dispensed by the fuel-pump meter in question, and also the amount that needs to be paid, given the price per liter of fuel.
This information is then displayed to the customer on a display incorporated in the corresponding fuel pump meter.
The encoding systems most commonly used are pulse encoders suitable for delivering an electrical signal constituted by a series of pulses, each of which corresponds to the volume increment at which the volume of fuel dispensed is measured, e.g. 1 cl.
In principle, a pulse encoder comprises a coding wheel mechanically coupled to the meter and thus driven by the meter at a speed of rotation that is substantially proportional to the flow rate of the liquid. Said coding wheel carries a series of divisions, e.g. on its periphery, which in one particular embodiment may be constituted merely by slots of angular period P corresponding to said measurement volume increment.
While the coding wheel is rotating, a single sensor, e.g. an optical sensor, disposed to be able to detect the passage of said slots then provides a pulse signal that is representative of the volume flow of liquid dispensed.
This signal is sent to the computer which then establishes the volume of liquid dispensed by multiplying the total number of pulses received by the volume measurement increment.
Nevertheless, that type of known pulse encoder suffers from several drawbacks.
Firstly, it does not enable the direction of rotation of the flow meter to be defined. It is therefore not possible to detect when the direction of rotation is reversed, e.g. due to hydraulic hammer, and as a result, the encoder continues to deliver pulses even when the rotation of the coding wheel is in reverse and no volume of liquid is flowing. Since these interference pulses are taken into account by the computer along with the others, this results in an overestimate of the volume of liquid dispensed.
Also, during small-amplitude oscillations of the meter, it can happen that the level of the signal provided by the sensor remains constant, i.e. at a high level if the sensor remains in register with a slot, or at a low level if the sensor remains in register with a land between two consecutive slots. However, a low level can also be due to a fault in the sensor itself, so it is not possible with that type of encoder to distinguish between the phenomenon of small oscillations and the sensor being out of operation. Unfortunately, it is essential to be able, at all times, to detect a breakdown of the sensor.
To remedy those drawbacks, proposals have been made to add a second sensor to an existing sensor, with the second sensor likewise being suitable for detecting the same divisions of the coding wheel as the first sensor, but being offset therefrom by one-fourth of an angular period, i.e. P/4, modulo P. It can be shown that under such circumstances, by comparing the two pulse signals delivered by the two sensors, it is possible to determine the direction of rotation of the wheel and thus to eliminate the influence of large-amplitude oscillations. Nevertheless, even with the presence of two such sensors, it is still not possible to be certain of detecting the breakdown of one of the sensors, since under such circumstances the signals supplied can be confused with those that can be obtained in certain cases of small oscillations.
In order to remove all ambiguity in the interpretation of the signals, it is possible to pierce a hole through the coding wheel and to associate that hole with a third sensor. In such a configuration, any one of the sensors being out of operation can be diagnosed reliably. However, this diagnosis takes place only after the coding wheel has revolved through one complete turn, i.e. after a delay that is considered as being excessive.

Pulse encoder for a liquid dispensing device


A method and apparatus for beverage merchandising including an annular collar for the neck of a beverage decanter, such as a coffee carafe, which is able to display text information or pictures along its outside surface. The display of text information or pictures may be performed using a graphical insert, such as paper, inserted into a slot formed along the outside surface of the annular collar.

Merchandising methods and devices have grown increasingly sophisticated in response to evolving customer tastes and competition in crowded marketplaces. Methods and devices for merchandising beverages may increase sales of beverages and associated products by attracting consumers who may be passing by, such as in a gas station, convenience store, mall food court, or fast food store.
A variety of techniques have been developed for beverage merchandising. For example, it is common to place a sign, which may be handwritten or printed, on a stand near a coffeepot or beverage carafe. Some coffee pots are color coded to indicate, for example, whether the coffee in the pot is decaffeinated or regular. However, the practical value of these prior techniques is limited by real-world considerations such as information display capacity, durability, cost, cleanliness, appearance, and space requirements.
For these reasons, a method and apparatus for beverage merchandising including a information display which addresses the shortcomings of the prior art would be useful.

Method and apparatus for beverage merchandising


A gravity-deformable toy is formed by interlocking a plurality of flexible struts with a plurality of nodes. Each strut has a truncated sphere on at least one end thereof and each node has a plurality of spherical cavities defined therein. A truncated sphere of a strut is received in a spherical cavity to lock the strut to the node. Each of the struts has a center uniform cylinder having an outer diameter, and a diameter of the truncated sphere. The diameter of the truncated sphere is larger than the diameter of the center uniform cylinder. Each of the cavities has a circular entrance which has a diameter equal to the diameter of the central uniform cylinder and each of the cavities has a diameter equal to the diameter of the truncated sphere. When assembled, the toy is deformed by gravity when pendently supported.

Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a construction toy consisting of a system of flexible struts and resilient spherical nodes so configured that each strut joins with each node in a ball and socket joint.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The use of construction elements for toys is common, and valuable. These toys teach spatial relationships, mechanical skills, and even artistic skills. There are numerous toys of the construction type that have been patented. Some of them are:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,006 (""006) teaches toys made of elements of various shapes, all of which contain wire cores. such that they can be bent into fanciful shapes, and connected by wrapping the elements about each other.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,176,428 (""428) teaches flexible hollow tubes or straws that are connected by means of coupling members that are hollow, but contain an interior pin such that the hollow tube goes within the member, but has the interior pin in it.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,011 (""011) is an inexpensive toy comprising rigid tubular elements that are connected by stamped members having protrusions to fit within the tubular elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,003 (""003) teaches rigid cylindrical struts that are inserted into corresponding cylindrical cavities in linking members, being held in the cavities by friction between the cylindrical strut and the cylindrical hole.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,004 (""004) teaches a toy with flexible struts with tapered ends, the ends being inserted into polygonal connecting elements in the form of envelopes. Multiple struts introduced into the envelopes bear on each other, causing their retention in the envelope.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,975,858 (""858), 4,579,538 (""538), 3,432,960 (""960) are of general interest in the field of construction toys.
All of the patents cited have the problem of being either too readily disassembled, i.e., they fall apart, or they are too difficult to disassemble when another configuration is desired. Those toys with rigid struts do not provide the wealth of finished shapes that those with flexible struts do, and all of the strut/connecting devices provide for either no or very little swiveling on the part of the strut inserted in the connecting means.
The toy of the instant invention comprises flexible struts that are inserted into flexible nodes, the struts having balls formed on the end, and the nodes having corresponding sockets formed therein, whereby each joint is a semi-closed ball and socket joint, allowing not only for flexibility, but reliable retention of the struts by the nodes. The nodes are of a compressible material and contain a plurality of equatorial sockets about each of the three axes of the nodes. The struts are preferrably flexible, but of course could be rigid along all or part of their length. They preferably come in a variety of lengths, those lengths being multiples of each other when assembled.


Three-way call detection is an important component of correctional facility telephone equipment because it helps restrict calling access by certain persons to certain restricted telephone numbers. Various three-way call detection methods exist, but all of these implementations suffer from one major limitation-the detection accuracy is not as high as is desired by the industry. The present invention improves detection accuracy, using “steganography.” Steganography involves hiding one set of data or signals within another signal or carrier in such a way that its presence is typically imperceptible to the human ear, and potential even the originator of the carrier signal. The present invention involves a device that connects to a telephone, either at the line or the handset interfaces, and produces a known signal that is steganographically hidden within the user's normal voice signal. Detection equipment, residing at another location, monitors signals on telephone calls and tests for the presence of the hidden signal or data generated by the invention. Once detection is achieved, appropriate action, such as terminating or recording the call, may be taken. Improved accuracy is achieved by choosing the appropriate hidden signal(s). Once detected, the presence of the signal guarantees the call was made to the restricted party from a particular phone line.

Modern phone companies offer a number of convenient services to their customers. One such service is called conference-calling, third-party calling or "three-way" calling. This allows an originating caller and a recipient caller, who establish a conversation, to engage the phone system to dial and connect a third party into the conversation as well.
Three-way calling is a convenient feature in many situations, but poses a problem in others. Inmates in correctional facilities have the ability to originate phone calls to others, but typically are not able to call those numbers on a given inmate's "restricted-number" list. Persons on the restricted list may include judges, prosecutors, other lawyers, victims of the inmate's crimes, or even other family members (especially in the case of protection-from-abuse (PFA) cases). By using three-way calling, inmates are able to contact people on these restricted lists. They first call a number not on the restricted list (a friend, for example), then have the friend perform a three-way call to the restricted number.
Although current prior art and patented devices attempt to solve the three-way call problem, they all suffer from one major limitation; namely, they are not 100% effective at detecting such calls. Inventions such as this are useful in correctional-institutes telephony markets, but some percentage of inmate calls (as much as 10%, 20%, or even 30%) which use three-way calling to get another party on the line, in violation of call-restriction rules, will get past the modern three-way call-detection system undetected and on to the intended party. Commercial pressures exist for the accuracy rates to be higher, and if possible, to be 100% to handle those calls that escape detection by present equipment and techniques.

Three-way call detection using steganography


Methods, computer program products, and systems are presented. The method computer program products, and systems can include, for instance: obtaining vocal utterance data representing vocal utterances of multiple users within a venue; processing the vocal utterance data to return metadata associated to the vocal utterance data; predicting using the metadata an item for acquisition by one or more user of the multiple users; and returning an action decision in dependence on the predicting.

Speech recognition is the translation of spoken words to text and, more particularly, it is the computer-driven transcription of spoken language into readable text in real-time. Speech recognition systems are rapidly increasing in significance in many areas of data and communications technology. In recent years, speech recognition has advanced to the point where it is used by millions of people across various applications. Speech recognition applications now include interactive voice response systems, voice dialing, data entry, dictation mode systems including medical transcription, automotive applications, etc. There are also "command and control" applications that utilize speech recognition for controlling tasks such as adjusting the climate control in a vehicle or requesting a smart phone to play a particular song.
Data structures have been employed for improving operation of computer system. A data structure refers to an organization of data in a computer environment for improved computer system operation. Data structure types include containers, lists, stacks, queues, tables and graphs. Data structures have been employed for improved computer system operation e.g. in terms of algorithm efficiency, memory usage efficiency, maintainability, and reliability.
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to intelligence exhibited by machines. Artificial intelligence (AI) research includes search and mathematical optimization, neural networks and probability. Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions involve features derived from research in a variety of different science and technology disciplines ranging from computer science, mathematics, psychology, linguistics, statistics, and neuroscience.

Vocal utterance based item inventory actions

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A package for storing a roll of monofilament line with a cutting tool embedded in the package and a related method. The package is formed from two opposing clamshell portions made from sheets of film and pivotally connected together. A chamber is formed when the two clamshell portions are sealed together to store the roll of monofilament line. An aperture in one of the clamshell portions allows a length of monofilament line to be dispensed from within the chamber. A cutting tool is at least partially disposed between the two clamshell portions or inserted into a pocket in one of the clamshell portions when sealed together to attach the cutting tool to the package. At least a portion of the cutting tool is accessible from outside the package for cutting a length of monofilament line being dispensed from the package.

Monofilament lines are well known in the art and are commonly defined as strings made from a single fiber. Common examples of monofilament lines include, but are not limited to, vegetation trimmer or cutting lines, pulling lines, fishing lines, and utility lines. Such monofilament lines may be made from single component filaments or from multi-component filaments, and may be produced by any of a variety of methods known in the art, including, but not limited to, molding, extruding and/or spinning. Many types of monofilament lines are made from polymeric materials.
Typically, such monofilament lines are packaged in bulk form. That is, typically, the monofilament lines are produced as continuous lines of a single or multi-component filament that are wound or otherwise placed into containers for holding the monofilament lines. One such plastic container or package commonly used for vegetation trimmer line or weed cutting line is known in the industry as a "donut package" due to the general appearance of the monofilament line that is wound within the cavity of the container. The cavity of the package, as well as the monofilament line wound within it, resembles the shape of a donut.
Heretofore, users of flexible wound monofilament line packaged in plastic containers have had to use auxiliary cutting devices such as, for example, knives, scissors, blades, or wire cutters, to cut the line to a desired length. The reliance on such auxiliary cutting devices is undesirable since the user, first, must possess a cutting device suitable for and capable of cutting the monofilament line and, second, must keep the cutting device close at hand or within the proximity of the user to enable the user to cut the line at a time of convenience when needed. In addition, many cutting devices, such as knives or blades, are known to be dangerous to the user due to the exposed sharp edges of these devices.
It is known in the art to attach a monofilament line cutting tool to the container holding the monofilament line to address the foregoing problem. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,908,953 a cutting tool for cutting monofilament line is attached to the package. The cutting tool comprises a base member having a groove adapted to receive the flexible line when the cutting tool is in use and a blade recessed within the groove, the blade being adapted to cut the flexible line when the line is forced into the blade during use of the cutting tool. The cutting tool further includes an arm member in operative relationship with and complementary to the base member, which arm member is capable of producing and applying mechanical advantage in a manner that forces the flexible line received within the groove against the blade to thereby sever the flexible line.
One drawback to attaching the cutting tool to the package not addressed in the '953 patent is that the cutting tool being attached to the exterior of the package lends to the cutting tool being pilfered or easily removed from the exterior of the package at the point of sale. Additionally, if the cutting tool is not attached securely to the package over time the cutting tool may loosen and fall off the package. As such, there is a need for a means for securely attaching the cutting tool to the package that is theft-proof, reliable and easy to manufacture.

Package for monofilament line with embedded cutting tool and related method


A test probe card structure includes a probe card and a connection circuit common plate. The probe card includes a probe substrate, A test circuit board is disposed between the probe substrate and the connection circuit common plate, The test circuit board has a lest circuit connection section attached to and electrically connected with a common circuit adaptation section of the connection circuit common plate. A circuit extension section is formed around the connection circuit common plate, which is all-channel electrically connectable between a tester and the teat circuit connection section. The connection circuit common plate serves to provide an all-channel test circuit convergence connection ability for the test circuit board so as to greatly minify the size of the test circuit board and lower the manufacturing cost of the probe card.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved test probe card structure, and more particularly to a probe card structure for testing integrated circuits. The probe card structure includes a connection circuit common plate connected between a test circuit board and a tester, whereby the test circuit board can be minified to lower the manufacturing cost of the probe card.
2. Description of the Related Art
After processed and formed and before packaged, the wafer of an integrated circuit needs to go through a chip probe (CP) process for testing the electrical functions of the chips of the wafer in every section so as to judge whether the quality of the chips in every section meets the requirement. Accordingly, the chips with poor electrical functions can be previously screened out without being packaged. In this case, the manufacturing cost can be lowered.
In the chip probe process, the wafer to be tested is placed on a tester for testing the integrated circuit. A probe card is installed on a test end of the tester. The probes of the probe card can precisely contact the pads or bumps on the surface of the wafer. The tester is composed of a computer operation system and a programmable signal generator and is program-writable. According to the differences between the circuit layouts of the wafer, different test programs are loaded into the tester. The tester transmits signals to the wafer through the probes of the probe card and receives the electronic feedback signals to show the wafer maps of the good products and defective products on the screen of the tester. Then the tester can automatically analyze and judge whether the functions of the chips are normal or abnormal.
The circuit layout of the chips of the wafer is designed according to the electrical functions of the chips to be achieved. Therefore, the chips can provide the electrical functions by means of the circuit layout. Each wafer necessitates a specific probe card and tester in adaptation to the electrical functions of chips of the wafer for successfully performing the test. Please refer to FIG. 1. A conventional probe card has a probe substrate 2a and a test circuit board 1a. The probe substrate 2a can be made of ceramic material and has a strength sufficient to support multiple probes 21a to abut against the wafer. In accordance with the electrical functions, the test circuit board 1a is divided into a substrate circuit connection section 11a directed to and electrically connected with the probe substrate 2a and a circuit extension section 13a formed around and electrically connected with the test circuit board 1a for electrically connecting with the tester. The test circuit board 1a has a test circuit 12a for electrically connecting with the substrate circuit connection section 11a and the circuit extension section 13a, in general, the bottom face of the substrate circuit connection section 11a of the test circuit board 1a is attached to the top face of the probe substrate 2a, whereby the test circuit 12a of the test circuit board 1a can be electrically connected to the probes 21a via the internal leads 22a of the probe substrate 2a. The circuit layout of the test circuit 12a is designed according to the electrical functions of the wafer to be tested so as to meet the electrical functions of the wafer. In other words, the circuit layout of the test circuit 12a in the probe card must be varied with the circuit layout of the wafer to be tested. Therefore, for testing different wafers with different circuit layouts and different electrical functions, the test circuit 12a of the probe card must be designed with a specific circuit layout, which cannot be commonly applied to other wafers with different circuit layouts.
The number of the test channels of the tester not only decides the test efficiency of the tester, but also decides the size and specification of the end of the tester for installing the test circuit board of the probe card. For example, the common testers on the market can be classified into 256-channel tester and 512-channel tester. The test capacity of the 512-channel tester is much higher than that of the 256-channel tester. Moreover, the specification of the test circuit board connectable to the 512-channel tester is larger than that of the test circuit board connectable to the 256-channel tester. Therefore, under the same technical condition and support, along with the increase of the required test capacity, there is inevitably a trend to manufacture the tester with a larger end for connecting with the test circuit board.
On the other hand, along with the continuous advance of the semiconductor techniques, the chips of the wafer have become smaller and smaller and the distribution density of the chips has become higher and higher. As a result, the number and arrangement density of the probes 21a of the probe card are inevitably increased. The test circuit board 1a of the conventional probe card has a circuit extension section 13a meeting the specification of the end of the tester, which is connectable with the test circuit board. The internal test circuit 12a is connected between the circuit extension section 13a and the substrate circuit connection section 11a to converge a large distribution range (size) to a small distribution range in adaptation to the electrical connection of top face of the probe substrate 2a. The circuit extension section 13a of the 256-channel probe card must meet the size or specification of the test circuit board connection end of the 256-channel tester for connection therewith and application thereto. Similarly, the circuit extension section 13a of the 512-channel probe card must meet the size or specification of the test circuit board connection end of the 512-channel tester, In addition, through the electrical connection of the test circuit 12a, the larger distribution range of the test circuit board connection end of the tester can be converged to the smaller size of the substrate circuit connection section 11a of the test circuit board 1a of the probe card. Then the circuit extension section 13a is electrically connected to the probes 21a via the probe substrate 2a.
The test circuit 12a of the probe card has multiple outer connection terminals 121a extending to the top face of the circuit extension section 13a for electrically connecting with the test circuit board connection end of the tester. The circuit layout and number of the test circuit 12a, the substrate circuit connection section 11a, and the outer connection terminals 121a are varied with the change of the wafer to be tested. For example, in the case that the test circuit board connection end of the tester has 256 test terminals, the circuit layout of the outer connection terminals 121a of the probe card is changed and the number of the outer connection terminals 121a can be 256 or less than 256. In the case that the number of the outer connection terminals 121a of the probe card is equal to the total number of the test terminals of the test circuit board connection end of the tester, this means the circuit layout of the test circuit board 1a of the probe card is applied to all the test channels, (for example, 256 or 512 test channels) of the tester. In the case that the number of the outer connection terminals 121a of the probe card is less than the total number of the test terminals of the tester, this means the circuit layout of the test circuit board 1a of the probe card is only applied some of the test channels of the tester.
Therefore, the circuit layout of the test circuit 12a of the probe card is very complicated and the circuit layout of the test circuit 12a of the probe card must be specifically designed in adaptation to the wafer to be tested. Therefore, the total manufacturing cost of the probe card is always very high. The test circuit board 1a cannot be commonly applied to different wafers or products to test the same. Moreover, in order to adapt the test circuit board 1a of the probe card to the specification of the circuit board connection end of a different tester, the volume of the test circuit board 1a cannot be minified. This means that the test circuit board 1a of the probe card must be specifically manufactured in accordance with the specification of the tester and it is impossible to minify the size of the test circuit board 1a to lower the manufacturing cost.