A rotating injector for use in the treatment of molten metal to remove impurities. Inert gas is flowed through a hollow rotary shaft having a lower gas port opening to a gas chamber surrounded by an outlet of porous material for creating micronized bubbles in the molten metal. A rotating mixer disperses the inert gas issuing from the outlet.

Rotating injectors are widely used in industry for the purpose of floating separation of impurities in molten metal, by blowing a dispersion of an inert gas, such argon, nitrogen, chlorine, and the like into the melt.
Prior art rotating injectors normally comprise a hollow rotary shaft and a rotating mixer made of sintered carbon or ceramic material. The inert gas is flowed out of holes having a diameter greater then 1 mm, located at the downward end or on the side of the rotating mixer, which rotates at high speed.
Because of the size of the holes, in excess of 1 mm in diameter, the diameter of the inert gas flow through the holes when the rotating injector is not being rotated may exceed 5 mm.
To effect efficient removal from the molten metal, it is important that the area of contact between the inert gas and the molten metal be as large as possible, and thus the rotating injector has been rotated at a higher speed (200-800 rpm) to enable micronization and dispersion of the gas over the entire vessel.
From a macro standpoint, the micronization of the inert gas by means of higher speed rotation of the mixer is effective. However, the inert gas is thereby caused to be `sticky`, and its expansion in volume tends to lower the area of contact with the molten metal due to the agitation, during floating of the inert gas once micronized, as it is dispersed upwards to the molten metal surface.
In addition, due to the higher agitation force of the rotating injector, eddy currents or ripples are produced on the molten metal surface during the agitation, oxides are formed on contact with atmosphere, and hydrogen is absorbed into the molten metal. All of these phenomena have long been regarded as serious problems.

Rotary inert gas dispersion apparatus for molten metal treatment


A thermal system for a vehicle includes a high temperature coolant loop thermally coupled to a heater core, a low temperature coolant loop thermally coupled to at least one of an electric motor and power electronics, and a first four-way valve configured to selectively fluidly couple the high temperature coolant loop and the low temperature coolant loop such that coolant heated by the electric motor and/or the power electronics is directed to the heater core to facilitate heating of an airflow passing thereby.

Some vehicles utilize heat from an internal combustion engine to heat the passenger cabin. However, the propulsion system of an electric vehicle generates relatively little heat. Typically, the small amount of heat generated by the drivetrain is ignored, and any heating required is provided by electric heaters. However, some electrical heaters consumer large amounts of energy during operation. Thus, while such conventional systems work well for their intended purpose, there is a desire to provide improvement in the relevant art.

Electric vehicle thermal system with waste heat recovery


A PC card of limited height (5 or 10 mm) is constructed with an extendable connector at its rear end for connection to a tall plug such as an RJ (telephone-type) plug that is designed to fit into a receptacle of large height. The connector apparatus is formed by a plastic molded rear end cap (22) at the rear of the PC card, with the cap having a slot (102) and with an adaptor platform (52) being slidable in the slot between an extended position wherein a rear portion of the platform projects a plurality of millimeters rearward of the end cap, and a stored position wherein the platform rear end is about flush with the cap rear surface. A hold-down (54) is pivotally mounted on the platform, the hold-down being pivoted down into a platform recess in the stored position and being pivoted up above the top of the PC card (10) to form a receptacle for receiving the plug in the deployed position. The slot in the cap has cap slot walls extending 360.degree. around the slot axis (104), to provide a rugged support for the platform. The hold-down has a middle portion that lies uppermost when receiving a plug, with the middle portion lying forward of the hold-down pivot axis in the stored position of the platform, and with the middle portion forming a handle (100) to help pull out the platform.

PC cards are becoming widely used to provide an interface between circuitry in an electronic device such as a portable computer, and other devices such as modems, facsimile machines, sound and video equipment, etc. PC cards complying with PCMCIA standards (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) have a width and length about the same as a common credit card, of 54 mm.times.85.6 mm. The maximum thickness of the standard card varies, with Type I card being 3.3 mm, Type II card being 5 mm, and Type III card being 10.5 mm. There is a need for a very low cost interface between a PCMCIA card and RJ style plugs.
RJ plugs are commonly used to connect household and business telephones to cables. Such RJ, or telephone-type plugs are designed for insertion into recesses having a height of about 10 mm, with the bottom walls of the recess holding contacts for engaging the plug contacts so the receptacle must have a total height of at least about 14 mm. As a result, a simple slot cannot be provided at the rear end of a standard PC card to receive and connect to such a plug. In many electronic devices that receive PC cards, a door is provided that closes the rear end of the card-receiving slot. Accordingly, the PC card that can connect to an RJ plug, must not be thicker or longer than the given card dimensions when not connected to an RJ plug.
One solution to the connection of an RJ plug to a PC card is to provide a removable adaptor with a tall cavity at the rear for receiving the RJ plug and with a narrow plug at its front end for insertion into the rear of the PC card. However, there is a danger that such a removable adaptor will be lost. Also, such an adaptor adds to the cost of the interface. Apparatus that could be substantially completely contained within the dimensions of a standard PC card such as a Type II type (which is the most popular type), but which could be extended for mating with an RJ plug, which was rugged and facilitated rearward pullout of the device, would be of value.


Novel rhodamine dye compounds, labelled conjugates comprising the dyes are described, together with methods for their use. The dyes and labelled conjugates are useful as molecular probes in a variety of applications, such as in assays involving staining of cells, protein binding, and analysis of nucleic acids, such as hybridization assays and nucleic acid sequencing.

Several publications and patent documents are referenced in this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. The disclosure of each of these publications and documents is incorporated by reference herein.
Non-radioactive detection of nucleic acids utilizing fluorescent labels is an important technology in molecular biology. Many procedures employed in recombinant DNA technology previously relied heavily on the use of nucleotides or polynucleotides radioactively labelled with, for example 32P. Radioactive compounds permit sensitive detection of nucleic acids and other molecules of interest. However, there are serious limitations in the use of radioactive isotopes such as their expense, limited shelf life and more importantly safety considerations. Eliminating the need for radioactive labels enhances safety whilst reducing the environmental impact and costs associated with, for example, reagent disposal. Methods amenable to non-radioactive fluorescent detection include by way of non-limiting example, automated DNA sequencing, hybridization methods, real-time detection of polymerase-chain-reaction products and immunoassays.
For many applications it is desirable to employ multiple spectrally distinguishable fluorescent labels in order to achieve independent detection of a plurality of spatially overlapping analytes. In such multiplex methods the number of reaction vessels may be reduced simplifying experimental protocols and facilitating the production of application-specific reagent kits. In multi-colour automated DNA sequencing for example, multiplex fluorescent detection allows for the analysis of multiple nucleotide bases in a single electrophoresis lane thereby increasing throughput over single-colour methods and reducing uncertainties associated with inter-lane electrophoretic mobility variations.
However, multiplex fluorescent detection can be problematic and there are a number of important factors which constrain selection of fluorescent labels. First, it is difficult to find dye compounds whose emission spectra are suitably spectrally resolved. In addition when several fluorescent dyes are used together, simultaneous excitation may be difficult because the absorption bands of the dyes are usually widely separated. Many excitation methods use high power lasers and therefore the dye must have sufficient photo-stability to withstand such laser excitation. A final consideration of particular importance in molecular biology methods is that the fluorescent dyes must be compatible with the reagent chemistries used such as for example DNA synthesis solvents and reagents, buffers, polymerase enzymes and ligase enzymes.
As sequencing technology advances a need has developed for further fluorescent dye compounds, their nucleic acid conjugates and dye sets which satisfy all of the above constraints and which are amenable particularly to high throughput molecular methods such as solid phase sequencing and the like.

Dye compounds and the use of their labelled conjugates


In a waveform generator, a repetitive non-linear waveform is generated by varying the number supplied to a pulse reduction circuit during the repetition period. Consequently, the pulse reduction circuit supplies a number of desired output pulses, which number varies in time corresponding to the varying number. For example, when a lower number is inputted to the pulse reduction circuit during a sub-period of the repetition period, a corresponding lower number of output pulses will be generated. Consequently, a lower number of increment values will be summed or integrated during this sub-period and the waveform changes less steeply.

This invention relates to a waveform generator, a field deflection circuit comprising a waveform generator, a display apparatus comprising a field deflection circuit, and a method of generating a periodic waveform.
U.S. Pat. No. 4, 891,565 discloses a field deflection circuit including a sawtooth generator for generating an essentially sawtooth-shaped voltage. The circuit is provided with a storage element in which information is stored under the influence of applied clock pulses. Per field period, the number of times when the content of the storage element is changed is reduced to a predetermined number, e.g. because a number of clock pulses is omitted. The clock pulses applied to the sawtooth generator are then distributed as regularly as possible. More in detail, a pulse reduction circuit (which may be a rate multiplier) converts a number of input pulses (the clock pulses) occurring during a vertical scan period into a fixed number of output pulses. Integrating a fixed value to an output voltage at each output pulse, generates a waveform. In this way, a linear waveform is generated with a constant amplitude (the fixed number of output pulses multiplied by the fixed value) independent of the duration of the field scan period.
It is a drawback of this prior art that the waveform is limited to a linear sawtooth only.
It is an object of the invention to provide a simple waveform generator with a pulse reduction circuit, which waveform generator is able to provide an arbitrary waveform.
To this end, a first aspect of the invention provides a waveform generator as claimed in claim 1. A second aspect of the invention provides a field deflection circuit comprising a waveform generator as claimed in claim 5. A third aspect of the invention provides a display apparatus comprising a field deflection circuit as claimed in claim 7. A fourth aspect of the invention provides a method of generating a periodical waveform as claimed in claim 8. Advantageous embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.
The waveform generator according to the first aspect of the invention generates a non-linear waveform by introducing a correction circuit which varies the number, fixed in the prior art, supplied to the pulse reduction circuit. Consequently, the pulse reduction circuit supplies a number of desired output pulses which varies in time corresponding to the varying number. For example, when a lower number is inputted to the pulse reduction circuit during a sub-period of the repetition period (the repetition period may be the field scan-period), a corresponding lower number of output pulses will be generated. Consequently, a lower number of increment values will be summed or integrated during this sub-period and the waveform rises less steeply.
For example, a non-linear waveform is required in a field deflection circuit of a cathode ray tube. A linear field scan requires an S-corrected sawtooth-shaped field deflection current. Another example of a non-linear waveform is a field frequency parabola as may be used for an East-West correction or dynamic focussing.
The invention can be used to generate a field frequency waveform as in the prior art, but may also generate a line frequency waveform, or a waveform having any desired periodicity.
In the prior art, the pulse reduction circuit generates a linear sawtooth waveform. If another waveform is required, a complex analog multiplier is used to multiply the sawtooth by a correction waveform.
In an embodiment of the invention, the correction circuit comprises a calculator which receives a synchronizing signal indicating the repetition period. During the repetition period, the calculator supplies a series of predetermined numbers to the pulse reduction circuit. Values of the successive numbers correspond to differentiated values of the desired non-linear periodic waveform.
In an embodiment of the invention as claimed in claim 4, two small pulse reduction circuits instead of one large pulse reduction circuit are implemented. The first pulse reduction circuit generates a fixed number q (for example, 256) of pulses during the repetition period. In this way, the repetition period is divided into a fixed number of q sub-periods or sections. In each of the sections, the correction circuit supplies a predetermined number to the second pulse reduction circuit which will output this predetermined number of pulses during this section. The non-linear waveform is obtained when the correction circuit calculates different predetermined numbers for different sections. In this way, the repetition period is divided into a fixed number of sections independent of the duration of the repetition period. The correction circuit is simply synchronized with the output signal of the first pulse reduction circuit to supply a predetermined number (of desired output pulses to be supplied by the second pulse reduction circuit) for each section. It is not required to separately synchronize the correction circuit with the repetition period to allow generation of the correct predetermined numbers during the correct sections to obtain the correctly shaped non-linear waveform.
These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from and will be elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.


A system, method and computer program product for controlling information to be displayed on a display device may be provided. The system may display on a first display view, electronic data which includes interactable data. The system may detect that the interactable data is selected by a user. The system may identify redundant data between the electronic data and content to be rendered responsive to selecting the interactable data. The system may hide the identified redundant data from the content to be rendered or the original content of the electronic data. The system may display, on a second display view, the content without the identified redundant data.

Embedded Experience (EE) applications or pop-up windows are designed to give users an enhanced user experience by allowing them to see content and perform actions in a second display view while still being able to view data displayed on a first display view. An Embedded Experience application refers to a software application which is embedded in another software application.

Maximizing information consumption in embedded experience apps/pop-ups and newsfeed/activity streams

International Business Machines Corporation


A power converter that converts an AC power outputted from a generator into a DC power and supplies it to a battery (load). The power converter includes a thyristor (switch unit) connected between an output unit of the generator and the battery (load); and a gate control unit (control unit) for generating a triangle wave voltage having a constant peak voltage corresponding to each cycle of the AC power outputted from the generator, generating a differential voltage between the voltage supplied to the load via the switch unit and a predetermined target voltage, and controlling the conductive state of the switch unit based on the triangle wave voltage and the differential voltage.

Conventionally, a power converter that adjusts an AC power outputted from a generator and converts it to a DC power is used for, for example, charging a battery of a vehicle.
FIG. 34 is a configuration of a conventional power converter 200. In FIG. 34, an AC power is fed to a generator coil 100 by driving a rotation axis of the generator. A thyristor 201, a resistor 202, a diode 203, Zener diodes 204 and 205, and a diode 206 constitute the power converter 200, being basically realized as a half-wave rectifier circuit.
Specifically, an anode of the thyristor 201 is connected to one end of the generator coil 100, and a cathode thereof is connected to a positive electrode of a battery 300 that forms a load of the power converter 200. The resistor 202, the diode 203, and the Zener diodes 204 and 205 are connected in series in that order between the anode and the ground of the thyristor 201. From the anode of the thyristor 201 toward the ground, the diode 203 is connected in the forward direction, and the Zener diodes 204 and 205 are connected in the reverse direction. The diode 206 is connected in the forward direction from a connection point P between the resistor 202 and the diode 203 toward a gate electrode of the thyristor 201.
A voltage Vref at the connection point P is set such that the thyristor 201 is controlled to an ON state when a terminal voltage of the battery 300 is below a target voltage VT, which is higher than a stipulated voltage of the battery 300 by a predetermined voltage. In other words, the voltage Vref is set at an appropriate value such that the thyristor 201 does not attain the ON state when the terminal voltage of the battery 300 is equal to or greater than the target voltage VT.
A power converter according to the abovementioned conventional technique will be explained using FIG. 35.
FIG. 35A is a diagram of an operation where a generator has a low number of rotations, and FIG. 35B, an operation where the generator has a high number of rotations. For sake of convenience, an initial value of the terminal voltage of the battery 300 is lower than the target voltage VT.
In a period T1 in FIG. 35A, when a positive phase (positive voltage) of an AC voltage VA fed to the generator coil 100 is supplied to the anode of the thyristor 201, the AC voltage VA is applied via the resistor 202 to the connection point P. When the voltage at the connection point P increases, current flows to the gate electrode of the thyristor 201 via the diode 206, and the thyristor 201 turns ON. Thereafter, the Zener diodes 204 and 205 clamp the voltage at the connection point P to the voltage Vref. When the thyristor 201 turns ON, the positive phase of the AC voltage VA is supplied via the thyristor 201, whereby the output voltage VO of the thyristor 201 increases, charging the battery 300.
In a subsequent period T2, when the AC voltage VA shifts to the negative phase (negative electrode), the voltage at the connection point P decreases, whereby the thyristor 201 switches to a reverse-bias state and turns OFF. When the thyristor 201 turns OFF, since power is no longer supplied to the battery 300, the battery 300 discharges and its terminal voltage gradually decreases.
In a subsequent period T3, when the AC voltage VA shifts again to the positive phase, the voltage at the connection point P increases; however, since the terminal voltage of the battery 300 (i.e. the output voltage VO of the thyristor 201) is still higher than the target voltage VT, current does not flow to the gate electrode of the thyristor 201, which remains OFF. The thyristor 201 remains OFF in subsequent periods T4 to T6, since the output voltage VO is still higher than the target voltage VT.
During a subsequent period T7, when the output voltage VO drops below the target voltage VT, the thyristor 201 turns ON and the output voltage VO is slightly increased by the positive phase of the AC voltage VA being outputted from the generator at that time, charging the battery 300.
While, in a subsequent period T8, when the AC voltage VA shifts to negative phase, the thyristor 201 turns OFF and the output voltage VO decreases, in a subsequent period T9, when the output voltage VO drops below the target voltage VT, the thyristor 201 turns ON, and output voltage VO is increased by the positive phase of the AC voltage VA being outputted from the generator at that time.
Thus, when the output voltage VO drops below the target voltage VT, the thyristor 201 turns ON and charges the battery 300 during the positive phase of the AC voltage VA.
As shown in FIG. 35B, when the generator has a high number of rotations, the amplitude of the AC voltage VA outputted from the generator increases and so does its frequency, thereby increasing the rise rate of the output voltage VO, but it is otherwise identical to the example of FIG. 35A.
Patent Literature: JPA No. Hei 10-52045.

Power converter and method, and triangle wave generating circuit

Shindengen Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A medical information navigation engine (“MINE”) is capable of inferring referral activity not reported into a referral workflow system by utilizing intent-based clustering of medical information. The intent based clustering reconciles received medical data, from a variety of sources, and then clusters the data by applying one or more clustering rules. After the referrals not otherwise reported are inferred, they may be utilized to generate metrics that can be utilized to enhance patient care, and reduce costs. Metrics may be generated for both in-network and out-of-network referrals in order to distinguish differences in reporting activity.

The present invention relates generally to a medical information engine, and particularly to management and consolidation of medical information which enables patient retention in a medical network by leveraging analysis of referral practices.
Despite rapid growth of innovation in other fields in recent decades, the world of medical information, including patient medical records, billing, referrals, and a host of other information, has enjoyed little to no useful consolidation, reliability, or ease-of-access, leaving medical professionals, hospitals, clinics, and even insurance companies with many issues, such as unreliability of medical information, uncertainty of diagnosis, lack of standard, and a slew of other related problems.
One of the challenges facing those in the medical or related areas is the number of sources of information, the great amount of information from each source, and consolidation of such information in a manner that renders it meaningful and useful to those in the field in addition to patients. Obviously, this has contributed to increased medical costs and is perhaps largely attributed to the field suffering from an organized solution to better aid the medical professionals, to better aid those requiring more reliable patient history and those requiring more control and access over such information.
Currently, when a patient sees various medical professionals over the years, there is no method for universally tracking recommendations, thoughts, prescriptions, referrals, or diagnosis. This hinders the job of insurance companies in making certain requisite determinations, physicians making decisions that directly impact the health of the patient, and hospitals and other medical institutions that similarly rely but do not have the benefit of the requisite information, not to mention the patient.
For consolidated provider networks it may be possible to centralize a patient's records. However, these records are typically not available outside of the network, and moreover, often the records generated outside of network are often isolated. Patient referrals, thus can cause increased costs for an insurer, and may result in fragmented patient information. In order to reduce operating costs, there is significant pressure to optimize patient retention within a medical network. In order to effectively implement mechanisms for this retention, accurate referral data is required.
It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for a medical information navigation engine ("MINE") capable of managing medical information in a manner that is beneficial, reliable, portable, flexible, and efficiently usable to those in the medical field, including patients. A functionality of such a system would be the ability to track patient referrals, and generate models which assist insurers and care providers to track referral practices. Such a MINE should also be capable of reconciling and intent-based clustering of patient data by applying at least one clustering rule to the reconciled medication information, and presenting the clustered reconciled medical information to a user.

Systems and methods for patient retention in network through referral analytics


Aspects of the disclosure relate to systems and methods for administering access to resources in an access control system. In one implementation, the access control system comprises an electronic lock for restricting access to a resource. An electronic key can deliver a signal based on an access credential to the electronic lock to initiate an unlocking event for facilitating access to the resource. An access validation engine can process access control information related to access conditions. Access to resources may be granted according to scheduled access permissions. In other aspects, access to resources can be granted based on access conditions. The access validation engine can evaluate whether access to a resource is authorized based on a determination that one or more access conditions are satisfied. An unlocking signal can be delivered to the electronic lock in response to a determination that the one or more access conditions are satisfied.

Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to electronic access control. Electronic access control systems may include one or more electronic locking devices. In such systems, electronic locking devices can be used to control access to areas, enclosures, resources, and items. For instance, electronic locking devices can restrict physical or bodily access to an area or enclosure by interacting with traditional doors, gates, or barriers. Electronic locking devices may also be configured to restrict access to or use of items, such as computer terminals, heavy equipment, valves, or light sources. Electronic keys can be configured to unlock or operate an electronic locking device based on the exchange of an access credential, such as a password, or other access control information.

Access control system with dynamic access permission processing


There is provided a method that includes (a) receiving data that describes a location, (b) extrapolating, from the data, an address associated with the location, (c) identifying a segment of a thoroughfare that includes the address, (d) defining a polygon that has a perimeter that encompasses a geographic region that is in a vicinity of the segment, (e) obtaining geo-coordinates of a point within the polygon, (f) identifying an address at the geo-coordinates, and (g) identifying an entity that is associated with the address at the geo-coordinates. There is also provided a system that performs the method, and a storage device that contains instructions that control a processor to perform the method.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a creation of new address-based business identification modalities, also referred to as capabilities, to define associations of businesses to a physical locale, using methods that are beyond standard address-related capabilities. In this case the term "modality" refers to the manner by which addresses that are defined differently, for example street number and name, latitude/lateral coordinates, or building name, can be associated to the same physical locale or location. This capability could be utilized in response to an inquiry, initiated by an end-user, a system, an application, or any other method, that is intended to identify business entities using address information which is comprised of one of more data fields, e.g., street name and number, as an inquiry attribute. This capability may be executed using different non-deterministic approaches including range, name, and polygon-based geospatial disambiguation as examples. In this context the term "non-deterministic" means the manner by which addresses will be defined in an inquiry, including the use of multiple manners using different data components referred to as flexible alternative indicia, and the approach by which they will be associated to physical locales, are not pre-determined and limited. The result of processing such an inquiry includes feedback that reflects inferred quality, modality of match, and other attributes to determine a connection of businesses to the inquiry address and associated physical locale.
An example of this capability would be to enable an association of a business to a locale that is different than the business's physical location and address, for example (a) a business in a shopping mall, which may be viewed as a horizontal physical location, (b) a business in a multi-story office building, which may be viewed as a vertical physical location, or (c) a business that is associated to a perimeter-based area, for example a specific tax lot.
2. Description of the Related Art
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, these approaches may not be prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Efficient database access and searching capabilities are important for effective utilization of data that is maintained in referential databases. Crucial to this objective is an ability to enable efficient retrieval of a match result, i.e., a result of matching reference data to an inquiry that includes locale indicia, to identify and select match results in an efficient and effective manner, and to provide feedback that can be used to make decisions regarding the use of the match results.
Specific to identifying a business entity at a geographical locale, existing technology considers a specific and finite number of data fields, for example a registered, published or otherwise associated physical "street address" of the business entity. The existing technology is generally predicated on assumptions that a) business entity addresses, i.e., locale information, will be consistently represented, and b) that retrieval methodologies for a particular representation of a locale, such as a single street address for a multi-tenanted building, will necessarily be limited to retrieval of those candidates who share the above mentioned representation of the geographical locale. As an example, this existing technology is generally based on "street number+street name+city" heuristic comparisons, which yield opinions of accuracy based on (a) similarity of characters between an inquiry and a candidate, (b) number of characters matched or other basic correlative information after accounting for pre-defined orthographic variations, such as multiple ways of spelling a specific word including use of hyphenation, capitalization, word-breaks, punctuation, known abbreviations, and synonyms, or (c) other approaches used to compare data components. As a result, this existing technology may not result in a satisfactory result when a locale can be described in different ways, for example when one location may have multiple addresses.
As another example, the existing technology may use latitude and longitude to associate different addresses to the same physical locale. This may not result in a satisfactory result when a locale is spread over a wide geographic area, for example a shopping center or mall, and use of latitude/longitude as an identifier may associate incorrect entities that are not associated to the mall but are in the same geographic area.

System for non-deterministic disambiguation and qualitative entity matching of geographical locale data for business entities


A packaged semiconductor device, such as a power QFN device, has (rectangular) ribbon wires, instead of circular bond wires. A proximal end of each ribbon wire is connected to a pad on an IC die, and a distal end of each ribbon wire forms a device lead. The die and the ribbon wires are encapsulated in a molding compound with a side of each device lead exposed. Such devices can be assembled without using lead frames. The omission of lead frames and the use of ribbon wires enable assembly of smaller devices having enhanced thermal dissipation capabilities.

The present invention relates to semiconductor devices and semiconductor packaging and, more particularly, to a semiconductor device assembled using ribbon wires.
Packaged semiconductor devices, especially so-called power devices, have integrated circuit (IC) dies that generate heat that must be removed to prevent damage to the device. Conventional power devices are assembled using lead frames, where the die is mounted on a lead frame flag and then electrodes of the die are connected with leads of the lead frame with bond wires. The leads then provide for electrical interconnection of the die with signals outside of the packaged device. It would be advantageous to be able to package an ID die without the use of a lead frame and have a package with good heat dissipating quality.

Packaged semiconductor devices having ribbon wires


A Bayer process comprises grinding and then digestion of bauxite by bringing it into contact with a sodium aluminate liquor. Digestion consists of forming a slurry that is then treated to separate insoluble residues from the sodium aluminate liquor. The liquor is then crystallized and recycled back to green liquor after having been separated from the alumina trihydrate precipitated during crystallization. The process comprises a predesilication treatment during which the ground bauxite, before digestion, is brought into contact with an aqueous sodic solution that has a content of carbonates, sulphates and possibly chlorides which, expressed as a percentage related to the caustic concentration, has less than half of the corresponding impurities content of the spent liquor. Preferably, the pure caustic soda used to compensate for caustic soda losses in the Bayer circuit, previously injected just after evaporation, is now added in the aqueous sodic solution for the predesilication treatment.

The content of silica dissolved in the aluminate liquor must be controlled to prevent scaling of pipes in the Bayer circuit and to control the purity of the trihydrate produced. The vigilance necessary for this control varies depending on the nature of the treated bauxite. Paradoxically, this control is most difficult for bauxites with a low content of reactive silica.
A first type of desilication is carried out on the entire liquor itself. For example, it is carried out immediately after digestion with a sufficiently long residence time for the quantity of dissolved silica to reach a critical supersaturation threshold, which triggers the desilication reaction by precipitation of siliceous compounds and leads to a drop in the concentration of silica in the liquor to an acceptable level, just before separation of the insoluble residues. It can also be carried out before digestion, by locally introducing precipitation germs: for example, in the process described by U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,834 (ALCAN), in which the liquor must pass through a bed composed of a mix of sand and sodalite, or in the process described in French application No. 03 11909 (ALUMINIUM PECHINEY) in which a calcium based compound (typically comprising hydrogarnets) is introduced into the aluminate liquor upstream of the heat exchangers.
A second type of desilication is called "predesilication" because the ground bauxite is brought into contact with an alkaline solution before digestion. U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,705, AU Patent No. 0 474 596 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,363 describe a predesilication treatment, where the alkaline solution may be a sodium hydroxide solution, optionally mixed with sodium carbonate, a potassium hydroxide solution or, preferably, a Bayer aluminate liquor. Using the latter is preferred because it is not expensive: a small part of the Bayer spent liquor is drawn off and conducted to the wet grinding of the bauxite. The thick slurry resulting from wet grinding is maintained in a tank typically a few hours before digestion. The silica contained in the bauxite is dissolved in this liquor aliquot, which quickly reaches a supersaturation threshold from which the precipitation of desilication products (DSP) occurs. The DSP are then eliminated with the insoluble residues of bauxite digestion. Predesilication also acts directly on bauxite components added into the Bayer circuit, but unlike the first type of treatments, it cannot be used efficiently to reduce the silica content of the liquor quickly at a precise location of the Bayer circuit. For this reason, both types of desilication treatments are generally combined on the same Bayer process.
This invention relates to an improvement to the predesilication treatment. The predesilication treatment may be considered as being a preventive treatment carried out on the bauxite that is introduced into the Bayer circuit. However, this type of treatment can only be efficient if it prevents the liquor from reaching a given critical concentration threshold of dissolved silica before crystallization—typically a silica/caustic soda ratio of about 0.7% for factories with a caustic soda concentration of about 155 g/l (note in the following that such ratios are referenced to the weight of caustic soda "% ctq", or in fact "% SiO2 ctq")—so that in particular the purity of the trihydrate produced can be controlled.
It is found that predesilication treatments recommended by different documents according to prior art are often apparently efficient, but cannot always achieve a sufficiently low content of dissolved silica in the liquor.
A perfect predesilication would consist of transforming all soluble siliceous phases of bauxite (for example kaolinite) into the most stable possible phase (DSP) under digestion conditions. In this way, the concentration of silica in the liquor at the output from digestion would be less than or equivalent to the DSP solubility concentration (solubility between 0.5 and 0.9% ctq depending on digestion conditions). However, in the article "Effect of Predesilication and Digestion Conditions on Silica Level in Bayer Liquor"—Light Metals 2004 TMS, 2004, the authors (E. TIZON, Ph. CLERIN, B. CRISTOL) demonstrated that the supposedly insoluble phases (DSP) created during predesilication are not all stable under digestion conditions, particularly for residence times typically used in the industry (6 to 10 h), and that their dissolution during the digestion may finally participate in the increase in the content of silica dissolved in the liquor. Thus, under some conditions, in predesilication as it is carried out in the prior art, the silica content dissolved in the aluminate liquor downstream of digestion cannot be efficiently controlled.
It has also been demonstrated that solubility of DSP increases greatly when the concentration of alumina increases. Thus, this loss of efficiency of predesilication may in particular lead to production losses during digestion (the alumina concentration is limited by the silica concentration).

Bayer process for production of alumina trihydrate by alkaline digestion of bauxite, the process comprising a predesilication step


A latch (36) for a vehicle body closure member (24) includes a release lever (58) supported by a pin and slot mounting connection (60) on a housing (44) for translational movement between freewheeling and operating positions. The release lever (58) through a pin and slot control connection (62) with a latching pawl (54) and its positioning in either the freewheeling or operating position prevents or permits unlatching of the closure member.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a latch for a vehicle closure member mounted on a vehicle body member for movement between closed and open positions and has particular utility for use with a vehicle hood.
2. Background Art
Vehicle body hoods are conventionally mounted by hinge assemblies on a vehicle body for movement between closed and open positions. A primary latch is conventionally utilized to secure the hood in the closed position and is releasable to release the hood for movement from the closed position to the open position. Normally the release is provided by an operator within the vehicle occupant compartment either through a cable connection or through an electric connection to a solenoid of the latch. As such, individuals such as valets who have access to the passenger compartment also have access to the engine compartment under the hood even though they do not have any authority or reason for such engine compartment access.
Also, a vehicle hood latch assembly also conventionally includes a secondary latch for holding the hood in a partially open position after it is initially released by the primary latch. Such secondary latches normally include a latch member that extends upwardly and, in order to have sufficient manual access to permit release of the secondary latch, a hood inner panel often needs to have a hole that receives the upper end of the secondary latch member in the fully closed position.
Prior art references noted during an investigation conducted in connection with the invention include U.S. Pat. No. 2,246,787 Dall; U.S. Pat. No. 2,246,794 Dall; U.S. Pat. No. 2,256,465 Brubaker; U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,075 Grogan; U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,624 Fujita; U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,289 Badiali; U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,548 Hxc3xa4berle et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,094 Peterson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,092 Faust; U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,591 Faust; U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,350 Faust; U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,979 Escaravage; U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,601 Lindholm et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,877 Rogers, Jr. et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,817 Kxc3x6rner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,260 Eikmeier et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,122 Dingwall et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,024 Kancko; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,876 Taylor.
An object of the invention is to provide an improved latch for a vehicle closure member mounted on a vehicle body member for movement between closed and open positions.
In carrying out the above object, the vehicle body closure member latch of the invention includes a housing mounted on one of the members. A latching catch of the latch is mounted on the housing for movement between a latching position and an unlatched position. The latching catch in the latching position is operable to engage a striker mounted on the other member to secure the closure member in the closed position. Upon movement to the unlatched position, the latching catch releases the striker to permit movement of the closure member from the closed position to the open position. A latching pawl of the latch is mounted on the housing for movement between: a latching position where the latching catch is held from moving from its latching position to its unlatched position, and an unlatched position where the latching catch is free to move from its latching position to its unlatched position. A release lever of the catch is mounted on the housing by a pin and slot mounting connection for pivotal and translation movement. A pin and slot control connection of the latch operates between the latching pawl and the release lever. A first connector for the release lever is used to move the release lever for translational movement from a freewheeling position, where the pin and slot control connection prevents pivotal movement of the release lever from moving the latching pawl from its latching position to its unlatched position, to an operating position where pivotal movement of the release lever moves the latching pawl from its latching position to its unlatched position. A second connector for the release lever is used to pivotally move the release lever to move the latching pawl from its latching position to its unlatched position when the release lever is in the operating position to thereby permit movement of the latching catch to its unlatched position to release the striker and permit movement of the closure member from the closed position to the open position.
In the preferred construction of the vehicle closure latch such as when utilized with a vehicle hood, the housing of the latch is adapted to be mounted on the vehicle body member for use with a striker mounted on the closure member. A control connection of the latch is connected to the first connector to provide translational movement of the release lever between the freewheeling and operating positions. A release cable of the latch is connected to the release lever to pivotally move the release lever to move the latching pawl from its latching position to its unlatched position when the release lever is in the operating position to thereby permit movement of the latching catch to its unlatched position to release the striker and permit movement of the closure member from the closed position to the open position.
The vehicle closure member latch also preferably includes a key operated actuator that operates the control connection, and a second actuator operates the release cable from within an occupant compartment of the associated vehicle. A sensor of the latch senses whether the latching catch is in its latching position or its unlatched position and can thereby provide a signal that provides an indication of the latch condition.
In the preferred construction of the latch, the pin and slot mounting connection includes a mounting pin mounted on the housing and having a mounting axis about which the release lever is pivotally moved by the second connector. The pin and slot mounting connection also includes a mounting slot in the release lever for receiving the mounting pin. The mounting slot has a first end where the mounting pin is located when the release lever is in its freewheeling position and has a second end where the mounting pin is located when the release lever is in its operating position.
The preferred construction of the latch also has the latching pawl pivotally mounted about the mounting axis of the mounting pin. The pin and slot control connection has a control pin on the latching pawl and a control slot in the release lever for receiving the control pin. The control slot has a first arcuate slot portion that extends about the first end of the mounting slot such that the control pin moves therein when the release lever is in the freewheeling position. The control slot includes a second straight portion that extends from the first arcuate portion and in which the control pin moves when the release lever is translated by the first connector from the freewheeling position to the operating position. The control slot also has a third arcuate portion that receives the control pin to allow the latching pawl to pivot by engagement thereof by the latching catch as the closure member is closed.


A first electrode is formed on a stacked-layer film, which is formed of a ferroelectric layer and a semiconductor layer, at the ferroelectric layer and a plurality of second electrodes are formed on the stacked-layer film at the semiconductor layer side. Each of parts of the semiconductor layer located in regions in which the second electrodes are formed functions as a resistance modulation element (memory) using the polarization assist effect of the ferroelectric layer. Information (a low resistance state or a high resistance state) held in a memory is read by detecting a value of a current flowing in each part of the semiconductor layer. Information is written in a memory by inverting a polarization of the ferroelectric layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device which allows increase in degree of integration and capacity and a method for fabricating the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, and also relates to a semiconductor switching device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A ferroelectric memory (FeRAM), which is one of nonvolatile memories, uses a polarization hysteresis of a ferroelectric material for memory retaining. In such a ferroelectric memory, inversion of polarization can be repeated for many times at low voltage and high speed, and thus a ferroelectric memory is considered excellent, compared to a flash memory, in the point that it can be operated with low power consumption, at high speed and with high reliability.
There are largely two types of ferroelectric memories: a capacitor type shown in FIG. 26A (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 9-116107 and Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-156089); and an FET (Field Effect Transistor) type having a structure in which a gate insulation film of a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor shown in FIG. 26B is replaced with a ferroelectric film (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,744,087).
A capacitor type ferroelectric memory has a similar structure to that of a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) in which charges are held in a ferroelectric capacitor and a state of information is judged to be 0 or 1 according to the polarization direction of a ferroelectric material.
With this structure, as shown in FIG. 27A, when capacitors serving as function units are connected to one another at each cross point and thereby are formed into array type elements, a memory size can be reduced to 4F2 in terms of design rule. Herein, F is a size according to a fine design rule. A relative occupied area can be indicated using F.
However, practically, a capacitor type ferroelectric memory is not suitable for reduction in size because when a capacitor area is reduced, the amount of charges (ΔQ) that can be held therein is reduced and, as shown in FIG. 27B, finally becomes lower than a limit level (about 100 fC) for reading by a sense amplifier. Thus, it becomes difficult to judge a state of information to be 0 or 1. The amount of a remnant polarization (Pr) for a typical ferroelectric material is about 10-50 μC/cm at best. Thus, when a CMOS process is reduced and a gate length of a MOS transistor becomes a process node of 0.1 μm or less, a practical minimum cell size is about 20 F2 at best.
On the other hand, in a FET type ferroelectric memory, information is read by detecting a conduction state of a channel, which varies depending on a polarization direction of a ferroelectric layer. To satisfy the scaling law, only a small amount of polarization charges per unit area is required. Therefore, a FET type ferroelectric memory is suitable for reduction in size, compared to a capacitor type memory.
However, when a FET type memory is operated as a memory, an arbitrary memory cell has to be selected from memory cells arranged in arrays in the FET type memory and thus a switching transistor for selecting a memory cell is needed. Even though a structure (stacking structure) in which a transistor for memory cell selection and a ferroelectric transistor for memory retaining are stacked is adopted to reduce the size of memory cells, a minimum size of the ferroelectric transistor with the selection transistor is about 12 F2 at best and is still larger than an ideal size, i.e., 4 F2 for a ferroelectric memory with a reduced size.
As described above, a ferroelectric memory exhibits excellent properties such as low power consumption, high speed operation and high reliability, and at the same time it has a problem that it is difficult to reduce its size. For this reason, a memory capacity of only megabits at largest has been achieved by now. Therefore, in actual cases, application of ferroelectric memories is limited to an IC tag, a smart card and the like.
On the other hand, a flash memory can be fabricated to have a minimum cell size of 4F2 and thus a capacity of gigabits has been achieved. Therefore, flash memories have been widely used for large capacity application such as a picture card for digital cameras, USB memory sticks and the like.
In recent years, more and more nonvolatile memories using resistance modulation are under research and development. A resistance modulation element reads resistance change and is scalable, and thus reduction in size of a memory device can be expected. Examples of such nonvolatile memories are a magnetic memory (MRAM; Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) using change in magnetic resistance according to a direction of spinning of a magnetic body (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-282837), a resistance change memory (ReRAM; Resistive Random Access Memory) using the colossal electro-resistance (CER) effect of a strongly-correlated material (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-317787), a phase change memory (PRAM; Phase Change Random Access Memory) using resistance change according to phase transition of chalcogenide compound (see, for example, Japanese-Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-031953) and the like. If array type elements are formed so as to be connected to one another at each cross point, as shown in FIG. 27A, using a resistance change layer as a function unit, a constant resistance change (ΔR=RH/RL), which is not dependent on a cell area, is achieved, and thus a minimum cell size of 4F2 can be realized.

Semiconductor memory device, method for fabricating the same and semiconductor switching device


Methods and apparatus for detecting bacteria in samples using time-resolved light scattering and absorption measurement are disclosed. The present invention provides a system wherein a plurality of samples may be tested by providing a modulated excitation signal which is introduced into each sample and collected at a point disposed across each sample. The amplitude and phase of the collected signal are then processed to determine the time characteristics, modulation and phase of the signal after it has passed through the sample. By comparing time characteristics, modulation and phase with the time characteristics, modulation and phase collected at a previous point in time or alternatively from a sample known to be free of bacteria, the presence of bacteria may be determined, since it has been found that the presence of bacteria causes a significant change in the time characteristics, modulation and phase. Preferably, diode lasers are used to introduce modulated electromagnetic radiation into the samples and a multichannel plate photomultiplier tube is used to provide a signal from which the phase and amplitude can be determined. Alternatively, in other embodiments of the present invention the modulated electromagnetic radiation may be introduced using an optical switch and the multichannel plate photomultiplier tube may be replaced by avalanche photodiodes disposed against each sample that also create a signal containing time-averaged intensity, amplitude, and phase information.

Usually, the presence of biologically active agents in a patient's body fluid, and especially in blood, is determined using blood culture vials. A small quantity of blood is typically injected through an enclosing rubber septum into a sterile vial containing a culture medium. The vial is typically incubated at 37.degree. C. and monitored for bacterial growth.
Common visual inspection for bacterial growth involves monitoring the turbidity of the liquid suspension. Known instrumented methods detect changes in the carbon dioxide content of the culture bottles, which is a metabolic by-product of the bacterial growth. Monitoring the carbon dioxide content can be accomplished by methods well-established in the art, such as radiochemical (e.g., BACTEC.RTM., Becton-Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, N.J., U.S.A.), infrared absorption at a carbon dioxide spectral line (e.g., NR-BACTEC.RTM., Becton-Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, N.J., U.S.A.), or pressure/vacuum measurement techniques such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,213--Ahnell. These methods, however, all require invasive procedures which result in the well-known problem of cross-contamination. As used herein, the term invasive describes a procedure wherein the sample container is opened, pierced or otherwise placed in communication with an external environment during the point at which the presence or absence of bacteria is determined.
Recently, non-invasive methods have been developed involving chemical sensors disposed inside the sample vial. These sensors respond to changes in carbon dioxide concentration by changing color or by changing fluorescence intensity. These techniques are based on light intensity measurements, thus errors occur if the light sources used to excite the sensors or the photodetectors used to monitor intensities show aging effects over time. Certain of the disadvantages of such intensity-based methods could be overcome by utilizing modulated excitation light in combination with fluorescent sensors that change their decay time with changing carbon dioxide concentration. In this case, intensity measurement is replaced with time measurement, and intensity changes have no impact. However, current fluorescent decay time sensors require high-brightness, short-wavelength light sources (550 nm or shorter) that are intensity-modulated at very high frequencies (typically above 100 MHz). An example of such a device would be a 5-mW green HeNe laser (543.5 nm) externally modulated by means of an acousto-optic light modulator. However, as well known by those of ordinary skill, the laser/modulator combination is rather expensive, requiring that the individual samples be moved to the laser instead of having one light source at each sample. Such an instrument would necessarily have a complicated mechanism for effecting the transportation of the individual samples, and the time interval between successive measurements for each sample would be relatively long. Since for the time being it appears unlikely that high-brightness, short-wavelength semiconductor diode lasers will be developed to permit a commercially feasible embodiment of this type of system, such an improved system would suffer serious practical shortcomings.
A need therefore remains to provide methods and apparatus for bacteria detection in blood culture samples non-invasively and in a commercially feasible manner. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for detecting bacteria in a sample that permit a plurality of samples to be tested simultaneously in a rapid, effective and economical manner.

Detection of bacteria in blood culture bottles by time-resolved light scattering and absorption measurement


The present embodiments relate to a handle assembly for a refrigeration apparatus. The handle assembly can be detachably assembled on either side of a cabinet door of the refrigeration apparatus, the handle assembly comprising: a handle, a handle bracket, and an elastic member, wherein the handle comprises a handle portion and an extension on a side of the handle portion, characterized in that the handle is movably assembled in the handle bracket, wherein the handle portion of the handle is assembled in a first portion of the handle bracket, and the extension of the handle is assembled in a second portion of the handle bracket, and a protrusion is disposed at one end of the extension; and the elastic member is assembled in the second portion of the handle bracket, and the extension of the handle is connected with the elastic member. The present embodiments can realize the opening of the cabinet door of the refrigeration apparatus in two directions, thereby overcoming the disadvantage that it is difficult to open the cabinet door of the refrigeration apparatus due to restriction by the opening direction of the cabinet door in a small space, especially in an in-vehicle environment.

For existing refrigeration apparatuses, the cabinet door is often opened by pulling a handle portion on a side of the cabinet door of the refrigeration apparatus, which only allows the cabinet door to open from one side of the refrigeration apparatus. However, when the space in which the refrigeration apparatus is located is crowded, especially in an in-vehicle environment, since an internal space of the vehicle body is limited, in order to properly utilize the interior space of the vehicle, it is usually necessary to move and reposition the refrigeration apparatus. When the cabinet door is opened only from one side and is restricted by the opening direction of the cabinet door when it is to be placed, that is, it may occur that it is difficult to open the cabinet door of the refrigeration apparatus after repositioning, so that the refrigeration apparatus cannot be used normally.

Handle assembly and cabinet door for refrigeration apparatus and refrigeration apparatus assembly


A correction device for secondary batteries comprises a voltage difference detection circuit for detecting variation in terminal voltages of at least two secondary batteries connected in series, and a discharge circuit for discharging one of the at least two secondary batteries which has a maximum terminal voltage, when the variation in the terminal voltages exceeds a preset value. The discharge circuit stops discharging when the terminal voltage of the one of the secondary batteries which is discharged becomes lower than a reference value.

The present invention relates to a correction device and correction method for secondary batteries, and more particularly to a correction device and correction method for detecting a variation of terminal voltage of each of 2 or more secondary batteries connected in series and for correcting the variation thereof.
In a nonaqueous solvent secondary battery (e.g., a lithium secondary battery) or a lead secondary battery, a terminal voltage may become too low when it is discharged or left as it is for a long period of time, and too high when it is charged. In this case, the performance of the secondary battery may be deteriorated or the safety may be spoiled. To avoid this, it is necessary to monitor the terminal voltage of these types of secondary battery in order to control the charge and discharge of the secondary battery, so that the terminal voltage is kept within a predetermined range.
In particular, in the case of a lithium secondary battery, when the terminal voltage is 2 V or lower, copper of a collector used in the cathode begins dissolving in an electrolyte and the performance of the second battery is deteriorated. When the terminal voltage is 4.5 V or higher, the electrolyte is discomposed and gas is generated. As a result, the pressure in the secondary battery is increased, so that la safety valve may be operated and the liquid in the battery may be leaked. For this reason, in the case of a lithium secondary battery, charging and discharging operations are generally performed via a protecting circuit which has a function of cutting off a discharge current when the terminal voltage is lowered to a preset discharge prohibiting voltage and rises to a preset charge prohibiting voltage. The discharge prohibiting voltage is set to a value slightly higher than 2 V (e.g., 2.3 V), at which copper of the cathode begins to dissolve. The charge prohibiting voltage is set to a value slightly lower than a value at which the electrolyte begins to decompose (e.g., 4.35 V).
When a protecting circuit is used for a plurality of secondary batteries connected in series, the terminal voltages of the secondary batteries are detected individually and the same protecting operation is performed in the conventional protecting circuit. More specifically, terminal voltages of every secondary batteries are detected, and if the terminal voltage of one of second batteries is lowered to the discharge prohibitihg-voltage, the discharging operation is prohibited, and if the terminal voltage of one of second batteries rises above the charge prohibiting voltage, the charging operation is prohibited. Thus, the secondary batteries are protected.
However, when the conventional protecting circuit as described above is used for a plurality of secondary batteries connected in series, if the amount of charge or self-discharge of a secondary battery differs from that of another, the terminal voltages Of these secondary batteries are also different.
For this reason, during a discharging operation, the terminal voltage of a less-charged secondary battery may reach the discharge prohibiting voltage earlier than the other batteries. In this case, even if the average value of the terminal voltages of the secondary batteries is sufficiently high, the discharge may be stopped. Contrarily, during a charging operation, the terminal voltage of a more-charged secondary battery may reach the charge prohibiting voltage earlier than the other batteries. In this case, the secondary batteries as a whole cannot be fully charged, with the result that they can be used for a shorter period of time.
To avoid the above drawback, a troublesome process is required, i.e., it is necessary to make the terminal voltages equal before the secondary batteries are connected in series.
In an apparatus incorporating a volatile memory device (e.g., RAM), such as a personal computer, when the terminal voltage of a secondary battery used as a power source is lowered, data in the volatile memory device is transferred to a nonvolatile memory device, such as a hard disk, thereby preventing data from being lost. However, if the conventional protecting circuit is used in such an apparatus, the terminal voltage of a secondary battery, which is charged less or self-discharged more as compared to the other batteries, may lower to the discharge prohibiting voltage earlier than the other batteries. In this case, the protecting circuit immediately stops discharging at that time, even if the other secondary batteries have sufficiently high terminal voltages, e.g., even if the average of the terminal voltages of all the secondary batteries is sufficiently high. As a result, data in the volatile memory device is lost.

Correction device and correction method for secondary batteries connected in series


A method of applying a film having limited light transmitting qualities to the interior surface of a contoured car window wherein the film is first placed against the exterior surface of the window with its transfer coating facing outwardly. The film in this position is subjected to localized heating to selectively shrink the film and transfer coating to the window contour. Then, the film and coating are removed, the coating separated and the film adhered to the interior surface of the car window.

This invention relates to a novel method of applying a film of reduced light transmittance to the interior surface of a contoured car window.
In many regions of the United States, the intensity of the sunlight and the glare resulting therefrom have been found to be notable factors in causing motor vehicle accidents. The tinting of windows by the vehicle manufacturer has provided a measure of relief to the operator. In addition, the tinting of the windows reduces the damage to the vehicle interior caused by strong incident light over a long period of time. However, the need has been recognized for additional means of reducing the combination of direct and reflected light entering a vehicle. To this end, a number of manufacturers now provide plastic film for placement on car windows. The films are characterized by reducing the amount of light transmitted therethrough in both the visible and invisible spectral regions. Typically, commercially available films exhibit substantial blocking characteristics for light having a frequency in the ultraviolet portion of the spectrum.
The reduced light transmissive films are generally made with an adhesive layer provided on one side of a plastic film with a removable plastic transfer coating thereon. The transfer coating is removed at the time of installation to permit adherence of the film to the window surface. Since the film is less durable than the glass substrate, the application of the film to a vehicle window takes place on its interior surface where it is protected from the weather. As a result, the customary procedures for adhering film to the window are difficult to perform. The difficulty is due to the fact that the operator is applying flexible film to the windows from a position within the vehicle. Considerable skill is required for a successful application. As a result, the vehicle owner is not normally capable of satisfactorily applying the film. Commercial establishments specializing in the application of films to vehicle windows have come into existence to satisfy this commercial need.
The typical approach to applying a plastic film begins with the initial placement of a combination of film and transfer coating thereon against the surface of the window. This outlines the dimension of the film to be applied and it is then cut to size. Following the dimensioning, the transfer coating is removed to expose the adhesive layer. The layer on the film is then placed in direct contact with the interior surface of the car window. The process works reasonably well with installations wherein flat glass surfaces serve as the substrate. However, present day vehicles rarely have flat glass windows. Virtually every window on today's vehicles is contoured for aesthetic and/or aerodynamic purposes, thereby rendering the application of the film more difficult. In addition to the fact that vehicle windows are now contoured, recent styling changes have greatly increased the area of the contoured windows especially rear windows in those models having sloping or hatch backs. Applying the film to the larger areas of contoured windows makes the process of conforming the film to the interior window surface even more difficult. In order to successfully deal with the large area contoured window, it is standard practice to divide the window into a plurality of segments and then to apply the film in pieces. By subdividing the film, it is easier to provide large area coverage from the car interior.
In the case of both unitary or segmented film applications, the conventional practice is to apply tension to the film to alter its original dimensions. The stretching of the film is used in conforming the film to the window surface. Stretching eliminates for the most part the buckles, fingers and creases that arise from the placement of a flat film on a curved window surface. As a result of the film being stretched, the adhesive layer, placed on the film initially as a layer of uniform thickness, becomes thinner in the regions stretched. Since the stretching most often occurs at those areas where the window contour undergoes a significant change, the adhesive layer becomes thinned in the region where the film is most severely stressed. These regions are the areas where the film is most likely to undergo a later separation from the glass substrate. As a result, film stretching during installation materially reduces the useful lifetime of the installed product.
One approach taken to limit the amount of film stretching is to segment the plastic film prior to application. However, the segmenting of the film results in seams extending across the window. Applying multiple segments calls for increased care and effort to ensure that the segments directly abut one another over the long dimensions. Any gaps, overlaps or edge-raising will be prominently displayed leading to customer dissatisfaction and impairment of an otherwise unobstructed view. Furthermore, the dimensional changes that the film undergoes over a period of time promotes the formation of gaps right across the long dimension of the window. This is both unsightly and potentially dangerous if the sun rays passing through the crack are directed onto the face of the driver.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is the provision of a method for installing window film which reduces the number of steps required to cover a contoured window by essentially eliminating the need to treat the window in segments. The invention reduces the need to stretch the film which normally produces localized reductions in the adhesive layer. Consequently, the useful lifetime of the applied film is increased. The present method can be used to eliminate the transverse seams heretofore existing in plastic film applied to large area contoured windows.

Method of preforming plastic film for application to a contoured car window


A plurality of pistons of a variable displacement compressor are reciprocatably disposed in cylinder bores which are formed in a housing. A drive shaft is rotatably supported in the housing. A lug plate is rotatable with the drive shaft. A swash plate is tiltably and slidably mounted on the drive shaft. The swash plate is operatively coupled with the pistons. A hinge mechanism connects the lug plate and the swash plate. The hinge mechanism causes the pistons to reciprocate via the lug plate and the swash plate, in response to the rotational motion of the drive shaft. The hinge mechanism includes a pin, which has a first and a second end portions. The first end portion of the pin is slidably inserted into the swash plate. A support arm protrudes from the lug plate, and further includes a bush. The bush rotatably supports the second end portion of the pin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved variable displacement swash plate type compressor suitable for use in a vehicle air conditioning system.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 11 shows a conventional swash plate type of variable displacement compressor (hereinafter, simply referred to as a compressor). In this type of compressor, a rotary journal 103, which can tilt in the forward or backward direction along a drive shaft 100, is coupled, via a link pin 102, with a lug plate 101 mounted on the drive shaft 100. A swash plate 104 is coupled with the rotary journal 103. A plurality of cylinder bores 105 are provided in a cylinder block 110. Each one of the bores 105 accommodates a piston 106 that is connected to the swash plate 104 via a piston rod 107. The rotational motion of the rotary journal 103 causes undulating movement of the swash plate 104, which in turn drives the connecting rods and pistons one after another in a linear reciprocating manner.
An elongated hole 109 is formed in a support arm 108 which protrudes from the lug plate 101. The link pin 102 is slidably fitted into the elongated hole 109. Therefore, this fitting design permits the tilting motions of the journal 103 and the swash plate 104. When the piston 106 is at the end of the compression stroke, the top clearance of the piston 106 within the corresponding bore 105 is approximately kept constant. Therefore, the top position of the swash plate 104 does not cause to displace in the front-and-rear direction, regardless of the change of the inclination angle of the swash plate 104. The top clearance is defined as a gap between a valve plate 111 which closes the opening of the bore 105, and the head portion of the piston 106 which is at the end of the compression stroke. Further, the top position of the swash plate 104 is defined as the point where the swash plate 104 is at the closest to the bore 105, according to the undulating movement of the swash plate 104. A sleeve 112 is slidably attached to the drive shaft 100. The rotary journal 103 is pivotally supported by a sleeve pin 113, on the sleeve 112.
In the conventional compressor, when the dimensional accuracy of the elongated hole 109 which guides the pin 102 is low, the top clearance of the piston 106 is difficult to maintain at the approximately constant level, regardless of the change of the tilt angle of the swash plate 104. When the gap between the elongated hole 109 and the pin 102 is rather great, noise is generated therefrom. It is difficult to further improve the dimensional accuracy of the elongated hole 109.
However, the conventional compressor described above is designed such a way that a point of application (Mf) of the compression reaction force which is exerted on the swash plate 104 via the corresponding piston 106 and piston rod 107, and a point of support (Mk) of the compression reaction force via the pin 102 within the elongated hole 109, will be arranged on the line in parallel to the axis of the drive shaft, when the discharge capacity of the compressor is at the maximum, as the inclination angle of the swash plate 104 is at the maximum. Therefore, as the inclination angle of the swash plate decreases, the point of support (Mk) of the compression reaction force via the pin 102 is downwardly moved along the elongated hole 109. Further, the point of application (Mf) arranged on the swash plate 104 which receives the compression reaction force generated by the piston 106 at the top position, is relatively moved upward, with respect to the point of support (Mk).
As a result, the point of application (Mf) of the compression reaction force via the piston 106 at the top position recedes away from the drive shaft 100, further than the point of support (Mk) of the compression reaction force via the pin 102. Therefore, the moment, which causes the inclination angle of the swash plate 104 to further decrease based on the compression reaction force, is generated. The movement of the swash plate 104 toward the decreasing side of the discharge capacity becomes sensitive, based on the influence of this moment. Contrary, the movement of increasing the inclination angle of the swash plate 104 is considerably obstructed by the moment. Therefore, the movement of the swash plate 104 toward the increasing side of the discharge capacity becomes unresponsive. Thus, the overall control for the discharge capacity is not always satisfactory.

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho


The present disclosure relates to methods and devices for manufacturing a three-dimensional chip package. A method includes forming a linear groove on an alignment rail, attaching an alignment rod to the linear groove, forming alignment channels on a plurality of integrated circuit chips, and aligning the plurality of integrated circuit chips by stacking the plurality of integrated circuit chips along the alignment rail. Another method includes forming an alignment ridge on an alignment rail, forming alignment channels on a plurality of integrated circuit chips, and aligning the plurality of integrated circuit chips by stacking the plurality of integrated circuit chips along the alignment rail.

The implementation of three-dimensional (3D) stacking in microelectronics generally requires precise alignment of the plurality of devices being assembled. Various techniques have been demonstrated which vary based on the type of devices and how they are being assembled. In some cases, alignment is accomplished with standard alignment techniques because patterns on two parts are easily accessed and overlaid to each other. In other cases it is not possible to directly align the features, so other techniques must be used. Split optics is sometimes used to align two parts which do not have direct overlay capability. Split optics is a precision system using mirrors to project features from one part onto features from a second part. The technique requires a special tool which is maintained to be accurate. As this technique aligns only two parts at a time, it requires multiple alignments to align a plurality of parts, and therefore is slow for more than a small number, e.g. two to three parts.
To align large quantities of parts, e.g., more than three parts, edge banking is often used. In this technique edges of parts are banked against a common edge to provide a mechanical alignment. This technique allows many parts to be aligned quickly at one time. Unfortunately this technique is subject to alignment error and has issues with repeatability. The biggest challenge is that it requires that the banking edge be accurately aligned to the patterns. Generally the edge is defined by wafer dicing, which is known to have variable edge accuracy based on dicing blade width, stage precision, and edge chipping. This technique also requires some mechanism to maintain intimate contact with the common edge to ensure gaps do not form as additional parts are added or as the assembly goes through additional processes.
Another technique involves aligning each individual part to a secondary reference part. An optical alignment system is also required for this technique, for example a split optics system or other system which allows two separate images to be overlayed. This would be separate from the main assembly, but is referenced to the main assembly. This technique suffers from slow throughput and has issues with accuracy and calibration of the alignment system.

Alignment of integrated circuit chip stack


A test circuit employs use of first and second switches to operably charge a capacitor to over 500 volts and, thereafter, discharge energy stored in the capacitor to test an over-voltage protection circuit associated with a pin of a semiconductor device. When switched by a controller, the first switch couples a high voltage source to charge a capacitor. After completing this charge phase, the controller opens the first switch, decoupling the high voltage source from the capacitor. The controller then activates the second switch to couple the capacitor to the pin of the semiconductor device. During this discharge phase, energy in the capacitor discharges through the protection circuit of the semiconductor device. Use of a high-voltage dry reed vacuum relay as the first switch provides better isolation of the high voltage source from the capacitor, avoiding a presence of an unwanted residual voltage component in a simulated ESD test pulse.

There continues to be demand for increasingly higher speed electronic components housed in yet smaller and smaller device packages. Smaller device packages translate into greater convenience to a consumer for obvious reasons. One way component manufacturers meet such demands for smaller device packages is by shrinking semiconductor chip geometries and/or increasing the chip's corresponding functionality. As a result of this trend toward smaller packaging and overall chip size, chip device designs (as well as other types of electronic components) are becoming increasingly susceptible to damage by Electrostatic Discharge (ESD). In general, an ESD pulse is a short duration, high-amplitude voltage pulse causing a burst of current to flow between two objects having different electrostatic potentials. Smaller geometries lower the threshold level of an ESD pulse that a corresponding device can handle without causing at least minor stress damage. Consequently, smaller devices are more susceptible to even minimal ESD pulses.
One potential cause of failure associated with electronic devices exposed to ESD is melting of material due to high temperatures. For example, silicon is a very poor conductor. Therefore, even low levels of quick burst energy pulses can cause the material of a semiconductor device to melt down and be permanently damaged. It is worth noting that not all ESD discharges are instantly fatal; certain events will only weaken the device making it more likely to fail early in its useful life.
Another potential cause of failure associated with ESD events is a phenomenon known as punch-through. As its name suggests, this condition results in structural damage due to a hole being blasted through an oxide layer of a semiconductor device as a result of exposure to excessive electrical fields. This phenomenon may also render the semiconductor device inoperable.
Exposure of ESD pulses to chips, electronic circuit boards, and equipment in general is almost inevitable, which is one reason why ESD is presently the leading cause of device failure in the field. Therefore, protection against ESD is typically a major consideration associated with the design, application and purchase of electronic components and, more particularly, sensitive semiconductor devices. Ensuring that devices provide a reasonable and acceptable level of tolerance with respect to ESD is an important part of all device design and manufacturing programs. To determine the ESD threshold of a device, it is necessary to agree on the type of ESD stress for which testing will take place.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of an electronic circuit 100 illustrating a conventional technique of testing a semiconductor device according to MIL-STD-883E (Military Standard 883E). This standard and corresponding specified circuit simulate ESD according to the Human Body Model (HBM). Other common standards that specify different types of ESD for testing an integrated circuit include the Machine Model (MM) and the Charged Device Model (CDM). Each of these models has an associated specification that defines the circuit components (e.g., resistive, capacitive, and inductive components) to shape the corresponding test waveform. Each of these models also has an associated specification including procedures to be used for testing electronic circuit components.
In general, generation of a simulated HBM or MM ESD pulse according to the standards involves two phases. During a charging phase, switch S1 is set so that conductive throw lead 115 couples node A to node B. Thus, capacitor C1 charges to a voltage produced by high voltage source 110. In a following discharge phase, switch S1 is set so that conductive throw lead 115 couples node B to node C. This causes energy in capacitor C1 to discharge through resistor R2 to the device under test 140. The HBM standards specify the values to be used in the circuit elements R2 and C1.
FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating a comparison of an exponential decay voltage waveform 220 and a simulated ESD test pulse 210 produced by the conventional circuit in FIG. 1. The voltage waveforms are similar except the simulated ESD test pulse 210 generally includes an unwanted residual voltage component 215 (e.g., a 2.5 volt plateau for a duration, T1, of 500 microseconds) superimposed on the exponential decay voltage waveform 220. It should be noted that a magnitude of the residual voltage component 210 may vary depending on a load of device under test 140 that test apparatus 100 drives. Also, relevant standards (e.g., MIL-STD, JEDEC, and ESD Association) specify a test voltage waveform as a current pulse into a short circuit. Characteristics of a produced test voltage pulse may vary depending on presence of non-short-circuit load conditions.

Methods and apparatus to produce a voltage pulse


A controlling device for a satellite antenna is provided. The controlling device includes a first signal generating device generating an inertial compensating signal having a compensating direction; a second signal generating device assembling a received signal from a satellite and generating an orientation with a strongest satellite signal in responding to a signal received from a satellite; a first driving device receiving the inertial compensating signal and driving the satellite antenna toward the compensating direction in a first speed; and a second driving device electrically connected to the second signal generating device and driving the satellite antenna toward the orientation in a second speed.

In the field of the satellite communication, for keeping the communication continuous, the satellite antenna should be always aimed at the satellite so as to avoid the signal loss and communication interruption. However, the satellite antenna can be disposed not only in a fixed base on the ground, but also in the vehicles, e.g. the airplanes, ships, cars, etc. Specifically in the moving vehicle, the orientation of the satellite antenna thereon will be changed easily, and thus the communication signal will become weaker. Once the communication signal is too weak to be recognized, the communication between the satellite antenna and the satellite will be broken. Therefore, for keeping the communication between the satellite antenna and the satellite, it is very important to control the satellite antenna to trace the satellite's orientation.
The conventional methods for controlling the satellite antenna to trace the satellite include the manual tracing method, the programmable tracing method, the automatic tracing method and the stepping tracing method, wherein the manual tracing method is unable to be used in the mobile communication. The programmable tracing method, which records the orbit of the satellite and uses a program to trace the satellite's orientation, is usually appropriate for a fixed base station on the ground rather than in a mobile communication. The automatic tracing method is more appropriate for the mobile communication, which is performed by finding the satellite's orientation first, and then combining the stepping tracing method or cooperating with the inertial navigating system, based on the signal magnitude, to trace the satellite,
Moreover, the conventional device for controlling the satellite antenna to trace the satellite uses a driving motor in each axis of the satellite antenna for driving it to trace the satellite's orientation. Therefore, whether the large-angle motion for fast searching or the small-angle motion for positioning tracing both uses the same motor for driving. Generally, the high-speed property of the motor is different from the low-speed property of the motor, i.e. the motor with the high-speed property hardly drives the micro-range motion and the motor with the low-speed property hardly drives the big-range motion. Hence, while the controlling circuit uses the same gain value, the performance thereof is poor.
In order to overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, a two-sectional controlling method and device for the satellite antenna are provided. The particular design in the present invention can not only keep the satellite antenna aiming at the satellite fast and precisely, but also keep a good and continuous communication. Thus, the invention has the utility for the industry.

Two-sectional controlling method and device for satellite antenna

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A putter effective for use in both conventional strokes and side saddle strokes. The putter includes a shaft having a grip portion at one end and a putter head at an opposite end. The shaft includes a lower forward offset portion and a straight portion. The straight portion defines a majority of the length of the putter and is disposed at an upright lie angle allowing effective use of the putter in the side saddle approach. The forward offset portion allows effective use of the putter with a conventional putting stroke.

Conventional putters are used with the golfer facing generally 90° relative to the hole or cup. The ball is placed in front of the golfer's toes and the putter swings back and forth in front of the golfer. Most conventional putters are between about 35 inches and 39 inches in length with a grip affixed to a shaft at one end and a putter head affixed at the opposite end. The shaft extends away from the putter head at a lie angle of approximately 25°–35° relative to vertical. The putter shaft length and lie angle are designed so that the golfer can assume a comfortable position with the putter head positioned at address well in front of the toes of the golfer's shoes.
Another class of putters has emerged relatively recently and is becoming more and more popular. These putters are used in a "side saddle" manner with the golfer facing the hole or cup at address and the putter held and swung at the golfer's side. The ball is placed alongside one of the golfer's feet. These putters have a much more upright lie angle of approximately 10°, and the shaft of the putter may be lengthened significantly beyond the length of a conventional putter. Typically, the shaft of the putter is gripped at one end with one hand and at a more intermediate location with the other hand. The golfer swings the putter with the lower hand and uses the upper hand generally as a pivot. This putting style is especially useful for putts of shorter distances since many golfers feel that the side saddle stroke allows better putter head control and easier alignment.
Many golfers would like to use a conventional putter and conventional putting stroke at longer distances from the cup, while using the side saddle approach at shorter distances from the cup. Unfortunately, if the golfer attempts to use a typical, upright side saddle putter with a conventional stroke, the golfer must assume an awkward stance, for example, placing the ball too close to his or her toes and standing too upright. On the other hand, if the side saddle approach is attempted with a conventional putter, the ball is placed too far away from the golfer because of the conventional lie angle.
Therefore, there is a need for a putter which may be more conveniently and effectively used with both a conventional putting stroke and a side saddle putting stroke.


The invention provides a single-stage electronic ballast for a fluorescent lamp, comprising a boost circuit and a load unit. The boost circuit includes a first inductor, a first capacitor, a first diode and at least a switch, wherein the positive terminal of the first diode is connected to the first inductor, and the negative terminal of the first diode is connected to the at least a switch. The load unit includes at least a fluorescent lamp, two terminals of the first capacitor are respectively connected to the at least a load unit, and the at least a switch is connected to the load unit for controlling its turning-on and turning-off, wherein the boost circuit and the load unit share the at least a switch.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the technical field of electronic ballast for a fluorescent lamp, in particular to a single-stage electronic ballast for a fluorescent lamp.
2. Background of the Invention
The design of a conventional electronic ballast for a fluorescent lamp makes use of a set of electronic ballast to drive a single fluorescent lamp tube. However, when there is a need to drive a plurality of fluorescent lamp tubes, the design of using a set of electronic ballast to drive a single fluorescent lamp tube will result in much complicated circuit architecture and too large volume. Therefore, the existing electronic ballast technique for the fluorescent lamp is developed with the tendency of using a set of the electronic ballast to drive a plurality of fluorescent lamp tubes. FIG. 1 shows a circuit structure of a conventional two-stage electronic ballast for a fluorescent lamp, in which at a first stage, a boost-typed converter 101 serves as a power factor correction circuit, and at a latter stage, a class D resonant inverter 103 is used for driving a fluorescent lamp tube. Such a circuit structure of the electronic ballast for a fluorescent lamp is mainly adopted at present.
However, it can be found from FIG. 1 that for a two-stage electronic ballast, two sets of control circuits are required to respectively drive the converter 101 and the inverter 103, and three switch elements are needed, causing complicated circuit, big switching loss and low efficiency.
Hence, there are several defects in the conventional electronic ballasts for the fluorescent lamp which need overcome.

Single-stage electronic ballast for a fluorescent lamp