A optical polarization encoding device (16) provides wavelength dependent processing of polychromatic optical signals without prior separation into narrow wavelength bands. Embodiments of the encoding device include a wavelength dependent tunable optical switch (400, 500) and a wavelength tunable optical level controller (600). An encoded signal is processed, (e.g., rerouted or attenuated), as a function of wavelength using polarization dependent devices (18). Desired states of polarization are imparted to optical signals to either direct selected wavelengths to selected output ports (optical switch), or to adjust the level of selected channels or wavelengths (level controller). Desired polarizations are achieved simultaneously at all wavelengths contained within the incoming signal by independently varying the birefringence and/or crystallographic orientation of each variable element within the stack.

In connection with wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical communication systems and other uses, there is a need for inexpensive, efficient means to effect wavelength dependent processing of optical signals. Examples of wavelength-dependent processing include, for example, wavelength selective optical switching, e.g., for routing individual wavelength channels in WDM systems, and wavelength-specific power attenuation, which can be useful for gain equalization in a WDM system.
A typical approach to wavelength dependent processing of optical signals involves first separating, or demultiplexing, individual wavelength bands as independent channels, and then processing the information from each channel separately. The processed channel information may be multiplexed back into a single transmission path, such as a single optical fiber, or separately distributed, or manipulated in various other ways.
A disadvantage of conventional demultiplexer- and multiplexer-based devices is that insertion losses are generally high, often as high as 4 –5 dB per stage. Another disadvantage is that devices relying on conventional demultiplexer geometry tend to be bulky. The systems also can be expensive.
Various switching techniques likewise have been implemented, each having its particular disadvantages. In one technique, for example, an optical signal is converted to the electrical domain to perform switching operations and then converted back to the optical domain for continued transmission or processing. This technique is expensive and is data format dependent.
There is a need for methods and apparatus capable of wavelength dependent processing of optical signals, wherein disadvantages associated with conventional multiplexer and demultiplexers, including losses, undue expense, bulky geometries, cross talk and similar problems, are substantially alleviated.
As applied according to the present invention, one way to facilitate selective processing of light, comprises imparting distinct polarization properties to one or more portions of the light that is to be processed differently from other portions (e.g., routed, attenuated, etc.). This can involve alteration of the polarization properties of an optical input signal as a function of wavelength, to selectively mark one or more wavelengths for particular processing. The polarization properties of an optical signal in that case can provide a parameter that permits components present in the optical signal to be discriminated or treated differently. For example, differently polarized signals can be routed along different signal paths by a polarization beam splitter, where they might be further processed in different ways.
Such polarization encoding can be useful in 7 various ways, for example to correct for distortion by adjusting power levels as a function of wavelength, to switch wavelength bands on and off or to route different wavelengths along different signal paths, etc. However, it is not readily apparent how wavelength specific polarization should be imparted in an efficient manner. The process would seem to require first separating the input signal into individual wavelength bands that are coupled to distinct transmission paths (i.e., demultiplexing), subjecting the separated individual wavelength bands to different processes, for example with some being subjected to a particular polarization alteration while others are not, and then recombining or multiplexing the differently-processed wavelengths. It is still less apparent how such wavelength band specific polarization could or should be imparted arbitrarily and changeably, whereby specific bands could be chosen for attenuation or switching, etc., on the fly.
One can understand some of the difficulties by considering a situation in which a signal containing a plurality of distinct wavelength bands passes through an optical device such as a waveplate. Assuming that all the light that enters the device also emerges, it would seem that some additional mechanism is needed for any wavelength-selective effects. This is particularly true if the effects are to be controllable, or if any substantial channel separation is desired, because all the portions of the input light that pass through are presumably equally or nearly-equally affected by the device. The wavelength dependent phase retardation might provide a basis for obtaining different effects as a function of wavelength, but any difference is likely to be minimal for closely adjacent wavelengths. Single waveplates would seem to have limited application. A series of stacked elements such as birefringent elements might affect particular wavelength bands differently from others, but this still does not seem a good candidate for use to arbitrarily manipulate selected wavelength channels or groups of channels. See, for example, Harris, Amman and Chang, "Optical Network Synthesis using Birefringent Crystals. I. Synthesis of Lossless Networks of Equal-Length Crystals," and Amman and Chang, "Optical Network Synthesis using Birefringent Crystals. II. Synthesis of Networks Containing One Crystal, Optical Compensator, and Polarizer per Stage."
A fixed stack of birefringent elements has been used in conjunction with a digital polarization converter to allow some control over the transfer function of an optical device. In particular, stacked birefringent elements have been tried as a solution to all-optical switching based on polarization as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,233 to Wu, et al. ("the '233 patent").
There remains a need for a practical and workable device that can selectively and controllably change a polarization state of arbitrarily selected channels out of a plurality of channels, thereby allowing various further processing of an optical signal, among other useful results.


A signal adder circuit includes: an adding unit that includes at least a pair of amplification elements in which a constant current flows between ground terminals and a ground, input signals having different phases are input to input terminals, and output terminals to which a power supply voltage is applied are connected to each other; a gain control unit that is provided between the ground and each of the ground terminals of the amplification elements so as to adjust the amplitudes of the input signals having different phases; and a phase control unit that is provided between the ground and each of the ground terminals of the amplification elements so as to adjust the phases of the input signals having different phases.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a signal adder circuit that adds I and Q signals having a predetermined phase difference therebetween, and in particular, to a signal adder circuit that can add I and Q signals, even when the I and Q signals have a phase error or an amplitude error, by removing effects due to the phase error or the amplitude error.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a digital modulation signal receiver having a signal adder circuit according to the related art. The digital modulation signal receiver includes a quadrature demodulator that extracts a quadrature demodulation signal from a signal received after being quadrature-modulated.
As shown in FIG. 3, a signal received through an antenna 1 is input to a band-pass filter 3, amplified by a variable amplifier 4, and input to a quadrature demodulator 5.
The quadrature demodulator 5 includes a local oscillator 6A that generates local oscillation signals L1 and L2 having predetermined frequencies and having a phase difference of 90° therebetween in accordance with a PLL 6B, and mixers 7A and 7B. The mixers 7A and 7B respectively mix the QPSK modulation signal with the local oscillation signals L1 and L2 output from the local oscillator 6A so as to output an I signal and a Q signal (quadrature demodulation signal) which are quadrature in phase.
The I signal and the Q signal passing through the low pass filters 8A and 8B, respectively, are added by an adder 10 and demodulated to a baseband signal by the QPSK demodulator 9 (for example, refer to JP-A-2000-332841).
It is ideal that the I and Q signals have a phase difference of 90° therebetween and an amplitude difference of 0.
However, the phase difference between the I and Q signals is within a range of 90°±5° due to variation of components included in, for example, the local oscillator 6A that oscillates the local oscillation signal or a phase shifter that rotates the phase of the local oscillation signals by 90°. Thus, the phase error of approximately maximum ±5° is included between the I and Q signals. In addition, the amplitude difference between the I and Q signals does not completely become zero. Thus, the amplitude error of approximately ±5% may be included between the I and Q signals.
When the I and Q signals including the phase error or the amplitude error are added by the adder 10, a baseband signal (added signal) after the adding operation has large error, which has an adverse effect on subsequent signal processing.

Signal adder circuit capable of removing effects due to phase error or amplitude error of I and Q signals


Systems and methods for fast storage allocation for encrypted storage are disclosed. An example method may include receiving, by a processing device executing an operating system, an identification of a first storage block that has been released by a first virtual machine; tracking, by the operating system, an encryption status corresponding to the first storage block to indicate whether the first storage block contains encrypted content; receiving a request to allocate storage to a second virtual machine; analyzing, by the operating system, the first storage block to determine that the first storage block contains encrypted content in view of the encryption status corresponding the first storage block; and allocating the first storage block containing the encrypted content to the second virtual machine without clearing the encrypted content of the first storage block.

In a virtualized environment, a host machine may allocate a certain amount of its storage resources to each of a plurality of virtual machines. Each virtual machine is then able to use the allocated storage resources to execute applications, including operating systems (referred to as guest operating systems). Executable code that provides the virtualization is commonly referred to as a hypervisor (also known as a virtual machine monitor (VMM)). The hypervisor emulates the underlying hardware of the host computer, making the use of the virtual machine transparent to the guest operating system and the user of the computer.
A host machine can accommodate more virtual machines than the size of its physical memory allows. Using virtual memory techniques, the host machine can give each virtual machine the impression that the virtual machine has a contiguous address space, while in fact the memory used by the virtual machine may be physically fragmented and even overflow to disk storage. When the host machine frees memory, the host machine may select memory pages that have been assigned to virtual machines and page out the contents of the selected memory pages to disk storage. When the virtual machines attempt to access the memory pages, the host machine may page in the contents of the memory page by retrieving the contents from disk storage and writing the content back to memory.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Fast virtual machine storage allocation with encrypted storage


This disclosure provides methods and apparatus for predictably changing the thickness of a microfeature workpiece. One implementation provides a planarizing method in which a first workpiece is planarized in first and second planarizing processes and a total change in thickness is determined. This thickness change is modified by a thickness offset associated with the second planarizing process and a material removal rate is calculated from this modified thickness change and the time on the first planarizer. A thickness of a second microfeature workpiece is measured and a target thickness of material to be removed is determined. A target planarizing time is then determined as a function of the target thickness reduction and the material removal rate.

Mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarizing processes (collectively "CMP processes") remove material from the surface of semiconductor wafers, field emission displays, or other microfeature workpieces in the production of microelectronic devices and other products. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a CMP machine 10 with a platen 20, a carrier assembly 30, and a planarizing pad 40. The CMP machine 10 may also have an under-pad 25 attached to an upper surface 22 of the platen 20 and the lower surface of the planarizing pad 40. A drive assembly 26 rotates the platen 20 (indicated by arrow F), or it reciprocates the platen 20 back and forth (indicated by arrow G). Since the planarizing pad 40 is attached to the under-pad 25, the planarizing pad 40 moves with the platen 20 during planarization.
The carrier assembly 30 has a head 32 to which a microfeature workpiece 12 may be attached, or the microfeature workpiece 12 may be attached to a resilient pad 34 in the head 32. The head 32 may be a free-floating wafer carrier, or an actuator assembly 36 may be coupled to the head 32 to impart axial and/or rotational motion to the workpiece 12 (indicated by arrows H and 1, respectively).
The planarizing pad 40 and a planarizing solution 44 on the pad 40 collectively define a planarizing medium that mechanically and/or chemically removes material from the surface of the workpiece 12. The planarizing pad 40 can be a soft pad or a hard pad. The planarizing pad 40 can also be a fixed-abrasive planarizing pad in which abrasive particles are fixedly bonded to a suspension material. In fixed-abrasive applications, the planarizing solution 44 is typically a non-abrasive "clean solution" without abrasive particles. In other applications, the planarizing pad 40 can be a non-abrasive pad composed of a polymeric material (e.g., polyurethane), resin, felt, or other suitable materials. The planarizing solutions 44 used with the non-abrasive planarizing pads are typically abrasive slurries with abrasive particles suspended in a liquid. The planarizing solution may be replenished from a planarizing solution supply 46.
In chemical-mechanical planarization (as opposed to solely mechanical planarization), the planarizing solution 44 will typically chemically interact with the surface of the workpiece 12 to control the removal rate or otherwise optimize the removal of material from the surface of the workpiece. Increasingly, microfeature device circuitry (i.e., trenches, vias, and the like) is being formed from copper. When planarizing a copper layer using a CMP process, the planarizing solution 44 is typically neutral to acidic and includes an oxidizer (e.g., hydrogen peroxide) to oxidize the copper and increase the copper removal rate. One particular slurry useful for polishing a copper layer is disclosed in International Publication Number WO 02/18099, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
To planarize the workpiece 12 with the CMP machine 10, the carrier assembly 30 presses the workpiece 12 face-downward against the planarizing medium. More specifically, the carrier assembly 30 generally presses the workpiece 12 against the planarizing solution 44 on a planarizing surface 42 of the planarizing pad 40, and the platen 20 and/or the carrier assembly 30 move to rub the workpiece 12 against the planarizing surface 42. As the workpiece 12 rubs against the planarizing surface 42, material is removed from the face of the workpiece 12. In some common CMP machines 10, the pressure of the workpiece 12 against the planarizing medium may be gradually ramped up and/or ramped down over a period of time instead of immediately pressing the workpiece against the planarizing medium with full force and immediately terminating pressure when the planarizing step is complete.
CMP processes should consistently and accurately produce a uniformly planar surface on the workpiece to enable precise fabrication of circuits and photo-patterns. During the construction of transistors, contacts, interconnects and other features, many workpieces develop large "step heights" that create highly topographic surfaces. Such highly topographical surfaces can impair the accuracy of subsequent photolithographic procedures and other processes that are necessary for forming sub-micron features. For example, it is difficult to accurately focus photo patterns to meet tolerances approaching 0.1 micron on topographic surfaces because sub-micron photolithographic equipment generally has a very limited depth of field. Thus, CMP processes are often used to transform a topographical surface into a highly uniform, planar surface at various stages of manufacturing microfeature devices on a workpiece.
In the highly competitive semiconductor industry, it is also desirable to maximize the throughput of CMP processing by producing a planar surface on a substrate as quickly as possible. The throughput of CMP processing is a function, at least in part, of the ability to accurately stop CMP processing at a desired endpoint. In a typical CMP process, the desired endpoint is reached when the surface of the substrate is planar and/or when enough material has been removed from the substrate to form discrete components on the substrate (e.g., shallow trench isolation areas, contacts and damascene lines). Accurately stopping CMP processing at a desired endpoint is important for maintaining a high throughput because the substrate assembly may need to be re-polished if it is "under-planarized," or components on the substrate may be destroyed if it is "over-polished." Thus, it is highly desirable to stop CMP processing at the desired endpoint.
In one conventional method for determining the endpoint of CMP processing, the planarizing period of a particular substrate is determined using an estimated polishing rate based upon the polishing rate of identical substrates that were planarized under similar conditions. The estimated planarizing period for a particular substrate, however, may not be accurate because the polishing rate or other variables may change from one substrate to another.
To compensate for changes in planarizing conditions (e.g., degradation of the planarizing pad 40, variations in the composition of the planarizing solution 44, or temperature fluctuations), conventional CMP tools predict the estimated planarizing time for the next workpiece 12 using a calculated material removal rate from the preceding workpiece or several preceding workpieces. Typically, this will involve measuring the thickness of the workpiece in a pre-planarizing metrology tool, planarizing the workpiece on the CMP machine 10, and measuring the thickness of the workpiece again in a post-planarizing metrology tool. Dividing the change in the measured thickness by the time spent planarizing a microfeature workpiece 12 can determine the material removal rate for that particular workpiece. The calculated removal rate may be used as an estimated removal rate for the next workpiece on the assumption that the planarizing conditions will not change too greatly between two sequentially processed workpieces.
To mask statistical variation from one workpiece to another, many CMP machines 10 use an exponentially weighted moving average of material removal rates from a series of microfeature workpieces to predict the material removal rate for the next workpiece. Aspects of such exponentially weighted moving average controllers, among other CMP controllers, are described in some detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,069, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Some commercially available CMP machines employ two different types of planarizing pads 40, each mounted on a separate platen 20. A first planarizing pad may remove material at a relatively fast rate and a second planarizing pad may be a finishing pad that removes material at a slower rate to yield a highly polished surface. Applied Materials Corporation of California, USA, sells one such CMP machine under the trade name MIRRA MESA. To increase throughput, the MIRRA MESA CMP tool includes two rough planarizing pads and one finishing pad. The material removal rate for the MIRRA MESA machine is calculated in much the same fashion as other conventional CMP machines, i.e., the total change in thickness as a result of processing on the CMP machine is divided by the combined primary planarizing time on the two rough planarizing pads, which tends to be the only planarizing time that is adjusted from one workpiece to the next.
To estimate the planarizing time necessary to planarize an incoming microfeature workpiece, the thickness of the top layer(s) on the incoming workpiece can be measured to determine the amount of material that needs to be removed. The estimated planarizing time may then be calculated using the formula:
      t          i                                      n        =      t    +                  KE        +                              K                          i                                                                                n                                          Δ                                                                          T                          i                                                                                n                                      +                  rI                                (                          E              ′                        )                              RR
wherein:                tin is the estimated planarizing time of an incoming workpiece;        t is the actual planarizing time of the preceding workpiece;        K is an empirically determined constant;        E is the difference between the predicted final thickness of the preceding workpiece and the thickness actually measured by the post-planarizing metrology tool;        Kin is another empirically determined constant;        ΔTin is the thickness of the material to be removed from the incoming workpiece;        r is another empirically determined constant;        I(E′) is an integral function (e.g., of the type commonly employed in PID control systems) of the difference between a predicted final thickness and the actually measured thickness for a series of preceding workpieces; and        RR is the calculated removal rate. This calculated removal rate may be the removal rate for the immediately preceding workpiece or may be an average, e.g., an exponentially weighted moving average, of a number of preceding workpieces.
The estimated planarizing time calculated in such a fashion can be a reasonably accurate estimate if the amount of material to be removed from the workpiece is relatively large, e.g., several thousand angstroms. With advances in the design of workpieces, the layers of material being removed in the CMP process is decreasing over time, with some CMP processes removing less than 1,000 Å. The conventional techniques outlined above for estimating the planarizing time for a given workpiece are proving less accurate at predicting material removal rate as the amount of material being removed is reduced. This greater variability in calculated removal time, together with the reduced amount of material being removed, can lead to materially under-planarizing or over-planarizing the workpieces.

Methods for planarizing workpieces, e.g., microelectronic workpieces


A sensor using laser range imaging technology is adapted for determining a three-dimensional profile of a vehicle passing the sensor for use in Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems. A continuously pulsed laser beam scanned across a detection area determines the presence of a vehicle. Range, angle and time date for a vehicle passing the sensor are collected and stored for use in determining its three-dimensional profile. Forward and backward beams are directed for scanning across the detection area. Pulsed energy is sent into the two divergent beams, which are received as reflective energy in a receiver. The receiver accepts reflections from the beams and provides inputs for purposes of determining time of flight, and for measuring the time interval between interceptions of the two divergent beams for a given vehicle. An encoder tracks the position of the mirror for providing angle data with associated range measurements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to object sensors and related methods, and in particular relates to electronic object sensors and methods useful in detecting vehicle speed and shape for classification and input to Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS).
2. Background Art
A vehicle sensor providing the presence of a vehicle in a traffic lane and indicating the vehicle speed as it passed the sensor is disclosed in copending Application Ser. No. 07/980,273 referenced above. A time-of-flight laser rangefinder concept is used which measures the normal distance to a highway from a fixed point above the road surface and then measures the distance to any vehicle which either passes or stops under the sensor. The concept teaches the use of two laser beams pulsing at a high rate projected across the road surface at a fixed angle between them. Because of the high repetition rate, the system is also able to determine vehicle speed with an accuracy within one mph and using this calculated speed, develop a longitudinal profile of the vehicle using consecutive range measurements as the vehicle moves under the sensor.
The principal goals of the invention are to provide active near-field object sensors which are relatively low in cost, are accurate and have utility in a wide variety of applications. The invention contemplated a sensor for detecting the presence of an object within an area located in a close range to the sensor, and includes a range finder having means for emitting a directional output of pulsed energy toward the fixed area. In a preferred arrangement, the emitting means comprises a laser diode capable of emitting pulses of coherent infrared radiation, which are used together with collimating optics and a beam splitter to provide two diverging output beams directed toward the near-field area under observation.
The sensor also includes means for receiving a portion of the energy reflected from either the area, or an object located within the area. The returned pulse energy is then provided as an input to a receiver for determining a time of flight change for pulses between the emitting and receiving means, which may be caused by the presence of an object within the area. The sensor is also provided with various features useful in providing outputs which indicate either the speed, census, size or shape of one or more objects in the area. For example, the sensor is provided with means for receiving an input from the time of flight determining means and for providing an output indicating whether the object meets one of a plurality of classification criteria (e.g., is the object an automobile, truck or motorcycle). To achieve these and other objectives, the receiving means includes two detectors, with means for alternately selecting between the outputs of the two detectors for providing inputs to the time of flight determining means; means are also provided for measuring the time interval between interceptions of the two diverging outputs by a given object, so as to calculate the speed of the object passing through the area.
Copending application Ser. No. 07/997,737 referenced above discloses the generation of three dimensional images of objects by rotating or scanning a laser beam rangefinder, operating at a high pulse rate, in a plane where there is relative motion between the rangefinder and the object to be sensed or imaged in a direction perpendicular to the laser beam plane of rotation. This operation causes the laser rangefinder rotating beam, when passing to a side of the object, to cover the object to be sensed with rangefinder pulses, and thereby, obtain a three dimensional image of the object.
A preferred embodiment of the three dimensional object sensor taught in the copending application taught the sensing of trees formed in a row for purposes of spraying, counting or measuring the size of the trees. The sensor is moved along the ground traveling between rows of trees, crops or foliage with the laser rangefinder scanning on either side of the moving vehicle carrying the sensor in a plane perpendicular to the motion of the vehicle. When the sensor detects the presence of foliage, it provides a signal activating a spraying system for the efficient spraying of the tree or object being sensed. This operation ensures that spraying takes place only when there is foliage present to intercept the sprayed materials. Economic and environmental benefit is thus realized.
The agricultural sprayer employs a pulsed time-of-flight range measuring system having separate apertures for the laser transmitter and receiver. The laser beam and receiver field-of-view are continuously scanned, by a rotating mirror, in a vertical plane which is perpendicular to the forward motion axis of the sprayer vehicle. The position of the mirror, and correspondingly the laser beam, is determined by means of a shaft encoder attached to the mirror drive motor shaft. With this embodiment, a single sensor makes range measurements on both sides of the sprayer vehicle as the vehicle moves the sensor between rows of trees. Since the sensor only need to detect the presence of trees, range measurements are only made within elevation angles of plus and minus 45 degrees on each side of the sensor. Data is collected within 180 degrees out of the 360 degrees of a revolution or circular scan. As the sprayer vehicle moves along, the scan trace advances on consecutive revolutions of the mirror. Employing a distance traveled input from the vehicle, the sensor creates a panorama of images. An algorithm then determines whether trees are present from the measured range data as a function angle. Spray units are grouped in zones and the sensor provides foliage images for the zones and thus an indication of the amount of spray necessary for a particular tree zone.
There is a continuing demand for accurate, low-cost sensors useful in a wide variety of applications, including equipment used in the home, as well as for security, military and transportation applications. There have been suggestions for traffic signal controllers utilizing overhead sensors. Copending application makes reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,167,739 to Girard et al; 3,436,540 to Lamorlett; 3,516,056 to Matthews; 3,532,886 to Kruger et al; 3,680,047 to Perlman; and 4,317,117 to Chasek.
Likewise referenced, near-field sensors have also been utilized as intruder alarms and as automatic door operators. Examples of such arrangements are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,605,082 to Matthews; 3,644;917 to Perlman; 3,719,938 to Perlman; 3,852,592 to Scoville et al; 3,972,021 to Leitz et al; and 4,433,328 to Saphir et al.
As discussed in the three dimensional sensor copending application, U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,713 discloses the use of an ultrasonic sonar-type sensor to detect the presence of tree foliage, as do U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,268 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,861. Optical dimensioning techniques have been incorporated in industrial uses as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,216 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,038.
As discussed in the copending applications, the object sensors were developed by the inventors as an outgrowth of several laser systems developed for Department of Defense and Department of Transportation programs. Typically military use of laser optics and electronics are found in missile systems and target recognition systems. Target images are produced and are seen as a missile or carrier flies over a targeting area. For example, a missile may be equipped with a laser range finder scanning in a plane perpendicular to the flight path.

Intelligent vehicle highway system sensor and method


The disclosed embodiments provide an adjustable brace including a first wearable part, a second wearable part, an angle adjustment mechanism and a resistance mechanism. The first wearable part and the second wearable part are pivotably connected to each other via the angle adjustment mechanism and the resistance mechanism.

The rehabilitation is an important phase after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. And the motion of the knee joint should be restricted during the early phase of rehabilitation. A knee brace is a common practice for enhancing knee stability after rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament or reconstruction for restricting the movable range of the knee as well as in knee unloading. However, as the progression along the rehabilitation continuum and phases, appropriate exercises will help to strengthen the muscles around the knee and help the patients to regain full range of motion. A brace having an adjustable range of rotation and resistance will be very helpful in the rehabilitation exercise programs.
Therefore, muscle strength training is required to avoid muscle atrophy during the knee joint or other joint rehabilitations, especially for those who had been through the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. However, there is yet no knee or another joint brace is capable of training muscle strength.

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


The polishing apparatus is capable of precisely controlling polishing pressure, correctly positioning a press plate and uniformly polishing a workpiece. In the polishing apparatus, a holding head comprises: first pressing means for introducing a pressurized fluid into a first fluid chamber and pressing a main head section downward; second pressing means for introducing a pressurized fluid into a second fluid chamber and pressing a press plate downward; and third pressing means for introducing a pressurized fluid into a third fluid chamber and pressing the workpiece downward. With this structure, the workpiece is held on the lower side of an elastic sheet member, and the lower face of the workpiece can be polished by a polishing plate.

The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus capable of uniformly polish workpieces, e.g., wafers.
Many kinds of polishing apparatuses are known.
Generally, a polishing apparatus comprises: a polishing plate having an upper face, on which a polishing cloth is adhered; a holding head having a lower face, on which a workpiece is held so as to press the workpiece onto the polishing cloth; and a driving mechanism for relatively moving the polishing plate with respect to the holding head so as to polish a lower face of the workpiece.
A conventional polishing apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3158934. The polishing apparatus includes a holding head comprising: a main head section; a carrier provided in the main head section, the carrier holding a workpiece to be polished; a retainer ring provided outside of the carrier and coaxially arranged therewith, the retainer ring contacting the polishing cloth and holding an outer edge of the workpiece; a carrier pressure adjusting mechanism adjustably pressing the carrier toward a platen; and a ring pressure adjusting mechanism separated from the carrier pressure adjusting mechanism, the ring pressure adjusting mechanism adjustably pressing the retainer ring toward the platen.
In the polishing apparatus, the ring pressure adjusting mechanism is separated from the carrier pressure adjusting mechanism. Therefore, waving of the polishing close, which occurs near the workpiece, can be effectively prevented, so that overpolishing an outer edge of the workpiece can be effectively prevented.
These days, however, precise control of polishing pressure is required so as to further precisely polish the workpiece.


A die package is disclosed through which power domains within the chip may be isolated by removing vias within the package substrate, rather than power gating. Multiple substrate options may be configured without specific vias. This eliminates the need to design power gating circuitry into the die, freeing up that die area for more functional logic. The solution allows the die package to retain the same pinout for use by PCB designers, regardless of which power domains are gated.

Power gating in integrated circuits isolates sub-groups of circuits (herein, "logic blocks") of a semiconductor die (also referred to as a 'chip') from the power supply such that the entire die is not turned on at one time. This is useful to control power consumption by the die.
Power-gating techniques generally involve shutting off or reducing voltage that is supplied to certain logic blocks when those logic blocks are not in use, such as when they aren't used in the final version of the product that is sold, or when those logic blocks are in a sleep, standby, or otherwise idle mode.
Some power-gating techniques provide what is known as a power-gate transistor between the power supply pin on the die package (the interface between the die and circuits external to the die) and the logic block. The power-gate transistor may be an NMOS or PMOS transistor. The power-gate transistor operates as a switch that selectively couples the supply voltage to the logic block. A large number of power-gating transistors are typically manufactured onto the die to temporarily or permanently switch off logic blocks in order to reduce the overall leakage power of the die. However, a typical power-gate transistor is large in size, and may itself have some associated leakage current or other parasitic effects that can affect the power consumption or other efficiencies of the die.
For these reasons die-based power gating may incur around a 10% area penalty, meaning that the die circuity expands in size by about 10% due to the inclusion of on-die power-gating transistors and associated circuitry. Leakage current and other undesirable effects may also increase somewhat when a large number of power-gating transistors are included on a die.


A method and apparatus for data exchange between a towing vehicle and an attached trailer uses radio contact via transmission/receiving modules contained in the towing vehicle and in the trailer. To recognize that the towing vehicle and the trailer are connected, the transmission/receiving module of the towing vehicle transmits an identification signal, and at the same time, changes the electrical status of a connection line between the towing vehicle and the trailer. If the transmission/receiving module located in the trailer recognizes the change in the electrical status of the connection line simultaneously with receiving the transmitted identification signal, the identification signal is stored within the trailer. In subsequent communications between the towing vehicle and the trailer, the identification signal is always transmitted before the message. As such, only the attached trailer, with the appropriate stored identification signal, can communicate with its towing vehicle. Moreover, the same technique can be used for multiple trailers attached to the same towing vehicle.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the exchange of data between a towing vehicle and one or more trailers. More specifically, the present invention relates to utility vehicles, where the towing vehicle and the trailer(s) are electrically connected to each other.
One prior art method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,278 (Moallemi, et al, dated Aug. 25, 1992), which is incorporated herein by reference. This patent describes a towing vehicle electrically connected with two trailers via an electrical supply line. To transmit data between the towing vehicle and the trailers, the trailers transmit a modulated identification signal on the power line coupling the towing vehicle and the trailers. Data may consist e.g., of identification signals of the trailers, as well as temperature and pressure values in the trailers. This data is available in the towing vehicle, and is transmitted via a radio link to a central office. The central office can thereby control the location of the vehicles, as well as additional data exchanges. There is no radio link between the towing vehicle and the trailers.
Furthermore, EP 0 793 838 B1, equivalent to U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,519 (Lohmann, et al, dated Nov. 3, 1998), which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a traffic control system for transportation systems. This control system provides one data processing unit in the towing unit, and another in the towed unit. The two data processing units can exchange information by wireless transmission. This type of prior art system is used primarily for theft protection.
Finally, EP A1 1 013 533 (Graeber, dated Jun. 28, 2000), which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a process for the determination of the physical sequence of connected train vehicles, and an arrangement to carry out the process (train baptism). In this case, information is transmitted from radio systems built into the vehicles, when called for by a train master, via a radio-based data communication system connected to the train. To identify the vehicles common to a train, a coded identification signal is transmitted to the vehicles via the main air line, and the vehicle radio devices confirm the signal during determination of the sequence.
For a road utility vehicle, it is particularly desirable to exchange data and commands among the electronic braking systems (EBS) in the motor vehicle and in the trailers. This type of data communication has a positive effect upon the braking behavior and stability of the vehicle train.
While trailer and motor vehicle EBS are generally designed for stand-alone operation, cooperation between the two systems is desirable. As such, a vehicle movement dynamics (VMD) control contained in the EBS can exchange data between the trailer and the motor vehicle, and can e.g., brake individual wheels of the trailer whenever necessary.
For this type of data exchange, i.e., via an electrical line, a standardized interface is defined in ISO 11992. This interface enables the exchange of data via an electrical connection line, designated as CAN bus. As such, a matching identification for towing vehicle and corresponding trailer is not necessary. In practice, however, the above-mentioned interface is not in common use, and can not be assumed to be present. Moreover, an alternative connection line of the EBS itself by means of a data cable would not be a practicable method.
It can be assumed that future data transmissions between a towing vehicle and one or several trailers will be implemented via a radio connection. As such, the towing vehicle and the trailer(s) would each contain a two-way transmitting/receiving module for data exchange. A short range (less than 100 m) would be sufficient for such a radio connection. Further, the radio transmission must be confined to the towing vehicle and its connected trailers, so as not to interfere with any other trailers or towing vehicles located nearby.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to enable the reliable identification of a towing vehicle and its connected trailer(s) when communicating by radio transmission. As a result, a radio message will be recognized and carried out only by the appertaining, interconnected towing vehicle and trailer(s).
In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a method for the exchange of data between a towing vehicle and an attached trailer, which are connected electrically via a connection line and are equipped for transmitting and receiving radio signals, comprises the following steps:
a. upon starting up the towing vehicle, transmitting an identification signal from the towing vehicle,
b. the towing vehicle also simultaneously modifying the status of the connection line,
c. upon the trailer receiving the identification signal transmitted from the towing vehicle, and simultaneously recognizing the modified status of the connection circuit, the trailer then storing the identification signal, so that subsequent communication between the towing vehicle and the trailer is enabled by means of the identification signal.
The inventive design can also be used with multiple trailers attached to the towing vehicle, where all the trailers are similarly equipped.
In an alternative embodiment, the identification signal can be generated as a result of braking or directional signaling, in lieu of a start up signal.
In yet another embodiment, a predetermined number of simultaneous identification signals and connection circuit status changes are required for enabling communication between the towing vehicle and the trailer(s).

Method and apparatus for data exchange between towing vehicle and trailer


A method for protein assay is a modified Lowry method in which a Step 1 reaction between a copper-containing alkaline solution and a protein solution takes place at high alkali concentration. The Step 2 reaction the products of Step 1 and Folin reagent commences at a pH of 11 and 12 in order to produce rapidly the colored species on the basis of which a maximum optical density is reached in a relatively short time and remains constant for a sufficient period to enable the required number of optical density determinations to be made.

There are several methods for determination of protein quantity in samples. These include use of colour-changing dyes, such as Orange G, Bromo cresol green, Pyrocatechol Violet-Molybdenum complex, etc. These dyes, when bound with protein, change colour proportional to the amount of protein present in the samples. These methods are generally not very sensitive. A more sensitive dye-binding technique using Coomassie Brilliant Blue G-200 is adversely affected by the presence of detergents in sample and also suffers from wide protein-to-protein variation (Bradford, M., Anal. Biochem., 72 248-254, 1976 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,933).
A variety of turbidimetric methods are also known in which protein is precipitated by various agents. These methods also suffer from lack of sensitivity, specificity and interference with detergents.
The most widely used procedures for protein determination involve the well-known reaction of protein in alkaline medium with Cupric ions yielding highly reactive cuprous ions. A method using alkaline copper was first developed by Lowry et al (Lowry, Oh. H., Rosebrough, N. J., Farr, A. L., and Randall, R. J., J. Biol. Chem. 193, 265-275, 1951) ("the Lowry method") in which protein reaction with buffered alkaline copper was coupled with Folin phenol reagent (phosphomolybdic/phosphotungstic acid), hereinafter referred to as Folin. It is believed that protein reacts with alkaline copper and produces cuprous ions and this, in turn, reduces the Folin to the characteristic blue reaction colour.
The Lowry method suffers from many disadvantages. The most serious disadvantage is the rigidity of the method. The Lowry method requires precisely-timed additions of reagent, immediate vortexing and prolonged incubation. Furthermore, the Lowry method also suffers from poor reproducibility and interference from a number of commonly used laboratory agents. Attempts to simplify the Lowry method have not, so far, been successful. Consequently, a need exists for a more flexible and rapid method for determination of protein.
In a recent modification, Smith et al (Anal. Biochem. 150, 76-85, 1985) combined the reaction of protein with alkaline copper with bicinchoninic acid. Although Smith et al's method has several advantages over the Lowry method, it suffers from lack of end-point in the reaction. The colour yield of the reaction continues to increase at a rate of 2-3% every ten minutes. Consequently, this method is not very accurate and the problem is compounded if a large number of samples are analysed in a single batch. In addition, Smith et al's method, using bicinchoninic acid, is a slow reaction requiring heating and a prolonged incubation period, which makes the method time-consuming.


Disclosed is a rotary input device, including: a rotary operation device; a rotation detecting section; a rotation driving section; a display control section to scroll an image under display by rotation of the rotary operation device; a judging section to judge whether the detected rotation angle reaches a critical angle corresponding to an end part of a range of the displayed image or not; and a rotation controlling section to reversely rotate the rotary operation device to an initial position or a reference position when it is judged that the rotation angle reaches the critical angle and the rotary operation is released, wherein the display control section displays the image displayed on the display section at a display position corresponding to the initial position or the reference position when the rotary operation device is reversely rotated to the initial position or the reference position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotary input device and electronic equipment equipped with the rotary input device.
2. Description of Related Art
A rotary operation device adopted by electronic equipment, such as a portable terminal machine, audio visual (AV) equipment, and a personal computer, has hitherto been known. The rotary operation device performs an input operation into the electronic equipment by a rotary operation of a rotary operation device of the rotary input device. Such a rotary input device is configured so that selection items displayed on the display screen of the electronic equipment may be sequentially switched to be selected in conjunction with the rotation of the rotary operation device. After an operator has manually rotated the rotary operation device until an objective selection item is selected, the operator performs an operation for fixing the selection thereof, and thereby an instruction corresponding to the selected selection item is input.
Because each selection item on the screen is switched to be selected only by performing a simple rotary operation of the rotary operation device in such a rotary input device, the rotary input device has the problem of the difficulty of grasping the selection of a selection item on the screen by a sense of a hand or a finger of an operator.
Accordingly, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-345499 discloses a mechanism giving a user a lever operating feeling by generating an operation reaction force so as to put back an operation to a neutral position in the direction reverse to an operation direction according to a rotary operation speed of a rotation mechanism section.
Because the operation of an operation section to return to the neutral position by the rotation mechanism section and an image under display are not in conjunction with each other in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-345499, for example, if the operation section has returned to the neutral position in the state in which the image under display reaches an end of a range, the image under display stays as it is, and the technique has the problem of bad usability.

Rotary input device and electronic equipment


A process for the fractionation of valuable fractions from cereal brans (e.g. wheat, barley and oat brans, and rice polish) is described. In particular, this invention describes a two step process, in which the said bran is first subjected to a combination of enzymatic treatment and wet milling, followed by sequential centrifugation and ultrafiltration, which aims at physically separating the main bran factions, i.e. insoluble phase (pericarp and aleurone layer), germ-rich fraction, residual endosperm fraction and soluble sugars. A second step consists of fractionating cereal brans substantially free of soluble compounds, hence insoluble phase from the above-mentioned first step, by enzymatic treatment with xylanases and/or beta-glucanase and wet milling, followed by sequential centrifugation and ultrafiltration, which aims at physically separating the main fractions, i.e. insoluble phase (remaining cell wall components), protein-rich fraction, soluble hemicellulose and oligosaccharide, and therefore maximizes the extraction rate of valuable cell wall components and aleurone cells from previously cleaned bran.

Bran is defined as the seed coat of cereal grains such as wheat, barley, rye, triticale, oat or rice. Anatomically, bran comprises the outer layers of the seed, known as the pericarp-testa and an inner layer known as the aleurone layer, which is often classified as the outermost layer of the endosperm. However, from the practical point of view cereal bran is herein defined as the remaining material after the conventional milling or polishing of cereal grains and contains primarily pericarp-testa and aleurone layer components, along with the cereal germ and residual parts of the endosperm. The relative amounts of each component will depend upon the type of cereal and milling technique applied.
Within this definition, bran therefore contains all of the pericarp-testa components, the aleurone layer, the germ components including germ proteins and oils, along with a residual amount of endosperm starch, gluten and pentosans.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,651 describes a process for making fermentable sugars and high protein products from grain, mainly maize. In this method, grain is steeped for 10-30 h, prior to milling and separation of the germ component, saccharification of carbohydrates (mainly starch), and separation of fibre. The yield of starch is maximised for fermentation to alcohol. Within the described process there is no specific fractionation of the bran component, separation of protein types or consideration of the germ component.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,636 discloses a process for fractionating crop into industrial raw material. This is focused on oat grain and incorporates bran fractionation procedures that involve the extraction of more hydrophobic components such as lipids in polar organic solvents prior to the alkaline extraction of residual bran to produce beta-glucan, protein and degummed fibres. The use of the organic solvent is a key step in the process and hydrolysing enzymes are not utilised during the fractionation procedure.
Two related US patents (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,171,383 and 4,171,384) disclose dry and wet milling procedures for refining whole wheat grain. U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,383 focuses on wet milling of the whole kernel. The bran produced is mixed with a separated (mainly) endosperm protein fraction to produce animal feed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,384 describes dry milling of the whole kernel to produce an endosperm fraction, a germ fraction and a bran fraction. The endosperm fraction is then subjected to wet milling and separation of starch-rich and protein-rich fractions. The protein rich fraction is added to the bran to produce an animal feed. There is no description of a specific wet fractionation of the bran itself within either patent.
Patent application WO 99/11672 discloses a process that uses selective enzymes, such as acetyl xylan esterase and ferulic acid esterase, to both facilitate the removal of hemicellulose from various plant materials and alter its degree of phenolic ester substitution. Despite the fact that functional hemicellulose with high solubility and gelling strength can be produced yields are rather low. In fact, the inventors reported a 3 and 6% yield of arabinoxylan ferulate (hemicellulose), when wheat bran was treated with acetyl xylan esterase for 90 and 180 min, respectively. Furthermore, the invention does not make any reference to the use of xylanases, or its combination with wet milling in order to overcome the low yields reported.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,618 discloses a process to extract soluble dietary fibre hemicelluloses from wheat bran by applying a heat pre-treatment in aqueous solution. Further processing such as filtration, salting out, dialysis, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, gel filtration and precipitation in order to remove contaminants from the hemicellulose fraction, follows this. The inventors make no claims with regards to the use of enzymes and production of products streams other than hemicellulose. Furthermore, the invention highlights the need of run costly procedures to remove contaminants, which were once present in the original wheat bran. The bran is extracted at high temperatures and pressures in water (180-200° C.), producing a glucose rich dietary fibre component in the water phase. The process specifically targets the production of dietary fibre and is not really/strictly a fractionation procedure in that other products is largely ignored.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,373 discloses a process to extract hemicelluloses from wheat bran by applying alkali treatment to dissolve hemicelluloses and other bran components followed by ethanol extraction to separate the hemicelluloses. Alkali (sodium hydroxide) extraction of hemicellulose has also been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,998 as an intermediate step to produce controlled-release compositions containing the said alkali-extracted hemicellulose and an active substance. Similar alkali-extraction procedure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,649 to produce hemicellulose, which is then used in coating compositions containing insoluble dietary fibre.
WO 00/04053 patent application describes a chemical process using alkaline peroxide treatment to produce high yields of light coloured gelling hemicelluloses from products derived from flour, husk or bran. Another chemical extraction process of hemicellulose from wheat bran has been disclosed in WO98/31713 patent application, whereby the inventors combine a washing procedure to remove the starch fraction followed by an alkaline treatment with sodium hydroxide to extract the hemicellulose from the starch-free raw material.
It appears from above-described prior art on alkali extraction of hemicellulose that this is an old, proven and effective way to yield high quantities of soluble hemicellulose with interesting functionalities such as gelling, dietary fibre and as an inert material for controlled-release compositions. The drawback of such technology is the associated problems of utilising chemicals. Firstly, chemicals eventually become contaminants in various product streams, and therefore require additional purification. This normally has significant cost implications. Secondly, innovative industrial processes based on chemical extraction are not always attractive from the marketing point of view, particularly in food applications.
Production of insoluble dietary fibres from oats is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,103, which describes a chemical procedure (alkali and bleaching treatment) for the production of insoluble dietary fibre with high water holding capacity and non-gritty mouth feel. A water holding capacity of 6.9 g watering oat fibre has been reported.
Other references have disclosed processes for the extraction of proteins from cereal brans. U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,073 discloses a physical process to separate aleurone cell particles and pericarp-testa particles from commercial wheat bran. The process consists of milling the bran particles to a specific particle size distribution, electrostatically charge the said particles and then pass the said charged particles through a magnetic field, which separates aleurone from pericarp-testa particles. The separation is achieved by hammer-milling the bran and then subjecting the resultant particles to a physical separation regime achieve the separation. No aqueous wet processing is employed during the fractionation procedure described therein.
This is a rather different concept from the current invention, which is based upon the use of enzymes and aqueous wet milling.
Waszczynskyj et al. (1981) have proven that protein extraction rate of alkali-treated full fat wheat bran can be increased from 30% up to 38.5% when it is preceded by polysaccharidase treatment. The above-mentioned figures are significantly lower than those described in the present invention whereby up to 60% protein extraction rates were achieved without using alkali treatment. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,738 discloses a method to extract soluble hemicelluloses, for use as a source of dietary fibre, from various fibrous materials including cereal brans using alkali digestion followed by xylanase treatment. As in other prior art, Waszczynskyj et al made use of alkali digestion to improve extraction rates. Additionally, the residence time for the enzymatic treatment was rather long (3 to 96 h), which makes the process not very attractive from a production cost point of view.
WO 01/60180 relates to process for separating oil from rice bran, whereby bran having a suitable particle size in a slurry is subjected to an enzymatic treatment, and subjecting the enzymatically treated slurry for a separation to recover an oil phase for further isolation of specific lipids. The process is carried out under alkaline conditions for a considerable time period, normally 15 hours. As no degradation of starch present, about 15% of the ingoing bran, takes place, any end product will be heavily contaminated with starch.
It is clear that the above-mentioned prior art has not succeeded to arrive at a process of cereal bran fractionation, which is both chemical-free and yields different food-grade fractions and simultaneously yield aleurone proteins, oligosaccharides and hemicelluloses, and yet produce insoluble dietary fibre from previously cleaned cereal bran, i.e. substantially free of soluble components, using xylanases and/or beta-glucanases in combination with wet milling.

Process for the fractionation of cereal brans


The invention relates to a method for producing electrolytic capacitors with low equivalent series resistance and low residual current, consisting of a solid electrolyte and an intermediate layer and an outer layer comprising conductive polymers, to electrolytic capacitors produced using this method and also to the use of electrolytic capacitors of this type.

A conventional commercial solid electrolytic capacitor generally consists of a porous metal electrode, an oxide layer located on the metal surface, an electrically conductive solid which is introduced into the porous structure, an outer electrode (contacting), such as for example a silver layer or a cathode foil, and also further electrical contacts and an encapsulation.
Examples of solid electrolytic capacitors are tantalum, aluminium, niobium and niobium oxide capacitors with charge transfer complexes, brownstone or polymer solid electrolytes. The use of porous bodies has the advantage that it is possible to achieve, owing to the large surface area, a very high capacitance density, i.e. a high electrical capacitance in a small space.
The high electrical conductivity of π-conjugated polymers makes them particularly suitable as solid electrolytes. π-Conjugated polymers are also referred to as conductive polymers or as synthetic metals. They are becoming increasingly economically important, as polymers have advantages over metals with respect to processability, weight and the targeted setting of properties by chemical modification. Examples of known π-conjugated polymers are polypyrroles, polythiophenes, polyanilines, polyacetylenes, polyphenylenes and poly(p-phenylenevinylenes), poly-3,4-(ethylene-1,2-dioxy)thiophene, often also referred to as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene), being a particularly important and industrially used polythiophene, as it has in its oxidised form very high conductivity and high thermal stability.
Technical developments in electronics are increasingly calling for solid electrolytic capacitors with very low Equivalent Series Resistances (ESRs). The reason for this is for example falling logic voltages, higher integration density and rising clock frequencies in integrated circuits. Furthermore, a low ESR also reduces the amount of energy consumed; this is particularly advantageous for mobile, battery-operated applications. It is therefore desirable to reduce the ESR of solid electrolytic capacitors as much as possible.
European patent specification EP-A-340 512 describes the production of a solid electrolyte from 3,4-ethylene-1,2-dioxythiophene and the use of its catatonic polymer produced by oxidative polymerisation as a solid electrolyte in electrolytic capacitors. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), as a substitute for manganese dioxide or for charge transfer complexes in solid electrolytic capacitors, reduces, on account of the higher electrical conductivity, the equivalent series resistance of the capacitor and improves the frequency response.
In addition to a low ESR, modern solid electrolytic capacitors also demand a low residual current and good stability in relation to external loads. In particular during the production process, high mechanical loads, which can greatly increase the residual current of the capacitor anode, occur during the encapsulation of the capacitor anodes.
Stability in relation to loads of this type, and thus a low residual current, may be achieved above all by an approx. 5-50 μm-thick outer layer made of conductive polymers on the capacitor anode. A layer of this type serves as a mechanical buffer between the capacitor anode and the cathode-side contacting. This prevents the silver layer (contacting), for example, from entering during mechanical loading into direct contact with or damaging the dielectric and the residual current of the capacitor from increasing as a result. The conductive polymeric outer layer itself should display what is known as self-healing behaviour: Relatively minor defects in the dielectric at the outer anode surface, which occur despite the buffer effect, are electrically isolated as a result of the fact that the conductivity of the outer layer is destroyed at the site of the defect by the electrical current.
Forming a thick polymeric outer layer by means of in-situ polymerisation is very difficult. The layer formation requires in this case very many coating cycles. The large number of coating cycles makes the outer layer very inhomogeneous; the rims of the capacitor anode, in particular, are often inadequately covered. Japanese patent application JP-A 2003-188052 describes that homogeneous rim coverage requires costly adaptation of the process parameters. However, this makes the production processes very susceptible to malfunctions. In addition, it is generally necessary to remove residual salts from the layer, which is polymerised in situ, by washing; as a result, holes faun in the polymer layer.
A dense electrically conductive outer layer with good rim coverage can be achieved by electrochemical polymerisation. However, electrochemical polymerisation requires a conductive film first to be deposited on the insulating oxide layer of the capacitor anode and this layer then to be electrically contacted for each individual capacitor. This contacting is very costly in large-scale production and can damage the oxide layer.
In European patent applications EP-A-1713103 and EP-A-1746613, a polymeric outer layer is generated by applying a dispersion comprising particles of a conductive polymer and a binder. Polymeric outer layers can be generated relatively easily using these methods. However, this method has the drawback that the ESR rises markedly under a thermal load, such as is produced for example during soldering of the capacitors. In addition, it is desirable to further reduce the ESR.
There was thus a need to improve the two methods described in EP-A-1713103 and EP-A-1746613 for producing solid electrolytic capacitors in such a way that the ESR decreases further and does not increase markedly even under increased thermal loading.

Methods for producing electrolytic capacitors having a polymeric intermediate layer, capacitors produced thereby and uses thereof


A beam-forming antenna system includes an array of integrated antenna circuits. Each integrated antenna circuit includes an oscillator coupled to an antenna. A network couples to the integrated antenna units to provide phasing information to the oscillators. A controller controls the phasing information provided by the network to the oscillators. In an alternative embodiment, the phasing to each antenna element is controlled through a fixed corporate feed network. The relative gains of the antenna signals received or transmitted through the fixed corporate feed may be adjusted with respect to each other to provide a beam steering capability.

Conventional high-frequency antennas are often cumbersome to manufacture. For example, antennas designed for 100 GHz bandwidths typically use machined waveguides as feed structures, requiring expensive micro-machining and hand-tuning. Not only are these structures difficult and expensive to manufacture, they are also incompatible with integration to standard semiconductor processes.
As is the case with individual conventional high-frequency antennas, beam-forming arrays of such antennas are also generally difficult and expensive to manufacture. Conventional beam-forming arrays require complicated feed structures and phase-shifters that are incompatible with a semiconductor-based design. In addition, conventional beam-forming arrays become incompatible with digital signal processing techniques as the operating frequency is increased. For example, at the higher data rates enabled by high frequency operation, multipath fading and cross-interference becomes a serious issue. Adaptive beam forming techniques are known to combat these problems. But adaptive beam forming for transmission at 10 GHz or higher frequencies requires massively parallel utilization of A/D and D/A converters.
To address these problems, injection locking and phase-locked loop techniques have been developed for an array of integrated antenna oscillator elements as disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 10/423,160, (the '160 application) the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. The '160 application discloses an array of integrated antenna elements, wherein each antenna element includes a phase-locked loop (PLL) that uses the antenna as a resonator and load for a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) within the PLL. The VCOs within each antenna element are slaved to a common reference clock that is distributed using phase adjustment circuitry rather than a traditional corporate feed network. The phase of each VCO can be changed relative to the reference clock by adjusting the VCO's tuning voltage such that some or all of the antenna elements become injection locked to each other. Although injection locking provides an efficient beam steering technique, a need in the art exists for improved techniques of actively phasing such antenna elements to provide a desired beam direction.

Phase management for beam-forming applications


A shaft-hub connection including a hub element and a shaft element is provided. The hub element includes a hub. The shaft element includes at least one first elongated region arranged in at least one second elongated region of the hub and is at least rotationally fixed to the hub element by way of a longitudinal press-fit including the elongated regions. The longitudinal press-fit has at least one first excess region with a first excess, and at least one second excess region, following the first excess region in the circumferential direction of the shaft element, with a second excess that is smaller than the first excess.

Shaft-to-hub connections of this type, in particular for motor vehicles, as well as drive trains for motor vehicles having such shaft-to-hub connections are well known from the general prior art and in particular from the volume production of vehicles. Such a shaft-to-hub connection includes a hub element which has a hub. The shaft-to-hub connection furthermore includes a shaft element which has at least one first longitudinal region. At least the first longitudinal region herein is disposed in at least one second longitudinal region of the hub, wherein the shaft element by way of a longitudinal press-fit that includes the longitudinal regions is connected to the hub part at least in a rotationally-fixed manner. As is well known, the longitudinal press-fit is a press-fit which is usually formed in that the shaft element at least in the first longitudinal region forms an excess in relation to the hub, or in relation to the second longitudinal region of the hub, respectively.
This excess is usually formed in that the shaft element, in a state in which the shaft element is not yet connected to the hub element by way of the longitudinal press-fit and is thus not yet disposed in the hub, at least in the first longitudinal region has an external circumference, or an external diameter, respectively, which is larger than an internal circumference, or an internal diameter, respectively, which the hub in the aforementioned state in which the shaft element is not yet connected to the hub element by way of the longitudinal press-fit and thus is not yet disposed in the hub has at least in the second longitudinal region.
The longitudinal press-fit is usually produced in that the hub element under an axial force is pressed over the hub onto the shaft element, or onto the first longitudinal region, respectively, or in that the shaft element under an axial force is pressed into the hub and thus into the hub element and herein at least into the second longitudinal region, respectively. On account thereof, the hub element is connected, that is to say joined, to the hub element at least in a rotationally-fixed manner. On account of the above-mentioned excess a press-fit is created between the shaft element and the hub element after the joining, in particular between the longitudinal regions, such that the longitudinal press-fit is formed on account of said press-fit.
It is an object of the present invention to refine a shaft-to-hub connection and a drive train of the type mentioned at the outset in such a manner that a particularly cost-effective and time-effective assembly is capable of being implemented at identical requirements in terms of resistance to high rotating speeds, thermal resistance, and transmission of torque.
This and other objects are achieved according to the invention by a shaft-to-hub connection including a hub element and a shaft element, as well as by a drive train including a hub element and a shaft element in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Various other advantageous design embodiments of the invention are also provided in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
A first aspect of the invention relates to a shaft-to-hub connection, in particular for a drive train of a motor vehicle. The shaft-to-hub connection includes a hub element which has a hub. The shaft-to-hub connection furthermore includes a shaft element which has at least one first longitudinal region which is disposed in at least one second longitudinal region of the hub. The shaft element herein by way of a longitudinal press-fit that includes the longitudinal regions is connected, that is to say joined, to the hub part at least in a rotationally-fixed manner. This means that at least one press-fit is formed between the longitudinal regions and thus between the shaft element and between the hub element, on account of which the longitudinal press-fit is formed.
In order for a particularly cost-effective and time-effective assembly to now be able to be achieved in a simple and cost-effective manner, in particular without any negative effect on the transmission of torque, the thermal resistance, and the resistance to high rotating speeds, it is provided according to the invention that the longitudinal press-fit has at least one first excess region having a first excess and, so as to follow the first excess region in the circumferential direction of the shaft element, at least one second excess region having a second excess that is smaller in relation to the first excess. This means that the first excess has a first value, and the second excess has a second value that is lower in relation to the second value such that, on account of the respective excess and thus the respective excess region, a respective press-fit between the longitudinal regions, or between the shaft element and the hub element, is indeed formed, but the excess regions have different excesses, or the excesses have mutually different values, respectively. According to an embodiment of the invention, the longitudinal press-fit is thus provided with a variable excess, in particular in the circumferential direction of the shaft element so as to, on account thereof, be able to implement a particularly fixed, in particular rotationally-fixed, connection between the shaft element and the hub element, on the one hand and, while considering a maximum joining force, be able to implement a particularly large contact face between the shaft and the hub element up to a desired rotating speed, on the other hand. For example, the large contact face is advantageous for a transmission of torque as well as for a dissipation of heat from the shaft element by way of the hub element, or vice versa from the hub element by way of the shaft element.
In order for a particularly advantageous assembly to be implemented it has proven advantageous for the longitudinal press-fit, so as to follow the second excess region in the circumferential direction of the shaft element, to have at least one third excess region having a third excess that is different in relation to the second excess. For example, the third excess is larger or smaller than the second excess. For example, the third excess is smaller or larger than the first excess, or the third excess is equal to the first excess. It is thus possible for the longitudinal press-fit to have a plurality of gradations of the excess.
In order for a particularly advantageous assembly to be able to be implemented it is provided in one advantageous design embodiment of the invention that the first excess region in the circumferential direction of the shaft element extends across a first angle or angular range, respectively, wherein the second excess region in the circumferential direction of the shaft element extends across a second angle or angular range, respectively. For example, the second angle or angular range, respectively, herein is equal to the first angle or angular range, respectively. It is furthermore contemplated for the angles or angular ranges, respectively, to be mutually different such that the second angle or angular range, respectively, is smaller or larger than the first angle or angular range, respectively.
The invention herein is in particular based on the concept that rotating shaft-to-hub connections are used in drive trains for motor vehicles, in particular for automobiles such as, for example, passenger motor vehicles. This means, for example, that the shaft-to-hub connection is rotatable, relative to a further component of the drive train, about a rotation axis, or is driven by a drive motor, respectively, and on account thereof is rotated about the rotation axis. Such rotating shaft-to-hub connections at high rotating speeds are subjected to high centrifugal forces. The longitudinal press-fit herein represents a particularly cost-effective force-fitting or friction-fitting, respectively, connection between the shaft element and the hub element, wherein the shaft element and the hub element are connected to one another at least in a rotationally-fixed manner by way of the force-fitting or friction-fitting, respectively, connection. The shaft element by way of the longitudinal press-fit is preferably also established on the hub element in the axial direction of the shaft element such that relative rotations as well as relative displacements between the hub element and the shaft element are avoided by way of the longitudinal press-fit. The longitudinal press-fit herein, by virtue of high expansion differentials between an external diameter of the shaft element and an internal diameter of the hub or the hub element, respectively, should be conventionally conceived so as to have a high minimum excess so as to avoid the hub element being lifted from the shaft element. The excess calculation according to DIN 7190, for example, is based on the transmittable torque, in particular the maximum torque, that is transmittable between the hub element and the shaft element.
In the calculation pertaining to the construction or the design of a longitudinal press-fit, respectively, a so-called fail-safe rotating speed as well as an operating rotating speed, the latter being lower in relation to the fail-safe rotating speed, are conventionally considered. Respective centrifugal forces that act on the shaft-to-hub connection at the fail-safe rotating speed and at the operating rotating speed are also considered. For example, the operating rotating speed is a maximum rotating speed which can arise in the drive train during operation. The consideration of the fail-safe operating speed represents an additional degree of safety, or an additional safety margin, respectively, as it is assumed that the shaft-to-hub connection when designed with a view to the fail-safe rotating speed can also withstand centrifugal forces which act on the shaft-to-hub connection at the operating rotating speed without the hub element being lifted from the shaft element. The consideration of the centrifugal forces at the fail-safe rotating speed however increases the requirement in terms of the excess, as compared to the consideration of only the centrifugal forces at the operating rotating speed. On account thereof, a particularly high contact pressure between the longitudinal regions is usually required. Moreover, a particularly high joining force is required in order for the shaft element to be joined to the hub element, that is to say in order for the longitudinal press-fit to be produced. By virtue of said high joining force and the high contact pressure, damage to the shaft element and/or the hub element can potentially arise during a joining procedure in the context of which the longitudinal press-fit is produced. For example, the longitudinal press-fit in the context of the joining procedure is produced in such a manner that the hub element is pressed onto the shaft element, in particular onto the first longitudinal region, under an axial force, or the shaft element is pressed into the hub and thus into the hub element, in particular into the second longitudinal region, under an axial force.
In order for a particularly rotationally-fixed connection between the shaft element and the hub element to be implemented, and damages herein to be avoided during the joining procedure, a contact proportion that runs in the circumferential direction and/or a distribution of respective contact faces by way of which the shaft element contacts the hub element can be reduced, for example. However, this results in only a very minor total contact face by way of which the hub element is in overall contact with the shaft element, or vice versa, respectively. Such a minor contact proportion has a negative influence on the thermal resistance of the shaft-to-hub connection as well as on the transmittable torque.
However, the aforementioned damage during the joining procedure can arise when the contact proportion is increased while maintaining a particularly fixed connection between the shaft element and the hub element. There is thus usually a conflict in terms of competing objectives between the implementation of a high contact proportion, which is advantageous in terms of the above-mentioned properties, and the implementation of a minor contact proportion in order for damage during the joining procedure to be avoided. This conflict in terms of competing objectives can be a knock-out criterion for the longitudinal press-fit as a connecting or joining method, respectively, that in the respective applications represents a favorable friction-fitting connection.
The above-mentioned issues and disadvantages can now however be avoided by way of the shaft-to-hub connection according to the invention, such that the longitudinal press-fit can be used as a cost-effective, friction-fitting or force-fitting, respectively, connection between the hub element and the shaft element. In the case of the shaft-to-hub connection according to the invention, by virtue of the variable excess, it is specifically possible for a particularly high contact proportion to be achieved between the hub element and the shaft element yet to keep the probability of damages arising in the joining procedure particularly low. The shaft-to-hub connection according to the invention, as compared to conventional shaft-to-hub connections, at identical parameters in terms of costs, joining force, joining temperature, installation space, and weight, for example, thus enables the implementation of a higher cooling output should cooling of the hub element by way of the shaft element (or vice versa) be desired. Furthermore, the hub element and the shaft element can be connected to one another in a particularly cost-effective manner by way of the longitudinal press-fit. At the same time, a particular fixed or stable connection, respectively, can be implemented between the hub element and the shaft element such that the shaft-to-hub connection can also withstand high rotating speeds without the hub element being lifted from the shaft element.
The longitudinal press-fit herein has significant cost advantages as compared to thermally joined shrink-fits such that the longitudinal press-fit can be produced at shorter cycle times and at a lower energy input and thus at lower energy costs as compared to the production of a thermally joined shrink-fit. The costs can likewise be reduced as compared to a form-fitting connection between the shaft element and the hub element since, for example, an external contour of the shaft element and/or an internal contour of the hub element, or the hub, respectively, can be designed in a particularly simple and thus cost-effective manner.
It is a particular background to the invention herein that certain functions of the shaft-to-hub connection such as, for example, adequate cooling, usually has to provide the full functionality thereof only up to the operating rotating speed which is lower in relation to the fail-safe rotating speed. The invention thus exploits the different expectations set for the functions of the shaft-to-hub connection between the maximum operating rotating speed and the fail-safe rotating speed. The fail-safe rotating speed is usually higher than the maximum operating rotating speed, in order for a safety margin to be implemented. In order for the latter to be implemented, the at least two excess regions are provided with the different excesses such that the longitudinal press-fit in the circumferential direction of the shaft element has a variable excess. For example, the second excess region is designed for the operating rotating speed such that lifting of the hub element from the shaft element in the second excess region does not arise until the operating rotating speed is reached. The second excess region herein is assigned the functions of cooling, in particular hub cooling, and torque transmission, for example.
The first excess region has the first excess that is larger in relation to the second excess. Lifting of the hub element from the shaft element in the first excess region thus does not arise until the fail-safe rotating speed is reached, for example. The first excess region herein is assigned the functions of strength up to the fail-safe rotating speed, torque transmission, and centering, for example. A functional separation, or functional split, respectively, is thus achieved in terms of the excess regions, on account of which the conflict in terms of competing objectives described above can be solved in a manner that is favorable in terms of weight and cost.
In one particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention at least one intermediate region in which the shaft element is spaced apart from the hub element in the radial direction of the shaft element is disposed so as to be between the excess regions in the circumferential direction of the shaft element. For example, a gap, in particular an air gap, is provided in the intermediate region so as to be disposed in the radial direction of the shaft element between the latter and the hub element. A particular advantageous connection between the hub element and the shaft element can be implemented on account thereof.
In order to be able to keep the costs of the shaft-to-hub connection particularly low, it is provided in a further design embodiment of the invention that the shaft element is connected in a rotationally-fixed manner to the hub element exclusively by way of the press-fit.
A further embodiment is distinguished in that the hub element is configured as part of a rotor of an electric machine.
A second aspect of the invention relates to a drive train for a motor vehicle which is configured, for example, as an automobile, in particular as a passenger motor vehicle. The drive train comprises at least one shaft-to-hub connection, in particular at least one shaft-to-hub connection according to the invention. The shaft-to-hub connection includes a hub element having a hub and a shaft element which has a first longitudinal region. The first longitudinal region is disposed in at least one second longitudinal region of the hub, wherein the shaft element by way of a longitudinal press-fit that includes the longitudinal regions is connected to the hub element at least in a rotationally-fixed manner.
In order for particularly advantageous cooling to now be able to be implemented in a manner that is favorable in terms of cost, installation space, and weight, it is provided according to the invention that the longitudinal press-fit has at least one first excess region having a first excess and, so as to follow the first excess region in the circumferential direction of the shaft element, at least one second excess region having a second excess that is smaller in relation to the first excess. Advantages and advantageous design embodiments of the first aspect of the invention are to be seen as advantages and advantageous design embodiments of the second aspect of the invention, and vice versa.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Shaft-hub connection and drive train having a shaft-hub connection of this type

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft