A self-contained tool incorporates an electronic system for significantly reducing the number of batteries required to detonate an explosive downhole, making the tool short enough for transport by helicopter, rather than by boat, to an offshore well. This shortness is further beneficial for negotiating tight-radius bends in deviated wells. Safety is improved by a shear pin holding a pressure-activated switch in an open position until sufficient pressure shears the shear pin. Control from the surface is provided in applications where fluid pressure is controlled at the surface and raised to shear the shear pin. Longer run-in time is better accommodated by the combination of the electronic system and the shear pin.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to oil well tools and in particular to a device for activating an explosive downhole.
2. Description of the Related Art
Explosives are set off downhole in an oil or gas well for various purposes including, for example, perforating a casing, cutting a wire line or setting a packer. Numerous patents have addressed the subject of conveying an explosive safely downhole and detonating the explosive at a desired location.
Detonating devices have frequently been conveyed into a well bore on an electric wire line. An electric wire line offers the advantage of providing control of the tool from the surface. However, there are disadvantages to using an electric wire line, including the expense of setting up and deploying the wire line. Further, deviated or horizontal wells are being drilled more frequently now, and gravity cannot be relied upon to deploy a tool into a horizontal well. Coiled tubing may be required to push a tool into a desired position in a horizontal well bore.
Where a tool can be lowered into a well bore, the use of a non-electric or "slick" wire line is preferable in that it is more economical. U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,628, issued to Adams, Jr. et al. exemplifies the prior art for a mechanical switch that can be deployed on a slick wire line and yet be controlled from the surface. Adams, Jr. et al. disclose a mechanical safety switch for closing electrical contacts in a well tool. The mechanical switch has several safety requirements which must be satisfied before electrical contacts will close, including upward pull on a wire line and sensing a preselected value of fluid pressure in the well bore. The tool incorporates a motion sensor and a timer in a circuit, the circuit including a mechanical switch that is closed by upward pull on the wire line for activating an explosive device.
The Adams, Jr. et al. device has a trigger that extends laterally from the tool so as to contact the inside wall of a cased well bore. When the device is lowered to a proper depth, an operator at the surface pulls upwardly on the slick wire line. The trigger should catch on the inside wall of the casing when the tool is pulled upwardly so that the trigger is pulled into a second position, closing a set of electrical contacts and enabling a circuit.
Difficulties were experienced with this mechanical apparatus. The tool was subsequently modified to eliminate the trigger mechanism activated by upward pull on the wire line. Well pressure was instead used to close an electrical switch, with well pressure moving a piston longitudinally within the tool. Unfortunately, these modifications led to an incident where debris was trapped on the piston leaving the electrical switch in a closed position. When an operator at the surface reloaded an explosive charge, the switch was closed, activating the explosive and injuring the operator severely.
The American Petroleum Institute developed Recommended Practice 67 for handling oilfield explosives safely. Section 4.3 of Recommended Practice 67 states that detonators and initiators must incorporate at least one of the following features: a minimum DC resistance of 50 ohms with a minimum "no-fire" current of 200 milliamperes; a high voltage exploding bridgewire design; a high voltage exploding foil initiator design; or a system offering equivalent safety.
The high voltage exploding bridgewire design and the high voltage exploding foil initiator design require a high-voltage charge for activation. A tool conveyed downhole by a slick wire line or coiled tubing includes a self-contained power supply, typically a battery pack. Consequently, tools conveyed by slick wire line or coiled tubing typically do not use the high voltage exploding bridgewire or foil initiator design because a self-contained power supply typically cannot provide sufficiently high voltage. Tools conveyed by a slick wire line or coiled tubing typically incorporate a design including a minimum DC resistance of 50 ohms with a minimum "no fire" current of 200 milliamperes.
Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. provides an electronic triggering device for setting various explosive-powered tools and charges without the use of a conductor line. The device can be run on a mechanical slick line, braided line or sand line, and the tool is used for multi-shot perforating, cutting tubing or casing, setting bridge plugs or packers and other services including dump baler, string shot and patching tubing or casing. The device is battery powered, sensitive to motion, and has two pressure-activated switches. The pressure-activated switches are closed typically at a depth of about 300 feet by fluid pressure. Thus, the pressure-activated switches provide a safety feature to prevent an explosion on or near the surface. After the pressure-activated switches are closed, a motion sensor prevents detonation as long as the motion sensor detects motion.
Although Halliburton's electronic triggering device represents the state of the prior art, it has several deficiencies. This prior art triggering device relies entirely on a motion sensor to prevent detonation after the pressure-activated switches are closed, and a motion sensor does not provide a fully predictable detonation, particularly in a horizontal well. Where run-in time is lengthy, due to possibly the depth of the well or the use of coiled tubing which is run in relatively slowly, an operator must rely on the motion sensor for an extended period of time to prevent detonation. If the prior art triggering device has a timeout circuit for deactivation after a predetermined period of time, then a long run-in time may cause the device to deactivate prematurely or the period of time must be set relatively long, sometimes resulting in unnecessary delay.
Safety is a her concern because the triggering device is sometimes placed inside a lubricator in a well at the surface, where it can encounter sufficient pressure to close the pressure-activated switches which activates the tool. The triggering device then must be lowered before a timer allows it to explode. On information and belief a further deficiency is that the prior art triggering device cannot be controlled from the surface.
Implementation of the recommendations of the American Petroleum Institute in its Recommended Practice 67 created another deficiency. The prior art triggering device uses a large number of batteries to meet the current and voltage requirements to detonate an explosive, so many batteries that the tool is necessarily very long. Although the prior art tool disassembles into sections, the longest section is so long (due to the large number of batteries) that it cannot be positioned in or transported by helicopter, which is a preferred means of transportation for equipment and personnel to offshore oil and gas wells. The long length of the prior at triggering device is also undesirable because it limits the angle that can be drilled between a vertical and horizontal run in a deviated well, since the tool cannot pass through a tight radius bend.


The present invention achieves multiplexing spectrum interference optical coherence tomography capable of full-range OCT measurement that causes no delays in measurement time due to high-order scans and is also free from complex conjugated images. This multiplexing spectrum interference optical coherence tomography comprises: a first beam splitter 3 positioned in an optical path 2 from a light source 1 and used to separate an object light 4 and a reference light 5; a galvano mirror 6 positioned in the optical path of the object light 4 and used to scan the object light onto a measured object 8; a second beam splitter 10 positioned in the optical path of the reference light 5; a first reference mirror 12 positioned in the optical path of a first reference light 11 separated by the second beam splitter 10; a second reference mirror 15 positioned in the optical path of a second reference light 13 separated by the second beam splitter 10; and a chopper 16 that passes the first reference light 11 and second reference light 13 alternately.

The tomographic measurement method that uses light having low temporal coherence as a probe, called "Optical Coherence Tomography" (OCT), is one type of nondestructive tomographic measurement technology used in medical and other fields (refer to Patent Literature 1). OCT uses light as a measurement probe, and therefore provides the advantage of being able to measure refractive index distribution, spectrum information and polarization information (double refractive index distribution), among others, regarding the measured sample.
General OCT is based on Michelson's interferometer, and its operating principles are explained in FIG. 8. Light emitted from the light source 63 is split into parallel beams through the collimator lens 62 and then divided into reference light and object light by the beam splitter 57. The object light is focused onto the measured sample 59 through the object lens 58 in the object arm, scattered and reflected by the measured sample, and then returned again to the object lens 58 and beam splitter 57.
On the other hand, the reference light passes the objective lens 60 in the reference arm, is reflected by the reference mirror 61, and then goes through the object lens 60 again to be returned to the beam splitter 57. After returning to the beam splitter 57, the object light and reference light together enter the focusing lens 56 and are then focused onto the optical detector 55 (a photodiode, etc.).
As for the light source of OCT, light having low temporal coherence is used (this is because these lights, when emitted from the same light source at different timings, are highly unlikely to interfere with each other). With Michelson's interferometer that uses light having low temporal coherence as a light source, interference signals manifest only when the distance of the reference arm and object arm is roughly equivalent. As a result, interference signals can be obtained as a function of differential optical path length (interferogram), by measuring the intensity of interference signals using an optical detector while changing the differential optical path length (τ) between the reference arm and object arm.
The shape of this interferogram represents the reflection coefficient distribution of the measured sample 59 in the depth direction, and the structure of the measured sample 59 in the depth direction can be obtained through a one-dimensional scan in the axial direction. In other words, OCT makes it possible to measure the structure of the measured sample 59 in the depth direction by scanning the optical path length.
In addition to scanning in the axial direction as mentioned above, a two-dimensional scan where mechanical scanning is also performed in the lateral direction provides a two-dimensional cross-section image of the measured sample 59. Various scanning apparatuses are available to perform this lateral-direction scan, such as apparatus having a structure whereby the measured sample is moved directly, a structure whereby the object is fixed and only the object lens is shifted, and a structure whereby both the measured object and object lens are fixed and the angle of the galvano mirror placed near the pupil surface of the object lens is turned.
In addition to the aforementioned OCT technology, another technology is known whereby the wavelength spectrum of light reflected by the measured object is acquired by a spectrometer and then the obtained spectral intensity distribution is converted by Fourier transformation. This technology is called "Spectrum interference Optical Coherence Tomography (also known as Fourier Domain OCT, or FD-OCT)" (refer to Patent Literature 2).
Normally with Fourier domain OCT, actual signals that have been acquired (interference signals indicating spectrum interference fringes) are converted by Fourier transformation to retrieve signals in the actual space (OCT signal space). However, acquired spectrum interference fringes are normally actual signals that have no complex information. For this reason, converting these interference fringes by Fourier transformation to acquire OCT signals will result in complex conjugated signals flipped over the axis, as well as auto-correlation signals, manifesting in a manner overlaying with the true OCT signals. These two signals are called "coherent noise" and have negative impact on OCT measurement if overlaid with the true OCT signals. To prevent this from occurring, the range of the measured object must be limited, and the measurement range is limited to a half or even less as a result.
One known traditional method to solve this problem is the phase shift method. Under the phase shift method, multiple spectrum interference fringes relating to the same measured location are acquired while the optical path length of reference light is changed, and phase information (that is, complex information) of the spectrum is restructured from the obtained spectrum interference fringes, in order to erase complex conjugated images.
FIG. 9 is a temporal diagram under the phase shift method. It shows the operation, per one scan cycle, of the galvano mirror used for lateral-direction scanning against time t. (i) shows the operating status trigger of the CCD camera. Here, the CCD camera starts acquiring images at time t0. (ii) indicates the scan position (position in the lateral direction) that changes in discontinuous steps during one scan cycle of the galvano mirror. (iii) indicates the position of the reference mirror moved by means of a piezo element, where measurement is performed multiple times (or three times in this diagram) at each scan step position of the galvano mirror.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-310897
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 11-325849

Multiplexing spectrum interference optical coherence tomography


A circuit for generating a clock of a semiconductor memory apparatus is provided. A reference voltage generator is configured to generate a reference voltage. A reference current generator is configured to generate a reference current that has a constant current value regardless of a change in temperature. An oscillator is configured to receive the reference voltage and the reference current to generate a clock that has constant frequency.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory apparatus, and more particularly, to a circuit for generating a clock of a semiconductor memory apparatus.
2. Related Art
In general, as shown in FIG. 1, a circuit for generating a clock of a semiconductor memory apparatus includes a resistor R1, a capacitor C1, and a Schmitt trigger 1. A resistance of the resistor R1 changes according to temperature. A threshold voltage of a transistor that constitutes the Schmitt trigger 1 changes according to temperature. Therefore, the frequency of a clock clk that is output by the circuit for generating a clock according to the related art changes according to temperature.
The clock clk output by the circuit for generating a clock according to the related art changes in a range of approximately 10 to 15% when temperature changes from 15 degrees below zero to 100 degrees above zero. The semiconductor memory apparatus that is designed according to the clock clk having predetermined frequency performs an erroneous operation when the frequency of the clock clk changes.

Circuit for generating clock of semiconductor memory apparatus


It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a light-emitting element in which decrease over time in emission efficiency of the light-emitting element having a structure in which an organic compound is sandwiched between a pair of electrodes is suppressed and long-life thereof can be enhanced. It is a method for manufacturing a light-emitting element having a plurality of layers composed of an organic compound between a pair of electrodes, wherein a processing to expose to an atmosphere including oxygen is performed after or before forming at least one layer of the plurality of layers. Note that the plurality of layers includes a light-emitting layer, and is composed of the light-emitting layer and at least one or more layers selected from a hole injecting layer, a hole transporting layer, a hole blocking layer, an electron transporting layer, and an electron injecting layer.

A light-emitting device utilizing an emission from an electroluminescent element (EL: Electro Luminescence) has attracted attention as a display device or a lighting device, and the development has been advanced.
In development of a light-emitting device, it is an object of the present invention to control decrease over time in emission brightness of a light-emitting element and to extend the lifetime thereof.
Therefore, the development of a light emitting material whose lifetime can be longer and the development of a sealing technique by which the degradation of the light-emitting material can be decreased have been carried out. In addition, as described in patent document 1, for example, it has been tried to extend a lifetime of a light-emitting layer formed of an inorganic compound by heat treatment at from 400° C. to 500° C. after an oxidation.
However, oxidation as shown in the patent document 1 needs heat treatment of 250° C. to 450° C. It is thought that such a heat treatment is improper for a light-emitting element having an organic material for a light emitting layer which has lower decomposition temperature and inferior heat resistance in comparison with the inorganic compound.
Thus, a new means for obtaining long lifetime of the light-emitting element using an organic compound as a light-emitting layer is required to be developed.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-45367

Manufacturing method of light emitting element

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The present invention provides a mat adapted to reinforce a thermosetting matrix material to form a composite, composites formed therefrom, and methods related thereto. The mat includes a primary, supporting layer having a plurality of randomly oriented essentially continuous glass fiber strands. The primary layer has about 1 to about 10 weight percent of the mat on a total solids basis. The mat also includes a secondary layer positioned upon and supported by a surface of the primary layer, the secondary layer including a plurality of glass fiber strands. The mean average length of the glass fiber strands of the secondary layer ranges from about 20 to about 125 millimeters. The strands of the primary layer are entangled with the strands of the secondary layer by needling the primary layer and the secondary layer together.

Continuous glass fiber strands, chopped strands, roving, cloth or mat can be used to reinforce thermosetting and/or thermoplastic matrix materials. Reinforced composites can be formed by pultrusion, filament winding, compression or injection molding and open lay-up molding such materials. These composites can be used in such applications as automobile components, boat hulls and fishing rods.
For reinforcing a resin matrix material, U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,962 discloses needled fibrous mats of unstranded glass filaments (column 2, lines 25-32) as a surfacing mat and a reinforcing mat of continuous glass fiber strands (column 4, lines 24-28) impregnated with a resin matrix material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,646 discloses, at column 5, lines 10-21, a thermoplastic composite comprising at least two glass mats which comprise glass fiber strands selected from the group consisting of continuous glass fiber strands and chopped glass fiber strands and mixtures thereof wherein each glass mat is asymmetrically needled and wherein thermoplastic resin is placed between the glass mats.
In a conventional sheet molding compounding ("SMC") process, wound packages of roving are supplied to the process from a creel and chopped to provide reinforcement mat prior to being impregnated with a thermosetting matrix resin. There is a long-felt need in the industry to reduce or eliminate equipment, labor cost and physical space requirements associated with locating a roving supply system at the molding facility and provide a glass fiber product which has good uniformity and handling characteristics and which provides a composite having good physical and aesthetic properties.

Glass fiber strand mats, thermosetting composites reinforced with the same and methods for making the same


The invention relates to a kit of parts comprising a Base Paste (B) and a Catalyst Paste (C), Base Paste (B) comprising a cationically hardenable component, Catalyst Paste (C) comprising a starter component suitable to contribute to the hardening of the cationically hardenable compound, the composition obtained when combining the compositions of Base Paste (B) and Catalyst Paste (C) comprising in addition a porous water-adsorbing component and water, the porous water-adsorbing component being selected from molecular sieves, zeolites, silica gel and mixtures thereof, wherein either the porous water-adsorbing component is present in Base Paste (B) and the water is present in Catalyst Paste (C), or the water-adsorbing component is present in Catalyst Paste (C) and the water is present in Base Paste (B). The invention also relates to a dental retraction composition obtainable by mixing Base Paste (B) and Catalyst Paste (C) and to a process of taking a dental impression and/or conducting a dental retraction using the kit of parts.

Producing dental replacement parts like crowns and bridges requires the exact determination of the dental situation in the mouth of the patient. Otherwise, the dental replacement parts will not accurately fit.
For determining the dental situation in the mouth of a patient different methods are known. Besides imaging and computer based methods, a huge portion of this task is still accomplished by using conventional dental impression materials.
Dental impression materials can be classified according to their curing mechanism (e.g. addition curing or condensation curing). Dental impression materials can also be classified according to their consistency. Besides low viscous dental impression materials, there exists highly viscous, so-called putty like dental impression materials.
Dental impression materials are typically provided as two component systems which consist of a base and a catalyst paste and which are mixed before use.
The materials are typically pasty and cure in the mouth of the patient due to a chemical curing mechanism. The cured material is removed from the mouth of the patient and the obtained impression represents a negative image of the dental situation. The impression is then typically filled with plaster to obtain a positive model. The positive model is used for designing the desired dental replacement part.
Producing an exact fitting dental replacement part requires not only the determination of the supragingival situation of the dental situation in the mouth of the patient, but also to some extend the subgingival situation, that is the situation beyond the visible gumline.
To make this region "accessible", currently often a dental retraction cord is used, which is inserted, e.g. with the help of a pincer, into the sulcus of a dental preparation. The dental retraction cord typically contains astringent agents and is sufficiently stiff to exert pressure on the surrounding tissue. The dental retraction cord is left in the sulcus for a sufficient period of time to effect a retraction, i.e. to keep the sulcus open for receiving a dental impression material to also record the surface structure which was beyond the gumline before. This procedure is pretty time consuming. Meanwhile dental retraction pastes having a high viscosity are available for addressing this issue.
However, both dental retraction cords and dental retraction pastes require additional steps in the impression procedure because they first have to be applied into the sulcus then they have to be removed either mechanically in the case of dental retraction cords or by rinsing off in the case of dental retraction pastes.
US 2003/0153726 A1 (Eckhardt et al.) describes a catalyst component containing at least one Broensted acid, water, at least one antacid-acting compound, optionally inert diluent and optionally modifier(s). The catalyst paste is intended for curing two-component N-alkylaziridino-group-containing preparations.
US 2014/0170596 A1 (Angeletakis) describes a retraction impression material based on VPS technology which expands and comprises hemostatic agents.
US 2010/255443 A1 (Dragan) describes a dental retraction material with enhanced fluid absorption. The material mainly consist of water, aluminium chloride, fumed silica and a fluid absorbing agent (e.g. silica gel, starch, polyacrylate).
WO 2009/092568 A2 (Bublewitz et al.) relates to a pasty mass used as insert material for widening the gingival sulcus comprising a paste-forming agent, superabsorber particles and an astringent.
US 2008/0220050 (Chen et al.) describes a composition for gingival retraction comprising clay, a glass filler, an astringent agent and water.
US 2010/0035213 A1 (Lubbers et al.) describes a method for retracting the sulcus of a tooth, using an expanding silicone material which expands upon curing.
EP 1 776 080 B1 (Dentsply) claims a method or taking a dental impression of a dentition including sub-gingival parts comprising the steps of (i) conditioning the dentition including sub-gingival parts with a certain wetting agent; (ii) contacting the dentition with a certain dental impression material, whereby the dental impression material is allowed to flow into sub-gingival parts, further comprising the step of preparing the dentition with a certain gingival retraction cord.
Thus, there is still room for improvement especially with regard to the requirements to be fulfilled with respect to modern dental materials.

Kit of parts containing a cationically hardenable composition and use as dental retraction material


Component gas is separated from a gas mixture. Component gas flow rate, or demand, is determined. One or more gas separator operating parameters is changed based on the component gas flow rate. For example, gas flow rate can be approximated by measuring a rate of pressure decay of a product tank during a time period in which the tank is not being replenished by the separating system. When it is determined that the flow rate is relatively low, operating parameters of the separating system are changed to improve system performance with the lower demand. For example, a target product tank pressure at which sieve beds are switched can be lowered when demand is lower.

Various applications exist for the separation of gaseous mixtures. For example, the separation of nitrogen from atmospheric air can provide a highly concentrated source of oxygen. These various applications include the provision of elevated concentrations of oxygen for medical patients and flight personnel. Hence, it is desirable to provide systems that separate gaseous mixtures to provide a concentrated product gas, such as a breathing gas with a concentration of oxygen.
Several existing product gas or oxygen concentrators, for example, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,449,990, 5,906,672, 5,917,135, and 5,988,165 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/258,480 filed Oct. 25, 2005, which are commonly assigned to Invacare Corporation of Elyria, Ohio and fully incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes. In general, these concentrators produce concentrated oxygen by passing pressurized ambient air through one of a pair of pressure swing adsorption sieve beds. The sieve beds contain Zeolite media. Zeolite is a clay-like substance that is processed to form small holes in the media pellets. As ambient air passes over the Zeolite, nitrogen atoms are trapped in the holes leaving oxygen mixed with small amounts of other gases found in the air such as argon, neon, and xenon. Typically the oxygen content of air produced by a concentrator consists of about 95% oxygen. As more air is treated by the sieve bed the holes in the media pellets become clogged with nitrogen atoms and eventually will no longer effectively remove nitrogen from the air. Prior to this exhaustion of Zeolite, the concentrator switches operation to the other sieve bed and flushes the exhausted bed with concentrated gas from the newly activated bed. This cycling of active sieve beds continues during operation of the concentrator.

Apparatus and method of providing concentrated product gas


A device receives real-time data and historical data associated with a product or a service, wherein the real-time data includes data indicating real-time interactions between customers of the product or the service and customer service personnel. The device processes the real-time data and the historical data to generate processed data, and utilizes a first artificial intelligence model with the processed data to determine future events associated with the product or the service, and preventative solutions for the future events. The device extracts one or more features from the processed data to provide extracted features, and utilizes a second artificial intelligence model with the extracted features to determine priorities associated with the preventative solutions. The device performs one or more particular preventative solutions based on the priorities associated with the preventative solutions.

Usually, operational or service centers (e.g., applicant service centers, call centers, and/or the like) in industries (e.g., utility industries) receive a large volume of applicant service requests from several different interactions on channels (e.g., email messages, mail, telephone calls, and/or the like) globally in different time zones. Traditionally, service centers require many agents or human labor to interact with applicants' requests, where applicant service requests include inquiries and requirements with respect to various issues from applicants, such as bills, equipment damages, service outages, service provisions, and/or the like. Typical systems provide future predictions of phone calls received in a call center or email requests or other channels requests, and rely on probability prediction based on historical interactions. Existing systems rely upon probability prediction based on historical interactions.

Preventative diagnosis prediction and solution determination of future event using internet of things and artificial intelligence


A water purification apparatus connected to a water system includes a hopper for holding chemical tablets on a perforated bed and an underlying basin. A spray head is detachably connected to the perforated bed and sprays water onto the tablets and parallel to the perforated bed. The basin receives the water through the perforated bed. Because the hopper allows for the use of different spray head designs, the rate at which water is introduced to the tablets, and thus the chemical output, may be modified by replacing one spray head for another having a different number of spray nozzles or having spray nozzles of a different size or shape. Consequently, the hopper of the present invention may be used for delivering the proper concentration of a variety of water treatment chemicals.

It is desirable to treat water before it can be utilized in such applications as recreational swimming, bathing in hot tubs, drinking water, and also industrial uses such as cooling tower systems which employ large quantities of water. Chlorine has been used as the most common chemical for treating confined bodies of water to fight microorganisms such as bacteria which can contaminate the bodies of water and make them unsafe for contact by humans.
Modern systems for treating water, particularly recreational swimming pools, use dissolvable tablets as a chlorine source, such as calcium hypochlorite tablets. Such dissolvable tablets represent a convenient way to treat the water in swimming pools and spas.
In treating confined bodies of water such as swimming pools or hot tubs, regulation of the amount of chlorine added to the body of water is an important consideration. The addition of too little chlorine may result in the failure to eliminate sufficient numbers of harmful microorganisms. The addition of too much chlorine may result in adverse effects upon swimmers or bathers. Consequently, a chlorinator must be able to adjust the concentration of chlorine added to the body of water. In addition, in the context of a residential swimming pool, the chlorinator must require little maintenance. Further, because concentrated chlorine is toxic, the chlorinator must be safe to operate and maintain.


Audio DIF blocks containing audio data and video DIF blocks containing video data are extracted by an audio/video extracting unit and respectively recorded in separate storage areas of an HDD. System data and audio auxiliary data are extracted by a system data reconstruction unit and thereafter recorded in a system data storage area of the HDD together with frame information generated by a frame information generating unit. The respective data items are recorded in these separate areas, while the audio auxiliary data is recorded together with the system data, and therefore it is easy to rewrite the data during an editing operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording and reproducing device and a recording and reproducing method for recording and reproducing video and audio signals in the DV format in a disk recording medium such as a hard disc.
2. Description of the Related Art
VCRs having built-in cameras have been in widespread use as recording and reproducing devices for recording and reproducing video and audio signals in the DV format. Since video signals are compressed by an intra-frame encoding scheme in video and audio signals in accordance with this DV format, it is easy to make editing the respective frames. For the meantime, however, the information compression efficiency is low so that the resulting data amount per unit time tends to be large.
On the other hand, hard disk recorders and DVD recorders making use of a disk recording medium such as a hard disk, an optical disc and the like have been widely used as devices for recording and reproducing video and audio signals which are encoded and compressed in accordance with the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) scheme. The video and audio signals in the MPEG format have been processed by an inter-frame compression encoding scheme and therefore the information compression efficiency is high resulting in a smaller data amount per-unit time. Accordingly, in most of stationary type recording and reproducing devices designed for recording and reproducing broadcast programs at home, the MPEG format is employed as a scheme for compressing and encoding video and audio signals.
In this manner, at the present, while the DV format has prevailed for recording and reproducing video and audio signals in video cameras, the MPEG format has prevailed for recording and reproducing video and audio signals in stationary type recording and reproducing devices. There are increasing demands for the ability to make use of a stationary recording and reproducing device for reproducing video and audio signals which are recorded by a video camera and copied to a stationary recording and reproducing device, and the ability to edit those video and audio signals by making use of the stationary recording and reproducing device.
In order to meet the demands, there are emerging stationary recording and reproducing devices capable of converting video and audio signals transmitted from a video camera through a digital interface such as IEEE1394 into corresponding video and audio signals in the MPEG format for recording, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Published Application No. 2001-94921.
Nevertheless, in the case where video and audio signals in the DV format are converted into video and audio signals in the MPEG format, while the storage capacity required for recording the video and audio signals can be saved, there is a problem that it is difficult to edit the video and audio signals in frame and impossible to perform a postrecording process.
Contrary to this, it can be considered to record a DIF stream without conversion of video and audio signals, which are transmitted from a video camera in the DV format, into video and audio signals in the MPEG format. However, the data structure of video and audio signals in the form of a DIF stream is not optimized for recoding on a disc, and therefore there is a problem that it is impossible to uniformly manage the system information, resulting in complicated processes when performing a postrecording process and so forth.

DV format capable recording and reproduction device and method


A polyester film useful for producing a thin metallic film magnetic recording medium. The film is biaxially oriented polyester film which is composed of (1) a biaxially oriented base film of aromatic polyester prepared by use of an organotitanium compound as the polymerization catalyst, (2) a first continuous thin film which is provided on one surface of the base film and on which a thin metallic film magnetic recording layer is to be formed, (3) a second continuous thin film which is provided on the other surface of said base film to form a surface with a friction coefficient of 0.6 or less.

Ferromagnetic thin metallic film magnetic recording media in which a ferromagnetic thin metallic film is formed on a non-magnetic support, by a physical deposition method such as vacuum deposition and sputtering or by a plating method, are known. Examples thereof include magnetic tape on which Co is deposited (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 147010/1979) and a perpendicular magnetic recording medium in which Co-Cr alloy is used (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 134706/1977). The thin metallic film formed by such film-forming means as vacuum evaporation, sputtering or ion-plating is as extremely thin as no more than 1.5 .mu.m. Nevertheless, it has the advantage of providing a recording medium which exhibits the performance equal to, or greater than, that of a coating type magnetic recording medium (a magnetic recording medium formed by applying a mixture of a magnetic powder and an organic polymer binder onto a non-magnetic support) whose magnetic recording layer has a thickness of no less than 3 .mu.m.
There is a concept that magnetic properties such as coercive force Hc, which is a static property, or squareness ratio of hysteresis loop, of the magnetic recording medium do not appreciably depend on surface conditions of the non-magnetic support used. As a product embodying such a concept, U.S. Pat. No. 3,787,327 discloses a Co-Cr multi-layered structure formed by means of vacuum evaporation.
With regard to magnetic recording media with thin metallic film, however, the metallic film formed on a non-magnetic support surface is extremely thin, and the surface condition (surface unevenness) of the non-magnetic support is faithfully reflected as the surface unevenness of the magnetic recording layer. This is considered as a defect of this type of media, because the surface unevenness gives a cause of undesirable noise.
In order to eliminate noise, it is preferred that the non-magnetic support has a surface as smooth as possible. Whereas, for handling, such as winding and unwinding, of the base film, a film with smooth surface has a poor film-to-film slip property and in consequence, a blocking phenomenon occurs and such film cannot be used as a commercially acceptable product. For this reason, the base film is required to have a rough surface. Thus, from the standpoint of electromagnetic performance, the non-magnetic support is required to have a smooth surface, while from the standpoint of handling property, the surface is required to be rough. It is therefore necessary that both of those contradictory requirements are satisfied simultaneously.
Another important problem in actual use of magnetic recording media of thin metallic film type is the running property of the thin metallic film surface. With conventional coating type magnetic recording media prepared by mixing magnetic powder with an organic polymer binder and then applying the mixture onto the base film, the running property of the magnetic surface can be improved by dispersing a lubricant in the binder. However, such a means cannot be adopted with the metallic film type magnetic recording media, and it is extremely difficult to stably maintain satisfactory running property. The media have a defect that their running property is inferior, particularly under high temperature and high humidity.
For the purpose of improving this defect, Japanese Patent Publication No. 30105/1987 proposes to form fine projections on the film surface, using fine particles, a water-soluble resin and a silane coupling agent. Japanese Patent Publication No. 30106/1987 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 229316/1984 also propose to form fine projections on the film surface, using fine particles and a water-soluble resin. In all of those proposals, however, fine particles are present in trapezoidal projections of a water-soluble resin, and the fine particles are not uniformly present on the film surface. Whereas, Japanese Patent Publication No. 34456/1989 proposes to intimately adhere onto the film surface a non-continuous coating film of a water-soluble polymer and fine particles forming projections higher than said coating, independently of each other. The product, however, is inferior in uniformity on the film surface, because the projections are provided by the non-continuous coating film and the particles which are not uniformly dispersed.
Furthermore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 53815/1987 proposes to form, on a surface of polyester film on which a thin metallic film is to be formed, projections of 0.01 to 0.1 .mu.m in diameter and 10 to 1,000 .ANG. in height, at the number of 10.sup.6 to 10.sup.9 projections/mm.sup.2 ; another Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 64545/1987 proposes to form, on a surface of a polyester film on which a thin metallic film is to be formed, projections of 0.2 to 2 .mu.m in diameter and 20 to 200 .ANG. in height at a distribution density of 10.sup.3 to 10.sup.6 projections/mm.sup.2, and those of 0.01 to 0.1 .mu.m in diameter and 10 to 1,000 .ANG. in height, at a distribution density of 10.sup.6 to 10.sup.9 projections/mm.sup.2. The polyester films described in working examples of these Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications, however, are composed of polyesters prepared by the use of anitmony trioxide as the polymerization catalyst and have a surface defect considered to be attributable to the antimony trioxide. As an attempt to overcome such defect, the International Laid-Open Publication WO 88/08437 proposes to use a germanium compound as the polymerization catalyst, however, without yet achieving sufficient effect.

Magnetic recording medium having a resin coated biaxially oriented polyester substrate


A high-speed PWM control apparatus with adaptive voltage position and a driving signal generating method thereof is provided. The present invention automatically detects a change in the loading and adjusts the voltage position instantaneously for stabilizing the voltage and reducing the loading output power consumption. The present invention does not require a clock signal to generate a driving signal and does not require an error amplifier to control the modulation. Therefore, the present invention has a fast transient response that responds to the change of the loading instantaneously and has a stabilizing effect. When the apparatus is on a continuous conduction mode (CCM), the switching frequency of the controller is still fixed even though the input voltage Vin and the output voltage Vout are changed. The electrical-magnetic noise disturbance is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fast transient response PWM control apparatus for a voltage regulator with adaptive voltage position and its driving signal generating method. In particular, this invention is used for a switching DC—DC power converter apparatus. The present invention detects changes in the loading instantaneously and creates a response rapidly to stabilize the output voltage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Control methods for a switching DC—DC power converter are typically divided into two types. One uses clock signals as the frequency for controlling the switching of the power devices. Another one does not use a clock signal to control the switching of the power devices in the DC—DC converter. When using a clock signal, the frequency of the switching signal of the DC—DC converter is fixed and is the same as the frequency of the clock signal. The duty cycle (D) of the switching signal, defined as
      D    =                  T        on                              T          on                +                  T          off                      ,varies according to the feedback control, moving either the leading-edge or the trailing edge of the signal to achieve pulse width modulation (PWM), For the modulation using a fixed clock signal to generate the switching signal, the modulation of the switching signal is limited due to the response time of the clock signal because even the fastest response change still need to wait for one cycle. Hence the switching signal cannot respond to the change of the loading instantaneously if the loading changes rapidly. Furthermore, the feedback loop, which controls the duty cycle change speed, is related to the control bandwidth. The latter has to be designed based on trade-off with the stability requirement.
For solving the above problem, another technology for controlling the switch of the DC—DC converter does not need the clock signal. It adopts a hysteretic control method or a constant on-time control method.
Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a schematic block diagram of the DC—DC power converter having a hysteretic control of the prior art. The DC—DC power converter having a hysteretic control 1 is composed of a hysteretic comparator 10 connected with a driving unit 12, an energy storage inductor L and an energy storage capacitor C. The hysteretic comparator 10 obtains a feedback signal Vfb from the output port of the DC—DC power converter circuit 1 and compares it with a hysteretic boundary value VH to output a driving signal Vdriver. The driving signal Vdriver is used for controlling a switch (not shown in the figure) of the driving unit 12 and a stable output voltage Vout is generated according to an input voltage Vin.
Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 2 shows the typical waveforms of the DC—DC power converter having a hysteretic control of the prior art. When the feedback signal Vfb on decreasing reaches the lower boundary value −VH of the hysteretic boundary value VH, the driving signal Vdriver is changed from a low level to a high level. When the feedback signal Vfb on increasing reaches the upper boundary value +VH of the hysteretic boundary value VH, the driving signal Vdriver is changed from a high level to a low level. Via the above method, a driving signal is generated. The feedback signal for the hysteretic control is typically the output voltage, which has ripples due to the effective series resistor (ESR) and pulsating charging and discharging currents. The generated ripples affect the accurate operation of the hysteretic comparison and make the switching frequency of the driving signal Vdriver change rapidly. When the level of the ripples is small, the disturbance of the noise is serious and the method does not work well in low ripple and high-accuracy application.
Please refer to FIG. 3, which shows a schematic block diagram of the DC—DC power converter having a constant on-time control of the prior art. The DC—DC power converter circuit usually adopts a voltage control mode. Using a buck DC—DC power converter 2 as an example, in the DC—DC power converter 2, the control circuit 20 uses an error amplifier 23 to obtain a feedback voltage signal VFB. Then, the feedback voltage signal VFB is compared with a reference voltage Vref to amplify and output an error signal VE. A PWM comparator compares the error signal VE and an integration output signal Vramp to output a PWM setting signal PWMset to a flip-flop 26 for enabling an output driving signal PWMDRV of the flip-flop 26.
The enabled output-driving signal PWMDRV controls an on-time control unit 28 to delay a fixed period and output a delay signal DelayOn. The delay signal Delay-On controls the reset of the flip-flop 26 via an OR gate 27 and obtains an output-driving signal PWMDRV having a fixed on-time at the output port Q of the flip-flop 26. The output driving signal PWMDRV outputs a pair of driving signals DrvH and DrvL that are complementary via a driving unit 29. The complementary driving signals DrvH and DrvL is used for driving the switch of transistors Q1 and Q2. By a pulse width modulation method, the output voltage Vout of a power output circuit 22 is stable.
The control circuit 20 includes an over-current protection unit 24 for receiving a current detection signal Vs. The current detection signal Vs is compared with a critical signal Vthocp to output an over-current signal OCPen. The over-current signal OCPen and the delay signal DelayOn pass through the OR gate 27 to control the reset of the flip-flop 26 for obtaining the output-driving signal PWMDRV having a fixed on-time.
Please refer to FIG. 4, which shows waveforms diagram of the circuit block in the FIG. 3. The error signals VE is compared with the integration output signal Vramp to output a PWM setting signal PWMset for enabling the driving signal PWMDRV. The PWM setting signal PWMset enables the on-time control unit 28. After a fixed delay time Ton, the on-time control unit 28 resets the driving signal PWMDRV.
Please refer to FIG. 3 again. In the fixed on-time control method, the on-time for switching period driving signal is fixed and the off-time is controlled by the modulation of the error amplifier 23. In other words, the fixed on-time makes the modulation of the off-time become influenced by the change of the output or input voltage of the DC—DC power converter 2. Therefore, the switching frequency is changed. In the buck DC—DC power converter 2, the switching frequency fs is affected by the output voltage Vout and the input voltage Vin when the on-time is fixed. Please refer to formula (1).
                    fs        =                  Vout                      Ton            ×            Vin                                              (        1        )
Furthermore, the fixed on-time control method needs to use the error amplifier 23 to control the modulation. The transient response of the control signal is affected by the limitations of the bandwidth of the error amplifier 23.

High-speed PWM control apparatus for power converters with adaptive voltage position and its driving signal generating method


Disclosed is an improved segmented fluid end for high-pressure plunger pumps. One segmented fluid end includes one or more fluid end modules, each fluid end module including a body providing a plunger bore configured to receive a plunger therein and a discharge outlet in fluid communication with the plunger bore, wherein a pressurized working fluid may exit the body of each fluid end module via the discharge outlet, a discharge manifold having an elongate manifold body configured to be operatively coupled to each fluid end module, the manifold body providing a first end, a second end, a discharge bore extending between the first and second ends, and one or more discharge inlets that fluidly communicate with the discharge bore, and a ring joint gasket arranged between each discharge inlet of the discharge manifold and a corresponding discharge outlet of the one or more fluid end modules.

The present disclosure is related to high-pressure pumps and, more particularly, to improved segmented fluid ends for high-pressure plunger pumps.
It is common practice in the oil and gas industry to use high-pressure positive displacement or reciprocating pumps (also known as plunger pumps) in a variety of field operations relating to the exploration, preparation, and extraction of hydrocarbons. For example, plunger pumps are often used in cementing a wellbore as part of a completion operation. Plunger pumps are also used in acidizing and hydraulically fracturing subterranean formations during wellbore treatment operations. The fluid end of such pumps is the portion of the pump where a fluid is drawn in via a suction valve and subsequently discharged under pressure. Within the fluid end of a plunger pump, a plunger or piston compresses the fluid and pushes it under pressure through a discharge valve. The discharge valve is typically designed to open upon experiencing a predetermined pressure differential across the valve.
Such pumps are frequently used in pumping two-phase slurries where solid particles are suspended in a liquid (e.g., proppant suspended in a fracturing fluid). At least one problem with pumping such two-phase slurries is that the slurry oftentimes makes the fluid end susceptible to damage in the form of erosion, wear and tear, hoop stress, and fatigue. Ultimately, such damage can result in bore enlargement or cracking of the fluid end, which may decrease efficiencies or otherwise require the pump to be shut down and repaired or replaced altogether. As can be appreciated, this may prove to be quite costly and time-consuming.


Configurable, pluggable delivery managers are responsible for routing instant messages to intended recipients. A delivery manager is selected for a particular message, and that delivery manager defines, at runtime, a delivery policy to be used to route the instant message to an intended recipient of the message. The delivery policy is based upon a configuration of the delivery manager, a user configuration of the intended recipient, and one or more available delivery mechanisms. The delivery manager routes the instant message using the delivery policy.

In today's communication environments, instant messaging is common place. Users send messages to one or more intended recipients and expect that those messages will be delivered substantially instantly. Various mechanisms are used for instant messaging, including one or more instant messaging protocols, such as the SameTime protocol offered by International Business Machines Corporation or Instant Messenger offered by AOL. Other techniques are also used to send instant messages, such as pager gateways.
Although instant messaging is a common practice, frequently there are situations in which the message does not reach the intended recipient. For example, the messaging protocol is down or the intended recipient does not have access to the protocol sending the message (e.g., no computer access).
Thus, there is still a need for a capability that enhances the success rate with which an instant message reaches the intended recipient. A further need exists for an environment that is capable of providing a configurable and flexible delivery policy to be used to route messages to intended recipients.

Routing instant messages using configurable, pluggable delivery managers


A dual-path optical recording medium and an apparatus for accessing such are disclosed. The dual-path optical recording medium includes a substrate, an intermediate recording layer, a holographic recording layer and a dichronic mirror layer. The intermediate recording layer is a rewritable data storage layer with a relatively low storage capacity. The holographic recording layer is a write-once data storage layer with a relatively high storage capacity. The dichronic mirror layer is located between the holographic recording layer and the intermediate recording layer. The apparatus for accessing the dual-path optical recording medium includes a first light module capable of generating a first laser light, and a second light module capable of generating a second laser light.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to optical recording media in general, and more particularly, to dual-path optical recording media. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for accessing dual-path optical recording media.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, optical recording media with a large storage capacity have been developed for storing various types of data, including textual, graphics and voice. An optical recording medium is typically provided with a spiral or concentric track on one surface to allow laser beams to be irradiated along the track when data recording or retrieval is being performed. A track is further divided into multiple sectors that become the minimum unit for recording information.
With the Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) technology, data can be recorded onto an optical recording medium via a light modulation recording method for modulating the intensity of a laser beam irradiated on a track onto which data are to be recorded. There are many types of optical recording media, such as a phase change type optical disc, an organic pigment type optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, holographic media and the like.

Computer program product for controlling an apparatus for accessing dual-path optical recording media


The present invention provides a dynamic pricing system that generates pricing recommendations for each product in each market. In particular, the system normalizes historic pricing and sales data, and then analyzes this historic data using parameters describing the user's business objectives to produce a pricing list to achieve these objectives. The system uses historical market data to forecast expected sales according to a market segment, product type, and a range of future dates and to determine the effects of price changes on the forecasted future sales. The system further calculates unit costs for the product. The system then estimates profits from sales at different prices by using the sales forecasts, adjusting these sales forecasts for changes in prices, and the costs determinations. The system optionally optimizes prices given current and projected inventory constraints and generates alerts notices according to pre-set conditions.

Historically, there has been no way for a supplier to predict, with high certainty, the price at which a product must be sold in order to maximize profits. Under traditional sales models, pricing decisions are made based on estimates, such as anticipated product demand and presumed price sensitivity, in the hope of maximizing profits. The procedure for forming these estimates is time and labor intensive. For example, it is known in existing spreadsheet programs to recalculate derived values automatically from data changes entered into the spreadsheet. Display of such recalculated values facilitates evaluation of hypothetical "what if" scenarios for making business decisions. However, this is done by changing a value in a cell of the spreadsheet, resulting in recalculating all variable entries dependent on the variable changed. It is not easy for the user to see the global effect of such changes without a careful review of the recalculated spreadsheet or separate screens showing graphs derived from the recalculated spreadsheet. The result is a cumbersome iterative process in which the user must change a value in a cell of the spreadsheet, obtain a graph of the resulting dependent variable changes, determine whether those results are as desired, if not, go back to the spreadsheet and make another value change in a cell, redraw the graph, and so forth until desired results are achieved. The process is even more cumbersome if the user desires to add a line to a graph, which requires the generation of new cells in the spreadsheet. An improved system would automatically perform these functions with little input from users.
There are several difficulties in forming an automated dynamic pricing system. One problem is that most sellers keep incomplete pricing data. For example, while the ideal client for the system would maintain data on lost customers, competitor prices, industry availability and the like, most sellers will have data on only a subset of the potential drivers of market response. Furthermore, the known dynamic pricing system can neither adjust rapidly to account for changes in market conditions nor suggest different prices for different markets.


Novel solid forms of tacedinaline (4-(acetylamino)-N-(2-aminophenyl)benzamide), including crystalline tacedinaline Form B, a novel crystalline tacedinaline TFA salt, and amorphous tacedinaline, are disclosed. Pharmaceutical compositions comprising crystalline tacedinaline Form B, the novel crystalline tacedinaline TFA salt, and/or amorphous tacedinaline, and methods of treating various conditions by administering those novel solid forms, are also disclosed.

The solid form (i.e., the crystalline or amorphous form) of a pharmaceutical compound can be important relative to its pharmacological properties and development as a viable active pharmaceutical ingredient ("API").
Pharmaceutical products are often formulated from crystalline compounds because crystalline materials may provide higher levels of purity and resistance to physical and chemical instabilities under ambient conditions, relative to amorphous forms. Crystalline forms of a compound may in some cases, offer advantages over amorphous forms, such as improved solubility, stability, processing improvements, etc., and different crystalline forms (e.g. polymorphs of the compound) may offer greater or lesser advantages over one another. However, crystalline forms of a compound are not predictable, and in fact, are not always possible. It is a well-accepted principle that the formation of a new polymorphic or crystalline form (e.g. a new crystalline salt form) of a compound is totally unpredictable, and until a particular polymorph is prepared, there is no way to know whether it might exist, how to prepare it, or what its properties might be. Bernstein, J. Polymorphism in Molecular Crystals. New York: Oxford University Press, 9 (2002).
Unlike a crystalline solid, which has an orderly array of unit cells in three dimensions, amorphous forms lack long-range order because molecular packing is more random. As a result, amorphous organic compounds tend to have different properties than their crystalline counterparts. For example, amorphous compounds often have greater solubility than crystalline forms of the same compound. Thus, by way of example only, in pharmaceutical formulations whose crystalline forms are poorly soluble, amorphous forms may present attractive formulation options. As such, amorphous APIs may be used to improve physical and chemical properties of drugs, such as, for example, dissolution and bioavailability.
Solid forms of a compound, including both crystalline and amorphous forms, are of particular interest to the pharmaceutical industry, for example to those involved in the development of suitable dosage forms, if the solid form of the API (e.g. the crystalline polymorphic form or amorphous form) is not held constant during clinical or stability studies, the exact dosage form used or studied may not be comparable from one lot to another. In addition, regulatory agencies require solid form characterization and control of the API for approval. Certain polymorphic forms may exhibit enhanced thermodynamic stability or may be more readily manufactured in high purity in large quantities, and thus are more suitable for inclusion in pharmaceutical formulations. Certain polymorphs may display other advantageous physical properties such as lack of hygroscopic tendencies, improved solubility, and enhanced rates of dissolution due to different lattice energies. As such, finding the right conditions to obtain a particular solid form of the desired API (e.g. a particular crystalline polymorphic form or an amorphous form), with pharmaceutically acceptable properties, is critical to drug development, but can take significant time, resources, and effort.
Tacedinaline, 4-(acetylamino)-N-(2-aminophenyl)benzamide, (shown below) is a known API useful for treating and/or preventing a variety of conditions, such as, for example, combating neoplastic diseases, and is recognized as an HDAC inhibitor.
For example, tacedinaline has positive indications for the treatment of prostate cancer. The preparation and pharmacologic activity of tacedinaline are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,918, WO 2009/076234, Gediya, L. K. et al., Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 2008, 16, 3352-3360; and Thomas, M. et al., Bioorganic & Medicinal chemistry 2008, 16, 8109-8116, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
While therapeutic efficacy is a primary concern for a therapeutic agent such as tacedinaline, as discussed above the solid form of a pharmaceutical drug candidate is also important. For example, each solid form of a drug candidate can have different solid state (physical and chemical) properties. The differences in physical properties exhibited by a different solid form of an API, such as a polymorph of the original compound, can affect pharmaceutical parameters such as storage stability, compressibility and density, all of which may be important in formulation and product manufacturing, and solubility and dissolution rates, which may be important factors in determining bioavailability. Because these practical physical properties can be influenced by the solid form of the API, they can significantly impact the selection of a compound as an API, the ultimate pharmaceutical dosage form, the optimization of manufacturing processes, and absorption in the body. Moreover, finding the most adequate form for further drug development can reduce the time and the cost of that development. It may also be beneficial to identify and characterize additional crystal forms so that they may be recognized if they appear during drug development and/or manufacturing.
Obtaining pure solid forms, then, can be extremely useful in drug development, as it generally permits better characterization of the drug candidate's chemical and physical properties. Crystalline forms often have more favorable chemical and physical properties than amorphous forms of the same compound. As such, one or more crystalline forms may possess more favorable pharmacology than amorphous forms or be easier to process, or may have better storage stability. Similarly, one crystalline form may possess more favorable pharmacology, may be easier to process, or may have better storage stability than another, or than an amorphous form, or vice versa.
One such physical property is a pharmaceutical compound's dissolution rate in aqueous fluid. The rate of dissolution of an API in a patient's stomach fluid may have therapeutic consequences since it impacts the rate at which an orally administered active ingredient may reach the patient's bloodstream.
Another such physical property is thermodynamic stability. The thermodynamic stability of an active ingredient may have consequences on the manufacturing process and storage stability of the API and/or the formulation.
A crystalline form of a compound generally possesses distinct crystallographic and spectroscopic properties when compared to other crystalline forms having the same chemical composition. Crystallographic and spectroscopic properties of the particular form are typically measured by one or more techniques such as x-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), single crystal x-ray crystallography, solid state NMR spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy (IR), or Raman spectroscopy, among other techniques. A particular solid form of a compound may often exhibit distinct thermal behavior as well. Thermal behavior is measured in the laboratory by such techniques as capillary melting point, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).
Referenced above, U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,918 describes the synthesis and basic activities of a family of compounds including tacedinaline. The tacedinaline disclosed therein is reported as having a melting point of 243.7° C.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to identify novel solid forms of tacedinaline, particularly those having advantageous chemical and/or physical properties. This invention answers those needs by providing novel solid forms of tacedinaline, including forms having improved properties.


Disclosed are a solar cell and a method for fabricating the same. The solar cell according to the embodiment includes a back electrode layer on a support substrate; a light absorbing layer including a glass frit having sodium on the back electrode layer; and a front electrode layer on the light absorbing layer.

Recently, the development of new renewable energy has become more important and interested due to the serious environmental pollution and the lack of fossil fuel. Among the new renewable energy, a solar cell is spotlighted as an energy source for solving the future energy problem because it rarely causes environmental pollution and has the semi-permanent life span and there exists infinite resources for the solar cell.
Solar cells may be defined as devices to convert light energy into electric energy by using a photovoltaic effect of generating electrons when light is incident onto a P-N junction diode. The solar cell may be classified into a silicon solar cell, a compound semiconductor solar cell mainly including a group I-III-VI compound or a group III-V compound, a dye-sensitized solar cell, and an organic solar cell according to materials constituting the junction diode.
A solar cell made from CIGS (CuInGaSe), which is one of group I-III-VI Chal-copyrite-based compound semiconductors, represents superior light absorption, higher photoelectric conversion efficiency with a thin thickness, and superior electro-optic stability, so the CIGS solar cell is spotlighted as a substitute for a conventional silicon solar cell.
In general, the efficiency of the CIGS solar cell can be improved by diffusing sodium into a light absorbing layer. Meanwhile, according to the CIGS solar cell of the related art, the sodium may not be sufficiently supplied to the light absorbing layer or the supply of the sodium to the light absorbing layer may not be readily controlled.

Solar cell and method for fabricating the same


A charge pump 1 for operation in an integrated circuit having a power source Vdd. The pump is made of a plurality of pump cells 10 connected together. Each pump cell includes an inverter 50 having a port 42 to receive a negative bias input, a port 44 to receive a positive bias input, a port 38 to receive a clock input, and a port 40 to output an output clock signal at the same frequency of the clock input, but phase shifted by a predetermined amount determined by the signal levels of the negative bias and said positive bias. Also included in each pump cell is a capacitor 26. A circuit 20, 22, 24, for coupling the output clock signal to one port of the capacitor is also provided, as is a pair of diodes 28, 30, connected serially together, one end of the pair being connected to the power source and the other end 48 of the pair providing the output signal of the pump cell, the common point of the pair being connected to the other port of the capacitor. The pump cells are connected together such that the inverters are connected together to form a ring oscillator and such that the output signals are connected in parallel. The pump provides a stable source of high current at a moderately boosted voltage, with very low ripple, and is suitable for use with non-volatile, programmable memories.

Presently, in certain non-volatile, programmable memories, such as FLASH memories, program operation is done by channel hot electron injection. This requires that a relatively high current be available from the power supply, typically 1 mA for a single memory cell. In dual power supply memories this current is available from a higher voltage power supply, sometimes referred to as Vpp. However, the provision of an external high current supply is not suitable for many applications.
Internal current supplies based on a single voltage power supply, for example provided at, 5 V, such single voltage sometimes being referred to as Vdd, have been provided in the prior art. However, these supplies must provide stable performance over the entire Vdd and temperature range, and this has led to problems. State of the art charge pumps of this type are able to generate a voltage in the range of 6 V and a current in the range of 10 mA, using voltage doublers with n-channel MOS transistors as rectifying elements. A problem with these circuits is that the voltage drop across the MOS devices due to transistor Vt and body effect at these current levels creates undesirable power dissipation. To overcome these undesirable effects, more complicated circuits have been devised to bootstrap the gate of the rectifying elements, increasing the component count and circuit complexity.
Accordingly, it is desired to have an internal charge pump that provides high current, efficiently, at moderate voltages. Further, it is desired to have such a charge pump that is stable in the whole Vdd and temperature range in which the memory is expected to operate. The present invention provides such a charge pump.

Low voltage, high current pump for flash memory


A transmissive fly's eye integrator is disclosed that includes a first array of lenses and a second array of lenses. The first array of lenses and second array of lenses together form a fly's eye integrator, and the first array of lenses and second array of lenses comprise lenses which have a diameter selected from the range of 5 μm-50 μm, and a radius of curvature selected from the range of 25 μm-2500 μm.

A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that instance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. comprising part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned.
Lithography is widely recognized as one of the key steps in the manufacture of ICs and other devices and/or structures. However, as the dimensions of features made using lithography become smaller, lithography is becoming a more critical factor for enabling miniature IC or other devices and/or structures to be manufactured.
A theoretical estimate of the limits of pattern printing can be given by the Rayleigh criterion for resolution as shown in equation (1):
                    CD        =                              k            1                    ⋆                      λ                          NA              PS                                                          (        1        )
where λ is the wavelength of the radiation used, NAPS is the numerical aperture of the projection system used to print the pattern, k1 is a process dependent adjustment factor, also called the Rayleigh constant, and CD is the feature size (or critical dimension) of the printed feature. It follows from equation (1) that reduction of the minimum printable size of features can be obtained in three ways: by shortening the exposure wavelength λ, by increasing the numerical aperture NAPS or by decreasing the value of k1.
In order to shorten the exposure wavelength and, thus, reduce the minimum printable size, it has been proposed to use a source to provide extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation (sometimes termed soft x-ray). An EUV radiation source is configured to output a radiation wavelength of about 13 nm. Thus, an EUV radiation source may constitute a significant step toward achieving small features printing. Possible EUV radiation sources include, for example, a laser-produced plasma source, a discharge plasma source, or synchrotron radiation from electron storage rings.
The transmission of optical materials and of fluids generally deteriorates with decreasing wavelength. Hence EUV radiation may be substantially absorbed when traversing optical materials or fluids. A lithographic apparatus which uses EUV radiation to apply a pattern to a substrate may therefore operate under vacuum so that only a within tolerance absorption of EUV radiation may be present due to a residual, small amount of gas. A vacuum environment may be provided along a part or all of a path of the radiation beam through the lithographic apparatus with the aid of one or more vacuum walls and vacuum pumps. Since EUV radiation is readily absorbed by optical materials of refractive optical elements, there is a general tendency (i.e. a prejudice) to ensure that optical elements used to condition, pattern, direct or re-direct an EUV radiation beam in a lithographic apparatus are embodied as reflective elements, and not as refractive, transmissive elements.
In order to effectively reflect EUV radiation, reflective optical elements have to be carefully designed and constructed. Many optical elements used for reflecting BUY radiation comprise one or more layers, and are often referred to as being or comprising multilayer structures. A multilayer structure will typically reflect 65-70% of EUV radiation that is incident upon the structure. It will therefore be appreciated that the intensity of an EUV radiation beam reflected off such a multilayer structure will have its intensity reduced by 30-35% for each reflection. In a reflective EUV radiation lithographic apparatus, a radiation beam may be reflected on numerous occasions, and off numerous different optical elements, severely reducing the intensity of the radiation beam that is available to apply a pattern to a substrate. Such a reduction in intensity can have an adverse affect on the throughput of an EUV radiation lithographic apparatus. Furthermore, the need to reflect the radiation beam along a folded optical path in the lithographic apparatus may lead to an increased complexity in the design of the lithographic apparatus, and/or, for example, an increase in size or the cost of the apparatus.

Fly's eye integrator, illuminator, lithographic apparatus and method


The substrate includes an alignment slot in at least one of its side edges, and includes metallization coupled electrically to the micro component and extending from the front surface of the substrate to its back surface via at least one of the alignment slots. The assembly also includes a cover attached to the substrate so as to encapsulate the micro component. The cover includes at least one protrusion on its underside such that each protrusion mates with a respective alignment slot in the side edges of the substrate.

The disclosure relates to an assembly, such as a low-cost package, that uses a self-aligned technique to position a cover on a silicon (Si) or other substrate that supports a micro component.
Packaging for micro components, such as electronic and optical devices, should ensure that the individual devices function properly in their system environment. In general, issues such as mechanical bonding of the micro component, good thermal contact and electrical conductivity need to be addressed to ensure proper operation. Long-term stability is typically a desirable characteristic.
However, packaging of micro components can be a significant factor in the overall manufacturing cost.

Assembly with self-alignment features to position a cover on a substrate that supports a micro component


An interconnect forming method includes the steps of: a) forming a through hole in an insulating film over a substrate; b) depositing a photosensitive masking material over the insulating film as well as inside the hole; c) patterning the material, thereby forming a mask pattern, which has an opening located over the hole and is used to define a trench; d) etching the insulating film to a predetermined depth using the mask pattern, thereby defining a trench pattern, linked to the hole, in an upper part of the insulating film; e) filling in the hole and the trench pattern with a conductive material; and f) before the trench pattern is defined, defining the mask pattern so that no remaining part of the material, which has been filled in the hole, will reach a level higher than the bottom of the trench pattern.

The present invention relates to a method of forming a metal interconnect with good electrical characteristics by a dual damascene process just as intended.
Hereinafter, a known interconnect forming method will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A through 5F.
FIGS. 5A through 5F illustrate cross-sectional structures corresponding to respective process steps for forming interconnects by a known dual damascene process.
First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a first insulating film 102 is deposited on an insulating substrate 101, and a first trench pattern is formed out of the first insulating film 102. Next, the first trench pattern is filled in with a first metallization material 104 (e.g., copper (Cu)) with a first barrier film 103 interposed therebetween and the material 104 and film 103 filled in are planarized. In this manner, a first metal interconnect 105 is formed out of the first barrier film 103 and first metallization material 104. Subsequently, a second insulating film 106 of silicon nitride, for example, is deposited, as a passivation film for the first metallization material 104, over the first insulating film 102 and first metal interconnect 105. Then, an interlevel dielectric film 107 of silicon dioxide, for example, is deposited on the second insulating film 106.
Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, through holes 107a are opened by removing respective parts of the interlevel dielectric film 107 that are located over the first metal interconnect 105.
Then, as shown in FIG. 5C, a positive resist pattern 108, which will be used for defining a second trench pattern and which has openings over the holes 107a, is defined on the interlevel dielectric film 107. Each of the openings of the resist pattern 108 has a diameter equal to or greater than that of an associated one of the holes 107a of the interlevel dielectric film 107. At this point of the process, if the holes 107a, i.e., the openings of the resist pattern 108, have their diameter reduced to a certain size to meet requirements of miniaturization, then the resist material 108a, filled in the holes 107a, cannot be exposed to radiation sufficiently in a subsequent exposure process for the resist pattern 108. This is because the smaller the diameter of the holes 107a or openings, the harder it is for the exposing radiation to reach the deeper levels in the holes 107a. As a result, part of the resist material 108a is unintentionally left inside the holes 107a. The remaining part of the resist material 108a is likely to reach a level higher than the bottom of a second trench pattern that will be defined in the interlevel dielectric film 107 in the next process. According to another method, a resist material may also be intentionally filled in the holes 107a to minimize damage done on the first metal interconnect 105 when the second trench pattern is defined. However, just like the resist material 108a shown in FIG. SC, the same unwanted results are also obtained even by that alternative method.
Next, as shown in FIG. 5D, the interlevel dielectric film 107 is etched using the resist pattern 108 as a mask, thereby forming the second trench pattern 107b, which is linked to the holes 107a, in the interlevel dielectric film 107. Thereafter, the resist pattern 108 and resist material 108a are removed. In this case, an etching residue 110 of the resist material 108a, which has been filled in the holes 107a, is left inside the second trench pattern 107b. The residue 110 has insulation properties.
Then, as shown in FIG. SE, a second barrier film 111 is deposited over the holes 107a and second trench pattern 107b, which have been formed in the interlevel dielectric film 107. Thereafter, these holes 107a and pattern 107b are filled in with a second metallization material 112 such as Cu.
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5F, unnecessary portions of the second barrier film 111 and second metallization material 112 are removed, thereby forming second metal interconnects 113 out of the second barrier film 111 and second metallization material 112.
According to this known method, however, the insulating etching residue 110, called an xe2x80x9cinner crownxe2x80x9d, is left inside the second trench pattern 107b in the interlevel dielectric film 107 as shown in FIG. 5D. Thus, the second metal interconnects 113 have their resistance increased or might even be disconnected from the first metal interconnect 105 in a worst-case scenario.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to avoid the unwanted increase in resistance or disconnection of metal interconnects that is usually caused by the etching residue in a known dual damascene process.
The present inventors conducted intensive research on exactly how the xe2x80x9cinner crownxe2x80x9d appeared where a groove-like trench pattern was formed in the upper part of an insulating film so as to be filled with a metallization material in a subsequent process. As a result, we found that the insulating etching residue extended from a stepped interface between a resist material, with which through holes to be linked to the trench pattern had been filled in, and the insulating film.
Thus, we concluded that if the resist material, filled in the exposed through holes to define a resist pattern for the trench pattern to be formed later, is allowed to reach a level no higher than the bottom of the trench pattern, then the inner crown can be eliminated.
To achieve the above object, an inventive interconnect forming method includes the steps of: a) forming a through hole in an insulating film over a substrate; b) depositing a photosensitive masking material over the insulating film as well as inside the through hole; c) patterning the masking material, thereby forming a mask pattern, which has an opening located over the through hole and is used to define a trench; d) etching the insulating film to a predetermined depth using the mask pattern, thereby defining a trench pattern, which is linked to the through hole, in an upper part of the insulating film; e) filling in the through hole and the trench pattern with a conductive material; and f) defining the mask pattern so that no remaining part of the masking material, which has been filled in the through hole, will reach a level higher than the bottom of the trench pattern. The step f) is performed before the step d).
According to the inventive method, before the trench pattern is formed, the mask pattern, used to form the trench, is defined so that no remaining part of the masking material, which has been filled in the through hole, will reach a level higher than the bottom of the trench pattern. Thus, no etching residue of the masking material is left in the upper part of the through hole. And it is possible to prevent the etching residue from increasing the resistance of the metal interconnects or disconnecting the interconnects from each other. As a result, highly reliable metal interconnects with good electrical characteristics can be obtained.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the masking material may be exposed in the step c) to radiation at such a dose as needed for the radiation to pass through the masking material on the insulating film and then the exposed masking material may be developed, thereby forming the mask pattern out of the masking material.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the step d) may include the step of rounding a corner between the top of the through hole and the bottom of the trench pattern in the insulating film.
In still another embodiment, the step f) may include the steps of: i) depositing a negative resist as the masking material on the insulating film in the step b); and ii) leaving part of the negative resist, which has been filled in the through hole, unexposed and then developing and removing the unexposed part of the negative resist in the step c).
In yet another embodiment, the step f) may include the steps of: i) stuffing the through hole with a filler between the steps a) and b); ii) depositing the masking material over the insulating film as well as over the through hole, which has been stuffed with the filler, in the step b); and iii) selectively removing the filler between the steps c) and d).
In this particular embodiment, a lower part of the filler is preferably left in the step iii) inside the through hole so that the top of the lower part will be no higher than the bottom of the trench pattern.
Also, in this embodiment, the masking material is preferably a positive resist, and the filler is preferably a resist that is photosensitive in a wavelength range broader than a wavelength range in which the positive resist is photosensitive.
In yet another embodiment, the step f) may include the steps of: i) forming a cap film, which closes the through hole, on the insulating film between the steps a) and b); ii) depositing the masking material over the cap film on the insulating film in the step b); and iii) forming the trench pattern by etching the cap film and the insulating film using the mask pattern in the step d).
In this particular embodiment, the cap film is preferably formed by a vapor phase epitaxy process that results in a low step coverage.
In still another embodiment, the step f) may include the steps of i) forming the through hole using a first exposure mask in the step a) and ii) forming the mask pattern in the step c). The step ii) includes the sub-steps of: exposing a first part of the masking material using the first exposure mask; exposing a second part of the masking material using a second exposure mask; and developing the exposed masking material. The first part is located over the through hole. And the second exposure mask has an opening over the second part, which is also located over the through hole, and is used to form the trench.
In this particular embodiment, the first part of the masking material is preferably exposed at an optimized dose using the first exposure mask so that after the masking material is developed, part of the masking material inside the through hole will be left under the bottom of the trench pattern.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A product for use with a turbocharger that may include a complex sealing path between a lubricated area of a housing and a compressor wheel.

A turbocharger typically consists of a compressor driven by a turbine. The turbine may be connected to the compressor by a common shaft that is supported for rotation by bearings. The turbocharger, the shaft and the turbine wheel may rotate at speeds that approach hundreds of thousands of revolutions per minute. Under these harsh, and increasingly demanding operating conditions, the lifespan of a turbocharger is expected to match that of the engine with which it operates. To accomplish that challenge, the design of a turbocharger and its components must be robust to survive as expected, while still being cost effective.

Complex path design of the flinger and insert


A method and apparatus to decrease the boot time and the hibernate awaken time of a computer system is presented. Static and dynamic configuration data is stored in flash memory. The size of flash memory is selected so that the initialization time of the configuration data stored in the flash memory is approximately equal to the spin-up time of the disk drive where the operating system is stored. During power down or entry into a hibernate mode, the computer system determines the static and dynamic configuration data to be stored in flash memory based on a history of prior uses. Data is also stored in the flash memory during system operation to reduce the number of times the disk drive is spun up. When the computer system is powered up or awakened from hibernation, the configuration data in flash memory is initialized while the disk drive is spinning up.

Computers such as conventional personal computers often utilize a time-consuming initialization process in order to load and initiate the computer operating system. The operating system is typically stored on a rotating non-volatile media such as a magnetic hard disk (e.g., a hard drive). However, the computer's microprocessor executes instructions only from addressable memory such as DRAM or some other type of volatile electronic memory. In order to initialize this addressable memory, a small amount of non-volatile boot-up memory is typically provided in an EPROM (electronically programmable read-only memory) or similar device. When the computer is booted, a boot program stored in the non-volatile memory is used. The boot program contains code for reading an initial portion of the operating system on the hard disk that is responsible for loading and initializing the remaining portions of the operating system.
The transfer of the operating system from the hard drive is slow, particularly when the operating system is a large operating system. This is prevalent not only in booting the computer system, but also in restoring the computer system from hibernate mode. A significant factor in the transfer time is due to the disk drive spin up speed. A relatively small disk spinning at a relatively slow RPM requires 5 to 6 seconds to spin up and be usable. Larger disks such as multi-platter devices and those spinning at faster RPMs require 10 to 12 seconds or more to spin up. On server systems having hundreds or thousands of disk drives that spin up in a largely sequential manner, the disk spin up time can be over ninety percent of the total time to boot the server system.
Methods have been developed for increasing the speed in booting the computer system and restoring the computer system from hibernation. One example is disclosed in to Feigenbaum et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,497. The '497 patent teaches that a portion of an operating system can be stored in read-only memory (ROM) for fast access of the portion during power-on or reset. However, the portion stored in ROM can not be changed. In other words, the method disclosed in the '497 patent does not adapt to changing user preferences regarding operating system settings and applications used, to restoring the computer system from hibernation, or to updated or new versions of an operating system.
Another example developed by industry is storing the state of the computer memory to a backup memory that is separate from the disk drive and stores the entire computer memory. This backup memory is large because it stores the entire computer memory.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus and method to decrease boot time and hibernate awaken time of a computer system