The present invention relates to a method of determining at least one energy property of a gaseous mixture which consists in:    1. measuring, on said gaseous mixture, n physical properties φi at a temperature T and/or one physical property φi at n different temperatures;    2. determining, from said physical properties, the composition of a gas with n+1 components that is equivalent to said mixture; and    3. deducing the energy properties of said gaseous mixture from said composition of the equivalent gas.

The present invention relates to a method of determining at least one energy property of a gaseous fuel mixture by measuring physical properties of the gaseous mixture, determining the composition of a gas equivalent to said gaseous mixture and deducing the energy properties from said composition.
The energy properties of a gas, such as the calorific value, the Wobbe index, the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio or the methane index, are of great industrial interest. In fact, a variation in the composition of a gas (for example natural gas) due to there being a large number of sources of supply (Algerian gas, Norwegian gas, Russian gas, etc.) can cause serious damage in stationary gas engines. These engines are generally used for the simultaneous production of heat and electricity (cogeneration). Furthermore, the efficient use of gaseous fuels in internal combustion engines depends mainly on their ignition properties and combustion properties.
The energy property which makes it possible to follow the variations in the quality of natural gas in terms of the antiknock value is the methane index.
Fuel gases, which are of relative importance in terms of the very different energy properties, also have diverse origins: wood gas, coal gas, natural gas, etc.
When biogas is used to drive internal combustion engines, a variation in the composition of the gas can have serious effects on the performance characteristics of the engine. For example, there can be power fluctuations due to the variation in net calorific value (the NCV can vary from 10 to 25 MJ/m3). Thus, for optimal operation of the engine, it becomes essential to measure the NCV of the biogas.
The Wobbe index is another important energy property of gaseous fuels (it can vary from 10 to 30 MJ/m3). It is an important criterion of the interchangeability of gases in engines. A variation in composition does not cause an appreciable change in the air factor or the combustion rate if the Wobbe index remains almost constant. This index can be deduced from calculation of the calorific value by means of the following relationship:
                    W        =                  NCV                      d                                              (        1        )
where NCV is the net calorific value of the gas and d is the density of the gas.
The quality of gaseous fuels can be measured by numerous techniques, among which there may be mentioned the techniques of measuring the calorific value and the technique of measuring the methane index.
a) Methods of Measuring the Calorific Value
Given the composition of a gaseous mixture, it is easy to calculate its calorific value by using the specific value of each of the constituents of the gas in question.
Direct determination of the calorific value can be effected by means of hand-operated calorimeters and automatic calorimeters, for example the bomb calorimeter, Junkers calorimeters and the Union microcalorimeter.
These traditional methods are cumbersome, expensive and difficult to carry out when it is desired to find out the calorific value of a gaseous mixture within an operating plant.
The method of calculating the calorific value described in international patent application WO 99/36767 considers the measurement of two physical properties (the speed of sound and the thermal conductivity). This method was developed using natural gases representative of the whole range of gases encountered in the gas distribution system in Great Britain. The laboratory experiments performed with these natural gases made it possible to determine the speed of sound in these gases and then to correlate these results with the calorific value. As a single property is not sufficient to follow the variations in calorific value according to whether the gases do or do not have a significant content of inert components, a second physical property (the thermal conductivity) was combined with the speed of sound. According to this method the calorific value is deduced by means of the following correlation:CV=a.ThCH+b.ThCL+c.SoS+d.Ta+e.Ta2+f  (2)in which:                CV is the calorific value;        ThCH is the thermal conductivity at temperature TH;        ThCL is the thermal conductivity at temperature TL;        SoS is the speed of sound at ambient temperature;        Ta is the ambient temperature of the gas;        a, b, c, d, e and f are constants.
The constants were determined by means of a regression obtained on gas samples of different origins in Great Britain. However, this method only uses gases representative of the gases distributed in Great Britain and cannot therefore be generalized.
A second method of determining the calorific value is based on a knowledge of the content of nitrogen and carbon dioxide in the gas, as well as the value of the density of this gas. The proposed relationship was used by Candwell (1967) and is only valid for gases with a Wobbe index of between 43.4 and 44.4 MJ.m−3 (Groningue gas):CV=5.671+61.38d−98.97KCO2−64.57KN2  (3)
where KCO2 is the carbon dioxide fraction and KN2 is the nitrogen fraction in the gas.
However, these last two methods are not applicable to all the gases distributed in Europe.
b) Methods of Measuring the Methane Index
Experimental Determination of the Methane Index
The methane index is generally measured on a CFR/RDH (Cooperative Fuel Research/Removable Dome Head) standard research engine under the operating conditions defined by Christoph et al.: "Evaluation of the antiknock value of gaseous fuels by means of the methane index and their practical application in gas engines" in MTZ 33, April 1972, no. 10.
Chemical Determination of the Methane Index (by Analysis of the Composition)
Another method of determining the methane index was developed by Ryan and Callahan [RYAN et al., Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, October 1993, vol. 115/769, and CALLAHAN et al., 18th Annual Fall Technical Conference of the ASME Internal Combustion Engine Division, 1996, ICE-vol. 27–4] and then improved by Waukesha [Selberg, CIMAC Congress 1998], who defined a new index, called the WKI index, similar to the methane index (patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,637).
Graphical Determination of the Methane Index
A method of calculating the methane index of a gaseous fuel from its chemical composition was established by Christoph et al. [cf. article cited above]. It consists in bringing the different constituents together into binary or ternary groups for which the methane index is given by the corresponding diagrams. The equation is of the following form:
                    MI        =                              1            100                                                        ∑              i                                                                  y                j                                                          MI                j                                                                        (        4        )
where:
MIj is the methane index of the binary or tertiary group j;
yj is the concentration by volume of the mixture j in the total mixture;
MI is the methane index of the total mixture.
This equation can only be used with the ternary diagrams of each mixture group.
Also, certain rules have to be obeyed:                MIj values must not differ by more than 5 points.        At least one group must contain three components.        A group of a single component can be formed provided that the first rule applies.        The very high-knock components (for example butane) must always be included in a ternary group with antiknock components (for example methane).        The C5 and higher components can be added to the butane because they are only present in the gas in trace amounts.
For mixtures having nitrogen or carbon dioxide contents below 9 and 2% respectively, the index is determined without taking these products into account. The error is less than two index points in such cases.
For higher contents, the methane index is calculated according to the following equation:MI=MI(without)+MI(inerts)−100  (5)
where:
MI(without) is calculated according to equation (4);
MI(inerts) is calculated with the ternary diagram CH4—CO2—N2, in which all the alkanes are classed as methane.
Empirical Determination of the Methane Index
1) Correlation: MI=f(NCV, xCO2, density)
A simple equation based on measurement of the NCV, the density and the carbon dioxide content of the gas was developed by the German company Ruhrgas. This equation, which is based on a reference model (AVL program calculating the methane index from ternary diagrams), is a multiple linear regression of the following form:MI=C1+C2.NCV+C3.ρ+C4.xCO2+C5.NCV.ρ+C6.NCV.xCO2+C7.ρ.xCO2+C8.NCV.ρ.xCO2+C9.NCV2+C10.ρ2+C11.NCV2.ρ+C12.NCV.ρ2+C13.NCV2.ρ.xCO2  (6)
where:
NCV is the net calorific value of the gas;
ρ is the density of the gas;
xCO2 is the carbon dioxide content.
Two further methods were developed from the calorific value or electrical permittivity data of the gas, its density and its carbon dioxide content:                The first method makes it possible to determine the composition of the gases as a function of the NCV, the density and the CO2 content (calculation algorithm), allowing calculation of the methane index with the AVL program based on experimental results on a CFR engine (cf. "Evaluation of the Antiknocking Property of Gaseous Fuels by means of the Methane Number and its Practical Application to Gas Engines. ASME Paper 72-DGP-4, April 1972. Leiker M. et al.") and calculation of the NCV and the Wobbe index. The nitrogen content of the gas is estimated. The final composition of the gas is determined by an iterative calculation algorithm integrating a series of NCV second-order correlations (EP 0 939 317 A2).        The second method, which is similar to the first, makes it possible to determine the composition of the gas as a function of the electrical permittivity, the density and the carbon dioxide content of the gas. Both the nitrogen content and the NCV of the hydrocarbons are estimated. The final composition of the gas is again determined by an iterative calculation algorithm integrating a series of NCV second-order correlations (EP 1 081 494 A1).2) Infrared Absorption
Two methods involving infrared absorption which make it possible to follow the variations in methane index are described in WO 98/25128 and WO 00/50874.
Both the empirical methods of determining the methane index afford a precision in the order of ±2 methane index points.
In addition, as these methods utilize variables (for example NCV) whose measurement can be burdensome in material and economic terms, they can only be employed for users who actually measure the NCV, the density and the carbon dioxide content of a gas (as is the case of the German company Ruhrgas, which actually measures these data in its gas distribution stations).
All the methods used to calculate the methane index and the NCV are correlations based on one, two or three physical properties. Because the approach is empirical, a progressive calibration is required to establish any kind of regression.
These techniques have real disadvantages, the first being the need to establish a strong correlation between the energy properties which it is desired to calculate and the physical properties used for this purpose. Moreover, another disadvantage of methods of this kind is that they cannot easily take account of a negative or positive effect of certain components which have a significant influence on e.g. the methane index or the NCV.

Method for determining at least one energetic property of a gas fuel mixture by measuring physical properties of the gas mixture


A method of placing and routing an integrated circuit design includes generating an initial placement and routing for at least a portion of an integrated circuit design. The initial placement and routing of the integrated circuit design is analyzed to find a critical location and is partitioned into a series of nested shells. Each shell surrounds the critical location and each preceding shell. An ordering of the shells and at least one of a timing constraint and an area constraint are selected for each shell. Each shell is placed and routed in the order selected according to the timing constraint and area constraint.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the design and manufacture of integrated circuits. More specifically, but without limitation thereto, the present invention is directed to methods of placement and routing for an integrated circuit design.
2. Description of Related Art
An important phase in the design of an integrated circuit is to verify that each logic path in the integrated circuit design meets all timing constraints required to meet performance specifications. The verification of the timing for each logic path in an integrated circuit design is typically called timing closure. For example, if the propagation delay is too long in a path that propagates a clock signal to a flip-flop, the flip-flop may not be set to the correct value when the clock signal arrives, resulting in a timing violation. Also, signal routing congestion may occur in locations where there are more signals to route than there is available routing area on the chip. The locations in the integrated circuit design where timing violations or congested routing areas occur are referred to herein as critical areas.
Timing closure is a resource-intensive task in which all timing violations and congested signal routes in the placement and routing must be resolved before an integrated circuit design may be taped out, that is, generated in mask form for depositing and etching layers of various materials on a silicon substrate. Place and route tools typically resolve timing and signal congestion problems in critical areas by moving the problems outside of the critical areas into the surrounding logic.

Method and computer program for incremental placement and routing with nested shells


An improved power distribution network for an integrated circuit package that reduces the number of power supply pins that are used in the pin array and achieves better operating performance. In a preferred embodiment, the ratio of power supply pins to input/output (I/O) pins is in the range of approximately 1 to 24 to approximately 1 to 52. In this embodiment, the integrated circuit package comprises a substrate, an integrated circuit mounted on the substrate, a first decoupling capacitor mounted on the substrate, and a second decoupling capacitor formed in the integrated circuit. The package is formed by coupling a power supply pin to both the first and second capacitors by a low frequency path and a DC path, respectively, and the first and second capacitors are coupled by a high frequency path.

This relates to a power distribution network for an integrated circuit package.
A typical integrated circuit package includes an array of connectors on an exterior surface of the package. FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative example of a portion of one such array 100 of connectors 110 on a package substrate 130. Connectors 110 are solder balls or solder bumps and will be referred to collectively hereafter as "pins." The pins are organized in groups 120 that are referred to as "banks." Within each bank 120 in a typical package, there is one power supply pin 112 for every eight to twelve input/output (I/O) signal pins 114. Thus, for a typical bank of 40 to 50 pins, there are three to five power supply pins distributed among the pins of the bank. The number of pins and the number of banks varies widely with the type of integrated circuit package. For some packages, the number of pins is well in excess of 1000.
Array 100 is formed on the exterior surface of package substrate 130. Substrate 130 is a multi-layer structure comprising a series of electrically conducting metal layers that are insulated from one another by intermetallic dielectric layers. Each of the layers is substantially parallel to the exterior surface of the package. Interconnection paths are defined in the metal layers; and selective connections are made by vias between the paths in the various layers so as to connect the pins of array 100 to bonding pads (not shown) on the interior surface of substrate 130 opposite the exterior surface. At least one of the metal layers is used to interconnect the power supply pins 112. Further details on package substrates are found in R. R. Tummala (Ed.), Fundamentals of Microsystems Packaging (McGraw-Hill 2001), which is incorporated herein by reference.
As a result of these arrangements, a substantial number of the available pins are used for power supply, thereby reducing the number of pins available for use as input/output signal pins or requiring the use of a larger substrate to accommodate more I/O pins. Further, distributing the power supply pins complicates the layout of the pins and imposes constraints that are likely to make the final arrangement of pins less than optimal. The need to connect the power supply pins with a metal layer embedded in the substrate further complicates the design of the package substrate and may increase the layer count.
The performance of a typical circuit with a relatively large number of power supply pins is also less than desired. Within the frequency range of operation for these circuits, which is approximately 1 MHz to approximately 1 GHz, the system level impedance of these circuits varies substantially and has two peaks. Moreover, the lower frequency impedance peak exceeds the desired impedance by a factor of about 2.


A dictation device for the storage of speech signals comprises processors and generators. The processors are adapted to digitize applied speech signals into data blocks (DB) of comprising digital data with data, a header portion (HP) and a data portion (DP). The data in each data block (DB) is organized in accordance with a specification comprising specification information. The generators are adapted to generate designation records which are each associated with specification. The processors are adapted to generate data blocks (DB) whose header portion (HP) has a first section (HSP-"1") and at least one further section (HSP-"2", HSP-"3", HSP-"4"). The generation means are adapted to generate a designation record (DS3) associated with a specification partner code associated with a specification partner, which designation record can be inserted in the first section (HSP-"1") of a data block (DB). There is also provided generation adapted to generate at least one additional designation record (DS2, DS4, DS5, DS6) associated with additional specification information, which additional designation record can be inserted in a further section (HSP-"2") of the header portion (HP) of a data block (DB).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dictation device for the storage of speech signals, comprising input means for receiving the speech signals and for supplying received speech signals, and comprising processing means, arranged after the input means, for processing the speech signals supplied by the input means, which processing means are adapted to digitize the applied speech signals and to generate data blocks comprising digital data, which data blocks comprise a header portion and a data portion, the data in each data block being organized in accordance with a specification comprising specification information, and generated digital speech data, which correspond to digitized speech signals, being insertable in the data portion of a data block, and comprising generation means adapted to generate designation records which are each associated with specification information and which can each be inserted in the header portion of a data block in accordance with the specification, and comprising memory control means for controlling the storage of digital data accommodated in a data block into a memory device.
2. Description of Related Art
Such a dictation device of the type defined in the opening paragraph is known, for example from a dictation system which is commercially available from the Applicant under the type designation VS 4000. This known dictation system comprises a personal computer including interface cards, dictation recording/reproducing stations and transcription stations connected to the personal computer via telephone lines, and at least one monitor connected to the personal computer for the optical reproduction of information. In this known dictation system the generation means are adapted to generate a plurality of designation records each associated with specification information, i.e. an author designation record, which designates the author of a dictation, and a data block designation record, which designates a data block--generally referred to as a "file"--having a given number, and a priority designation record which specifies the priority for the transcription of a dictation, and time designation records which specify the date and time of the beginning and the date and time of the end of a dictation, and a length designation record which specifies the length of a dictation in minutes, as well as a transcriber designation record which designates a certain transcriber who should transcribe a previously stored dictation. In the known dictation system VS 4000 the above-mentioned designation records can be included in the header portion of a data block in accordance with the relevant specification, specification information of the specification being assigned to each designation record.

Dictation device for the storage of speech signals


A three-dimensional cam of a three-dimensional map state, having uncountable cam profiles continuously ranged along a rotation axis direction, and a valve lifter following a cam surface of the three-dimensional cam are included, and a lift characteristic of a valve is continuously controlled by relative motions of the three-dimensional cam and the valve lifter. The three-dimensional cam has cam top portions formed to have a smoothly ranged edge line substantially along the rotation axis direction thereof, and a part of the edge line includes at least one valley portion to take on a row of peaks. The cam peak portion of the cam top portion which forms the valley portion of the edge line is moderately set to be deviated toward a delayed side with reference to the rotation direction of the cam from the other cam peak portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a valve driving apparatus for performing variable control of a lift amount, lift timing and an operation angle of a valve in accordance with an accelerator opening degree in an internal combustion engine in, for example, a motorcycle or an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
In this type of internal combustion engine, one having a valve driving mechanism including a three-dimensional cam for making the valve lift amount, the valve timing, and the valve actuated angle continuously variable, and a spherical cam follower in point contact with a cam surface provided at a valve lifter is known. See Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 4-187807 (JP '807). According to JP '807 the cam surface and the valve lifter are in point contact with each other, therefore the valve lifter is able to follow a complex cam surface shape.
In the conventional engine with the valve driving apparatus using such a three-dimensional cam, a shape of a cam top portion of an intake cam is formed to gradually increase the valve operation angle and the valve lift amount, in order to change an intake air amount to a cylinder from an idling status to a full opened status. Besides, an exhaust cam also has the shape to gradually increase the valve lift amount in accordance with the intake cam.
In this case, to perform an efficient gas exchange, the exhaust cam is required to have the valve operation angle about twice as large as that of the intake cam even when the intake cam is in the low lift status. To realize such a valve operation angle, the valve lift amount of the exhaust valve consequently should be twice or more as large as that of the intake valve considering the valve jump and the bounce (see a valve lift curve at the intake side and the exhaust side shown by a solid line in FIG. 13).
Here, a short summary of the valve driving apparatus having this type of three-dimensional cam is explained. For example, as shown in a FIG. 14, a roller state tappet is constantly in contact with a three-dimensional cam, which is slidably movable in an axial direction of a camshaft (both arrow X). And, a valve is driven to open and close via the tappet which moves vertically (both arrow Y).
However, the exhaust cam having the above-described characteristic suffers a very large reaction force from a valve spring, in a rotation region of an engine low load which is frequently used under a normal operation. Further, in a case when a cam top portion has a gradually increasing shape, only a specific portion of a tappet is in contact with the cam top portion (see a dotted circle portion in FIG. 14), and a biased abrasion will occur at the point of contact.

Valve driving apparatus and internal combustion engine including the same


A system for applying liquid coating such as paint to a surface including a spindle-shaped roller cover having painting fabric permanently attached to the roller cover body and that can match the nap of the paint fabric used in a conventional roller used to paint flat surfaces; and a paint pan adapter which enables the user to use the corner-painting roller cover in a conventional paint pan as a reservoir for holding the coating material. The adapter is provided with a V-shaped grille which has a plurality of holes. The grille is elongated like a trough. Part of the length of the grille is submerged in the coating material and part is not. The trough along which the roller cover roles makes it possible for the roller cover to pick up paint from the reservoir of the paint pan and to remove excess coating material from the roller cover and return it top the reservoir.

Conventional paint rollers are composed of two parts: a wire roller that freely spins on an axle as the roller move across a surface, and a roller cover, a fabric-covered cylinder which slips onto the wire roller. The wire roller has a handle for the user to grasp. When attached to the wire roller, the roller cover is made to absorb paint from a reservoir, such as a paint pan. This absorbed paint is then applied to a surface by a rolling action. Currently, applicators of liquid surface coating materials such as paints use a fabric covered roller to rapidly apply these coatings to surfaces. While these rollers work well on flat surfaces, they cannot be used to apply surface coatings into deep corners where two or more surfaces meet. These deep corners occur, for example, in a room where two walls meet, or where a ceiling and one or more walls come together. To overcome this limitation of conventional rollers or covers, corners had been coated using a brush or paint pad, which is a slow and tedious process. In painting a room with conventional rollers, painting of corners with a brush or painting pad is the limiting factor in the expeditious completion of the job.
As painting technology advanced, a number of corner-painting devices have been patented. These corner-painting rollers are of two basic types:                1. rollers which have the paint fabric solidly attached to the roller; and        2. rollers wherein the paint fabric is not solidly attached to the roller.
For corner-painting rollers which have the fabric solidly attached to the roller body, the roller is assembled with nuts and bolts. This assembly requires the use of wrenches, which are not always readily available during a coating operation, and which occasionally fail to work properly. The nuts and bolts of these rollers protrude from the device and will be covered with coating material during use of the roller. This results in a difficult and messy disassembly of these rollers, with fouling of hands and wrenches with the coating material. The protruding nuts and bolts of some of these corner-painting rollers can dig into the surface being coated, gouging the surface and marring the finish.
In the case of corner-painting rollers where the fabric is not firmly or permanently attached to the roller cover, the fabric fits over the body of the roller cover like a stocking, with no nuts and bolts required for assembly. The roller-cover fabric is slipped over the roller cover body which is attached to the axle of a roller. This assembly is a two-step process. Since the fabric of this roller cover is not permanently attached to the roller cover body mechanically or with adhesive, it is not anchored in place. When this roller is in use, the fabric may be warped, with a possible complete detachment of the fabric from the cover body. This inevitably leads to marring of the wall finish, messy cleanups, and optionally messy and time consuming reattachments of the paint fabric to the roller cover body. These problems are exacerbated when the roller is used quickly.
Accessories for loading rollers with paint or other coating materials must be efficient in filling rollers with coating materials. For adequately loading a roller with paint or other coating material, the device must provide the painter adequate space in the reservoir for manipulating the roller. This space requirement is, of course, somewhat dependent on the size of the roller, and is used to coat the roller evenly and to drop off excess paint into the paint reservoir.
Adequately sized painting accessories cannot fit into a paint can unless the roller is too small to be useful, because there would not be sufficient room to properly load the roller with paint.


A wheel is provided for coupling to a bearing case at an outer cylindrical surface and a lateral annular surface of the bearing case. The wheel includes an inner wheel portion with an annular body defining a central hole with an inner cylindrical surface and a lateral annular surface for engaging the bearing case. The inner wheel portion may substantially comprise a thermoset, polyurethane material having a density and have a surface exhibiting a hardness. The wheel also may include an outer wheel portion bonded to the inner wheel portion. The outer wheel portion may be substantially comprised of the same thermoset, polyurethane material as the inner wheel portion. The outer wheel surface may exhibit a hardness substantially the same as that of the inner wheel surface. The inner wheel material may have a lesser density than that of the outer wheel material. The lesser density of the inner wheel portion may be provided by gas bubbles included in the material of the inner wheel portion, which bubbles may be provided by hollow plastic spheres.

Skateboards, skates, scooters, and other rolling sports equipment are typically provided with two or more wheels coupled by bearings to the axles of the equipment. The wheels have been made out of a variety of materials to provide desired characteristics, which include resistance to wear, smooth and fast rolling, and a stable connection to the bearings and axles. Another desired characteristic is a light weight for the wheel, which both improves rolling and provides a wheel with less mass, which makes lifting and maneuvering of the equipment easier. Increasing the width and diameter of the wheels improves the rolling characteristic, but at the expense of adding weight. Using a lighter weight material improves rolling but typically the lighter material is softer, resulting in less resistance to wear and a less stable connection to the bearings and axles.
Reducing the weight of the wheels is desirable for a skateboard because it facilitates the board's use in maneuvers or stunts where the board is rotated about its longitudinal, horizontal axis and/or about its central, vertical axis. The wheels are at a distance from both of those axes and thus the wheels provide an inertial moment to which sufficient force must be applied to overcome the moment and rotate the board about the axes. Thus, the lighter the wheels, the easier the rotating stunts can be performed. The moment of the wheels is the product of their weight and the square of the distance from the wheel to the axis, and thus the wheel weight can be of much greater significance than the weight of other components of the skateboard that are closer to the axis.
Past attempts to reduce the weight of the wheels have including simply reducing the size, i.e., the width and diameter of the wheel, but this degrades the rolling characteristics of the wheel. Another approach used a non-polyurethane, thermoplastic, hollow core with a polyurethane riding surface over the core. Some drawbacks of this approach include that the cores can crack or break under load and stress, the cores are heat sensitive, and thus more likely to fail in high or low temperatures, and the cores tend to become more brittle over. Also, the thermoplastic core is unlike the polyurethane riding surfaces in composition, hardness, and rebound properties, making it more difficult to bind the two together and to get good rolling characteristics.


A double blanket ion implant method for forming diffusion regions in memory array devices, such as a MOSFET access device is disclosed. The method provides a semiconductor substrate with a gate structure formed on its surface Next, a first pair of diffusion regions are formed in a region adjacent to the channel region by a first blanket ion implantation process. The first blanket ion implantation process has a first energy level and dose. The device is subjected to oxidizing conditions, which form oxidized sidewalls on the gate structure. A second blanket ion implantation process is conducted at the same location as the first ion implantation process adding additional dopant to the diffusion regions. The second blanket ion implantation process has a second energy level and dose. The resultant diffusion regions provide the device with improved static refresh performance over prior art devices. In addition, the first and second energy levels and doses are substantially lower than an energy level and dose used in a prior art single implantation process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor memory devices and, more particularly to a structure having improved static refresh properties in dynamic random access memory devices and a method of making it.
2. Description of the Related Art
Metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) structures are basic electronic devices used in many integrated circuits. One such structure is the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), which is typically formed in a semiconductor substrate by providing a gate structure over the substrate to define a channel region, and by forming source and drain regions on opposing sides of the channel region.
To keep pace with the current trend toward maximizing the number of circuit devices contained in a single chip, integrated circuit designers continue to design integrated circuit devices with smaller and smaller feature sizes. For example, not too long ago it was not uncommon to have MOSFET devices (including CMOS devices) having channel lengths of 2 microns or more. The current state of the art for production MOSFET devices includes channel lengths of less than a ¼ micron.
As the channel lengths of MOSFET devices have been reduced, MOSFETS have become more susceptible to certain problems. One common problem is increased junction leakage, a condition affecting the refresh characteristics of a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) memory cell. DRAM is a specific category of random access memory (RAM) containing an array of individual memory cells, where each cell includes a capacitor for holding a charge and a transistor for accessing the charge held in the capacitor. Due to junction leakage, the stored charge must be re-stored in the capacitor on a periodic basis through a process known as refresh. Increased junction leakage leads to a premature depletion of the capacitor's stored charge, necessitating more frequent refresh cycles. Because resources are expended in refreshing the DRAM cells, the longer the period between refresh cycles, the better. The term "pause" is often used to represent the amount of time that a DRAM cell, or group of cells, can maintain their charge without undergoing a refresh operation. That is, how long can the DRAM control circuitry pause between refresh operations and still maintain the stored state of the DRAM memory cell. It is desirable to extend the pause period of, and improve the static refresh of, the DRAM.
A manufacturer may want to improve static refresh performance of the DRAM to provide customers with the capability to perform more memory operations (e.g., reads and writes) between refresh cycles. This reduces the overhead required to utilize the DRAM. Moreover, a manufacturer may want to improve static refresh performance to improve the operating specifications of the DRAM. For example, DRAMs typically have a low-power or standby specification requiring the DRAM to operate within a maximum current during a low-power mode. Since memory cells must be refreshed during the lower-power mode, reducing the frequency of the refresh operations will improve the DRAM's operational performance for the low-power mode.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art MOSFET memory array device 5. The device 5 and its fabrication method are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,449 (Dennison et al.), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Briefly, the fabrication of the device 5 is initiated by forming a gate structure 10 on a substrate 8. The substrate 8 is typically a bulk silicon substrate, which may have a doped well therein in which transistors are formed. The gate structure 10 (referred to in the '449 patent as a gate line) typically comprises a gate oxide 12, a conductive polysilicon layer 14, an overlying WSix layer 16, an overlying novellus oxide layer 18 and a Si3N4 capping layer 20. The cross sectional width of this prior art gate structure 10 is 0.40 microns.
Once the gate structure 10 is formed, the device 5 is subjected to oxidizing conditions. This process step is often referred to as a "re-ox" step or a thermal re-ox step. Oxidized sidewalls 22, 24 are formed on the gate structure 10, and oxide regions 26, 28 are formed on the substrate, as a result of the re-ox step. Subsequent to the re-ox step, a blanket phosphorous implant step is performed to form diffusion regions 30, 32. This blanket phosphorous implant is performed at an energy level ranging from 30 Kev to 60 Kev with a dose ranging from 7×1012 ions/cm2 to 1.5×1013 ions/cm2 to provide an average dopant concentration for the diffusion regions 30, 32 ranging from 1×1017 ions/cm3 to 1×1019 ions/cm3. For the prior art device 5, this blanket phosphorous implant step is performed after the re-ox step to prevent the phosphorous from diffusing too far underneath the gate structure 10, which could cause transistor leakage problems.
The fabrication process of the device 5 typically includes the formation of oxide or nitride sidewall spacers 40, 42 on the sidewalls of the gate structure 10. Further processing may be performed as described in the '449 patent. Although the MOSFET memory array device 5 is a vast improvement over earlier memory array devices, it can still benefit from improved static refresh performance. Thus, it is still desirable to improve as much as possible the static refresh performance of the memory device.

Double blanket ion implant method and structure


A rotary pump can pump a liquid for pollution control of exhaust gases in a system on board a vehicle and can include a rotor and a stator that are positioned in a casing. The casing can include a wall delimiting a main internal volume and an integral outlet pipe for the pump. A pressure sensor can be positioned within the main internal volume of the casing.

With the Euro IV standard on exhaust emissions from heavy goods vehicles coming into effect in 2005, devices for pollution control of NOx (or nitrogen oxides) have had to be put in place.
The system used by most heavy goods vehicle manufacturers for reducing NOx emissions to the required value consists in carrying out a selective catalytic reaction with reducing agents such as urea ("Urea SCR" or selective catalytic reduction using ammonia generated in situ in the exhaust gases by decomposition of urea).
In order to do this, it is necessary to equip the vehicles with a tank containing a urea solution, a device for metering the amount of urea to be injected into the exhaust line and a device for supplying, with urea solution, the device for metering the amount of urea to be injected. Generally, the supply device comprises a rotary pump driven by a motor.
The vehicles may be equipped with other liquid pumps, for example with a fuel pump, with a pump that may meter an additive directly into the fuel (diesel in particular) in order to reduce the emission of particulates, etc.
One feature in common to these "onboard" pumps lies in the fact that they should ideally have a limited size for optimum efficiency (both in terms of pressure and speed). These pumps are generally rotary pumps driven by a motor of any type, preferably a magnetically-coupled motor in order to avoid the use of dynamic seals.
Thus, Application PCT/EP2008/058943, in the name of the Applicant, the content of which is for this purpose incorporated by reference in the present application, describes a rotary fuel pump driven by a magnetically coupled motor. Such a pump delivers a controlled liquid flow, both the flow rate and pressure of which are controlled. One means for controlling the flow delivered is to implant a pressure sensor in the SCR system, at the pump outlet and to regulate the operation of the pump so that the pressure at the pump outlet follows a setpoint pressure value. The sensor may be implanted into the supply device of the SCR system. A solution of this type necessitates a manual assembly of the sensor to the device and therefore an additional assembly cost.
An alternative solution consists in attaching the pressure sensor directly to the pump. In this case it is the size of the pump/sensor assembly which is adversely affected. This solution also requires particular attention to the sealing at the pump/sensor interface, risks of liquid leaking from the inside to the outside of the pump being possible.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,201 discloses a liquid pump integrating a pressure sensor, but within the outlet pipe of said pump i.e. in a region where the pressure is not stable.

INERGY AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS RESEARCH (Societe Anonyme)


A system for reducing condensation during testing of an integrated circuit is disclosed. An exemplary embodiment includes two seals which close both ends of an enclosed channel formed when the load board is secured to the device tester. Clean dry air with a pressure greater than that of the environment is feed into the enclosed channel and is trapped because of the seals.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional ATE system 100, which represents a typical system utilized to test packaged integrated circuits (ICs) prior to sale to an end user. Conventional ATE system 100 includes an IC test signal generator (device tester) 110 (partially shown), a load board 120, a docking plate 130, and an automated handler (not shown) for mounting IC DUTs onto load board 120. Briefly described, the handler associated with ATE system 100 moves an IC DUT from a shipping tray (not shown) onto a test socket 127 that is mounted on load board 120. Alternatively, this process may be done by hand (i.e., manually). Testing is then carried out by transmitting electrical signals from device tester 110 to an IC DUT through test socket 127, and processing test data returned from the IC DUT in response to the applied test signals. This testing process is typically used to identify non-functional ICs.
Referring to the lower portion of FIG. 1, device tester 110 is an expensive piece of computing equipment that includes a base unit (partially shown) having a test surface 112 located at one end. Extending from test surface 112 are a first platform 140 having a first group 113 of compressible test ("pogo") pins arranged in a first column, and a second platform 150 having a second group 115 of compressible test pins arranged in a second column that is parallel to the first column such that a central channel 117 is defined between first and second platforms 140 and 150. A blow-up of an example set of pogo pins is shown as 113-1. Not shown in order to simplify the description are the seals which surround the compressible test pins 113 and 115 (see for example, seals 142 and 152 of FIG. 5). Also extending from test surface 112 are several connection bolts 119 that are used to secure load board 120 to device tester 110. An example of conventional device testers that are consistent with device tester 110 is the Integra J750 Test Family, which is produced by Teradyne, Inc. of Boston Mass., USA.
Located above device tester 110 is load board 120, which is a printed circuit board (PCB) having a lower surface 121 facing test surface 112 and an upper surface 122 facing away from test surface 112, and includes a first plurality of test contacts 123, a second plurality of test contacts 125, and one or more test sockets 127. First test contacts 123 are arranged in a first column, and each test contact includes a contact pad located on lower surface 121 such that each contact pad abuts the tip of a corresponding compressible pin of first group 113 when load board 120 is mounted onto device tester 110. Similarly, contact pads of second test contacts 125 are arranged on lower surface 121 in a second column such that each test contact abuts the tip of a corresponding compressible pin of second group 115. Test sockets 127 are mounted on upper surface 122, and include pins or other contact structures that are connected to corresponding first and second test contacts 123 and 125 by conductive traces (wires) 128, which are formed in accordance with known practices. Finally, load board 120 is secured to device tester 110 using connectors 129 that receive the ends of bolts 119 and hold load board 120 such that the compressible pins of first group 113 are firmly pressed against the contact pads of first test contacts 123, and such that the compressible pins of second group 115 are firmly pressed against the contact pads of second test contacts 125.
Shown above load board 120 is docking plate 130, which is a rigid (e.g., aluminum) structure that is fixed (e.g., screwed) to upper surface 122 of load board 120, and includes openings 135 that mount over test sockets 127.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view showing conventional ATE system 100 with docking plate 130 mounted on load board 120, and load board 120 fastened to device tester 110. Note that compressible test pins of each group 113 and 115 are electrically connected to the DUT via corresponding conductive traces 128, and receive test signals from a central processing unit (CPU) 210. As indicated in the lower portion of FIG. 2, compressible pin groups 113 and 115 are mounted on a support plate 220 that has sufficient strength to resist the downward force from the compressible pins of groups 113 and 115 when load board is fastened onto the ends of bolts 119. As indicated previously, the seals surrounding compressible pin groups 113 and 115 are not shown in order to simplify the explanation.
As indicated at the top of FIG. 2, during testing, docking plate 130 functions to prevent bending of load board 120, which is subjected to a downward force P that is needed to press a DUT against test socket 127. Downward force P is used to provide the necessary connection between the contact structures of test socket 127 and contact structures (e.g., solder balls or bumps) formed on a lower surface of the DUT.
Low-temperature semiconductor device testing is often used to verify the conformance of a semiconductor device such as an IC with military specifications. During low-temperature testing, semiconductor devices are placed in a special low-temperature box containing a cool dry environment maintained at a temperature in the range of, e.g., 0° C. to −58° C., and a handler that moves the cooled semiconductor devices between a loading tray and a test socket that is coupled to a device tester.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view and a simplified cross-sectional side view showing a portion of a conventional low-temperature testing arrangement 300 that utilizes test system 100 (described above). The conventional low-temperature testing arrangement 300 generally includes device tester 110, a low-temperature handler system 350, and load board 120, which connect between device tester 110 and handler system 350 during low-temperature testing procedures. Low-temperature handler system 350 includes an insulated box 352 connected to a cooling system (not shown), and a device handling mechanism (handler) 355 mounted inside of insulated box 352. An opening 357 is provided in a side wall of insulated box 352 through which test sockets 127 of handler board 120 are exposed to the cool dry environment maintained inside insulated box 352. Device handling mechanism 355 (partially shown) is an expensive precise robot including an arm for moving a DUT from a storage location (e.g., a shipping tray) to the test socket 127 during test procedures. The storage location is also inside of insulated box 352 so that the DUTs are maintained at a desired low temperature throughout the test procedures. Conventional systems meeting the description of low-temperature handler system 350 are produced, for example, by Delta Design of San Diego, Calif., USA.
A major problem associated with conventional low-temperature testing arrangement 300 is that, during low temperature testing, the low temperature of the DUT can cause condensation to form on the back surface 121 of load board 120. The potential for condensation is particularly high on the back surface 121 of load board 120 opposite test sockets 127 because of the cold temperatures conducted along contact structures 128 (see FIG. 2) from the cooled DUT. This condensation can cause a short circuit between any traces 128 or related contact structures that are exposed on back surface 121, thereby producing erroneous test signals.
What is needed is a structure for the low-temperature testing arrangements described above that reduces condensation during low temperature testing.

Seals used for testing on an integrated circuit tester


In a full text search retrieval device connected to a plurality of user terminals, a received retrieval condition and terminal device information are stored in a trailing character buffer. If it is determined that a preceding retrieving process is not being performed, then a retrieval pattern variable table and a retrieval request expression variable table are generated. According to the retrieval request expression variable table, a database of the data to be searched is searched to extract a retrieval result matching the retrieval condition transmitted from each of the terminal devices, and the extracted retrieval result is transmitted to each of the plurality of terminal devices. Thus, although retrieval requests are continuously transmitted from respective users, a retrieval result can be returned to each user terminal in the same response time as in the case where a user terminal corresponds to a retrieval device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the pattern retrieving technology for retrieving a pattern from a search object, and more specifically to the pattern retrieving technology for collectively and simultaneously processing retrieval requests when the retrieval requests are received from a plurality of terminal devices, and returning retrieval results to respective terminal devices, thereby exceedingly shortening the entire processing time.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a full text retrieval system has been adopted using a character string collating method. A full text retrieval system using a character string collating method refers to a system of checking whether or not there is a specified character string in the text data to be searched while sequentially collating the specified character string with text data to be searched from the start to the end of the text data to be searched.
However, in the full text retrieval system using the character string collating method, the CPU of the system performs a collating operation while the CPU of the system is scanning the text data. Therefore, any other processes cannot be performed during the collating operation, and it is difficult for a system, in which a plurality of user terminals are connected to a retrieval device, to provide a retrieving service to the plurality of user terminals.
That is, when a plurality of user terminals are connected to a retrieval device which performs a full text searching process, and each of the user terminals frequently issues a retrieval request to the device, the CPU of the retrieval device which has started a retrieving process cannot perform other processes during the text scanning operation, and all other requests are kept waiting until the CPU has completed the character collating operation.
Furthermore, there has been the problem that, when retrieval device receives the same retrieval requests from different user terminals at almost the same time, it has to wastefully repeat the same retrieving process for the retrieval requests.

Pattern retrieving method, pattern retrieval apparatus, computer-readable storage medium storing pattern retrieval program, pattern retrieval system, and pattern retrieval program


The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, and computer-readable media for establishing and managing a trusted connection between a peripheral device and a client device. For example, systems discussed herein include determining whether a peripheral device poses a security risk based on a combination of peripheral device data and a client profile including environmental data and historical usage data for the client device. Systems described herein may further grant a level of trust based on the determine security risk. The systems disclosed herein facilitate implementation of intelligent policies that are user friendly without exposing the client device to a variety of security threats.

Recent years have seen rapid development in communication technology, particularly in the capabilities of electronic devices to connect and communicate with each other over a variety of connections. For example, electronic devices may now communicate with one another using a variety of communication protocols and using a variety of different connectors of different types. Indeed, as electronic devices and communication technology continue to develop, communication capabilities continue to expand to enable a greater number and variety of electronic devices to communicate in a number of different ways. For example, many devices (e.g., peripheral or auxiliary devices) are now capable of performing multiple functions such as communicating different types of data, providing input commands, and/or charging an electronic device.
As various connectors have increased in complexity and become more widely used, a number of security concerns have also become more common. For example, where some older generations of certain devices (e.g., universal serial bus (USB) drives, battery chargers) may have previously been limited to selectively providing data or power to a computing device, more modern devices (e.g., USB-C, USB4) are now able to provide multiple signal types (e.g., command signals, data signals, power signals) to different systems on a computing device. As a result, malicious devices that make use of more current connections may cause considerable damage to individuals and business by hijacking computing devices and/or accessing sensitive information. Moreover, many of these malicious devices are able to cause considerable damage very quickly upon establishing a connection with a computing device. In addition, because many of these malicious devices may appear as a trusted device or common class of device (e.g., keyboard, mouse, trackpad) to a computing device, many computing devices are ill-equipped to prevent security threats caused as a result of malicious devices being connected to one or more physical ports.
These and other problems exist with regard to establishing a trusted connection between electronic devices while utilizing enhanced capabilities of more modern connection devices.

Establishing a trusted connection with a peripheral device


A vehicle power outlet switch (10) can include a threshold detector (14) for comparing a predetermined threshold with a vehicle battery characteristic and a power switch (18) controlled by the output of the threshold detector. Note, the vehicle battery characteristic differs while the vehicle engine is turned on or turned off and the threshold detector provides an enabling signal to the power switch when the vehicle engine is detected as being on. The threshold detector can also provide a disabling signal to the power switch when the vehicle engine is off. The power outlet switch can further include a timer (16) coupled to an output of the threshold detector that continues to provide an enabling signal to the power switch for a predetermined time after the threshold detector detects that the vehicle engine is turned off. The timer can include or be a one shot timer.

Automobiles and other transportation vehicles have typically included a cigarette lighter receptacle that can be used to supply power to accessory device. Some of the accessory devices that can be connected to the cigarette lighter receptacle include radios, cellular telephones, notebook computers, DC to AC inverters, etc.
More recently, automobile manufacturers started adding additional cigarette lighter sockets and labeled them "Accessory Power". These receptacles are switched off when the key to the vehicle is not in an "Accessory" or "ON" position. This alleviates the problem of battery drain that can occur when an occupant of the vehicle plugs a device into the receptacle and then removes the keys and leaves the vehicle. Without a switchable "Accessory Power" receptacle, the receptacle would continue to supply power allowing an accessory device to drain the vehicle battery. Although, the "Accessory Power" receptacle solves the battery problem with some newer vehicles, there are many older vehicles on the road and still new vehicles that don't disable the power to the receptacles.

Automatic on/off switch for vehicle power outlets


Control messages constructed in accordance with a first communications protocol for use in a communications network each include a first address identifier having a format defined by the first protocol. The control message is processed to derive a second address identifier having a format defined by a second communications protocol. The control message is re-formatted for transmission, in accordance with the second protocol, to a network system associated with the second address identifier.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to processing control messages for use in communications network, and in particular to a method, data processing system and software application program for processing control messages constructed in accordance with communications control protocol. The invention is particularly, but not exclusively, direct to text-based application-layer communication control protocol.
2. Related Art
The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is an application-layer control protocol for creating, modifying and terminating sessions having one or more participants. These sessions include Internet multimedia conferences, Internet telephone calls and multimedia distribution. Members in a session can communicate via multicast or via a mesh of unicast relations, or a combination of these. SIP supports session descriptions that allow participants to agree on a set of compatible media types. It also supports user mobility by proxying and redirecting requests to the user's current location. SIP is not tied to any particular conference control protocol. There is widespread interest in the protocol, especially for telephony-related applications. SIP was proposed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) group and is now a proposed standard published as RFC 2543.
The entities used in SIP are user agents, proxy servers, redirect servers and location servers. A SIP user agent is an end-system that allows a user to participate in a session. A SIP user agent contains both a user agent client and a user agent server. A user agent client is used to initiate a session and a user agent server is used to respond to request from a user agent client. A user is addressed using an email-like address identifier "user@host", where "user" is a user name or phone number and "host" is a domain name or numerical Internet Protocol (IP) address. SIP defines a number of request types, in particular INVITE, ACK, BYE, OPTIONS, CANCEL, and REGISTER. Responses to SIP messages indicate success or failure, distinguished by status codes, 1xx (100 to 199) for progress updates, 2xx for success 3xx for redirection, and higher numbers for failure. Each new SIP transaction has a unique call identifier (call ID), which identifies the session. If the session needs to be modified, e.g., for adding another media, the same call identifier is used in the initial request, in order to indicate that this is a modification of an existing session.
The SIP user agent has two basic functions: listening for incoming SIP messages, and sending SIP messages upon user actions or incoming messages. The SIP user agent typically also starts appropriate applications according to the session that has been established. The SIP proxy server relays SIP messages, so that it is possible to use a domain name to find a user, for example using the Domain Name System (DNS) rather than knowing the IP address or name of the host. A SIP proxy can thereby also be used to hide the location of the user. A redirect server returns the location of the host rather than relaying the SIP message. Both redirect and proxy servers accept registrations from users, in which the current location of the user is given. The user's location can be stored at a dedicated location server.
SIP is typically implemented by transmitting Internet Protocol (IP) packets. SIP is independent of the packet layer and only requires an unreliable datagram service, as it provides its own reliability mechanism. While SIP typically is used over UDP or TCP, it could be used over frame relay, ATM AAL5 or X.25.
SIP is a text based protocol and is based to a certain extent (in terms of syntax) on the HTTP protocol. A typical message consists of a single request line, a number of header lines and a message body.
The request line indicates the type of the messages, the message destination and the SIP version it complies with. The following is a typical example:
INVITE sip:firstname.lastname@example.com SIP/2.0
A header line contains the name of the header type, followed by a semicolon and the contents as these are defined for the specific header. Consequently, each header type is used for a specific purpose (either to indicate some parameters or to issue a request). The following are typical examples:
From: sip:email@example.com
To: sip:email@example.com
Subject: Official meeting
The message body may be of any content, although it usually has contents formatted in accordance with the Session Description Protocol (SDP).
SIP URL address identifiers such as sip:email@example.com are required for the exchange of SIP messages in a similar way that e-mail URL address identifiers are required for the exchange of electronic mail.
By using an e-mail type address it is possible to deliver a SIP message to a SIP server that knows the location of the user or user agent server the message is intended for. The IP address of the SIP server having authority for the callee's address can be readily determined by DNS. However, this approach requires users of both SIP and e-mail services to be allocated different and potentially confusing SIP and e-mail addresses. This exacerbates the problem of address memory, address book maintenance and in particular, address resolution using database queries. A further problem associated with SIP is that as a newly implemented protocol there is no delivery guarantee, that is to say delivery of a SIP message addressed using a SIP URL may fail, for instance because the intended recipient is not enabled to receive SIP messages.

Processing network communication control messages

British Telecommunications public limited company


A camera stand and camera housing for allowing users to photograph themselves with a single use camera. The stand may include a tripod having legs that are adjustable in and out to spread the legs and collapse them together. A camera pedestal at the top of the tripod has a ball that fits in a socket on the bottom of the camera housing to provide for universal aiming of the camera. The camera housing has a rear opening for loading and unloading of cameras and a hinged door for closing the rear opening. Alignment surfaces inside the housing assure that all commercially available single use cameras are positioned with their shutter buttons located directly below a striker which actuates the shutter button. A control mechanism forces the striker downwardly against the shutter button after elapse of a time delay giving the user enough time to move in front of the camera.

This invention relates generally to photography and deals more particularly with a device that enables users to photograph themselves with a single use camera.
Single use cameras have achieved considerable popularity in recent years, primarily because they are inexpensive and often more convenient than other types of cameras. A single use camera takes photographs on a single roll of film and is then discarded. This makes single use cameras especially well suited for use in outdoor settings where there may be a reluctance to use more expensive cameras due to the possibility of damage to them. Thus, single use cameras are particularly popular with fishermen, hunters, campers, hikers and others engaged in outdoor activities. They are also popular among people who take photographs so infrequently that the cost of a more expensive camera is not justified.
Fishermen in particular often want to have their pictures taken with their catch. If a fisherman is alone, that is not feasible with the equipment that is currently available and practical for use on a fishing boat. There are numerous other situations, both in the outdoors and in other settings, where a need arises for persons to take pictures of themselves and there is no one else around to operate the camera.
Accordingly, it is apparent that a need exists for a device that allows persons to photograph themselves and particularly to do so inexpensively with a single use camera.
The present invention is directed to a specially constructed apparatus that allows a single use camera to be operated in a manner that users can take their own photographs. In accordance with the invention, a tripod stand is equipped at its top end with a pedestal on which a special camera housing may be mounted to hold a single use camera. The tripod can be set up, the housing can be applied to the pedestal, and the camera can be inserted into the camera housing and adjusted to face the area that is to be photographed. The user can then activate a timer button which provides a time delay adequate to allow the user to assume a position in the area where the camera is aimed. A control mechanism activates the shutter button of the camera after the time delay has elapsed, so the user appears in the photograph along with fish, game or other items within the camera field of view.
It is a particular feature of the invention that the control mechanism is constructed to assure effective and reliable operation even after repeated usage. A striker which is located above the shutter button is controlled by a spring loaded lever. A pivotal pawl acts as a stop which normally holds the lever and striker away from the shutter button. When the user depresses a timer button, conventional circuitry initiates a time delay, after which a solenoid is energized to pivot the pawl away from the lever. A spring then operates the lever and forces the striker against the shutter button to actuate the camera. A plunger can be operated manually to reset the lever and striker prior to the next photograph.
Another important feature of the invention is the special construction of the camera housing. The housing is constructed so that it can accommodate all commercially available single use cameras while assuring that their shutter buttons are aligned below the structure for reliable actuation. The camera housing has a front opening through which the camera lens views. A back opening in the camera housing allows the camera to be loaded and positioned against alignment surfaces at one side and the front. When the camera is in place within the housing, a hinged door may be closed to cover the back loading opening. The camera may be secured against the alignment surfaces by spacer blocks or pads to assure that the camera remains in a position where the striker is located directly above the shutter button. If necessary, a bottom pad may be placed beneath the camera to assure that the shutter button is located high enough to be operated by the striker.
The construction of the tripod is another important feature of the invention. Each leg is pivoted at its top end to the camera pedestal. The pedestal has a ball that may be received in a socket on the bottom of the camera housing to allow universal directional adjustment of the camera. This allows the camera to be aimed at the area desired and oriented as desired. The tripod is useful in applications other than to support a camera, including various applications that require the support of instruments and equipment such as video cameras, lights and other things.
The side wall of the pedestal is threaded and includes slots through which the tripod legs extend. A threaded adjustment ring on the pedestal can be threaded upwardly to allow the legs to spread apart or downwardly to force the legs more closely together. In this fashion, the height of the camera can be adjusted. Also, the legs can be collapsed closely together for convenient storage and transport.
Additional features of the invention include alternative mounting stands which may be used in place of the tripod. One alternative stand construction allows the camera to be mounted on a fishing boat where a front swivel seat is normally located. Another mounting arrangement includes a clamp that allows the camera stand to be mounted to virtually any desired object.
Other and further objects of the invention, together with the features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of the following description.


An optomodule has a carrier substrate; wiring applied on a front side of the carrier substrate; contacts configured on a rear side of the carrier substrate and electrically connecting to a line of the wiring via at least one plated-through hole formed in the carrier substrate; and an optosemiconductor for transmitting and/or for receiving light. The optosemiconductor electrically contacts the line of the wiring and is configured on a front side of the carrier substrate in the region of a through opening formed in the carrier substrate, in such a way that the light can be transmitted and/or received through the through opening.

Field of the Invention
The invention lies in the field of optical components, in particular optical subcomponents, which are also referred to as opto-ICs.
Such optical components are used to generate, to receive, to convert, to process, etc., optical signals. By way of example, a PIN-photodiode-preamplifier combination may be involved. The construction of the optical subcomponents on the basis of T046 housings is prior art.
The article by C. Schwantes: xe2x80x9cSmall Form Factor: Higher Density For Fiber Based High Speed Networkingxe2x80x9d, Electronic Components and Technology Conference IEEE, 1999, pages 539-542, discloses optical subcomponents or optomodules on the basis of lead frame technology. The increasing dissemination and application of optomodules demands a higher degree of integration density, which cannot be achieved using these prior-art technologies.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an optomodule that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and that enables a higher integration density of the components of the optomodule.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, an optomodule. The optomodule includes a carrier substrate having a front side and a rear side and a plated-through opening formed therein. The optomodule also includes wiring applied on the front side of the carrier substrate having at least one line. The optomodule also includes contacts configured on the rear side of the carrier substrate and electrically connected to a line of the wiring via the plated-through opening. The optomodule includes an optosemiconductor for transmitting and receiving light. The optosemiconductor electrically contacts the line of the wiring and is disposed on the front side of the carrier substrate near the through opening formed in the carrier substrate, in such a way that the light can be transmitted and received through the through opening.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a connection configuration. The connection configuration includes an optomodule as described above. The connection configuration also includes a printed circuit board section. The contacts electrically contact a wiring of the printed circuit board section. The optomodule and the contacts mount on the printed circuit board section so light can be passed through an opening in the printed circuit board section.
The optomodule achieves the object of the invention. The optomodule includes a carrier substrate; wiring applied on a front side of the carrier substrate; contacts, which are configured on a rear side of the carrier substrate and are electrically connected to a line of the wiring via at least one plated-through hole formed in the carrier substrate; and an optosemiconductor for transmitting and/or for receiving light. The optosemiconductor being electrically contacts the line of the wiring and being configured on a front side of the carrier substrate in the region of a through opening, formed in the carrier substrate, in such a way that the light can be transmitted and/or received through the through opening.
The invention is based on the essential concept of utilizing, in the context of construction and production of optomodules with an optosemiconductor, technologies of the kind used for integrated circuits. This enables a high level of integration of the components of the optomodule because the wiring of the carrier substrate can be realized in a significantly more complex and more flexible manner than with the known technologies, for example the lead frame technology.
An essential advantage of the invention compared with the prior art is that an improved radio frequency capability of the optomodule, in particular of the carrier substrate, is ensured. This is the consequence of the improved wiring possibilities and short connections of radio frequency components, for example capacitors in the carrier substrate.
A further advantage of the invention is that it is possible to utilize technologies and processing steps for the embodiment of which there exists comprehensive experience in connection with the fabrication of integrated circuits.
A development of the invention provides for the optosemiconductor to be configured on a front-side surface of the carrier substrate, thereby enabling the optosemiconductor to be applied simply and in a manner that can be performed with little outlay.
In an advantageous refinement of the invention, a protective layer at least partly surrounds the optosemiconductor and is applied on the front side of the carrier substrate in such a way that an essentially closed protective surface is formed. Thereby, a protection against mechanical interfering influences during the use or the deployment of the optomodule is formed.
In one embodiment, a component is expediently configured on the front side of the carrier substrate. The component is in electrical contact with the optosemiconductor and the line of the wiring and is at least partly surrounded by the protective layer. This enables the optosemiconductor to be connected for operation and control purposes.
A potting compound or an injection-molding compound preferably forms the protective layer. This allows a protective layer to be produced with the aid of known techniques in a simple manner.
A preferred embodiment of the invention with regard to the use of modern chip fabrication technologies provides for the optosemiconductor and/or the component to be connected to the line of the wiring in each case via at least one bonding connection.
A preferred refinement of the invention with regard to the complex wiring and the improved radio-frequency capability provides for the wiring to comprise at least one wiring plane and a ground plane.
An expedient development of the invention provides for the carrier substrate to be formed from a printed circuit board material. As a result of which, a multiplicity of proven techniques is available for the processing of the carrier substrate.
An expedient refinement of the invention with regard to the interference-free functionality of the optomodule provides for a shield to be formed for the optosemiconductor and/or the component. The shield is formed with the aid of a shielding layer. The shielding layer extends essentially over the entire region of the carrier substrate.
In order to increase the integration density of the optomodule, the shielding layer may be encompassed by the carrier substrate.
In an expedient development of the invention, a low-inductance connection of the optomodule can be ensured by the contact being solder balls.
A preferred embodiment with regard to the flexibility of the connection of the optomodule provides for the contact, in each case, to be electrically connected to connecting pins.
In an advantageous embodiment, improved coupling of the light emitted by the optosemiconductor or of the light to be coupled onto the optosemiconductor can be achieved by an optical imaging element being configured in the through opening.
A preferred refinement of the invention with regard to the directing of the light emitted by the optosemiconductor to another component, for example a plug with an optical waveguide, provides for an optical element to be configured on a rear-side surface of the carrier substrate, so that the light passing through the through opening can be directed optically.
The advantages associated with the optomodule described expediently extend and improve the application possibilities for the optomodule when a connection configuration having such an optomodule and a printed circuit board section is formed, the contacts are in electrical contact with a wiring of the printed circuit board section, and the optomodule is mounted with the aid of the contacts on the printed circuit board section so that the light can be transmitted and/or received through an opening in the printed circuit board section. In this way, a flexible connection of the optomodule to a multiplicity of other circuit components or circuits is possible.
In a preferred development of the invention, a high level of integration of such a connection configuration can be achieved by a light channel being formed in the printed circuit board section, so that transmitted light which is transmitted from the optosemiconductor through the through opening in the carrier substrate can be coupled into the light channel, and received light can be coupled from the light channel through the through opening in the carrier substrate onto the optosemiconductor.
In an advantageous embodiment, guiding of the light in the light channel is made possible with the aid of an optical deflector configured in the light channel and/or of an optical imager.
In a preferred development of the invention, it may be provided that a section of a flange structural part is configured in the opening in the printed circuit board section, so that a connection is formed between an end-side surface section of the flange structural part and a rear-side surface section of the carrier substrate. The flange structural part has a receptacle section for at least partly receiving a plug structural part. The plug structural part is configured in the receptacle section in such a way that the light emitted by the optosemiconductor and/or the light received by the optosemiconductor can be coupled into the plug structural part or coupled out from the plug structural part. This enables compact coupling between the optomodule and a flange structural part that can be utilized for connecting different structural parts.
A preferred development of the invention with regard to the mechanical loadability of the connection configuration provides for a flange structural part to be configured on a surface of the printed circuit board section. The surface is remote from the optomodule, in the region of the opening in the printed circuit board section. The flange structural part has a receptacle section for at least partly receiving a plug structural part. The plug structural part is configured in the receptacle section in such a way that the light emitted by the optosemiconductor and/or the light received by the optosemiconductor can be coupled into the plug structural part or coupled out from the plug structural part.
In order to avoid optical losses, it may be provided, in an expedient development of the invention, that there is configured in the flange structural part, an optical imaging element for coupling the light into and/or out of the plug structural part.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in an optomodule, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.


One or more cells are charged by measuring one or more cell parameters or changes in said cell parameters, inputting the measured cell parameter(s) or changes in cell parameters into a state of charge estimation model, obtaining a state of charge of the cell(s) from the state of charge estimation model, selecting an allowable temperature rise for the cell(s), determining a charge parameter in accordance with the state of charge of the cell(s) and in accordance with the selected allowable temperature rise for the cell(s), and supplying energy to the cell(s) in accordance with the determined charge parameter. The invention may be embodied as methods, apparatus and computer program products.

It is common for modern electrical equipment, particularly computer and telecommunications equipment, to have standby batteries that maintain supply to the equipment during failure of the AC power. After a power failure, when the standby batteries have been in use, it is a high priority to return the batteries to a predetermined level of charge in order to ready the system for the possibility of another interruption in the AC power.
In order to rapidly return standby batteries to a required level of readiness rapid recharge systems are often used. If rapid recharge of batteries is not adequately controlled battery damage can occur which will ultimately result in reduced battery life. Damage to the batteries occurs due to battery overheating (thermal stress) and overcharging (saturation stress). Both of these stresses can contribute to gassing which results in liquid loss and plate damage within the battery.
In order to avoid overheat and overcharge stress modern battery charges employ a variety of charge schemes such as current limit, voltage limit, temperature compensation and charge accumulation/counting. The parameters for these schemes are predetermined, and fixed, to take account of battery type, and ideal/expected operating and ambient conditions.
The problem with such schemes is that they do not take account of changes in battery condition, operating conditions (for example depth of discharge) and ambient conditions that might be expected from a battery installation. For this reason they can promote unnecessary battery stress and/or result in less than optimal recharge times.

Stress management of battery recharge, and method of state of charge estimation


A shadow board game is provided and includes a shadow casting device used in conjunction with a board game for fun by the players. Acts acted out in shadow casting can be simulated in shadow by actual physical contact during the play of the game by the players from instructions taken from a game board. The player with the highest points at the end of the game wins.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates generally to board games and more specifically it relates to a shadow board game.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous board games have been provided in prier art that are adapted to give entertainment to players by challenging them, so that they utilize their skill and acumen in playing the games, while at the same time an element of chance adds a bit of adventure and luck to the games. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.


A handle for an exercise machine, e.g. a rowing machine, which is mounted on an end of a connecting linkage, e.g. chain, strap or cord, which extends along an axis of force application in the exercise machine. The handle includes first and second arm structures pivotally connected at their ends to a mounting bracket, which is attached to the connecting linkage. Handgrips are mounted on an the outer free ends of the first and second arm structures for pulling towards the users body, while separating the first and second arms apart, thereby replicating actual rowing strokes. Preferably, the handle is adjustable to various positions to replicate various rowing styles, e.g. conventional or crossover.

Exercise devices, which simulate rowing, of the type utilizing rotational inertia, e.g. from a solid or a liquid flywheel, offer a greatly improved replication of the resistance of actual rowing in comparison to rowing exercise devices which utilize hydraulic pistons, elastic cords, springs, or weights as sources of resistance. Unfortunately, although the flywheel-equipped devices provide an improved feel to the resistance, that improvement is considerably diminished by deficiencies in the design of the handles commonly used with these devices.
In a typical arrangement, the user grasps a rigid, single piece handle, which is fixed to a chain, cable, or strap at the handle's midpoint. The chain, cable or strap is passed about a sprocket or pulley, which, through a uni-directional roller clutch, is mechanically connected to the axle of the flywheel. The linear force the user applies to the handle during the power portion of the rowing stroke is thereby converted to rotational inertia of the flywheel. During the return (recovery) portion of the rowing stroke the chain slack is taken up by means of a suitable spring mechanism.
The use of a rigid, single piece handle severely restricts the physical action of the user, limiting the user's movement to an approximation of one type of rowing style, which would be similar to that used by a crewmember of a multi-person rowing shell, wherein each crew member grasps one oar with both hands.
However, proportionately few users of rowing exercise devices are competitive rowers seeking to improve their single oar technique. Most users of these devices do so for the general health benefits of the exercise these devices offer. Of those users who are competitive rowers, only a certain percentage of them would have an interest in the single oar rowing style. Many rowers use the sculling style of rowing, in which the rower uses two oars rather than one. The rigid, single-piece handle on a rowing exercise device forces these users to adopt a single oar rowing style which is of limited benefit to them. Clearly, a handle design which offers an increased range of movement, improved ergonomics, and which also allows the user to replicate single and double oar rowing styles, would be of obvious benefit to both the average user and the competitive rower.
There have been limited attempts by others to design an improved handle for flywheel type rowing exercisers. For example: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,743,011 issued May 10, 1988 in the name of Coffey; and 7,270,630 issued Sep. 18, 2007 in the name of Patterson disclose conventional rowing machines attempting to duplicate sculling-style rowing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,011 issued in 1988 to Calvin Coffey discloses a design of flywheel based rowing exercise device, which provides a somewhat accurate replication of a double oar rowing action by fitting the device with oar handles and shafts, oar locks, and mechanical means to convert the arcuate movement of the oars to rotational movement of the flywheel. However, the design is not intended as a retrofit of currently available rowing exercise devices, since the Coffey device requires major mechanical changes and reconfiguration of components, e.g. repositioning the flywheel from a forward to a rearward location.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,270,630 issued in 2007 to Paul Patterson, as part of a design for a rowing exercise device, discloses a handle design, which allows a greater range of movement than offered by the standard rigid single piece handle. However, due to the forward space requirements of the handle design, it also cannot be easily adapted to currently available rowing exercise devices.
The embodiments of the present invention enable replication of single and double oar rowing styles on a flywheel-type rowing device. Successful replication of the stroke geometry of actual rowing requires that the characteristics of that geometry be understood.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional oar/oarlock arrangement in which an oar 200 with an oar handgrip 201 is mounted in an oarlock 202 of a boat 203. Pulling on the oar handgrip 201 will cause the handgrip 201 to move through an arc, the radius of that arc being defined by the distance between the handgrip 201 and the oarlock 202.
At any moment in the progression of the rowing stroke, the rower can rotate the handgrip in any direction about the z-axis. Also, at any moment in the progression of the stroke, the rower can by raising or lowering the handgrip 201, cause the handgrip 201 to rotate in any direction about the x-axis. The magnitude and direction of these rower controller rotations about the z and x axes are independent of each other and are independent of the position of the handgrips in space with respect to the progression of the rowing stroke.
The magnitude and direction of rotation of the handgrip 201 about the third axis, i.e. the vertical y-axis, is entirely dependent on the stage of progression of the rowing stroke. Unlike rotation of the handgrip 201 about the z and x axes, the rotation of the handgrip 201 about the y-axis is fixed and immutable at any moment in the progression of the rowing stroke. To put it another way, if the rower were to stop at any stage in the progression of the rowing stroke, the rower would be able to rotate the handgrip 201 about the z and x axes, but would be unable to rotate the handgrip about the vertical y-axis. Rotation about the y-axis can only be effected by stroke progression.
It follows from these observations of the geometry of actual rowing, that replication of rowing, if it is to achieve satisfactorily realistic results, must retain independence of handgrip rotation about the z and x axes throughout the rowing stroke, and ensure that handgrip rotation about the vertical y-axis remains directly dependent on the horizontal progression of the rowing stroke.
Accordingly, using the geometry of actual rowing as a guide, any embodiment enabling replication of rowing must, whether replicating the "standard" style of rowing or the crossover style of rowing, ensure that the above-identified angular progression about the y-axis is a smooth, aberration free change directly proportional to the progression of the rowing stroke.
Although rower controlled handgrip rotation about the z-axis is a characteristic of actual rowing, in tests, its exclusion is not experienced as a defect. If desired however, handgrip rotation about the z-axis could easily be added to any of the disclosed embodiments.
Rower controlled handgrip rotation about the x-axis is restricted in actual rowing. In all of the disclosed embodiments, handgrip rotation about the x-axis is unrestricted, which enables the user to adopt hand positions unrelated to actual rowing, thereby greatly increasing the versatility of the rowing exercise device, but without affecting the fidelity of rowing replication, if the user chooses to exercise in various styles.
In actual rowing, at the beginning of the stroke, the handgrips of the oars are at a certain distance apart. As the stroke progresses, each of the handgrips move through an arc, reducing that initial separation, and then moving apart again as the handgrips continue to follow that arc to the end of the stroke. The functional characteristics of the disclosed embodiments do not include the handgrip separation at the beginning of the stroke. Like the lack of rotation about the z-axis of the handgrips, the lack of hand separation at the beginning of the stroke is not experienced as a defect, because it feels completely natural and ergonomically correct.
It was also determined that the required arc of movement to approximate the arc sweep of actual oars, was a natural outcome of the user's body mechanics and does not need to be mechanically dictated. Accordingly, two arms hinged at the front with handgrips mounted at a fixed angle on the ends of those arms would still produce a smooth angular progression of the handgrips as the handgrips followed the natural arc defined by the user's body mechanics, and as the hinged arms of the device spread during progression of the stroke.
An object of the present invention is to provide an accurate replication of the rowing motion, by providing a rowing handle, which is more readily adaptable to currently available rowing exercise devices that have limited space requirements during use.
Another object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by enabling the user a greater range of movement than afforded by a single piece handle. The present invention enables the geometry of the user's movements to be ergonomically correct, following natural body mechanics and thus reducing the possibility of strain injury. Moreover, the present invention enables the user to replicate the physical movement of single and double oar rowing styles, or if the user wishes, to adopt stroke geometries unrelated to actual rowing, thereby bringing various muscle groups into play and thus broadening the usefulness and appeal of rowing exercise devices.

Articulated handles for rowing exercise devices