An electronics enclosure includes an assembly of wall elements having metallic surfaces with a standard oxidization potential within the range of -0.25 to +0.5 volts, the wall elements rigidly secured together, and having a coating of molybdenum phosphate covering the metallic surfaces of the wall elements and providing electrical discharge continuity around the enclosure. The molybdenum phosphate coating provides a required degree of electrical conductivity for adequate electrostatic discharge thereby providing a Faraday cage to filter out any electromagnetic radiation attempting to pass through the enclosure. Of particular importance in the structure is the feature that the molybdenum phosphate is particularly effective as an electromagnetic interference element at junctures between wall elements of the enclosure. The molybdenum phosphate coating may be applied to the wall elements either prior to assembly or following assembly. Preferably, the coating is applied to assembled wall elements with the molybdenum phosphate bridging between adjacent wall elements and bridging across gaps between the adjacent wall elements.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronics enclosures.
2. Relevant Prior Art
For many years, in the manufacture of electronics enclosures, e.g. in the manufacture of frame or other equipment or steel shelves for housing printed circuit boards and circuit packs, the walls of the enclosures have been coated with zinc plating which has, in turn, been protected by a chromate conversion coating of varying thickness. The chromate protected zinc coating provided sufficient rust protection to the metal of the enclosures. A problem existed, however, with such enclosures. In order to ground the enclosures, it has always been necessary to employ beryllium copper gaskets between metal components, the gaskets having sharp spurs. When the metal components are secured together, the spurs cut into the metal to be held forcibly against bare metal surfaces thereby providing gas-tight connections for the passage of electrical current between the metal components thereby providing the grounding effect. The protection afforded by the chromate conversion coating over the zinc coating in localized areas is immediately destroyed by the forcing of the metal spurs through the metal surfaces. As a result, to prevent corrosion at those localized regions, it is then necessary to provide a localized protection which has, in the main, taken the form of a tin/lead solder applied to the enclosures. Hence, in forming the conventional enclosures, in order to provide certain electrical requirements, other problems have been created which need solving with further protective measures.
Electronics enclosures manufactured in the above manner have been satisfactory until the advent of electronic equipment which emits electromagnetic radiation thereby resulting in electromagnetic interference (EMI) which is found to effect the function of other electronic equipment. Electronics enclosures of the above general structure and made in the above manner are now being found to be sadly lacking in providing protection either for electronics equipment housed within the enclosures against EMI emanating from outside the enclosures or for equipment disposed outside the enclosures and against EMI originating inside the enclosures.


A driveway safety net. The safety net includes two stakes and a net that attaches between the two stakes. When the two stakes are placed on both sides of a driveway and the net is attached between the two stakes, the net hinders balls and other toys from rolling past the net. In one embodiment, each stake includes at least two prongs that are pushed into the ground when placing the stake. Preferably, at least one prong of each stake is wider in one dimension than in another dimension so that the stake is more resistant to being pulled over in at least one direction than in at least one other direction. Each prong is curved in an arc across its wider dimension.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a safety net for an end of a driveway that helps prevent balls, bicycles, tricycles, and other toys from rolling into a street.
2. Description of the Related Art
Toy-cluttered driveways are extremely common in suburbia. Many of these toys have wheels or are round so that they can roll down a driveway. This creates several hazards.
First, a child who sees his or her toy roll down a driveway into a street just might chase that toy into the street, with possibly tragic consequences.
Second, even if a child does not chase a toy, the toy itself might roll into and stop in the street. This creates a hazard for cars, bicycles, and other vehicles that use the street. In addition, if an accident is cause by the toy, the homeowner might be held liable.
One common solution to these problems is parking a car at the end of the driveway. The inventor, a United States Postal Service letter carrier, has seen cars parked in this way for this reason innumerable times.
However, using a car as a toy stop creates its own problems. First, a car at the end of a driveway is not very protected from the elements, vandals, and the like. Second, when larger toys such as bicycles or tricycles roll into a car, they might damage the car. Furthermore, a car will not block the entire width of a driveway, so toys might still roll into the street.


A method for manipulating a droplet by a droplet manipulating device including a flow channel, a first magnetic field generator, and a second magnetic field generator is provided. The first magnetic field generator includes two first magnetic field modules and are at two sides of the flow channel. The second magnetic field generator is between the two first magnetic field modules and includes multiple second magnetic field coils. The droplet is provided in the flow channel and includes a magnetic particle. A first magnetic field is produced on the flow channel by the first magnetic field modules, so the magnetic particle in the droplet has the direction of magnetic field corresponding to the first magnetic field. A second magnetic field is produced on the flow channel by the second magnetic field coils, for driving the magnetic particle in the droplet to be in motion in the flow channel.

In recent years, preventive medicine, early diagnosis, and early treatment have become more important in medical treatment. Specifically, automated instruments, "point of care" (POC), "near patient testing", and molecular detection are being used substantially.
According to a report of global molecular detection, the output of consumption of the global molecular detection market will be increased to 15.5 billion in 2015 and 42.5 billion in 2019. The average growth rate of the market will be up to 11.5% in 2015 and 22.4% in 2019. Therefore, there are enormous opportunities and aspects to be developed in the molecular detection market.
At present time, there have been thousands of biomarkers and biomarker candidates published in journals or patent applications, and the numbers keep increasing. Before the end of February 2010, 913 biomarkers were filed as US patent applications and 76 biomarkers were granted. In addition, 450 biomarkers were applied on clinical molecular medicine. In the future, medical care will pay more attention on the molecular medicine so as to serve personalized medicine, e.g., medical safety screening, medical efficacy tracking and so on. Thus, personalized health care will become a novel trend.
Also, World Health Organization (WHO) proposed some standards for an ideal molecular diagnosis system. According to the standards, each diagnosis should satisfy 7 requirements abbreviated as "ASSURED", which is an acronym for: "Affordable", "Sensitive" (less false negative), "Specific" (less false positive), "User-friendly", "Rapid and robust", "Equipment-free", and "Deliverable to end-users".
Regarding to a standard process of genetic screening in the laboratory, multiple pre-treatments (e.g., forming bonding between blood and the antibodies, cleaning the analyte, forming bonding between the analyte and the antigens) needs to be performed after the analyte is obtained (e.g. whole blood samples, larynx samples and the like) in the standard procedures. Only after the pre-treatments are performed, nucleic acid amplification may be performed (e.g., polymerase chain reaction or methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction). Finally, the genes are identified (e.g. by real time polymerase chain reaction or by electrophoresis). It is easy to find out the above-mentioned process is time-consuming as well as relying on professional technicians and large-scale analytical equipment. In addition, when analytes are complicated (e.g. samples from blood, salvia, or larynx) or have a low concentration, the pre-treatment is more difficult.
In order to improve the diagnoses, analytes are combined with magnetic particles. The user can control the analytes to move in different operating spaces by controlling an external magnetic field. Thus, the analytes combined with the magnetic particles move according to a magnetic force applied by the external magnetic field.
However, in the above controlling method, the distribution of the produced magnetic field is not uniform, so that it is hard to separate the magnetic particles from a droplet, and it is hard to produce a uniform magnetic field covering a larger area. In addition, magnetic particles may improperly adhere to the inner surface of the operating space because of greater friction between the magnetic particles and the operating space.

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A head suspension has an integrated multi-layer trace conductor array for supporting and electrically interconnecting a read/write head to electronic circuitry in a disk drive. The electrical micro strip transmission line characteristics of the conductor array is controlled by the selective placement and connection of the trace paths within the multiple layers in order to control and balance electrical parameters including array inductance, inter-trace capacitance, and trace capacitance to a ground plane. The ground plane may further comprise a solid sheet of material or an arrangement of grounded traces disposed in proximity to signal-carrying traces of the micro strip transmission line in order to control and obtain desired electrical characteristics.

Contemporary disk drives typically include a rotating rigid storage disk and a head positioner for positioning a data transducer at different radial locations relative to the axis of rotation of the disk, thereby defining numerous concentric data storage tracks on each recording surface of the disk. The head positioner is typically referred to as an actuator. Although numerous actuator structures are known in the art, in-line rotary voice coil actuators are now most frequently employed due to their simplicity, high performance, and their ability to be mass balanced about their axis of rotation, the latter being important for making the actuator less sensitive to perturbations. A closed-loop servo system within the disk drive is conventionally employed to operate the voice coil actuator and thereby position the heads with respect to the disk surface.
An air bearing surface supports a transducer at a small distance away from the surface of the moving medium. Single write/read element designs typically require two wire connections while dual designs having separate reader and writer elements require four wire connections. Magnetoresistive (MR) heads in particular generally require four wires. The combination of an air bearing slider and a read/write transducer is also known as a read/write head or a recording head.
Sliders are generally mounted to a gimbaled flexure structure attached to the distal end of a suspension's load beam structure. A spring biases the load beam and the head towards the disk, while the air pressure beneath the head pushes the head away from the disk. An equilibrium distance defines an "air bearing" and determines the "flying height" of the head. By utilizing an air bearing to support the head away from the disk surface, the head operates in a hydrodynamically lubricated regime at the head/disk interface rather than in a boundary lubricated regime. The air bearing maintains a spacing between the transducer and the medium which reduces transducer efficiency. However, the avoidance of direct contact vastly improves the reliability and useful life of the head and disk components. Demand for increased areal densities may nonetheless require that heads be operated in pseudo contact or even boundary lubricated contact regimes, however.
Currently, flying heights are on the order of 0.5 to 2 microinches. The magnetic storage density increases as the head approaches the storage surface of the disk. Thus, a very low flying height is traded against device reliability over a reasonable service life of the disk drive. At the same time, data transfer rates to and from the storage surface are increasing; and, data rates approaching 200 megabits per second are within practical contemplation.
The disk drive industry has been progressively decreasing the size and mass of the slider structures in order to reduce the moving mass of the actuator assembly and to permit closer operation of the transducer to the disk surface, the former giving rise to improved seek performance and the latter giving rise to improved transducer efficiency that can then be traded for higher areal density. The size (and therefore mass) of a slider is usually characterized with reference to a so-called standard 100% slider ("minislider"). The terms 70%, 50%, and 30% slider ("microslider", "nanoslider", and "picoslider", respectively) therefore refer to more recent low mass sliders that have linear dimensions that are scaled by the applicable percentage relative to the linear dimensions of a standard minislider. Smaller slider structures generally require more compliant gimbals, hence the intrinsic stiffness of the conductor wires attached to the slider can give rise to a significant undesired bias effect.
To reduce the effects of this intrinsic wire stiffness or bias, integrated flexure/conductor structures have been proposed which effectively integrate the wires with an insulating flexible polymeric resinous flexure such that the conductors are exposed at bonding pads positioned at the distal end of the flexure in the proximity of the head. U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,946 to Matsuzaki discloses an example of such a configuration. U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,597 to Bennin et al. discloses a further example in point. While such wiring configurations do enjoy certain performance and assembly advantages, the introduction of the disclosed flexible polymeric resinous material in the flexure and gimbal structure raises a number of challenging design issues. For example, the thermal expansion properties of the resinous material is not the same as the prior art stainless steel structures; and, the long-term durability of such resinous structures, including any requisite adhesive layers, is unknown. Therefore, hybrid stainless steel flexure and conductor structures have been proposed which incorporate most of the benefits of the integrated conductor flex-circuit flexure structures while remaining largely compatible with prior art fabrication and load beam attachment methods. Such hybrid designs typically employ stainless steel flexures having deposited insulating and conductive trace layers for electrical interconnection of the head to the associated drive electronics, e.g., a proximately located preamplifier chip and downstream read channel circuitry typically carried on a circuit board (along with other circuitry) attached to the head/disk assembly.
As taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,597 to Bennin et al., entitled: "Gimbal Flexure and Electrical Interconnect Assembly", the disclosed prior approach called for use of a spring material for the conductive trace layers, such as beryllium-copper alloy, which admittedly has higher electrical resistance than pure annealed copper, for example. On the other hand, pure annealed copper, while a satisfactory electrical conductor at high frequencies, also manifests high ductility rather than spring-like mechanical resilience, and therefore lacks certain mechanical spring properties desired in the interconnect trace material. Traces formed of pure copper plated or deposited onto e.g. a nickel base layer provide one alternative to the beryllium-copper alloy relied upon by the Bennin et al. approach.
These hybrid flexure designs employ relatively lengthy runs of conductor trace pairs or four-wire sets which extend from bonding pads at the distal, head-mounting end of the flexure to the proximal end of the flexure, to provide a conductive path from the read/write head along the length of the associated suspension structure to the preamplifier or read-channel chip(s). Because the conductor traces are positioned extremely close to, but electrically isolated from, the conductive stainless steel flexure structure which is in turn grounded to the load beam, and because of the relatively high signal rates being transferred, the conductor trace inductance and mutual coupling, as well as conductor trace resistance and trace capacitance to ground, can give rise to unwanted signal reflections, distortion, and inefficient signal/power transfer. The unwanted signal reflections tend to deleteriously affect the performance of the read/write head, interconnect structure, and driver/preamplifier circuit.
Micro strip line technology teaches that the loop and inter-conductor capacitance may be changed by changing the dimensions of and/or spacing between micro strips forming a transmission line. However, in the case of integrated trace array wiring schemes for use with head suspension load beams, the dimensions of the conductors are governed by mechanical constraints including the space available on the flexure for the trace interconnect array, and the trace conductor dimensions cannot be changed very much insofar as impedance matching or tuning is concerned.
While the Bennin et al. '597 patent discussed above includes an embodiment of FIGS. 6-8 calling for stacking of traces to form a multi-level array of trace sets, there is no teaching of using conductor traces arranged in multi-level arrays in order to obtain desired electrical parameters, such as capacitance and/or inductance, for example.
The invention to be described provides, inter alia, an interconnect structure for a suspension in a disk drive which includes a multiple layered integrated conductor array having reduced resistance and controllably tuned inductance and capacitance parameters in order to improve trace array electrical performance.

Multi-layered integrated conductor trace array interconnect structure having optimized electrical parameters


According to some embodiments, a method and system are provided to receive a clock input at a first clock adjustment tuner, receive the clock input at a second clock adjustment tuner, output a tuned inverted rising clock signal via the first clock adjustment tuner, output a tuned inverted falling clock signal via the second clock adjustment tuner, receive the inverted rising clock signal and the inverted falling clock signal at a clock synchronizer, output a synchronized tuned clock signal via the clock synchronizer, receive the synchronized tuned clock signal at a third clock adjustment tuner, and output a tuned clock signal. The first clock adjustment tuner and the second clock adjustment tuner provide coarser adjustments than the third clock adjustment tuner.

Clock signals comprise both rising and falling edges. A rising edge may rise at a different latency than a falling edge and these differences in latency may be corrected by the use of one or more delay tuners. In conventional systems, large differences between rise and fall latency may require the use of numerous tuners, which may result in a large fixed amount of latency and also an increase in required power.
Some existing commercial designs simply accept the fixed latency penalty of an extended fine delay pipeline. In one instance, a delay fine tuner stage might have twice the fixed latency as variable latency, and a particular product requirement might mandate several stages in series.


A dual-chip integrated circuit package with unaligned chip arrangement and a method of manufacturing such a dual-chip integrated circuit package are provided. The dual-chip integrated circuit package includes a leadframe having a first set of leads and a second set of leads. The dual-chip integrated circuit package is used to pack two integrated circuit chips in an unaligned chip arrangement, in which the first integrated circuit chip is mounted to one side of the inner part of the first set of leads, and the second integrated circuit chip is mounted to the other side of the same in such a manner as to allow the bonding pads on the second integrated circuit chip to be positioned in the spacing formed between the two sets of leads. This unaligned chip arrangement can help facilitate the wire-bonding process for the bonding pads are the second integrated circuit chip. An encapsulant is used for encapsulating the first integrated circuit chip, the second integrated circuit chip, the set of bonding wires, the second set of bonding wires, the inner part of the first set of leads, and the inner part of the second set of leads. The particular structure of the dual-chip integrated circuit package allows no restriction to the relative size between first two integrated circuit chips, thus allowing flexible selection for the combination of the two integrated circuit chips. Moreover, the dual-chip integrated circuit package are help save layout space on the circuit board and offers more functionality and storage capacity.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to integrated circuit (IC) packages, and more particularly, to a dual-chip integrated circuit package with unaligned chip arrangement and a method of manufacturing such a dual-chip integrated circuit package.
2. Description of Related Art
A DIP (Dual In-Line Package) is a type of integrated circuit package that includes a metal leadframe with a die pad and a plurality of leads. An integrated circuit chip is mounted on the die pad and electrically connected via a set of conductive wires to the leads, and as encapsulant is formed to encapsulate the entire integrated circuit chip, the entire die pad, and part of the lead fingers therein so as to allow easy handling and utilization of the integrated circuit package and to protect the enclosed integrated circuit chip from being contaminated or damaged by outside objects.
In the design and manufacture, it is usually desired to mount as many integrated circuit chips in a single integrated circuit package as possible so as to allow one single integrated circuit package to offer more functions. An integrated circuit package that packs two integrated circuit chips therein is customarily referred to as a dual-chip integrated circuit package. Since a dual-chip integrated circuit package packs two integrated circuit chips rather than just one, it can help save layout space out the circuit board and offers more functionality and storage capacity. A conventional dual-chip integrated circuit package is disclosed is U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,323, whose structure is briefly described in the following with reference to FIGS. 8-10.
As shown in FIG. 8, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,323 utilizes a dual-row leadframe 21 which includes a left part and a right part (as delimited by the dashed line 25). The left part includes a set of left-outer leads 23LO and a set of left-inner leads 23LI, while the right part includes a set of right-outer leads 23RO and a set of right-inner leads 23RI. Further, the left part is formed with a left slot 26L between the left-outer leads 23LO and the left-inner pads 23LI (as the area enclosed in the dashed box), while the right part is formed with a right slot 26R between the right-outer leads 23RO and the right inner leads 23RI (as the area enclosed in the dashed box). The dual-chip integrated circuit package is used to pack two integrated circuit chips therein, including an upper die 41 and a lower die 43, as shown in FIG. 9 and 10. The lower die 43 has its top side attached by means of an insulative adhesive layer 44 on the bottom side of the left-inner leads 23LI and the right-inner leads 23RI, while the upper die 41 has its back side attached by means of another insulative adhesive layer 42 as the upper side of the left inner leads 23LI and the right-inner leads 23RI. As illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the lower die 43 should be greater in size than the upper die 41 so as to allow the left side 43L and the right side 43R of the lower die 43 to extend respectively into the left slot 26L and the right slot 26R; and the length from the left side 41L to the right side 41R of the upper die 41 should be less than the distance between the left-slot 26L and the right slot 26R so as to facilitate the wire-bonding process for electrically connecting the bonding pads 43LP and 43RP via the bonding wires 47 to the left-outer leads 23LO, the left-inner leads 23LI, the right-outer leads 23RO, and the right-inner leads 23RI. In a similar manner, the bonding pads 41LP, 41RP on the left side 41L and the right side 41R of the upper die 41 are electrically connected via the bonding wires 47 to the left-outer leads 23LO, the left-inner leads 23LI, the right-outer leads 23RO, and the right-inner leads 23RI. An encapsulant 24 is than molded to enclose the upper die 42, the lower die 43, the left-outer leads 23LO, the left-inner leads 23LI, the right-outer leads 23RO, and the right-inner leads 23RI.
The foregoing patent allows two integrated circuit chips of different purposes for example a microprocessor chip and a memory chip, to be packed in the same integrated circuit package. Moreover, since each integrated circuit chip is attached on the leads of the leadframe, it can help reduce the jointed area between the integrated circuit chip and the leads; and as a result, delamination between the integrated circuit chip and the leads can be prevented under temperature change conditions. One drawback to the forgoing patent, however, is that the lower die 43 should be greater in size than the upper die 41 (see FIGS. 9 and 10) so as to allow the left side 43L and the right side 43R of the lower die 43 to extend into the left-slot 26L and the right slot 26R for the purpose of positioning the bonding pads 43LP and 43RP in the left slot 26L and the right slot 26R to facilitate the wire-bonding process. For this reason, the foregoing patent is only suitable for use in TYPE II integrated circuit packages, which is the type whose outer leads are arranged on the longer sides of the integrated circuit package, and is unsuitable for use in TYPE I integrated circuit packages, which is the type whose outer leads are arranged on the shorter slides of the integrated circuit package. The flash memory chip is typically and suitably encapsulated a TYPE I integrated circuit package. Therefore, the foregoing patent cannot be used to pack two integrated circuit chips of which at least one is a flash memory chip to provide a doubled storage capacity from a single integrated circuit package. Still one more drawback to the foregoing patent is that the jointed area between each integrated circuit chip and the leads of the leadframe is still considered large.
It is therefore an objective of this invention a provide a dual-chip integrated circuit package and a method of manufacturing the same, which can be used to pack two integrated circuit chips of various relative sizes.
It is another objective of this invention to provide a dual-chip integrated circuit package wad a method of manufacturing the same, which is suitable for use to pack flash memory chips.
It is still another objective of this invention to provide a dual-chip integrated circuit package and a method of manufacturing the same, which can be manufactured through the use of conventional equipment and processes without having to use new ones.
In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives, the invention proposes a new dual-chip integrated circuit package and a method of manufacturing the same.
The dual-chip integrated circuit package of the invention includes the following constituent parts: (a) a leadframe having a first set of leads and a second set of leads, the first and second sets of leads being each defined into an inner part and an outer part, with a spacing being defined between the inner part of the first set of leads and the inner part of the second set of leads; (b) a first integrated circuit chip having a first side where at least one row of bonding pads are formed and a second side insulatively attached to a first side of the inner part of the first set of leads; (c) a second integrated circuit chip having a first side where at least one row of bonding pads are formed, with part of the first side being insulatively attached to a second side of the inner part of the first set of leads in such a manner as to allow the bonding pads on the second integrated circuit chip to be positioned in the spacing; (d) a first set of bonding wires for electrically connecting the bonding pads on the first integrated circuit chip to selected part of the leads; (e) a second set of bonding wires for electrically connecting the bonding pads on the second integrated circuit chip to selected part of the leads; and (f) an encapsulant for the first integrated circuit chip, the second integrated circuit chip, the first set of bonding wires, the second set of bonding wires, the inner part of the first set of leads, and the inner part of the second set of leads.
The first integrated circuit chip can be the type that is formed with only one row of bonding pads, such as flash memory chips, or the type that is formed with two rows of bonding pads, such as DRAM and ASIC chips. In the case of two rows, they are electrically connected respectively to the inner part of the first set of leads and the inner part of the second set of leads. The second integrated circuit chip, however, can be only the type formed with one row of bonding pads, which are electrically connected via the second set of bonding wires to the inner part of the first set of leads and/or the inner part of the second set of leads.
It is characteristic feature of the invention that the second integrated circuit chip is unaligned to the first integrated circuit chip in such a manner that the second integrated circuit chip has one part extending into the spacing between the inner part of the first set of leads and the inner part of the second set of leads to allow the bonding pads thereon to be positioned in the spacing. This unaligned chip arrangement allows no restriction to the relative sizes between the two integrated circuit chips, thus allowing flexible selection for the combination of the two integrated circuit chips.

Dual-chip integrated circuit package with unaligned chip arrangement and method of manufacturing the same

Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd.


A radio data transmitter includes radio switching circuit which is activated in response to first radio signal having a predetermined particular pattern, and a data transmitter unit. The data unit transmits a first radio signal include a carrier modulated by predetermined data from an antenna when supplied with power in accordance with the activation of the radio switching circuit, and subsequently disconnect the power supply. In addition, a radio data receiver includes switch-activation to circuit for transmitting the first radio signal having the predetermined particular pattern, a receiving circuit for receiving the second radio signal including the data from the data transmitter unit activated by the first radio signal having the predetermined particular pattern, and a storage device for storing data received by the receiving circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to radio data transmitters and receivers in which power consumption is reduced.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, research on radio meter-reading systems for power, gas, and so forth is in progress. The radio meter-reading system enables a meter reader to measure consumption of power, gas, and so forth with a radio meter-reading apparatus from an automobile, without going to the place where the meters are installed.
A problem with the above type of conventional system is power consumption of a meter-reading apparatus while in standby mode. In other words, to activate the meter-reading apparatus by radio, the meter-reading apparatus must be standing by (That is in a condition capable of receiving radio waves). Accordingly, a receiving circuit must always be activated. However, maintaining the active state of the receiving circuit increases power consumption. For example, when a meter-reading apparatus is activated by a battery of small capacity, the power consumption of the receiving circuit severely shortens the life of the battery. In particular, since meter-reading apparatus is activated only once a month, it is not preferable that the receiving circuit consume wasted power for the remaining 29 days (or 30 days).


A tank adapter has a housing. The housing has a top, a bottom and a sidewall disposed between the top and the bottom and a cavity defined by the top, bottom, and sidewall. The outer surface of the top has a first lower surface and a second raised upper surface. The second raised upper surface is located in juxtaposition to the first lower surface. The perimeter of the first lower surface is larger than the perimeter of the second raised upper surface such that a lip is formed between the first lower surface and the second raised upper surface. At least one passageway extends from the second raised upper surface to the inner surface of the top. The passageway has a first opening located in operative communication with the second raised upper surface. The passageway has a second opening located in operative communication with the inner surface of the top and at least a portion of the cavity.

Tank adapters, such as donker bolts, are often used to connect external objects, such as ladders or control panels, to the sidewall of a tank or vessel. Other types of tank adapters, such as bolted tank flanges, may be installed into a tank sidewall to provide an access point through which chemicals, fluids, or other substances being retained within the tank can pass through for use in a fabrication process or a chemical manufacturing process. These tank adapters are attached to a tank wall by tightening nuts on the bolts that pass through holes in the tank wall. The tank adapter must be tightly held to the tank wall to avoid leaks of materials retained within the tank.
Donker bolts and bolted tank flanges, however, are often difficult to install. For example, these tank adapters are often over compressed when installed such that the gasket of the tank adapter is deformed and leaks. Such over compression is often undected until after the tank is filled with material. Consequently, the replacement of the deformed gasket is normally a time consuming, expensive and, depending upon the material being retained by the tank, also dangerous task because the leaking material must be removed from the tank prior to replacing the deformed gasket. This increases the cost and time associated with installing tank adapters.
Additionally, there is often a problem that occurs when the tank adapter's connection to the tank wall has loosened and a leak results. Typically, when tank adapters begin to have a loose fit, the tank adapter bolts are corroded by the substances retained by the tank before the tank begins to leak. Often, there is a delay between when the leak occurs and when the leak is later identified. Such a delay can provide time for the bolts to be completely destroyed and cause major leaks that result from the tank adapter being released by the bolts attaching the tank adapter to the tank or vessel wall.
Consequently, there is a great need for tank adapters that control the compression between the tank adapter and the tank wall to prevent over compression. Such a tank adapter should also make detecting small leaks possible so that corrective action can be taken before a major leak occurs.


A method and apparatus for mixing and forming dough into plural discrete product units on a carrier and storing the ready to bake product, and a vending method and apparatus for separating the product from the carrier, baking the product and delivering the product, such as cookies or the like, to a customer. The mixed dough is formed into units, typically disk-like, and placed in a pattern on one or more first carrier sheets, then second carriers are applied with the product laminated between the sheets. The sheets and product can be fan-folded into containers, such as conventional boxes, which can be stored until needed. The containers are placed in a vending machine which leads the sheet assemblies to a station where the carrier sheets are removed and the product is dropped onto a surface that is moved through a convection oven for baking, then through a cooling station. The selected number of product units is dropped into a serving tray and presented to the customer. Typically, each baking cycle is initiated by the deposit of a selected amount of money into the vending machine and the purchaser is notified that the freshly baked product is ready by a buzzer or the like.

This invention relates in general to the baking and vending of a food product and, more specifically, to a system for preparing preformed, uncooked dough product units, storing them, baking them as needed and delivering them to a purchaser in a vending machine.
A very wide variety of products are provided to consumers through vending machines. These range from soft drinks and prepackaged food products to various non-edible items. Prepared, packaged, candy, cookies and other snack items are generally vended at room temperature and contain preservatives and the like to prevent spoilage. Food items that are preferably eaten warm, such as pizza or hamburger sandwiches, are generally vended in a refrigerated state to protect against spoilage, with a nearby microwave oven provided so that the consumer can heat the items. While generally acceptable, these items do not have the desirable, fresh-baked or freshly cooked flavor and absence of preservatives that most consumers prefer.
Many attempts have been made to provide vending machines that cook, or at least heat, food products being vended. Typical of these is the sandwich heating and vending device disclosed by Rostonski in U.S. Pat. No. 3,651,752, which uses an electrical current passed through the packaged sandwich to heat the sandwich by resistance heating. Rubino describes a vending machine in U.S. Pat. No. 3,534,676 that passes a prepackaged meal through a microwave oven just prior to vending. The machine of Miller as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,249 toasts buns by passing them past a heater just prior to vending. A complex apparatus for cooking a hamburger patty and inserting it between two halves of a bun is described by Cresson in U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,218. Foods in sealed packets are heated and dispensed from the packets in the apparatus described by Simjian in U.S. Pat. 3,340,789.
While having varying effectiveness in cooking or heating and dispensing various different types of food, all of these devices and vending methods are complex, require many sequential operations and would have difficulty maintaining sanitary conditions throughout there process. None shows an entire system for preparing the packaged food product in a way that permits simple and rapid cooking and vending. The prior art systems are not optimized for the baking of dough based products, such as cookies.
Thus, despite the great number of vending machines that have been developed, there remains a continuing need for improved methods and apparatus for packaging, storing, baking and dispensing food products in plural individual product units, in a simple, sanitary and efficient manner.

System for forming, storing, baking and vending fresh baked food products


A method of making a xylene isomerization catalyst comprises the steps of (i) contacting a ZSM-5 zeolite starting material having a silica to alumina molar ratio of 20 to 50 and having a mesopore surface area in the range of 50 m2/gram to 200 m2/gram in a reactor with a base to provide an intermediate zeolite material; (ii) recovering the intermediate ZSM-5 zeolite material of step (i); (iii) contacting the intermediate zeolite material with an acid to provide an acid treated ZSM-5 zeolite product; (iv) recovering the acid treated ZSM-5 zeolite material; and (v) calcining the acid treated ZSM-5 zeolite material to provide a desilicated ZSM-5 zeolite product having a silica to alumina molar ratio of 20 to 150 and having a mesopore surface area in the range of 100 m2/gram to 400 m2/gram.

Para-xylene (also "p-xylene" or "PX") is an important hydrocarbon feed material for the manufacture of terephthalic acid. Para-xylene is generally considered the most important of C8 aromatic isomers, being used as an intermediate or starting material for such diverse end uses as synthetic fibers and bottle plastic. Para-xylene is typically obtained from a C8 aromatic hydrocarbon mixture derived from reformate by processes including aromatic extraction and fractional distillation. Although the composition of this starting C8 aromatic hydrocarbon mixture varies over a wide range, the mixture generally comprises 5 to 40 wt % ethylbenzene, with the balance, xylenes, being divided between approximately 50 wt % meta-xylene and 25 wt % each of para-xylene and ortho-xylene (this distribution considered the nominal "equilibrium concentration" of xylenes). Since, by some accounts, 80 wt % or more of the end use of xylenes involves the conversion of para-xylene to the above-mentioned end uses, obtaining para-xylene from its C8 isomers meta-xylene, ortho-xylene, and ethylbenzene, is the subject of a vast amount of continuing research.

Desilicated ZSM-5 catalysts for xylene isomerization


A current perpendicular to plane (CPP) differential giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor that is insensitive to stray longitudinal and transverse magnetic fields. The sensor includes an in stack bias layer structure that is used to bias the magnetic moment of first and second free layers disposed at either side thereof. The bias structure includes an antiferromagnetic layer (AFM). An odd number of antiparallel (AP) coupled magnetic layers are formed on a first side of the AFM and an even number of AP coupled magnetic layers on the opposite side of the AFM.

The heart of a computer is an assembly that is referred to as a magnetic disk drive. The magnetic disk drive includes a rotating magnetic disk, write and read heads that are suspended by a suspension arm adjacent to a surface of a rotating magnetic disk and an actuator that swings the suspension arm to place the read and write heads over selected circular tracks on the rotating disk. The read and write heads are directly located on a slider that has an air bearing surface (ABS). The suspension arm biases the slider into contact with the surface of the disk when the disk is not rotating but, when the disk rotates, air is swirled by the rotating disk. When the slider rides on the air bearing, the write and read heads are employed for writing magnetic impressions to and reading magnetic impressions from the rotating disk. The read and write heads are connected to processing circuitry that operates according to a computer program to implement the writing and reading functions.
The write head includes a coil layer embedded in first, second and third insulation layers (insulation stack), the insulation stack being sandwiched between first and second pole piece layers. A gap is formed between the first and second pole piece layers by a gap layer at an air bearing surface (ABS) of the write head and the pole piece layers are connected at a back gap. Current conducted to the coil layer induces a magnetic flux in the pole pieces which causes a magnetic field to fringe out at a write gap at the ABS for the purpose of writing the aforementioned magnetic impressions in tracks on the moving media, such as in circular tracks on the aforementioned rotating disk.
In recent read head designs a spin valve sensor, also referred to as a giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor, has been employed for sensing magnetic fields from the rotating magnetic disk. The sensor includes a nonmagnetic conductive layer, hereinafter referred to as a spacer layer, sandwiched between first and second ferromagnetic layers, hereinafter referred to as a pinned layer and a free layer. First and second leads are connected to the spin valve sensor for conducting a sense current therethrough. The magnetization of the pinned layer is pinned perpendicular to the air bearing surface (ABS) and the magnetic moment of the free layer is located parallel to the ABS, but free to rotate in response to external magnetic fields. The magnetization of the pinned layer is typically pinned by exchange coupling with an antiferromagnetic layer.
The thickness of the spacer layer is chosen to be less than the mean free path of conduction electrons through the sensor. With this arrangement, a portion of the conduction electrons is scattered by the interfaces of the spacer layer with each of the pinned and free layers. When the magnetizations of the pinned and free layers are parallel with respect to one another, scattering is minimal and when the magnetizations of the pinned and free layer are antiparallel, scattering is maximized. Changes in scattering alter the resistance of the spin valve sensor in proportion to cos Θ, where Θ is the angle between the magnetizations of the pinned and free layers. In a read mode the resistance of the spin valve sensor changes proportionally to the magnitudes of the magnetic fields from the rotating disk. When a sense current is conducted through the spin valve sensor, resistance changes cause potential changes that are detected and processed as playback signals.
A spin valve sensor is characterized by a magnetoresistive (MR) coefficient that is substantially higher than the MR coefficient of an anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) sensor. For this reason a spin valve sensor is sometimes referred to as a giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor. When a spin valve sensor employs a single pinned layer it is referred to as a simple spin valve. When a spin valve employs an antiparallel (AP) pinned layer it is referred to as an AP pinned spin valve. A pinned layer in an AP pinned spin valve includes first and second magnetic layers separated by a thin non-magnetic coupling layer such as Ru. The thickness of the spacer layer is chosen so as to antiparallel couple the magnetizations of the ferromagnetic layers of the pinned layer. A spin valve is also known as a top or bottom spin valve depending upon whether the pinning layer is at the top (formed after the free layer) or at the bottom (before the free layer).
The spin valve sensor is located between first and second non-magnetic electrically insulating read gap layers and the first and second read gap layers are located between ferromagnetic first and second shield layers. In a merged magnetic head a single ferromagnetic layer functions as the second shield layer of the read head and as the first pole piece layer of the write head. In a piggyback head the second shield layer and the first pole piece layer are separate layers.
Sensors can also be categorized as current in plane (CIP) sensors or as current perpendicular to plane (CPP) sensors. In a CIP sensor, current flows from one side of the sensor to the other side parallel to the planes of the materials making up the sensor. Conversely, in a CPP sensor the sense current flows from the top of the sensor to the bottom of the sensor perpendicular to the plane of the layers of material making up the sensor. In a CPP sensor design, the magnetic shields usually double as electrical leads for supplying a sense current to the sensor. Therefore, in CPP sensor design, the shields/leads contact the top and bottom of the sensor.
The ever increasing demand for data storage density and data rate have increasingly pushed the limits of data storage designs. Recently in efforts to overcome such limits, engineers and scientists have focused on the use of perpendicular recording. In a perpendicular recording system a write pole emits a highly concentrated magnetic field that is directed perpendicular to the surface of the medium (eg. the disk). This field in turn magnetizes a localized portion of the disk in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the disk, thereby creating a bit of data. The resulting flux travels through the disk to a return path having a much larger area than the area in which the bit was recorded. The increased interest in perpendicular recording has lead to an increased interest in current perpendicular to plane (CPP) sensors, which are particularly suited to use in perpendicular recording.
The development of perpendicular recording systems have presented several challenges. For example, as discussed above, when using a GMR or AMR sensor, the sensor must be disposed between a pair of magnetic shields in order to avoid reading stray fields and to define the bit length (gap height). However, in a perpendicular recording system, due to the bi-layer nature of the recording medium the use of shields can actually erase data from the disk. Because the disk in a perpendicular recording system has a magnetically soft under-layer, the shields tend to act sort of as magnetic antennas that concentrate stray longitudinal and transverse magnetic fields that can inadvertently erase data from the disk.
Another challenge associated with perpendicular recording is the nature of the signal read from the disk. In a longitudinal system, the signal read resembles a bell curve, and the algorithms currently in use are adapted to read such bell curves. In a perpendicular recording system however, the signal is bi-polar in that it resembles a sine wave that passes from positive to negative for a single bit of data. This presents challenges for read channel designers in that new algorithms must be developed to read the new signal curve.
With the ever increasing need for increased data density and data rate, a strong need exists for decreasing bit lengths in order to fit more bits of data onto a given length of data track. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the bit length when using a GMR or AMR sensor is limited to the distance between the shields. One way to greatly decrease the bit length is to use a differential sensor. A differential sensor essentially comprises a pair of GMR sensors, the free layer of each sensor being separated by a spacer layer. The spacer layer can be constructed of a non-magnetic material such as Cu and need only be thick enough to prevent magnetic coupling of the two free layers. The pinned layers are then located opposite one another at opposite sides of the dual GMR structure. The pinned layers each have a reference layer, which is the portion of the pinned layer closest to its respective free layer and is the portion of the pinned layer that determines the GMR effect. In such a differential structure, the reference layers of the GMRs are out of phase with one another. That is to say they have magnetic moments that are pinned 180 degrees with respect to on another. In this way, when the free layers of each GMR are detecting the same magnetic field (eg. magnetic field oriented in the same direction) the signals from each GMR cancel out. However, when one free layer is detecting a field in one direction, and the other free layer detects a field in the opposite direction, the signals from each GMR are additive. In this way the differential GMR can read a magnetic transition on a magnetic medium. When the differential GMR passes over such a transition, it will register a resistance change when each free layer is on an opposite side of the transition.
The effective read gap (ie. bit length) when using a differential GMR sensor is the distance between the first and second free layers, a distance which can be exceedingly small. In fact the read gap of a differential sensor can be a small fraction of that which is possible using a standard GMR sensor. Another advantage of using a differential GMR sensor is that no shields are needed. This eliminates the above discussed problem of disk erasure. Such a differential sensor also has the advantage that it reads a magnetic transition in a perpendicular recording system as a bell curve rather than a bipolar sine wage, thereby avoiding the need to create new channel algorithms as discussed above.
One problem that exists with prior art differential sensors is that stray longitudinal fields from adjacent tracks can be read by the sensor, thereby generating unacceptable noise in the signal. This problem becomes more acute as track density increases.
Therefore, there remains a need for a practical differential GMR sensor design that can reduce or eliminate noise produced by stray longitudinal fields such as from adjacent tracks. Such a design would preferably provide enhanced GMR signal, since such performance enhancements are needed to meet ever increasing data rate and data density requirements. Such a design would also preferably be usable as a CPP sensor useful in perpendicular recording systems and could eliminate the need for magnetic shields.

CPP differential GMR sensor having antiparallel stabilized free layers for perpendicular recording

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


A network comprises an arrangement of regular structures and merged structures, in which the regular structures each comprise one or more mutually identical fixed elements and an equal number of adjustable elements of equal value, and the adjustable elements each comprising two or more adjustable units. The regular structures may comprise one or more mutually identical fixed elements and an equal number of adjustable elements of equal value. The adjustable elements each comprise two or more adjustable units, and the merged structures comprise N mutually identical fixed elements and one merged adjustable element. The merged adjustable elements have substantially the same value as that of N adjustable elements, where N is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and the merged elements each may comprise one or more adjustable units. The network accordingly is trimmable in a manner that uses minimum area and consumes minimum time during manufacture. A described application is in digital-to-analog converter trim circuitry.

A class of networks is composed of network structures designed to have a transfer function (from one or more input nodes to an output node) that is responsive to at least one digital input signal in a prescribed manner. The digital input signal can be a pin-strappable or programmable logic input signal, or other suitable signal. The manufacturing tolerance of various network structures has a tendency to cause degradation in the accuracy of the transfer function. In order to increase the accuracy of the network transfer function, network structures typically include adjustment or trim elements. The value of the adjustable elements can be varied by a suitable means to increase the accuracy of the transfer function.
The accuracy of the transfer function of a network is modified by the influence of various structures throughout the network. The influence of these structures on the accuracy of the transfer function is referred to as the sensitivity of the structure on the transfer function. Higher sensitivity network structures require finer adjustments within a suitable adjustment range. The adjustable element has to be designed appropriately for the structure with the highest sensitivity.
It is well known to those skilled in the art that greater precision is often obtained by using network topologies for which the transfer function depends primarily on the ratio matching between similar or identical elements, and not on the absolute value of individual elements or on the ratio matching of dissimilar elements. Therefore, it has long been the common practice in the design and construction of precision networks to utilize such topologies, and furthermore to favor the use of essentially identical unit elements. The use of identical unit elements means that many sources of parameter variation, including manufacturing variability, tend to affect each unit element in the same manner. Therefore the ratio between unit element parameters remains largely unchanged. A further benefit of such practice is that post-manufacturing parameter drift due to a variety of causes, including temperature change, aging etc, also tends to effect each unit element in the same manner, and therefore has a reduced effect on the network transfer function.
Likewise it is well known that it is desirable to use identical adjustable unit elements throughout the various structures in the network, and to arrange them in a fixed ratio with respect to the fixed elements. This results in better initial matching and hence better initial transfer function accuracy and therefore reduced trim range requirements. However, network sections with high sensitivity may require adjustable elements with a large ratio between adjustment range and adjustment resolution, which in turn tends to require a large area and/or complex trim structure. If an identical adjustable element is used throughout the entire network, an excessive area may be consumed. Furthermore, for network sections with lower sensitivity this adjustable element may be considered to be over-designed, resulting in greater network area and required trim time to make adjustments in manufacturing. Conversely, using a single adjustable element structure throughout the network which has a more acceptable area and trim time requirements and has sufficient adjustment range and resolution for less sensitive sections of the network may result in inadequate trim range, resolution and stability in the more sensitive sections of the network. A specific, non-limiting, example of a possible network of this type is a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). A DAC converts a digital input word to an analog output signal. DACs typically operate in either a unipolar or bipolar mode. The generic equation for determining the output VOUT in unipolar and bipolar DACs is shown in Equation 1:
                              V          OUT                =                  G          *                      V            REF                    *                      (                                          K                                                                                1                *                                                      INPUT                                                                                CODE                                                        2                    n                                                              -                              K                                                                                2                                      )                                              (        1        )            where INPUT CODE is an n-bit digital word, G is the gain of the DAC and K1 and K2 are constants that determine the configuration mode. In unipolar mode configuration (e.g., when the output varies from 0 volts to VREF), K1=1 and K2=0 so that VOUT varies between 0 and G*VREF. In bipolar mode configuration (e.g., output varies from −VREF to VREF), K1=2 and K2=1 so that VOUT varies between −G*VREF and G* VREF. For the inverting unipolar configuration K1=−1 and K2=0 so that VOUT varies between 0 and −G*VREF.
FIG. 1 shows the example of a well known architecture of an inverting unipolar 3-bit DAC 10, which receives input VREF, control signal UPDATE and digital input INPUT CODE, and generates analog output VOUT. The DAC of FIG. 1 has 3-bit resolution for illustration only and can easily be modified to any practical resolution desired. The digital input INPUT CODE is a 3-bit digital word used by DAC 10 to convert input VREF into analog output VOUT. UPDATE is a binary control signal which determines when the digital word INPUT CODE can be used to convert VREF to produce a new VOUT. When UPDATE is LOW, VOUT remains substantially constant. When UPDATE changes from LOW to HIGH, DAC 10 converts VREF to analog output VOUT based on the INPUT CODE.
DAC 10 comprises resistor network 12, switches 161, 162 and 163, switch compensation element 17, switch control block 18, op-amp 22 and feedback element 20. Resistor network 12 is of a type commonly called an R-2R ladder, and includes substantially identical fixed unit resistors 2311, to 2342 and substantially identical adjustable trim elements 3011, to 3042. The input VREF is applied to input node 1 of DAC 10 while the output signal VOUT is produced at output node 3. An additional DAC node referred henceforth as GROUND is used as reference potential for both input VREF and output VOUT. Resistor network 12 receives the input VREF on node 1, is connected to switches 161, 162 and 163 through nodes 151,152 and 153, respectively, and to switch compensation element 17 through node 154. It comprises a number of switched and series structures. The first switched structure comprises two fixed unit resistors, 2311 and 2312, and two adjustable trim elements 3011 and 3012, all connected in series, and is coupled between the input node 1 and node 151. It functions as the most significant bit (MSB) of the ladder. The first series structure comprises fixed unit resistor 2313 and adjustable trim element 3013, connected in series, and is coupled between input node 1 and network internal node 4. The second switched structure comprises two fixed unit resistors, 2321 and 2322, and two adjustable trim elements 3021 and 3022, all connected in series, and is coupled between internal node 4 and node 152. It functions as the second bit of the ladder. The second series structure comprises fixed unit resistor 2323 and adjustable trim element 3023, connected in series, and is coupled between internal node 4 and internal node 5. The third switched structure comprises two fixed unit resistors, 2331 and 2332, and two adjustable trim elements 3031 and 3032, all connected in series, and is coupled between internal node 5 and node 153. It functions as the least significant bit (LSB) of the ladder. The last structure comprises two fixed unit resistors, 2341 and 2342, and two adjustable trim elements 3041 and 3042, all connected in series, and is coupled between internal node 5 and node 154. It functions as the ladder termination and is connected to GROUND node through the switch resistance compensation element 17.
In describing an R-2R ladder, the series structures are conventionally called the R-branches, and the switched structures and the termination structure are called the 2R-branches. Switch control block 18 receives control input UPDATE and digital input INPUT CODE. When UPDATE changes state from LOW to HIGH, switch control block 18 adjusts the levels of switch control nodes 281, through 283, according the present state of INPUT CODE. In this example of a 3-bit DAC, INPUT CODE may be a 3-bit binary signal. When the most significant bit (MSB) of INPUT CODE is HIGH, the switch control 18 will set node 281 such as to cause switch 161 to couple node 151 to node 2. When the most significant bit (MSB) of INPUT CODE is LOW, switch control 18 will set node 281 such as to cause switch 161 to couple node 151 to GROUND. Similarly, a HIGH or LOW state in the second bit of INPUT CODE will result in switch control 18 setting node 282 thus causing switch 162 to couple node 152 to node 2 or to GROUND respectively. A HIGH or LOW state in the third, least significant bit (LSB) of INPUT CODE will result in switch control 18 setting node 283 thus causing switch 163 to couple node 153 to node 2 or to GROUND respectively. In the manner described, the digital input INPUT CODE in combination with input signal VREF causes an intermediate current, IDAC to flow into node 2 from the switch elements 161 to 163 according to Equation 2, where RDAC is the input impedance of the R-2R ladder:
                                                                        I                DAC                            =                                                (                                                            V                      REF                                                              R                      DAC                                                        )                                *                                  (                                                            INPUT                                                                                CODE                                                              2                      n                                                        )                                                                                =                                                (                                                            V                      REF                                                              R                      DAC                                                        )                                *                                  (                                                            INPUT                                                                                CODE                                        8                                    )                                                                                (        2        )            Feedback element 20 and op-amp 22 form a current-to-voltage converter. The op-amp 22 has an inverting input terminal (−) coupled to node 2, a non-inverting input terminal (+) coupled to GROUND, and an output terminal coupled to node 3. Feedback element 20, coupled between node 2 and node 3, creates a feedback loop around the op-amp 22. The resistance of feedback element 20, is commonly referred to as RFB.
The current to voltage converter operates to convert intermediate current IDAC to the output voltage VOUT. The resulting VOUT is shown in Equation 3:
                                                                        V                OUT                            =                                                -                                      I                    DAC                                                  *                                  R                  FB                                                                                =                                                -                                      V                    REF                                                  *                                  (                                                            R                      FB                                                              R                      DAC                                                        )                                *                                  (                                                            INPUT                                                                                CODE                                                              2                      N                                                        )                                                                                =                                                -                                      V                    REF                                                  *                                  (                                                            R                      FB                                                              R                      DAC                                                        )                                *                                  (                                                            INPUT                                                                                CODE                                        8                                    )                                                                                (        3        )            For the 3-bit DAC example, MAX INPUT CODE=23−1=7, so for DIGITAL INPUT=0:                VOUT=0V, corresponding to ZERO SCALEand for DIGITAL INPUT=7:
            V      OUT        =                  -                  V          REF                    *              (                              R            FB                                R            DAC                          )            *              (                  7          8                )              ,      corresponding                          to                          FULL                          SCALE  The prior art includes various configurations of DAC 10 from FIG. 1 in monolithic or discrete form. The configurations are typically chosen to be unipolar, bipolar or a combination thereof, such as a software programmable signal processor of a type described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,567, incorporated herein by reference.
It is generally recognized that the transfer function accuracy of resistor networks, of which the R-2R ladder shown in FIG. 1 is just an example, depend primarily upon the ratio matching of identical unit elements of constituent structures.
It is common practice to use identical fixed elements like fixed unit resistors 2311 through 2342 of network 12 when implementing such networks in order to minimize these matching errors. Nevertheless, matching errors between identical fixed elements are inherent in any practical implementation and result in transfer function linearity errors. The problem is alleviated by connecting trim elements like trim resistors 3011 through 3042 of network 12 in series with fixed network elements. These trim elements can be adjusted in a calibration process such as to correct the residual mismatch of the fixed elements. In order to reduce even further potential mismatch errors it is common practice to use trim elements which are mutually identical prior to any trimming and to associate a trim element to every fixed element in the network. In this manner every constituent structure of the network has the same ratio between the value and number of fixed elements to trim elements.
As a function of the network configuration, the sensitivity of various constituting structures varies with the structure position within the network. For an R-2R ladder like network 12, as one progresses down from the most significant bit (MSB) structure to the least significant bit (LSB) structure, the sensitivity is lowered by a factor of 2 for each adjacent less significant bit position. Hence the adjustable trim element positioned in a more significant bit structure and dimensioned for a given overall network transfer function accuracy can be said to be over designed when located in a less significant bit structure, wasting valuable area and trim time. Similarly an adjustable trim element positioned in a less significant bit structure and dimensioned for a given overall network transfer function accuracy is inadequate when located in a more significant bit structure.
The solution to this problem is to associate different trim structures to identical fixed elements function of their specific location within the network. This configuration does not use mutually identical fixed and mutually identical adjustable units throughout the network and thus suffers from higher initial errors hence requiring wider overall trim range, larger area and longer trim time. In addition such a network is substantially more sensitive to post-production variations like temperature, mechanical stress, aging, etc.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the network configuration practiced herein described have general utility in a broad variety of network types and topologies, with applications including, but not restricted to: DAC's; ADC's; Programmable Amplifiers; Programmable Attenuators; Programmable Filters; Programmable Delay Elements; Programmable Resistors; and more.
Also, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the fixed and adjustable elements in these networks may consist of many different element types, singly or in combination, including but not limited to: resistors; capacitors; inductors; transistors; diodes; and more.
Furthermore, it will apparent to those skilled in the art that the adjustable elements may be adjusted by a wide variety of suitable means, including: laser trimming; fuse link trimming; anti-fuse link trimming; PROM control, programmable logic, and more.

Network with multiple adjustment elements and sensitivities, and digital-to-analog converter implementing same


A method for the manufacture of lattice fins for fluid-born bodies is provided. In one embodiment, lattice fins having a metallic cell structure are manufactured from strips or sheets of metal. In another embodiment, composite lattice fins are manufactured from a log assembly of elongated mandrels covered with a fiber reinforced composite material. After curing, individual fins are sliced from the log assembly. Upon removal of the mandrels, a cell structure is obtained. Combinations of the two embodiments are also provided.

Many air-to-air and air-to-ground, powered and unpowered, guided and unguided munitions have a common feature—fixed, conventionally-shaped airfoil section fins to stabilize and direct the flight path after separation from an aircraft. These weapons, such as the MK80 family of "dumb" bombs and the AIM-9 air-to-air missile, are usually carried by tactical aircraft as external stores, where space for fixed fins is comparatively plentiful, and the range, speed, and radar cross section penalties associated with external carriage are tolerated.
External weapons carriage is a major source of drag and greatly increases radar reflection. Increasing emphasis on stealth technology increases the need for future air-launched weapons, sensors, and cargo of all types to be designed for internal carriage. Folding fin systems are one important approach to diminishing the stowed volume of these internally carried payloads. Internal payload carriage also demands more compact fin configurations. The same technology is similarly useful for any tube or gun launched, guided or unguided projectile or vehicle.
Traditionally, the US military has employed two basic types of folding fin systems. In a first type, airfoil-shaped fins are stowed so that they snap open in a direction parallel to the flight path. In a second type, side-deploying fins wrap around the circumference of the body of the weapon to minimize undeployed volume required for storage during transportation.
The Russian military has deployed several operational ballistic or air-to-air missile systems using an effective fin technology that is different in configuration and operation than any preceding deployable fin system. Termed a "gas dynamic declination device" by the Russians, and a lattice or grid fin in the US, this system consists of several essentially rectangular "paddles" filled with a grid of approximately triangular, square, and diamond-shaped cells formed by a cross-hatching of thin metal. The fins are fixed to the missile body at the root end in a manner that allows them to be folded flat against the body of the missile in storage. Upon launch, the fins are deployed with their broad lattice face perpendicular to the missile body axis, and may be attached to internal mechanisms that allow the fin to be moved for directional control of the payload. Deployment is reliable because air loads on the fin are usually in the direction of desired motion, up and to the rear, although springs or other devices may be used to assure or hasten deployment.
The US has undertaken an extensive evaluation of the lattice or grid fin concept. The first US patent on grid fin technology, U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,773, issued in 1991 and is held by the U.S. Government. There is a Russian patent claim for use of these devices in supersonic powered rockets such as the AA-12. Fulghum, David, "Lattice Fin Design, Key to Small Bombs," Aviation Week & Space Technology.
Numerous aerodynamic and systems studies, most notably by Mark Miller and David Washington, have been conducted over the past ten years. Miller, M. and Washington, D., "An Experimental Investigation of Grid Fin Design"; Miller, M. and Washington, D. "An Experimental Investigation of Grid Fin Drag Reduction Techniques"; and Miller, M. and Washington, D., "Grid Fins-A New Concept for Missile Stability and Control." These studies have shown that lattice fins are aerodynamically effective control surfaces that have slightly higher drag than conventional airfoil fins. If increasing priority is given to compact storage, lattice fins have an advantage over conventional systems. They offer interesting secondary advantages as well. They can operate at high angles of attack without flow separation because the multiple channels of the lattice act as guides controlling the flow. Because of their small size and small center-of-pressure travel with large changes of angle of attack, actuator size and power for controllers can be greatly reduced, leaving more space in an air-born system for fuel and other useful payload. Perhaps more importantly for internal carriage, lattice fins allow an air-born payload to maintain similar capability in a smaller package compared to a conventionally finned payload.
The fluid dynamics and performance of lattice fin-equipped bombs, rockets and missiles and other payloads have been extensively studied both analytically and experimentally for a decade. However, the structure of lattice fins has not significantly changed from the steel configuration mentioned in the US Government's 1991 patent on this technology. Operational Russian fins, as well as almost all US experimental lattice fins, have been built from metals to help them resist the high stagnation temperatures of supersonic flight.
Prior art steel lattice fins are expensive to make. These lattice fins are machined from a solid block of metal by electrical discharge machining (EDM) or water jet cutting. Air Force estimates of the cost of a stainless steel lattice fin made by EDM are approximately $2000. This price is beyond the level of reasonableness for many of the more "routine" and expendable classes of the payloads. Thus, a more cost-efficient lattice fin and method for its production are desirable for this technology to transition from a special purpose laboratory curiosity to a widely used performance enhancement.

Lattice fin for missiles or other fluid-born bodies and method for producing same


A magnesium compound represented by the formula (I):Mg(OC2H5)2−n(OR1)n  (I)where R1 is CmH2m+1 (where m is an integer of from 3 to 10), and n is a numerical value satisfying 0<n<0.35; a solid catalyst component for olefin polymer using the magnesium compound; a catalyst for olefin polymer; and methods of producing olefin copolymers such as a propylene-based random copolymer and propylene-based block copolymer by using the catalyst for olefin polymer.

Hitherto, magnesium chloride and magnesium alkoxides have been widely used as a support material without being milled in the field of catalysts for olefin polymerization, specifically the homopolymerization or copolymerization of ethylene, propylene or the like. This may improve the catalyst activity and the morphology of polymer powder.
For example, for improving an obtained polymer in the morphology including a particle size, form, etc., a method in which a magnesium compound is supported on an inorganic oxide such as silica (for instance, see JP-A-S63-280707), or a method in which a magnesium compound is once dissolved in a solvent such as an alcohol and then precipitate again, which precipitate is used (for instance, see JP-A-S58-000811) is known.
However, these methods include very complicated steps, since they require the procedures of supporting, dissolving and precipitating a magnesium compound. Further, these methods have a defect that the catalyst is poor in stability of performance.
To use as a support of catalysts a magnesium compound obtained by reacting metal magnesium, an alcohol such as ethanol and a certain amount of halogen (for instance, see JP-A-H4-130107) is disclosed. However, the form (surface smoothness) of the polymer powder may not be satisfactory dependently on the polymerization conditions of this method.
A method in which metal magnesium and ethanol are reacted without solvent in the presence of iodine, followed by maintaining the reaction product for a few hours under reflux of an alcohol to prepare a catalyst is disclosed (for instance, see JP-A-H3-074341). However, by this method, the smoothness of the support to be obtained is not satisfactory.
A magnesium compound which is obtained by reacting metal magnesium and ethanol in the presence of iodine and which satisfies the sphericity S<1.60 and the particle size distribution index P<5.0 is disclosed (for instance, see JP-A-H4-370104). However, although the support is excellent in the sphericity and particle size distribution, when catalyst components are supported on the support and polymerization is carried out, resultant powder particles sometimes fracture.
A magnesium compound having the sphericity S<4.0, which is obtained by reacting metal magnesium, ethanol and iodine, is disclosed (for instance, see WO03/099749). However, although the magnesium compound has narrow particle size distribution and small sphericity, usable raw material magnesium is strictly limited.
A propylene-based random copolymer obtained by copolymerizing propylene and the other α-olefins has impact resistance and transparency superior to a propylene homopolymer, further has relatively low melting point so that it is excellent in low temperature heat sealing property. Therefore, the propylene-based random copolymer has been widely used for uses mainly including the field of packaging material such as various types of films.
As propylene-based random copolymers, for example, a random copolymer of propylene and ethylene, a random copolymer of propylene and an α-olefin having at least 4 carbon atoms, and a ternary random copolymer of propylene, ethylene and an α-olefin having at least 4 carbon atoms are known.
As to the above-mentioned propylene-based random copolymer, the larger the ratio of monomer copolymerized with propylene is, the more the melting point can be lowered, and it has been known that the impact resistance and low temperature heat sealing property are improved. On the other hand, as the composition ratio of the copolymerizable monomer increases, the amount of low molecular weight amorphous components having tacky nature increases, the amount of tackiness components at the time of forming a film increases and the blocking resistance tends to deteriorate. As the result, there are inadequacies that the commercial value is sometimes reduced and its use is limited dependently on the use.
Further, for producing a propylene-based random copolymer, a catalyst for olefin polymerization consisting of a solid titanium catalyst component, an organic aluminum compound and, if necessary an electron donating compound has been widely used (for instance, JP-A-H9-025316, JP-A-H9-059321, JP-A-H9-067416 and JP-A-H10-287710). However, in the case of producing it using a hydrocarbon solvent or propylene as a medium, there sometimes has problems that copolymer particles adhere to each other because of increase of the amount of the by-product low molecular weight amorphous components, that the productivity decreases because of increase of the viscosity of the polymerization system, and that in some cases, serious troubles occur in the production.
When the production is carried out by gas phase polymerization, in addition to increase of low molecular weight amorphous components and decrease of the melting point, the particles tend to melt by the enlarged heat of reaction involved with increase of the reaction rate, the copolymerization particles adhere to each other or fused to form agglomerates, and the particles tend to adhere to the inside of a reaction vessel. As the result, troubles are sometimes taken place such that block up or the like tends to occur when the powder is taken out from a polymerization vessel, productivity decreases or that the polymerization has to be terminated in the worst case.
On the other hand, a propylene-based block copolymer, for example, a propylene-based block copolymer consisting of a crystalline propylene copolymer part and an amorphous propylene-ethylene copolymer part (rubber part) has properties of high stiffness and excellent low temperature impact resistance, therefore, it is widely used for automobile parts, home electric appliance parts, foods field and other fields as well as general injection molding.
The propylene-based block copolymer having a high content of the rubber part exhibits excellent low temperature impact resistance, therefore, in the automobile parts field, a propylene-based block copolymer having a higher ratio of the rubber part is desired. However, since it is difficult to produce such a propylene-based block copolymer, for improving impact resistance, the method has been employed that an olefin-based elastomer such as an ethylene-propylene rubber, or a styrene-based elastomer is blended to a propylene-based block copolymer.
A propylene-based block copolymer is generally produced by homopolymerization of propylene or copolymerization of propylene with a small amount of the other α-olefin in the first process, followed by copolymerization of propylene with ethylene and/or the other α-olefin to prepare a rubber part in the second process.
The second process is frequently carried out by gas phase reaction, however, the rubber part has adhesiveness, in the production of a block copolymer, tackiness of the propylene-based block copolymer increases, and there are problems that powder particles agglutinate involved with deterioration of flowability in a polymerization vessel, and that troubles in the production tend to occur such as adhesion in the polymerization vessel and the like.
To contemplate increasing the amount of the rubber part, the above-mentioned problems get serious, and troubles such that the polymerization has to be terminated and the like are sometimes caused. Thus, the ratio of the rubber part in the production of a propylene-based block copolymer is limited under the existing circumstance.
As to the technique in order to produce propylene-based block copolymer particles containing a large amount of the rubber part, some approaches have been made.
For instance, JP-A-H9-506319 discloses a method that a crystalline polypropylene part is produced using a solid titanium catalyst component consisting magnesium, titanium and a halogen as the essential components in the first polymerization process, and an amorphous propylene-ethylene copolymer part is produced using a so-called Metallocene in the second polymerization process.
However, in this method, a step to inactivate the catalyst has to be provided after the first polymerization process, there having a defect that the processes complexity.
JP-A-2002-030128 discloses a method using a catalyst for olefin polymerization, which contains magnesium, titanium, a halogen, an electron donating compound and aluminum as the catalyst components.
However, this method cannot be said a sufficient technique to solve the problems in the production of the propylene-based block copolymer, since the technique of the solid catalyst used in this method is one similar to those of catalysts such as methods that a magnesium compound is supported on a porous inorganic oxide such as silica which is known technique (for instance, see JP-A-S63-280707), that a magnesium compound is once dissolved in a solvent such as alcohols, followed by precipitation again to obtain a catalyst (for instance, see JP-A-S58-811), and that a magnesium alkoxide compound which is obtained by reacting metal magnesium and an alcohol such as ethanol is used as a support (for instance, see JP-A-H4-130107).
From the above-mentioned back ground, a method is desired that can provide propylene-based block copolymer particles which have excellent particle flow property, from which molded articles excellent in stiffness and impact resistance can be prepared, and which can be produced with light load.
In view of the above-mentioned problems, a purpose of the present invention is to provide a magnesium compound which exhibits high activity without decrease of performances such as stereoregularity and can give an olefin polymer excellent in powder flowability and a method of production thereof, a solid catalyst component for olefin polymerization, and a catalyst for olefin polymerization.
Further, in view of the above-mentioned problems, a purpose of the present invention is to provide a propylene-based random copolymer having less tacky component, which can give a film excellent in low temperature heat sealing property and impact resistance, and a method that can stably produce the propylene-based random copolymer.
Furthermore, in view of the above-mentioned problems, a purpose of the present invention is to provide a propylene-based block copolymer having excellent particle flow property and a method of producing the same.

Magnesium compound, catalyst for olefin polymerization and method for producing olefin polymer


An electrode, a method of producing the same, and a fuel cell including the electrode are disclosed. The electrode includes: a support; and a catalyst layer formed on the support, the catalyst layer includes: a support catalyst; and a proton conductor having an amorphous phase greater than about 60% by weight. The proton conductor includes: at least one material from the group of B2O3, ZrO2, SiO2, WO3, and MoO3; and P2O5, the proton conductor being 0.5-60 parts by weight where the support catalyst is 100 parts by weight. The proton conductor can be synthesized at a low enough temperature so that it can be applied to the support with catalyst particles to form a catalyst layer. The coated proton conductor is in a solid state so the fuel cell is stable over time and it does not obstruct a fuel gas so that the catalyst can be more efficiently used.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to an electrode for a fuel cell and a method of producing the same, and more particularly, to an electrode for a fuel cell, the electrode including a proton conductor which exhibits better proton conductivity at high temperatures of 100° C. or higher in a non-humidified condition than conventional proton conductors and can be manufactured at low temperature and a method of producing the electrode.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fuel cells can be classified into proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs), molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs), and solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) according to the type of electrolyte used in the cells. The operation temperature and materials of constitutional elements of fuel cells are changed according to the type of electrolyte.
Proton conductors can be used both in electrolyte membranes and in electrodes.
Electrolyte membranes act as separators preventing a physical contact between anodes and cathodes and as ion conductors transporting hydrogen ions (protons) from anodes to cathodes. Here, proton conductors, distributed in the electrolyte membranes, act as ion conductors.
Proton conductors are generally made of a perfluorosulfonated polymer called Nafion. Such perfluorosulfonated polymer-based proton conductors are excellent in mechanical strength, chemical stability, and ionic conductivity, but cannot be used at temperatures above 80° C. due to loss of water. Therefore, fuel cells using such perfluorosulfonated polymer-based proton conductors lack high-temperature operating capability.
In view of these problems, research into non-humidified polymer electrolytes is actively being carried out, based on mainly polybenzimidazole (PBI)-phosphoric acid (H3PO4) systems using phosphoric acid as a proton conductor.
However, the phosphoric acid used in the PBI-phosphoric acid systems is a fluid liquid, and thus, is not uniformly distributed on surfaces of catalyst/carbon particles constituting electrodes but locally soaked in spaces between the catalyst/carbon particles, causing non-uniformity problems.
That is, a redox reaction on electrodes occurs at a surface of a catalyst. At this time, the redox reaction most actively occurs at a portion of a catalyst in the vicinity of a liquid phosphoric acid where mass transfer from a vapor phase and mass transfer to a liquid phase smoothly occur. However, a portion of the catalyst surrounded by the liquid phosphoric acid where the redox reaction is active in the vicinity of the liquid phosphoric acid but where the mass transfer from the vapor phase inactively occurs is not subjected to the redox reaction. As a result, overall catalyst efficiency is reduced.
In addition, a phosphoric acid present in an electrolyte membrane or an electrode may cause the corrosion of a carbon bipolar plate due to its leakage. Here, the "corrosion" indicates formation of foreign substances through reaction between a leaked phosphoric acid and a functional group of a carbon surface. Such a corrosion reaction can be prevented by heat treating a carbon bipolar plate at 2,800° C. or more to remove the functional groups. In such a case, however, the manufacturing costs increase considerably.
In view of the above-described disadvantages of phosphoric acid, use of metal phosphate, such as tin phosphate (SnP2O7) or zirconium phosphate (ZrP2O7) as a proton conductor has been considered.
However, metal phosphate preparation involving high-temperature treatment above 500° C. cannot be performed in-situ with preparation of a platinum-carbon supported catalyst which is fragile at temperatures above 400° C.
Proton conductors manufactured according to conventional techniques are shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 3. FIGS. 2A and 2B show proton conductors made of tin phosphate (SnP2O7) surrounded by phosphoric acid. Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, many proton conductor particles are agglomerated due to the use of the phosphoric acid. FIG. 3 shows a proton conductor made using 85% phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and boric acid. Referring to FIG. 3, BPO4 particles are surrounded by the phosphoric acid and considerably agglomerated. These conventional proton conductors are non-uniformly dispersed in a catalyst layer since they have a tendency to be easily agglomerated, and change from a solid state to a fluid state over time due to their moisture absorptivity, thus gradually blocking pores that are channels for mass transfer.

Electrode for fuel cell, method of producing the same, and fuel cell including the electrode


A carry case for an electronics-enabled eyewear device, such as smart glasses, has charging contacts that are movable relative to a storage chamber in which the eyewear device is receivable. The charging contacts are connected to a battery carried by the case for charging the eyewear device via contact coupling of the charging contacts to corresponding contact formations on an exterior of the eyewear device. The charging contacts are in some instances mounted on respective flexible walls defining opposite extremities of the storage chamber. The contact formations on the eyewear device are in some instances provided by hinge assemblies that couple respective temples to a frame of the eyewear device.

Electronics-enabled eyewear devices, such as smart glasses, typically have integrated electronics requiring an onboard power supply in the form of a battery. Such batteries are usually relatively small and require regular recharging. Regular connection to a charging outlet for these purposes, however, can reduce user satisfaction with such devices.
Some recently introduced eyewear device holders or carry cases are multifunctional in that they not only stow the glasses for safe transportation, but at the same time serve as a docking station for charging of the smart glasses battery. Establishing a charging connection between the case and the eyewear device, however, can be problematic in that precise location of the eyewear device during insertion is required to achieve positive connection of conventional male-female type charging connectors (e.g., mini USB or iPhone connectors).
The headings provided herein are merely for convenience and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the terms used.

Carry case for rechargeable eyewear devices