A method of patterning organic semiconductor layers of electronic devices utilizing reverse printing.

Disclosed is a process for forming thin film transistors (TFTs) in semiconductor devices. More specifically, illustrated herein is a method of reverse printing, which involves both deposition and patterning of organic semiconductor layers in thin film transistor devices.
Electronic components, including thin film transistors (TFTs) are commonly formed on silicon-based materials. However, semiconductor devices with organic active layers and printed electronic components are emerging as an inexpensive alternative to silicon-based devices. The performance of organic-based devices may not match the performance of their silicon-based counterparts in terms of device density and reliability under extreme conditions, for example, high or low temperatures. However, in certain applications, these shortcomings can be traded off for economic benefits because organic materials provide the advantage of producing these devices without the expensive steps associated with silicon processing. Other advantages of organic-based devices include the greater mechanical flexibility and easier electronic tunability.
Forming of patterned organic semiconductor layers, which includes deposition and patterning of organic semiconductor layers, is a significant part of TFT fabrication. The deposition method has significant effects on the physical properties of the resultant semiconductor layer such as the thickness, surface roughness, film morphology. These in turn have significant effect on the performance of TFTs. Patterning of semiconductor layers is also significant, as proper patterning and isolating the semiconductor layers into discrete areas may significantly reduce device leakage.
Formation of patterned organic semiconductor layers may be achieved by deposition of semiconductor layers with vacuum deposition, spin coating, dip coating, bar coating methods, followed by patterning with conventional photolithographic method. Other methods such as vacuum deposition through a shadow and lift-off patterning, controlling surface energy and spin or dip coating to generate patterned organic semiconductor layers have also been reported. However, these methods are generally multiple-step processes or complicated. They may not therefore be suitable for manufacturing low-cost, large-area devices. An example of the above-cited deposition and patterning methods to form a patterned organic semiconductor layer is disclosed by H. E. Katz in U.S. Pat. No. 6,403,397. The '397 process involves treating a surface to selectively provide regions of greater affinity and lesser affinity for an organic semiconductor solution. When the organic semiconductor, or solution comprising the semiconductor, is deposited on the treated surface, either the organic semiconductor or the organic semiconductor solution de-wets from the lesser affinity regions or the resultant film adheres only weakly to the lesser affinity regions such that selective removal is readily achieved.
Other references in the field include: C. D. Dimitrakopoulos, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,551; K. Amundson, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,971; Suzuki, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,595.
A method including both deposition and patterning is disclosed by K. E. Paul in Appl. Phys. Lett. 2003, Vol 83, p 2070–2072. Patterned organic semiconductor layers are formed by directly printing solution of a semiconductor into the channels of TFTs via an inkjet printer. However, the method requires a specialized semiconductor ink that possesses proper viscosity and stability suitable for printing.
Thus, there is a need for a new process to deposit and pattern organic semiconductor layers in organic electronic devices.


A network system is provided that includes at least one terminal and a server. The server sends at least one terminal information for inhibiting sending of data from at least one terminal. At least one terminal each sends the server at least a part of obtained data according to the information from the server.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network system technology, specifically a network system used to control home appliances, and to a communication method, a server, and a terminal.
Description of the Related Art
Network systems used to control home appliances are known. For example, JP-A-2009-225481 discloses a communication device, a communication control method, and a communication control program. This publication discloses an adaptor that connects an electrical device to an ECHONET network. The adaptor includes a device object storing section that stores the object configuration information of a connecting electrical device in advance, an object configuration checking section that checks whether the object configuration information stored in the device object storing section matches the object configuration information obtained from a connected electrical device, and a network entry processing section that communicatably connects the electrical device and the ECHONET network to each other if the object configuration checking section determined that the object configuration information matches.
There has been proposed a communication protocol called ECHONET Lite. ECHONET Lite encompasses a control protocol and a protocol for a sensor network for smart houses, and has been internationally certified under ISO and IEC standards. For example, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan certifies ECHONET Lite as a standard protocol for connecting a smart meter and an HEMS (Home Energy Management System).
However, sending of data from a home appliance to a server has the possibility of creating heavy traffic from the home appliance to the server, or overloading the server, when the data is sent directly to the server.

Network system, communication method, server, and terminal


A seamless garment constructed out of a single piece of material will allow for a reduction in manufacturing costs and a lengthened life of the garment due to its simplicity of design and lack of seams. The garment may consist of a single piece of material divided into two panels by a pair of cuts, each extending toward the other, partway through the body of the piece of material. The garment may be secured to the body of a wearer via a variety of attachment mechanisms.

Full-body articles of clothing worn in the Western world are typically constructed of multiple pieces of fabric using multiple seams to connect the pieces together. Clothing has become much more complex in construction over time. Modern life continues to demand increased functionality and versatility that adds to the complexity of construction. However, complex construction can result in increased prices for garments and increased time and labor to produce the garments.

Uniwrap garment from a single seamless piece of material


An synchronous rectifying apparatus or synchronous rectifying circuit of a soft switching power converter is provided to improve the efficiency. The integrated synchronous rectifying circuit includes: a power transistor connected from a transformer to the output of the power converter for rectifying; a controller having a latch circuit generates a drive signal to control the power transistor in response to a switching signal generated by a winding of the transformer in response to the switching of the transformer. The controller turns off the power transistor when the switching signal is lower than a low-threshold. The power transistor is turned on when the switching signal is higher than a high-threshold. Furthermore, a maximum-on-time circuit provided in the controller is applied to generate a maximum-on-time signal for limiting the maximum on time of the power transistor.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to power converters, and more particularly, relates to synchronous rectifying for soft switching power converters.
2. Description of Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a circuit schematic of a conventional soft switching power converter 1. It includes a transformer 10 to provide isolation from line input VIN to the output VO of the power converter 1 for safety. Switches 20 and 30 develop a half bridge circuit to switch a resonant tank and the transformer 10. An inductor 5 and a capacitor 40 form the resonant tank. The inductor 5 can be an inductance device or the leakage inductance of a primary winding NP of the transformer 10. The inductance L of the inductor 5 and the capacitance C of the capacitor 40 determine the resonance frequency f0 of the resonant tank.
                              f          0                =                  1                      2                        π                                                      L                ×                C                                                                        (        1        )
The transformer 10 transfers the energy from the primary winding NP to the secondary windings NS1, NS2 of the transformer 10. Rectifiers 61, 62 and a capacitor 65 rectify and filter voltages at the secondary windings NS1, NS2 to generate a DC voltage VO at the output of the power converter 1. The detail operation and description of the soft switching power converter 1 can be found in text book "Resonant Power Converters" by Marian K. Kazimierczuk and Dariusz Czarkowski, 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Although the soft switching of the power converter can achieve high efficiency and low EMI (electric-magnetic interference) performance, the forward voltage of rectifiers 61 and 62 still causes significant power losses. Using transistors as the synchronous rectifiers is a higher efficiency approach, such as "Control circuit associated with saturable inductor operated as synchronous rectifier forward power converter" disclosed by Yang, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,173,835. However, the disadvantage of this prior art is an additional power consumptions caused by saturable inductors, etc. Besides, it is not optimized for soft-switching topologies. The object of present invention is to provide the synchronous rectifying for soft switching power converter to achieve higher efficiency.

Synchronous rectifying for soft switching power converters


A new and distinct cultivar of Hypericum plant named xe2x80x98Kolmoranxe2x80x99, characterized by its upright and outwardly spreading plant habit; dark green leaves; orange-colored fruits; good postproduction longevity; and resistance to rust pathogens.

Hypericum inodorum cultivar Kolmoran.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hypericum plant, botanically known as Hypericum inodorum, commercially used as cut stems with fruits, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Kolmoranxe2x80x99.
The new Hypericum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Wageningen, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to develop cut Hupericum varieties with attractive fruit coloration.
The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1998 of two unidentified proprietary seedling selections, not patented. The cultivar Kolmoran was discovered and selected by the Inventor in 2000 as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new Hypericum by terminal cuttings taken at Boskoop, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of this new Hypericum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Kolmoranxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Kolmoranxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright and outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Dark green leaves.
3. Orange-colored fruits.
4. Good postproduction longevity.
5. Resistance to rust pathogens.
Plants of the new Hypericum differ from plants of the parent seedling selections primarily in fruit coloration.
Plants of the new Hypericum can be compared to plants of the Hypericum cultivar Excellent Flair, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Boskoop, The Netherlands, plants of the new Hypericum differed from plants of the cultivar Excellent Flair in the following characteristics:
1. Leaves of plants of the new Hypericum did not sunburn whereas leaves of plants of the cultivar Excellent Flair sunburned.
2. Fruits of plants of the new Hypericum were orange in color whereas fruits of plants of the cultivar Excellent Flair were red brown in color.


A method includes placing a plurality of functional dies over a carrier, placing a plurality of dummy dies over the carrier, encapsulating the plurality of functional dies and the plurality of dummy dies in an encapsulant, and forming redistribution lines over and interconnecting the plurality of functional dies. The redistribution lines, the plurality of functional dies, the plurality of dummy dies, and the encapsulant in combination form a reconstructed wafer. The plurality of functional dies are in a center region of the reconstructed wafer, and the plurality of dummy dies are in a peripheral region of the reconstructed wafer, with the peripheral region encircling the center region. The reconstructed wafer is de-bonded from the carrier. The reconstructed wafer is bonded to a package component selected from the group consisting essentially of an interposer, a package substrate, a printed circuit board, a thermal module, and combinations thereof.

In the formation of three-dimensional integrated circuits, dies are often bonded on semiconductor wafers. The bonding process typically include selecting known-good-dies (top dies), and bonding the top dies to the bottom chips in a bottom wafer using flip chip bonding. Each of the bottom chips may be bonded to one or more top die. After the bonding, underfill is dispensed into the space between the top dies and the bottom chips, and a molding compound is molded onto the top dies and the bottom wafer. After the molding of the molding compound, the package may have a warpage due to the contraction of the molding compound. Accordingly, stresses may be generated and applied to the bottom wafer and the overlying top dies.
The situation is further worsened when the packages become increasingly larger. With the increase in the sizes of the packages, the distance from one point to another point of the package is increased, which results in the increase in the distance in which the stress can accumulate, resulting in increased stress and hence increased warpage.
In the formation of conventional packages, dummy dies are used to reduce the warpage, and dummy dies and functional dies are molded together. After the formation of RDLs connecting to the functional dies, the reconstructed wafer is sawed into a plurality of packages. The dummy dies close to the edge of the reconstructed wafer are removed. The resulting packages may or may not include dummy dies. The dummy die(s), if any, in the resulting package, are placed side-by-side with functional dies.

Dummy dies for reducing warpage in packages

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Achieved is an electricity storage device having a low internal resistance and a high energy density. In a pore distribution, which is obtained for a carbon material using a BJH method and is plotted on a graph with a pore diameter D on the abscissa and a derivative ΔV/ΔD of a pore volume per unit mass or unit volume with respect to the pore diameter D on the ordinate, a ratio M1/M2 of the maximum value M1 of the derivative ΔV/ΔD in an interval of the pore diameter D from 10 to 100 nm with respect to the maximum value M2 of the derivative ΔV/ΔD in an interval of the pore diameter D from 2 to 10 nm is 1.5 or more.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carbon material and an electricity storage device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Carbon materials can be used in electrodes of electricity storage devices such as electric double-layer capacitors, hybrid capacitors and lithium-ion secondary batteries.
For example, JP-A 9-293507 describes use of fine powder produced by carbonizing a phenol resin as a material for a negative electrode of a lithium-ion secondary battery. This fine powder features a cumulative pore volume V1 of 0.05 to 0.35 mL/g for a pore diameter interval of 0.28 to 0.50 nm, a ratio V2/V1 of 0.30 or less, which is a ratio of a cumulative pore volume V2 for a pore diameter interval of 0.50 to 1.0 nm with respect to the cumulative pore volume V1, and a ratio V3/V1 of 0.25 or less, which is a ratio of a cumulative pore volume V3 for a pore diameter interval of 1.0 nm or more with respect to the cumulative pore volume V1. The fine powder also features a specific surface area of 1 to 500 m2/g, an average particle diameter of 0.1 to 50 μm, and an atomic ratio of hydrogen atoms with respect to carbon atoms of 0.02 to 0.35.
JP-A 2006-324183 describes use of carbon particles having particle diameters of 100 nm to 10 μm as a material for a negative electrode of a lithium-ion secondary battery. This second patent document also describes use of an activated carbon having particle diameters of 100 nm to 10 μm, a pore diameter of 2 to 5 nm, and a pore volume of 0.1 to 2.0 mL/g for a pore diameter interval of 2 to 5 nm as an active material of an electric double-layer capacitor.

Carbon material and electricity storage device


A generator (304) generates first and second training signals (320, 318) that originate within a wireless communication device (FIG. 3) instead of being received from a source outside the device. A receive portion (212, 214, 216) of the device processes the first training signal to derive a processed training signal. An adaptive equalizer (310) equalizes the processed training signal to derive an equalized training signal. A processor (312) compares the equalized training signal and the second training signal using an adaptive algorithm to derive coefficients for the adaptive equalizer to compensate for variations in the receive portion, and adjusts the adaptive equalizer in accordance with the coefficients to derive a compensated output signal.

Optimal demodulation of signals in additive white Gaussian noise channels requires that the receive filter be matched to the transmit filter. A wireless communication device, however, generally uses analog filters in its receive portion for anti-aliasing and selectivity purposes. Unfortunately, the frequency and time domain responses of analog filters can vary over process, temperature, and supply voltage. Thus, in the prior art it has not been possible to maintain a fixed composite response in the receiver that is matched to the transmit filter in the base station throughout the operational life and environmental range of the wireless device without using a training sequence originating from the base transmitter. Such non-optimal, unmatched filtering can degrade the receiver sensitivity by more than 1 dB. Further, for high data rate systems such as those commonly referred to as 2.5G and 3G systems, a 1 dB sensitivity loss can lead to significant loss in system throughput and capacity.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus for compensating for variations in the receive portion of a wireless communication device. Preferably, the method and apparatus will provide near-optimal matched filtering and, hence, greatly improved receiver performance over the operating life of the wireless communication device.

Method and apparatus for compensating for variations in a receive portion of a wireless communication device


A method for calibrating element in a semiconductor processing device with a camera is provided. The method for calibrating element in a semiconductor processing device with a camera includes taking a first picture of a first element by a camera; providing a first actuator to move the first element an increment along a first direction; taking a second picture of the first element by the camera; and comparing the first picture and the second picture to calibrate the first element. A system for calibrating element in a semiconductor processing device with a camera is also provided.

The present invention is related to a calibration system and method, and more particularly to a calibration system and method with a camera.
In semiconductor processing, the dimension of circuit is more and more scaling down, and the requirement of precision of the production equipment is higher and higher. In order to improve the quality of integral circuit and accuracy of the semiconductor process, the positioning of each component inside the production equipment must be very precise. U.S. Pat. No. 6,633,046 B1 disclosed a method and apparatus for detecting that two moveable members are correctly positioned relatively to one another. U.S. Pat. No. 8,519,363 B2 disclosed a wafer handling method and an ion implanter that are capable of accurately adjusting a twist angle of a wafer to a target twist angle given as one of ion implantation conditions. Although the methods of adjusting is announced, but these methods are still too cumbersome and require manual operations for calibration. However, with the miniaturization of circuit of the semiconductor manufacturing process, the precision requirements of the machine have exceeded the limits of manual operation. Therefore, there is a need for a simpler and more accurate calibration method.

Calibration system with at least one camera and method thereof


An ophthalmic instrument for use with a subject's eye, comprising an interferometer having a test arm in which the subject's eye is to be positioned and a reference arm, the reference arm including a mirror adapted to be positioned such that the reference arm has a predetermined length, and an ophthalmic apparatus coupled to the interferometer such that, by altering a test arm length, a length between the ophthalmic apparatus and the eye is also altered. The mirror is positioned to achieve the predetermined length and a length of the test arm is adjusted such that interference between the light reflected from the eye and the light reflected from the mirror is achieved, the ophthalmic apparatus is optically aligned with the eye.

Some ophthalmic procedures use highly precise diagnostic apparatus and/or surgical apparatus. To take advantage of the precision, it is important that the apparatus be accurately aligned with a subject's eye.
Various alignment apparatus are known. FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of one conventional apparatus for axial alignment with a subject's eye. A first laser 10 and a second laser 20 are aligned so that the beams from the lasers intersect at a location L. The eye is brought to a longitudinal location L (in the z-direction) by observing an image of the light in the beams that is scattered by the subject's cornea C. The image is formed using a camera 50. When two spots R1 and R2 are observed by the camera, the subject's eye is either in front of or behind location L; and when a single spot is observed the subject's eye is proximate location L and assumed to be axially aligned. Such alignment apparatus have limitation on the degree of accuracy with which an instrument can be consistently aligned.

Ophthalmic instrument alignment apparatus and method of using same


An apparatus is disclosed for filling single-serve biodegradable coffee pods. In one embodiment, a single-serve pod will include an outer shell defining an interior of the pod, a filter containing a product to be brewed, and a film lid at a top of the pod; and a filter support that supports an upper filter support portion counter the force of a filter that expands and thereby applies a downward pressure on the upper filter support portion during a brewing process.

Single serve brewing devices and methods have become popular recently, as consumer desire a hot beverage on demand without any effort.
Many factors contribute to an optimum quality of a hot beverage, for example a brewed beverage. For example, brewed coffee may be influenced by the bean, roast, water, grind, ratio of coffee to water, brew time, and temperature of the water. The relationship between grind and the amount of coffee is important. A finer grind extracts more flavors from the coffee, but can easily become bitter. In contrast, a coarser grind produces a smoother flavor, but requires more coffee to achieve the same flavor. Unfortunately, single serve coffee pods do not allow the user to increase the amount of coffee contained in the pods.

Apparatus and system to fill single-serve biodegradable coffee pods


The present invention provides an imaging scintillation radiation detector comprising a doped lanthanide halide microcolumnar scintillator formed on a substrate. The scintillation radiation detectors of the invention typically comprise a substrate. The substrate can be either opaque or optically transparent. In a particular embodiment of the present invention the microcolumnar scintillator is a lanthanide-halide (LaHalide3) doped with at least cerium. The invention also provides methods for the vapor deposition of a doped microcolumnar lanthanide-halide scintillator film.

Computed Tomography, including both transmission (CT) and emission (PET and SPECT), is a powerful tool for non-invasively imaging anatomical structures and biological processes in small laboratory animals. With the ever-increasing number of human disease models, particularly in smaller animals such as mice and rats, the ability of high-resolution computed tomography to contribute unique information has become apparent to many researchers. Among various imaging modalities, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) allows the physiological study of disease models in small animals as well as in patient care. Suitable single-photon-emitting radiotracers are available for measuring a wide range of biological parameters of importance including substrate metabolism, blood flow, hypoxia, protein synthesis, and receptor characteristics. SPECT is capable of dual-isotope imaging for correlating two biological processes within a single imaging study as well as imaging trans-gene expression in vivo. In addition, radiolabeled antibodies are available that can be used to localize and characterize tumors in small animals, and they hold promise for diagnosis and treatment of cancer in humans.
The utility of SPECT has been significantly enhanced in recent years by the development of dual-modality imaging, which combines radionuclide imaging with anatomical imaging. Dual-modality imaging is typically achieved by combining SPECT images with images from x-ray CT or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fusing images pixel-to-pixel and simultaneously displaying selected functional and anatomical information. However, the functional and anatomical images may be geometrically inconsistent when they are obtained at different times on different pieces of equipment and with differing imaging geometries. Sequential dual-modality imaging results in increased study time, miss-registration errors, and complicated diagnostic procedures. CCD based x-ray/γ-ray detectors are being developed and have shown significant promise in overcoming these difficulties by performing near simultaneous combined SPECT/CT imaging using a single detector.
The main barriers to using SPECT or combined SPECT/CT in studies of laboratory animals have traditionally been poor spatial resolution, low sensitivity, and high cost. While most of the currently available SPECT systems are based on scintillation crystals coupled to position-sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PSPMTs), new design approaches that make use of charge coupled devices (CCDs) and position sensitive avalanche photodiodes (PSAPDs) have been shown to be effective in substantially improving the detector sensitivity and spatial resolution. Unfortunately, the current state-of-the-art scintillator technology remains the primary performance-limiting factor. A scintillator that simultaneously provides high spatial resolution, excellent stopping efficiency, high light output, fast response, and low cost is needed for small animal SPECT or combined SPECT/CT imaging.
A wide variety of new scintillators have recently become available that have characteristics that make them useful for radiation detection. Two new cerium doped halide scintillators, lanthanum chloride and lanthanum bromide (LaCl3:Ce and LaBr3:Ce) have shown potential to fulfill the requirements of scintillators used in such radiation detection methods as small animal single positron emission computed tomography (SPECT), computed tomography (CT), and combined SPECT/CT.
Crystals of LaCl3:Ce have one of the highest conversion efficiencies among known scintillators (˜50,000 photons/MeV), rapid decay time (20 ns), and a stopping efficiency comparable to that of NaI:Tl. Moreover, LaCl3:Ce shows very good linearity in energy response and has demonstrated two times better energy resolution than NaI:Tl (<3% at approximately 662 keV). The peak emission wavelength for LaCl3:Ce is λmax˜350 nm which is well matched to the quantum efficiency of photomultiplier tubes and is acceptable for new Si photodiodes (both unity gain p-i-n and avalanche Si diodes). These detectors are currently being considered for compact γ-camera and SPECT systems. The photon peak emissions are also appropriate for back thinned, ultra violet B (UVB) charge-coupled devices (CCDs) being used in SPECT/CT applications. LaCl3:Ce is therefore expected to find extensive use in nuclear medicine and digital radiology.
Crystals of LaBr3:Ce also has characteristic that are better than those of NaI:Tl. It has one of the highest conversion efficiencies among known scintillators (>63,000 photons/MeV), rapid decay time (16 ns), and a high stopping efficiency. Moreover, LaBr3:Ce shows very good linearity in energy response and has demonstrated two times better energy resolution than NaI:Tl (<3% at about 662 keV). The peak emission wavelength for LaBr3:Ce is λmax˜380 nm which like LaCl3:Ce, is well matched to the quantum efficiency of photomultiplier tubes (e.g., MAPMTs) and is acceptable for new Si photodiodes (both unity gain p-i-n and avalanche Si diodes). Further, the photon emissions are also appropriate for back thinned, UVB CCDs being used in SPECT/CT applications. As with LaCl3:Ce, LaBr3:Ce is expected to find extensive use in nuclear medicine and digital radiology.
Despite the obvious advantages of Lanthanum halide crystals, as exemplified by LaCl3:Ce and LaBr3:Ce, to date only single crystals of each have been grown and made commercially available. (Saint-Gobain Crystals and Detectors, Ohio; BrilLanCe®350 and BrilLanCe®380). Crystalline growth of these halide materials using art standard melt methods is difficult due to the stringent growth condition requirements, resulting in high production costs and limited availability. In addition, the crystals produced are usually no larger than about 5×5 cm2. Furthermore, growth from the standard melt process under equilibrium conditions tends to reject impurities from the crystal lattice, whether wanted or not, resulting in a non-uniform distribution of dopant. This causes variation in light output within the crystal and degrades the energy resolution. Finally, for these crystalline materials to be useful in high spatial resolution applications, it is necessary to produce it in a pixilated array form. This is challenging because LaHalide3:Ce is a highly hygroscopic material, making pixilation difficult and expensive. Thus, new, practical, and cost effective technologies are needed for producing structured arrays with controlled stochiometry, as are methods for protecting them from atmospheric moisture during and after fabrication.
For a CT or digital radiography detector, important performance criteria are area coverage (arrays of at least 5×5 cm2 for small animals and 20×25 cm2 or larger for human imaging); spatial resolution (better than 70 μm); dose efficiency; and speed of operation. Additionally, the scintillator used in the detector should have a rapid decay with no significant afterglow in order to minimize reconstruction artifacts due to image blurring in CT. Higher signal-to-noise ratios and dose efficiency are critical for minimizing radiation dose, and speed of operation is necessary for enhanced throughput and to resolve time-dependent phenomena. Additionally, a wide dynamic range of at least 10 bits for small animals and 16 bits for imaging humans is needed, with excellent linearity of response to dose. Thus, with its fast decay time, enhanced emission, excellent energy resolution, and high degree of response linearity, LaHalide3:Ce, could provide an appropriate scintillator if an efficient method and structure could be obtained to meet the requirements of high-resolution medical imaging.
To achieve high spatial resolution many of the current commercial SPECT systems rely on image magnification. This translates into the requirement that the detector must have a very large imaging area. For example, the NanoSPECT™ system developed by BioScan, Inc. provides reconstruction resolution on the order of 100 μm using four NaI(Tl) detectors, each consisting of a 4.0×4.0×0.5 cm3 scintillator coupled to an array of PMTs. Crystals of LaBr3:Ce or LeBr3:Ce would likely substantially improve the performance of this instrument given their superior properties, but the cost and time of production of crystals of these lanthanide halides makes the use of the materials prohibitively expensive. Current methods would require many weeks to grow crystals of an appropriate size and they would still require that the crystals be cut, shaped and polished after growth.
Traditionally, scintillation crystals coupled to photomultiplier tubes are the most common detectors in small animal imaging systems such as SPECT, PET, and gamma cameras. With the advent of new readout technologies such as pixilated avalanche photodiodes (APDs) and position-sensitive APDs, position sensitive photomultiplier tubes, and high speed CCDs, the choice of scintillator not only depends on its emission properties, but also on the spatial resolution requirements of the application. Comparisons of common inorganic scintillators used in such applications are well known in the art and can be found, for example in (U.S. Pat. No. 7,129,494). For most SPECT and gamma camera designs, NaI:Tl is the scintillator of choice at present. NaI:Tl has good light output, moderate speed, and its energy emission is well matched to photomultiplier tubes typically in use. Faster decay time and higher stopping efficiency would be desirable to achieve higher count-rates.
CsI:Tl is another common scintillator which is being used in SPECT and gamma camera designs consisting of silicon photodiodes or Si CCDs as optical sensors. In addition to excellent scintillator properties of the CsI:Tl, the fact that it can be grown in a columnar form has made it a scintillator of choice in many high resolution imaging applications such as radiography and CT. While the light output of CsI:Tl is higher than that of NaI:Tl, its decay time is even longer. The substantial afterglow associated with CsI:Tl makes it impractical for use in CT and also limits the maximum achievable count rate in some radionuclide imaging applications. Furthermore, its wavelength of emission is not very well matched to typical photomultiplier tubes used in these systems and improvement in the energy resolution of CsI:Tl is needed for some nuclear medicine imaging applications.
Other scintillators such as lutetium oxyothosilicate (LSO) and bismuth germanate (BGO) appear to be promising for PET due to their high gamma-ray stopping efficiency. However, LSO and BGO are not being considered for SPECT and/or CT due to their relatively low light output or lack of high spatial resolution which can provide practical limitations to the use of these materials when considered for pixilation. LSO is also expensive, has a radioactive component, and is not readily available in large volumes. Yttrium aluminum perovskite (YAP) has been investigated in recent designs of SPECT systems for small animals, however YAP has low light output limits, and its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for low energy γ-rays (e.g., 26-35 keV from 125I) can be a limitation, especially with a silicon photodiode readout.
Thus, there is an unmet need for an imaging scintillation radiation detector, which has high spatial resolution, high light output, fast response, adequate stopping efficiency, and which can provide sufficient energy resolution and surface area for small animal imaging. In order to provide high spatial resolution, the imaging scintillation radiation detector needs to be grown in a fine crystalline needle form (a microcolumnar structure), a structure which minimizes the traditional tradeoff between spatial resolution and absorption efficiency as is disclosed in this application.
Some of the established inorganic scintillators such as NaI:Tl, and CsI:Tl, which are commonly used in gamma-ray spectroscopy applications, are bright but have moderate energy resolution (˜6-7% FWHM for 662 keV photons). It is important to note that the energy resolution of these alkali-halide scintillators (and other non-alkali-halide scintillators such as LSO) is significantly worse than that expected from counting statistics (based on their light output). This issue is illustrated in FIG. 1, which plots, for a variety of alkali-halide and non-alkali-halide scintillators, the energy resolution (for 662 keV gamma-ray excitation) as a function of the mean number of photoelectrons (observed with a photomultiplier tube). The measured energy resolution of most scintillators lies considerably above the solid curve which represents the theoretical resolution based on counting statistics; the energy resolution of most scintillators is worse than expected from counting statistics.
It should also be noted that even small crystals of alkali-halide scintillators show poor energy resolution, which indicates that the degradation in energy resolution is not completely accounted for by, for example, self-absorption of light emissions and spatial non-uniformity of the dopant. The present consensus is that the main cause for degradation in the energy resolution of common scintillators, such as, for example, CsI:Tl, NaI:Tl and LSO, is non-proportionality. The luminous efficiency (i.e., the number of scintillation photons per unit energy) of the scintillator depends on the energy of the particle that excites it. A gamma-ray begins the excitation process by creating a knock-on electron by either photoelectric absorption or Compton scatter. As this primary electron traverses the scintillator, it loses energy to the scintillator (exciting it) and also produces other relatively high-energy electrons (delta-rays), which also excite the scintillator. Thus, a number of electrons will effectively excite the scintillator, even when the primary excitation source is a single gamma-ray. If the luminous efficiency is independent of the electron energy, then the number of scintillation photons produced by two γ-rays with the same energy will be the same (within counting statistics) because the sum of the electron energies is the same (and equal to the incident gamma energy). However, if the luminous efficiency depends on electron energy, then the number of scintillation photons will not necessarily be the same, and these variations can degrade the energy resolution.
Dependence of luminous efficiency on electron energy has been measured using a Compton technique, and the results for common alkali-halide scintillators are shown in FIG. 2. Ideally, the lines should be horizontal, indicating no dependence on electron energy. None of the alkali-halides possess this ideal shape, and these materials which are significantly above the theoretical curve in FIG. 1 also possess significant non-linearity (a steep slope in FIG. 2, especially at lower electron energies). Other non-alkali halide scintillators such as LSO and BGO also show strong dependence of luminous efficiency on electron energy. On the other hand, YAlO3:Ce (or YAP) shows minimal dependence between the luminous efficiency and the electron energy, which explains the agreement between its measured energy resolution and the estimated one (based on photon statistics) as shown in FIG. 1. Unfortunately, the light output of YAP is not very high.
Thus, in order to obtain a particularly useful energy resolution with scintillation crystals, it is important to have high light output, and minimal dependence between the luminous efficiency and the electron energy. Microcolumnar films of the present invention comprising a lanthanide halide, e.g., lanthanum halide (LaHalide), doped scintillator composition, including microcolumnar films of LaCl3:Ce, LaBr3:Ce, and the like; provide such materials that are capable of providing useful energy resolution. Methods for the production of these microcolumnar films of lanthanide halide scintillators are also provided.

Lanthanide halide microcolumnar scintillators


The invention concerns a method for supporting the communication of information via a communications system, as well as a service unit, an electronic agent, software products and servers for supporting the communication of information via a communications system which comprises communications networks of two or more network operators. The service unit passes a request for the communication of information to two or more electronic agents which interact with the service unit within the framework of a virtual electronic marketplace for information communication. The service unit prompts the electronic agents, once or several times, through interaction within the framework of the electronic marketplace for information, to submit offers for the execution of the requested communication of information. An offer submitted by one of the electronic agents in response to such a prompt, through interaction within the framework of the electronic marketplace for information, is confirmed to this electronic agent by the service unit, and the service unit initiates the communication of the information via the communications network of the assigned network operator. The electronic agent communicates to a network management unit of the assigned network operator negotiated conditions for the transmission of the information.

The invention is based on a priority application DE 10 115 031.8 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The invention concerns a method for supporting the communication of information via a communications system which comprises communications networks of two or more network operators, the method being such that, prior to the communication of the information, a service unit of the communications system is contacted and a request for the communication of the information is thereupon passed to the service unit. The invention further concerns a service unit, an electronic agent, software products and servers for supporting the communication of information via a communications system which comprises communications networks of two or more network operators.
The invention proceeds from a method such as described in, for example, EP 96108544:
A subscriber signals a connection request, specifying a desired connection, to a communications network via a terminal. Upon receipt of this signalling message, a service switching centre of the communications network triggers a service control unit and communicates to the latter the parameters of the desired connection. From this data, the service control unit then determines tariff data relating to the costs of the desired connection. For this purpose, it accesses a databank in which the tariffs of various network operators are stored, and calculates the tariff data from this data. The tariff data is then sent to the terminal before the desired connection is established. The subscriber can thus decide whether, or via which network operator, to establish the connection. Furthermore, it is also possible for the service control unit to select the most favourable network operator for the desired connection and to initiate the establishment of the connection following confirmation by the subscriber.

Method for supporting the communication of information via a communications system


This invention relates to: (a) compounds of formula (I) (with R1 to R5, n and A as defined herein) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts or solvates thereof that are useful as dopamine-β-hydroxylase inhibitors; (b) pharmaceutical compositions comprising such compounds, salts or solvates; (c) the use of such compounds, salts or solvates in therapy; (d) therapeutic methods of treatment using such compounds, salts or solvates; and (e) processes and intermediates useful for the synthesis of such compounds.

The enzyme dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DβH), also known as dopamine β-monooxygenase, is expressed both in the periphery and the central nervous system (CNS). DβH catalyses the specific hydroxylation of dopamine (DA) to produce norepinephrine, also known as noradrenaline (NA). As such, inhibitors of DβH can inhibit the biosynthesis of NA, limiting its concentration and increasing DA levels.
Conventionally, interest in the development of inhibitors of DβH had centred on the hypothesis that inhibition of this enzyme may provide significant clinical improvements in patients suffering from cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension or chronic heart failure.
The rationale for the use of DβH inhibitors is based on their capacity to inhibit the biosynthesis of NA, which is achieved via enzymatic hydroxylation of DA. Reduction of the biosynthesis of NA via inhibition of DβH can directly dampen sympathetic nerve function, the activation of which is the principal clinical manifestation of congestive heart failure (Parmley, W. W., Clin. Cardiol., 18: 440-445, 1995). Therefore, peripheral DβH inhibitors reduce sympathetic drive.
DβH inhibitors may also find application in disorders of the CNS, including drug addiction, psychiatric disorders, reduced cognition or dementia. For example, cocaine primarily acts through inhibition of presynaptic dopamine (DA) transporters as well as the serotonin and norepinephrine transporters. Increased levels of synaptic DA and, thereby, DA receptor binding following cocaine administration is a key mechanism through which cocaine is reinforcing. Cocaine also modulates the endogenous opioid system, especially μ-opioid receptors (MOR), κ-opioid receptors (KOR), and preprodynorphin. Whereas stimulation of dopaminergic pathways may be sufficient to cause the reinforcing effects of cocaine, DA transporter gene deletion studies have shown that this pathway is not essential to the development of cocaine self-administration. Selective gene disruption of the MOR will, however, prevent the development of cocaine self-administration.
Disulfiram (Antabuse), which inhibits aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and has been used for more than 50 years in the treatment of alcoholism (Fuller, R. K. et al., J. Amer. Med. Assoc., 256: 1449-55, 1986), was found to reduce alcohol and cocaine intake in co-dependent patient population (Carroll, K. M. et al., Arch. Gen. Psychiatry, 61: 264-72, 2000; Carroll, K. M. et al., Addiction, 93: 713-27, 1998; Carroll, K. M. et al., J. Stud. Alcohol, 54: 199-208, 1993). Surprisingly, further studies revealed that disulfiram was at least as effective at treating cocaine addicts who do not consume alcohol, and may even be more effective (Carroll, K. M. et al., Arch. Gen. Psychiatry, 61: 264-72, 2004; George, T. P. et al., Biol Psychiatry, 47: 1080-6, 2000; Petrakis, I. L. et al., Addiction, 95: 219-28, 2000). Therefore, an ALDH-independent mechanism must be responsible for the ability of disulfiram to promote cocaine abstinence (Gaval-Cruz, M. et al., Mol. Interv., 9: 175-87, 2009; Weinshenker, D. et al., Neuropsychopharmacology, 32: 1433-51, 2007). Subsequently, Schroeder et al. tested the effects of disulfiram on cocaine and food self-administration behaviour and drug-primed reinstatement of cocaine seeking in rats (Schroeder, J. P. et al., Neuropsychopharmacology, 35: 2440-9, 2010). Their results suggest that disulfiram's efficacy in the treatment of cocaine addiction is associated with the inhibition of DβH and interference with the ability of environmental stimuli to trigger relapse (Schroeder, J. P. et al., Neuropsychopharmacology, 35: 2440-9, 2010).
Furthermore, the noradrenergic system plays a role in a number of cognitive domains, including working memory, attention, and memory consolidation (Coull, J. T. et al., NeuroImage, 10: 705-15, 1999; McGaugh, J. L. et al., Psychopharmacology, 202: 3-14, 2009; Sara, S. J., Neuroscience, 10: 211-23, 2009). However, noradrenergic system activity in excess may impair cognition. Animal studies have shown associations between excess noradrenergic activity and impairments in attention and working memory (Arnsten, A. F., Nat. Rev. Neurosci., 10: 410-22, 2009; Sara, S. J., Neuroscience, 10: 211-23, 2009). Other studies show decreased cognitive performance in people placed under stress conditions, suggesting excess noradrenergic activity affects human cognition as well (Campbell, H. L. et al., Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav., 88: 222-9, 2008; Hermans, E. J. et al., Science, 334: 1151-3, 2011). Given this association between cognitive performance and noradrenergic system activity, there remains the question of whether differences in basal levels of activity may relate to differences in cognitive performance and whether this relationship is also influenced by age. Noradrenergic system activity appears higher in older compared with younger adults, both peripherally and in the CNS (Featherstone, J. A. et al., J. Gerontol., 42, 271-6, 1987; Lawlor, B. A. et al., Biol. Psychiatry, 38: 185-8, 1995; Supiano, M. A. et al., Am. J. Physiol., 259: E422-31, 1990). Previously it has been demonstrated that the concentration of cerebrospinal fluid NA was higher in older compared with younger adults, but it is not known whether noradrenergic system age differences may be a factor in cognitive differences. Numerous studies have linked excess noradrenergic activity with cognitive impairment. As such, DβH inhibitors may find application in enhancing cognition, especially in those suffering from dementia, including frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease (AD), or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).
Several inhibitors of DβH have been thus far reported in the literature. Early first and second generation examples such as disulfiram (Goldstein, M. et al., Life Sci., 3:763, 1964) and diethyldithiocarbamate (Lippmann, W. et al., Biochem. Pharmacol., 18: 2507, 1969) or fusaric acid (Hidaka, H. Nature, 231, 1971) and aromatic or alkyl thioureas (Johnson, G. A. et al, J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 171: 80, 1970) were found to be of low potency, exhibited poor selectivity for DβH and caused toxic side effects. The third generation of DβH inhibitors, however, were found to have much greater potency, such as, for example, nepicastat (RS-25560-197, IC50 9 nM) (Stanley, W. C., et al., Br. J. Pharmacol., 121: 1803-1809, 1997), which was developed to early clinical trials. Although it was initially developed for peripheral indications (hypertension and congestive heart failure), an important discovery was that nepicastat was found to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and was thereby able to cause central as well as peripheral effects.
Nepicastat and its analogues are disclosed in WO95/29165. Furthermore, WO 2004/033447 and WO 2008/136695 disclose DβH inhibitors having high potency and significantly reduced brain access, giving rise to potent and peripherally selective DβH inhibitors. However, these compounds would either not exhibit an effect in the CNS or would act primarily in the periphery, potentially resulting in unwanted secondary effects in the cardiovascular system or systemic tissues such as reduced sympathetic drive. A review of the mechanism, substrates and inhibitors of DβH, is given by Beliaev, A., et al. in Current Enzyme Inhibition, 5, 27-43, 2009.
Therefore, there remains an unfulfilled clinical requirement for a potent, non-toxic and CNS-penetrant/active inhibitor of DβH with suitable pharmacokinetic properties, which could be used for treatment of certain CNS disorders, including cocaine addiction, alcohol addiction, adjunct opioid addiction, cognition decline in FTD, cognition decline in MCI, cognition decline in AD, attention deficit-hyperactive disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and unipolar depression. A DβH inhibitor with similar or even greater potency than nepicastat and with beneficial CNS effects—including the ability to cross the BBB and exhibit a long residence time in the brain so as to provide a long duration of DβH inhibition in the CNS—would provide a significant improvement over all DβH inhibitor compounds thus far described in the prior art. Additionally, such compounds would preferably be orally bioavailable and easier and cheaper to synthesise.
During a SciFinder search, the following compounds were identified as commercially available. However, no reference was made to their disclosure in the scientific or patent literature.

Sejtosztodas Farmakologiaja (1979), 8(1), 79-100 discusses the antimicrobial effect of certain 1,2,4-triazoles and discloses the compound 6-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,5,6,7-tetrahydro-3H-pyrrolo[2,1-c]-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione which is not within the scope of the present invention.
WO 2014/127350 A1 discloses a genus of compounds that are modulators, such as positive allosteric modulators, of one or more subclasses of vasopressin receptors. The genus disclosed in this publication overlaps to a small extent with the genus of the present invention. However, multiple selections of non-preferred embodiments within the genus of WO 2014/127350 A1 would be required to arrive at a compound of the present invention.

Blood-brain barrier-penetrant dopamine-β-hydroxylase inhibitors


A process for the preparation of crystalline, microporous titanium silicates having the chemical formula: x TiO.sub.2 : (1-x) SiO.sub.2 wherein x is greater than 0.04 and less than or equal to 0.075. These silicates are useful as oxidation catalysts in reactions such as oxidation of hydrocarbons, alcohols, sulfides, and thioethers. The process permits a significant increase of the amount of titanium in the titanium silicates, which results in enhanced catalytic activity.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,329,482 to Young describes crystalline titanosilicates which are prepared from siliceous and inorganic titanium compounds in the absence of organic bases. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,501 describes a process for the preparation of titanium silicalite, TS-1 with the formula xTiO.sub.2 (1-x) SiO.sub.2 where x lies between 0.005 and 0.04. The UK Patent GB 2071071 B, describes a process for the preparation of TS-1 with the structure of silicalite-1. The titanium silicates are useful in catalyzing various oxidation reactions such as the conversion of benzene into phenol, phenol into hydroquinone and catechol, cyclohexanone into cyclohexanone oxime, ethanol into acetaldehyde, isopropanol into acetone etc. In all the above applications, it has been found that the catalytic efficiency of titanium silicate material is directly proportional to the content of titanium in the titanium silicalite. That is, the more the amount of titanium contained in these materials, the higher the rate with which they catalyze the above mentioned conversion processes. Hence, any process of preparation that leads to TS-1 of formula xTiO.sub.2 (1-x)SiO.sub.2 wherein x is higher than 0.04 would lead to material with improved catalytic activity in the above mentioned reactions.
The process for the preparation of TS-1, in the prior art, as for example in the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,501 (Example 2) was to mix the sources of silicon (preferably silicon tetraethoxide) and titanium (preferably titanium tetraethoxide) at low temperature (5.degree. C.) before adding organic base (such as tetrapropyl ammonium hydroxide, aqueous solution) precooled to 5.degree. C. and water. Since the rate of hydrolysis of titanium tetraethoxide is much faster compared to that of silicon tetraethoxide the cooling of the reaction mixture is important to avoid the formation of insoluble or sparingly soluble titanium oxide/hydroxyoxide, which if formed hinders the formation of titanium silicate. However, the necessity to cool the reactants to 5.degree. C. under industrial conditions is a limitation in the prior art process which entails significantly higher process energy costs. Further, in the above mentioned patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,501), the crystallization time of TS-1 under hydrothermal conditions at autogeneous pressure ranged between six and thirty days. It is quite desirable to reduce the preparation time of TS-1.

Process for the preparation of titanium silicates

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research


The three-dimensional structure of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) has been determined by X-ray crystallography and the coordinates of the individual atoms are presented. Analogues of hCG and other glycoprotein hormones sharing a similar .alpha.-subunit structure are produced by inputting chemical changes to the structure into a computer loaded with three-dimensional molecular simulation software and representing visually on a computer display. The three-dimensional structures of the original glycoprotein and the chemically modified analogues are compared, and those analogues wherein the three-dimensional configuration and spatial arrangement of regions involved in receptor binding and signal transduction remain substantially preserved are selected for synthesis by molecular biology techniques and screening for biological activity. Glycoprotein analogues with additional glycosylation sites, and deletion of non-essential hairpins are disclosed.

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a member of the glycoprotein hormone family which includes follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). These hormones are each composed of two subunits, .alpha. and .beta., which are noncovalently associated, forming a heterodimer. Within a given species the .alpha. subunit is identical whilst the .beta. subunits are different (but homologous) for the different hormones. While the heterodimer is required for receptor binding, it is the .beta.-subunit that confers the specific biological activity to each hormone. The glycoprotein hormones are all heavily glycosylated with N-linked complex carbohydrates, which are a source of natural heterogeneity within a given hormone. hCG is the most heavily glycosylated as it contains an additional four O-linked carbohydrates on the serine rich C-terminal extension of the .beta.-subunit. In human glycoprotein hormones, the common .alpha.-subunit contains 92 amino acids with 10 half-cysteine residues, which form five intramolecular disulphide linkages. The .beta.-subunit polypeptide varies in size from 114 residues in LH, to 145 in CG. The .beta.-subunits contain 12 half cysteines which form six conserved disulphide bridges. Within the first 114 amino acids there is a high degree of sequence homology between hCG and the other hormones (LH 85%; FSH 36%; TSH 46%). The high sequence homology between hCG and LH reflects their common biological function in that both proteins elicit their biological action via the same receptor, whilst FSH and TSH bind to structurally similar, but distinct receptors.
Three-dimensional structure information is useful in being able to display in visual form on a computer screen, the shape of a molecule. The shape may be inspected from different angles by rotation thereof. It may also form the basis for methods of rational drug design. U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,573 discloses a method of rational drug design involving computer simulation of a polypeptide leading to prediction of three-dimensional structure changes which may result from postulated operator-selected changes in peptide chemical structure. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,704,692 and 4,881,175 disclose computer based systems and methods for converting two naturally aggregated but chemically separate polypeptide chains into a single chain having a similar three-dimensional structure by selecting suitable linker sequences which maintain the original three-dimensional structura.

Three dimensional glycoprotein hormone structure representation using a computer

University Court of the University of Glasgow


A brassiere cup and pad structure is revealed. The brassiere cup and pad structure consists of two outer linings made from polypropylene and an inner padding made from the same material-polypropylene. By the polypropylene with low melting point, the dye degradation on the outer lining caused by high temperature during foaming processes can be avoided. Thus the amount of defective products in which the outer lining have spots resulted from degraded dyes is reduced. Moreover, the shortcoming of general inner padding made from foam that is easy to turn yellow over time is improved effectively.

1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brassiere cup and pad structure, especially to an inner padding and outer linings of brassieres made from polypropylene with low melting point. Thereby the outer linings will not have spots caused by degradation of dyes at high temperature forming and the shortcoming of general inner padding made from foam that is easy to turn yellow over time is improved effectively.
2. Descriptions of Related Art
Along with improvement of life quality, people have higher requirements of various commodities. For example, the brassiere wore by females is not only simply with basic functions such as protection of female breasts or keeping breast shape. Moreover, the brassiere should be with higher wearing comfort and enhancement of breast appearance as well as shape.
In order to make the female chest shape look more beautiful and aesthetic, now underwear manufacturers develops brassiere cups, brassiere pads to enhance and improve breast shape. Refer to FIG. 7, the brassiere cups and pads available now are mainly composed of two outer linings (3) made from polyester-based non-woven fabric and an inner padding (4) made from polyurethane foam clipped between the two outer linings (3). An adhesive such as glue is sprayed between the two outer linings (3) and the inner padding (4) for adhesion. Then the device is hot embossed by a high temperature mold whose temperature ranging from 180° C. to 210° C. to form products with required shapes such as brassiere cups or brassiere pads.
In order to make the brassiere cup and pad structure become more beautiful and aesthetic, or have colors similar to the brassieres, the two outer linings are dyed. However, chemical changes occur in dyes at high temperature so that red and blue spots are produced. The defects caused by dye spots are not acceptable by clients and the products become defective goods. This leads to production losses.
Besides, the brassiere cup and pad structure formed by the two outer linings made from polyester-based non-woven fabric and the inner padding made from polyurethane foam is sprayed with adhesives such as glue before the hot embossing so as to secure the firmness of the connection between the outer linings and the inner padding made from different materials. The step of coating the adhesive not only takes time but also increase production cost. In view of global environmental protection, the improper use of adhesives is a waste of resource. Moreover, after high temperature processing and long term contact with air, the inner foam padding easily turns yellow that has negative effects on the beauty of brassiere's appearance.
Thus there is a need to provide a novel brassiere cup and pad structure that overcomes shortcomings of the brassiere cup and pad structure available now such as spots on surfaces, use of adhesives and the foam of the inner padding that turns yellow easily as it ages.


The semiconductor device includes a first data aligner, an input strobe signal generator and a second data aligner. The first data aligner aligns input data in synchronization with an internal strobe signal to generate alignment data. The input strobe signal generator generates first and second delay signals from the internal strobe signal. The input strobe signal generator also latches an input clock signal generated from an external clock signal after a write latency period from a period when a write operation commences, in response to the first and second delay signals to generate an input strobe signal. The second data aligner re-aligns the alignment data in synchronization with the input strobe signal to generate internal data.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to semiconductor devices.
2. Related Art
In general, semiconductor devices such as double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM) devices include a plurality of memory cells to store data therein or to output the data stored therein according to a command outputted from a controller. That is, if a write command signal and an address signal generated from the controller is applied to the semiconductor device, the semiconductor device may store external data in the memory cell(s) corresponding to the address signal. In addition, if a read command signal and an address signal generated from the controller is applied to the semiconductor device, the semiconductor device may output the data stored in the memory cell(s) corresponding to the address signal. In other words, external data inputted through pads of the semiconductor device in a write mode may be stored in the memory cells of the semiconductor devices through a data input path, and data stored in the memory cells of the semiconductor device may be outputted through a data output path and the pads in a read mode.

Semiconductor devices including data aligner


An air filter condition indicator which provides an indication of the degree of clogging of the air filter. The indicator has a housing which supports a cylinder. A balance assembly has a hub member supported by the housing, and a balance lever having a piston rod and piston at one end and a counter weight at the other end. An actuation weight arm extends downwardly from the balance lever and has a movable weight which adjusts the sensitivity of the device. An indicator member held by the hub member on the balance assembly as a fan pulls air through the air filter, one side of the piston is connected to the fan side of the air filter and the other side of the piston is open to ambient air. The amount of movement of the piston is shown by the indicator member.

The field of the invention is heating and cooling, and the invention relates more particularly to air treating units such as furnaces, air conditions, humidifiers, and the like which include an air filter which tends to become clogged during use.
Many units have been devised for measuring the slight pressure difference across an air filter to show when the air filter has become clogged. Most of these units utilize a diagram which has the inherent disadvantage of becoming torn as well as providing a relatively expensive assembly. Diaphragm containing units are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,027,865; 3,916,817, and 3,934,543. A unit utilizing a conical sleeve around the which the air flows, is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,515 and a unit which has a switch which is physically closed by the inward bowing of a clogged air filter, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,928,006. All of these units are relatively expensive or are difficult to adjust. All of these units fail to show progressively the filter condition when the fan is off.


The magnetoresistive effect element in accordance with the invention has several aspects. For instance, the magnetoresistive effect element includes an artificial lattice multilayered structure composed of a thin magnetic layer and a non-magnetic layer at least once successively deposited, and a bias field applying device for applying a bias magnetic field to the artificial lattice multilayered structure so that an orientation of residual magnetization of one of the thin magnetic layers having a greater coercive force than that of an adjacent thin magnetic layer, is the same as an orientation of a bias magnetic field to be applied to the artificial lattice multilayered structure. The magnetoresistive effect element provides enhanced regenerated outputs and also improves the symmetry of regenerated waveforms.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a magnetoresistive effect element for reading out a magnetic field intensity as a signal in magnetic substances such as magnetic medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, there has been developed the improvement of sensitivity of a magnetic sensor and the densification in magnetic recording, and following such development, there has also developed a magnetoresistive effect type magnetic sensor (hereinafter, referred to simply as a MR sensor) and a magnetoresistive effect type magnetic head (hereinafter, referred to simply as a MR head). Both of a MR sensor and a MR head read out external magnetic field signals in accordance with a change in a resistance of a reading sensor composed of magnetic material. Both of a MR sensor and a MR head have a characteristic that a relative speed to a recording medium is not dependent on generated outputs. Hence, a MR sensor can obtain a high sensitivity, and a MR head can obtain a high output even in highly densified magnetic record.
Japanese Patent Public Disclosure No. 4-218982 laid open to the public on Aug. 10, 1992 has suggested an artificial lattice magnetoresistive effect layered structure which has a multilayered structure composed of a magnetic layer and a non-magnetic layer successively deposited and which exhibits a large change in magnetic resistance generated even for a small external field. In this artificial lattice magnetoresistive effect layered structure, a magnetic layer has a different coercive force from that of a magnetic layer deposited adjacent thereto via a nonmagnetic layer. A magnetoresistive effect element disclosed in the above mentioned Disclosure exhibits a few percents to tens of percents of resistance change rate even for an external magnetic field having an intensity ranging from a few of Oe to tens of Oe.
Though the magnetoresistive effect element can operate even with a small external magnetic field, it is necessary to apply an external bias magnetic field to the magnetoresistive effect element to obtain symmetrical regenerated waveforms of signals, if the magnetoresistive effect element is to be used as a practical sensor or magnetic head.
There has been reported another magnetoresistive effect layered structure in Physical Review B, Vol. 43, No. 1, 1991, page 1297, published by The American Physical Society. This magnetoresistive effect element has a structure comprising at least two thin magnetic layers separated by a non-magnetic thin interlayer. Adjacent to one of the soft thin magnetic layers is disposed a thin antiferromagnetic layer to provide anti-magnetic force thereto to thereby cause rotation of magnetization therein with an external magnetic field which is different from that of the other soft thin magnetic layer disposed adjacent to the one of the soft thin magnetic layer via a non-magnetic layer. Thus, a change in resistance is caused.
The above mentioned report has suggested, as a practical MR head, a magnetoresistive effect element having a structure comprising a soft magnetic layer, a non-magnetic insulator, a multlayered structure, a non-magnetic insulator and a soft magnetic layer successively deposited in this order. However, the magnetoresistive effect element has problems such that regenerated waves have a quite asymmetrical waveform, and that there is a fear that the magnetoresistive effect element may corrode because the magnetoresistive effect element is exposed to an ABS plane. If a magnetoresistive effect element is designed so that it is separated from the ABS plane, and an external magnetic field is introduced to the magnetoresistive effect element through a soft magnetic yoke, the symmetry of regenerated waveforms are considerably improved to thereby eliminate a fear of the corrosion of the magnetoresistive effect element.


A system for adjusting the display of a digital display device comprising a digital display device including a display, a receiver, and a display controller, an object having a communication device that wirelessly communicates with the receiver, wherein the display controller automatically adjusts the display of the digital display device based on the communication.

Digital display devices such as LCD or OLED displays include a display surface with dimensions dictated by two main factors: (1) video standards and (2) optimization of the "mother" glass pane at factory. Currently, the market is dominated by 16:9 aspect ratio glass, thus making it difficult to display images and videos that are of formats other than 16:9 or 9:16. Displays present non-16:9 visual content by cropping the visible portion of the image or video to a 16:9 ratio or letter-boxing the content to preserve its entirety. These mechanisms are clearly insufficient to preserve content integrity and modify the effective aspect ratio of the display.

Display device reactive to wirelessly connected objects


A unit for measuring shape defects of a part includes an installation plane (1), a presentation unit (2) receiving part to be measured, a measuring machine (10) mobile along three axes (X,Y,Z) and equipped with a sensor (17), and a computer (20). The sensor continuously follows the shape of the part, the variations recorded by the sensor determining a fourth axis (W). Shape deviations are displayed based upon the instantaneous acquisition of the four measuring displacements.

This invention relates to a unit for measuring shape defects of a part, and a measuring process used in such a unit.
In the case of a digitized left surface, a body part of a motor vehicle, for example, any point of this surface can be calculated as coordinates X, Y, Z in an orthonormed reference frame. The actual shape of the part, after production, differs slightly from the theoretical shape. It is therefore necessary to know the deviations existing between the theoretical shape and the actual shape, to modify the production conditions.
The known measuring units comprise a ground plane installation, called a surface plate below, on which is installed a presentation unit receiving the part to be measured, a three-dimensional measuring machine and a computer. The machine is equipped with a trigger sensor mounted on a head and three counters quantifying the displacements of the sensor along the three axes.
The process used in such known measuring units consists in placing the part on its display unit, then in sensing this part along a number of previously determined points. The operator manually displaces the sensor from point to point and at each point brings the sensor into contact on the part. The sensor then triggers the acquisition by the computer of the three values read by the counters. A comparison of the values read and processed by the computer with the theoretical values quantifies the defect of shape at a pinpointed location.
This measuring process is slow, because it is necessary to place the sensor straight above each predetermined point and to make a contact with the part to perform the acquisition of the three coordinates.
This process makes the analysis of the defects inaccurate, because the number of measured points is small. The increase of the number of measured points would require a long and costly preparation (range) and use.

Unit for continuously measuring shape defects of a part, and measuring process used in this unit.

Regie Nationale des Usines Renault, Societe Anonyme


A method of making a semiconductor package can comprise forming a plurality of thick redistribution layer (RDL) traces over active surfaces of a plurality of semiconductor die that are electrically connected to contact pads on the plurality of semiconductor die, singulating the plurality of semiconductor die comprising the plurality of thick RDL traces, mounting the singulated plurality of semiconductor die over a temporary carrier with the active surfaces of the plurality of semiconductor die oriented away from the temporary carrier, disposing encapsulant material over the active surfaces and at least four side surfaces of each of the plurality of semiconductor die, over the plurality of thick RDL traces, and over the temporary carrier, forming a via through the encapsulant material to expose at least one of the plurality of thickened RDL traces with respect to the encapsulant material, removing the temporary carrier, and singulating the plurality of semiconductor die.

Semiconductor devices are commonly found in modern electronic products. Semiconductor devices vary in the number and density of electrical components. Discrete semiconductor devices generally contain one type of electrical component, for example, light emitting diode (LED), small signal transistor, resistor, capacitor, inductor, and power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET). Integrated semiconductor devices typically contain hundreds to millions of electrical components. Examples of integrated semiconductor devices include microcontrollers, microprocessors, charged-coupled devices (CCDs), solar cells, and digital micro-mirror devices (DMDs).
Semiconductor devices perform a wide range of functions such as signal processing, high-speed calculations, transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals, controlling electronic devices, transforming sunlight to electricity, and creating visual projections for television displays. Semiconductor devices are found in the fields of entertainment, communications, power conversion, networks, computers, and consumer products. Semiconductor devices are also found in military applications, aviation, automotive, industrial controllers, and office equipment.
Semiconductor devices exploit the electrical properties of semiconductor materials. The atomic structure of semiconductor material allows its electrical conductivity to be manipulated by the application of an electric field or base current or through the process of doping. Doping introduces impurities into the semiconductor material to manipulate and control the conductivity of the semiconductor device.
A semiconductor device contains active and passive electrical structures. Active structures, including bipolar and field effect transistors, control the flow of electrical current. By varying levels of doping and application of an electric field or base current, the transistor either promotes or restricts the flow of electrical current. Passive structures, including resistors, capacitors, and inductors, create a relationship between voltage and current necessary to perform a variety of electrical functions. The passive and active structures are electrically connected to form circuits, which enable the semiconductor device to perform high-speed calculations and other useful functions.
Semiconductor devices are generally manufactured using two complex manufacturing processes, that is, front-end manufacturing, and back-end manufacturing, each involving potentially hundreds of steps. Front-end manufacturing involves the formation of a plurality of semiconductor die on the surface of a semiconductor wafer. Each semiconductor die is typically identical and contains circuits formed by electrically connecting active and passive components. Back-end manufacturing involves singulating individual semiconductor die from the finished wafer and packaging the die to provide structural support and environmental isolation. The term "semiconductor die" as used herein refers to both the singular and plural form of the words, and accordingly can refer to both a single semiconductor device and multiple semiconductor devices.
One goal of semiconductor manufacturing is to produce smaller semiconductor devices. Smaller devices typically consume less power, have higher performance, and can be produced more efficiently. In addition, smaller semiconductor devices have a smaller footprint, which is desirable for smaller end products. A smaller semiconductor die size can be achieved by improvements in the front-end process resulting in semiconductor die with smaller, higher density, active and passive components. Back-end processes may result in semiconductor device packages with a smaller footprint by improvements in electrical interconnection and packaging materials.
One approach to back-end processing that more efficiently produces packaged semiconductor devices is the use of panelized packaging, in which a number of semiconductor die are formed into a panel and processed simultaneously at a level of a reconstituted wafer or panel. Panelized packaging can be used in back-end manufacturing for forming embedded die packages. One form of panelized packaging used to package semiconductor die is FOWLP. FOWLP involves placing multiple semiconductor die "face down" or with an active surface of the semiconductor die oriented toward a temporary carrier or substrate, such as a temporary tape carrier. The semiconductor die and substrate or carrier is overmolded with an encapsulant, such as an epoxy molding compound, using, for example, a compression molding process. After molding, the carrier tape is removed to expose the active surface of the multiple semiconductor die formed together as a reconstituted wafer. Subsequently, a wafer level chip scale package (WLCSP) build-up interconnect structure, typically including a redistribution layer (RDL), is formed on top of the reconstituted wafer or panel. Conductive bumps are then formed over the build-up interconnect structure as a ball grid array (BGA), which is attached to the reconstituted wafer. After formation of the BGA, the reconstituted wafer is singulated to form individual semiconductor devices or packages.

Semiconductor device and method comprising thickened redistribution layers


A system and method for periodic ranging in sleep mode in a communication system are provided, in which an MS is allocated an uplink burst from a BS and transmits a first message in the allocated uplink burst to the BS, the first message indicating that the MS is alive during sleep mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for performing periodic ranging in sleep mode in a communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, future-generation communication systems are being developed to provide high-speed large-data transmission/reception service to Mobile Stations (MSs). A major example of such systems is Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16e.
FIG. 1 illustrates the configuration of a conventional IEEE 802.16e communication system.
Referring to FIG. 1, the IEEE 802.16e communication system is configured in a multi-cell structure, including cells 100 and 150, a Base Station (BS) 110 covering the cell 100, a BS 140 covering the cell 150, and a plurality of MSs 111, 113, 130, 151 and 153.
As the IEEE 802.16e communication system supports Mobile Station(MS)'s mobility, the power consumption of the MS is a significant factor that affects overall system performance. To minimize the MS's power consumption, a sleep mode and an awake mode operation between an MS and a BS have been proposed. The MS periodically compensates for timing and frequency offsets, and transmits power with respect to the BS in order to handle changes in the channel status between the MS and the BS. This operation is called ranging, and it includes initial, periodic and bandwidth request ranging. In light of the support of the MS's mobility, periodic ranging is rendered more significant.
FIG. 2 illustrates a periodic ranging operation in sleep mode in the conventional IEEE 802.16e communication system.
Referring to FIG. 2, an MS 250 transmits a SLeeP-REQuest (SLP-REQ) message to a BS 200 to transition from awake mode to sleep mode in step 201. The BS 200 determines whether to approve the awake-to-sleep mode transition, considering its status and the status of the MS 250 and transmits a SLeeP-ReSPonse (SLP-RSP) message corresponding to the determination result to the MS 250 in step 203. The SLP-RSP message contains a Next Periodic Ranging parameter. Upon receipt of the SLP-RSP message, the MS 250 detects the Next Periodic Ranging parameter, based upon which it prepares for periodic ranging. The Next Periodic Ranging Parameter is an offset indicating when the MS 250 is to wake up from the sleep mode in order to be allocated an uplink burst for periodic ranging from the BS 200. The offset is assumed to be a frame offset herein. In a frame indicated by the Next Periodic Ranging parameter, counted from the frame carrying the SLP-RSP message in a sleep interval, the MS 250 transitions from the sleep mode to the awake mode to perform the periodic ranging. If the MS 250 is already in the awake mode, it only has to perform the periodic ranging in the frame. If the sleep interval still lasts after the periodic ranging, the MS 250 may return to the sleep mode.
Meanwhile, the MS 250 performs the sleep mode operation, while increasing the sleep interval by an algorithm. If the MS 250 is in the sleep mode in the frame designated for periodic ranging by the Next Periodic Ranging parameter, it transitions to the awake mode in step 205 in which it performs the periodic ranging in step 207.
The periodic ranging is performed through at least one exchange of a RaNGing REQuest (RNG-REQ) message and a RaNGing ReSPonse (RNG-RSP) message in steps 211 to 225. When the MS 250 gets the uplink burst for the periodic ranging corresponding to the Next Periodic Ranging parameter from the BS 200 in step 205, it transmits an RNG-REQ message to the BS 200 in the allocated uplink burst in step 211. The BS 200 transmits ranging response information with frequency, time, and transmit power to be compensated for to the MS 250 by an RNG-RSP message in step 213. If the frequency, time and transmit power need to be additionally compensated for, Ranging Status is set to 1 indicating Continue.
Upon receipt of the RNG-RSP message with Ranging Status set to 1, the MS 250 detects parameters necessary for compensating for the frequency, time and transmit power from the received message and performs the compensation. In step 215, the MS 250 transmits an RNG-REQ message to the BS 200 in order to continue the on-going frequency, time and transmit power compensation.
Upon receipt of the RNG-REQ message, the BS 200 performs the periodic ranging by repeating the RNG-REQ/RNG-RSP exchange in steps 217, 219, 221 and 223. If it determines that no further frequency, time and transmit power compensation is needed, the BS 200 transmits to the MS 250 an RNG-RSP message with Ranging Status set to 3 indicating Success and a Next Periodic Ranging parameter indicating a frame for the next periodic ranging in step 225.
Upon receipt of the RNG-RSP message with Ranging Status set to 3 and the Next Periodic Ranging parameter, the MS 250 prepares for the Next Periodic Ranging in the frame indicated by the Next Periodic Ranging parameter, considering that the periodic ranging has been completed. If a sleep interval still lasts after the periodic ranging is completed, the MS 250 may return to the sleep mode.
When the MS 250 is in the sleep mode in the frame indicated by the Next Periodic Ranging, it transitions to the awake mode and performs the periodic ranging. When the MS 250 is in the awake mode in the frame indicated by the Next Periodic Ranging, it just performs the periodic ranging in the awake mode. To be more specific, when the MS 250 is in the awake mode at the start of periodic ranging, it naturally decodes a DownLink-MAP (DL-MAP) message or an UpLink-MAP (UL-MAP) message to monitor the presence or absence of a data burst allocated to the MS 250 in a downlink frame. If the BS 200 has given a periodic ranging opportunity to the MS 250, that is, the BS 200 has allocated an uplink burst to the MS 250, the MS 250 is aware of the periodic ranging opportunity.
On the other hand, if the MS 250 is in the sleep mode at the start of the periodic ranging, it transitions to the awake mode and decodes the DL-MAP or UL-MAP message to monitor the presence or absence of a data burst allocated to the MS 250 in the downlink frame.
As described above, the Next Periodic Ranging parameter applies irrespective of whether the MS 250 is in the sleep mode or the awake mode until just before or at the start of periodic ranging. This is described as a "Don't care about sleep and normal operation" in step 227. That is, it can be said that the sleep-mode periodic ranging operation is performed considering both the sleep mode and the periodic ranging, while ensuring maximal compatibility with the conventional IEEE 802.16e communication system.
While not described specifically in relation to step 227, it is to be noted that the MS 250 should re-calculate a frame in which to transition to the awake mode according to the latest Next Periodic Ranging parameter received in an SLP-RSP or RNG-RSP message. For example, the MS 250 transitions to the awake mode and then returns to the sleep mode by receiving an SLP-RSP message during step 227. Thus the MS 250 determines when to transition to the awake mode using a Next Periodic Ranging parameter included in the SLP-RSP message.
FIG. 3 illustrates a signal flow for the periodic ranging operation in the sleep mode between the MS and the BS in the conventional IEEE 802.16e communication system.
Referring to FIG. 3, to transition from the awake mode to the sleep mode, an MS 300 transmits an SLP-REQ message to a BS 350 in step 311. The BS 350 determines whether to approve the awake-to-sleep mode transition according to its status and the status of the MS 300 and transmits an SLP-RSP message according to the determination result to the MS 300 in step 313. The SLP-RSP message contains a Next Periodic Ranging parameter. Upon receipt of the SLP-RSP message, the MS 300 starts a sleep mode operation according to the SLP-RSP message in step 315. The MS 300 is also aware of when to perform periodic ranging from the Next Periodic Ranging parameter.
During the sleep mode operation, the MS 300 transitions to the awake mode in a frame indicated by the Next Periodic Ranging parameter, for periodic ranging in step 317. In step 323, the MS 300 detects a periodic ranging opportunity, i.e. an uplink burst allocated to the MS 300 from a UL-MAP message broadcast by the BS 350. The MS 300 transmits an RNG-REQ message to the BS 350 in the uplink burst in step 325.
The BS 350 transmits information needed for compensating for frequency, time and transmit power to the MS 300 by an RNG-RSP message in step 327. If the BS 350 determines that the compensation is required for the MS 300, it transmits an RNG-RSP message with Ranging Status set to 1 to the MS 300.
Upon receipt of the RNG-RSP message with Ranging Status set to 1, the MS 300 transmits another RNG-REQ message to the BS 350, considering that the periodic ranging is still going on in step 329. RNG-REQ/RNG-RSP exchanges take place in steps 331 and 333 in the same manner as in steps 325 and 327, so their detailed description is not provided herein.
If the BS 350 determines that no further frequency, time and transmit power compensation is needed for the MS 300 during the periodic ranging, that is, the periodic ranging is to be completed, it transmits an RNG-RSP message with Ranging Status set to 3 and a Next Periodic Ranging parameter to the MS 300 in step 335.
Upon receipt of the RNG-RSP message, the MS 300 is aware that the periodic ranging 321 has been completed. If the MS 300 is still in a sleep interval, it transitions to the awake mode in step 337.
In the mean time, the MS 300 transitions to the awake mode in a frame indicated by the Next Periodic Ranging parameter set in the RNG-RSP message in step 339. As described earlier, if the MS 300 is in the awake mode, it just performs periodic ranging in the frame indicated by the Next Periodic Ranging parameter. After steps 339 to 343, the periodic ranging is performed in the above-described manner and thus will not be repeated.
As described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the periodic ranging proposed for the conventional IEEE 802.16e communication system is viable only when both the MS and the BS are normal. In other words, if either of the MS and the BS is in an abnormal state, the periodic ranging is impossible.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a novel periodic ranging scheme that considers when either of the MS and the BS is placed in an abnormal state.

System and method for performing periodic ranging in sleep mode in a communication system


A controller controls an air-fuel ratio of an engine to maintain the oxygen storage amount of a catalyst provided in an exhaust passage at a predetermined amount. At this time, the controller first estimates the initial value of the oxygen storage amount based on the catalyst temperature on engine startup, and then computes an oxygen storage characteristic using this estimated initial value. In this way, the oxygen storage amount can be precisely computed even immediately after engine startup, and the conversion efficiency of the catalyst is maintained at a high level.

The present invention relates to an engine exhaust purification device provided with a catalyst
JP-A-H9-228873 published by the Japanese Patent Office in 1997 discloses a technique wherein an oxygen amount stored in a three-way catalyst (hereafter, xe2x80x9coxygen storage amountxe2x80x9d) is computed based on an engine intake air amount and an air-fuel ratio of an exhaust flowing into the catalyst, and engine air-fuel ratio control is performed so that the oxygen storage amount of the catalyst is constant.
To maintain the NOx (nitrogen oxides), CO and HC (hydrocarbon) conversion efficiency of the three-way catalyst at a maximum, the catalyst atmosphere must be maintained at the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. By maintaining the oxygen storage amount of the catalyst constant, oxygen in the exhaust is stored in the catalyst when the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust flowing into the catalyst shifts to lean, and oxygen stored in the catalyst is released when the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust flowing into the catalyst shifts to rich, so the catalyst atmosphere can be maintained at the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio.
In an exhaust purification device which performs this control, the conversion efficiency of the catalyst depends on the oxygen storage amount of the catalyst. Therefore, to control the oxygen storage amount to be constant and maintain the conversion efficiency of the catalyst at a high level, the oxygen storage amount must be precisely computed.
However, in the prior art computational method, the oxygen amount already stored on engine startup was not considered, and it was difficult to precisely compute the oxygen storage amount of the catalyst.
It is therefore an object of this invention to further increase the precision of computing the oxygen storage amount in the aforesaid purification device technique. In particular, it is an object of the invention to increase computational precision immediately after engine startup, and to maintain the conversion efficiency of the catalyst at a high level even immediately after engine startup.
In order to achieve above object, this invention provides an exhaust purification device for an engine, comprising a catalyst provided in an exhaust passage of the engine, a first sensor which detects the characteristics of the exhaust flowing into the catalyst, and a microprocessor. The microprocessor is programmed to estimate an oxygen storage amount of the catalyst on engine startup based on the temperature of the catalyst on engine startup, compute the oxygen storage amount of the catalyst based on the detected exhaust characteristics, using the oxygen storage amount on engine startup as an initial value, and control the air fuel ratio of the engine based on the computed oxygen storage amount so that the oxygen storage amount of the catalyst is a target value.
According to an aspect of this invention, this invention provides a method of estimating an oxygen storage amount of a catalyst provided in an exhaust passage of an engine. The method comprises estimating the oxygen storage amount of the catalyst on engine startup based on the temperature of the catalyst on engine startup, and computing the oxygen storage amount of the catalyst based on the characteristics of the exhaust flowing into the catalyst, using the oxygen storage amount on engine startup as an initial value.
The details as well as other features and advantages of this invention are set forth in the remainder of the specification and are shown in the accompanying drawings.
Strictly speaking, noble metals adsorb oxygen in the molecular state, and oxygen storage materials absorb oxygen as compounds, but in the following description, adsorption and absorption will be collectively referred to as storage.
Further, the expression xe2x80x9cthe exhaust air-fuel ratio is richxe2x80x9d means that the oxygen concentration in the exhaust is lower than the oxygen concentration in the exhaust when the engine is running at the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, and the expression xe2x80x9cthe exhaust air-fuel ratio is leanxe2x80x9d means that the oxygen concentration in the exhaust is higher than the oxygen concentration when the engine is running at the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. The expression xe2x80x9cthe exhaust air-fuel ratio is stoichiometricxe2x80x9d means that the oxygen concentration in the exhaust is equal to the oxygen concentration of the exhaust when the engine is running at the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio.