A system and method for a point of use filtration system with backwash is provided. The system includes a first filtration element, a tank, and a second filtration element positioned downstream from the tank. A first and second valve are each positioned downstream from the first filtration element. A first control line is coupled to a first control switch or a first permeate line and the first valve, and a second control line is coupled to the second control switch or a second permeate line and the second valve. When the point of use demands permeate water, the first and second pressure drops cause the first and second valves to open so water from the tank flows in a reverse direction to backwash the first filtration element and exit through the first and second valves to the drain, while water from the tank simultaneously flows through the second filtration element to the point of use.

Water purification and filtration systems often include ultrafiltration membranes that, over time, accumulate colloidal and suspended particles, which leads to membrane fouling. Many water filtration systems have a backwash cycle to backwash the upstream side of the filtration membrane to remove any of the accumulated reject materials from the feed water to reduce fouling. However, many existing systems use an alternative flush liquid or feed water for backwashing purposes, rather than the already filtered water, in order to reduce premature fouling. Further, many existing systems also use a tank or accumulator to store the ultra-filtered water until needed at the point of use. Over time, bacteria can be produced in the tank, resulting in unsafe drinking water being provided to the user if there is no post-filter provided to clean water being directed out of the tank. Also, most water filtration systems with a backwash cycle require the use of power because of their dependency on either electronically controlled valves, or pressurized gas for backwashing, which makes ultrapure drinking water difficult to acquire in areas with unreliable power systems or with no power at all.
Not only do existing filtration systems require electricity or an additional power source to operate during the backwash cycles, but power is also required during other operational cycles, such as a service cycle and a tank fill cycle, which results in additional operational costs. Also, many purification and filtration systems require multiple accumulator tanks. Typically, one accumulator tank is used to provide water for a backwash cycle, and another tank is used to provide purified water to the point of use, thus adding additional manufacturing costs to the overall system. Additionally, many systems, such as reverse osmosis systems, generate a significant amount of waste water which is inefficient and costly, especially for point of use and residential purification and filtration systems. Lastly, conventional purification and filtration systems typically remove viruses and bacteria from the service water prior to being stored in the system's tank. Thus, there is a higher potential for the service water to be unsafe for drinking due to bacteria that may have been produced in the tank.
One known system discloses an automatic flushing and cleaning system for membrane separation machines such as reverse osmosis machines having plural modules or membranes. Cleaning may be by way of reducing the pressure to allow the membrane to relax, by the injection of air or inert gas to provide turbulence, and/or by injection of flushing liquid which may include chemical cleaning additives. Pumps, automatic valving, and pressure controls are provided, along with a complete time operated electrical sequencing system whereby desired purging, flushing and cleaning cycles are automatically undertaken at periodic intervals or in response to one or more preferred conditions.
Another system provides a membrane filtration system for the separation of solute, colloidal particles, and suspended matter from solutions. The membrane filtration system includes an operation mode and a backwashing mode. A process pump provides suction or negative pressure to the process side of a separation module allowing filtrate to flow from the system tank to the membrane during the backwashing mode, while keeping the filtrate stream separate from the process stream, thereby requiring the user of electrical power to operate the backwash mode.
Similarly, a membrane filtration system uses pump speed controllers to control flow rate and pressure during both a filtration cycle and a backwash cycle. The pump speed controllers operate by changing the frequency of AC current delivered to the pump motors, which changes the flow rate by changing the speed of the pump motor. While pressure and flow pulses are provided throughout the filtration and backwash cycles to dislodge foulants from the membrane, the filtration system requires the use of electrical power. Additionally, the filtration system requires two storage tanks, namely, one for backwash fluid and another for permeate water.
Another system provides a filter backflushing system including an accumulator containing a pressurized bladder which propels a supply of backwash fluid contained within the accumulator in a reverse direction through a filter element to remove clogging contaminants from the filter element. The system only includes a single filter element for the permeate water to flow through prior to storage in the accumulator tank. No other filters are used to clean the permeate water that flows from the accumulator tank to the point of use.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method that addresses one or more of the needs described above. More particularly, it would be desirable to provide a system that uses a single accumulator tank capable of simultaneously providing backwash fluid for a first filtration membrane, such as an ultrafiltration membrane, and ultrapure water to a point of use. It would also be desirable to provide a filtration system that mechanically (i.e., requires no power) provides backwash that is a higher transmembrane pressure then the filtering transmembrane pressure, which is caused by opening a faucet which creates a large pressure drop. A system that provides biologically safe drinking water by removing viruses before the water enters the accumulator tank and removing bacteria after the water leaves the accumulator tank is also desirable. Also, providing an ultrafiltration membrane as a prefilter to a microfiltration membrane to protect the microfiltration membrane from fouling is also desirable, as well as a system that uses less waste water than RO systems on the point of use level.

Point of use filtration system with backwash


An apparatus and method routes data over network links based on a temperature of the network links. When the temperature of a link meets a first threshold a routing mechanism re-routes a portion of the network traffic over a lower temperature link to reduce the likelihood that the link will exceed a second threshold that necessitates that the link be throttled back or disabled. Re-routing data to cooler links allows the system to maintain the lowest possible temperature of the network links to gain optimal performance of the system. In the disclosed example, the network links include interconnect cable connections and backplane connections. A temperature of the network links is determined by monitoring a region of an integrated circuit near a line driver driving the network link.

1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to data communication in computer systems, and more specifically relates to routing data traffic on other network links having a lower temperature when the temperature of a network link exceeds a threshold.
2. Background Art
Supercomputers and other multi-node computer systems continue to be developed to tackle sophisticated computing jobs. Multi-node computer systems often use multiple compute nodes coupled together in a common chassis. In one example, the computers or compute nodes are separate servers that are coupled by a common backbone within the chassis. In such systems, each server or compute node is a pluggable board that includes at least one processor, an on-board memory, and an Input/Output (I/O) interface. Further, the servers may be connected to a switch to expand the capabilities of the servers. For example, the switch may permit the servers to access additional Ethernet networks or Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) slots as well as permit communication between servers in the same or different chassis.
Multi-node computer systems sometime incorporate multiple network links to connect the compute nodes or servers of the system. The temperature of the network link is proportional to the workload of the link. The performance of the network link is dependent on temperature. So as the temperature rises, the network link may experience increased loss of data packets in the data communication over the network link.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Temperature sensitive routing of data in a computer system

International Business Machines Corporation


A method of fabricating a semiconductor device is provided. The method includes forming semiconductor patterns on a semiconductor substrate, such that sides are surrounded by a lower interlayer insulating layer. A lower insulating layer is formed that covers the semiconductor patterns and the lower interlayer insulating layer. A contact structure is formed that penetrates the lower insulating layer and the lower interlayer insulating layer and is spaced apart from the semiconductor patterns. The contact structure has an upper surface higher than the semiconductor patterns. An upper insulating layer is formed covering the contact structure and the lower insulating layer. The upper and lower insulating layers form insulating patterns exposing the semiconductor patterns and covering the contact structure, and each of the insulating patterns includes a lower insulating pattern and an upper insulating pattern sequentially stacked. After the insulating patterns are formed, metal-semiconductor compounds are formed on the exposed semiconductor patterns.

1. Field
Example embodiments of inventive concepts relate to a semiconductor device having a contact structure and a metal-semiconductor compound, a method of fabricating the same, and an electronic device and electronic system employing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
With high integration of semiconductor devices, unexpected problems occur due to reducing the dimensions of components constituting the semiconductor devices.

Method of fabricating semiconductor device


An automated matchplate molding machine includes a cope flask, a pattern plate and a drag flask for creating formed sand molds. A lock is provided to lock the drag flask to the platen table of the molding machine during desired stages of an individual sand molding sequence. The lock between the drag flask and the platen table may include actuated pins which engage corresponding detent structures such as tapered holes integral with the drag flask and prevent lateral migration of the drag flask relative to the platen table. Additionally, cope flask actuators are provided which vertically support and are operable to raise the cope flask relative to the squeeze head to facilitate release the cope mold from the cope flask.

Foundries use automated matchplate molding machines for forming sand molds. Formed sand molds are subsequently filled with molten metal material, cooled, and then broken apart to release metal castings. There are several prior art systems for this purpose including several prior art systems assigned to the present Assignee, Hunter Automated Machinery Corporation, including U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,738 to Hunter; U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,058 to Hunter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,664 to Hunter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,199 to Hunter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,218 to Hunter; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,722 to Hunter. The entire disclosures of these patent references are hereby incorporated by reference as the present invention may be incorporated or used in these types of molding systems. Additional reference can be had to these patent references for additional details of the state of the art and to see potential applicability of the present invention. While the foregoing inventions have set forth significant advances and advanced the state-of-art to increase the speed and efficiency in which automated sand molding can occur, there is still further room for improvement in automated molding machinery which is the subject of the present invention.

Squeeze station for automated molding machine


A method and apparatus is provided for transmitting an orthogonal frequency domain multiple access (OFDMA) signal including a synchronization channel signal transmitted within a localized portion of a bandwidth of the OFDMA signal (818), the synchronization channel signal having predetermined time domain symmetry within the localized portion of the bandwidth (816). The synchronization channel signal enables an initial acquisition and cell search method with low computational load which provides OFDMA symbol timing detection and frequency error detection by differential processing of sequence elements of the synchronization channel signal (1112) and frame boundary detection and cell specific information detection (1114) in an OFDMA system supporting multiple system bandwidths, both synchronized and un-synchronized systems, a large cell index and an OFDMA symbol structure with both short and long cyclic prefix length.

In a wireless communication system which includes a number of base stations or cells, an initial task for a wireless communication device is to recognize and acquire the signals transmitted from the cells. Another primary task is to search the cells to determine which cell is the best for establishing communication with. As more and more complex signaling systems are developed, these important tasks become more difficult and more time-consuming. Recently, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) signaling systems have been proposed. The OFDMA systems are scalable bandwidth systems designed to work in different bandwidths. In addition, the OFDMA systems utilize a multi-carrier modulation approach having, perhaps, hundreds of subcarriers within a narrow (e.g., 5 MHz) frequency range. While the scalability of OFDMA systems facilitates the introduction and expansion of such systems, the complexity of OFDMA systems must nevertheless allow for signal acquisition by OFDMA wireless communication devices in a timely manner for quick activation and seamless transition from cell to cell. A synchronization channel is provided for initial signal acquisition and cell search. However, as the number of cell sites increases and the complexity of the OFDMA systems increase, the synchronization channel signal must include more and more information. Parsing the signal into sequence elements for quick and reliable reception alleviates some of the problem, but the sequence elements must themselves each carry sequence index information.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus for generating and processing an improved synchronization channel including a plurality of sequence elements in an ODFMA system. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.

Method and apparatus for a synchronization channel in an OFDMA system


An antenna device is mounted in a note PC and is used for communication between the note PC and the external of the note PC. The antenna device is provided with an antenna for wireless LAN for transmitting and receiving radio waves, and a cover. The cover is formed of a dielectric material for covering the antenna with a wall and a ceiling, and strengthens the directivity of radio wave communication on the wall side of the antenna device by a double layer structure of the ceiling that is thicker than the wall.

A technique for building a so-called LAN (Local Area Network) by connecting multiple computers one another with cables has become widespread in offices or the like. Here, in the technique for building a LAN with cables, there are such problems that a construction of cable installation often takes time and cost and in some places or a LAN cannot be built due to the difficulty of cable installation or the like. Furthermore, in recent years, a notebook type personal computer (note PC) convenient for carrying around is often used, yet if the note PC is incorporated into a LAN built with cables, there is a problem that the convenience of portability of the note PC is impaired or the like.
Therefore, recently, there is an increasing demand for a so-called wireless LAN that is built by connecting multiple computers one another via wireless communication.
In the wireless LAN, there are a type that conducts communication via a relay device called as an access point and a type that conducts communication directly between computers without routing any access point. In each type, it is necessary for each computer to mount an antenna device for radio wave communication. Here, it is often the case where wireless communication in this wireless LAN takes place in a space extending in horizontal direction such as within a room or in between rooms adjacent to each other. Therefore, it is desirable for a wireless LAN antenna device used for such a wireless LAN to have stronger directivity in horizontal direction than in vertical direction.
Traditionally, as a technique of obtaining a desired directivity for an antenna device, for example, there have been proposed a technique that designs the shape of an antenna that constitutes an antenna device depending on a desired directivity (See Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 11-122022, for example); or a technique that constitutes an antenna device with an antenna and a passive terminal that has a function of changing a directivity of the antenna and disposes the passive terminal in a position in accordance with a desired directivity. Also, as a technique of obtaining a desired receiving property and a desired transmitting property in an antenna device, for example, there have been proposed a technique that puts a contrivance to the shape of an antenna cover so that the receiving property through the cover toward radio waves coming from above can become a desirable property (See Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-244716, for example); or there have been proposed a technique that puts a contrivance to the shape of an antenna cover in order to make the transmitting property through the cover toward radio waves going upward a desirable property (See Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-15408, for example).

Antenna device, electronic device and antenna cover


A biological information displaying apparatus includes: a displaying section on which a measurement display screen displaying biological information under measurement and an abnormality display screen displaying information alarming an abnormality of the biological information, and the biological information at a timing when the abnormality occurs are displayed; and a display controlling section which is configured to display the abnormality display screen on the measurement display screen, so that the abnormality display screen is superimposed on the measurement display screen. In case where the abnormality display screen is displayed on the displaying section, the display controlling section controls the displaying section so that, even when the abnormality resolves, the information alarming the abnormality of the biological information, and the biological information at the timing when the abnormality occurs are continued to be displayed on the abnormality display screen.

The presently disclosed subject matter relates to a biological information displaying apparatus and biological information displaying system for displaying biological information detected from the subject, on a display screen.
A related-art apparatus has been proposed which collects biological information of the subject, and which displays the collected biological information. For example, JP-UM-B-56-046728 discloses a memory monitor which, at an alarm time, displays the waveform of a biological signal of a patient in a form of a broken line, so as to clearly indicate an alarm condition to a monitoring person. In the memory monitor, the waveforms of biological signals of a plurality of patients are displayed on a cathode ray tube, and, when biological information in an alarm condition is produced, only the biological signal waveform of the patient in which the alarm condition occurs is displayed in a form of a broken line. This enables the alarm condition to be clearly indicated to the monitoring person, and an alarm lamp or buzzer to be omitted from an operation panel, and is effectively used in patient monitoring.
JP-A-11-290282 discloses a patient monitoring system which, in accordance with the clinical state and symptom of the patient, can express the setting of alarm values and notification according to the contents of instructions from the doctor. In the patient monitoring system, when departing from the range of determination conditions, alarm notification is performed, and procedures such as "Doctor call", "Medication", and the like are displayed on a displaying section so that adequate procedures can be performed in response to the alarm notification. Also the observation waveform which is the monitoring information at the timing of the alarm generation is displayed on a display screen, thereby preventing the alarm from being erroneously recognized, and enabling the procedure to be performed rapidly and adequately when the alarm is generated.
In the configuration of the memory monitor disclosed in JP-UM-B-56-046728, at an alarm time, the biological signal waveform of the patient is displayed in a form of a broken line, but, when the biological signal waveform is recovered from the abnormal or alarm condition, the display mode is returned from the display in a form of a broken line to the normal display mode. In the case where, at the alarm time, the monitoring person misses the displaying section of the memory monitor, therefore, the monitoring person hardly recognizes that an alarm was issued in the past, and hence there is a possibility that an adequate procedure cannot be performed when an abnormal condition is generated. Also, there is another problem in that it is difficult to instantly determine whether a past alarm is caused by contamination by an artifact or not.
In the configuration of the patient monitoring system disclosed in JP-A-11-290282, the displaying section on which the contents of the procedure with respect to the alarm notification and monitoring information are displayed is a displaying section (a displaying section at a position which is separated from apparatuses for monitoring patients) of a data processing unit to which measurement data are transmitted from apparatuses for monitoring patients. On the displaying section, monitoring information at the alarm notification is displayed, but monitoring information under measurement, or monitoring information related to monitoring information of alarm notification is not displayed. Therefore, monitoring information which is a cause of alarm notification cannot be checked on the side of the patient, and sets of monitoring information cannot be subjected to comparative determination. Consequently, procedures ("Doctor call", "Medication", and the like) which are previously instructed and stored in accordance with instructions of the doctor can be performed, but it is difficult to rapidly perform other adequate procedures.

Biological information displaying apparatus and biological information displaying system


According to a method for producing semiconductor chips, grooves serving as dicing lines are formed in a front surface of a semiconductor wafer, the semiconductor wafer is ground from the rear surface to a prescribed thickness, leaving portions of the wafer opposite the grooves, a feeding layer is formed on the ground rear surface of the wafer, a metal layer for heat radiation is formed on the feeding layer, a dicing tape is applied to the metal layer, and the wafer and the feeding layer are diced along the dicing lines, resulting in a plurality of semiconductor chips. Therefore, the strength of the wafer is increased because portions of the wafer remain at the dicing lines, preventing curvature of the wafer. When a plurality of metal layers for heat radiation are selectively formed on the feeding layer except for regions opposite the dicing lines, since only thin portions of the wafer and the feeding layer are present at the dicing lines, burrs produced during dicing are reduced and an adequate junction is achieved in a subsequent die-bonding process.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional GaAs semiconductor wafer before a dicing process. Semiconductor chips 1 are mechanically connected to each other by metal films 3 comprising gold or the like, so that the strength of the wafer comprising is increased. Each chip is about 40 to 50 microns thick and has an active element and a passive element on its main surface. The metal films 3 are formed by electroless plating. An Au layer 4 is disposed on the rear surface of the wafer through an intermediate feeding layer 14, so that heat is efficiently radiated from heat generating elements (not shown) on the semiconductor substrates. The Au layer 4 is generally called as a plated heat sink (hereafter referred to as PHS).
A method for producing the semiconductor wafer of FIG. 8 is illustrated in FIGS. 9(a)-9(e).
Initially, as illustrated in FIG. 9(a), a surface of the GaAs wafer 1 approximately 600 microns thick is partially etched away to form grooves 2 approximately 30 microns depth. The grooves 2 serve as dicing lines in a dicing process.
Then, as illustrated in FIG. 9(b), metal films 3 each having a thickness of 2 to 3 microns and comprising gold are formed in the grooves 2 by electroless plating. Thereafter, the GaAs wafer 1 is ground from the rear surface until the metal films 3 are exposed, resulting in a plurality of semiconductor chips 1 comprising the wafer and connected to each other by the metal films 3 as shown in FIG. 9(c).
Then, as illustrated in FIG. 9(d), a feeding layer 14 approximately several microns thick comprising gold or the like is formed over the rear surface of the wafer. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 9(e), a PHS layer 4 approximately 40 microns thick is formed on the feeding layer 14.
In the conventional method for producing semiconductor chips, before the formation of the PHS layer 4, the GaAs chips 1 are connected to each other by only the metal films 3, so that the strength of the whole wafer is poor in resisting stress applied in the production process, such as handling. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 10(a), the metal film 3 unfavorably rises (portion 10 in the figure) or sinks (portion 11 in the figure), whereby the wafer unfavorably curves i.e., becomes non-planar. Then, the feeding layer 14 and the plated heat sink 4 are formed on the rear surface of the curved wafer as illustrated in FIG. 10(b). When the wafer with the PHS layer 4 is cut by a blade 6 of a dicer (not shown) as illustrated in FIG. 10(c), if a depth of cut is adjusted to a line C at a point A, the blade 6 reaches only halfway in the PHS layer 4 at a point B due to the sinking portion 11, so that the dicing is not perfectly carried out. On the other hand, if the depth of cut is adjusted at the point B, a tape 5 applied to the PHS layer 4 is unfavorably cut at the point A, so that the dicing cannot be carried on, thereby reducing production yield.
In addition, since the metal film 3 and the PHS layer 4, both comprising a relatively soft metal like gold, are present beneath the dicing line 2, burrs 7 and 8 are produced after the dicing as illustrated in FIG. 11(a). When such a semiconductor chip is mounted on a package 17 and a wire 16 is connected to elements on the chip 1 as illustrated in FIG. 11(b), the wire 16 unfavorably contacts the burr 7, causing a short circuit. In addition, solder 18 is not evenly adhered to the PHS layer 4 because of the burr 8, so that the chip is not precisely die-bonded, causing a misassembly.
FIGS. 11(c) and 11(d) illustrate measuring characteristics of elements on the GaAs wafer 1. In FIG. 11(c), the semiconductor wafer of FIG. 10(b) is put on a stage 12 and air is evacuated through a hole 13 to fix the wafer onto the stage 12. However, because of the rising portion 10, the wafer cannot be fixed onto the stage 12. Even if the wafer is fixed to the stage 12 somehow, the GaAs wafer 1 inclines with respect to a horizontal plane D as illustrated in FIG. 11(d). In this case, an RF probe terminal 9 does not properly contact the elements on the chip 1, resulting in an inaccurate measurement.
Meanwhile, a method for dividing a semiconductor wafer into a plurality of chips by etching, a so-called pellet separation method, is employed in, for example, Japanese Published Patent Applications Nos. 62-122279, 2-148739, and 2-214127. In this method, although no burrs are produced, it is difficult to control the dimensions of each chip after the separation. In addition, because the chips after the etching process, are separated from each other, a rapid transition to the subsequent die-bonding process is prevented. This results in a poor production yield. In addition, it is not possible to selectively pick out non-defective chips which are tested before the separation. Therefore, this method is not suitable for processing and testing.

Method for producing semiconductor device


A method of remote surveillance and assisted care using a mobile communication device can include determining a location of a user. The method can also include adjusting at least one camera according to the location, and capturing an image of an area around the location. Further, the method can include transmitting the image to a remote information processing system.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of mobile communications and, more particularly, to the use of a mobile communication device to provide remote surveillance and assisted care functions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Individuals suffering from physical or mental challenges, such as elderly persons, commonly require a caregiver to provide assistance with daily activities. However, in cases where the elderly person is high functioning and desires to maximize independence, a fulltime, onsite caregiver can be unnecessary, costly, and/or intrusive. Thus, the elder may require a remote caregiver who can assist the elder only when the elder asks for, or requires, help.
Conventional methods of providing remote care giving typically employ the use of portable communication devices. However, typical portable communication devices, such as pagers and cell phones, are limited. For example, in the case of a paging device, the elder must wait for a call back from the caregiver. Similarly, in the case of a cell phone, the caregiver may be out of range or unavailable, requiring the elder to leave a message and wait until the caregiver responds.
A further shortcoming of conventional remote care giving is the inability of the caregiver to make an immediate visual assessment of the elder's condition. For instance, in order to determine the elder's condition upon receiving a request for help, the caregiver must typically converse with the elder telephonically, which can be problematic if the elder is unable to speak or physically get to a phone. Further, the caregiver often must physically travel to the location of the elder to determine the nature of the help request, which can delay necessary treatment for the elder. The inability of the caregiver to have immediate knowledge of the elder's condition may result in the caregiver underestimating the gravity of the elder's condition. Conversely, the caregiver may overestimate the severity of the elder's condition, which may result in unnecessary and costly calls to emergency personnel, such as the fire department, ambulance, or the like.
Additionally, an elder may need a caregiver to unobtrusively check in on the elder from time to time. Optimally, the caregiver should be able to observe the elder without causing a disruption in the elder's day. However, conventional human surveillance mechanisms have many shortcomings. For example, typical remote viewing mechanisms, such as a monitor or dedicated display screen, are not portable and are operable only at a fixed location.
What is needed is a remote surveillance and assisted care device for cognitively impaired individuals, such as the elderly.

Remote surveillance and assisted care using a mobile communication device

University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


A glass for laser processing of the present invention can be laser-processed by causing ablation or evaporation by laser beam energy absorbed therein, wherein the glass for laser processing has a composition that satisfies the following conditions:60≦SiO2+B2O3≦79 mol %;5≦Al2O3+TiO2≦20 mol %; and5≦Li2O+Na2O+K2O+Rb2O+Cs2O+MgO+CaO+SrO+BaO≦20 mol %,where 5≦TiO2≦20 mol %. The present invention can provide a glass for laser processing that has a low laser processing threshold value as well as a low thermal expansion coefficient.

Recently, the technique of processing materials using laser beam energy has been developing gradually to cover the field of micro-processing.
In the processing technique using a mask pattern, the processable length has been extended to the range of nanometers that are further shorter than micrometers due to the progress of the patterning technique and the shortening of a laser wavelength.
On the other hand, direct processing using a laser also has been practiced in the range of micrometers in the case of processing metal and organic matters such as polyimide as a result of the progress in shortening of the wavelength and pulse width of laser beams.
Furthermore, processing such as perforating using a laser is shifting to ablation processing from thermal processing. Ablation is a phenomenon that the state of a material of an irradiation part shifts from melting to evaporation in a short period of time through irradiation of laser beams whose pulse width is very narrow. The level of thermal influence on the periphery of the beam irradiation part varies with an increase or a decrease in pulse width. In the case of processing using an ultrashort pulse laser that completes beam irradiation before thermal diffusion occurs, it is possible to make precise minute holes, with hardly any heat-affected layer being generated.
However, many of the lasers that are used for actual processing employ pulse widths of at least the nanosecond order, which makes it impossible to avoid the thermal influence. Hence, a photochemical reaction that is caused by ultraviolet rays is employed. Short-wavelength beams of a laser such as, for instance, an excimer laser have great energy per photon and therefore can cut a chemical bond that forms a molecular skeleton.
As described above, the selection of, for instance, the pulse width and wavelength of a laser beam to be used for irradiation conventionally has made it possible to carry out micro-processing. The study, however, has not progressed so much from the viewpoint of improvement of materials to be irradiated with a laser. Processing of glass that is a transparent material is important for optical application. In order to provide a glass suitable for laser processing, JP11(1999)-217237A proposes a technique for providing glass in which cracks tend not to occur by decreasing the laser processing threshold value through the introduction of silver into glass by ion exchange.
Glass containing a large amount of alkali metal allows silver ions to be introduced thereinto by a silver ion exchange. However, a phenomenon occurs in which silver ions are reduced in the vicinity of the glass surface and thereby are inhibited from differing into the glass. Hence, the effective laser processing region is limited to the vicinity of the glass surface and therefore it still is difficult to carry out processing of glass including processing of the inner part thereof, for instance, processing to make a through hole in a glass sheet. In addition, there is another problem that the ion exchange rate is low and it therefore is difficult to allow ions to reach the inner part of glass.
Moreover, glass for laser processing produced through the silver ion exchange contains a large amount of alkali metal or alkaline-earth metal and therefore has a high thermal expansion coefficient, which is a problem. Since heat is generated in a laser irradiation part during laser processing, the laser irradiation part and the vicinity thereof are deformed due to the stress caused by the difference in thermal expansion between them. When the thermal expansion coefficient of the glass is high, the size of a processing part measured during laser irradiation varies from that measured after laser irradiation. Hence, the dimensional accuracy of the processing part may deteriorate.
Furthermore, with respect to optical elements, it generally is desirable that the dimensional change that is caused by a temperature change be small. There also is a problem that such a dimensional change as described above may cause variations in the characteristics of optical elements.


Method and apparatus of the present invention include an image-capturing device coupled to a computer system. An image captured by the image-capturing device is analyzed using a face tracking technique to learn behaviors of the user. This may include determining if the user is paying attention. The attention may be toward a display of the computer system. When the user does not pay attention, power consumption of one or more components of the computer system is reduced.

Computer systems are becoming increasingly pervasive in our society, including everything from small handheld electronic devices, such as personal digital data assistants and cellular phones, to application-specific electronic components, such as set-top boxes and other consumer electronics, to medium-sized mobile and desktop systems to large workstations and servers. Long battery life has always been a goal of mobile systems and long battery life has become even more important with the deployment of wireless technology that allows mobile systems to remain completely un-tethered.
To provide more powerful computer systems for consumers, designers strive to continually increase the operating speed of the processor. A by-product of increasing processor speed is an increase in the amount of power consumed by the processor. The increased system power consumption result in need for bigger thermal/cooling system, bigger power delivery system and reducing battery life.
One approach to power management is by setting user's preference using the operating system and BIOS (basic input/output system). The BIOS registers setting controls a length of time the system must be active after user inactivity. For example, power to the display can be managed by setting a power off option in a power management properties menu to a certain fixed expiration value. The expiration value may be set to any value provided in a pop-up window ranging from 1 minute to "never". The expiration value is static and remains the same until another value is selected. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art example of a pop-up window used to specify power management preferences. As illustrated in FIG. 1, power can be managed by setting user's preference to turn off monitor, hard disks and to put the system in standby mode.

Method and apparatus for monitoring human attention in dynamic power management


An authentication system registers, in a service provision device, identification information for an information processing device that cooperates with the authentication system, associates the identification information for the information processing device with authorization information in accordance with an issuance of the authorization information corresponding to the information processing device, and saves them in the authorization service device, queries the authorization service device for the identification information for the information processing device associated with the authorization information in response to a request for obtaining the service and the issued authorization information from the information processing device, and provides, according to the request, the service with the information processing device in response to a correspondence between the identification information for the information processing device acquired as a result of the query and the identification information for the information processing device registered.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an authentication system, a control method thereof, a service provision device, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
A business that provides services by disclosing the services as a cloud service on Internet has been developed. The print server becomes to be required to provide functions as a print service on the Internet. Provision of services as the cloud service enables location of the print server on a large data center so that hardware management for each customer is eliminated. Also, this provides various advantages such as a simple way of supplementing resources depending on a load imposed on a server. By utilizing this function, there has been proposed a printing system enabling pull printing in which a printer acquires print data over the Internet so as to execute printing.
Up to now, accesses to the print server that has been operated on an Intranet are limited to the Intranet, and thus it was very difficult for a user to illegally access the print server. However, when the print server is disclosed as the cloud service on the Internet, a user can access the print server from anywhere in the world, and secure security is required. In recent years in which importance of security is increased, a standard protocol called "OAuth" for authorization cooperation has been developed and is being applied for communication between the cloud service and a client. In OAuth, information called "token" is utilized as information for proving an authority that is transferred from a user or a client. The cloud service prevents an illegal access by the client by verifying validity of the token notified by a client.
When the image forming device cooperates with the print server by using OAuth, a user transfers, to the image forming device, an authority for accessing a print job held by the print server. In this manner, the image forming device can downloads print data of the print job stored by the print server, and executes printing.
Also, when a plurality of users shares and uses the image forming device, the image forming device is required for queue control for print jobs of the plurality of users. In the case where the authority transfer to the image forming device is performed for each user, the image forming device retains the token for each queued print job.
Although the image forming device performs print processing by sequentially executing the queued print job, subsequent queued print jobs become a waiting state if printing is not executed due to paper out or the like. An expiration date is generally set to the token for preventing abuse, and the expiration date set to the token may be expired if printing is not executed for a long time. When the expiration date is expired, the image forming device cannot download print data from the print server. Since the image forming device cannot upload the token for the user authority, it is contemplated that the image forming device executes download of the print data from the print server by using not the user authority but the printer authority of the image forming device. The printer authority enables update of the token and print continuation by the image forming device even if the expiration date is expired.
However, when the image forming device downloads the print data using the token issued by the printer authority, printer information or user information is not transmitted to the print server. Hence, a malicious third party may download print data for other user using the token issued by the printer authority. As a result, information for other user is leaked, and security is not ensured.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-191270 discloses a system that specifies an image forming device in a secure manner by using a first common key for creating a token, and a second common key for identifying a device ID of the image forming device. However, there remains a large security risk causing an illegal access to all print data if the common keys are leaked. In a system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-181844, a server retains a device identifier by associating it with a user, and verifies the device identifier upon a login by the user to thereby prevent the illegal access. However, the illegal access is not prevented when the user does not perform the login.

Authentication system, control method thereof, service provision device, and storage medium


A mandrel including an elongated arm having a first end and a second end, a reciprocatable shaft coaxially aligned with and extending through the arm, a first end of the shaft extending beyond the first end of the arm and a second end of the shaft extending beyond the second end of the arm, a presser means mounted at the first end of the shaft, an expandable disk shaped member coaxially aligned with and slidably mounted on the shaft between the presser means and the first end of the arm, a compression means mounted on the second end of the shaft, and a resilient helical spring coaxially aligned with and slidably mounted on the shaft between the presser means and the compression means, the compression means adopted to apply compression pressure to the disk shaped member and to the helical spring. This mandrel is used in a process for coating hollow cylinders.

This invention relates in general to an improved mandrel for transporting hollow cylinders and, more specifically, to a mandrel and process for using the mandrel for coating hollow cylinders.
Although this invention is especially useful for the fabrication of electrostatographic imaging members, it is not limited to such application. Electrostatographic imaging members are will known in the art and include electrophotographic imaging members and electrographic imaging members.
Electrophotographic imagining member may be in the shape of a hollow drum or cylinder and are coated with at least one active electrophotographic imaging layer. The active electrophotographic imaging layer may comprise a single photoconductive layer or comprise a plurality of active electrophotographic layers such as a charge generating layer and a charge transport layer. These drum shaped electrophotographic imaging members embodiments are well known in the art.
Electrostatographic drums are conventionally coated by immersing hollow cylinders into a liquid coating solution, withdrawing the cylinders coated with the coating solution and drying the coating on the cylinders. Generally, the coating applied to the cylinder is confined to the exterior surface of the cylinder to conserve coating material and to a) provide for electrical grounding of the device, b) provide for insertion and removal of end pieces, and c) allow for cooling and prevent heat build-up. The use of a mandrel that supports a hollow cylinder by gripping only the interior of the cylinder facilitates coating of the exterior surface of the cylinder without any mechanical object contacting either the exterior surface of the cylinder or the coating deposited on the exterior surface. The mandrel is supported at its upper end by any suitable conventional conveyor means. The conveyor means can comprise means to raise and lower the mandrel and/or the entire conveyor means may be raised and lowered by any suitable and conventional means such as an elevator means. To prevent any significant deposition of coating material onto the interior of the cylinder during immersion of the substrate into the coating bath, the cylinder axis is maintained in a vertical position or attitude and air within the hollow cylinder is trapped in at least the lower section of the interior of the cylinder by various known techniques. Trapping of the air in the cylinder while the cylinder axis is maintained in a vertical attitude minimizes wasteful deposition of coating material within the interior of the cylinder. One technique for trapping air within the cylinder is to insert the lower end of a mandrel into the upper open end of a cylinder, the mandrel having an expandable component positioned at or adjacent to its lower end which can be expanded to firmly contact and grip the interior of the cylinder to form a seal which traps air in the section of the cylinder below the seal during immersion of the cylinder in a coating liquid. One such technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,246, the entire disclosure thereof being incorporated herein by reference.
Although expandable disk shaped members made of natural or synthetic rubber or elastomers such as natural rubber, EPDM, neoprene, butyl, nitrile or polyurethane perform well for a dip coating step, it has been found necessary that the freshly coated cylinder be supported on a metallic platen for transportation through a drying device or zone because the expandable disk or inflatable bladder tends to stick to the interior wall of a cylinder and inhibit or prevent mandrel removal after exposure to elevated temperatures during drying of the deposited coating. Also, the memory properties of the expandable disk or expandable bladder material degrade rapidly when repeatedly exposed to temporary compression or expansion forces and elevated drying temperatures. Degradation of the memory properties prevents the material from returning to its original shape and size after distortion. This, in turn, can cause difficulties in separating the disk or inflatable bladder from the interior wall of a cylinder.
Inflatable bladders also require a compressed fluid source, complex air tubing and couplings, air seals and the like which greatly increase the likelihood of failure during a coating or drying operation. For example, an air leak can cause a coated cylinder to fall away from a mandrel during or after coating. If a drum falls into a coating bath or onto the floor of a drying oven, the entire coating line must be shut down to remove the fallen drum and to repair the leak. Moreover, the large contact area between an inflated bladder and the interior of a cylinder presents heat transfer problems that ultimately result in coatings that have undesirable non-uniform physical and electrical characteristics following drying. When inflatable bladders are utilized to grip the interior of cylindrical substrates, difficulties are also encountered when the mandrel must travel over great distances because of the extended length of air feed lines required. When liquids are utilized to inflate an inflatable bladder, leakage of the inflating liquid into coating baths for cylindrical substrates requires shut down of an entire coating line and replacement of the entire coating.
In another embodiment of an expandable mandrel, the expandable mandrel component has a shape similar to that of a disk or thick washer. The outside diameter of this expandable disk shaped member, in its normal unstressed state, is slightly less than the interior diameter of the cylinder that is transported by the mandrel. The axis of this disk is coaxial with the main mandrel body. The expandable disk is expanded by applying compressive pressure on at least a segment of the upper and lower surfaces of the disk. The applied compression pressure causes the length of the circumference of the circular outermost edge of the disk to increase sufficiently whereby the outer periphery of the disk firmly contacts and grips the interior surface of the cylinder so that the mandrel can support and carry the cylinder from one location to another and also function as an air seal to trap air within the interior of the cylinder in the section below the cylinder when the cylinder is immersed in a liquid coating bath. The compressive pressure may be applied to the disk by applying a pulling or tension force on a tension shaft extending from a presser means through the center of the disk and through the mandrel body whereby the disk is squeezed by the presser means against the adjacent lower end of the mandrel body. Generally, the pulling or tension force is applied to the tension shaft by tightening a nut threaded onto the top end of the tension shaft. The nut applies a predetermined fixed compression pressure to the expandable disk shaped member. This arrangement performs well when the mandrel is utilized for transporting cylindrical substrates under of substantially constant temperature conditions such as during coating or cleaning operations. However, it has been found that where the same mandrel must transport a hollow cylinder from a zone at about ambient temperature to another zone at highly elevated temperatures such as a drying zone, it has been found that the original predetermined compression pressure changes due to softening of the elastomer in the expandable disk shaped member which reduces the gripping pressure between the disk shaped member and the interior surface of the hollow cylinder. This reduction in gripping force can diminish to the point where the drum falls away from the mandrel due to gravity and strikes the floor of the drying zone which in turn damages the sensitive photoconductive or other delicate coating on the drum. Even a small nick or scratch in the sensitive photoconductive surface of the photoreceptor renders it objectionable for use in electrophotographic copiers, printers and duplicators. If the initial gripping pressure of the expandable disk shaped member against the interior of the hollow cylinder is increased to compensate for the temperature induced change, the increased pressure can exceed acceptable limits which, in turn, can cause physical distortion of thin cylindrical substrates.

Self adjusting mandrel with expandable elastomeric disk and process for using mandrel


Various embodiments of communication systems and methods in which the communication system is operative to find, record, and use sets of pre-distortion parameters in conjunction with a pre-distortion procedure, in which each set of pre-distortion parameters is operative to specifically counter distortions produced in a power amplifier by a specific combination of level of input signal power and level of analog gain associated with a transmission path of the communication system. In some embodiments, there is a modulator, a transmission chain, a distortion analysis mechanism, and a pre-distortion mechanism, operative to analyze and modify signals so as to counter signal distortion.

Digital Pre-Distortion ("DPD") is a basic element of communications, including both wireless and wireline communication systems. It is used to increase the effectiveness and the efficiency of power amplifiers, particularly in determining system inputs to result in acceptable output power. In traditional communications, output power is modified by altering the input power from a modulator, or by altering the gain level of a communication transmission chain, or by altering both the input power and the gain level to the degree that a change in one parameter is exactly offset by a corresponding and opposite change in the other parameter.

Systems and methods for increasing the effectiveness of digital pre-distortion in electronic communications


A semiconductor wafer 10 has a plurality of semiconductor chip areas 10a and a scribe area 10b, each of the semiconductor chip areas 10a having semiconductor elements and electrode pads (electrode portions) 16a electrically connected to the respective semiconductor elements, the scribe area 10b having monitor elements and electrode pads (electrode portions) 16b electrically connected to the monitor elements, wherein projecting electrodes 18 are selectively formed only on the respective electrode pads 16a in the semiconductor chip areas 10a by electroless plating. Thus, for example, the electrode pads 16b are covered with an insulating film 14.

With the reduced sizes and improved functions of information communication apparatuses and office electronic apparatuses, semiconductor devices (semiconductor integrated circuit devices: hereinafter referred to as semiconductor chips) mounted in these electronic apparatuses have been desired to have a smaller size as well as an increased number of external terminals for input and output.
Thus, with a conventional configuration in which a peripheral portion of the semiconductor chip is used as an area exclusively occupied by electrode portions (electrode pads) for connection to external circuits, it has been difficult to achieve both an increase in the number of external terminals and a size reduction. Thus, a technique called pad on element and a flip chip technique have more often been adopted; the pad on element forms electrode pads also on an active area, and the flip chip technique forms projecting electrodes called bumps on the electrode pads and connects the semiconductor chips to external circuits through the bumps.
On the other hand, significantly improved semiconductor manufacturing processes have contributed to further miniaturizing the structure of the semiconductor chip while further increasing integration degree. Copper wiring, having a relatively low resistance, has often been used as a wiring material. What is called a low-k material, having a small dielectric constant, has often been used as an interlayer insulating film.
Furthermore, the recently increased integration degree has led to complication of various semiconductor manufacturing processes. Whether or not semiconductor elements on each semiconductor chip normally operate depends on a variation in conditions for the manufacturing processes or the like. Thus, the properties of the semiconductor elements or various process values obtained during the semiconductor manufacturing process are inspected in a wafer state to estimate whether or not the semiconductor chip is acceptable and to determine whether or not the semiconductor manufacturing process normally operates.
For example, electrical property inspections are carried out to contact probes with electrode pads formed in each semiconductor chip area so as to be electrically connected to a plurality of semiconductor elements in the area. Furthermore, semiconductor elements (monitor elements) of a basic configuration and electrode pads electrically connected to the semiconductor element are arranged on a scribe area. The monitor elements are then inspected to estimate whether or not the properties of integrated circuit in the semiconductor chip area is acceptable. Even if the manufacturing process is abnormal, the abnormality is found early and fed back to minimize the occurrence probability of defective process articles.
However, a problem with miniaturized and highly integrated semiconductor chips is a shock that may result from wire bonding or inner lead bonding on the electrode pads or from contacting the probes with the electrode pads during electronic property inspections. Particularly when the electrode pads are formed on the active area or the low-k material is used as an interlayer insulating film, the shock often damages not only the electrode pads but also the interlayer insulating film, a wiring layer, and active elements, all of which are arranged under the electrode pads. This may degrade the electrical properties.
To avoid this, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3398609 proposes a technique of forming hard projecting electrodes of Ni-containing metal on the electrode pads so as to allow the projecting electrodes to act against the shock resulting from the wire bonding or inner lead bonding, thus inhibiting possible damage to the semiconductor elements.
Moreover, with the conventional method, when the flip chip scheme is used to connect the semiconductor chip to an external circuit, the bumps (projecting electrodes) on the electrode pads are pressure-welded and connected to the external circuit using an anisotropic conductive sheet (ACF). However, a method of forming bumps of solder and melting the bumps for connection has been proposed and gathering much attention because of the method's high possibility of being able to inhibit possible damage to the semiconductor elements.
However, the melting of the solder bumps for connection enables a reduction in damage during mounting but cannot avoid damage during the electrical property inspections. When the electrical property inspections are carried out on the electrode pads with no solder bumps formed thereon yet, the interlayer insulating film may be cracked or the electrical properties may be affected as described above. When the electrical property inspections are carried out after the formation of the solder bumps, the contact of the inspection probes may deform the solder bumps, affecting the mounting.
Thus, when the solder bumps are to be formed by a printing method or a ball mounting method, it is possible to form UBM (Under Bump Metal) of Ni or Au on the electrode pads before forming the solder bumps and to contact the inspection probe with the UBM for the electrical property inspections. This method enables electric connections to be ensured even with a 10ad on the inspection probe set at a small value This enables the inhibition of possible damage to the underlying structure of the electrode pads.
Methods of forming the projecting electrode are roughly classified into two types. One of the types utilizes electroplating. That is, a metal thin film is formed all over the surface of the wafer by sputtering or the like. An insulating film called plating resist is formed which has openings at positions where the projecting electrodes are to be provided. The plating resist is then grown into metal projections at the openings in the plating resist by electroplating. The metal projections are then used as a mask to etch away unwanted parts of the metal thin film to form projecting electrodes. However, this method uses the complicated manufacturing process, sharply increasing costs.
The other type is a method utilizing electroless plating. For example, an Al layer is formed all over the surface of the wafer at predetermined positions. An insulating film is then formed which has openings at predetermined electrode positions. The Al in a surface of the Al layer (this corresponds to the electrode pad) exposed from the openings is replaced with Zn by zincating. The wafer is subsequently immersed in an electroless plating solution to substitute Ni for Zn to form Ni projecting electrodes. An Au film is further formed on the surface of each of the Ni projecting electrodes. This method immerses the wafer in the electroless plating solution to selectively grow plating on the metal exposed portions, enabling the projecting electrodes to be formed. This eliminates the need for a photolithography process using a mask, allowing a reduction in manufacturing costs. This method is also used to form the projecting electrodes and UBM in Japanese Patent No. 3398609.
However, the formation of the projecting electrodes utilizing electroless plating also poses a problem. When the monitor elements and the electrode pads therefor are formed in the scribe area, the projecting electrodes are also formed on the electrode pads by electroless plating. Consequently, during a dicing step in which the semiconductor wafer is divided into individual semiconductor chips, significant chipping may occur or the wiring layer or interlayer insulting film under the projecting electrodes may be cracked. This may also affect the semiconductor chips.
The problem is more significant in highly miniaturized and integrated semiconductor wafers; the occurrence probability of chipping and cracking further increases. A semiconductor wafer of this kind uses the wiring layer mainly comprising Cu or the low-k material as an interlayer insulating film as described above. Thus, if not only the electrode pads but also the projecting electrodes are formed in the scribe area, the wafer is diced at the area in which the very hard projecting electrodes and the fragile low-k film are mixed. This is likely to increase the occurrence probability of chipping and to cause burrs at the electrode pads.


Oil cooler for cooling lubricant oil in an internal combustion engine that has a cooling element (3) that is arranged in the sump (2) of the engine and has an essentially rectangular plate with longitudinal coolant channels (4) over the major portion of its extent. The channels are joined with coolant inlet and outlet tubes (11, 16), which have connections (11a, 16a) on the outside of the sump for connection to an engine coolant system.

The present invention relates to an oil cooler for cooling lubricant oil of an internal combustion engine. More specifically, the present invention pertains to an oil cooler that includes a cooling element having at least one channel with an inlet and outlet for a flowing coolant medium and that is disposed in a space containing lubricating oil.
Oil coolers for cooling lubricating oil are available in two main types. One type has the same basic design as a conventional cooler for engine coolant; that is, it is made up of a large number of thin strips of sheet metal joined together to form channels for oil and flow-through holes for an air flow such as from a coolant fan, which can be the same fan as is used for cooling the coolant in the coolant radiator. The other type has a container through which oil flows in the engine. The container contains a battery of tubes through which coolant flows thereby cooling the surrounding oil when it flows through the container.
Common to these two types of coolers is that they are arranged outside the engine block itself and are connected to the lubricant circuit via outer conduits. Firstly, this means that the engine oil pump must be dimensioned not only for the oil volume in the engine oil ducts, but also for an oil volume outside the engine. Secondly, these oil coolers, and the conduits thereto, must be dimensioned for the maximum oil pressure of the oil system. The advantage of the latter type compared to the former type is that the coolant is heated more rapidly than the oil, and for cold starts, the oil cooler first functions as a heating element for heating the oil before it needs to be cooled.
In view of the above described deficiencies associated with known solutions for cooling oil in internal combustion engines, the present invention has been developed to alleviate these drawbacks and provide further benefits to the user. These enhancements and benefits are described in greater detail hereinbelow with respect to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
The present invention in its several disclosed embodiments alleviates the drawbacks described above with respect to oil coolers for internal combustion engines and incorporates several additional beneficial features.
The purpose of the present invention is to achieve a simple, effective and inexpensive oil cooler of the type described by way of introduction, that requires a minimum of conduit installation, and these conduits do not need to be dimensioned for the over-pressure of the oil circulating in the engine. This means that the oil pump only needs to be dimensioned for pumping oil to the engine itself and not to an oil cooler outside the engine.
This is achieved according to the invention by virtue of the fact that the cooling element is arranged in an engine sump, and that the inlet and the outlet have connections on the outside of the sump for connection to an engine cooling system.
In a preferred embodiment of the oil cooler according to the present invention, the cooling element includes an essentially rectangular, extruded and flat aluminum profile with coolant channels over at least the major portion of its extent. End pieces are fixed to a short sides of the aluminum profile and have channels that connect the coolant channels with each other and with inlet and outlet features. The aluminum profile is also made with an oil channel open at both ends, one end of which is disposed to be connected to an inlet tube which projects down into the oil sump, and the other end of which is disposed to be connected to a suction conduit of an oil pump.
An oil cooler of this type can be manufactured at lower cost than the previously known oil coolers described above. It has low weight and requires no installation of oil conduits outside the engine itself. When changing oil, all the oil is changed, in contrast to oil changing in an engine with one of the known oil coolers, where a certain amount of old oil will unavoidably remain in the oil coolers. An additional advantage of arranging an oil cooler in the sump is that it is completely protected from corrosion, something which is definitely not the case, for example, in an air-cooled cooling element placed next to the coolant cooler of the vehicle. At the same time, an important property of the previously known oil coolers is retained; that is, the oil cooler according to the present invention also functions as a heating element for heating the engine oil when cold-started.
The beneficial effects described above apply generally to the exemplary devices, mechanisms and methods disclosed herein for the present invention. The specific structures and steps through which these benefits are delivered will be described in greater detail hereinbelow.

Oil cooler for internal combustion engines


A package is disclosed containing a picture postcard and a prepaid telephone card, both the postcard and the telephone card bearing the same illustration. The package is of transparent plastic for simultaneous viewing of both the postcard and the telephone card. The postcard can be removed and mailed the same as any souvenir card and the telephone card, which may be wallet size, can be put in one's wallet or purse and used to make prepaid telephone calls.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to packaging for consumer products.
2. Background Information
Postal cards which bear a scene or the like on one side and a place for a message and an address to which the card can be sent are well known. In recent years, prepaid telephone cards have become quite popular. These phone cards are usually sold separately in retail stores. These cards can be used in certain public telephones to make prepaid long distance calls. Such stores also carry postcards bearing images associated with the geographical location in which such postcards are sold.
Since there is much competition for the sale of phone cards, there is a need to make phone cards more saleable to the buying public. There is quite a bit of competition for display space in retail stores where such cards are sold. Also, such prepaid phone cards are usually an impulse buy item and displayed in stores near the checkout counters. There is a need for catching the attention of a shopper so that the shopper will buy such prepaid phone cards.

Package containing souvenir postcard and matching phone card


Use is made of thermoplastic materials in layered configurations as a thermally stable, rigid but not brittle strip of lengths of six inches to ten feet or more. The layered strip contains layers of conductive fibers in a resin matrix, which, through use of appropriate contact mechanisms and wiring, provide an assembly with an infinite potentiometer scale. The strips are especially useful in linear positioning indicators such as pneumatic and hydraulic cylinder and liquid level gauges. The strips are conductively connected by cutting a bias surface relative to said strips and placing resin thereon.

Linear positioning indicators find numerous uses in manufacturing processes and materials handling systems. While such indicators can be visual readout only, numerous uses are made of indicators that can provide a remote signal for display and/or control purposes. Linear positioning indicators are especially useful in conjunction with hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders, providing a means of generating a signal that represents the positioning of a cylinder piston along the stroke of the cylinder.
Linear positioning indicators are also useful in liquid level gauges, such as described in the related applications referred to above, the specifications of which are incorporated here by reference as if a part of the present specification. In particular, the conductive/resistive element described in those specifications has been found to have use in more general applications as described therein and here. Examples of linear positioning indicators follow the article by A. L. Hitchcox in Hydraulics and Pneumatics, May, 1995, p. 38.


An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit and method thereof are presented. In some embodiments, a high voltage tolerant input/output circuit comprises an ESD detection circuit, a first first-type transistor, a first second-type transistor, and a second second-type transistor. The first first-type transistor and the first second-type transistor are coupled to a pad. The ESD detection circuit determines whether ESD occurs at the pad and, if so, couples the gates of the first and second second-type transistors to the second power rail.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an ESD protection circuit and method thereof, and more specifically to a high voltage tolerant input/output circuit avoiding damage to N-type MOS transistors from electrostatic discharge (ESD).
2. Description of the Related Art
In the development of the semiconductor manufacture process, dimensions of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor transistor (CMOS) have reached sub-micron level to upgrade the performance of very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits and computational speed. As dimensions shrinks, reliability and ESD tolerance of VLSI circuits decline significantly.
ESD models include human-body model (HBM), machine model (MM), and charged-device model (CDM). All three generate instantaneous current of several amperes only for hundreds or even several nanoseconds.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional high voltage tolerant CMOS VLSI input/output circuit. As shown in FIG. 1, the sources of the PMOS transistors P110-P1n are coupled to the power rail Vcc1, gates of the PMOS transistors P110 and P111 are coupled to the power rail Vcc1, and gates of the PMOS transistors P112-P11n are coupled to pre-driver P1. The drains of the NMOS transistors N110-N11n and the corresponding drains of the PMOS transistors P110-P11n are coupled to a pad 10, and all gates of the NMOS transistors N110-N11n are coupled to the power rail Vcc1. The drains of the NMOS transistors N120-N12n in another row are coupled to the corresponding sources of the NMOS transistors N110-N11n. According to the driving requirement, gates of the NMOS transistors N120 and N121 are connected to the power rail Vss1, and gates of the NMOS transistors N122-N12n are coupled to pre-driver N1. The NMOS transistors N110-N11n and the NMOS transistors N120-N12n are connected in series, and the reliability of the NMOS transistors N120-N12n is enhanced by voltage division. When ESD occurs at the pad 10, the discharge current follows the path of the PMOS transistors P110-P11n, the NMOS transistors N110-N11n, and the NMOS transistors N120-N12n. Because the bias conditions of each transistor differ, current discharge is not even, and some transistors damaged.
The NMOS transistor has an extremely thin gate oxide vulnerable to ESD damage. For example, at the output buffer stage, a commonly used NMOS transistor with a channel width of 300 submicrons can tolerate an ESD voltage of more than 3000 volts if fabricated by conventional 2-submicron manufacture process, and less than 2000 volts if by 1-submicron manufacture process with low-doping-drain (LDD) technology, and about 1000 volts if by 1-submicron manufacture process with LDD and silicide technology. Furthermore, ESD generates an instantaneous discharge current of several amperes in hundreds of nanoseconds. In the high voltage tolerant input/output circuit shown in FIG. 1, the ESD current follows a path of some components only, such that current discharge is uneven and slow, and some components are damaged.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A method and circuit (10) for limiting current (I.sub.COIL) in a load (16). The current limiting circuit (10) includes a sensing circuit (12) having a current indicator output terminal (20) connected to an inverting input of a comparator (11). A reference voltage node (24) of a reference voltage generator (13) is connected to the non-inverting input of the comparator (11). The comparator (11) generates an output signal in accordance with the current flowing in the load (16). If an overcurrent condition exists, the signal from the comparator (11) disables a control circuit (14) which turns off the sensing circuit (12). With the control circuit (14) disabled and sensing circuit (14) off, the current (I.sub.COIL) is prevented from flowing through the load (16).

The present invention relates, in general, to current limit circuitry and, more particularly, to current limit circuitry in DC-DC (Direct Current-Direct Current) applications.
As the consumer market drives technology to create portable devices that have extended battery life, many applications are utilizing lower voltages. Thus, many integrated circuits (ICs) are being designed to operate from low supply voltages, i.e., voltages ranging between 2.7 volts and 3.3 volts. While most of the components within these ICs can operate at low voltages, there are a few components and circuits that require higher voltages to achieve proper performance. For these ICs a boost DC-DC converter is needed. Boost converters typically include a switching transistor, a control circuit, a diode, an inductor, and a capacitor. Generally, the switching transistor, the control circuit, and the diode are monolithically integrated into a single chip, whereas the inductor and the capacitor are off-chip components.
As is known, many DC-DC converters and regulators include current limiting circuits. One such current limiting circuit incorporates a resistor in series with the switching transistor to establish a current-referenced voltage. This voltage is compared with a reference voltage such that when it exceeds the reference voltage, the DC-DC converter is exceeding a predetermined maximum current. Another type of current-limiting circuit incorporates a current sensing transistor which senses the current through the switching transistor and provides a voltage representation thereof which is compared with the reference voltage described hereinbefore. While these circuits can monitor current in the circuit, the first approach reduces the overall efficiency of the DC-DC converter due to power losses. On the other hand, the sensing transistor with a resistor in series can create an accuracy problem due variations in the gate-to-source bias voltage.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a current limiting circuit and a method for limiting current in a DC-DC circuit. It would be of further advantage for the current limiting circuit to be insensitive to variations in temperature, process, and threshold voltage of the switching transistor and the sensing transistor.

Method and circuit for current limiting of DC-DC regulators