A digitally controlled LED illuminator sheet that produces far-field illumination patterns or light field distributions that increase light utilization and application efficiency. A dynamic directional LEDs (or other kinds of solid-state light sources) sheet is positioned under each lenslet of a microlens array. Individual LED beam pointing direction depends on off-axis position relative to optical axis of lenslet. Individual beams from independent LEDs form illumination pixels at the illumination plane or within a volume space and can be modulated in intensity. Illumination pixels partially overlap in far-field illumination plane and illumination volume. Over a large illumination space many illumination pixels will partially superimposed on neighboring illumination pixels, with the overlap being in increments smaller than the size of a pixel. The LEDs can be digitally turned on or off and/or pulse width or amplitude modulated to produce far-field illumination patterns or light field distributions with spectral efficiency and efficacious intensity.

Electrical lighting is the most common form of artificial lighting in industrial societies and is essential for enabling activities after dark and in environments where natural light is not sufficient. As a result, electrical lighting is a significant source of electricity consumption, with one estimate placing commercial sector lighting electricity consumption at 12% of total commercial sector electricity consumption in 2020. Considering the amount of electrical energy consumed, efficiency, convenience, and cost of lighting systems becomes particular important, with lighting application efficiency being a new frontier for future lighting energy savings.
Unfortunately, current electrical lighting, and commercial electrical lighting in particular, is rather inefficient. For instance, commercial lighting is static and provides flood illumination, covering areas that may or may not need light, thus wasting electrical energy.
Current solutions for improving the light application efficiency (LAE) of lighting systems, particularly commercial lighting systems, have proved inadequate due to either inadequate efficiency, difficulty in directing the light at a desired direction and not to a location where no light is needed, not providing the spectral power distribution that is most advantageous for the human visual system, not delivering an efficacious light intensity for a particular environment, or their expense. For example, commercial lighting sources are generally solid state light (SSL) sources: light sources that utilize semiconductor light-emitting diodes (LEDs), polymer light-emitting diodes (PLED), or organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) lights as sources of illumination. However, traditional solid state light (SSL) sources have key disadvantages, such as being thick, heavy, requiring expensive insulation and drilling holes in ceilings for installation, not being customizable (such as being limited to strut layouts), having large thermal cooling requirements, and not being bendable, thus limiting the placement of such light systems.
Thin lighting sheets (thin, flexible sheets on which LEDs or OLEDs are mounted) overcome the disadvantages of some of the traditional SSL sources relating to the difficulty of their placement and servicing. However, existing thin light sheets are not dynamic, being able to provide only the same amount of light in the same direction unless they are repositioned, and have other shortcomings. For example, in the case of organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) being used in thin light sheets, such light sheets tend to be expensive, have low efficiency, low reliability, do not allow for sensor (or other electronic device) integration, and do not allow for creation of affordable custom shapes. Similarly, thin sheets distributed by NthDegree Technologies Worldwide, Inc. of Tempe, Arizona, United States do not allow for full utilization of the LED lights in the sheets and tend to produce aesthetically unpleasing speckles or bright glare spots.
Likewise, Edge-Lit™ light pipes distributed by Fusion® Optics attempt to address the low efficiency of lighting systems. However, such pipes are thick, allow for limited spatial control, and do not allow integration of sensors or other electronic devices.
Finally, Glint Photonics, Inc. of Burlingame, Calif., United States, distributes Hero™ luminaires, the direction of whose light can be adjusted with a joystick while the luminaire remains in a fixed position and orientation. However, such luminaires have a high glare, and require moving mechanical parts to point the light in different directions. Dynamic light projection sources distributed by Lumileds Holding B.V. of Schipol, Netherlands suffer from a similar drawback of having a high glare.
Therefore, there is a need for a high efficiency lighting system that is low glare, flexible, delivers light to where the light is needed, has a suitable spectral distribution, provides effective intensity levels, and is easily customizable.

System and method for light field illuminator sheet-based dynamic lighting output


In communication units the input and/or output of data is normally performed using keypad input, voice input/output or display output. This limits the input/output of the communication unit. The claimed invention proposes a new way of inputting/outputting of data by providing a communication unit with intra-changeable elements, where the physical properties of the elements are changed by an electrical or a mechanical signal/input and that the elements are used in the user interface of the communication unit to enable flexible input and output of data from the communication unit. The user input and output is thereby including a sensory indication, including a physical and/or visual dimension.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a communication unit provided with intra-changeable elements. The intra-changeable elements are used as an input and/or an output device for the communication unit.
2. Description of Prior Art
In communication units, or mobile phones as they can also be called, there is often a need for an improved or easier way to input data. Especially since mobile phones are provided with several input methods and it is not always obvious to the user which options are available for each application in the mobile phone. In most mobiles phones the different available options are displayed in the bottom of the display and different soft-keys of the phone are used to select the options. However many of the latest phones are provided with options that not are displayed on the display. This forces the user to remember hidden options for each application or to be irritated when he/she has selected the wrong option and needs to turn back for another selection.
The normally used input device also limits the user options of a more personalized input. In present mobile phones, the available features for the user are voice, text messaging (SMS) and picture messaging. Vibrations can also be used as incoming message alert if the receiver has set his/her phone to that option, but that is more of an alerting option than a way of communication. As described there are not any options for transfer of a more physical message, like a hug or a squeeze of a hand etc.
The purpose with this invention is to provide a mobile phone having an input device that overcomes the drawbacks of the present mobile phones for indicating the available input options and how to create a new type of input.
The claimed invention provides a communication unit with an input device enabling the user to sense different available input options. Its also provides a communication unit with an input device for input of a new more personalized message, where the same input device can also be used as output device for the same type of messages.

Communication unit provided with intra-changeable elements


The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for concentrating, detecting and/or isolating a plurality of charged analytes contained in a sample by depletion zone isotachophoresis.

The comprehensive analysis of low-abundance analytes in ultrasmall volumes of complex biological matrices—including samples from single cells—is one of the main challenges of today's science and technology. To address this challenge, efficient concentration and separation techniques are critically needed.
Concentration polarization is a well known phenomenon in which part of a liquid is depleted of ions. For the transport and separation of charged molecules in capillaries and microchannels, electrophoresis is often employed and has found widespread applications. However, the sensitivity and selectivity to accurately handle and separate substances in tubing is limited, thus requiring efficient sample preconcentration methods.
For ionic analytes, isotachophoresis (ITP) has proven as a powerful candidate, as disclosed by B. Jung et al., Analytical Chemistry, vol. 78, pp. 2319-2327, (2006); R. B. Schoch et al., Lab on a Chip, vol. 9, pp. 2145-2152, (2009).
ITP uses an imposed electrophoretic mobility gradient to create concentrated analyte zones with non-dispersing interfaces in an elongated channel. Analyte ions to be stacked and separated are typically introduced between a leading and a trailing electrolyte with an effective mobility respectively higher and lower than those of the analytes. Under the influence of an electric field, analyte ions redistribute themselves into sequential zones in order of reducing effective mobility, starting from the leading, and ending with the trailing electrolyte. ITP based separations typically result in adjacent, contiguous zones of analytes moving at identical speed downstream in a main separation channel.
Use of isotachophoresis for separation and detection of charged components typically requires additional steps, typically also involving a secondary separation method. Examples include pre-concentration of compounds by isotachophoresis followed by electrophoresis and analysis, as disclosed in US-A-2006/0254915, US-A-2002/0189946; isotachophoresis followed by zone electrophoretic separation.
Transient isotachophoresis (tITP) couples the concentration characteristics of isotachophoresis with the resolving power of zone electrophoresis. However, tITP is of significant complexity, as it requires injection of three electrolyte zones (background electrolyte, sample, background electrolyte) and the moment of transience is difficult to monitor.
Furthermore, to be effective, tITP may require the use of a electrolytes with specific chemical and physical properties, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,225 and WO-A-2009/079028.
Accordingly, there remains a need to separate multiple compounds in complex samples, without the need to operate with different electrolytes, and with the potential to not only detect and analyse components, but also to selectively separate the components.

Apparatus and process for depletion zone isotachophoresis


A method and an evaluation system supervise correct belt utilization of at least one safety belt in a motor vehicle, the open and/or closed belt lock state being supervised at the respective belt lock of a vehicle seat occupied by a person and a warning signal being given and/or the safety system of the motor vehicle being influenced if an unclosed belt lock is detected. In particular, feigned belt utilization is also detected by evaluating the temporal sequence of belt lock actuations with respect to further operations and/or states determined in the motor vehicle.

The invention relates to a method for supervising correct belt utilization in a motor vehicle and to an evaluation system for carrying out this method.
It is a legal provision that the occupants of motor vehicles use safety belts during the journey, which is why corresponding supervising systems are installed in modern motor vehicles, which supervising systems detect whether the belt tongue of the associated safety belt has been correctly inserted into the belt lock at a vehicle seat occupied by a person. If the known supervising systems determine that the belt tongue of the associated safety belt is not inserted in the belt lock at a vehicle seat used by a person, a warning signal is given at recurring intervals of time during the journey until the belt tongue of the safety belt has been inserted into the belt lock.
The correct fastening of a safety belt is important in modern motor vehicles not only owing to the restraining function of the safety belt in the event of an accident but also for reasons of safety with regard to operation of airbag systems and driver assistance systems which is as safe as possible. For example, an adaptive cruise control system with a so-called stop-and-go function or with a congestion assistance system can be used with the required safety margin for the driver or else passenger only when these persons have also actually fastened the safety belts.
Since some drivers or occupants of motor vehicles do not have safety awareness for fastening the safety belt, these persons often insert a so-called dummy belt in the form of a sheet metal strip or a truncated belt tongue into the belt lock during daily vehicle use in order to thus feign use of the safety belt. This manipulation of the belt lock or else manipulation of the belt lock electrics decommissions the request to wear a belt in the vehicle. As a result, the conventional safety system of the motor vehicle also incorrectly determines that a belt is being used even though only a dummy belt has been inserted into the belt lock, for example. As a result, the vehicle safety system cannot adapt its safety strategies for operating adaptive driver assistance systems and for airbag control to the situation "belt not fastened". Systems for detecting the presence of the driver are canceled, which results in incorrect vehicle safety strategies and therefore in increased danger.
In order to detect the seat occupancy of a vehicle seat and, in particular, of the driver's seat in a motor vehicle, seat occupancy sensors or other occupant detection systems can be used, as stated in DE 101 23 472 A1. Such detection systems may also comprise belt sensors which supervise the insertion of the belt tongue into the belt lock, as is known from DE 10 2009 011 609 A1. However, these known systems are not suitable for detecting feigned belt utilization in which a belt tongue is inserted into the belt lock of an occupied vehicle seat without using the safety belt.
US 2009/289443 A1 also discloses a method for supervising belt utilization, which supervises the open and/or closed belt lock state, in which case belt or belt lock sensors are used for this purpose.

Method and evaluation system for supervising correct belt utilization


Manufacturing of article of footwear include temporarily mating a sole and an upper to determine processes to be performed to the sole and/or the upper before permanently mating. As specific operations are determined based on the particular combination of a sole and an upper, the sole and upper are individually tracked through the subsequent processes to ensure the correct pairing is achieved at the time of permanent mating. The tracking may leverage identifiers in the tooling supporting the upper and in the sole.

Manufacturing of articles of footwear includes identifying how two or more components will physically interact to determine and refine subsequent operations to be performed on those articles. However, if the same articles are not reunited after the operations are performed based on the determined interaction; the resulting article of footwear may be aesthetically unappealing and/or functionally improper.


Provided is a memory device having a first switch configured to receive a first CSL signal to input or output data. A second switch is configured to receive a second CSL signal. A sensing and latch circuit (SLC) is coupled between the first and second switches. And at least one memory cell is coupled to the second switch. The second switch is configured to control timing of read or write operations of the at least one memory cell in response to the second CSL signal, e.g., where a read operation can be performed in not more than about 5 ns. The SLC operates as a latch in a write mode and as an amplifier in a read mode. The memory device may comprise part of a memory system or other apparatus including such memory device or system. Methods of performing read and write operations using such memory device are also provided.

Non-volatile memory is a type of memory where the data written in the memory cells are retained—even after power to the memory cells is removed or off. Magneto-resistive random access memory (MRAM) is a type of such non-volatile memory. The MRAM is also a resistive memory such that the value of data stored in the memory cell is determined depending on the resistance of the memory cell. Particularly among the various resistive memories, the write operation and the read operation of the MRAM cell may be performed based on a current direction and a current amount.
Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is widely used in computing systems and mobile devices and demands on performance of operational speed of the DRAM are increased, according to developments of hardware and software.
To substitute the widely used DRAM, the MRAM requires increase in the speed of the write operation and the read operation comparable to those of the DRAM.

Memory device, method of performing read or write operation and memory system including the same


The use of bio oil from at least one renewable source in a hydrotreatment process, in which process hydrocarbons are formed from said glyceride oil in a catalytic reaction, and the iron content of said bio oil is less than 1 w-ppm calculated as elemental iron. A bio oil intermediate including bio oil from at least one renewable source and the iron content of said bio oil is less than 1 w-ppm calculated as elemental iron.

Liquid fuel components are mainly based on crude oil. There is an ever growing demand for liquid fuels with lower CO2 emissions compared to crude oil based fuels. Various renewable sources have been used as alternatives for crude oil fuels. Methods for converting biomass to liquid fuels include transesterifications of triglycerides to alkylester, hydrotreatment of oils and fats to paraffins, and renewable diesel obtained through gasification and the Fischer-Tropsh process. One of the most promising and furthest developed method is hydrogenation of vegetable oil (HVO) or animal fats to produce paraffins, which can further be refined, e.g., through isomerisation reactions to renewable diesel with excellent properties.
Vegetable oils and animal based fats can be processed to decompose the ester and/or fatty acid structure and to saturate the double bonds of the hydrocarbon backbone thus obtaining about 80-85% of n-paraffins relative to the mass of the starting material. This product can be directly used as a middle distillate fuel component. The cold flow properties of n-paraffins can be enhanced in an isomerisation step where iso-paraffins are formed. A method of producing iso-paraffins from vegetable oils and animal fats is presented in European Patent Document No. EP 1 396 531.
Certain impurities present in the renewable oil can be harmful for the performance of the hydrotreatment/deoxygenation catalyst. Triglycerides can be converted to hydrocarbons through a hydrodeoxygenation pathway using classical hydrodesulphurisation (HDS) catalyst such as NiMo and CoMo HDS catalysts. However, the catalyst has been shown to be deactivated as a result of phosphorous in the feedstock. In publication Kubicka et al (2010) it is shown that elimination of phosphorous from the feedstock is crucial to prevent rapid catalyst deactivation.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0010682 discloses a process for the production of diesel range hydrocarbons from bio oils and fats, which method includes hydrodeoxygenation and hydroisomerisation to achieve fuel components with excellent performance. It is also acknowledged that in order to avoid catalyst deactivation and undesired side reactions the amount of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals are less than 1 w-ppm calculated as elemental metal and phosphorus content less than 5 w-ppm. Degumming and bleaching are suggested to remove the impurities from the feed. In bleaching the refined oil feed is heated and mixed with natural or activated bleaching clay to remove impurities such as chlorophyll, phosphoric compounds and metals remaining in the oil after degumming.
There exist numerous commercial bleaching clays, which can be used in the bleaching of renewable oils. European Patent Document No. EP 0 507 217 discloses a porous base-treated inorganic adsorbent for removal of contaminants such as free fatty acids and metals from glyceride oils. The adsorbent is capable of reducing the levels of phosphorus to below 0.3 ppm and the level of metals to below 0.1 ppm.
In previous laboratory scale experiments it has been shown that triglycerides, e.g., in vegetable oils can be converted to hydrocarbons in hydrotreatment reactions. However, in large scale production of hydrotreated vegetable oil some difficulties have occurred over time. A significant increase in the pressure drop over the hydrodeoxygenation catalyst bed was observed. In normal running conditions there is a higher pressure at the top of the catalyst bed compared to the pressure at the bottom of the catalyst bed and this difference is called the pressure drop. The pressure drop drives the feed stream forward in the reactor. Over time, continuous plugging of the catalyst increases the pressure drop and could lead to complete plugging of the flow in the catalyst bed. An increase in the pressure drop was observed after some production time even if the feed contained only trace amounts of phosphorous and metal impurities such as Na, Ca and Mg.
These findings indicate that the hydrotreatment of glyceride oils from renewable sources still needs improvements and especially large scale production encounters problems which could not have been foreseen from the early laboratory scale experiments.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Use of renewable oil in hydrotreatment process


A continuous wave (CW) integrator is employed within a compressive receiver to improve the sensitivity of the compressive receiver to CW signals. The CW integrator circuit partitions the bandwidth of the compressive receiver into a series of contiguous bins and integrates any signals residing within these bins over many sweeps of the compressive receiver bandwidth. By sampling and integrating CW signals present in the compressive receiver bandwidth, the CW integrator circuit improves the sensitivity of the compressive receiver by a factor approximately equal to 10 log .sqroot.N, where N is the number of integrations performed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compressive receivers, and more particularly relates to a circuit and method for improving the sensitivity to continuous wave (CW) signals presented to a compressive receiver.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Compressive receivers are well known in the prior art. Referring to FIG. 1, the architecture of a traditional compressive receiver (CR) 2 is illustrated in block diagram form. In a CR, a radio frequency (RF) amplifier 4 receives and amplifies a broad band radio signal. Following the RF amplifier 4 is a mixer 6. An output terminal of the RF amplifier 4 is operatively coupled to an RF input port 6A of the mixer 6 which receives the amplifier signal.
The CR also includes a swept local oscillator (SLO) 8 which has an associated output port 8A. The SLO 8 generates a frequency sweep which is linearly changing with time from a first frequency (F1) to a final frequency (F2), over a fixed time period known as the compressive receiver sweep time (.tau..sub.s). The SLO is characterized by a slope which is equal to ##EQU1## The bandwidth of the compressive receiver is equal to the difference in frequencies, F2-F1, and is typically several hundred megahertz wide. The SLO output port 8A is coupled to a local oscillator (LO) input port 6B of the mixer 6.
The mixer 6 further includes an intermediate frequency (IF) output port 6C. The mixer 6 generates an output signal corresponding to the sum and the difference of the signals presented to the RF input port 6A and the LO input port 6B. This mixer output signal is presented on the IF output port 6C.
The compressive receiver further includes a dispersive delay line (DDL) 10 which has both an input terminal and an output terminal. The input terminal of the DDL 10 is operatively coupled to the IF output port 6C and receives the mixer output signal. The DDL 10 exhibits a linear variable frequency delay over the CR bandwidth and generates a time domain output signal which is representative of the frequency domain signal presented to the DDL 10 input terminal. The slope of the linear variable delay of the DDL 10 is equal and opposite to the slope of the SLO 8. Therefore, the slope of DDL 10 can be stated as: ##EQU2## As a result of the related slopes of SLO 8 and the DDL 10, the output signal from the DDL 10 is a compressed frequency domain output voltage which corresponds to the radio signal presented to the input terminal 4A of RF amplifier 4.
Following the DDL 10, the compressive receiver includes a detector 11. The detector 11 receives the compressed frequency domain signal and generates a corresponding compressed time domain voltage signal. A conventional detector 11 is formed using a successive detection log amp. The output signal from the detector 11 is the compressive receiver video output signal.
The compressive receiver further includes a center of pulse (COP) detector 12 which has both an input terminal and an output terminal. The input terminal of the COP detector 12 is operatively coupled to the output detector 11 and receives the CR video output signal. The COP detector 12 determines when carrier signals are present in the compressive receiver video output signal and generates a strobe signal corresponding to these carrier signals. Following the COP detector 12 is a frequency/amplitude encoder 14 which has both input and output terminals. The input terminal of the frequency/amplitude encoder 14 is operatively coupled to the output terminal of the COP detector 12. The frequency/amplitude encoder 14 receives the strobe signals from the COP detector 12 and measures the relative time of the strobe signals to determine the actual frequency of the carrier signals. The frequency/amplitude encoder 14 also evaluates the magnitude of the CR video output signal and calculates the equivalent RF power of this signal. The frequency/amplitude encoder 14 creates a digital signal corresponding to the frequency and amplitude of received carrier signals and presents this digital signal on its output terminal.
The CR also includes a signal track and control circuit 16. The signal track and control circuit 16 includes an input terminal which is operatively coupled to the output terminal of the frequency/amplitude encoder 14. The signal track and control circuit 16 receives the frequency and amplitude data from the frequency/amplitude encoder 14 for each sweep of the CR bandwidth and averages this data. The signal track and control circuit 16 also measures the pulse width and time of arrival of the CR video output signal to determine an end of pulse condition. The signal track and control circuit 16 further includes an output terminal which is operatively coupled to a pulse formatter 18. Once the end of pulse condition has been determined, the signal track and control circuit 16 forwards the frequency, amplitude, pulse width and time of arrival data to the pulse formatter 18.
The pulse formatter 18 further includes a pulse descriptor word (PDW) output port 18a. The pulse formatter 18 formats the data signals from the signal track and control circuit 16 and generates a pulse descriptor word output signal which is presented on the PDW output port 18a.
While such a compressive receiver topology features a significantly higher sensitivity for the given bandwidth as compared to traditional receiving systems, there is still a need to further improve the small signal detection performance of CW signals presented to the input of compressive receiver systems.

Apparatus for enhancing sensitivity in compressive receivers and method for the same


Disclosed is an integrated circuit module that includes a first die having a plurality of hot regions and at least one cool region when operating under normal conditions. The first die with a top surface includes at least one power amplifier that resides in the plurality of hot regions. The integrated circuit module also includes a second die. The second die has a bottom surface, which is adhered to the top surface of the first die, wherein any portion of the bottom surface of the second die that is adhered to the top surface of the first die resides exclusively on the at least one cool region. In at least one embodiment, the first die is an RF power amplifier die and the second die is a controller die having control circuitry configured to control the at least one power amplifier that is an RF power amplifier type.

In contrast to low power circuits, power amplifiers have the added challenge of localized hot regions on the power amplifier die which result in large changes in temperature across the die. These hot regions will heat up a die placed directly over them. Often the semiconductor material for the RF power amplifier die is typically gallium arsenide (GaAs), which is a made of a different semiconductor material than the controller die, which is typically made of silicon (Si). The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for GaAs is 6.86 ppm per degree Celsius (ppm/° C.) and for Si the CTE is 2.6 ppm/° C. As a result, large gradients in temperature across the GaAs die and the Si die can cause mechanical stress due to differences in the CTE. What is needed is an integrated circuit module having a power amplifier die and a controller die that are arranged such that mechanical stress due to differences in the CTE is minimized.

Integrated circuit module having a first die with a power amplifier stacked with a second die and method of making the same


A process is described by which numerous waste or by-product aqueous hydrochloric acid streams can be purified by contacting the aqueous hydrochloric acid with a polystyrenic based resin to remove silicon containing impurities and thereby allowing the hydrochloric acid to be re-used for various applications.

A wide variety of commercial silicone polymers are produced by the hydrolysis of a few basic chlorosilanes. These important chlorosilane monomers are produced by processes that also yield aqueous hydrochloric acid as a major by-product. For example, the hydrolysis of dimethyl-dichlorosilane yields 2 moles of hydrogen chloride for every mole of chlorosilane hydrolyzed. Because of the commercial importance of these and other processes for producing chlorosilanes, large amounts of by-product aqueous hydrochloric acid streams are generated.
Aqueous hydrochloric acid resulting as a by-product from the hydrolysis of chlorosilanes, as well as from other sources, is often contaminated with silicon containing materials, primarily silanols and siloxanes. Additionally other contaminants may be present such as solvents, hydrocarbons, and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Removal of these materials has proven a problem, particularly when relatively small concentrations of these materials are objectionable.
The bulk of these materials may phase separate as an oil layer on the aqueous hydrochloric acid and thus can be separated utilizing various techniques, but there remains small concentrations, typically below about 1000 milligrams per liter (mg/l), of these materials which are still soluble or stable in the aqueous hydrochloric acid. Some of this by-product hydrochloric acid can be re-used for various commercial applications if it is cleaned up.
However, much of the aqueous hydrochloric acid ends up as waste streams that must be neutralized and disposed of because the level of undesirable contaminants prevents its use for many applications. This represents not only an economic loss of a valuable source of chloride ion for commercial production of chlorosilane intermediates but also poses a potential negative impact on the environment, by impacting the level of total dissolved solids present in commercial wastewater streams.
To the applicants knowledge, there does not seem to be any patents or other publications directed to the separation of soluble or stable silanols and siloxanes from aqueous hydrochloric acid. Such silanols and siloxanes are reactive and can undergo condensation polymerization when in contact with hydrochloric acid.
One object of this present invention is to provide a process by which aqueous hydrochloric acid can be more easily purified. Another object is to provide a process by which small concentrations of silicon containing impurities can be more easily removed from aqueous hydrochloric acid such that the hydrochloric acid is made suitable for re-use. Still another object of this invention is to economically refurbish aqueous hydrochloric acid streams to greatly reduce the chloride ion that must be neutralized and disposed of. These and other objects of this invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this specification.


A boring tool is movable through the ground. A transmitter supported by the boring tool transmits an electromagnetic homing signal. A portable device monitors the electromagnetic homing signal and receives the electromagnetic homing signal in a homing mode for guiding the boring tool to a target position. A processor generates steering commands for guiding the boring tool based on a bore plan in a steering mode such that at least some positional error is introduced without using the electromagnetic homing signal. Switching from the steering mode to the homing mode is based on monitoring of the electromagnetic homing signal as the boring tool approaches the portable device to then guide the boring tool to the target position location in compensation for the positional error. Intermediate target positions are described as well as guiding the boring tool based on the homing signal so long as the portable device receives the signal.

The present application is generally related to steering tools for horizontal directional drilling and, more particularly, to a system and method for multimode use of steering information and homing information.
A boring tool is well-known as a steerable drill head that can carry sensors, transmitters and associated electronics. The boring tool is usually controlled through a drill string that is extendable from a drill rig. The drill string is most often formed of drill pipe sections, which may be referred to hereinafter as drill rods, that are selectively attachable with one another for purposes of advancing and retracting the drill string. Steering is often accomplished using a beveled face on the drill head. Advancing the drill string while rotating should result in the drill head traveling straight forward, whereas advancing the drill string with the bevel oriented at some fixed angle will result in deflecting the drill head in some direction.
One approach that has been taken by the prior art, for purposes of monitoring the progress of a boring tool in the field of horizontal directional drilling, resides in what is commonly referred to as a "steering tool". This term has come to describe an overall system which essentially predicts the position of the boring tool, as it is advanced through the ground using a drill string, such that the boring tool can be steered along a planned drill path within the ground. Steering tool systems are considered as being distinct from other types of locating systems used in horizontal directional drilling at least for the reason that the position of the boring tool is monitored in a step-wise fashion as the boring tool progresses through the ground. For each position of the boring tool, pitch and yaw angles of the drill-head can be measured in coordination with extension of the drill string. From this, the boring tool position coordinates are obtained by numerical integration. Nominal or measured drill rod lengths can serve as a step size during integration. For this reason, positional error can accumulate with increasing progress through the ground. The positional error can be attributed, at least in part, to pitch and yaw measurement errors as well as underground disturbances of the earth's magnetic field, which can cause yaw measurement bias errors. Thus, the boring tool can arrive at a considerable offset from the endpoint target of the bore plan.
A homing system, in contrast, relies on an electromagnetic signal that is emitted from the boring tool. The electromagnetic signal is received at a receiving position for generating homing commands that are used in guiding the boring tool to a target in relation to the receiving position. It should be appreciated that, in a homing system, numerical integration of orientation parameters of the boring tool is not necessary, therefore eliminating concerns with respect to accumulating positional offset errors. One example of an advanced homing system is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 6,727,704, which is commonly owned with the present application and hereby incorporated by reference. Applicants recognize, however, that the range of the electromagnetic signal from the boring tool to the receiving position can be significantly shorter than the length of an intended drill path.
Another form of prior art system for monitoring a boring tool uses what is often referred to as a walkover locator. In such a system, an operator carries the walkover locator above the surface of the ground for receiving the electromagnetic signal. The location of the boring tool can be established, at least in part, based on the ability of the operator to change the positional relationship between the walkover locator and the boring tool. In this way, various field-defined points can be identified at the surface of the ground which characterize the electromagnetic signal. Applicants recognize that in some instances the use of a walkover locator is impractical. For example, the drill path can extend under a busy highway, river, lake or other such obstacle.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

Multimode steering and homing system, method and apparatus


A semiconductor memory device includes a single crystalline semiconductor substrate having a main surface, a plurality of active regions formed at the main surface, and an isolation region which is formed at the main surface and isolates the active regions from one another. Each of the active regions has a transistor region and a capacitor region. The capacitor region has a trench formed in the single crystalline semiconductor substrate. An inner wall of the trench is covered with an insulating layer. At least a portion of the transistor region and the insulating layer are both covered with a semiconductor layer. A portion of the semiconductor layer which covers at least the portion of the transistor region is an epitaxial layer. A portion of the semiconductor layer which covers the insulating layer is a polycrystalline layer, which functions as a storage node of a capacitor. A semiconductor memory device is manufactured by forming an isolation region for isolating a plurality of active regions from one another at a main surface of a single crystalline semiconductor substrate, forming a trench in at least a portion of the active regions of the single crystalline semiconductor substrate, covering an inner wall of the trench with an insulating layer, forming a polysilicon seed film on the insulating layer, and growing a single crystalline silicon layer and a polysilicon layer respectively on an exposed portion of the top surface of the single crystalline semiconductor substrate and on the polysilicon seed film simultaneously and selectively.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and a manufacturing method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device including a plurality of memory cells, each having a switching transistor and a capacitor connected thereto and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
For reducing the size of a memory cell of a semiconductor memory device, a construction in which an electrode (storage node) of a capacitor is formed in a trench has been proposed. For example, a stacked trench semiconductor memory cell is disclosed in Technical Digest of 1987 IEDM, pp. 332-335.
A manufacturing method of a conventional stacked trench DRAM will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A through 9J. FIGS. 9A through 9E illustrate a cross section of a memory cell in each manufacturing step of the conventional stacked trench DRAM. FIGS. 9F through 9J illustrate a cross section of a plate potential applying section disposed in a peripheral region of a memory cell array in each manufacturing step. FIGS. 9A through 9E and FIGS. 9F through 9J respectively show the same steps.
As is shown in FIGS. 9A and 9F, a trench is formed in a portion of an active region of a semiconductor substrate 114 which has an oxide film 11 and a nitride film 10 on a surface thereof, and then, an oxide film sheath 13 is selectively formed on an inner wall of the trench. As is shown in FIG. 9B, a portion of the trench which is located in the memory cell is covered with a resist 3. The oxide film sheath 13 in a portion of the trench which is located in a peripheral region of the memory cell array and thus is not covered with the resist 3 is removed as is shown in FIG. 9G, thereby exposing a portion of the semiconductor substrate 114. Then, an n-type impurity is diffused over the exposed portion of the semiconductor substrate 114, thereby forming an n-type impurity diffusion layer 7 in the semiconductor substrate 114 as is shown in FIGS. 9C and 9H.
After a polysilicon film 4 is formed on the inner wall of the trench, a capacitive oxide film 5 is formed on the polysilicon film 4, and the trench is filled with a resist 6. Portions of the capacitive oxide film 5, the polysilicon film 4 and the resist 6 which are located outside the trench are etched away. In this way, the capacitive oxide film 5, the polysilicon film 4 and the resist 6 are left only in the trench as is shown in FIGS. 9C and 9H.
Then, another polysilicon film 8 is formed so as to fill the trench. A portion of the polysilicon film 8 which is located outside the trench is removed using an etchback technique, thereby leaving the polysilicon film 8 only on the capacitive oxide film 5 as is shown in FIGS. 9D and 9I. Then, a lithography technique is used to form a resist 9 having openings at specified positions and then to etch away a portion of the oxide film sheath 13 which is located on a contact area of the inner wall of the trench. In this way, a side wall window is formed in the oxide film sheath 13. As is shown in FIG. 9I, the trench located in a peripheral region of the memory cell array is covered with the resist 9.
The polysilicon film 8 located in the trench of the memory cell functions as a storage node 81, while the polysilicon film 8 located in the trench of the plate potential applying section functions as a plate potential applying electrode 82.
After the nitride film 10 is removed, still another polysilicon film is deposited on the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 114. The polysilicon film deposited on the semiconductor substrate 114 is thermally oxidized, thereby forming an oxide film 12 on the storage node 81 and the plate potential applying electrode 82. Then, the oxide film 11 is removed from an active region, thereby forming a source and a drain (not shown) of a transistor in the active region. The source is electrically connected to the storage node 81 through the side wall window.
The n-type impurity diffusion layer 7 of the plate potential applying section in the peripheral region of the memory cell array is connected to the n-type impurity diffusion layer 7 of the memory cell, and the n-type impurity diffusion layer 7 is in direct contact with the plate potential applying electrode 82. Accordingly, the plate potential is supplied from the plate potential applying electrode 82 to the polysilicon film 4 of the memory cell, the polysilicon film 4 functioning as a plate electrode. Therefore, when a voltage is generated between the polysilicon film 4 functioning as a cell plate and the storage node 81, the capacitive oxide film 5 has a charge stored on both side surfaces thereof.
In such a conventional stacked trench semiconductor memory device, further reduction of the size thereof accompanying the improvement of the memory capacity results in difficulty in the alignment which is conducted by the use of the lithography technique for forming the side wall window (FIG. 9D). Inferior alignment will significantly reduce the production yield. Moreover, the contact resistance is increased due to a native oxide film existing on the side wall contact.

Semiconductor memory device and a manufacturing method thereof

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method of managing access to a plurality of Packet Switched (PS) networks of a wireless communication apparatus including a plurality of Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) includes obtaining first information indicating data service-related preferences for the plurality of SIMs, selecting at least one SIM necessary for accessing each of the plurality of PS networks from among the plurality of SIMs, based on the first information and second information indicating a wireless network capable of being provided by an operator corresponding to each of the plurality of SIMs, and accessing each of the plurality of PS networks by using the selected at least one SIM.

Example embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to a wireless communication apparatus and/or a method of operating the same. For example, at least some example embodiments relate to a wireless communication apparatus that includes a plurality of Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) and manages access to a plurality of wireless networks by using the plurality of SIMs, and/or a management method of the wireless communication apparatus.
Multi-SIM wireless communication apparatuses, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, tablets, and laptops, may include two or more SIM cards. Each SIM card may include unique International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and key information that allows a user of a wireless communication apparatus to be identified and authenticated by a service provider. A multi-SIM wireless communication apparatus may allow a user to access various wireless networks by using multi-SIMs.
Wireless networks may include a Circuit Switched (CS) network (e.g., a second or third generation network) and a Packet Switched (PS) network (e.g., a fourth generation network). The fourth generation network may include an Internet packet data network and an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) packet data network.
In conventional arts, since only a specific one of the multi-SIMs may support access to the fourth generation network, a wireless communication apparatus may access the Internet packet data network and the IMS packet data network only through the specific SIM. However, current multi-SIMs may allow at least two SIMs to access the fourth generation network, and, thus there may be multiple ones of the SIMs available that support access to the fourth generation network.

Wireless communication apparatus for managing access to plurality of wireless networks and management method thereof


With a state in which electric power is not supplied to respective functional units as a basis, an information processing apparatus is capable of performing power control to supply electric power to the respective functional units to cause the functional units to perform processing only when the functional units are required to be operated and, after the end of the processing, stop the supply of electric power. Therefore, in particular, it is also possible to set the state in which electric power is not supplied as a basis for a CPU, a leak current of which causes a problem. This is more advantageous in terms of a circuit size and easiness of control than applying power control to the respective functional units. Moreover, since the state in which electric power is not supplied is set as a basis, processing for shift of a state is reduced and, when operation is performed, it is possible to speed up a response to the operation compared with the time when a suspend mode or the like is used.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that is capable of autonomously controlling supply of electric power inside the apparatus and a power control method for the information processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in the field of the computer system technology, power control techniques for reducing power consumption at standby time by stopping, supply of electric power inside an apparatus when processing is not performed and resuming the supply of electric power instantaneously when processing is required, for example, when input operation is applied to the apparatus have been developed.
For example, as a portable device such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), there is known one that reduces power consumption at the standby time. When operation is not performed for a fixed time, the portable device automatically shifts to a low power consumption mode for operating a CPU at a low frequency and stopping supply of electric power to peripheral circuits and, when operation is performed, the CPU returns to an ordinary state to perform processing.
A general personal computer (PC) has functions such as a suspend mode and a standby mode. In particular, in a battery-driven device such as a notebook PC, the suspend mode or the standby mode is effective for reduction of unnecessary power consumption at the time when the PC is not used for a long time.
Note that a technique concerning power control such as the suspend mode and the standby mode is disclosed in JP9-114557A.
However, in the conventional power control technique, as a premise, electric power is supplied to a CPU and other functional units (a display, a memory, etc.) in a normal state of use. Power consumption is reduced only under a specific condition, for example, when a fixed time elapses from immediately preceding operation.
Therefore, usually, regardless of the fact that some of the units are not operating in an apparatus, electric power is supplied to the respective units until the specific condition is met, for example, until the fixed time elapses from immediately preceding operation. This causes unnecessary power consumption.
For example, when it is evident that the apparatus is operated by a user intermittently, more specifically, in an apparatus in which, as a premise, an electronic book is inspected and operation for turning a page is performed at certain time intervals, unnecessary electric power is supplied to some units, which are not operating, among units of the apparatus until a fixed time elapses after the operation for turning a page.
On the other hand, in order to reduce unnecessary power consumption, it is conceivable to use the standby mode or the suspend mode.
However, in recent years, shrinkage of a semiconductor process has been in progress, which causes an increase in a leak current. In the standby mode, power consumption due to a leak current of a CPU is innegligible at the standby time when an apparatus is put in a HALT state.
In addition, in the suspend mode, since a fixed time is required for returning to an operation mode. Thus, operation performed by a user cannot be executed promptly.

Method of autonomously controlling power to respective units of an information processing apparatus


There is provided a timing generator that outputs a second periodic signal having a desired phase difference to a first periodic signal by superimposing a voltage on a control voltage of a voltage-controlled oscillating unit of a PLL circuit for generating the second periodic signal. The timing generator includes an initializing unit for measuring a timing shift gain indicative of a ratio of a timing shift amount to a change of a superimposed voltage and a voltage generating unit for generating the superimposed voltage based on the desired phase difference and the timing shift gain. The initializing unit harmonizes the phase of the first periodic signal with the phase of the second periodic signal, sequentially changes the superimposed voltage, detects an amount of change of the superimposed voltage when the phase of the first periodic signal and the phase of the second periodic signal are identical with each other once more, and computes a timing shift gain based on the change amount of the superimposed voltage and an amount of change of the phase of the second periodic signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a timing generator and a timing generating method generating strobe signals of desired timing and a test apparatus testing a device under test.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known a method using PLL (Phase Lock Loop) as a method generating clock signals of a desired phase. The method is a method superimposing a desired voltage on a control voltage to be supplied to a voltage-controlled oscillator in the PLL in order to shift phases of clock signals according to the superimposed voltage.
Now, since a related patent document is not recognized, the description is omitted.
However, when shifting phases of clock signals by means of a voltage-controlled oscillator, some errors may be observed between a set shift amount and a real shift amount. For this reason, an initialization has conventionally been performed by previously measuring relation between a voltage being superimposed on a control voltage of a voltage-controlled oscillator and a real shift amount.
For example, the relation between a superimposed voltage and a phase shift amount can be measured by superimposing two kinds of voltages on a control voltage of a voltage-controlled oscillator and detecting an amount of phase shift for each superimposed voltage. In this case, it is necessary to accurately detect the amount of phase shift. However, in order to accurately detect the amount of phase shift, it is necessary to measure the amount of phase shift, e.g., using a loop circuit. Therefore, a measurement error has been observed due to a delay in the loop circuit.

Timing generator, and timing generating method


The lead-free glass composition contains vanadium oxide, tellurium oxide, alkali metal oxide, iron oxide, barium oxide, and tungsten oxide while containing substantially no phosphorus oxide, and further contains at least one of additional components including yttrium oxide, lanthanum oxide, cerium oxide, erbium oxide, ytterbium oxide, aluminum oxide, and gallium oxide. A content of the tellurium oxide is equal to or more than 25 mol %, and equal to or less than 43 mol % in terms of oxide TeO2. A content of the alkali metal oxide is equal to or more than 4 mol %, and equal to or less than 27 mol % in terms of oxide R2O (R: alkali metal element).

A vacuum heat insulating multilayer glass panel applied to the window glass or the like, a display panel such as a plasma display panel, an organic EL display panel, and a fluorescent display tube, and electric/electronic components such as a crystal resonator, an IC ceramic package, and a semiconductor sensor are formed through sealing and adhesion using the glass composite material that contains the low-melting point glass composition and ceramic particles/beads. In most cases, the glass composite material is used in the form of the glass paste. The glass paste is applied to the substrate through the screen printing method and the dispenser method, and fired after the drying process so as to execute sealing and adhesion. In such sealing and adhesion, the low-melting point glass composition in a softened fluidity state is in tight contact with the member to be sealed or adhered.
The PbO—B2O3 based low-melting point glass composition with large content of lead oxide has been widely utilized as the low-melting point glass composition. The PbO—B2O3 based low-melting point glass composition has a low softening point ranging from 350° C. to 400° C., and exhibits excellent softened fluidity at the temperature ranging from 400° C. to 450° C. as well as relatively high chemical stability. However, the recent tendency of promoting "Green Procurement and Green Design" has been demanding safer materials than ever before. In Europe, RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive in the fields of electric/electronic devices has been executed, designating six substances including lead as prohibited substances. The new type of lead-free low-melting point glass composition has been under development.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-184852 discloses the low-melting point glass at the softening point of 380° C. or lower, which contains oxides of vanadium, phosphorus, tellurium, and iron. The low-melting point glass further contains any oxide of manganese, zinc, tungsten, molybdenum, and barium.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-96993 discloses the lead-free low-melting point glass composition that contains 25 to 50 mass % V2O5, 5 to 30 mass % BaO, 20 to 40 mass % TeO2, 1 to 25 mass % WO3, and 0 to 20 mass % P2O5 in terms of oxide of the component.

Lead-free glass composition, and glass composite material, glass paste, and sealing structure body containing the same


A method for treating an edge portion of a wafer with a plasma or select chemical formulation in order to enhance adhesion characteristics and inhibit delamination of a layer of material from the wafer surface only on the edge portion that is being treated. Alternatively, the method may be utilized to effectuate a cleaning of an edge portion of a wafer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to processing wafers, and more particularly relates to a method for treating an edge portion of a wafer with a plasma or select chemical formulation in order to enhance adhesion characteristics and inhibit delamination of a layer of material from the wafer surface or to clean the wafer surface only on the edge portion that is being treated.
2. Related Art
Delamination is a major problem for the integration of interconnect structures for integrated circuits. Delamination occurs during chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) of layered stacks of films, and is due to the inherently poor mechanical qualities of the materials used. The problem is especially prevalent in the edge region of the wafer since the induced stress during CMP is highest in regions of great surface topology.
Prior art treatments to prevent delamination treat the entire wafer area. These treatments cause the surface of the treated material to densify, thus hardening the surface, and are accompanied by compositional changes of material. While addressing the issue of delamination, these whole-wafer treatments cause unacceptable new problems, including: uncontrolled change in the composition chemistry of the treated material, moisture uptake after the treatment, increases in the relative permeability of the dielectric materials, and the introduction of a new interface inside the treated material between the densified surface and the untreated bulk.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,642,128, "Method for High Temperature Oxidations to Prevent Oxide Edge Peeling," issued to Lu et al. on Nov. 4, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference, teaches a method for preventing oxide peeling by applying a silicon nitride layer to a backside of a wafer prior to carrying out high temperature annealing. Unfortunately, the teachings are limited to, inter alia, batch processing, require the presence of a silicon nitride film, and the processing according to the teaching impacts the entire wafer surface.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved method for preventing delamination that occurs during CMP.

International Business Machines Corporation


A request to generate a consolidation risk score that characterizes a likelihood of a change in a level of creditworthiness of an individual following a consolidation of debt of the individual using a secured line of credit is received. Thereafter, future credit balance increases are estimated for the individual using a predictive model trained using historical creditworthiness data of a plurality of consolidators. These estimated future balance increases are then associated with a consolidation risk score so that such score can be provided. Related apparatus, systems, techniques, and articles are also described.

Consumer indebtedness has become an important issue in the financial industry. Regulators and consumer advocacy groups have been pressuring lenders to avoid business decisions that indebt consumers beyond their ability. Some of these consumers have responded to indebtedness pressures by moving revolving balances away from unsecured credit cards to lower payment credit instruments such as home equity lines of credit (HELOC). Lenders perceive this trend as an increased potential risk among such consumers because some consumers who have trouble managing their credit, are moving balances to collateralized loans, freeing up large amounts of open-to-buy on existing credit cards where subsequent card usage increases total outstanding debt.

Modeling responsible consumer debt consolidation behavior


The present invention relates to a method for fabricating flash memory devices. The method may include the steps of forming an oxide/nitride/oxide (ONO) layer over a semiconductor substrate and a gate electrode on the ONO layer. Next, source/drain impurity region may be formed in a surface of the semiconductor substrate on both sides of the gate electrode and a pre-metal dielectric (PMD) layer may be formed over an entire surface of the semiconductor substrate including the gate electrode. Finally, a densification process for densifying the PMD layer may be performed under a gas atmosphere. A densification gas atmosphere used for densifying the PMD layer may include an H2 or N2/H2 atmosphere.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for fabricating flash memory devices.
2. Background of the Invention
In general, a representative example of a flash memory device, that is, a non-volatile memory device whose data is not lost even when power is not supplied to the device, includes electrically erasable and programmable read only memory (EEPROM).
EEPROM is an electrically rewritable non-volatile memory device and generally has a structure employing a stacked floating-gate cell.
In recent years, as the level of integration rapidly increases, there is an urgent need for a reduction in size of the conventional floating gate cell. However, the conventional floating gate cell requires a high voltage upon program/erasure and therefore cannot be shrunk past a certain level.
For this reason, extensive research has been done on non-volatile memory devices and various replacements for the conventional floating gate cell have been proposed, such as Semiconductor-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Semiconductor (SONOS) cells, Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FeRAM) cells, and Nitride Read Only Memory (NROM).
Of these, the SONOS cell has been perceived by many as the next-generation cell that will replace the stacked floating-gate cell.
A flash memory device of a conventional SONOS structure is described below with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a flash memory device of a conventional SONOS structure.
As shown in FIG. 1, the SONOS device may include a p-type semiconductor substrate 10. A tunnel oxide layer 12, a trap nitride layer 13, a block oxide layer 14, and a gate electrode 15 of a N+ type polysilicon component, may be formed over a specific region of the semiconductor substrate 10.
The tunnel oxide layer 12, the trap nitride layer 13, and the block oxide layer 14 may be stacked to form an oxide/nitride/oxide (ONO) layer.
First and second insulating layer sidewalls 16 and 17 may be formed on both sidewalls of the gate electrode 15. A light doped drain (LDD) region 18 and a source/drain impurity region 19 may be formed in the semiconductor substrate 10 on both sides of the gate electrode 15.
A metal silicide layer 20 may be formed on the surfaces of the gate electrode 15 and the source/drain impurity region 19. An etch-stop layer 21 may be formed on the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 10 including the metal silicide layer 20. A pre-metal dielectric (PMD) layer 22 may be formed on the etch-stop layer 21.
In the fabrication process of the conventional SONOS device, after the etch-stop layer 21 is formed, the PMD layer 22 may be formed from borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) or phosphosilicate glass (PSG) and a densification process may be carried out.
The densification process can employ an annealing process under nitrogen atmosphere at a temperature of 600° C. to 900° C. for 10 minutes to 5 hours, or a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process under nitrogen atmosphere at a temperature of 700° C. to 1000° C. for 10 to 60 seconds.
After the PMD layer 22 is formed, a low-temperature process of 400° C. or less may be performed. A sintering process may be performed under H2/N2 or H2 atmosphere at a temperature of 400° C. to 435° C. anterior or posterior to wire bonding and pad-open processes, so that dangling bonds, shallow traps and/or interface traps existing at the interface of the ONO layer or the interface of the semiconductor substrate and the tunnel oxide layer are terminated by infiltrated hydrogen. Accordingly, the electrical properties of the SONOS device can be stabilized.
As described above, in the fabrication method of the flash memory device, in the case of the ONO deposition process, the block oxide layer 14 is deposited immediately after the tunnel oxide layer 12 and the trap nitride layer 13 are deposited. Thus, numerous dangling bonds, interface states, shallow traps and/or defects exist at the interface of the trap nitride layer 13 and the block oxide layer 14.
This incomplete interface makes the program/erase characteristics of the SONOS device unstable, e.g., reducing a threshold voltage (Vt) window. This makes it impossible to use the device as a memory device. Further, a retention characteristic (that is, a charge retention ability) and a durability characteristic (that is, a read and write ability) are depreciated, lowering reliability of the device.
In the fabrication method of the SONOS device, it is difficult to raise the temperature of the sintering process to 435° C. or more. Accordingly, not only it is difficult to infiltrate hydrogen into the ONO layer of the SONOS device, but also a probability of the infiltrated hydrogen being combined with dangling bonds, shallow traps and/or interface traps is lowered. Consequently, the stabilization of electrical properties of the SONOS device, such as program and erase characteristics, retention ability, and durability, is limited.

Method for fabricating flash memory device


This invention is about the art, science and technology of smoke screening. The three “areas of importance” are sea, land and air uses. During World War II military strategy was forever changed by the numerous offensive and defensive advantages created by the first ever effective large area smoke screen. Smoke screens were also used extensively during the Vietnam War. In wars since the Vietnam War there have been several military disasters—totally or partially—for not using smoke screens, it has been reported. This invention will eliminate leaking tanks, plugged up exhaust nozzles, loose control values, inaccurate gauges and regulators found in earlier and present smoke screen delivery systems. No new technology is required.

Field of the Invention
This invention is about the art, science and technology of smoke screening. Smoke screen three "areas of release" are AIR, LAND and SEA. The "three areas of importance" of smoke screening tactics are at SEA, perhaps LAND use and surely AIR being last. This is my personal opinion for today's U.S. Military need for smoke screening during conflicts.
Description of the Related Art
Smoke screen development was tried for over 2,000 years by the greatest armies: the Romans, Vikings, Germans, British, Americans and others. It was a World War II invention that made a smoke screen a meaningful component in military planning. One of the earliest recorded uses of smoke screen in combat was the burning of green vegetation by the Romans. In all early smoke screen attempts the method employed was direct flame contact with combustible materials; these combustion methods were mostly uncontrollable.
An important improvement during World War I was the smudge pot that allowed the burning of oil by contact with a heated metal plate; this avoided direct flame contact. It was more controllable and it produced a much thicker smoke. However, large amounts of oil were required to make the amount of smoke needed. During World War II the Alonzo Patterson system was developed, and military strategy was forever changed by the numerous offensive and defensive advantages created by the first ever effective large area smoke screen; there have never been any complaints from the troops about health problems when using the Patterson smoke screen system.
Smoke screens were used extensively during the Vietnam War. In wars since the Vietnam War there have been several military disasters—totally or partially—for not using smoke screens. There is no training in the use of smoke screening in any of today's U.S. Military Forces, at least to my knowledge. However, some of the Marines' assault amphibious vehicles (AAV7s), has an engine-generating smoke screen capability; they never use them for smoke screening.
This invention will eliminate leaking tanks, plugged up exhaust nozzles, loose control values, inaccurate pressure gauges and regulators found in earlier and present smoke screening systems. No high-pressure containers are required. No massive and bulky structures are needed. This invention is effective and relatively economical.


A position management apparatus includes motors connected to a power supply; a position detecting device connected to the power supply and detecting the rotational position of the motors or the drive position of driving members driven by the motors; position storage devices connected to the power supply and storing the rotational position or the drive position detected by the position detecting devices; and a power cut-off delay circuit for keeping the position detecting devices and the position storage devices connected to the power supply even if the power switch is shut off from a conducting state, and for storing the rotational position or the drive position of the position storage devices after the motor has lost its rotational speed.

The need for assisting apparatuses has increased with the aging of society. Assisting apparatuses assist care receivers in transferring, moving, and going to the toilet, and have, among assisting functions, a function of assisting care receivers in standing up and sitting down. The introduction of an assisting apparatus reduces the physical burden on caregivers, thereby preventing lower back pain and the like as well as mitigating shortages in caregiving staff. In this type of assisting apparatus, a motor is generally used as a driving source. Further, in order to manage the drive position of the driving member driven by the motor, an encoder for detecting the rotational position of the motor is used. Encoders are widely applied not only in assisting apparatuses but also in various types of motor devices for consumer use and industrial use. Patent Literature 1 discloses an example of technology for managing the drive position of a driving member using an encoder.
An absolute-position detecting device attached to an electric servo cylinder of Patent Literature 1 includes an incremental encoder, an absolute position measuring counter circuit, a backup power supply, and a power supply control circuit. When the main power supply of a servo motor is cut off, the power supply control circuit connects the incremental encoder and the absolute position measuring counter circuit to a backup power supply, the absolute position counter circuit stores the final count value after confirming that the servo motor has stopped, and then the backup power supply is cut off. As a result, the absolute position detecting operation can be restarted without difficulty when the main power supply is restored due to the final count value being accurately stored.

Position management apparatus and assisting apparatus


A ventilation outlet of a generation unit case installed outdoors and housing a generation unit including a generator and an internal combustion engine to drive the generator. The outlet comprise a maintenance box whose inside surfaces are attached with sound insulators and bored with an inlet hole at its upper portion to be communicated with an inside of the generation unit case and bored with an outlet hole at its lower portion that connects the inlet hole to exterior through a passage formed among the sound insulators. A flow guide plate is installed near the outlet hole to guide rainwater entered from outside to flow upward and a shield is installed at the passage to prevent the rainwater from flowing further upward.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a ventilation outlet structure of a cogeneration system, particularly to a structure of a ventilation outlet formed at a generation unit case of a cogeneration system that is housed in the generation unit case that can be installed outdoors.
2. Background Art
A ventilation outlet of a cogeneration system housed in a generation unit case that can be installed outdoors includes a duct that is provided at the inner side of the case and attached with a sound insulator to mitigate the noise generated in a generation unit and a duct cover that is provided at the outer side of the case to prevent rainwater entry from the exterior, as taught by, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 11(1999)-200951.

Ventilation outlet structure of cogeneration system


A net throwing device is disguised as a security camera and includes a casing including a front chamber, inclined tubes around the front chamber, a rear inner tube having an aperture member, and a rear outer tube having an aperture element; an air canister fastened in the inner tube; a spring biased piercing member slidably disposed between the front chamber and the air canister; a spring biased lock pin in the piercing member and having an end disposed in the aperture member to lock the piercing member in a locked position; a spring biased rod member through the aperture element; a cam member engaging the rod member; an external antenna; a receiver; a processor electrically connected to the receiver; an electric motor electrically connected to the processor; and a net received in the front chamber and including edge weights in the tubes respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to restraint devices and more particularly to a net throwing device disguised as a security camera.
2. Description of Related Art
US Publication No. 201 5/01 681 07 to Tseng discloses a net throwing device for use in combination with a compressed air powered launching device, comprising a pod comprising an axial space, tubes around the axial space, and a slot formed on an edge; a net in the axial space; weights each in one of the tubes; and a casing comprising a forward oriented projection on an edge of a front end, the forward oriented projection being fitted in the slot to secure the casing and the pod together, and a protrusion adjacent to the forward oriented projection; wherein at least one of the tubes is inclined with respect to an axis of the axial space, and at least one of the tubes is parallel to the axis of the axial space; and wherein the casing communicates with the axial space.
The drawback of the prior art is that it is not concealed. Thus a robber may easily find it and try not to be caught by it. As a result, the desired function of snarling the robber is compromised.
Thus, the need for improvement still exists.


A mechanism for the retractable top of an open automobile, comprising a plurality of frame elements (1,2) pivoted one after the other to be turnable relative to each other, the frame elements (1,2) comprising a first frame element (1) which is the foremost frame element on the free end of the top and a second frame element (2) which is the frame element adjacent to the first frame element. The first frame element (1) comprises a pair of first side rods (51), which are substantially longitudinal to the vehicle, and the second frame element (2) comprising a pair of second side rods (52), which are substantially longitudinal to the vehicle, and the side rods (51,52) being disposed to be turnable relative to each other in a vertical plane. The top mechanism further comprises an operating rod (7) arranged to cause the turning of the first side rod relative to the second side rod in connection with the processes of stretching the top mechanism over and of folding it up. The first side rod (51) and the second side rod (52) are connected to each other by means of a quadrangular linkage composed of two crank levers (8,9) of different lengths, and that the operating rod (7) is turnably pivoted to a crank lever (8), whereby the first side rod is turnable in completely controlled manner relative to the second side rod, throughout the turning movement.

Through the state of art is known a top mechanism for the retractable top of an open automobile comprising a plurality of frame elements pivoted one after the other to be turnable relative to each other and which fold up outside the passenger space of the car and, on the other hand, can be stretched out over said passenger space. Said frame elements comprise a first frame element which is the foremost frame element on the free end of the top and which in the situation in which the top is extended over the car rests against a part belonging to the frame of the vehicle, such as the windshield beam. Furthermore, the frame elements include a second frame element, which is the frame element immediately adjacent to the first frame element. To the first frame element belongs a pair of first side rods, which are substantially longitudinal to the vehicle, on the side margin of the to. To the second frame element belongs, similarly, a pair of second side rods, which also are substantially longitudinal to the vehicle. The first and second side rods are arranged to be turnable relative to each other in a vertical plane. The top mechanism further comprises an operating rod, disposed to effect said turning of the first side rod in connection with the operation of extending, and folding up, the top mechanism. Top mechanisms of this type are known, for instance, through the references EP 0 400 376, DE 40 04 871, and DE 38 09 197.
The problem with top mechanisms known in the art is that when the first and second side rods have been extended into stretched-out position, in which they are end to end in relation to each other, the distance between the pivot point of the operating rod and the pivot point between the first and the second side rod, provided to enable their turning, i.e., the moment arm, becomes exceedingly short, thus considerably impeding control of the stretch-out turning motion in its ultimate stage as well as the corresponding motion at the beginning of the fold-up operation. The pivots and the rods are subject to major forces in these instances, inasmuch as the weight of the first frame element may be 10 kg and even more and the moment arm at disposal in order to effect its turning is almost nil. Moreover, owing to poor control of the turning of the foremost frame element in the ultimate phase of the stretch-on movement it is a frequent occurrence that the first top rib hits against the windshield beam (known as the slamming phenomenon), whereby undesirable pressure peaks are induced in the hydraulics operating the car top mechanism. This is disadvantageous from the user's viewpoint as well as that of the mechanism.
A further problem encountered in car top mechanisms of prior art is that when the top is in open position, that is, folded up, the end of the first side rod coincides in position with the end of the second side rod, in other words, the ends are in register because of the pivoting and they form an acute angle deviating grossly from the horizontal line; this sharp point may introduce a safety hazard in the event of collision with another vehicle. At the same time, the ends of the side rods lying one upon the other constitute a space-consuming structure. When the top is in retracted position, this structure must be covered with a protective cover, the configuration of which will, for the above reason, present a tall and unattractive structure standing out from the lines of the car body.

Top mechanism for the retractable top of an open automobile


Remotely operated rotary actuated shear wave generating apparatus and methods that generate horizontally polarized vertically propagating shear waves for use in down-hole shear wave velocity measurements. Seismic signals are generated by an offset mass rotating in a plane perpendicular to the surface of the ground, which impacts an impact member coupled to the ground. The energy of impact is transmitted to the ground parallel to the surface of the ground. The apparatus uses a spring-loaded rotating mass that has a rotary motion. Because acceleration of the mass is not horizontal, reaction forces caused by acceleration of the mass create less horizontal shear stress in the ground prior to the desired time (impact). Reaction forces of the accelerated rotating mass does not generate undesirable waves that obscure the desirable waves caused by impact with the impact member. The source generates transient shear waves repeatedly at constant intervals. Wave motions are recorded by a probe as it is advanced into the ground, without pause.

The present invention relates generally to seismic shear wave generators, and more particularly, to a rotary actuated seismic shear wave generator and related testing methods.
Shear wave velocity is a valuable parameter for evaluating the behavior of subsoils, foundation systems, and earthen structures for both static and dynamic load conditions. The velocity characteristics of the upper 30 meters of soil, in particular, can have a great influence on the severity of earthquake ground motions, settlements, and stability of structures. Though there are several accepted methods for measuring shear wave velocity, direct-push downhole methods, such as the Seismic Cone Penetration Test, provide a fast, direct, and cost-effective means for determining shear wave velocity profiles of soil columns.
The downhole method requires a source for generating shear waves to be placed at the surface, and one or more receivers to be installed in the subsurface, beneath the source, at varying depths. Waves generated by the source at the surface, propagate into the subsurface where the motions can be detected and recorded with the aid of geophones, hydrophones, accelerometers, or some other transducers with means for detecting motion.
With the direct-push technique, the sensors are installed in a probe that is advanced into the soil without predrilling, typically at a constant rate actuated by hydraulic cylinders. The recorded signals at varying depths are analyzed to determine the travel times for the waves to propagate past one receiver and to the next. The difference in travel distances divided by the differences in travel times yields the velocity of the wave. By making measurements at several depths, a profile can be made of how velocities change with depth.
The most basic device for the purpose of generating horizontally polarized vertically propagating shear waves is a sledge hammer swung by an operator against a steel or wooden beam coupled to the ground surface by heavy weight. In order to eliminate the need for a hammer operator, devices have been developed that can be operated remotely by the person operating a receiver recording system. Existing remotely operated seismic source devices employ hydraulic, pneumatic, or electrical forces to accelerate a mass horizontally (parallel to the ground surface) into an object coupled to the ground, by heavy weight or other means. These devices are often very large, heavy, and expensive. Smaller, less expensive implementations of these devices depend significantly on the ground surface to provide the reaction force for accelerating the mass. The reaction forces to the acceleration of the mass are parallel to the ground surface and generate shear waves prior to the desired time at impact. The shear waves created by the acceleration reaction forces can obscure the shear waves created by the impact with the coupled object, making small inexpensive versions of the horizontal motion seismic sources inadequate.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,026 discloses in its Abstract "An apparatus and a method for generating seismic waves utilizes a heavy flywheel positioned for rotation in a vertical plane to generate and store energy which is then transferred to the ground. The device includes two balanced hammers mounted on the flywheel as impact members. In operation, the flywheel is spun to a predetermined speed and then, on command, the hammers are extended outward from the flywheel so that one hammer strikes either a vertical or a horizontal strike member, thus providing a rapid transfer of a large amount of kinetic energy to the ground resulting in the generation of a set of seismic waves." It is stated in the Summary of the Invention section of U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,026 that "there is provided an apparatus for generating seismic waves comprising a striker platform and a rotator assembly mounted on the striker platform. The rotator assembly comprises a flywheel positioned for rotation in a vertical plane, an impact means mounted thereon, and a means for rotating the flywheel. The impact means contacts a horizontal-impact assembly or a vertical-impact assembly to create the seismic wave."
Conventional direct-push downhole procedures dictate that the progress of the penetrating sensor probe be halted during generation and recording of the shear waves. It would be desirable to have a rotary actuated seismic shear wave generator that improves upon conventional generators, such as those discussed above, in order to reduce time, effort, and cost associated with the testing procedure. If a source were able to repeatedly generate shear waves at a constant interval, the probe could continue to be advanced into the ground at a steady rate and record the detected motions without pause. Additionally, if the source were able to generate signals at a fast rate, overlapping and redundant measurements could be made to improve the reliability, accuracy, and resolution of the determined shear wave velocity profile.

Rotary actuated seismic source and methods for continuous direct-push downhole seismic testing