A powertrain for an electric vehicle has a driveshaft connected to two or more motors where each motor is connected to a battery pack associated with that motor. A controller is used to select one or more motors to be energized for propulsion or used for regenerative braking to recharge the battery pack to which it is coupled. The controller can optimize the state of charge (SOC) difference of the battery packs and provide for a smooth and efficient powering of the vehicle for acceleration and climbing and optimize the range of the vehicle by management of the relative SOC of the battery packs. The electric vehicle can include two or more fuel cells that individually coupled to a motor.

In the field of electric vehicles (EVs), regenerative braking is employed to transform the kinetic energy from the deaccelerating wheels where the electric motor imposes a negative torque to the wheels to slow the vehicle. This results in an energy recovery where the motor is in a generator mode that charges the batteries that are the energy source of the vehicle. The regenerative function can occur any time the motor rotation and torque are of opposite angular orientation.
There are relatively few configurations of motor and battery commonly employed where most include a single drive motor and one battery pack, although the use of two electrical motors is becoming common with electric vehicles, where the configuration is for a separate motor to drive the front wheels and another for the rear wheels. Motors directly at each wheel is also available. A single battery pack is used with all production EVs.
The use of a dual battery system, where a high energy density pack is employed in a charge depleting mode and a high power density pack is employed in a charge sustaining mode and coupled with one or two bidirectional DC-DC converters, has been shown to provide efficiency advantages to a single battery system having an identical energy capacity. However, the system may have disadvantages from leakage currents, less stable bus voltages, or converter losses. The exploitation of coupled motors, each individually powered by its own battery pack, presents some advantages for maintaining battery balance and regenerative charging of the batteries when used in electric vehicles or in conjunction with fuel cell vehicles.

System for adjusting regenerative torque according to state of charge of multiple batteries

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A hard disk drive includes a base including an installation space and a plurality of sidewalls, the installation space being formed by cutting a predetermined area of the plurality of sidewalls. The hard disk drive also includes a screw housing inserted in the installation space and coupled to the base, wherein the screw housing includes at least one screw hole. The hard disk drive also includes a damper interposed between the base and the screw housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hard disk drive and, more particularly, to a hard disk drive having an improved structure to reduce the damage to a head or disk caused by the direct transfer of an external shock or vibration to a base of the hard disk drive.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0121196, filed on 10 Dec., 2005, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
Hard disk drives (HDDs) are memory devices that are generally used to record and reproduce data by converting digital electric pulses to a magnetic field that is more permanent. HDDs are generally composed of a combination of electronic parts and mechanical parts. Because of their ability, among other things, to provide fast access to large amounts of data, HDDs are widely used as auxiliary memory devices in computer systems.
With the recent increase in TPI (tracks per inch) and BPI (bits per inch), the data storage capacity of HDDs has increased. Therefore, the application field of HDDs has also increased. For example, a compact HDD having a diameter of 0.85 inches, i.e., a size similar to a coin, has been developed recently and is expected to be used in mobile phones in the future. While a HDD has various uses, the HDD is more susceptible to vibrations and shocks compared to other memory devices. Various efforts have been directed towards studying and remedying this problem.
In the structure of a typical HDD, the HDD includes a disk pack, a head stack assembly (HSA) which reads data from the disk while pivoting upon a predetermined pivot shaft above the disk, a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) which has a printed circuit board (PCB) on which most circuit parts are mounted and which controls the above-described elements, a base on which the above-described elements are assembled, and a cover covering the upper portion of the base. The disk pack has a disk to record and store data.
A plurality of screw holes to which a plurality of screws are screw coupled, are formed at both side walls of the base. The screw holes are used to couple the HDD to a bracket of a notebook PC when the HDD is installed in the notebook PC. Alternatively, the screw holes may be used to couple the HDD to a jig of a test equipment when performing a shock and vibration test.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional HDD being assembled to a notebook PC. Referring to FIG. 1, an HDD 101 is installed in a notebook PC (not shown) by passing a screw 103 through a hole formed in a bracket 105 of the notebook PC. In particular, the screw 103 is coupled to a screw hole 104 formed in a side wall of a base 110 of the HDD 101. Because both the screw 103 and the base 110 where the screw hole 104 is formed are made of metal, when an external shock or vibration is applied to the notebook PC, the shock or vibration is directly transferred to the base 110 via the screw 103. This shock or vibration that is transferred to the base 110 may damage a head (not shown) or a disk installed on the base 110.
Typically, HDDs must pass a shock or vibration test to guarantee stability against a shock or vibration. FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating another conventional HDD that is coupled to a jig of a shock and vibration test equipment in order to perform a shock and vibration test of a HDD. Referring to FIG. 2, for a shock and vibration test, an HDD 201 is fixed to a test equipment that applies a shock and vibration. A screw 203 is screw coupled to a screw hole 204 formed in a side wall of a base 210 of the HDD 201. Because the screw 203 fixing the HDD 201 to a jig 207 is directly coupled to the screw hole 204 of the base 210 of the HDD 201, all the shock or vibration applied by the test equipment is transferred to the HDD 201.
Thus, as described above, in a conventional HDD, because the base of the HDD is directly coupled to the bracket of the notebook PC, any shock or vibration applied to the PC is directly transferred to the base through the screw hole formed therein. This shock or vibration may damage the head or disk of the HDD. Furthermore, as also described above, the same problem may occur when the base of the HDD is directly coupled to the jig of a shock and vibration equipment.
The present disclosure is directed towards overcoming one or more of the shortcomings associated with the conventional HDD.


Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, including the steps of: forming on a second insulating film a first resist pattern having a first window; employing the first resist pattern as an etching mask to form first openings exposed from contact regions CR; forming, on a second conductive film, a second resist pattern having first resist portions; employing the second resist pattern as an etching mask to form first and second conductors, a floating gate and a control gate; forming a third resist pattern in regions I, II and III; and employing the third resist pattern as an etching mask to remove the portions of the second conductors under second windows.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method of the same
2. Description of the Related Art
A flash memory in which data can be maintained even when power is turned off is employed not only for mobile devices, such as cellular phones, but also for FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) by embedding it in logic circuits. Especially when a flash memory is embedded in a logic circuit and is employed as in an FPGA, manufacturing processes for the memory cell and for the logic circuit must be compatible to prevent defects in a logic embedded memory which is to be shipped as a product.
In some cases, before the logic embedded memory is shipped as a product or at the time it is actually used, the breakdown voltage of a tunnel insulating film constituting the flash memory is monitored. A tunnel insulating film, however, is formed under a floating gate. Thus, in order to monitor the breakdown voltage by applying a voltage from above and below the tunnel insulating film, a conductive plug should be brought directly into contact with the floating gate without contacting a control gate, and a test voltage should be applied between the conductive plug and a semiconductor substrate.
Therefore, for the above described logic embedded memory, it is important how the process for forming a conductive plug, which contacts the floating gate, is combined with the process for manufacturing a peripheral logic circuit.
According to a technique disclosed in patent document 1, a floating gate and a control gate are electrically connected at an area provided in a peripheral circuit region, and the laminated structure of each gate is employed as a single gate electrode in this peripheral circuit region.    (Patent Document) Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-97457

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method of the same


A housing connection element (10) for a housing of an exhaust gas treatment assembly unit of an exhaust system, especially for an internal combustion engine, includes a first housing part (16) with an essentially cylindrical first connection area (18) for connection to a circumferential wall (14) of a housing (12) of an exhaust gas treatment assembly unit. A tapered area (20) is adjacent to the first connection area (18). An annular, second housing part (40) is connected to the tapered area (20). A second connection area (46) is provided for connection to an exhaust gas-carrying component of an exhaust system. At least one sensor sleeve (48, 50) is in a sleeve receiving area (24) of the first housing part (16). The sleeve receiving area (24) is formed in the tapered area (20).

Exhaust gas treatment assembly units, for example, catalytic converter devices, used in exhaust systems for internal combustion engines, for example, for vehicles, generally comprise a housing with a tubular, essentially cylindrical circumferential wall, in which an exhaust gas treatment element, for example, a catalytic converter block, is received. Connection elements, with which a respective exhaust gas treatment assembly unit can be connected to other, generally tubular, exhaust gas-carrying components are provided at the two axial end areas of such a circumferential wall.

Eberspächer Exhaust Technology GmbH & Co. KG


A safety device for at least one container, in particular a blow-molded plastic container, preferably in ampoule form, has a supply part (5) for accommodating a medium which can be dispensed via a container opening (9). The container opening (9) can be closed by a first safety part (11) which counteracts opening forces with a predefinable resistance. The predefinable resistance can be overcome for the release of the container opening (9) with the aid of a second safety part (15) which interacts with the first safety part (11).

As is recognized, safety devices for containers are advantageous or even essential in instances where the medium is to be prevented from being easily dispensed from the container, more exactly, from being dispensed without the need for special measures for clearance of the container opening. The increased difficulty of removing the contents of the pertinent container resulting from the safety device is especially necessary as a child safety feature when hazardous media are contained in the container. Contact or oral ingestion of hazardous media at least for a certain group of individuals, for example children, would have fatal consequences.
This circumstance relates in particular to blow-molded plastic containers in ampule form, produced, for example, from plastic, and filled and sealed for example using the known Bottelpack® process. These ampules often contain fluids for therapeutic purposes, whose use is intended only for certain individuals, with a child safety feature being especially necessary.

Safety device for at least one container, in particular a blow-mouded plastic container


A chip package structure includes a chip, a lead frame, first and second bonding wires, an upper encapsulant, a first lower encapsulant, and a second lower encapsulant. The chip has an active surface, a back surface, and chip bonding pads disposed on the active surface. The lead frame having an upper surface and a lower surface includes a die pad, leads, and at least a bus bar. The back surface of the chip is adhered to the die pad. The leads surround the die pad. The bus bar is disposed between the die pad and the leads. The first bonding wires are connected to the chip bonding pads and the bus bar. The second bonding wires are connected to the bus bar and the leads. The upper encapsulant encapsulates the upper surface of the lead frame, the chip, the first bonding wires, and the second bonding wires.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chip package structure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a chip package structure with a lead frame.
2. Description of Related Art
The production of integrated circuit (IC) devices is mainly divided into three stages including IC design, IC process and IC package.
During the IC process, a chip is manufactured by the steps of wafer fabrication, IC formation, wafer sawing and so on. A wafer has an active surface, which generally refers to the surface including active devices. After the IC inside the wafer is completely formed, a plurality of bonding pads is further disposed on the active surface of the wafer, such that the chip formed by sawing the wafer may be externally electrically connected to a carrier through the bonding pads. The carrier is, for example, a lead frame or a package substrate. The chip can be connected to the carrier by wire bonding or by flip chip bonding, such that the bonding pads on the chip are electrically connected to contacts of the carrier, thereby forming a chip package structure.
FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a conventional chip package. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the conventional chip package of FIG. 1. For the convenience of illustration, please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 which are schematic perspective diagrams seen through a molding compound 140. Only dotted lines are adopted in FIGS. 1 and 2 for showing the profile of the molding compound 140. The chip package 100 includes a lead frame 110, a chip 120, a plurality of first bonding wires 130, a plurality of second bonding wires 132, a plurality of third bonding wires 134, and the molding compound 140. The lead frame 110 includes a die pad 121, a plurality of inner leads 114, and a plurality of bus bars 116. The inner leads 114 are disposed at the periphery of the die pad 112. The bus bars 116 are disposed between the die pad 112 and the inner leads 114.
The chip 120 includes an active surface 122 and a back surface 124 which are opposite to each other. The chip 120 is disposed on the die pad 112, and the back surface 124 of the chip 120 faces the die pad 112. The chip 120 includes a plurality of ground contacts 126 and a plurality of non-ground contacts 128 having a plurality of power contacts and a plurality of signal contacts. The ground contacts 126 and the non-ground contacts 128 are both disposed on the active surface 122.
The first bonding wires 130 electrically connect the ground contacts 126 to the bus bars 116. The second bonding wires 132 electrically connect the bus bars 116 to ground leads of the inner leads 114. And the third bonding wires 134 electrically connect the rest of the inner leads 114 to the corresponding second contacts 128, respectively. The molding compound 140 encapsulates the die pad 112, the inner leads 114, the bus bars 116, the chip 120, the first bonding wires 130, the second bonding wires 132 and the third bonding wires 134.
It should be noted that the conventional chip package structure 100 utilizes a patterned lead frame in the packaging process. The lead frame 110 includes one die pad 112, a plurality of the inner leads 114 and a plurality of the bus bars 116. However, masks required in the photolithography process of patterning the lead frame are rather expensive, thereby increasing additional manufacturing costs of the lead frame.

Method of fabricating chip package structure


A cache shared by multiple clients implements a client specific policy for replacing entries in the event of a cache miss. A request from any client can hit any entry in the cache. For purposes of replacing entries, at least of the clients is restricted, and when a cache miss results from a request by the restricted client, the entry to be replaced is selected from a fixed subset of the cache entries. When a cache misses results from a request by any client other than the restricted client, any cache entry, including a restricted entry, can be selected to be replaced.

The present invention relates in general to processor cache systems, and in particular to a shared cache that uses a client-specific replacement policy.
Most computer systems in use today include a processor and a memory device. The processor executes operations, and the memory device stores information needed by the processor, including instructions identifying the operations to execute, data to be operated on, and data resulting from operations. The instructions generally include memory access instructions for reading data from and writing data to the memory device.
Frequently, the memory is managed using virtual addressing, which enables shared memory management to be separated from program design. Systems that use virtual addressing generally include a page table that provides mapping information usable to translate virtual addresses (which are used in program instructions) to physical addresses (which designate specific locations in a memory device) during execution of instructions. The page table is usually stored in system memory at a physical address known to the processor, and during execution of a memory access command, the processor first accesses the page table to obtain the mapping information, then translates the virtual address to a physical address and accesses the memory again using the physical address.
To reduce the average latency associated with memory instructions, the processor typically includes a translation lookaside buffer (TLB). The TLB includes a cache of previously retrieved mapping information from the page table. The cache contains a number of entries, each representing a mapping from virtual address space to physical address space. Typically, each cache entry includes the virtual address (or a portion thereof) as a tag associated with the corresponding mapping information, which might be a physical address or other information from which a physical address can be determined. When a translation of a virtual address is requested, the TLB performs an associative lookup based on the virtual address to determine whether the mapping information is present in the cache. If the information is present (a "cache hit"), the TLB uses the cached information to perform the translation without accessing the page table. If the information is not present (a "cache miss"), the TLB accesses the page table to retrieve the mapping information and adds the retrieved information to the cache for possible reuse.
To provide high speed, the cache size is usually limited to a relatively small number of entries, and once the cache is full, a new entry can be stored only by evicting and replacing a previous entry. The choice of which entry to replace is generally made based on which entry is least likely to be used again. Commonly, entries are selected for replacement based on recency of use, with the least recently used entry being selected for replacement. To reliably identify the least recently used (LRU) entry, each cache entry typically includes (or is associated with) LRU data representing how recently that entry was accessed, relative to the other cache entries. Counters, bit masks, or the like are commonly used. Each time a cache hit occurs, the LRU data associated with various entries is updated to indicate that the entry that hit is now the most recently used. Each time a cache miss occurs, the LRU data is used to identify the least recently used entry, which is replaced with the newly retrieved mapping information, and the LRU data is updated to indicate that the new entry is now the most recently used.
Cache systems can be as large as desired and can include multiple levels. For instance, many TLB systems use a two-level cache, with a relatively small and very fast Level 1 (L1) cache backed by a larger and somewhat slower Level 2 (L2) cache. In the event of a cache miss at L1, the L2 cache is checked; the page table is accessed only if a miss occurs at L2 as well. The L1 and L2 caches each operate using separate LRU data.
A TLB improves performance to the extent that it reduces the need to access the page table. The improvement is generally a reflection of the "hit rate," i.e., the fraction of translation requests that result in a cache hit. The hit rate will tend to be higher when the successive virtual addresses being accessed are localized, i.e., near each other in address space, so that one page table mapping can be retrieved once, cached, and reused from the cache to satisfy multiple translation requests. The extent to which successive requests are localized depends largely on the nature of the instruction stream and can vary considerably from one application or process to another.
TLB performance can be significantly undermined in some processor architectures that support execution of multiple instruction streams in parallel, e.g., using multiple hardware cores or multiple threads that share a core. Each instruction stream typically includes its own stream of memory access requests that has no expected correlation to activity in other streams. For instance, in a graphics processor, a stream of requests for texture data might be generated in parallel with a stream of requests for pixels to be displayed.
If the different parallel processes use the same TLB for address translations, they tend to compete with each other for space in the cache. For instance, virtual addressing is used in some graphics processors that access system memory. Such processors typically run a display (scanout) process that accesses pixel data in a highly localized manner, e.g., sequentially in the virtual address space. But such processors also run other processes whose memory access patterns exhibit far less localization, such as texture processes. Under some conditions, mapping information retrieved in response to requests from the texture process can evict cache entries that are still being used to respond to requests from the display process, which increases the cache miss rate of the display requests and also causes the same data to be repeatedly retrieved from the page table rather than reused from the cache. This thrashing behavior, like all types of thrashing behavior, hurts system performance and is generally not desired.
In some parallel processing systems, thrashing between processes is avoided by physically or logically dividing the cache and allocating different caches, or different portions of the cache, to different clients of the TLB, where "client" refers to a process, thread, execution core or the like whose memory requests are serviced by the TLB. For instance, in a graphics processor the texture client might be allocated its own cache, while display and other well-behaved clients are allocated a different cache. This arrangement prevents the texture client from evicting cache entries that are still actively being used by the other clients. However, when any client requests a mapping that is not stored in the cache allocated to that client, a cache miss occurs even if the mapping happens to be stored in a cache allocated to another client. This decreases the overall cache hit rate. In addition, as a result of such a miss, a duplicate of the mapping that is already in the other client's cache is added to the requesting client's cache, making inefficient use of the limited cache capacity and further decreasing the overall hit rate.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a cache system capable of more efficiently handling requests from multiple clients.

Shared cache with client-specific replacement policy


A portable communications device having a base that can be worn on the user's wrist, a wireless earpiece that can be concealed when worn, and a novel audio link that allows the earpiece to communicate with the base. Each audio link is programmed to communicate with any base unit of the present invention but with only one earpiece. The audio links and earpieces can be packaged and sold together, and the base units can be packaged and sold separately. The base includes a novel keypad having keys that are positioned around the periphery of the base in a sequence which matches that used on old rotary dial phones and which allows the user to access the keys without having to look at them. The earpiece includes the microphone into which the user talks. The microphone can easily detect and transmit the user's voice, yet is mostly concealed from passersby. Thus, the user can use the portable communications device while conducting other activities but without making it obvious to observers that he or she is using the device.

Alexander Graham Bell was awarded U.S. Pat. No. 174,465 for a telephone in 1876. Over the next century, telephones became smaller and easier to operate. Cellular phones originated in 1947, when researchers looked at crude mobile (car) phones and realized that by using small cells (range of service area) and reusing frequencies they could increase the traffic capacity of mobile phones. By 1987, cellular telephone subscribers exceeded one million. Personal Communication Services (PCS) differ from cellular in that they use a different radio frequency and generally use all-digital technology for transmission and reception. Portable communications devices continue to improve.
Notwithstanding these improvements, however, the most popular portable telephones have several drawbacks, especially if the user is using the device while conducting other activities. For example, using a cellular phone when operating a motor vehicle can be dangerously distracting. Most cellular phones require one hand of the user to hold the phone close to the user's face and ear. Further, when dialing the number or answering the phone, the user must use his or her sight to identify specific buttons to be pressed to answer or place the call, whichever the case may be.
Furthermore, modern telephones have become sufficiently portable that "multi-tasking" while talking on the phone has become desirable and commonplace. Various activities can be conducted while talking on the phone, such as cooking, cleaning, driving, walking the dog and sports activities, to name just a few. However, having to hold the phone hinders most of these activities. Further, it is desirable to increase the number and type of activities that can be easily accomplished while talking on the phone.
It is known in the art to provide a wrist carried telephone that is operable without removal from the user's wrist and examples of the same are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,414 (Alameh et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,253 (Charlier et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,149 (Weatherill). These patents also disclose ear pieces that are worn by the user to obviate the need to hold the handset next to one's head. U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,873 (Itakura et al.) discloses a wristwatch-type communication device suitable for use in a radio paging receiver. U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,184 (Fernandez-Martinez) discloses a bracelet telephone that includes a terminal mounted to a bracelet. A ring shaped part couples to one finger of the user and supports an earphone connected by an electric cable. U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,757 (Carroll et al.) discloses a wristwatch-type device with a retractable earbud and a microphone.
One disadvantage of the devices disclosed above is that the earpiece may become lost or broken, thereby requiring the user to replace the entire device. Such an approach is undesirably expensive and wasteful if the base unit is still operable. Another disadvantage of the above-noted devices is that their keypads are often too small for average sized fingers to operate efficiently and are arranged in an awkward location on the devices. The above-described devices also suffer from the drawback that they are not entirely "hands-free." For example, many of the ear pieces disclosed above must be wired to the main unit. The connecting wires may become tangled or interfere with the user's movement.
Many modern cellular or portable phones are now configured with headsets. The advantage of these headsets, of course, is that they free up the user's hands to accomplish other tasks. While practical, however, these headsets are perceived by many users as unsightly, and many users feel awkward or even foolish when wearing them in public.
It is desirable to have an improved portable communications device that overcomes all of the drawbacks noted above.


A docking station for an electronic device senses the position of the electronic device and provides an electronically-generated feedback signal to a user indicating whether the device and the docking station are in proper alignment for docking. The sensing may optionally be accomplished by electrical contacts or may optionally be accomplished by sensing a magnetic field using a Hall effect sensor. The feedback signal may be visible or may be audible. The feedback signal may provide instructions to the user indicating which direction one of the components should be moved to achieve proper alignment. A simple backstop arrangement may provide proper alignment in one axis, while the feedback signal provides information about the alignment in a second axis, preferably generally orthogonal to the first. The electronic device may be a laptop portable computer.

Portable electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and "laptop" or "notebook" portable computers, are increasingly popular. The capabilities and portability of these devices enable increased productivity and freedom of movement for their users. However, designing these devices for portability typically requires that some other features be compromised. For example, in comparison with desktop computer system, portable computers typically have smaller keyboards and display screens and have fewer interface ports for attaching peripherals. An additional disadvantage of portability is that portable devices can operate for only a limited time on their internal batteries before battery recharging or replacement is required.
Often, a user of a portable device will connect a portable device to a docking station when the device is to be used in a fixed location, such as a central office. A docking station may allow connection of a full-size display and a full-size keyboard, may provide additional interface ports, and may charge the device batteries from the mains while the computer is connected to the docking station. A docking station may sometimes be called a port replicator.
Often, a proprietary electrical connection is provided between the device and the docking station for carrying power and data signals. This proprietary connection is often located on the back or bottom of the device, and thus connecting the device to the docking station is a "blind" operation. That is, the connector is not visible to the user, making it difficult to align the device and docking station so that the connector can engage easily. This difficulty may result in frustration, lost time, and possibly damage to the connector or other components.
One prior solution to this problem has been to provide mechanical features that assist the user in visually aligning the device with the docking station. However, visual guides may not be visible in some applications, as when a portable computer is docked under a monitor screen.
Another prior solution has been to provide mechanical features that guide the device into position on the docking station and provide tactile feedback when the device and docking station are properly aligned. This solution may not easily accommodate multiple device models attaching to the same docking station. For example, it may be difficult for a computer designer to ensure that a new computer model is compatible with an existing docking station model.
Some docking stations use a motorized capture mechanism that transports the electronic device into its docked position. These stations may be complex and expensive.
There is a need for a docking solution that is simple, reliable, and can accommodate multiple electronic device models.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A manufacturing method of a multilayer wiring board that includes a core board, a wiring layer, and an electrically insulating layer that are stacked on the core board. The manufacturing method forms a plurality of through holes in a core member, a thermal expansion coefficient of the core board being between 2 to 20 ppm, and the core member selected from silicon, ceramics, glass, a glass-epoxy composite, and metal. The through holes are made conductive by a conductive material, to electrically connect between the front and the back of the core board. A wiring layer and an electrically insulating layer are stacked on one surface of the core board to form a multilayer wiring layer. A capacitor is formed on the other surface of the core board.

In recent years, in the progress toward higher functions, reduction in size, and reduction in weight of electronic devices, there have been requests for reduction in size, increase in number of pins, and finer pitches of external terminals, with respect to semiconductor packages, so that demands for high density wiring boards have been increasing more and more. To this end, LSIs have been directly mounted on printed wiring boards, or CSP (Chip Size Package) or BGA (Ball Grid Array) has been mounted on printed wiring boards. And, for coping with higher densification, multilayer wiring boards produced by a buildup wiring technique wherein wiring layers and vias are stacked in multilayers on a board, serving as a core, via electrically insulating layers one by one, have been used as printed wiring boards.
The multilayer wiring board is provided with through holes each electrically connecting between conductors on upper and lower sides of the board, and uses, as a core board, a double-sided board having low density wiring produced by the subtractive method or the additive method and then multilayered. However, the conventional through hole is formed by drilling so that there is limitation about a hole diameter in view of dimensional minimization, and further, it is a penetrating hole, and therefore, there has been a problem that, in the multilayer board, the hole not only connects between the desired two conductors, but also perforates a conductor layer of another portion, which is primarily unrequited, and therefore, wiring can not be formed at that portion to limit the degree of freedom for wiring design. Further, the electrical connection by means of plating inside the through hole has raised a problem in reliability following reduction in conductor line width.
In view of this, various wiring methods have been proposed and carried out as manufacture methods of core boards, and multilayer wiring boards obtained by forming wiring layers on these core boards have been used (e.g. Laid-open Unexamined Patent Publication No. H5-144978, and Laid-open Unexamined Patent Publication No. H11-345933).
However, along with the dimensional minimization and the narrowing of pitches of wiring of the core boards, finer line widths have been required also for wiring of multilayer wiring layers provided on the core boards by the buildup method, so that demands for the narrowing of pitches and the high density wiring have been increasing more and more. Consequently, there has been a problem that the multilayer wiring boards formed with the wiring layers on the known conventional core boards by the conventional process can not cope with the demands for dimensional minimization for required electrical properties and high density wiring.
Further, following the high density mounting caused by the narrowing of pitches and the increase in number of pins, for electrical connection between wiring boards and semiconductor chips or the like, the flip chip technique for face-down mounting the semiconductor chip, or the like has been used instead of the conventional wire bonding technique. In the multilayer wiring boards using the flip chip technique, there has been a problem that if void portions remain at through holes connecting between boards, occurrence of cracks or disconnection due to thermal shock is liable to be induced, thereby to lower the reliability.
Further, there has been a problem that, following reduction in hole diameter of the through holes for the high density mounting, a diameter of a land provided at an opening portion of the through hole is also reduced, so that wiring connection between wiring boards becomes difficult. Further, there has also been a problem that, upon semiconductor chip mounting where solder bumps are formed on the board, since mounting pads are small, it becomes difficult to supply solder to the small-diameter pads.
On the other hand, in recent years, with respect to semiconductor chips, in the progress of higher densification of integrated circuit elements such as ICs and LSIs (hereinafter, collectively referred to as LSI), the operation speeds thereof have been increasing every year. There is a problem that when the operation speed of LSI increases, switching noise generated inside the semiconductor chip causes an operation failure of LSI. For reducing the switching noise, it is effective to dispose a capacitor between a power bus line and a grounding bus line.
If capacitors are disposed on a wiring board as external components, connection distances between these components and a semiconductor chip become long to cause a large wiring inductance, so that the effect of the capacitors becomes insufficient. Therefore, the capacitor is required to be located as close to LSI as possible, and is desired to be directly formed on the semiconductor chip. However, in this case, an area of the semiconductor chip increases to raise cost. Further, since the manufacturing process becomes complicated and long, there has been a problem that the yield of semiconductor chips themselves is lowered due to failure of capacitors.
For coping with these problems, it has been proposed to incorporate capacitors in an intermediate board (interposer or semiconductor chip carrier) that is used when mounting a semiconductor chip onto a wiring board (e.g. Laid-open Unexamined Patent Publication No. H8-148595 or Laid-open Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-326298).
Alternatively, there has been proposed a method of incorporating capacitors in a multilayer wiring layer stacked on a core board (e.g. Laid-open Unexamined Patent Publication No. H7-30258).
However, a semiconductor device shown in Laid-open Unexamined Patent Publication No. H8-148595 is configured that a chip carrier made of glass ceramic and having thick film capacitors is connected to a base board. Therefore, it is difficult to thin a dielectric layer so that there is a limit in property of the capacitor. Laid-open Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-326298 shows a structure provided with an interposer made of ceramic and having capacitors. However, there has been a problem in the method employing the interposer that a material and a thickness of a dielectric layer of the capacitor, and a position, a size, and the like of the capacitor should be determined in advance.
With respect to a circuit board with built-in capacitors described in Laid-open Unexamined Patent Publication No. H7-30258, there has been a problem that since the built-in capacitors are buried in a multilayer wiring layer, sizes of electrodes are also fixed, and a position, a size, and the like of the capacitor should be determined in advance, so that it is not possible to flexibly cope with a change in specification. Further, there has been a problem that the manufacturing process of the conventional circuit board having the multilayer wiring with the built-in capacitors is long to thereby lower the manufacturing yield.

Method of manufacturing multilayer wiring board


An electric power steering apparatus being provided with: a torque sensor 10 for detecting a steering torque applied to a steering wheel (not shown); and a steering assisting motor 24 driven by a drive circuit 13 to which the voltage of a mounted battery P is applied, in which the drive circuit 13 rotates the motor 24 in accordance with a motor current instruction value determined based on the steering torque detected by the torque sensor 10, is further provided with: judging means 12 for judging whether the motor current instruction value is higher than a first threshold value or not; boosting instruction outputting means 12 for, when the judging means 12 judges that the motor current instruction value is higher, outputting a boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery P; and a boosting circuit 8d for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery in response to the outputted boosting instruction. Even when the voltage of the mounted battery P fluctuates, a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor, so that the steering assisting motor can be reduced in size.

The present invention relates to an electric power steering apparatus in which a motor current instruction value representative of the value of the current to flow through a motor is determined based on the steering torque detected by a torque sensor and the motor is driven in accordance with the determined motor current instruction value.
An electric power steering apparatus mounted on a vehicle assists the steering power of the vehicle with a motor, and is structured so that a steering mechanism to which the steering wheel is coupled through a steering shaft is provided with a torque sensor that detects the steering torque applied to the steering wheel and a motor that assists the operation of the steering mechanism and the motor is driven in accordance with the steering torque detected by the torque sensor to thereby reduce the operation force on the steering wheel.
In a case where the steering assisting motor used in an electric power steering apparatus is, for example, a brushless motor, the brushless motor has a characteristic such that although the number of rotation increases as the applied voltage increases, the maximum value of the rotation torque determined based on the current flow is the same irrespective of the voltage as shown in FIG. 1, and therefore, the higher the applied voltage is, the faster the motor can rotate at the same rotation torque.
The steering assisting motor is driven by a mounted battery, and fluctuations in the voltage of the mounted battery are assumed to be, for example, 10 to 16 V. The steering assisting motor, which is designed so as to suit the assumed minimum voltage (10 V) in consideration of the fluctuations in the voltage of the mounted battery, is a low-voltage and large-current motor, and has a size larger than a motor designed for a higher voltage.
The present invention is made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electric power steering apparatus in which a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor even when the voltage of the mounted battery fluctuates, and the steering assisting motor can be reduced in size.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a first invention is provided with: a torque sensor for detecting a steering torque applied to a steering wheel; and a steering assisting motor driven by a drive circuit to which a voltage of a mounted battery is applied, in which a motor current instruction value representative of a value of current to flow through the motor is determined based on the steering torque detected by the torque sensor, the drive circuit rotates the motor in accordance with the determined motor current instruction value, and a steering power is assisted by a rotation torque outputted by the motor, is characterized by comprising: judging means for judging whether the motor current instruction value is higher than a first threshold value or not; boosting instruction outputting means for, when the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is higher, outputting a boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery; and a boosting circuit for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery in response to the boosting instruction outputted by the boosting instruction outputting means, wherein the voltage boosted by the boosting circuit is applied to the drive circuit.
In this electric power steering apparatus of the first invention, the torque sensor detects the steering torque applied to the steering wheel, and the steering assisting motor is driven by the drive circuit to which the voltage of the mounted battery is applied. The motor current instruction value representative of the value of the current to be flown through the motor is determined based on the steering torque detected by the torque sensor, and the drive circuit rotates the motor based on the determined motor current instruction value. The judging means judges whether the motor current instruction value is higher than the first threshold value or not, and when the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is higher, the boosting instruction outputting means outputs the boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery. The boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery in response to the boosting instruction outputted by the boosting instruction outputting means, and the voltage boosted by the boosting circuit is applied to the drive circuit.
According to this structure, a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor even when the voltage of the mounted battery falls, so that an electric power steering apparatus in which the steering assisting motor has a reduced size is realized.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a second invention is characterized by further comprising in addition to the first invention: judging means for judging whether or not the motor current instruction value is lower than a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value during the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery; and stepping down instruction outputting means for, when the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is lower, outputting a stepping down instruction for stepping down the voltage, wherein the boosting circuit stops the boosting of the voltage of the mounted battery in response to the stepping down instruction outputted by the stepping down instruction outputting means.
In this electric power steering apparatus of the second invention, during the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery, the judging means judges whether or not the motor current instruction value is lower than the second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value. When the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is lower, the stepping down instruction outputting means outputs the stepping down instruction for stepping down the voltage. The boosting circuit stops the boosting in response to the outputted stepping down instruction. According to this structure, when it becomes unnecessary to boost the voltage of the mounted battery applied to the drive circuit, the voltage can be stepped down, and when a large steering assisting force becomes unnecessary, the voltage of the mounted battery can be supplied to the steering assisting motor without boosted, so that an electric power steering apparatus is realized in which the efficiency of the steering assisting motor can be prevented from being reduced by the boosting of the voltage of the mounted battery.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a third invention is characterized by, in addition to the first invention, further comprising calculating means for calculating the rotation torque when the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is higher; wherein the boosting instruction outputting means outputs a boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery to a predetermined voltage in accordance with the rotation torque calculated by the calculating means.
In this electric power steering apparatus of the third invention, the torque sensor detects the steering torque applied to the steering wheel, and the steering assisting motor is driven by the drive circuit to which the voltage of the mounted battery is applied. The motor current instruction value representative of the value of the current to be flown through the motor is determined based on the steering torque detected by the torque sensor, the drive circuit rotates the motor based on the determined motor current instruction value, and the steering power is assisted by the rotation torque outputted by the motor. The judging means judges whether the motor current instruction value is higher than the first threshold value or not, and when the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is higher, the calculating means calculates the rotation torque. The boosting instruction outputting means outputs the boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in accordance with the rotation torque calculated by the calculating means, and the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in response to the boosting instruction outputted by the boosting instruction outputting means. The predetermined voltage boosted by the boosting circuit is applied to the drive circuit.
According to this structure, the voltage of the mounted battery can be boosted in accordance with the rotation torque of the motor when the motor current instruction value is maximum, and a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor even when the voltage of the mounted battery falls, so that an electric power steering apparatus in which the steering assisting motor has a reduced size is realized.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a fourth invention is characterized by, in addition to the first invention, further comprising calculating means for, when the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is higher, calculating a ratio of the rotation torque to a maximum rotation torque that can be outputted by the motor; wherein the boosting instruction outputting means outputs a boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery to a predetermined voltage in accordance with the ratio calculated by the calculating.
In this electric power steering apparatus of the fourth invention, the torque sensor detects the steering torque applied to the steering wheel, and the steering assisting motor is driven by the drive circuit to which the voltage of the mounted battery is applied. The motor current instruction value representative of the value of the current to be flown through the motor is determined based on the steering torque detected by the torque sensor, the drive circuit rotates the motor based on the determined motor current instruction value, and the steering power is assisted by the rotation torque outputted by the motor. The judging means judges whether the motor current instruction value is higher than the first threshold value or not, and when the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is higher, the calculating means calculates the ratio of the rotation torque to the maximum rotation torque that can be outputted by the motor. The boosting instruction outputting means outputs the boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in accordance with the ratio calculated by the calculating means, and the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in response to the boosting instruction outputted by the outputting means. The predetermined voltage boosted by the boosting circuit is applied to the drive circuit.
According to this structure, the voltage of the mounted battery can be boosted in accordance with the rotation torque of the motor when the motor current instruction value is maximum, and a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor even when the voltage of the mounted battery falls, so that an electric power steering apparatus in which the steering assisting motor has a reduced size is realized.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a fifth invention is characterized by further comprising in addition to the third or fourth invention: judging means for judging whether or not the motor current instruction value is lower than a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value during the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage; and stepping down instruction outputting means for, when the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is lower, outputting a stepping down instruction for stepping down the voltage, wherein the boosting circuit stops the boosting of the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in response to the stepping down instruction outputted by the stepping down instruction outputting means.
In the electric power steering apparatus according to the fifth invention, the judging means judges whether the motor current instruction value is lower than the predetermined value or not during the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage, and the stepping down instruction outputting means outputs the stepping down instruction for stepping down the voltage when the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is lower. The boosting circuit stops the boosting of the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in response to the stepping down instruction outputted by the stepping down instruction outputting means.
According to this structure, when it becomes unnecessary to boost the voltage of the mounted battery applied to the drive circuit, the boosted voltage of the mounted battery can be stepped down, and when a large steering assisting force becomes unnecessary, the voltage of the mounted battery can be supplied to the steering assisting motor without boosted, so that an electric power steering apparatus is realized in which the efficiency of the steering assisting motor can be prevented from being reduced by the boosting of the voltage of the mounted battery.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a sixth invention is provided with: a torque sensor for detecting a steering torque applied to a steering wheel; and a steering assisting motor driven by a drive circuit to which a voltage of a mounted battery is applied, in which a motor current instruction value representative of a value of a current to be flown through the motor is determined based on the steering torque detected by the torque sensor, the drive circuit rotates the motor in accordance with the determined motor current instruction value, and a steering power is assisted by a rotation torque outputted by the motor, is characterized by comprising: a rotation number detector for detecting a number of rotations of the motor; judging means for judging whether the number of rotations detected by the rotation number detector is higher than a first threshold value or not; boosting instruction outputting means for, when the judging means judges that the number of rotations is higher, outputting a boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery to a predetermined voltage in accordance with the number of rotations; and a boosting circuit for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in response to the boosting instruction outputted by the boosting instruction outputting means, wherein the predetermined voltage boosted by the boosting circuit is applied to the drive circuit.
In this electric power steering apparatus of the sixth invention, the torque sensor detects the steering torque applied to the steering wheel, and the steering assisting motor is driven by the drive circuit to which the voltage of the mounted battery is applied. The motor current instruction value representative of the value of the current to be flown through the motor is determined based on the steering torque detected by the torque sensor, the drive circuit rotates the motor based on the determined motor current instruction value, and the steering power is assisted by the rotation torque outputted by the motor. The rotation number detector detects the number of rotations of the motor, and the judging means judges whether the number of rotations detected by the rotation number detector is higher than the first threshold value or not. When the judging means judges that the number of rotations is higher, the boosting instruction outputting means outputs the boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in accordance with the number of rotations detected by the rotation number detector. The boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in response to the boosting instruction outputted by the boosting instruction outputting means, and the predetermined voltage boosted by the boosting circuit is applied to the drive circuit.
According to this structure, the voltage of the mounted battery can be boosted in accordance with the number of rotations of the motor, and a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor even when the voltage of the mounted battery falls, so that an electric power steering apparatus in which the steering assisting motor has a reduced size is realized.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a seventh invention is characterized by further comprising in addition to the sixth invention: first judging means for judging whether or not the number of rotations detected by the rotation number detector is lower than a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value during the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage; and stepping down instruction outputting means for, when the first judging means judges that the number of rotations is lower, outputting a stepping down instruction for stepping down the voltage, wherein the boosting circuit stops the boosting of the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in response to the stepping down instruction outputted by the stepping down instruction outputting means.
In this electric power steering apparatus of the seventh invention, during the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage, the first judging means judges whether or not the number of rotations detected by the rotation number detector is lower than the second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value. When the first judging means judges that the number of rotations is lower, the stepping down instruction outputting means outputs the stepping down instruction for stepping down the voltage, and the boosting circuit stops the boosting of the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in response to the stepping down instruction outputted by the stepping down instruction outputting means.
According to this structure, when it becomes unnecessary to boost the voltage of the mounted battery applied to the drive circuit, the boosted voltage of the mounted battery can be stepped down, and when a large steering assisting force becomes unnecessary, the voltage of the mounted battery can be supplied to the steering assisting motor without boosted, so that an electric power steering apparatus is realized in which the efficiency of the steering assisting motor can be prevented from being reduced by the boosting of the voltage of the mounted battery.
An electric power steering apparatus according to an eighth invention is characterized by further comprising in addition to the sixth or seventh invention: judging means for judging whether the motor current instruction value is higher than a third threshold value or not; and calculating means for calculating the rotation torque when the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is higher, wherein the boosting instruction outputting means outputs a boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in accordance with the rotation torque calculated by the calculating means and the number of rotations, and the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in response to the boosting instruction outputted by the boosting instruction outputting means.
In this electric power steering apparatus of the eighth invention, the judging means judges whether the motor current instruction value is higher than the third threshold value or not, and when the judging means judges that the motor current instruction value is higher, the calculating means calculates the rotation torque. The boosting instruction outputting means outputs the boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in accordance with the rotation torque calculated by the calculating means and the number of rotations detected by the rotation number detector, and the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage in response to the boosting instruction outputted by the boosting instruction outputting means.
According to this structure, the voltage of the mounted battery can be boosted in accordance with the rotation torque of the motor and the number of rotations of the motor when the motor current instruction value is maximum, and a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor even when the voltage of the mounted battery falls, so that an electric power steering apparatus in which the steering assisting motor has a reduced size is realized.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a ninth invention is characterized by further comprising in addition to the seventh or eighth invention: second judging means for judging whether or not the motor current instruction value is lower than a fourth threshold value that is lower than the third threshold value during the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage, wherein the stepping down instruction outputting means outputs a stepping down instruction for stepping down the predetermined voltage to the voltage of the mounted battery based on results of the judgements by the second judging means and the first judging means.
In this electric power steering apparatus of the ninth invention, during the boosting circuit boosts the voltage of the mounted battery to the predetermined voltage, the second judging means judges whether or not the motor current instruction value is lower than the fourth threshold value that is lower than the third threshold value, and the stepping down instruction outputting means outputs the stepping down instruction for stepping down the predetermined voltage to the voltage of the mounted battery based on the results of the judgements by the second judging means and the first judging means.
According to this structure, when it becomes unnecessary to boost the voltage of the mounted battery applied to the drive circuit, the boosted voltage of the mounted battery can be stepped down, and when a large steering assisting force becomes unnecessary, the voltage of the mounted battery can be supplied to the steering assisting motor without boosted, so that an electric power steering apparatus is realized in which the efficiency of the steering assisting motor can be prevented from being reduced by the boosting of the voltage of the mounted battery.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a tenth invention is characterized, in any one of the first through ninth invention, in that the boosting circuit has a chopper that is actuated by the boosting instruction.
In this electric power steering apparatus of the tenth invention, since the boosting circuit has the chopper that is actuated by the boosting instruction, by the boosting circuit of a simple structure, a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor even when the voltage of the mounted battery falls, so that an electric power steering apparatus in which the steering assisting motor has a reduced size is realized.
An electric power steering apparatus according to an eleventh invention is characterized, in any one of the first through tenth invention, in that the motor current instruction value is a duty ratio for PWM-controlling the motor, and the drive circuit rotates the motor through the PWM control based on the duty ratio.
In this electric power steering apparatus of the eleventh invention, since the motor current instruction value is the duty ratio for PWM-controlling the motor and the drive circuit rotates the motor through the PWM control based on the duty ratio, a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor even when the voltage of the mounted battery falls, so that an electric power steering apparatus in which the steering assisting motor has a reduced size is realized.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a twelfth invention is characterized by, in addition to the tenth invention, further comprising detecting means for detecting voltage applied to the drive circuit; and PWM controlling means for controlling operation of the boosting circuit based on detected value by the detecting means so as to keep the boosting voltage constant.
According to this structure, an electric power steering apparatus can be realized in which a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor even when the voltage of the mounted battery fluctuates, the size of the steering assisting motor can be further reduced.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a thirteenth invention is characterized by, in addition to the tenth invention, further comprising detecting means for detecting voltage applied to the drive circuit; and PFM controlling means for controlling operation of the boosting circuit by varying operation frequency based on detected value by the detecting means so as to keep the boosting voltage constant.
In this electric power steering apparatus, the mounted battery is boosted by varying the operation frequency of the boosting circuit by the PFM circuit in order to reduce influence of noise by the boosting circuit when the boosting instruction is outputted.
In the PFM control, duty ration control is executed by varying number of pulses (pulse density; pulse width is constant) within constant time period, and boosting quantity of the voltage of the boosting chopper circuit is controlled by the duty ratio. At boosting, the voltage applied to the drive circuit is detected, and the duty ratio is controlled so as to keep the voltage applied to the drive circuit constant.
According to this structure, an electric power steering apparatus can be realized in which a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor even when the voltage of the mounted battery fluctuates, the size of the steering assisting motor can be further reduced, and the electromagnetic noises caused by the boosting chopper circuit are converted into white noises, so that the influence of the electromagnetic noises can be reduced.
An electric power steering apparatus according to a fourteenth invention being provided with: a torque sensor for detecting a steering torque applied to a steering wheel; and a steering assisting motor driven by a drive circuit to which a voltage of a mounted battery is applied, in which a motor current instruction value representative of a value of a current to be flown through the motor is determined based on the steering torque detected by the torque sensor, the drive circuit rotates the motor in accordance with the determined motor current instruction value, and a steering power is assisted by a rotation torque outputted by the motor, the electric power steering apparatus being characterized by composing: judging means for judging whether an output of the motor is insufficient or not; boosting instruction outputting means for, when the judging means judges that the output of the motor is insufficient, outputting a boosting instruction for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery; a boosting circuit for boosting the voltage of the mounted battery in response to the boosting instruction outputted by the boosting instruction outputting means; detecting means for detecting that a voltage applied to the drive circuit becomes higher than a predetermined voltage; and a switching element for connecting the drive circuit and the mounted battery when the detecting means detects that the voltage applied to the drive circuit becomes higher than the predetermined voltage, wherein when the voltage applied to the drive circuit becomes higher than the predetermined voltage, a current is fed back from the drive circuit to the mounted battery.
In this electric power steering apparatus, the torque sensor detects the steering torque applied to the steering wheel, and the steering assisting motor is driven by the drive circuit to which the voltage outputted by the mounted battery is applied. The motor current instruction value representative of the value of the current to be flown through the motor is determined based on the steering torque detected by the torque sensor, and the drive circuit rotates the motor based on the determined motor current instruction value. The judging means judges whether the output of the motor is insufficient or not. When the judging means judges that the output of the motor is insufficient, the boosting instruction outputting means outputs the boosting instruction for boosting the output voltage of the mounted battery. In response to the output boosting instruction, the boosting circuit boosts the output voltage of the mounted battery. The detecting means detects that the voltage applied to the drive circuit becomes higher than the predetermined voltage, and when the detecting means detects that the voltage becomes higher than the predetermined voltage, the switching element connects the drive circuit and the mounted battery. When the voltage applied to the drive circuit is higher than the predetermined voltage, a current is fed back from the drive circuit to the mounted battery.
According to this structure, an electric power steering apparatus can be realized in which a voltage from which a stable steering assisting force is always obtained can be supplied to the steering assisting motor even when the output voltage of the mounted battery fluctuates, the size of the steering assisting motor can be further reduced, and the motor and its drive circuit are never damaged by the electric power generated by the motor.
The above and further objects and features of the invention will more fully be apparent from the following detailed description with accompanying drawings.


The present invention is a heat processing apparatus comprising: a processing vessel that receives a plurality of objects to be processed in a tier-like manner to subject the objects to be processed to a predetermined heating process; a tubular heater disposed to surround the processing vessel, the tubular heater being capable of heating the objects to be processed; an exhaust heat system for discharging an atmosphere in a space between the heater and the processing vessel; and a cooling unit that blows out a cooling fluid into the space to cool the processing vessel. The heater has a tubular heat insulating member, and a heating resistor arranged on an inner circumference of the heat insulating member. The cooling unit has a plurality of blowing nozzles embedded in the heat insulating member. Each of the blowing nozzles is formed in such a manner that an inlet orifice of the blowing nozzle and an outlet orifice thereof are not linearly aligned to each other.

In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, various processing apparatuses (semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses) are used for subjecting an object to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer, to an oxidation process, a diffusion process, a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) process, and so on. One of the known processing apparatuses is a heat processing apparatus, such as a vertical heat processing apparatus of a batch type, which is capable of simultaneously heating and processing a number of objects to be processed.
Generally, in the vertical heat processing apparatus, a number of wafers, which are held by a boat as a holder in a tier-like manner with predetermined intervals therebetween, are received in a processing vessel. The wafers are heated by a tubular heater that is disposed to surround the processing vessel, so that the wafers are subjected to a predetermined heating process. The heater is generally formed by arranging a linear heating resistor on an inner circumference of a tubular heat insulating member.
It has been proposed to construct such a vertical heat processing apparatus in such a manner that, in order to improve speed and/or throughput of a process by promptly lowering temperature of wafers after the heating process, an atmosphere in a space between the heater and the processing vessel can be discharged, and that a cooling fluid can be introduced into the space to forcibly cool the processing vessel (see, for example, JP7-99164A and JP11-260744A).
Recently, in accordance with the increased number of wafers to be processed, there is a tendency to elongate lengths of the heater and other members incorporated in the heat processing apparatus (e.g., the processing vessel and the boat). Thus, temperatures of the incorporated members are prone to be non-uniformly lowered during the above forcible cooling step. This may result in non-uniformity in product quality of wafers.
On the other hand, when a diameter of a cooling-fluid nozzle is enlarged to increase a flowrate of the cooling fluid, heat dissipation caused by leakage of radiant light from the cooling-fluid nozzle is increased. This may invite problems in that uniformity of temperature inside the heater is degraded, and that temperature outside the heater is elevated.
In the art disclosed in JP11-260744A, a quick-cooling port opened obliquely upward is formed in a molded heat-insulating member, and a cooling medium introduced through the quick-cooling port forms a rotating flow. Thus, non-uniformity of temperatures of the incorporated members during the forcible cooling step can be restrained to a some degree. However, in order to supply the cooing medium to the quick-cooing port, it is necessary to dispose the predetermined number of vertically extending cooing-medium introducing paths in the molded heat-insulating member, which complicates the structure.


A technique facilitates the use of seismic data. The technique utilizes an autonomous underwater vehicle to obtain data on water column characteristics in a seismic survey area. The data can be used to adjust aspects of the seismic survey data and/or the seismic survey technique.

In a variety of marine environments, seismic surveys can be taken to gain a better understanding of geological formations beneath a body of water. Relatively large marine regions can be surveyed by a surface vessel or vessels towing seismic streamer cables through the water. Another vessel, or the same vessel, can be employed in providing a seismic source, such as a compressed air gun utilized to generate acoustic pulses in the water. The seismic source is used to generate energy that propagates down through the water and into the geological formation. Marine survey data on the geological formation can be obtained by detecting the energy reflected from interfaces between geological formations. Hydrophones are connected along the seismic streamer cables to detect the reflected energy.
Accurate collection of data by the hydrophones is affected by changes in characteristics of the water column, such as changes in sound velocity between regions of the water column in the survey area. The travel time of the reflected energy/signal through the water column is needed to accurately establish, for example, the depth of the target reflecting surface. In some applications, sound velocity probes are dropped with varying frequency from a survey vessel during the seismic survey to collect data on sound velocity. The usefulness and frequency of the drops, however, can be limited by several factors, including operational safety considerations, risk of tangling the sound velocity probe line with the seismic spread equipment, requirements of the survey client, type of survey, e.g. 4D versus 3D, and knowledge of the survey space and time rate of sound velocity variation.
Current methods to measure sound velocity in the water column during a seismic survey operation include the use of both retrievable and expendable probes. The probes can be deployed either by conventional drop systems or advanced continuous drop systems. However, the approaches can be relatively expensive, cumbersome, and limited in adaptability.

System and method of using autonomous underwater vehicle to facilitate seismic data acquisition


An automatic watch, a complete barrel 30 is disposed on the side opposite from the dial of a main plate 22, i.e. on the front side, and has the center of rotation thereof within a first domain 310 or a fourth domain 340 of the main plate 22. An escape wheel & pinion 50, a pallet fork 60 and a balance 70 have their center of rotation within a third domain 330 or a fourth domain 340, respectively. A setting lever 120 and a yoke 130 are disposed on the front side of the main plate 22 and have their center of oscillation within the second domain 320, respectively. A yoke holder 140 holds a part of the setting lever 120 and a part of the yoke 130, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an automatic watch in which a spring in a complete barrel is wound by an oscillating weight and more particularly to an automatic watch whose movement could have been miniaturized and thinned by disposing a front gear train mechanism and a change-over mechanism on the side opposite from a dial of a main plate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional automatic watch has had a main plate which constitutes a base of a movement and a change-over mechanism such as a setting lever and a yoke has been disposed on the dial side of the main plate. A calendar mechanism has been also disposed on the dial side of the main plate as necessary.
Here, the movement means a mechanical body including a mechanical structural and operational parts of a watch. An automatic watch is composed of the mechanical body and casing parts.
Further, a gear train mechanism, an escape speed governor and an automatic winder have been disposed on the side opposite from the dial of the main plate, i.e. on the front side.
A member for holding the setting lever has been also arranged so as to press, i.e. urge, only the part of the setting lever around the center of oscillation by its elastic force.
Further, no member for guiding incorporation of a clutch wheel has been provided.
Accordingly, the prior art automatic watch has had the following problems:
(1) Because the calendar mechanism is disposed on the dial side of the main plate, the change-over mechanism overlaps with the calendar mechanism, increasing the size of the movement or the thickness of the movement. PA0 (2) There has been a possibility that either one of the setting lever or the yoke runs onto the other at a contact section of the setting lever and the yoke when a winding stem is pressed in. PA0 (3) It has been hard to incorporate the clutch wheel. PA0 (1) a small and thin automatic watch; PA0 (2) an automatic watch having a structure in which the setting lever and the yoke are hardly disconnected at the contact section thereof; and PA0 (3) an automatic watch which allows the clutch wheel to be incorporated readily.
Further, because the clutch wheel inclines when the winding stem is pulled out to decompose the automatic watch, the winding stem could not be readily incorporated again.


A system and method for call control wherein a call received at a communication device may be controlled through an IP device connected to an IP network over which at least a portion of the call was routed. The IP device is connected to the IP network via a control gateway.

The present invention relates to the control of calls to communication devices, and more particularly, to the control of calls over IP networks using the SIP protocol. Within a network architecture, a company may want to provide a network application to customers who have legacy systems that are incapable of providing the desired network application. In these cases the user would be required to install proprietary equipment and/or software enabling them to implement the desired application. This, of course, can be unacceptable to many smaller customers who do not have the resources to upgrade their existing network architecture. Thus, there has arisen a need for the ability to provide particular applications to a customer without requiring the upgrading or altering or their existing legacy system.


A printing consumable, an ink cartridge, and an ink cartridge reforming method are provided in the present disclosure. A printing consumable includes a first nozzle circuit, configured to feed back a first signal in response to a detection signal transmitted by a printer; and includes a second nozzle circuit, configured to not respond to the detection signal transmitted by the printer or configured to feed back a second signal different from the first signal in response to the detection signal, where the first nozzle circuit includes a nozzle circuit that has not been reformed and the second nozzle circuit includes a nozzle circuit that has been reformed. The second nozzle circuit includes a first circuit and a second circuit which includes a first conversion circuit and/or a second conversion circuit.

Printing consumables include replaceable parts that provide printing materials for a printing system, such as ink cartridges containing ink, toner cartridges containing toner, and circuit substrates attached to the cartridges and the like. Replaceable parts are usually manufactured to match a single printing system. For example, one ink cartridge type can only be used for one certain printer type. When the replaceable part is installed in the printing system, the printing system may identify the replaceable part; and when the replaceable part is identified as a mismatched replaceable part, further access to the replaceable part may be denied.

Printing consumable, ink cartridge, and ink cartridge reforming method


An image-forming device and method for determining use of consumable items therein includes a consumable item memory storing a substantially unique identifier designating the consumable item as one of a starter item and a normal item. A computer program retrieves the identifier from the consumable item memory and determines whether to allow formation of images using the consumable item based on whether the consumable item is a starter item or a normal item.

An image-forming device includes a consumable item that is used by the image-forming device to form images on sheets of media. Such a consumable item is normally periodically replaced by the user. For example, such a consumable item may be an inkjet cartridge where the image-forming device is an inkjet-printing device or a toner cartridge where the image-forming device is a laser-printing device.
New image-forming devices are commonly sold with a "starter" consumable item. Starter consumable items often have a lower yield (i.e., can print fewer pages) than aftermarket consumable items from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). However, the inclusion of a starter consumable item with the image-forming device allows the user to make immediate use of the image-forming device, and also demonstrates to the user the quality of OEM consumable items.
In many emerging geographies, sales of image-forming devices and aftermarket consumable items are adversely affected by a practice referred to as "ramping." Ramping is a practice whereby consumable items that are intended for sale with the image-forming system are removed from the box by resellers, and sold separately. In many cases, the consumable items that are "ramped" are starter consumable items having a lower print yield than typical aftermarket consumable items. The separate sale of the image-forming device and the ramped consumable item results in increased profit for the reseller, but hurts the purchaser/user in several ways. Specifically, the purchaser does not get the complete product for which they paid, because no consumable item is included with the image-forming system. In addition, if a ramped starter consumable item is purchased as a standalone consumable, the user receives a lower yielding consumable item than expected. Further, if a non-OEM consumable item is purchased from the outset, the user is unable to experience and evaluate the quality of OEM consumable items. It would be useful to reduce or eliminate ramping and its associated problems by reducing or eliminating the demand for ramped consumable items.

Method and article for determining use of consumable items in an image-forming device


An active guidelines capability or component is linked to a computerized patient record system to integrate the use of clinical guidelines in the workflow of clinicians treating patients. Many healthcare institutions maintain sets of clinical guidelines describing recommended treatment or analysis options for patients displaying sets of symptoms or for whom certain diagnoses have been made. The active guidelines feature adds an active guidelines tag to such clinical guidelines so that when the clinician accesses the clinical guidelines and wishes to follow the recommendation, the clinician merely has to click on a hypertext created from the tag which then transmits action orders, also contained in the tag, to be transmitted to the computerized patient record system for implementation.

When patients are seen, treated, or tested by medical practitioners and technicians, the events of the interaction are recorded by the medical professionals. Those recordings become part of the medical records of the patient. The maintenance of these medical records for a patient are a essential part of modern medical treatment of the patient. Recently, the technology of recording and archiving medical records has undergone a dramatic evolution. Instead of the previous bulky paper recording systems, modern medical and health care institutions are adopting electronic medical records systems, sometimes also known as computerized patient records systems. Such computerized record keeping systems offer significant advantages to the practitioners and to the patient, as well as to the health care institution as a whole.
Electronic medical records systems are typically accessible by clinical service providers from throughout the health care institution, without the need for tracking down a particular paper file. Electronic medical records make it easier to track orders and results and to ensure that orders and results are flagged for the attention of the appropriate health care professional. Electronic medical records provide a centralized depository of the health care records of the patient, thus making it easier for all professionals seeing the patient to be aware of particular medical conditions, and avoiding the need to transfer paper files around the institution. From the viewpoint of the health care institution, electronic capture and analysis of patient visit, diagnosis, treatment and results information make possible the realistic evaluation of clinical outcomes in view of any desired input parameter. Thus the use of electronic medical records continues to rapidly grow.
Many medical and health care institutions also maintain a set of clinical practice guidelines for the benefit of health care providers. Such clinical guidelines are not intended to prevent a practitioner from exercising the necessary judgment in treating a particular patient, but are intended to provide a common framework throughout the institution for the diagnosis and treatment of common medical problems in a relatively consistent manner. For example, a pediatric practice might have a clinical guideline for the evaluation, initial treatment, and then for the escalation of treatment if unsuccessful, for childhood earaches. Such protocols are recorded in a form accessible throughout the institution so that the health care providers can refer to those guidelines in making actual decisions on patient care. In the past, such clinical guidelines were often distributed in booklet or written form, and now they are often made available by computerized access.
While the use of clinical guidelines sounds in theory to be a very practical idea, the manner in which such guidelines are implemented often leaves the guidelines out of the normal workflow of the clinical service providers. All of the health care workers in an institutions, including physicians, nurses, technicians and aides and assistants, are typically very busy and their time is often tightly scheduled. Therefore, while taking time to refer to a published set of clinical guidelines does not in theory sound like a great burden, in the life of a busy clinician seeing patients, if a referral to the clinical guidelines is not convenient to make in the normal workflow for the clinician, the reference to the clinical guidelines may not be made.
This is true even in environments in which all the information is in electronic form. For example, like other institutions, health care institutions often now maintain an intranet in which information is posted for access around the institution in electronic form. In such an intranet, the users of the systems typically use a form of a web browser program, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, to navigate around and find information in the institution's intranet. However, when those same clinicians are updating the medical records for a patient, those users are typically not using the web browser program of the institution, but are typically using the electronic medical records system software for the institution. Typically, the only way available to transfer information from the clinical guidelines into a medical record is to physically transcribe the information for later entry into the medical records system. In part, this is because of the format of typical intranet (or internet) web pages, which are generally composed in HTML or (in the future) XML syntax, while the medical records systems use their own unique forms of data structure and information formatting.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method to more easily integrate an institution's clinical guidelines into the normal workflow for the clinicians actually charting the patients medical records.

Method for operating active clinical guidelines