Various computer-implemented methods, carrier media, and systems for generating a metrology sampling plan are provided. One computer-implemented method for generating a metrology sampling plan includes identifying one or more individual defects that have one or more attributes that are abnormal from one or more attributes of a population of defects in which the individual defects are included. The population of defects is located in a predetermined pattern on a wafer. The method also includes generating the metrology sampling plan based on results of the identifying step such that one or more areas on the wafer in which the one or more identified individual defects are located are sampled during metrology.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer-implemented methods, carrier media, and systems for generating a metrology sampling plan. Certain embodiments relate to a computer-implemented method that includes generating a metrology sampling plan such that one or more areas on a wafer in which one or more individual defects, included in a population of defects located in a predetermined pattern on the wafer and having one or more abnormal attributes, are located are sampled during metrology.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following description and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Fabricating semiconductor devices such as logic and memory devices typically includes processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer using a large number of semiconductor fabrication processes to form various features and multiple levels of the semiconductor devices. For example, lithography is a semiconductor fabrication process that involves transferring a pattern from a reticle to a resist arranged on a semiconductor wafer. Additional examples of semiconductor fabrication processes include, but are not limited to, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), etch, deposition, and ion implantation. Multiple semiconductor devices may be fabricated in an arrangement on a single semiconductor wafer and then separated into individual semiconductor devices.
Inspection processes are used at various steps during a semiconductor manufacturing process to detect defects on wafers to promote higher yield in the manufacturing process and thus higher profits. Inspection has always been an important part of fabricating semiconductor devices. However, as the dimensions of semiconductor devices decrease, inspection becomes even more important to the successful manufacture of acceptable semiconductor devices because smaller defects can cause the devices to fail. For instance, as the dimensions of semiconductor devices decrease, detection of defects of decreasing size has become necessary since even relatively small defects may cause unwanted aberrations in the semiconductor devices.
Another important part of manufacturing yield control is determining the cause of defects on the wafer such that the cause of the defects can be corrected to thereby reduce the number of defects on other wafers. Often, determining the cause of defects involves identifying the defect type and other attributes of the defects such as size, shape, composition, etc. Since inspection typically only involves detecting defects on the wafer and providing limited information about the defects such as location on the wafer, number of defects on the wafer, and sometimes defect size, metrology is often used to determine more information about individual defects than that which can be determined from inspection results. For instance, a metrology tool may be used to revisit defects detected on a wafer and to examine the defects further in some manner either automatically or manually.
Metrology processes are also used at various steps during a semiconductor manufacturing process to monitor and control the process. Metrology processes are different than inspection processes in that, unlike inspection processes in which defects are detected on a wafer, metrology processes are used to measure one or more characteristics of the wafer that cannot be determined from currently used inspection tools. For example, metrology processes are used to measure one or more characteristics of a wafer such as a dimension (e.g., line width, thickness, etc.) of features formed on the wafer during a process such that the performance of the process can be determined from the one or more characteristics. In addition, if the one or more characteristics of the wafer are unacceptable (e.g., out of a predetermined range for the characteristic(s)), the measurements of the one or more characteristics of the wafer may be used to alter one or more parameters of the process such that additional wafers manufactured by the process have acceptable characteristic(s).
There are, however, a number of disadvantages to using metrology processes and tools to measure one or more characteristics of a wafer for process monitoring and control applications. For example, most metrology tools are relatively slow, particularly compared to inspection systems. Therefore, metrology processes are often performed at one location or a limited number of locations on the wafer such that metrology results may be acquired in a relatively expedient manner. However, many processes used to manufacture semiconductor devices produce wafers that have characteristic(s) that vary across the surface of the wafers. As such, using metrology measurements performed at one location or a limited number of locations on a wafer may not provide sufficient information about the characteristic(s) of the wafers such that the process can be accurately monitored and controlled. Therefore, the sampling plan of the metrology process can significantly affect the meaningfulness and usefulness of the metrology results.
There are, however, a number of disadvantages to currently used metrology sampling plans. For instance, traditional metrology sampling approaches are based on fixed locations on the wafer, which may represent samples across the wafer or may be based on previously known problem areas on the wafer. Measurements may then be performed on given sites until the fixed sample plan is adjusted (e.g., manually). Therefore, one of the disadvantages of currently used metrology sampling plans is that the fixed sites that are sampled during metrology may not be sensitive to subtle variations in the process. For example, in the event that critical dimension (CD) varies in the areas on the wafer that the fixed sampling does not cover, an important excursion may be missed, which may be particularly critical for process development at technology nodes at 65 nm and beyond.
Accordingly, it may be advantageous to develop computer-implemented methods, carrier media, and systems for generating a metrology sampling plan that is more sensitive to subtle variations in a process performed on a wafer such that important excursions in the process do not go undetected.

Computer-implemented methods, carrier media, and systems for generating a metrology sampling plan


The present invention relates to wireless communication, and more specifically, to a method and a device for allocating group resources for a M2M device to which machine to machine (M2M) communication is applied in a wireless communication system. A method for allowing a machine to machine (M2M) device to be allocated with resources with resources in a wireless communication system comprises the steps of: receiving first information for identifying said M2M device from a base station; receiving, from said base station, group resource allocations, second information for identifying a first group to which said M2M device belongs, and third information for identifying said M2M device within said first group; and determining first group resource allocations corresponding to said second information from said group resource allocations, without using said first information, and then transmitting first data by using resource allocations corresponding to said third information from said first group resource allocations.

The conventional communication mostly corresponds to Human to Human (hereinafter referred to as H2H) communication, wherein the communication is performed between user equipments used by users by passing through a base station. With the evolution in the technology, Machine to Machine (hereinafter referred to as M2M) communication has become possible. M2M communication literally refers to a communication between an electronic device (or machine) and another electronic device (or machine). As a broader definition, M2M refers to a wireless or wired communication between electronic devices, or to a communication between a user-controlled device and a machine. However, recently, M2M has generally been defined as a wireless communication between an electronic device and another electronic device.
When the concept of M2M communication was first adopted in the early 1990's, M2M communication was merely understood and recognized as the concept of remotely controlled communication or telematics, and the related market was also limited to such concept. However, over the past few years, M2M communication has been under development at a remarkable rate and has now evolved to a market drawing national and worldwide attention. Most particularly, the M2M communication has greatly influenced diverse fields including Fleet Management, remote monitoring of devices and equipments, smart meter for measuring the operation time of a construction equipment installation and for automatically measuring the usage amount of heat or electricity in an applied market related to the Point of Sales (POS) and security. The M2M communication that is to be used in the future is expected to be used and applied for a wider scope of usage in association with the conventional mobile communication and high speed wireless internet or low power communication solutions, such as Wi-Fi and Zigbee, thereby becoming the basis for expanding its market domain to the B2C market, and not being limited only to the B2B market.
In the age of M2M communication, all types of machines (or devices) equipped with a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card may perform data reception and transmission, thereby being capable of being remotely controlled and managed. For example, being applied to an extended range of devices and equipments, such as cars, trucks, trains, containers, vending machines, gas tanks, and so on, the M2M communication technology may be applied to an enormous range of application.
As the application types of the M2M device continuously increasing, a considerable number of such M2M devices will exist within the same base station. When the remarkably increased number of M2M devices, which are maintained in an idle mode, attempt to perform network re-entry, access collision and access complexity may occur frequently, and the communication performance may be degraded.
Meanwhile, by performing group paging, M2M devices belonging to the same subscriber may wake at the same time and may then attempt Ranging. At this point, the likelihood of the M2M devices, which belong to the same subscriber, transmitting the same data traffic becomes greater. Therefore, with respect to the M2M devices belonging to the same subscriber, a method for allocating resources in group units is being required.

Method and device for allocating group resources for M2M device in wireless communication system


A cyclonic separator and a vacuum cleaner which efficiently separates dust, collect the dust without re-scattering it and make low noise are provided. In a primary cyclone portion 10, a primary swirl chamber 12 swirls air containing dust sucked from a primary inlet 11, and thereby, separates a first dust and a second dust from the air containing dust to collect them respectively in a zero-order dust case 114 which is provided at a side of the primary swirl chamber 12 and communicates with a zero-order opening portion 113 provided at a side wall, and a primary dust case 14 provided at a lower side of the primary swirl chamber 12. In a secondary cyclone portion 20, a secondary inlet 21 with an opening area smaller than that of a primary outlet body 15 sucks air exhausted from the primary outlet body 15, a secondary swirl chamber 22 swirls the first air to separate the second dust which is finer than the first dust from the first air to collect the second dust in a secondary dust case 24 provided at a lower side of the secondary swirl chamber 12. With regard to the cyclonic separator with such a configuration, the zero-order dust case 114 is formed to cover at least a part of the secondary cyclone portion 20.

A conventional cyclone separator, particularly, a cyclone separator used in a vacuum cleaner or the like allows air containing dust sucked by an electric air blower to pass through a dust filter or a dust bag to collect dust in air. However, for a vacuum cleaner using such a cyclone separator, a dust bag needs to be regularly bought and mounted in a vacuum cleaner body, which is inconvenient and troublesome for a user.
To solve such a problem, a vacuum cleaner including a cyclone separator has been proposed that can separate dust from air using a centrifugal force or an inertial force to collect dust without using a dust bag that is a consumable. As a vacuum cleaner including such a cyclone separator, for example, a vacuum cleaner has been proposed in which an outer cyclone and an inner cyclone surrounded by the outer cyclone, which are provided concentrically, communicate with each other in series, thereby increasing dust separation efficiency of the cyclone separator (for example, see Patent Literatures 1 to 3).


The present invention provides a method of suppressing mast cell differentiation and/or itch in the skin of a subject, comprising topically administering to the skin in need thereof an effective amount of fucoxanthin or a derivative thereof.

Atopic dermatitis is a kind of hypersensitivity associated with dermal inflammation such as eczema, among the diseases related to an allergic reaction. It is associated with physiological abnormalities including skin dryness and barrier dysfunction caused by stratum corneum abnormality. Various non-specific irritation responses and specific allergic reactions are involved in the development of atopic dermatitis.
Atopic dermatitis is considered to occur by complicated interactions of genetic predisposition, exposure to environment and immunological mechanisms. Due to uncertain pathogenic mechanism, the treatment of atopic dermatitis is limited to application of anti-inflammatory topical medicaments such as corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors. However, these compounds cannot completely suppress the onset of atopic dermatitis. No satisfying therapy of atopic dermatitis has been established.
Mast cells are known to cause type I allergic reaction via IgE to mediate many diseases such as atopic dermatitis. Therefore, it is expected that suppression of the function of mast cells enables the treatment of these diseases. The mast cells are known to produce many inflammatory mediators, and be activated by various stimuli to degranulate, thereby releasing such inflammatory mediators. For example, mast cells contain various chemical mediators including histamine. When mast cells recognize an antigen, said recognition triggers activation of membrane enzymes on the mast cells, resulting in the release of granules containing histamine and tryptase. In addition, activation of the cell membrane enzymes increases production and metabolism of arachidonate (arachidonate cascade) and releases its metabolites, leukotriene, platelet activating factor (PAF), prostaglandin thromboxane A2 and the like, from the cell membrane.
Meanwhile, a kind of carotenoids, fucoxanthin, has been considered to act as a provitamin A in a living body and is known to have an antioxidant action suppressing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by oxidation stress in cultured dermal cells. In addition, Kawashima (JP 2012-254959 A) teaches that fucoxanthin suppresses IL-17 production and Th-17 cell differentiation and proposes use of food and drink or an oral drug comprising fucoxanthin or a derivative thereof for the prophylaxis or improvement of Th-17 diseases. Yamada (JP 2009-108022 A) discloses that oral intake of fucoxanthin results in an anti-allergic effect.
However, when fucoxanthin is orally ingested, it is metabolized via liver and mostly functions as a vitamin A-like substance. Vitamin A improves barrier function of mucosal epithelial cells, and degrades and detoxifies lipoperoxides. Since one of vitamins A, retinoic acid, also has a suppressive action against Th-17 cell differentiation, it is strongly suggested that the effects of oral intake of fucoxanthin described in the above-mentioned patent documents are based on its provitamin A activity, namely the active ingredients are its metabolites, vitamin A-like substances.
Yamada (supra) also evaluates the anti-allergic effect of fucoxanthin by using a decrease of serum eosinophils as an index, but it fails to disclose local effects (in particular, itch suppression effect) of fucoxanthin on the skin of hives or atopic dermatitis. Yamada also fails to teach or suggest effects of fucoxanthin on mast cells.


A bedding assembly includes a fitted sheet forming opposing side panels when engaging a mattress and including at least one fastener positioned longitudinally along at least one of the fitted sheet opposing side panels. The bedding assembly also includes a top sheet forming opposing side panels when engaging a mattress and including at least one complimentary fastener positioned longitudinally along at least one of the top sheet opposing side panels, the at least one complementary fastener of the top sheet substantially aligning with the at least one fastener of the fitted sheet.

Bed sheets known in the art typically include a flat or fitted sheet that may be placed over a mattress and mattress cover. An optional second sheet (also referred to as a top sheet) may be placed on top of the bed sheet located on the mattress. A person may then sleep between the flat or fitted sheet and the top sheet. A comforter, blanket, quilt, or the like is often added on top of the top sheet as additional layering. A commonly used type of fitted bed sheet is typically sewn to fit the shape of the mattress and comprises elastic around the edges to keep the edges of the sheet tucked under the mattress. The elastic edges provide a convenient means to ensure the fitted sheet remains on the mattress, such as during use.
It is often desirable to maintain or reintroduce a neat bedding appearance, such as after the bedding is pulled out of place during use. The desirable appearance may be commonly referred to as a made bed. A made bed may take many forms, but typically involves the top sheet positioned flatly upon the flat or fitted sheet, and may involve organized folding of the top sheet, comforter, blanket, quilt, or the like.


Embodiments of the invention relate to a container with one or more secondary objects housed in the container and configured with indicia to communicate a message. One or more secondary objects in communication with a weight are housed in the container. A combination of the weight and buoyancy characteristics of the secondary object(s) supports floating of the secondary object in the fluid.

Delivery of media through a container is known in the art. There are different aspects to the delivery, including placement of media on an external surface of the container and placement of media in an interior compartment of the container. Examples of placement of media on the external surface include securing a banner to an external surface of the container. Placement of a message or ornament in an interior compartment of the container is also known in different embodiments. For example and with respect to fluid filled containers, the fluid is generally transparent and the media floats in the fluid. Accordingly, the message or ornament either on the external surface or within the interior compartment has been used for both communication, entertainment, and advertising.


A variable gain amplifying circuit includes a gate-grounded amplifying FET and a collector-grounded amplifying transistor. A gate voltage of the FET and a base voltage of the transistor are adjusted by a supplied AGC voltage. When an input RF signal has small amplitude, the gate voltage is increased by a high AGC voltage so as to increase a main current of the FET, thereby increasing a signal gain of the FET. When the input RF signal has large or medium amplitude, the gate voltage is decreased by a low AGC voltage so as to decrease a main current of the FET, thereby decreasing the signal gain of the FET.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a variable gain amplifying circuit which is connected to a front stage of an antenna tuning circuit and has a collector-grounded transistor or a drain-grounded FET for impedance matching at an output stage such that an input RF signal amplified in the transistor or the FET at the output stage has no distortion when the intensity of an electric field of the RF signal is strong.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an RF signal amplifying circuit, which is connected to a front stage of an antenna tuning circuit so as to amplify a received television signal in a television tuner, has been known. The RF signal amplifying circuit has an input stage to which an input adjusting unit is connected so as to correspond to the intensity of an electric-field of an input RF signal, the impedance of the input adjusting unit being adjusted corresponding to the intensity of an electric field of an input RF signal.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the configuration of the above-mentioned RF signal amplifying circuit in the related art, together with a subsequent circuit, which is disclosed in JP-A-11-220342.
Referring to FIG. 3, an RF signal amplifying circuit 50 includes an amplifying transistor 51, an input adjusting transistor 52, a collector load inductor 53, an emitter resistor 54, a bypass capacitor 55, a coupling capacitor 56, base bias resistors 57 and 58, a coupling capacitor 59, an emitter resistor 60, a bypass capacitor 61, a buffer resistor 62, a switch 63, a bias power supply 64, an antenna input stage 65, a signal output stage 66, and a power supply terminal 67, all of which are connected as shown in FIG. 3. In addition, a subsequent circuit connected to the signal output stage 66 of the RF signal amplifying circuit 50 includes a VHF tuning circuit (VHF TN) 74, a VHF AGC amplifying circuit (AGC AMP) 68, a UHF tuning circuit (UHF TN) 69, a UHF AGC amplifying circuit (AGC AMP) 70, buffer resistors 71 and 72, and an AGC voltage supply terminal 73, all of which are connected as shown in FIG. 3.
The operation of the above-mentioned RF signal amplifying circuit 50 is as follows.
When the intensity of the electric field of an input RF signal is weak or medium, a variable contact point 63(0) of the switch 63 is switched to one fixed terminal 63(1) and a ground voltage is supplied to a base of the input adjusting transistor 52. At this time, the input adjusting transistor 52 is cut off and drain-source impedance of the transistor 52 becomes considerably increased. Accordingly, the RF signal supplied to the antenna input stage 65 is not attenuated in the input adjusting transistor 52 to be supplied to a base of the amplifying transistor 51. In addition, the amplifying transistor 51 amplifies the RF signal supplied to the base of the transistor 51, and the amplified RF signal is output from a collector of the transistor 51 to be supplied to the subsequent circuit through the signal output stage 66.
Further, when the intensity of the electric field of the input RF signal is strong, a variable contact point 63(0) of the switch 63 is switched to the other fixed terminal 63(2) and an output bias voltage of the bias power supply 64 is supplied to a base of the input adjusting transistor 52. At this time, the input adjusting transistor 52 is turned on by supplying the bias voltage to the base and the drain-source impedance of the transistor 52 becomes smaller than before. Accordingly, the RF signal supplied to the antenna input stage 65 is slightly attenuated by the input adjusting transistor 52 to be supplied to a base of the amplifying transistor 51. In addition, the amplifying transistor 51 amplifies the RF signal supplied to the base of the transistor 51, and the amplified RF signal is output from a collector of the transistor 51 to be supplied to the subsequent circuit through the signal output stage 66.
Furthermore, in the subsequent circuit, when a VHF television signal is output from the signal output stage 66 of the RF signal amplifying circuit 50, the VHF television signal is selectively extracted from the VHF tuning circuit 74 to be supplied to the VHF AGC amplifying circuit 68. The VHF AGC amplifying circuit 68 amplifies the supplied VHF television signal with a signal gain set by an AGC voltage supplied to the AGC voltage supply terminal 73 and the amplified VHF television signal is supplied to a mixer or an intermediate frequency circuit at a subsequent stage. On the other hand, when a UHF television signal is output from the signal output stage 66 of the RF signal amplifying circuit 50, the UHF television signal is selectively extracted from the UHF tuning circuit 69 to be supplied to the UHF AGC amplifying circuit 70. The UHF AGC amplifying circuit 70 amplifies the supplied UHF television signal with the signal gain set by the AGC voltage supplied to the AGC voltage supply terminal 73 and the amplified VHF television signal is supplied to the mixer or the intermediate frequency circuit at the subsequent stage.
In this manner, in the RF signal amplifying circuit 50, when the intensity of the electric field of the input RF signal is weak or medium, the input RF signal is supplied to the amplifying transistor 51 to be amplified without being attenuated in the antenna input stage 65, but when the intensity of the electric field of the input RF signal is strong, the input RF signal is supplied to the amplifying transistor 51 to be amplified after being slightly attenuated in the antenna input stage 65. Accordingly, even when the intensity of the electric field of the input RF signal is strong, the amplifying transistor 51 is saturated, and thus the RF signal has no distortion.
However, in the above RF signal amplifying circuit 50 disclosed in JP-A-11-220342, when the intensity of the electric field of the input RF signal is weak or medium, the input RF signal is supplied to the amplifying transistor 51 without being attenuated, but when the intensity of the electric field of the input RF signal is strong, the input RF signal is supplied to the amplifying transistor 51 after being slightly attenuated. Therefore, it is difficult for the amplification of the RF signal to sufficiently follow the variation of the intensity of the electric field of the RF signal, and signal distortion may occur in some cases. In addition, since the switching operation on the intensity of the electric field is manually performed, a complicated control operation for switching between the electric field intensities is required to regularly monitor the variation of the intensity of the electric field of the RF signal.

Variable gain amplifying circuit with matchable input/output impedance


The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus, and a semiconductor manufacturing method using the apparatus. Dressing of a grindstone surface is ground by sizing processing whereby dressing of a tool surface can be done while preventing occurrence of cracks on the grindstone surface which is the cause for occurrence of scratches. Further, flatness of the surface of a dressing tool can be guaranteed because of sizing cutting-in; even if a thick grindstone of a few centimeters is used, the flatness can be maintained to the end; and processing with less in-face unevenness can be always carried out. Therefore, the life of the dressing tool can be greatly extended.

Recently, a multi-layer wiring technique for laminating circuit elements of a semiconductor device is becoming important with the trend of higher processing speed and fineness of a semiconductor device. With the progress of the multi-layer wiring technique, there has been posed a problem of irregularities formed on the surface of a sample. For example, in the case where a circuit pattern is formed on the sample surface by an optical exposure device (hereinafter referred to as a stepper), it is necessary to accurately adjust the focal point of the stepper onto the sample surface. However, when the irregularities are present on the sample surface, adjustment of the focal point on the sample surface is difficult, resulting in an occurrence of serious problem of inferior resolution.
For overcoming such an inconvenience as described above, the technique for planarizing the surface of a semiconductor device has been demanded.
In Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 10-146750, there is disclosed a technique for planarizing the fine irregularities formed on the surface of a semiconductor device. According to the technique disclosed in the publication, a wafer substrate to be processed held on a rotating holder is pressed on the surface of a polishing pad held on a rotating table, and a polishing liquid containing loose abrasive grain is supplied between the polishing pad and the wafer to be processed, whereby the surface of the semiconductor wafer substrate can be polished to planarize the fine irregularities.
Since the polishing pad used for the purpose of polishing as described above becomes crushed in surface as it is used, dressing is carried out therefor with suitable frequency. Dressing termed herein is that a polishing pad is shaved by a diamond grindstone (hereinafter referred to as a dressing tool) or the like for dressing to provide a suitable surface roughness, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 10-180618.

Polishing apparatus and method for producing semiconductors using the apparatus

Abstract: Further, the present sizing-dressing is carried out jointly with processing of a wafer to thereby enable improvement of throughput of the apparatus as well as maintenance of a processing rate.

Abstract: The present apparatus and method are effective for planarization of various substrate surfaces having irregularities.


A sinking apparatus for sinking a concrete shaft includes a water tank, a valve assembly, a communication pipe, and a pumping device. The water tank is disposed on an upper surrounding edge of the concrete shaft, and has a water outlet port. The valve assembly includes a valve gate which is operable to open and close the water outlet port. The pumping device is disposed to permit water inside a central hollow portion of the concrete shaft to be pumped into a water accommodation space of the water tank through the communication pipe.

A concrete shaft, after being sunk into the ground, may function as a bridge pier or a base of a construction element. The concrete shaft may be sunk into the ground using excavation techniques, and so on. However, after the concrete shaft has been sunk to a certain depth, groundwater may gush out, which is adverse for further sinking of the concrete shaft.

Sinking apparatus for sinking concrete shaft


The present disclosure includes an optical component including one or more microstructures configured to diffuse light incident thereto from within the optical component. The microstructures are provided at least on a light input surface of the optical component provided in a bottom cavity of its body.

Field
The present disclosure generally relates to optical components and systems that redistribute light emitted from a light source and, in particular for use with a light emitting diode.
Background
In many applications that use light emitting diode (LED) emitters as light sources, optical components, such as, for example, lenses, diffusers, reflectors, redirectors, etc. can be used to tailor the radiation pattern of the light emitted from the LED. In various implementations, a light source can include an array of LEDs. In such implementations, an array of optical components can be disposed over the array of LEDs such that each optical component in the array of optical components surrounds a corresponding LED in the array of LEDs to illuminate a large area of interest.
Recently, there is a demand for illumination panels that have a slim/thin profile and including fewer LEDs to reduce cost. Optical components that can achieve a desired luminance over an area with fewer LEDs can provide illumination panels with thin profile at a low cost.
Slim illumination panels utilizing white LEDs can also suffer from color non-uniformity. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide optical components that can mix different wavelengths of light emitted from white LEDs in order to reduce color non-uniformity. The foregoing discussion in this section is to provide background to the subject matter disclosed herein and does not constitute an admission of prior art.


In a method of injection-molding a thermoplastic resin wherein a weld is formed in the mold cavity by the fusion of separate resin streams, use is made of a mold provided with a resin well protruding from the molded cavity or a runner on at least one of the separate resin streams at a point between where the injected molten resin is separated into streams and the weld. The resin is poured into the resin well after the formation of the weld from the feed of the molten resin into the mold cavity to cause migration of the resin at the weld, thus forcing the resin on one side of the weld into the resin of the other side of the weld to thereby strengthen the weld.

In a conventional mold and injection molding process, a molten resin is injected into and fills a single mold cavity through a plurality of gates such that a plurality of resin streams are formed within the mold cavity. A weld forms at the position where the individual resin streams are united and fused. Even if a molten resin is filled into the mold cavity through a single gate, the resin may be separated into separate streams by a core or the like provided within the cavity such that again a weld forms at the position where the separated resin streams are united into a single stream. Further, if a molded article contains a portion having an uneven thickness, the molten resin injected and filled into the mold cavity is separated into separate streams due to the difference which occurs in the filing rate of the resin between the portion having a larger thickness and the portion having a smaller thickness, such that again a weld often forms at the portion where the separated resin streams are united into a single stream. In many cases, a weld in the molded article is formed due to a combination of the above-described factors. Accordingly, it is very difficult to produce a useful molded article having a complicated shape that is free from a weld. Unfortunately, the presence of a weld during molding poses very serious problems including not only the formation of a linear pattern called a weld mark which deteriorates the molded article appearance, but also the strength of the formed molded article is much lower than the inherent strength of the resin, because the molten resin streams at the weld are merely united and fused with each other and are not homogeneously mixed.
In order to solve the problem of low weld strength, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 71459/1973 discloses a molding process which comprises filling a resin into a mold which is provided with a resin well at a position where the weld occurs and pushing back the resin contained in the resin well into the mold, thereby improving the strength of the weld. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 202414/1990 discloses a molding process which comprises injecting and filling a resin into a mold cavity through a plurality of gates provided with a valve to form resin streams, uniting the resin streams and then operating the valve to give rise to a difference in the resin filling pressure to disturb the weld, thereby improving the strength of the weld.
In each of the above processes, however, it is difficult to disturb the orientation of a sufficient amount of resin or filler at the weld such that no satisfactory improvement in weld strength has been attained.

Mold having a resin well forming a weld at the union of two separate resin streams


This invention relates to safety anchors for roof workers and in particular to a gutter ladder anchor, a ridge anchor, a rafter anchor, and a truss anchor. In a one aspect the invention is a gutter ladder anchor formed from a metal plate, and comprising a flat base, having left, right, rear, and front ends; a fold at the front end of the base; one or more legs extending from the fold; a flange at the end of each leg, folded upwards; one or more holes located in each leg for mounting a vertical eye or a ladder location attachment; a first pattern of spaced apart holes through the base for fixing the anchor to a batten or purlin, said first pattern extending from the left end to the right end; and one or more holes through the flange of each leg for fixing the anchor to a gutter.

Occupational safety is a major concern when work is conducted on a roof. Due to the risk of severe injury or death from falling from great heights, precautions have to be taken to protect workers working on roofs. One of the most common safety features for roof workers are ropes and harnesses. The workers wear the harnesses and use the rope to secure the harness to the roof. In case the worker falls from the roof, the rope prevents the worker from hitting the ground. 'Fall arrest blocks' allow the worker to retrieve more rope when slowly pulled from the block but arrest a sudden fall. The fall arrest block is fixed to the roof. Alternatively, the rope may be fixed to the roof directly without the use of a fall arrest block. Roof anchors are provided for attaching the rope or fall arrest block to the roof.


A manufacturing test method and apparatus for testing devices, preferably magnetic disk drives, assembled or processed at ones of a plurality of stations in a variegated process stream from components originating from a plurality of sources of components, to determine failure statistics for selected ones of the plurality of stations or ones of the sources of components. The method comprises establishing a unit history record for each device, the unit history comprising entries for indicating the stations at which the device has been processed and the sources of components specific to the device; detecting the results of selected test/operation processes for devices in the stream; reading the unit history record for the device for which the results were detected to determine a "trace to" stations at which the device has been processed; logging the detected results, by updating a log for each of selected ones of the test/operation process and stations at which a device was processed as determined from the unit history record for the device, with the detected results for the device; calculating at least one "trace to failure" statistic for selected ones of the results and/or stations; updating the unit history record with the results for the device; and comparing the "failure" statistic to an alarm threshold and actuating an alarm if the threshold is exceeded.

The testing of manufactured devices at the end of the manufacturing process or of subassemblies at subassembly and subprocess points in the manufacturing process are well known. An example of a test module for a plurality of magnetic disk drives is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,549, assigned to Wilson Laboratories, Inc. The use of automated testers or computers to conduct the testing and to accumulate the test results is also known. An example of an automated tester computer is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,456.
Such testers typically test each device and pass or fail the device for the specific test. If the test failure is repairable, the device is reworked, reinserted in the manufacturing line, and retested. The test data is often accumulated and may be reviewed in batch mode. The typical assembly line is singular and the test data accumulated in a tester may be utilized to analyze the specific associated assembly line.
Magnetic disk files, however, are currently assembled from components, where not only do different components arrive from different sources, but the same components, such as disks, are provided from different sources. Further, some of the assembly may be done in an assembly line fashion, but most often, the assembly is done in subassemblies at ones of many parallel stations, the output of the parallel stations stored together or intermixed between sequential stations, and the intermixed subassemblies separated into non-segregated groups for further assembly or testing. Hereinafter, the intermixing and subsequent separation into non-segregated groups is called a "variegated" process stream. The reason for the variegated process is because the steps require substantially different lengths of time to accomplish. Thus, more stations are required to accomplish the longer process steps. Only with a variegated process stream, can the overall manufacturing process flow smoothly. Thus, there is no direct correlation between the tester and the source of the components or the preceding assembly stations for the devices being tested.
At some point, the accumulated testing data may be utilized in batch mode to analyze the assembly process. A key problem is the need to ascertain a common tester, tool, station, source of components or process that produced the failing devices.
A typically expensive subsequent analysis of accumulated testing data by failure analysis personnel might lead eventually to an understanding of a root cause source of a problem. What is needed is a means and process for identifying the source of the problem during the manufacturing process on a real time basis, so that the problem may be addressed and corrected before productivity or production will be lost, or excess scrap or rework is created.

Variegated manufacturing process test method and apparatus

International Business Machines Corporation


A graphics display system integrated circuit processes analog video input, digital video input, and graphics input. The system incorporates a graphics accelerator that includes memory for graphics data. The accelerator preferably includes a coprocessor for performing vector type operations on a plurality of components of one pixel of the graphics data. The accelerator also includes an expanded instruction set for storing and loading data.

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuits, and more particularly to an integrated circuit graphics display system.
Graphics display systems are typically used in television control electronics, such as set top boxes, integrated digital TVs, and home network computers. Graphics display systems typically include a display engine that may perform display functions. The display engine is the part of the graphics display system that receives display pixel data from any combination of locally attached video and graphics input ports, processes the data in some way, and produces final display pixels as output.
This application includes references to both graphics and video, which reflects in certain ways the structure of the hardware itself. This split does not, however, imply the existence of any fundamental difference between graphics and video, and in fact much of the functionality is common to both. Graphics as used herein may include graphics, text and video.
The present invention provides a graphics accelerator that includes a memory for graphics data. The graphics accelerator preferably includes a coprocessor for performing vector type operations on a plurality of components of one pixel of the graphics data.


A new cultivar of Agapanthus named ‘Blue Flare’, characterized by its mid season blooming habit and re-blooms for up to 6 weeks, its blue self-cleaning flowers that are held primarily upright from pedicels (not drooping), and its medium tall plant height.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Agapanthus praecox and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, 'Blue Flare'. 'Blue Flare' represents a new perennial herb grown for landscape use.
The new Agapanthus originated as the result of an on going breeding program in Cape Town, Republic of South Africa. The goal of the breeding program was to produce a cultivar of Agapanthus of medium size with a re-blooming habit.
'Blue Flare' originated as a seedling that arose from seed planted from open pollination of an unnamed plant of Agapanthus praecox from the Inventor's breeding program in 2002. The male parent is unknown. The new Agapanthus was selected as a single unique plant in December of 2004.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by in vitro propagation under the direction of the Inventor in December of 2005 in Cape Town, Republic of South Africa. Asexual propagation by division and tissue culture has determined that the characteristics of this cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A display device selectively provides a first and second displays. A first light source emits first light, and a second light source emits second light having peak wavelength different from the first light, and a translucent sheet hit selectively by one of the first and second lights. The translucent sheet has first printed area parts formed on a first surface of the sheet to pass only the first light for providing the first display, second printed area parts formed on the first surface to pass only the second light for providing the second display, third printed area parts formed on the first surface to prevent light transmittance, and printed dimmer area parts formed on a second surface at areas corresponding to overlapped area parts of the first and second displays so as to suppress the first and second lights.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device that is capable of shifting different display contents on the identical display surface of the display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display device of this kind is disclosed in Japanese patent laying-open publication No. 2001-100679. This display device has a first printed area through which only blue light can pass and a second printed area through which only green light can pass, the other printed area to form a lightproof background, which are formed by printing on a rear surface of a transparent sheet that is illuminated from a rear side of the sheet by a first light source of blue light and a second light source of green light.
The above known conventional display device, however, encounters a problem that a display device requires a high-precision printing process, resulting in a high manufacturing cost, because all the areas are printed on one side of the sheet and the three printed areas are formed adjacently to one another. In addition, in a case that the adjacent printed areas are overlapped with each other, their overlapping area parts stand out to impair display, while in a case that the adjacent areas have a gap between them, the light from the light sources passes through the gap, resulting in the deterioration of the display quality.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a display device which overcomes the foregoing drawbacks and can obtain high display quality at a lower manufacturing cost and prevent light leakage without using a high-precision printing process.


Sealing elements have lubricating seal profiles for communicating fluid between the sealing elements and the sealed drill string tubular or other oilfield component while the sealed drill string tubular or other oilfield component rotates or moves vertically relative to the seal elements. The same fluid used for drilling may also be used for seal lubrication, such as water, drilling fluid or mud, well bore fluid or other liquid or gas. The sealing elements may be disposed with a seal housing, which may be positioned with a marine riser, or subsea without a marine riser. The seal housing may prevent rotation of the seal elements with the sealed drill string tubular or other oilfield component. Alternatively, the seal housing may be an RCD that allows the sealing elements to rotate. The lubricating seal profiles include a wave pattern, a saw-tooth high film pattern, a downwardly inclined passageway pattern, an upwardly inclined passageway pattern, and a combined upwardly and downwardly inclined passageway pattern. In one embodiment, a stripper rubber seal element may have a lubricating seal profile on the inwardly facing bore surfaces of both its nose and throat sections for sealing with drill string tubulars and other oilfield components having different diameters. Dual seals with two annular spaced apart sealing surfaces, with or without lubricating seal profiles, may seal with a drill string tubular or other oilfield component. In another embodiment, differential pressures across two seal elements may be managed by filling the cavity between the two sealing elements with cuttings-free drilling fluid, mud, water, coolant, lubricant or inert gas at desired amounts of pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sealing elements used in drilling wells.
2. Description of Related Art
Sealing elements have been used in rotating control devices (RCDs) for many years in the drilling industry. Passive sealing elements, such as stripper rubber sealing elements, can be fabricated with a desired stretch-fit. An example of a proposed stripper rubber sealing element is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,964. A stripper rubber sealing element may be attached with a rotatable internal bearing member of an RCD to seal around the outside diameter of an inserted tubular to rotate with the tubular during drilling. The tubular may be slidingly run through the RCD as the tubular rotates or when the tubular, such as a drill string, casing, coil tubing, or any connected oilfield component, is not rotating. Examples of some proposed RCDs are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,213,158; 5,647,444 and 5,662,181.
RCDs have been proposed with a single stripper rubber seal element, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,500,094 and 6,547,002; and Pub. No. US 2007/0163784, and with dual stripper rubber sealing elements, as in the '158 patent, '444 patent and the '181 patent, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,448,454. The wellbore pressure in the annulus acts on the cone shaped stripper rubber sealing element with vector forces that augment a closing force of the stripper rubber sealing element around the tubular. U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,824 proposes two opposed stripper rubber sealing elements, the lower sealing element positioned axially downward, and the upper sealing element positioned axially upward (see FIGS. 4B and 4C of '824 patent).
Unlike a stripper rubber sealing element, an active sealing element typically requires a remote-to-the-tool source of hydraulic or other energy to open or close the sealing element around the outside diameter of the tubular. An active sealing element can be deactivated to reduce or eliminate the sealing forces of the sealing element with the tubular. RCDs have been proposed with a single active sealing element, as in the '784 publication, and with a stripper rubber sealing element in combination with an active sealing element, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,016,880 and 7,258,171 (both with a lower stripper rubber sealing element and an upper active sealing element), and Pub. No. US 2005/0241833 (with a lower active sealing element and an upper stripper rubber sealing element).
A tubular typically comprises sections with varying outer surface diameters. The RCD sealing element must seal around all of the rough and irregular surfaces of the components of the tubular, such as a hardening surface (as proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,895), drill pipe, tool joints, drill collars, and other oilfield components. The continuous movement of the tubular through the sealing element while the sealing element is under pressure causes wear of the inwardly facing sealing surface of the sealing element.
When drilling with a RCD having dual independent annular sealing elements, the lower of the two sealing elements is typically exposed to the majority of the pressurized fluid and cuttings returning from the wellbore, which communicate with the lower surface of the lower sealing element body. The upper sealing element is exposed to the fluid that is not blocked by the lower sealing element. When the lower sealing element blocks all of the pressurized fluid, the lower sealing element is exposed to a significant pressure differential across its body since its upper surface is essentially at atmospheric pressure when used on land or atop a riser. The highest demand and wear on the RCD sealing elements occurs when tripping the tubular out of the wellbore under high pressure.
American Petroleum Institute Specification 16RCD (API-16RCD) entitled "Specification for Drill Through Equipment—Rotating Control Devices," First Edition,® February 2005 American Petroleum Institute, proposes standards for safe and functionally interchangeable RCDs. The requirements for API-16RCD must be complied with when moving the drill string through an RCD in a pressurized wellbore. The sealing element is inherently limited in the number of times it can be fatigued with larger diameter tool joints that pass under high differential pressure conditions. Of course, the deeper the wellbores are drilled, the more tool joints that will be stripped through a sealing element, some under high pressure.
RCDs have been proposed in the past to be positioned with marine risers. An example of a marine riser and some of the associated drilling components is proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,626,135 and 7,258,171. U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,092 proposes a seal housing with a RCD positioned above sea level on the upper section of a marine riser to facilitate a mechanically controlled pressurized system. U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,623 proposes a method for drilling from a floating structure using an RCD positioned on a marine riser. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,470,975; 7,159,669; and 7,258,171 propose positioning an RCD assembly in a housing disposed in a marine riser. Also, an RCD has also been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,774 to be positioned subsea without a marine riser.
Latching assemblies have been proposed in the past for positioning an RCD. U.S. Pat. No. 7,487,837 proposes a latch assembly for use with a riser for positioning an RCD. Pub. No. US 2006/0144622 proposes a latching system to latch an RCD to a housing. Pub. No. US 2008/0210471 proposes a docking station housing positioned above the surface of the water for latching with an RCD. Pub. No. US 2009/0139724 proposes a latch position indicator system for remotely determining whether a latch assembly is latched or unlatched.
In the past, when drilling in deepwater with a marine riser, the riser has not been pressurized by mechanical devices during normal operations. The only pressure induced by the rig operator and contained by the riser is that generated by the density of the drilling mud held in the riser (hydrostatic pressure). During some operations, gas can unintentionally enter the riser from the wellbore. If this happens, the gas will move up the riser and expand. As the gas expands, it will displace mud, and the riser will "unload." This unloading process can be quite violent and can pose a significant fire risk when gas reaches the surface of the floating structure via the bell-nipple at the rig floor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,135 proposes a gas handler annular blowout preventer (BOP) to be installed in the riser. The gas handler annular BOP is activated only when needed, but instead of simply providing a safe flow path for mud and gas away from the rig floor, the gas handler annular BOP can be used to hold limited pressure on the riser to control the riser unloading process. However, drilling must cease because movement of the drill string through the annular BOP when the annular seal is engaged against the drill string will damage or destroy the non-rotatable annular seal. During drilling, the annular BOP's seal is open, and drilling mud and cuttings return to the rig through the annulus or annular space. Ram type blowout preventers have also been proposed in the past for drilling operations, such as proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,735,502; 4,488,703; 4,508,313; and 4,519,577. As with annular BOPs, drilling must cease when the ram BOP seal is engaged against the drill string tubular or damage to the seal will occur.
Prior to the development of RCDs, packing heads, such as proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,038,140; 2,124,015; 2,148,844; 2,163,813; and 2,287,205, were used for sealing around the drill string during drilling operations. Unlike an RCD, a packing head has no bearing assembly and its sealing element does not rotate with the drill string or other inserted tubular or oilfield component. U.S. Pat. No. 2,170,915 proposes a stationary stripper rubber seal positioned in a housing over a well casing through which the drill string may be rotated for drilling. A problem with such prior art packing head and stationary stripper rubber devices is that the sealing element can be damaged or destroyed by the heat generated from the friction resisting the movement of the inserted tubular or oilfield component.
Drilling with casing is gaining some acceptance worldwide for addressing certain onshore and offshore problems such as formation instability, lost circulation, fluids control, and troublesome zones. Drilling with casing eliminates the need to continually replace strings of drill pipe during drilling, saving time since the rig is also drilling while casing is being run into the hole. Although drilling with casing currently constitutes only a small part of worldwide drilling activity, drilling with casing is expected to increase in the future.
Drilling with casing is being attempted with increasingly larger casing sizes. While drilling with casing has been used in the past with 9⅝ inch (24.4 cm) diameter casing, it is now being attempted with casing diameters up to 20 inches (50.8 cm). However, the amount of annular space within a riser or housing for positioning an RCD becomes increasing more limited as the casing size gets larger. The RCD has to be sized to accommodate the large casing, and it is often impractical to use a larger riser or housing, particularly in shallow wells or other applications where the larger casing is only needed for relatively short drilling distances, like 100 feet (30.5 m). Drilling with casing may be attempted in the future in certain subsea applications without a marine riser, particularly for drilling relatively short drilling distances.
Testing performed by the inventors reveals that when a 10¾ inch (27.3 cm) diameter casing section is rotated in a prior art stationary stripper rubber sealing element under low pressures of 5 to 10 psi, the prior art sealing element deteriorates and is damaged in about 2 to 10 hours due to heat generated by the frictional resistive forces. When water is applied to the prior art sealing element surfaces not contacting the casing section, the sealing element damage does not occur until about 30 hours. However, when drilling with casing is used in real drilling applications, much longer drilling times are needed.
Circular seal members positioned within grooves, chambers, pockets or receptacles have been used in the past in applications involving rotating shafts. Kalsi Engineering, Inc. of Houston, Tex. and Parker Hannifin, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio are two manufacturers of such sealing members. U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,319 proposes a circular sealing member for a drill bit application having a wave pattern on the sealing side of the sealing member and positioned within a circular pocket. The sealing member receives lubrication in the pocket from an external lubricant supply system source. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,230,520; 5,678,829; 5,738,358; 5,873,576; 6,007,105; 6,036,192; 6,109,618; 6,120,036; 6,227,547; 6,315,302; 6,334,619; 6,382,634; 6,494,462; 6,561,520; and 6,685,194 propose circular seals having sealing interfaces with various geometries and disposed within receptacles, grooves, chambers, or pockets. The seal receptacle, groove, chamber or pocket supports and stabilizes the circular seal and may be used to receive lubricant for the seal from an external lubricant supply source.
International Pub. No. WO2008/133523 proposes a packer seal element with at least one channel within the seal for moving a lubricant through the seal. The packer element is positioned around the drill string, and the lubricant, proposed to be oil or grease, is injected from an external source into a port in the side of the packer seal for travel through the channel in the seal. U.S. Pat. No. 3,472,518 proposes a stationary metal housing positioned close to the surface of a drill pipe with the housing inner surface having a series of rings or grooves forming a tortuous path between the outer surface of the drill pipe and the inner surface of the housing. The tortuous path is proposed to provide for a fluid flow that absorbs the pressure drop from the pressure in the annulus around the drill pipe below the housing to atmospheric pressure on the exterior of the housing.
The above discussed U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,038,140; 2,124,015; 2,148,844; 2,163,813; 2,170,915; 2,287,205; 3,472,518; 4,488,703; 4,500,094; 4,508,313; 4,519,577; 4,610,319; 4,626,135; 5,213,158; 5,230,520; 5,647,444; 5,662,181; 5,678,829; 5,735,502; 5,738,358; 5,873,576; 5,901,964; 6,007,105; 6,016,880; 6,036,192; 6,109,618; 6,120,036; 6,138,774; 6,227,547; 6,230,824; 6,315,302; 6,334,619; 6,375,895; 6,382,634; 6,470,975; 6,494,462; 6,547,002; 6,561,520; 6,685,194; 6,913,092; 7,159,669; 7,237,623; 7,258,171; 7,448,454; and 7,487,837; and Pub. Nos. US 2005/0241833; 2006/0144622; 2007/0163784; 2008/0210471; and 2009/0139724; and International Pub. No. WO2008/133523 are all hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes in their entirety.
It would be desirable to drill with a sealed and pressurized mud system without using an RCD. Particularly, it would be desirable to drill using casing with a sealed and pressurized mud system without using an RCD. It would be desirable to drill for relatively short distances using larger casing sizes without an RCD since the annular space surrounding such casing may be limited. It would be desirable to drill with a non-rotating BOP device that would allow drilling to continue with the sealing element sealed without the sealing element becoming damaged or destroyed from the heat and other effects of friction in a relatively short time period. It would also be desirable to drill with a non-rotating BOP device in relatively shallow subsea wells without a marine riser. It would be desirable to use sealing elements in an RCD that would not become damaged or destroyed from the heat and other effects of friction in a relatively short time period when the RCD bearings or other RCD components malfunction in providing sufficient seal element rotation. It would also be desirable to have a sealing element with bi-directional or redundant sealing. It would be desirable to decrease the differential pressure across the lower seal element in a dual seal configuration.


In a dust cover for a ball joint, a reinforcing ring is buries in a shaft side attaching portion closely fitted and fixed to an outer peripheral surface of a shaft portion of a ball stud in the ball joint, and an inner peripheral collar portion is formed in an inner peripheral portion of the reinforcing ring, the inner peripheral collar portion having a slightly larger inner diameter than an inner peripheral surface of the shaft side attaching portion. One sealing projection and the other sealing projection are alternately formed in the inner peripheral surface of the shaft side attaching portion, the one sealing projection being arranged at a position in an inner periphery of the inner peripheral collar portion of the reinforcing ring, and the other sealing projection being arranged at a position deviated from the inner periphery of the inner peripheral collar portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dust cover which is installed to a ball joint of a steering device in a vehicle.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
As a dust cover which is installed to a ball joint of a steering device in the vehicle, a structure as shown in FIG. 13 has been conventionally known.
More specifically, this kind of dust cover 100 is formed by a rubber-like elastic material (a rubber material or a synthetic resin material having a rubber-like elasticity), and is provided with a relatively large-diameter housing side attaching portion 101 which is fastened and fixed to an outer periphery of a housing 201 retaining a socket 202 of a ball joint 200 by a snap ring 104, a relatively small-diameter shaft side attaching portion 102 which is brought into close contact with a knuckle 204 fixed to a shaft portion 203b of a ball stud 203 in the ball joint 200 and is closely fitted and fixed to an outer periphery of the shaft portion 203b, and a tubular flexible film portion 103 which connects between the housing side attaching portion 101 and the shaft side attaching portion 102. A reinforcing ring 102a is buried in the shaft side attaching portion 102, the reinforcing ring 102a being provided for enhancing a close contact performance with the shaft portion 203b of the ball stud 203 and made of a synthetic resin.
This kind of dust cover 100 prevents a grease (not shown) which is filled at an appropriate amount in an inside space S from flowing out toward an external portion, prevents dusts from entering into a fitting portion between the socket 202 and a spherical end portion 203a of the ball stud 203 from the external portion, and is structured such that the flexible film portion 103 freely deforms as the ball stud 203 oscillates in relation to the housing 201 (refer, for example, to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-137408).


The present invention discloses an optical line transmission protection system and method. In which, the optical line transmission protection system includes: at least one stage of optical line protection segment having a transmitting end provided with a Tunable Optical Divide Module (TOD), and a receiving end provided with an OSW; the transmitting end of a local Optical Line Protector (OLP) is connected to the receiving end of an opposite OLP to form main and standby optical lines; and the TOD is configured to set splitting ratios of the main and standby optical lines according to a difference between the optical fiber states of the current working channel and non-working channel, and tune optical power distributions at respective transmitting ends of the main and standby optical lines, according to the splitting ratios of the main and standby optical lines.

In the 1+1 line protection, under the Optical Terminal Multiplexer (OTM)-OTM single-span or multi-span scenario, the transmitting end of the Optical Line Protector (OLP) uses the 50:50 coupler to perform an equal light splitting of the signal light and then transmits the split signal lights to the main and standby optical lines, while the receiving end of the OLP selects and receives the split signal light using an optical switch. Under the application scenario of OTM-OTM single-span or multi-span transmission, since the transmitting end uses the 50:50 coupler, the optical transmission line system introduces an extra loss about 3 dB. When the transmission distance of the optical transmission line system exceeds a certain value, the 3 dB loss will have a large influence on the performance of the optical transmission line system (the optical power budget at the receiving end and the signal-to-noise ratio), and thus, the configuration scheme of the optical transmission line system needs to be changed.
In order to solve the problem of 3 dB insertion loss introduced by the transmitting end of the OLP using the 50:50 coupler in the 1+1 line protection, the existing 1:1 line protection can be adopted. In the conventional art, the 50:50 coupler may be replaced with an Optical Switch (OSW) at the transmitting end of the OLP, and selectively transmit the signal light to the main or standby optical line, and the receiving end selects and receives the signal light using the OSW.
However, a synchronous handover is required between upstream and downstream of the 1:1 line protection, thus the complicated handshake protocol shall be employed between the upstream and downstream of the 1:1 line protection. The upstream and downstream ensure the completion of the protection handover through multiple times of handshakes, thus the switching reliability is decreased, and the switching time is longer than that of the 1+1 line protection.

Optical line transmission protection system and method


A method, system, and product are disclosed for determining a voltage drop across an entire integrated circuit package. A geometric description of the entire integrated circuit package is determined. The description is subdivided into non-uniform areas. A resistance of each one of the non-uniform areas is determined. A resistive netlist of the entire integrated circuit package is then determined by combining the resistance of each one of the non-uniform areas. The package is then simulated utilizing the netlist to determine the voltage drop across the entire integrated circuit package.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of integrated circuit package verification, and more specifically, to a method, system, and computer program product for verifying a full integrated circuit package by efficiently determining the voltage drop across the entire integrated circuit package for multiple different kinds of packages.
2. Description of Related Art
Integrated circuits are coupled to a substrate utilizing an integrated circuit package. The package is responsible for supplying power to the integrated circuit, and physically supplying the circuit's signals out of the chip to the substrate. In order to accomplish this, the package may be very complex. For example, it is not unusual to have 24 or more levels of wiring within the package.
The package itself can affect the performance of the integrated circuit to which it is coupled particularly as power supply currents, power densities, and operating frequencies increase. The effect a package has on the performance of an integrated circuit needs to be measured. This measurement process is further complicated because many systems utilize ASICs which use a large number of custom integrated circuit packages which require fast and comprehensive analysis framework. Hardware failures, due to an inadequate package power grid, have not been detected by previous package verification approaches.
The difficulties with verifying packages apply to both ceramic and organic packages. To complicate package verification further, organic packages present more difficult challenges. The planes in the power and ground layers tend to be irregularly shaped in organic packages. Organic packages are often preferred for ASIC integrated circuits. Because more and more ASIC integrated circuits are being used, there is a need to efficiently and accurately verify large numbers of organic packages.
The current prior art is inadequate for verifying ceramic or organic packages. Ceramic packages tend to have mesh planes. Current verification techniques for verifying ceramic packages do not verify the entire package as a single unit. The current techniques verify only a portion of the ceramic package at a time. The results of verifying only a portion of a package at a time can be misleading. The current techniques for verifying organic packages require manual gridding of the planes in each layer because the layers are made up of irregular shapes. Manual gridding is inefficient and error-prone. Further, it is inefficient to require one framework for verifying ceramic packages and a different framework for verifying organic packages.
Therefore, a need exists for a method, system, and computer program product for verifying a full integrated circuit package by efficiently determining the voltage drop across the entire integrated circuit package using the same framework for multiple different kinds of packages.

Method, system, and product for verifying voltage drop across an entire integrated circuit package

International Business Machines Corporation


A method of generating mesh data by orthogonally dividing a target object into a mesh of elements by a plurality of grid lines orthogonally crossing each other includes the steps of (a) detecting vertexes of the target object; and (b) dividing the target object orthogonally by the grid lines passing through the detected vertexes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to programs for causing a computer to execute a method of generating mesh data and apparatuses for generating mesh data, and more particularly to a program for causing a computer to execute a mesh data generating method capable of relatively simply generating highly accurate mesh data and a mesh data generating apparatus suitable for such a method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Herein, mesh data refers to data that is obtained by dividing a predetermined structure into a mesh of elements, obtaining a characteristic value representing the characteristics of each mesh element, and approximating the structure by the set of the mesh elements in the case of performing analyses using a computer, such as a structural analysis, a heat transfer analysis, a fluid analysis, a thermal fluid analysis, and an electromagnetic field analysis, so that such analyses are effectively performed.
In recent years, as electronic devices have been reduced in size and weight as peripheral devices for computers, it has been required to design the structure of the electronic devices, especially, printers, so that the behavior of heat generated therefrom is suitably controlled. For this purpose, it is necessary to analyze the behavior of heat in the complicated internal structures of the electronic devices with good accuracy. Thermal fluid analysis is a technology for achieving such accurate analysis, and mesh data is employed as data to be provided to a tool for performing the analysis by a computer, that is, software.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 11-025293 discloses a method for generating the mesh data. This method, taking advantage of the merits of the orthogonal difference method and the finite element method, has an object of enabling an analysis model having a complicated shape, where an object of analysis is formed of a plurality of substances or regions, to be divided easily into a mesh of elements with good accuracy.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 11-025292 discloses an automatic mesh dividing method which, in an analysis using the finite element method, is capable of generating mesh data of a mesh size satisfying required analysis accuracy and of using an equivalent mesh, an inequivalent mesh, or a junction mesh as required.
Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 9-185729 discloses an orthogonal difference mesh data creating method having an object of easily creating orthogonal difference mesh three-dimensional model data required for analysis by a CAE (computer aided engineering) system from three-dimensional stereoscopic model data created by a CAD (computer aided design) system.

Program for causing a computer to execute a method of generating mesh data and apparatus for generating mesh data


A polyimide composition for use in making polyimide/copper foil laminate that does not require an adhesive layer between the polyimide substrate and the copper foil. A polyimide precursor is first prepared from a monomer composition, which comprises a dianhydride and an imidazole-containing or benzimidazole-containing compound, or mixture thereof The polyimide precursor is then coated onto a copper foil and subsequently subject to an imidization reaction to form a polyimide/copper foil laminate, which exhibits excellent peel strength and flatness while retaining all the advantageous properties that are characteristic of polyimide resins, such as excellent mechanical strength and heat and chemical resistance. Because the polyimide/copper foil laminates disclosed in the present invention are made without the need to apply an adhesive layer, the process of manufacturing the same is greatly simplified and the cost of production therefor can be substantially reduced. Furthermore, many of the problems caused by the inferior chemical and/or physical properties of the adhesive layer are completely eliminated.

Polyimide (PI) is known to have excellent thermal stability, low dielectric constant, and I 0 high resistance against chemical corrosion. Because of these advantageous properties, polyimide has been widely used in the electronic industry, most notably as a base material, or the so-called substrate, in electronic packaging applications, such as in the manufacturing of tape automated bonding (TAB), flexible printed circuit board (FPC), multichip modules (MCM), etc.
However, in the commercial applications of polyimide, particularly in the areas related to tape automated bonding and flexible circuit board, polyimide lacks the required adhesion to be used alone as a substrate. As a consequence, an adhesive layer is often required between the copper foil and the polyimide substrate to bond the same together. FIG. 1 shows a flowchart diagram describing the process in making the polyimide/adhesive/copper foil laminate.
Because of the extra step required and the relative complexity involved in the process of making the polyimide-/adhesive/copper foil laminate, the cost of manufacturing therefor has become a significant portion in the total cost of making tape automated bonding or flexible printed circuit board. Furthermore, the adhesive layer often does not have the same heat resistance and/or weatherability as the polyimide substrate, thus it often compromise the quality of the polyimide-based substrate. Typical adhesives that have been used in making the polyimide-/adhesive/copper foil laminate include acrylic and epoxy resins. These resins are known to lack thermal resistance and often became bursted during the welding of the laminates.
European patent application EP 0 3 83 461 A2 discloses a process for producing a flexible printed base by directly coating a copper foil with a polyimide precursor, followed by heating, drying and curing the precursor. The polyimide precursor has repeating units of aromatic tetracarboxylic acid anhydrides, such as 2,3,3',4'-tetracarboxydiphenyl, and aromatic dismines, such as diaminosiloxanediamine. Although the siloxane compound improves the adhesion between the polyimide substrate and the copper foil, it also introduces other problems, such as the lowering of the glass transition temperature, Tg, of the imide copolymer, and the heat resistance thereof. Also, because of some compatibility problems that exist between siloxane and polyimide molecules, phase separations often occur as a result, thus causing adverse effects on the appearance of the final product and the physical properties thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,247,165 (the '165 patent) discloses a polyimide composition formed by the reaction of benzophenone tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride and certain heterocyclic dismines. Examples of heterocyclic diamines include benzimidazole, benzoxazole, benzothiazole, etc. The object of the polyimide compositions disclosed in the '165 patent was to provide improved heat resistance; they are not suitable for use as a base material in the production of polyimide/copper foil laminates to be used in FPC or TAB applications.

Polyimide composition for polyimide/copper foil laminate

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A shear bonding device and a shear bonding method of metal plates are disclosed. The shear bonding device may include: an upper shear bonding mold having more than one upper perpendicular tooth and more than one upper slanted tooth formed alternately on a front end surface thereof; a lower shear bonding mold overlapped with the upper shear bonding mold in a vertical direction by a predetermined width below the upper shear bonding mold, and having more than one lower perpendicular tooth corresponding to the more than one upper slanted tooth and the more than one upper perpendicular tooth corresponding to the more than one lower slanted tooth formed alternately on a front end surface confronting the upper shear bonding mold; an upper heating clamper including a front end surface contacting with the upper perpendicular tooth of the upper shear bonding mold and adapted to generate heat by receiving power from a power supply; a lower heating clamper including a front end surface contacting with the lower perpendicular tooth of the lower shear bonding mold and adapted to generate heat by receiving power from the power supply; upper and lower pressing cylinders moving the upper and lower shear bonding molds upwardly or downwardly so as to apply load; and upper and lower clamping cylinders moving the upper and lower heating clampers upwardly or downwardly so as to apply clamping force and load, wherein the metal plates are disposed between the upper shear bonding mold and heating clamper, and the lower shear bonding mold and heating clamper.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shear bonding device and a shear bonding method of metal plates. More particularly, the present invention relates to a shear bonding device and a shear bonding method of metal plates that can shear and bond portions of an overlapped two metal plates by applying pressure along bonding portions.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A butt joint of metal plates, generally, is one of jointing technique of metal plates which is widely applied to entire industries. The butt joint is particularly used to bond stamping materials such as a tailor welded blanks (TWBs) that are manufactured by bonding metal plates having different rigidities, materials, and thicknesses or coil materials that should be supplied continuously.
An apparatus and a method for hot bonding metal plates that are related to bonding method of metal plates are disclosed in Korean Patent No. 0622524 (patent publication date: 2006, Sep. 13). According to Korean Patent No. 0622524, surfaces of two hot metal plates are overlapped and high pressure is applied to the two hot metal plates in closed bonding molds. Thereby, plastic flow occurs in the overlapped two hot metal plates and the overlapped two hot metal plates are bonded.
In further detail, when the two hot metal plates enter the bonding molds through inlets at both side portion of the bonding molds, overlapped surfaces of the two metal plates are shaved by shaving mold cutters inserted in the bonding molds. At this time, an overlapped excess material is pushed into a space formed by a shaving mold and a surface of a clamper due to closed structure of the bonding molds, and oxide films on surfaces of the front ends of the metal plates are also pushed to the space. Therefore, the oxide films on the overlapped surfaces of the metal plates are removed. At this state, the two metal plates are overlapped with each other and high pressure is applied by the upper bonding mold in a direction perpendicular to the overlapped surfaces. Therefore, pure metal materials from which the oxide films are removed are bonded through plastic flow.
According to a conventional butt joint techniques of metal plates, trimming process for aligning front ends of the metal plates should be performed before the metal plates are butt-jointed through, for example, welding.
In addition, a melting method such as welding mainly used in a conventional butt joint of the metal plates is hard to be applied to bonding nonferrous metal plates or thick metal plates.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Shear bonding device and shear bonding method of metal plates

PUKYONG NATIONAL UNIVERSITY BUSINESS INCUBATOR CENTER


A signal detection technique for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications systems embodied in a method and apparatus for detecting a plurality of transmitted signals with use of a plurality of receiving antennas. An iterative procedure decodes one of a plurality of transmitted signals at each iteration using an intermediate matrix at each iteration to determine the transmitted signal to be decoded. The intermediate matrix for each successive iteration is advantageously computed in a recursive manner with use of a Schur complement operation performed based on the inverse of a modified version of the intermediate matrix used in the previous iteration.

Multiple-antenna communications systems, also known as Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems, are known to be able to achieve very high spectral efficiencies in scattering environments, with no increase in bandwidth or transmitted power. In particular, it is known that such a multipath wireless channel is capable of huge capacities, provided that the multipath scattering is sufficiently rich and is properly exploited through the use of an appropriate processing architecture and multiple antennas (both at transmission and reception).
One such MIMO system is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,771, issued on Aug. 1, 2000 to G. Foschini, entitled "Wireless Communications System Having A Layered Space-Time Architecture Employing Multi-Element Antennas." U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,771, which is commonly assigned to the assignee of the present invention, is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. The architecture described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,771 has been shown to be theoretically capable of approaching the Shannon capacity for multiple transmitters and receivers. (As is well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art, the Shannon capacity of a system refers to the information-theoretic capacity limit of the system.)
Another such MIMO system is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,466, issued on Nov. 13, 2001 to G. Foschini et al., entitled "Wireless Communications System Having A Space-Time Architecture Employing Multi-Element Antennas At Both The Transmitter And Receiver" (hereinafter "Foschini et al."). U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,466, which is also commonly assigned to the assignee of the present invention, is also hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. The architecture described in Foschini et al, provides for a technique having a significantly lower computational complexity than that of U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,771, but which nonetheless can still achieve a substantial portion of the Shannon capacity.
Specifically, in the system of Foschini et al, a data stream is split into M uncorrelated sub-streams of symbols, each of which is transmitted by one of M transmitting antennas. The M sub-streams are picked up by N receiving antennas after having been perturbed by a channel matrix H. (The channel matrix H represents the signal interference or signal loss which naturally occurs as a result of the transmission channel.) The sub-stream signal with the highest signal-to-noise ratio is advantageously detected first and this involves the calculation of the pseudo-inverse of H or the calculation of a minimum mean-square error filter. The effect of the detected symbol as well as the effect of the corresponding transmission channel is then advantageously removed (mathematically) from the N received signals. This process repeats with the next strongest sub-stream signal among the remaining undetected signals. Thus, this approach detects M symbols (one from each of the M sub-streams) in M iterations. Moreover, it has been proven that this decoding order is optimal from a performance point of view. However, the computational complexity of the Foschini et al, technique is still reasonably high (albeit lower than that of U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,771).
This complexity problem was addressed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,600,796, issued on Jul. 29, 2003 to B. Hassibi, entitled "Method And Apparatus For Receiving Wireless Transmissions Using Multiple-Antenna Arrays" (hereinafter "Hassibi"). U.S. Pat. No. 6,600,796 is commonly assigned to the assignee of the present invention and is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. In Hassibi, it was recognized that mathematical matrix inversion operations are inherently costly (in computational complexity), and, making use of that recognition, an improved technique for detecting the M transmitted signals was disclosed. In particular, in the technique of Hassibi, as each transmitted symbol is detected the effect of the detected symbol and of the corresponding channel is advantageously subtracted from the N received signals without performing any mathematical matrix inversion operations.
Although the prior art techniques such as that of Foschini et al, and especially that of Hassibi have considerably reduced the computational complexity of the signal detection process for MIMO systems over the earlier techniques, their complexity nonetheless rises significantly as the number of antennas grow. That is, while reasonably efficient when used with a modest number of antennas, these techniques become more cumbersome particularly when the number of transmitting antennas becomes large (e.g., greater than 10). Therefore, an improved signal detection technique for MIMO systems, whose computational complexity does not increase as quickly with increasing numbers of antennas, would be highly desirable.

Method and apparatus for receiving digital wireless transmissions using multiple-antenna communication schemes


A device for inflating and sealing an inflatable structure, such as inflatable cushions is disclosed. The device includes an inflation assembly configured for inflating a cushion cavity of a film material with a fluid such as air and a sealing assembly comprising first and second assembly portions configured for receiving and sealing overlapping portions of the film. A disengagement mechanism is associated with the first and second assembly portions for moving the first assembly portion relative to the second assembly portion for reversibly disengaging the portions for releasing the pressure therebetween.

Devices are known for inflating flexible structures, such as inflatable air cushions or pillows (hereinafter referred to as "cushions") that are used to provide added protection to an object during packaging and transportation of fragile articles. One example of an inflation and sealing device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,286. The device uses drive rollers, in combination with idler rollers located underneath the drive rollers, to advance preformed sheet material. A second set of drive rollers and a belt assembly is provided downstream of a seal forming apparatus to keep the material taut and to pull the material through the seal forming apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,134 discloses a device having an inflation nozzle with two inflation outlets, for inserting gas longitudinally and laterally into the web of material; a feeding area including top and bottom drive belts and insertion idle rollers that guide the drive belts; and a sealing clamp parallel to the sealing element. U.S. Publication No. US 2006/0292320 discloses a device having an air barrier including two tracked bets; top and bottom heat sealers, each including two belts, with each belt arranged around four end rollers, including a drive end roller, a tensioner end roller, and two idler end rollers.
It would be advantageous to provide a simplified inflation and sealing device with improved ease of operation and maintenance.

Inflation and sealing device with disengagement mechanism


A high speed electrical connector assembly includes a mating female connector with sockets and male connector with pins. The female connector includes a connector body formed to define a mount face surface and contact face surface and one or more apertures extending therebetween. One or more sockets are positioned in the connector body apertures. The socket includes a mount portion and a pin receiving portion and the mount portion is configured for engaging an internal surface of the aperture proximate the mount face surface for securing the socket in the aperture. The pin receiving portion is maintained in a free-floating position away from the internal surface of the aperture with a tip end of the pin receiving portion being positioned below the contact face surface. An air gap is formed in the aperture around the free-floating portion and tip end.

In the field of electrical connectors, and particularly in high-speed connectors, there is a desire for faster data rates to be achieved. Furthermore, for connectors that are utilized to connect between printed circuit boards, there is a desire to minimize the connector size in order to preserve necessary real estate on the printed circuit board. Furthermore, such connectors must be robust and provide suitable signal quality within a rugged construction.
Current connector solutions often do not offer a package that provides all of the desired features. For example, often such connectors are dedicated to a particular type of mounting technology between the circuit boards, such as paste-in-hole technology or plated-through-hole technology or surface mounted technology. As such they can only be used in a single application or mounting scenario. Furthermore, such dedicated designs do not provide any flexibility in signal routing and coding schemes, such as to be able to accommodate single-ended, differential pair, power, ground, and sideband signals. Furthermore, existing applications do not address different impedance options that may be necessary to meet a particular application. Still further, existing connector assemblies do not provide desirable signal conductor arrangements in the connector that ensures high signal integrity and reliability of a significant number of mating in de-mating cycles.
Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for a high-speed connector design that is flexible, and scalable, and can address some of the drawbacks of existing connectors.

High speed electrical connector assembly

Carlisle Interconnect Technologies, Inc.